Dandadan's Creator Explains Why Momo Stands Out

In a recent interview, Dandadan’s creator Yukinobu Tatsu revealed that he has an emotional connection with his character Momo Ayase, whom he regards as his favorite character. He even admitted to redrawing her over and over again to ensure she looks “cute enough.” Dedicating that much effort can even make one of the later drafts for the manga considerably longer.

Even for Dandadan, a fast-paced action manga full of supernatural fights and peculiar (weird) creatures, this dedication to Momo’s design and characterization is remarkable. It will even appear in the anime. This confirms that Momo is not simply a main-side character within the world of Dandadan; she is one of its cores.

Momo even finished Fall 2024 Best Girl, second only to Hina Chono from Blue Box.

Momo vs. Superman: The Unfortunate Parallel

Tatsu didn’t just talk about her character but also compared her to Superman, i.e. the Superman of DC Comics. Yes, they both have superpowers, but what he thinks is the real power is whether or not they inspire others around them-Momo in Dandadan and the Man of Steel in his universe.

The interview was released under MANGA Plus’s sixth-anniversary celebrations by SHUEISHA. Outside of Yukinobu Tatsu (Dandadan), the second part of the interviews also featured Masaoki Shindo (RuriDragon) and Kenta Shinohara (WITCHWATCH). Read all interviews on their official website.

Among other things, Yukinobu Tatsu was also asked regarding scenes in Dandadan that stood out for him. One of his favorites was where the cow gets abducted by a UFO, and remarked that he “just felt like everything came together perfectly in that moment.”

More on Dandadan

Yukinobu Tatsu has been writing and illustrating the Dandadan manga since 2021. It is serialized on Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+ service and is currently one of their core series. There have been 18 volumes released as of January 4, 2025. The manga is now on a one-month hiatus and is set to return on February 25.

The Dandandan TV anime (licensed as DAN DA DAN) started streaming on Netflix and Crunchyroll last October. Both the animation and direction were handled by Studio Science SARU and Fuga Yamashiro, respectively. The anime was voted Best New Anime for Fall 2024 and is set to follow that up with a Second Season from the same studio in July of this year.

Ken Takakura (now called Okarun) became cursed to have yokai powers after a supernatural encounter turned out badly. They met Aira, who also got cursed with one of her own. Jiji was the most recent addition to the gang, and it sounds like there’s a bit of a pattern happening here as the latest Season 2 trailer teases his own transformation.