Mangaka Yukinobu Tatsu’s supernatural comedy Dan Da Dan has recently received an anime adaptation, produced by “Science Saru,” which has quickly taken over the market with its unique, zany, absurd humor, bombastic and cool action, peppy characters, and vibrant, dynamic animation style. While the premise might make you feel that the story is moving along the lines of traditional Shounen narratives, the series is anything but, as it subverts the existing tropes of modern Shounen and pokes fun at the prevalent edgy, darker tone with a conscious, sarcastic tinge. The smooth, artistically unique animation, which offers some of the best sequences I have seen in recent years, is one of the key highlights that will definitely keep fans hooked on the series. Like me, if you are a fan of Mob Psycho 100, then Dan Da Dan is right up your alley.
Spoilers Ahead
Episode 1: First Encounter and Getting Powers
A fan of actor Ken Takakura, high school student Momo Ayase is still reeling from breaking up with her first boyfriend when she comes across a nerdy, shy, socially awkward boy who is getting bullied by his classmates. Momo stands up for him, and taking a brief look at the pseudo-science journal at his disposal, leaves. The boy, whom Momo later names Occult Kun or Okarun, gets busy discussing occult topics with her, pertaining to aliens, which doesn’t interest Momo in the least, and she lashes out at him after Okarun gets on her nerves. However, realizing that she went a bit too far with the insults, Momo apologizes to him and simply states that she doesn’t believe in the existence of aliens, but she believes in spirits or ghosts. Okarun makes fun of her, as in his case, the scenario is exactly opposite. Soon enough, the duo start locking horns over their belief systems and decide to put their respective theories to the test, as Momo agrees to Okarun’s proposal of visiting an abandoned Negi hospital where UFO sightings are apparently common, while Okarun holds his end of the deal by visiting a spirit hotspot in a derelict tunnel.
As the duo share their pasts with each other while communicating over the phone, the true reason for Momo believing in ghosts comes to light. Momo’s grandmother, Seiko, is a renowned spirit medium, and she has been her sole guardian ever since Momo lost her parents at an early age. Protective towards her granddaughter, Seiko had taught Momo to channel her Chi to ward off evil, which resulted in her friends making fun of her since a young age. As a kid, Momo hated how her grandmother’s tradition made her feel like an outcast among her peers, and she angrily denounced Seiko by calling her a fake spirit medium. At present, Momo shares that her belief in spirits stems from her belief in her grandmother.
The duo get in trouble real soon as Okarun gets caught by a lewd yokai, Turbo Granny, who wants to take over his body, and Momo gets abducted by a bunch of all male advanced aliens known as Serpoians who want to procreate with her to evolve their species. Possessed by Turbo Granny, Okarun is able to enter the hospital through the phone, and imbued with new powers, he is able to put up a strong fight against the psychic aliens. Okarun reveals that his nerdy tendencies resulted in him having a friendless, isolated experience all his life, which prompted him to grow interested in aliens as he wished to befriend the extraterrestrials and wouldn’t have minded getting experimented on by them either. But when Momo stood up for him, he became excited to have a chance to befriend someone, which is why he was over-eager to share his interests with her. Okarun defiantly challenges the aliens, as he is determined to protect his friend at any cost—but even with his elevated powers, Okarun is momentarily subdued by the aliens. At that moment, Momo remembers her grandmother’s teachings and realizes that back in the day, the real reason behind her anger was not because of Seiko’s tradition but the fact that her peers made fun of her family in the first place. Reconnecting with her roots, Momo is able to unlock her latent psychic powers, which she uses to defeat the aliens and send them scurrying away in their hidden spaceship. Momo helps Okarun to get rid of the spirit of Turbo Granny, but her curse remains with the boy, which Momo needs to keep in check before it overwhelms him. Turbo Granny taunts Momo and reveals they can only lift the curse if they return to her domain, the tunnel.
Surviving their encounter with the occult, both the teenagers agree that each of their assumptions was right, and Okarun apologizes to her for dragging her into this mess, which Momo shrugs off by mentioning that he needs her help from now on anyway to keep the curse in check. At the end of the first episode, Momo is shocked to learn Okarun shares his name with her favorite actor, Ken Takakura.
Episode 2: Team Up Against Flatwoods Monster
Momo refuses to call Okarun by his real name and continues with the name she has given him. She brings Okarun to her home, at her grandma’s place, and the duo face initial difficulties as the insignia affixed to the house to ward off evil spirits nearly burns Okarun, who is still battling Turbo Granny’s effort to take control over his body. Momo lifts off the insignia, and the duo enter the house to freshen up after their grueling past encounter with occult. Seiko is absent, and as the friend duo once again begin their bickering, an unwelcome guest arrives at the house. An alien visitor resembling a giant sumo monster, whom Okarun identifies as the Flatwoods Monster, takes control over the house in the absence of the insignia to ward off evil spirits and makes the vicinity of the house its domain. It is suggested that at some level, in the universe of Dan Da Dan, spirits and aliens share a close connection, as the Flatwoods Monster creates a dark veil around the house. As the friend duo decides to take on the monster, Okarun suggests Ayase let Turbo Granny’s curse get hold of him in a limited and controllable amount, which he assumes can grant him enough power to put up a fight. As Momo follows his instructions, Okarun is transformed into his new empowered persona, which hilariously pokes fun at the modern emo, edgy protagonists by making Okarun’s new form a caricature of them. This new form of Okarun is extremely strong, but he cannot sustain such power for a longer period, which once again prompts Momo to step up as, after a prolonged struggle, she manages to destroy the alien by getting out of its domain along with Okarun and affixing the insignia back in its place. The duo are brought back to reality, as the house remains in its original form, but due to the stress of the battle, Momo passes out. With her psychic control not effective right now, Turbo Granny completely possesses Okarun.
Episode 3: Seiko Ayase Trains the Duo
Dan Da Dan episode 3 begins with Momo’s grandma, Seiko Ayase, in the spotlight, as her public personality as a TV show medium, Santa Dodoria, seems to be famous for her wrong predictions. However, her predictions only seem wrong initially, while they are much more accurate in retrospect. As Seiko returns to her home, she comes across an unconscious Momo and Turbo Granny possessed Okarun, and she quickly jumps into action. By binding the spirit controlling Okarun inside a barrier and later taking him inside the house shrine, Seiko saves his life. Upon regaining her senses, Momo becomes concerned that her grandmother might have killed Turbo Granny spirit along with Okarun, but becomes relieved after finding him safe inside the shrine. Momo reveals to Seiko that she has unlocked her psychic powers while explaining the entire situation.
Seiko reveals that Turbo Granny has fused with a much more powerful location-bound spirit, whom even she cannot dare challenge to combat because in its domain the spirit is strongest. Additionally, Seiko’s powers are drawn from the local gods of her province, Kamigoe City; she cannot be of much help if she has to travel to the tunnel to take on the combined duo of Turbo Granny and location-bound spirit. The responsibility of getting rid of the evil spirit duo lies with the occult-teen duo, who need to challenge Turbo Granny in a game of tag and bring her far from the tunnel, which will make the fused spirits weak enough for Momo to expel them completely. To bring the spirit out and challenge her in rag, Okarun needs to amp up his physical capabilities, and under Seiko’s guidance, the duo begins their training. Okarun gets busy working out while Momo hones her psychic powers. Seiko reveals to Momo that her psychic powers are getting limited when she is relying too much on her sight—instead, she needs to gain control by freeing her mind. Turbo Granny makes another appearance to threaten Momo with the lives of Seiko and Okarun if she doesn’t visit the tunnel at night. With no time to waste, Okarun and Momo need to take their challenge head-on, and Momo seems keen on taking down Turbo Granny due to the fact she threatened her family. Seiko bids her granddaughter adieu by wishing her the best as the occult duo, dressed in traditional attire of divination experts, journeys to the tunnel.
Episode 4: Could Momo and Okarun Defeat Turbo Granny?
Inside the tunnel, Turbo Granny traps the duo quite easily, and Momo manages to taunt her into agreeing to a game of tag. Confident in her abilities, Turbo Granny quickly takes command of the situation as she captures Momo, who has changed her attire, but Okarun’s traditional divination clothing saves him initially. In her captured state, Momo is still able to use her psychic abilities by tapping into her mind’s eye. Turbo Granny spirit gets depowered for a while, and the location-bound spirit emerges, who is revealed to be a giant landcrab. Apparently, to cross the river Styx, the spirits of the departed often take the form of crabs.
Okarun transforms into his elevated form to take Momo out of the Shono city, which is the domain of the location-bound spirit, and gets chased by the crab and a horde of mobs possessed by Granny Turbo. Hitching a ride on a passenger train while escaping, Momo manages to drag the fused spirit duo out of their domain, and soon as they pass the Shono city border, the spirits get completely destroyed by the talismans and insignias affixed by Seiko at the border of Kamigoe city. Momo is surprised to see a significant number of spirits of departed young girls accompanying Turbo Granny in the afterlife.
The next day, Seiko brings Momo and Okarun to the tunnel to reveal that Turbo Granny offered comfort to the spirits of the hapless young girls who were exploited, murdered, and dumped in the tunnel for a long time. Momo is moved by the tragic connection, as Seiko delineates the complicated connection between the living and the departed. Trespassing spirits bring trouble to the world of humans, and similarly, humans often end up making a mess by encroaching the domain of the spirits. Coexistence is rather difficult between the two, and to maintain that, spirit mediums like Seiko are needed.
Later that night, Okarun leaves Momo and Seiko’s residence after having dinner and wonders, with the spirit problems taken care of, whether Momo will remain friends with him any longer. He is assured by his new friend that they will meet the next day, and Dan Da Dan episode 4 comes to an end by promising new adventures of the occult teens.