"Save the Shonen Society, Okarun" - Bleach and Dandadan fandoms unite over epic crossover art

Modified Oct 14, 2024 03:00 GMT

Bleach and Dandadan fandoms unite over epic crossover art (Image via Science Saru)

Bleach and Dandadan have seen a meteoric rise in popularity recently. While this is largely due to the hype surrounding their anime adaptations and their already established fanbases, the recent conclusions of Jujutsu Kaisen and My Hero Academia have led fans to explore other series to fill the gap left by those titles.

Recently, Dandadan episode 2 aired and depicted Okarun's first transformation, where he borrows the powers of Turbo Granny. A few fans on social networking sites have taken Okarun's transformation and recreated it using Ichigo's iconic "Save the Soul Society" panel. Given the current state of the shonen genre, many fans have united in viewing Okarun as its savior, often quoting, 'Save the Shonen Society, Okarun,' which directly references one of Ichigo's most iconic panels.

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Disclaimer- This article contains minor spoilers for the Dandadan and Bleach series.

Bleach and Dandadan fandoms unite under new fanart

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Tite Kubo's "Save the Soul Society...Ichigo Kurosaki" is undeniably one of legendary manga's most popular and iconic panels. Although this panel has been used numerous times within the fandom as inspiration for fan art, the conclusion of some of Shonen Jump's most popular series has led fans to search for new titles to fill the void.

Combined with Dandadan’s ability to blend elements from numerous genres and its lovable cast, the series has become seen by fans as the savior of the shonen genre. The new fan art by artist @Heartbreak_Juan, depicting Okarun in his transformed state while reciting his iconic lines has managed to unite almost every shonen fan except for One Piece fans in praising both the series and the artwork.

Fan reaction to the fanart

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Many fans have taken the opportunity to call Yukinobu Tatsu's series the savior of the shonen genre as a whole. Some other fans reiterated how iconic and integral the original panel is to the anime and manga communities. In contrast, many others took the chance to criticize Bleach by implying that Yukinobu Tatsu's manga is already better than Tite Kubo's.

"Save the soul society is truly the most iconic panel in manga history." One fan said.

"Better than bleach already?" Another fan said.

Transformed Okarun as shown in the anime (Image via Science Saru)

A few other fans expressed that Yukinobu Tatsu's series might replace Jujutsu Kaisen and become Shonen Jump's most promising series at a time when Shonen Jump is desperately searching for one. Many fans also highlighted how the severity of the original panel contrasted with Okarun's out-of-place dialogue, which makes the fan art exceptional.

"This series might just replace JJK as WSJ's next cashcow." One fan wrote.

"This looks very much like a bleach panel but with goofy a** idialogue It's actually very cool," another fan wrote.

Dandadan anime episode 3 will be released on October 17, 2024, revealing Okarun and Momo's next course of action. The anime is available on Crunchyroll and Netflix, though no English-dubbed version has been announced. The anime is a direct adaptation of the manga of the same name, with episode 2 adapting chapter 2, so fans wanting to continue the story can start reading from chapter 3.