Storyboard artist: Kenji Zenba (also co-animation director for the episode)
Episode director: Kenji Zenba
Scriptwriter: Hiroshi Seko
Assistant episode director: Hiromi Nishiyama
Assistant episode director: Takuya Fujikura
I made the mistake of watching two exquisitely made anime films — please catch Naoko Yamada’s The Colors Within in theaters, if you can — over the weekend, with nothing in between them and DAN DA DAN Episode 9. This made the process of reviewing more difficult than usual — I wasn’t entirely sure if the high I got from experiencing those very impressive movies had an inadvertent effect on my perception of this new DAN DA DAN episode or not, despite the fact that I knew it would be wrong to compare these productions with one another directly.
At any rate, DAN DA DAN Episode 9, as a whole, left a weaker impression on me than most of the series’ other offerings so far. But when isolating its features, both visual and narrative, there were still several aspects that I liked.
DAN DA DAN dedicates its ninth episode to the battle between Momo, Okarun, and Aira against the Serpoians and their hired help. The opening minutes allow Aira and her Acrobatic Silky form to shine — the dynamic “single-take” cut of her bounding towards a Serpoian along a corridor and being repelled, passing over the head of Mantis Shrimp twice in the process, is easily one of the episode’s highlights.
Later on, when Momo joins the fray, we see how her grasp of her abilities has gotten to the point where she can easily resuscitate a drowned Aira (a result of the water generated by Nessie) and propel Okarun — who can’t swim in his Turbo Granny form — without breaking a sweat. Momo improving isn’t a revelation, but it still feels satisfying to see her this adept. And of course, her quick thinking and ability to lead continue to stand out.
Okarun also gets some moments of his own. During a heated argument with Momo, in which he confirms that she wasn’t pleased about seeing him on top of Aira last week, he makes an entreaty for her to be open about her feelings, and to allow him to explain himself. Okarun’s the timid social outcast, but, perhaps influenced by how important Momo is to him, displays more social maturity and assertiveness here.
Aira remains a fun presence, fawning over Okarun when he gets excited over Nessie and getting hit with verbal ripostes from Momo (“You dumbass!” Momo says when the resuscitated Aira asks if they’re in a dream.) However, Mantis Shrimp quickly steals the spotlight from everyone. His punches are ferocious, but he quickly becomes defined more by his haplessness, whether it’s in the form of physical abuse and threats by his callous Serpoian contractees; his inability to decisively defeat the humans even after a nonconsensual power-up (during which he bursts into a very tokusatsu-sounding song); or the fact that although he is most powerful underwater, he must surface for air. The naked Okarun might have seemed like the most unfortunate person in this episode at first — there’s a section near the beginning that alternate between Aira and Mantis Shrimp’s deadly tango and Okarun opening multiple lockers in search of clothing — but that title ultimately goes to the alien mercenary.
The first half of the episode is covered in Mantis Shrimp’s light orange aura, which is later swapped out for the green of the out-of-control Nessie. I’m starting to prefer the regular colors of the anime over these stylized sections, but the green does work well with the second half’s harmony shots, which are the dramatic, detailed stills that appear during the last phase of the fight. Harmonies are meant to feel impactful despite being static, and DAN DA DAN’s depiction of the Serpoian-Mantis-Crab-Nessie fusion trying to crush Momo, Momo using her powers in retaliation, and Okarun’s final piercing attack deliver on that front.
Through teamwork (which has continuously been the decisive factor so far), Momo, Okarun, and Aira win their battle with the aliens. However, they’re not quite out of the woods yet. Okarun is still naked when they return to their regular dimension, within sight of their schoolmates, while the girls are stripped down to their underwear, due to their need to counter the resistance from Nessie’s water. I don’t know how they’re going to deal with the inevitable school chatter that’s sure to be waiting for them in the next episode, but for now, all they can do is run. Their escape from the stunned eyes of their schoolmates is depicted with goofy loose forms, and slightly enhanced by the sight of their schoolmates shrinking in the distance of the 3D corridor, which adds to the feeling of depth. After the harmonies, this was my favourite visual element from the second half of the episode.
Although DAN DA DAN Episode 9 had numerous qualities and scenes I enjoyed, it left me feeling more “mildly positive” than truly satisfied. The afterglow from the anime movies I watched and the unpleasant green of the second half are probably the main culprits, since my reaction to quirky scenes like a butt-naked Okarun posing with Aira after a dance-like battle combo was flatter than they deserved. But it might also be that compared to Episode 4, which is currently the only other non-stop action episode in the series, it’s less relentless in terms of impressive moments. That’s understandable though — Episode 4 was the epic conclusion to the Turbo Granny arc, while this is a lower-key affair that concludes a much shorter arc. I just hope that the series ends with a bigger bang.
This review has been slightly edited post-publication to expand on the final paragraph a little.
Previous DAN DA DAN episode reviews:
• Episode 1-3
• Episode 4
• Episode 5
• Episode 6
• Episode 7
• Episode 8
