'Dandadan' First Impressions: Where did this come from?!

I've recently been getting back into anime after taking yet another long break from it. I recently watched through Mashle: Magic and Muscles which was a great surprise. But another anime that I stumbled across while browsing through MyAnimeList appeared: Dandadan. I took a brief look at the opening video on YouTube and noticed a similarity in the music. Ah, yes! The same group that did the opening song for Mashle's second season! I knew it! But it wasn't just the music that managed to gain my attention: Dandadan's opening was beautiful. An incredibly cinematic that had some genuinely impressive animation quality to it that I just never really see these days. It instantly hooked me in. And my curiosity immediately took over with me wanting to get through the first episode as soon as I could. Dandadan is unlike the majority of anime shows these days; and that's something I feel is a result of Japanese animation studio Science SARU and their own in-house style. There was something about that intro that felt familiar. I immediately thought of another anime show that came out a few years back now, one that was part of Netflix's earlier rise into the animation world: Devilman Crybaby. I remember this show making waves with the unique style it held, alongside a very vibrant use of colours that made many of its scenes really stand out with creativity.
Dandadan is a show that seems similar in that regard: its art style is incredibly clean. But it thrives on a very good use of colour in its animation. This is most evident in the moments of action in which things become rather fast-paced and there's a specific dominant colour used to convey specific objects or characters. Strong reds are often utilised. That aforementioned use of tidy lines and clean art coming from a point of rather detailed and fast animation to which things feel placed with intent. Dandadan's story is focused much on the world of the supernatural, and that's where a lot of this stylisation really shines. Pulling inspiration from the Internet and its stories, the strange paranormal and otherworldly events of the United States, as well as from Japanese folklore. A lot of this gets referenced in the opening, but it's also clear from the character design of some of the supernatural beings that the characters end up having to deal with. That said, this is by no means an anime version of Ghostbusters. This is something a little more different: to begin with, Momo doesn't believe in aliens, and Ken doesn't believe in the supernatural. Both characters coming together after experiencing something and quickly becoming obsessed with it all. But also in the case of Ken, something very personal is taken by one of the spirits, becoming something of a rather important plot.

Of course this is not without the show's intent to pull these two characters together a little more with a little bit of the expected romance. But a lot of this is more of a backdrop rather than a central focus within the story. Almost as if it's pulling them together in a strange twist of fate to which these differing characters actually have something to bond over, becoming quite an unlikely friendship, more so a relationship. I quite like so far that the romance and drama side of things between them isn't all that forced, it's something that's more given a bit of humour which serves as contrast to the more serious and rapid moments against the strange and spiritual, and I think that's something the show really needs. To add, it definitely gives things a bit more character without seeming like it's too serious about its themes; this is also quite important given we are still dealing with some teenagers that are in school still. Their ways of dealing with things is expectedly often void of logic and will be more emotionally driven. With Momo discovering abilities she has, and Ken discovering the powers within him caused from a possession, the episodes so far have been a lot on how they discover and interact with things using those newfound abilities. From intense chases through the streets and above trains, to becoming trapped within a courtyard while a sumo-loving spirit spreads a dangerous fog into the environment they've been walled-off inside.

Now, I wouldn't be able to finish this post without mentioning the character designs, particularly in how the spiritual and alien are designed. I really dig the way these have been created. So far each interaction the characters have had with the paranormal or otherworldly has been distinct, one after the other. I mentioned a moment ago the sumo-type spirit, to which that was a really fun set of events that had much of the colour removed from the images, with a towering sumo spirit that moved in almost robotic ways. We see aliens in the first episode, with their own odd generic alien sound when flying around in their ship, I loved that. But the aliens themselves had a really odd look to them. And this set of events was amplified by the more vibrant use of colours aboard the ship, strong blues which powered over most of the other colours. At one point we see a gigantic crab which becomes part of a granny spirit and morphs into this strange horrifying thing that speeds through the night streets after the characters. Each of these interactions so far feels impactful. With their own weight to them as they offer various threatening nature to their surroundings. We're four episodes in and I can't help but get excited for the next ones. With a lot of curiosity as to where things are heading and what else the characters will stumble across as they hone their abilities a bit more.

I can't remember the last time I saw an anime like this that really did blow all my expectations away, where I truly felt like I was watching something actually original and with an incredible degree of quality to it. Both in the creativity of its animation, as well as its storytelling. I'd be surprised if you're not already following this one, but if you're not, I highly recommend it. I think I'll go back to the first episode and start rewatching just to see if there are any minor details I may have missed, story or art.