Dandadan S2
Short Synopsis: Season 2 of Dandadan, where a young man cursed by a demon and his classmate with psychic powers go on a quest to recover his balls.
Lenlo: What is it with this author and trying to rape his female leads? Seriously, this obsession with lewd humor and sexual situations is dragging down an otherwise competent shounen. When Dandadan isn’t trying to sexually assault Momo, it actually does body horror and action really well, with interesting environments, situations and power usage, and it knows how to pace the mystery of whatever monster we’re about to fight. But then, without fail, it always interrupts it with some random testicle joke, or some old guy trying to feel up Momo for no reason at all, dragging all of the good parts of the show down. As is, I’m going to watch it, if only because last season has given me unrealistic expectations as to Dandadans production. And so long as the pretty lights continue to go brr, I’ll continue to stick with it. But if it can’t move past all this weird sex stuff? Then it’s never going to be anything more than a YouTube fight compilation generator, at least not to me.
Potential: 40%
Mario: After a 6-month break, Dandadan picks up exactly where it left, for better or for worse. It has stellar animation, great production all round, the plot that makes little sense and the characters are as plain as paper. The mystery regarding Jiji’s situation gets resolved quickly, and here we have a special kind of villain this show has to offer: the Kito Family who are not monsters but act and behave like one anyway. If you enjoyed the first season you’ll be right at home (well, not Jiji’s rent home) with this second season. It’s a real treat to look at, and it’s weird but never afraid to be a weirdo.
Potential: 40%
Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex
Short Synopsis: A neglected daughter is forcibly engaged to a handsome count after the passing of her sister, his previous fiance.
Wooper: Before watching this episode, I figured that it was merely this show’s localized title that made it sound like bargain bin teen lit. Then I watched the episode and realized that’s exactly what it was. The author of Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex must be the gorillionth writer in history to use Cinderella as a jumping off point for her own work, tweaking a bunch of the details but ultimately crafting a story of an abused young woman with whom a gallant prince (here a count) falls in love. The way that “Betrothed” heaps misfortune on its heroine Marie’s head is more blatant than any Cinderella adaptation – here it’s both her father and her biological mother who call her ugly and force her to do manual labor, rather than just an evil stepmother. Only Marie’s sister shows her any kindness, so naturally, she has to die midway through the premiere. The entire setup is quite clumsy, but perhaps there’s a bright spot to this avalanche of tragedy – with so much of it out of the way so early, the show can move on to less derivative material. As far as the production goes, I’m tempted to call it threadbare, but the show does nail its close-ups, and the moment when a beautified Marie descends the stairs of the count’s estate really sells her transformation, however cliched. This show won’t land on my summer watchlist, but it’ll be a couple thousand fans’ first shoujo anime ever, and honestly, they could do worse.
Potential: 10%
Cultural Exchange with a Game Center Girl
Short Synopsis: A Japanese-speaking arcade employee and an English-speaking customer strike up a flirty friendship.
Wooper: From a production standpoint, Game Center Girl (GaCen Shoujo to Ibunka Kouryuu) has quite a few bugs. The animation is hiccupy, the imprecise editing causes some shots to linger without purpose, and while its use of mostly diegetic music suits its arcade setting, it could have used a more robust soundtrack to smooth over some of its more awkward moments. For decades, though, the anime machine has been overcoming these kinds of limitations through sheer cuteness, and I’d say this show continues that tradition. Contrary to how it might look, its cutest asset isn’t the vertically challenged blonde girl (Lily) on the poster, but the triumph of attraction over the language barrier, which is one of the romance genre’s all time greatest tropes. All of Lily’s dialogue is in British English, while arcade employee Renji can hardly put three words together in her native tongue. Still, he tries his darndest to communicate out of a mixture of kindness and curiosity, which comes across with clarity, especially during the scene where he presents Lily with a notebook where they can exchange messages in written English. Sure, the chase scene that precedes the notebook reveal is embarrassing to watch, and all the misunderstandings that will arise from this premise already have my head spinning, but this was still a fun first episode. That counts for something, even if I’m unlikely to watch any more.
Potential: 25%
The post Summer 2025 Impressions: Dandadan S2, Betrothed to My Sister’s Ex, Cultural Exchange with a Game Center Girl appeared first on Star Crossed Anime.
