#I'll make a separate post about Okarun

[mj-ackerman]

I was able to catch up with the latest chapter of Dandadan, and I really enjoyed reading the manga. There are so many things I love about it but the thing that I love the most is that there are no boring chapters /arcs (at least for me) probably because they start the new arc right away after just finishing the other, like the story is not being dragged longer by having a chapter where nothing really happens, and it feels like the genre of the series changes every arc which is really interesting, it's crazy it's like you're reading a different manga with the same characters everytime . Also I love that the arcs always ends with them eating dinner together after going through a life threatening battles.

As for the characters, I really love Momo and Okarun so much and of course the whole gang but I'm gonna be biased, Momo is my favorite from all of them. I just love female characters who looks like a mean girl but actually is the nicest person you'll ever know. I actually thought she was mean until she defended Okarun, who she doesn't even know at that time, from his classmates and it made me like her even more when she apologized to him when she realized she said too much and was being mean to him. She's also a girls girl, like girlie was literally attacked by Aira, she also spread a nasty rumor about her and even claimed that she's a demon yet she still rescued her and helped her. Even when she got jealous of her, she was mainly mad at Okarun and not her. It was also the same with Vamola's case, she was jealous and upset that she kissed him but that jealousy didn't stop her from taking care and looking after her, she was mainly mad at Okarun that time too lol. I just love her so much I can't put it to words.

I love Aira and Jiji too, I hate how the fandom exaggerated the hate and villainized them (over a ship too). When I first saw the hate about them, I really thought they're the most vile evil character only to find out that they're actually not that bad, and after reading the manga I can say that they do not deserve to be hated. Yeah, Aira was mean and a two faced, but she's slowly changing and started being true to herself, she was just a delusional teenager who wants the attention to herself. I love her and Momo's dynamic so much, they're like friends who can't stand each other but still good friends who's there for each other when they needed to, while Jiji is just a cringe flirty guy who does random poses and looks like he's happy to be there, he's a genuinely good person to boot, I can't believe there people who seriously hate them, they're just silly teenagers.

There's so much more I want to say but it'll be spoiler lol.

[nocandnc]

I saw some discussion floating around on what Momo and Okarun might name their child if they had one, which got me thinking about it as well. This inevitably led me down a deep rabbit hole of Japanese wordplay and research that really needed its own post, so here goes...

Naming hypothetical Dandadan kids!!

Fandadan kids...?

I'll be covering Momo x Okarun, Aira x Jiji and Kinta x Vamola below the cut for those who're interested - it's very long and very silly.

Momo x Okarun

If it were up to me, I'd name their child Tou. Why?

Well. You. See! Okarun's real name is Ken, written as 健 - meaning 'health' or 'strength'. However, 'ken' is also how you pronounce the word for 'sword' - written as 剣. This refers broadly to swords of many varieties. A more specific word would be 'katana', written as 刀, which refers to Japanese-style blades in particular. Another way of pronouncing 刀 is 'tou'.

Momo's name means 'peach' and is written as 桃. An alternate way of pronouncing 桃 is also 'tou'. Furthermore, the word 'momo' is also one way to read 百, the kanji for the number 100... as in the number of kilometers an hour a certain old lady can run.

So Tou feels like a wonderful name to me, as it loops all in and around Momo and Ken's names and even Turbo Granny to boot. It's a masculine name, but I feel like they'd still go with Tou even for a girl. A very tough girl!!

Aira x Jiji

Whether these two end up becoming a proper pairing in-series remains to be seen, but I've become totally hooked on them recently ^^;; and they're both so good with kids, I can imagine them having two or three... but I think the first one should be Buyuu.

Aira's name is written as 愛羅, which is a nod to the phrase 愛羅武勇 - read as 'I love you', or アイラブユー (ai ra bu yuu) - said as if one were speaking in English, rather than the Japanese line 'aishiteru' for example. A very fun line that showcases Aira's passionate side!

'Buyuu' would make for a very nice boy name to match his mother, written of course as 武勇 to follow Aira's 愛羅. Jiji is a fun and sentimental guy, so I think he'd be fully on board with this kind of wordplay!

武勇 can also be read on its own to mean 'bravery', 'military prowess' or 'valour'. Jiji's real name is Jin, written as 仁 and means 'benevolence', 'compassion', 'charity' etc. - while not directly related, 'jin' and 'buyuu' both point towards virtuous qualities that often go hand-in-hand. Buyuu refers to warrior-like traits especially, which also serves as a nod to Jiji's power both with and without the Evil Eye.

I can certainly think up good names for more kids too... but let's move on for now >///<

Kinta x Vamola

This ship might be a bit polarizing, but I honestly think they'd be so sweet together once they have time to grow! Another reading for Vamola is Bamora, written either way as バモラ - neither reading is right or wrong from a technical standpoint, but I prefer Vamola as it sounds more alien to my ears.

It also matches with Vega, which is the name I'd choose for her and Kinta's daughter!

Vega is the brightest star in the Lyra constellation, and is known in Japan as 織姫 or 'Orihime' - as in Orihime from the popular folktale of Tanabata. The story is about two lovers (Orihime and Hikoboshi) who are separated by the Milky Way and can only meet on the 7th day or the 7th month. A lonely maiden from the stars... almost like a certain alien girl!

But the connections don't stop there. Sakata Kinta (坂田金太) also happens to be a folktale reference! 'Kintarou' (金太郎) is the name of a very famous figure in Japanese myth, particularly known for slaying the fearsome oni overlord Shuten-douji. He also may or may not have served Minamoto no Yoshitsune under the name of Sakata Kintoki (坂田 金時). Folktale father, folktale daughter.

Kinta is such a bombastic guy, Vega just might be on the normal side of his naming preferences... but I think Vamola would find it all very sweet and moving. That said, Vega herself might choose to go by Orihime amongst her peers to avoid the questions and weird looks >.>

(And of course, if they had a son it'd be Altair instead!)

So... yeah! Those are my thoughts and ideas on the matter ^^;;;

I love researching Japanese terminology etc. so this was really just an excuse to ramble about all that... Hope some folks enjoy!