Boy Hero Premieres His Anime-Loving “Pretender, Remember” Music Video

Boy Hero is an artist who thinks big when it comes to conceptualizing who he is and his music. The recording project name for singer and songwriter Danniel Rudd, Boy Hero, today debuts the music video for his recently released single “Pretender, Remember.” Emotional, melodic, and inspiring, the song features contributions from Rudd’s associate, Eric Bensen.

The accompanying video clip to the song is both grand and ambitious, with an interesting concept behind it. It’s meant to be a live-action tribute to anime openings, a place from which Rudd derives a lot of inspiration. He is a self-professed devotee of all things anime, with it playing a large role in his songwriting. As an artist, Rudd tries to bring the worlds of music and anime together into one.

Discussing the video for “Pretender, Remember,” the song itself, and its intersection with anime, Rudd explains:

“I feel like two of my favourite things were not intertwined enough. Both in their mediums and in my art. The director of the videos, Ryan Blewett, and I spent a lot of time crafting a way to present my music as if it were the opening to a Shonen anime. I have always felt that post-hardcore and pop-punk music were never that far from anime or Jrock.

“With this recent release, I wanted to show that by combining my love of anime and a genre of music that isn’t directly used in it often. I wrote this song with a very good friend of mine, Eric Bensen, from Minneapolis who has always been involved in my project in some way, shape, or form. He is easily one of the best and most innovative guitar players I know and wanted to give him the spotlight he deserves. He did not disappoint with the soaring and melodic guitar solo.”

With his own brand of post-hardcore with Boy Hero, Rudd tries to bring some originality and excitement to the table. “Pretender, Remember” will be track two on his upcoming EP titled Year One. Rudd is in the final stages of completing the record, with the six-song release set to be released sometime in the early spring. Based in Minneapolis, he tries to harness the spirit of the local emo scene, combining it with the sounds and feelings of the most beloved anime projects.

Part of Rudd’s intention with Boy Hero is to reach out to people like him, who like the same music as he does and have the same interests. He strives for Boy Hero to represent some hope for listeners, something to hold onto when you need a helping hand. And this is just the beginning, as Rudd promises a lot more Boy Hero to come.

Year One Track Listing:

1. anteiku
2. Pretender, Remember
3. hayashi
4. In Choosing Both, You Lose Both
5. not turtley enough for The Turtle Club
6. lifeless, like you

Boy Hero “Pretender, Remember” (feat. Eric Kyu Bensen) single artwork