Dandadan

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Instead of listing the famous names that recommended this manga, I want to clearly state my thoughts about this beginning premise.

-Okay typical school setting
-Occultic science fiction shit
-What the fuck

Some of the shit we've seen in the first chapter alone can be taken extremely out of context, in which I compare this part to the random shit I've or you've seen in Fire Punch (Author was an assistant under Fujimoto).

While there isn't much to go on, I can sorta guess the route we are taking... Honestly, the first chapter was so random I wouldn't even know. I would like to think of it as some sort ... of bootleg mob psycho but this time we have more variety in the mixed.

Well besides the occultic battle premise without much to go on, the characters in particular have their potential of course to grow and mature maybe. We are introduced to a nerd and an aggressive girl that tries to prove their theories against each other, but in the end they prove each other right.

Other than that, this series gets pretty weird and creepy like it was suppose to be a one-shot parody but apparently we'll be introduced to more. So in any case, look out for more!

10/10 Occultist shit

So the author of Chainsaw man Tatsuki Fujimoto recommended this one to his fans. I really must say. WOW. WHAT IN FUCK DID I JUST READ. Even though there are only 3 chapters out so far ( which is not enough to review anything but i really wanted to give my thought on this ), this is so fucking good.
Story : Isn't much really to talk about but premise looks promising.

Art : Holy fuck this is real good art. The best panel i saw so far 100% was okarun's transformation.

Character : Kind of incel male protag and a tsundere chad female mc? Granny is ... a fucking GIGA CHAD tho

Also why the grandma looking so fucking young. Not complaining but just curious.
Overall 100% recommend if u just finished Chainsaw man and are awaiting part 2 or just in general

After having read all of the manga that’s out now (89 chapters) I can definitely say that this shounen is extremely average LOL.

The artwork is amazing, very charming character design and sometimes entertaining interactions. The absurdity is also fun sometimes. I think that’s all the praise I have for it.

My main issues with the work revolve around how the female characters all fall so flat. I know that shounen is not a genre known for writing great female characters, like I’m not going into this expecting anything out of them let’s be real. But when so many of the main/reoccurring characters are girls, their poor ... characterization really shows. One of my least favorite tropes is also women being threatened with sexual violence only to be saved by a man, and this manga has that happen multiple times. It’s fucking weird.

I think fans of the manga really enjoy the art, how crazy everything is, and the MoTW kinda story, but I don’t feel anything while reading it. I’m keeping up with it solely out of the hopes I will see what everyone else sees, but I’m 80 chapters in and there’s nothing there. There’s definitely some aspects of this work that are enjoyable, but nothing that would make me sing its praises or recommend it to a friend. Something can be silly, absurd, and completely detached from reality while still having character depth and a great storyline. This work is lacking in the latter.

Dandadan started off as a tremendous amalgamation of creativity and a don't give-a-fuck-fun-loving attitude that takes you for a ride. It's probably one of the strongest first chapters I have ever read with a cool supernatural plot and budding romance. The comedy is quirky and dirty and so much fun compared to other Shounen (looking at you JJK). Ken and Momo have one of the most authentic romantic relationships that I have seen in a manga where the feelings develop naturally for each other; it's sweet and it's real and it grounds the story throughout its surrealism. Their romance is the anchor for the spaceship ... narrative that pings around just about everywhere.

And unfortunately, this is where Dandadan loses traction. We jump from one supernatural endeavor to another as the cast grows ever larger with Jiji, Aira, and a whole host of other characters you could care less about. It's all about the next big bad boss fight and not about the characters. Unfortunately, over time, they become flat and uninteresting, even Momo and Ken. There are no stakes to the story because nothing about it is real. There's no charm to the romance of Momo and Ken because their romantic progression has remained the same for 130 chapters. There's no exploration of feelings and all the side characters become cliche tropes. Even the randomness of the fights versus the aliens and yokai takes on a formulaic progression. Take on boss, win, have some comic relief chapters and add some tension to the romance (which has all but dissipated), and repeat. I so badly want to learn more about the characters that I started scrolling through the later chapters that had gone from chaotic fun to aimless.

My biggest frustration is that the story has lost it's sparkle, like the author himself is just going through the motions. The inventiveness has disappeared and so has the promise of a well-developed romance and an ethos of taking on the mystery of the world. It's not mysterious; it's just another run of the mill shounen that could have been. I hope Yukinobu can turn it around. Because there's not many authors who can make a boy meets girl and takes on the world anime feel one of a kind.

[no spoilers]
a manga recommended by the authors of chainsaw man and jigokuraku.....must be a banger. and it is...

it has all of those weirdness of chainsaw man and epic action scenes of hells paradise [yes all of it in ch 1] the world still isn't fleshed out enough but since its the first chapter, we don't need to worry about that too much.
i liked the characters....and their weird quirks ofc. the art is very good imo, if u enjoyed jigokuraku then you'll enjoy this for sure......it doesn't have berserk level of detail into it but its good.

all in all, you should give ... it a try

So imagine a story with surreal, absurdist imagery and humor that's so dumb and juvenile which can only be compared to FLCL and Panty & Stocking mixed in with the coolest fights against all different kinds of folklore monsters, aliens and conspiracy/urban legend myths. That's DanDaDan for you.

Let's get the obvious out of the way first.
The craftsmanship alone beats a lot of other current action manga out of the park. The environment and characters are very crisp and detailed. The art is also versatile and switches between the moments whenever it wants to be funny, eerie, cool or cute.
The actions sequences are very ... easy to follow and dynamic so it feels like every strike and blow packs a punch.


The weird thing with this manga is that when it's narrative is this simple and stupid you wouldn't expect to be that great right? Wrong.
DanDaDan is like what Hellraiser was to grindhouse. It doesn't pretend to be anything more than it is and does it well. Dumb fun action comedy. And I appreciate that very much.
But even then the story somehow manages to also have very heartfelt moments and as such there are stakes and the battles feel all the more tense. It keeps getting better as the story goes on.

So how do the characters hold up? They're all very likable and their chemistry is great.
They actually develop each other and have a lot of fun moments together.
Surprisingly even some enemies get developed and don't just feel like cardboard cut-outs in terms of depth. Our characters aren't invincible and actually have to find a different way each time to defeat the formidable foes.

The world building is the least focused on aspect here but later on in the story we do get some interesting lore that explains why the aliens are attacking Earth and overall things are explained well.

Some flaws:

1) The plot is very repetitive and simple and it can feel like nothing's moving forward. Our characters go somewhere -> Monsters start chasing them -> Fight -> Repeat.
2) The comedy also feels a bit repetitive and too stupid with the "BOOBS AND DICKS HAHAHAHA GET IT FUNNYY"

3) the thing with the Void. Every time an alien or monster attack, the characters get pulled into this different dimension where they can basically break everything and the normal world will stay fine. A bit too convenient.
4) It doesn't dive deeper into the occult or UFO conspiracies and sometimes just mentions them for the sake of it (ex. flatwoods monster

But overall this a very enjoyable manga if you just want to read a fun, mindless battle-shonen without a greater narrative and story

Dandadan is a weird amalgamation of genre blending that is kinda done a lot in shounen jump now-a-days, but just done better.

It seamlessly blends action, romance, comedy, horror, slice of life, mystery, and sci-fi in the weirdest and best way possible.

The story will shine later down the road when everything gets revealed, and we know everything, kinda like with chainsaw man.

But the monster of the week scenarios don't necessaly feel forced, other then the inciting incident.

All in all, this is gonna be one helluva journey and I can't wait to see where Yukinobu Tatsu takes it.

Okay, I think we all know that by like 2025 at least, this is gonna become the next big shonen so don't be surprised by the time that happens. However, while I hate to disappoint, it isn't gonna live up to the expectations of it's main source of inspiration (Chainsaw Man).

While the art is fantastic and near the peak of it's genre, the writing does not make up for it. It draws a lot from CSM as seemingly insane things happen, but it lacks the meaning and depth of it's predecessor. Maybe it is due to lack of experience, but those insane moments don't come ... for any "natural reason" compared to CSM (which some people even complained that happened in CSM but I disagree); they just happen. And while during the first chapter I found this exciting and a great hook, by Chapter 50 I was really tired of it.

The main reason why I believe this happens is due to a lack of real worldbuilding. It may seem as if Dandadan has good worldbuilding on paper as it talks about yokai and aliens, but unlike CSM it doesn't feel like that information is important. In fact, it rarely plays any point in the plot other than just giving an excuse for a fight to immediately happen or to solve the conflict at that very second. There isn't any setup for something greater and for a long running series, you need that to keep the reader engaged.

What I will give Dandadan is that it's main cast is really likable. The two main characters, Takakura and Ayase, are relatable in the best ways and play off each other naturally. Maybe not in the depth that Dandadan's contemporaries do but in the "Will-they-Won't-they" type of way. And the side characters also have some mix of traits that make them feel more fun and real than lets say your typical Black Clover character. The best part about all of these characters is the way they talk around one another. Instead of acting stiff and lifeless (the "we are such great friends" without really showing they are great friends in dialogue), they talk like how modern real people would.

The worst aspect about it though is the villains as they again fall victim to the lack of buildup issue. I do appreciate that the author isn't falling victim to the "make a team of bad guys" trope like the Akatsuki or whatever, but his alternative of making no real recurring individual villain or threat makes things a lot less interesting. Instead you are met with a boring alien or yokai who either (a) ties into the theme the author is trying to tell with the side character or (b) is some nameless villain to just overcome. One of these options is certainly better than the other but neither are really too appealing.

To wrap this up, Dandadan is a good series. Not a great series, not an awful series, not a boring series, but just a solid, fine series. It is visually impressive, it has some funny moments, but it won't blow your socks off story wise. Like the equivalent to a cheese pizza.

This is a really creative story, probably one of the most creative stories out right now. The characters are funny and how the 2 protagonists interact is amazing.

but....

I have a problem with the story at the moment. it kind of feels like the mangaka doesn't know what he wants to do. Its a really creative story but everything feels rushed and like a lot of stuff is getting thrown at us.

Its not too fair to shit on the manga right now, i do expect this to pick up soon since its only on 4 chapters but at the moment I don't think this is ... a 10 or 9.

I do plan on changing my review and rating the more i read since it does look promising but rights now its a 6 more or less but its not a 10 or 9.

Dandadan is probably the manga that has intrigued me the most over the last months. Ever since the first chapter that so harrowingly introduced me to the occult and supernatural elements of this world, I've been intrigued to see how far Yukinobu Tatsu can reach in this in relation to creativity. And I'll say, I am not disappointed in the slightest.

Story 8/10

The story so far had a bit of a rough start after the first few chapters, as it flung itself between interactions like a very rapid succession of mini-arcs. Naturally, these were to establish the world, but the pacing made me feel a bit ... flustered at times while reading week-by-week. As we've approached and broken the 50 chapter mark, the story has taken a more solid form, with the latest arc being a genuinely exciting and action-packed arc that I thoroughly enjoyed. Despite that, I cannot give the story more than an 8 because of the somewhat stressful pacing it had in it's earlier chapters.

Art 9.5/10

The art in Dandadan is outstanding. The art-style is consistent and the panelling is fantastic in guiding your eyes and keeping interest, without wasting time on. It is very effective, yet doesn't spare expense in displaying what's happening in full effect. The manga has a few rare massive 2-page spreads that allows the mangaka to truly flex his artistic skills. Character expressions are fantastic and the action scenes are exciting to witness. The supernatural entities are also both horrifying and interesting to look at, with designs that vary extremely, as well as their origins.

Characters 10/10

This is where I feel that the manga shines the most, in it's characters. Our main characters Okarun (Ken) and Momo Ayase start off at totally opposite sets of the spectrum. The former's displayed as your usual scrawny, nerdy kid, whereas the latter's the more cool, gyaru-style kinda girl. Dandadan quickly diverts from tropes though, as we learn that there's more to these characters than the preconceived notions of their design. Over the manga's current run, their chemistry is fantastic, as Okarun has the guts to retaliate against Momo's more abrasive attitude, and Momo reciprocates Okarun's gentle nature. The side characters are also very enjoyable and have great chemistry with the main cast, but as to avoid spoilers, I will not divulge in them further.

Enjoyment 9/10

Overall, I enjoy the manga a lot. It manages to thread through multiple genres very effectively, as it can go from a silly slice-of-life style comedy to a terrifying horror manga at a moment's notice thanks to it's occult persuasion. It then intermingles this with astounding action set-pieces as well as some very neatly sprinkled romance that pops up from time to time, making sure we don't forget that the undertone exists.

Overall 9/10

In conclusion, I deeply suggest you to read Dandadan, or at least give the first chapter a chance. It's an incredibly enjoyable and smoothly fluctuating read, that has some trouble finding it's identity, but has at this point started solidifying itself onto a solid path. I can only see it going upward from here, as the characters grow and more of the world is divulged to us readers.

Not to cry wolf, but I can feel the anime adaption just waiting to happen once there's enough content for one.

The entire thing is available to read on MangaPlus, for free! It's frankly unbelievable for the quality of this manga

Tl;dr
I have a feeling this is potentially of the next big shonens. Probably not in the big three for the foreseeable future, but it's no slouch either

Honestly, DanDaDan is one of the best series I have read this year. I was quickly absorbed in the story and I wasn't expecting how attached I would get to the main characters. It is a strange mix of genre's but it is very well crafted that you don't really notice how absurd everything is as you get sucked into the world and the story. The pacing is great and balances the different story arcs nicely.
The humor occasionally had me laughing aloud, but my main surprise was that the artwork is incredible (the author manages to create animation effect between pages at one point ... and it's very creative). I also love how the romance develops throughout the story alongside the craziness of the world and events around the main characters.

I highly recommend DanDaDan for pretty much everyone. Please do not be dissuaded by the first chapter as that is the worst of the shock value and it doesn't come up again in that manner. Give it a go through the first arc or two and you will likely enjoy the ride!

NOTE: As of writing this review I am on chapter 170 out of 170 currently released. The series is still ongoing.

This is my favorite manga.

It combines action and comedy but never fails to hit me unexpectedly with a tearjerking story. At the time of writing this I am on chapter 153 and the recent events in the story had me so emotional.

The action never fails to surprise me Dandadan has some of the best art in the manga industry and the best art in Shonen jump in my personal opinion. The panels flow very well and are easy to understand even in a high speed fight. The fights have some very cool references that fans of other series will spot in an instant. I am ... not sure how the artist is keeping up with the week to week publish because tons of the chapters have multiple double page spreads.

The comedy can be a little immature and I could see that being a bit of an issue but for me, stupid jokes found in chainsaw man and gintama still have me laughing.

Dandadan has one of the best character rosters ever. The group has so many different types of people that at a first glance it could never work, but it does. The author has written each character to have a unique personality that makes the groups antics crazier with every new addition. Even the unimportant side characters are some of the funniest characters ive seen in recent manga.

Dandadan is currently my favorite ongoing manga and I would suggest it to anyone who love manga like: Gintama, Chainsaw man, and even Mob Psycho 100.

If Science Saru does the anime right then I can see it going up with Jujutsu kaisen as one of the most successful stories of our generation.

10/10 would read again

[SPOILER FREE REVIEW]

Story 8/10
Honestly a breath of fresh air from all these long-isekai-novel titles. The pacing is also very fast and keeps you interested. All the plot is introduced in the early chapters and is developing to be a very good story.

Art 10/10
Better than your average manga art, and has a very distinct art style to their environment and characters, especially their faces. The separation from each panel is very interesting and perfect, as it shows what the characters are doing without long boring texts.

Enjoyment 10/10
Honestly excited to see where this manga will go as it has a pretty strong start. Will be looking ... forward to it.

30/09/2021

"Are you familiar with Dandadan?" Dandadan is a manga series about Momo Ayase, a high school girl who doesn't believe that aliens could ever exist, and Ken Takakura, a boy from the same school as Momo who vehemently denounces the possibility of yokai or Japanese ghosts. The world of Dandadan takes the reader into an adventure of stunning art that seems to leap out of pages, a wide variety of friends, enemies, and monsters. While fighting different aliens and yokai, our two main characters and their many allies pick up an assortment of wild and wacky abilities and powers that bring life to the story. ... I wouldn't recommend Dandadan if you don't like horror or focusing on detail, but for everyone else, jump in and enjoy.

I really don't even know what or how to start with this one.

Dandadan is probably one of the weirdest yet fascinating Manga's I have ever read. Hands down. It just get weirder the more you read and delve into but weird in a good way. The plot is dope, the art style is fantastic and the characters are very interesting.

The manga's humor is great too. Sometimes I found it hard to take how serious losing one's balls is when they call it his golden ball. However, I do think that's the kind of humor the author was going for.

Overall, please give this one ... a read because you might just find yourself loving it. Definitely a diamond in the rough.

WARNING:This Review will be spoiler free but I will still talk about the start of story and later early events vaguely enough so that you have and idea what goes on this manga.

DANDADAN IS A MASTERPIECE

Do you like aliens? do you love stories about ghosts and occult stuff? and do you love shonen manga? If you like one of the three things i mentioned then this might be your new favorite manga. YES!! its that good and I will explain why in this review.


Lets start with the story, it revolves around two main characters Momo Ayase and Takakura Ken or Okarun, Momo has ... just been dumped by her boyfriend and is in a bad mood, while walking around the school she finds Takakura getting bullied and helps him shake of the bullies. After that Takakura wants to be a friend with Momo so he try talikg with her about aliens the thing he loves most but unfortunately for him Momo doesn’t believe in aliens but believes in occult which Takakura doesn’t believe in so the laugh at each other and fight about it. Then each of them challenge each other to go to a place rumored to be an alien sighting spot or an occult spot. After they both find what they didn’t believe in is real and then the story goes on and face many problems and stuff they will need to solve. I don’t want to spoil the story any more than that but let me just say that its really unpredictable and fun how the author spins the story over and over again its so much fun to read it every week not knowing what will happen next. He really knows how to intoroduce new characters as well like Seiko,Jiji and Shiratori who become integral to the story as well.

Now about the characters, each one has aa different and distinct personality which I really love, as many mangas nowadays have copy paste personalities and are very similar. The dynamic and relationship between Momo and Takakura is amazing, I really love the romance between them and how it evolves by each chapter. Other side characters are fleshed out as well, you feel that you can understand them and know how they feel, they aren’t just a side character for the fun of it each of them has their story and it doesn’t just end like that they evolve as the storY progresses. Again the author is just that good at writing characters and introducing them, you’ll see for yourself when you read it.

What about the art and style of this manga? is it good? Its not just good its MIND-BLOWING how beautiful each panel is and how its full of detail it is. The character designs,buildings everything looks just amazing. and don’t get me started on the character clothing choices, they look beautiful and the fashion is pretty good it reminds of the drip Bleach characters have with how dripped out they look.

I just love this Manga so much and can’t wait for a studio to pick it up and make a great anime with it. I could keep writing about this series more than this but if I do it will be a verrrrry long review which I don’t do. I hope you read Dandadan and enjoy it as much as I do. I Hope this manga continues to more than 300 chapters.

OVERALL I GIVE IT A DESERVED 10/10 ITS A MASTERPIECE OF WORK, THANK YOU TATSU YUKINOBU SENSEI FOR WRITNG THIS MANGA.

If there are 3 (technically 5) words to describe this manga its:

WEIRD, FUN, and WHAT THE FUCK

Such a weird ride with horny ghosts and banana loving aliens that makes you wonder what in the world you're reading but at the same time the art is beautiful and scary/creepy. The characters designs are unique and exactly what you would expect with the past assistant of Mr. Fujimoto of Chainsaw Man.

It's interesting that there's not one but 2 main characters and they're basically opposites of each other but their conversations and reactions towards ... each other is hilarious. Only 2 chapters are out but I can see that this is definitely the birth of a new cult classic.

I am a hundred chapters deep into this manga and honestly, I think it's pretty good. Not incredibly groundbreaking, but good.

I think the strength of this manga lies in the absurdity within some of the concepts presented in the story rather than the amazing character writing and plot. I think the humor is good and some of the jokes landed really well, which is something that is hard to do with translations and different cultures having different humor.

The art style is very clean and frankly quite impressive for what I was expecting. The perspective and detail put into some of the action shots ... are amazingly intricate without being bogged down by its complexity and I'm never confused about what's happening on the page.

The plot is shounen. It's basic and what you come to expect from a story like this. There are some characters that get old quickly and some that probably didn't need to be in the story in the first place, but the main cast is solid.

I like it and would recommend it to anyone who likes some off-the-wall absurdity in their manga.

This is GenZ Gintama.

A remarkable manga that stands out in its generation. The humor is fresh, and the plot is a whirlwind of chaos and creativity that keeps readers on their toes. It’s hard to believe that this is a weekly manga, given the sheer quality and effort put into each panel. The artwork is iconic, and the characters’ outfits are some of the best in the genre, always looking fresh and stylish.

The romance, though often sidelined by the chaotic events, is adorable and adds a sweet touch to the story. This is intentional, adding depth to the narrative. The main characters are solidly written, ... but it’s the side characters that truly shine. Each one is a masterpiece, S+ for their unique personalities and development; and they just keep coming, adding new layers to the story, making it more engaging and exciting.

This series has one of those pilot chapters that hooks you from the get go.

Albeit I was a little confused at first as I had no idea where the mangaka was going with the story (and seems neither is he). I thoroughly enjoyed the first 5 chapter.

One flow I feel with the story is that there isn't a long term goal with the story, what are the main characters end goals? what are they achieving? Another thing that can be seen as a good thing ( and a bad thing) is the continuous transition from humor to serious.
The main characters would be ... in a very bad situation and out of nowhere, the panels would go from very dark art to very simple, and humorous. I still enjoy them, I just think it would be better to cut down on these and rather have the jokes mostly before and after the battles ( I really liked the toilet joke)

Overall, very well drawn with humorous and dark toned panels. 8/10