In Atlanta, there’s only one place you can get late night sushi on a Thursday: Trap Sushi. Fusing Atlanta and Japanese pop culture, Trap Sushi builds community around food, music, anime, and cosplay. Founders speak on the due diligence it takes to appreciate (and not appropriate) culture.
Artist Tolden Williams, aka Troop Brand, grew up in Mississippi loving Dragon Ball Z. Stephanie Lindo, an environmental scientist, first learned about manga and anime from her Vietnamese best friends. When Tolden discovered Stephanie art online, their shared love for Japanese culture fueled a project that has now become centerstage of Atlanta’s growing cosplay community.
Many Black cosplayers are on the rise–and so is racism. This exists in anime communities too, where being Black means you cannot play a certain character. Trap Sushi has become the place where people of all backgrounds feel safe and accepted to tap into cosplay, anime, and community in general.
Director
Joy Jihyun Jeong
Producers
Joy Jihyun Jeong
Director of Photography
Joseph East / Brave Voices Media
Editor
Haruka Motohashi
Editor-In-Chief
Keshia Hannam
Head of Production
Stephanie Tangkilisan
Post Supervisor
Syarifah Sa'diyah
Associate Producer
Ella Chi
Color
Nadya Sabrina
Sound
David Alba
Special Thanks
Chef Doni Lukman
Monday Night Brewing
Wagaya Groceries
Additional Music by
Telephone Hype by Son of Augustine
Cut to the Chase by Lalinea
Late to the Party by FVMELESS
Additional Archival Material
Getty Images
Simple png from pngtree.com
Motion Array
Artist Tolden Williams, aka Troop Brand, grew up in Mississippi loving Dragon Ball Z. Stephanie Lindo, an environmental scientist, first learned about manga and anime from her Vietnamese best friends. When Tolden discovered Stephanie art online, their shared love for Japanese culture fueled a project that has now become centerstage of Atlanta’s growing cosplay community.
Many Black cosplayers are on the rise–and so is racism. This exists in anime communities too, where being Black means you cannot play a certain character. Trap Sushi has become the place where people of all backgrounds feel safe and accepted to tap into cosplay, anime, and community in general.
Director
Joy Jihyun Jeong
Producers
Joy Jihyun Jeong
Director of Photography
Joseph East / Brave Voices Media
Editor
Haruka Motohashi
Editor-In-Chief
Keshia Hannam
Head of Production
Stephanie Tangkilisan
Post Supervisor
Syarifah Sa'diyah
Associate Producer
Ella Chi
Color
Nadya Sabrina
Sound
David Alba
Special Thanks
Chef Doni Lukman
Monday Night Brewing
Wagaya Groceries
Additional Music by
Telephone Hype by Son of Augustine
Cut to the Chase by Lalinea
Late to the Party by FVMELESS
Additional Archival Material
Getty Images
Simple png from pngtree.com
Motion Array
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 I mean, trap sushi is a vibe for sure.
00:03 It's really just fusing Atlanta pop culture
00:06 with Japanese pop culture through food, through music,
00:11 through anime, through cosplay.
00:13 I do feel like it provides that sense of community
00:19 because it really is for everybody.
00:21 I think it's really all in the details.
00:24 I really think sets our event apart from other ones.
00:28 So with doing trap sushi,
00:30 I know that there is a fine line
00:32 between appreciation and appropriation.
00:34 I don't ever want it to get to a point
00:36 where we're just throwing things together
00:38 and you're walking around and you're like,
00:39 why is there Chinese New Year stuff?
00:41 Google is free.
00:42 It's not hard to just open up your phone
00:44 and do some research.
00:45 (upbeat music)
00:48 (upbeat music)
00:50 [BLANK_AUDIO]