Momo Ayase

Momo is raised primarily by Seiko, a powerful spirit medium who works under the professional name Santa Dodoria. Growing up around Seiko exposes her to spiritual beliefs from an early age, including rituals that other children regard as strange. Momo initially follows her grandmother's instructions without hesitation, but being mocked for those practices at school leaves her embarrassed and creates tension between them.

One childhood ritual has a particularly strong effect on her. Seiko teaches Momo to perform a hand gesture and chant designed to protect her from harmful spirits. Other children ridicule her for doing it, and Momo eventually rejects the practice and lashes out at Seiko. She later realizes that her grandmother had been sincerely trying to protect her, leaving her with lingering regret over how she treated her.

By high school, Momo firmly believes that ghosts exist but refuses to accept stories about extraterrestrials. She also develops a strong preference for men who resemble the late actor Ken Takakura, whose restrained, hard-boiled screen persona represents her romantic ideal. That preference contributes to her breakup with a boyfriend whose behavior falls far short of what she wants from a partner.

Shortly afterward, she notices Okarun being harassed by classmates and intervenes. Okarun interprets her kindness as an opportunity to discuss UFOs, only for the two to discover that their paranormal beliefs are completely opposed. VIZ's official description of the series identifies their attempt to prove each other wrong as the catalyst for the story: Momo visits a location associated with UFO activity while Okarun goes to a haunted tunnel. (viz.com)

At the abandoned hospital she chooses for the challenge, Momo encounters the Serpoians and is abducted. The aliens' attempt to use their psychic technology on her instead stimulates the latent power inherited through her spiritual lineage. Momo awakens psychokinetic abilities strong enough to resist them and simultaneously perceives Okarun's predicament through their phone connection, beginning their first coordinated battle against paranormal threats. The official anime profile describes her specifically as a girl from a family of spirit mediums whose hidden psychic abilities awaken after the Serpoians abduct her. (anime-dandadan.com)

Momo is outspoken, decisive and quick to confront behavior she considers cruel or ridiculous. She intervenes when Okarun is being bullied despite not knowing him, challenges people openly when irritated and rarely disguises her opinions for the sake of politeness. Her confidence in social situations contrasts strongly with Okarun's hesitation.

She also has a pronounced temper. Insults, embarrassment and misunderstandings can provoke immediate reactions, particularly when Okarun is involved. Even so, her anger rarely prevents her from recognizing when someone genuinely needs help. She repeatedly shifts from arguing with a person to protecting them as soon as a supernatural threat appears.

Her confidence is less secure where romance is concerned. Momo can speak bluntly about almost anything except her growing feelings toward Okarun. She becomes jealous when other girls show interest in him but often disguises that jealousy as irritation. The fact that his real name is Ken Takakura—the same name as the actor she idolizes—makes even saying his full name difficult for her.

Momo is highly adaptable under pressure. Where Okarun tends to analyze paranormal phenomena through his accumulated occult knowledge, she often responds through instinct, spatial awareness and improvised use of her psychic hands. Many of her most effective decisions come from recognizing how an environment or enemy ability can be manipulated rather than attempting to overpower it directly.

Her relationship with Seiko has also shaped her emotional resilience. Momo complains about her grandmother's abrasive personality and unusual methods, but she trusts her expertise deeply. As supernatural incidents accumulate, she becomes increasingly willing to accept the spiritual knowledge she once rejected out of embarrassment.

Momo is a teenage girl with brown hair and brown eyes. Her hair is cut to around shoulder length and is typically styled with the front sections framing her face while the upper portion is pulled back. Her design incorporates elements associated with contemporary gyaru fashion without pushing them into an exaggerated caricature.

At school, she wears the standard Kami High School girls' uniform, consisting of a white shirt beneath a dark sweater or jacket, a ribbon at the collar and a pleated skirt. She commonly wears earrings and other small accessories, reinforcing the more fashion-conscious presentation that distinguishes her from Okarun's comparatively plain appearance.

Outside school, Momo regularly changes outfits rather than retaining a single signature costume. Her casual clothing includes loose shirts, jackets, skirts, shorts and streetwear-inspired combinations. This variety is consistent with her interest in appearance and the series' broader emphasis on contemporary youth fashion.

Using her psychic powers does not produce a full physical transformation comparable with Okarun's Turbo Granny form. Instead, spectral hands or arms manifest around her, usually rendered as enormous translucent appendages generated through her aura. Their size and position change depending on what she is attempting to grasp or manipulate.

Her facial expressions are highly animated. Momo can move rapidly between confidence, irritation, embarrassment and fear, particularly in scenes involving Okarun. In combat, her expression typically becomes much more focused, with the relaxed posture of her everyday school life replaced by aggressive gestures used to direct her psychic hands.

Momo possesses latent psychic abilities inherited through her family's spiritual lineage. They awaken during her abduction by the Serpoians, when exposure to their psychic technology stimulates power that had previously remained dormant. Unlike Okarun, whose primary supernatural strength originates from a yokai, Momo's ability is naturally her own.

Her most recognizable technique manifests as enormous invisible or semi-visible hands composed of psychic energy. Momo can extend these hands over significant distances, grasp physical objects or spiritual entities and manipulate targets that would otherwise be impossible to touch. Their behavior resembles telekinesis but is visually and tactically expressed through the form of hands.

The ability is particularly valuable against spirits. Momo can seize a yokai's aura directly rather than relying exclusively on conventional physical attacks, allowing her to restrain, pull or reposition beings that ordinary humans cannot easily affect. She frequently uses this function to coordinate with Okarun, holding an enemy in place while he attacks at high speed.

Her psychic hands can also manipulate ordinary objects. Momo lifts, catches and redirects people or debris, creates leverage against larger enemies and uses surrounding structures in combat. The power rewards creativity more than raw destructive force, and she repeatedly invents applications suited to whatever environment the group is trapped inside.

Momo develops the ability to perceive auras and supernatural energy more clearly after awakening. This allows her to recognize spirits, identify unusual energies and interact with phenomena that had previously been accessible primarily through Seiko's spiritual expertise. Her awareness becomes increasingly important as the group's encounters expand beyond conventional yokai.

Her power has limits. Maintaining large or complicated manifestations requires concentration, and overwhelming forces can break her grip. Early in the story, she also lacks Seiko's extensive theoretical knowledge of spiritual phenomena, meaning that possessing psychic strength does not automatically tell her what kind of entity she is confronting or how its specific rules work.

As of the material adapted through Season 2, Momo has become considerably more precise in controlling her psychic hands. She can use multiple forms of manipulation during rapidly changing fights and coordinate them with the abilities of Okarun, Aira and Jiji. The official anime profile continues to identify her awakened psychic ability as her defining supernatural trait. (anime-dandadan.com)

Later manga events expand the scale and versatility of her powers. During the conflict with the Kur, Momo uses her psychic ability against increasingly large extraterrestrial threats and develops the control necessary to manipulate opponents and machinery amid large-scale battles. After the Danmanra incident, Momo is physically reduced to a miniature size and begins searching for a way to restore herself, while retaining access to her psychic abilities.

Momo does not consistently announce formal attack names, and her combat style is built around flexible applications of a single psychic ability rather than a fixed catalog of signature moves. The following terms describe recurring uses of her power rather than a rigid technique system.

Psychic Hands are the primary manifestation of Momo's ability. She produces enormous spiritual hands capable of grabbing people, spirits, aliens and physical objects. Their size and reach vary according to the situation, allowing them to function as restraints, shields, lifting tools or striking weapons.

Aura Grasping allows Momo to seize the spiritual energy associated with supernatural beings. This is especially useful against yokai whose bodies cannot be treated like normal physical targets. By gripping their aura, she can prevent movement or expose them to attacks from other members of the group.

Psychokinesis describes her broader ability to move targets remotely through psychic force. Momo regularly uses the hand-shaped manifestations to redirect objects, pull allies out of danger and turn elements of the environment into improvised weapons.

Her techniques are often combined with other characters' abilities rather than used in isolation. Holding an enemy in place for Okarun's high-speed attack, controlling an opponent while Aira closes distance or manipulating an object that Jiji can strike are typical examples of how Momo functions as both a fighter and battlefield controller.

Ken Takakura, whom Momo almost always calls Okarun, is her closest companion and eventual romantic interest. She first speaks to him after stopping classmates from bullying him, then immediately argues with him over whether aliens or ghosts are real. Their attempt to settle the argument exposes both to the paranormal world. Momo initially finds his awkwardness irritating, but his sincerity, courage and willingness to protect others quickly become important to her. Her attraction develops gradually and is complicated by the fact that his real name is identical to that of her favorite actor. Okarun eventually confesses directly that he loves Momo during the Danmanra incident. Momo reciprocates his feelings, but circumstances delay a conventional resolution of their relationship.

Seiko Ayase is Momo's grandmother, guardian and primary mentor in supernatural matters. Their relationship is affectionate but combative. Momo spent part of her childhood resenting Seiko after classmates mocked the rituals she was taught, only to understand later that those rituals were intended to protect her. Once paranormal incidents become unavoidable, she relies heavily on Seiko's knowledge of barriers, yokai and local spiritual rules.

Aira Shiratori initially becomes Momo's rival at school and later one of her closest supernatural allies. Aira misinterprets Momo's psychic power as evidence that she is a demon and believes herself destined to defeat her. Their hostility is intensified by Aira's attraction to Okarun, which makes Momo openly jealous despite her reluctance to admit why. Repeated battles gradually turn them into dependable teammates even though arguments remain common.

Jin Enjoji, commonly called Jiji, is Momo's childhood friend and former first crush. His arrival makes Okarun insecure because Jiji is handsome, outgoing and already familiar with Momo's family. Momo retains affection for him but no longer treats him as her primary romantic interest. When the Evil Eye begins tormenting him, she immediately commits herself to helping him.

Evil Eye enters Momo's life through Jiji. She initially regards the yokai entirely as a threat because of the danger it poses to Jiji and everyone around him. Continued encounters force the group to deal with the Evil Eye through increasingly unconventional arrangements rather than simple exorcism.

Turbo Granny is initially responsible for Okarun's curse and therefore one of Momo's enemies. After Seiko seals the yokai's consciousness inside a maneki-neko doll, Turbo Granny becomes an abrasive resident of the Ayase household and an occasional source of occult knowledge. Momo routinely argues with her but also relies on her expertise when dealing with unfamiliar paranormal phenomena.

Miko and Muko are Momo's closest ordinary school friends. They are among the few people in her everyday social life who exist outside the main paranormal group. Both notice her increasing attachment to Okarun earlier than she is willing to discuss it openly and frequently tease her about him.

Taro is the male anatomical model from Kami High School who becomes animate through supernatural influence. His determination to reunite with Hana unexpectedly affects both Momo and Okarun by presenting them with an unusually straightforward expression of romantic devotion.

Mr. Mantis Shrimp begins as an extraterrestrial opponent employed by the Serpoians. Once Momo learns that his actions are driven by his attempts to obtain treatment for his son, she helps turn the confrontation into an alliance rather than continuing to regard him as an enemy.

Chiquitita is Mr. Mantis Shrimp's son. His medical needs explain his father's desperate cooperation with hostile aliens, and helping him becomes one of the group's earliest examples of forming a lasting connection with someone they originally encountered as an enemy.

Naki Kito is the matriarch of the Kito family encountered during Momo's investigation of Jiji's new home. Momo clashes directly with her because of the Kitos' violent control over the village and their hostility toward outsiders. The confrontation brings her into one of the most dangerous supernatural environments she has faced by that stage of the story.

Manjiro assists during the events surrounding Jiji's house and the giant worm worshipped beneath the village. As another person with knowledge of spiritual phenomena, he works alongside Momo and the Ayase group during the exorcism crisis.

[Vamola becomes an important ally after arriving on Earth in later manga material. Momo initially reacts badly when Vamola kisses Okarun and identifies him as a potential husband, interpreting the situation through her own feelings for him. Once Vamola's circumstances are understood, Momo becomes protective of her and accepts her into the group.](#spoiler)

[Rin Sawaki is Okarun's class representative and becomes involved in the supernatural world through the spirit connected to her childhood friend. Momo helps investigate the haunting and eventually fights alongside Rin once her own unusual abilities emerge.](#spoiler)

[Kinta Sakata joins the wider group through his fascination with Okarun and extraterrestrial technology. Momo initially finds his behavior irritating, but his ability to manipulate nanoskin makes him an important ally during later alien conflicts.](#spoiler)

[Unji Zuma becomes closely connected to Momo during the Danmanra storyline. Their cooperation inside the supernatural board-game world creates circumstances that separate Momo from the rest of her usual group and force her to rely heavily on Zuma.](#spoiler)

Momo is one of the two central protagonists of the series. The opening chapter begins shortly after she ends a romantic relationship and encounters Okarun at school. Their dispute over ghosts and aliens establishes the structure of the supernatural world: neither side of the paranormal divide is imaginary, and both teenagers are forced to confront the exact phenomenon they had dismissed.

Her encounter with the Serpoians creates the group's first major breakthrough. The aliens attempt to exploit Momo's reproductive biology and psychic potential, but their machinery instead unlocks her latent abilities. At the same time, she remains connected to Okarun by phone while he is possessed by Turbo Granny, allowing the two apparently separate supernatural incidents to collide.

After escaping, Momo brings Okarun to Seiko. The Ayase home becomes the group's principal base, and Momo occupies a central position between Seiko's knowledge and Okarun's increasingly unusual supernatural condition. Recovering the objects lost as a result of Turbo Granny's curse then draws new spirits, aliens and classmates into their orbit.

Momo frequently serves as the tactical center of the group. Okarun specializes in speed, while Aira and Jiji develop their own specialized supernatural abilities. Momo's psychic hands can reposition both enemies and allies, making her unusually suited to coordinating attacks. She also tends to make immediate decisions during crises, particularly when Seiko is not present.

The Cursed House and Evil Eye storylines expand her responsibilities beyond protecting Okarun. Jiji is someone she has known since childhood, and his family's supernatural problem draws her into an unfamiliar town with rules controlled by the Kito family. Season 2 adapts this material along with subsequent conflicts, bringing Momo's combat experience and emotional relationships with both Okarun and Jiji into closer contact.

The official anime describes Momo as one half of the central pair whose opposing supernatural beliefs send them into a series of paranormal battles and romantic complications. Season 2 premiered in July 2025 and continued their story across another twelve episodes. (crunchyroll.com)

The later Space Globalists conflict places Momo among the central defenders of Earth during a coordinated extraterrestrial invasion. Her growing mastery of psychic force becomes essential when the scale of the battles expands beyond individual yokai encounters. The Danmanra storyline later isolates Momo inside a supernatural game world, culminates in Okarun directly confessing his love for her, and leaves her physically miniaturized after escaping.

Momo begins the series confident in her beliefs but carrying unresolved embarrassment about her spiritual upbringing. She believes ghosts are real because of Seiko's influence, yet she once rejected the rituals her grandmother taught her because other children made her feel ashamed. The awakening of her own psychic abilities forces her to reconnect with that family background rather than treating it as something embarrassing.

Her relationship with Okarun drives much of her emotional development. Initially, she treats him as an awkward classmate whose alien obsession happens to mirror her own belief in ghosts. His willingness to risk himself for her, however, quickly distinguishes him from the boyfriend she had recently rejected and from the idealized masculine image she associates with actor Ken Takakura.

Momo struggles to acknowledge that attraction even after it becomes obvious through her behavior. She is irritated when Aira pursues Okarun and becomes uncomfortable when Jiji's presence causes Okarun to distance himself. Much of her development therefore comes through learning to communicate emotions that are considerably harder for her to manage than supernatural danger.

She also becomes increasingly comfortable with responsibility. Early paranormal incidents are emergencies she survives with help from Seiko and Okarun. Later, she operates as an experienced member of a larger group, makes tactical decisions and protects newer participants who have only recently become aware of the supernatural world.

Her relationship with Seiko likewise matures. Momo moves from childhood embarrassment toward a clearer appreciation of the knowledge her grandmother tried to give her. She never adopts Seiko's personality or methods wholesale, but her own psychic development increasingly reflects the spiritual inheritance she once tried to distance herself from.

Momo eventually becomes much more direct about her feelings for Okarun. When he confesses during Danmanra, her response confirms that his feelings are reciprocated, although their circumstances prevent the relationship from immediately becoming straightforward. Her later miniaturization creates a new vulnerability: after spending much of the series using enormous psychic hands to protect others, she must continue functioning while physically reduced to a fraction of her normal size.

Momo's name is written 綾瀬 桃 in Japanese. "Momo" is written with 桃, the kanji for "peach." Peaches carry numerous associations in Japanese folklore, including purification and protection from evil, though the manga has not formally stated that those traditions are the reason Yukinobu Tatsu selected the name.

Her surname, Ayase, is written 綾瀬. The kanji 綾 can refer to patterned silk or woven design, while 瀬 refers to shallows or rapids in a river. The series does not provide an explicit in-universe explanation for the surname.

The name also distinguishes her from her grandmother Seiko while establishing them as members of the same Ayase family. Their shared spiritual lineage becomes important immediately once Momo's dormant psychic ability awakens.

Momo's romantic preference creates a separate naming motif around Okarun. His real name, Ken Takakura, is identical to that of the Japanese actor she idolizes, which is why she refuses to address him normally by his given name and instead uses the nickname Okarun.

• Momo comes from a family of spirit mediums, and her hidden psychic ability awakens after she is abducted by the Serpoians. The official anime character profile identifies both details directly. (anime-dandadan.com)

• She believes in ghosts from the beginning of the story but initially refuses to believe extraterrestrials exist. Okarun holds precisely the opposite beliefs. (viz.com)

• Her preferred romantic type is a hard-boiled man resembling actor Ken Takakura. The official anime profile specifically describes hard-boiled men as her type. (anime-dandadan.com)

• Okarun's real name is Ken Takakura, which embarrasses Momo enough that she gives him a nickname rather than routinely using his actual name.

• Shion Wakayama voices Momo in Japanese. The official anime cast page lists her as the character's performer across both television seasons. (anime-dandadan.com)

• Abby Trott voices Momo in English and has discussed drawing on Kari Wahlgren's performance as Seiko when shaping Momo's speech, reasoning that Momo would naturally pick up habits from the grandmother who raised her.

• Momo placed second in the first official Dandadan character popularity poll with 25,763 votes. Okarun ranked first with 38,699 votes. (us.oricon-group.com)

• Momo and Okarun were both nominated for Best Main Character at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, while Dandadan itself received an Anime of the Year nomination. (crunchyroll.com)

Momo is the principal female lead of the television anime adaptation of Dandadan, produced by Science SARU. Shion Wakayama voices her in Japanese, and the official series website identifies her as a high school girl from a spirit-medium family whose psychic powers awaken after the Serpoians abduct her. (anime-dandadan.com)

Abby Trott performs Momo in the English dub. Trott's interpretation retains Momo's forceful speech and rapid emotional shifts while adapting elements of her gyaru-influenced characterization into English. In a 2025 interview, Trott explained that she incorporated aspects of Kari Wahlgren's English performance as Seiko into Momo's delivery to suggest the influence of the grandmother who raised her.

Science SARU's adaptation emphasizes the physicality of Momo's psychic power through animated hand movements, changes in scale and fluid manipulation of the environment. Because Momo herself does not transform, animation can contrast her relatively ordinary physical movement with the enormous psychic forms she controls around her.

The first three episodes of the anime were released theatrically as Dan Da Dan: First Encounter before the television premiere. Momo is central throughout the compilation, which covers her breakup, first encounter with Okarun, Serpoian abduction and awakening of psychic power.

She returned as a lead in Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye, the theatrical event used to launch Season 2 internationally. That presentation combined the first season's final episode with the opening episodes of the Cursed House storyline, placing Momo, Okarun and Jiji at the center of the film's supernatural conflict.

Season 2 premiered on July 3, 2025 and expanded the anime to 24 television episodes in total. It continued Momo's involvement in the Evil Eye conflict and subsequent paranormal incidents. A third season has since been announced for 2027.

Momo appears extensively in official merchandise, including figures, plush goods, acrylic stands, clothing and collaboration artwork. Her school uniform and psychic-hand imagery are the most common visual representations, while merchandise frequently pairs her with Okarun to reflect their position as the series' central duo.

Momo ranked second in the first official Dandadan character popularity poll, receiving 25,763 votes. Okarun finished first with 38,699, while Turbo Granny, Jiji and Aira completed the top five. The result placed Momo comfortably ahead of every other female character in the vote. (us.oricon-group.com)

Her prominence increased substantially after the anime's 2024 debut. Crunchyroll selected Dandadan as an Anime of the Year nominee for the 2025 Anime Awards and described its central premise through Momo and Okarun's opposing beliefs about ghosts and aliens. Both characters were individually nominated in the Best Main Character category. (crunchyroll.com)

Critical discussion of Momo has often focused on her unusually active role within the series' central partnership. She is not positioned solely as the supernatural protagonist's romantic interest: her psychic ability gives her an independent combat role, she frequently directs battles, and the opening paranormal encounter gives her powers at the same time Okarun receives his curse.

Her visual presentation has also received recognition indirectly through the anime's character-design success. Naoyuki Onda's work on Dandadan won Best Character Design at the 2025 Crunchyroll Anime Awards, with Momo and Okarun serving as the most visible human designs throughout the production's promotion.

Shion Wakayama's performance became closely associated with Momo's animated portrayal, particularly the character's rapid changes between blunt confidence, anger and embarrassment. English voice actor Abby Trott has specifically praised Wakayama's spontaneous-sounding performance and cited it as an important reference for the dub.

Momo's relationship with Okarun is central to the franchise's marketing as well as its story. VIZ's official description introduces Dandadan through the pair and describes their journey as combining paranormal battles with secret crushes, while the anime's promotional materials consistently position them together at the center of ensemble artwork. (viz.com)