Rapper-producer Che Lingo names his favorite anime
Che Lingo, the British rapper and musician, is an avid anime lover. In addition to collaborating with Crunchyroll on the Fall 2023 anime trailer, Che Lingo also composed and performed several songs Jujutsu Kaisen‘s first season.
Polygon recently had the opportunity to connect with Lingo, so we had to ask: What was your first favorite anime, and what is your favorite anime now?
My Favorite Anime is Polygon’s column dedicated to collecting the stories of the world’s biggest celebrity anime fans, charting a path from their first introduction to Japanese animation to the shows and films they love today. This is what Che Lingo had to say.
What was your first favorite anime?
Obituary is easily one of the most famous and iconic anime of the late 2000s. Based on Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s 2003 manga, the series follows the story of Light Yagami, an intelligent but disaffected high school student who longs for a world where his personal idea of ’justice’ is maintained.
After discovering the Death Note, a notebook with the power to kill anyone whose name is on its pages, Light goes on a megalomaniacal killing spree, acting as judge, jury and executioner for anyone he deems unworthy of life. When the rash of unexplained deaths sparks an international manhunt for the person responsible, Light must evade his would-be captors with the help of Ryuk, a Reaper-like supernatural entity known as a shinigami and the previous owner of the Death Note.
A psychological mystery thriller with a Faustian supernatural twist, both the original Obituary manga and its anime adaptation enjoyed enormous popularity and commercial success, with the manga having sold over 30 million copies as of April 2015. Obituary has spawned multiple adaptations and spin-offs since the end of the anime, including five Japanese feature films and a 2017 American adaptation starring Nat Wolff, LaKeith Stanfield and Willem Dafoe.
What is your favorite anime now?
Since it premiered in 2020 Jujutsu Kaisen has quickly become one of the most popular supernatural shonen action anime in recent memory. Based on the ongoing manga series by Gege Akutami, the show follows the story of Yuji Itadori, a Japanese high school student with unnatural physical strength who inadvertently finds himself drawn into an ongoing war between humanity and supernatural entities known as ‘Curses’. After accidentally swallowing one of the mummified fingers of Ryomen Sukuna, perhaps the most powerful cursed spirit to ever exist, he becomes the living vessel of Sukuna’s consciousness, allowing him to wreak havoc within Yuji’s body.
Fortunately, Yuji is knocked out by Satoru Gojo, one of the most powerful Jujutsu wizards in Tokyo and a teacher at Tokyo Prefectural Jujutsu High School. Gojo saves Yuji’s life from certain execution, takes him under his wing and teaches him how to become a Jujutsu wizard himself so he can use his newfound powers in the fight to save humanity.
Both the manga and anime have been hugely successful, with over 90 million copies of the manga sold as of January 2024 and the anime adaptation winning several awards, including Anime of the Year at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards in 2021 and 2024. Jiujutsu Kaisen 0a feature-length prequel to the anime based on Akutami’s original manga, became one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of 2021, grossing $196.2 million worldwide.
Obituary is available to stream on Hulu, Netflix, Peacock and Prime Video. Jujutsu Kaisen is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu and Netflix.