Alright, let’s talk about Dandadan. You know, that one anime that kind of came out of nowhere, and completely blew everyone’s mind, and had people screaming “WHAT DID I JUST WATCH, and why was it so awesome??” Yeah, that one. Dandadan Season 1 wasn’t just a hit, it was a freakin’ phenomenon. Aliens, ghosts, pervy spirits, psychics, teenage angst, and some of the most chaotic fight scenes ever animated? Yes, please!
It was like someone took all the genres, tossed them into a blender, hit turbo, and managed to produce some gourmet-grade storytelling. But the thing is: now that Season 1 was so much fun, everyone’s expecting Season 2 to be sky-high amazing, and that’s a bit of a problem. The anime may have just cornered itself. Not because it’s running out of story (the manga’s got plenty of madness left), but because it set the bar so high that even the creators are sweating over how to top it.
Dandadan: Evil Eye: The movie that just turned up the pressure
So, just in case the hype wasn’t already intense enough, Dandadan dropped a movie. Dandadan: Evil Eye started playing in cinemas across Asia on May 30, and now it’s slaying on screens in North America from June 6. Basically, the movie picks up where the anime left off and keeps the energy going strong.
So if you were hoping for the hype train to slow down before Season 2, forget it, now it’s actually blasting off like a rocket ship. Which leads us to the big question: how in the world are they ever going to surpass all that? So, who’s gonna lead this chaotic ship into Season 2? Meet Abel Góngora, the genius behind the Season 1 opening sequence that everyone rewatched a million times.
He’s now sharing directing duties with returning director Fūga Yamashiro. Peak teamwork energy! But even Góngora admits he’s feeling the heat. In an interview with GamesRadar, he said:
Expectations are high and we have to keep up. That’s a concern I have, but I’m lucky. I have [Fuga] Yamashiro, the director of season 1. He is there, and he’s helping a lot. We are trying to make a better season, but we’ll see. We are still [working] on it.
Translation: “We made a monster hit, and now we have to fight that monster.” Absolutely makes sense.
From cult manga to global phenomenon: How the Dandadan anime changed the game
Let’s rewind for a moment. Back in late 2023, Dandadan, the manga, had about 3.2 million copies in circulation. Not bad at all. But after the anime came out? Boom, another 2 million copies sold within a year. That’s not a bump. That’s a surge. The anime made Dandadan a global phenomenon, and now everyone’s watching, like literally.
That kind of overnight success is seriously incredible, but it also means Season 2 has zero room to chill. Fans aren’t just hoping it’ll be good, they’re expecting it to blow their minds all over again. No pressure, right?
Here’s the truth: Dandadan didn’t do anything wrong. If anything, it totally nailed everything. The first season had some of the craziest and coolest animation we’ve seen in a while, a fantastic story, and characters you just can’t shake out of your head (Okarun and Momo supremacy!), and on top of that, it was somehow both ridiculously hilarious and genuinely heartwarming.
So now, anything less than ’10/10 mind-blowing perfection’ is going to feel like a letdown. That’s the issue. When you completely kill it with your first one, fans begin to expect you’re gonna hit it out of the park every time you’re on. Even Góngora knows that. That’s what’s making him nervous, not because they’re not working hard, but because the standard is ridiculously high
So, should we be worried? Honestly? Nah. If anything, all this shows is how seriously the team is taking it. The fact that they’re even aware of the pressure means that they’re not taking it lightly. They’re pushing themselves. They care. A lot. And don’t forget, these are the same people who brought us Season 1 and Evil Eye.
If anyone can pull off a sequel that keeps the chaos, comedy, and cosmic horror goodness alive, it’s them. But hey, let’s maybe cut them a tiny bit of slack if Episode 1 of Season 2 doesn’t immediately break the internet again. Cool? Cool. Dandadan Season 2 is coming on July 3, 2025!
New co-director. Same wild energy. Higher expectations. And if they pull it off again? We could be looking at one of the coolest ongoing anime franchises out there! No pressure, though. It’s just the whole anime fandom is waiting and watching.
Dandadan Session 1 is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
