Since its premiere in October 2024, Dandadan has become a phenomenon among anime fans of all ages. Let’s get to know the story of Okarun (a nickname Momo gave him) and what his powers are.
The story of Okarun and his parents in Dandadan
The story written by Yukinobu Tatsu follows the adventures of Momo Ayase, a girl who believes in ghosts, and Okarun, a boy who believes in aliens, who end up forming a memorable friendship through a lot of strange and exciting events.
The battle sequences, paranormal themes, the touch of humor, and the unique personalities of the protagonists are the elements that led this work to position itself in the taste and hearts of many people.
Because this series has several supernatural elements like: ghosts, possessions, aliens, magic, and more, there are many theories surrounding some of the threats that Momo, Okarun, and company manage to face, but strangely, one of the questions that fans have raised the most revolves around Okarun’s origin and family.
Such has been the mysticism about his life before Momo, that the internet has taken it upon itself to formulate some theories about his origin. All these theories arose from the fans’ need to understand the character more, because even though Ken Takakura is one of the protagonists, we know little about his past and the way it influenced him to be the Okarun that can be seen on screen. The little information we have about him is that he had always been a rather shy and withdrawn boy, which is why he was always alone.
Who were his parents?
His parents seem to be just an entity, as their identity is unknown and it seems they are always away from home, letting the boy grow like a plant.
Because there are only brief details known about Okarun’s past, fans have taken this information gap to create their theories.
One of the theories that gained strength (it might even be the craziest one) is the one that suggests Okarun is just a product of Momo’s imagination. Those who support this idea suggest that Momo created a kind of “tulpa”, an entity created from concentration and visualization; this could even explain why he has the name of Momo’s favorite actor.
Because it seems that Ken has no life outside of his adventures with Ayase, his existence has been questioned, exposing that maybe, just maybe, his existence is possible through his friend’s mind.
However, many fans question this, since in both the anime and the manga, Ken has moments of introspection alone, as well as brief memories, and others can socialize with him without Momo’s presence.
A more plausible, though somewhat sad, theory suggests that the absence of Okarun’s parents is because they work as film producers. having a job like this, they would be forced to travel constantly and for long periods of work; that would also explain why he has the name of a renowned actor. Due to the constant absence of his parents, Ken might not have developed social skills, which had prevented him from having friends.
Fans who support this theory are more skeptical about the possibility of Okarun’s origin being tragic or magical.
A final theory suggests that Okarun’s parents are actually supernatural beings who, not being used to living among humans, decide to hide the truth under a facade of people with long and laborious workdays.
It is believed that this will be key for future story arcs, as it seems the author has been reserving Ken’s origin to develop something epic. Although there are few who support this theory, the truth is that it doesn’t hurt to include it, since with nothing confirmed, the possibilities are still infinite.
Regardless of the eccentricity or commonality behind Ken Takakura’s origin, the truth is that he has won the affection of the public and is expected to experience one of the most amazing developments in anime.
Who was the actor for Ken Takakura in Dandadan?
It is worth mentioning that it is important to note and emphasize that for the Spanish dub, there are two versions (one for Netflix and one for Crunchyroll). The most recent one and the simulcast (simultaneous broadcast) one is from Crunchyroll.
- Crunchyroll: the voice of Ken “Okarun” Takakura is performed by Iván Bastidas. He is also the one who has voiced great characters like Tanjiro and Obito Uchiha as a child.
In English, we have AJ Beckles.
Okarun’s Powers
One of the revelations that fans loved the most were the powers of Ken Takakura (Okarun), as they were explained to us little by little during the anime:
First, we have that Okarun has the base powers after being cursed in the tunnel, which is the first time he gets his powers and begins to need the help of Momo Ayase and her grandmother to control them correctly, which are:
- Transformation “Turbo Granny Mode”: His appearance changes drastically; his hair turns white and spiky, and he gets a ghostly mask with sharp teeth.
- Superhuman Speed: His main ability. He is able to move at incredible speeds (videos mention he can exceed 100 km/h).
- Enhanced Strength and Agility: Along with speed, his physical strength and reflexes increase dramatically.
- Powerful Bite: The mask that forms on his face is not just decoration; it gives him immense biting force, capable of cutting through almost anything.
- Travel through Electromagnetic Waves: An ability mentioned in analyses of the series. It allows him to use power cables or magnetic fields to “teleport” or move through the city via power lines.
- Astral Projection: An initial ability that, as mentioned, he doesn’t fully control, allowing him to separate his spirit from his body.
Then we have that Okarun loses his powers, becoming a normal person, this happens when the Turbo Granny regains her powers and then Okarun is left without them, this as a result of Okarun agreeing to return them to the Turbo Granny after a battle they fought and where they recover her golden balls.
Then we get to the point of his new powers, where after arduous training and thanks to the residue of the Turbo Granny’s power in his body, Okarun manages to awaken his own powers, thus managing to increase them, evolving them to such a degree that he no longer depends on the Turbo Granny’s powers.
This is how Okarun can now better support his friends against the powerful enemies that appear throughout the anime.
Okarun’s Love Interests
Here we get serious, Okarun likes Momo Ayase, but apparently Aira and the alien Vamola (Bamora) also feel affection, but towards Okarun, which leads to scenes of jealousy from the 3 girls and there are even kisses.
But Okarun only has eyes for one “Momo Ayase”, he falls in love with her and she with him throughout the first season, only that sometime later due to circumstances of fights and events in the anime, the other girls are added who coincidentally come to feel things for Okarun, which turns everything into chaos but with fun scenes since they all want to be by his side and look for all possible ways to achieve it.
