In Dandadan, Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura take on aliens and the occult. The first episode is a rollercoaster. Momo has a disastrous date with a jerk and ends up heartbroken. She’s into “star masculine guys” like Takakura Ken (basically the Japanese Clint Eastwood). While passing by a classroom, Momo notices Ken getting pelted with paper balls. Feeling bad for him, she sits down in front of him. Ken, awkward as ever, can barely look her in the eye.
He follows her out of the room, teasing that he “knows what she likes”—the occult. Annoyed, Momo snaps back that she doesn’t believe in “UFOs or aliens.” Ken quickly corrects her: “They’re called UAPs now—unidentified aerial phenomena.” Their dynamic is pretty standard for anime—Momo’s the pretty girl stuck dealing with the hopeless nerd. But Momo’s a bit odd herself. She may not buy into aliens, but she does believe in ghosts. That’s where things flip. Ken, who was just rambling about UAPs, suddenly dismisses ghosts entirely, claiming “there’s no such thing.” Like a lot of nerds, Momo’s embarrassed by her own weirdness, even going as far as yelling at her psychic grandmother after being mocked at school. But now they’ve challenged each other—Momo’s determined to show Ken a ghost, and Ken’s on a mission to prove UFOs are real.
I’ll let you suckle my titties
Momo gets sent to “Nagi Hospital,” which Ken describes as a “sanctuary for aliens.” At the same time, Ken heads to a creepy, abandoned tunnel known as a “spirit spot.” Both claim they don’t believe in aliens or UFOs, but you can tell they’re scared. Ken comes face-to-face with the Turbo Granny, an urban legend from the highways of Mount Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture. The story goes that if you catch a glimpse of Turbo Granny while driving, you’re bound to crash. But in Dandadan, she’s got a way more twisted goal: offering Ken oral sex in exchange for letting him “suckle on her titties.”
We are the Serpo
If the run-in with Turbo Granny wasn’t unsettling enough, Momo’s encounter with the “Serpo” was even worse. They try to assault her, stripping her down to her underwear and using psychokinesis to manipulate her. It’s uncomfortable to read, but I guess it’s supposed to be. Before things get any further, Ken interrupts by calling her. One of the aliens reaches for her phone, but cursed Ken appears, looking like a twisted version of Turbo Granny.
He tears off one of the alien’s mechanical penises (which isn’t as brutal as it sounds). Ken’s new form is disturbing—long white hair, a grotesque row of oversized teeth, and jerky movements like he has no bones. Meanwhile, Momo’s chakra gets overstimulated by the psychokinesis, unlocking her psychic abilities. After taking down the aliens, Momo manages to remove Turbo Granny from Ken’s body, but the curse doesn’t leave with her.
The Turbo Granny claims that she has Ken’s . . . “dick,” and as long as she has it the curse won’t leave. Ken and Momo decide to join forces. I’ve been using Ken’s first name throughout this review, but at this point in the manga, Momo didn’t know his name (she called him Occult boy). Ken’s full name is Takakura Ken, the same name as the actor Momo liked in the beginning.
First Impression
After seeing the art style of the manga, I needed to read Dandadan. I’m glad the top tier art has translated into amazing animation. Science Saru is a Japanese animation studio that was established in 2013. The first animation from the studio was “Food Chain,” an episode from Adventure Time, their most recent work was Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. The most important animation from the series was Devilman Crybaby and Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! Dandadan’s animation is fluid and dramatic.
Science Saru uses a combination of “traditional hand drawn animation,” and digital animation using programs like Adobe Animate. They call the animation style “digitally assisted animation,” they key animation is drawn by hand then “recreated digitally for the stages of in-between animation (used to create smooth movement by filling in the gaps between keyframe poses), as well as for coloring.” This method increases efficiency. Another thing that stands out from this series so far is it’s use of color. Momo is colored in greens and blues, while Ken is colored in reds and pinks. Overall, I love this series and I think it will be a hit with fans.
