In a move that will delight anime fans and confuse everyone else, the Weeknd debuted a new song last night at his Asia tour opener in Tokyo, built on a sample of the theme from Neon Genesis Evangelion - arguably the most beloved anime of all time, and definitely the most existentially devastating one about teenagers piloting giant robots.

Abel Tesfaye brought out Yoko Takahashi, the Japanese singer behind the series' iconic opening theme "A Cruel Angel's Thesis," to perform the track with him. A title and official release date for the new song remain TBA, which is industry-speak for "we'll tell you when we feel like it." Footage from the show is available for your viewing pleasure below.

The performance came paired with a visual by Yoko Taro, the writer-director behind the 2007 video game NieR:Automata - which, like Evangelion, is a work about existential dread and questionable robot ethics. The visual incorporated imagery from both NieR:Automata and Neon Genesis Evangelion, because subtlety is for other people.

At one point, Tesfaye stepped back and let Takahashi perform "A Cruel Angel's Thesis" solo while he vibed along at the back of the stage - a moment of genuine humility, or perhaps just a strategic retreat from trying to outsing an icon.

The September 19 show at Tokyo's Belluna Dome kicked off the latest leg of Tesfaye's years-long After Hours Til Dawn Stadium Tour, which commenced all the way back in 2022. Since then, he's released two new albums: a 2023 soundtrack to the widely panned HBO series The Idol, and 2025's Hurry Up Tomorrow, which he billed as his final release as the Weeknd. That swan song also came with a movie directed by Trey Edward Shults and starring Barry Keoghan, Jenna Ortega, and Tesfaye himself. Because if you're going to retire a persona, you might as well do it with a film, a soundtrack, and an anime sample in Tokyo.