Marvel's What If...? Reveals the MCU's First Otaku

09/15/2021 01:36 pm EDT

Marvel's What If...? is continuing its journey through the multiverse, and all sorts of stories have passed by fans as is. Of course, a new episode went live this week, and Marvel Studios did not realize what a fuss Erik Killmonger was going to cause. After all, the anime fandom has aligned with the villain, and honestly? We should have seen this coming.

The whole thing boils down to the latest episode of the Marvel series. The update checked in on Killmonger as the man shook up history by rescuing Tony Stark by the Ten Rings. The story gets wild as several major Marvel heroes are murdered, and Killmonger takes place as the next Black Panther. Obviously, the episode has a lot to unpack, but fans are still stuck on Killmonger's anime confession.

During one part of the What If...? episode, Killmonger confesses he likes anime, and the baddie has no qualms admitting such. This one line has the fandom all riled up, and if you look online, the anime community is living for the moment. And given Killmonger's history in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, we should not be surprised by this.

After all, the Black Panther villain was brought to life on screen by Michael B. Jordan, and the actor is a huge anime fan. From Bleach to Dragon Ball, the star has made his love for anime known, and Jordan has been asked about his favorite shows time and again. Now, it is nice to see Jordan's love of anime bleed into Killmonger, so we're going to need a list of the villain's go-to shows ASAP.

What do you think about Killmonger's otaku side? Which anime would you recommend to the MCU villain? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.