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Red Baron is here too unfortunately 😒

Kouki and Zuma are my favorite characters in Dandadan. And in looking into them that I've noticed a few connections between them. While they've not met yet I believe there are significant things connecting the two. Things to keep in mind for when they do meet and what their roles in the story may be in the future.

Development Markers:

Without having to say anything, Tatsu was able to showcase how much Momo and Okarun have developed through Unji Zuma and Kouki Yukishiro.

Momo & Zuma:

At the beginning of the series Momo was obsessed with having a boyfriend with the looks and personality of actor Ken Takakura. Zuma was designed to look and act like that ideal type, but during the events of Danmara Momo never even suggests having any attraction to him. We do see her constantly yearning and pinning for her beloved Okarun. It shows that her juvenile celebrity crush was changed into a genuine love for Okarun.

Ken & Kouki:

At the beginning of the series Okarun was alone, ignored, ridiculed and isolated. He felt like everyone ignored him and decided to seek acknowledgement elsewhere. Meeting Momo changed that, she brightened his world and because of her he was able to meet people, have friends and even see aliens.

Kouki's story begins almost identical to Okarun's; she's also ignored, ridiculed and isolated. She also seeks acknowledgement elsewhere, but her desperation for attention winds up getting her in trouble. Kouki's isolation and the trouble it caused is juxtaposed to the community Okarun was able to foster thanks to meeting Momo.

Unji & Kouki's are also defeated by Ken & Momo respectively, in a way showcasing how it took the other to overcome their past selves.

Sidenote: If you believe in the theory that Momo’s name was also based on the fairytale of Momotaro then there's a contrast between Momo and Kouki's name, as well as Zuma and Ken’s.

In this case, Momo & Kouki Yukishiro names would both be based on fairy-tales. Momotaro, an eastern fairy-tale and Snow White, a western fairy-tale

Okarun's real name is Ken Takakura obviously based on the actor and Zuma name is meant to sound like Jumanji (Zuma Unji), basing their names on eastern and western pop culture icons.

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Sidebar: No, Okarun's equivalent wouldn't be Vamola. He's never expressed a want to hook up with an alien, and only sought out aliens' attention because humans ignored him.

Mirrored Past:

Zuma & Kouki's familial situations are almost directly opposites and yet they stand alone from that family in the end. 

Their backgrounds run parallel to each other. Both born into families of 4; But Zuma's is poor, just struggling to get by but tight knit. Kouki's is well off but fickle, love and affection being the prize for gaining achievements. To the dismay of both for the eldest siblings the road for them both led to them being separate from their family.

For Zuma it was through the deaths of each of his family members leaving him the only one alive.

For Kouki it is through her loss and subsequent retirement from Piano, and with her family finding a replacement for her in Alice, Kouki was effectively left out of her own family.

Zuma's response was to be aggressive. To fight back against the kids who beat and bullied him at the orphanage, eventually ran away from the place all together. When the world beat him down, he blamed the world itself and adults who made it that way, he saw there was something wrong with the world and he desired to crush it.

Kouki's response was to be passive. To be submissive when shoved around and made fun of, to tolerate it all and carry on. When the world beat her down she blames herself, thinking there was something wrong with her, leaving her with a desire to get back the attention she once garnered.

When Zuma acted on his aggression and Kouki on her sorrow, facing the consequences of their emotional outbursts.

Zuma faced the consequences from the law and afterwards was taken care of by a responsible adult who wanted to look out for him.

Kouki faced the consequences from outside the law, the results being an irresponsible adult taking advantage of her.

Even the roles their younger siblings play in their pasts are opposite of each other. Fūta came back into Zuma's life as a yokai and served to uplift and save him from experiencing the trauma of losing his family again. Alice serves to drag Kouki down like everyone, to remind her of what she was and how everyone used to treat her to leave her desperate to get that feeling back.

Zuma's backstory showcases his ascent, how he started off with little, only to lose more and ultimately come back from it all and live a better life.

Kouki’s backstory shows her descent, how she started high but wasn't allowed to move on from a single loss and how that made her life worse.

In both cases their trauma is used by the real villains to force them into an antagonist role.

Devils:

It isn't just their backstories running parallel to each other, Zuma and Kouki also have opposing experiences with the devils of Dandadan.

For Zuma the power of a devil was a detriment. It resurfaced all his trauma and used it to turn him into the worst version of himself. The Fairy-Tale Card used Zuma for his powers, then left him to die.

On the contrary, for Kouki, the power of a devil was a benefit. It required her to overcome her trauma and become a better version of herself. Using the power of Lord of the Flies is what saved herself and her friend's lives. While Zuma was made a victim to his own destructive impulses spurred on by The Fairy-Tale Card’s control, Lord of the Flies made Kouki her own master as she controls the wills of small living creatures.

Zuma’s adventure through the Cursed Trunk and encounter with The Fairy-Tale Card left him with deteriorating eyesight. Kouki's acquisition of Lord of Flies allows her to have a spiritual sense good enough to see the Pygmies.

Bega tries to encourage Zuma to resist the influence of the Fairy-Tale Card.

Aira encourages Kouki to embrace the way she used to play so that she can use her Lord of the Flies abilities

Zuma wakes up from his near death state caused by the Fairy-Tale Card overworking his abilities.

Kouki goes down after overexerting herself while using Lord of the Flies. In both cases the person who called out to them is by their side telling them to stay strong.

Rivalry Replacements:

A rejection arc for Jiji and Aira will result in a permanent change in how Momo, Okarun, Aira and Jiji will interact going forward. And that’s something I believe we're moving towards. It's because of that I believe Zuma and Kouki are coming in as replacements for Jiji and Aira. Just to bring a familiar dynamic back. We've already seen them bicker. The two pairs already have a turbulent relationship among each other. It's even possible they'll also contribute to pushing Jiji and Aira into their next arcs in some unforeseen way.

So despite the spats might they get into, it is genuinely heartwarming seeing Aira express her admiration for Kouki and that helping Yukishiro get back into her passion, just as it was genuinely awesome seeing Jiji and Zuma set aside their differences and combine powers to take down the Typhoon Human. I can't wait to see more of them!

Closing Thoughts

I do think it’s interesting the many links I've made between these two. I was only able to find these connections because I had been shipping Zuma and Kouki for a while, but I'm interested to know what you might think it could all mean. I'm deeply curious to know what Tatsu's plan for them will be.