DanDaDan S2 Ep 2 Review
Do you guys remember that one episode of DanDaDan last year about Acrobatic Silky’s backstory? The one that garnered critical acclaim and broke the Internet from its sheer sadness? If you thought that the tragic story of Silky’s life and death was sad, then brace yourselves. It’s gotten a sequel. As Ken, Momo, Turbo Granny, and Jiji are at the mercy of a giant worm, an even bigger threat appears: a yokai with a backstory as sad as Silky’s. Maybe even sadder, because the Yokai in question…was just a little kid.
The Evil Eye is scary…
At the end of the last episode, the group was in a bad spot. They were already being cornered by the Mongolian Death Worm. But then, Okarun starts going ghost and tweaking out and trying to kill himself, with Momo soon following suit! As Turbo Granny explains, the Worm emits psychic waves that compel people to off themselves. It’s the ultimate predatory skill, and for some reason, only Jiji is immune to it. All he can do is run for his life while keeping his friends from killing themselves/realizing that this might be what made his parents try to kill themselves.
Except that it wasn’t just the Worm that was the threat. Believe it or not, it wasn’t the only creature haunting the house. There was another being; one far more terrifying than the Worm. A yokai that makes even the likes of Turbo Granny freak out: the Evil Eye.
…But his backstory is SO SAD!!
The Evil Eye is, quite possibly, one of the most powerful yokai in the entire series and a nightmare to deal with. Like the Worm, the Evil Eye also has the power to make people want to off themselves just by looking at them. The upside that its waves cancel out the Worm’s waves, bringing Momo and Ken back to their senses. The bad news? Now they have to run from both while making their way through the Uzumaki-like labyrinth. And when Jiji looks right into its eyes, he sees its whole backstory, and it is a tragedy.
The short version: the Evil Eye was once one of the sacrifices the Kito family gave to the Worm. They had locked him up underground until he was an emaciated husk before burning him alive. But instead of moving on, he somehow became a cursed spirit. And whenever anyone other than kids saw him, they would be compelled to off themselves! And then the Kito Family just buried the son alive in the house as another sacrifice, leaving him to starve of die of asphyxiation, while the spirit couldn’t do anything to help him. And this just kept repeating victim after victim, until that sweet little spirit finally crashed out and decided to kill all humanity. Everyone would die as penance for the cruelty those people were shown.
I thought that Acrobatic Silky’s backstory was sad, but this? This happened to a little boy. A child! And they were doing this to countless people for years to a monster that didn’t care about them and just ate them the first chance they got. No wonder the Evil Eye crashed out. A lot of people would wind up doing the same thing if it happened to them!
Jiji Goes from Zenitsu to Sung Jin-woo
And this just tugs at poor Jiji’s heart, and he goes into “righteous Shonen protagonist” mode. He makes it all the way to the spot where E.E.’s body lies and promises to be his friend and play with him as much as he wants. In other words, he’s offering up his body to be used as a vessel for the yokai, like Ken and Aira.
Big. Mistake. It turns Jiji from a goofy Zenitsu…into Yokai Sung Jin-woo. And I’m not just saying that because all three share the same voice actor. I’m saying that because E.E. Jiji is him! In fact, its revealed that Jiji has a ridiculous amount of dormant spiritual power. Combine that with the Evil Eye’s collected malice, and he turns into an apex predator. And he wields that football like it’s a cannonball. If Okarun hadn’t shown up when he did, Jiji would’ve killed Momo and Turbo Granny.
There’s a reason why DanDaDan fans consider this and the proceeding arc to be among the series best thus far, and its for moments such as this. Now, Okarun has to protect Momo and Turbo Granny from Jiji and the Death Worm! This is going to be a tough fight, but one that fans are going to be enjoying to the fullest extent. And I cannot wait!
D&A Anime Blog 