It's another wild shonen that definitely deserves your attention.
Recent anime hits include more and more crazy shonen titles.: from Chainsaw Man, which tests the boundaries of the genre, to Undead Unluck, where the main character throws around severed limbs. And the new anime Dandadan, based on the manga of the same name by Yukinobu Tatsu, belongs to the same category.
What Is the Manga About?
The world of Dandadan is inhabited by ghosts and aliens, but it is hard to believe until you meet them in person. Before the fateful events, the main characters had their own priorities: the humble Ken was crazy about aliens, and the beautiful Momo believed in the existence of ghosts.
One day, Momo stood up for Ken, who was being bullied by his classmates. The boy decided that she shared his views, but that was not the case. But soon they had to forget their differences – the students were attacked by all the creepy creatures at once.
Dandadan Is One of the Best Shonen Mangas Out There
It is enough to read the first chapter to conclude: the mangaka goes all out – crazy situations, dirty jokes, various opponents, and fast development of the plot. This is a great start: Dandadan immediately draws you into its world and lets you know that you can expect anything.
The manga does not stop at one thing. There are ghosts with their sad, heartbreaking stories, characters who take on demonic forms, and unusual aliens.
The art is worth mentioning separately: the mangaka can boast of very detailed pictures and stylish designs of the monsters – there are a lot of beautiful and frightening spreads as well as single frames in Dandadan.
The Anime Retains the Manga's Fast Pace and Detailed Design
The anime was produced by Science Saru, a studio with many outstanding works to its credit, including Devilman Crybaby and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken. It would seem that such a crazy manga would be difficult to translate to the screen, but judging by the first episode, rookie director Fuga Yamashiro managed it.
Switching on the anime, the viewer gets the same adrenaline rush as from the manga: the events develop quickly, the animation is on a high level, the characters have funny faces during the fights, and the scene where the aliens attack Momo, although shown a little more modestly, is quite detailed.
Some moments are even better than in the manga: for example, the explosion behind Momo when she realizes that Ken is called by her crash's name perfectly visualizes her feelings.
It is impossible not to notice the work with colors: during the fights with ghosts, red tones prevail, and with aliens – blue. The director explains his choice by the fact that he wanted to show the ghosts as "warmer" and closer to people.
The experiments do not end there, for example, there is an almost black and white scene, and the screen is divided into frames.
This shonen hit, both in manga and anime form, is not to be missed, especially if you're a fan of stories like Chainsaw Man.
Where to Watch Dandadan?
Dandadan is available to stream on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Netflix.