Fresh off of the release of its latest album Hyperdrama, French electronic duo Justice is officially debuting the music video for “Neverender” ft. Australian alt/indie project Tame Impala, directed by Masanobu Hiraoka and supervised by Kota Iguchi, exclusively on Crunchyroll News!The music video for “Neverender” is packed with sweeping anime visuals and characters that bring the world of the song, which features Tame Impala, to life. You can check out the full music video, right here on Crunchyroll News, below:
“Neverender” – Justice ft. Tame Impala (Official Music Video)
Hiraoka, who directed the music video, is known for his work on anime like Dororo, Chainsaw Man and Little Witch Academia, while Kota Iguchi, who supervised the project, is a famed art director known for his work with Nike and BMW.Pascal Teixeira, who worked as co-creative director on the project, shared this:
Masanobu Hiraoka’s mesmerizing animation style had been on Justice’s radar for quite some time. We always knew that someday, we’d want him to bring his unique vision to life by interpreting some of the band’s ideas and inspirations.
On one of my earlier trips to Tokyo, I crossed paths with CEKAI producers Taro Mikami and Shin Ohira. It turned out they frequently collaborated with Masanobu, and that connection sparked the beginning of what would become the “Neverender” music video project.
As the project grew in ambition, we brought in the brilliant Kota Iguchi as co-director, and added long-time Justice collaborator Armand Beraud to the mix to tie it all together and guide this team into the Justice universe and aesthetics.
Pre-visualization elements from the music video.
Additional design elements from the music video.
Armand Béraud, who worked as the “Neverender” music video co-director, shared this:
I share with the band a deep passion and appetite for animation. While Gaspard and Xavier appreciate animation as an art form, I’ve had the advantage of making it my profession, which gives me a deep understanding of its complexities. Traditional animation is a labor-intensive, inflexible medium. It’s crucial to make the right decisions from the start because changes often mean starting from scratch. Given the short production timeline for the video, we didn’t have the luxury of endless revisions.
Having already worked on several of the band’s projects, I’ve had the unique privilege of receiving their feedback firsthand, which over the years has allowed me to better understand what does or doesn’t fit the Justice aesthetic.
When we first approached “Neverender” while creating the live tour visuals, I began to grasp the direction the band wanted to take with this track. I’m truly in awe of the creativity and imagination that Masanobu, Kota, and their teams brought to the project.
After Sankaku’s compositing work on the video, fine-tuning post-production then grading with Arthur Paux and the band allowed us to ensure that the final result matched Justice’s signature rhythm, colors, and textures in every frame.
Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay of Justice.
“Neverender” marks the latest in a long line of Western artists collaborating with Japanese animators, including Daft Punk’s Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem movie with Toei Animation, Kazuhisa Takenouchi and Leiji Matsumoto, Linkin Park’s “Breaking the Habit” music video with Studio Gonzo and Porter Robinson and Madeon’s “Shelter” with A-1 Pictures.
You can listen to more from Justice’s latest album Hyperdrama, below. Or check out any and all of their discography — it rules.
And for even more music from the worlds of anime, check out Crunchyroll’s official Spotify shelf on the Anime hub, including customized, curated playlists like Crunchyroll Anime Essentials and The Anime Effect podcast!
