If you were a teenager in the early 2000’s glued to the TV on Saturday night, chances are that you were watching Adult Swim on Cartoon Network; And with that, you were watching a new generation of shows that are now woven into the fabric of today’s biggest cultural moments called Anime.

For those unaware, Anime is a style of Japanese animation that’s given birth to some of the most popular cartoon franchises of all time, including Dragonball, and Pokemon, both of which, have maintained their relevance culturally for over 3 decades.

Anime fandom runs deep, y’all.

And, Adult Swim is the reason it has a stronghold in the U.S.

So, you know the drill… We’re gonna rap about Anime’s impact on culture and of course pepper in some hip-hop insights along the way.

With that said, before talking about Adult Swim it’s important to start the with OG of Anime:

Akira

The story itself was created by Katsuhiro Otomo, and upon asking viewers what they think of Akira’s plot, many will say they find it… jarring.

Regardless, Akira is considered one of the best Animes of all time because it had a profound impact on the design aesthetics of future Animes that premiered in the U.S., like Dragon Ball Z. It even impacted the art direction of hip-hop projects for rappers like Logic and Kanye West.

Specifically, with Kanye, he’s never been shy about his affinity for Japanese art. In fact, elements from Akira are seen throughout the video for the record “Stronger,” – the lead single from his 3rd album, Graduation.

Look below at the video, you’ll notice that ‘Stronger’ takes place in Japan and includes plot elements from Akira – a move Kanye made to effectively pay homage to a style that raised him. (He even styled the artwork for Graduation after Japanese Animation, working with Takashi Murakami to bring the vision full circle.

Cartoon Network & Hip-hop Walk Into a Bar…

In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, on the heels of the Anime explosion that started with Akira, the most pivotal moment in Anime culture was the birth of Toonami on Adult Swim.

Appearing on Cartoon Network, Toonami/Adult Swim showcased a block of Animes from 8pm-12am consisting of classic Japanese cartoons that were translated into English for a U.S. audience to consume.

It was during the Toonami era that U.S. TV watchers were first introduced to shows like Dragonball Z, Sailor Moon, Lupin the Third, and Gundam Wing. Children everywhere, especially Black children, identified with the storytelling devices, the animation style, and overall coolness that anime brought.

Black youth around the country found a world filled with stories reflecting the struggle many of them face in America. Through characters like Goku, they saw a good-hearted protagonist who prevailed against every odd, including the genocide of his race – the Saiyans (and he also looked cool while defending the squad, too.)

With the rise of these stories, along with the style of animation, came a slew of new shows that influenced a generation of Black youth. The most prevalent of which is Aaron McGruders’ 2005 show: The Boondocks.

The Boondocks proved to be the perfect meld of some of Hip-hop’s key influences, including Kung-Fu (which you’ll see in the clip below), and though the show ended after season 4, it’s still widely respected for its social commentary and its style of animation; Bringing anime to a mainstream audience that otherwise wouldn’t know much about the artform.

Adult Swim Evolved & Led To The Birth of Lofi

With Toonami on Adult Swim growing in popularity they became a cultural force to be reckoned with; introducing fans to Japanese culture and breaking underground rap to new audiences along the way. 1

More to the point, with Jason DeMarco at the helm of Toonami, he began to reach out to underground rap labels like Brainfeeder who could help give Adult Swim a budget-friendly soundtrack. Considering that many anime fans, even in Japan, were teenagers discovering Hip-hop for the first time, this planted the seeds for a new movement.

The fruits of this embrace were first seen by viewers via one of the most revered Anime’s ever: Samurai Champloo

Elements of Hip-hop culture can be seen throughout the series because of who scored the soundtrack — a Japanese producer named Nujabes who, along with his U.S. counterpart J. Dilla, is widely credited as being the father of a new sub-genre of hip-hop music characterized by jazzy instrumentals, and gritty low fidelity drums; a genre we now know as Lofi. 2

Music producers heavily embrace the style of Lofi now, and even pay homage to Nujabes by syncing clips of the shows he worked on with their beats to share across social media.

The style became so popular to 24/7 radio stations appeared on YouTube like Chillhop & College Music; both of which play nothing but Lofi music from underground artists.

Even on TikTok Adult Swim recently trended because producer Vano 3000 sparked a trend using an original instrumental and the Adult Swim logo further blending the worlds of anime and hip-hop.3

The State of Anime in Culture Now

Over the years, Anime fandom has grown into online groups, in person festivals and much more. Toonami itself has gone through a few iterations, and is firmly considered a part of Adult Swim.

Adult Swim is currently hub for alternative hiphop and through its programming you can regularly hear hip-hop songs from underground artists being paired with the witty Adult Swim backgrounds.

Netflix recently aired a mini-series entitled Yasuke – an anime centered on an African samurai living in Feudal Japan. And of course it was scored by none other than the Brainfeeder crew.

On top of Yasuke, Animes like Naruto, My Hero Academia, and Demon Slayer are ushering in a new generation of fandom, and musicians across the culture (like Meg Thee Stallion) are still referencing Anime in their music, artwork, and much more.

Don’t be surprised if you see me pop up with some anime references in my other work soon… Just saying.

Peace.