Dan Da Dan has become one of the most popular animes of Fall 2024 thanks to its chaotic and vibrant atmosphere blended with a slow-burn romance and strange phenomena. While the combination of these topics may sound bizarre, Yukinobu Tatsu's story has a creative way of tackling occult themes that is different from any other shōnen anime. The reason behind this was that Dan Da Dan's inspiration was a niche horror movie.

Although it's apparent in the series’ character design, it was confirmed that one of the biggest influences of Dan Da Dan is Ultra Man, the classic Japanese hero. However, an interview with the author revealed the shocking true inspiration behind Dan Da Dan's excitingly weird premise: an absurdly amusing yet scary movie featuring a clash between two of the greatest representatives of Japanese horror and two of the most iconic mangas of all time.

Dan Da Dan’s Author Was Inspired by the Horror Movie The Ring Vs. The Grudge

Just Like the Film, Dan Da Dan’s Story Rejoices in Mixing Horror With a Silly Premise

In one of the first interviews after Dandadan's serialization shared by Da Vinci, the author revealed that when he struggled to create a good story, his editor, Shihei Rin, encouraged him to start sketching the draft and characters without a structured plot. This way, the first concept of Dandadan's manga came spontaneously after he came across a logline he previously wrote about the idea of the horror movie Sadako vs. Kayako, also known as The Ring Vs. The Grudge, of monsters being capable of fighting between them, was interesting.

Around 2019, I was no longer able to draw manga. At that time, my editor told me, "Even if it's just one page, I want you to draw whatever you want." So I casually looked back at my notebook and found that I had written, "The movie 'Sadako vs. Kayako' is interesting."

That movie was a dream collaboration between Sadako and Kayako, wasn't it? Horror wasn't my forte, but I really enjoyed "Sadako vs Kayako" because it was so silly in a good way. I ed that and thought I might be able to use it in my manga. - Yukinobu Tatsu

In the film, in order to break the curses of two girls, a spiritualist comes up with a secret plan to make the source of these curses fight each other. This idea of a ghostly face-off would later also evolve to include aliens as antagonists in Dan Da Dan's story, thanks to the author's preference for Ultraman’s monsters, and to lighten the terror aspects of the series.

I think horror and comedy go hand in hand. Junji Ito's "Tomie" is a story that is "very scary, but if you take one wrong step, you'll end up laughing." So I wanted to bring the humorous elements of horror to the forefront. - Yukinobu Tatsu

Additionally, despite Sadako vs. Kayako being a horror film, its premise of spirits pitting against each other can come across as ridiculous, but that's precisely what makes it entertaining and works for Dan Da Dan, since it sparks viewers' curiosity about who would rise as the winner, and also two different forces colliding is always exciting to see.

Dan Da Dan’s Original Storylines Are Meant To Keep the Manga Fun and Interesting

Another Influence of Dan Da Dan is an Iconic Manga by Junji Ito

The reason why Dan Da Dan’s plot of horror and occult themes with romantic comedy works is thanks to the series' unique storylines that blend the different topics naturally. These storylines were brought together by the author and his editor, creating the most memorable moments of the manga thanks to absurd and unexpected but fun ideas they brainstormed together, like making Dan Da Dan’s premise about Okarun losing his "golden balls," which was an idea Shihei Rin proposed during a casual drink.

The search for Okarun' family jewels, being the connective plot point that moves the story forward, is both silly and original, allowing the comedy in Dan Dan Dan to be maintained amid the horror moments and intense fights against unknown powerful enemies. Moreover, the author Tatsu was able to create Dan Da Dan’s story style because of his unique perspective on how horror can be managed in fiction, mentioning as a reference the iconic manga by Junji Ito, Tomie.

I think horror and comedy go hand in hand. Junji Ito's "Tomie" is a story that is "very scary, but if you take one wrong step, you'll end up laughing." So I wanted to bring the humorous elements of horror to the forefront. - Yukinobu Tatsu

This way, Dan Da Dan stands out from other anime and modern shōnen manga by being able to highlight many imaginative stories thanks to its embrace of the coexistence of the paranormal, from supernatural phenomena to UAP theories, but balancing in equal parts their elements of horror and comedy instead of focusing only on one.

Dan Da Dan’s Artstyle was Inspired by Berserk

Berserk is Yukinobu Tatsu's Favorite Manga

In an interview shared by Mantan Web, Yukinobu stated that Berserk is his favorite manga, which he considers should be given a Nobel Prize, and it’s in a league of its own because of how it expresses its world with a unique 'sense of realism' that has inspired him while creating Dan Da Dan.

There is no other work with such a well-crafted worldview. There are a lot of fantasy works, but not many that have a sense of reality within them. You might think that since it's fantasy, it's natural that it lacks reality, but that's not the case. When you are in the world of the work, you think, 'This could exist' or 'It's real.' It depicts this world so well. - Yukinobu Tatsu

Despite Dan Da Dan being nothing like Berserk in of story, because of the influence of Kentaro Miura, Tatsu’s drawing style strives to be as realistic as possible, since the author explains that realism is tied to expression.

If I lose the realism, then at that point I've started slacking off in the expressions. I try as much as possible to avoid that. - Yukinobu Tatsu

Nevertheless, watching Science Saru's anime, no viewer would be able to connect Berserk to Dan Da Dan, which isn't nearly as deep but overflows with madness and a dynamic, creepy, funny vibe. Furthermore, in any other setting, the mixing of Sadako Vs. Kayako with Junji Ito’s works and Berserk would be unthinkable, yet these different media helped make Dan Dan Dan not only completely unpredictable; it also takes viewers out of their comfort zone by easily going from tender moments to hilarious situations that quickly transition into terror and is all thanks to this shocking combination of muses.

Source: Da Vinci, Mantan Web.