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DanDaDanhas been a massive success thanks to its refreshing and exciting story and excellent anime adaptation. The manga byYukinobu Tatsu,one of the former assistants working withChainsaw ManauthorTatsuki Fujimoto, has been overwhelmingly well-received by audiences. And the extraordinary anime adaptation by Science Saru propelled it to greater heights and a wider audience.
One of the best things aboutDanDaDanis its two main characters: Momo Ayase and Ken Takakua. Two high school teenagers who get involved in supernatural adventures, but Momo is particularly special in the world of Shōnen anime. Let’s explore why Momo Ayase is a refreshing and exciting female lead in a Shōnen anime and why more series should strive to show different female characters like her.
Momo Ayase, a refreshing Take on a Female Lead
Different From The Norm
Shōnen manga and anime have been defined by several common traits: a male protagonist with superpowers or something that makes them special, an action-oriented narrative that focuses on battles, a large portion of the main characters being male or teenagers or both, and fan service using the female characters. Most famous Shōnen manga have all or some of these traits in them, and only some of themactually flesh out their female characters in meaningful ways.
Many female characters suffer shallow characterization and treatment from their authors, leading to the bad reputation that Shōnen anime sometimes has with female audiences. Some examples of Shōnen anime that actually portrays female characters in a much more positive way include Bleach, Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and DanDaDan.
Female characters in Shōnen manga are often left behind their male counterparts when it comes to their involvement in fighting and even the overall narrative. And in the worst cases, they’re used mainly for fan service and sexualization to appeal to younger demographics. Many of these fictional women are seen through the lenses of hormonal male teenagers first and as important characters in a narrative second. Important exceptions to this are characters like Rukia fromBleach, Makima fromChainsaw Man, Maki fromJujutsu Kaisen, and most famously, Jolyne Kujo fromJoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
The case of Jolyne is particularly special as she is the main protagonist ofJoJo’s part six, Stone Ocean. And she is the best example of breaking away from the usual tropes that plague female characters in Shōnen series.There is barely any sexualization for her. She has a very clear-cut and very well-developed characterization and backstory, and she has her own agency and initiative in the events of her story. Jolyne is the prime example of what women in anime should be.
Rukia fromBleachis also a great example, as her character development is a major part of the story of Bleach. Her journey as a warrior takes hundreds of chapters of development, and it’s very clearly seen and shown to the audience. She is a character with a very defined motivation, characterization, and personality, and that also holds her own when it comes to the conflict in Bleach. Makima from Chainsaw Man is one of the best examples, as she is the main villain of the story, turning what is usually a character to serve as a sexualization and fan service into the main driving force of the narrative as a terrifying monster that controls everyone around her.
Fashion is the battle uniform for gyarus! I can’t get hyped up unless I wear the clothes I want to wear!
And this is exactly why Momo from DanDaDan is so special and part of this line of well-written women in Shōnen. Momo is not the typical damsel in distress or overly feminine female character that has no agency in the overarching plot. Momo is the main protagonist of her series, just like Jolyne Kujo is in hrs. She has agency and initiative and aclear goal to help her friend Okarun. Momo also has supernatural powers that allow her to get involved in the battles in the series. But perhaps most importantly above her is her personality and characterization. While the other examples, like Jolyne, Rukia or Makima, are incredible female characters, they are also overly fantastical, as is the nature of their respective series. They are, by all accounts, extraordinary women in extraordinary circumstances in fictional settings. But something that makes Momo special is that she is incredibly relatable and human.
Momo acts and feels like a regular girl in a supernatural setting. She’s worried about finding a boyfriend and, with a specific type, she has trouble at school regarding bad rumors about her and is often shown to be jealous when the boy she likes is with someone else. Momo feels much more down to earth and much more relatable than most other female characters in anime. She forgoes everything that has been the standard and tropes of female characters and instead acts as a relatable reflection of real life girls. But like Jolyne and Rukia, she’s also incredibly empathetic and kind. Her outward brash and tomboyish demeanor bounces off well with her good nature and caring personality.Momo is also often used for comedy, making her seem much more approachable and vulnerable than the standard invincible warrior seen in other examples that try too hard to make the female characters seem cool and not human enough.
Momo is a great foil to Okarun, the male protagonist of the series, as he is also a protagonist that goes against the usual tropes of overly masculine and heroic male leads.DanDaDandoes a great job at flipping common tropes on their heads and instead delivers on refreshing takes on characters for Shōnen anime. It is very exciting to see where the series will go from here and with two great protagonists, the adventure will only get better.
