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The following contains spoilers for the Dandadan manga by Yukinobu Tatsu.
Dandadan is officially back with an amazing Season 2 premiere that sets the tone for what’s to come over the course of the next 12 weeks. In fact, it even hints at what’s to come much further down the line in the anime’s future. While anime-only fans will have no way of noticing it, Dandadan Season 2, Episode 1, «Like, This is the Legend of the Giant Snake”, just foreshadowed the series’ biggest and most important villain.
Dandadan Season 2 picks up with Okarun and Momo following Jiji to his family’s home in order to try to exorcise a curse on the residence. Unfortunately, it’s not the paranormal ghosts or haunting Yokai that serve as the group’s true enemy this time, but instead something far more monstrous: human beings. In Dandadan, it’s often other people who are even more terrifying than the actual ghosts, ghouls and alien beings. Okarun and Jiji’s initial encounter with the Cursed House Arc’s main antagonists ironically also provides a subtle hint at another quasi-human villain in the series who also ends up being the biggest threat in the manga’s latest arcs.
Dandadan Season 2, Episode 1 Hinted at the Manga’s Biggest Current Villain
Jiji’s Favorite Soccer Team Shares a Name With Dandadan’s Main Villain
In Dandadan Season 2, Episode 1, Okarun and Jiji find themselves in a troublesome predicament. When the real owners of Jiji’s family home, the Kito Family, show up unannounced, Okarun and Jiji are in big trouble. The pair had only just put a huge hole in the wall of the house, hoping to discover what was within the mysterious hidden room on the other side. In order to hide that hole, Jiji put up a poster of his favorite soccer team – a piece of camouflage which works at first.
However, the Kito Family hasn’t taken lightly to Jiji’s recent insistence on inviting exorcists and spirit mediums into their home. This makes them immediately skeptical of Okarun. Despite Jiji’s assurance that Okarun is just a friend he invited to the house to hang out, the Kito Family remains skeptical. One of the men of the Kito Family, Juichi, senses dishonesty in Jiji’s voice, and, as he reminds Jiji, “the one thing I hate most of all is liars.” In order to test Okarun, Juichi asks Jiji’s supposed “friend”, “what’s Jin’s favorite soccer team?”
As Juichi explains, “being a good buddy” of Jiji, Okarun should obviously know what his friend’s favorite soccer team is. After thinking for a moment, Okarun responds “Zaint-Germain.” Much to everyone’s surprise, Okarun is actually correct, quelling Juichi’s immediate concern. As Okarun reveals to Jiji, he only made this guess because the poster they used to cover the hole in the wall was an image of a player on the Zaint-Germain soccer team.
The player in Jiji’s soccer poster is likely supposed to be Neymar, who wore the #10 Jersey for Paris Saint-Germain and was a key player on the team in 2021, when Dandadan Chapter 35 was released.
While many readers didn’t think much of it when Jiji’s favorite soccer team was first revealed in Dandadan Chapter 35, this was a major means of foreshadowing the manga’s most important antagonist. The name “Saint-Germain” wasn’t one that readers would see again in Dandadan until nearly 100 chapters later. Now, Count Saint-Germain has emerged as Momo’s greatest enemy, who also holds the key to the deepest secrets of the manga: the titular “Dandadan” itself.
Count Saint Germain is the One Who First Introduces the Dandadan in the Manga
Count Saint-Germain is Introduced in Dandadan Chapter 120, “Reiko Kashima’s Maiden Heart”
The first time Count Saint-German is mentioned by name in Dandadan is in Chapter 120, when the Serpoians reveal his name and question what he’s planning. Even in this early instance, it’s abundantly clear that Saint-German is a powerful threat, at least enough to intimidate the Serpoians themselves. As is later revealed, Count Saint-Germain is a self-proclaimed “collector of the paranormal.” He seeks to collect all the powers of supernatural beings, including the enigmatic Dandadan, which the entire series is named after.
Saint-Germain’s personal intentions often seem ambiguous, though he has turned up as both a villain and hero at different times in Dandadan’s narrative. The first time he appeared, Count Saint-Germain actually slayed the then-villain of the arc, the Fairy Tale Card, making him appear to be something of a heroic figure. However, this has quickly changed in subsequent arcs. In the latest arcs of Dandadan, Saint-Germain has made it clear that he seeks to capture Momo Ayase in order to collect her power as his own.
In order to keep a close eye on Okarun, Momo, and the rest of the group, Saint-Germain took on the alias of “Sanjome”, and became Kami High’s “deputy head teacher”; a role which the entire staff embraced without question. It’s clear that Count Saint-Germain only seeks power, and he’ll side with or turn on anyone in the pursuit of that goal. Fans have theorized endlessly about Count Saint-Germain’s true identity, because even though he looks human, there’s definitely more than meets the eye.
Some have considered that he may even be a vampire due to the fact Turbo Granny referred to him as “Hyper Geezer.” This nickname suggests that Saint-Germain may be even older than Turbo Granny herself. Of course, Saint-Germaine’s appearance doesn’t suggest that he’s very old at all, further corroborating the idea that he could be some sort of immortal being, like a vampire. Vampires would be far from out of place in Dandadan’s world, but there’s another possible inspiration for Saint-Germain’s character that makes even more sense.
Count Saint-Germain’s Real-Life Inspiration Informs The Truth of His Role in Dandadan
The Count of St. Germain Was an Actual Person With an Eccentric and Mysterious Background
Aside from sharing a name with a professional soccer team, Saint-Germain has one more real-life connection which could actually inform quite a bit about what Tatsu envisions for the character. A real-life historical figure by the name of Count Saint-Germain once existed, though he’s actually just as mysterious as the manga’s take on the character. The real life Count of St. Germain was a man who apparently lived during the 18th century in Europe. He was an adventurer with interests in the occult and alchemy, who became infamous in European high society due to the nature of his works. Influential philosopher Voltaire referred to the Count as “Wonderman”, and a prince is on record calling Count Saint-Germain “the greatest philosopher who ever lived.”
Even more interesting than the verifiable truths about the Count of St. Germain are the mysterious secondary accounts and myths surrounding him. The Count apparently went by various different aliases during his life, once claimed to be 500 years old, and stories about the Count include tales such as his having advised Jesus, and that he knew the “secret of Universal Medicine.” Given this dramatic history of hearsay, it’s not surprising to find the Count Saint-Germain of Dandadan to be such a powerful villain, and a mysterious figure in his own right. From taking up the alternative alias of “Sanjome” to apparently being ancient, Count Saint-Germain is essentially a 1-to-1 adaptation of the real-life historical figure in Yukinobu Tatsu’s manga.
In hindsight, it’s impossible to know how far in advance Yokinobu Tatsu planned the arrival of Count Saint-Germain for. It’s entirely possible Jiji’s love of the Paris Saint-Germain soccer team could’ve been something that Tatsu later based Count Saint-Germain’s character on. However, considering Germain is the one who first reveals the titular Dandadan in the manga, it’s far more likely that Tatsu had the concept of the Dandadan and Saint-Germain in mind right from the outset of the series.
Given how far in advance Tatsu seemed to have been planning for Saint-Germain’s character, fans should expect the series to leave similar breadcrumbs leading to Dandadan’s deepest mysteries as the story progresses. Even for manga readers who have read all 200 chapters of the series thus far, the truth about the titular Dandadan is still a huge mystery, as is its most persistent pursuer, Count Saint-Germain.
Dandadan is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu.
