Community Contest #8 : Manga & Manhwa Review: “Dandadan” by Yukinobu Tatsu
There’s so many great manga out in the world, it’s difficult to pick one or to say, “This is definitely my most favorite.” When I first tried to think of a favorite, a few popped into mind, like …
… Kentaro Miura’s Berserk
… Yasuhisu Hara’s Kingdom
… But if I were to pick something more recent that I enjoy, it’d definitely have to be Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan!
Dandadan Volume 7 Cover
Dandadan Takakura fighting aliens
Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan is about two Japanese high schoolers, a nerd Ken Takakura who starts off not believing in ghosts and a popular girl Momi Ayase who starts off not thinking aliens are real—until a wild encounter with a super-fast granny ghost and space aliens dressed like offices drones gives the nerd ghost-powers and the girl psychic powers. Together they battle aliens and ghosts while trying to search for the nerd’s … supernaturally-powerful “missing family-jewels” if you know what I mean, haha. I know—that sounds a bit funny but that’s nothing compared to the stunning art style of Yukinobu Tatsu, many of the panels are mesmerizing. Just magnificent detail, almost to the level of Kentaro Miura’s Berserk but not quite, and yet a lot funnier.
I think the instances in Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan where they introduce new characters, ghosts, aliens, or supernatural phenomena appear rather epic. One of the words I would use to describe the art is “picturesque,” like many panels and pages could work as great paintings all by themselves. Or, the art would be great for t-shirts and other merchandising. I’ve see lots of online talk about Tatsuki Fujimoto’s fear devil dramedy Chainsaw Man (another one of my recent favorites because of how bizarre, funny, and strangely touching it is), Gege Akutami’s battle sorcerer series Jujutsu Kaisen, Yuji Kaku’s supernatural ninja samurai series Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, and Na’s giant battle-monster series Kaiju No. 8, which are all fantastic and impressive in their own way—but I think Dandadan deserves to be talked about just as much as those series. My reason being is that it’s a lot more accessible, not as dark and mature as some of the new hits, and much more illustratively friendly compared to some of the newer styles (I’m looking at you Chainsaw Man and JJK because sometimes the scratchy sketching style is absolutely spectacular … or leaves me having no idea what’s going on until I stare at a panel for page for longer than ten minutes lol) —perhaps because it’s a mix of traditional and very weird styles. Story-wise, I can’t think of another manga on the same whimsical narrative level as Dandadan other than Spy x Family which I’ve recently learned to enjoy as well.
So if anyone’s a fan of urban fantasy, I highly recommend Dandadan, especially if you love paranormal stuff, aliens, or just silly comedy in general. I think it’s been a while since I’ve read a manga which depicts ghosts, psychics, and aliens in a less violent light. Not to say I’m not a fan of gore, because I love horror and scary stuff, but sometimes you want action but you don’t want too much tragic drama or stomach-turning violence. There’s a time and place for everything and if you’re in the mood for something lighter, I think this manga series is the way to go!
And we can’t talk about manga without throwing in some great illustrations, it is a visual medium, so — here’s some more awesome pages from Dandadan!
Takakura & Ayase fleeing from a giant crab ghost
Ayase & Takakura ambushes by a giant monk spirit
Ayase’s Grandma & Ghost Fusion
~
And some pages from manga I mentioned in the review earlier:
(Warning: Some of the following images depict illustrated action-violence)
Chainsaw Devil riding Shark Devil from Chainsaw Man
Aki cleaning up after zombie-devils from Chainsaw Man
Sukuna using Domain Expansion from Jujutsu Kaisen
Fushiguro using Domain Expansion Jujutsu Kaisen
Gabimaru fighting a demonic Taoist in Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku
Gabimaru slaying samurai in Hell’s Paradise: JigokurakuFeel free to leave any questions or comments. I love talking about this stuff and am always happy to learn anything new!
From this contest, I came to know so many amazing manga and manhwa that some of them are something that I haven't even watched or discovered. I was following Chainsaw Man and it was an interesting anime but I'd mostly check out Dandadan since it's a genre that I like 😁
Yeah I love every chance to see other people's favorites because it usually exposes me to titles that I had no idea of. The Chainsaw Man anime was a fun watch. I think it felt weird to only see the first arc animated because of how far into the story the manga is, but that just means there's plenty more to look forward to. Dandadan is a lot of comedic and entertainingly bizarre fun, and it's kind of nice that it isn't too dark lol
I haven't had the chance to read it, but for some reason it resembles One Punch Man. The graphics and aesthetics of the drawings remind me of that plot. Lots of synthetic rawness. It appealed to me, I can't deny it. : P
I can see what you mean — both have a very clean but intricate drawing style, and both appear to have a dramatically light story that focuses on humor and overall strangeness.
While I like differing styles, I think that—including stuff like Chainsaw Man, Hell’s Paradise, or even the classic Naruto—Dandadan is one of those titles with almost outstandingly brand-like paneling. I’m very surprised to not see its art being used for merchandising or memes, kind of like One Punch Man but not as popular.
Lots of actions would definitely be in this one. I'm loving the look of the characters already. My cousin is a die hard fan of anime and I'll be seeing this one with him when I introduce it to him.
Yeah one of the first things that sold me on Dandadan were the awesome character designs, especially on the chapter and volume covers. Some manga covers are already works of arts themselves and really create curiosity and impress you at a glance.
I totally agree to this. I've bought series of books in the past because of the incredible art on the front cover. Haha
Yeah there’s really not a lot on the same level as manga covers. I’m so used to reading manga in black and white so seeing a great cover in color is such an absolute delight
I know right 🥰
Woah the face kinda looks like arrancars from bleach. Will this have an anime?
Looks like there’s rumors about WIT studio, which would be awesome because they did an amazing job on “Attack On Titan,” “Vinland Saga,” “Vivy Fluorite’s Song,” and “Ranking of Kings.”
https://www.cbr.com/dandadan-reportedly-getting-anime-adaptation/
Oooooo attack on Titan and ranking of kings. Ya this would be awesome if they made this into an anime. I hope so. I prefer to watch than to read hehe
Yeah anime and manga are too very different experiences. Anime is quick and colorful and there’s music and sound, while manga usually has more detail and the reader gets to decide the pace—like lingering on an absolutely stunning panel. But then again, an anime viewer can just hit the pause button too lol.
😂it's all preference some manga I'll read if I can't wait for the anime to catch up. I also prefer to read the manga in the video form so it already moves the pages for me . Ya im super lazy as you can see 🤣