The TV anime "Dandadan," based on a popular manga currently being serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine app "Shonen Jump+," will begin airing on the MBS/TBS late-night anime slot "Super Animeism TURBO" from October 3rd. The manga, written by Ryu Yukinobu, became a hot topic as soon as it began serialization in April 2021, and has been gaining popularity, with a total of over 440 million views on "Shonen Jump+." It is a unique "occult youth story" that incorporates many elements, including the occult, youth, romantic comedy, and battle, but each of them stands out. It also depicts the backgrounds and pasts of monsters, aliens, and other strange creatures, leaving readers with a warm heart and a sense of hope after reading. How was "Dandadan," which has such a wide range of appeal, created? We asked the author, Ryu. ◇Don't demonize monsters, give hope to readers
"Dandadan" is the story of Momo (Ayase Momo), a girl who doesn't believe in aliens, and Okarun (Takakura Ken), a boy who is obsessed with the occult and doesn't believe in ghosts, who encounter overwhelming strangeness. Okarun encounters the monster Turbo Granny in a tunnel at a haunted spot, and is cursed with the power to transform, while Momo, who comes from a family of mediums, is attacked by the Serpo aliens and his hidden psychic powers awaken. The two activate their special powers and face the strange phenomena that appear one after another.
The idea of "pitting monsters against monsters" was inspired by the horror movie "Sadako vs. Kayako." The film is a crossover between the "Ring" and "Ju-on" film series, in which a psychic comes up with a secret plan to break the curses of girls who are under different curses by having Sadako from "Ring" and Kayako from "Ju-on" fight each other, the source of the curses.
"There was a time when I wrote down a lot of loglines that would describe each work in one line, and when it came time to draw a manga, I found the logline for "Sadako vs. Kayako" and thought it was really interesting that it was about pitting monsters against monsters, so I decided to try making it with that. The element itself has been around for a long time, so it may not be anything new, but I thought, 'I see,' how they both presented it, how they would pit the things that were attacking them against each other."
"Sadako vs. Kayako" is a horror film, but it also has an entertainment element in that the two great heroines of the Japanese horror world clash, which also influenced me.
"After all, many of the elements of monster stories are created from tragic events in the past, so I wanted to make it a bit more entertaining and fun. Even when listening to various ghost stories, monsters and monsters were originally human, and they didn't become what they wanted to be. So they don't feel like villains. I think they are people with conflicts."
The monsters and aliens that appear in "Dandadan" appear at first as a threat to Okarun and his friends, but behind them there is a sad past and background. However, once the battle with the monsters is over, there is a depiction that shows hope, as if the enemy monsters will be saved somehow.
"After all, it would be too sad if there was no hope. Since it's entertainment, I want to end it by showing the reader hope."
◇Character design that pushes the boundaries
The monsters and aliens drawn by Ryu, who says "monsters are not villains," are also visually appealing. Ryu, who has watched special effects dramas such as "Silver Mask" and "Space Monkey Gori," said, "Old special effects are kind of cute. They have a really nice handmade feel to them, with a feeling that they were made with a lot of ingenuity." He said that there are some parts of the design that were influenced by special effects. Indeed, the supernatural phenomena in "Dandadan" have a mysterious charm that is scary but also familiar. "In particular, the alien designs are heavily influenced by Toru Narita's designs, so it's difficult to come up with a completely outlandish idea. If I draw an outlandish design, I can't really get into it. I personally believe that a design should make you go 'Ah!' the moment you see it. So in 'Dandadan,' I'm pushing the boundaries in that area. In the case of monsters that were originally human, it's easy to tell at a glance that they're monsters. On the other hand, in the case of aliens, I draw them on the edge of being a little difficult to get into, and it's hard to get into." ◇Influence of 'Berserk' - Pursuing realism without cutting corners in expression Ryu says that he values hopeful developments that warm the heart, character designs, and realism. Where does this come from as a manga artist? When asked about his favorite manga, he mentions the late Kentaro Miura's 'Berserk.' "There's no other work that has such a detailed worldview. There are a lot of fantasy works, but there aren't many that have a sense of reality within the work. You might think that it's natural that fantasy doesn't have a sense of reality, but that's not the case. If you're in the world of the work, you think, 'This could exist' or 'It's real'. It's depicted properly. There are various media, such as manga and anime, but the point is to express and communicate with others. You show it in order to communicate with others, you create a world in order to show it. Just by doing that, you can enter that world. That's why I think there's no other work that's as amazing as that. I think it should be awarded a Nobel Prize."
Influenced by "Berserk," he said, "I try not to cut corners on the expression on screen as much as possible. If I lose the reality, then at that point I'll be slacking off on the expression. I try not to do that as much as possible."
"Dandadan" also has very detailed depictions of haunted places such as ruins and abandoned tunnels. The author has also visited ruins known as haunted spots for research, and the fear he felt at that time is brought back to life with this realism.
"When I draw scary places like haunted spots, I try to include lots of dirt. Junji Ito's works also have lots of very fine lines. It seems like an obsession, or maybe it's creepy. I draw with obsession and passion too."
"Dandadan" is truly drawn with emotion. It's interesting to see how this will be expressed in the TV anime, but he said with a smile, "There are scenes that aren't in the original work, and the director has skillfully picked up on the nuances of the original work and directed it, and there are scenes that make you think, 'Oh, I see!' and 'Nice interpretation!' I hope you'll look forward to watching it."
