PBeeAndJ's Blog

Anime Relations: Great Pretender

As a woman of color (WOC), I was very happy to see not one, but two brown girl characters in Great Pretender (the second of which appears in season 2). Both women are forces to be reckoned with, attractive and cunning. What's refreshing is that they also have VERY different personalities and strengths, neither of which are racial stereotypes. Additionally, unlike some other brown girl anime characters, Abigail's racial ambiguity is removed in the second arc. When she is first introduced, with a name like Abigail Jones, it is probable that she is a mixed-race Black girl, with her swimsuit Halle Berry as Jinx in Die Another Day vibes. But by devoting the next arc to her emotional development, we get to learn about her childhood, and as a result her ethnicity. I know 'racially ambiguous brown girl' is something Black anime fans like me have been dealing with for a long time, attempting to claim any tan/melinated anime character as Black, but I will happily embrace the end of that era to welcome the era of WOC with backstories!

Dorothy doesn't entirely get this treatment, I don't think we ever learn exactly where she's from, but it is very clear that she's Black given her cover stories. The real impact of Dorothy's character for me, and for probably other Black girls like me, is as a love interest for the attractive and charming Laurent. I can't think of another anime that's done this, introduced a male main character, established his desirability for a season, then reveal to the audience that he loves a Black woman. And given her experience with confidence arts and how enamored he is with her, the relationship between them is somewhere between one of equals and one skewed towards her as the partner with the most power. Dorothy loves thrills and challenges, indulges in the riches of life without shame, and deeply appreciates beauty, so it's honestly easy to see why Laurent is so taken by her.

So, after giving us such a great Black woman character I have to ask. Why did they draw her lips like that? Black anime viewers have complained time and time again about the way stereotypical Black features are exaggerated on Black characters. When will the industry listen? While there are obviously worse examples of this, her lipstick seems to be incapable of covering her lower lip in most scenes and many of her expressions come out comical. We've also seen other anime series do better when it comes to animating Black characters (though they are rare), so it's not as if we're demanding something unprecedented. Is a portion of all character models being 'exaggerated' the price we pay for greater representation? Or will be there be a time when we Black anime fans, a loyal and fervent fanbase, are rewarded for our patience.