Dandadan wears its pop culture influences on its sleeve. In Season 1, fans were quick to point out the references to other acclaimed manga (like Slam Dunk), beloved Japanese actors (Hiroshi Abe), and even bizarre 1980s jingles (“Yuuki no Shirushi”). On top of the overt callbacks to other pop culture icons, the creative team at Science SARU also pulled from countless other movies, shows, and anime when creating the unique tone and aesthetic for Dandadan. With the Evil Eye movie fast approaching and Season 2 rearing its head just behind, the show’s co-director, Abel Gongora, has revealed some of the other major influences on Dandadan, and they’re compulsory viewing for any fan.
Abel Gongora, a veteran animation director, joined Season 1 to direct the iconic opening credits, which appear over Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke” OP. In Season 2, Gongora joins Fuga Yamashiro as co-directors, starting with the Evil Eye movie, which releases in theaters on June 3rd. The co-director was kind enough to sit down with ComicBook to discuss Evil Eye, Season 2, and his biggest influences as a director.
Dandadan Director Reveals the Biggest Influences on Season 2
During our conversation with Abel Gongora ahead of Dandadan: Evil Eye‘s theatrical release, the director revealed some of the biggest influences on the tone, vibe, and action in the movie. “I got some recommendations from Yamashiro-san, the director, he recommended [that I] watch some films, then I also wanted to watch a lot of old Japanese films,” Gongora began.
“Ultraman, I recommend Shin Ultraman,” he continued. “That is easy to watch because it has the authenticity of the original Ultraman, but it’s made in the modern language. I think everybody now can enjoy [it], while the old Ultraman is kind of difficult for me…” It turns out, the rebooted iterations of Japanese classics were consistent influences on Dandadan Season 2. “Shin Kamen Rider. Shin Godzilla is really interesting. I think they are great films.”
Fans were already aware of Godzilla being a major influence on Dandadan. In fact, a knock-off version of the iconic kaiju appeared in Season 1. The Nessie fight in Episode 8 pulled directly from Shin Godzilla, including a shot-for-shot remake of the creature’s Atomic Breath.
[RELATED – Dandadan Season 2 Newest Look Teases the New Opening Theme]
Dandadan: Evil Eye Dives Into Horror
The conversation arose as Abel Gongora posted on Instagram earlier in the year that he watched over 217 movies in 2024 — we’re entertainment journalists, and even we think that’s a staggering number. As well as Ultraman and Godzilla, Abel Gongora said he pulled from an eclectic variety of movies, most notably some from the horror genre.
Dandadan Season 2 adapts the “Cursed House” and “Evil Eye” arcs from Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga, which readers know as two of the darkest arcs in the series. As a result, Gongora revealed that he watched a lot of horror films in preparation for Season 2. “Horror movies, [which] I don’t usually watch,” the director recalled as another influence. “I needed to understand more [about] how horror is depicted in a movie. Because I wanted the Underground to feel scary, and all the flashbacks with Evil Eye are kind of like a sad horror story.”
Dandadan: Evil Eye releases in theaters on June 3rd. Season 2 then premieres on Crunchyroll and Netflix a month later on July 3rd.
The post Dandadan Director Abel Gongora Confirms Godzilla & Ultraman as Inspiration for the Anime (EXCLUSIVE) appeared first on ComicBook.com.
