‘DanDaDan’ Returning For Season 2 in July 2025

The fall anime season is coming to a close, and with it, plenty of series are wrapping up their first run of episodes. This year’s selection of anime was especially interesting, with hit manga like Blue Box getting their much-anticipated adaptations and original shows such as Negative Positive Angler getting the chance to shine with an unconventional story and breathtaking animation. However, perhaps the most highly anticipated at the start of the season was DanDaDan, the anime adaptation of the highly successful manga created by Yukinobu Tatsu. Part romantic comedy and part sci-fi adventure, DanDaDan focuses on Ken Takakura (Okarun) and Momo Ayase, two high school students who couldn’t be more different in nature and who are brought together by paranormal circumstances.

In a new press release, it’s been confirmed that DanDaDan will return for a second season in July 2025 during the summer anime season. Japanese animation studio Science SARU was responsible for producing the first season of DanDaDan, and they didn’t disappoint. The striking visuals and otherworldly concepts are lifted from the page almost perfectly, bringing the paranormal story to life through a brand-new medium. As with most anime adaptations, the first 12 episodes that make up Season 1 of the series don’t even begin to cover the full story of the manga. The season will seemingly end before the “Evil Eye” arc of the manga is adapted, but fans don’t have to wait long for the next installment.

The announcement of the next season is accompanied by a visual depicting the next other-worldly big bad, the Evil Eye. Eagle-eyed fans of the manga will also notice that the teaser visual depicts several other strange figures, hinting at the types of adventures that our colorful cast of characters will go through in the upcoming second season. With the manga still ongoing at the time of this writing, with 170+ chapters, there is also the chance that the series could last many more seasons and cover the entirety of the story.

‘DanDaDan’ is the Future of Shōnen Anime

With manga series like Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia ending their publication this year, it remains only a matter of time until their successful adaptations catch up with the story material in the manga and end themselves. DanDaDan’s adaptation is a breath of fresh air in the anime landscape, indicating that the new and future Shōnen titles are now having time to shine. With a theatrical screening of its first three episodes and a streaming deal with both Netflix and Crunchyroll, DanDaDan’s popularity and success are undeniable.

Season 1 Director Fūga Yamashiro is also a significant reason for DanDaDan’s success, carefully compositing storyboards and art direction that reflects real-life film-making and production at specific points. DanDaDan, especially in its haunting sequences that introduce a new paranormal or alien creature, uses its animation to convey particular camera work and light techniques that evoke classic horror movies, making the production and series stand out even more. Science SARU has had a busy past few years, working on The Colors Within film and the Scott Pilgrim animated series, making the show’s quality even more admirable.

The upcoming second season of DanDaDan will have plenty of manga material to work with. Although it is unknown if Fūga Yamashiro will return to directing duties, we can at least expect plenty more weird action and alien lore. More importantly, we’ll see Okarun and Momo work on their incredibly awkward but heartfelt relationship.

Release Date

September 13, 2024

Director

Fuga Yamashiro

Cast

Natsuki Hanae
, Shion Wakayama
, Nana Mizuki
, Mayumi Tanaka
, Kazuya Nakai
, Kaori Maeda
, Miyu Tomita
, Ryûnosuke Watanuki