You rated episode 1 of
How is DAN DA DAN? Community score: 4.4
You rated episode 2 of
How is DAN DA DAN? Community score: 4.6
You rated episode 3 of
How is DAN DA DAN? Community score: 4.4
©Yukinobu Tatsu/SHUEISHA, DANDADAN Production Committee
You guys are so lucky to read these reviews. This week, while re-watching episode 3 of DAN DA DAN, I made the foolish mistake of watching the entire OP for the third time. Of course, this evoked the Beetlejuice-like curse that Creepy Nuts had maliciously hidden in their absurd rhythm of collisions and contagion flows, and I was eventually forced to re-watch the show's opening three hundred times in a row. The only reason I was able to step away from the screen to sit down and write this recap is because my wife had the good sense to take a sledgehammer to our 4K television and free me from Creepy's grip. Nuts in my soul. However, there will be another episode of DAN DA DAN in just a week, another after that, and another the week after. Friends, I don't know if I have enough strength to survive the onslaught of such sick people…
Oh, that's right: Anime is pretty radical, too. If you read my coverage of the first volume of the series, you won't be surprised by this fact, because the good folks at Science SARU are cooking their hearts out to deliver a stylish, cinematic adaptation , the most heartfelt and compelling from Yukinobu Tatsu's manga that a team of mortal men and women could produce. The colors, the animation, the plot, the music, the tone-it's all perfect.
The only complaint I can see people complaining about about DAN DA DAN's premiere is how shabby the alien abduction scene shows our heroine Momo being threatened by fertilization of aliens. While I'm not about to argue that this isn't a deliberately juvenile riff on classic science fiction stories and UFO lore, the show does create a flavor skillfully good as expected. As DAN DA DAN will continue to prove time and time again, Momo is not the type of female protagonist who will be needlessly exploited and victimized for the sake of cheap teasing or lazy development. character development for her male lead, Ken “Okarun” Takakura. Besides, Our Boy-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is arguably somewhat shorter here, as Momo gives up his experience with new psychic powers to boot when poor Okarun is haunted by a psychotic grandmother ghost with a soul. Get rid of his balls.
That's right, for those just joining us, DAN DA DAN really has a penchant for humor and ridiculous anime shenanigans. However, as someone who devoured dozens of chapters of the manga in one sitting for the first time, I can promise you that this manga is a strangely perverted anime and also one of the best sci-fi/horror rom-com mash-ups. that we've been lucky enough to have since Edgar Wright completed his Three Flavors Cornetto Trilogy.
If you needed more proof after that great premiere, I hope Episodes 2 and 3 are enough to convince you. “Is that a Space Alien?!” is a wonderfully stylish miniature of everything DAN DA DAN does well, in that it uses the appearance of the giant Sumo-Wresler Flatwoods Monster from beyond the stars to let you Our heroes demonstrate their skills while expertly developing their growing relationships as friends, battle partners, and…maybe even more? Dear readers, if only you could hear the embarrassing sounds of pleasure my wife patiently endured when Momo did that little tease to Okarun to try to get him to open up more and start to trust her a little. I hope you all have tolerance for the “cheerleader” relationship as I have become a tough Okarun and Momo carrier. My soul will never be at peace until these adorable children fall in love, get married, and slaughter some dick-hungry aliens for their honeymoon.
However, if the adorable character development and exciting action of Episode 2 weren't enough for you, “It's a Granny vs. Granny Clash” continues to deliver by fully introducing Momo’s incredible grandmother, Seiko. Yes, I fully admit that DAN DA DAN took the coward's way by designing a woman with experience so cool that she looks like a smoking hot young lady living eternally in high age in his mid-20s. However, as a rebuttal, I would like to highlight how Seiko used his giant baseball bat/pencil combination to draw amulets around the Turbo Granny before enthusiastically defeating her. She's a hard-smoking, beer-guzzling medium with a penchant for old lame comedies and extreme violence. She deserves our respect, dammit.
Luckily, despite her endless source of terrifying sass, even Momo recognizes this basic truth of the universe and our heroes have found themselves the perfect mentor. They'll need all the help they can get because Turbo Granny is moving and causing embolisms left and right. Momo and Okarun will have to up their game and hone their skills to permanently escape the old crone. Not only is such a climactic battle the perfect way for our protagonists to strengthen their relationship even further, but it's also the only hope Okarun has to once again fall without forcing Momo had to stare him in the face (and maybe he wanted his trash back in its rightful place too).
On one hand, I absolutely can't wait to see how next week's episode plays out. However, on the other hand, if Momo and Okarun had won the day, the Science SARU animators would never have had the chance to animate “I Am Horrifyingly Close To Crapping My Pants!” Okarun's too. dance. So who's to say which is the better result?
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DAN DA DAN is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other popular cultures, which you can also find on Twitterhis blog and podcast.