Yukinobu Tatsuโ€™s Dandadan began on Shonen Jump+ in April 2021. Momo Ayase believes in ghosts and thinks aliens are nonsense. The UFO obsessive in her class believes the opposite. To settle it, she heads for a UFO hotspot and he heads for a haunted tunnel.

Dandadan manga cover art
Cover art for the manga ยท AniList

They were both right. He comes back cursed, picks up the nickname Okarun, and she wakes up with psychic powers. What keeps the series working is that the supernatural brawling never displaces the teenagers underneath it. Fights end, school resumes, and a sincere scene is usually followed immediately by a stupid joke.

Poster art for anime season two
The 2025 second season ยท AniList

The art is a large part of the appeal. Dense backgrounds, inventive yokai design, and page rhythms that change from spread to spread got attention from the earliest chapters. It also matters that the adults do things: Momoโ€™s grandmother Seiko, a working medium, is one of the strongest characters in the book.

Banner art from anime season two
Animated by Science SARU ยท AniList

Twenty-four volumes are out, with a twenty-fifth on the way. Science SARU animated the first season in 2024 and the second in 2025, and a third season is confirmed for 2027. MANGA Plus and VIZ carry the manga in English.

Character art of Momo Ayase
Momo Ayase, the lead ยท AniList
Character art of Ken Takakura
Ken Takakura, nicknamed Okarun ยท AniList
Character art of Seiko Ayase
Seiko, Momo's grandmother and a medium ยท AniList