Dandelion

If you swapped out the voice cast and squinted a bit, then Dandelion could easily pass as a Gintama arc. That may sound appealing; after all, the Gintama anime is very highly rated. However, Dandelion has more in common with the weak arcs of Gintama than the serious or actually funny ones. A large part of the plot feels repetitive, mostly due to how the main premise is executed. The story follows the Dandelion Clan, featuring characters who feel like off-brand Gintoki and Kagura, alongside standout character Masaki Kyouga, as they find spirits and send them to the afterlife, resolving the dead’s problems and last regrets before sending them on. On paper, this is a solid premise, capable of providing wacky scenarios for absurd comedy alongside emotional moments for serious life-lessons. The problem is that many of the spirits they encounter are too bland to feel distinct from each other, and end up all blending together. Occasionally, when the spirit has some connection to a member of the core cast, the story works well, not for comedy, but for character development. An overarching plot is introduced later, centered on the efficiency of spirit eradication, but, concluding with the most obvious twist possible, I can’t say it was well done. That said, a comedy doesn’t necessarily need a good plot, just one that strings together humorous moments. But alas, I didn’t find a single moment in the series genuinely funny. Its attempted jokes didn’t get me to laugh or even smile. All the characters are terribly unfunny, and the situational comedy, dependent on putting the characters into bizarre scenarios, doesn’t work since the supernatural setting makes these odd circumstances seem par for the course. The only “funny” parts I actually enjoyed were the references to other shows, including Gintama, because they reminded me of better works. The serious moments, however, are a lot better than the comedic ones. Misaki's brief storyline with her mother was a surprisingly touching highlight, even if it centered on characters I had zero investment in. Another high point was Masaki’s character development. He grows as a person over the course of the series through his interactions with others, and demonstrates that the plot of Dandelion had a lot of potential. In fact, it shows that Dandelion works best when it leans towards being a character-driven drama rather than a comedy. Dandelion is to Gintama as Combatants will be Dispatched is to Konosuba. Both feel like the author is trying to recapture the charm of their breakthrough work, but fail by creating a cast of characters not nearly as lovable or interesting, with jokes that fall flat left and right, and a storyline that is more prominent and yet less effective. When the series tries to be funny, it stumbles, but when it focuses on its characters, it occasionally finds success. I can’t recommend a comedy that isn’t funny, but on the other hand, Masaki’s progression and growth are something worth watching. Thus, my feelings are mixed, and combined with a solid OST and slightly above-average visuals, but a weak overarching storyline, an average score feels right.

Give ChatGPT the synopsis and ask for episodes. ChatGPT will think harder than this anime’s creators. I can’t decide which is worse. The ideas or how they’re executed. Actually it's a good idea on page. I wish it's had stayed there.specially tetsu character. His lazy pants make me lose it. The pacing doesn’t help either. With only a handful of episodes, the story jumps from case to case without giving anything enough time to breathe. Moments that should hit emotionally just… pass. Vikipedi Visually and tonally, it also feels confused. Is it a comedy? A drama? A satire? It tries to be all of them and ends up being none.

The background information on the MAL page said it was adapted from a one-shot by the Gintama creator. Manga magazines usually have a great sense on choosing stories to serialize. There was a reason this story remained an unserialized one-shot. The producers of this anime should have taken note of that instead of scraping the bottom of the Hideaki Sorachi barrel. If you are going to watch this because of the Gintama pedigree, you still get the Jump cameos, I could identify Slam Dunk and City Hunter. However, I find it to be a castrated version of Gintama. It doesn't have the sexual innuendos that gave Gintama spice to its comedy. If you are looking for the Gintama brand of comedy, stick with Gintama, it's got a lot of episodes and several movies. I wished this show spent more time on developing the two main characters so that the viewer could care more about them. It did not even explain the nature of the afterlife. It took for granted why the afterlife resembled a Japanese corporation plagued by nepotism and little upward career mobility for the rank-and-file. There are other shows for the season of Spring 2026. You can make a better choice with any one of those.

Dandelion is an anime based on the very first one-shot written by Hideaki Sorachi, the author of the more famous Gintama. Only the first episode is canon, as it effectively adapted the story penned by the mangaka; everything else is anime-original content. I was afraid of finding myself face-to-face with a cheap imitation of Sorachi’s style, but in my opinion, they did an excellent job! I am particularly critical of these things, in fact Ginpachi-sensei didn't convince me at all; it’s tangible that it wasn't written by Sorachi and it feels like a mere shadow of Gintama. But Dandelion fully understood and respected Sorachi's essence, delivering a nonsense and paradoxical humor that conceals deeper lessons, touching moments and social commentary. Specifically, it emphasizes themes related to the world of work, an environment that values performance above all else, sidelining human feelings and the love for the job, which leads to negative consequences. Family themes are also present. A prime example is Masaki, who tries at all costs to meet his father's expectations. This causes him to lose sight of how he truly wants to live and leaves him struggling to make independent decisions without his father's shadow looming over him. When he finally decides for himself for the first time, he makes mistakes, but that’s life! It’s not very common seeing such a topic treated realistically without falling back on clichés and stereotypes, it was a real breath of fresh air! Unfortunately, I have a couple of criticisms regarding the final episode. It felt excessively rushed to me, though still well-made. The big problem came in the final minutes when, rather than facing a complex and realistic family situation, they preferred to use a cheap and banal narrative gimmick to resolve the matter quickly. It’s a real shame... in my opinion, this decision significantly compromised the ending. In conclusion: highly recommended! It only consists of 7 episodes, but every minute of them has so much to give. If you are a fan of Sorachi, you will definitely appreciate it, but it’s an anime I truly recommend to everyone!

I watched this show to get the Gintama nostalgia and tbh it was very disappointing. The biggest issue is simple: it just isn’t funny, the jokes fall flat and there are no memorable running gags or standout comedic moments that stick with you. The characters are decent, though. The main trio is exactly like Yorozuya and definitely very likeable with the best episode perhaps the one which focuses on the girl's backstory. But beyond that, the show struggles. The episodic stories don’t feel very interesting or impactful, and the overall plot doesn’t really go anywhere meaningful. and then the climax was honestly silly. Overall i will not really recommend it to anyone especially a Gintama fan

I'm gonna be honest, the mix between seriousness and comedy was pretty jarring but honestly,, it was good for the short run time they had! This show surprisingly does have some plot, despite it originally seeming to be episodic..though this show is only 7 eps, so don't expect the best writing. The characters were pretty one-dimensional, BUTTTT with their screentime, they had just enough to flesh out and develop their characters satisfactorily! I liked the simple, but fun dynamic the main trio had, and although the bg characters were quite forgettable..I can excuse it w/ the fact that the animes only 7 eps. The ending is kinda bad if u really think abt it after u watch it, but still enjoyable, and there were times where the anime had potential to develop on the world-building and other characters. Writing-wise, it's pretty predictable. Also, the comedy can be a little flat at times (yet I still liked it overall lol) This a series where you just...turn your brain off, and enjoy. Don't think too much, binge it all in one go, enjoy the characters, smile at the stupid jokes, indulge in the little backstories they're given for you to kinda tear up for, and don't try to focus or compare it to other series as you watch Dandelion! (As this is smth ive been noticing from other reviews)

Dandelion is quite an interesting series, and what's most interesting is that it exists at all. Gintama's overwhelming success in the animation world seems to have been so profitable, that executives are looking for more ways to monetize it, to the point that the creator's first ever one shot got adapted into this little 7 episode series. One might think that Dandelion should be judged on its own merit and not be constantly compared to Gintama, however the series itself constantly invites such comparison, as it very openly tries to recapture that series' tone and charm. From the main party's structure, Kurogane imitating Kagura, Tetsu imitating Gintoki and Kyoga imitating Katsura (the last two also having a bit of Hijikata), to the comedy heavily relying on puns, cultural references, homages to different series and simple low brow jokes. It very much lives in Gintama's shadow and seeks to emulate it, but it never quite succeeds due to its limitations. It's already starting from a pretty unfavorable position, since as much of an achievement it was for the author to make that one shot, it never quite materialized into anything more for a pretty valid reason — the original chapter is not really anything remarkable. The remarkable thing is that its the start of the journey of Hideaki Sorachi, more so than its actual content. Especially when one considers it was just a one shot, so the anime writers had to come up with their own 6 and 1/3 of an episode. This places this series in a rather peculiar position where all the signs point to it being just a soulless cashgrab, but also creates such a ripe environment for the authors of it to just run free and adapt Sorachi-san's idea to their own liking. To get to the actual content of the series, I must admit that it grew on me the more it went it. The original chapter is adapted pretty faithfully in the first 20 minutes of episode one and the rest is completely original, utilizing the world pretty well. It never delves deep into how the mechanics of the Angel world actually work and I think ultimately it works to the series' benefit, as I fear the more it would've tried to make sense of it, the less sense it would actually make. The series seeks to position itself as a rather simple critique of late capitalist office culture, where there's only room for productivity and none for the human element. I think whenever the series pursued that, through the lens of its main characters, it was actually slightly effective. I thought that Kurogane's backstory was particularly well done and it solidified her as probably the most interesting of the three leads, even if she was ultimately just comic relief. Kyoga and Tetsu aren't too far behind, as they also become somewhat compelling by the end of the series. Where I feel the series fails quite miserably is the comedy. Sorachi-san's comedic style is not overly complex, so I wouldn't think it would prove so difficult to replicate, but the series quite unfortunately completely fumbled that assignment. It seems stuck in the sensibilities of the year 2002 and it doesn't quite know how to escape them. I will cut the first episode some slack, as it's the original chapter, but episodes 2 and 3 I think are quite inexcusable in how little they actually succeed in writing a funny comedy show, which is one of the series' main goals. The more the series tries to be about its cast and less about the jokes, the more it succeeded in actually being an enjoyable series. I can't with a clear conscience say that it's an entirely bad watch, but it's not a good watch either, plagued by many issues of trying to recapture lightning in a bottle of two decades prior. The animation leaves some room for improvement, but I think it's not too bad at the end of the day. It's easy to forget that we live in quite a privileged era, where we're constantly bombarded with short series with gorgeous visuals, seemingly endless resources and production times. This series shows that it had a rather small budget and probably was aimed as a cheap way to get a piece of the Gintama pie, so ultimately it didn't strike me as particularly ugly. There's some moments which made me question the visual direction, but I can't say it didn't deliver on exactly what I expected it to do. Fundamentally Dandelion has some interesting themes and thinking pieces about office culture, but to its detriment, I can think of at least a dozen more competent series tackling that subject. It doesn't quite deliver on a lot of its emotional and thematic scenes to warrant much more than a passive slight smile. The main antagonist being the representation of the evils of capitalism, ultimately being entirely absolved of his sins is a painful copout one would expect from a series aimed at young children, which I hoped Dandelion would aim past. It's not particularly resonant nor insightful, it takes a very basic approach to identify some of the issues with the current economic system, yet it doesn't stray too far from the status quo, so the viewer doesn't have to be left with thoughts that there might be some lingering complexity to fixing the crumbling world, everyone gets their happily ever after, so the series can just be a light watch. It was never quite suited to delve into its own subject matter. Finally, we arrive at the conclusion. For a series all about souls and earthbound spirits, as I feared, Dandelion lacks much of its own soul. I'm sure the writers and animators tried their damn best with the hand they were dealt, and in some ways I'm glad that it exists, as it can prove quite competent at its greatest moments of both character writing and animation. However it doesn't quite fully warrant its own existence. It's simple and to the point, it seeks to evoke the imagery of Gintama, much less in the celebration of Sorachi-san's journey as a creator and much more in the lucrative financial success the executives wish to be seemingly endlessly reheated. For a series about living with no regrets and a company that has only cares about results, Dandelion's existence affirms exactly the things its story condemns. I choose to believe that the writers themselves were aware of this and that's precisely why they chose the narrative to be the way it is, to parody its own being as possible the best joke the series could try to make. As its closing line asks to live without regret, I can't shake off the feeling that it itself regrets not being Gintama, yet I hope the creative passion behind it finds solace in its existence.

Dont watch every anime looking for some deep meaning. i laughed my head off and had a great time, this is exactly the kind of show where you should just turn your brain off. since the creator is a familiar face, you already know the vibe right away. overall it’s not a masterpiece but a fun 7-episode run. my only issue is the finale was way too rushed, needed one more episode to feel right. i think it has a pretty ambitious theme song for a show like this. i could never skip the ending, it’s still stuck in my head :D tetsuo is an interesting lead but he’s so closed off. i like him but honestly i have no clue what his deal is. sometimes he says something really smart out of nowhere and you feel like he knows the story better than us, but it sucks that we never see what’s actually going on in his head. also, the art is nice and you can definitely feel the gintama vibes, they share a similar atmosphere. summary: fun enough to watch and move on. that’s it 🤷‍♂️

zytanie pierwszego chaptera z nowej mangi od naszegTo summarize, the anime itself, "Dandelion," based on the one-shot manga of the same title by Hideaki Sorachi, originally published for a Weekly Shōnen Jump contest in 2002, received honorable mentions, and was later incorporated into the first volume of the Gintama manga. The anime adaptation will slightly expand the manga's story into a short anime series, expanding on the main characters, the typical Gintama humor, and the plot itself. It was okay for seven episodes, but I feel unsatisfied after those episodes... As for the opening theme to Dandelion, it's really good, to be honest. I rate Dandelion an 8/10; it's a pleasant, short series for chilling, etc. I might even read the first chapter of the new manga from our beloved gorilla, "Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz".o kochanego goryla czyli mowa "Class 2-B Hero Destroyerz".

This was a short, enjoyable anime but it was not without its flaws. The characters were likable and the humor was similar to Gintama where most jokes landed but sometimes I just had to groan. The over all story wasn't bad but the ending needed some work because a part of it felt like it came out of nowhere, though there was some minimal foreshadowing for it (weakness of 7 instead of 12 episodes probably). I would definitely watch more episodes and more seasons but I think it also worked as a one off. If you liked Gintama, you'll probably like this too though it's not quite as over the top. If you don't like stories that move a touch too fast, you might get frustrated while watching this.

Before watching this anime, I didn't know anything about it. Watching the first episode felt really good: it was funny, the setting of the world was interesting. Animation-wise it felt a bit rigid, but it's not such a big deal for this kind of anime. The style of the art and humour had a big resemblence with Gintama (there were even many easter eggs connecting to Gintama). Later I found out that this was a one-shot written by our beloved gorilla. But then the series got worse and worse. The pacing of the stories felt off, the dialogues felt forced, the jokes were not funny. Conflict and resolution in the last episode just didn't do the trick, I felt cringe most of the time. It was easily predictable, the dramatic moments weren't emphasized at all, and because of that, the resolution also felt really off. Another big issue for me is the music, what's up with these generic tracks that don't have anything to do with the scene? I encounter this issue a lot with netflix animes recently. Overall you can watch this just once, to pass the time, but it's a really weak anime. I was really disappointed.

Based on a one-shot that covers the majority of episode one, the premise is actually pretty solid. What if angels acted more like debt collectors when it's time to meet god? No time for comfort or mourning: just two thugs at the door waving gun barrels to meet your maker. There's something inherently funny about imagining your guide to the pearly gates lacking any grace whatsoever. Running away from them just gets a truck of drunks speeding your way on the highway to hell. After all, the danger of lingering souls becoming curses has led to heaven being run like a “black company,” emphasizing quotas to meet above all else. Who has time to care, right? This overall blasé attitude to the dead is ironically what makes our protagonists being slackers a positive: they're in no rush to participate in the corporate rat race for souls. Much like the Yorozuya agency in Gintama, they'll often listen to lingering feelings of their clients so they can pass on peacefully. This makes room for some genuinely heartfelt moments. Seeing a grandpa's apology over eating his wife's pudding culminating not with forgiveness, but gratefulness over 50 years well-spent together showes that Sorachi was wise beyond his years. If it were just this for another seven episodes, I could easily recommend this as yet another banger for him. But then the episode keeps going, revealing their department will shut down if they don't fulfill their quotas. It was at this moment that I could feel the story heading in a new direction. Full Review on ANN: https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/dandelion-anime-series/.237900