DanDaDan Season 2 Episodes 4-8 Remain Incredibly Bizarre in The Best Way Possible

Written by Melly Merida

Spoilers Ahead

Following the theatrical release of DanDaDan Evil Eye, the second Season of DanDaDan delivers five more episodes (including the first three from Evil Eye). The series continues with its never-ending blend of Japanese culture, wild scenarios, endearing characters, an adorable romantic subplot, and, of course, aliens and evil spirits. 

Episodes 4-8 are practically the aftermath of the first three episodes of Season 2 (or also known as DanDaDan: Evil Eye). The 4th episode continues where we left off from DanDaDan: Evil Eye, with Momo trying to stop the erupting volcano after killing the Mongolian Death Worm and using the worm’s slime to extinguish the lava before it reaches the Byakuja Village. While simultaneously fighting off the Kito Family with the help of Manjiro, a priest of the Tsuchinoko shrine within this village, who first seems like a joke background character and a wannabe influencer, but turns out to be Seiko’s (Momo’s grandmother) pupil, plus a powerful fighter.

It doesn’t take long for Evil Eye, or Possessed Jiji, to find his way to them, causing far more destruction, leading to Manjiro, Momo, and Naki Kito (the head of the Kito Family) to work together to fight him off. Evil Eye continues to prove himself to be a formidable foe, cutting off Momo’s psychic powers and nearly crushing Manjiro’s or Naki’s head with his rapid kicks. It takes Seiko to arrive with the help of Mr. Mantis Shrimp, who is riding in his UFO and trapping EE inside Taro (a haunted anatomical model) using a protective talisman to prevent him from escaping. 

Episodes 5-7 bring back the classic DanDaDan blend of the shoujo romance anime genre and the paranormal genre. There’s even a build-up to a found-family trope, as this group of misfits grows bigger, with Jiji, Aira, Mr. Mantis Shrimp (or Peeny-Weeny [no, I’m not kidding]), and Manjiro officially joining the main cast as they try to expel Evil Eye. They have scenes in episodes 5 and 6, where they are just eating together like a family with Seiko being a strict yet caring motherly figure, Manjiro is the older brother, Okarun and Jiji bonding like brothers, Aira and Momo having a sisterly rivalry, Turbo Granny is that nagging grandmother, and Peeny-Weeny and his son, Chiquita are the cool uncle and adorable baby cousin. 

The found family trope in DanDaDan has a positive effect on these characters in the 8th episode. In the episode, Okarun, Aira, and Turbo Granny have to face the music room portraits, which are bobble-headed figures of famous classical musicians such as Beethoven or Bach. The entire battle scene between our three protagonists and these spirits is exciting, and the powers of these antagonists are unique as they use musical notes from their instruments as weapons. What stands out about these antagonists is how they force Okarun and Aira to push their yokai powers to the maximum. In Okarun and Aira’s minds, all they think about is their new family and their need to get stronger to help them and save Jiji. In one scene in particular, Aira gets hit by one of the operatic giants, and she is stunned for a second, but there are flashes of memories of her found family, which revives her strength. 

One of the best parts of this season, so far, is the romantic subplot. The relationship between Momo and Okarun has been growing since Season 1, from starting as friends, to forming a mutual attraction, to falling in love. However, they are still too shy to confess their feelings to each other. In Episode 5, the team is on the way to the hospital to visit Jiji’s parents, and Momo and Okarun sit in the back together. Their hands touch for a second, flustering them both, but Momo tells Okarun to put his hand back down next to her and proceeds to play with it. The scene is so heartwarming that when the car goes under a tunnel, the lighting turns a soft red, and the lights passing by their faces flash rhythmically, mimicking a heartbeat. A perfect reflection of their emotions, it is such an adorable scene that can make anyone smile and root for these two to get together. 

When there’s romance, there are bits of love rivalry. There’s a neat subversion when it comes to the rivalry; in most shoujo love triangles, it is often the two male love interests that comedically butt heads over the main female protagonist. However, in this case, it’s the main female protagonist, Momo, butting heads or chests with Aira over Okarun. It’s always amazing and hilarious to see these two curse each other out with the nastiest expressions and have this frenemy relationship that gives their dynamic depth. For Momo’s two male love interests, Okarun and Jiji, there is a bit of rivalry seen in Season 1. Still, it doesn’t last for too long, as these wholesome boys just get along so well over their shared interests in the supernatural, and they rarely butt heads this season. One of the funniest scenes with the two is when Jiji slowly stumbles towards Okarun for a hug with tears in his eyes, after Okarun promises to get stronger to save Jiji from EE. Then EE kicks Okarun in the face—interrupting this sweet moment between the two.

The Evil Eye is the primary focus of the paranormal aspect of the series, as there are high stakes with him still possessing Jiji. Everything may seem fine, but this consistent looming threat of Jiji transforming into EE again exists. Every moment Evil Eye returns, he instantly outmatches the characters, growing smarter each time he’s in the driver’s seat. However, the way the characters figure out how to bring Jiji back is odd; it’s by splashing hot water on him, and yet, if Jiji gets hit with cold water, EE returns in full power. There’s no explicit reason, yet, as to why this happens, a simple theory in mind is that EE dislikes hot water because it might’ve reminded him of how he died, by being burned alive in hot lava. So this method scares him away. Despite this, Evil Eye remains a significant threat, as he soon recognizes their pattern of splashing hot water on him, raising the stakes much higher than before. 

DanDaDan’s includes a piece of Japanese culture when introducing the Hayashi. Usually, Hayashi is a form of Japanese theater consisting of musicians dressed in traditional attire playing a variety of traditional drums and instruments during festivals or theaters. However, DanDaDan’s creator, Yukinobu Tatsu, put a fascinating twist on it (Well, it wouldn’t be DanDaDan if something bizarre didn’t happen), by having the Hayashi players be a fabulous metal band called Brave Force, who aid in exorcisms as part-time jobs. In the anime, there’s a considerable reference to Back To The Future, when the Hayashi players are turning up the volume. Reminiscent of the scene when Marty McFly turns up the speakers at the beginning of Back To The Future. 

It’s comforting to see DanDaDan continuing to be an incredibly bizarre show that you can’t help but love because it has something for everybody, from rom-coms to lovers of the supernatural and sci-fi, and in this case, metal-heads. Fortunately, Season 2 of DanDaDan has yet to conclude. Catch the next episode streaming on Netflix every Thursday and don’t get possessed while doing so.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episodes 4-8 is now streaming on Netflix.