Black Female Cartoon Character Anxious Avery Shines In New Show
Introducing Avery, one of the newest black female cartoon characters in indie animation! She is the lead character of the original animated series, Anxious Avery, created by Hayley Armstrong and Charlotte Moore.
About Anxious Avery
The anxious, introverted, lovable, relatable protagonist, Avery, is a young adult African American woman who spends her days navigating daily anxiety and her subconscious fears. Every night when she sleeps, those fears come to life in over-the-top (hilarious) nightmares.
Who Is Anxious Avery?
Avery is a dark skinned young adult Black woman, sporting a huge afro, and her wardrobe is tomboy chic. She may have 99 problems, but her personal style ain’t one.
In the show, Avery deals with everyday anxiety-inducing situations like dreading making phone calls, replaying past embarrassing moments, dealing with health anxiety, and having to turn down party invitations from relentless friends. As a prominent Black female animated character, she brings representation, a focus on mental health, and nerdy Black girl energy to the animated web series.
You can watch new episodes of Anxious Avery on Youtube, and the official Anxious Avery Episode Page. New episodes drop Mondays at 8pm.
Anxious Avery: A Cartoon With A Black Female Lead
On The Lack Of Black Girl Representation In Animation
Co-creator of Anxious Avery, Hayley Armstrong says, “growing up, Black girl lead characters in cartoons were nonexistent. Sure, there were characters many of us loved to watch like Susie Carmichael from The Rugrats or Jodie Landon from Daria, and Black girl characters like those were beautifully created, depicted and conceived, but they were very much side characters who only showed up occasionally. Over time, Black girl cartoon representation did improve, but only slightly. In my later youth, Penny Proud from The Proud Family was introduced. She was the lead character of a very Black American show, and that was beautiful to see, but there was still work to be done. As much as I love Penny Proud, she’s a very fair skinned Black girl character, and many of the darker skinned characters on the show like her best friend, Dijonay Jones, were made the joke of the series, to Penny’s… “ideal,” for lack of a better word. I knew we could do better for ALL Black girls, not just those viewed as more palatable to white audiences. Then, as an adult, I got to witness the first ever Black Disney Princess! In 2D animation, Princess Tiana, in The Princess and the Frog. She was everything I ever wanted to see in a Disney princess as a child. She had dark skin, a beautiful voice, a moving backstory, and got to have her happy ending! But, again… this was not perfection. Tiana spent a good 75 percent of the film being a frog. So we had this beautiful character design, this gorgeous Black princess, only to cut her from the majority of her own film! …These depictions motivated me to co-create and write Anxious Avery. I hope someday, that Avery gets to sit among these iconic Black female characters, to show that Black girls and women have a place in leading animation. I want to help show that they can be more than sidekicks, tokens, that they can lead their own stories, that they can and SHOULD be written and voiced by Black Women, that they don’t have to suffer erasure or be viewed as disposable, or unnecessary. I want Black girls to see that we’re out here creating characters that look and sound like them, in the hopes that they too (if they want) can be a part of the beautiful world of animation, without having to squint to see themselves or fight for seats at the table.”
Why Fans Love Anxious Avery
From her Daria-esque low key, quiet-but-sarcastic energy to her moments of adorkable Black girl geekiness, Anxious Avery is quickly becoming a favorite among fans looking for unique, quirky Black female cartoon characters in animation. Whether she is trying to find peace and quiet in a talkative world or fighting her intrusive thoughts, she exudes relatability, humor, and honesty.
Watch Anxious Avery On Tik Tok
