Shinichirō is one of Japan’s most critically acclaimed animated directors in the world. Beyond anime, he also influenced the realm of Lo-Fi hip hop.
The life of Watanabe
Shinichirō Watanabe was born in 1965 in Kyoto, Japan, thousands of miles away from the birthplace of hip hop. He wasn’t a musician; Watanabe operated in the world of Japanese anime — completely separate from the gritty atmosphere of 90s rap. Yet he played a major hand in shaping one of its more notable sub-genres, lo-fi Hip Hop, with two of his shows: Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo..
As a director and animator, Watanabe was known for his inventive approach to worldbuilding. When asked about the thought process behind Cowboy Bebop, Watanabe said, “I wanted to create something that had never been seen. You’ve seen a lot in the past, and find things you like. These days, many people try to create what they’ve seen. That’s not what I wanted to do. I probably included what I’ve seen and liked… but the overall picture will become something totally new.” (IMDB)
Oddly, this vision parallels Hip Hop in a lot of ways — using the past to create something new. Watanabe’s work straddles the line; both extremely inventive and profoundly nostalgic. He is widely regarded as one of Japan’s greatest animation directors.
Lo-Fi Anime: Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo
The world of Cowboy Bebop lies in the future, but clings to the past. When on their spacecraft, the crew stop in rural shantytowns ripped straight from old westerns while jazz plays in the background. Rather than bringing us to the future, Bebop brings the past into the space age. Likewise, lo-fi brings old school hip hop instrumentals into the social media age.
Samurai Champloo, released six years later, is just as ambitious: the creator fuses the worlds of traditional hip hop and 17th century Japan. Samurai sword fighters exist alongside beatboxers and graffiti taggers.
Music and score is as central as the plot itself. Watanabe wanted the score, in conjunction with the setting, to communicate the themes of the show. While Bebop integrated jazz, Samurai Champloo needed a soundtrack that would convey the mellow anachronism of the show. Something modern, but incredibly nostalgic. He enlisted Nujabes, the up and coming music producer from Tokyo, alongside Fat Jon, FORCE OF NATURE, and Tsutchie to create the original soundtrack.
Nujabes: A Lo-Fi Legend
Born on February 7, in Tokyo, Jun Seba, like many other hip hop icons, would remain low-key throughout his life. Shing02, a Japanese-American rapper, describes him as a quiet, creative soul: “He was very calm and introverted in a way. But he was very particular, I would say, and very meticulous with his process.”
Above all though, he loved music, particularly hip hop. He owned two record shops, filled with records from the United States. “At the core, I think he was like any other person, really fun-loving. Like, always looking for something to do.” This creative impulse led him to making music of his own.
Nujabes’ music has strong roots to the past. Like Dilla, and others, Nujabes sampled heavily from older generations of African American music: funk, soul, jazz. However, his style was more than a mellow revamp of old sounds. While boom bap aimed to infuse new energy into classic instrumentals, lo-fi lets you sit in the nostalgia. He simulated the low fidelity recording quality of 80s punk rock to play up the nostalgia. The music is atmospheric, slow paced, heartwarming yet somewhat sad. It is the melodies of deep reflection and bittersweet memories.
He would go on to drop three solo studio albums, as well as a host of music with other artists. Yet, his most influential project was his work on Watanabe’s Samurai Champloo. The original soundtrack, Departure, was critically acclaimed. Global audiences were exposed to Nujabes’ unique sound — with a hit anime attached to it. Nujabes became the face of a new, distinguishable subculture that went by many names: chillhop, jazz-hop and, most enduringly, lo-fi hip hop.
Nostalgia and the “Low Fidelity” Vibe
As much as Champloo and its soundtrack shaped the aesthetic of lo-fi, Watanabe’s debut production, Cowboy Bebop, established its thematic framework. Widely regarded as one of the best shows ever, the space opera follows three bounty hunters trying to escape their complicated histories.
The most powerful emotion undergirding the series is nostalgia, and reflection. Even as the crew zoom through space and chase after intergalactic criminals, they can’t seem to let go of their pasts. All they can do is sit with their sadness and live to see another day. Bebop is a series of flashbacks, bittersweet memories and existential malaise.
This moody atmosphere characterizes contemporary lo-fi. It’s no wonder why there are so many Bebop-inspired AMVs all over the internet.
With a distinct sound, a unique set of visuals, and emotional associations, lo-fi became its own subculture. Shinichirō Watanabe helped define what the genre is today.
The Rise of Lo-Fi Hip Hop
Today, fans of hip hop and Watanabe’s work are responsible for lo-fi’s resurgence. Ambient chill hop mixes, overlaid by vintage anime clips, are a staple in Internet culture. Just ask the studious anime girl. Youtube, with its looser licensing restrictions on music, provided the perfect place for these videos to find a home.
Their popularity makes too much sense: 24 hour streams that transition smoothly between tracks. All you have to do is hit play. It’s perfect for the social media age. For stressed students, lonely vibers and millenials, these mixes bring us back to simpler times — to the days we’d sit in front of our TV sets and watch Toonami.
Yet, the nostalgia goes further back than 2004. The hip hop of b-boys and graffiti in Samurai Champloo is not the hip hop I or any of my peers grew up with. The music tells of a time in Black music most of us weren’t alive for: Dilla-esque beats, soul samples, jazz, funk, house. Lo-fi evokes more than nostalgia, but a strong, melancholic longing for a bygone era. That is why this resonates with us so much. We vibe to jazzy beats and fuzzy animation, reminiscing to a time we weren’t alive for.
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