Dandadan: Sci-fi with a touch of silly

Dandadan is a fun anime, but it’s not without its flaws.

By now most of you already know that I have an interest in aliens and the paranormal. Given the age and size of the universe, it’s impossible that Earth would be the only planet lucky enough to harbor intelligent life.

I also don’t think that life ends with death. I subscribe to the theory that consciousness is a form of electromagnetic energy, and given that the law of conversation of energy states that energy can’t be created or destroyed, only transformed from one form to another, I’d say that something has to happen to that energy when we die. Personally, I think our consciousness transfers over to a parallel reality where we didn’t die (I also believe in the Many Worlds Theory too, in case you couldn’t tell). But I won’t rule out the existence of ghosts, demons, and other spirits.

I’ve never really gotten into alien or paranormal anime though. Sure, I’ve read the Gantz manga, and even watched the anime adaptation that took it upon itself to start changing the story, but that series is alien-related on a technicality. Some might also include Demon Slayer and JJK as  paranormal anime, but I don’t. Muzan is more like a vampire than a demon, and the only vampires I really care about live in Staten Island (What We Do In The Shadows). JJK, while utilizing “curses”, takes place in a world where that sort of thing is considered normal and a regular occurrence, so while it might be paranormal to us, it’s not really paranormal to its universe.

When Dandadan came out near the end of 2024, my buddy kept trying to get me to watch it, but I was still working on a few other series at the time, like My Hero Academia, The Fable, and Tokyo Revengers. My friend threw every possible selling point at me, from the plot involving aliens, to the trippy animation, to the theme song being done by Creepy Nuts. Finally, I relented and watched all 12 episodes of Dandadan.

It was okay, but my friend definitely over-hyped it.

The premise of the series is kind of silly. Okarun, a dorky high school student who believes in aliens but not ghosts, and Momo, a popular high school girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens, challenge each other to go to paranormal hotspots and face what’s there. Okarun tells Momo to visit a hotspot for aliens, and Momo makes Okarun visit a hotspot for a ghost. Both end up having encounters, with Momo being abducted and nearly raped by aliens called the Serpo, and Okarun being attacked and possessed by an insanely fast old hag nicknamed “Turbo Granny”. After realizing that they were both right, Okarun and Momo team up. The two also enlist the help of Momo’s grandma, Seiko, a spiritual medium who looks less like a grandma and more like someone you’d see in stepmom porn. Okarun gains the ability to transform into a lethargic but fast demonic entity, and Momo gains psychokinetic powers. They use their abilities to face off against various monsters and aliens.

The series constantly references real-life aspects of alien and paranormal culture. The Serpo are named for “Project Serpo”, a supposed personnel exchange program between the US military and aliens known as the Ebens from a planet named Serpo. A large form of the Flatwoods Monster also makes an appearance, along with Nessie and the Dover Demon (though for some reason they made the Dover Demon look more like a kappa).

Perhaps one of this show’s greatest strengths is the creature designs. The human costumes that the Serpo wear are creepy as fuck. Seriously, imagine waking up at 3 in the morning and seeing this standing over you:

I’d shit a damn brick.

Outside of their costumes, the Serpo still don’t look any less frightening:

The other aliens and monsters look pretty cool too. Mixing the Flatwoods Monster with a sumo wrestler is something that sounds so absurd that it really shouldn’t work, and yet it somehow does. The Nessie/Serpo/Dover Demon transformation monster was nuts, and despite being a mashup of three completely different things, was very well designed. While Dandadan doesn’t beat Gantz in the alien design department (boob alien FTW), there’s definitely a lot of creativity here, and I’m interested to see what other crazy shit the series will come up with. Also, you are now aware that the mantis shrimp is a real thing, and thankful that it’s not human-sized.

I’m always a sucker for trippy animation, and the animation in Dandadan gets pretty trippy at times. From the opening to the fights, the vibrancy and the fluid motion of the characters creates a visual appeal that makes you want to keep your eyes locked on to the TV. The vibrant colors pair well with the crazy alien and monster designs, and paired with the fluent motions make for entertaining fight scenes.

I already mentioned that the intro music, a song named “Otonoke”, was done by Creepy Nuts. While it’s not as infectiously catchy as “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born”, it’s still good in its own right. Creepy Nuts seems to be growing in popularity since doing the season 2 opening for Mashle. I like it. They’re a very talented duo, and I hope they tour America soon because I’ll be at their show for sure.

The rest of the show is scored well. When Okarun transforms, and the William Tell Overture starts up, you know some shit’s about to kick off. Before you know it, Demon-Okarun is running full-steam with Momo in his arms, and the music segues into an intense rendition of the Can-can.

Dandadan is far from perfect though. One of the things I’ve found most annoying about this show is the childish fascination with genitals. The very first episode has Turbo Granny chasing after Okarun while screaming “Let me gobble that weenie!”, while the Serpo want to take Momo’s reproductive organs because their entire race is made up of male clones. For some reason, the Serpo refer to Momo’s uterus as her “banana”. I guess calling it her “cherry” would have been too direct? I don’t know, but it gets old fast. The rest of the season revolves around trying to help Okarun find his balls after losing them during his fight with Turbo Granny. The entire overarching plot is basically a dick joke. I wouldn’t mind it that much if it wasn’t handled so childishly (seriously, “banana”?). Some people might find this kind of humor funny, but I feel like it’s better suited to a kid’s series like Crayon Shin-chan than an adult series. I expect maturity from my Japanese cartoon about aliens and monsters, you know?

Still, Dandadan isn’t a bad series, and I can overlook the immature dick jokes to give it a 6/10. I think a lot of folks will enjoy it for its fun story, silly sense of humor, and creative aliens and monsters. The second season is scheduled to start in July, so we’re not too far away. I know I’ll be watching.