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The concept of aliens and spirits is not new to the anime and manga world. But it has been completely revolutionized by Yukinobu Tatsu’sDandadan.Dandadanhas recently entered the ever-growing anime community with a new series produced by Science SARU. And with only three episodes under its belt, it has managed to become the talk of the town.
It follows the story of Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura as they get involved in not only one but two different eccentric worlds comprising aliens and supernatural spirits. As the two battle their way out of the situations involving aliens and spirits, they develop romantic feelings towards each other, which creates an intriguing twist in the narrative.
However, the thing that majorly helped in the success ofDandadanis the attention to detail regarding the concepts that are usually overlooked in the Shonen genre. One of them is the depiction of spirits in the eyes of the general public. Tatsu made sure that he did not commit the same mistakes as other spirit-themed anime series likeBleach.
The Dangerous Spirits inDandadan
Spirits are the souls of people who have died but have not yet crossed to the afterlife. They are not usually visible to the rest of the human world, but they roam around them and hold their existence in the human world with the help of auras. Only a limited number of characters who possess spiritual awareness can see them and interact with them.
Dandadan Director Confirms “Essence” of the Show is Neither Sci-fi Nor Horror
As spirits generally pass over to the afterlife, the ones that stay behind become extremely powerful and dangerous. Thus, many spiritually aware people attempt to force them to the afterlife, but it’s not as easy as it sounds. The roaming spirits generally do not cooperate in being forced over to the afterlife.
The spirit that stays behind on Earth generally has a reason or attachment towards something. They are incredibly strong and can only be exorcised with the help of spiritual tools and items. Most of the spirits inDandadanare portrayed in a negative role as they try toharm the main characters.
Yukinobu Tatsu’s Attention To Detail To The Concept of Spirits
Generally, the portrayal of spirits is similar in almost every anime or manga series. Be itMob Psycho 100, Blue Exorcist, orBleach, the basic concept of spirits involves them being invisible to normal people. However, many times this concept is overlooked once the spirit gains significance in the central narrative of the series.
Whenever a spirit gets linked with a major plot, it becomes visible to the normal characters as well. This might feel like a minor issue, but taking care of small details like these can help in the overall growth of the series.
Fun fact: to normal people, Okarun’s transformation isn’t visible at all.So this is how he looks to a normal person after he’s transformed#Dandadanpic.twitter.com/wm4ocwvhvz
This is clearly witnessed inDandadan, where Tatsu made sure that the spirits remained invisible even after they became incredibly important to the central storyline.
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The biggest example of this is Turbo Granny. AlthoughTurbo Granny fused with Okarunand gave him a new spiritual transformation, it is not visible to everyone. Characters who are not spiritually aware inDandadanstill see Okarun as a normal human acting weird. This maintains the authenticity of the spiritual concept in the series and also adds a comedic element.
Dandadanis available to watch on Crunchyroll.
Tarun Kohli
Senior Writer
Articles Published :2959
Tarun Kohli is the Senior Anime Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,900 published articles. He currently specializes in critiquing One Piece and other Shonen anime. A passionate fan of the genre, his love for thoughtful analysis reflects his genuine appreciation for the art of anime. His deep understanding of anime culture has earned recognition from industry figures such as Adi Shankar and the creators of Blood of Zeus.
