Editing by Kristina Forst
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“Podcasts have an incredibly important place in the Black anime content creation space.” Ash of Black Anime Podcasts believes this so deeply, he made a website to link visitors to anime podcasts headed by Black content creators. One of those podcasts is Blanime Podcast, which was created by Black anime lovers, for Black anime lovers. Blanime Podcast is hosted by Mike (@UnbotheredMike), one of the founders of Twitter’s Anime After Dark (#AnimeAfterDarkCH), and content creator Senae (@Senae_). Since 2019, Mike and Senae have released over 150 episodes of their podcast, and continue to do so. Having several thousand followers on Twitter, they have interviewed prominent figures in the Black anime content creation space. Hubtaku spoke with Mike and learned more about Blanime Podcast’s journey, the anime podcast industry, and Blanime Podcast’s future.
How Did Blanime Podcast Get Started?
Inspiration to start Blanime Podcast came to Mike while listening to Strange & Quirky’s Anime Podcast. At the time, Mike and Senae led an anime group on Facebook, which shifted into a podcast. Unconvinced they were pioneers in the industry, Mike and Senae were unsure if they were aiding the demand Black anime fans had for more podcasts. Mike did not even know of other Black-led anime podcasts besides Strange & Quirky, but that did not deter him. “I don’t think we had any expectations of what the people needed, but we know that our friendship goes back so far that the audience would be able to connect to hearing us speak on things.” Today, Mike has made friends with many Black podcasters, collaborated with them on projects, and runs Anime After Dark with Worst Generation Podcast. “It’s amazing — seeing the community grow from what it was when we first started to now. It’s really surreal. The real relationships that we’ve made from people simply enjoying hearing us talk about anime is really crazy!”
Podcasts Are the Voice of the Anime Community!
Why podcasting? Podcasting gives people a voice. Podcasts allow regular anime fans to talk about anime from their own perspective. Fans can engage the audience and others who love it. Mike compares it to radio. “To me, podcasts are the new radio, so the really quality ones play a huge part in the industry because it essentially gives the culture a voice.” One struggle podcasters face is learning how to monetize content. The average podcaster needs to average around 10,000 downloads per episode to make anywhere between 500 to 900 dollars. However, income generation is not limited to having podcast listeners or growing one’s audience. “The creators have tons of different ways to monetize their content from different outlets like ads, Patreon, brand deals, etc.”
Blanime Podcast has a goal of doubling their monthly patrons on Patreon, but their ambitions don’t stop there. “The sky is the limit, honestly. We see mainstream rappers dropping anime lyrics in their songs, and sports and political outlets using anime in their social media posts. The business of podcasts keeps evolving, as well. If the Black anime community keeps pushing out quality content, I dont see how these big entities like Crunchyroll, Funimation, etc. can ignore that. Black people have a LONG history of making shit popular.” Blanime Podcast truly believes they can become massive influencers in the industry. Having accomplished much already, Blanime Podcast is already a big name in the anime community. You can listen to Blanime Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, and Soundcloud, or tune in to their episodes on Twitter Spaces. Mike can also be heard every Thursday at 8:30 p.m. CST during Anime After Dark alongside Worst Generation Podcast.
Thank you so much for reading, and for making Hubtaku your Otaku Hub.