‘Dandadan’ series premiere review: Eccentric occult outing is a genre-blending delight

Dandadan: A fresh, eccentric anime with extraterrestrial chaos, paranormal terror, and sharp humor, poised to shake up the industry.

The anime scene, currently basking in the glow of its modern shounen juggernauts — Demon Slayer, My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen — seems poised to face a vacuum as these beloved franchises reach their conclusions. The industry is desperate for a new champion, a fresh face to rally the crowds.

If you thought the industry was getting a bit too comfortable with its shounen tropes of “going beyond” and “the power of friendship”, Dandadan is here to jolt you out of your complacency. The long-awaited anime adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s mind-bending manga arrives in a blaze of extraterrestrial chaos, paranormal terror, and, yes, humour that’s as sharp as it is absurd. With its first three episodes, the show throws down the gauntlet, positioning itself as the next big thing in anime. And if this wild ride keeps up, we might be looking at the weirdest — and most enjoyable — anime of the year.

Produced by Science Saru, the same studio behind Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Devilman Crybaby, the series follows Momo Ayase, a highschool gyaru with a tough exterior, driven by a need for companionship, validation and a diehard belief in ghosts. Okarun, her timid schoolmate harbouring a deep loneliness, despite — or maybe because of — his comical obsession with proving the existence of extraterrestrials and UAPs. The two make a bet: each will visit a hotspot of activity to prove the other wrong — Momo’s for ghosts, Okarun’s for aliens — in an effort to debunk each other’s beliefs. 

Momo gets abducted by lecherous extraterrestrials, Okarun is possessed by a grotesque granny spirit that threatens his masculinity in rather literal ways, and the rest, as they say, is uncharted territory. Their unlikely bond, forged through ridiculous life-threatening encounters with otherworldly entities, is what gives Dandadan its charm.

Director Fuga Yamashiro, taking the helm at Science Saru, builds the series with an assured blend of spectacle and emotion. Momo and Okarun’s interactions — whether they’re running from a spirit hell-bent on stealing Okarun’s “banana organ” (yes, you read that correctly) or fending off lewd aliens obsessed with impregnation — are delivered with animation that’s fluid, bold, and relentlessly energetic. 

There’s an almost demented rhythm to how the show shifts gears. A moment, Momo and Okarun are having a heart-to-heart, sharing their respective traumas, and the next, they’re knee-deep in a fight with a giant, poison-breathing, sumo-wrestler spirit. The tonal shifts work because Dandadan never takes itself too seriously. It thrives on and brazenly embraces its absurdity, but it’s also deeply aware of the emotional beats that ground its characters in something real.

The heart of the series is the chemistry between Momo and Okarun. Their dynamic is an awkward clash of bickering and mutual dependence, but it works. Momo’s no-nonsense attitude often contrasts Okarun’s more reservedness, but underneath it all, there’s a growing respect and affection. Both characters are outsiders in their own right, but in each other, they find a strange, almost begrudging support system. It’s a testament to the voice performances of Wakayama and Hanae, who explore the tonal shifts of the series with incredible deftness. Wakayama brings a sharpness to Momo, but also lets her vulnerability slip through the cracks. Hanae, on the other hand, balances Okarun’s shy awkwardness with moments of manic energy that are genuinely endearing.