Grandmother’s Love: How Seiko’s Character Elevates Dandadan

Dandadan presented us with great characters, their dynamics, and an incredible balance between fun and serious themes that took over the world audience. Besides the two main characters, Ken Takakura and Momo Ayase, the latter's grandmother, Seiko Ayase, became a fan favorite, with her aloof and cool behavior, but dwelling deeper in her personality, one can see great care and love towards children, especially her granddaughter, Momo. Her love and care are what drive these strange children forward, making Seiko one of the coolest side characters of the shōnen genre.

Conflict as the Foundation of Seiko's and Momo's Relationship

The year of 2024 brought us Dandadan anime, fresh and new to a lot of fans, but the manga started its first run in 2021, and the readers more or less know their characters. However, looking back at the manga run, many aspects of the characters are still unknown even after almost 180 chapters of the series. This includes Seiko Ayase, Momo's young-looking grandmother, who took her granddaughter in when she was really young. The manga focuses on character dynamics but doesn't necessarily dwell that much on their backstories—it is there, but it doesn't take over the center point of the characters personalities. In the series, we saw that Seiko wanted to pass on some of her spiritual medium training on to Momo, who didn't believe in it and was later heavily bullied in school.

Momo resented Seiko for that because she burdened her to the point of being regarded as a freak in school. Momo blamed Seiko for the bullying and even doubted her ability to interact with spirits, which deeply affected the older woman. We know Seiko as a very strong character who isn't often fazed by emotional conflicts, but it seems that Momo's accusation hit her really hard. The façade was off, and Seiko had to deal with a very angry granddaughter whom she accidentally put in a very difficult situation.

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Time Heals All Wounds

Seiko and Momo's relationship is still chaotic at times, but the teenager finally accepted Seiko as her mentor and her biggest supporter, which will prove to be very helpful in her future missions. Despite being phlegmatic, Seiko is a very compassionate and selfless person, even letting Jiji move to her house after his parents ended up in a hospital. She's a children's protector and mother figure who keeps them safe and takes care of them as if they are her own.

Seiko is the ultimate side character who elevates the series with her incredible wit but also her protectiveness, making her the fan favorite of the Dandadan fandom.

Conclusion: Strong Side Characters Equals Strong Leads

Yukinobu Tatsu created an entertaining and curious world that mixes physical and spiritual aspects that are elevated with fun and complex characters. At first, one wouldn't necessarily notice that, but the more we delve into the Dandadan series, the more we see an amazing storyline we've been bestowed upon. The main group of characters, like Momo and Okarun, have comprehensive and beautiful stories that move us with each story arc, and the side characters, like Aira, Jiji, and Seiko, who hold everything together. Seiko's bond with kids is lovely to see, but her bond with Momo is what elevates the series to heights—grandmother's love is what drives the main lead of the series.

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