Dandadan is a manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, adapted into an anime by Science SARU and directed by Fūga Yamashiro (his first time as a director). It follows Momo Ayase (who believes in ghosts) and Ken "Okarun" Takakura (who believes in aliens); after a bet, the two discover that both are real. Momo has psychic powers, while Okarun is cursed and gains supernatural strength.
The seasons
- Season 1: 12 episodes, October 4–December 20, 2024
- Season 2: 12 episodes, from July 3–4 to September 19, 2025 (premiered July 4 in Japan, July 3 US time); adapts the Evil Eye and Cursed House arcs
- Dandadan: Evil Eye film: a compilation of the first three episodes of season 2, shown in the US on June 6, 2025
- Season 3: announced in December 2025, expected to air in 2027
Why did Dandadan take off so fast? Few manga or anime blend two seemingly opposed elements so smoothly: nonstop comedy and serious supernatural action. Having one character who believes in ghosts and another who believes in aliens discover that both beliefs are true is a clever setup, and it lets the series keep expanding its world without long explanations. It is also one of the few debut anime that Adult Swim put straight into its Toonami block, which is known for being picky about content, after just one season, a sign that the reception went well beyond what a new series would normally expect.
Release and performance
The show streams globally on Netflix and Crunchyroll; the English dub has aired on Adult Swim's Toonami in the US since July 2025. Season 1 topped Netflix's list of most-watched anime in the second half of 2024 with more than 19.6 million views worldwide.
OtaHub's take
Science SARU handing a project as big as Dandadan to a first-time director, Fūga Yamashiro, was a fairly bold decision, but it fits the "rule-breaking" spirit of the manga itself. The studio has repeatedly shown it can spot new talent through a flexible animation style that does not cling to formulas (as seen in Ghost in the Shell 2026). Releasing in parallel on Netflix, Crunchyroll and US cable through Adult Swim is also a rare distribution strategy, helping Dandadan reach both traditional viewers and streaming users, and part of the reason the series drew such a huge audience after only one season.
This is content from 2024–2025. Articles that describe the Evil Eye arc trailer as news from September 2026 are outdated. A review of season 2 is available in OtaHub's Reviews section.
Updated September 24, 2026: this article was rewritten based on verified sources; the previous version contained outdated or inaccurate information.
Sources: TV Guide, IMDb, CBR.
