Summary
- Dandadan excels in the balance between chaos and calm, blending supernatural action with teen romance in a visually stunning manner.
- In numerous ways, this is a show about dichotomy, which is never more apparent than in the romance between Momo and Okarun.
- Stellar voice acting and animation elevate Dandadan to great heights despite an underwhelming cliffhanger for a (mercifully) forthcoming sequel.
| Title | Dandadan |
| Director | Fuga Yamashiro |
| Studio | Science Saru |
| Episode Air Date | 10/3/2024 |
It’s hard to summarize the quality of a show like Dandadan in any way that it didn’t already articulate within the first few minutes of its bombastic, charming, and well-paced premiere. Of all 2024’s delights in the realm of anime, few shows were as anticipated as this new-age shōnen brimming with attitude and heartfelt romance, and to the surprise of no one, it was a blast.
Animated by Science Saru and directed by Fuga Yamashiro, Dandadan is the story of a boy who believes in aliens but not ghosts and a girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens. When they dare each other to go to paranormal hotspots, they realize to their dismay that they’re both right and find themselves the targets of entities beyond even their weirdest beliefs.
Soon, the boy’s penis is stolen by a ghost and the girl’s psychic powers are inadvertently awoken by pervy aliens, prompting the two to join forces to fight back and save the former’s freshly-nicked knob. It’s an absurd premise, but one far too inspired and interesting to be dismissed, and that’s only the lure. The hook lies a bit deeper.
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Understanding Dandadan’s Greatest Strength
©Yukinobu Tatsu/SHUEISHA, DANDADAN Production Committe
At first glance, this is the kind of story characterized by its chaos and that is a byproduct of how unabashedly weird this story is. It is a love letter to the supernatural and – in equal parts – the fascination and skepticism inherent to such topics. Visually, the animation and artwork labor to present these oddities as boldly as possible, a task few studios are better suited toward than Science Saru. Were that all, however, Dandadan’s charms would have worn thin quickly.
The secret to this story’s success is its command of pacing and tone, and it’s barely a secret at all. Ask the creative staff behind the anime, as we did, and they’ll stress it as one of the most crucial ingredients to adapting the machinations of author Yukinobu Tatsu. Dandadan is hectic and bombastic, but it must also be quiet, to let the feelings of its characters linger and to turn a script that is silly into one that is also frequently relatable and occasionally very real.
Opposites, and the Attraction Therein
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Dandadan is all about dichotomy. Chaos and calm. Ghosts and aliens. Supernatural action and teen romance. A headstrong girl and a nerdy guy; Momo Ayase and Okarun. She’s a gyaru who speaks her mind but harbors a romantic side, searching for a dependable guy who reminds her of her favorite actor, Ken Takakura. On the flip side, Okarun is a shy nerd with occult interests who looks to the sky in search of the company he lacks in his daily life.
They couldn’t be more different and simultaneously couldn’t be more perfect together. It’s a realization that might not come quickly to them, but which is obvious to everyone else and most importantly, the viewer. Dandadan makes a meal out of its first arc, sticking the two together as they come to grips with new powers amid run-ins with aliens, ghosts, and Momo’s absurdly vivacious spirit medium grandmother, Seiko, to name just a few.
The Performances are Everything
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It’s such an efficient opening salvo that forces the characters to make sense of the power scaling as they go, without ever getting lost in exposition. If there’s a break from the action, the script would prefer it be used to bring these characters closer together, be it through banter, bickering, or a silence pregnant with quickly averted, bashful gazes. Presentation is one half of the equation – the other is the voice acting.
Natsuki Hanae and Shion Wakayama are the heart and soul of the series, and their understanding of the story’s tonal flexibility is reflected in their chemistry. Hanae’s portrayal of Okarun, for instance, has a lot of duality. He is at once very shy yet can also erupt in manic outrage, which makes his banter with Momo all the more captivating. Similar praise is owed to the English cast as well. Abby Trott as Momo, AJ Beckles as Okarun, and the iconic Kari Wahlgren as Seiko all understood the assignment. You can’t go wrong no matter which dub.
Hats Off to Science Saru
Praising the animation of Dandadan is somewhat similar to praising a show like Mob Psycho 100, in that the presentation is so consistently impressive that words fail to conjure new ways to describe it. If anything comes to mind easily, it is that Fuga Yamashiro has done a wonderful job. Whatever he does next is worthy of everyone’s attention – be it the next season of this or something completely different.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise coming from someone who worked closely alongside Masaaki Yuasa on many of his past projects, but it’s exciting nonetheless. In the past, Yamashiro stressed the importance of preserving the dramatic rhythm of the source material, and though manga readers will be the best judge of his exact success in this matter, the results speak for themselves.
There is rarely if ever, a shot that is boring or in which the characters are not emoting in a striking or simply amusing way. For that matter, the character designs by Takeru Noda and animation director Naoyuki Onda look fantastic and only look more so on the occasion that an episode director or AD takes certain liberties to maximize the dramatic presentation. That brings us back to the story, where Dandadan went from great to something truly special.
The Heights of Dandadan
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Across the board, this season was very strong, balancing action and comedy with an earnest romance and brief but powerful notes of genuine drama. However, Episode 7 is where the season peaks, and where afterward it sort of plateaus – not in a bad way, mind you, but simply because it doesn’t have the time to reach the same heights. It’s the kind of episode that makes one realize “Oh, so this is what the show is really about.”
Without spoiling anything, Dandadan proved itself just past the midway point by demonstrating just how raw and real it could get even past all the silliness that led there. Similarly, it’s a microcosm of every facet of the production that makes this show so addicting to just… look at. For a thorough assessment of everything that makes the animation “good”, one need only watch this episode, to see the dynamism of its action setpieces, the life felt in its characters, and more.
I was a bit disappointed with the finale, but only because it didn’t feel like a true season finale. There was a cliffhanger, but it felt weirdly underwhelming. It just felt like another episode, which by this show’s standards is by no means bad, and thankfully, fans won’t have to wait long for the second season. If anything, I would recommend that new viewers consider possibly waiting until closer to Season 2’s release to binge the series.
… There is so much more this series has to show us, and knowing that alone is exhilarating. Science Saru has outdone themselves.
Even with a somewhat underwhelming cliffhanger, though, Dandadan was delightful through and through. This review barely scratched the surface of the cast, like Seiko, Turbo Granny, Aira, or Jiji, all of whom are handled with similar nuance, and all of whom grow on the viewer quickly, no matter how adversarial some of them may start. Even without having read the manga, I can tell that there is so much more this series has to show us, and knowing that alone is exhilarating. Science Saru has outdone themselves.
Dandadan is available to stream on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
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9/10
Dandadan
TV-MA
AnimationActionAdventureComedyFantasy
Seasons
1
Studio
Science Saru
Based On
Manga
Creator
Yukinobu Tatsu
Number of Episodes
12
Streaming Service(s)
Crunchyroll
, Netflix
, Hulu
MyAnimeList Score
8.72
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Fuente: successacademy.edu.vn
Categorías: Anime
