Okarun

Ken Takakura, also known as Okarun, is the main male protagonist of the manga series Dandadan.

Before starting you can now find all our anime figures from United Kingdom by clicking here :

He is an occult enthusiast, primarily believing in aliens and UFOs, leading an introverted school life until his encounter with Momo Ayase. After a bet with her, they become friends and lose his kintama, cursed by the Turbo Granny. Okarun sets out on a mission to retrieve what he lost, with the help of Momo and other allies, while overcoming the paranormal obstacles that stand in his way.

Appearance

Okarun is a short, slender teenager with brown hair (black in the anime), brown eyes, and wears round glasses. Initially, his hair was cut in a bowl shape but became unruly after his confrontation with the Flatwoods monster. Though he was very skinny at first, Okarun gained muscle from intense training and numerous battles against spirits and aliens.

Although he is one of the few characters seen wearing a variety of outfits, his most common attire is his school uniform, which is a typical gakuran.

Personality

Okarun describes himself as socially awkward, passionate about the paranormal, mainly focused on the existence of aliens and cryptids. This interest dates back to his childhood when he desperately tried to contact aliens to make friends, having grown up without any due to constant bullying. As a result, Okarun developed an inferiority complex: he believes he is incapable of fitting in with others or feels people would prefer not to associate with him. Even after becoming friends with Momo Ayase, Okarun still has low self-esteem. After Jiji reentered Momo's life, Okarun felt he couldn't compete with him in terms of friendship, noticing how much fun Momo had with him. He nearly ended his friendship to avoid being a burden. According to Momo, Okarun's real problem in making friends is that he quickly assumes others are judging him, which unconsciously leads him to keep them at a distance.

Okarun is an altruist who believes it is right to help others in need. A notable example is how he offered his kintama to Mr. Shrimp-Mant to sell, using the proceeds for a blood transfusion for his son. As a friend, he is fiercely loyal and protective, never allowing anyone to get away with hurting those he has bonded with, as seen when he violently attacked the Evil Eye for injuring Momo and taking control of Jiji's body.

Before learning that spirits really walk among the living, Okarun was initially skeptical of their existence, believing there were logical explanations for why people would reach such conclusions about paranormal activity.

Okarun is also very formal, never addressing his friends or allies by their first names or nicknames without a polite suffix. The only exception is Jiji, who will ignore him if he does. This characteristic is how Momo realized that Reiko Kashima was impersonating Okarun by calling Jiji "Jiji-san." The only time he forgets formalities is when he takes on his Turbo Granny form.

Background

Since elementary school, Ken had trouble fitting in and was constantly the target of mockery. To make friends, he tried contacting aliens, which eventually became an obsession.

Abilities and Powers

Natural Abilities

Physical Prowess: Due to the numerous paranormal obstacles he had to overcome, Okarun has an excellent physical condition, comparable to that of an athlete. During a physical aptitude test, he ran a 50-meter sprint in just 5.8 seconds, surpassing his own expectations by 9 seconds, threw a handball 35 meters, jumped 3.6 meters in the long jump without a run-up, completed 80 side steps, and did 120 shuttle runs. Overall, he outperformed the other students in his class while maintaining better endurance.

Supernatural Abilities

• Spiritual Awareness: Okarun is capable of clearly seeing spirits, such as earthbound spirits and yokai. This makes him one of the few individuals able to enter the Empty Space.
• Turbo Granny Form: Okarun possessed the spiritual power of Turbo Granny after the yokai's consciousness was extracted from his body by Seiko and Momo. Initially, Okarun could only enter this form under the effect of Turbo Granny's spell, which was suppressed by Momo's psychokinetic powers, allowing him to control his body. After the yokai's powers were accidentally retained within him, Okarun was able to transform voluntarily.

When accessing this power, Okarun's hair would rise and turn white, with two thick vertical stripes crossing his eyes and a dark jawline with a row of teeth. Beneath his clothes, Okarun's body became more muscular, forcing his posture to resemble a hunch. His nails turned sharp and black, and his clothes were subtly altered to resemble flames. Besides his physical changes, his mental state also shifted, giving him a depressed personality and a strange tendency to say "yo" at the end of his sentences.

• • Enhanced Speed: This state granted Okarun the extraordinary speed of Turbo Granny, allowing him to run at an incredible speed of 100 km/h. Okarun referred to this maximum speed as "All-Out."
  • Strengths: After taking on this form for the first time, Okarun's body reacted quickly enough to evade an attack from the Flatwoods Monster, which would have crushed him seconds later. While being chased by the Earthbound Spirit Crab, he managed to cover a significant part of the city of Shono, preventing the Earthbound Spirit from catching up. After Aira was struck by Bamora, Okarun was able to reach her from a considerable distance and save her just in time from another attack. This speed also allowed him to chase and defeat yokai like the Evil Eye, a formidable yokai that had repeatedly proven too difficult to face alone. In terms of combat rhythm, Turbo Granny claimed that his speed would allow Okarun to perform five actions in a single moment.
  • Weaknesses: Okarun could only use All-Out for two sprints, as the intense supernatural speed put too much strain on his human body. Once the limit was reached, Okarun would return to his normal state and barely be able to move for a short period. However, after more intense training to adapt to this technique, his body no longer suffered after reaching the limit, although this problem might return if he ran for too long. Okarun also did not know how to swim, as Turbo Granny lacked that ability.
  • Usage: Okarun used this power in combat or to distance himself from enemies. In close combat, he relied on his speed to perform quick physical attacks, leaving his opponent no chance to counter, with his attacks taking the form of a series of body slams and headbutts. When paired with allies, Okarun could use his speed to quickly intervene and push them away from attacks or carry them on his back to chase a moving target or flee. After being trained by Turbo Granny herself to master his power, Okarun was able to improve his combat rhythm. This was evident in his battle against the Music Room Portraits, where he used his speed and enhanced reflexes effectively to evade the barrage of explosive notes from the tulpas by recalling the rhythm of hayashi music and defeating them with a series of five simultaneous headbutts, so fast that he left afterimages. Later, he was able to dodge multiple grudge ball attacks from the Evil Eye, something he had struggled with when fighting the yokai for the first time.

Thanks to the increased strength in his legs, Okarun could propel himself with incredible force, like a missile, which became his preferred method of attack. His charging speed was sufficient for him to plow through a crowd of possessed citizens and send the imposing Acrobatic Silky yokai flying backward, severely injured, before briefly getting back on his feet. Even more incredibly, Okarun managed to slice the massive body of Nessie, the Serpo Dover Demon, in half.

While fleeing from the Earthbound Spirit Crab, Okarun also demonstrated his ability to use All-Out to keep both himself and Momo airborne long enough to land safely on the city ground by spinning his legs around his body like helicopter blades.

• • Enhanced Durability
    Okarun also gained enhanced durability, as he was able to withstand his own launching attacks and endure powerful attacks from formidable opponents like the Evil Eye.
  • Enhanced Biting Strength
    Okarun's mouth guard gave him immense biting strength, enabling him to bite through the five fingers of the Flatwoods Monster's left hand.
• Telephone Line Transport
  In addition to his increased speed, Okarun also gained Turbo Granny's ability to travel by entering telephone lines. To do this, Okarun would follow the spiraling magnetic field of the telephone wire, using the current to propel himself, continuing to move with Turbo Granny's immense speed.
  • Strengths and Weaknesses: Although it took him some time to reach his desired location, Okarun could instantly teleport to the place he wanted if he passed through an active telephone line established by someone at that location. This ability also allowed him to greatly increase his speed when ejected from a telephone line, moving so fast that his movements resembled lightning zipping across the area.

However, while traveling on a telephone line, Okarun struggled to reach his destination because there were multiple lines to cross. He also couldn’t stay inside a telephone line for long, as the spiraling magnetic field would quickly eject him. His journey could also be interrupted if an opponent cut the telephone line he was traveling through, causing him to be ejected.

• • Usage: Okarun used his telephone line transport ability in combat. After being ejected from a telephone line, his immense speed increased, allowing him to attack his enemies in the blink of an eye. During his fight with Kur, he was able to eliminate several enemies instantly before any of them could react to his series of collisions. Using an amplified All-Out speed from this ability, Okarun destroyed the space-suited alien with a single blow before it could attack Momo.
• Astral Projection
  Additionally, Okarun could separate from his body and move as an astral projection. However, the use of this power was accidental and had not yet been intentional.
  • Strengths and Weaknesses: In this form, Okarun gained the ability to fly and became invisible to those who did not possess strong spiritual awareness. His time in this form was limited, as the longer he remained, the weaker the connection to his physical body became, eventually leading to detachment. Once detached, he could never re-enter his body.

Anecdotes

Okarun is ranked #2 among the 4 most favorite characters in the series, according to Yukinobu Tatsu.

To Momo's dismay, Ken shares the same name as her favorite celebrity, Ken Takakura.

Okarun's first name, his white hair, and his black mask when using Turbo Granny's power are references to Ken Kaneki from the series Tokyo Ghoul. Both characters are also voiced by the same Japanese voice actor, Natsuki Hanae.

In Avengers Academy: Marvel's Voices Infinity Comics issue 31, two characters resembling Momo and Okarun are seen in a restaurant. The comic's artist, Pablo Moreno Collar, confirmed on Instagram that these were indeed Momo and Okarun.

ANIME FIGURE SHOP

Our store offers all types of figurines and derivative products of Anime, all our products are faithfully adapted from manga / anime in question.

You will find figures, LED lights, iPhone and Airpods cases as well as clothes and goodies featuring your favorite characters.

The characters present on our online store are from your most popular Anime and Manga such as: One Piece, Naruto, Demon Slayer, Dragon Ball Z, Jujutsu Kaisen...

The anime products we offer are not necessarily products to be offered as gifts. You can use them as a personal item, to decorate your room or to fill your collection cupboard like a real Otaku!

So don't hesitate to come and visit our online store by clicking here !