Director: Fuuga Yamashiro
Assistant Director: Moko-chan

I really like the title "Dan Da Dan". It's catchy, and unique too as I can't recall any other title seemingly based on an onomatopoeia. It also captures the eccentric nature of this series, which juggles between aliens, ghosts, and romance both in an absurd but also emotional fashion. In terms of being absurd, episode 1 still is my favorite - It hits you right in the face with well-written banter of two very stubborn and nonstandard main characters (for a shounen anyway), while the production takes the most advantage of the source material given. I want to shout out the soundtrack here, but the animation and drawing quality of the first episode are great too.

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It doesn’t take long for the series to eventually settle down into a more episodic and slower approach, but it still manages to be enjoyable all the way with its cast and the general embrace of the cringe – Even Jin now in the 12th episode is growing on me. And while it felt like the youkai/folklore aspect took a bit of a backseat in favor of focusing on Momo’s and Okarun’s romance, I’m very much looking forward to what the current arc has in store for us in season 2. I liked already the appetizer we got this season.

As I also already mentioned, the team at Science Saru led by Fuuga Yamashiro is doing well at taking advantage of and enhancing the source material. Ranging from anime-original additions such as the exploding UFO framed over the moon, or the explosion when Momo learns Okarun’s name. Naturally, the color script choices also have flair to them, the character designs are appealing, and the animation and storyboarding can be quite experimental too. Weirdly enough however, this has to be the most “safe” Science Saru project I watched thus far, as overall Dan Da Dan still comfortably fits within the sphere which is modern anime mainstream, while works such as Devilman Crybaby or The Heike Story both in terms of story and presentation are very much for a smaller, and also non-otaku audience. Dan Da Dan’s production also struggled towards the end, with worsening color scripts, drawing quality, and more. I don’t think Season 2 will get better in that regard.

I lastly want to mention episode 7. It’s an obvious outlier to everything else this season. The production was particularly outstanding with Shuuto Enomoto’s draftsmanship all over the place, and it was quite an emotional story too, showcasing the struggle and love of a single mother. For those who connected with this episode emotionally, I highly recommend watching the movie Wolf Children.

Overall, Dan Da Dan is an enjoyable blend of action and romance and I’m interested to see what season 2 has to offer – though it will probably be just more of what we got here in season 1 already. And that sounds good to me. As always thank you for reading this review! Feel free to leave feedback on my profile, if you have any.