Black-owned Noir Caeser will be joining the Tokyopop’s team at booth at Anime Expo 2023. Former NBA player Johnny O’Bryant III founded Noir Caeser to tell manga and anime-inspired stories from the perspective of black and brown voices to a wide mainstream audience. Noir Caesar now boasts some of the most brilliant creative talents including writers, artists, and illustrators who contribute to their titles.
Noir Caesar founders from left to right; Corey Mikell, Johnny O'Bryant, Marcus Johnson, Will Brown
O’Bryant and his team will be on hand for book signings at the Tokyopop booth each day of the convention. The first 20 people who stop by and say ‘hi’ will receive free giveaways. They will also be joining a panel to discuss the importance of representation and diversity in manga and anime and their exciting newest titles. The panel starts at 3 p.m. on July 3rd.
Noir Ceaser has become a prominent partner in Tokyopop’s efforts to diversify their creators as well as the audience Japanese entertainment. Founded in 1997, Tokyopop has become the preeminent distributor and promoter for manga and anime to the Americas. This year, Tokyopop has employed its channel network, digital marketing resources, and production expertise for distribution of several of Noir Caeser’s titles.
Photo Credits: Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation
Anime Expo – known among anime fans as “AX” – is North America’s largest and most well-known anime convention. This year’s annual event will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and is expected to host the largest attendance in the event’s history, having sold out in record time.
O’Bryant believes companies like Tokyopop and Noir Caeser have fueled that demand.
“This is a beautiful art form and the stories are amazing,” says the self-described “blerd.” “Over the years, Tokyopop has done an amazing job of getting more people to see it for what it is and, at Noir Caeser, we are doing our part to bring in more and more diverse creators and audiences. I’m just so proud to be representing at this event. It’s going to be phenomenal.”
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