Dandadan Staff Apologizes Following Season 2’s Surprising Controversy

DAN DA DAN has sparked a surprising controversy with Season 2’s newest episodes, and the team behind it all has shared an official apology after it raised some copyright concerns. DAN DA DAN is now in the final slate of episodes for Season 2’s run this Summer, and it’s getting ready for a huge new arc to introduce one of the series’ biggest new characters. But the Evil Eye Arc featured one of the biggest moments of the anime thus far, and it raised some surprising questions as the fictional band “HAYASii” seemed to closely resemble the real life band, X Japan, according to one of its members.

DAN DA DAN found itself in the middle of a surprising controversy as X Japan member Yoshiki shared concerns that the fictional band and their performance from Episode 18 too closely resembled X Japan. Sharing concerns in a series of messages on social media in the days that followed, DAN DA DAN‘s anime staff shared an official apology about the situation and apologized over failing to reach out to Yoshiki and X Japan beforehand to avoid all of the trouble.

DAN DA DAN Staff Apologizes for Season 2 Controversy

“We deeply apologize for causing concern regarding the song ‘Hunting Soul’ from DAN DA DAN anime series,” DAN DA DAN‘s anime production committee stated in their official message. “This song was created with the hope of expressing the same passion as YOSHIKI and X JAPAN, whom the entire production team greatly respects, in the anime. We also hoped the musical direction would match the story and scenes of the DAN DA DAN anime and further raise the quality of the work.” As the statement continues, the apology then reveals they’ve spoken to the musical acts in question since.

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“However, we did not think to explain this to YOSHIKI and X JAPAN in advance, which was unintentional and caused concern, and we sincerely apologize,” the statement continues. “We are also in discussions with all parties involved regarding rights. We have already spoken with YOSHIKI about this matter, and we look forward to using this opportunity to consider creative initiatives together in the future. We would like to once again offer our deepest apologies to YOSHIKI, X JAPAN, and all their fans, as well as DAN DA DAN fans and everyone involved, for the concern we have caused, and we hope you will continue to kindly support this series.”

What Does This Mean for DAN DA DAN Season 2?

This was the first major controversy for the DAN DA DAN anime, but luckily things seemed to have smoothed over following this apology. Yoshiki took to social media to respond to the matter and thanked the staff for their statement and actions following the raised concerns, “I appreciate the sincere response from the Dandadan production committee,” the artist stated. “Although there was some surprise, I am grateful for all of your voices. Through positive conversations with the producers, including the possibility of future collaborations, I feel we can build a wonderful future together with all the fans!”

This comes right at a perfect time as DAN DA DAN Season 2 is gearing up for a major final arc for the season. Teasing a massive space kaiju attack and the debut of brand new character Kinta Sakata, DAN DA DAN has some big plans to close out the Summer with some of its biggest episodes yet. As the anime wraps up, it’s also likely going to have a much brighter future ahead too.