There's an anime that comes along every once in a while that strikes the right cord whether it comes to the aesthetic, the opening song, or the relationships that develop between its characters. Dan Da Dan, (for consistency, I'm spacing it out) Science SARU's adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu's manga is exactly that. Yukinobu is the former assistant of Tatsuki Fujimoto and Yuuji Kaku, the mangakas of Chainsaw Man and Jigokuraku: Hell's Paradise respectively. For his debut work, it is adventurous and more risk-taking than others that are published in Shonen Jump currently. I had read a bunch of chapters a little while back as I have a fascination with manga with aliens. When I saw the anime announcement, I was interested but it didn't seem like a priority. Upon the moment Momo takes care of a thug at the school gate, I could see why Dan Da Dan had become a smash hit.

Synopsis

Okarun and Momo Ayase are both high school students at Kami High. Momo notices Okarun reading a magazine and is curious about it but claims to not believe in aliens or UFOs. They bump into one another outside of class Okarun mocks Momo's beliefs in ghosts as childish. Hence, Momo asks for a contest. Okarun is directed to a long tunnel and is possessed by a yokai who goes by "Turbo Granny" and Momo goes to a hospital where she is later abducted by girl-crazy aliens. The outcome is that the two of them gain psychic abilities but Okarun's balls are stolen in the process. Thus, the objective is to get his balls back. I'll admit, the goal setout by this series is pretty funny on the surface but I see it as a metaphor for Okarun gaining confidence in himself and learning to accept things that are out of his control.
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The animation is more colorful and zany than I imagined with the manga, but that's not a surprise considering Science SARU's portfolio. I also love the juxtaposition between the human and non-human character appearances. They're not SHAFT-level, but it gives off a similar surreal feeling. The camera angles, motion and environments are all astonishing. If you want a demonstration of how impressive the animation is, look no further than episodes 9-10 if you want a graphic depiction reptilian creatures attempting to beat the sanity out of Momo, Okarun and Aira all leading to a big misunderstanding. This is the first anime I've seen by this studio and I'm not disappointed at all.

Sound Design

The sound design of this series is stellar. The VAs perfectly convey Momo's bullishness and Okarun's shyness as well as his energetic side. The villains are equally as freaky and goofy with how dead set they are on defeating Momo and Okarun. The opening by Creepy Nuts was a big earworm of mine in 2024 and is partially the reason why I was persuaded to watch this in the first place. The ending by ZUTOMAYO is your usual pop-rock fare, but is quite groovy the and the instrumentation is well done. The in-episode music goes from eerie to weird to mundane in a heartbeat.

Characters

The cast is not anything to write home about but it's the journey that really matters. Okarun is a typical shy guy who tends to be defeatist when it comes to his social skills. Through trials and tribulations, he starts to live up to the name Ken Takekura. Momo is the typical popular gal but is not the type to look down upon others because they're lower on the social ladder. Seiko is my favorite character of the bunch mainly because of her commandeering mentorship of the teens and her easygoing nature when not looking over them. I'm a big fan of how Aira recognized her deficits when it came to perceiving the closeness of Momo and Okarun's relationship. Pivotal moment. We haven't seen much of Jin but I bet he'll get his time to shine. Okarun and Momo's interactions are wholesome and the camaraderie between them is inspiring.

Rundown

I found Dan Da Dan season 1 to be an enjoyable watch, even if it felt like several episodes jumped right into the middle of the action without warning. Peeling back the layers, there's not a whole lot new that this series offers but it has a simple plot goal and doesn't get distracted by side characters or set pieces with no relevance. Now, how it ended would usually be a turn off for me as you can't expect a follow up with budget constraints and all but since Dan Da Dan resumes in July, it's soon enough so that it doesn't lose it's positive momentum. In conclusion, I rate it a 73/100.