Dan Da Dan Dubbed

Dan Da Dan’s Ending the Season Like That?!?

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , ,

Dan Da Dan  Ep 12 Review

It’s been a wild ride this fall, but the first season of Dan Da Dan is now in the history books. Fortunately, the next season has already been announced to be closer than we thought, and given how this season ends, fans will appreciate it. But before we get to that, we have to go over everything that happens in this season finale. As Momo, Okarun, and Jiji head to exorcise Jiji’s house, Okarun is still trying to get over the fact that he’s jealous of Jiji’s relationship with Momo. If only he could see that Momo doesn’t think of him like that.

We Can’t Hate Jiji!

So, after that whole fiasco with the living mannequins (and convincing Seiko to let the girlfriend live at their house), it looks like the mannequin thing is wrapped up. Unfortunately, Taro the mannequin didn’t have one of Okarun’s missing balls. He was just alive because…reasons.

Some people might want an explanation as to why these two mannequins are alive, but it’s actually funnier to leave people guessing as to why. With all the weirdness in the series, you learn to roll with this sort of thing.

Speaking of rolling with things, Okarun is dead set on keeping Momo’s attention firmly on him. That leads him to spend much of the episode trying to find ways to impress her, only for Jiji’s extroverted attitude to interfere. The worst part is that Ken can’t bring himself to hate the friendly Jiji, either. The young man is so nice that the two even start to bond over their shared interest in the supernatural. However, that doesn’t stop them from butting heads over who is closer to Momo, which is fun to watch.

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Why End Things Here?

What wasn’t fun to watch, though, was the way that the episode decides to end things. And since this is the season finale, it’s going to be generating a lot of controversy.

As Jiji explained, and Momo confirms for herself, his house is haunted by a powerful spirit. So powerful that it even manages to alter the appearance of the structure in a way that they don’t notice at first. However, that’s not the most unsettling part. During the episode, Momo breaks one of the cardinal rules of the horror genre by choosing to try out one of the village’s hot springs alone. Worse, the hot spring she winds up choosing is co-ed, a fact she only becomes aware of when a group of men come barging in. The episode ultimately ends with those same men openly attempting to assault Momo!

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Not a Good Way to End Things

This…was not a good moment for the season to end things. While seeing perverts trying this sort of thing on women isn’t new in the Shonen genre, that doesn’t make the site of it any less horrifying. The fact the anime chooses to end the season without showing how Momo will get out of this only adds to the anxiety it’s going to put fans through. While they can always read the manga, some people prefer only to watch the anime to enjoy the story as it goes along. For that matter, having the anime cover the start of the next big arc only to end the season on such a tense moment seems like a failure to properly pace things out.

As much as I have enjoyed Dan Da Dan, I think that the anime genuinely screwed up by choosing to stop when it did. Not everyone is going to appreciate having to wait months to find out what happens next. It’s only the fact that they don’t have to wait long that may end up bringing them back.

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While it was likely meant to be revealed at the end of the episode, Studio Saru announced that the next season of Dan Da Dan would be coming in July 2025. Relatively speaking, that’s fast for an anime! Hopefully, the season finale won’t end up driving away the fans that the show has worked so hard to gain, as it’s easily one of the best anime of the year. I, for one, am looking forward to getting to see more of it next summer!

I Give “Let’s Go to the Cursed House” a 2.5/5

One of those Times When Earth Has Something Aliens Find Useful

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , , ,

Dan Da Dan Ep 10 Review

The last few episodes of Dan Da Dan have been chaotic for our group of teens. First, Aira’s misguided attempts to seduce Ken lead to a misunderstanding between him and Momo. Then those banana-obsessed aliens come back with minions and try to capture Ken and kill Momo and Aira. And even though they win, every high schooler’s worst nightmare takes place. The entire school sees the girls in their underwear and Ken in his birthday suit!

Time to run damage control.

Damage Control

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After the most embarrassing moment of their lives up to that point, Ken, Momo, and Aira take shelter in the nurse’s office and get spare tracksuits. Thankfully, the nurse is the understanding and supportive type…though I almost lost it when I saw that she gave off the energy of a dominatrix. She had the flogger and everything!

Now comes the real issue: explaining the incident and salvaging their reputations before they have to change schools. Momo’s friends come up with the silliest, but also most believable, explanation in the form of a gladiator fight between the girls over Okarun. To be fair, they’re not wrong to assume there’s a love triangle. We should know by now that there is a love triangle between Momo, Aira, and Okarun, even if Momo and Okarun don’t realize it yet. And while Ken does manage to explain what really happened when she walked in on him and Aira, I didn’t appreciate how she teased him over his reasons for being quiet about exercising. Trying to look cool in front of a person you like is a big deal for someone like Ken, and as light-hearted as it was, her trolling him felt a little mean.

But not as mean as what Aira did to Momo.

RIP Aira’s Popularity

Initially, the trio planned to tell the school that the incident was Momo’s fault, but before Aira can do that, her past actions come back to haunt her. Remember how she spread lies about Momo being promiscuous before? Those lies, combined with what happened, almost incite Aira’s classmates into an angry mob. And Aira, in a moment of character development, fesses up that she started the fake rumors, destroying her popularity.

When we first met Aira, she was the kind of shallow, self-absorbed person who would do something that mean-spirited. And while she’s still a bit full of herself, the fact that she was willing to fess up for the sake of a girl she doesn’t like that much is a sign of positive character development. There might be hope for Aira yet, people! There has to be, though, since they still have to deal with Yokai and Aliens.

Earlier in this episode, Ken theorizes that the reason the Serpoians wanted Turbo Granny’s powers is because the aliens’ tech is useless against all the supernatural forces found on Earth. I’m no stranger to seeing science and magic existing in a shared world, but it’s still pretty cool hearing that ghosts and spirits are acting like a nuclear deterrent against alien invasion. However, at least one alien won’t bother them anymore: The Mantis Shrimp, AKA the Dover Demon, Kappa, and Mr. Peeny-Weeny.

EVER SEEN AN ALIEN ABDUCT A COW?

Somehow, Mantis Shrimp survived their fight, but is so beat up that he passes out right in front of the girls. Everyone feels so sorry for him that they nurse him back to health and feed him, prompting the grateful alien to pledge his loyalty to them. And Dover becomes even more sympathetic when it’s revealed he only took the job to pay for life-saving blood transfusions for his son. I might not approve of him working for the Serpoians, but I think most of us can agree that he’s a good dad! Also, we got this!

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The funniest part, though? It turns out their species’ blood is exactly like cow milk. So we get one of the most over-the-top versions of the classic “Aliens stealing cattle” trope I have ever seen! And it’s made even funnier when Seiko refuses to believe that Mr. Shrimp’s an alien!

….Uh-Oh

This episode is mostly dealing with the falling action and aftermath to last week’s frankly insane experience. However, just when it looks like things might calm down, we get thrown another curve-ball. Momo’s childhood friend, a boy named Jiji, comes over, having been invited by her grandma to stay for reasons. And to make matters worse, Seiko tells Ken that Jiji was Momo’s first crush.

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And with that, our love triangle has become a love…rectangle? Quadrangle? Double-triangle? No matter what it’s called, the look on Ken’s face and the previews for the next episode tell us that the drama’s about to increase. I feel so sorry for Ken right now!

I Give “”Have You Ever Seen a Cattle Mutilation?” a 4/5

Loch Ness Monster, Shrimp Aliens, and Teen Drama, Oh My!

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dan Da Dan Ep 9 Review

Of all the times that the Serpo aliens could show up again, it had to be right when Momo was mad at Okarun. In the last episode, Aira began a love triangle between her, Momo, and Ken-Chan when she confessed her feelings to the boy. And, in typical comedic fashion, Momo showed up right as Okarun was in the most inopportune position possible with Aira. Now the three are trapped in a pocket dimension as the Serpos and their temp workers are trying to kill them while the entire school’s flooding.

Oh, and to make matters worse, Okarun doesn’t have any clothes to speak of. The aliens tore them to shreds. At least they now have another person who can go ghost in the form of Aira.

Momo, Just Say You’re Mad

So, after using the reveal that Aira can go ghost thanks to getting Acro Silky’s aura to their advantage, she and Okarun have to get over something just as bad: their embarassment. This is the first time that Aira’s seen a naked boy in real life, and her feelings get the better of her. Likewise, Ken wastes time trying to find clothes so he can fight. At some point, though, he decides to forget it and worry about it after they’re done fighting.

All things considered, the fights in this episode continue the series’ trend of making the action look as amazing as possible. Ken and Aira’s movements are fluid and don’t waste any time or energy unless needed. The show also doesn’t waste time making jokes over the facts that Okarun’s fighting this entire battle naked. A less mature story would make a bigger deal about it, but Dan Da Dan knows its better to wait. Though there is one moment when the girls decide to strip down to their underwear for the fight. The story justifies it beyond fanservice due to wet clothes hampering their movements. It’s not wrong. Unless they’re made of special material, wet clothes will become dead weight.

Amidst all the action, though, Momo (who manages to catch up to the two) can’t let go of her anger towards Okarun and Aira for their perceived wrongdoings behind her back. This is the second time that we’ve seen how Momo and Ken’s failures to communicate can negatively affect them. Momo won’t even hear Ken out when he tries to explain. The best that he can do is promise to provide context as soon as they’re safe, but the teamwork remains teeth-clenched.

The Serpo’s are Bad bosses

Thankfully, the same could be said for their alien assailants. The Serpo’s prove to be terrible bosses, constantly berating the Shrimp alien and the Nessy alien. It gets to the point where Nessy kills two of them, forcing the remaining one to fuse with all three to corner our trio. And since they’re fighting underwater, they’re in real danger of drowning. The fact that the show used such dark colors for the seemingly bottomless water gave the entire fight a very unsettling appearance. As someone who doesn’t like swimming in places where I can’t see the bottom, I was genuinely unnerving to watch.

It takes some effort, and an awesome combo move from the trio, but eventually, our heroes manage to kick the alien’s butt, complete with a finishing move straight out of a video game. However, that fight pales in comparison to what they go through next. Once the alien’s Domain Expansion wears off, they return to reality. In the middle of the crowded hallway. With two girls in their underwear and Ken naked.

They’re Gonna Have to Go to a Different School Now

I won’t lie, this scene would be absolutely hysterical to look at. Though, given how it’s pretty much the most embarrassing thing a teenager could experience in high school, my pity outweighs my sense of humor. They’re either going to need a very good excuse…or find a way to erase everyone’s memories. Either way, the next episode is going to be hard for them.

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Once again, we had a fun episode of Dan Da Dan. With the year almost over, I’m getting ready to come up with my picks for my favorite anime of the year. Needless to say, this show is going to be in the running.

I Give “Merge! Serpo Dover Demon Nessie!” a 4/5

The Dan Da Dan Episode that Broke the Internet

Aside Roderick J "Jay" Friz Anime, Anime Reviews, Crunchyroll , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Dan Da Dan Ep 7 Review

One would think that a show as silly as Dan Da Dan would keep the sad moments few and far between. I knew there would be plenty of drama and angst, but that’s part of being a teenager. I wasn’t expecting the show to give us moments that would have people breaking down in tears.

Except they just did. And while my brain works in a way that makes it hard to process sadness, I’ve learned to let my mental self cry. And after the newest episode of Dan Da Dan, I was mentally bawling my eyes out.

The Heroes Triumph Once Again!

The episode picks up where we last left off as Okarun and Momo are facing Acrobatic Silky, a Yokai obsessed with having Aira call her “mommy.” Since Okarun can’t fully control his ghost powers and Momo’s hands are tied (thanks, Aira!), they’re left at a pretty big disadvantage. Especially since Silky can use her hair as a weapon, like Yukako from Part 4 of JoJo. She’s just as crazy as Yukako was at first, too, as she throws everything into making sure the two die. Worse, since they’re in a tight space, Okarun can’t go full speed.

It takes some trickery on their part, but the pair are able to ultimately overcome Silky, allowing them to recover one of Okarun’s balls. How he reattaches it to his body, though, is anyone’s guess. Despite everything seemingly being resolved, though, things take a very dark turn when Turbo Granny looks Aira over and tells the two that she’s dead.

As Turbo Granny reveals, when Silky tried eating Aira, she managed to absorb her Aura, AKA her life energy. Without it, her body’s going to start shutting down. The two teenagers rightfully start panicking as they try to keep her alive, performing CPR and trying to call 911. And as annoying as Aira was, I didn’t want to see her die.

That’s when Silky steps in, feeling guilty over what she did to Aira. So, to make amends, she offers to give the girl her own Aura, despite knowing that the process would kill her off for good. And while Momo is against this, they don’t have much of a choice.

What follows over the next ten or so minutes might be the best moment in the anime thus far. I daresay it, but I’d even consider it to be among the best anime moments of 2024 as we look into the memories of Acrobatic Silky.

Silky’s Tragic Backstory

The flashback is told with almost no dialogue, save for near the end. The only sounds we get are either from the weather, such as the rain falling from the sky, or from this beautiful, yet eerie, piano music. There are moments when a story can explain more visually than it ever could through words alone, and this definitely ranks as one of them.

When Silky was still alive, she was a single mother to a daughter who she loved very much. But raising a child can be hard on the wallet, especially when you’re doing it alone. So Silky has to work multiple jobs to make sure her daughter is fed and clothed. One of which I quickly realized was as a prostitute. This woman had to sell her body to help pay the bills; that’s how desperate she was to care for her daughter.

Quick sidebar, by the way: while I don’t necessarily approve of the decision, I cannot condemn someone for being a sex worker. There are plenty of people out there who do it because they need the money to survive. And the fact that Silky was willing to do so not for herself, but so that her daughter could do ballet in cute dresses and smile, shows how good a mom she is. She was a good mom.

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Which only made her and her daughter’s ultimate fate all the more heartbreaking.

If there’s one thing that I can’t stand, it’s watching adults attempting to do harm to a child. As I watched the two men who Silky owed money to kidnap her daughter, I was pratically screaming at my laptop scream for them to burn in damnation. And the first-person perspective of the cut and bleeding Silky as she tried to chase after her daughter was just the most heartbreaking thing to watch. No parent should ever see that happen to their kid.

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And the scene of her dancing afterward in sorrow as she commits suicide. I saw people talking about how it was one of the moments they wanted to see the most in Dan Da Dan, and I can understand why. Science Saru went all out to turn the moment into this beautiful, sorrowful scene.

Aira Had it Rough, too!

To add an even further gut-punch, we then see why Aira called Silky “mommy” as a kid. The reason she mistook her for her mom is because her birth mother is dead. She died when she was still too young to understand the concept of death.

This entire part of the episode had me wanting to bawl my eyes out. Silky’s life? Tragic. Her reasons for mistaking Aira for the daughter that she could no longer remember? Heart-breaking. The fact that Turbo Granny says that unless she found peace, she couldn’t even move on to the afterlife? Agonizing.

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Seeing a revived Aira call Silky “Mommy” one last time to give her peace? JUST PASS THE TISSUES! Even Momo is left in tears over everything!

I know it’s too soon to call it, but right now, I think that entire flashback with Acrobatic Silky was the best moment in Dan Da Dan. When it’s time to look back on the best anime moments for this year, it’s making the list. It’s moments like this that story-telling are all about! SCIENCE SARU, YOU JUST STRUCK GOLD!

I Give “To a Kinder World” a 5/5. GIVE THESE PEOPLE AN AWARD!!