This New Anime’s Romance is Making Dandadan’s Slow-Burn Look Like a Joke
Shonen anime are not known for their romance depictions, as they tend to miss the mark often, and a major reason for this is that the female characters are rarely developed. Most of the time, they serve very little purpose within the story, which makes any eventual romance with the male protagonist feel underdeveloped. However, there are a few exceptions that portray their women brilliantly, and Dandadan is one of them. In doing so, the chemistry that brewed on screen between Okarun and Momo was off the charts.
They quickly emerged as one of the best shonen anime couples, whose slow-burn romance actually makes sense, as it is not built on necessity. Yet, this is a straightforward outcome that was expected from the very moment the two characters met in the first episode. On the other hand, Sanda, a show that is quite similar to Dandadan, takes a completely different approach, clearly making its romance setup more interesting and impactful.
Momo and Okarun’s Romance in Dandadan Works, But That’s Predictable
Momo and Okarun come from very different backgrounds, where Momo is an outgoing extraverted girl, and Okarun is an introverted otaku who only talks about aliens. From the outset, Dandadan makes it clear that Momo holds a higher place in the social hierarchy than Okarun. Despite this, the two connect over their shared fascination with ghosts and aliens, and later become interested in each other after going through some serious troubles. Their romance begins on a very familiar trajectory where the plain boy meets the popular girl, and sparks fly.
At first, their clashing personalities led to frequent bickering, but as they fought side by side, their bond gradually grew stronger. From Episode 1, the audience knew they were going to be the main couple, as there were unmistakable signs of that. First of all, Momo likes the actor Ken Takakura so much that she specifically looks for guys who resemble her celebrity crush. She got together with her scumbag ex-boyfriend only for this reason, and kept up with him thanks to that.
Okarun has none of the looks that the actor possesses, nor does he explicitly act like Momo’s ideal man. However, everything changes when he reveals his full name to Momo, which happens to be Ken Takakura. Right after listening, a blast erupts behind Momo, clearly symbolizing the spark of emotion she feels for the awkward guy. This depiction is hands down very entertaining, but at the same time very simple. It was easy to see their romance coming, and the romantic journey itself was not meant to be very complex. However, Sanda takes it up a notch, creating deception even in the way it crafts its romantic pairs.
Sanda Hid Its Real Love Story in Plain Sight
At the beginning of Sanda, it is established that Sanda is in love with Fuyumura. He is so smitten with her that he even refuses to acknowledge the fact that she actively wants to stab him. Sanda goes to great lengths to excuse her actions and even deludes himself into believing she is just an awkward girl. Her charging at him with a knife means she does not know how to profess her adoration for him in a better way.
It is only later that he realizes that Fuyumura wants to stab him because she somehow got to know about his secret identity as the descendant of Santa Claus, and wants to trigger his transformation. Her friend, Ono, has disappeared, and Fuyumura believes Sanda is the only one who can bring her back with his supernatural powers.
Sanda never explicitly shows that Fuyumura reciprocates Sanda’s feelings. Their roles as leads and the hero’s crush align with the familiar trope of the destined main couple that even Dandadan followed. However, Sanda nicely subverts this expectation with a shocking reveal in the later episodes. The truth is, Fuyumura and Ono had romantic feelings towards each other, with Ono triggering her puberty because of that. This was a very clever inclusion of a Yuri romance angle in a shonen anime that felt very natural. After this reveal, Fuyumura’s desperation to save Ono makes a lot more sense, and Sanda and Fuyumura ending up as friends feels much more justified.
Paru Itagaki’s stories rarely feature simple relationships, and this one is no exception. Sanda has his own designated mate who might become his fated one, but their relationship is very different. This is a world where the government has already decided on a marriage partner for individuals from a very young age, and Niko is Sanda’s fiancée in that sense. Though their association is far from romantic, they have an interesting dynamic going on between them that can definitely result in something concrete later.
In Sanda, relationships do not exist just for the sake of including romance for the cast. It is bound to play a vital role in its central conflict because the government strictly controls romantic partnerships, leaving no room for personal choice in love. Hence, Fuyumura and Ono, having feelings for one another, will not be taken very lightly. This unexpected twist makes Sanda more layered, especially in terms of romance, compared to Dandadan. Yes, Dandadan has a chaotic premise, but it keeps its interpersonal connections fairly straightforward without much intricacy.
