Dara-san of the Reiwa Era

Dara-san of Reiwa is a comedy with a spooky side. It is based on a manga by Haruomi Tomotsuka. The manga began in October 2021 as a webcomic on the artist's Twitter account. In March 2022, it moved to Kadokawa's websites ComicWalker and Niconico Seiga, and by June 2026 it had eight books. Yen Press publishes it in English. The anime was made by Asahi Production and directed by Masato Suzuki. It started on July 2, 2026, on AT-X and other channels, with 13 episodes, and it streams on Crunchyroll.

The word 'Reiwa' in the title is the name of Japan's current era, which began in 2019. So the title tells us this is a modern story about an old, scary legend. Japan has many tales of yokai, which are spirits and monsters from folk stories, and of gods who live in the mountains. This show takes one of those old legends and drops it into the everyday life of two kids today.

The kids are siblings named Hinata and Kaoru. Hinata is a tomboy, and Kaoru is gentle and feminine in style. Their family has long been in charge of a set of forbidden mountains in the west. People are not supposed to go into this forest. Old stories say something terrible lives there, a being called the Yamatagi Madara. One day, the two kids go into the forbidden woods anyway.

There, they meet the monster from the legend. She looks truly frightening. Her upper body is that of a shrine maiden, a young woman who serves at a Japanese shrine, and her lower body is a huge snake. She even calls herself a god of bad luck. But once they start talking, the kids find out something funny. This scary being is actually shy, awkward, and very lonely. She has been alone for a long time, and she is not sure how to act around people. The kids give her a friendly nickname: Dara-san.

From there, the show is about a strange but sweet friendship. Hinata and Kaoru visit Dara-san, bring her into their lives, and share many silly adventures. Dara-san tries to understand modern things and human feelings. Many jokes come from the gap between her terrifying looks and her soft, clumsy personality. The series also mixes in real horror moments. There are curses, strange spirits, and old dangers tied to the mountains, so not every scene is light.

This balance is what makes the show special. One minute it is funny, the next minute it is creepy, and then it becomes warm and touching. It is a story about being judged by how you look, and about how kindness can reach even the loneliest person. Some scenes include nudity and scary images, so it is best for older teens and adults. If you like cute monster friends with a dark twist, Dara-san of Reiwa is a fun pick.