Creator Toastymarshmellow talks diversity in the anime world

Over the past decade or so, anime has exploded in popularity across the globe, gaining widespread recognition driven by an ever-increasing number of energetic enthusiasts and creatives. Now more than ever, anime and its related cultural exports are expanding their reach, finding untapped markets and audiences eager to experience every aspect of their favorite works.

Toasted marshmallows is a content creator, voice actor and musical performer. She shares her geeky passion, especially for video games and anime, with a global following that includes 1.3 million followers on TikTok and 395,000 subscribers on YouTube.

By exploring the anime fan community and building a career in the entertainment industry, Toastymarshmellow (Toasty for short) hopes to use her voice to push for fans of all backgrounds to feel free to take up space and see themselves represented in media.

Toasty’s fan-driven career

Toasty currently lives in Los Angeles and calls himself a “Blerd,” or black nerd. She’s built her community by creating content centered around her nerddom. Among her many projects, she has toured with “Naruto: The Symphony Experience” and voiced Boogie in a children’s television series Dance team with Ellie. She also appears in Pokémon World Official Soundtrack 2025Vocals on the song “Good Game” with Cam Steady.

Toasty’s anime-centric fame began in 2020, when she began posting on TikTok to find a community. Her first music cover was Inuyasha BoA’s song “Every Heart (Minna no Kimochi)”. Since then, she’s covered other loved ones anime songsFor example Neon Genesis Evangelion“Essays on Cruel Angels” Sailor Moon‘s “Moonlight Legend” and Naruto‘s “Blue Bird” – became Toasty’s first viral success, with over 1 million views. The video also grew her followers nearly sevenfold in a month.

Although he is not fluent in Japanese, Toasty still sings these anime songs carefully and completely in the original language. in one of her Youtube In the video, she showed old clips from her radio show when she was 11 years old, singing in Japanese and sharing some self-taught Japanese phrases with the host. She is passionate about singing in Japanese as her way of showing her deep appreciation for the culture that is closely tied to her favorite stories. It also contributes to her other commitments: celebrating the connection between fan spaces and the animation industry and championing diversity.

@toastymarshmellow_ #duet with @toastmarshmellow IF NARUTO DIES I DIE #Naruto #Boruto #Toastycovers ♬ Blue Bird Covers by Toastmarshmellow – Toastymarshmellow

Toasty’s love for anime and singing dates back to his childhood. She remembers seeing it Hamtaro I’ve been on Cartoon Network since I was in kindergarten, and then I discovered Narutoher main portal into the media. She has always been a creator, telling us that in fifth grade she wrote a 200-chapter piece Naruto Fan fiction.

Her singing talent runs in the family. While she was growing up, her mother was busy building a career as an opera singer, while her uncle worked in gospel choirs and theater. This family flair for music inspired Toasty to pursue a passion for musical theater, which combined with her bookish pursuits led to the exciting vocal career she enjoys today.

Hot Girl Style Fashion Photoshoot | Toasty Photography: PP Gal Club, courtesy of Chrissy Walker PR

How anime became mainstream

However, it wasn’t always an easy path, as the anime wasn’t initially well-received outside of Japan. In the early years of their export, ignorance and xenophobia naturally labeled these “weird” Japanese cartoons and their fans as “fearful outcasts” – including Toasty. She tells us how she was excluded from social norms because of her own interests, and how she once hid her otaku part in an attempt to fit in. But perceptions have changed, and yesterday’s anime fans have grown into today’s great artists.

“I’ve been bullying people since the early 2000s,” Toasty said tokyo weekend. “I think now people are more willing to be themselves and it’s much cooler to do what they want than to limit themselves based on what other people think.”

Celebrities like Michael B. Jordan, Keanu Reeves, Megan Fox and Billie Eilish have all been vocal about their excitement for anime, which has helped bring what was once a niche subculture into the spotlight.

Toasty also points to the large number of black creatives who are at the forefront of the globalization of animation, such as rappers Megan Thee Stallionwho made significant contributions to anime’s international rise, mainstream acceptance, and popularity. The Grammy winner is an unapologetic otaku, and it’s proven Through her cosplay and anime references found in her discography. Her enthusiasm and normalization of anime fandom redefines the “nerd” stereotype, transforming a label once seen as negative into one that embraces fashion – an insider connoisseur of foreign media and pop culture art.

@toastymarshmellow_ #duet with @toastmarshmellow It’s the 2000s, but I’m putting it together with the 90s. After Sailor Moon! #secretanimesociety #hiddenweebvillage #fypshi ♬ Every Heart Cover Toastmarshmellow – Toastymarshmellow

IBy the same token, Toasty wanted to freely express her lifelong love of anime and Japanese pop culture. The catalyst came from the coronavirus, which threw her post-graduation plans into disarray.

Just as the recent musical theater graduate was getting ready for her moment on stage, the pandemic shut down Broadway and live theater. After losing her job and being limited by the creative restrictions at home, she thought, “What did I do when I was sad as a kid? Watch anime.” She began to reconnect with the anime community and sang her favorite classic anime songs. With her genuine passion and musical background, Toasty quickly built a loyal fan base.

Comments poured in: “[Your] The sound makes me feel so nostalgic… [it’s] Perfect for an old anime theme song,” one TikTok commenter wrote. “[Your] Another wrote: “The sound gave me chills.” The request also came: “[Can] Will you please be Nana? [Your] The sound is just amazing, so beautiful. “

Fujimi Yoko’s comic “Hanwen Peer” is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2026 | Fujimi Yoko/Torch Comics

Push for more representation

As anime audiences diversify (represented by Toasty, her followers, and other online anime enthusiasts) and the industry expands overseas marketing, fans are beginning to ask why anime remains so monolithic in terms of on-screen representation. Why, they wonder, does this global phenomenon lack a globally representative cast?

Some believe this is simply a reflection of Japanese society – often considered one of the most homogeneous societies on the planet. Foreign-born residents make up only 3% of the population, and while the Japanese census does not collect data on race and ethnicity, it is estimated that only 0.02% of foreign residents are black.

As a visual medium, animation has the opportunity to connect with a growing international audience. However, there are only a handful of outstanding examples of black representation in animation, and often these examples only offer caricatures and racist tropes. This feels like a pretty big misstep, considering anime’s massive black fan base and the decades-long intersection of Asian culture and African-American communities—from Chinese martial arts movies that spoke to African-American youth in the 1970s to hip-hop groups that looked to Asian aesthetics for inspiration.

“I think a lot of black people have a special connection to anime because of these stories [of] Overcoming barriers and discrimination,” Toasty said. “Anime has always been important in black culture. But now, it’s being pushed to the forefront. “

In the past, black anime fans would often adopt just one character as their own or reimagine them with new features—for example, giving the character different hair textures and hairstyles. Due to the lack of diversity, fans create their own representation while waiting for the industry to change.

“In anime, black people are attracted to a certain character and adopt that character as a black person. For example, Piccolo [from Dragon Ball] is green, but for years black people have been saying, ‘No, he’s black, he’s ours,'” Toasty explained. “Yoruichi [from Bleach] – She might just be a very tanned Japanese woman. But black people adopted her. ”

But why is it so important? Representation and visibility inspire inclusion. Toasty said she’s dreamed of being a part of the animation process since she was a kid, but since she’d never seen anyone (either a character or an artist) look like her, she didn’t think it was possible.

But Toasty saw change coming.

“Now, I think cartoonist [comic book creators] Realize the fan base is huge. gachiakuta There is a real black character. Viz Media just announced a new comic [Hanbun Kyoudai by Yoiko Fujimi] “With a story about a girl who’s half black, half Japanese,” she explained, “we’re slowly getting more representation… It’s really cool to see that.”

However, progress is not without obstacles: korean joint universityFujimi said her proposal was initially resisted by publishers, but she was motivated to create the series after witnessing a friend being discriminated against because of her mixed-race origins.

Arthell Isom, co-founder of D’Art Shtajio

Toasty also cited Sakura Phoenix Studio and Dat Shitagiorespectively the first black-owned manga and game production studio and the first black-owned animation studio in Japan. These studios, along with creatives like Toastymarshmellow, are part of a growing army of fans leading the world of anime and manga toward an increasingly inclusive world, with more stories focusing on underrepresented groups in Japan.

Anime has come a long way since the turn of the century, experiencing unprecedented growth over the past decade. It is no longer a niche interest buried in the shadow of a stigmatized community or reserved for a single group of people. As a globally loved visual art, anime has the power to turn people into mutual fans. With so much going on in the world, maybe a little anime can make the world feel a little more connected.

You can follow Toastymarshmellow on TikTok: @toastymarshmellow_.

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