
DAN DA DAN is an anime that originally wasn’t on my radar, but my best friend told me that I NEEDED to watch it. In fact, he wanted to hear my reaction after I finished the first episode. I ended up calling him several times during the events of Episode 1 — That’s How Love Starts, Ya Know! because of the absolutely ridiculous turn of events. I thought everything was pretty ridiculous and over-the-top, similar to the hijinks and nonsensical action we got during episode 1 of Kill la Kill, with things like Gamagoori freefalling from the roof. The perverse comedy and shock factor was enough to get me dialed in, but I looked at things through a slightly different lens, well more skepticism, after asking my friend whether-or-not she’d gotten to check out DAN DA DAN yet.
This girl (Who I will refer to as H-Chan), did not like the show due to the scene when Momo makes contact with the Serpoians. The Serpoians chase Ayase down, rip off her clothes, and tell her that they’re going to have intercourse with her and take her uterus afterwards. H-Chan believed that the show itself was making light of rape, which made it disgusting. H-Chan also said that things like Song of Saya and Monogatari are two of her favorite works, so she has very high tolerance and isn’t just sensitive to the idea of rape being portrayed. To further emphasize this, H-Chan said that Goblin Slayer, even with all its brutality fine because they didn’t treat rape as if it was a joke. That the issue lies within the atmosphere of DAN DA DAN, making her feel as if the content portrayed the possibility of rape as something that could be humorous. To try and see things from H-Chan’s perspective, I watched that particular segment again to see if everything was done as light-hearted as she felt it was.

I think I understand what H-Chan means when you look at the scene in full. Momo with the Serpoians has a very different feel compared to Ken getting his penis stolen by Turbo Granny. While the Serpoians speak within a humorous voice and tone, and Momo rants about saving her virginity for a Ken Takakura she hasn’t met yet, the actions that were taken were very much rape-like in a forceful manner. Not only did they happen to strip Ayase down to her bra and panties, put their hand over her face while subduing her, but one of the Serpoians whipped out his equivalent of a penis saying that they will have intercourse with her. That’s not the worst part though. The Serpoians were trying to sexually arouse Momo against her will and then forcibly spread open her legs…which might have been the most disturbing thing of all.
I didn’t think too much of the scene until I was given someone else’s perspective, and I always attempt to see things from the other side. I believe it was meant to be perverted, over-the-top tomfoolery because of what previously happened to Okarun, and saw it as a balance to Turbo Granny’s peversion. However, considering women’s history with things like rape and consent, it makes sense why H-Chan could take issue. This topic portrayed in a gritty way while presenting itself as a comedy could be taken as them making light of a sensitive issue. Not to mention the fact that later on Momo is forced down in a Hot Spring by what appears to be a group of older men, asking her does she knows what “Gators are”, which they responded with, “They’re guys who often show up in co-ed baths and target naked women”. So the first and last episode of Season 1 puts Ayase in rape-like scenarios.
Maybe I’m overthinking and the disgust shown by my friend caused me to overanalyze things. While the Serpoians are ridiculous, the force spreading of Momo’s legs during Episode 1 and the guys pushing her down in Episode 12 does provide an unsettling theme. Mainly because while Ken’s genitals were stolen each time, they were done in hilarious ways that didn’t promote any type of sexual misconduct, more so just outrageous things that would make you laugh from the shock factor. So, what do you guys think?
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