Anime Review: DAN DA DAN Episode 6

Storyboard artist: Nozomi Fukui

Episode director: Nozomi Fukui

Assistant episode director: Takuya Fujikura

Scriptwriter: Hiroshi Seko

This week’s DAN DA DAN can be partially described as the Aira episode, as Episode 6 sheds more light on the character and brings her into greater contact with Momo and Okarun. While there’s a bit of world-building, action, and Momo x Okarun development as well, Aira is the one who leaves the greatest impression thanks to her ego, and I can’t wait to see more of her in the next episode.

Aira’s vanity was clear in her introduction in Episode 5, but this episode shows that the girl practically views herself as God’s gift to mankind (or at least, her schoolmates). She’s the kind of person who smiles at the “blockheads” in school because that show of affection, coming from a pretty girl like herself, will allow them to “live another day,” and genuinely views her action as an act of kindness. Aira’s personality makes her more remarkable than any alien or yokai we’ve come across so far.

As a beauty with remarkable self-conceit, who internally monologues about her own merits and her attempts to slander Momo (more on that later) with relative casualness, Aira is already entertaining. When the episode reveals that she came into possession of one of Okarun’s balls during the events of Episode 4 and has awakened her sixth sense as a result, Aira becomes even more of a scene-stealer. Her ego has inflated to the point where she believes she is the chosen one destined to save the world from demons — matching this, Aira’s internal monologue turns from relatively casual to dramatic upon reaching this topic, with illumination by sunlight adding to the theatrics. Consequently, she forces her friends to obtain a holy book and a crucifix for the sake of her demon-vanquishing efforts. This side of Aira is funny enough that I’d very much like to see a chuunibyou Aira-themed spin-off, but even in this state, she still has the presence of mind to present herself normally in front of other students for the sake of her image. 

So, about those balls. At the start of the episode, which features a neat match cut where a shot of Turbo Granny holding a ball transitions to her “grasping” the moon, we learn that balls contain life force, something which supernatural beings who seek to return to life covet. In the hands of a human like Aira, however, it awakens one’s spiritual abilities instead. Thanks to that, Aira witnessed petals of Momo’s energy scattered across the starry night during the train chase — a beautifully depicted moment that’s followed by a delectable “single-take” cut of Aira pocketing the ball in the flashback, which then smoothly transitions to Aira feeling it through her pocket’s fabric in the present. 

The ball also allowed Aira to perceive Momo’s aura during the tub incident in the previous episode. However, she mistook the aura’s hand shape as a demon wing, hence her current fixation with stopping demons and Momo. I’m not sure if Aira wouldn’t have tried to spread false rumors about Momo sleeping around if it wasn’t for the “demon” misconception, but it’s interesting (and amusing) to see this vindictive high-school-girl act being tied to an attempt to save humanity.

Later in the episode, Aira successfully apprehends Momo in an abandoned building. However, Momo manages to incapacitate Aira’s friends by psychically throwing them aside with such force that it’s remarkable their blood isn’t spread across the shattered objects they landed on. Aira’s exorcism efforts, which include her putting on a white cape that further enhances the chuunibyou vibe, take another turn when Acrobatic Silky, a towering yet balletic, dress-and-hat-wearing yokai with a pinkish-red aura and mask-like face, comes after her. This leads to an action-filled final third, although the bit I liked the most is not the carnage, but the shot of Aira flailing around in Acrobatic Silky’s hands with non-interpolated poses.

While Aira had assumed Acrobatic Silky to be Momo’s familiar, the yokai is actually an obsessive stalker who was once perceived by a young Aira, who also mistook the being for her mother. Based on the yokai’s dialogue, its origin is likely tied to the loss of a daughter, although we don’t know the particulars yet. Taking into account Turbo Granny’s and the Earthbound Spirit’s backstories, it looks like yokai with sympathetic backgrounds will be a persistent aspect in DAN DA DAN.

The battle with Acrobatic Silky doesn’t conclude this episode, but it does reveal a few things. Among these is that Turbo Granny, due to her current Maneki-neko (Beckoning Cat) form and its luck-related connotations, can invoke a bit of luck. This helps to free Momo, Okarun, and Aira from the bowels of Acrobatic Silky, who has a habit of gulping down anyone who pisses her off. After Aira, Turbo Granny is the most fun to watch on-screen this episode — whether it’s the way she trades barbs with Momo or how she hoists herself from the genkan onto the main floor of the Ayase household before wiping herself — and it’s good to see that she also has a way of contributing to the action. A way beyond web-searching yokai details on a swiped phone, that is.

There are two other main developments/reveals in DAN DA DAN Episode 6. Okarun’s Turbo Granny powers can suddenly flare up depending on his emotional state, which will likely necessitate future training, and a remark from a classmate has opened his eyes to Momo’s cute looks. While I understand the need for Momo and Okarun’s relationship to develop past the first arc, Aira and Turbo Granny’s contributions to the group dynamics feel more tantalizing than the hints of potential romance at this point. So, I’m glad that the romantic aspect is being rolled out in controlled doses.

Six episodes in, DAN DA DAN continues to provide a weekly dose of fun. While we still don’t know how Aira will feel as a proper part of the team, she’s already a strong pillar of the cast, and a new reason for me to continue watching the show. I don’t care much about the romance yet, but it’s far too early to provide judgment on that, so I’m willing to wait and see where the story takes us.

Previous DAN DA DAN episode reviews:

• Episode 1-3

• Episode 4

• Episode 5