As quirky as its name is, Dan Da Dan's first three episodes live up to all levels of quirky expectations. The Science SARU production, directed by Fuga Yamashiro, is based on Yukinobu Tatsu's original manga. Releasing on Thursday, October 3, the show's initial episodes promise you all kinds of fun. Irrespective of your favourite anime genre, Dan Da Dan earns praise as a jack of all entertainment trades, with something for everybody. Although some of the stock tropes - stuck to shounen anime for years - minimally drag the series down, its double protagonist arc reminds you that if either one of them was pulled out of the equation, the impact's palpability would instantly fall short of the wild, awe-inspiring antics unfolding on your screen.

Dan Da Dan official synopsis: “When high schooler Momo, from a family of spirit mediums, first meets her classmate Okarun, an occult geek, they argue—Momo believes in ghosts but denies aliens, and Okarun believes in aliens but denies ghosts. When it turns out both phenomena are real, Momo awakens a hidden power and Okarun gains the power of a curse. Together, they must challenge the paranormal forces threatening their world.”

Dan Da Dan Review (spoiler free)

It was so easy for a genre-blended anime like Dan Da Dan to fail. As soon as you comprehend the initial sparks fuelling the dramatically unlikely coming together of opposites like Momo (Shio Wakayama) and Okarun (Natsuki Hanae), you'll likely get hit with a massive sense of deja vu. At its core, the latest premiere ties together familiar visions of characters falling for the paranormal aspects of a story. Nevertheless, it quickly takes you on a ride that both shocks and pleases you.

The well-executed pacing of the first three episodes drives the storyline with a committed, wholehearted focus on the two protagonists and their individualistic quirks. For a show that both dwells on otherworldly nemeses like ghosts and aliens, Dan Da Dan best grounds itself on a humane foundation. Instead of jumping ship and devoting the introductory episodes to the expository process of world-building, it consciously pledges its loyalty to the humane foundation and the dynamic between Momo and Okarun—the story's heart.

What stands out even better is that neither of them is neglected during the course. The anime adaptation makes it clear from the word go that neither would make sense without the other.

However, Dan Da Dan falters in breaking ground with the female-male characters' friendship. The commonly accepted romantic roots are sowed right away, as the shounen anime format again drags its viewers back to the olden notion that only one kind of relationship can exist between a boy and girl – always devoid of platonic love. It isn't necessarily always a lousy interference, especially when the characters are as captivating as these two. Still, you can't turn your back on the idea, which says more about the heteronormative cage restricting mainstream shounen anime format to a limiting understanding of love and romance.

Yet, the show does escape some other stereotypical treatments of its protagonists. Despite Momo and Okarun being on the levelled field and par with each other, it’s conspicuously evident that Momo stands a notch higher than Okarun. It is a pleasant surprise, considering a grand chunk of Shounen anime shows are bent on female characters being side pieces. However, Dan Da Dan overturns that gender play without presenting either with lopsided care.

An unpleasant way the show drags itself down in another rare move is by positioning the typical anime gaze at the female body, which can be a bit disturbing, especially if you are hopping back on the anime train for the first time in a long while. It particularly becomes a jarring introduction as the first episode serves you with that bothersome hackneyed view.

Beyond that, Dan Da Dan offers an explosion of colours on the screen, celebrating itself as a visual treat of animation worth watching. It gives us enough room to enjoy its spontaneity. The first three episodes establish Momo and Okarun as anchors, offering the plot its centre of gravity.

Its art style quickly extends a friendly hand to you. It's no surprise that the animation studio behind the Scott Pilgrim Takes Off anime is pulling out all the stops for this brand-new title. Pushing boundaries of what the 2023 Netflix anime already offered to its audience, Science SARU bridges the gap between every thematic switch it's ready to dish out next.

Be it the cartoonish comedy that actually gets you chuckling or establishing an air of fear with its horror themes, Dan Da Dan goes over and beyond to serve you a platter of entertainment. As a hearty action series, its visuals impressively build up the anticipation for what's coming next.

It could've fallen apart as a hotchpotch, but it's not. At the end of the first three episodes, the character-focused approach keeps pulling you back for more. Despite the few stereotypes that hold up in the series, Momo and Okarun aren't singled-out archetypes. Relatable life is breathed into them individually, just as it is into their budding friendship, which could eventually blossom into something more.

Dan Da Dan Epis out on Crunchyroll. It will eventually be available on Netflix as well.

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