Ken Takakura

Ken Takakura grows up fascinated by aliens, UFO sightings and extraterrestrial conspiracy theories. He spends much of his school life socially isolated and is regularly treated as an easy target by other students. His interest in the occult partly develops from that loneliness: as he later explains, he hoped that aliens might become his friends because he had difficulty making human ones.

His life changes when Momo intervenes while classmates are harassing him. Mistaking her act of kindness for evidence that she shares his enthusiasm, Ken immediately tries to discuss aliens with her. Instead, he discovers that Momo believes firmly in ghosts but rejects extraterrestrials, while he believes in aliens but regards spirits as nonsense. Their argument escalates into a challenge in which each visits a location associated with the phenomenon they deny. The official anime synopsis identifies this disagreement and the resulting challenge as the starting point of their relationship.

Ken enters a supposedly haunted tunnel and encounters Turbo Granny, proving that ghosts are real in the most dangerous way possible. The yokai curses and possesses him, while Momo simultaneously encounters the Serpo aliens she had insisted did not exist. Their separate experiences collapse the distinction each had tried to maintain between supernatural and extraterrestrial phenomena.

Momo's newly awakened psychic ability allows her to suppress Turbo Granny's influence enough for Ken to regain control of himself. With help from Seiko Ayase, they subsequently confront Turbo Granny directly. Although her conscious spirit is separated from him, part of her supernatural power remains within Ken, allowing him to transform and use abilities derived from the yokai.

The aftermath gives Ken a reason to remain closely involved with Momo and Seiko rather than return to his former isolated life. Searching for what was lost during the curse repeatedly draws the group into encounters with other spirits and aliens, and Okarun gradually becomes one of the principal fighters in the expanding circle around the Ayase household.

Okarun is shy, earnest and intensely enthusiastic about subjects that interest him. In ordinary conversation he can be hesitant and overly formal, particularly around Momo, but discussions about aliens or occult phenomena immediately make him far more animated. The official anime profile describes him simply as an occult-maniac high school boy who believes in aliens while initially refusing to believe in ghosts.

His social awkwardness comes partly from years of having few friends. Because Momo is the first person to form a meaningful friendship with him, Okarun places enormous value on their relationship. He is sensitive to signs that she might be angry with him and can become jealous when another boy appears especially close to her, although embarrassment often prevents him from expressing those emotions clearly.

Despite his timidity, Okarun responds to danger with considerable courage. He repeatedly places himself between supernatural threats and other people even when he knows that his transformed state has strict physical limits. His instinct is particularly strong where Momo is concerned, but it gradually extends to Aira, Jiji and the other people who become part of their group.

He is also unusually sincere. Okarun has little talent for manipulating people and tends to say what he genuinely believes once he works up enough courage to speak. His straightforward nature sometimes clashes with Momo's temper, but it also enables the two to resolve disagreements that might otherwise linger.

Transformation changes the way he outwardly expresses himself. When using Turbo Granny's power, Okarun becomes more languid, gloomy and blunt, frequently voicing pessimistic thoughts that his ordinary personality would suppress. The altered attitude does not replace his underlying priorities; even in that form, protecting his friends remains central to his behavior.

Okarun is a teenage boy with a slim build, short black hair and rectangular glasses. In his ordinary state, his slightly hunched posture and conservative school uniform reinforce the withdrawn impression he gives classmates. His design initially emphasizes that he is physically unassuming rather than someone who appears naturally suited to fighting supernatural creatures.

He normally wears the Kami High School boys' uniform, consisting of a dark gakuran-style jacket and matching trousers. His glasses remain one of his most recognizable features outside combat. Casual clothing varies, but his wardrobe is generally practical and understated compared with several of the more fashion-conscious students around him.

When he draws on Turbo Granny's spiritual power, his appearance changes dramatically. His hair becomes light and swept backward, his body takes on a leaner, more elongated appearance, and markings form across his face. A dark, tooth-like covering develops around his lower face, creating an exaggerated mouth motif associated with the curse.

The transformation also alters his posture. Ordinary Okarun often carries himself cautiously, whereas the cursed form leans forward and moves with an almost predatory looseness suited to high-speed movement. His clothing can stretch or distort around the transformed body, emphasizing that the form is produced by supernatural power rather than an ordinary costume change.

His body gradually becomes more conditioned through repeated battles and deliberate training. Even when he is not transformed, the physical demands of running, fighting and surviving repeated paranormal encounters increasingly distinguish him from the physically weak boy introduced at the beginning of the series.

Okarun initially possesses no supernatural abilities of his own. His principal combat power comes from Turbo Granny's spiritual energy remaining within his body after her conscious spirit is separated from him. Activating that power transforms him and grants extraordinary speed, strength, reflexes and mobility. VIZ's official description of the second manga volume identifies him as a high school student cursed by Turbo Granny, while the anime similarly treats breaking and controlling that curse as one of his earliest objectives.

Speed is the defining feature of his transformed state. Turbo Granny is associated with movement at roughly 100 kilometers per hour, and Okarun can draw on that speed in sudden bursts. He uses it not only to run but also to amplify tackles, kicks and changes of direction, turning his entire body into a high-velocity weapon.

Using the power at its maximum is physically exhausting. Early in his development, Okarun can only go completely "all out" a limited number of times before his body can no longer maintain the transformation effectively. This forces him to think carefully about when to use his strongest bursts rather than relying continuously on maximum speed.

His transformation also substantially increases his physical strength. Momentum generated through his supernatural acceleration allows him to strike enemies much larger than himself, while enhanced durability lets him survive impacts that would seriously injure an ordinary student. His fighting style consequently centers on movement, acceleration and converting speed into force rather than standing still and exchanging blows.

Okarun is not initially an experienced fighter, and raw supernatural power does not automatically provide technique. Training, observation and repeated battles gradually improve his ability to control his center of gravity, predict an opponent's movements and coordinate attacks with allies. His willingness to analyze paranormal phenomena also becomes useful when brute strength alone cannot solve a problem.

By the events adapted in the anime's second season, his conditioning and control have improved substantially. The season follows Okarun, Momo and Jiji through the Cursed House and Evil Eye incidents before continuing into later supernatural encounters; all 12 Season 2 episodes aired in 2025, while a third season has been officially announced for 2027.

Later manga material develops his capabilities further. Okarun learns to apply spiral motion to spiritual power, including using the structure of telephone cables as a route for supernatural movement during the conflict with the Kur. After the recovery of his second golden ball fulfills the original agreement with Turbo Granny, she takes her supernatural power back from him. Even without the transformation, however, the extensive physical conditioning accumulated during his battles leaves Okarun dramatically stronger, faster and more athletic than he was before becoming cursed.

Okarun's fighting style does not use a large catalog of formally named attacks. The recurring terminology surrounding his abilities instead describes levels or applications of Turbo Granny's power.

All-Out is Okarun's maximum-output use of Turbo Granny's speed. Rather than maintaining his normal transformed movement, he pushes the curse to its limit for a short burst, greatly increasing the force of his charge or attack. Early in the series he can only sustain this maximum effort a small number of times before exhausting his transformed body.

Turbo Granny Transformation is not presented as an attack name but functions as Okarun's primary supernatural combat state. It grants him the speed, strength and reflexes associated with Turbo Granny while producing his altered hair, facial covering and depressed manner of speech.

Okarun frequently turns his full body into the striking surface of an attack, accelerating directly into enemies rather than relying exclusively on punches. The tactic makes effective use of his strongest asset: a relatively light body moving at supernatural speed can generate tremendous impact when directed correctly.

Spiral Power becomes a later application of Okarun's understanding of supernatural motion. By exploiting spiral structures and the movement of spiritual energy, he gains new ways to transfer himself and his power through environments such as communication lines.

Momo Ayase is Okarun's first genuine friend and the person most important to his development. Their relationship begins with an argument over ghosts and aliens, but surviving their first paranormal encounters forces them to rely on one another almost immediately. Okarun admires Momo's courage, worries intensely about her safety and becomes jealous when he thinks another boy may be closer to her. After meeting the anatomical model Taro and witnessing his determination to reach Hana, Okarun recognizes that his own feelings for Momo are romantic. Their inability to communicate those feelings directly becomes an important part of their everyday relationship alongside the supernatural battles they fight together. Much later, during the Danmanra incident, Okarun explicitly confesses that he loves Momo, though circumstances prevent the pair from immediately settling what that confession means for their relationship.

Turbo Granny begins as Okarun's enemy after attacking and cursing him in her tunnel. Once her conscious spirit is sealed into a maneki-neko doll while her power remains inside Okarun, their relationship becomes an uneasy partnership. Turbo Granny insults him frequently and is hardly a conventional mentor, but her abilities become the foundation of his fighting style. Okarun gradually learns to control the power rather than simply being overwhelmed by it. Their long-running arrangement eventually concludes after his missing golden balls are recovered, at which point Turbo Granny reclaims the supernatural power stored in him.

Seiko Ayase becomes Okarun's principal source of guidance regarding spirits and curses. He respects her knowledge even when her abrasive manner makes that guidance uncomfortable. Seiko teaches him practical rules governing supernatural phenomena and devises training methods that force him to understand his borrowed power rather than relying solely on speed.

Aira Shiratori initially enters Okarun's life through the supernatural incidents surrounding one of his missing golden balls. After Okarun helps save her during the Acrobatic Silky incident, Aira becomes openly attracted to him. Okarun does not return those feelings romantically and is often uncomfortable with her advances, particularly because they create misunderstandings with Momo. As battles continue, however, Aira becomes a trusted teammate whose supernatural abilities complement his own.

Jin Enjoji, usually called Jiji, initially makes Okarun insecure because he is Momo's childhood friend and former crush. Jiji's outgoing personality and natural familiarity with Momo contrast sharply with Okarun's reserved behavior, producing jealousy almost immediately. That rivalry does not prevent the two from becoming friends. During the Cursed House and Evil Eye incidents, Okarun repeatedly risks himself for Jiji and later takes an active role in managing the danger surrounding him.

Evil Eye becomes one of Okarun's most dangerous recurring opponents during the events involving Jiji. The yokai's obsession with fighting strong people eventually places Okarun in the position of confronting him directly. Rather than treating the problem solely as an exorcism, Okarun finds a way of responding to Evil Eye's desire for combat, creating an unusual arrangement that helps protect the people around them.

Kinta Sakata is one of Okarun's classmates and another student fascinated by aliens and extraordinary technology. Okarun initially assumes that Kinta's interest might make him easy to befriend, but Kinta's social behavior proves very different from his own. Despite frequent irritation within the group, Kinta's imagination and ability to manipulate nanoskin make him useful during later battles.

Mr. Mantis Shrimp first encounters Okarun as an opponent working with the Serpo aliens. After the circumstances surrounding his sick son become clear, hostility gives way to sympathy. Okarun and the others help him rather than continuing to treat him as an enemy, and he subsequently becomes one of their extraterrestrial allies.

Chiquitita is Mr. Mantis Shrimp's young son. Okarun's connection to him is indirect but significant because learning why his father accepted dangerous work changes the group's understanding of their former opponent. Helping Chiquitita reinforces Okarun's tendency to distinguish between someone's circumstances and the actions that first made them appear hostile.

Taro is an anatomical model that unexpectedly influences Okarun's understanding of his feelings for Momo. Watching Taro desperately pursue Hana, the anatomical model he loves, makes Okarun compare Taro's emotional certainty with his own reactions to Momo. The encounter helps him recognize feelings he had previously struggled to name.

[Vamola becomes part of Okarun's wider group during later manga events. A misunderstanding surrounding her search for a strong marriage partner briefly places Okarun in an uncomfortable romantic situation, particularly because of its effect on Momo. Once the circumstances surrounding Vamola are understood, she becomes an ally rather than a genuine romantic rival for Momo.](#spoiler)

[Rin Sawaki, Okarun's class representative, becomes involved with the supernatural after noticing his strange behavior. She initially interprets his transformed appearance through her own interest in vampires, but later incidents draw her directly into the group's occult activities.](#spoiler)

Okarun shares the story's central viewpoint with Momo. Their opposing beliefs in aliens and ghosts trigger the events of the first chapter: Momo visits a UFO location to prove aliens are fake, while Okarun enters a haunted tunnel to prove ghosts are fake. Both discover that the other was correct, forcing them into a world where extraterrestrial science and spiritual phenomena exist simultaneously. VIZ describes the series through precisely this collision between the alien-obsessed boy and ghost-believing girl.

His curse provides one of the earliest continuing objectives. Turbo Granny's attack leaves Okarun with a supernatural problem that cannot be solved by returning to an ordinary life. After the initial confrontation with her, the consequences of the possession scatter objects containing powerful spiritual energy, making their recovery an extended goal and drawing increasingly dangerous entities toward Okarun and Momo.

He also serves as one of the group's principal front-line fighters. Momo's psychic power specializes in grasping and manipulating spiritual or physical targets at range, while Okarun's abilities are optimized around speed and close-range impact. Their combat styles therefore complement each other, and many early battles require them to coordinate rather than fight independently.

The introduction of Aira and Jiji expands his role beyond the partnership with Momo. Okarun must adjust to having actual friends while simultaneously dealing with jealousy, romantic uncertainty and the fact that several members of their social circle now possess supernatural powers of their own. His response to Jiji is especially important: despite regarding him as a romantic rival, Okarun repeatedly chooses friendship and Jiji's safety over resentment.

Season 2 of the anime adapts the Cursed House and Evil Eye material and continues through the group's subsequent battles, giving Okarun substantially greater control over his combat abilities than he possessed during Season 1. The second season aired 12 episodes from July through September 2025. A third season is officially scheduled for 2027.

Later manga arcs expand the group into a much larger network of humans, yokai and extraterrestrials. Okarun becomes an increasingly experienced fighter during conflicts involving Vamola and the Kur invasion, and his relationship with Momo grows more explicit as both become less able to treat their attachment as ordinary friendship.

Okarun begins as a boy who expects rejection. His attempts to communicate with classmates have largely failed, and his obsession with aliens offers both an interest and an imagined escape from loneliness. Momo's simple decision to defend him therefore matters far more to him than she initially realizes.

The earliest supernatural encounters force him to act despite fear. Possession gives him power, but Okarun is not immediately skilled or confident enough to use it effectively. Repeatedly fighting beside Momo teaches him that courage does not require the absence of fear, while training under Seiko gives structure to abilities that originally seemed uncontrollable.

His social development runs alongside his combat growth. Okarun gradually forms friendships with Aira, Jiji and others despite initially assuming he has little in common with most people. He becomes more willing to argue, joke and express irritation around them—behaviors that would have been difficult for the withdrawn student introduced in the first chapter.

Momo remains the clearest measure of that change. Okarun first reacts to her attention with overwhelming gratitude because she is his only friend. As their bond deepens, he recognizes jealousy, attraction and eventually love. Rather than simply admiring her, he increasingly wants to become someone capable of standing beside her and protecting himself and others without depending entirely on her psychic power.

His physical development reflects the same process. Okarun begins with almost no fighting experience and relies heavily on Turbo Granny's overwhelming speed. Regular training gradually improves his stamina, movement and judgment, allowing him to use supernatural strength more intelligently.

After Turbo Granny eventually takes her powers back, Okarun discovers that the months of training and combat have permanently transformed his ordinary physical condition. He performs exceptionally in school fitness testing even without supernatural transformation, showing that his growth is no longer entirely borrowed from a yokai. His confession of love to Momo during the Danmanra storyline similarly marks the culmination of a long progression from a boy unable to make a friend to someone willing to state his feelings directly.

Ken Takakura's name is written 高倉 健 in Japanese. It is identical to the name of Ken Takakura, the celebrated Japanese actor strongly associated with stoic and masculine film roles. This coincidence is important within the story because Momo has an idealized preference for men resembling the actor and becomes flustered when she learns her awkward classmate shares his name.

Momo therefore avoids calling him Ken Takakura and instead gives him the nickname "Okarun." The nickname derives from occult, reflecting his obsessive interest in aliens and paranormal subjects. The official anime consistently identifies him as "Okarun " in character and cast material.

The nickname also creates a deliberate separation between Momo's romantic ideal and the actual boy she comes to know. "Ken Takakura" initially evokes a type of man she claims to prefer, while "Okarun" becomes associated with the classmate whose personality and shared experiences are entirely his own.

The series uses the coincidence repeatedly, especially when Okarun unknowingly speaks in a manner that reminds Momo of the actor. Okarun himself does not initially understand why saying his full name causes such an intense reaction.

• Okarun's real name is Ken Takakura, the same name as the famous Japanese actor admired by Momo. She gives him his nickname because using his real name embarrasses her.

• His nickname "Okarun" derives from his obsession with the occult.

• Okarun believes in extraterrestrials from the beginning of the series but initially refuses to believe that ghosts exist. Momo holds exactly the opposite position.

• Natsuki Hanae voices Okarun in Japanese, while A.J. Beckles voices him in English. Both are confirmed in official Season 2 cast material from GKIDS.

• Okarun's enthusiasm for aliens is tied to his childhood loneliness and his hope that extraterrestrials might provide the companionship he could not find among his classmates.

• Okarun placed first in the first official Dandadan character popularity poll with 38,699 votes, ahead of Momo.

• Both Okarun and Momo were nominated for Best Main Character at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Okarun was additionally nominated in the "Must Protect at All Costs" Character category.

• The Japanese home-video release of the anime's second volume, containing Episodes 4–6, features Okarun on its cover. He later shares the Season 2 sixth-volume cover with Evil Eye.

Okarun is a co-protagonist of the television anime adaptation of Dandadan, produced by Science SARU. Natsuki Hanae performs the role in Japanese. The anime's official character page describes Okarun as an occult fanatic who believes in aliens but not ghosts and becomes entangled with Turbo Granny while trying to prove his beliefs.

A.J. Beckles voices Okarun in the English-language adaptation. GKIDS' official Season 2 material credits Beckles alongside Abby Trott as Momo, Kari Wahlgren as Seiko, Lisa Reimold as Aira and Aleks Le as Jiji. The anime gives particular attention to the contrast between Okarun's hesitant everyday speech and the lower, more lethargic delivery associated with his transformed state.

The first three episodes were released internationally as the theatrical presentation Dan Da Dan: First Encounter before the television broadcast. Season 2 received a similar theatrical launch through Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, combining the Season 1 finale with the first three episodes of the second season. GKIDS released the latter theatrically in North America in June 2025 before Season 2 began global streaming in July.

The television adaptation completed its second 12-episode season in September 2025. Science SARU remains attached to the production, and the official anime website announced in December 2025 that Season 3 will air in 2027.

Okarun has also appeared throughout franchise merchandise, collaboration illustrations, figures, acrylic stands and apparel. His ordinary school design and transformed Turbo Granny state are commonly marketed separately, reflecting the visual distinction between his civilian and supernatural identities.

Okarun ranked first in the first official Dandadan character popularity poll, receiving 38,699 votes. Momo placed second with 25,763 votes, followed by Turbo Granny, Jiji and Aira. The result established Okarun as the manga's highest-ranked character in its first large official reader vote.

The anime substantially expanded the character's international visibility. At the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, Okarun and Momo were both nominated for Best Main Character, placing both leads among the year's recognized anime protagonists. Okarun also received a nomination for the "Must Protect at All Costs" Character award.

His relationship with Momo has become one of the franchise's most heavily promoted character dynamics. Official descriptions from both VIZ and GKIDS consistently introduce the series through the pair: an alien-believing occult geek and a ghost-believing girl whose competing beliefs lead them into paranormal battles and romance.

Natsuki Hanae's performance has also been central to the anime portrayal. The official production site promoted multiple interviews with Hanae discussing Okarun, including his identification with the character's tendency to become animated when talking about personal interests. The role requires a marked vocal shift between the nervous schoolboy and the transformed Okarun, mirroring the visual separation between his everyday and supernatural states.

The wider anime became one of the major breakout titles of its debut season, receiving multiple nominations at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards and winning Best Character Design for Naoyuki Onda. Okarun's prominent position in promotional art, home-video covers and international theatrical releases has kept him, alongside Momo, at the center of the franchise's public identity.