Have you grown tired of the usual anime story? Are you looking for something that is a little weird, a little out there? Do you like aliens and ghosts? If you said yes to any of these questions, then there’s an anime coming later this year that must be on your radar: DAN DA DAN. Created by Yukinobu Tatsu, the smash hit manga is getting its long-awaited anime adaptation in October of this year, and I couldn’t be more excited. I’ve been reading the manga since the English volumes started releasing, and if you haven’t read the manga, you’re in for a wild ride. But maybe you watched the trailer and were just confused and not sure what all the fuss is about. Well, let me tell you why you should care about DAN DA DAN.
DAN DA DAN is a story of aliens, paranormal encounters, and “romance.” The series follows high schoolers Momo Ayase and Okarun (not his real name) as they deal with visitors from other worlds and plains of existence! All the while dealing with normal high school stuff like relationships and bullying. After Momo helps Okarun out by defending him from some bullies, the two argue over the others’ beliefs. Momo believes in spirits but not aliens, while Okarun believes the opposite. And so they have a bet on who is right, which sets the story in motion. Enter an alien species called the Serpoians (also known as Human-Genitals-Seeking Aliens) and a malicious spirit that loves to race called Turbo-Granny, and this wacky story is underway. It’s a crazy story that will only get crazier, which is why you need to be there from day one when the anime drops in October.
Speaking of the actual adaptation, everything about it screams excellent to me. For starters, it’s being animated by Science Saru, who are amazing. Some previous stuff they’ve worked on include the amazing film Ride Your Wave, which made me cry multiple times. They also animated Devilman Crybaby and some episodes of Star Wars: Visions (Akakiri and T0-B1). Aside from anime, they’ve also worked on Adventure Time and the new Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. I’m very confident that they’ll knock it out of the park, and the first trailer for DAN DA DAN has got me very hopeful.
Animation aside, the series is just a fun time. There’s the wacky plot, as previously mentioned, but the characters are also all so engaging. The way that the relationship between Momo and Okarun develops in just the first volume of the manga is top-tier, and all the side characters they’ve introduced since then have been fantastic as well. I’m hoping this series gets an English dub and that they cast Brittney Karbowski (Rimuru in Slime) as Momo and Aleks Le (Zenitsu in Demon Slayer) as Okarun. I’ve been reading the manga with their voices, and it just fits so well (LISTEN TO ME, CRUNCHYROLL, AND CAST THEM!)
DAN DA DAN is one of my favourite manga series right now, and I’m super pumped for this anime adaptation. I have complete faith that Science Saru will knock it out of the park and give us a perfect adaptation. I’m excited to see all of the wacky antics and completely out-there story beats in a new way, especially the Turbo-Granny. But is there actually a Turbo-Granny? Are there genital-seeking aliens? Is Okaruns name ever going to be revealed? You’ll have to watch DAN DA DAN when it drops this October on Crunchyroll and Netflix (or read the manga). Keep it locked to Couch Soup for even more anime content to feed your hungry nerd soul.
Check out the trailer below and the press release from Crunchyroll here.
Are you excited for DAN DA DAN? Have you read the manga? What are you most excited to see animated? Let us know in the comments where we can share in the excitement.
