Ways I can think of that âDanDaDanâ differs from other shonen series:
* Female MC is as important as male MC
* Canon romance gets consistent development through the series. I think thatâs part of the reason why the MC ships with the rivals (Aira, Jiji) arenât as popular with the fandom for once. The main ship is actually getting good development, so the fanbase doesnât have to make up headcanons to fill in the space.
* Flips the found family trope on its head by having the main group despise new people whenever they show up and they even actively try to kick them out. The new people only end up staying because they keep lingering around to the point that the main group just gives up and lets them stay.
* The rivals arenât emo or angst-ridden. Aira is a delusional tryhard popular girl while Jiji is a himbo drama queen. Iâd even go as far to say that the MCs are the ones who are emo and angst-ridden.
* Supporting cast is more than just important, they become integral to the story. Iâd say that the further you read into DanDaDan, the more it becomes an ensemble cast where everyone is a protagonist in their own right.
* World-building is all over the place, but in a good way. Most other shonen are pretty consistent with what kind of world their characters live in. MHA is superhero-based, Naruto is ninjas and magic, Bleach is spirits, and so on. DanDaDan feels like the author just throws whatever cool shit they can think of into the story. Thatâs actually the reason why I wrote in a different post that DanDaDan reminds me more of Marvel/DC than any other shonen series, it manages to capture the catch-all insanity of those comics.
* Doesnât rely on hidden power-ups. The main characters either have to outsmart the villains or they have to train to get better with the powers they already have.
* The pervert comic relief guy is actually endearing for once. Not because of his pervert tendencies, but because heâs so oblivious to how socially inept he is that itâs kind of funny. This is gonna sound strange, but he sorta reminds me of Thor in Thor Ragnarok. Full of himself and oblivious to how dumb he can be. Heâs Thor without the good looks lol.
* Flips the ânerdy outcast loser somehow gets a haremâ trope. Instead of making Okarun cooler than how he actually is, the story emphasizes that the women who fall for Okarun are as weird as him. Momo is a weird outcast, Aira has main character syndrome, Vamola doesnât understand how to human because sheâs literally not one, Rin thought Okarun was a vampire (and wanted him to be).
* Flips the âelderly figure in charge of the teenagersâ trope. I donât really get motherly figure vibes from Seiko Ayase, I get more âcool wine aunt who is stuck with her nieceâ vibes. In fact, there was the arc where Okarun showed up to her in spirit mode to get her help with fighting off the alien invasion and Seikoâs response was, âWell, Iâm not in the area and I have other shit to do, so you kids figure it out.â
* The series takes the piss out of the trope of mystical/magical items that the group acquired to get their powers. I meanâŚthe main mystical MacGuffin in the series are Okarunâs balls.
* Okarun was about to go into an âIâm weak / I wish I was stronger / I want to get stronger for my friendsâ breakdown, but Turbo Granny told him to shut up and keep fighting.
* Not afraid to put the âcool girlâ in as many funny situations as possible. Off the top of my head, the series built up Momo as this cool, tough girl who doesnât take shit from anyoneâŚthen several chapters later, Okarun found out she got a job at a maid cafe.
(Feel free to add to the list!)
