Dandan had sparked a mystery with its opening theme that seemed to contain sounds reminding fans of the Nintendo game. Pikminbut one fan discovered the true origins of the sound in a cool new way. Dandan has taken over screens as part of the wave of anime hitting for the Fall 2024 anime season, and the series’ first episodes proved why It’s the show fans have been waiting to see all year. It all started with a great opening theme song that sets the tone perfectly, and a wacky part that really wowed fans.

In the Dandan opening theme titled “Otonoke” performed by Creepy Nuts (the group that went viral for other anime hits heard in the likes of Mashle: magic and muscles Season 2), fans couldn’t help but point out a little sound in the theme song. This sound went viral because it reminded fans of small creatures like mosquitoes and even Pikmin, but Dankidydan on Reddit I actually discovered that the sampled sound came from a 1915 Billy Murray song, “I’ve Been Floating Down the Old Green River.” Check out the results in the video above.

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Dandadan’s Pikmin sounds have been discovered

Dandan fans couldn’t help but notice the smaller sounds heard throughout the opening theme, and joked that it might even be Pikmin noises. This helped the opening theme reach a whole new level of virality in its first few weeks, but Dankidydan on Reddit actually figured out that the source of these sounds came from a very old song released in 1915. Performed at Originally by Billy Murray, the lyrics to “I’ve Been Floating Down the Old Green River” were chopped up, sped up and used throughout Creepy Nuts’ “Otonoke”.

In particular, the lyrics used are “…the schooners have passed” and “The ship has been wrecked”. These tracks were chopped up, sped up, and increased in pitch to give the “Pikmin”-like noise that fans were drawn to. But thanks to the last unreleased line noted by Dankidydan on Reddit, “The captain and crew” are what allowed the fan to find the source of the samples in the first place. It’s a song so deep that fans probably never would have understood it otherwise, and will show how many layers are actually in Dandanthis is the opening.

Why this song?

Creepy Nuts most likely has a great explanation and thought process on why they chose this song to sample “Otonoke, they haven’t fully explained yet,” but at first glance, “I Floated Down the Green River” is a rather obscure choice. The song was originally performed in 1915 by Billy Murray with lyrics written by Bert Kalmar and music composed by Joe Cooper. “Green River” refers to a popular brand of whiskey at the time and is written from the perspective of a husband who is trying to explain to his wife why he spent the night drinking.

It’s certainly an appropriate ambiance for Dandan Overall, Momo and Okarun spent their nights fighting wild ghosts and aliens in trippy ways. And that’s just another fact of what makes this anime so special. The original by Yukinobu Tatsu Dandan The manga was already a cult hit with Shueisha’s Jump+, but the anime adaptation took what worked and took it to a new level with its presentation. No wonder fans have been excited to see this new anime all year, because it’s really going strong so far.