The Voices Behind ‘Dan Da Dan' Look Back on the Anime of 2024, and Ahead to What's Next
Dan Da Dan is set to make a highly anticipated return to streaming platforms. Ahead of the new season, Science Saru and GKids are collaborating again to release Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, a theatrical cut featuring the first three episodes of the second season. This release will also include a special behind-the-scenes interview with co-directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora.
After a special Los Angeles screening of Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, io9 held a virtual interview with the English voice cast: Abby Trott (who voices Momo Ayase), A.J. Beckles (Okarun), and Aleks Le (Jiji Enjoji). During our conversation, the three cast members reflected on their favorite moments from the previous season and shared their excitement about the scenes they are eager for fans to experience in the upcoming compilation preview film, which will be released June 6, as well as the anime's new season premiering in July.
This interview has been edited for brevity.
Isaiah Colbert, io9: You've voiced plenty of standout characters in anime, but Dan Da Dan's Momo Ayase is one of my personal favorites. With her being a co-lead in a shonen series—a genre that traditionally puts male protagonists in the spotlight—what about Momo makes her special to you, and how do you think she stands out even more in the shonen landscape this season?
Abby Trott: I love voicing Momo. I've been having so much fun with her. And it's interesting that this anime, although maybe if you had to put a label on it, a shonen has a lot of elements from different genres incorporated into it. And I think that helps Momo stand out. We do see a romance element, whereas in a lot of typical shonen, the protagonist will typically not be aware of romantic advances or intentions from a female protagonist. But in this, very early on, there's a relationship there. We can only look forward to seeing how that is going to grow and develop over the course of however many seasons the show goes on. For forever. I think she's very confident, and she cares fiercely about her loved ones; she's willing to do anything to protect them. Those are things about Momo that I love.
I think that I read an interview with the mangaka, where he said that Momo is his favorite character, and that he compared her to Superman. She makes everyone else around her want to step up to the plate and do their best, too. And that's one element that I really like about her. She makes everyone want to do their best.
io9: In your last interview with io9, you mentioned being a fan of the Dan Da Dan manga and having read it before auditioning. Were there any specific scenes from the manga that you were particularly excited to bring to life in season two ?
A.J. Beckles: The whole first interaction with Evil Eye is so cool in the manga. Science Saru, like always, took it and made it so much better; they added so much more content. I went back and read it recently, just to make sure that I was prepared for a recording, and I was like, 'Oh, wow!' when I went in. They added a lot, and they did a great job. I think those interactions are what I most looked forward to. Acro Silky was definitely a cool fight, but it wasn't like a traditional hand-to-hand combat situation that this was with Evil Eye and Okarun. So I was really excited to see what that would look like, and they knocked it out of the park—Evil Eye's ball thing that he uses is really cool.
Aleks Le: It's kind of Okarun's first fight fight. He's not just launching himself.
Beckles: He has to dodge and punch, or whatever else, which he doesn't really know how to do. You get to see that bit of awkwardness, too, that he clearly doesn't know what he's doing versus Evil Eye, who seems so experienced in comparison. It's interesting, and they did a great job of showing that.
io9: First off, congrats on your anime voice acting award for Solo Leveling, Aleks. You've really kept your finger on the pulse of fan engagement—not just by pushing your vocal limits as Sung Jinwoo but also by embracing the memes and sharing behind-the-scenes moments on TikTok.
In Dan Da Dan season one, you threw 'Deez Nuts' into the mix, making it an unexpectedly perfect fit for the series' chaotic energy. Can you walk me through how that creative choice came about with the team at Bang Zoom? And are there any other localization line reads you're especially excited to bring to life in season two?
Aleks Le: First of all, thank you so much for the congratulations. I appreciate it. And as for that particular line, I made a video about that where I said that the line was actually adapted by our English dub director, Alex Von David, who is wonderfully talented. He put so many funny things into the dub like the usage of the word 'bitch' by almost everybody. Those were always really fun. He had pitched the idea of for this joke.
He was like, 'Maybe we should put deez nuts in there.' We were discussing it back and forth because it was just two words, but there was so much history behind the meme itself that we wanted to get it just right for the show. I feel like the meaning and the definition of deez nuts have been watered down over the years, and we really needed to hone in on it.
What ended up happening was that we performed it once initially, and Alex was like, 'That's good. I think we should put the emphasis on deez, like deez nuts.' And I was like, 'But I want to do it like the original.' So he was like, 'Oh, the original, deez nuts?' and I'm like, 'You've seen the video?' And he's like, 'I've heard it thrown around, but I don't remember the video.' So I was like, 'Okay,' [so] I pulled up the video, and our poor engineer had to just sit there as I showed him the deez nuts and then we were going back and forth on it. He was very insistent on one way and I was like, 'I want to do it exactly like the video.' We did it so many times, and then we finally found one that we were both really happy with. So that was how deez nuts ended up in the show.
Alex is a driving force of this adaptation. In terms of improv, it's always the most unnoticeable, subtle moments of comedy, I feel, are where my strong suits come in. There's a lot of Jiji reads where I really want to make it sound as noncommittal as possible, as in it doesn't sound like somebody who's doing a performance. It sounds like you walked by a group of teenagers, and you had your microphone up to them, and you heard what they're saying. 'Oh, my God, blah blah blah blah.' They shout basically drivel. That's my favorite part of the improv that we get to do.
We do have a lot of limitations on what we can and can't do. One of my favorite improvs that didn't make it was in episode 11 when Jiji first introduces himself. We had him singing the Dan Da Dan theme song, and it was really really good. But then we looked back on it, and we were just like 'It's too meta. It wouldn't really make sense for the moment.' In the future, though, I hope we can throw it back in there somewhere.
io9: Alongside their seiyuus, you've all brought Okarun, Momo, and Jiji to life beautifully, capturing the essence of the anime's low-taper fade occult nerd, outspoken gyaru, and resident himbo. As season two approaches, what aspects of their dynamics are you most excited to explore, and how has your approach to voicing them evolved, especially while recording separately, and the energy each of you is bringing into the booth?
Trott: For Momo, this season kicks off with a lot of action. The first three episodes (that hopefully you'll go see in theaters, everyone) is a lot of yelling and a lot of [being] in the action. I'm looking forward to getting back to the elements, such as the relationships between the other characters Momo's relationship with Okarun. I love how Momo has this kind of cute way of speaking to him at times, which is her way of flirting. Just those little moments, I'm looking forward to the development of relationships.
Beckles: I'm looking forward to seeing how Okarun reacts to Jiji. Okarun is so polite, and he's very cognizant of thinking about what he says before he says it. He's very mature for his age in terms of how he views relationships and communication and Jiji throws all that out of the window. I'm interested to see how he handles it. It'll be fun to play like him handling those moments where he's trying to be a certain way, trying to be like kosher, and Jiji doesn't care. And how he's gonna handle coming out of his shell more. I think Jiji is gonna bring some of that out of Okarun.
But in the meantime, I think where we're at, it's very much Okarun knowing who Jiji is, but they haven't spent a lot of time together. Only just now, at the end of the last season, he's on the train, and they're talking about the magazine Okarun is sharing and Jiji is genuinely interested. Okarun's never had that before—a friend who's not picking on him—and I think that'll be really cool to see Okarun embrace and learn not to see Jiji as a threat to his new feelings he has towards Momo. Or maybe he still will. It'll be cool to see that unfold and watch all those different personalities interact—Momo instigating moments and trying to get them to be friends—and it'll be cool.
Le: I think we all know each other pretty well, and our performance styles. We are aware of how each of us would act. We have a good image in our heads of how one person would do a specific read or [how] one person would interpret the scene this way and, ultimately, the nuances of those performances in the final surprise us. But, for the most part, we have a really good idea of what the other person's gonna do.
I feel that closeness and understanding has given us the ability to performing these scenes basically in the dark, yet still having them mesh really well with each other. I feel like we all understand each other's sense of humor or acting choices pretty well, for the most part.
Dan Da Dan season two premieres this July on Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu. Evil Eye hits theaters across the U.S. June 6.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
27 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Dan Ives Says Market Is 'Massively Underestimating' This AI Play, Urges Investors To Look Beyong Mag 7
Benzinga and Yahoo Finance LLC may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below. Dan Ives' new artificial intelligence exchange-traded fund (ETF) holds securities beyond the Magnificent 7 stocks, as he believes in looking past valuations for investments in the technology sector. What Happened: The Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF (NYSE:IVES), managed by the Wedbush analyst, started trading on June 4, earlier this month. Ives boasts of the fund by saying that it just doesn't have the top four, five Magnificent 7 names, but stocks which investors wouldn't even thematically consider as an AI name today. "I believe the market is still massively underestimating what the growth is going to look like for the AI revolution in tech," he told CNBC. Trending: Maker of the $60,000 foldable home has 3 factory buildings, 600+ houses built, and big plans to solve housing — According to him, tech trade remains significant even for the investors who missed out on its growth in the past few years. "If you focus just on valuation, you miss every transformational tech stock of the last 20 years," Ives said. Ives says Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) will be the 'epicenter' of the AI theme, while highlighting other 'AI 30' stocks which are part of his fund. Palantir Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:PLTR), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Salesforce Inc. (NYSE:CRM), SoundHound AI Inc. (NASDAQ:SOUN), and Innodata Inc. (NASDAQ:INOD) are a few notable names that are a part of his ETF's 'AI 30' basket. Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA), and Broadcom Inc. (NASDAQ:AVGO) are the top three holdings of the IVES It Matters: The 'AI 30' stocks, which are a part of the IVES ETF, hold the AI plays from multiple industries. They include hyperscalers, cybersecurity, consumer platforms, and robotics. According to Ives, the list was compiled from his deep dives into major AI players. The ETF has $183 million in assets under management as of June 17 close. Ives said that the AI space was experiencing a "golden age." The Dan IVES Wedbush AI Revolution ETF has risen by 2.76% since its inception. A comparable index, S&P Kensho Global Artificial Intelligence Enablers, rose 6.08% on a month-to-date basis. Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY) and Invesco QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ:QQQ), which track the S&P 500 index and Nasdaq 100 index, respectively, declined slightly on Wednesday. The SPY was down 0.015% at $597.44, while the QQQ was 0.017% lower at $528.99, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read Next: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Back a bold new approach to cancer treatment with high-growth potential. If there was a new fund backed by Jeff Bezos offering a 7-9% target yield with monthly dividends would you invest in it? Photo courtesy: Shutterstock This article Dan Ives Says Market Is 'Massively Underestimating' This AI Play, Urges Investors To Look Beyong Mag 7 originally appeared on
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
PGA Tour Sends Strong Scottie Scheffler Message on Saturday
PGA Tour Sends Strong Scottie Scheffler Message on Saturday originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The PGA Tour celebrated Scottie Scheffler in style on Saturday, honoring the world No. 1 golfer on his birthday with an Instagram post from @pgatour showcasing his top 10 career shots. Advertisement The post, shared earlier today, serves as a tribute to his remarkable journey, timed perfectly as fans and the Tour alike mark his special day. This gesture underscores Scheffler's status as a golfing icon and the Tour's commitment to celebrating its brightest stars. The post highlights iconic moments, including his hole-in-one at the 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge and his remarkable eagle hole-out at the 2024 Players Championship. These shots reflect the precision and power that have defined his rise, with three wins in his last five starts this season, including a victory at the 2025 PGA Championship. Scottie Scheffler plays his shot from the tenth tee during the first round.© Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images The birthday tribute aligns with Scheffler being in contention at the Travelers Championship this weekend, tying for the 36-hole lead with a score of nine under par. Advertisement This celebration sends a clear message: Scheffler, at 29, is the Tour's present and future and will continue to dominate a majority of the tournaments he plays in. With competitors like Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Thomas challenging his lead, his career highlights remind fans of his consistency and clutch performances. The post has sparked excitement, reinforcing the Tour's intent to honor excellence while hyping its toughest course setups and merit-based finales. For golf enthusiasts, it's a fitting birthday salute to a player redefining the sport. Related: PGA Tour Teases Scottie Scheffler, Justin Thomas Pairing at Travelers Championship This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 21, 2025, where it first appeared.
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Owen Wilson will return for ‘Meet The Parents 4'
Owen Wilson will return for 'Meet The Parents 4', alongside Ben Stiller, Robert De Niro and Ariana Grande.
