English Dub Season Review: Dandadan Season One

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Momo Ayase (Abby Trott) believes in ghosts, while her classmate Ken Takakura (A.J. Beckles) believes in aliens.  In a bet to determine who is correct, the two separately visit locations associated with both the occult and the supernatural.  Ayase is abducted by a group of aliens who accidentally unblock her chakras, enabling latent psychic abilities.  Meanwhile, Takakura is possessed by a spirit who takes over his body.  With their given powers, Ayase and Takakura team up to fight off the remaining spirits and aliens and break the spiritual curse placed on Takakura.

Our Take:

Dandadan is an anime adaptation of a manga series written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu.  It features the directorial debut of Fuga Yamashiro, with Hiroshi Seko, known for penning scripts for shows like Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen, writing the screenplay.  It is produced by Science Saru, known for producing other projects like Super Shiro, Yurei Deco, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and Inu-Oh.  Naoyuki Onda handled the character designs, and Kensuke Ushio composed the music.  The opening theme, “Otonoke”, is performed by Creepy Nuts, while the ending song, “Taidada”, is performed by Zutomayo.

I have been watching plenty of shows, particularly anime, that exceeded my expectations more times than I could count.  The recent examples that did so were Wind Breaker, a thrilling and surprisingly heartfelt action comedy that didn’t hold back its punches with its character depth, and Delicious in Dungeon, a refreshing and hilarious approach to the dungeon-crawling aspect.  Of course, there’s also Demon Slayer, which I have been following since the release of the Mugen Train movie.  While the others I watched were mildly entertaining for different reasons, these anime shows went far and beyond to reflect the quality of their storytelling, visuals, and direction.  You might be wondering why I brought this up in my introduction paragraph.  Well, it’s because I have found another piece of anime content that turned out to be more than what its bizarre concept represents.

The show I’m referring to was Dandadan, a title that’s as fittingly absurd as its narrative.  What’s the narrative?  I’m glad you asked.  It involves an unlikely pair of high school students: the tomboyish Momo and the shy and awkward Ken Takakura, who have strong beliefs in different subjects.  Momo believes in the supernatural, while Ken, or as she calls him “Okarun”, has a fascination with the existence of extraterrestrials.  Their clash over their beliefs led to their discovery that both aliens and Yokai exist, with Okarun gaining spiritual powers after being possessed by the Yokai, Turbo Granny (Barbara Goodson), and Momo unlocking her chakras to gain psychic powers.  If that wasn’t weird enough for you, the series also has them venturing to retrieve Okarun’s testicles after being cursed by Turbo Granny.  It sounds gross out of context, but it’s also the name of the game when it comes to Dandadan.

The series was first released through its compilation film, “First Encounter”, consisting of the first three episodes of Dandadan before the show’s release.  While I didn’t watch the movie when it was released in theaters, the positive word of mouth from those who did was enough to see what the hype was about.  Regarding the concept, this anime offered plenty of things: action, high school romance, teen comedy, sci-fi, and supernatural horror, with the latter two involving the aliens known as Serpos and the Yokai.  It sounded like a lot to cover for a seemingly simple series about two students connecting through their interests.  However, through some miracle, Dandadan managed to nail every aspect of the genre blend almost perfectly.  It delivered the elements that I expected from its outlandish concept, especially the action, comedy, and presentation, but the direction for its story and characters made this experience truly unique.

The narrative in Dandadan unsurprisingly followed the usual structure from other high school romance comedies.  We have an unlikely pair of students with nothing in common regarding their personalities and interests until their relationship grows over time due to specific circumstances.  Unsurprisingly, this includes a love triangle, or in this case, a love rectangle, with Momo, Okarun, school idol Aira Shiratori (Lisa Reimold), and Momo’s childhood friend Jin Enjoji (Aleks Le) invoking multiple “will they, won’t they” occurrences throughout the season.  It went through the narrative basics we’ve come to expect from the genre, but it’s also another example of a teen rom-com done right regarding the character depth.

The characters, mainly Momo and Okarun, have the usual personas we’ve seen countless times.  Momo is the “gyaru” bad girl who’s hot-tempered but secretly vulnerable, mainly due to Okarun sharing the same name as her celebrity crush, Ken Takakura.  She gets embarrassed whenever Okarun’s real name is mentioned; therefore, he calls him “Okarun” throughout the season.  Okarun is the typical shy, sensitive, and nerdy student who’s very generous towards his friendship with Momo, even if his demonic state carries a handsome yet fatigued state.  Fortunately, these personas were elevated by the irresistible chemistry between the protagonists and the believable depth of their friendship, emphasizing the genuineness and entertainment of their gradual growth and budding romance.  

I also credit Abby Trot and A.J. Beckles for reflecting their charismatic personalities through their vocal performances.  When it comes to displaying different types of characters, Trot is another voice actor capable of bringing charm and dynamic joy into several personas, even the “bad girl” ones.  With this show and others like Demon Slayer, Misfit of Demon King Academy, and the recently released Uzumaki, I strongly believe Trot still displays a well-deserved presence in the world of voice acting, especially in anime.  A.J. Beckles also did a great job capturing Okarun’s awkward yet big-hearted personality regarding his vocal performance.  If I remember correctly, this show is my first exposure to Beckles’ work, and aside from that minor “issue” regarding the Twitter fanart, I wouldn’t mind seeing more of him in the future.

The same should be said for Aira and Jin, or “Jiji”, both of which made a surprisingly solid impression in their debuts.  At first, I was worried that these two characters would be the bane of my existence due to their personalities.  Aira is the ditzy yet egotistical school idol who believes God chooses her to exorcise Yokai and that Momo and Okarun are demons.  There’s also Jiji, whose eccentric and hyperactive persona could make me want to slap him silly.  However, as the season progressed, they started to grow on me regarding the comedy and vocal performances from Lisa Reimold and Aleks Le.  Seiko Ayase, Momo’s Yokai-hunting grandmother who appeared younger than usual, also had a few enjoyable moments due to Kari Wahlgren’s commitment to the character’s brash personality.

However, the real surprise that elevated Dandadan was its emotional core.  The show is satisfactory in its style and action sequences, but the direction towards its depth and poignant themes was something I didn’t expect to be so moving.  The only example that emphasizes its emotion is the seventh episode, “To a Kinder World,” which chronicles the tragic past of one of the spirits, Acrobatic Silky (Amber Lee Connors), in which she commits suicide after her daughter was kidnapped by her pimps.  Regarding Yamashiro’s direction, animation, and Kensuke Ushio’s heartbreaking score, that episode stood out as the season’s main highlight, as it sheds poignant light on its antagonist, similar to the villainous demons in Demon Slayer.

Finally, we have the animation by Science Saru.  Science Saru demonstrates a unique approach to artistic expression that elevates its style.  It evokes a dynamic vibrancy in the designs and intricate details, effectively conveying a sense of identity and depth within the storytelling and visual aesthetic.  This has been proven in such projects as Ride Your Wave, Inu-Oh, Devilman Crybaby, and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off.  Unsurprisingly, Dandadan is the latest example that further exemplifies Science Sara’s positive impact on the animation industry.  Dandadan provided some of the best animation I’ve seen this year, with the graphic-novel-like art style and balance of physical comedy and drama being the glue that holds it together.  Of course, I couldn’t forget about the incredible action scenes that emphasize the style’s limitless capabilities, especially the fourth episode, “Kicking Turbo Granny’s Ass,” where Momo and Okarun outrun Turbo Granny’s corpse army.  That scene alone showcases the passion and uniqueness the team from Science Saru possessed to craft a form of animation that’s fun and inventive.

Several anime have usually succeeded in meeting expectations set by their concepts.  However, a few have gone above the limits to surpass them, delivering a level of quality and depth that extends beyond their typical concepts regarding the presentation and direction.  Dandadan is the one anime that exceeded those expectations in more ways than one.  This seemingly typical addition to the teen rom-com catalog is an inventive and surreally wild ride that utilizes its genre mixture and art style to excellent effect.  With its blend of action, teen romance, sci-fi, and supernatural horror, the series is a highly bizarre and visually dazzling experience that succeeds in its entertainment value but never loses sight of its emotion when it matters most.  Regarding its lovable protagonists, fantastic animation, refreshing genre tropes, and a superb mixture of comedy and romance, Dandadan is not only one of the best anime of 2024 but also one of the best, period.  That said, I’m really looking forward to its second season, slated for release in July.