Dan-Dan quickly took the world by storm, and a large part of that stems from the opening theme, “Otonoke” by Creepy Nuts. The theme song’s infectious music, combined with its stylish visuals, quickly made “Otonoke” go viral around the world, and became one of the series’ biggest selling points, alongside the true story.
Between Mashle and Dan-DanCreepy Nuts theme songs have been delivering one hit after another in 2024, and Dan-DanThe theme of is especially great. The look and rhythm of “Otonoke” are one thing, but when translated into English, the letter to Dan-DanThe theme song does a perfect job of capturing the true essence of the anime.especially when looking at the extended version. The true meaning behind the lyrics of “Otonoke” adds even more charm to the song. Dan-Danand there is a lot of material to analyze there.
Dan Da Dan’s theme song highlights the true horror of the supernatural
How Otonoke Shows Dan Da Dan’s Core Trick
The first part of the lyrics of “Otonoke” that stands out is how much it highlights the horror of the supernatural. The song’s main verses sing about the danger of immortal and mortal spirits who can do whatever they want to people, with the repeated phrase of “Kuwabara” being a phrase to ward off bad luck in Japan as well. Dan-Dan is a series centered on supernatural horror and, as such, the letter to Dan-DanThe theme song does a great job of emphasizing how terrifying the supernatural must be..
The lyrics for “Otonoke” can also be seen revolving around Turbo Granny, specifically. In its constant references to supernatural horrors, “Otonoke” repeatedly sings about a spirit taking over someone, becoming someone’s “other self,” and how it will live inside someone for years to come. Dan-DanThe story of Turbo Granny possessed Okarun’s body, so Dan-DanThe theme song can be read as a reference to the initial dynamic between Okarun and Turbo Granny.a perfect way to ease people into each new episode of the series.
Dan Da Dan’s theme song highlights the strength of its heroes
Why Momo and Okarun are a great duo in Dan Da Dan
As much as “Otonoke” highlights the dark elements of Dan-Danstory, also does a good job of highlighting the strength of its heroes, Momo and Okarun. The chorus, immediately following the verses about spirits being terrifying beings that haunt people, has the Creepy Nuts duo singing about putting everything they have into overcoming the darkness and considering the nature of the story, the chorus for Dan-DanThe theme song is intended to invoke Momo and Okarun’s struggles against the supernaturalan idea further emphasized by the dynamic images of both characters in the chorus.
The chorus emphasizes Momo and Okarun’s struggles not only with its lyrics and their contrast with the main verses, but also with their contrast with the post-chorus. The post-chorus features more lyrics emphasizing Turbo Granny’s intention to possess and haunt the main duo and with this coming right after the lyrics focusing on the heroes’ strengths. the contrast between the chorus and post-chorus of “Otonoke” can be seen as an emphasis on how Momo and Okarun never get too comfortableso that Turbo Granny or some other monster doesn’t get the better of them.
The chorus of “Otonoke” and how it contrasts with the rest of the song emphasizes Momo and Okarun’s struggles, but it also emphasizes how well they work as a team. The official translation of the chorus always uses plurals when talking about breaking through the darkness and that’s why the chorus of “Otonoke” can be seen as a reference to Momo and Okarun being equal in Dan-Danthe story. Momo and Okarun serving as co-protagonists is one of the film’s greatest strengths. Dan-Danis writing, and it’s great that the theme song tries to acknowledge that.
Dan Da Dan’s theme song is full of anime and pop culture references
Otonoke Pop Culture References Explained
Another notable part of “Otonoke”’s lyrics is the abundance of pop culture references. For starters, the song doesn’t just reference Sadako and Kayako from The ring and The grudgebut “Otonoke” also references M. Night Shyamalan, famous for horror and supernatural films like The Sixth Sense, Signsand The village. Each of these references is the same type of story Dan-Dan try to count then pop culture references in Dan-DanThe theme song can be seen as an emphasis on the supernatural horror elements of the story..
This idea can also be seen in anime references, although to a lesser extent. References “Otonoke” Demon Slayer with a phrase about sword fights with demons, chainsaw man with a line about chainsaws, One piece with a line about crossing the open sea, and Naruto: Shippuuden with a line about singing “Sha-la-la,” the first line of one of her theme songs. Of all those animes, just Demon Slayer and chainsaw man have explicit horror and supernatural themes, but overall, Dan-DanThe opening theme of uses anime references to add even more charm to its lyrics.
Pop culture references are nothing new to Dan-DanOf course. Dan-Dan constantly references Ultraman and others tokusatsu shows through the designs of its heroes and villains, something that “Otonoke” further emphasized with its unique color palettes, and one part of the opening even had Momo dancing like Rihanna and Okarun and Jiji doing the Carlton of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. Pop culture references have always been a central part of Dan-Danappealand the opening theme does a great job of capturing that fact.
Dan Da Dan Theme Song Lyrics Reveal What Makes the Anime So Great
Dan Da Dan’s theme song helps make it the best anime of the year
While Dan-Dan may seem like a typical supernatural thriller, the series has surprising depth with its gorgeous visuals and well-rounded character and comedy writing, and as such, the plethora of hidden meanings in the lyrics of “Otonoke” perfectly highlights the immense depth Dan-Danthe story. This depth will only become more apparent as Dan-DanThe story continues to unfold, and the theme song will be there to accompany you every step of the way.
Dan-Dan releases new episodes on Thursdays on Crunchyroll.
Sources: Creepy Nuts Official YouTube channel, Genius Lyrics.