As far as shows destined for fan-favorite status, Dan Da Dan was not anyone’s first pick. The plentitude of dick jokes and slapstick sexual threats don’t look like something destined for broad appeal. Many Western media outlets would hesitate to give such a show exposure, but they didn’t need it. The show’s content model borrows ideas from other anime, old and recent alike. The show’s studio, Science SARU is known for colorfully flamboyant work and this is no different.
As with its various inspirations, many of the show’s virtues presumably reflect the source material. The show’s writer is also very well-known and vastly experienced for his past work. Hiroshi Seko’s experience includes Vinland Saga, Attack on Titan, Chainsaw Man, and Mob Psycho 100.
Dan Da Dan’s Manga Sales Have Doubled
At the time the adaptation began airing, total manga sales were sitting around the 4 million mark. While this is indicative of a large fanbase, sales would boom going forward. Today, according to MANTANWEB, sales have exceeded 8 million total copies. An adaptation increasing sales for its source material isn’t uncommon, doing so at this scale is.
Shueisha’s Manga Plus service makes this jump clear for all to see. Manga Plus displays view counts for each new chapter released. Before the anime, the series was sitting at around the 300k views mark. In October, the count was up to between 350k and 400k in total.
Nothing Is Casual About the Villains
A recent interview with the director of Dan Da Dan, Fuga Yamashiro, shed light on the villains’ designs. They were all planned around specific color themes The interview highlights the pallets used for the various ghosts and spirits in the show. As the story contains aliens as a major element, they are given a unique portrayal. The aliens are depicted in a colder color and rendered with 3D CGI. The colors for the ghosts lean towards warm tones as a way to showcase their human connections. Further, some characters are designed with colors opposing their original beliefs.
Some Characters Don’t Match their Beliefs
Not every character is designed with their beliefs and philosophy in mind from the start. A few of them are designed to be directly opposed to those beliefs. The characters of Okarun and Momo are designed to oppose their core beliefs in their designs. The show has the two of them sporting the opposite colors their beliefs would have you think. This is evident as the one who believes in ghosts is sporting the darker color theme.
This idea is reflected through the story as the two of them unlock powers reflecting the belief of the other. Momo awakens psychic powers, giving her character a cyan hue. Meanwhile, Okarun takes on several darker elements in her design after being possessed.
Final Thoughts
Many people will look at the success of Dan Da Dan and scratch their heads at it. The show had very limited marketing yet managed to succeed despite this. The thing that stood out to most is how it combined romance and action seamlessly. Many other Shonen anime struggle to maintain this delicate balance but this one somehow pulled it off. While this alone has people’s attention, another thing of note is the quality of its animation.
It stands out by being clever with the colors through things like using them to represent themes. This works doubly well because the colors are deliberate and planned, not random. While the story has plenty of inspirations, it puts its own unique spin on them. While the anime has strong inspirations it’s how it puts them all together that really makes it shine. With the announcement of Season 2 coming in July, fans will doubtless be excited for what’s to come. Those hints could also draw in new viewers if they are curious enough about what’s out there.
