Dan Da Dan: First Encounters is the latest entry in the anime industry of anime that are getting these wild cinema releases. I’ve never been too much of a fan when it comes to compilation movies and I also never really agreed with them receiving theatrical releases. Dan Da Dan: First Encounters is an exception, as it isn’t recapping anything that we might’ve already seen. It has received a limited release by GKids, a month prior to the anime’s premiere on Crunchyroll and Netflix, sharing the first three episodes with everyone.
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to view this on the big screen and watched it via screeners that were sent my way, but after watching, I have an even better understanding as to why they wanted to show this on the big screen, as it’s an anime that feels like a movie. It’s a risky move to release a compilation of the first three episodes to get people enticed before the official release, but I think it’s a move that will work well in their favour.
Dan Da Dan is a Shonen manga serialised in Shonen Jump +, a digital manga app created by Shuiesha. It’s written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu and is a supernatural thriller that follows Momo Ayase (Shion Wakayama), a girl who believes in ghosts but not aliens, and Ken Takakura (Natsuki Hanae), a boy who believes in aliens but not ghosts. One day, they come across each other, testing each other to go visit locations that are associated with the occult and the supernatural. Learning rather quickly that both exist, they team up with the help of Ayase’s grandma, Seiko Ayase (Nana Mizuki), after Takakura is possessed by a spirit to help take it down.
Dan Da Dan is a very wacky series where one situation that takes place within a chapter turns into another outlandish situation, and with Yukinobu Tatsu’s wild art to accompany, it’s a lot to take in. I worried that it wouldn’t translate onto screen well if the right studio wasn’t adapting it, but we hit the jackpot. Science Saru are the wonderful and creative people behind some of my personal favourites, such as Devilman Crybaby, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off, and so much more. Their craft was the missing piece to make this anime the adaptation that fans of Dan Da Dan wanted.
Dan Da Dan: First Encounters manages to adapt the first four chapters in the three episodes, which all have great pacing considering how fast the anime may seem like it’s moving. A perfect anime adaptation consists of one thing: providing us viewers something extra to show that care and love are actually being put into the work, and the first three episodes of Dan Da Dan display that. The manga consists of bonus pages that are seen at the end of each volume. Episode three of Dan Da Dan takes that first bonus page and instead of implementing it as an afterthought, something we see in a comedic section after the credits, it’s instead part of, making the watching experience better and once again showing that the team at Science Saru truly care about the adaptation they’re creating.
Science Saru has always delivered with every anime they’ve produced, but Dan Da Dan is a strong enough contender to rival Devilman Crybaby when it comes to animation. The colours are used during action scenes to reference the ghost or alien that they may be facing, varying from black and white scenery to a splash of red covering the scene. It can be vibrant, it can be monotonous; you don’t know what you’re going to get, but it’s always something different, and it’s very fitting with the unpredictable state of Dan Da Dan. The visuals that are used in the action scenes can rival some of the biggest Shonen just from how chaotically stylish it is, with a lot of it being comparable to the look of a kaleidoscope.
Fuga Yamashiro’s direction was also excellent during these scenes; as you can tell, certain cuts were used for budget-saving reasons, but they’re smartly used within fights to help them still flow and not take away your attention from them. There wasn’t a single moment where I didn’t think this wasn’t worthy of being shown in the cinema, and if the quality continues to match that of the first three episodes, we’re in for a very high-quality anime.
Kensuke Ushio, who provided an electric score for Chainsaw Man, returns to provide an upbeat soundtrack that just elevates the anarchic world of Dan Da Dan. The voice casting is just perfect, with certain tones used by Shion Wakayama and Natsuki Hanae that just instantly have me bursting into laughter. It’s a rare feeling, but hearing their lines gives me the ethereal feeling that I’m in the voice booth with them as they’re recording.
There are many strong contenders releasing during the Fall 2024 season of anime, such as Bleach and Re: Zero, but after watching Dan Da Dan: First Encounters, I’m confident enough that it can make a name for itself by not only being the best anime of the season but also possibly the best anime of the year. Science Saru provides an adaptation of Dan Da Dan that shows their passion within the work, even reworking some scenes to have a better tone, such as Ayase’s abduction, which felt like a poorly told joke in the manga. The visuals are incomparable to any anime I’ve watched this year and are the pinnacle of Science Saru’s best. It’s a series that will have something for everyone; it’s got mystery, horror, romance, action, science fiction, suspense, and some of the best animation of the year. What more could you want from an anime?
Dan Da Dan begins streaming on October 3 on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
