Rap of Longinus

This is an image of Asuka from Evangelion and Nadia from Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water. Both are characters from works directed by Hideaki Anno. Their personalities are quite similar: proud, impulsive, brilliant.

Nadia is a relatively rare Black character in Japanese anime. In the past, a popular Black character from a Japanese children’s book sparked controversy for being considered racially insensitive. For various reasons, Black characters are still rarely depicted in Japanese media. But Nadia was the first anime character I ever fell in love with.

"That is why I hope more anime featuring Black characters will be created in the future."

I also believe that people can naturally connect with one another, even across cultural differences. For example, when a Black creator makes content inspired by anime, or when an Asian person like me makes hip-hop. Art, at its most sincere, can move beyond surface distinctions. It becomes a force that passes through the unseen barriers between us: of nation, of tradition, of belief. Like the AT Fields in Evangelion, these boundaries are not immutable. When a work truly resonates, the field flickers.

In the same way, the Spear of Longinus has the power to pierce even an absolute AT Field, depending on how it is used. Its true power may lie not in destruction or transcendence, but in its capacity to preserve difference while allowing understanding. Not to collapse individuality into uniformity, but to touch the other without erasing the self. Perhaps this, and not god-slaying or human unification, is the purpose for which the spear descended to Earth.

Next week, I will release a new single from Xinlisupreme. I hope you will receive it with open ears, like the Spear of Longinus piercing through the barriers of the AT Field, free from the usual rules of music and open to new connections beyond walls.

And just like early hip-hop included dance and graphic art, Anime Hop isn't just about music. It includes the cover art, the words I post, and your comments too. I want to repaint how the world hears, sees, and thinks, and change the world.

I'm releasing the third single from the upgraded Anime Hop, “Rap of Longinus” It'll be on Spotify, Apple, TikTok, and more by tomorrow or the next day. The English lyrics are posted in the comments section on Instagram.

Ten years ago, I saw music fans and hip-hop critics look down on Vocaloid rap, saying it wasn’t “real rap.” That day, I decided I would one day make a fake rap that would make them angry.

A year and a half ago, seeing a kind Korean Xinlisupreme fan gave me the idea to create anime-hero rap. "Rap of Longinus" was created as a prototype for Anime Hop. That’s why it uses paid Evangelion-style samples instead of voice actors. After finishing it, I shared the concept and lyrics with voice actors and asked them to record. That’s how Anime Hop began.

If you know friends who watch anime in Japanese, please recommend “Rap of Longinus.” Also, If you have Gangsta friends who are open-minded about fake rap, please tell them it’s a gift from Pulse Demon and share it with them.

Ten years ago, the attacks on “I Am Not Shinzo Abe” came mostly from Japanese labels, musicians, and music fans. They wanted to own Xinlisupreme like a fashion accessory. Xinlisupreme was never allowed to outshine its owner in music and words.

Seeing some music fans direct hate toward Anime Hop and my words, Anime Hop doesn’t feel like a follow up to today’s I Am Not Shinzo Abe. Feels like a hip-hop version of "I Am Not Shinzo Abe", the track that shook the music scene ten years ago.

Xinlisupreme is the most taboo name in music. I respect Longinus Recordings for reissuing it. Antropoceno’s Natureza Morta was also a new kind of masterpiece. I hope more people discover the beautiful music of Parannoul.

The music scene I've been seeing has been a Dirty World.

Even if Anime Hop is praised ten years from now, after it's no longer taboo, it won’t be the real Anime Hop. Please listen to “Rap of Longinus,” the Beautiful World as imagined by Xinlisupreme, right now, in the noise where praise and hate collide.

But I love you. And I love you too. Let’s ride on to a new world.

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