Dundasand: The Flatwoods Monster Explained

Key conclusions

• Dandadan
  combines horror, humor and action, exploring the supernatural through two teenagers.
• The Flatwood Monster from Episode 2 is inspired by a real-life alien encounter in West Virginia in 1952.
• The Flatwood Monster at
  Dandadan
  displays immense strength, toxic mist abilities, and loyalty to the Sickle aliens.

Yukinobu Tatsuso's unique ability to combine the paranormal and otherworldly to tell compelling stories truly shines through his magnum opus, Dandadan. The series combines horror and humor, showing the suspenseful and otherworldly stories of two teenagers investigating the supernatural.

In episode 2, titled “It's a Space Alien, Isn't It?!” Dandadan introduces the monster Fleetwood, an alien who works under the command of his boss, the sickle aliens. At first, the huge creature may seem like the fruit of Yukinobu's rich and unusual imagination. But it turns out that it takes its inspiration from an infamous alien encounter reported in the early 1950s. In this article, we'll delve deep into the origins of the Fleetwood Monster and explore how it influenced Yukinobu's work.

The Origins of the Fleetwood Monster Myth

A meteor or a legitimate encounter with aliens?

On September 12, 1952, a bright object was seen in the sky in Flatwoods, West Virginia. When witnesses went to investigate, they reported seeing a pulsating red light that caught their attention. Wanting to get to the bottom of it, they decided to look near the hill where the bright object was originally seen. According to eyewitness reports, when they got closer, they encountered a 10-foot-tall human-like figure with an ace-shaped head, a round, blood-red face, and claw-like hands.

Later, when the news spread, the local sheriff and deputy canvassed the area, but found nothing out of the ordinary. That didn't stop the story from making national news, however, as reporters flocked to the area to investigate and draw their own conclusions. But even seven decades later, no conclusive evidence has been found to support the eyewitness accounts. Although there are several theories about the incident, the most common one is offered by Joe Nickell of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry, who claims that witnesses probably saw a meteor. This was most likely the case, as several meteors were reported that year on September 12 from various locations in the United States.

Joe also had an eyewitness account of the strange extraterrestrial encounter that occurred that day. According to him, people on earth probably encountered an owl, which they mistook for a humanoid creature from another world. He argues that the shadow most likely made the bird appear larger than usual, an illusion further enhanced by their heightened state of anxiety. Despite several studies in the area, no evidence of extraterrestrial life has been found. However, the lack of evidence hasn't stopped people from building their theories, and the myth of the Flatwoods monster lives on decades after the incident.

The Flatwood Monster Dandadan

The series is heavily influenced by eyewitness accounts of the 1952 incident

Yukinobu Tatsu Dandadan borrows ideas from real-life alien and cryptid myths, including the Flatwood Monster. Like the alien from West Virginia, the series' Flatwood Monster is also 10 feet tall and was first spotted in the town of Flatwoods in Braxton County. In the following years, there were reports of his sighting in the Japanese prefecture of Yamanashi. The Flatwood monster is quite muscular and built like a sumo wrestler in the anime. His mouth is rectangular and moves mechanically, and his head is surrounded by a mysterious hood. Because it is quite tall and has a giant belly, the Flatwood Monster can potentially weigh several tons.

Interestingly, the monster Flatwood is a subordinate of Serpas and is also an alien like them. Due to his colossal size and sumo-wrestler-like build, he can generate terrifying power using sumo-style stomps. They are very dangerous to those nearby as the force can kill even an ordinary person.

A Fleetwood monster's strength can suddenly turn into weakness when its body begins to disintegrate upon contact with the ground for some inexplicable reason. It's almost as if the alien can only wrestle in an upright sumo position. However, in the event that this happens, the Flatwood monster's leg creation ability allows it to instantly grow new pairs of legs to stabilize the rest of its body.

A real-life eyewitness to an incident in West Virginia in 1952 claimed they felt nauseous and smelled a pungent smell of fog shortly after encountering a 10-foot-tall human-like figure. Yukinobu seems to have borrowed the idea to give the plane tree monster in the anime the ability to emit a toxic black mist that causes nosebleeds. The alien uses a noxious mist to attack Okaruna and Momo to force them to come out of hiding.

Despite being incredibly strong, the Flatwood Monster is surprisingly obedient to the Serpo Aliens. He remains focused on his task of retrieving Okaruna and Momo's banana organs when he encounters them. The alien almost manages to defeat the eccentric duo with supernatural powers, single-handedly. However, Momo's quick thinking allows the two friends to put the talisman back in place, whereupon it burns to the ground and dies.