DAN DA DAN Season 2

Episode 16

At long last, we have arrived at the epic conclusion to DAN DA DAN's “Mongolian Death Worm/Evil Eye” storyline, and it truly is an occasion where the descriptor of “epic” is not being wasted as empty hyperbole. Thankfully, we're long past the point of having to wonder whether or not Science SARU will be able to do Yukinobu Tatsu's manga justice every week, since they've proven themselves time and again at being capable of not just consistently honoring the source material, but improving on it with the unique strengths of the medium of animation. The end of this Evil Eye arc was already a deranged delight in printed form, and damn near perfect. but this? This is somehow even better.

We get to enjoy everything that this anime gets right about adapting a top-tier manga from the very first shot of the episode. The lush, warm hues that blanket the fiery horizon as the erupting volcano threatens all life in the village so perfectly capture the tone of this entire show, where, underneath the surface of the romantic journey that Okarun and Momo, there is a bubbling brew of the the most batshit crazy nonsense that you can possibly imagine, just waiting to explode. Sometimes, a girl just wants to rescue her man from certain death and give him the biggest hug she can, but a family of freak-ass murder-cultists and a mountain of molten lava just has to get in the way of her happy ending. Of course.

Last week was nothing but nonstop fisticuffs as Okarun took on the Evil-Eyeified Jiji in a one-on-one bout, but this final act is Momo's time to shine, as she uses her quick-thinking and her psychic powers to once again come up with a hell of a solution to this volcano problem: Use the rotting corpse of the death-worm-thing as a giant fire-hose and spew geyser water all over the magma flow until the day is saved. It's honestly a great plan (even if the water that comes spewing from out of the worm's guts is suspiciously crap colored), but even a heroine as capable as Momo is going to struggle to deal with an entire family of rapey cultists and a tantrum-throwing demon that is using her good pal's body to play rope-a-dope with every breathing creature in a five-mile radius.

This is where the episode really gets going, and anyone who has ever doubted DAN DA DAN's ability to properly escalate the standard of buckwild-nonsense should hopefully be silenced forever. What makes this whole arc so incredible to watch unfold is how it ends up taking nearly all of the threads established in the previous fifteen episodes and brings them together to put a stop to the Evil Eye and the volcano once and for all. Aside from Aira, who is probably too busy studying her dad's weird porn or something, every major player from the last few storylines shows up to help Momo save the day. The “BooTuber” monk from the season premiere turns out to be Seiko's apprentice, and I can't help but commend him for both coming in clutch during the fight with the Kito clan and calling out Granny Ayase for her piss-poor communication skills. The monk also comes in handy when Seiko herself arrives on the back of a very bewildered Taro the Horny Anatomical model as they float down from the tractor-beam of the spaceship being piloted by the boxing crab-alien guy and his enthusiastic little son.

It takes the combined power of Crab Guy's punching, Crab Son's piloting, the psychics' chanting, and Taro “William Hell”-ing himself into a million pieces and turning himself into a human-shaped cage for Jiji to get the situation under control. The fact that DAN DA DAN can keep track of all of these moving parts and still maintain its rock-solid production values for the entirety of this episode is not exactly surprising, at this point, but it sure is still impressive as all get out. There is simply no anime currently airing that does this kind of shock-and-awe spectacle any better, as far as I'm concerned.

Yet, would you believe that DAN DA DAN is still able to save its best moment for last? I'm talking, of course, about Momo and Okarun's reunion, which may just be my single favorite scene from this entire show thus far; at the very least, it has to be tied with the Ballad of the Acrobatic Silky. I don't just love Okarun's rescue because it feels like a very deliberate homage to a similar moment from Neon Genesis Evangelion, where Shinji had to risk burning his own hands to pull Rei from the damaged Eva plug at the end of the show's sixth episode. What makes the scene so satisfying is how it subverts the usual anime cliches to demonstrate just how much these kids love each other. When Okarun trips and falls into Momo's chest after so earnestly declaring his absolute faith in her, we've been trained as anime fans to expect the usual tsundere gag-response: Momo is supposed to get all indignant and rosy-cheeked, call Okarun an idiot, and maybe slap him in the face for good measure. Dan Da Dan isn't playing by those rules, of course, so Momo responds by simply collapsing into Okarun's arms and crying tears of joy.

If DAN DA DAN ended its run right here, just sixteen episodes in, it would already be standing tall as one of the best Shonen Jump adaptations ever made. This, obviously, makes it a de facto candidate for one of the greatest anime of all time, full stop. The fact that we get even more of this absolutely perfect show to enjoy this season is one of those blessings that we cannot take for granted. Long live #MomOkarun.

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DAN DA DAN Season 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on BlueSky, his blog, and his podcast.