Yuki Chiba‘s ‘Shinukaikiruka’ (‘Dead or Alive’) has been met with a wave of criticism from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure fans since it debuted as the ending theme for STEEL BALL RUN on September 25th. The rapper’s first song written for an anime, it is also the first original song to be used as a regular ending for the series, which has otherwise relied on licensed Western tracks.
By the following day, more than 187,000 posts about the ending had been shared on X. In between the complaints, fans in Japan and abroad have been posting edits that set the ending animation to songs they felt suited the race better, from SOUL’d OUT’s ‘COZMIC TRAVEL’ to America’s ‘A Horse With No Name’. A meme of series protagonist Johnny Joestar, his eyes edited into the red Sharingan from NARUTO and captioned “netflix change the outro.”, has been posted repeatedly online, including in replies to Warner Music Japan’s own release announcement.
Chiba’s official music video for the song premiered on YouTube on September 25th. It sets the rapper against Western-style horseback scenes shot with a local crew in Iceland, cut together with animation directed by Yoshiki Imazu. Its credits also list an AI artist at CG studio Antiantiart.
In the video’s comment section, Japanese and English-speaking fans have kept up the mockery, and one of the most-liked comments compares a line describing a horse by its horsepower to the Japanese redundancy zutsu ga itai, or “my headache hurts”. Many simply call the song uncool and too low-energy for JoJo, while others dismiss the horse neighs dropped into its beat as a token gesture to the race. A smaller group has defended the song as typical of Chiba’s style, citing the success of his Megan Thee Stallion collaboration ‘Mamushi’, but has been largely drowned out in the replies.
Overseas, many fans have also taken issue with the song’s producer. ‘Shinukaikiruka’ was composed and produced by Lukasz Gottwald, better known as Dr. Luke, whose past work includes hits for Katy Perry and Doja Cat.
In 2014, Kesha sued Gottwald alleging he had drugged and sexually assaulted her, allegations he has always denied, and he countersued for defamation. A New York judge ruled in 2020 that a text Kesha sent to Lady Gaga, claiming he had raped Katy Perry, was defamatory after Perry denied it. The pair settled the remaining defamation case in June 2023, a month before it was due at trial. Perry herself faced a backlash in 2024 when she worked with him again on her album ‘143’.
Before ‘Shinukaikiruka’, every regular ending had been a licensed track that predated the anime itself, with seven songs averaging more than 24 years old by the time their seasons began. The artists span the UK, US, Australia, and Germany, including The Bangles, Savage Garden, and Jodeci. The best known is Yes’s 1971 progressive rock epic ‘Roundabout’, which closed the first series in 2012 and went on to soundtrack the internet’s “To Be Continued” meme. With one exception, each ending since has been newer than the last, narrowing the gap from 41 years for ‘Roundabout’ to 13 for Duffy’s 2008 single ‘Distant Dreamer’ on Stone Ocean.
Some Japanese fans have also accused Warner of using the anime to promote one of its own artists. The anime comes from Warner Bros. Japan’s anime production division, which posted the creditless opening and ending on its YouTube channel. Chiba releases music through Warner Music Japan and 300 Entertainment Japan, but Warner Music and Warner Bros. have been separate companies since Time Warner sold its music division in 2004.
It’s not the first time this year that Chiba has been caught up in a backlash from anime fans. In July, he joined American rapper mgk on ‘JJK’, a track named after Jujutsu Kaisen. Most of the criticism fell on mgk himself, with many listeners mocking his delivery and dismissing his lyrics as little more than a list of anime titles. The song also drew complaints over its incorrect references to the series, prompting mgk to tell critics in an August TikTok that it was just a rap song and to “chill out”.
Yuki Chiba
Shinukaikiruka
Release Date: 25/09/2026
Label: Warner Music Japan / 300 Entertainment Japan
Stream: Links
About Yuki Chiba
Yuki Chiba is a Japanese rapper who first made his name as KOHH. Born in 1990 and raised in Oji, in Tokyo's Kita ward, he began releasing music through GUNSMITH PRODUCTION alongside producer and A&R 318, setting blunt lyrics about his upbringing over stark, trap-influenced production on his early mixtapes and 2014 album 'MONOCHROME'. KOHH's verse on Keith Ape's 2015 hit 'It G Ma' is widely credited as a turning point for Asian hip-hop overseas. He appeared on Utada Hikaru's 'Boukyaku' and the extended cut of Frank Ocean's 'Nikes' in 2016, and later on a KOHH-featuring version of 'Runway', released as a Japan-only digital bonus track for Mariah Carey's 2018 album 'Caution'. He announced his retirement in 2020 and ended his activities as KOHH at the end of 2021, later saying he would no longer perform songs from that era. Chiba returned under his birth name in February 2024 with 'Team Tomodachi', a viral single produced by Koshy with Young Coco that sparked a wave of remixes from rappers around the world, including Will Smith and Bun B. Later that year he featured on Megan Thee Stallion's 'Mamushi', his first Billboard Hot 100 entry, and performed it with her at the MTV VMAs. His first album as Yuki Chiba, 'STAR', followed in December 2024. Since then, he has moved between styles, from the ambient R&B of 2025's 'Eien' to improvised blues with pianist Ryo Takaiwa as Nijiz. He recorded 'Shinpai Muyou' as the anthem for VALORANT Champions Tour 2025 Pacific Stage 2, and in 2026 recorded 'Shinukaikiruka', the ending theme for STEEL BALL RUN JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. After headlining a sold-out Nippon Budokan in July 2025, where he announced plans to move to Los Angeles, Chiba signed a comprehensive deal with Warner Music and joined the newly launched 300 Entertainment Japan. He played his first US headline show at The Roxy that September, followed in 2026 by his first European tour as Yuki Chiba, including headline shows in London, Paris, and Berlin.
