Megan Thee Stallion’s “BOA” video pays homage to One Piece, MK and DDR

Self-confessed anime enthusiast Megan Thee Stallion released her new video for “BOA” on Wednesday, delivering a love letter to her nerdiest influences from the late ’90s and early ’90s. thanks to Scott Pilgrim, One Piece, Dance Dance Revolution and the 3D fighting games of the era.

“BOA” is dripping with serpentine flavor; which includes nods to the old Nokia classic Snake and a tribute to the endless runner – or is it Crash Bandicoot? – on which Megan rides a giant white snake. But it’s the fighting game references to Mortal Kombat and Tekken that will endear the FGC even more to Ms. Thee Stallion: she dresses up. just as Christie Monteiro from Tekken and as a sort of mashup of Mileena from Mortal Kombat and Boa Hancock from One Piece as she violently kills children while playing her video game as some sort of vengeful spirit from Jumanji. (I also wonder if Megan’s video includes a more recent Mortal Kombat reference to Johnny Cage’s off-brand Roomba.)

Then there are the Dance Dance Revolution and Gantz-inspired scenes and outfits, the latter of which probably makes “BOA” something you shouldn’t watch in front of the kids. An Instagram commenter asks: “My sister is completely out???” ” (It’s not.)

Megan Thee Stallion has been quite open about her love of manga, anime, and video games, thanks to her Mirko cosplays from My Hero Academia and Bruno Bucciarati of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. She’s also clearly a fan of the PlayStation 2 era of fighting games, we know that now, and I look forward to more from Megan, whatever form it takes.