Dandadan is a popular manga currently being serialized on Jump Plus.
It will be adapted into an anime in October 2024, and is garnering a lot of attention.
But there’s a lot of buzz online about Dandadan, with many plagiarized works.
People are also curious about why Dandadan is said to have so many plagiarized works, and what other works it pays homage to and is similar to.
So, this time we’ve put together the following information about Dandadan’s plagiarism.
- Is Dandadan full of plagiarism?
- Here’s a list of manga that are similar to Dandadan!
We’ll be bringing you an article titled “Does Dandadan have a lot of rip-offs? Here’s a list of similar manga!”
Is Dandadan full of plagiarism?
The manga Dandadan has many scenes that seem to be plagiarism.
Even readers who accepted it as homage in the early days of the series feel that from around volume 6 onwards, there are many scenes that seem like plagiarism.
On the other hand, many people say that it is an homage out of respect.
The post below was made on the release date of volume 6, August 4, 2022, and it feels like there has been an increase in plagiarism in the content of volume 6.
In this way, even readers who accepted the manga Dandadan as an homage in the early stages of its serialization feel that from around volume 6 onwards, there are many scenes that seem like plagiarism.
Why is Dandadan said to have a lot of plagiarism?
There are three possible reasons why the manga Dandadan is said to have a lot of plagiarism.
- The story settings are similar.
- The characters are similar.
- The lines and poses are similar.
We will explain each of these.
Does Dandadan have a similar story setting?
The manga Dandadan has two similar story settings:
- Kazuhiro Fujita’s “Ushio and Tora” serialized in Shonen Sunday from issue 6, 1990 to issue 45, 1996
- Hiroya Oku’s “GANTZ” serialized in Weekly Young Jump from issue 31, 2000 to issue 29, 2013
These two works are also discussed on manga artist Yamada Reiji’s YouTube channel, “Yamada Reiji Young Sunday.”
Ushio and Tora is a story about a boy named Ushio who wields a beast spear, and a demon named Tora who has been freed after 500 years, who join forces to defeat demons.
On the other hand, Dandadan is similar in that it is set in a world where a boy named Okarun who has the powers of Turbo Granny and the demon Turbo Granny fight against demons and aliens.
GANTZ is similar in its worldview to the original, with its mixture of supernatural beings and unidentified flying objects, the strangeness of aliens and the use of a mysterious language, and the atmosphere of being in another world even though the battles are set in the real world.
Author Yukinobu tatsu said in an interview with MANTANWEB that the manga “Berserk” was an influence on the story of Dandadan.
“There are a lot of fantasy works out there, but I don’t think there are many that have a sense of reality within them. (Omitted) Influenced by “Berserk,” he said, “I try not to cut corners as much as possible when it comes to the expression on screen.”
This shows the respect he has for the works that influenced him.
As mentioned above, the story settings of the manga Dandadan are similar to those of two other works: “Ushio and Tora” by Fujita Kazuhiro and “GANTZ” by Oku Hiroya. Furthermore, the author was influenced by the story expression of “Berserk.”
Which character designs are similar to Dandadan?
Here are two character designs that are similar to the manga Dandadan.
- Plug suits from the manga “Evangelion”
- Special effects monsters from the early Ultra series: “Ultraman”, “Ultra Q”, and “Ultra Seven”
First of all, the plug suits in the manga “Evangelion” are similar to the suit worn by the alien Vamora in volume 12, chapter 100, “Close the Gate.”
Also, many of the aliens and monsters resemble monsters from the early Ultra series of special effects shows “Ultraman,” “Ultra Q,” and “Ultra Seven.” Some of the names mentioned include Dada, Alien Baltan, Kanegon, and Alien Pegasus.
In an interview with MANTANWEB, the creator, Yukinobu Tatsu, said the following about the alien design:
The alien designs in particular were heavily influenced by those of Toru Narita (who designed the heroes, monsters, aliens, and mecha of the early Ultra series).
You can see that it was influenced by character design.
I’ve introduced two this time, but there are many special effects characters that are similar to those in the Dandadan manga.
What lines and poses are similar to Dandadan?
Here are two lines and poses that are similar to those in the manga Dandadan.
- Volume 14, chapter 115 of Dandadan, “It’s Kinta’s turn,” features a scene similar to Katsuhiro Otomo’s AKIRA (serialized in Kodansha’s Weekly Young Magazine from 1982 to 1990).
- The scene where Kinta stops his motorcycle is similar to the scene at the beginning of the movie where Kaneda applies the brakes while sliding on his motorcycle, known as “Kaneda’s bike slide brake.”
It has also been said that this may be a play on words because Kanta and Kaneda look alike.
The author, Yukinobu Tatsu, also lists “AKIRA” as one of his favorite manga.
The second is Hirohiko Araki’s “JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,” which has been criticized for having a lot of plagiarism.
- Part 3, Episode 48, Jotaro Kujo: “You made me angry.”→ Volume 1, Episode 2: “That’s an alien, isn’t it?” Momo: “You made me angry.”
- Part 3, Volume 16, Granny Enya: “You idiot.”→ Volume 4, Episode 29: “My first love.” Momo: “Stop it, you idiot!!!”
There are also lines such as these, and scenes where the way they stand looks like the JoJo stance.
There are many lines and poses in the manga that are similar to those in Dandadan.
A list of manga similar to Dandadan!
We will introduce 16 manga that have scenes, lines, characters, and settings that are said to be similar to the manga Dandadan.
- “Spence☆Datedi”
- “JoJo’s Bizarre Story”
- “Mob Psycho 100”
- “Naruto”
- “HUNTER×HUNTER”
- “AKIRA”
- “GANTS”
- “Street Fighter”
- “Dragon Ball”
- “Ushio and Tora”
- “Evangelion”
- “Ranma 1/2”
- “Muteki Raijin-Oh”
- “LAMPO”
- “Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann”
- “Fist of the North Star”
Special effects: “Ultraman,” “Spectreman,” “Godzilla,” “Gundam”
Movies: “Constantine” and “Jumanji”
Commercial: “Mitsui Regaine”
There are similar expressions outside of manga, such as ABBA’s “Chiquitita” and X JAPAN’s “Kurenai.”
The fact that it is an homage to such works may also be one of the reasons for Dandadan’s popularity.
summary
Thank you for watching “Is Dandadan full of plagiarism? Here’s a list of similar manga!” until the end.
This time, I’ve summarized the plagiarism of the manga Dandadan.
- Dandadan has many scenes that appear to be plagiarized.
- Reasons why people say Dandadan is often copied: story setting.
- Reasons why people say Dandadan is often copied: character design.
- Reasons why people say Dandadan is often copied: dialogue and poses.
- 16 manga similar to Dandadan!
There are also scenes that readers only feel are similar.
And it doesn’t seem like the author is imitating because he’s short on material, but rather he’s drawing with respect for other works, and enjoying the chemistry between his own work and works he likes.
I’d like to continue enjoying these kinds of homages in the future.
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