Last Updated on February 17, 2022
A Black Lives Matter activist has called the animated TV show Dragonball Z “racist” for its inclusion of a character appearing to wear blackface, something the activists have ignored entirely when committed by ideologically aligned Democrats.
An anime fan and Black Lives Matter activist who posts to social media using the pseudonym “Heavenly Controller” made the condemnation of the Dragonball Z character Mr. Popo in April, weeks before the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd in police custody triggered international Black Lives Matter protests and riots.
Mr. Popo is one of the show’s oldest characters with dark skin, resembling a crude depiction of black face, and an Eastern accent.
He wrote, “The fact that we all just overlooked that Mr. Popo is the most racist caricature ever brough [sic] to anime LOL”
https://twitter.com/HeavenlyControl/status/1249894328991793152
While many respondents took the tweet as being tongue-in-cheek, posting videos and memes in response to the remark, another character with a similar demeanor was called out.
The ice/psychic type Pokémon, Jynx, was called out for its blackface. One commenter asked: “Jynx: Am I a Joke?”
To which Heavenly Controller replied: “Jynx is a close second but at least there’s some plausible deniability there.”
https://twitter.com/HeavenlyControl/status/1249895000646619136
According to Heavenly Controller’s Instagram page, he is a “YouTuber, Vlogger, Streamer, & Degenerate Weeb.”
He has amassed a respectable following, with over 100,000 followers on Twitter and Instagram and 711k subscribers on YouTube.
Heavenly Controller was not the only one to condemn Dragonball Z on social media. In fact, accusations of Dragonball Z span back as far as almost a decade.
https://twitter.com/bigyinks_/status/160339930063699969
@Mr_Official85 @grimeyjosh lolol, man thats the most racist shit ever! And Dragonball Z is some racist shit too Lmao!
— King Sol (@King_Sol85) August 25, 2012
Unpopular opinion: DragonBall Z is racist
— Thaddeus Falcon (@KingKnowbody47) December 7, 2019
https://twitter.com/OGWAFFLEGOD/status/425113904193077248
Now that I grew up. Dragonball z was racist af. Asian people wanted to be white. They made blonde hair and blue eye = power
— S.C: demichael93 (@De_Nword_wright) December 20, 2012
A few other social media users made the connection between Mr Popo and implicit blackface in their tweets.
https://twitter.com/Prestigious_G/status/401349818192498688
https://twitter.com/AdamJayPeriod/status/50359158947581953
So explain to me how Dragonball Z wasn't racist #MrPopo lmao http://t.co/tE1uX0j1
— Christian Joel (@IAmKingSlater) November 13, 2012
Aside from Mr Popo, some tweeters pinpointed the anime’s racism with their depictions of blonde hair and blue-eyed characters.
Earlier this year, National File reported on activists attempting to spark a social media firestorm over Robert Downey Jr.’s 2008 use of blackface in the instant comedy classic Tropic Thunder.Â
