WAZAAA!!
Dan The Man is a web animation made by Studio Joho following the adventure of a video game character named, well... Dan, in his quest to complete the game and do whatever it takes to finish it. Be it saving princess, confronting a drunk guy, defending the village from dragon, and so on. All leads to a huge conflict he has to face yet.
In the nearby kingdom, a violent resistance movement is brewing, and the king's forces have already kidnapped the peasants. Dan sets out to save them, but soon finds himself caught in a brewing civil war, and the truth behind it is not what it seems.
All of the episodes can be found here
. Stage 8 has been released as a mobile game made by Halfbrick Studios and has been adapted later into video form, though some of the plot elements have been changed. The continuation in form of Stage 9 was released five years later in late 2021 with more episodes following after until it reach the season finale in October 2022, followed with an announcement that the sequel, Dan the Man 2 alongside the third season of the web series, is in development.
Official Website for the game.
Launch Trailer Story Trailer Story Recap Game Modes Trailer Christmas Update Multiplayer Mode Trailer
This series provides examples of:
- Aborted Arc: The plot point of Josie being pregnant was never brought up again after Episode 6, and neither was Ana, implying that they were quietly dropped.
- Ad Reward: Even after you pay for premium, you still can see third-party ads to gain some free currency bonuses.
- Allegedly Free Game: For the game, if you don't pay for premium, be ready to be interrupted by third-party video ads mid-way through a level, and another when the game transitions to menu from the end of a gameplay session.
- Anachronism Stew: Peasants, cottages, kings, and castles still exist, but so do smartphones, police, SWAT teams, tazers, guns, robots, drones, jetpacks, and cars, among other things.
- Alternate Continuity: Downplayed. While they follow the exact same storyline, both game and web series versions of Stage 8 play differently to each other, with the climax of their respective story being one of the major examples. Before both versions end with the Resistance Leader blowing himself up alongside the protagonists, Dan is the only one who survives the whole ordeal before he faces the Resistance Leader's giant mech in the game version while the web series one shows one of the geezers being the sole survivor instead, shooting the leader in the crotch before he's able to fight back.
- Asshole Victim: Any villains that die in the series always get what's coming for them.
- Badasses Wear Bandanas: The Dual wielding normal-sized mooks wear bandanas over their heads.
- Bayonet Ya: Averted. Upgrading the AK Rifle and Bazooka gives them a bayonet, but it's just for show.
- Beat 'em Up: The game is a combination of this and Platform Game, though unlike common Beat-em-ups, there is only a single flat lane more like a common Platform Game.
- Bling-Bling-BANG!: Fully upgrading your weapons will adorn them in gold, except for the knife, as its blade is on fire.
- Blood from the Mouth: In Stage 16, blood exits a cleric's mouth to show he is going to die.
- Breath Weapon: In Stage 5, Dan fights a dragon who can breathe fire. It's later revealed that its mother has the same ability.
- Burn Baby Burn: At the end of Stage 8-4-2, some of the Corrupt Corporate Executives can be seen burning papers while another one prays for mercy.
- Big Badass Battle Sequence: A good amount of them in the Stage 8 Video.
- Big Bad:
- The web series and Stage 8 game has a Big Bad Ensemble between the Advisor and the Resistance Leader, who are fighting for control of the Kingdom. The former controls the kingdom and enslaves the peasants, while the latter aims to become king himself and is willing to kill people to do so.
- The Frosty Plains arc has the Advisor once again, who leads his men in stealing the peasants’ Christmas decorations and enslaving them.
- The Fright Zone arc has Professor Brains, who is sending his zombies to invade the kingdom through portals.
- Stage 10 onwards, Dan is pitted against the High Priest, leader of Chicken God cultists who's holding grudge against him for indirectly made the peasants worship him following the events of Stage 9 and replacing every Chicken God statues with his image in the process.
- Bring My Brown Pants: Played for Laughs. Out of fear, the King takes a long shit which ends up bigger than his body after seeing Gustavo (a very angry deity) in person.
- Cosmic Retcon: Because of the entire event of Stage 8 has been completely reset after Dan loses a life and return to the beginning of said stage, Stage 9 instead following the alternate scenario where he decide to ditch the resistance and siding with the peasants instead.
- Desecrating the Dead:
- Two clerics are seen beating a peasant's corpse in Stage 14 like he was still alive.
- A child takes bones from the High Priest's corpse and other parts of it then throws them at Gustavo to help fight him in Stage 16.
- Deus ex Machina: After you beat The Dark Master in his boss fight, it initially appears that The Dark Master was not actually being hurt by the player's attacks. Thankfully, his polar opposite, The Light Master, arrives just in time. Even the achievement for "beating" the Dark Master lampshades this with the exact wording of the trope.
- Diabolus ex Machina: The video version of Stage 8 has the Resistance Leader somehow surviving being pumped full of lead at point blank range to pull a Taking You with Me.
- Emoticon: A ":)" appears in one of Anna's chat messages in Stage 6, which she added to show she's happy.
- Evil Versus Evil: As the story progresses, it slowly becomes clear that the Resistance and the King's Army are not much better than each other, as they pretty much do the exact same things - shooting, killing, and beating random civilians and summarily executing unarmed and surrendering Mooks. The army is enslaving peasants, but multiple cutscenes also show that the rebels are willing to pilfer and steal pretty much anything that is of value. After the Resistance Leader kills the King, he takes the crown and immediately shoots one of the Geezers for calling him out, and becomes the Final Boss.
- "Everybody Dies" Ending: Pretty much every established character dies by the time Dan reaches the end of the game, including Dan himself. So it's a good thing he still has one extra life.
- Fire Means Chaos: Especially in Stage 14, in which the clerics set buildings on fire as part of their rampage. It also helps emphasize the chaos.
- Gainax Ending:
- At the climax of Stage 8, after almost every established character dies at the hands of the Resistance, including Josie(!), Dan fights the final boss. When the Resistance Leader is defeated, he pulls off a Taking You with Me stunt and detonates the bombs in the castle, killing him and Dan. Dan respawns to the beginning of Stage 8-1-1 and resorts to beating up the Resistance, which the Peasants cheer about. End game and cue feelings of "...that's it?". However, Stage 9 continues on where it left off.
- The video version of Stage 8 changes things up, where the Sole Survivor is one of the Geezers instead of Dan (or Josie). The Resistance Leader detonates the bombs and Dan respawns without his memory, and he leads the Resistance again. Only this time, the Geezers decide to sit the battle out.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation: Dan has an extra life on hand that allows him to respawn at the very start of Stage 8 after he gets killed by the Resistance Leader, but because it only comes up in that moment, Dan can't use it in the game, instead relying on potions to subvert death.
- Gasp!:
- When he discovers the cleric's mistreatment of the peasants in Stage 13, the King lets out a rather small gasp out of horror.
- Several clerics gasp in shock when the High Priest tells them they're going to summon the Chicken God.
- Giant Mook: There are two types: One that dual-wields SMG or Machine Pistols and one that carries a shield and a spikey club/mace. Frosty Plains and Fright Zone arcs introduce a third type, who relies on a flamethrower.
- Heart Symbol: There are times in which heart symbols appear in characters' speech bubbles, usually when they're discussing love in some way. For instance, when a male peasant is giving a female one a present in Frosty Plains, a speech bubble appears near him with a red heart.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic:
- The King's Guard who is bothered by the peasant-powered treadmill (and who eventually defects to help Josie) doesn't wear a helmet. Unfortunately, the Resistance didn't get the memo, or just didn't care. In Stage 9, he is the one who informs King about enslaved peasants and saves him from being shot by the Advisor.
- You can choose to play this straight or avert this with your Custom Character, as the King's Goon's Outfit has a helmet and a few other outfits have different head gear as well..
- Idea Bulb: A light bulb appears near Josie in Stage 10 to show she got an idea.
- Idle Animation:
- Leaving Dan or The Custom Character alone will just have him look at the player and shrug, while Josie begins to look at the player tapping her foot clearly peeved at leaving her alone and then screaming and crossing her arms. Barry has a distinction of having two idle animations: One is the same as Dan and Custom Character's, while the other one has him put some shirt sleeves and rip them off his suit.
- The King's Army has it's one unique set of Idle Animations ranging from either minding their own business looking around taking selfies checking they're weapons, and if they catch sight of you and are not in their range they actually begin to taunt you.
- Kill It with Fire: The fully upgraded Knife can set enemies on fire.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Not long after the High Priest tries to sacrifice a child then decides to sacrifice one of the priests working under him instead, said child stabs him in the back with one of his cult's own knives.
- Oh, Crap!: You'd be horrified too if you got cornered by Barry and Dan at a cliff's edge then realized your only weapon's battery died, which is what happened to Professor Brains in Fright Zone.
- Pistol Whip:
- Due to Barry being the only character to have his signature weapon on his being a lot of his moveset has him make use of his shotgun to hit enemies in the face with it and also shoot it at them point blank.
- Some of the King's Army who have guns use either the butt of their gun or to just hit you in the face with it.
- Potty Failure: A gag in Stage 5 has Dan shit his underwear, which seems to be during a hangover.
- Psychotic Smirk: When he decides to summon the Chicken God to try to kill Dan, the High Priest briefly smirks.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Civilized: The resistance starts off kidnapping a princess, and in the first few stages serve as antagonists for Dan to fight. This is subverted when it turns out that they are trying to save a dragon, and later the oppressed peasants, but double subverted as even after he teams up with them, they prove to be violent bastards who seem to only want power, repeatedly pilfering riches and killing surrendering goons. The leader kills a Geezer just for standing up to him and becomes the Final Boss.
- Running Gag:
- The Resistance's Robots don't last very long. Surprisingly enough, in the actual Stage 8 video, the robot doesn't get destroyed.
- Dan's inability to do anything the NPCs do because he's a playable character. And usually resorting to using his fists.
- Save the Princess: The first thing Dan does in the series. Though she ends up being a bit too much for him to handle and he leaves her to the Vendor instead.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story:
- The Geezers wanted to save the peasants first- fortunately for them Josie already took care of that problem. Unfortunately, they decided to pick the worst place for a dramatic entrance.
- The entire Stage 8 is this, as the Resistance slowly shows their true colors and the leader even becomes the final boss. Once defeated, he then kills you by detonating the bombs he had placed inside the castle. Thankfully, Dan has an extra life; after which he beats up the leader.
- Shield-Bearing Mook: Fitting with their SWAT/Riot police aesthetic two type of mooks carry shields; The normal-sized ones and giant ones
- Shield Bash: Well those shields aren't exactly only there to keep you from punching them in the face.
- Shock and Awe:
- The fully upgraded Shuriken are imbued with electrical power.
- The Drones carry around tazers.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: If you purchase Barry Steakfries as a playable character, he has a Shotgun that has unlimited ammo but takes a second to recharge. One of the Enemy types you encounter has a similar shotgun, and they pack quite the punch. Even more so in Hard Mode.
- Short-Range Shotgun: Thankfully the enemies' shotguns have pretty short range, but this also applies to Barry's shotgun. Averted on Hard Mode, where the shotguns that enemies wield can fire balls or balls of energy that can travel the entire screen.
- Shout-Out: Quite a lot of them going around.
- The "Modern Rifle" is obviously an M41A Pulse Rifle.
- One of the enemies you fight wears a balaclava, a helmet with night vision goggles, and uses a leg-based attack to knock you out.
- In Stage 5, Dan acquires a shield, spear, and suit of armor. He loses his spear by throwing it at a dragon, and he loses his shield and armor in a blast of dragon fire, leaving him in his underwear.
- Josie's in-game Idle Animation shows her tapping her feet impatiently while staring at the screen.
- In Stage 11 where Josie discovers the manual of The Ginger Ninja game in-universe, its cover uses the style of NES games with the control guide section for the game deplicted with Sega Genesis controller.
- Shrug Take: In Stage 8, Dan, Barry, and the custom character do this as their idle animations (one of them, in the case of Barry). Josie instead looks impatiently at the screen before yelling at the players few moment later.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: A common theme in the series. While the series is set in a video game, realistic outcomes sometimes happen.
- In Stage 1, Dan rescues a princess who seems to be in love with him… and then demands more and more expensive things, to the point where Dan gets heavily enough in debt to lose everything. When he tries to fight back, he loses his life as well. It turns out that pairing up the princess with the Vendor is the best result, and clears the stage.
- In Stage 3, it's revealed the bodies of the enemies killed in Stage 2 remained instead of merely disappearing, and there's even a dog chewing on one of them. Josie is, naturally, too traumatized to participate in the partying.
- Also in Stage 3, beating up a drunk ends up having the same end result as beating up anyone else in the world: their death. This results in Dan facing the full consequences of murder, including arrest, trial, and execution.
- Till Murder Do Us Part: It's revealed in one stage that in a drunk man's backstory, his father killed his mother.
- Token Good Teammate:
- Almost every single one of the executives are greedy jackasses, except for two. When they begin to present some pretty good alternative sources of power to their colleagues, the entire board actually laughs. When they find out about that the idea of using peasants to power the whole kingdom was more dubious, they waste no time in trying to reveal to the people about their discovery. Unfortunately they don't last very long at the hands of the Dark Master.
- Also, one of the guards overlooking the Peasant-powered treadmill is clearly troubled by it. In fact, he was the one that sent the evidence of how the Peasant-powered treadmill isn't completely humanitarian to the above Executives.
- Violence is the Only Option:
- Averted on several occasions, particularly in Stage 3, where fighting back against The Drunk Guy ends with him being killed and Dan being executed by the police, and befriending him clears the Stage.
- Played straight in the end of Stage 8-4-3, when after restarting to 8-1-1, Dan just beats up the Resistance...who were arguably the real bad guys anyway. Stage 9, which continues from there shows this scene again at the beginning, but averts for the rest of the short, as Dan siding with peasants ends with Josie and other trapped peasants saved and King finding out about Advisor's cruel orders and turning his army against him.
- What a Drag: To torment a peasant by dragging him in Stage 14, at least one cleric tied a rope around his neck then attached it to a vehicle before driving it.
- Wrong Side All Along: Dan spends the first few stages fighting a La Résistance group made of red ninjas, and eventually defends the kingdom from a dragon. Turns out the dragon was trying to rescue its child, which was being used to power the kingdom, and the resistance is trying to fight the tyranny and greed of the kingdom’s rulers. It then pulls this again when the resistance turns out to be as brutal as their enemies.
- You Have Researched Breathing: In Stage 2, Dan unlocks the "ability" to communicate via leveling up like it's a complex feat.
