Dandadan: The Dover Demon, Explained

by

Summary

  • Dover Demon, Mr. Mantis Shrimp, works for the Serpoians due to financial desperation and his son's illness.

  • The first enemy of Momo and Okarun, the Dover Demon becomes an ally, moving to Earth and working alongside them.

  • After forming an alliance with Momo's team, the Dover Demon becomes part of the family, helping them and rebuilding Seiko's home.

While Dandadan contains many different enemies, from terrifying Yokai ghosts to enemies that are part of the Serpoic race, many of these enemies have their battles with Momo and Okarun, and eventually move on after defeat. However, over the course of the anime and manga, there have been some enemies who have been shown to be allies with the group after learning of their background and human tendencies.

One of these enemies in Dandadan is the Dover Demon, also known as Mr. Mantis Shrimp by Momo and Okarun. His first introduction to the group is his attempt to destroy them in battle, though his failure makes it easy for them to approach him without threat and learn his history and where he comes from.

dandadan-season-1-review-featured (1)

Family

How Dandadan balances romance, humor and the supernatural

The presence of romance, humor and the supernatural genre created a world that is equally bizarre yet beautiful in Dandadan.

Who and what is the Dover demon in Dandadan?

Mr. Mantis Shrimp's introduction

Image of Dover Demon in battle against Aira and Momo in Dandadan

  • Works for Serpoian Aliens

  • Has a wife and son

  • Considered weak on its home planet

The Dover Demon, also known as Mr. The Mantis Shrimp, is an alien creature that works for the Serpo aliens and has a yellow humanoid body with a disc-shaped head resembling a crab. When working for Serpo, he is often dressed in a Speedo, boxing gloves and a tie. On his home planet he was known as Peeny-Weeny and was married with a son named Chiquitita. Although not a Serpoic alien himself, he works with them as a means of making money, as he is considered weak in his own race.

In his first fight against Momo, Okarun, and Aira, he lacks the ability to defeat the skilled teenagers and often apologizes to his Serpoian superiors for his weak performance. They often refer to him during this battle as “Gig Worker”implying that they have a strong connection from him and consider him significantly inferior. While the Dover Demon initially defends his Serpoian bosses because they are the ones giving him a paycheck, he soon realizes that they don't care about him or his situation, and will quickly cut his pay if he fails his mission. After he loses completely in a battle against Momo, Okarun, and Aira, the group takes him into Seiko's home and fixes him up, and they learn more about his past and his reasons for joining the Serpoian aliens.

The Dover Demon's True Intentions

Why is he working for the Serpoians?

  • Need to earn money for his family

  • Chiquitita has a rare congenital disease

  • Working with Serpoians out of desperation

While Dover Demon's initial battle with the group leads them to believe that he is on Serpoian's side, and therefore an enemy, they soon realize after the battle that this is not the case. The main reason why Mr. Mantis Shrimp joined the Serpoians was because he was considered weak in his own society, making it difficult for him to find work at home. Therefore, he needed to join the Serpoians in order to get all kinds of money from the work he did, although he often failed and upset them.

The reason why Mr. Mantis Shrimp needed to make a decent amount of money each because his son, Chiquitita, had come up with one congenital disease which required him to receive regular blood transfusions which proved quite costly. This disease was inherited by his mother, Mr. Mantis Shrimp's wife, who had passed away a while ago from the same disease. So even though he first fought alongside the Serpoians and tried to destroy Momo, Okarun, and Aira, the only reason he had gone to such lengths was to ensure that he could save his son's life. He even notes later that he considers himself a pacifist and prefers not to engage in violence, only doing so when his patience is tested, or required to defend a worthy cause.

Although Mr. Mantis Shrimp may be considered weak by his own kind, he is incredibly powerful against the teenagers, even if he loses in the end. He displays the ability to use psychic powers, along with powerful punches. He is even reinforced by the Serpoians and eventually fuses with Nessie in battle to try and defeat the group. However, soon after he is defeated by Okarun, the group takes him home and forms a bond with him.

dandadan ayase momo seiko

Family

Dandadan: Momo's true feelings about her grandmother, explained

Momo's grandmother, Ayase Seiko, has surprised many with her appearance. Despite her youthful appearance, she and Momo have a strange relationship.

The Dover Demon's relationship with Momo and Okarun

Part of the family

Picture of Mr. Mantis Shrimp in Dandadan

  • Forms an alliance with Momo's team

  • Moves to Earth with his son

  • Becomes a farmer

After Dover Demon's last attempt to defeat the group, he is taken to Momo's home where her grandmother lives. After he wakes up from being unconscious, he is surprised to realize that he is bandaged and has been taken care of, and he notices that they have made him some curry and left it next to him until he wakes up. Having never experienced such caring and kindness in his life, he vows to never attack the group again and even stops building a relationship with them. The group offers to help him with his son and eventually realizes that the blood his son needs is the same as the milk people drink, prompting Seiko to contact a dairy farmer she knows to provide him with a cow to give his son regular transfusions .

However, after returning to his home planet and realizing that the cow was not producing milk, he moves to Earth with his son to receive regular transfusions. After this, he consistently works together with the group, even providing his spaceship to save Okarun when he is stuck in the Tsuchinoko Pit. He also rebuilds Seiko's home, helps the group translate a foreign language, and often comes to visit the group to have dinner with them. Alongside the Yokai Turbo grandmahe is one of the few former enemies who builds a strong relationship with the group and essentially becomes part of the family. His relationship with them proves that not all enemies are explicitly evil and against them, but instead are just like people who have their own struggles and are looking for a way to protect their family.

Dandadan is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix and Hulu.

Leave a Comment