Review of Dan Da Dan

Dandadan is tough to describe simply. It offers great, bouncy animation and direction; characters that are super distinct and consistent; and plotlines that you might not expect. I love how this show looks. Fight scenes are super fun. Even the dork-ass deuteragonist looks good, and the leading duo's relationship can even be sweet at times. I do find the insistence of the show on trying to present Ken as the protagonist when Momo is very obviously the one we should be focusing on (and whom he defers to) just a little too shonen-coded for me. A lot of the plots are missing impact. Despite obviously havingan overarching plot it feels like a "monster of the week" episodic show. What impact there is could also use work: how often is the underlying tension that our protagonist is trying to get away from horrific sexual assault by aliens? Why do you keep giving me fan service? "Give me your banana" is somewhat funny and all, but it gets old and is treated very differently between the leading duo.

Overall it's hard to recommend. I feel very mixed about it, leaning towards the negative. Keep the punk vibes and creative monsters and build a show around a more compelling cast and plot - maybe that's what season 2 has in store.