Juice WRLD’s Love Of Anime Was Carefully Incorporated In His Posthumous Projects

Juice WRLD is regarded as one of the most influential artists of his generation. Known for his iconic and vivid music videos Juice WRLD set a precedent for many Hip-Hop artists. His music lives on even after his death as his loved ones try to make most of it.

Juice WRLD’s first posthumous album, Legends Never Die (2020), matched chart records for most successful posthumous debut and for most U.S. top-ten entries from one album. His second posthumous album, Fighting Demons (2021) debuted No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The album accompanied the documentary film Juice Wrld: Into the Abyss, and contained the US top 20 single “Already Dead.”

Juice WRLD’s manager Lil Bibby and videographer Steve Cannon sat down with Vevo for their Footnotes series. The duo provided context behind the artistic choices for Juice’s anime-inspired “Already Dead” video. The Cannon-directed music video arrived in January on the heels of 2021’s Fighting Demons .

Steve Cannon mentioned that he wanted to incorporate the late Chicago rapper’s love for anime shows such as Naruto and Demon Slayer into the visuals. “Demon Slayer and Naruto were big inspirations for this video,” Cannon added. Steve also mentioned animes like Dragonball Super as a source of inspiration.

The video for “Already Dead” not only drew inspiration from popular anime shows but also showcased Juice WRLD’s love for Japanese culture through the use of a Katana’s. In one scene, Juice can be seen holding a sword with a cherry blossom tree in the background, which is a nod to Japanese samurai culture. The use of a katana in the video is not only visually striking but also serves as a representation of Juice’s fighting spirit and determination to succeed in the music industry. The incorporation of these elements not only pays homage to Juice’s love for anime and Japanese culture but also helps to elevate the artistic vision of the video.

There is of course a central theme surrounding mental health used in the music video. It represents a battle with the mental health struggles that Juice WRLD dealt with on the regular. “I added the classic anime flashback in the middle of the video when Juice is being overwhelmed in combat by his evil self.” the music video director said. Watch the Footnotes episode and the official “Already Dead” music video below for more insight.

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