Dandadan’s Antagonists: True Villains or Just Products of Their Circumstances?

One of the coolest parts of Dandadan is the way Yukinobu Tatsu sets up his characters within the universe. There are certain roles each of the characters fulfill, especially within the main group of individuals like Momo and Okarun, but also antagonists for whom the viewer/reader feels incredible sorrow. How Dandadan handles its antagonists is remarkable, but the question stands: Who are they? Are they unredeemable foes or unfortunate victims?

Spirits Who Never Left the Physical World

From its beginnings, the series introduced us to protagonists that proved within a few chapters they are capable of leading this (now) enormous universe. However, besides great protagonists, Dandadan showcased the ability to create great opposition to the leads, that challenges them to their core and, at the same time, manages to trigger an emotional turmoil. Always mentioned, the yokai named Acrobatic Silky caused the ultimate visceral reaction from every Dandadan anime and manga series fan with its truly sad and tragic backstory. A mother who loved her daughter so much that it brought her to unfortunate death, and her suffering stayed even after her tragic death—she simply couldn't transition to the 'other' world.

Another example is Onbusuman, a yokai that attached to Rin Sawaki, Okarun's class representative. The yokai attaches to people with immense guilt and grief, and Rin felt all of those negative emotions about her childhood friend's death. This particular storyline showcased Tatsu's ability to 'humanize' his characters even though they're supposed to be 'evil.' There are many examples of where unfortunate people with tragic endings get trapped and become something they never wanted to become—evil spirits.

Awful Beings From Strange Origins

Other 'types' of antagonists have been aliens with questionable origins and behavior—like Serpo and Subterraneans. These creatures are absolutely vile, and they're just there to take something from humans. They're unredeemable and pure evil; Serpo are harassing everyone for reproductive organs, while Subterraneans sacrifice humans to an ancient beast that prevents a massive earthquake from occurring.

Tatsu made sure to create a great variety of enemies for fans to love and hate, and these aliens are definitely in the 'hate' column for many Dandadan readers. Still, they are not less significant than the evil spirits with tragic backstories—they are there to push the main characters to the limits. They are without remorse and attack where it hurts the most, making them extremely dangerous and one of the most vicious enemies of the Dandadan series.

Vulnerable and Exploited People

There are quite a few examples of these particular Dandadan enemies, especially from the current 'Pygmies arc' that sees our characters dealing with strange mysterious figures that want to absorb yokai powers. Momo was the first real victim of that particular enemy, and it exposed the enemy that was actually far from scary—they were just normal people. The revelation that the mysterious enemy is using vulnerable and depressed people for their own goals was a shocking revelation, especially knowing they are quite close to Momo, Okarun, and others.

The audacity to use defenseless people is indeed twisted and evil, and Tatsu does an amazing job of creating that uneasy feel, making us feel sorry for the victims of other people's evil deeds, knowing they didn't really want to do it.

Conclusion: Variety and Wealthy Representation of Dandadan's Antagonists

Through manga and anime, Yukinobu Tatsu showcased an incredible ability to draw and create incredible storylines that infatuate every fan of this strange universe. The Dandadan series truly delivered with its storyline and artwork but also characters that make you root for them in every sense of the word.

From tragic cursed figures and unredeemable beings to manipulative individuals, Dandadan presents us with a vast variety of enemies in its series. Diversity is fully present, and fans can either root for the enemy or simply hate them to the core—or maybe even respect them. There are many instances of antagonists being victims of their circumstances, but Dandadan makes sure to blur those limits, making it one of the coolest and most diverse popular series now.

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