Ghosts or aliens? Scott Pilgrim Takes Off studio’s next adaptation asks which of them is real
It's one or the other, you have to choose.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off's studio appears to be on a roll with its adaptations at the moment, as it looks to tackle the popular paranormal rom-com Dandadan.
Do you believe in ghosts? How about aliens? What if you think one of them is real but your friend is convinced the other is, and you become determined to prove that you're right, but maybe you both are? That's kind of Dandadan in a nutshell, a popular manga currently serialised in Shueisha's Shonen Jump+ digital manga magazine, published in English by Viz Media. Now, Science Saru, the studio behind the seriously good (and radically different) Scott Pilgrim Takes Off and the much darker Devilman Crybaby, is taking on the hit manga as its next anime project.
A short trailer for the upcoming series, set to be released in 2024, was shown off earlier this week, and while it's brief, it's certainly looking extremely stylish. Though given how strong the rest of Science Saru's output is, that isn't exactly surprising. Fuga Yamashiro is directing the series, who previously worked on the studio's Tatami Time Machine Blues, and Hiroshi Seko (Chainsaw Man, Jujutsu Kaisen) is on script duties. One of my personal favourite composers in the anime industry, Kensuke Ushio (Chainsaw Man, Devilman Crybaby), is also attached to the project.
Viz Media's description of the series reads, "Momo Ayase strikes up an unusual friendship with her school's UFO fanatic, whom she nicknames “Okarun” because he has a name that is not to be said aloud. While Momo believes in spirits, she thinks aliens are nothing but nonsense. Her new friend, meanwhile, thinks the exact opposite. To settle matters, the two set out to prove each other wrong—Momo to a UFO hotspot and Okarun to a haunted tunnel! What unfolds next is a beautiful story of young love…and oddly horny aliens and spirits?"
According to Anime News Network, we can expect to hear more about the series, including who the cast is, at a Dandadan stage event during Jump Festa 2024 on December 16. Dandadan will air some time in 2024.