OP: “Kakumei Douchuu (革命道中)” by AiNA THE END (アイナ・ジ・エンド)
That Dandadan Season 2 should have hit the ground running (at full speed) is not remotely a surprise. That’s pretty much all it ever does, for starters. And it’s been pretty reliably reported (though not officially acknowledged) that this was never intended to be a split-cour. In fact it was initially thought to be a two-cour run, and the consensus is that Science SARU fell behind in production (as is their wont) and decided they just couldn’t finish in time. Given that the first cour was head and shoulders above any TV work Saru has ever done, I wouldn’t hold that against them.
Along with a new cour of course comes a new OP and ED. I didn’t find either song as earwormy as Creepy Nuts’ OP, but the ED sequence here is lights-out (and full of spoilers). I haven’t seen any attribution of who directed the ED (edit: it’s Komugiko2000, a fixture on the indie anime scene, and his new studio ALBLE) but the funny thing is, it strongly suggests Yuasa Maasaki’s style (though it’s almost certainly an homage, if anything). The episode itself is totally seamless with #12, betraying no acknowledgement of a six-month break (further suggesting there was never supposed to be one).
Checking back in, that leaves us with Okarun and Jiji gazing their the hole in the wall in Jiji’s creepy house, and Momo about to be molested by “crocodiles” and the mixed-gender onsen. Something clearly ain’t right with these dudes, but fortunately Turbo Granny has hitched a ride in Momo’s backpack after hearing talk of hot springs, and knocks down the rickety changing room to give Momo the chance to escape. Meanwhile a group of weird old ladies have showed up at the house, as the leader (Isobe Masako) – who notes that she’s letting Jiji stay rent-free – gives the boys the third degree.
The common denominator with all these babas and jiji’s (no relation) is that they’re members of the Kitou clan. The local authorities seem to consider them troublemakers (the dudes at least) but they’re obviously a powerful local family. Eventually the Kitou men join the ladies at the house, and seem skeptical of Jiji’s explanation that Okarun is his best friend. Fortunately Okarun is quick enough on his feet to remember Jiji’s poster and say that Paris Saint-Germain is his “friend’s” favorite team, avoiding an attempt to trip him up and catch him out.
The pieces slowly start to come together about what’s happening here. The local shrine priest (who dreams of being a bootuber) shares the story of the local snake God legend while showing Momo the supposed tsuchinoko (which was only ever a marketing ploy). Back at the house talk turns to human sacrifices keeping the Dragon God appeased for 200 years, and the true purposes of Jiji’s house becomes clear. And when Momo joins the party, the shit really hits the fan (as usual when she does).
The whole business – Mongolian death worms, kuragori, human sacrifice – is pretty much a classic Dandadan setup. But the product being sold here is the sizzle rather than the steak, and we get plenty of that. If you’re watching you’ve been down this road before and know what to expect – kickass Gainax-style fights, badass old ladies, narrow escapes, Okarun and Momo on top of each other. It’s Dandadan in all its heady Dandadanity, which is really not quite like anything else in the anime universe at the moment. The best episodes shoehorn in some deceptively deep character moments and we really didn’t get those here, but everything else was present and accounted for.
ED: Doukashiteru (どうかしてる)” by WurtS
The post Dandadan 2nd Season – 01 appeared first on Lost in Anime.
