Rap legends Wu-Tang Clan wielded razor-sharp lyrics like swords, cutting a new path for hip-hop in the early 1990s. Leading the way was founder RZA, whose samples from classic kung fu films hit as hard musically as their on-screen martial arts masters.

“Bruce Lee was a hero. Sonny Chiba was a hero,” he tells us, lauding the stars of fist-fighting flicks Enter the Dragon and The Street Fighter. “These are the movies that my generation would cut school to hide in the movie theatre and watch all day.”

At the same time the rapper-producer was starting to weave together Wu-Tang Clan’s DNA from films such as Shaolin and Wu Tang and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin, he found himself “magnetised” by other visually inventive, action-packed stories making their way to American screens in Japanese animated series.

“Anime was an extension of that; Fist of the North Star is basically Bruce Lee and Sonny Chiba mixed together,” he says. “In the late ’80s, early ’90s, I was seeking out anime titles just like I was seeking out kung fu titles on VHS.”

In the same way his references to “Shaolin shadow boxing”, “immensely strong” Toad style and “Wu-Tang sword style” helped introduce a new generation to kung fu, RZA’s love of anime would play a part in bringing anime to an even wider audience, from tributes in tracks with fellow Wu-Tang members to his soundtrack for series Afro Samurai.

“When Wu-Tang made its emergence, we revealed that

In the 30-plus years since Wu-Tang brought “da Ruckus”, anime has only gotten bigger. Life-changing series are also easier than ever to find; gone are the days RZA remembers of channel-surfing and VHS tapes passed between friends. With decades of anime gems to discover whether you’re taking your first steps or continuing your forever watch list, we asked RZA to pick out some of his must-see anime available to stream on Crunchyroll.

“One of the greatest anime ever created,” RZA calls the hard-hitting adventures of Kenshiro, who roams a post-apocalyptic Earth devastated by nuclear war and uses the deadly martial art Hokuto Shinken to destroy his opponents by striking pressure points.

“Fist of the North Star was incredible because it was a family war,” RZA says. “That big fight with Raoh and Kenshiro, that was a highlight of the series. Waiting for that moment and then seeing it happen.”

The hip-hop producer’s love of Fist of the North Star became a musical inspiration, too; listen for Wu-Tang member Method Man yelling “I’m the true Fist of the North Star!” in “P.L.O. Style” from his RZA–produced debut album Tical.

For all the aliens, androids, planet-destroying battles and magical wishes, Akira Toriyama’s landmark series Dragon Ball is ultimately about the power of family and friends. Perhaps no wonder RZA saw his own loved ones bond while watching Goku, Gohan and the other Z Fighters team up to save the Earth.

“Dragon Ball Z probably had the biggest impact on my family,” he says. “That was the one that every family member got kinda attached to.”

RZA highlights the Frieza Saga and Goku’s iconic first transformation into a Super Saiyan on Planet Namek as especially unforgettable moments he shared with his family: “All of that was a family affair.”

This mid-noughties anime remakes late ’80s OVA series – and RZA favourite – The Guyver: Bio-Booster Armor into a more expansive, faithful adaptation of Yoshiki Takaya’s original science-fiction manga.

“I love the Guyver series,” RZA enthuses, pointing out the eerie prescience of a world where the line between organic life and technology is blurred.

“I feel like we’re headed there now, bro. With the cyborg AI power of mutating silicon and carbon life together to form some metamorphosis of an entity in a creature.”

RZA has one word to describe the series that swept Crunchyroll’s 2024 Anime Awards, winning Anime of the Year, Best Director, Best Cinematography and more: “Dope!”

The punchy shonen follows student Yuji Itadori as he discovers a world of Jujutsu sorcerers and curses after accidentally becoming host to the malevolent King of Curses, Sukuna. With the help of eccentric mentor Satoru Gojo, wielder of the all-powerful Domain Expansion technique Infinite Void, Yuji sets out to master his own cursed techniques and help exorcise Sukuna – even if it costs his life.

RZA praises Jujutsu Kaisen as one of his favourite anime of recent years, revealing it was “one of those masterpieces that my son turned me onto.”

RZA fused together soul tunes, spaghetti-western guitars and verses from iconic rappers including Big Daddy Kane, Talib Kweli and Wu-Tang’s GZA while scoring the Emmy–winning miniseries based on Takashi “Bob” Okazaki’s music-inspired tale of a son seeking revenge for his father’s death.

“It was one of my favourite things to do because it gave me a chance to look at the father and the son as two separate generations,” RZA says. “I pitched to Bob: ‘I wanna use music to travel through time.’

“When the father steps on the scene, you kind of get that Shaft type of vibe. And when Justice steps on the scene, you get that lead-guitar rock vibe. And then when Afro Samurai steps in, you get Q-Tip rapping and all the hip-hop vibe.”

Alongside Samuel L. Jackson’s Afro and Lucy Liu’s Lady Sio, you can hear RZA’s own anime voice acting debut as DJ in the film sequel Afro Samurai: Resurrection.