"Dandadan" Season One Talkback (Spoilers)

[wonderfly]

From the front page of AnimeSuperhero.com:

"Dan Da Dan: “Let’s Go to the Cursed House” Episode 12 Recap"​

"The season is finally over, and this was a great Dan Da Dan episode, but was absolutely unsatisfying as a season finale. Fortunately, season two is going to air in July of next year, making the wait far less bad than the shonen series with three-four year waits between seasons. Without further ado, let’s recap how this season ended.

Our episode begins with the female anatomical model from last episode at Momo’s house. It appears that she will also be a guest. Jiji removes some lint out of Momo’s hair, and she thanks him. Okarun gets really jealous and tries to emulate what he just did. Momo find this awkward. Then another weird scene happens where Okarun and Jiji start having what appears to be a sing-off competition. Momo decides to keep the female anatomical model company until her boyfriend arrives. They wait until dawn and the male anatomical model arrives. They act all lovey dovey and Okarun is jealous of their love.

Our heroes head on a bus to Gigi’s haunted house and Okarun is upset that Momo is enjoying the company of his romantic rival. He tries to get her attention by talking about cryptids. It turns out Jiji is also interested in cryptids and they end up really enjoying conversing. Jiji then calls Okarun a friend, which causes mixed emotions in Okarun considering their romantic rivalry."

Read the full episode recap here.

 

[Space Cadet]

I didn't realize we were at the end of the season already. It did end on a cliffhanger but it also doesn't feel like one? I dunno.

Anyway, this was the surprise of the season for me as I had originally no interest in watching this but I'm glad I bit the bullet because this was really fun. Looking forward to season 2.

 

[Kitschensyngk]

I have to admit the plot point in the first episode about aliens trying to impregnate Momo was ALMOST a deal breaker for me. Happily, once I powered through that, the rest of it was weird, fun, and nicely animated.

 

[Grenzer]

Episode 12 was great, but man what a point to end the season on. I imagine this show was planned as 24 episodes from the start but it had to be split to prevent burning out the animators. However, given the stellar quality of this show's production I can wait until July for the next cour. Was Dandadan the best anime of 2024? It had a ton of competition and if I'm going to be honest there were a couple of shows that I felt edged it out. Orb: On the Movements of the Earth is a lot deeper and more moving, and Ranma 1/2 felt a lot funnier to me. But it is easy to acknowledge that Dandadan is the clear breakout franchise of the year, and the one that people will be talking about for years to come. To its credit Dandadan really does give a fresh spin to action anime in the same way Frieren did back in 2023. I'm expecting great things from this show down the line.

 

[Daikun]

I finally just watched the whole first season today on Netflix. (I decided to wait so I could just binge the whole thing.)

That's really how they're ending the season? They literally just started a new story arc and they just...cut it off.
I'm willing to watch new episodes when the show comes back, but man, that's not a good stopping point.

 

[Perla Magica]

So I finally got to watch the entire first season of this anime today. I had to read the first tom the manga first before watching, and I do enjoyed it. I liked the first 4 episodes the most, especially for the animation and the background music, like, seriously I loved this show's remix of William Tell Overture.

The rest of the first season really has some good stuff, good action, few romantic misunderstandings, one beautiful and tough tear-jerker episode in the middle of this season, and some humoristic moments between the main characters. The intro sequence is so good, the song is so catchy, what can I say? Good stuff.

The season finale got me hooked for what's gonna happen next, and 6 months for more episodes is a long wait. I think that I have to read the rest of the manga to know.

 

[Yojimbo]

The season finale got me hooked for what's gonna happen next, and 6 months for more episodes is a long wait. I think that I have to read the rest of the manga to know.

Yeah, giving people a Lost Season 1 ending in the anime's first season will lead to a lot of fans going to the manga rather than wait 6 months.

 

[Frontier]

Yeah, giving people a Lost Season 1 ending in the anime's first season will lead to a lot of fans going to the manga rather than wait 6 months.

Then the anime did its job .

 

[Light Lucario]

I finally watched the season finale. Okarun continued to be more jealous than I expected, but he's a teenage boy and seeing his crush have banner with another boy, especially a childhood friend, would get him flustered. I did like how despite his efforts to break up their conversations, Okarun and Jiji had some good chemistry too. They could become better friends if they weren't so awkward in different ways.

I was surprised that Jiji flat out asked Okarun if he loved Momo though. Even a goofy idiot like him could see how Okarun feels. Okarun actually admitting his feelings was also a surprise. They obviously like each other, but I just wasn't expecting Okarun to admit it this quickly. This did lead to the two of them fighting over Momo, but unlike with Aira, it's less needlessly confrontational and more teenagers being stupid, which is a lot more tolerable than the whole frienmies dynamic. Despite both having feelings for Momo, I could see Okarun and Jiji actually being friends simply because Jiji is far more likable than Aira. It also helps that Jiji doesn't stand a chance as a romantic rival. Momo gets along with Jiji, but she clearly doesn't have any romantic feelings for him. I still have a lot of doubts about Jiji being her first crush since I don't think Momo ever brought it up.

Momo wanting to give the boys some space so that Okarun could get a guy friend was actually pretty sweet. Unfortunately, that allowed for a lot of creepy monsters to attack her. It was really unsettling to see zombie grown men attacking her in a hot springs. Finally finding something strange with the house while Momo was out didn't help Okarun and Jiji either. It was a strange stopping point for the season, especially when I wouldn't be surprised if the main threat will be resolved in just one episode, but at least they've already announced when season two will air.

I heard a lot of praise for this series and that was part of the reason why I decided to watch it. I don't think I enjoy it quite as much as other people did. It honestly took a few episodes for me to get into it. Starting off with the female lead being sexually assualted by aliens was a pretty huge turn off, but the weird crude humor doesn't click with me that well. Although, the nuts joke in this episode was pretty funny. Aira is also really unlikable despite her moments of being a good person deep down. I could also never really get into the opening theme. However, I still enjoyed the series in spite of all of that. Both Okarun and Momo are great both individually and and as a couple. They have great chemistry and you really want them to finally just realize/admit their feelings for each other. Jiji so far is pretty likable. Being a goofy idiot is way more appealing to me than a stuck up character who has main character syndrome. The visuals and animation are amazing. The aliens and yokai look so distinct and helps to make them stand out than if they were typical monsters. The pacing is also really good where each conflict usually only takes a handful of episodes to deal with. I can definitely see why it was one of the more stand out shows from the previous season and I'll still check out season two when it comes out.

 

[Yojimbo]

It was a strange stopping point for the season, especially when I wouldn't be surprised if the main threat will be resolved in just one episode, but at least they've already announced when season two will air.

2/2: In the manga, this arc is the third longest so this be the first 4-5 episodes in season 2 by my guess.

Starting off with the female lead being sexually assualted by aliens was a pretty huge turn off, but the weird crude humor doesn't click with me that well.

Yeah... but I guess at least there's a story element to it. The aliens need to evolve or their race dies out so they're harvesting. It's not just gratuitous fan service. Well, other times it is...

I could also never really get into the opening theme.

Japanese rap is an acquired taste.




3/31: Season 1 standard and collector's edition Blu-rays are up for preorder. They release on June 10.