Dandadan (ダンダダン), also script displayed asDan Da Dan, is a Japanesemanga series written and illustrated byYukinobu Tatsu [ja]. It has been serialized inShueisha'sShōnen Jump+ app and website since April 2021, with its chapters collected in 18tankōbon volumes as of January 2025. The series follows two teenagers with supernatural powers fightingyōkai and aliens with help from multiple allies.
Ananime television series adaptation produced byScience Saru aired from October to December 2024. A second season is set to premiere in July 2025.
Momo Ayase is a high school girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens, while her fellow highschooler, Ken Takakura, whom Momo nicknames "Okarun", believes in aliens but not ghosts. In a bet to determine who is correct, the two decide to separately visit locations associated with both the extraterrestrial and the occult—Momo visiting the former, and Okarun the latter. Momo is abducted by a group of aliens who accidentally unblock herchakras, enabling latentpsychic abilities. Meanwhile, Okarun is possessed by a spirit who takes over his body. By using Momo's abilities and Okarun's possessed form, they defeat the aliens together.
The rest of the story follows the two, as they team up with fellow students, friends, family, and new acquaintances to fight spirits and aliens; the overarching plot themes includeretrieval of Okarun's penis and testicles (kintama) and the development of romantic feelings between Momo and Okarun.
Before the serialization ofDandadan, Yukinobu Tatsu had worked as an assistant forTatsuki Fujimoto'sChainsaw Man andYuji Kaku'sHell's Paradise: Jigokuraku.[3] The serialization was confirmed during a meeting forShōnen Jump+ in the second quarter of 2020. However, Tatsu startedDandadan afterChainsaw Man andHell's Paradise: Jigokuraku had finished because he wanted to complete his role as an assistant until the end.[4]
When discussing Tatsu's propensity to have meal scenes after major scenes, he stated that they were inspired by multiple factors, including the belief that people who work hard deserve to eat well. He cited a quote from the mangaJarinko Chie about how the worst thing to be is hungry and alone, as well as the familial intimacy of eating scenes inHayao Miyazaki films likeMy Neighbor Totoro andPorco Rosso. He also discussed his struggles as a poor manga assistant, receiving 1000 yen from his teacher to treat himself to stir-fried pork and a can of coffee after work. He added that, because it is entertainment, he wants readers to feel hopeful.[5]
The anime was directed byFūga Yamashiro [ja], and it was his directorial debut. According to producer Hiroshi Kamei, he would use notes from watching other media. Kamei discussed how the anime uses "small moments" of the camera lingering on characters' faces. He called these "everyday action" or "everyday direction," expressing that the staff wanted to put heightened attention on these compared to other anime and that they wanted to use these instead of words to depict these "small interactions." He also discussed the use of "lead scenes," scenes that lead into other scenes down the line; he cited an example of Momo handing Okarun's magazine to him, and Okarun later handing his clothes to Momo, intended to demonstrate how their relationship changes by how similar they are.[6]
Written and illustrated byYukinobu Tatsu [ja],Dandadan started its serialization inShueisha'sShōnen Jump+ app and website on April 6, 2021.[7] Shueisha has compiled its chapters into individualtankōbon volumes. The first volume was released on August 4, 2021.[8] As of January 4, 2025, 18 volumes have been released.[9]
The series is simultaneously published in English on Shueisha'sManga Plus platform and onViz Media'sShonen Jump website.[10] In February 2022, Viz Media announced that they had licensed the series in print format; the first volume was released on October 11 of the same year.[11][12]
Ananime television series adaptation was announced in November 2023. It is produced byScience Saru and directed by Fūga Yamashiro, with scripts written byHiroshi Seko, character designs byNaoyuki Onda [ja], alien and supernatural entity designs byYoshimichi Kameda [ja], and music composed byKensuke Ushio.[13] The series aired from October 4 to December 20, 2024, on theSuper Animeism Turbo programming block on allJNN affiliates, includingMBS andTBS.[14][15][16][a] The opening theme song is "Otonoke" (オトノケ) performed byCreepy Nuts, while the ending theme song is "Taidada" performed byZutomayo.[18][16] Prior to the television airing, the English dub of the series premiered atAnime NYC on August 24, 2024.[19] The first three episodes also were collected and released theatrically asDan Da Dan: First Encounter, with screenings starting in Asia on August 31.[20][21]
Crunchyroll is streaming the series outside of Asia, including the Middle East andCIS, whileNetflix is streaming the series globally.Hulu is streaming the series in the United States.[22][23][24]Muse Communication licensed the series in Asia-Pacific.[25] In June 2024,GKIDS announced that it had acquired the theatrical, videogram, and digital transactional rights to the series.[26]
In August 2024, prior to the premiere of the English dub, the first two episodes of the anime were leaked alongside many other anime productions that were localized byIyuno. Episodes 3–6 were later leaked prior to the anime's premiere.[27]
After the airing of the first season finale, a second season was announced and is set to premiere in July 2025.[28]Abel Góngora will co-direct the season with Fūga Yamashiro.[29] Crunchyroll and Netflix are confirmed to be streaming the season.[30][31]
By November 2023, the manga had over 360 million views on theShōnen Jump+ platform.[32] The series had over 3.2 million copies in circulation by November 2023; over 4 million copies by October 2024;[33] and over 5 million by December 2024.[34]
In North America, the volumes ofDandadan were ranked onCircana (formerly NPD)BookScan's monthly top 20 adult graphic novels list since October 2022.[35]
In June 2021,Dandadan was nominated for the seventhNext Manga Award in the Best Web Manga category and placed second out of 50 nominees.[36][37][38] It ranked fourth onTakarajimasha'sKono Manga ga Sugoi! 2022 list of best manga for male readers.[39] It was nominated for the 15thManga Taishō in 2022 and placed seventh with 53 points.[40][41][42] The series ranked first on both the Nationwide Bookstore Employees and Publisher Comics' Recommended Comics of 2022.[43] The series ranked fourth inTsutaya Comic Award 2022.[44]
Onreview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, the first season ofDandadan holds an approval rating of 100% based on 14 reviews, with an average rating of 8.8/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Gorgeously animated and bringing a big heart to go along with its bonkers imagination,Dan Da Dan comes roaring out of the gate as an exceptional Shōnen anime."[45] The series premiere was positively received by nearly all the writers ofAnime News Network. Caitlin Moore and James Beckett gave it a perfect score; Moore complimentedScience Saru's animation, the dynamic between Momo and Okarun, and their voice acting while Beckett praised the studio's art in bringing the anime to life, noting itsromcom tropes combining with horror and science fiction and Okarun's reference name. Richard Eisenbeis acknowledged the animation and story as he was enthusiastic about following the series. In contrast, while Rebecca Silverman agreed that the animation and visuals were great and premise was interesting, she did not enjoy the episode and expressed she was done with the series due to the use of sudden bright lights and flashing images, a vast majority of the dialogue was "spoken in a scream", and the distasteful handling and depiction of the sexual assault scenes.[46]
Mike Mamon ofIGN praised the first three episodes of the anime for its animation, storytelling, visuals, direction, characters, and voice acting, concluding that "Dandadan's first three episodes manage to stick the landing by focusing more on the anime's lovable protagonists and less so on the absurdity of the occult and extraterrestrial world they inhabit."[47] Toussaint Egan ofPolygon praised the adaptation for its animation and character designs, while complimenting the studio's decision of elevating the visuals and color design in combining with art direction to the anime's action sequences.[48]Vulture namedDandadan as one of the best anime series of 2024. Kambole Campbell praised the series for its humor, animation, colors, art direction, andKensuke Ushio's musical score.[49] The anime ranked second in Anime News Network's "Top 10 Anime of 2024". Furthermore, James Beckett applauded the series' premise, humor, action, production values, characters, and the chemistry between Momo and Okarun.[50]
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