Dandadan Episode 1 is here!

Article at a glance:

• Dandadan Episode 1 impresses with its fluid animations, unique art style, and attention to detail in character designs, establishing itself as one of the best-looking anime of the season.
• The episode had more fan service than expected, but the brief action scenes were visually incredible. The fan service could be distracting, but the strong animation and design keep viewers engaged.
• The banter between Ken and Momo is a standout, making the character dynamic highly entertaining and a highlight over the story itself, leaving viewers eager to see how their relationship evolves.

I jumped on the Dandadan wagon last minute after seeing how much people were looking forward to it. I know next to nothing about this series, I just read its premise online and saw some of the trailer; that’s all. And now that I have watched episode 1, I think I may end up really liking Dandadan. Yes, I do have a few issues with it, but overall, the first episode was a lot of fun. And it was quite different from what I imagined in a good way, so I am definitely willing to give this series a chance.

So welcome back to yet another first impressions article. Today, we are talking about Dandadan Episode 1. The fall 2024 season is here, and I am going to be really busy in the upcoming weeks. But you know what? That’s perfectly fine. I love to do this job. So let’s get started.

What did I think of Dandadan Episode 1?

Let’s start with the best and immediately noticeable part: the art looks amazing. The animations are fluid. The character designs are great, the art style is unique, and I love the attention to detail in the animations. If they keep up the quality like this, Dandadan will definitely be among the best-looking animes of the season. The summer 2024 season may have been smaller compared to the Fall 2024 season, but the Summer season had some great-looking shows. And from what I’ve seen so far, Fall 2024 is continuing that trend.

Next up, this show had a lot more “fan service” than I expected. I know it is a shounen and shounens often do have fan service in, but I did not expect something this crazy. I don’t even know how to talk about that one scene in appropriate words… you’ll understand when you watch the episode yourself. Putting the fan service aside, the little bit of action we did get in this episode looked incredible.

As far as the story goes, it’s decent so far. The first did a pretty good job of introducing all the relevant plot points. Though I think the plot will end up being the least interesting thing about this anime, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Because the characters are really entertaining. It has just been one episode, but I love the dynamic between Ken and Momo. Their banter was funny as hell, so I am very interested in seeing how their dynamic evolves throughout this season.

That is all for now!

So yeah, I enjoyed Dandadan Episode 1 a lot. A lot more than I expected to be honest. I just hope the fan service doesn’t become too distracting, but again, that is my only issue so far. With that said, I will take my leave here. See ya!

Also, check out my thoughts on DanMachi Season 5 Episode 1 here!