Dandadan Creator Reveals How Momo and Okarun Came to Be

As a seasoned gamer with a penchant for anime and manga, I can confidently say that the upcoming series Dandadan has piqued my interest like no other. The blend of the occult and extraterrestrial promises to deliver an exhilarating narrative that’s been missing from the shonen genre lately.


As a gamer who’s always on the lookout for fresh anime content, I can hardly contain my excitement about Dandadan. This series has been generating buzz due to its manga run in Weekly Shonen Jump, and the upcoming anime adaptation from studio Science SARU is set to drop this fall. Ahead of diving into the animated escapades of Momo and Okarun, creator Yukinobu Tatsu recently shared some insights about the franchise and its characters. In a nutshell, Tatsu explained how these unique duo came to be, blending the supernatural with the extraterrestrial elements. With heavy-hitters like My Hero Academia, Demon Slayer, One Piece, and Jujutsu Kaisen either concluding or having wrapped up, it looks like Dandadan could be the next big thing in Weekly Shonen Jump!

In a recent interview, when asked about choosing Momo and Okarun as the protagonists for the comic series Dandadan, the mangaka shared his rationale. He had long desired to create a boys’ manga with a female lead, but these concepts often fell through during serialization discussions. To address this, he felt it was more effective to include a male character alongside her. Elaborating on this point, Yukinobu emphasized that having Momo as the central figure was crucial because, in his opinion, there had never been a boys’ manga with a female protagonist. He believed that simply by making a girl the main character, many conflicts and patterns would shift and evolve in unique ways.

Anime’s New Dynamic Duo

Firstly, Tatsu shared that creating a girl as the main character was initially difficult for him because he hadn’t done it before, but it ultimately led him to develop Momo as Dandadan’s protagonist. He stated, “Since I hadn’t drawn a lead female character before, I thought it would be more creative to draw something unfamiliar, which is why I made her a girl.” Later, Yukinobu expressed that his affection for the 1980s influenced the style of his shonen manga series. He said, “I have fond memories of the 1980s when people were full of energy. Today’s social climate feels dark and gloomy, which I don’t like. My goal is to create a manga that inspires readers, makes them laugh, and brings joy. That’s why I want to evoke the energetic feelings of the past in my work.”

The anime series titled “Dandadan” is all set to premiere on October 3rd this autumn, and it will be accessible on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu. According to the shonen franchise, its captivating narrative goes like this: Momo Ayase develops an unconventional bond with her school’s UFO enthusiast, whom she affectionately calls “Okarun” due to his name being considered inappropriate to utter. While Momo has faith in spirits, she dismisses aliens as mere nonsense. In contrast, Okarun firmly believes in the existence of extraterrestrials. To settle this disagreement, they embark on a quest to disprove each other’s beliefs – Momo heads to a UFO hotspot and Okarun ventures into a haunted tunnel. The ensuing events lead to a heartwarming story about young romance…and rather peculiar aliens and spirits that seem to have a peculiar fascination with intimacy!

Via DandaDan Verse

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2024-08-27 18:40