Dan Da Dan Anime Review and Potential

Dan Da Dan anime review and potential starts with one undeniable fact. This show moves too fast for its own good sometimes, shoving forty chapters of manga into twelve episodes until the whole thing feels like it's vibrating at a frequency that might shatter glass. Science SARU animated the hell out of every frame but they forgot to let scenes breathe, creating this overwhelming rush of information that hits you like a bag of bricks wrapped in gorgeous sakuga.

You've probably seen the clips on social media. Momo floating with psychic powers while her skirt does impossible physics, Okarun transforming into a creepy old woman with super speed, aliens with smooth featureless faces trying to steal human reproductive organs. It's a lot. The premise sounds like someone threw darts at a board labeled "supernatural tropes" and decided to use all of them simultaneously. Momo believes in ghosts because her grandmother is a spirit medium but thinks aliens are stupid kid stuff. Okarun is a lonely occult nerd who believes in UFOs but thinks ghosts are nonsense. They make a bet to visit respective haunted locations, both turn out to be real, and suddenly Momo has awakened psychokinetic powers while Okarun is cursed by a yokai called Turbo Granny who stole his testicles.

That setup happens in the first five minutes. The show doesn't waste time with prolonged exposition or training arcs. Momo can move stuff with her mind immediately because the aliens unblocked her chakras during an abduction attempt. Okarun can transform into a yokai because he's possessed. There's no "learning to control their powers" montage that lasts three episodes. They figure it out through desperation and violence, which fits the chaotic energy of the source material perfectly.

What the Animation Does Different

The animation is what everyone talks about and for good reason. Science SARU isn't interested in looking like other studios. They've got this distinct style where characters stretch and deform based on emotion, faces go rubbery and grotesque for comedy, then snap back to detailed beauty during quiet moments. One episode goes almost entirely greyscale, draining all color until a climactic burst of red signals a power up. It's jarring but intentional, creating visual whiplash that keeps you off balance. The action scenes don't look like standard shonen fights with rigid choreography. They look messy, with objects spinning through the air in ways that obey physics but feel slightly wrong, creating this uncanny sense of weight and momentum.

The color palette shifts tell the story without dialogue. When things get dangerous, the saturation drops. When Momo's powers activate, the world turns pink and red. Okarun's possessed forms bring in sickly greens and yellows that make his body look wrong, like something else is wearing his skin. It's visual storytelling that doesn't require explanation, which is good because sometimes the dialogue is too busy making jokes about balls to explain the plot.

The Humor Problem Everyone Argues About

But you can't discuss this show without addressing the sexual humor because it is constant and aggressive. The Turbo Granny curse centers entirely on Okarun's missing genitals, which function as powerful artifacts that various spirits want to collect. The Serpo aliens in the first episode attempt to assault Momo, played partially for horror and partially for comedy in a way that makes a lot of viewers uncomfortable. This isn't a one-off shock moment. The dick jokes continue throughout the season. Some land because of the absurdity, others feel juvenile and exhausting. The show commits to this tone completely, refusing to sanitize itself for broader appeal.

Whether this ruins the experience depends entirely on your tolerance for crude humor. If you can push through the first episode's uncomfortable alien sequence, the show rewards you with genuine emotional storytelling later. The body horror elements deserve praise too. The Serpo aliens have these smooth, featureless faces with too many teeth and biomechanical bodies that move wrong. When they reveal their true intentions regarding human biology, it's genuinely disturbing visual design that rivals Junji Ito's work. Turbo Granny in her full form is terrifying, a twisted old woman with impossibly long limbs and a hunger for male genitalia that sounds funny on paper but looks horrifying animated with this level of detail.

Episode Seven and Why It Matters

Where Dan Da Dan proves it isn't just shock value is episode seven. Acrobatic Silky's backstory hits different. Suddenly you're watching this tragic story about a mother and poverty and sacrifice, animated with such care and specificity that it feels like a different show entirely. The tonal whiplash is extreme but it works because the characters have earned your investment by that point. Momo isn't just the tough girl trope and Okarun isn't just the nerdy sidekick. They have chemistry that feels lived-in and awkward in the way real teenage relationships are.

The shift from genital theft comedy to this somber, beautifully animated tale of sacrifice shouldn't work but it does. Momo and Okarun feel like real awkward teenagers rather than anime archetypes. Their romance develops through shared trauma and protecting each other from supernatural threats rather than festival dates and accidental hand holding. When Okarun risks his life to protect Momo, it doesn't feel like obligatory shonen heroism. It feels like a kid who was lonely finally having someone worth protecting. When Momo uses her powers to save him, she's not just being the strong female character. She's scared and angry and acting on instinct.

The Supporting Cast Issues

The supporting cast is where the pacing issues hurt most. Aira Shiratori gets introduced as a popular girl who mistakes Momo's powers for divine intervention. She's funny and adds new dynamics, but she shows up so late in the season that she doesn't get enough screen time to feel fully realized. Jin Enjoji, nicknamed Jiji, appears even later as Momo's childhood friend with his own ghost problems. The season ends on a cliffhanger involving him that sets up season two but leaves you wanting more development for these characters. Seiko, Momo's grandmother, is criminally underused. She's introduced as this badass medium who drinks beer and exorcises spirits, but she mostly stays home making dry comments while the kids fight world-ending threats.

Sound and Music

The soundtrack deserves special mention because it slaps. Kensuke Ushio composed the score, mixing traditional Japanese instruments with electronic distortion that mirrors the clash between yokai and aliens. The Creepy Nuts opening song, Otonoke, became an instant earworm with its scratchy beat and chaotic energy that prepares you perfectly for each episode. The ending theme changes occasionally but maintains this melancholic tone that contrasts nicely with the loudness of the show itself.

Voice acting is solid in both languages. The Japanese cast has Natsuki Hanae bringing this nervous, stuttering energy to Okarun that makes his possessed states genuinely creepy. Shion Wakayama gives Momo this tough but vulnerable quality that sells the character's contradictions. The English dub doesn't sacrifice the comedic timing, keeping the jokes landing while handling the emotional beats with surprising care. You can go with either option and get a full experience.

Season Two Predictions

Looking at the potential for season two, there are things that need fixing. The adaptation speed is unsustainable. They're burning through manga chapters at a rate that skips smaller character moments and compresses fights into single episodes. If they keep this pace, the emotional weight of later arcs might get lost in the rush. The manga has slower, weirder sections that require time to land properly, including a whole kaiju transformation arc that would lose impact if sped through.

But if Science SARU maintains this animation quality and the production committee gives them more episodes or better scheduling, Dan Da Dan could become something special. The creature designs get more inventive as the series progresses, moving beyond standard ghosts into bizarre cryptids like the Flatwoods monster and complex yokai with specific rules and tragic origins. The power system stays loose and intuitive rather than bogging itself down in complex rules. Momo's psychic abilities grow based on emotional stress and her connection to Okarun rather than training montages. Okarun's various possessed forms each have distinct visual designs and limitations that force creative problem solving rather than just powering up.

The Romance Done Right

The romantic subplot has surprising maturity for a show this crude. Momo and Okarun don't fall into typical tsundere dynamics. They communicate, sort of, through grumbling and embarrassment, but they clearly care about each other in ways that feel earned. Critics keep trying to compare it to other shows. They mention Jujutsu Kaisen because of the cursed energy equivalent or Mob Psycho because of the psychic powers. Those comparisons miss the point. This isn't trying to be a battle shonen with clear power levels and tournament arcs. It's a romantic comedy that happens to feature deadly aliens and vengeful spirits. The fights serve the character development rather than the other way around.

Final Verdict on the Hype

Is it the best anime in years? Some people think so. The animation quality is certainly top tier, matching or exceeding anything else airing. The character chemistry is stronger than most romance-focused anime. The creativity in monster design and action choreography puts it above standard seasonal fare. But that pacing problem is real, and the sexual humor is a genuine barrier for many viewers. It isn't a show for everyone, and it doesn't want to be.

If you can handle the crude jokes and the occasional uncomfortable sexual threat played for dark comedy, you'll find one of the most visually inventive and emotionally sincere anime produced recently. If that stuff makes you drop a show immediately, nothing later will redeem it, no matter how pretty the sakuga gets. The show tells you exactly what it is in the first episode and never deviates from that pitch.

Season two needs to slow down. Give Aira and Jiji proper introductions. Let the emotional beats sit for a moment before rushing to the next fight. Keep the visual creativity but add some breathing room. If they manage that balance, Dan Da Dan will fulfill its potential as something truly special rather than just a visually stunning mess. For now, it's a wild ride that's worth taking if your sense of humor is broken enough to laugh at ghost cats demanding testicles while simultaneously rooting for two awkward kids to hold hands.

The streaming numbers suggest we'll get that second season. The manga sales exploded after the anime aired. Just know what you're signing up for. This show is loud, gross, beautiful, and weird. It doesn't apologize for any of it.

Read more about the animation techniques used in this production.