Do aliens, psychic powers, and ghosts exist? Or, a better question, do they both exist at the same time, in the same universe?
If so, how could they possibly co-exist with one another?
As someone who, for the longest time, has had quite the interest in science fiction, aliens, and the paranormal, I'd seen quite a lot of movies, shows, and anime that dove into various sci-fi ideas, archetypes, tropes, and concepts.
One thing I'd never seen, though, is a comedy show where sci-fi and paranormal elements are so very well blended with one another in such a fun and interesting way as they were in Yukinobu Tatsu's Dan Da Dan.
And yet, if you've ever gone deep into the rabbit hole of UFOlogy, you'll recognize that a lot of the ideas being expressed in this manga and anime series have actually been around for quite some time now.
Nevertheless, I'm sure many people out there will still be asking the question, "How, exactly, do aliens and spirits co-exist?"
Well, allow me to share a few points to consider...
Aliens Are Stranger than Fiction
It was science fiction writer, Arthur C. Clarke who once wrote,
"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic."
Show a cellphone to someone in the 50's or 60's and they would probably be shocked to their core.
Rewind a bit further into the medieval ages, and they would very likely accuse you of witchcraft. It is, after all, a common trope that shows up in a lot of time travel fiction, as well as Japanese isekai fiction.
Ghosts and spirits might simply be aliens shifting in and out of our dimension or space. They could very well be being living in an alternate reality, inside of the earth space that we're currently occupying as human beings.
Because when you think about the possibility of spirits or ghosts, one of the main reasons most people don't believe in them is because they currently aren't quantifiable or observable with our current level of technology.
Of course, ghost hunters will use various measuring tools to try to get a reading on paranormal activity inside haunted houses and such. But until we have the tech to really hone in and tune into the energy that a spirit emits, and record these instances, most of our experiences will remain anecdotal as well as "magical".
There are a lot of things in this universe that we don't understand just yet, and spirit might just be another aspect that a big part of the human collective has yet to fully uncover.
Records of Psychic Abilities and Paranormal Experiences Exist
Believe it or not, there is recorded history of organizations like the CIA attempting experiments with extra sensory perception (ESP). The Stargate Project, for example, did experiments with remote viewing, or the ability to psychically see or view events from a great distance.
That's why it isn't exactly a shock to see shows like Stranger Things depict these kinds of plot points and scenes (because they actually happened in real life).
And when you dive further into research done on Near Death Experiences (NDE), you'll find records and accounts of patients dying (heart literally stopped), and yet being able to see what's going on inside of their hospital room.
Some patients, when they came back to the land of the living, retold nurses how they listened in on conversations, and even accurately described the clothes a doctor or visitor was wearing, what was going on in the other rooms, and more.
There are also many stories of parents whose kids talk about meeting, seeing, or talking with a sibling they should never have known about (because that sibling miscarried, or died at either childbirth or at a young age).
The point is, we have so many accounts and records already of strange things happening that involve some form of paranormal energy like spirit, a soul, or life after death.
Which Raises a Lot of Questions
While Dan Da Dan is mainly a very shonen-type of story (full of action and epic battles), it also has us question (at least a little bit) the nature of our reality, or at least our pre-conceived notions of it.
If both aliens and spirits were real, how WOULD they co-exist in the same universe?
How would they interact?
Are there alien, as well as human, spirits?
Are some beings once considered angels REALLY angels?
Are we living in a Matrix-like simulation?
There are a lot of unanswered questions, and Dan Da Dan, just has fun with trying to mix them all up in a fun and interesting surprise.
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