The non-credit opening animation sequence of DAN DA DAN has been officially uploaded to YouTube.
The sequence, which combines multiple visual styles and has a brief but very well-animated shot of a dancing Momo Ayase, is storyboarded and unit directed by Abel Gongora (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off). Gongora is also at the top of the key animator and background art credits, in addition to handling the compositing (with some assistance) and editing.
DAN DA DAN‘s opening song is “Otonoke” by Creepy Nuts.
DAN DA DAN premiered on October 3 and is streaming on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and the Muse Asia YouTube channel. It adapts the Shueisha-published sci-fi occult manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, which debuted on Shonen Jump+ in 2021 and has 15 tankoubon volumes as of July 2024. Viz Media describes the manga as:
Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school’s UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames “Okarun” because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, meanwhile, thinks the exact opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong—Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love…and oddly horny aliens and spirits?
The ending animation, storyboarded and unit directed by series assistant director Moco-chan, was also released. It focuses on a certain cat and accompanies the song “TAIDADA” by ZUTOMAYO.
The anime’s first episode was screened in advance at some conventions, and the first three episodes were screened in theaters outside Japan under the title DAN DA DAN: First Encounter.
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Staff
• Director: Fuuga Yamashiro (Keep Your Hands off Eizouken! co-assistant director)
• Series composer: Hiroshi Seko (Chainsaw Man)
• Character designer: Naoyuki Onda (MF Ghost and Inuyashiki)
• Alien and yokai designer: Yoshimichi Kameda (Mob Psycho character designer)
• Color designer: Satoshi Hashimoto (Spy x Family Season 1)
• Color designer: Makiho Kondo (“Tokyo Clone” music video)
• Background art director: Junichi Higashi (Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2)
• Compositing director: Kazuto Izumita (Great Pretender)
• Music composer: Kensuke Ushio (Tengoku Daimakyou, The Heike Story)
• Animation production: Science SARU
Cast
• Shion Wakayama as Momo
• Natsuki Hanae as Okarun
• Mayumi Tanaka as Turbo Granny
• Kazuya Nakai as Serpoians
• Nana Mizuki as Seiko Ayase
• Ayane Sakura as Aira Shiratori
• Kaito Ishikawa as Jin Enjoji/Jiji
Source: Crunchyroll YouTube channel
