It was the summer of 2022 when I learned of a new upstart manga blowing up the charts over in Japan from all the different sites I read and checked out to see what was new in the streets. See, we’re in a changing period for Weekly Shonen Jump the magazine and Shonen manga as a whole, which also leads to changes in the anime scene. We’re far away from the times of the 90s hearing about DragonBall, YuYu Hakusho, YuGiOh, and Slam Dunk and also getting far away from the Big Three era of Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. With One Piece still going on, many other hits have came and ended. While Demon Slayer is still killing in the anime sense, its manga has been gone since 2020, and most of the newer big new hits, Spy x Family, Kaiju No. 8, and even Chainsaw Man, now live in the web/app Shonen Jump +. The most exciting new stuff is digital now, and one of the most exciting things is Dan Da Dan. From creator Yukinobu Tatsu, this is a high school romantic comedy mixed with alien abductions, occult happenings, and cryptid hunting all in one series. The main characters are Momo Ayase (Shion Wakayama), a high school girl who believes in ghosts and other supernatural things because of her grandmother being a spirit medium; she ends up helping Ken Takakura aka Okarun (Natsuki Hanae), who was being bullied by his other male classmates. The two bond and clash over their respective occult things they’re into. He’s in UFOs and aliens and Cryptids and doesn’t believe in ghosts and spirits. Momo doesn’t believe in UFOs and Cryptids, so the two make a bet.
The two go to places known for things the other doesn’t believe in, and low and behold, they both have a crazy experience, causing a change in both. The art of this title is what really grabs people; it’s slick, detailed, and dynamic, along with really fantastic character designs. The aliens look weird, and ghosts and cryptids look weird and impressive. The art also does a tremendous job of building tension and an uncomfortable creepiness. This film is the first three episodes of the new anime series, done by the great and experimental studio Science Saru (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, Devilman Crybaby, Inu-Oh). They adapt the style of Tatsu’s line work and coloring from the color pages and covers. With anime adaptations from manga, some studios lose some of what made manga art interesting for many reasons, but as they’ve moved to a more seasonal model, a lot of shows have been able to be closer to the original work. Here, Fūga Yamashiro, the director, and his team not only keep the look, but they feel like they reach into your head and take out how you imagine the characters and scenes move when you’re reading it and splat it on the screen. This show has terrific background painting and effect animation as the glows and distortions just pop off the screen.
I’m not going to get deep into what happens in the story, but as a feature, it does end in a weird place. That might work as an excellent teaser to get you to watch the series, which will start later this autumn. Y’all need to get into this early because Dan Da Dan is up next and going to be a major hit and works for many different audiences. Dan Da Dan: First Encounter was a great time, and I can’t wait to watch the show. And for me, that’s a lot because I don’t like watching shows of series I read regularly.
Score: B