Dandadan Vol. 14

Dandadan has officially released the English translation of its fourteenth volume, and with the thirteenth volume easily highlighting my favourite chapters of the series so far, I couldn’t wait to dive right into what the weird world of Dandadan had in store for me next. I went into this volume, admittedly, expecting to be a little underwhelmed – the bar set by Vol. 13 was far too high, and while Vol. 14 didn’t quite reach its heights, it more than holds its own in the wider shonen landscape.

There’s a lot to talk about with the drop of this new volume, and I’m here to go over everything that the fourteenth volume of Dandadan has to offer. So, let’s not waste any more time! A warning – this is a spoiler review! Be sure to read Dandadan Vol. 14 before reading on (chapters 112-120)! It’s time to talk about all things Dandadan Vol. 14!

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Dandadan Vol. 14 Review

Image by VIZ Media

Dandadan Vol. 14 picks up right where the thirteenth volume left off, in the midst of the catastrophic war between the Kur and our gang of misfit protagonists, now joined by Jiji in his Evil Eye form. Of all the characters to be showcased in this war, which takes up a good chunk of Dandadan Vol. 14, I couldn’t believe how much of the spotlight was taken up by Kinta Sakata, a character that has always had a humorous presence in the manga, and has gotten involved in the action before, but never commanded my support before quite like he does here. I was genuinely rooting for Kinta in Dandadan Vol. 14, and luckily, he manages to deliver in the underdog role opened for him in this volume.

With that being said, Kinta also delivers readers some of the most insane action sequences we’ve ever seen in Dandadan, and for a series as crazy as this, that’s quite the achievement. While I’m sure some fans will roll their eyes at how bonkers it is for a giant mech to use the Tokyo Tower as a ‘sacred sword’ against an alien controlling a huge kaiju suit, I really love how limitless Yukinobu Tatsu is in his approach to his writing. Logic be damned when it comes to Dandadan, and that’s just how the fans like it. Dandadan Vol. 14 may technically be a shonen, but it proves that power-scaling is but a commonality for the genre, not a necessity.

I also want to compliment Tatsu on his artwork in Dandadan Vol. 14 – I feel like we’re always blessed with some incredible new panels everytime he puts pen to paper, but there were some truly stunning panels in this volume, particularly anything involving Reiko Kashima, and more specifically, the shots of the alien spaceships scattered throughout Chapter 117 of the volume. If I had one complaint, it would be that it was a little difficult to figure out exactly where we were at times, especially when something absolutely insane would happen, and we’d be in a city, after seemingly being in a wasteland mere moments beforehand. Issues like that really get resolved when it comes to anime adaptations, so I’m looking forward to seeing Dandadan Vol. 14 hit the screen, even though I’m sure that reality is many years away.

Image by VIZ Media

The art in Dandadan Vol. 14 also showcased Tatsu’s versality as an artist, particularly in his ability to transition between serious, high-stakes artwork, with detailed lines and dark shading, and more comedic scenes, involving plainer imagery and far less detail. The artwork in Dandadan Vol. 14, and its versatility, speaks to how versatile the story itself is, and how easily it can swing between making you laugh and making you cry. Whether it’s the art in Tatsu’s manga, or the animation by Science SARU in the anime, Dandadan is a visual delight, bursting with eccentricity, and Dandadan Vol. 14 really highlighted that.

On the topic of eccentric characters, Dandadan Vol. 14 also saw the return of Reiko Kashima, a character that I certainly didn’t expect to see back this early, nor in this context. Her assisting our protagonists was definitely unexpected, but ultimately makes sense – her disagreement with the aliens using overhead bombing tactics speaks to her dedication to haunting one individual at a time. I was especially compelled by this scene considering it was one of the rare instances where we see the world of ghosts and the world of aliens directly cross over. Momo and Okarun have had plenty of experience with both of these worlds, but they rarely interact with each other, so Dandadan Vol. 14 presented another milestone in that sense.

With Kashima’s help, the Kur is ultimately stopped, and our cast gets to return home and enjoy some downtime, as is customary in Dandadan’s structure at this point. The good thing is that this cast of characters is so endearing, each member of our main crew so enjoyable, that these slower moments don’t actually feel that way at all. There are some other shonen series where I would dread when characters would return to their home or base, mainly because when they weren’t on the battlefield, there was little to enjoy about them. Dandadan Vol. 14 highlights what fans have known all along about these characters – they’re simply enjoyable to watch in any context.

Image by VIZ Media

With that being said, it’s not all fine and dandy for Dandadan Vol. 14 – in fact, I had a real issue with how cleanly everything resolved itself in this volume. I’m absolutely satisfied with the fact that none of our main characters died, but ultimately, Dandadan Vol. 13 felt like one of the most intense, and importantly, consequential volumes of the series. Seeing practically everyone come out of unscathed, down to the Serpo warrior that died on the battlefield, and even the reveal that the Sumerians from Vamola’s backstory are all alive – it all just feels a little too resolved. I’m definite the Kur will be back, and maybe next time they’ll leave more of an impact, but it was disappointing to see so much of the stakes that Vol. 13 set up come to mean nothing in Dandadan Vol. 14.

Still, the ending to Dandadan Vol. 14 did have some real strengths, particularly the resolution of Kashima’s haunting of Momo, which hopefully will lead to some interesting developments in Momo and Okarun’s relationship, as well as the tease of Count Saint-Germain, a mysterious character who seems to be feared by everyone aware of him. It’s going to be interesting to see a true antagonist step onto the scene in Dandadan, and I cannot wait to learn more about him. The one storyline I’m still a little confused about is The Evil Eye, considering he just kind of, disappears by the end of Dandadan Vol. 14. Well, not to worry, I’m sure we’ll hear from him again in the fifteenth volume!

And luckily, we won’t be waiting too long for that day to come! Dandadan Vol. 15 is scheduled to release on October 7, 2025, so mark your calendars! Dandadan Vol. 14 may not have reached the heights set by its predecessor, but it was still an amazing new entry to the most unapologetically quirky shonen series on the scene – but what did you think? Did you enjoy Dandadan Vol. 14? Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comment section, and many thanks for reading!

See also: Takopi’s Original Sin Review

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