Dandadan Is Coming to Theaters With First 3 Episodes

Dandadan will be hosting special world premiere screenings for its first three episodes!

Dandadan is likely the biggest new anime coming this Fall, and the anime will be making its world premiere in theaters with its first three episodes! Yukinobu Tatsu's Dandadan (also licensed as DAN DA DAN) manga has been one of the standout hits in Shueisha's Jump+ platform since it kicked off its run back in 2021, and now it's about to be introduced to a whole new audience with its upcoming anime adaptation. This anime is such a big deal that it's coming to many different streaming platforms when it debuts, and GKIDS has even licensed its theatrical and home entertainment rights. 

Dandadan won't be hitting screens in full until some time later this October, but GKIDS has announced that they will actually be hosting the world premiere of the new anime across theaters on September 13th in North America. The new event dubbed DAN DA DAN: FIRST ENCOUNTER, will not only feature the early premiere of the anime's first three episodes but will also feature an exclusive interview with original creator Yukinobu Tatsu and editor Shihei Lin, director for the anime Fuga Yamashiro, and the voices behind Momo Ayase and Okarun, Shion Wakayama and Natsuki Hanae respectively. 

Dandadan Anime Release Date

Dandadan will be releasing in full some time this October, but has yet to announce a release date as of the time of this publication. Along with this world premiere in theaters (with tickets still not on sale quite yet), Dandadan will be streaming its new episodes with Crunchyroll, Netflix, Hulu, ADN and Muse alongside their release in Japan. Directed by Fuga Yamashiro at Science SARU (which most recently produced Scott Pilgrim Takes Off for Netflix), Hiroshi Seko is supervising and writing the scripts, kensuke ushio is composing the music, Naoyuki Onda is designing the characters and Yoshimichi Kameda is designing the aliens and monsters.

The voice cast currently includes the likes of Shion Wakayama as Momo Ayase, Natsuki Hanae as Okarun (whose real name is Ken Takakura), Mayumi Tanaka as Turbo-Granny, Kazuya Nakai as Alien Serpo, Nana Mizuki as Seiko, Ayane Sakura as Aira Shiratori, and Kaito Ishikawa as Jiji (real name Jin Enjoji). As for what to expect from the new anime, GKIDS teases Dandadan as such: 

"DAN DA DAN follows Momo, a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums, and her classmate Okarun, an occult freak. The two of them start talking after Momo rescues Okarun from getting bullied. However, an argument ensues between them – Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts. To make the mutual deniers believe in each other, Momo goes to an abandoned hospital known for its UFO sightings, and Okarun goes to a tunnel that is said to be haunted. In each place, they encounter overwhelming paranormal activity that transcends comprehension. Amid these predicaments, Momo awakens her hidden power and Okarun gains the power of a curse to challenge the paranormal forces! Their fateful love begins as well!? The story of the occult battle and adolescence starts!"