Spoiler Alert !!!
Spoilers ahead for Dandadan’s manga!
Yukinobu Tatsu has risen in popularity after his masterpiece, Dandadan, faced overnight success from its anime adaptation. The mangaka already had a huge following for the quirky story and characters but with the vibrant adaptation, it has gained even more admirers and even people who binge-read the entire manga. The rise of Dandadan is a phenomenon like no other.
With its popularity, more interviews of Tatsu came to light and exposed his various inspirations behind Dandadan and how he goes about his detailed artwork and designs, specifically the monsters or yokai.
In the making of Dandadan, a manga renowned for its eccentric plot and unique monsters, Tatsu draws inspiration from some of the manga industry’s most iconic and sometimes underrated works. He names the likes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura, Akira by Katsuhiro Otomo, Arms by Ryoji Minagawa, and Lampo by Tetsuro Ueyama. This can be reflected in the dark style of an otherwise very detailed and comedic manga. The yokai and aliens instil fear into us and it’s clear Tatsu did his research.
The Realism of Dandadan and How Tatsu Maintains It
In a plot as weird and outlandish as Dandadan, Yukinobu Tatsu has done a great job of making it seem very real and relatable. Momo Ayase and Okuran, when going on their first “missions,” react very realistically to people who have these supernatural encounters. There’s no fighting Turbo Granny or the Serpos at first, they just run. Almost anyone in real life would just run as their first instinct, especially seeing monsters as terrifying as them.
Making monsters look realistically terrifying is also a feat. They can border on looking goofy and while the Serpo do look rather weird, their actions are not. Moreover, the way the various yokai look into the manga, it’s clear that even Tatsu is a huge fan of Japanese mythology, urban legends and creepypasta. He comments in a recent interview:
I try not to make the screen look fake. I value the realism of the work, and I try to make sure that the character does not say or do such and such. I think that even a single false background can reduce the reality of the work, so I try to pay as much attention to the background and props as possible.
The details that go into connecting Dandadan, with how much goes on at every moment, is not an easy job. However, his inspirations from the likes of Akira and Berserk have shown him the importance of taking care of the details for the best experience and that’s exactly why Dandadan is a certified hit.
The Terrifying Monsters That Haunt Dandadan
Momo and Okuran encounter several yokai throughout their journey. There’s no end to them and the details of their designs are incredible. His research of yokai digs deep with such niche ones that he’s used for the manga. For example, the Tsuchinoko is a Japanese cryptid and a Mongolian Death Worm. Now, why would Tatsu know that unless he’s a huge fanatic?
Still, it shows how his creativity knows no bounds. Dandadan has showcased a new side of Japanese yokai and supernatural mythology that we never knew in an artistic way. Yukinobu Tatsu is proving himself to be one of the best manga artists of this generation.
Dandadan is available on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
