Alexis Rangell-Onwuegbuzia: WIA Stories of Impact

By: Shakura Davis

Certified to change the game and flip the world order for global media. Alexis Rangell-Onwuegbuzia (They/Them) plans to make artistic and cultural advancements in Japanese – US dealings for Black created anime, through nerdy fandom. A trailblazer who takes the odyssey one step at a time, Alexis is a PhD candidate at Columbia University with research in Japanese film and media. They’ve accomplished near Japanese fluency due to their commitment in a nearly decade long research program at Columbia University. Their undergrad and PhD programs are in East Asian Languages and Cultures. Recently they’ve just come back from spending a year abroad in Japan. Their research aims to explore deep philosophical questions about identity and the connection between groups of people who are 10,000 kilometers across oceans, yet share commonalities.

How does this global animation industry function? In the late 90s to early 2000s, how did young black fans discover anime outside of college clubs? Earlier this year, Alexis conducted a research project in Manhattan and Queen’s Chinatowns about the circulation of early anime fandom through pirated VHS tapes in video stores. Their dream is to turn this research project into a nonfiction anime or manga.

“I want to talk about real people and things that matter to people. Creating a manga or animation that explains the research and visualizes it, would resonate and be more accessible to more people. It would be fun to have something you can have interact with that also talks about interesting philosophical questions,” proposed Alexis.

Alexis sees globalization as cultural resonance. How underground forms of art make it big and develop cult followings, because it was adopted by different countries and cultures. With Blackness being diasporic, and anime globalizing due to mega hits like One Piece, Dragon Ball and Naruto, they find it fun to think about the parallels between these two concepts: Globalization and Diaspora, how they relate to each other and how a fan can identify themselves in foreign media. When they visit Japan again, they would like to explore the rising popularity of the Dancehall and Reggae scene of Osaka, two historically Caribbean-Black dance arts.

Their journey with WIA began four years ago. During quarantine, Alexis noticed the rise of professional coalitions dedicated to serving underrepresented groups. On discussion boards, WIA kept popping up. When they decided to try a mentorship circle through WIA, they learned there is an entire ecosystem of jobs, all important and creatively fulfilling.

“I can have a career in this big time, and really love it.” asserted Lexis.

Within the few weeks, Alexis learned actionable steps for how to apply to jobs, how the pipeline works, and how to network. They spent an entire two weeks on resume formatting and content. This led to the material gains of a marketing internship with GKIDS, an anime buyer and distributor, found on the WIA job board site.

“I think WIA gives back what you give out. It was easy to jump back in,” praised Alexis. “It feels like an always-open door. It’s something I always feel comfortable coming back to.”

Alexis aspires to make it easier and more effective for Black American animators and Japanese Studios to collaborate and produce shows, and movies. Being professionally fluent in Japanese is a huge help for that. Their biggest inspirations are Leshawn Thomas, Aaron McGruder, Carl Jones, and Megan Thee Stallion. Alexis wants to create more opportunities for Black folks to interact on the industry level of anime and U.S animation without needing to be famous or incredibly privileged. They are hoping to achieve this through professional roles in script development and creative production. In general, they are very passionate about the treatment of animators, a plight they’ve lamented.

“For me I think growing up and realizing, wow, all of these amazing things that I love and are so incredible, were made by human beings. They didn’t just show up on screen. Getting even older and learning, sometimes those human beings aren’t always taken care of. There’s gotta be a way we can do this ethically.”

“I’m only 24, but I feel like my life has been crazy,” said Alexis. The biggest impact on their life as a non-binary person is family. Being raised by Latina women, and their gentle brother taught them about nuances in gender, and how to not settle for poor treatment, including their morals for human rights and dignity.

In regard to the travesties of Palestinians, they declared: “If I had to choose between standing up for what’s right or my career, I don’t think I could choose my career.”

Their love of education came from their grandpa, a gay Mexican divorced single dad, who put himself through college to earn a master’s degree and become a middle school teacher. The value of education was passed down generationally. So to leave you with this powerful statement by Alexis, “Above all else, education. It’s the one thing they can’t take away from you. It’s your right. Reading and animation, those go hand in hand for me. They both fulfill that same role: to breathe life into what was once considered impossible.”