Dandadan is the mega-hit of the 2024 Winter anime season. The series balances high-stakes action with absurd comedy, as Okarun and Momo use their newly discovered powers to recover Okarun’s missing family jewels while being hunted by an eclectic bunch of aliens and ghosts. But the show isn’t to everyone’s taste. From the first episode, Dandadan has been mired in controversy.
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While it obviously doesn’t apply to all anime, the medium has gained a bad reputation from Western audiences because of its tendency to sexualize characters who would be underage by Western consent laws. Dandadan is far from the worst trending offender in the medium, but the show has still angered and disgusted some casual viewers. Manga readers have tried using their prophetic knowledge to warn unsuspecting viewers that Dandadan‘s latest episode takes things to a whole new level. But, stupidly, we didn’t listen.
Did Dandadan Episode 9 Go Too Far?
Dandadan‘s ninth episode adapts Chapter 25 of the eponymous manga by Yukinobu Tatsu. Okarun, Momo, and their new ally Aira (with the powers of Acrobatic Silky) have been apprehended by the Serpos aliens, Mr. Mantis, and a Godzilla-inspired kaiju, who trapped them in the Empty Space dimension to steal their “bananas.” To move better in the watery dimension, Momo and Aira stripped down to their underwear, while Okarun had already been reduced to his birthday suit by the aliens.
After defeating them, Momo and Okarun returned to the normal world, lying nude on top of each other in front of their schoolmates. The scene was intended to be a funny and heartfelt moment that heightened their blossoming romance, but they’re both only teenagers.
Online reactions were divided. Some die-hard manga readers applauded Science SARU for faithfully adapting Chapter 25 despite the controversy surrounding the moment in the source material. Others also praised the series for its realistic depiction of the anxieties surrounding sex that many teenagers face. But for many, it was simply too much, and many viewers felt uncomfortable due to their age.
The sexualization of teenage characters is a more common occurrence in anime. The age of consent in Japan is 16, and it used to be 13 until it was changed in 2023. As a result, it is far more common for characters of that age to be sexualized on screen. It also stems from long-running cultural norms. As a result, their own stories are influenced by what they watched and what was normalized when they were young.
It’s an issue that Western audiences have grappled with for decades. Some anime fans try to justify it as a cultural difference, and they say that it’s okay because of Japan’s lower age of consent. However, those opposed to the controversial scenes state that a country’s laws shouldn’t dictate what is morally acceptable.
[RELATED: Dandadan Is Following the Most Annoying Modern Anime Trend]
Dandadan Readers Tried to Warn Us
In the days leading to Episode 9’s release, social media was filled with memes, TikTok videos, and reels of Dandadan readers joking about Episode 9. Long-time fans knew what was coming, and the phrase “get ready to defend Dandadan with your life” was thrown around a lot online.
As more viewers watch the episode over the coming days, online reactions are expected to get even more heated. The series has a devout fan base who will defend the show to their dying breath. In their opinion, the series doesn’t overtly sexualize the underage characters, and the nudity is used for comedic effect rather than for voyeuristic purposes. Although, many believe Episode 9 isn’t the most controversial moment in the show. That happened in the debut episode.
Dandadan Has Been Controversial Since the Start
Picture the scene: you’ve convinced your family to sit down and watch this new anime on Netflix/Crunchyroll called Dandadan. It looks goofy, and the opening scenes are hilarious. But, the episode closes with Momo stripped to her underwear and forcefully locked into a medical chair, with aliens looking to steal her reproductive organs. Episode 9 likely won’t face the same backlash as Episode 1, simply because many who were opposed to the early themes of SA and underage sexualization will have already stopped watching.
Following the show’s premiere in October, outraged viewers flocked to social media and online forums to share their disdain, while outlets published think pieces about the controversial series. “Episode 1 DISGUSTED” was the title of a popular thread in the Dandadan subreddit.
While Japanese and Western audiences can access an uncensored version of the show, Dandadan was too much for Chinese censors. The Chinese version has censored several scenes and character designs. The controversial scene from the first episode was slightly altered to show Momo wearing more concealing underwear, and the blatantly sexualized Seiko Ayase wears a far less revealing outfit.
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