Dan Da Dan Is Peak Anime Fiction, as the Kids Say

With megapopular shows similar My Hero Academia, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Demon Slayer nearing their end, the anime manufacture desperately needs a caller flagship bearer for the shonen genre. As if to get up of this forthcoming gap, Gkids enactment their proverbial 10 toes down by pushing the hotly-anticipated Dan Da Dan anime adaptation arsenic the adjacent large happening with a constricted theatrical screening of its archetypal 3 episodes weeks earlier they onshore connected Netflix, Hulu, and Crunchyroll. If Dan Da Dan: First Encounter is thing to spell on, we mightiness person a acheronian equine introduction for anime of the year.  

Dan Da Dan follows a precocious schoolhouse gyaru named Momo Ayase (Shion Wakayama)—fresh disconnected a brutal interruption up— who believes successful ghosts, and an arsenic friendless and bookish nerd named Okarun (Natsuki Hanae), who believes successful aliens. The improbable brace inevitably autumn into each other’s orbit connected a situation to disprove the other’s content successful the otherworldly by visiting the astir haunted locales successful their town. Much to their horror, they’re both right, and indispensable usage their wits to past a flurry of paranormal activity.

Much similar its root material, Dan Da Dan—adapted by Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and Devilman Crybaby studio Science Saru—is an anomaly unto itself. On the 1 hand, Dan Da Dan is an action-adventure bid with your emblematic just of transforming protagonists squaring up against all-powerful entities. On the different it’s besides a spot of a fearfulness bid with blood-curdling dread connected par with manga auteur Junji Ito’s astir frightening page-turns. But astatine the bosom of it all, Dan Da Dan is simply a rom-com astir 2 teenagers who get connected each other’s past nerve.

While the amusement reads arsenic a Scooby Doo-esque romp, it’s much akin to an anime mentation of Regular Show with however rapidly its esoteric crippled escalates from country to scene. In 1 moment, the brace tin beryllium having a heart-to-heart implicit the telephone astir their troubled childhoods. In the next, they are entrenched successful a handicap conflict against aliens disguised arsenic white-collar businessmen and a geriatric shade lady. Both of whom are bizarrely fixated connected obtaining quality “banana organs” to their mysterious ends.

©Gkids/Science Saru

Dan Da Dan stands retired arsenic a unsocial anime for its bizarre blend of genres and how it seamlessly harmonizes them. What’s more, it accomplishes this without wasting a azygous animation framework portion breathing caller beingness into the manga’s breakneck pace. To marque the magic happen, manager Fuga Yamashiro employs subtle old-school cinematic techniques to physique tension, drafting the spectator into Dan Da Dan‘s unnerving fearfulness alternatively than relying connected inexpensive jumpscares to startle them. For example, aliens and ghosts volition either loom successful the acheronian oregon retired of the framework (or arsenic an obscured portion of the earthy framing) of an innocuous country betwixt the pair, lone to person the camera bent connected a changeable agelong capable until audiences announcement thing is amiss.

To that end, Dan Da Dan besides masterfully balances the timing shared betwixt fearfulness and drama by having its hostility punctuated oregon alleviated by however Wakayama and Hanae respond to Momo and Okarun’s ensuing peril. Sometimes said reactions are unintelligible, yet oh-so-human guttural “Nuh Uh” yells earlier hurrying successful the other direction. Other times, it’s offhanded remarks poking amusive astatine each different portion commiserating implicit having lived different day. After all, they are bratty precocious schoolers, truthful having genuine interest expressed arsenic tension-breaking jokes is inspired.©Gkids/Science Saru

And erstwhile Dan Da Dan’s enactment hits, it hits. Science Saru’s adaptation of creator Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga not lone perfectly translates his panels and otherworldly quality designs into the mean with each the fluid and hard-hitting enactment choreography anime connoisseurs crave, it besides pushes it to grander heights. Each combat country successful Dan Da Dan utilizes some 2D and CG acceptable plan and artwork to found the sheer size of its towering foes, and accentuate the diorama-like enactment wrong its assorted unfastened spaces and claustrophobic scenes. What’s more, Dan Da Dan goes the other mile successful its creation absorption by having its colour designs spell off-model, successful what tin lone beryllium described arsenic kaleidoscopic moments wherever colors popular successful vibrant neon lights with each interaction framework and emotionally heightened scene.

Even its backstory flashbacks, the ire and momentum-killer of each fast-paced anime that came earlier it, are framed successful a Studio Ghibli-like whimsy and melancholy, with minimalistic camera shots and heart-wrenching monologues that disturbance the psyche conscionable arsenic efficaciously arsenic its enactment pumps them up. Dan Da Dan‘s juxtaposition of horror, comedy, romance, and play is little similar a choppy stream and much similar a dependable watercourse that feedback loops its hostility and amusive without undermining itself.

©©Gkids/Science Saru

The lone marks against Dan Da Dan: First Encounter is the information that the interrogation featurette betwixt Yukinobu, exertion Shihei Lin, Wakayama, Natsuki, and Yamashiro that plays earlier the movie goes connected for a while and fundamentally spoils each large uncover successful the archetypal episode. It besides scoops the movie by having its dependable actors spell retired their character’s science earlier moviegoers tin person an accidental to get astatine their interpretations; it besides has Yukinobu and Yamashiro speech astatine magnitude astir the blocking and staging of the episode’s champion scenes. While their insights were undoubtedly illuminating, it would’ve been much effectual arsenic a post-film featurette to permission immoderate astonishment to folks who haven’t pored implicit its manga. But that won’t beryllium a problem, considering First Encounter‘s constricted theatrical tally is beauteous overmuch implicit now, and audiences tuning successful in a fewer weeks astatine location won’t person that aforesaid dissonant experience.

The anime assemblage astatine ample has been hyped for Dan Da Dan arsenic the adjacent large thingm and it seems similar its shaping up to beryllium conscionable that. Dan Da Dan: First Encounter is thing abbreviated of an amuse buche of anime greatness yet to travel and, hopefully, the amusement volition proceed to unrecorded up to that bequest erstwhile it premieres connected Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu connected October 3. 

Want much io9 news? Check retired erstwhile to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s adjacent for the DC Universe connected movie and TV, and everything you request to cognize astir the aboriginal of Doctor Who.