Dandadan

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Instead of listing the famous names that recommended this manga, I want to clearly state my thoughts about this beginning premise.

-Okay typical school setting
-Occultic science fiction shit
-What the fuck

Some of the shit we've seen in the first chapter alone can be taken extremely out of context, in which I compare this part to the random shit I've or you've seen in Fire Punch (Author was an assistant under Fujimoto).

While there isn't much to go on, I can sorta guess the route we are taking... Honestly, the first chapter was so random I wouldn't even know. I would like to think of it as some sort ... of bootleg mob psycho but this time we have more variety in the mixed.

Well besides the occultic battle premise without much to go on, the characters in particular have their potential of course to grow and mature maybe. We are introduced to a nerd and an aggressive girl that tries to prove their theories against each other, but in the end they prove each other right.

Other than that, this series gets pretty weird and creepy like it was suppose to be a one-shot parody but apparently we'll be introduced to more. So in any case, look out for more!

10/10 Occultist shit

Dandadan started off as a tremendous amalgamation of creativity and a don't-give-a-fuck, fun-loving attitude that takes you for a ride. It's probably one of the strongest first chapters I have ever read, with a cool supernatural plot and budding romance. The comedy is quirky and dirty and so much fun compared to other Shounen (looking at you, JJK). Ken and Momo have one of the most authentic romantic relationships that I have seen in a manga, where the feelings develop naturally for each other; it's sweet, and it's real, and it grounds the story throughout its surrealism. Their romance is the anchor for the spaceship ... narrative that pings around just about everywhere.

And unfortunately, this is where Dandadan loses traction. We jump from one supernatural endeavor to another as the cast grows ever larger with Jiji, Aira, and a whole host of other characters you couldn't care less about. It's all about the next big bad boss fight and not about the characters. Over time, they become flat and uninteresting, even Momo and Ken. There are no stakes to the story because nothing about it is real. There's no charm to the romance of Momo and Ken because their romantic progression has remained the same for 130 chapters. There's no exploration of feelings, and all the side characters become cliché tropes. Even the randomness of the fights versus the aliens and yokai takes on a formulaic progression: take on boss, win, have some comic relief chapters, add some tension to the romance (which has all but dissipated), and repeat. I so badly want to learn more about the characters that I started scrolling through the later chapters that had gone from chaotic fun to aimless.

My biggest frustration is that the story has lost its sparkle, like the author himself is just going through the motions. The inventiveness has disappeared, and so has the promise of a well-developed romance and an ethos of taking on the mystery of the world. It's not mysterious; it's just another run-of-the-mill Shounen that could have been. I hope Yukinobu can turn it around, because there are not many authors who can make a boy meets girl and takes on the world anime feel one of a kind.

Why did I leave this series unfinished?

A boy who believes in aliens but not in ghosts and a girl who believes in ghosts but not in aliens cross paths. While they both want to prove their thesis, the boy is possessed by a ghost and the girl is abducted by aliens. The two of them escape from the aliens with the help of the ghost's power, and with their chakras opened, they must now protect the world from alien attacks and evil spirits as special people. Meanwhile, hundreds of low-brow jokes and nonsense ensue, and in Volume 6, the girl's former best friend asks for ... help to purify a cursed house. The ghost of the haunted house takes over her body and she becomes an athletic, panty-clad ghost boy. Will the couple be able to save this poor boy from the ghost?

Take me seriously when I say that this is only 10% of the absurdity of the fiction. They even sent a cow from the village to space in a UFO for the alien baby who needs to drink milk, you can imagine the rest.

Although the themes of “human evil” used by the author to justify these absurdities are realistic and sad, I find it hard to understand how such a bad fiction can be so popular.