By Jonathan Klotz
| Published
When 2024 started, I thought Solo Leveling, a reverse isekai shonen, would be the year’s biggest new show, but as the year went on, I realized that no matter how popular that show was, it didn’t capture the hearts of legions of anime fans on social media the way I expected. Instead, it was Dandadan, a very different type of shonen that combined romantic comedy with aliens and the supernatural, that has set the anime fandom on fire for the last few months. It turns out that tossing every anime trope into a blender doesn’t result in an unwatchable mess; instead, it is one of the best new shows in years.
Aliens And Yokai And Superpowers
Dandadan follows the cheerful Momo Ayase, who, like Fox Mulder, chooses to believe in aliens, and the mournful Ken Takakura, dubbed Okarun for his interest in the occult, as they inadvertently gain superpowers that let them fight back against malevolent spirits, alien invaders, and evil humans. That sounds like the main focus of the series, and in a way, it is, but the pair’s motivation is to retrieve a part of Okarun’s body that he lost after becoming possessed and gaining the ability to shift into a demonic form. It’s absurd, comedic, and wildly over-the-top, but somehow, the series manages to balance it out with moments of raw emotion.
Episode 7, “To a Kinder World,” is one of the highest-rated anime episodes in history on IMDb, with a 9.7 rating, dropping the crude humor and fan service found throughout most of the series for a story focused on one of the yokai (spirits), Acrobatic Silky. The yokai’s backstory is so tragic and heartbreaking that after the episode aired, social media was filled with fans posting videos of themselves crying. It’s both Dandadan’s best episode and a showcase for the power of anime.
While Episode 7 is the clear standout because it tosses aside most of the show’s humor and fanservice, the rest of Dandadan is still worth binging. The developing friendship and start of a romance between Momo and Okarun provide heartfelt moments in nearly every episode, even as they have to outrun a yokai or deal with dinosaur-shaped aliens. It’s a delicate balancing act to maintain the absurd and the emotional in each episode, and most anime fail at this amazing feat, but with one rather substantial exception, the team at Science Saru pulls it off.
Dandadan Isn’t For Everyone
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that one exception that could make Dandadan a hard watch for some, and it’s not the crude humor or the quest for Okarun’s missing parts, but it’s how Momo gets put through the wringer. There are implied scenes of assault, including the Season 1 cliffhanger in the hot springs, that stick out compared to most other shonen. Blatant moments of fanservice have also fallen out of favor in recent years, but the show embraces them, especially regarding Momo, so for everything the show does to push anime storytelling forward, there’s still one foot stuck in the 90s.
Dandadan may be getting universal praise, but it’s not for everyone, and while I found it to be a refreshing roller coaster ride of a series, I also watch a lot of anime, including paying to see the Solo Leveling recap movie, and anything that dares to be this different and risk-taking immediately gets my attention. Season 2 won’t be out until Summer 2025, which gives you plenty of time to binge the 12-episode first season. You’ll want to consume it all at once, so sit back, relax, and let the bizarre combination of classic shonen with aliens, occult, vengeful spirits, and crude humor wash over you in gorgeously animated waves.
Dandadan is streaming on Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, and Crunchyroll.