DANDADAN- Unexpectedly Heartwarming

     For many, the quintessential "college experience" can take many different mental images: late-night library study sessions, fraternity and sorority parties, getting piss-drunk on weekdays, etc. Not to discredit any of these lifestyles, but it wasn't the one I went after. Instead of becoming a party animal or a book-reading hunchback, I opted to try out the anime and ramen type of college student life, with a small edit: no ramen. Instead, Wade and I would abuse a free pizza loophole in Dominos' pizza delivery service while we watched our shows. So I guess this is really just a roundabout way of saying I've become somewhat of an anime watcher during this semester with Wade!

    I've never been much of an anime guy, but I've always liked animated shows and movies in general. As a film student, I know that Wade has been exposed to plenty of animation students and has even worked with a few himself, so I knew that he'd be open to experimenting with new media alongside me. However, after watching Jujutsu Kaisen together at the beginning of the semester, we were left with a hole in our lives... a hole that was vaguely shaped like a Japanese cartoon character of unspecified origin. There was a clear impact left on us after watching JJK, as we had both repeatedly brought up JJK as an inspiration in work and art that we had done in the months following our watching of the show, and we had both listened to the soundtrack for hours at a time. But after JJK, what would we watch to fill this gap?

    Around the time we were watching the last couple of episodes of JJK, I had found a very interesting teaser for a new anime series that would be airing on Netflix called DANDADAN. The opening sequence had been released on Twitter, sporting striking, colorful visuals and a ridiculously catchy and unique theme song. If I wasn't already enamored by the visuals of the opening, I guarantee that the theme song would've drawn me to the show anyways, since it is an actual earworm I couldn't get out of my head for weeks. Wade and I agreed that it would be cool to watch a brand new anime together as it aired, as it meant there was very little risk of being spoiled details from the show, and it would be nice to be the one recommending a show to others for a change, instead of being the ones that received the niche and obscure recommendations.

    There was one caveat though: Wade and I had no idea what the show was about. Not even in the slightest. We went into the pilot episode completely blind, and this resulted in us being completely in shock by the end of the first episode, sitting in silence after the screen had faded to black.

    The basic premise is actually really cool and simple: Momo is a girl that believes in the spiritual, while Okarun believes in the extraterrestial. They both make fun of the other for believing in their respective supernatural theories, and through a series of dares, they are exposed to each other's threats. Momo is abducted by aliens, and Okarun becomes possessed by an evil spirit. Both of them develop special powers after their encounters, and they get closer as a result of their experiences and fighting new threats of both spiritual and alien origin each episode. I really liked this idea of having each character experience what the other has believed in with no proof, and the teasing dynamic between the two is very cute. What threw me off was the overarching goal of the show: retrieving Okarun's testicles, which had been lost as a result of his spiritual possession.

    Admittedly, the first episode did leave a strange taste in our mouths after watching it. Anime has a reputation for being pretty strange and cringey at times, and while I hadn't really experienced this when watching JJK, I very much understood why anime gets this reputation after the first episode of DANDADAN. By the end of the episode, the aliens that have abducted Momo had stripped her in an attempt to surgically remove her reproductive organs, and on Okarun's side, the raspy older voice of the spirit possessing him continuously talks about his "banana." Needless to say, Wade and I were a little uncomfortable since we had gone into this show with zero expectations or context, so we both agreed to never mention that we watched this to anyone else.

    So why did I break that promise? Well, after a few days had passed from our initial experience, we ended up revisiting the show just to give it a second chance, if only because it had a really cool opening theme. And after the second episode, we would make a point of ordering pizza on Thursdays to watch the new DANDADAN episode every week, as it became a sort of routine for us to spend time together and an excuse to further abuse the free pizza loophole we had discovered. And over time, I think the show and its characters really grew on me! I liked the quirkiness of the characters, the animation was awesome, and the "monster of the week" formula that the show used really lent itself to casual viewing, meaning we would be able to tune in every week with no concern for forgetting what happened in the last episode. 

    What really caught me off guard was my investment in Okarun and Momo's relationship development. I've never been one for romance and shipping within media, but there's something so innocently genuine about the way that they develop feelings for each other that reaches into one's memories of young love in grade school and makes you feel all warm inside. There's a sort of anxious playfulness between the two of them that feels real, and it makes you fall in love with the characters and hoping that one of them will break the ice and confess feelings for one another. Again, I'm not really a romance guy, but something about the way these two develop struck a chord for me and it's quickly become one of my favorite parts about the show.

    So, do I recommend? Yes, but only if you're willing to abide by some anime weirdness. While there are times you will be like why am I watching this, I think that if you push through any awkwardness you feel, you will find a heartwarming story about young love and cool supernatural creatures. Also the opening slaps!

 Dan da da dan dan da dan dadnadan dandan dadan dan dan danda dan dan dan dadadadan.....