DanDaDan Evil Eye Arc

What a Musical Battle

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

DanDaDan S2 Ep 8 Review

DanDaDan is at its best when its doing one thing: embracing chaos. And it has seen a lot of chaos so far. From escaping perverted aliens to fighting a Loch Ness monster in a flooded pocket dimension, where there is chaos, the show thrives. But this episode might be among the strangest and most chaotic things that DanDaDan has done to date. And it all has to do with Ken and Aira using angry musical ghosts to train.

Musical Chaos

Having grown frustrated at not being able to stop the Evil Eye, Ken and Aira opt to train under Turbo Granny. Unfortunately, her idea of “training” involves them fighting the Music Room Portraits. They’re beings created from people’s fears of their freaky paintings, and they will kill anyone who plays music badly in front of them. As a result, Okarun and Aira are forced to fight them in an increasingly chaotic battle.

I will be blunt: I find it very hard to accurately describe what is going in this episode. From the teens having to dodge musical notes to the portraits creating a domain expansion and summoning armies of clones to fight, it’s the sort of thing that has to be seen to be fully appreciated. It’s these kinds of moments when DanDaDan is at its absolute best, as it gives the story the chance to run wild with its imagination. As usual, Science Saru does a superb job of bringing the chaos to life, going evern further by having the entire fight set in monochrome, with only Okarun and Aira’s ghost forms providing color.

The main focus of the training, though, is to help the pair find their sense of rhythm in battle. I don’t really understand it, but the whole point is to get Okarun to tap more into Turbo Granny’s powers. And when you’re into a song that makes you want to get up and move, you’d be surprised to know what rhythm you gain.

It ends up working in the end. Aira holds her own against the music portraits even after they grow to the size of Titans. Which, by the way, gave me Attack on Titan vibes!

And by the end, Okarun is able to move faster than he was before. And according to Turbo Granny, there’s still plenty more of her power that he has yet to tap into. Assuming he doesn’t die along the way. TG admits that she didn’t care if he or Aira didn’t survive her training. Which makes it feel like karma when she accidentally riles the portraits up a second time by accident.

Let the Rematch Begin!

Meanwhile, things aren’t looking good at the Ayase house. After the recent scare, Seiko’s apprentice is insisting that it’s not safe to keep Jiji bonded to the Evil Eye and wants to call the Hayashi back. All of this is taking a toll on poor Jiji, who feels guilty about putting everyone in danger. It’s not his fault the Evil Eye is doing this. His kindness led him to want to save the ghost in the first place. He shouldn’t have to feel bad about wanting to help someone who deserves it. But he can’t do it alone.

And that brings us to the end of the episode. Having leveled up from training, Okarun comes back to the Ayase house with one purpose and one purpose alone: to fight the Evil Eye.

Next episode is going to be straight fire, people. That’s all that I have to say. Straight. Fire. I can hardly wait!!!! You can do it, Okarun! Which is also the name of this episode!

I Give “You can do it, Okarun” a 4.5/5

Heavy Metal Hayashis, Maid Cafes, and Evil Paintings, oh my!

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

DanDaDan S2 Ep. 6 & 7 Review

So, since I was at a convention last week, I was unable to watch the new episode of DanDaDan. So, I’m combining my review for the last two episodes since they both continue the Evil Eye Arc! And as we have already seen multiple times by now, the Evil Eye is a problem, and will continue to be a problem until it’s gotten under control. But since Jiji is such a good person, that means that the family is going to have to do things the hard way. And as these two episodes demonstrate, this ragtag group has very much become a family.

So, after Jiji almost lets the Evil Eye out thanks to some room-temperature soy sauce, it becomes apparent that the Family can’t keep going like this. Fortuntately, the Hayashi that Seiko sent for arrive…and they double as a heavy metal band! In some cultures, music is said to have mystical properties and can banish supernatural evils, but this takes it to a whole new level! As a casual fan of heavy metal myself, I wholeheartedly approve of this creative decision. Especially since the anime does a great job of giving us the private concert that manga readers have waited years to see!

One might think that having Jiji decide to not exorcise the Evil Eye would make that entire scene pointless, but it wasn’t. It was a good source of entertainment, which is what stories are supposed to do. Plus, it’s likely that we’ll see the band again in a future arc. Until then, though, the group has to keep watching Jiji while they train to get stronger to stop the Evil Eye.

In all honesty, though, we can’t really fault Jiji for feeling sympathy for the Evil Eye. After what they went through in life, many people would end up as angry and vengeful as that yokai has become. This also isn’t the first time that a teenager has opted to try and befriend a demonic being calling their body home, either. Granted, Yuji never could get Sukuna on his side, but Naruto was able to win over Kurama the Nine-Tailed Fox, so there’s hope! Not that it doesn’t make it any easier when Jiji nearly loses control again and almost kills Momo. The look of guilt on his face is overwhelming. That is the look of someone who thinks they’re a burden and a monster. But more on that later; let’s talk about Momo’s new job!

MAID-O BEAM!!!

In light of the recent damage to her home, Momo has come to the decision that she needs to get a part-time job to help pay for repairs. That’s when her two gyaru friends come in clutch and land her one at a nearby cafe. However, they also do two things. Firstly, they mischeviously drag (literally drag) Okarun there while she’s working to embarass the two of them. Secondly, they neglect to tell her that this cafe in particular…is a maid cafe.

It takes a certain level of confidence to work in a restaruant that requires its employees to wear potentially embarassing attire. Normally, Momo has that kind of confidence down pat. When she’s forced to work in front Okarun, her mutual crush, though, it’s likely one of the most embarassing moments of her life up to that point! Anyone who has had the misfortune of being on the clock when their crush walks in on them can relate! Still, it does feel like it’s worth it when the two end up walking back to the Ayase home together. Sadly, this is also when the incident with the Evil Eye happens again, meaning it’s back to the seriousness.

The fact of the matter is that at this time, none of the Family can hold a candle to the Evil Eye. If they want to win, they need to get stronger fast, especially Okarun. Surprisingly, Turbo Granny proves quite forthcoming about ways to tap into her power more, bringing him to his school after dark, with Aira following out of curiosity/she’s simping for Okarun. She talks about having to maintain a steady rhythm or something during combat and how slow Okarun is. That matter can wait, though, as they have to fight haunted paintings.

…Wait, haunted paintings? Oh dear!

I Give “We Became a Family” and “Feeling Kinda Gloomy” a 4/5 and 3.5/5