The Incredible Chemistry Between Shion Wakayama and Natsuki Hanae

The anime adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan, produced by Science SARU (Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) is by far 2024’s most highly anticipated, and now, most celebrated anime title. Since its debut in the Fall 2024 anime season, the anime has taken the world by storm, making a powerful first impression and continuing that momentum with some truly amazing approaches to its visual style, music, and plot developments.

That being said; however, there is another reason why Dandadan has been so immensely successful not only as a manga, but as an anime, and that lies with the voice actors breathing life into the protagonist pair of Momo Ayase and Ken “Okarun” Takakura. Who are Shion Wakayama and Natsuki Hanae, and what is it about their chemistry that elevates the experience of the Dandadan anime?

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Behind the Scenes

About the Voice Actors

As mentioned before, Momo Ayase and Okarun are voiced by Shion Wakayama and Natsuki Hanae. Veteran anime fans will be very familiar with Hanae, who has voiced countless protagonists over the course of his voice acting career, including Tokyo Ghoul MC Ken Kaneki, who is arguably very similar to Ken Takakura; as well as Demon Slayer protagonist Tanjiro Kamado. Hanae won the Best Rookie award at the 9th Seiyū Awards in 2015.

While he has rapidly become the go-to voice for the quintessential “good guy” main character in anime, Hanae (born June 26, 1991) has also tried his hand at voicing villains or non-heroic characters, very recently being the voice of Sternritter V – The Visionary, Gremmy Thoumeaux from BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War and the Shark Fiend known as Beam in Chainsaw Man. Given Okarun’s nerdy yet strangely headstrong personality, it is very easy to imagine that casting Hanae was a no-brainer.

However, Shion Wakayama (born February 10, 1998), on the other hand, is a relatively new name in the industry, with her first-ever voice acting role in an anime coming in the 2019 title Gundam Build Divers Re:Rise, where she played Hinata Mukai. Since then, Wakayama has played a number of significant anime roles, including her first major role as Aoi Aioi in the 2019 CloverWorks film Her Blue Sky; Shizuka Nanahoshi in the 2021 breakout isekai, Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation; Takina Inoue in 2022’s Lycoris Recoil; Yukari in Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead and Lemon Yakishio in the Spring 2024 slice of life comedy Too Many Losing Heroines.

In the relatively small batch of roles that Wakayama has played, she has shown incredible confidence and range in terms of the kinds of personalities she has played, earning herself the Best New Actor Award at the 17th Seiyū Awards in 2023. Her “it-factor” is especially evident in her portrayal of Dandadan protagonist Momo Ayase.

Why Do They Work So Well Together?

A Match For the Ages

Together, Wakayama and Hanae have been the backbone of the core relationship in the series, and riff off one another in a way that elevates the already brilliantly written connection between the two characters. They first met on set, which makes their budding friendship all the more incredible, as if the roles were in fact meant to connect them to each other. Interestingly, both voice actors have been recognized as “Best Newcomer/Rookie” at the Seiyū Awards eight years apart from each other.

Away from the booth, it is clear that there’s a lot of mutual respect for each other’s craft and a friendship that may transcend their professional relationship. MBS shares a podcast titled “Dandadan Washitsu” on its official YouTube channel (English speakers can get a translation from one “k o n p e i” on YouTube) where the voice actors interact, banter, and talk about their respective roles among each other in an informal setting, and that’s where we can see the camaraderie between the voice actors involved in the series.

In one such podcast, Seiko voice actor Nana Mizuki described Shion Wakayama as “Momo herself”, expressing the idea that Wakayama is a perfect fit for the character, and this may be part of the reason for her amazing chemistry with Hanae, who together with Aira’s voice actor, Ayane Sakura, have tried to make working together less intimidating for her. According to Mizuki, Hanae and Wakayama get along very well outside of work, often sharing meals together, and this dynamic lends itself to the in-universe relationship between Momo and Okarun.

As the main character of the work, playing Momo must be incredibly daunting, but Hanae and the other more experienced voice actors have shown incredible professionalism by playing their supporting roles both in and outside the studio. When watching the very first Dandadan Washitsu, the friendship between Wakayama and Hanae is so obvious that it comes pouring through in the form of constant jokes shared between them. Perhaps the primary reason this combination works so well is how connected they are beyond the series, and the amount of time they spend together both at and outside of work.

Dandadan is available to watch on Netflix and Crunchyroll.

Source: Dandadan Washitsu Podcast

Based on Yukinobu Tatsu’s popular manga that debuted in 2021 on Shonen Jump+, Dandadan blends action, comedy, romance, and supernatural thrills to create a unique and satisfying adventure. Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura believe in the extraordinary, although the former believes in ghosts and the latter believes in aliens. Determined to confirm their side’s existence, they set out to find their proof.