Storyboards and episode direction: Hiromi Nishiyama
Script: Hiroshi Seko
Following last week’s action-packed and very red episode, DAN DA DAN’s fifth episode takes a breather to focus on the still relatively nascent friendship between Momo and Okarun, while also introducing two new important cast members.
It’s a relaxing ride for the audience, but not so much for Okarun, who becomes stricken with anxiety and awkwardness as he tries to figure out how to interact with Momo at school. Momo seems to have her act together at first, but when she’s in class, she cutely rocks her table back and forth or absentmindedly taps a finger while gazing out the window as she yearns to speak to her new friend about their shared experiences with the occult. At least her pain is just emotional — fate subjects Okarun to some accidental physical harm, including a ball to the face that wipes off one of the funny expressions he delivers in this episode.
Alas, when they get the chance to converse again during lunch break, Momo and Okarun’s attempts to look for each other constantly result in them missing each other instead. The relaxed guitar that accompanies part of the classroom section and most of the following lunchtime search (thanks to X/Twitter, I discovered that the tune is from Fernando Sor’s “Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart, Op. 9”) manages to simultaneously evoke a feeling of mild humor and slight tragedy that fits the mood perfectly. And when they do find each other, they knock into each other in such a way that they don’t just meet lips, but smack their teeth against each other with an audible clack that I do not want to hear ever again.
While not purely limited to the school-set sections, there are a fair few shots in DAN DA DAN Episode 5 that deliver a nice sense of spatial depth with their composition. For instance, when Momo’s friends whisper to each other about her seemingly lovelorn condition, Momo’s downcast face at the back remains in view by being set between an arm and a prop piece. Most seem to be based on the manga panels — like when Momo and Okarun are seated on separate benches, with the other’s head visible through the windows — and the idea of conveying depth isn’t brand new to the series, but these shots nevertheless make for sights that benefit a non-action-oriented episode without being unnecessary flourishes. Separately, the presence of hand-drawn movement for some of the background characters also adds to the scenes with crowds in them.
After Momo’s friends see the two’s accidental kiss, Momo and Okarun’s attempts to play off the incident devolves into a fight. Throughout these five episodes, the duo’s ability to effortlessly slip into an argument in a fraction of a second remains one of DAN DA DAN’s most impressive traits, and it doesn’t hurt that the banter remains enjoyable, until things go too far this time and the two enter a temporary cold war. Okarun’s day then gets even worse when he discovers that even after defeating Turbo Granny, he’s still missing his balls.
Before the ice between Okarun and Momo thaws enough for him to convey that pressing matter, we get a brief introduction to Ayane Sakura’s Aira when she bumps into Okarun. Aira is very cute and outwardly kind, which is the perfect balm for Okarun at this time. But Momo catches Aira bad mouthing him less than a minute later, causing Momo to avenge her friend’s honor by using her psychic powers to bonk Aira with a tub. This leads to another nicely framed shot, as Okarun leaps into position between the arm and torso of a concerned student to observe Aira’s fallen state. We don’t get enough to know how Aira will bounce off the other two, but it looks like she’ll definitely contribute some interpersonal conflict, which means we’ll get even more of DAN DA DAN’s delightful bantering and arguing.
Momo’s subsequent apology to Okarun is sweet, but easily forgotten about when a few minutes later, we have Seiko likening his missing organ to a pencil. The kid really can’t catch a break, and while Momo dies from laughter during his consultation with Seiko, the latter asks the question that’s likely on everyone’s mind: how on earth did he not notice that he was missing his family jewels? Apparently, the feeling of his thing was enough to assuage him, causing Okarun to not notice that there were a couple of other items missing.
Once Seiko realizes there’s something inside Okarun, she proceeds to smack it out of him with a large paper fan. Following this, the three of them reunite with Turbo Granny, who’s now stuck in a cat doll thanks to the combined effect of Seiko’s and Momo’s powers. After a display of Momo’s improved grasp on her powers, as she uses her supernatural senses to locate the fleeing doll and apprehend it, the show explains how Turbo Granny survived the events of Episode 4 by fleeing into Okarun’s body. Fortunately, when Seiko smacked the spirit out of Okarun, Turbo Granny’s powers remained inside the boy. So while Okarun can access her powers (and the emo personality it bestows upon him), Turbo Granny is now powerless.
Turbo Granny’s flailing movements and poses while in her cat form make for fine comedic material, and so does the sight of Seiko unleashing her almighty fan on the prideful and hateful creature. However, Momo hasn’t forgotten about Turbo Granny’s sympathy for the spirits of the female victims who made up the Earthbound Spirit, and brokers a deal as a gesture of peace: the return of Turbo Granny’s power for the return of Okarun’s balls. Turbo Granny agrees, but there’s a problem: the balls were dropped off somewhere and are not in her possession.
DAN DA DAN Episode 5 is a welcome change of pace from all the previous action, although we do get a memorable backflip from Seiko during the brief pursuit of Turbo Granny. Even though the aftertaste of Episode 4’s “See you again!” line leaves a stronger impression than the Momo and Okarun moments here (although the sight of Momo waiting for Okarun at the school gates comes close), seeing them continue to figure out their friendship is still quite endearing, and we also get silly comedy, slight plot progression, and decent layouts with it. The risk of Momo and Okarun’s interactions getting stale is likely to be addressed by Aira, and I’m looking forward to seeing how she (and Turbo Granny) fit in with Momo, Okarun, and Seiko.
Previous DAN DA DAN episode reviews:
