A Glimpse Into the Wacky World of Dandadan

With its blend of supernatural thrills, extraterrestrial encounters, and quirky humor, Dandadan (Dan Da Dan) has become one of the most anticipated anime of the year since its debut in October 2024. Based on Yukinobu Tatsu's popular manga, the series takes viewers on a wild ride through the unexpected as it follows the adventures of Momo Ayase and Okarun, and their belief-defying world.

In this interview, we sit down with director Fuga Yamashiro and Shion Wakayama, the voice actress behind Momo Ayase, to discuss the challenges of adapting the high-energy manga to anime. They share insights into bringing the eccentric characters and fast-paced action to life on screen, as well as Wakayama's approach to portraying Momo's unique blend of courage, confidence, and compassion.

──Could you tell us how you came to be part of the anime project, Dandadan?

Wakayama: I was selected for the role of Momo after submitting a tape audition where I recorded her lines, and that's how I got the opportunity to be involved in the work Dandadan.


──What was your first impression of the manga?

Wakayama: I had the impression that the artwork was beautiful and the story had a good pace, making it a work that you can quickly get into. Despite including a variety of genres such as the occult, comedy, romance, and battle, it was very easy to read, and I finished all the volumes in no time.

Yamashiro: I felt it is a very lively work, one that jumps back-and-forth quickly between genres and features a vividly-realized cast of characters.


──The manga has a lot of fun yet bizarre moments. What kind of challenges did you have in bringing the diversity of elements (like the occult and alien stuff) to life?

Yamashiro: I put a lot of effort into giving each of the aliens and youkai their own visual personality. My goal was to create visual effects that made you feel like these creatures had different values, a different culture from us. They're living authentically in their own ways, but to us, they look strange and mysterious. That's what I aimed for in the direction.

I hope that, through Okarun and Momo, you can vicariously enjoy the experience of stepping into the paranormal and the extraordinary.



──Wakayama-san, what kind of image did you have of Momo when you first read the script and manga?

Wakayama: My first impression was, "She's a Japanese gal!" Momo is a woman with high self-esteem, who treats everyone equally, and can work hard for someone else—she's my ideal woman. There are many lines where I have to raise my voice, so it was difficult to speak clearly enough that it would be understood even just by listening. When I open my mouth wide, there are times when I struggle to pronounce words correctly, so I practiced a lot. By the way, the word "Turbo Granny" was the most difficult for me.


──Many of your previous roles were soft-spoken characters. However, Momo has a strong personality and encounters many scary beings. Was there anything you found challenging with voicing Momo?

Wakayama: Raising my voice a lot. In Dandadan, there are many scenes where you have to shout or scream, which was a big challenge for me since I hadn't had much experience with that before.


──While voicing Momo, which part of the story would you say captivated you the most?

Wakayama: What stands out is the mixture of various genres. Even within a single episode, you'll find comedy, occult, battle, romance, and many other scenes, yet all of them feel good to watch.


──Momo and Okarun often talk about weird things and tease each other. With how close the two characters are, did you have fun recording the banters between them?

Wakayama: At first, I was very nervous and had no room to relax, but as the story progressed, I started to enjoy it more. The sense of accomplishment from creating that fast-paced conversation is something you can't experience elsewhere.



──Yamashiro-san, works made at Science Saru tend to look different from mainstream/conventional anime, and are made with unique creative vision. From the PVs alone, you can tell that a lot of thought went into adapting the manga to create a fresh experience. How did you balance following the mangaka's vision and your own creative input?

Yamashiro: I wasn't trying to do something special at the start. When thinking about how to render the unique atmosphere and feeling of the source material on-screen with our limited resources, I hit upon the idea of changing the colors in some scenes. When adapting something for the screen, for better or worse, you give each shot and frame a set amount of time, something that's left up to the reader to decide when reading manga. I paid a lot of attention as to not deviate from the ideas the readers might have had in that regard.



──Did the mangaka, Tatsu-sensei, have any specific requests regarding the adaptation?

Yamashiro: He didn't have any specific requests—he was kind enough to put his faith in the team. I worked as hard as I could on production, because failure wasn't a choice.


──The first part of the story is rather fast-paced. Was it hard to keep up with the energy throughout this part of the story?

Yamashiro: Well, I think tempo is a matter of life and death for Dandadan. With jokes, and with comedy, tempo is king; the tempo being off by only a little bit means something loses the intended effect. I did my best to make things wouldn't turn out that way.

Generally speaking, outside of where they were absolutely essential, I trimmed pauses and downtime as much as I could. But I also made sure to include space when it was really necessary—creating a feeling of difference, a "gap" that makes those pauses stand out even more.

Wakayama: It was very challenging. It was a battle against my stamina. I pushed myself to the limit, sometimes even causing headaches, as I tackled the work with all my strength.


──Yamashiro-san, was there a scene that was particularly fun to direct?

Yamashiro: Those kind of scenes, you know, you feel a lot of pressure. You absolutely can't screw them up! Let's just say, then, that I didn't have any. As the project progressed, we had all kinds of issues and discrepancies, and it was quite hard to solve all of those and bring everything together. But I really felt like I was contributing something to the project by bringing everything together like that. Maybe you could say that was fun.


──Momo has a huge infatuation with the actor Ken Takakura, do you have anything that you're also obsessed with?

Yamashiro: I'm obsessed with research, with taking apart films, television, etc. and analyzing their direction and effects. I do this so I can use what I've learned in anime production, of course.


──Momo, Okarun, Aira, and Jiji all have distinct personalities, but they compliment each other really well. Out of the four characters, who would you say is your favorite, or relate to the most?

Wakayama: My favorite character is Jiji. He may seem like a jokester, but he's actually quite thoughtful. He can get along with anyone and is honest with a strong sense of justice. I'm sure he's a character that everyone will love.



Yamashiro: I can't say! I think they're all similar, but also very different in some ways. Like, looking at them from a distance, they all seem similar. They have how they act around others, and how they really think, and they change the way they communicate based on how close they are to the person they're talking to. They have that in common, I think.


──Do you have any interest in the occult or aliens?

Yamashiro: I didn't, actually, not really! So it was pretty hard working on this. I had zero knowledge at the start, and I was constantly looking things up during production. There's a charm to it all, though, no? It makes for good entertainment.



──Finally, please give a message to those who are looking forward to the broadcast.

Wakayama: The experience you'll get from watching the Dandadan TV anime is unique, just like the experience you get from reading the original manga. I'm sure once you watch it, you'll be eager to see more, so I would be delighted if you check out the broadcast.

Yamashiro: I think we did a good job adapting the unique atmosphere and aura of the manga in our show. Plus, we have a lot of fun with the medium, doing things only possible in animation—more than anything else, I think Dandadan is fun. And I hope you have fun watching it!

---

Visit the Official Site: https://anime-dandadan.com/
Follow the Official X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/anime_dandadan
Watch Dandadan on Crunchyroll: https://www.crunchyroll.com/series/GG5H5XQ0D/dan-da-dan
Watch Dandadan on Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/81736884

Dandadan PV3