I know, I know….It’s not often that you see these three topics together in a sentence, much less a blog, but that’s what today’s post is all about. 

In case you’re not familiar, anime is an animation style that originates from Japan. They’re sometimes based on manga, the equivalent of an American comic book or graphic novel. Becoming popular in the U.S. in the 1990s, anime left a mark on many American childhoods, especially in the black community. 

While one may usually see more black males talk about anime, there’s a huge black female audience that enjoys it as well….including myself and my model for the photoshoot we’re talking about today.

My friend Lena and I wanted to do a styled shoot that showed Black Women and their love of anime. So we ventured to one of my favorite vintage clothing stores in Cincinnati called Casablanca to see what we could find. This place has every type of clothing from every decade that you can imagine. We soon settled on the idea of Lena cosplaying as Usagi Tsukino AKA Sailor Moon from the Anime Series of the same name. The staff was able to help us find the perfect outfit to bring our vision to life. 

After that Lena did her make-up while I set up my studio. And the rest as they say is history. We created one of my favorite styled shoots that I’ve done so far. I enjoyed this shoot because it felt like it was highlighting a different side of Black women that the world doesn’t usually see. 

Check out the video of me and Lena’s adventure here.