I’ve used the phrase “kitchen sink” in reference to Dandadan before. And it fits in more than one way. The catch-all approach to occultism to be sure, and the narrative style it defaults to in the climaxes (though not conclusions) of arcs. I don’t remember at one point the sheer volume of stuff Dandadan throws at you started to wear me down with the manga. I’m sure it was later than this, but I’d also say that it seems to work better for the anime. The sort of manic insanity that few series can do like this one is more exhilarating on-screen than it is on the page.
The right and probably only strategy at times like this is to relax and let the Dandadanime wash over you. Don’t think too hard, don’t ask questions. A massive volcanic eruption is the most normal thing happening, and that’s par for the course. Momo’s idea is to use the Mongolian Death Worm’s body as a giant hose to spray slime on the magma flow, slowing it down. To accomplish this she uses one of the geysers as a water main. The Kitou clan are none too happy about seeing their Dragon God further defiled in this manner, and they don’t make things any easier for Momo. But she makes it clear that they and their human sacrifices can suck lava, and that none of this is her fault.
Fortunately Manjiro (the priest from the tsuchinoko shrine) shows up to help, revealing that he’d been asked to keep an eye on the kids by Seiko. That’s more or less enough to handle Naki and her brood, but then real trouble shows up in the form of Evil Eye. This is another quite stylish fight scene, if not quite as awesome as last week’s (a bit too much slo-mo). And Jiji in this form is a bit much for Manjiro, though he does at least distract the Kitou. Self-preservation is now a full-time assignment for Momo, and putting out pyroclastic flows goes on the back burner (pun intended).
This is Dandadan – surely you never thought it would end there. Bring on Mr. Mantis Shrimp – this time backed by his ship. And we finally meet and hear from Chiquitita (Oozora Naomi). He’s presumably got milk and seems a properly healthy young mantisian now, complete with his own theme song (which he sings constantly). Again though, there’s always another nesting doll or two in there, and this time it’s Seiko in the flash – along with Tarou, in the whatever he is. Now Jiji has bigger shrimp than Momo to fry, and Chiquitita even pitches in with worm-hose-mucous duty.
There are so many literal and figurative fires still to be put out here that things don’t slow down even a tick. Seiko has a plan to capture the Evil Eye, clearly, and it revolves around Tarou (though he seemed to be unaware of it). Tarou gets his Rossini moment (gotta love public domain), Seiko gets her entity, and that leaves Momo free to address the Okarun in the room. She takes off for Jiji’s ruined house, Chiquitita and ship in tow, only to find the entire crater filled with lava. Things are looking grim, but the little alien pulls something out of the magma before Momo can toss herself into it, and all’s well that ends well (though it would be nice if someone besides Okarun had thought to worry about Turbo Granny).
If ever an episode was Dandadan in its purest form, this was it (though that’s no less true of next week’s starkly different form, which I’ll discuss then). And I gotta say, Mr. Mantis Shrimp is consistently the stealer of any episode he’s in – Seki Tomokazu just owns that role in a beautiful way. There’s still a lot to be sorted out here, but that’s for next week – in terms of bombast, this one delivered in a big way.
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