Dan Da Dan has the romance of the ages: Boy meets woman. Boy believes in aliens. Woman believes in ghosts. Boy goes to a haunted tunnel and has an occult encounter the place he will get his penis stolen by a ghost named Turbo Granny.
This absurd premise is the inspiration for the upcoming anime from Science Saru, Dan Da Dan. The present, which is based mostly on the manga of the identical title by Yukinobu Tatsu, follows two younger adults, Ken Takakura (referred to as Okarun by his mates) and Momo Ayase, who out of the blue discover themselves in the course of a supernatural journey. The 2 work collectively to defeat aliens and yokai alike in battles in an try to search out Okarun’s long-lost genitals.
[Ed. note: This interview talks about the events in the first episode of the anime Dan Da Dan.]
Dan Da Dan has just a little of every little thing — frenetic motion sequences, the occult, traditional sci-fi parts, and even parts from romantic comedies. As central as motion is perhaps to this shonen collection, the present balances its heavier moments with gentle rom-com parts that include the awkward and budding relationship shared between Momo and Okarun. Within the anime, viewers can see this because the digital camera lingers on the bashful, avoidant gaze of Okarun, or the Momo’s furrowed look when she screams about her obsession, the Japanese actor Ken Takakura.
Producer Aoi Hiroyuki instructed Polygon that the workforce calls these sorts of small interactions “on a regular basis motion” or “on a regular basis course,” and sees them as important to capturing the tone of Dan Da Dan.
“We needed to guarantee that we put a concentrate on these, greater than regular anime, so then you will note extra motion within the animation in comparison with a standard anime,” Hiroyuki mentioned through a video name. “That’s finished on function, like we needed to make use of motion as an alternative of phrases to depict these sorts of small interactions.”
Along with these moments, the workforce had what Hiroyuki referred to as “lead scenes,” with beats that relate to one another in type, however spotlight variations in how the connection between Momo and Okarun has shifted.
“There’s that scene the place Momo arms the journal to Okarun,” Hiroyuki mentioned. “On the finish of the episode, when Okarun arms his garments again to Momo as a result of he’s embarrassed. These two scenes are very related in how they’re proven, as a result of it exhibits how their relationship modified from the time they had been in school, from the time they skilled the entire supernatural stuff afterwards.”
At its coronary heart, Dan Da Dan is a collection that unabashedly takes inspiration from all types of genres, like horror, rom-coms, and extra — a technique Hiroyuki credit a minimum of partly to Fuga Yamashiro’s distinct strategy as a director.
“Working with, you already know, director Yamashiro, he’s a really younger director. That is his directorial debut. However he’s very passionate. He’s very attention-grabbing. […] Working with him, even from the script part, he has completely different notes, or he’ll convey up these completely different notes from watching numerous different media.”
With all of the genres that affect the collection, it will be simple for Dan Da Dan to be scattered or unfocused, nevertheless it’s not. As a substitute, it delivers a pulsing motion collection that’s simply as interested by diving into the day-to-day life and relationships of its characters as it’s displaying off the subsequent massive baddie that its forged will battle. Ultimately, what we get is a world that feels lived-in and alive — regardless of the place Turbo Granny exhibits up subsequent.
Dan Da Dan’s first three episodes are screening now as a part of a theatrical launch. The primary episode will stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu on Oct. 3.