Wandance or Wondance is originally a Japanese manga that ‘Coffee’ wrote and illustrated. It is a part of Kodansha’s Monthly Afternoon magazine since January 2019.
Wandance Anime Adaptation Announcement
The official X, formerly Twitter, account of the manga announced that the dance drama manga will be receiving an anime adaptation. It is set to release sometime in 2025. Madhouse Inc. and Cyclone Graphics will produce the anime. I have a lot of faith in Madhouse, as they have done great shows. One of my all time favourites Anohana.
While RIEHATA, a K-Pop dance choreographer, will be the dance producer. She has done choreography for big groups such as BTS, Red Velvet and EXO.
Synopsis
A SHY TEENAGER HAPPENS ON A CLASSMATE DANCING ALONE, AND HER JOY TURNS A KEY, UNLOCKING SOMETHING IN HIS HEART…
Kaboku Kotani is starting high school, and he plans to do what he’s always done: go along with his friends, keep quiet, and not to draw too much attention to himself. After all, it’s hard enough to get by with a stutter like his—why make things worse by standing out from the crowd? But then he sees another first-year, Hikari Wanda, dancing like no one is watching—or like she doesn’t care who sees her. It makes Kaboku wonder: Could he reach that same freedom? To find his way to Wanda, he does something he never thought he could: He joins the dance club. After all, every routine begins with a single step, right?
Synopsis from the Official Kodansha Website
My Thoughts on the Wandance Manga + Would I Recommend it?
I’ve read around 20 chapters of the manga. To be honest it’s hard to follow a lot of the dance panels. It has an interesting art style during those scenes. I’m not sure what to make of it. The movement has a sort of paint effect trail to it. This is the only reason I stopped reading for a bit.
However, with the announcement of the anime, I am very excited for it. I really like the character design and the genre of the story. One of my all time favourite anime is Welcome to the Ballroom, an anime that revolves around, of course, ballroom dancing.
In the 20 chapters that I’ve read, I see the potential of the story. I can see Wanda becoming a lot of anime fans’ favourite character in the season it comes out. The dance scenes will be wild, with the help of RIEHATA, a professional dance choreographer.
Go ahead and give the manga a shot. I’m personally going to be eagerly waiting for the anime. I cannot wait to see the first trailer.
