‘DAN DA DAN’ is the latest entry in a banger year for anime openings

Expectations were ridiculously high for Science Saru’s adaptation of DAN DA DAN, Yukinobu Tatsu’s already much-beloved sci-fi manga. But because Science Saru knows what they’re doing they pulled it off remarkably. DAN DA DAN’s successes are so plentiful that even the opening theme song and montage has gone viral.

Science Saru is well-known for its stylish, colorful, and adventurous animation style. DAN DA DAN‘s new opening is a perfect encapsulation of the studio’s strengths. The opening shots are close-ups of all the characters in stunning color palettes. Every shot feels razor-sharp, even as the OP—short for anime opening—switches between art styles. It’s packed with so much detail and so much flare, you want to watch it over and over again.

And people have been: after just four days on YouTube, DAN DA DAN’s OP was already just shy of reaching 2 million views.

A new song by Creepy Nuts always helps, too.

DAN DA DAN’s OP is the perfect cap to 2024

2024 has truly been a banger year for anime openings. The beginning of the winter season in January saw the release of arguably two all-timer OPs: One Piece’s “UUUUUS!,” by Hiroshi Kitadani, and Mashle: Magic and Muscle’s “Bling-Ban-Ban-Born” by Creepy Nuts. The former was set to masterfully maximalist animation, the latter to a stylish minimalist black-and-yellow palette.

“Bling-Ban-Ban-Born” in particular became a bonafide sensation. Mashle’s OP set the catchy chorus to a highly TikTok-able dance, and the result was a viral hit. The OP has accumulated a whopping 102 million views on YouTube, and the song stayed atop the Japanese charts for months.

The success of DAN DA DAN’s OP very much exists within the context of the year at large, because it’s the next OP since Mashle’s to feature a Creepy Nuts song. Anime openings are a major vehicle for creating chart-topping hits in Japan and a primary way for international fans to discover Japanese bands, so the Creepy Nuts factor alone was enough for DAN DA DAN’s OP to gain major interest.

Of course, a Creepy Nuts song set to mediocre animation would be nothing. But again, this is Science Saru we’re talking about. Even their (intentionally) more minimalist OPs, like the one from Keep Your Hands Off Eizoken!, are visually stunning.

DAN DA DAN isn’t the only incredible OP in the fall 2024 season. Ranma 1/2 and Blue Box had very notable artists (ano and Official Hige Dandism, respectively) contribute songs to their OPs, backed by wonderful art. But much like the series itself, Science Saru has cooked up something extra special with DAN DA DAN.