Dandadan

I've watched the first two episodes so far. The first one totally blew my mind! The second one wasn't as strong, but still good. If the anime stays this good until the end, it's easily gonna be one of the best of the year.

The visuals are amazing. I legit shouted when Ayase was walking down the hallway all upset-it was both super real and at the same time just hyper-exaggerated. The animation quality is off the charts: emotions, movements, everything is done so well. There's some clever perspective play, kind of like Return to Treasure Island, but done more subtly.

I don't know much about school life in Japan (never been there), but for some reason, I believe this is how it actually is. (Sorry if I'm wrong, Japanese friends, but you guys keep making anime like this, so what can I say?)

The characters are super vibrant. Ayase kind of reminds me of Eris from Mushoku Tensei (miss her a lot). She's just as wild and impulsive, but also kind and caring.

Ken Takakura reminds me of Zenitsu from Demon Slayer.. He's shy and lacks confidence. I'm curious to see how his character evolves by the end of the season-hoping for some growth, but who knows. And yeah, it's funny that he shares the same name as the legendary actor Ken Takakura.

The humor is solid, and there's a lot of it. Some of it's a bit edgy. I'm sure I missed some references, so if you catch any, feel free to share, even if they seem obvious to you!

Oh, and did you know that in Japan they use sea creatures as insults? I had no idea. But let's be real, "brainless shrimp" hits way harder than "stupid ram," right?