[2] Creating Community in the Name of the Moon feat. Victoria Johnson of Sailor Moon Fan Club

In this episode of Culture by Culture, Delia interviews host of Sailor Moon Fan Club, Victoria Johnson. They discuss creating a podcast and fostering community around pop-culture, nerdy origins, Sam Okyere, Victoria’s favorite K-dramas, fanning responsibly, and Barbie! What was your first fandom?

Things discussed in this episode:

• Anime/Animation: Sailor Moon, One Piece, Dragon Ball franchise, Avatar the Last Airbender

• Famous folks: Megan thee Stallion, Michael B. Jordan, Sam Okyere, Saweetie, Serena

• K-dramas: Victoria’s Top 5(?) – Boys Over Flowers, My Lovely Sam Soon, City Hunter, My Love From Another Star, Descendants of the Sun

• K-pop: DEAN (딘), Rain (비)

• Movies: Godzilla, kung fu movies, Shaw Brothers Studio, Bruce Lee, Green Hornet

• Saga

• Barbie

• Lisa Frank

• Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon

• gender dynamics in anime

• Traveling to Seoul, Busan, and Tokyo

• fanning responsibly

Guest

This episode’s guest, is Victoria Johnson aka Sailor Victoria! Victoria is a podcast host, pop-culture journalist, and lover of Korean dramas! You can find her in these places:

• Podcast – Site | Instagram | Twitter

• Victoria – Instagram | Twitter

Find us online:

• Website: culturexpodcast.com

• Patreon: patreon.com/culturebyculture

• Instagram: instagram.com/culturexpodcast/

• Twitter: twitter.com/culturexpodcast

Credits

• Host, Executive Producer, Editor, Engineer: DeliaTwitter: @deliaistyping, Instagram: @deliaistyping, Website: deliaistyping.com

About Culture by Culture

Culture by Culture is a multidimensional podcast exploration into Black and Asian pop-cultural ties. Part sociology, history, and pop-culture podcast, it covers everything from deep-dives into our favorite gateway media, interviews with experts to help guide us through our historical and current cultural connections, and conversations with fellow nerds digging into our cultural identities and our pop-cultural interests.Our mission is to understand and foster the unity that has historically existed between our cultures through our shared interests in each other’s pop-culture.

1
00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,620
D: Hey there! Welcome to Culture by Culture, a multi-dimensional exploration of Black and

2
00:00:04,620 –> 00:00:10,440
Asian pop cultural ties. I’m your Sailor Guardian host, Delia, and today I am so excited

3
00:00:10,440 –> 00:00:15,760
to be joined by the host of Sailor Moon Fan Club, Victoria Johnson, aka Sailor Victoria.

4
00:00:15,760 –> 00:00:17,480
Go ahead and introduce yourself, Victoria.

5
00:00:17,480 –> 00:00:22,800
V: Hi! I’m so excited to be here. I’m Victoria, Sailor Victoria, however you want to say it,

6
00:00:22,800 –> 00:00:27,600
host of the Sailor Moon Fan Club, pop culture journalist, and lover of Korean dramas, which

7
00:00:27,600 –> 00:00:30,880
hopefully you’ll get to talk a little bit about today.

8
00:00:30,880 –> 00:00:35,160
D: I would love to talk to you about K-dramas. We will get to it. I literally just before

9
00:00:35,160 –> 00:00:38,280
this was in the middle of watching a K-drama and I was like, okay, we have to pause, we

10
00:00:38,280 –> 00:00:40,480
have to get ready, we have to record the podcast.

11
00:00:40,480 –> 00:00:42,760
V: So addictive. It’s so addictive.

12
00:00:42,760 –> 00:00:46,420
D: It’s such a problem. I think I tweeted about it the other day. I’m in the middle of launching

13
00:00:46,420 –> 00:00:51,680
this podcast. I have a big, huge, long to-do list and my brain is like, well, what if we

14
00:00:51,680 –> 00:00:54,320
just started a K-drama to binge right now?

15
00:00:54,320 –> 00:00:56,360
V: Yeah, same.

16
00:00:56,360 –> 00:01:00,120
D: That’s a problem, I think, with getting into creating as a nerd is that you’re still a

17
00:01:00,120 –> 00:01:05,680
nerd. So you’re still going to try and make time for those things and the balance is real

18
00:01:05,680 –> 00:01:06,680
difficult.

19
00:01:06,680 –> 00:01:10,520
V: Yeah. Like you want to consume the media, but also like you need to like create content

20
00:01:10,520 –> 00:01:14,560
too and do all the other stuff you need to do. But you still want to like go to the cons

21
00:01:14,560 –> 00:01:19,440
and enjoy yourself or like watch stuff and read stuff. It’s so much to keep up with.

22
00:01:19,440 –> 00:01:23,440
D: It’s so much to keep up with. There’s only 24 hours in the day and it’s just not enough.

23
00:01:23,440 –> 00:01:28,880
I used to think if I ever was able to make this a bigger part of my hobby or work part

24
00:01:28,880 –> 00:01:32,840
time, there’d be so much more time. But the way I think creative brains work is you just

25
00:01:32,840 –> 00:01:33,840
fill the time.

26
00:01:33,840 –> 00:01:39,320
V: Yep. Yeah. It’s like, oh, I have some spare hours. Let me watch a few episodes of One

27
00:01:39,320 –> 00:01:41,320
Piece or whatever.

28
00:01:41,320 –> 00:01:46,720
D: Exactly. Exactly. So I wanted to know, actually, you kind of mentioned some stuff already.

29
00:01:46,720 –> 00:01:49,640
Everybody knows that you’re into Sailor Moon and we’re going to talk about that too because

30
00:01:49,640 –> 00:01:54,760
selfishly I need to talk about Sailor Moon. It’s a need. But I do want to know just more

31
00:01:54,760 –> 00:01:59,840
generally what fandom spaces you currently occupy. Maybe some that people aren’t as familiar

32
00:01:59,840 –> 00:02:00,840
with in your work.

33
00:02:00,840 –> 00:02:05,480
V: Yeah. And I always want to talk about Sailor Moon. So I’m excited for that too. But obviously,

34
00:02:05,480 –> 00:02:10,120
yeah, Sailor Moon, I have the entire podcast dedicated to the show. I’m a big One Piece

35
00:02:10,120 –> 00:02:15,200
fan too. I’ve been watching since 2010, I think.

36
00:02:15,200 –> 00:02:16,200
D: Whoa.

37
00:02:16,200 –> 00:02:21,760
V: Yeah. So that’s a big part of my life. What else? What else? What else? I mean, I love

38
00:02:21,760 –> 00:02:26,080
K-dramas as a whole. I’ve kind of fallen off in the past few years, but there was a time

39
00:02:26,080 –> 00:02:31,200
where I was deep into the K-drama life and even went to South Korea.

40
00:02:31,200 –> 00:02:34,920
D: I would love, love, love, love to go.

41
00:02:34,920 –> 00:02:40,000
V: Yeah. It was pretty cool. I also love Saga, which is a comic book with Image Comics. It’s

42
00:02:40,000 –> 00:02:44,440
really cool. I feel like I’ll stop there because I’m going to just keep naming stuff. And I’m

43
00:02:44,440 –> 00:02:47,880
going to put it just there. I feel like those are the top ones though.

44
00:02:47,880 –> 00:02:52,080
D: That is so interesting. I, you know, people say One Piece is so good. My dad, he really

45
00:02:52,080 –> 00:02:57,760
enjoyed One Piece, but there’s so many episodes. So when you said you watched One Piece, I

46
00:02:57,760 –> 00:03:01,760
was like, oh, when did you start? But I guess you’ve just been kind of, you’ve had the time.

47
00:03:01,760 –> 00:03:06,080
V: Yeah. I mean, and it’s been off and on since then. Like, so I didn’t like catch up in 2010.

48
00:03:06,080 –> 00:03:10,280
So I watched up until like maybe 60 something then. And then like later on, I got up to

49
00:03:10,280 –> 00:03:14,920
like a hundred and something. And then I stopped for a few years and I benched up until like

50
00:03:14,920 –> 00:03:21,760
600, like one year. And then stopped for a few years and came back and actually just

51
00:03:21,760 –> 00:03:24,920
caught up on New Year’s Eve last year.

52
00:03:24,920 –> 00:03:31,240
D: Wow. I have so much respect for people who put in that kind of time, I would love to. It

53
00:03:31,240 –> 00:03:36,680
really seems like a show that’s up my alley, but I just don’t know when I will put in that

54
00:03:36,680 –> 00:03:39,760
kind of time. But who knows? Stay tuned, I suppose. Everybody.

55
00:03:39,760 –> 00:03:46,240
V: I’ve chipped at it little by little over time for me, 10 years time. But, D: You know, if you

56
00:03:46,240 –> 00:03:51,120
really have the dedication, what would you say was your first fandom?

57
00:03:51,120 –> 00:03:56,480
V: Ooh, I want to say actually probably because I actually went through my old stuff at my

58
00:03:56,480 –> 00:04:01,200
mom’s house recently. So I’ve been really– this is a perfect time to ask because I think

59
00:04:01,200 –> 00:04:05,980
originally I would say like Sarah Boone Dragon Ball Z. But even before that, I think Barbie

60
00:04:05,980 –> 00:04:07,920
and Lisa Frank, if those count.

61
00:04:07,920 –> 00:04:12,880
D: Oh my word. I love, oh, I should have, I almost wore it, but I have these Lisa Frank crew

62
00:04:12,880 –> 00:04:19,280
necks and they’re covered in Lisa Frank print. I love them. I love Lisa Frank. That is so

63
00:04:19,280 –> 00:04:26,720
interesting to me because I feel like aesthetically that is still very much magical girl aesthetics

64
00:04:26,720 –> 00:04:29,480
kind of like it feels like a precursor.

65
00:04:29,480 –> 00:04:32,920
V: Definitely. Yeah. And it’s so funny to me because I remember being younger and being

66
00:04:32,920 –> 00:04:37,280
like, I don’t like pink. Pink is for girls. And I’m looking at all this stuff I was like

67
00:04:37,280 –> 00:04:41,160
playing with or like that I liked and it was all very extremely girly. And I’m like, I

68
00:04:41,160 –> 00:04:46,920
don’t know who I thought I was fooling. Clearly just myself. But– D: I definitely was that way.

69
00:04:46,920 –> 00:04:52,000
I was very, I very much got into not like other girls phase or whatever. But when I

70
00:04:52,000 –> 00:04:59,580
actually looked back to my actual childhood girl. V: Yeah, exactly. It’s like, sure, Jan.

71
00:04:59,580 –> 00:05:04,520
Very much so. I used to love the Barbie computer games, played all of them. Super excited for

72
00:05:04,520 –> 00:05:08,520
this movie. I love computer games in general, just growing up. I feel like that might be

73
00:05:08,520 –> 00:05:12,360
a first fandom. But yeah, definitely Barbie and Lisa Frank. I had all the stickers. D: What

74
00:05:12,360 –> 00:05:16,240
do you think was the biggest influence on your interest in those fandoms? Alternatively,

75
00:05:16,240 –> 00:05:18,920
what influenced you to move away from that aesthetic?

76
00:05:18,920 –> 00:05:23,680
V: Yeah, that’s a great question. I mean, I think partially it’s I had older cousins, like you

77
00:05:23,680 –> 00:05:27,440
might say older, they’re like one or two years older. They were definitely like into it.

78
00:05:27,440 –> 00:05:31,080
I think like we all used to hang out and I don’t know who got into it first. But I feel

79
00:05:31,080 –> 00:05:34,360
like there was definitely some like we’re influencing each other things kind of going

80
00:05:34,360 –> 00:05:39,080
on here. And then also just like, I think with Lisa Frank, obviously, just the colors

81
00:05:39,080 –> 00:05:44,160
with Barbie, it was, I guess something that like felt like it was geared towards me, but

82
00:05:44,160 –> 00:05:49,240
also something that was fun and interesting and like challenging. And then with Sailor

83
00:05:49,240 –> 00:05:53,680
Moon and Dragon Ball Z, I just got into it, you know, by watching it on Toonami, my brother

84
00:05:53,680 –> 00:05:56,800
actually but Sailor Moon, he just came out of his room one time, like there’s a show

85
00:05:56,800 –> 00:05:59,640
coming on you might like, because he’s grew up watching anime, because he grew up in the

86
00:05:59,640 –> 00:06:05,320
80s. D: Oh, very cool. V: Yeah. And so I was just like, okay, I’ll watch it. And then I ended

87
00:06:05,320 –> 00:06:08,760
up loving it, of course, and then like stayed on and watched Dragon Ball Z, which came on

88
00:06:08,760 –> 00:06:14,320
afterwards on Toonami. And I think for Barbie, I think I just kind of grew out of it a little

89
00:06:14,320 –> 00:06:19,880
bit just like once I reached maybe 12 or 10 somewhere around there, maybe even earlier,

90
00:06:19,880 –> 00:06:24,480
where you just kind of stop playing with Barbies or stop knowing people who play with Barbies,

91
00:06:24,480 –> 00:06:29,440
moving away from computer games in general, moving to like more console based stuff. So

92
00:06:29,440 –> 00:06:33,920
I’m sure if like Barbie had like games on the console, I probably would have kept with

93
00:06:33,920 –> 00:06:39,040
it. I’m sure they do. But if like I knew about it or had them– D: decent games rather V: decent

94
00:06:39,040 –> 00:06:42,520
games, maybe that’s a better term, like, but like if a Barbie game was released for the

95
00:06:42,520 –> 00:06:47,620
Switch like today, I would get it and I got the Bratz game, D: Man, I feel like the 90s,

96
00:06:47,620 –> 00:06:52,240
for better or worse, were so good at merge tie ins and really just having when there

97
00:06:52,240 –> 00:06:56,200
was a movie or big pop culture event, you were going to get the toys, you’re going to

98
00:06:56,200 –> 00:06:59,660
get the video games, you were going to get all of it. You saying if there was a Barbie

99
00:06:59,660 –> 00:07:04,080
Switch game, I’m thinking the Barbie movies coming out now would be the time that would

100
00:07:04,080 –> 00:07:09,680
be amazing. It would be perfect. And I’m like, why isn’t this a thing? Because the demographic

101
00:07:09,680 –> 00:07:15,160
is there. Like I’m here. Like I will play it. I will buy it. Day one. V: The movie’s been

102
00:07:15,160 –> 00:07:19,080
kind of like reigniting that love and making me remember that I was like, oh, yeah, this

103
00:07:19,080 –> 00:07:23,280
was a thing. Like I did like have Barbie dolls and played all the video games and watched

104
00:07:23,280 –> 00:07:27,480
the movies. So I’m like, huh, give me something now.

105
00:07:27,480 –> 00:07:32,600
D: I think it’s interesting that you really hooked into Sailor Moon because for me, the reason

106
00:07:32,600 –> 00:07:36,940
I waited so long to watch it was because I went through the unfortunate I’m not like

107
00:07:36,940 –> 00:07:42,800
other girls phase. So I was like, oh, I’m going to watch Inuyasha and Dragon Ball and

108
00:07:42,800 –> 00:07:46,960
all these other animes because again, not like other girls. And I just thought of Sailor

109
00:07:46,960 –> 00:07:51,840
Moon as this girly show. Not that I didn’t have friends who watched it. I did. I just

110
00:07:51,840 –> 00:07:56,800
refused for whatever reason. Very much to be clear, blocking my own blessings to be

111
00:07:56,800 –> 00:08:03,720
sure. Regrets. I have them. So I just wonder how that show still reached you and resonated

112
00:08:03,720 –> 00:08:07,840
with you, even though you had maybe moved kind of past that time in your life where

113
00:08:07,840 –> 00:08:10,040
other media like that wasn’t resonating with you.

114
00:08:10,040 –> 00:08:14,000
V: Yeah, I don’t know. Honestly, I mean, I guess part of it was maybe because my brother was

115
00:08:14,000 –> 00:08:18,600
suggesting it. So maybe I just didn’t code it as like, this is something for girls. And

116
00:08:18,600 –> 00:08:22,800
also, I grew up where like, even though in my head, I was like, oh, pink girls, I want

117
00:08:22,800 –> 00:08:27,880
to be different. I like grew up within a family very fortunately where men, girls and boys

118
00:08:27,880 –> 00:08:32,080
or whatever would like do both things. Like all my girl cousins are playing video games,

119
00:08:32,080 –> 00:08:36,280
you know, and so I never really learned like this is for guys and this is for girls. Not

120
00:08:36,280 –> 00:08:40,480
in that way, at least. I mean, obviously, like there’s always some kind of gender brainwashing

121
00:08:40,480 –> 00:08:46,680
going on. But at least with video games and nerd stuff, I never got that as much. And

122
00:08:46,680 –> 00:08:51,080
I think I think having my brother maybe suggest it maybe maybe not think it was like, this

123
00:08:51,080 –> 00:08:53,880
is a girl thing. Maybe I don’t know. That’s something I think of.

124
00:08:53,880 –> 00:08:59,840
D: I’m very curious about your family and growing up being into anime and nerdy things, because

125
00:08:59,840 –> 00:09:05,560
it sounds like potentially and you can explain your family might be very similar to mine.

126
00:09:05,560 –> 00:09:10,600
Growing up, and I talked about this in the last podcast episode, my family was very supportive

127
00:09:10,600 –> 00:09:15,360
of nerd pursuits, if you will, like we all played video games with my mom, my dad, me.

128
00:09:15,360 –> 00:09:20,120
And it was my dad that got me into anime and video games to begin with. So I was wondering

129
00:09:20,120 –> 00:09:23,560
how your family viewed your interests. And it sounds like they might have had the same

130
00:09:23,560 –> 00:09:25,520
interest or at least were supportive.

131
00:09:25,520 –> 00:09:31,280
V: So I would say more supportive for sure. Like my parents are not into any nerd things, really.

132
00:09:31,280 –> 00:09:35,360
I mean, now it’s funny, they’re kind of getting into stuff like my mom watches like the Netflix

133
00:09:35,360 –> 00:09:42,260
Marvel shows now. And I’m like, who are you? And then my dad, like he watched The Last

134
00:09:42,260 –> 00:09:47,280
of Us or like stuff like that. But like overall, like they’re not video games, comic books

135
00:09:47,280 –> 00:09:51,840
people. But my brothers are, I think up until like we were teenagers, we’re all kind of

136
00:09:51,840 –> 00:09:56,880
like video games, comic books, all into that. Yeah, I definitely grew up with like an environment

137
00:09:56,880 –> 00:10:00,040
that was more supportive than not. But it wasn’t until like I’m older, like my mom would

138
00:10:00,040 –> 00:10:03,800
be like, you’re still into that? You’re still into this? And not in any like negative way,

139
00:10:03,800 –> 00:10:09,360
but just like genuinely confused or like, why? Like you still watch Sailor Moon? And

140
00:10:09,360 –> 00:10:13,320
now she gets it because she’s she knows about the podcast and she’s like, okay, but for

141
00:10:13,320 –> 00:10:16,640
a while she’s like, you still like Sailor Moon? Because I would be asking for something

142
00:10:16,640 –> 00:10:20,560
Sailor Moon. I think I’ve asked for something Sailor Moon for like each birthday and Christmas

143
00:10:20,560 –> 00:10:22,160
since I was like six.

144
00:10:22,160 –> 00:10:28,200
D: That is very relatable. For a while, that’s how it was with Harry Potter and me, but we

145
00:10:28,200 –> 00:10:36,120
have broken up. So not as much anymore. But at this point, yeah, my family is all very

146
00:10:36,120 –> 00:10:40,440
nerdy. They’ve always been very nerdy. And it feels like as time goes on, they get even

147
00:10:40,440 –> 00:10:45,480
more nerdy, like in ways that I couldn’t predict. But I think it’s very, I don’t know, rare.

148
00:10:45,480 –> 00:10:49,400
I mean, the reason I created this podcast is because I’m interested in these intersections.

149
00:10:49,400 –> 00:10:53,040
But I know a lot of my friends growing up, especially my friends that were minorities,

150
00:10:53,040 –> 00:10:58,480
black, Latinx, they didn’t really have that. They very much were not understood for their

151
00:10:58,480 –> 00:11:03,920
interest at home and had a real hard time. And I feel like our experience is more rare.

152
00:11:03,920 –> 00:11:08,120
V: Yeah, it definitely is. It definitely is. I think especially for like people who cosplay,

153
00:11:08,120 –> 00:11:12,680
I wonder how my parents would have reacted if I wanted to cosplay like as a teenager.

154
00:11:12,680 –> 00:11:16,640
Yeah, I think there is, especially with anime specifically, I think there’s like, oh, what

155
00:11:16,640 –> 00:11:21,280
are you watching? Why is this person half naked?

156
00:11:21,280 –> 00:11:22,280
D: Why do the girls look like that?

157
00:11:22,280 –> 00:11:30,480
V: Right. Is that a demon? What? So yeah, I think we’re definitely a rarity to have like family

158
00:11:30,480 –> 00:11:31,480
that like gets it.

159
00:11:31,480 –> 00:11:36,880
D: I agree. What do you think it was about Sailor Moon specifically, but anime in general that

160
00:11:36,880 –> 00:11:39,200
resonated so much with you growing up?

161
00:11:39,200 –> 00:11:44,720
V: I think it was the first time I watched something that was animated that actually had like a

162
00:11:44,720 –> 00:11:49,400
continuous storyline. So like with you know, I was watching probably like Doug at the time

163
00:11:49,400 –> 00:11:54,320
or Hey Arnold, you know, those shows are great. But like, you know, you could watch them whenever.

164
00:11:54,320 –> 00:11:58,280
But with Dragon Ball Z and Sailor Moon, it was like you had to tune in every day. It’s

165
00:11:58,280 –> 00:12:02,600
like, no, it was gonna happen next. And like, they were so good with cliffhangers. And it

166
00:12:02,600 –> 00:12:06,880
just really made you just want to tune in and keep watching. And I think that’s what

167
00:12:06,880 –> 00:12:11,560
took me along with just like both of them having really interesting storylines. I usually

168
00:12:11,560 –> 00:12:15,240
talk about them both because I was really watching both at the same time. But Sailor

169
00:12:15,240 –> 00:12:18,480
Moon is the one that stuck with me more. And probably because it went away and Dragon Ball

170
00:12:18,480 –> 00:12:22,280
kind of stayed around. And I was like, I can watch you anytime.

171
00:12:22,280 –> 00:12:27,040
D: Yeah, Sailor Moon was much more elusive for a while. I feel like it was. V: Yeah. After it

172
00:12:27,040 –> 00:12:31,480
like went off Toonami, like you couldn’t really find it anywhere. And I ended up finding them

173
00:12:31,480 –> 00:12:36,360
finding DVDs on like some random site a few years later and buying them. So I had them

174
00:12:36,360 –> 00:12:40,680
to rewatch then but it was really hard to find for a little bit. And then it just kind

175
00:12:40,680 –> 00:12:43,320
of like disappeared. Like you’re gonna find any merch for a little while.

176
00:12:43,320 –> 00:12:47,080
D: I definitely feel like that’s on sexism to be honest, because like I said, growing up

177
00:12:47,080 –> 00:12:53,400
in anime nerd spaces, it very much was as popular among the people as Dragon Ball, but

178
00:12:53,400 –> 00:12:58,920
the demographics were different. So I very much feel like that contributed to how elusive

179
00:12:58,920 –> 00:13:00,200
it was.

180
00:13:00,200 –> 00:13:05,000
V: I completely agree. Because yeah, it makes it makes no sense. Because most guys I talked

181
00:13:05,000 –> 00:13:08,360
to were like, yeah, I was watching Sailor Moon too. Yeah, I just didn’t talk about it.

182
00:13:08,360 –> 00:13:12,240
You know, and a lot of girls I know were watching it. And it’s like, it was getting views. It

183
00:13:12,240 –> 00:13:14,680
was definitely one of the most popular shows.

184
00:13:14,680 –> 00:13:20,760
D: But exactly. But it’s taken the anime landscape so long in general to catch up to the demographics

185
00:13:20,760 –> 00:13:25,080
that are interested in it. Not only talking about the gender demographics, but also people

186
00:13:25,080 –> 00:13:30,440
of many backgrounds watch anime and I think it took them a while to realize that I guess.

187
00:13:30,440 –> 00:13:31,440
V: Yeah, yeah, somehow.

188
00:13:31,440 –> 00:13:40,040
D: Somehow, somehow it took them so long. So strange. I guess that’s a good segue into

189
00:13:40,040 –> 00:13:44,680
I was wondering about Sailor Moon fan club and the catalyst for creating it.

190
00:13:44,680 –> 00:13:49,880
V: Yeah, so it was kind of, that is a good like segue because it was kind of because of that

191
00:13:49,880 –> 00:13:54,920
reason where I felt like there was so much conversation around shonen anime or manga

192
00:13:54,920 –> 00:13:59,560
that I was just like, there’s so much magical girl stuff out there that no one I don’t hear

193
00:13:59,560 –> 00:14:03,000
a lot of people talk about. Like people talk about it, but there’s no, not a lot of podcasts

194
00:14:03,000 –> 00:14:06,120
about it. There’s not a lot of discussion around it. And like, there are like hundreds

195
00:14:06,120 –> 00:14:10,600
of magical girls shows. And so I originally wanted to do a magical girls show to kind

196
00:14:10,600 –> 00:14:13,960
of like combat that a little bit. And then I realized that’s gonna be a lot of work.

197
00:14:13,960 –> 00:14:19,480
I have a full time job. I’m tired most of the day. Anyways. And then there were a lot

198
00:14:19,480 –> 00:14:23,720
of shows that I hadn’t seen. So I’ve seen some, but if I wanted to do it right, and

199
00:14:23,720 –> 00:14:27,560
like wanted to do each episode on a different magical girls show, like that was just going

200
00:14:27,560 –> 00:14:31,360
to take a lot more time and energy. So I had to get real with myself and then realize that

201
00:14:31,360 –> 00:14:34,880
like, I could talk about Sailor Moon all day. And so that’s when I decided to narrow the

202
00:14:34,880 –> 00:14:38,680
focus and just make it a little more niche and do a Sailor Moon podcast, especially because

203
00:14:38,680 –> 00:14:42,560
a lot of the guests that we’re finding were more Sailor Moon fans rather than magical

204
00:14:42,560 –> 00:14:45,880
girls fans. That’s when I decided to narrow it to Sailor Moon. And it just kind of came

205
00:14:45,880 –> 00:14:48,680
together from there. And like everything was like clicking when I was trying to do the

206
00:14:48,680 –> 00:14:51,720
magical girls show, I was like, all right, what are we going to talk about? What are

207
00:14:51,720 –> 00:14:55,400
the segments? What’s it going to be about? Like, who can I get? And then when I decided

208
00:14:55,400 –> 00:14:58,520
to do Sailor Moon, I was like, oh, I’ll call it Sailor Moon fan club. And at the end, we’ll

209
00:14:58,520 –> 00:15:02,320
do like, everyone can create a Sailor Moon says phrase at the end and all this stuff.

210
00:15:02,320 –> 00:15:06,360
And it just like flowed and I was like, okay, this is this is the idea. And it’s just been

211
00:15:06,360 –> 00:15:10,040
really great so far. Like, it’s something I didn’t realize that like was needed in the

212
00:15:10,040 –> 00:15:14,240
Sailor Moon fan base. A lot of people have credited with like kind of creating a community

213
00:15:14,240 –> 00:15:19,440
for like, especially Black Sailor Moon fans. D: Absolutely. V: It’s been really great. Just things

214
00:15:19,440 –> 00:15:22,920
I wasn’t expecting to come from it have come and I’m just like, this is so awesome. D: Before

215
00:15:22,920 –> 00:15:27,480
I even started watching Sailor Moon, like it was the thing that was on my to do list.

216
00:15:27,480 –> 00:15:32,160
I heard of your podcast before that, I think, because Connie, who we both know, yes, was

217
00:15:32,160 –> 00:15:38,000
on and I was just blown away a because your graphics look so cute. They’re so cute. I

218
00:15:38,000 –> 00:15:43,820
just need you to know that. But also, I just you could very clearly see this community

219
00:15:43,820 –> 00:15:47,480
around it. Like you, you can tell when there are people who are just putting podcasts out,

220
00:15:47,480 –> 00:15:50,240
which you know, nothing, nothing wrong with that creators got create, we’re all doing

221
00:15:50,240 –> 00:15:54,320
our best. But you can tell when somebody successfully built a community just with like how they’re

222
00:15:54,320 –> 00:15:58,400
engaging and the engagement they’re getting back. And I was just kind of taken aback and

223
00:15:58,400 –> 00:16:06,180
impressed by how well you had, whether on purpose or not, or by, you know, happy happenstance,

224
00:16:06,180 –> 00:16:10,160
you know, seen a need and were able to fill it because clearly people came out of the

225
00:16:10,160 –> 00:16:14,120
woodwork. That’s how it appears. People came out of the woodwork like, yes, this is the

226
00:16:14,120 –> 00:16:19,120
space I’ve needed. V: Yeah, no, it’s total happenstance because like, I was just like, I just want

227
00:16:19,120 –> 00:16:23,560
to talk about Sailor Moon with cool people. And people are like, Oh my god, we didn’t

228
00:16:23,560 –> 00:16:28,040
know we needed this or we needed this. And thank you so much for like making it. Has

229
00:16:28,040 –> 00:16:33,360
there been any challenges with curating that space and creating that community around the

230
00:16:33,360 –> 00:16:44,240
podcast? I think I mean, well, I launched in March 2020. D: Oh, no. V: Yeah, so I came up

231
00:16:44,240 –> 00:16:47,480
with the idea in like January 2020. And I was like, I’m gonna launch in March because

232
00:16:47,480 –> 00:16:51,480
that’s when Naoko Takoji’s birthday is and like the Sailor Moon anniversary is I was

233
00:16:51,480 –> 00:16:58,400
like, perfect. Perfect. D: What could go wrong? V: Right? What could possibly go wrong in March

234
00:16:58,400 –> 00:17:03,520
2020? And of course, the pandemic happens. And so I wanted to do like a whole like little

235
00:17:03,520 –> 00:17:08,280
launch party at a bar and like all these things. D: That would have been so cute. V: Yeah. And you know, I had ideas for

236
00:17:08,280 –> 00:17:12,440
like meetups and none of that happened. But luckily, I mean, this year, things seem to

237
00:17:12,440 –> 00:17:17,080
be kind of opening up people are feeling more comfortable going out. And you know, we have

238
00:17:17,080 –> 00:17:21,840
masks so quickly and we have vaccines. So planning, hopefully some stuff this year and

239
00:17:21,840 –> 00:17:25,600
maybe next year and trying to get my toes wet. D: It would really make things difficult

240
00:17:25,600 –> 00:17:30,240
because you know, you I don’t know if people realize how much planning goes into a podcast,

241
00:17:30,240 –> 00:17:34,080
you really build up what it’s going to look like what it’s gonna what the trajectory is

242
00:17:34,080 –> 00:17:38,400
going to be. And so I can’t imagine having you know, so much hinging on like in person

243
00:17:38,400 –> 00:17:44,400
stuff and that just being no, you can’t do it. Sorry. V: Yeah, yeah. I mean, the pandemic

244
00:17:44,400 –> 00:17:48,720
was horrible is horrible. But I think in some ways, it did work to my advantage. Because

245
00:17:48,720 –> 00:17:51,840
I think that’s a large part why I was able to get like, Saweetie on the show is because

246
00:17:51,840 –> 00:17:55,640
everyone was home, there were things like that, that I guess did help. But at the same

247
00:17:55,640 –> 00:18:01,360
time, it was like, boo. I think the other thing, I mean, gets to be real real is, you

248
00:18:01,360 –> 00:18:07,640
know, just funding. I think I’ve gotten one ad on the show before. And I just like, come

249
00:18:07,640 –> 00:18:12,960
on, guys, it’s a great show. Give me sponsorship. D: It’s it’s it’s hard out here being a solo

250
00:18:12,960 –> 00:18:19,600
creator, you gotta you gotta just give yourself space. V: So I appreciate that. I always need

251
00:18:19,600 –> 00:18:24,360
to hear that. So thanks. D: Absolutely. I mean, we’re doing what we can. And like we were

252
00:18:24,360 –> 00:18:30,520
talking about earlier, there’s so much you want to do as a nerd. Also, you want to take

253
00:18:30,520 –> 00:18:34,800
in the content, you want to experience the things in real life just for you. And then

254
00:18:34,800 –> 00:18:40,200
there’s the creating content side of it. So there’s only 24 hours. So we got to give ourselves

255
00:18:40,200 –> 00:18:45,040
grace because we’re all doing our best. V: That is so true. And then on top of like cooking

256
00:18:45,040 –> 00:18:52,240
and cleaning and being an adult, D: Being an adult! V: and seeing friends, if you can. D: I guess

257
00:18:52,240 –> 00:18:56,120
I was curious, do you ever feel limited by the space you’ve carved out in fandom? Because

258
00:18:56,120 –> 00:19:00,640
I know you said you imagine doing a podcast that had a broader focus, but that comes with

259
00:19:00,640 –> 00:19:05,080
its own challenges. But I do wonder, have you ever felt limited by the scope of what

260
00:19:05,080 –> 00:19:09,560
you’ve curated for yourself? And how do you deal with that, if you have? V: Sometimes only

261
00:19:09,560 –> 00:19:13,000
because like there’s been certain guests or some people I would just love to talk to,

262
00:19:13,000 –> 00:19:17,400
like thinking like Megan Thee Stallion, who’s like a huge anime fan, but she’s not necessarily

263
00:19:17,400 –> 00:19:22,920
a Sailor Moon fan. And so I’m like, how can I get her on my show? Because like it just,

264
00:19:22,920 –> 00:19:25,920
or like even like a Michael B. Jordan, I’m like, I’d love to have Michael B. Jordan on

265
00:19:25,920 –> 00:19:30,200
the show, but like he’s, he’s never watched Sailor Moon as far as I know. So like times

266
00:19:30,200 –> 00:19:34,000
like that, I feel a little like I wish I would have done something maybe a little more general,

267
00:19:34,000 –> 00:19:37,400
but then I’m like, but then I wouldn’t have the specialty of like the niche of Sailor

268
00:19:37,400 –> 00:19:40,840
Moon or even like Serena Williams, I think is a Sailor Moon, or not a Sailor Moon fan,

269
00:19:40,840 –> 00:19:46,000
an anime fan. And she loves Avatar The Last Airbender. : How did I not know this? V: She even

270
00:19:46,000 –> 00:19:49,840
voiced a character in Korra, like a small role, a very small role. D: You know what, I

271
00:19:49,840 –> 00:19:55,520
do think I knew that. I haven’t seen Korra. It’s on my to do list everyone. It is. I have

272
00:19:55,520 –> 00:20:02,800
friends who yell at me regularly. V: No judgment from me. D: But I love Avatar The Last Airbender.

273
00:20:02,800 –> 00:20:06,960
Like definitely top fandom. I have a lot of art behind me that’s Avatar The Last Airbender

274
00:20:06,960 –> 00:20:11,640
love. I didn’t know that. See, that would be a dream. V: It would be, but I’m like, I can’t

275
00:20:11,640 –> 00:20:17,800
get her on my mind. So even if I, even if I could, even if she said yes. D: Just maybe

276
00:20:17,800 –> 00:20:23,360
do a little temporary spin off. I’ve been low key thinking of that, of like one episode

277
00:20:23,360 –> 00:20:29,600
spin off just so I could get one person on. I can do Avatar The Last Airbender fan club

278
00:20:29,600 –> 00:20:34,000
one episode. D: We do what we got to do is content creators. V: Listen, because I’m like, I just want to talk

279
00:20:34,000 –> 00:20:39,400
to Serena Williams. That’s all I want. D: I would help promo the heck out of that because that

280
00:20:39,400 –> 00:20:44,480
would be so good to listen to. V: Thank you. Yeah. I mean, fingers crossed. D: We did talk

281
00:20:44,480 –> 00:20:49,360
about in the lead up to the podcast, we’re kind of getting into the K-drama of it all,

282
00:20:49,360 –> 00:20:54,960
but in general, you did express in your own interest in Black and Asian pop cultural ties,

283
00:20:54,960 –> 00:20:59,080
which I said before we started recording, a lot of people since I announced the podcast

284
00:20:59,080 –> 00:21:05,240
have expressed that they too have noticed these pop-cultural ties. And I was so surprised

285
00:21:05,240 –> 00:21:09,800
because I’ve always had this interest and haven’t been able to really find outlets for

286
00:21:09,800 –> 00:21:14,240
it. So I was like, I guess I just got to make a podcast about it because that’s what I do,

287
00:21:14,240 –> 00:21:18,560
I guess. But I’m so curious as I’m hearing people tell their stories, like, where did

288
00:21:18,560 –> 00:21:23,320
you first notice these connections and what made you interested in them?

289
00:21:23,320 –> 00:21:27,960
V: Ooh, that is a great question. And I feel like I should know this. Maybe it was around

290
00:21:27,960 –> 00:21:35,400
the time when DEAN came out and also Rain in general, and visiting a lot of Korean coffee

291
00:21:35,400 –> 00:21:44,560
shops actually. So this is like circa grad school to air for me. So like 2013, 2014.

292
00:21:44,560 –> 00:21:47,720
And so I would go to coffee shops a lot to get work done. And I went to grad school near

293
00:21:47,720 –> 00:21:53,060
Korea town and I was into Korean dramas already. So whatever. But I just remember people talking

294
00:21:53,060 –> 00:21:57,920
about how like 90s R&B inspired DEAN and then thinking about like, I think Rain had like

295
00:21:57,920 –> 00:22:04,840
Black women in his, or Black woman in one of his music videos. And I just remember like

296
00:22:04,840 –> 00:22:09,480
when I got into K-dramas and K-pop, a lot of the content creators I was finding were

297
00:22:09,480 –> 00:22:17,480
Black as well. And I just didn’t see other groups of people diving into the Korean culture

298
00:22:17,480 –> 00:22:21,600
as much as Black people at the time, it felt like. Because I was just like, man, like we

299
00:22:21,600 –> 00:22:24,600
are really in this. Like it was just like every content creator I knew, like they’re

300
00:22:24,600 –> 00:22:28,600
actually making groups, they’re moving to Korea. And then like on the other hand, like

301
00:22:28,600 –> 00:22:33,320
seeing like Korean pop artists being inspired by like 90s Black R&B artists and you know,

302
00:22:33,320 –> 00:22:37,680
like bringing Black people into their music videos or like being inspired by like music,

303
00:22:37,680 –> 00:22:42,080
I guess mostly. Or even culture, because I mean, the slang and everything, but and rap.

304
00:22:42,080 –> 00:22:47,640
D: Yes, very much the rap of it all. That’s so interesting to me because I have like, I’ve

305
00:22:47,640 –> 00:22:52,120
noticed similar when I started getting into K-dramas and things like that, it was a lot

306
00:22:52,120 –> 00:22:56,320
of like Black people I knew were like, oh my gosh, same. And I think the first person

307
00:22:56,320 –> 00:23:01,800
who ever recommended K-dramas to me back in high school was Mexican. And they were hard

308
00:23:01,800 –> 00:23:06,120
to find at the time. It’s not until being really into K-dramas that I interacted with

309
00:23:06,120 –> 00:23:10,480
a lot of white fans. So I feel like it’s one of the first fandom spaces where I entered.

310
00:23:10,480 –> 00:23:14,220
And immediately it wasn’t just like a white fandom space, you know. And that’s so interesting

311
00:23:14,220 –> 00:23:18,040
to me because I’ve fandomed them a lot of things. And that has not happened.

312
00:23:18,040 –> 00:23:22,520
V: That’s a good point. Yeah, I think that was the other thing. Like, I’m realizing now after

313
00:23:22,520 –> 00:23:26,680
you said it, that it was probably the first fandom I went into that didn’t feel overwhelmingly

314
00:23:26,680 –> 00:23:33,400
white. And a Bangladeshi girl introduced me to K-dramas. And so it’s like, I really, it’s

315
00:23:33,400 –> 00:23:36,640
not that like, I don’t think there are white people interested in K-dramas. I know that’s

316
00:23:36,640 –> 00:23:41,880
a fact, but I don’t know anyone.

317
00:23:41,880 –> 00:23:45,000
D: And I don’t think I would have been able to speak to it exactly until you mentioned it.

318
00:23:45,000 –> 00:23:50,280
Like, that is so true. I watched so many YouTubers, some who aren’t active anymore, who were into

319
00:23:50,280 –> 00:23:54,840
K-pop, K-dramas. They were all Black for the most part. Again, my friends and people in

320
00:23:54,840 –> 00:23:59,480
real life. And I just think that’s really cool. I do know people who don’t necessarily are

321
00:23:59,480 –> 00:24:03,560
into those things and are kind of viewing it, you know, top down from the outside, don’t

322
00:24:03,560 –> 00:24:08,440
really understand. They see the problematic aspects of the cultural exchange, which do

323
00:24:08,440 –> 00:24:12,560
happen. Let’s not pretend that they don’t. But I just think it’s so compelling that there’s

324
00:24:12,560 –> 00:24:16,160
a lot of points of connection that are positive. It was already fascinating to me, but it’s

325
00:24:16,160 –> 00:24:19,000
so fascinating to me that I’m not the only one that’s noticed.

326
00:24:19,000 –> 00:24:20,760
V: Yeah, yeah. I mean, yeah.

327
00:24:20,760 –> 00:24:26,420
D: You said it was back 2013, 2014, that you were really into K-dramas. This was like peak

328
00:24:26,420 –> 00:24:32,280
time for you. What was your, just out of curiosity, your first K-drama and maybe your favorite

329
00:24:32,280 –> 00:24:33,280
K-drama?

330
00:24:33,280 –> 00:24:39,960
V: Yeah. So, I mean, well, I got into K-dramas in 2010. And then like up until like 2016,

331
00:24:39,960 –> 00:24:45,120
I would say like that was like a, I probably was only almost solely watching K-dramas with

332
00:24:45,120 –> 00:24:49,360
maybe like Scandal and some other shows. But my first one was Boys Over Flowers, which

333
00:24:49,360 –> 00:24:53,880
is most people’s. Yeah. So that’s the one. And it’s funny because Sailor Moon actually

334
00:24:53,880 –> 00:24:57,400
got me into K-dramas in one way or another because-

335
00:24:57,400 –> 00:24:58,840
D: Oh please say more.

336
00:24:58,840 –> 00:25:03,160
V: So of course, like Sailor Moon fans, I’ve watched PGSM, which is a live action Sailor

337
00:25:03,160 –> 00:25:08,400
Moon Japanese show. And then that made me want to watch more J-dramas. I watched Nobito

338
00:25:08,400 –> 00:25:12,600
Produce, which is pretty good. And then I was telling one of my friends about it,

339
00:25:12,600 –> 00:25:15,800
a Bangladeshi woman. I went to college, I was actually roommates with her my freshman

340
00:25:15,800 –> 00:25:19,880
year of college. And I was like, oh, you should really watch the show because we’re both like

341
00:25:19,880 –> 00:25:25,160
into international stuff and like just like open-minded people. And she was just like,

342
00:25:25,160 –> 00:25:29,320
oh, if you like J-dramas, you should check out Korean dramas. And I was like, what is

343
00:25:29,320 –> 00:25:33,840
that? Tell me more. She’s like, check out Boys Over Flowers. Literally watched, started

344
00:25:33,840 –> 00:25:39,040
watching it that day. It was like a Friday, I think. And she went home to like, she lived

345
00:25:39,040 –> 00:25:43,600
in Long Island and I binge-ed it that entire night. I probably went to sleep and finished

346
00:25:43,600 –> 00:25:48,640
the show like within 24 hours, maybe, well maybe not 24 hours, but then 48 hours. I was

347
00:25:48,640 –> 00:25:53,240
done with that show and I was like, what else is out there? And that just like started a

348
00:25:53,240 –> 00:25:56,680
whole lifelong journey of K-drama love.

349
00:25:56,680 –> 00:26:02,600
D: I love that. I’m way more new to the K-drama space. I think 2019 maybe? I fell hard and

350
00:26:02,600 –> 00:26:12,520
fast. That seems to be the very constant in K-drama fans. It’s hard and fast. I think

351
00:26:12,520 –> 00:26:17,160
it’s interesting you started at J-dramas. I haven’t watched any other Asian dramas,

352
00:26:17,160 –> 00:26:23,020
mostly because I started learning Korean and I was like, well, K-dramas count as studying.

353
00:26:23,020 –> 00:26:30,100
It doesn’t for the record, but that’s how I reconciled it in my head. So even though

354
00:26:30,100 –> 00:26:34,280
I have interests, like I have a list of potential J-dramas, C-dramas that I want to watch, I

355
00:26:34,280 –> 00:26:38,200
just haven’t because I’m like, it’s not really giving me anything, which is a problematic

356
00:26:38,200 –> 00:26:42,900
way to think, but I do want to. And maybe I’m hoping like the podcast will push me out

357
00:26:42,900 –> 00:26:47,800
of my K-drama comfort zone, but I am firmly there. Do you have a favorite drama that you’ve

358
00:26:47,800 –> 00:26:48,800
seen?

359
00:26:48,800 –> 00:26:53,000
V: Oh gosh, there’s so many. The Boys Over Flowers stayed as a favorite. I love Lee Minho in general,

360
00:26:53,000 –> 00:26:58,020
so I watch mostly anything he’s in. Goblin, because I also love Gong Yoo and I will watch

361
00:26:58,020 –> 00:26:59,020
anything he’s in.

362
00:26:59,020 –> 00:27:00,020
D: Same.

363
00:27:00,020 –> 00:27:06,740
Which I’m so happy to see him like getting some shine over in the US now.

364
00:27:06,740 –> 00:27:09,780
D: So deserved. I, that man.

365
00:27:09,780 –> 00:27:11,460
V: Yeah, he is very attractive.

366
00:27:11,460 –> 00:27:13,020
D: He’s a beautiful man.

367
00:27:13,020 –> 00:27:20,020
V: He is. Yeah. Oh, okay. Here we go. I do have a list. So my top 5 K-dramas are, well, at

368
00:27:20,020 –> 00:27:25,840
least top four. Boys Over Flowers, My Lovely Sam Soon, City Hunter, My Love From Another

369
00:27:25,840 –> 00:27:29,540
Star, and then I have Descendants of the Sun here, which I remember really liking, but

370
00:27:29,540 –> 00:27:33,260
I’m like, damn, is it, did I like it enough to put in my top five? Maybe I did.

371
00:27:33,260 –> 00:27:37,700
V: I don’t think I’ve seen Descendants of the Sun. I have seen My Love From Another Star.

372
00:27:37,700 –> 00:27:41,700
That was a cute one. Yeah, I haven’t decided if I want to see Descendants of the Sun or

373
00:27:41,700 –> 00:27:45,660
not. It’s on my list, but every time I look at it, I don’t know. I guess I’m confused

374
00:27:45,660 –> 00:27:48,620
about the vibes, but I’ll watch it one day.

375
00:27:48,620 –> 00:27:49,620
V: It was definitely cute.

376
00:27:49,620 –> 00:27:51,420
D: My watch list is very long.

377
00:27:51,420 –> 00:27:52,420
V: Yeah.

378
00:27:52,420 –> 00:27:56,660
D: So listeners, just know if you recommend dramas to me, I will add them to the list, but the

379
00:27:56,660 –> 00:27:57,660
list is so long.

380
00:27:57,660 –> 00:28:03,740
V: No, that’s me too. I feel my friend will recommend me K-dramas. So I got her into K-dramas after

381
00:28:03,740 –> 00:28:09,060
I got into K-dramas. She’s the one I ended up going to South Korea with. And she still

382
00:28:09,060 –> 00:28:12,260
watches them and she’ll be like, you need to watch this one. It’s so good. And I’m like,

383
00:28:12,260 –> 00:28:16,380
yeah, I’m gonna get to it. And I never do. And I feel so bad. She’ll be like done with

384
00:28:16,380 –> 00:28:21,500
it in like three days. She’s like, did you watch it? I’m like, no, I didn’t. I’m sorry.

385
00:28:21,500 –> 00:28:24,340
I will eventually, I promise. Just not.

386
00:28:24,340 –> 00:28:25,540
D: There’s so much.

387
00:28:25,540 –> 00:28:29,820
V: It’s like between now and like three years from now, I will watch it.

388
00:28:29,820 –> 00:28:31,620
D: But I will watch it. That’s the thing.

389
00:28:31,620 –> 00:28:37,100
V: Right. It just may take me up to three years or more. But eventually I’ll get to it and

390
00:28:37,100 –> 00:28:40,460
I’ll call her back. Sometimes I do watch it and I’ll call her back. I’m like, oh, I watch

391
00:28:40,460 –> 00:28:44,780
that show. She’s like, what show? I’m like, you know, the one you recommended me. She’s

392
00:28:44,780 –> 00:28:48,900
like, I finished that one months ago. What are you talking about?

393
00:28:48,900 –> 00:28:51,700
D: Girl, don’t come to me with all that now.

394
00:28:51,700 –> 00:28:54,420
V: I don’t even remember these characters.

395
00:28:54,420 –> 00:28:59,460
D: I forgot you said you went to South Korea. What was that like? I’ve heard great things,

396
00:28:59,460 –> 00:29:04,260
but also whenever I’ve expressed to people who aren’t really into like the pop culture

397
00:29:04,260 –> 00:29:08,140
of it all, like, oh, I want to go to South Korea. And always the refrain is, aren’t they

398
00:29:08,140 –> 00:29:12,220
racist over there? V: Yeah. D: Which I’d like to respond with people racist over here.

399
00:29:12,220 –> 00:29:15,020
V: True. Everywhere, really.

400
00:29:15,020 –> 00:29:17,540
D: Right. Really.

401
00:29:17,540 –> 00:29:22,620
V: It was, I enjoyed it. So before we went to South Korea, I went to Tokyo and I feel like

402
00:29:22,620 –> 00:29:27,260
I really liked Tokyo. So South Korea was kind of like paled in comparison a little bit.

403
00:29:27,260 –> 00:29:31,300
And I felt really bad. But so I went to Seoul, Busan and Jeju Island.

404
00:29:31,300 –> 00:29:34,100
D: I want to go to Busan so bad. I hear great things.

405
00:29:34,100 –> 00:29:38,340
V: Busan was my favorite because we were right near the beach and it was just like, it felt

406
00:29:38,340 –> 00:29:42,860
very relaxing and just like there was a lot of fun stuff, a lot of artsy stuff. So that

407
00:29:42,860 –> 00:29:48,860
was my favorite. I actually didn’t encounter no hostile racism, I’ll say. It was one instance

408
00:29:48,860 –> 00:29:52,220
that was maybe, but I couldn’t tell if they were being racist or just rude. Cause it was

409
00:29:52,220 –> 00:29:56,140
like we were at a club and you know, I feel like clubs and like bouncers and like coat

410
00:29:56,140 –> 00:29:59,980
check people just can be kind of rude in general, no matter where you are. So I don’t know if

411
00:29:59,980 –> 00:30:04,100
that was what that was, if they were just being racist. And then when I, when we went

412
00:30:04,100 –> 00:30:09,220
to Busan, you know, we were more like in the country area. And so there was an older Korean

413
00:30:09,220 –> 00:30:16,060
person who tried to touch my hair. But– D: I hear that happens a lot. It’s wild to me. V: Yeah.

414
00:30:16,060 –> 00:30:20,660
But like there are at least, at least 60, maybe 70, which of course, you know, should

415
00:30:20,660 –> 00:30:25,420
still know better than to like touch strangers. But it was like, okay, you’re, you’re older.

416
00:30:25,420 –> 00:30:30,060
We’re like in the middle of like, cause we had to take a bus and we had like a layover.

417
00:30:30,060 –> 00:30:33,380
And so we’re like really in the middle of like nowhere. So I’m like, you may not have

418
00:30:33,380 –> 00:30:38,380
actually seen a Black person before. So like I’m like, I’m going to must move out way,

419
00:30:38,380 –> 00:30:45,080
but I won’t yell at you. But that was it. I feel like because so many Black people have

420
00:30:45,080 –> 00:30:49,060
moved there, because as you probably know, like a lot of people that teach English there

421
00:30:49,060 –> 00:30:52,940
or like do other jobs, some are just have moved there. I feel like at least in like

422
00:30:52,940 –> 00:30:57,020
Seoul, like they’re kind of used to us now. D: Yeah, it’s getting much more, I mean, it’s

423
00:30:57,020 –> 00:31:02,260
still very low percentages, but when you go from like 99% Korean to even like 97, I don’t

424
00:31:02,260 –> 00:31:06,940
know the statistics these days, it’s still a big shift and they have more, you know,

425
00:31:06,940 –> 00:31:11,980
multicultural people, Black people specifically in their media, right? Like Sam Okyere,

426
00:31:11,980 –> 00:31:16,820
which I mean, is he in the media anymore? We’re rooting for you Sam. V: I saw him on something

427
00:31:16,820 –> 00:31:22,020
recently and I was like, bro, you’re still out here. Let’s go Sam. D: He got back on some

428
00:31:22,020 –> 00:31:26,420
sort of show and I was like, Oh, look at him. It was so funny though, not to call him out

429
00:31:26,420 –> 00:31:30,660
his name. I don’t think we have any Korean listeners, so it’s fine. But he went on this

430
00:31:30,660 –> 00:31:35,460
show and again, he’s, you know, apologizing for what he did for people who don’t know

431
00:31:35,460 –> 00:31:42,180
and very, very brief, he was calling out blackface of these students. This was, I think 2020 that

432
00:31:42,180 –> 00:31:45,980
they had done in South Korea, somewhere in the country, a school of high schoolers, I

433
00:31:45,980 –> 00:31:50,500
think they’d done blackface. It’s a problem. He called it out. There was a big uproar.

434
00:31:50,500 –> 00:31:54,300
He had to apologize. He lost all his work, etc, etc. It was bad. V: I did not hear about

435
00:31:54,300 –> 00:31:59,900
any of that. So thank you for that little recap. D: Oh, it was, it was a lot. So that’s

436
00:31:59,900 –> 00:32:06,100
why he stopped working and he was on a lot of shows. He lost all of his work, but he

437
00:32:06,100 –> 00:32:10,020
recently was on something and in that show, he was again apologizing, like he had bowed

438
00:32:10,020 –> 00:32:13,140
down in front of the media, like all this stuff. But again, he was apologizing on the

439
00:32:13,140 –> 00:32:17,380
show. But a couple of weeks prior to that, or maybe a couple of months, he was on Jubilee

440
00:32:17,380 –> 00:32:22,180
and they have this show. It’s a YouTube channel, Jubilee. They have just a concept of a show

441
00:32:22,180 –> 00:32:27,480
where you stand in line if you agree, disagree, strongly disagree, and then like in the positive

442
00:32:27,480 –> 00:32:31,180
the other way. But with black people living in Japan, they did one with Black people living

443
00:32:31,180 –> 00:32:36,060
in India, maybe and then Black people living in South Korea. And he was on that episode

444
00:32:36,060 –> 00:32:40,020
and he was not that apologetic on that episode. Let me tell you. V: He’s like, I already lost

445
00:32:40,020 –> 00:32:44,660
my brand deals. Like– D: Yeah, he’s like, that was rough. Y’all didn’t have to do all that.

446
00:32:44,660 –> 00:32:48,540
But then he goes on the show later. He’s like, yes, I’m still so sorry. But he knows his

447
00:32:48,540 –> 00:32:53,420
audience. You know, shout out to him. Get the bag. I get it. V: Absolutely. D: But yeah, you’re

448
00:32:53,420 –> 00:32:57,820
seeing more Black models going back to people in the public perception, Black models in

449
00:32:57,820 –> 00:33:04,300
South Korea. Multicultural families are gaining in prevalence, too. So I have hope that things

450
00:33:04,300 –> 00:33:08,080
are changing over there. And it definitely does seem to be the case with the younger

451
00:33:08,080 –> 00:33:14,660
generation, which also gets me really hyped for this podcast. I think the points of connection

452
00:33:14,660 –> 00:33:18,340
have a lot of potential through our pop culture, have a lot of potential to do good works in

453
00:33:18,340 –> 00:33:23,060
these places where they’re trying to transition from such a like, homogenous outlook, I guess

454
00:33:23,060 –> 00:33:29,740
you could say. But also, I think we also have to do work as Americans not be so culturally

455
00:33:29,740 –> 00:33:34,580
imperialist about it? V: Yeah, definitely. You know, I never realized how quote unquote American

456
00:33:34,580 –> 00:33:39,380
I was until I went to Tokyo and South Korea. Because then you realize like, wow, I’m very

457
00:33:39,380 –> 00:33:47,220
loud. And it’s like, all these things. But also quickly, South Korea was the first place

458
00:33:47,220 –> 00:33:52,980
I saw Black mannequins. D: Really? V: Yeah, it was very early. So we’re like brown mannequins.

459
00:33:52,980 –> 00:33:57,300
And it was just like, wow, I’ve never I didn’t realize I didn’t see that before. And I was

460
00:33:57,300 –> 00:34:01,140
like, this is the first time I’ve seen it. And I’m in South Korea. D: That is so interesting.

461
00:34:01,140 –> 00:34:06,260
Yeah, I, I’m real fascinated to see where they go. Not South Korea, but a lot of these

462
00:34:06,260 –> 00:34:12,180
homogenous countries. Speaking of cultural exchange, you do content about Sailor Moon,

463
00:34:12,180 –> 00:34:17,400
which is an anime. And I was wondering what you think about how we as content creators

464
00:34:17,400 –> 00:34:23,940
can encourage healthy cultural exchange versus leaning into the negative or having listeners

465
00:34:23,940 –> 00:34:28,300
who might be new to the concepts of things like cultural appropriation, stuff like that.

466
00:34:28,300 –> 00:34:33,220
V: I mean, on the content creator side, I think making sure you’re doing research and just

467
00:34:33,220 –> 00:34:39,540
like checking yourself or checking like, with friends like, hey, this is this is bad. This

468
00:34:39,540 –> 00:34:43,420
is offensive. Should I say that I shouldn’t say this? Or, yeah, just having like people

469
00:34:43,420 –> 00:34:46,660
who can be real with you or just like being real with yourself and making sure that you

470
00:34:46,660 –> 00:34:51,220
know, you’re listening to other people who are part of those cultures. And I think for

471
00:34:51,220 –> 00:34:55,820
both ways, one of the things I try to do is like on Twitter, when people talk, I listen,

472
00:34:55,820 –> 00:34:58,660
you know, when they say something like, this is something that’s affecting me and here’s

473
00:34:58,660 –> 00:35:02,260
how it affects me. Like, I’m like, oh, I didn’t think about that. Or, oh, I didn’t know that

474
00:35:02,260 –> 00:35:05,740
because you know, I recognize my own ignorance of things. And I would hope that other people

475
00:35:05,740 –> 00:35:09,100
do the same thing and just, you know, be real with yourself about what you know and what

476
00:35:09,100 –> 00:35:13,460
you don’t know. Yeah. And even like, there’s some stuff I’m like, I don’t really understand

477
00:35:13,460 –> 00:35:16,260
why you’re struggling here. But if you say you’re struggling, I’m just going to believe

478
00:35:16,260 –> 00:35:21,420
you and go about my way. And believe that. And say, if this bothers you, I don’t understand

479
00:35:21,420 –> 00:35:25,380
why it bothers you. But if you say it bothers you, I won’t do it. Or, you know, I will stand

480
00:35:25,380 –> 00:35:30,060
behind you when we tell other people not to do it. Just being empathetic and compassionate

481
00:35:30,060 –> 00:35:33,700
and listening to others and checking yourself.

482
00:35:33,700 –> 00:35:37,780
D: Checking yourself is underrated. We all have to do it from time to time. And it can be

483
00:35:37,780 –> 00:35:41,820
uncomfortable, but I strive to do it. And I urge my listeners to strive to do it.

484
00:35:41,820 –> 00:35:46,020
V: Yeah, because I mean, as much as like we call out other cultures for cultural appropriation,

485
00:35:46,020 –> 00:35:48,620
I think Black people, I know that’s what I’m saying. Like with me checking myself, when

486
00:35:48,620 –> 00:35:51,700
I first got into Korean culture, I’m like, I had to check myself because you know, you

487
00:35:51,700 –> 00:35:56,260
can, it’s like, oh, Korea, Korea. And it’s like, wait, like, you don’t know everything.

488
00:35:56,260 –> 00:36:00,900
This isn’t your culture. D: Especially with K-dramas, again, like we said, it’s hard and fast. If

489
00:36:00,900 –> 00:36:05,500
y’all are listening at home or not into K-dramas, it’s hard and fast. And you envelop yourself

490
00:36:05,500 –> 00:36:10,700
in that world. It’s very easy to, you know, cross that line over into like, oh, wait,

491
00:36:10,700 –> 00:36:14,540
this is maybe, maybe I need to back off a little. What has been your proudest moment

492
00:36:14,540 –> 00:36:17,700
as a creator in fandom thus far?

493
00:36:17,700 –> 00:36:22,500
V: This is a hard week to ask me this because I just had like some good moments. I’ll say

494
00:36:22,500 –> 00:36:28,100
two at least. I think one having Saweetie on the podcast, I think that was just like

495
00:36:28,100 –> 00:36:31,820
really great. That was like when I started the podcast, I was like, if I can get Sasha

496
00:36:31,820 –> 00:36:37,020
Banks, who’s now Mercedes Monet and Saweetie and Lizzo on the show, those are like my dream

497
00:36:37,020 –> 00:36:42,900
guests. And just being able to do the podcast in general and seeing like it being received

498
00:36:42,900 –> 00:36:46,300
so well. Cause when I started it, I was just like, I think this is it. I think this will

499
00:36:46,300 –> 00:36:51,620
do good. And it’s just been like, oh, it was actually happening. Cool. Just recently at

500
00:36:51,620 –> 00:36:56,740
C2E2, they let me like kind of curate a space called the Sailor Moon Fan Clubhouse.

501
00:36:56,740 –> 00:37:00,140
So I was kind of able to like put together an area where like you could watch Sailor

502
00:37:00,140 –> 00:37:05,660
Moon and color. So there was like Sailor Moon coloring pages and like colored pencils. And

503
00:37:05,660 –> 00:37:09,220
I had like Sailor Moon Monopoly and some other Sailor Moon games and playing cards for people

504
00:37:09,220 –> 00:37:14,300
to play. And it was just like a chill little space and just very Sailor Moon themed. And

505
00:37:14,300 –> 00:37:17,540
those are the kinds of things I want to start doing more often. Cause I would love to just

506
00:37:17,540 –> 00:37:22,500
like gather more anime fans or gather, especially Sailor Moon fans, just kind of give us some

507
00:37:22,500 –> 00:37:26,800
fun activities to do every so often or fun like ways to get together. Cause every time

508
00:37:26,800 –> 00:37:31,100
like I talk to people online or even like get together for stuff in person, they’re

509
00:37:31,100 –> 00:37:34,980
like, oh, like we don’t have this or you know, it’d be great if we can do this more. And

510
00:37:34,980 –> 00:37:37,860
so I’m hoping that I can do that.

511
00:37:37,860 –> 00:37:42,380
D: What was it like seeing that space you imagine fully realized in person and actually happening

512
00:37:42,380 –> 00:37:43,860
and people enjoying it?

513
00:37:43,860 –> 00:37:48,740
It was so good. Like I think I go into most things with like very, not low expectations,

514
00:37:48,740 –> 00:37:55,580
but maybe like neutral expectations. And so when things are like going, wow, I’m like,

515
00:37:55,580 –> 00:37:59,180
oh wow, cool. It was just really nice seeing like people sit down and watch Sailor Moon

516
00:37:59,180 –> 00:38:02,660
and seeing people’s reaction whenever they saw that we were playing Sailor Moon in the

517
00:38:02,660 –> 00:38:05,500
area. Like people would stop and be like, they’re playing Sailor Moon. And like you

518
00:38:05,500 –> 00:38:10,780
could see people kind of become like little kids again. And I don’t know many things that

519
00:38:10,780 –> 00:38:14,100
can do that to people. So that was, that was really nice.

520
00:38:14,100 –> 00:38:18,660
D: That’s so neat. What are your hopes for the future of anime fandom or just general cross

521
00:38:18,660 –> 00:38:19,660
cultural fandom?

522
00:38:19,660 –> 00:38:24,980
V: I mean, maybe cool to see more, I guess more collaboration, more, I guess, understanding

523
00:38:24,980 –> 00:38:33,420
this in general, less hate and less ignorance in general. Yeah. I think people having more

524
00:38:33,420 –> 00:38:37,860
fun and just like getting together because we both enjoy the same things.

525
00:38:37,860 –> 00:38:38,860
D: Fandom should be fun.

526
00:38:38,860 –> 00:38:40,420
V: Fandom should be fun.

527
00:38:40,420 –> 00:38:41,420
D: I agree.

528
00:38:41,420 –> 00:38:44,980
V: That’s what I always tell people on the podcast. I’m like, it doesn’t matter. Because people

529
00:38:44,980 –> 00:38:47,940
like be apologetic about like, oh, I only watched the English one. I haven’t watched

530
00:38:47,940 –> 00:38:51,500
the Japanese one. Or I’ve only watched it recently like you. And I’m just like, it’s

531
00:38:51,500 –> 00:38:56,460
fine. Like as long as you’re a fan, that is the only requirement to be on the show. Like

532
00:38:56,460 –> 00:39:01,220
you don’t need to know like every voice actor or like the English dub versus the Japanese

533
00:39:01,220 –> 00:39:06,180
dub, or you’ve seen Crystal or read the manga. It’s like if you’ve only seen like a few episodes

534
00:39:06,180 –> 00:39:10,380
of the show and you really loved it or you liked it, like you’re a fan and that’s it.

535
00:39:10,380 –> 00:39:13,940
Less gatekeeping, more fun. That’s the takeaway.

536
00:39:13,940 –> 00:39:16,140
D: I love that.

537
00:39:16,140 –> 00:39:18,620
Is there anything else that you hoped we had more time for?

538
00:39:18,620 –> 00:39:23,980
V: I mean, we can talk more about Lee Minho or Gong Yoo.

539
00:39:23,980 –> 00:39:29,020
We might have to have a whole part two just to expound on the merits of Gong Yoo and his

540
00:39:29,020 –> 00:39:30,020
features.

541
00:39:30,020 –> 00:39:33,860
Yeah, but other than that, no, I don’t think so. This is great. This is so much fun.

542
00:39:33,860 –> 00:39:37,300
D: Thank you so much. I thank you so much for coming. Where can the good folks find you?

543
00:39:37,300 –> 00:39:40,180
I know you’re on hiatus, but plug what you can where you can. Go ahead

544
00:39:40,180 –> 00:39:45,700
Yeah, I mean, I still tweet. So you can find me on Twitter at Miss Old School. Same on

545
00:39:45,700 –> 00:39:53,460
Instagram. That’s old school with a K. So M-I-S-S-O-L-D-S-K-O-O-L. And you can also find me the podcast,

546
00:39:53,460 –> 00:39:56,980
Sailor Moon Fan Club, wherever you listen to podcasts, there are like over 100 episodes.

547
00:39:56,980 –> 00:40:02,740
So plenty to catch up on while I’m on hiatus. It will probably be returning later this year.

548
00:40:02,740 –> 00:40:07,500
And you can find that on Moonies Club on Twitter and Moonies underscore club on Instagram.

549
00:40:07,500 –> 00:40:11,580
And then I do TikToks every so often. So you can find me there on Sailor Victoria.

550
00:40:11,580 –> 00:40:16,060
D: Much respect about you doing TikToks. I cannot, but I have so much respect for those who do.

551
00:40:16,060 –> 00:40:21,420
V: I do one maybe every like four months. So don’t respect me too much.

552
00:40:21,420 –> 00:40:26,140
D: Okay, y’all. Well, thank you so much for listening. You can let me know what your first fandom

553
00:40:26,140 –> 00:40:31,660
is. I am curious. You can do that at Culture X Podcast on Twitter or Instagram, not TikTok. Sorry.

554
00:40:32,460 –> 00:40:37,260
And you can join us next week where we will be joined by Black Girl Seoul. We’ll be talking about

555
00:40:37,260 –> 00:40:57,100
K-dramas and being Black in K-drama fandom. Until then, keep it chill and keep it nerdy.