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 …
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!
