When worlds collide: Hip-Hop & Anime
- Kishoy
- Aug 17, 2017
- 2 min read
When most people think of anime, the first thing that comes to mind is cute characters, school girls, and j-rock theme songs. While there is nothing wrong with this perception of anime it does in a way support a monoculture within the anime community. One anime that completely broke that vanilla perception of anime for me was Samurai Champloo. Within the first few seconds of the opening credits, hip-hop music can be heard playing along side modernized Edo period styled animation. Oh, and the hip-hop influence doesn't just stop in the opening credits. In fact, hip-hop is seamlessly integrated into the narrative and adds a unique dimension to the story as it progresses. Samurai Champloo opened up the world for hip-hop infused anime for me and left me craving more of this sub genre.
(Photo credit: Funimation)
Anime like Samurai Champloo, Afro Samurai, and the upcoming Tephlon Funk are important, not only because I'm a fan of both vastly different cultures, but because it invites people that would otherwise shy away from giving anime or hip-hop a try, a chance to experience it. Anime that melds together aspects of different cultures brings us closer to understanding people with different interest other than our own by exposing the unfamiliar in a familiar format. They allow us to see the similarities among the various cultural groups and look past those bland stereotypes. While Hip Hop anime is still a lesser known sub-genre, it has a tremendous role in tearing down cultural walls. If you haven't tried hip -hop anime yet then give it a shot.
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