Hey folks! I was in one of those moods where movies just weren’t cutting it, so I dove straight into anime. A friend tossed me the name “Dandadan,” and I quickly discovered it was the #4 show on Netflix worldwide last year, pops up on a ton of top‑lists and is being hailed as one of the best anime of 2024. I gave it a spin and almost knocked the remote out of my hands – I was that wired. Stick around and I’ll tell you why I kept watching and why I’m handing it a perfect five.

Plot.

Somewhere in Japan, two oddball teens are doing their thing. Momo Ayase is dead‑set that ghosts exist – her grandma, a full‑time exorcist, has been feeding her that story since she was little. Ken Takakura, on the flip side, swears there are invisible aliens hanging around people. They bump into each other, each rolling their eyes at the other’s belief, but Momo knows the haunted spots and Ken’s heard the rumors about alien hangouts. When they head out to those creepy locations, each discovers something they didn’t think was real. Unfortunately, the encounter isn’t exactly heart‑warming. The aliens try to take advantage of Momo because there are no women on their planet and they need to reproduce,

Meanwhile, Ken runs into the ghost Turbo‑Babka, who is desperate for his reproductive organ. She snatches it and slaps a curse on him. How the kids wriggle out of that mess and what comes next? You’ll have to watch to find out.

Why I wanted to quit watching this anime?

Because it gets way too sexualized. The moment Turbo‑Babka shows up in episode one, I was cringing hard – the 18+ jokes just keep coming. I have no idea what weird genitalia one of the characters has, but they’re constantly being used for something. Night. Street. Lamp post. What do you think those two teens are hunting in the grass?

Yep, it’s literally bells! But if the first few minutes feel gross, it soon reads like a tongue‑in‑cheek parody of those over‑the‑top quests where heroes chase holy relics.

Bottom line, "Dandadan" isn’t tagged 18+ for nothing. So, folks who jump in the comments saying "recommend this to kids" without reading the review – keep your kids far away from this show!
Why I kept watching despite the cringe?

I first noticed this character in the ending credits. I’m a total cat‑person, so I had to find out what this quirky cat was all about. My curiosity paid off big time – the cat turned out to be absolutely adorable.

What the character actually is stays a fun mystery for anyone who hasn’t watched the anime, but I’ll just say it’s a maneki‑neko – a lucky cat that I’m totally into.

Read on for the main cast.
Main characters.

Momo Ayase – an orphan raised by her grandmother. Momo’s gorgeous, but she doesn’t attract many guys because they think she’s a bit odd – she believes in ghosts and follows a bunch of grandma‑imposed rules to keep spirits from hurting her.

Momo is pretty introspective, idolizes Japanese actor‑singer Ken Takakura, and tries to date guys who remind her of him. She’s got solid friends who’ll shield her from gossip, probably because she’s genuinely kind and has a huge dose of empathy.

She also has a few supernatural abilities, just saying.

Ken Takakura – attends the same school as Momo, but in a different class. He’s friend‑less, super shy and a bit timid.

Ken reads a ton about aliens and is convinced he’ll meet one someday. Momo never calls him by his real name; she dubs him “Okarrun” because she can’t match the image of this imperfect guy with her idol, who looks just like Takakura. Since “Ken‑Okarrun” isn’t used to arguing or proving anything, he just goes along with it.

But the shy guy has his own secrets, too.

As I mentioned, Momo’s grandma raised her. The series opens with a touching scene of the grandma and her granddaughter,

but, just like most of the usual tropes in this anime, that idyllic moment gets shattered.Meet Momo’s grandma, Seiko Ayase.

She’s a seasoned medium who knows everything about supernatural beings. Funny thing—she doesn’t believe in aliens; when she spots one, she calls it a kappa, a spirit from Japanese folklore. She’s dead serious about exorcising spirits, but she loves teasing her granddaughter. She dresses in trendy clothes and is rarely seen without a cigarette.

Of course, the show also throws in a few other teens who cross paths with the main crew.

Aira Siratori goes to the same school as Momo and Okaru. She thinks she’s the prettiest and kindest girl ever and is convinced that one smile of hers will make any gloomy student fall head‑over‑heels for Aira. In her head she’s always gathering a fan club and polishing the perfect‑girl image.

Jin Endzōji, aka Jiji is Momo’s first love, the kid who used to mock her belief in ghosts. Time passes, things shift, and just like in real life, he’s convinced Momo’s been holding onto him all these years.

Visuals.There’s no denying “Danda‑dan” sports a unique look that sets it apart. It’s pure eclecticism. The opening alone throws Japan, Indonesia, England—everything—into one mash‑up, and everything’s woven together into a single whole.

By the way, the opening is killer—sharp art, high‑energy music, it all tees us up for something out of the ordinary.

The anime bursts with vivid colors—everything just pops.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor some reason, a lot of the monsters and supernatural beings in “Dandadan” have massive teeth.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAnd, of course, the supernatural creatures are shown in a really off‑beat style— even the aliens don’t look like the typical green‑men, robots, or "aliens" you’d expect.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMy take on the anime.The “Dandadan” anime is based on the manga of the same name by Yukinobu Tatsu, which I’m currently reading. The screen adaptation diverges from the source in a few spots, but I don’t see much point in comparing them yet—only the first season is out, twelve episodes of about twenty‑odd minutes each. The season ends abruptly right in the middle of a juicy arc. If you’ve finished the first season and are itching to know what happens next, start reading the manga at chapter 34. Otherwise, wait for season two, slated for summer 2025. The manga itself is still ongoing; it launched in 2021 and new chapters are still dropping in 2025, so the “Dandadan” project looks set to run for a while—assuming it can keep the high bar the first season set.

Honestly, the first few episodes were a shock. I had no idea what I was about to see or hear, so I was kind of stunned at first. But as the story unfolded, I got pulled in deeper and deeper. The plot basically parodies the classic hero‑quest movies and anime about hunting down legendary artifacts that can save humanity or other worlds.

Like many supernatural series, “Dandadan” uses a story‑within‑a‑story structure—while the main crew is busy with their own mission, they run into all kinds of otherworldly beings and have to deal with the problems those encounters create. Along the way we learn the backstories of spirits or aliens. The side tales are varied; often a spirit died a gruesome death and is now tethered to something or someone. The seventh episode, which focuses on a ballerina’s ghost, really stuck with me in the first season (not the manga as a whole). The anime shows why the woman died in a way that the manga never explained, and it hit me hard. The director even switches to a first‑person view, making you feel like you’re seeing through the woman’s eyes. I literally bawled my eyes out.

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSo “Dandadan” isn’t just about goofy laughs—sure, there’s plenty of humor, but it never feels forced or self‑indulgent. It’s more like a comedy of errors and situations.

We also get to watch the budding romantic relationship between the main characters, and it’s just spot‑on.

The characters feel solid, you just want to stare at each one. And the director nails everyday details with surprising accuracy.

The anime "Dandadan" hits you right in the feels—you can’t walk past it. The title itself doesn’t mean much; it’s just a burst of emotion, a dance, a wild phenomenon—and you get all that in the show. If you’re hunting for something out of the ordinary in the anime world, I’d totally recommend giving "Dandadan" a watch (but only if you’re 18 or older!).