Dan Da Dan is easily one of the most anticipated anime releases of the year, and for good reason. Yukinobu Tatsu's supernatural sci-fi manga has garnered a devoted cult following since its debut on Shonen Jump Plus in 2021, thanks in no small part to its beautiful artwork, raunchy humor, and bizarre premise. After all, it's not every day you read about an alien-obsessed high school boy whose genitals are stolen by ghosts and a paranormal-obsessed high school girl whose latent psychic abilities are awakened after an alien abduction. With that kind of premise, who better to produce an anime adaptation of the series than Science Saru, the acclaimed animation studio behind such colorful and eclectic hits as Devilman Crybaby, Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, and The Tatami Galaxy?
While the series doesn't officially begin streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix until October 3, Dan Da Dan fans (or Dan Da Dan-Fans) have the chance to see the first three episodes of the anime in theaters this Friday through a special event hosted by GKIDS, the U.S.-based independent anime distributor that holds the home and theatrical rights to the series. If these initial impressions are anything to go by, Dan Da Dan goes beyond the usual adaptation method to push visual storytelling in ways that audiences rarely see in modern anime.
Image: Science Saru/GKIDS
Like the manga, the anime revolves around Momo Ayase, a high school student and one of the two main characters of the series, who has just been dumped by her first boyfriend. Sad and depressed, Momo runs into Okarun, an introverted classmate who is constantly teased for her obsession with aliens. Momo mocks Okarun for his interest in aliens, while Okarun mocks Momo for her belief in the supernatural. After a brief back-and-forth, the two decide to make a bet: If one of them can prove the existence of ghosts or aliens, the other will agree to be their go-between. Momo and Okarun quickly get more than they bargained for when the former is abducted by aliens and the latter is possessed by a lecherous spirit named Turbo Granny. And things only get weirder from there!
It goes without saying that the animation in the first three episodes of Dan Da Dan is gorgeous. In recent years, Science Saru has begun to focus more on producing anime based on existing properties, like Sumito Ōwara's Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! and Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, with each project demonstrating the studio's knack for tapping into the unique qualities of its source material while still maintaining Science Saru's signature sense of fun and sometimes dark humor. That's true in the case of Dan Da Dan as well, with the series' unusual blend of supernatural action and slice-of-life romantic comedy elements perfectly suited to Science Saru's creativity and quirky sensibilities.
Image: Science Saru/GKIDS
Dan Da Dan does a great job of translating Tatsu's character designs to the animated medium, especially in the case of Momo and Okarun. The dynamic poses and exaggerated facial expressions found in the original manga remain intact, if not amplified in the anime through the series' impressive character animation. It's fun to just watch these teenagers overreact and bicker with each other, as well as follow their arguments, with wide shots of the pair leaning towards each other and cutting to close-ups of Momo and Okarun grinding their teeth at each other, their eyes turning into solid white circles of exasperation. It's a great tone-setter for the odd couple dynamic in the first three episodes.
Creative decisions like these in the early episodes of Dan Da Dan not only meet the expectations set by the source material, but also rely on the affordances of the animation and can enhance them. And it's not just that: there's also the use of reflective surfaces like mirrors and glass in the background of shots to foreshadow movement and frame two subjects at once, or CG-assisted shots to emphasize the scale and atmosphere of particularly creepy locations. By far the most impressive—and most notable—choice that makes the anime's visuals truly stand out is the series' particular approach to color design combined with its overall art direction, especially when it comes to the anime's action scenes.
Image: Science Saru/GKIDS
For those unfamiliar, art direction in anime production is divided into two separate but complementary areas: art direction, which deals with the design and layout of backgrounds and locations, and color design, or planning the overall color palette of the anime (though focusing on the color schemes of the characters). Art directors and color designers work together to ensure that the overall aesthetic is consistent throughout the production, adjusting elements to suit the specific mood and style of specific scenes and episodes without disrupting the overall color palette. And honestly, color design doesn't often get much attention in discussions of anime because it doesn't usually draw much attention to itself. Dan Da Dan throws that notion completely out the window, and the results are spectacular.
In an interview with Anime News Network, Dan Da Dan series director Fūga Yamashiro said that the production team's approach to the anime's color design was directly inspired by the manga's unique blend of horror, comedy, and romance. “When the characters are thrown into unusual situations like fighting aliens or yokai, etc., I thought, 'What's an easy way to tell that they're thrown into a completely unusual situation?'” For Yamashiro and his team, the answer was simple: Focus on a specific character or creature, assign them a color, then highlight the entire scene with that specific color when that character is the focus of that sequence.
Image: Science Saru/GKIDS
We see this in the first episode as Okarun is chased through a haunted tunnel by Turbo Granny, a malevolent spirit that radiates a red aura that quickly sweeps across the scene. The sequence switches to a first-person perspective as she runs along the walls and ceiling of the tunnel after him. Satoshi Hashimoto, the color designer for Dan Da Dan, who previously worked on Devilman Crybaby, takes a similar approach to color in the climax of the first episode, when protagonist Akira Fudo transforms into Devilman for the first time and lays siege to a nightclub filled with terrifying demons. In Dan Da Dan, that effect takes center stage as the anime's signature visual element, with subsequent action sequences in the first three episodes alternating between turquoise tones and monochrome black and white. Combine that with the anime's strong, genre-blending score and fast-paced action, and the result is an experience that feels as bold, bizarre, and engaging to watch as reading the original manga.
The third volume of Dan Da Dan ends much like the first four chapters of the manga. Anime viewers will have to wait a few more weeks to see what the rest of the series has in store for the duo, but it's clear from this first batch of volumes that Fūga Yamashiro and co. aren't just looking to produce a solid adaptation of a beloved manga. They're taking cues from what Science Saru has done in the past and pushing the boundaries of the studio's homegrown style to create works based on popular series and franchises that avoid sacrificing creative freedom at the expense of fidelity to their source material. And for the most part, they're succeeding.
The first three episodes of Dan Da Dan will hit theaters on September 13. Dan Da Dan will air on Crunchyroll and Netflix on October 3.
