Explaining The Origins of Dandadan’s Yokai & Paranormal Phenomena
Sana Yoshida
Serialized on Shonen Jump+ (a popular digital manga service) since April 2021, Dandadan is a hit manga where an occult-obsessed boy Takakura Ken (Okarun) and Ayase Momo— a girl who lives with her reibaishi (spirit medium) grandmother—get dragged into battles against all kinds of strange phenomena.
With appealing draftsmenship, charismatic characters, explosive fight scenes, and a story that balances comedy with real tension, the series has garnered fans in Japan and around the world. One huge draw is its scope: the manga features not only Japanese yokai (folklore entities) and kaiki (occult phenomena), but also urban legends, worldwide folk beliefs, UMA (Japanese term for cryptids), and even aliens.
This article introduces the phenomena that appear in the story, with a focus on uniquely Japanese entities.
Phenomena That Are Closely Tied to Main Characters (Shown in the Anime)
Turbo Granny (Tābo Babā) — Japanese Urban Legend
Also known as “100-km Babā,” “Jet Babā,” etc. This entity appears on roads—especially tunnels and highways—and chases people at vehicle-like speeds. She typically looks like a woman over 80 and may wear kimono or have a paper on her back reading “turbo.”
Sightings span Japan (famously around Mt. Rokko in Hyogo Prefecture). Sometimes she just overtakes cars or bikes; other times she causes accidents. Suggested countermeasures include “fleeing without looking back” or “stop and let her pass.”
Variants include riding a tricycle or pulling a handcart, and versions not limited to old women: old men, girls, dogs, cats, salarymen, even babies—anything that runs at inhuman speed.
The Serpo Aliens (Serpo Seijin/Serpoians) — Aliens
An all-male alien species that multiplies via cloning. The source of these entities comes from the U.S. urban legend “Project Serpo,” which claims that in the 1960s twelve American personnel secretly traveled to Planet Serpo in the Zeta Reticuli star system for an exchange program.
They closely resemble the alien species "Dada" from the Ultraman series.
Ultraman has long enjoyed enduring popularity in Japan. As you can see, its body pattern clearly had a major influence on the design of the Serpo aliens.
According to Tsuburaya Productions’ official description, it had three different faces, creating the illusion that there were three of them. To collect human specimens, it attacked a cosmic-ray research institute and turned four researchers into specimens.
These points also resemble the Serpo aliens that appear in Dandadan.
Acrobatic Silky (Akurobatikku Sarasara) — Japanese Urban Legend
A towering woman dressed in red and wearing a red hat with extremely long, silky hair. She has no visible eyeballs (the eye area is pitch black), an oversized mouth with large teeth, and scarred cuts on her left arm.
It’s a relatively new legend centered on Koriyama City, Fukushima, believed to have spread from posts on the Japanese forum 2Channel (similar to 4chan) around 2008. The “acrobatic” comes from her inhuman ability to leap between buildings and trains, while “sarasara” from her hair that moves as if with a will of its own, even without wind.
Dover Demon (Dōvā Dēmon) [Shako / Mantis Shrimp in-series] — UMA
In the manga, this cryptid is portrayed as a shrimp-like extraterrestrial warrior race. The inspiration is the Dover Demon reported in Massachusetts: a creature with a melon-shaped head and spindly limbs.
In Dandadan, the design leans more toward Ultra Kaiju (monsters from the Ultraman series), while its characteristics also draw inspiration from various other sci-fi series.
Evil Eye (Jashi) — Global Folklore
Also called jagan / magan / “evil eye.” A power that curses simply by glaring with malice. In Dandadan, this entity draws inspiration from a 2008 2channel post about a gaze that triggers suicidal ideation, blended with two other internet-born legends:
- Kune-kune (“wiggly-wiggly”): a wriggling, mist-like entity seen near rice fields or rivers. It is said that directly beholding it and comprehending what it truly is will drive one’s mind into madness.
- Yamanoke (“mountain wraith”): is depicted as a headless figure with a face on its torso and one leg, muttering “Ten… sō… metsu…” as it approaches. It possesses women and robs them of their sanity.
The anime Season 1 OP by Creepy Nuts, “Otonoke”, and the lyric fragment “Haireta” are widely read as references to Yamanoke.
Phenomena Featured in the Story (Shown in the Anime)
Earthbound Spirit (Jibakurei) —Japanese Ghost
These are spirits of those who died in accidents or disasters and, unable to accept or even realize their own death, remain bound to the site or building where they perished. Some spirits linger where cherished memories dwell, while others haunt places burdened with deep grudges and hatred.
Running Anatomical Model (Hashiru Jintai Mokei) — Japanese Ghost Story
One of “Gakkō no Nana Fushigi (The Seven Mysteries of the School)”: after hours or late at night, the life-sized anatomical model from the science room starts moving.
About “The Seven Mysteries of the School”
A folkloric tradition in Japan where locals collect seven school ghost tales. The individual stories vary between regions and schools; some schools have more than seven, and some say learning the seventh mystery brings death, so only six are told.
Mongolian Death Worm (Mongorian Desu Wāmu) — UMA
A giant worm-like cryptid said to live in and around the Gobi Desert. Locally called “Olgoy-khorkhoi” (“intestine worm”). Often described as about 1.5 m and 9 kg, but in Dandadan it appears as a monster several kilometers long.
Music Room Portraits (Ongakushitsu no Shōzōga) — Japanese Ghost Story
Another story from "The Seven Mysteries of The School": at night the portraits of Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, etc., move or their eyes glow.
Bamora — Alien / Kaiju
An alien survivor of the Shumeru-jin (Sumerians) who comes to Earth. The name and the enlarging kaiju suit features are references to classic tokusatsu works like Ultraman. Under the suit, Bamora wears something reminiscent of a plug suit from the anime Neon Genesis Evangelion—one of many sci-fi easter eggs present in this character.
Major Character–Linked Phenomena (Not Yet Shown in the Anime)
Shin’en no Mono (Kuru) — Aliens
An alien species from outer space beyond our galaxy. Their octopus-like appearance seems to be inspired by popular depiction of Martians as tentacled and octopus-shaped, combined with H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
The character named Hastur comes from Hastur, the malevolent deity in the Cthulhu Mythos. The other characters are given names taken from octopus-based dishes, such as "Tako-meshi" (octopus rice), Octopus Carpaccio, and "Su-dako" (vinegared octopus).
Nano-Skin — Sci-fi Device
An ultra-dense nanomachine block created by the renowned alien Ludris. Anyone can use it to change its shape, durability, and design by imagination, though true mastery requires extremely precise mental images. In the story, classmate Sakata Kinta uses it to assemble a giant robot, unleashing full-on mecha action.
Kashima Reiko — Japanese Urban Legend
A top-tier threat in Dandadan blending:
Kashima Reiko (aka Kashima-san, Kashi-ma Reiko, etc.): an entity that questions those who learn her tragic tale—via phone or dreams—and takes body parts if you answer wrong.
One variation of the legend links her to Kashima Daimyōjin (honorific for the deity enshrined in the shrine)/ Kashima Jinja (Kashima Shrine). Chanting “Kashima-san, tasukete kudasai” (“Kashima, please help me”) is said to avert the threat.
Kuchisake-onna (Slit-Mouthed Woman): a 1980s urban legend turned social phenomenon in Japan. A masked young woman asks “Am I pretty?”; if you say yes, she removes the mask to reveal a mouth slit to the ears and asks “Even now?” In Japan, this urban legend is extremely popular, with many characters and stories stemming from it.
Hasshaku-sama (Eight-Feet Tall): is an urban legend that originated from a story posted on 2Channel. She is a giant woman said to be over eight shaku tall (about 2.4 meters, or 7 feet 10 inches) who preys on those she bewitches, most often young boys. She is known for her eerie laugh, described as “po-po-po.” It is said that she can take on the appearance of a young woman or an old lady, and even mimic the voices of familiar people in order to lure her victims.
Onbusuman (based on Konaki-jijii) — Japanese Yokai
Known as Onbusuman in the manga, the spirit of a child seeking love who clings to your back; when treated kindly, it passes on, but if rejected it crushes the person it attaches to.
It is based on Konaki-jijii (“child-crying old man”): a yokai that takes the form of an old man, yet cries like a baby along dark roads at night. If you pick him up out of pity, he grows impossibly heavy like a stone and crushes you. While most widely known in Tokushima Prefecture, sightings are scarce, and it likely stems from multiple motifs including yokai that cries like a baby, and yokai that grows heavier when picked up.
Anbure Bōi (Umbrella Boy) — Japanese Yokai
Inspired by Karakasa-obake, a tsukumogami (tool-spirit): a discarded oil-paper umbrella reborn as a one-eyed, one-legged yokai with a long tongue and geta (wooden sandals). While said to have transformed into a yokai through resentment of being discarded, thanks to its relatively harmless nature and humorous appearance, it has come to be loved as a familiar and endearing yokai.
Noroi Gōri (Cursed Wicker Trunk) — Japanese Ghost Tale / Folklore
A gōri is a woven storage trunk of bamboo or bark. When soaked with a former owner’s grudges, it brings misfortune to new possessors. It is said that even if one discards or burns it, the curse will not be lifted, and a purification ritual or other measures are necessary.
Sanjeruman Hakushaku (Count of Saint-Germain) — Global Urban Legend
An 18th-century European figure famed as an alchemist and musician with countless legends—often treated as a symbol of immortality. Sightings after his death fuel time-traveler theories, solidifying his popularity among occult fans.
Kobito (Little People) — Global Folklore/Urban Legend
There are folktales all over the world about little people who play tricks or help out while humans are asleep, but the ones in Dandadan are thought to be based on the Japanese urban legend of the “small old man.” On Japanese variety shows, celebrities often tell stories about seeing a tiny fairy that looks like an old man, and it is generally known as a comical type of fairy.
Chiteijin (Subterraneans) — Sci-fi
As the name suggests, it refers to life forms that dwell underground. In science fiction works, they are often depicted as beings that have built their own civilization beneath the earth, or as humans who survived natural disasters. In Dandadan, however, they are portrayed as life forms with lifespans of several centuries, capable of surviving even in outer space.
Hae no Ō (Lord of the Flies / Beelzebub) — World Myth
It refers to Beelzebub, a pagan deity or demon mentioned in the Bible. In Dandadan, however, it is depicted as an ability to command small creatures.
Summary
We’ve explored some of the kaiki, yokai, UMA, and other phenomena that appear in Dandadan. The series mixes Japanese classics with global cryptids and lore—and sprinkles in references to actors, musicians, comedians, and more—so anticipation only grows for what (or who) shows up next.