Manga Review: Dandadan — A Must-Read After The Anime
December 7, 2024
The Dandadan anime is great, and the manga is even better, if you can believe it. A story centered around a mishmash of ghosts, aliens, and a variety of different personal relationships is somehow able to maintain better focus of its strengths than most other manga out there.
It really is impressive how fulfilling the writing of Dandadan can be. The manga is able to masterfully switch between moods. It knows when to take itself seriously, and it knows when it can be more lighthearted. Dandadan also does romance surprisingly well. In fact, for many readers, that might be one of Dandadan's biggest draws. One of many.
SPOILER-FREE REVIEW — This Dandadan manga review is based on how the series has developed up until Chapter 175, the most recent chapter available before this article's release. No story spoilers will be mentioned.
Characters: 15/15 — Distinctly Human (Or Not Human)
Dandadan's characters are something special, and it all starts with their strong personalities. Many characters are weird or heavily flawed, but that doesn't really detract from readers' perception of them. It actually makes most of the characters feel more genuine. Their interactions definitely help cement that feeling. Conversations feel fairly natural.
Okarun's relationship with Momo Ayase, for example, is something truly beautiful. It's built on deep trust and a total commitment to each other. Even so, insecurities have creeped in over the course of the manga. That's just realistic, and that kind of writing is what makes Dandadan feel special. Characters overcoming the challenges presented to them makes everything feel all the more satisfying.
Even various antagonists in Dandadan have a good amount of depth to them. I have to refrain from mentioning any of them in particular, but plenty of them stand out for more than just their actions in the manga.
Art: 13/15 — A Style Perfect For Everything
Generally speaking, people don't tune into a manga for the art, but it definitely still is an important part of the reading experience. To that end, Yukinobu Tatsu's art style is perfect for the story that he is trying to convey in Dandadan. What makes the art so great is its malleability. It matches the story's seamless ability to explore very different types of emotions. Dandadan's ghosts look appropriately terrifying, and the characters appear appropriately flustered or silly when the focus shifts to those traits.
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Dandadan's art style isn't just effective at depicting the story, though. It looks great in its own right — and uniquely so. The style feels plenty distinct. It is unmistakably Dandadan, if that makes sense to say. The one major criticism that I have for the manga, however, is that it gets a bit too ambitious at times. Some panels are hard to look at as a result. Doesn't happen too often, though, so it's not a dealbreaker or anything like that.
Story: 12/15 — Chaotic But Captivating
Dandadan is a bit weird because it'll have its moments where the overarching narrative clearly isn't a major priority. In a way, some chapters feel like nothing more than filler. That's not something to really complain too much about, though. Even the small adventures are entertaining, thanks to the rich cast of characters. So long as the characters are actively growing, the manga is good fun.
To be totally candid, the story does feel misguided every now and then. For example, one of the more recent arcs in the Dandadan manga had some pretty bad pacing issues. That's as bad as the manga has gotten, though. For the most part, Dandadan's narrative has been pretty captivating. It's at its best when it appeals to all kinds of different emotions, and that has been more the norm than the exception. The action is great, too.
The World: 14/15 — The Power Of The Paranormal
The premise of Dandadan definitely seems a bit overwhelming, at first. Ghosts AND aliens both taking center stage? Surely that wouldn't work over the course of a full manga...But it does. And it actually works very well.
Dandadan has a very strong atmosphere. The world feels properly fleshed out with its horror elements. That doesn't mean that it all makes sense, but it's easy to get deeply invested in it all. Despite playing with very common themes, Dandadan is alone in how it handles it all together. There is an unexpected level of coherency, too. Dandadan truly feels special, and it has gone through quite the journey to get to where it is today.
