Dan Da Dan Season 2 Review: Yokai Rage, Alien Mayhem, and Action RomCom Hilarity
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The creepy aliens and demons are back in ‘Dan Da Dan‘ Season 2, this time joined by a sinister new Yokai, wild rock bands, colossal Kaiju, and a massive mecha! Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura AKA Okarun, barely get to breathe easy in this anime adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s supernatural-action-comedy-romance manga.
If you remember, ‘Dan Da Dan’ Season One closed with a criminal cliffhanger: Momo and Okarun head to Jin Enjoji’s hometown after he seeks their help with his haunted house. While exploring the town alone, Momo ends up at a hot spring, where she’s suddenly surrounded by a gang of predatory men, and the season wraps mid-crisis.
So, ‘Dan Da Dan’ season 2 dives straight into the tense hot springs scene, where Momo fights off the sleazy old men trying to harass her. Titled “Like, This is the Legend of the Giant Snake,” episode 1 of the new season then follows Momo visiting a popular shrine in town, where she learns of a horrifying mythical snake which is both feared and revered by the locals. Meanwhile, a group of eerie old ladies knock on Jin’s door, immediately creeping out Okarun, and their sinister intentions are obvious.
The first three episodes of ‘Dan Da Dan’ season 2 were released together as the Evil Eye movie. (Minor spoiler ahead: “Evil Eye” is the name of the Yokai that ends up possessing Jin Enjoji.) In fact, the first four episodes mainly follow Momo and Okarun battling not just the unsettling townsfolk, but also a monstrous serpentine entity and the immensely powerful Yokai that takes control of Jin’s body.
The ‘Evil Eye’ Jin is the ultimate ‘bad boy’ demonic thirst trap, with bulging muscles, uncontrollable rage, and terrifying strength. Taking him down feels impossible, and on top of that, Momo is tasked with saving the town from a volcanic eruption. The ‘Evil Eye’ receives a poignant origin story, one that reveals the town’s dark past and stirs Jiji’s compassion for the spirit, despite its clearly malevolent nature.
‘Dan Da Dan’ season 2 can be divided into three segments, with the first one purely focused on Momo and Okarun firefighting the many supernatural challenges plaguing Jin’s little town, including a possessed Jin. By episode 4 the mission wraps up, and everyone relocates to Granny Seiko’s place, where Aira Shiratori also joins the gang from episode 5 onward. The middle arc is all about trying to exorcise the Evil Eye from Jin, while the final three episodes shift toward alien Kaizu, embracing sci-fi chaos and neon green vibes.
Turbo Granny steals scenes in her adorable cat form, cussing at the kids and insulting them at every turn. Comedy also comes from Jiji’s frequent shirtless transformations into Evil Eye, reinforcing Dan Da Dan’s long-running gag of characters losing clothes mid-battle. Aira in her acro-silky Yokai form is just as funny, calling everybody ridiculous names.
While the middle episodes revolve around strategies to rid Jin of Evil Eye, Granny Seiko comes up with a temporary fix, though her house gets wrecked in the process. She begins training Jin to keep the Evil Eye Yokai under control, Okarun seeks Turbo Granny’s help to grow stronger, and Momo even picks up a part-time job to help rebuild the house.
The whole Evil Eye mess gets wrapped up not with brute force, but through some crafty scheming by Turbo Granny and Okarun. Does it make sense? Not really. Is it funny? Absolutely – and let’s be honest, no one’s watching this anime for logic anyway. There’s non-stop action, comedy, and an engaging pace that makes it the perfect over-the-top time-pass anime.
And of-course, when the teens are not locked in supernatural or extra-terrestrial gladiator matches, ‘Dan Da Dan’ also indulges in teen awkwardness as Okarun and Momo’s romance continues to simmer, while Aira’s crush on Okarun sparks hilarious catfights. Meanwhile, Jiji and Okarun’s budding bromance adds some sweetness to the chaos.
Episode 9 of ‘Dan Da Dan’ introduces Kinta, Takakura’s (Okarun’s) classmate, a sci-fi nerd on a laugh-inducing quest to figure out why Okarun is so popular with girls, since both Momo Ayase and Aira Shiratori, two of the prettiest ladies on campus, are always around him. Poor Kinta however doesn’t expect himself dragged into the bizarre world of freaky demons and unknown entities when he stalks the protagonists.
From crazy violent face-offs, freaky new enemies, awkward teen romance, comical bickering, laugh-inducing swearing, and unhinged chaos, ‘Dan Da Dan’ season two has all the ingredients that made it popular in the first place. New characters only fuel the madness, especially when Momo and Okarun go on a ridiculous quest to retrieve his missing family jewel (yes, that ball).
The animation studio ‘Science SARU’ remains fantastic for this Dan Da Dan season, with the art style and tones constantly changing depending on the theme and mood of the chapter. Whenever Momo and gang are in combat mode, the colors become gloomy, dark, and the scene featuring the ‘Evil Eye’ spirit are dominated by dark purple shades. The comedy scenes brighten up with colorful quirks. The soundtrack matches the mood swings, tense beats for fights, playful notes for banter.
Episode the 12, the season finale of ‘Dan Da Dan’ delivers a pretty epic ‘Space Kaiju Vs Buddha Mecha’, where Momo, Aira, Okarun, Jin and new character Kinta struggle to maneuver giant Mecha that looks like the Buddha, to fight off a Godzilla-sized monster that appears out of nowhere. Introduced back in episode 10, the creature fuels an extended climax packed with both carnage and comedy.
‘Dan Da Dan‘ ultimately wraps with a jaw-dropping-hilarious-twist: a brand-new character reveal that leaves Momo Ayase (and the audience) stunned. The cliffhanger makes the wait for the next season all the more excruciating.!
Rating: 9 on 10. Stream Dan Da Dan on Netflix and CrunchyRoll.
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