25 Best Dandadan Quotes — Okarun & Momo on Aliens, Yokai & Teenage Love
Yukinobu Tatsu's Dandadan exploded onto the scene by refusing to pick a genre. Is it a horror manga? An action manga? A romance? A comedy? It is all of them at once — a pair of teenagers, one who believes only in ghosts (Momo Ayase) and one who believes only in aliens (Ken Takakura, nicknamed "Okarun"), dare each other to investigate, and both turn out to be right. From that premise springs one of the wildest, funniest, most heartfelt manga of the decade.
What makes Dandadan quotable is its emotional honesty underneath the chaos. Momo's protective fury, Okarun's terrified persistence, and the supporting cast's kindness shine through battles against aliens, yokai, and their own teenage feelings. Below are 25 of the series' best quotes, grouped by character.
Momo Ayase — The Girl Who Decks Yokai
"If you make my friend cry one more time, I will punch you so hard your curse ends."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 3)
Momo's protective streak is what drives the manga. She's a delinquent-coded girl with a psychic grandmother, and her first instinct toward any supernatural threat is to square up.
"Ghosts exist. I saw them. I don't care what anyone says."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 1)
"Okarun is weird, loud, and full of alien theories. But he's my friend. Say one bad word about him and I will end you."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 7)
"I don't run away. Especially not when someone I love is in danger."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 15)
"Grandma taught me that courage is not the absence of fear — it is kicking fear in the face."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 22)
"I like Okarun. Not as a boyfriend. Not as not a boyfriend. I just like him as Okarun."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 40)
Ken Takakura (Okarun) — The Alien Otaku
"I don't know why I'm running toward the danger. I just know I can't let her fight it alone."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 4)
Okarun starts as a stuttering loner obsessed with UFOs. What transforms him is Momo — not magic, not alien tech. His bravery is born from caring about someone more than he cares about his own fear.
"Aliens exist. Ghosts exist too. The world is bigger than the textbook said."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 2)
"Turbo Granny is inside me. I can feel her laughing. But I can also use her speed — and I will."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 6)
"I've never protected anyone before. But if it is Momo — I will figure out how."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 12)
"My name is Ken Takakura. Not Okarun. Not really. But if Momo calls me Okarun — then Okarun is fine."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 18)
"I read a lot about aliens. None of the books prepared me for how scary it is when it's happening."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 5)
Turbo Granny — The Cursed Speed Yokai
"I used to be fast enough to outrun a truck. Now I outrun centuries."
— Turbo Granny, Dandadan (Chapter 9)
"Humans cling to their little lives. That is why you are amusing."
— Turbo Granny, Dandadan (Chapter 11)
Turbo Granny goes from villain to unwilling ally — one of the best character arcs in the series. Her existence older than modern Japan gives her both menace and a kind of melancholy wisdom.
"A yokai born from resentment cannot be killed by force. Only by someone willing to listen."
— Turbo Granny, Dandadan (Chapter 25)
Seiko Ayase — The Grandmother Medium
"If you dance with spirits, learn their songs. They are older than you and quicker to take offense."
— Seiko Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 8)
"Love is stronger than any curse. Always has been, always will be."
— Seiko Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 19)
Aira, Jiji & The Gang — Found Team
"I'm a magical girl — or at least, I want to be. What's wrong with that?"
— Aira Shiratori, Dandadan (Chapter 30)
"I was possessed. Now I'm fine. Ghosts come and go — friends stay."
— Jiji, Dandadan (Chapter 50)
"We fight aliens on weekdays and have tests on weekends. What is even a normal life anymore?"
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 38)
One of Dandadan's charms is that the paranormal never quite displaces ordinary teenage anxieties — boy-girl tension, school gossip, homework. Both terrify the characters equally, and that is the joke.
"The scariest thing today is not the Serpoian. It is asking her if she wants to eat lunch together."
— Okarun, Dandadan (Chapter 27)
"Aliens want my body parts. Yokai want my soul. Meanwhile I just want to pass Japanese history."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 35)
"We are the weirdest team in history. And I would not trade them for anyone."
— Momo Ayase, Dandadan (Chapter 55)
Frequently Asked Questions about Dandadan Quotes
Why is Okarun called Okarun if his real name is Ken Takakura?
Momo gives him the nickname, and he accepts it. Chapter 18: "My name is Ken Takakura. Not Okarun. Not really. But if Momo calls me Okarun — then Okarun is fine." It is the first sign that whatever Momo says becomes load-bearing for him.
What is Momo's view on courage?
She inherits it from her psychic grandmother Seiko Ayase. Chapter 22: "Grandma taught me that courage is not the absence of fear — it is kicking fear in the face." Her protective fury — "If you make my friend cry one more time, I will punch you so hard your curse ends" (Chapter 3) — is what drives the manga's action.
What is Turbo Granny?
A speed yokai who possesses Okarun and becomes an unwilling ally. Chapter 9: "I used to be fast enough to outrun a truck. Now I outrun centuries." Her Chapter 25 line — "A yokai born from resentment cannot be killed by force. Only by someone willing to listen" — sets up the manga's recurring rule that listening defeats curses.
Is Dandadan a romance manga?
It refuses to pick a genre. Yukinobu Tatsu blends horror, action, romance, and comedy. Okarun captures it in Chapter 27: "The scariest thing today is not the Serpoian. It is asking her if she wants to eat lunch together." Momo's Chapter 40 line — "I like Okarun. Not as a boyfriend. Not as not a boyfriend. I just like him as Okarun" — is the manga's romance thesis.
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