Dandadan: A Brief Explanation of the Takakura Ken Joke [Dandadan episode 1 spoilers]

There's a joke based around the name of the male MC of Dandadan being "Takakura Ken" that probably lands a lot harder for Japanese audiences familiar with the super-famous actor than Western audiences who likely don't know who he is. So this is a brief explanation of who Takakura Ken is, and why the last few minutes of episode 1 of Dandadan are an elaborate joke around that actor's name.

Takakura Ken (Explosion)

Dandadan quickly establishes in the opening moments of the anime that Momo is a huge Takakura Ken fan, to the point where she started dating an obviously not particularly great guy simply because his looks reminded her of her beloved Ken-san (who she takes a roundhouse kick at in the opening moments of the anime).

Takakura Ken is (1931-2014) is an immensely famous Japanese actor, He won the Japanese Academy Award for Best Actor four times, the most in Japanese Cinema history. He starred in over 200 films. He was also a hit singer that appeared frequently in Japan's prestigious New Years Kohaku Utagassen singing show, and was a frequent presence in Japanese commercials from the 60s onward.

He was extremely famous for his stoic persona, where he would almost invariable play a strong-silent type of guy, who is always a gentleman, doesn't show overt interest in women, but is focused on his craft and has difficulty expressing his emotions.

Ken-san's signature line actually comes from a commercial he did that ran for decades starting in the 1980s, where in selling life insurance he says "Bukiyou desukara" (I'm an awkward fellow). The unspoken (and obvious to Japanese audiences) idea being ken-san struggles to show how much he cares about his loved ones, but he'll follow through with his actions and make sure they have the life insurance protection they need.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0emcxNiEbp8&t=15s

Ken-san is as famous and iconic to Japanese people as like say, Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, or Robert De Niro. The name instantly conjures up a certain rough, tough, stoic image of a character with a certain distinctive type of charm.

So the last few minutes of episode 1 actually demonstrate how although the male MC doesn't LOOK like Takakura Ken, he's actually WAY more like what Momo likes about Takakura Ken the actor than her ex-BF.

  1. he bravely goes off to fight Turbo Granny alone because he feels responsible for himself and doesn't want to endanger Momo.
  2. He has trouble expressing his emotions, being the quiet type.
  3. He uses Takakura Ken's tagline "Bukyou Desukara" (I'm an awkward fellow)
  4. He is a gentleman and shows discomfort (rather than interest) at Momo being in a state of undress, and asks her to put on some clothes since he can't talk to her in that state.

As Momo unconsciously realizes how much the MC is like her beloved Ken-san her heart picks up audibly, and she tries to laugh and play it off, asking him what his name is to distract herself from her own realization.

Then the joke is that improbably, the name of the MC turns out to be... Takakura Ken (explosion).