Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The ‘Teens versus Kaiju’ battle continues in Dan Da Dan!
Except this time, they’re all trapped inside a giant Transformer-style robot shaped like the Buddha, and nobody has a clue how to steer it.
Quick recap of Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 11: Momo, Okarun, and Aira try to fight the Kaiju that appears out of nowhere, while Jiji takes Kinta to safety. Unfortunately, a sweaty Kinta awakens Evil Eye within Jiji, and the Evil Eye comically starts looking for Okarun, convinced it’s their day to battle. With no progress in their fight against the giant monster, the kids retreat to Granny Seiko’s house to strategize. That’s when Okarun suggests transforming the alien-tech nanoblock house (the blocks can change into anything one imagines) into a weapon to fight the Kaiju, and nerdy Kinta takes it one step further, turning the house into a massive mecha.
Titled ‘Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot’, Episode 12 of ‘Dan Da Dan‘ Season 2 hilariously opens with the teens screaming inside the robot, fumbling to figure out how to square off against the Kaiju. ‘Let’s just push any button,’ is their brilliant game-plan. Honestly, it’s not that bad an idea, but the actual result is comically far from what the teens were hoping for.
Even though this anime is meant to be an over-the-top, whimsical supernatural ride that often makes little sense, I love the realistic touch of the protagonists struggling to use their awesome-looking mecha right away to beat the hell out of their enemy. So the first few minutes are absolutely madcap.
Of-course, Momo and gang eventually find a way to battle it out, so like the title suggests, this edition of ‘Dan Da Dan’ focuses on the tense battle between the protagonists and the alien-monster. Kinta’s over the moon about living every kid’s fantasy of piloting a giant robot, though honestly, the chapter indulges him a little too much. With six other wildly amusing characters already in the mix (counting granny Seiko and kitty turbo granny, who’re visibly missing in this segment), do we really need so much of Kinta? Not really. Anyway…
Thankfully, Aira and Momo take charge in the second half of the episode, devising a new plan to decimate the Kaiju without relying entirely on their nanoblock weapon. Needless to say, I laughed hardest when Aira snaps at Kinta to “shut up” and then mid-battle demands, “who the hell are you?!”
While the Buddha-mecha’s motion is occasionally awkward, the animation overall is vibrant and entertaining, keeping the episode’s energy intact. The Dan Da Dan animators once again lean on a neon-green and yellow palette, keeping the visuals in sync with the current chapter’s sci-fi elements.
The climactic minutes almost bring the Space Kaiju chapter to an end, ending the saga with a crazy twist that comes as a huge blow to Momo Ayase, but will leave fans laughing their heads off. It’s a riotous cliffhanger!
Stream Dan Da Dan on Netflix or Crunchyroll.
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