If you became an anime fan before the advent of streaming services, you likely remember the dedicated process of “searching” for anime. With no central set of hubs for these series to be shuttled off to, you’d learn about a show and then go digging for it. It was a journey that was rife with experimentation, and often, you’d end up just stumbling upon a show that you didn’t set out to find in the first place, but would end up stunning you anyway. With so much information available, it’s very rare that you’re able to repeat that experience today. But somehow, it’s a feeling that returned to me when I began watching DAN DA DAN . For lack of a better phrase, DAN DA DAN made me feel young again. And with DAN DA DAN being a nominee for Best Anime at the 2025 Anime Awards , it’s a feeling that I hope many others have had as well. RELATED: Crunchyroll Anime Awards 2025: Your Ultimate Guide If you haven’t watched it yet, I don’t want to spoil it too much. Part of the beauty of DAN DA DAN lies in both the element of surprise (something the series approaches with hyperkinetic panache) and the way it builds on some genuinely thoughtful dramatic throughlines in the main characters’ relationship. So, without robbing you of falling down DAN DA DAN ’s ludicrous rabbit hole, DAN DA DAN is about two teenagers, Momo Ayase, a girl who believes in ghosts and the supernatural, but not aliens, and Ken Takakura (Okarun), a boy who is a devotee of all things extraterrestrial, but firmly denies the existence of the spiritual undead. Far from being Scully and Mulder, they’re a constantly quibbling pair, and it only gets more complicated when they discover that the paranormal elements they once considered fiction now affect them in very powerful ways. RELATED: DAN DA DAN POLL: Aliens or Ghosts, Which Do You Believe In? DAN DA DAN is far from the first anime to tackle metaphysical fantasy. One of the most famous modern series, JUJUTSU KAISEN , is loaded with it. But DAN DA DAN also manages to balance the barrage of apt quirkiness (even the biggest threats, from aliens that want to take your “banana” to the cursed Turbo Granny, are frequently hilarious) with some well-earned serious moments. For example, Okarun, a boy who’s been lonely for most of his life, has developed a few social habits to compensate for his awkwardness when he talks to Ayase, like constantly apologizing. Ayase, though, finds this tendency to be far from endearing and their conversations about it help ground a connection that might otherwise be lost in the sci-fi thrillride. It allows you to approach DAN DA DAN from a variety of angles, a facet that certainly plays into its nomination as Best Anime. One of the best examples of this is seen in the fight with Acrobatic Silky. DAN DA DAN Episode 6 begins with the series’ trademark humor and dynamically choreographed action, but by the middle of DAN DA DAN Episode 7 , it’s evolved into a story about the kinds of heartbreaking events that might “curse” us. It's the kind of moment that makes you wonder if you'd accidentally switched to a different series, but no, it's simply another layer of what DAN DA DAN has to offer. Like Okarun’s “Turbo Granny” form, the story weaves deftly and keeps you guessing while always remaining true to its emotional core. RELATED: Your Halloween Anime Watchlist, From Kooky to Spooky It’s a very assured balance, and that’s where the joyful reminder of the past comes in. Saturday morning offerings like Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh! led to Dragon Ball Z and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing on Toonami and then to Cowboy Bebop and FLCL on Adult Swim. But after that, I felt the familiar hunger pangs. Anime had given me something I’d never quite found in any other medium, and so I was eager to find more of it, which meant navigating the Wild West of the 2000s internet. I’d read recommendations on forums and pour through impassioned screeds on fan sites. And sometimes, to get a better taste, I’d even download a version of the opening theme that looked so grainy I might as well have been watching it in the middle of a sandstorm. But even in these rough conditions, I’d find diamonds. Things that would either make me risk opening a file that could potentially cripple my family’s home computer or entice me to brave the shadowy back right section of my local mall’s Suncoast Video. It’s likely a familiar feeling for anyone that has ever fallen in love with anime as a teenager — so much marketing and media aimed toward us felt slapdash and desperate. More of a scream of “JUST TELL US WHAT YOU LIKE!?!” than any coherent, watchable thing. Anime seemed so assured in this way. I wanted things that were weird and took chances and made big leaps and covered victory and sorrow in equal measure. Anime hit the spot. RELATED: DAN DA DAN Season 2 Premieres in July 2025, Will Stream on Crunchyroll DAN DA DAN reminds me a lot of what I found back then in the way that it melds genres and successfully turns its rollicking sci-fi adventure into a metaphor for teenage growth and angst. You might not feel the same way, but one can’t deny that it’s great to watch something that reminds you of why you became interested in a piece of pop culture in the first place. When you’ve watched so many series since, including a lot of stuff you probably didn’t like and perhaps even made you feel a bit disillusioned with the whole thing, getting a series like DAN DA DAN is an olive branch. It rejuvenates me. Because if DAN DA DAN is this good, what other great things does anime hold?
