A press conference for Netflix's new anime was held in Tokyo on February 27th, where it was announced that "Danderaion," the debut work of manga artist Sorachi Hideaki, known for the popular manga "Gintama," will be adapted into an anime. Appearing at the press conference were Chikahiro Kobayashi, who plays Tetsuo Tanba, Megumi Han, who plays Misaki Kurogane, Kohei Onishi, head of the 3-story media production department at Shueisha and editor in charge of "Gintama," and Yu Saito, editor in chief of "Weekly Shonen Jump." They spoke about the appeal of "Danderaion" and the reaction it received at the time.
"Danderaion" was a one-shot manga that won an honorable mention in the 71st Tenkaichi Manga Award of Weekly Shonen Jump (Shueisha) in 2002 and was published in the magazine, marking Sorachi's debut as a manga artist. It was also included in the first volume of the "Gintama" manga. Onishi, the first editor in charge of "Gintama," commented on his first impression of "Danderaion," saying, "It was a submitted work, but the level of completion was so high that I wondered if it had been drawn by a veteran manga artist. The content, with its characters including elderly people, was not the kind of work that would be submitted to Weekly Shonen Jump. It was so sophisticated that I wondered if it had been submitted to Business Jump by mistake. It was an unusual work, but it was well-received within the editorial department as being interesting." Onishi visited Sorachi, who was living in Hokkaido at the time, and was surprised, saying, "I thought he was a veteran, but he was actually a young man in his 20s."
Saito said that when he was in charge of "Gintama," he spoke to Sorachi about "Danderaion," saying, "The survey results weren't good, but he received about 100 fan letters. It's rare for a new author to receive so many fan letters for a one-shot. I understand that they come for popular works, but he received fan letters even though it wasn't popular." Onishi also said, "It was the least popular (at the time)," and recalled, "I told (Sorachi) that it wasn't good, but the response was great. People on the Internet were saying it was interesting, and that it was an unusual work."
After listening to Onishi and Saito, Kobayashi commented, "Hearing your stories, I was reminded once again that it's a miracle that the anime adaptation has happened. It's incredible that it's been made into an anime 24 years after the announcement."
Pan, who is a big fan of Sorachi's work, said, "Ever since my debut, I've always wanted to be involved with 'Gintama.' I never had the opportunity to be involved, so I never thought I'd be able to appear in 'Danderaion,' the debut work of my beloved Sorachi-sensei. I'm a representative otaku whose dream has come true. I'm so happy!"
"Danderion" is a heartwarming, humorous story that will make you laugh and cry as the "angels" Tetsuo Tanba and Misaki Kurogane search for souls who cannot rest in peace and send them to the afterlife. The anime is directed by Daisuke Mataga and produced by NAZ. Original elements will be added, revealing details of Tanba and Kurogane's past that were not depicted in the original work. The seven-episode anime series will be available worldwide exclusively on Netflix from April.
