Young Nigerians on TikTok are re-editing popular Japanese anime fight scenes with scores from Afropop and Afrobeat.
Shows including Naruto, Demon Slayer, and Jujutsu Kaisen have been injected with the “dense percussion and vocal urgency of Nigerian music,” reported Tiléwa Kazeem for Native Mag. It began as a niche editing style but has evolved into a growing internet subculture that has sparked a joyful cultural exchange.
“Anime fans arrive for the fight scenes, stay for the music, and then leave with the name of a Fuji artist or Afropop record they might never otherwise have encountered,” wrote Kazeem.