Review of Dan Da Dan

Hey, I heard you like some Shojo with your Shonen. Dandadan is a wonderfully crafted show that checks all the boxes, but goes outside of them enough to not just be considered another subpar "good" anime. With wonderful animation, dynamic ear worm music, and a cast of compelling characters you want to root for, not only in their battles but in their relationships, this anime has what it is you're looking for. Starting with the Story it isn't by any means breaking new grounds, but does deliver an interesting concept and idea of "If things like aliens and spirits exist, wouldn't we know aboutthem right now?" with an explanation that while dues ex, does make sense. While most of the first season is setting up "connections thru shared mutual trauma" kind of vibes, its done in a very comical way, which is used as a tool to rip the rug from underneath you when you get to some real heavy hitting, emotional scenes that you will need to take a break from to recover emotionally. Don't let the box fool you, as the first words of this review state, this is a romance manga disguised as a Shonen, something that has been echoed from the stories of how the author was forced by their editor to read a bunch of romance manga to make their characters feel more real, and you can tell they paid attention to the best parts. For those though who want another Shonen battle manga, don't worry, they leave plenty of epic fight and chase scenes for you to drool over as you have that sweet animation slid into your eyes.

Speaking of animation, beautiful mixture of bright colors to make the everyday normal scenes pop, and dark almost haunting tones and mixtures that make the more dark and scary moments, more about dealing the alien and the weird than the depressing side of it all, and well choreographed scenes that show weight and impact of the characters and their actions that make you feel like you know how hard someone was hit by an attack or feeling the wind in your hair accompanied by some fantastic music.

On that point can we talk about this music? Awesome, a mixture of modern Japanese pop, rock, funk, and rap with even some slight hints of grunge, there is always something awesome to listen to and enjoy. The opening song alone will be stuck into your ears for days, and the closing is one you won't want to skip to the next episode if you can avoid it. This is a soundtrack that is memorable and you'll definitely recall and play in the back of your head even when you have long since finished up this season.

So the package is pretty, but what about the real meat? The characters? This cast of characters, and even the side characters, each feel like their own person and while bordering certain tropes they never feel like they are doing a one to one, a familiarity for you to get a sense of who they are without labeling them. Each are fun and you want to see more of them, with all of them being able to play into both comedic and serious roles being more than just one note you see in many anime, they're fictional, but they feel real.

Now, despite all that is this doing anything new for its medium? Probably not, beyond actually having a good romance sub-plot that many lack or seem to divulge into a minor plot point. That is probably this only shows weakness and why it landed at a 9, to be honest a 9.5 if I could.

Season 2 is already out at the time of this and they have not missed a step, and as a manga reader I can tell you this ride is not slowing down. Honestly? Why are you even here, if you had any inkling to watch this show you know its good, you don't need me or anyone else to tell you.