Finding Community in the UK Anime scene
Collected by D'Carlos Ikuomola-Andre
"Anime is a form of media that has had negative connotations for generations within the West. This negative response to the media made it hard for people to find a community where they could express their love for anime freely. However, with the age of social media surging and making accessibility to new connections, we are starting to see a shift in the narrative.
As I grew up in London, finding a community that shared the same interests as me wasn’t as hard as if I grew up in a rural village in the middle of nowhere. However, trying to find a community that liked a niche subculture, such as anime, proved to be quite difficult. With the use of social media, this proved to become less difficult but at the time, it felt as though it was hard to find people to discuss anime. Having grown up watching anime, I’ve learned to appreciate the power of storytelling and the various ways to express a narrative. Anime has the power to go beyond conventional means to portray impactful messages, and evoke comedy, all while appealing to all to a mass audience.
Now, lucky for me, I did find people who loved anime once I started secondary school, and it only became easier to find more people when I went out of my shell and socialised but finding your own community can be a difficult task especially if you aren’t a natural social butterfly. Thus, within these interviews, 10 individuals talk about their experience growing up in the UK as an anime fan and how they came to find their own community within the subculture."
D'Carlos is a Graphic Communication and Illustration Student who specialises in experiential and interaction design. He has been involved in the anime scene since he was 9 and has seen how it has progressed in the UK. His anime presence can be seen on social media with a peak mass following of 60k accompanied by 5.2 million likes. Although he is not as active anymore, he still is active in the community and helping new fans find anime and navigate their way through the community. His design work focuses on ways to promote community and shared experience and thus took up this project to inform listeners about the experience of others so that they can share the positive emotive nature that comes with being an anime fan within the UK.
@Organicweeb_
Collection of Stories
AJ
Known as Lightskin Kage across social media, AJ is a postgraduate who has been influential in the UK anime scene. He is known for his comedy skits and for recommending anime and Japanese culture spots in the UK. Although he won’t admit it, is one of the leading faces within the anime scene in UK. Having grown up watching anime with his dad, his passion for anime hasn’t stopped. Within our discussion, we discussed his experience within the anime community and his experience of being an anime influencer.
Krishi
Krishi is a student who joined the university during the pandemic. Looking for ways to find and socialise, he found himself engrossed in anime. Having only joined the anime community recently, Krishi has stormed his way into being active in the community. From joining anime societies, going to conventions, and engaging in online scenes within the UK. With our discussion, we reflect on his experience and question what can be done to improve the community.
Isaiah
Isaiah is a recent game design graduate who has been involved in the online anime scene since 2019. Now diversifying his reach on TikTok and Instagram, he has built a community of anime fans who enjoy the media and create relatable content. While growing up, Isiah struggled to find shows to watch due to accessibility issues in the UK at the time, but this didn’t stop him from finding ways to watch shows and find his community. Within our discussion, we talk about his struggles being an online content creator and the struggles he has faced watching anime.
Alanah
Alanah is a Liverpool-based professional who has had a passion for anime since she was influenced by a Studio Ghibli film her mum's friend gifted her. She has also had her share of being a content creator within the online scene, showcasing cosplays and anime skits, Alanah has created her own community within the anime scene in the UK. Within our discussions, we discuss how it is being a woman within the anime scene and the struggles she has faced because of it.
Anton
Anton is a student who has always had a passion for anime. Growing up in the UK, it took him a while to find his community within the anime scene. Within our discussion, we discuss how and where he finally came to find his community and what that experience felt like.
Andile
Andile is currently a student in London who has had a passion for anime since she was young. Having grown up in Zimbabwe and then coming to the UK, Andile talks about how accessibility can change the way an individual can experience the anime scene within the UK. Within our discussions, we focus on how she navigated her way through the scene and how she came to find her community and experience the anime community in a variety of ways.
Michael
Michael, known as MizuKxge online, has been watching anime for as long as he can remember. Having been a quiet kid growing up and not having a typical education experience as he lived his younger life on the stage, he expresses how he found it hard to find a community within the anime scene. Now having accumulated 308k followers, Michaels's community has grown and has helped connect many fans within the UK. Within our discussion, we discuss how he came to create online content and his experience forming communities online and offline.
Chisom
Chisom is currently a student studying Law in the UK. Having grown up watching anime, she has experienced the positives and negatives of the anime community within the UK. She expressed how she struggled to find a community as she was a woman of colour, within an already marginalised group and how it was difficult to connect to others. Within our discussion, we discuss how Chisom navigated her way through the anime scenes within the UK, her interesting opinions on the online anime scene, and the importance of having a community within a complex subculture.
Raiann
Raiann is a Ph.D. student during the day, anime enthusiast at night. Now passive in their love for anime, Raiann has been involved with the anime scene since they were young. Growing up north, they struggled to find places where they could find others to discuss their passion for anime but also struggled to find places that sold anime-related memorabilia. Now grown up, and with the help of digital markets, this isn’t the case anymore. Within our discussion, we talk about their time finding a community online as a content creator and how being involved in the online scene shaped their experience within the anime community.
Tom
Tom is a student with many hobbies. Ranging from sports to gaming, anime is clearly his most loved. Having had an overly positive experience within the anime community, he found it pretty easy to find a group that has stuck with him throughout his time watching the media and we dive into how it feels to have a community within the anime scene.
