Dandadan Premiere Sparks Fall’s Wildest New Love Story

Dandadan has finally made its highly anticipated premiere as part of the new wave of anime now airing this Fall, and with the first episode has sparked the first steps for the wildest new love story we’re going to see this season. Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan was one of the major manga releases that fans had wanted to see come to life with a brand new anime adaptation, and the first episode of the series proved why it was already such a hit for Shueisha’s Jump+ app. Introducing fans to a lovable new duo, it’s also beginning a new love story. 

Dandadan introduces fans to Momo Ayase, a young girl whose infatuated with actor and singer Ken Takakura, who has made a name for himself with Japanese audiences for his stoic and hardboiled style across hundreds of projects. This is the usual kind of man she’s interested in, and thus has had no luck in real romance as every boy she’s come across is just as immature as you would expect. But it’s different with “Occult-kun,” a young boy in her grade that’s been picked on by others for his interest in aliens and unexplained phenomena. 

Dandadan: Momo Meets Occult-kun

Dandadan Episode 1 sees Momo reaching out to this young boy as she defends him from some bullies. Although he seems quiet and reserved, he perks up immediately when he thinks Momo’s into UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) just as much as he is. But when she reveals she believes more in ghosts instead, this boy then starts to ridicule her for what he believes is a ridiculous subject. So the two decide to challenge one another to prove that either of their interests are real, and it starts an even greater connection between the two. 

With both Momo and “Occult-kun” as Momo calls him head to their distinctly spooky areas to prove each other wrong, it’s not long before it’s revealed that they’re both actually very right. Both getting into immediate danger, Occult-kun starts running from a ghost that wants to each his private parts and Momo is kidnapped by a group of aliens that want to mate with her to preserve their species. But it’s through this all that Momo and Occult-kun then connect even more as they both start to awaken new powers that have only become possible through connecting with these mysterious abilities. 

Dandadan: Who Is Ken Takakura? 

Occult-kun then fights through the fact he’s been cursed by a spirit to try and help free Momo from the aliens. While he’s unable to help in any real way, seeing him struggle was enough for Momo to have a breakthrough that unlocks the latent spiritual abilities she inherited from her grandmother. It’s through all of this that she and this boy connect even more, and soon Momo realizes that she might be feeling more for this boy than she expected. Even more so when she finds out at the end of the episode that his name is actually Ken Takakura. 

This is the first step in Dandadan’s wild love story for Momo and Ken. The two of them will be battling all sorts of aliens and ghosts, and grow closer together in the process. It’s why the manga was such a hit as it balances all of this together with major action, and now it’s going to get even bigger when the anime showcases more of that central relationship. It’s one that’s starting to pay off in the latest chapter, so it’s not like it’s going to be baiting people into it anyway. It’s a love story that evolves in some unexpected ways, so fans will want to keep up with it this Fall.