Hideo Kojima Appears in My Chemical Romance’s New Animated Short “Prelude to The End”

Summary

Hideo Kojima, the creator of *Death Stranding* and *Metal Gear Solid*, makes a brief voice cameo in My Chemical Romance’s newly released stop‑motion short Prelude to The End. The seven‑minute, dark‑fairytale video, released as a surprise on October 31, 2023, serves as the 20th‑anniversary music video for the band’s track “The End” from *The Black Parade*.

Details

• Project: *Prelude to The End* – a stop‑motion animated short based on Lauren Tsai’s short film *The Dying World*.
• Length: Approximately 7½ minutes.
• Release: Dropped unexpectedly on the evening of October 31, 2023.
• Purpose: Acts as the visual accompaniment for the 20th‑anniversary edition of My Chemical Romance’s song “The End”.
• Kojima’s Role: Credited as The Teacher, he delivers a voicemail to the protagonist Astrid, scolding her for late Japanese homework. The line cuts off mid‑sentence: “Astrid, your Japanese homework is late again. This is unacceptab‑”.
• Other Voices: The short also features brief voicemails from musicians Phoebe Bridgers and Billie Eilish.
• Context: Kojima has a history of cameo appearances in his own games and other media, including *Metal Gear Solid* titles and CD Projekt Red’s *Cyberpunk 2077*.
• Kojima’s Connection to MCR: He has publicly expressed admiration for My Chemical Romance, attending a 2022 concert and sharing related posts on social media.

Practical Implications

• Fans of Kojima and My Chemical Romance can watch the short on the band’s official YouTube channel or the link shared on the band’s social‑media accounts.
• The cameo does not indicate any new game collaboration; it is a one‑off voice role tied to the music‑video project.
• Verification of the cameo can be done by checking the video credits, which list Kojima as “The Teacher”.

Sources

• IGN article reporting the surprise drop and describing Kojima’s cameo.
• Official My Chemical Romance social‑media announcements (referenced in the IGN piece).

--- *This article summarizes publicly available information and does not contain original reporting.*