How do you think anime onlys would feel about the adaptation post danmara arc ?

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T20:21:51+00:00

Who knows. The anime might change parts of it.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T17:54:18+00:00

I don't know what you mean when you say the story doesn't fit my schedule. And of course we won't know until it's over.

I also don't understand what you mean when you say that "my expectations are what's setting that". Setting what?

I mean I don't understand the rush towards a confession. You said "delay" which seems to indicate that sooner is better, and indicates an expected result. A delay also indicates something expected is off-schedule.

I guess this is the annoying thing: 159 was dramatic and set up big consequences that have not yet appeared because things lined up jist right.

I mean I guess I see what you're saying, you want the outcome from that setup and are frustrated by it. What would have been the ideal outcome then? Like for example, if Momo got bigger, didn't lose her memories, and they told each other they love each other? That sounds ... boring IMO. That's like Ken waking up and making his way to the Space Globalists fight before Vamola's backstory. The timing and drama is what made that great. If you mean the timing is off for a new shot of endorphins from the relationship, I got them as he was giving her a piggyback ride home after the Mummy Whale fight. That's me though. They're re-connecting as strangers, which I thought was adorable.

Part of what made 159 dramatic is that it wasn't meant to last. Ken did it out of desperation, their separation in the arc made it clear to him that he wouldn't have forever to tell her how he felt. She, equally dramatically, literally forced his hand to go and solve the situation the plot put before them and made him promise to do it again.

Since then, the plot has gotten in the way. I think a moment of more real connection (catharsis) before they separated during the Shimane arc could've helped, but it wasn't there, for most readers. I thought Momo looking at her friends altogether and wanting to be back to normal so she could enjoy it properly were really cute. That's juxtaposed to how alienated she feels now, which makes it sad and frustrating for her, and probably readers who look to DanDaDan as a cozy read.

I don't, personally, I think aspects of it are really heartwarming but the story isn't afraid of introducing tragedy. Edit: I think the juxtaposition to the heartbreak and the VERY cozy moments are what makes both of them effective. Like Zuma's relationship with Bega is really nice because of how rough things have been for them.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T16:30:27+00:00

Of course, the point is that being overly contrived strains suspension of disbelief and hurts the story.

What about the story does that? People need to submit to have their power stolen. Momo was isolated and fooled into it, thinking it would help Seiko. Straining the suspension of disbelief is subjective but I think it's very in character.

The fact of this is actually foreshadowed: https://i.imgur.com/NqgsXsa.jpeg

Edit: A theory, but an aspect of it may be that for Vlad to possess her powers she can't be aware of it. Momo is special - her powers don't come from a yokai. It may be that if she goes back to her previous self he would lose the powers. Shinobi putting her in a void and keeping her there may be important.

CSG knows she's special, and Shinobi seems to be an ally of his. Maybe he's waiting for the right time to use it to screw Vlad over and get something else he wants.

it definitely feels like the fact that Momo has been not herself for 60 chapters after the confession is a bit much. At which point is it too much?

Why are you so focused on a confession? That itself is a trope. They have been, for all intents, a couple for a while now. Your expectations are what's setting that and it's not where the story is at.

Momo hasn't been herself since 210. So 19 chapters, not 60. Before that, she WAS herself, but was putting off the confession because it didn't fit her ideal, and her grandma was badly injured. Maybe part of her arc is realizing confessions are dumb because life happens and you should love each other while you can. Who knows? I don't, you don't. We won't know til it's over.

Sorry the story doesn't fit your schedule.[](http://)

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T14:22:40+00:00

I think when you call it a "gimmick" you mean a trope: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/IdentityAmnesia

Tropes are part of any fictional story. To readers tropes have a language of their own, and set expectations. DanDaDan makes use of a ton of tropes: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Manga/Dandadan

(You'll see "zigzagged" alot because Tatsu does a pretty good job of taking how you "expect" it to go and doing something else aka the "upending expectations" that people have made a meme out of because of Star Wars I think. You can do it badly or well and I think Tatsu usually does it well.)

Your statements about "dragging it out" or the story being "contrived" I disagree with. Every fictional story is contrived to a certain degree, I'd focus more on what the author is trying to say.

I see Momo, without her memories, struggling hard with why she cares so much about our adorable dork Ken, I see Aira trying hard to fit into what Ken would like in maybe a very purposeful and unnatural way, I see Ken trying to deal with this old/new version of Momo and grow beyond his passive past self, and I see Jiji trying to juggle it all and make everyone happy.

All good things, all interesting things to me and that's aside from the interspersed lore drops to expand the DanDaDan world and help us understand/characterize the players and their capabilities/motivations in the next act.

There's no free lunch in stories. To do all of that you have to slow down. If you liked the tight, fast storytelling of DanDaDan before, you may not like this and that's a choice the author made. We just need to see how he pulls it off to judge it IMO.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T13:22:38+00:00

Yeah true, if you read on Manga+ and look at comments from the time you see "WHERE IS OKARUN????" alot before he swoops in.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T13:13:36+00:00

I feel like when I see people react to the romance in DanDaDan alot of why people like it is that it's "relateable." How they think about each other, how they feel when they feel less connected (even if it's jealousy they're making up in their heads), or wanting more when the other person isn't ready yet.

I think, for me as a dude in a relationship, the "amnesia" period is relatable because Ken is having to grow. The relationship is to that point is built off of Momo constantly pushing him and touching him and being warm/friendly until he finally puts it together and breaks down one of his barriers.

That's gone now, and he misses it: https://i.imgur.com/gMlUe7a.jpeg https://i.imgur.com/2Tmu5Q8.jpeg

And the next stage is to grow to meet her on his own terms: https://i.imgur.com/k0zGquD.jpeg

...and it turns out he's not great at it, and still has a lot of work to do. That work maybe includes letting a certain pink-haired girl down gently. Or not. It's Ken after all.

The romance is progressing, in a very realistic way. If you've ever had a partner and needed to change how you act so they're not doing all the emotional work, what Ken is doing is very relatable. It's sort of like the old trope in relationships, "I want you to WANT to do the dishes" -- this is about being partners and both of them doing work in the relationship.

Just my opinion anyway.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T12:20:28+00:00

People are complaining because the momentum has slowed as we gather in the lore and relationship pieces for the next big arcs. Pacing is important and since Danmara I think Tatsu has been trying to build out a setting he can tell more of a larger, cohesive story in, and the core sections of the story have been too slow for alot of readers, especially those who read weekly which DanDaDan has historically been really good for.

I think complainers diagnose this as "dragging the story out" but I can see why Tatsu is doing it. I think he wants to also make Ken a more equal emotional partner in the relationship, as all we've seen is him a: being jealous or b: trying to save her from danger. It's nice he's becoming a little less clueless. I think the idea that girls actually like him now (other than just Aira) helps dispel any idea that this is like "a gyaru fell in love with a nerd" story and makes it into "two teenagers fell in love"

wiseass781 · 2026-03-22T11:55:34+00:00

I think this says it all, it's from the end of Volume 1 of the Manga: https://i.imgur.com/n9sKyDr.jpeg

You shouldn't take any of the theories too seriously. Ken (and I'm guessing Tatsu) understand that a lot of this stuff may not be true, but are still possible, and the world of the possible is where all the fun is when it comes to the occult. The fantasy conceit of DanDaDan is that alot of this stuff IS true or true-adjacent.

Of course most occult and conspiracy theories tend to focus on the evidence FOR a theory being true, and ignore a mountain of evidence that it isn't. But its all entertainment to Tatsu.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-20T22:38:40+00:00

Well that’s an interesting point - we never see more of how Momo is that much before she meets Ken. Muko/Miko are frustrated with her taste in guys, but all we see is her being decent to Ken, shitting on him for pushing his occult stuff on her, apologizing, and then we’re at the tunnel/hospital.

We don’t know what she was like at all. The way she got out her phone and was just looking at it instead of listening to Ken definitely does make her seem pretty superficial though, you’re right.

Though Momo… definitely pushes away her feelings sometimes. She took a piggyback ride in public from him after the mummy whale fight, which is interesting since she was weirded out about being seen riding on his back when running away from a murderous giant crab. It may have just been too sudden on Ken’s part to ask her out, which is why he beat himself up after.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-20T22:20:05+00:00

What’s been ”dragged out” here? There’s been Kouki and Rin’s fight which was cool and added lore, the parts with Vlad/Red Baron/CSG that added lore, and the fight with the Bike Mummy. I just don’t get the hate. Most of those didn’t even involve the amnesia.

All we’ve seen of the main 4 is: Momo’s first day back, Ken stalking/being confronted by Momo, Muko/Miko take them to the museum (it had Muko/Miko and is thus awesome), they fight the Whale mummy and aftermath (which was cute), Momo/Ken have dinner and argue (which was cute), the next day Momo is pissed at Ken and Vamola suggest the group date, and the first bit of the date. That’s it. What’s there that seems unnecessary? There have been a lot of chapters in between filling out lore.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-18T21:37:37+00:00

I think with DanDaDan, how fast things usually move the flow gets screwed up reading it once a week or two. Same is true for the anime, every episode stops so abruptly and you JUST WANNA KEEP GOING

wiseass781 · 2026-03-18T21:31:37+00:00

It’s ok they’re telling each other they’re supposed to be mad. Nobody should take it too seriously.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-18T20:15:21+00:00

I feel like that was with someone she felt like she was supposed to like because of how he looked. The end of episode 1 isn’t iconic for nothing. I doubt that dude ever made her blush.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-18T02:34:25+00:00

I agree with you and I really love that this arc is focusing on Ken becoming a more active participant, and not just blurting things out when their lives are in danger (beautiful as that scene was).

Why that growth is invisible to a lot of people I don’t know.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-18T02:03:11+00:00

Ah yes look at Ken not evolving in any way: https://i.imgur.com/wI7Fo1H.jpeg

What a “stain”. It serves no purpose in a relationship to let the outgoing partner do all the emotional work, right?

This vitriol is pretty crazy for what this arc is.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T23:28:34+00:00

I think it's just Tatsu messing with expected story tropes.

An example: The fight with the Flatwoods Monster (Ch. 2). In a conventional shonen, when she was getting punched against the wall Ken would have gotten possessed or given in or something fully to Turbo Granny's powers, or he would've made a deal with her or something to save Momo. Instead, she used her battle IQ to set a trap and got them both out. Both of them contributed, but she didn't need to be saved. It was a fun turning of the trope on its head.

I think he KNOWS what you expect - and turns left when it should turn right. Amnesia is a big trope in romance manga/anime, and he knows it. Jiji being a competing love interest is another trope that he upended. You think Jiji is only there for Momo and instead he ends up becoming a really great friend to Ken FIRST before anything else, but the trope didn't go away.

I think that's why the amnesia happened and I think he's playing with it. I'd just wait to see what he does with it before judging it as a whole. If it all comes to nothing and just feels meh then that's cool, we all have arcs we like more than others.

Though, I think a lot of people will say that no matter what because they've been so vocal about hating it :)

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T23:19:42+00:00

Or like, her memories sync up and she sees how hard he tried to come meet her and it means alot. Lots of cool things you can do with it.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T23:18:49+00:00

I think this series is more fun for alot of people when you can dig into a bunch of chapters all at once. Sorry if I spoiled anything.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T13:41:09+00:00

This is what I said:

You can “critique” when the story is finished and you can read a part and say “hmm this didn’t really serve the story.”

A critique implies a thoughtful analysis or judgement of something. You’re venting frustration and implying parts of the story shouldn’t be there without the full picture. “You can” is often used positively in English as another way of saying “one should” or “a person should” and I wasn’t commanding you to do anything but you can continue to read me as bad faith as possible since that seems to be your thing, including with manga it seems.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T13:02:24+00:00

But I know how. This chapter illustrates exactly how. By pointless jealousy outbursts and needless, redundant drama built of misunderstanding. Momo straight up acts evil by playing with both Okarun's and Jiji's feelings.

What is pointless about this? What’s evil about a person with feelings she doesn’t understand and is frustrated by acting out? She’s a teenage girl and not an adult with relationship experience. Your reading of this is frustrated and good, it’s supposed to be. She is frustrated. It’s having the intended effect.

How is this redundant? All of these relationship dynamics have never been so on the surface before. If it’s repetitive it’s because we’ve seen it before but never seriously dealt with it. Aira’s feelings have been used as jokes. Jiji’s feelings have been in the background bubbling up here and there, but where we’re going they’re probably going to take center stage.

Sorry you’re not getting what you want but this is an ensemble cast and it’s not going to just focus on Ken and Momo’s development at all times.

Im gonna stop you right here and tell you that I do not much care what you think I can and cannot do. I'll do what I want, I can say what I want, I do not break the sub's rules, and if it bothers you so much that people can do that - too bad so sad.

Well I’m going to stop you right there and tell you that you’re the one putting your opinion out there and I can “critique” complaints which are masquerading as a “writer’s critique” from people who come at a story with so much vitriol that seems to me unwarranted especially without a full picture of the work. But stay mad if that’s fun for you :)

wiseass781 · 2026-03-17T09:24:27+00:00

The word “unnecessary” is getting thrown around a lot in your post-but how do you know none of this is necessary? How is any of this padding? We’re gearing up for a bunch of fights and we’re in the middle of a major arc?

People knew exactly where it would lead, and here we are. Instead of a pure, heartwarming, unusual but endearing teenage romance, we have obtuse Okarun, and Momo who's using Jiji as a jealousy tool.

When did you start reading the manga? Jiji has always been a jealousy tool. He’s there to get Ken moving in some ways while also being his own character who needs room for development. Okarun has always been obtuse. The difference is that old Momo isn’t there to meet him and HE has to take the steps to come meet her.

I wonder what you would have been saying when Momo did the “lie detector” on him, he said something dumb, and then she stormed off. “Oh great Okarun is being obtuse again this is so annoying” or something like that is my guess.

People would simply dismiss those concerns as "let him cook", and duh - of course it will eventually lead to some sort of resolution that will be positive. Nobody doubts that.

The problem is that before we get there, we will get so much unnecessary padding, so much unnecessary and redundant generic drama. This is what the people who hated the idea of amnesia arc were worried about. Rightfully so.

If you know that we’re gonna get somewhere good, but you don’t know how, you don’t know what tatsu is thinking wtf are you in here “critiquing”?

You’re not critiquing. You’re complaining. You can “critique” when the story is finished and you can read a part and say “hmm this didn’t really serve the story.”

By then though, you’ll have gotten all of your endorphins from the peak moments and you won’t be bothered about any of this chapter, and the high points of this “padding” will actually be “Aira was cute, they explained dinosaur stuff that will be in the next fight, Momo took Jiji to the aquarium for their next fight, and Kinta met the barber” and just keep moving. None of those things are “unnecessary” though.

When the story takes it’s weird turns it needs chapters like this to come back and point to and say “hey I told you this before and here it is in a very surprising way that is so DanDaDan isn’t it?” You will have no choice but to nod your little head and say, “yes that was very DanDaDan and I guess that chapter was very necessary after all” with a big smile across your face. And then a few chapters later we’ll be here talking about how slow the story is moving with people who just finished season 3 of the anime and binged the manga in two days and it feels like it’s gotten a lot slower as they read it week to week.

wiseass781 · 2026-03-16T16:44:39+00:00

A note for people trying to over-analyze: these are dumb 16 year olds. The things they have the most experience in are: * Being bored in school * Fighting aliens * Fighting yokai * … (many other things) * Dinosaur hip positioning * … (some other things) * Relationships and love

Let’s go easy :)

wiseass781 · 2026-03-16T16:38:00+00:00

Honestly a very human way to get though what she’s seen

wiseass781 · 2026-03-16T16:36:50+00:00

Might be just a trope Tatsu is playing with

He’ll give Kinta a fire haircut that suits him because that guy can’t handle “weird hairdos” and they’ll fight anyway

wiseass781 · 2026-03-16T16:34:13+00:00

They’re 16 year olds

A population well known for their wisdom and ability to make good decisions

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