As soon as it hit the scene, DanDaDan erupted into incredibly high popularity, enough to bring me back to watching anime after a decade-long hiatus. It centers around two high school students with opposing beliefs: Ken Takakura/Okarun (A.J. Beckles), who swears that aliens are real, and Momo Ayase (Abby Trott), who has an equally strong suspicion that ghosts exist. After daring each other to approach situations involving ghosts or aliens, the plot takes off when they discover that both indeed live amongst them. It only gets wackier and better from the pilot episode; and with only twelve episodes, it’s a show you should definitely put on your watch list during this holiday season.
[Warning: This review will contain some spoilers from DanDaDan!]
DanDaDan is silly but manages to have incredibly emotional moments
In the pilot, Okarun runs into Turbo Granny (Barbara Goodson), who asks for his banana, and yes, it’s exactly what you think. Momo runs into the Serpoian aliens, who have an even more startling request of her, wanting to mate with her to increase their numbers. While Okarun’s encounter is more humorous, Momo’s is rather disturbing. Yet, it empowers her to heed the words of her spirit medium grandmother, Seiko (Kari Wahlgren), and tap into her abilities to save them both. So, although it’s nearly traumatizing for Momo, it was nice to see them avoid a typical “damsel in distress” situation and have the girl save the boy instead.
When Aira Shiratori (Lisa Reimold) joins the fray, they fight Acrobatic Silky (Amber Lee Connors), another spirit similar to Turbo Granny. Episode 7 is titled ‘To A Kinder World’ and details Acrobatic Silky’s haunted past, which harkens back to Turbo Granny’s original intentions of comforting the spirits of girls who were abuse victims. A beautiful overlap of parental and child loss between Acrobatic Silky and Aira left me in tears when the credits rolled, and the episode dealt with some extremely tough topics.
The main characters, Okarun and Momo, are fun to follow
Okarun and Momo are so lovably stupid that you’re always rooting for them. I’m torn between liking them because both resist how attracted they are to one another, or because they’re taking their time admitting it aloud. Okarun is busy trying to regain the parts for his nether regions, as he lost both in the kerfuffle with Turbo Granny, and she has no idea where she left them. This is the show’s overall plot: to find what Okarun has lost due to it now attracting spirits because of them harboring some of Turbo Granny’s aura, which has them cross paths with more supernatural and otherworldly beings.
Momo is ridden with guilt since she’s the one who sent him to discover the ghosts and, having awakened her powers, the only person capable of assisting Okarun. Add in her grandmother Seiko, a reluctant mentor to Momo, and it only makes sense for them to continue working together.
Aira self-inserts herself when she notices that Momo has energy around herself, since she has one of the two items that Okarun seeks. The timing of her introduction was perfect and helped Momo reevaluate how she feels about Okarun. Later, a situation brings massive jealousy out of Momo, reinforcing the need for her and Okarun to unite.
Their mutual attraction and codependency are obvious even when working or existing independently. I enjoyed the moments when the story would mirror one another, going back and forth between the two and each having realizations about what they should do in regard to one another. Momo and Okarun both have some hesitation and lack of assurance, even after they accidentally kiss when they physically collide with each other after obsessively searching around the campus to eat lunch together.
The animation and designs in this anime are amongst the best I’ve seen
This isn’t even a contest, aside from perhaps Demon Slayer, DanDaDan has to be the best and smoothest anime I’ve ever watched. It’s brilliant how they work the angles and point of view for the moments Okarun blasts to full speed. During certain conversations, some grids split up on the screen, swapping out the whole picture for a more focused delivery between the main characters. It’s an incredibly clever and intimate way that helps put them at the center of attention in scenes with no action.
The action scenes also hold up to the quality standard of the more leisurely parts of the show. Also, by this point, the opening credits have made a name for themselves with eye-popping animation and choreography and the catchy song Otonoke by Creepy Nuts.
Including various forms of urban legends and their interpretations is another highlight. In the first set of these episodes, we get the Dover Demon, a plesiosaur, and a Loch Ness monster. The Serpo aliens return down the line, bringing allies to help them in their quest to find a suitable human to mate with. Okarun and Aira’s enhanced forms are slimmer and more streamlined than the bulky villains they fight, a neat divergence that helps differentiate what’s happening on screen. The designs for them are amazing, oozing with nonchalant coolness without needing to be over the top.
When the fights happen, they rely a lot more on the protagonists’ agility than raw punching power. This stylistic choice is fantastic as it shifts the camera behind them to help convey their travel speed. What was truly impressive was the use of classical music (the “William Tell Overture”) during the fastest action scenes to elevate the urgency and intensity of the situations.
DanDaDan season 2 can’t come fast enough
Luckily, right after the season one finale aired, the announcement for the second season of DanDaDan was made. Sadly, that is not until July 2025, but with the impressive quality of animation, voice acting, and art, it will not need to be rushed.
The least satisfying part of the show was simply the smaller episode count. Since many animes like to stick with around 20 episodes per season, seeing DanDaDan stick to twelve was surprising. And yet, the twelve episodes were impactful enough to have it hovering in popularity near the top.
DanDaDan may not be for everyone, but it’s definitely for me. With an utterly likable crew of characters, hilarious comedy, top-notch animation, and art, I love everything about it. The blend of paranormal and alien villains and homages to other pop culture with a unique and subtle spin on it makes it an exceptional and original series. I cannot wait to watch more of next summer.
Have you watched or read DanDaDan? If not, it’s streaming globally on Netflix and Crunchyroll or Hulu in the US. You can find us on social media @mycosmiccircus @TheCosmicCircus.com on Bluesky or our official Discord.
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