Dandadan Movie: Everything You Need to Know About the New Anime Adaptation

DAN DA DAN: First Encounter was recently released in theaters across the United States on September 15th, 2024. This series has been added to the ever-expanding lineup of anime receiving theatrical releases, and with good reason.

Dandadan hit cinemas with the first three episodes airing with a movie format. I recently had the chance to check it out myself and was very eager to see it after reading and being caught up to the manga. There also seemed to be a nice surprise, if you intend to see it yourself (which I highly recommend). It would have to be the interview with the voice actors, director, and even the author of the manga, Yukinobu Tatsu.

This pre-interview gave the viewers a better understanding of not only what the voice actors and the director thought of Dandadan, but behind the scenes look at production and sample animation. One of the highlights of the interview was how Yukinobu Tatsu talked about preparation for writing the series. The Author apparently read 100 romance series (manga of course) to get a grip of how romance should be carried out in this weird land of sci-fi, horror, and the occult.

Why is Dandadan so Good?

Originally released in April of 2021, Dandadan has not only grown in its fan base but also the amount of volumes. As of July 2024, 15 volumes have been released and at the time of writing this article there are 166 chapters.

The reason behind its success can not be explained in just a sentence or two. Readers have dived into the series and are able to experience a wide variety of emotions in a single chapter. Even in the horror filled moments or the fear of the unknown, you can not help but as a reader laugh at the comedy aspects the author will throw in there.

The versatility of incredibly detailed art packed in with the storytelling and world building makes you want to read more. You then seem to find yourself at the end of an arc in Dandadan. You know that the unknown and the occult are laid out in the following pages and you can’t help but continuing onward as the secrets and mystics of the universe are unfolded before you.

With all of this in mind, the aspect that really shines through is the budding relationships. Reading 100 romance novels to write a hit manga (that sounds like a good title for an anime) must have been great preparation. It does not go over the top, spanning the build up of something over the run of the series thus far.

But why was Dandadan so good in the first place?

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DISCORD

Before There Was Dandadan

There isn’t a lot known of Yukinobu Tatsu, just like other mangaka, the author of Dandadan face is unknown to the general public. What is known is the dominate history as an assistant to some of the most popular manga/anime in recent years.

While no anime adaption has been created for this manga, Fire Punch will go down as Tatsuki Fujimoto‘s most popular manga. In April of 2016 it was released and really helped jumpstart Fujimoto’s career into the spotlight. After the end of serialization, popular manga (which now has an anime adaption) Chainsaw Man was released to VIZ Media in March of 2019. Multiple assistants were assigned to the project, and of course of those assistants was Yukinobu Tatsu.

Fun Fact: Fujimoto’s assistants also went on to create SPY x FAMILY and Hell’s Paradise (both of which have an anime adaption)

After also working on Hell’s Paradise, it was finally time for the introduction to Dandadan. In all the projects, you can see the inspiration that Tatsu gained from the experience. As mentioned earlier, the random and almost unsettling humor comes at sporadic moments. All be it is a showdown or just trying to get through a meal, you can never expect what will come out of the characters mouths.

What is Dandadan About?

Dandadan follows two high school students Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura (known as Okarun). An unlikely friendship that starts out with a bet between the two, Momo stating that the supernatural is real while Okarun believes that the occult is out there.

They find themselves at the landmarks of sightings that they both believe houses real proof of their standings. Momo finds herself at an run down building where aliens are known to appear when called while Okarun goes to a tunnel where the sightings of a ghost have been rumored.

In a twist of fate, while they are both speaking to each other over the phone, they discover that both the supernatural and the occult are very real. Momo then gets abducted by aliens while Okarun is cursed by a a being known as Turbo Granny.

During the abduction, Momo awakens her dormat pyshic powers. Along with Okarun who is transported (by the curse) through the phone, they battle it out with the aliens, making their escape.

This is just the introduction of the story to the readers. As the manga continues they gain allies and go on an array of adventures. They continue to explore the paranormal and supernatural (comically running into them on accident often). The supernatural and paranormal seem to not be their only findings. There seems to be hints of a romance between the unlikely pair that continue to be unraveling.

Current Story Arcs For Dandadan

Conclusion

Overall, the greatest description of Dandadan is simple this, it’s the best. I have personally had so much fun with the series overall. It is one that I am eagerly awaiting new chapters to be released so that I can dive deeper into the lore that is Dandadan.

The movie seems to cover at least part of the Turbo Granny Arc. We still have time before the Anime releases on October 3rd. Sadly, if you already saw the movie, this means waiting another month for a new episode to officially be streaming. While it will be a long wait, I am just happy this is getting any form of adaption in the first place (I’m talking about you Vagabond).

As someone who has read it, I can assume where we will end the first season of Dandadan. IF the storyline continues as the first three episodes did, I would say that it will end with a cliffhanger right before or right as the Cursed House Arc starts.

Will you be seeing the series, and those of you that have read it, what are your thoughts?

If you liked this anime/manga review – check out Delicious in Dungeon: Gygaxian Naturalism Done Right!