Japanese comic creators grapple with racism
| Yokohama, Japan
As a three-time Grand Slam champion and the world鈥檚 highest-paid female athlete, tennis player Naomi Osaka is a popular figure worldwide. In Japan, her image graces not only T-shirts and key holders, but now also the pages of manga 鈥� or comics.聽
Two previous attempts at illustrating Ms. Osaka, who is biracial 鈥� in an Australian newspaper cartoon and a Japanese advertisement 鈥� misfired when both portrayed her with white skin and light-colored hair.聽
But in December 2020, the magazine Nakayoshi debuted 鈥淯nrivaled NAOMI Tenkaichi鈥� inspired by Ms. Osaka鈥檚 exploits (tenkaichi means 鈥渂est of earth鈥�). It avoids the earlier mistakes, in part because her sister, Mari, supervised the project. The tennis whiz 鈥� who was voted The Associated Press 2020 female athlete of the year in December 鈥� now joins manga鈥檚 crowded pantheon of strong female characters and a small but growing gallery of Black characters.
Why We Wrote This
Japanese manga, or comics, influence global pop culture. By portraying Black characters with more respect and dignity, some manga artists are beginning to move beyond damaging stereotypes.
It鈥檚 a sign of progress in a genre in which accurate depictions of racial diversity have been hard to come by. Japanese society is known for erasing or obscuring racial and ethnic differences. But experts suggest that a slow change is bringing a new look to some manga.
鈥淢辞谤别 mangaka [creators of manga] are putting in the effort to portray Black characters more respectfully and appropriately,鈥� says LaNeysha Campbell, a manga essayist who regularly contributes to the pop culture website 鈥淏ut Why Tho?鈥� 鈥淎 great example of this is Aran Ojiro, a supporting character in 鈥楬aiky奴!!鈥� His features and skin tone are done in a way that respectfully captures and portrays Black features.鈥澛�
Author and Japan Times columnist Baye McNeil points to the earlier debacle over Ms. Osaka鈥檚 cartoon image as a catalyst for change. 鈥淎s awareness is raised in various Japanese media,鈥� he says, 鈥渟ome artists are definitely taking better care when they choose to include non-Japanese characters in their works. Nobody wants to be the focus of negative global attention. It鈥檚 sad, but sometimes it takes an incident like this to make people take notice.鈥澛�
Creators of manga, and its movie counterpart anime, have all too often relied on stereotypes in portraying the features of Black people.聽
鈥淚n many classic manga from the 1980s and 鈥�90s, Black people are drawn with big lips and portrayed as intimidating, often stupid characters,鈥� points out longtime manga fan Diamond Cheffin. 鈥淓ven in the early 2000s, you still find those Black caricatures.鈥澛�
Mr. McNeil ascribes manga artists鈥� attitude toward Black people to habit. 鈥淎 lot of them are accustomed to drawing Black people in a certain way,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hough these characters are inaccurate, I don鈥檛 think they are necessarily intended to be offensive. It鈥檚 also true that those comics are not supposed to be consumed by non-Japanese.鈥�
According to Ms. Campbell, until recently many Japanese manga artists have portrayed Black people in a less than flattering manner as a result of looking at Black culture through the lens of white American media.
鈥淚t is possible that the first impressions that Japanese audiences had of Black people were formed through these racist and stereotypical portrayals,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd while it has been well over 70 years since those depictions, they still contribute to the negative attitudes towards Black people and their offensive and problematic portrayals in manga.鈥澛�
Some manga characters testify to the artists鈥� love for Black culture. Many Japanese authors grew up consuming American comics, music, and movies, and strive to include those icons in their work as a sort of homage. But that can still lead to mischaracterization. One example is the character named Coffee in the popular TV show and subsequent manga series 鈥淐owboy Bebop.鈥�
鈥淐offee is a typical blaxploitation character,鈥� says film and TV critic Kambole Campbell. 鈥淪he is basically Foxy Brown, but on Mars.鈥� The 1974 movie 鈥淔oxy Brown,鈥� which starred Pam Grier as the hypersexualized protagonist, was criticized in the United States for its portrayal of Black people, particularly Black women.聽
鈥淐owboy Bebop鈥� director Shinichir艒聽Watanabe took a different approach with the 2019 anime series 鈥淐arole & Tuesday,鈥� whose co-protagonist is an overalls-wearing Black girl with dreadlocks and a bright smile.
Ms. Osaka, who has a Haitian father and a Japanese mother, has said she has experienced racism in Japan in the past. 鈥淛apan is a very homogenous country, so tackling racism has been challenging for me,鈥� she wrote in a piece in July 2020 for . 鈥淚 have received racist comments online and even on TV. But that鈥檚 the minority. In reality, biracial people 鈥� especially biracial athletes 鈥� ... have been embraced by the majority of the public, fans, sponsors, and media. We can鈥檛 let the ignorance of a few hold back the progressiveness of the masses.鈥�
鈥淯nrivaled NAOMI Tenkaichi,鈥� the new manga about Ms. Osaka, is written with a different perspective in mind, and with an appeal to one of the groups that embraces the genre: teen girls.聽
鈥淲e want to convey her charm,鈥� write the story鈥檚 authors, Jitsuna and Kizuna Kamikita, a twin-sister team that signs their work as Futago Kamikita, in an email. 鈥淣ot to mention her greatness as a tennis player. Naomi is a person full of humanity. We also like her ideas and her willingness to act on them. At the same time, she has a sense of humor that softens her seriousness.鈥� They add, 鈥淲e also think it鈥檚 essential to draw a warm story about the family who raised her.鈥�
The choice of Ms. Osaka was a natural one for Nakayoshi, says the publication鈥檚 editor. 鈥淪elf-reliant heroines and cool girls are very popular with our readers,鈥� says Izumi Zushi.
In the comic, Ms. Osaka鈥檚 character plays 鈥渟pace tennis,鈥� 鈥渢raveling across the universe with her parents and sister to meet new challenges and protect everyone鈥檚 dreams and hopes from the 鈥楧arkness,鈥欌�� Ms. Zushi says.聽
Nakayoshi is one of the many publications targeting female readers, and the Kamikita twins are part of a massive female contingent. In the West, many people think that otaku, or nerd culture, is mainly a guy thing, but women 鈥� both as creators and consumers 鈥� represent a sizable part of the community.聽
According to the Japan Magazine Publishers Association, in 2019 there were at least 23 magazines in the shojo (aimed at teenage girls) and josei (aimed at older readers) manga categories with a total monthly circulation of more than 1.5 million copies. 聽
Aside from the manga about Ms. Osaka, recent developments in the industry point to a new sensibility toward ethnic distinctions. 鈥淚 do find that portrayal of Black people has come a long way,鈥� the fan, Ms. Cheffin, says. 鈥淲e are getting cool characters like Ogun from 鈥楩ire Force.鈥� Overall, this new generation is doing an awesome job. However, I鈥檇 like to see more Black characters on a greater scale, not just sprinkled here and there.鈥澛�
As artists become more aware of the global reach of manga, says Mr. McNeil, 鈥渢he more they will learn to create stories and characters that take into consideration the diverse sensibilities of their growing readership.鈥�
