THE SPEED RUN: DANDADAN - ANIME TOP RATER

Momo Ayase is a high school girl from a family of spirit mediums. She believes in ghosts, denies aliens, and has the confidence of someone who will fight a supernatural entity before admitting she is scared.
Ken Takakura—nicknamed Okarun—is an occult-obsessed outsider who believes in aliens, denies ghosts, and has the social energy of a boy who has rehearsed conversations with UFOs more often than classmates. 
Their bet sends Momo to an abandoned hospital known for UFO sightings and Okarun to a haunted tunnel. Momo encounters aliens and awakens psychic powers; Okarun encounters Turbo Granny and becomes cursed with supernatural speed and transformation abilities.
So yes: both were right. Unfortunately, being right comes with trauma, monsters, and a very complicated friendship.

Turbo Granny is not just a villain. She is a curse, a speed demon, a foul-mouthed grandmother, and eventually one of the series’ most beloved weirdos.
After possessing Okarun, she gives him transformed speed and a new supernatural form, while also creating the show’s most absurd central problem: Okarun’s missing “family jewels.”
That premise sounds ridiculous because it is ridiculous. But Dandadan understands that absurdity works when the emotions underneath are real. Okarun is not just trying to recover something stolen from him; he is trying to reclaim dignity, agency, and a place in a world that made him feel invisible.

Momo and Okarun’s relationship grows through shared danger, mutual protection, jealousy, awkward confessions, and the simple fact that they keep risking their lives for each other.
They do not need a dramatic love declaration every episode. The romance lives in smaller things: Okarun worrying about Momo, Momo defending Okarun, and both of them pretending they are “just friends” while fighting interdimensional horrors together.
It is a slow-burn romance wrapped in alien abductions, cursed houses, giant robots, and a grandmother spirit who has no respect for personal space.

The anime’s biggest weapon is its animation. Science SARU makes every encounter feel alive: neon colors, wild camera movement, grotesque alien designs, expressive character animation, and fights that shift from hilarious to horrifying without warning.
Season 1 aired for 12 episodes from October 4 to December 20, 2024. Season 2 ran for another 12 episodes from July 4 to September 19, 2025, bringing the total to 24 episodes. A third season has been announced for 2027.
The music also carries the chaos. Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” became a viral opening, while Kensuke Ushio’s score gives the supernatural battles a strange, electric energy.

If ghosts and aliens both exist, does that mean the universe is haunted—or simply badly organized?
And if your first date involves being chased by Turbo Granny, is that romance, trauma bonding, or just modern dating with extra steps?

Dandadan trends because it refuses to be one thing. It is a shonen action anime, a supernatural horror story, a romantic comedy, a coming-of-age drama, and occasionally a full-blown fever dream.
Momo and Okarun make it work because their connection feels genuine beneath all the madness. The aliens may abduct people, the yokai may curse them, and Turbo Granny may steal body parts—but the real danger is two teenagers realizing they might actually like each other.
Credit to Yukinobu Tatsu, Science SARU, Fūga Yamashiro, Hiroshi Seko, Kensuke Ushio, and the original reporting behind the adaptation; they did the cooking, I just arrived with pepper, spice, and a strong belief that nobody should have to fight a cursed granny to earn a crush.