The following contains spoilers for DANDADAN: Evil Eye. Proceed with caution.
Summary
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The theatrical release ofDANDADAN: Evil Eye, the compilation film of the first three episodes of the second season ofDANDADANofficially released on May 30, and on June 6 in North America. The film continues the Cursed House arc where Momo and Okarun investigate the strange happenings in Jiji’s house that left his parents hospitalized, uncovering a centuries-old secret about the house, and about the sleepy but eerie Daija Town where the Kito family has ruled for generations.
With brilliant visuals that do something a little different from the first season, triumphs in direction and a stellar third act,DANDADAN: Evil Eyeis emblematic of what an anime theatrical release is meant to do, as it brilliantly brings to lifethe Evil Eye arcfrom Yukinobu Tatsu’s hit manga. GameRant got the opportunity to watch a preview screneer of DANDADAN: Evil Eye in May, and with it finally officially out in theatres, it’s review time.
First Things First: The Recap
DANDADAN: Evil Eye Begins With a Refresher on Season 1
The first twenty minutes or so of theDANDADAN: Evil Eyefilm serve as a quick refresher on the events of the first season of the anime, from Momo and Okarun’s first encounter with aliens and the supernatural, to each of their subsequent battles since. The recap is nicely paced, without giving too much priority to any one moment in the first season, and while it could have been easier to just cut together a bunch of scenes and call it a day, what makes even the recap enjoyable isMomo’s narration of the events that took place. The recap doesn’t take up too much time and it quickly segues into the main event: the continuation of the Cursed House arc, which was left on a terrible cliffhanger at the end of the first season ofDANDADAN.
Turbo Granny to the Rescue
Addressing the Cliffhanger
At the end of the first season, Momo decides to take advantage of being in a hot spring town and goes to take a bath, where the male members of the Kito family appear and have nefarious intentions. However, thanks to Turbo Granny sneaking into Momo’s belongings back when she overheard them talking about going to investigate Jiji’s house in Daija Town, Momo is saved from a terrible fate as Turbo Granny unleashes her power all at once, flinging the Kitos all around and causing major destruction to the hot springs to reveal a gorgeous view of the surrounds, and a volcano in the distance.
Momo escapes unscathed, but the incident is just one of many involving the Kitos, who have a ghoulish complexion that almost serves as a visual cue thatthey have something critically wrong with them. One of the biggest things that is noticeable aboutDANDADAN: Evil Eyeis the desaturated colour scheme present throughout the film, which, according to season 2 co-directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora, was inspired by Japanese horror and is to highlight a certain eeriness to the sleepy town while contrasting the bright colours prevalent throughout the first season of theDANDADANanime, and the greyish hue to the Kito family seems to be leaning into this.
Okarun and Jiji’s Discovery
Jiji’s Landlords Come and Go As They Please
While Momo is out, Jiji and Okarun are left to bond, and do so over a kickabout with a football, an element that becomes very important later on. While outside, they notice a strange part of the house that appears to be a room of sorts, but there’s no door in the house leading to that area. When they break through the wall, they discover an ominous-looking room with talismans all around. It clearly was never meant to be found. However, they must halt their investigation as the Kito family, Jiji’s landlords, arrive in droves, and in a manner connected to Momo’s earlier attack, these people are domineering. It’s evident in how comfortable they are in imposing on Jiji’s space, because they “let” him live there rent-free after his parents' hospitalization that they have a sense of entitlement that we soon learn goes beyond Jiji’s house.
We’re treated to the first somewhat proper fight ofDANDADAN: Evil Eyewhen Momo finally returns from the bath after taking the time to explore more of Byakuja Village, running into a shrine where she learns that there are people there who believe in offering sacrifices to a fabledserpentine beast called a “Tsuchinoko"to prevent disasters like volcanic eruptions. Hilariously, the shrine caretaker, despite having a snake skin relic to symbolize the region’s relationship to this ancient beast, doesn’t believe in its existence at all.
Having learned this, Momo puts two and two together and heads back to Jiji’s house, only to find some of the creeps who attacked her casually sitting with Okarun and Jiji, and this is one of the first moments in the film that standout for their fluidity in motion, as well as the sheer hilarity of the Kito grandma naming her Kung-Fu styled attacks after celebrities like Jennifer Lopez and overall being an absolute menace. The combination of humour and conflict is brilliantly done and feelsemblematic of the action-comedy that DANDADAN does best.
Going Underground
Not One, But Two Major Antagonists
The battle Momo engages in against the Kito family ends with the three of them being tied up and presented to the first major antagonist of the Cursed House arc: the Tsuchinoko, which Okarun identifies as a “Mongolian Death Worm”. The Kito family has been sacrificing people who lived in Jiji’s house to this beast for several generations, with the current generation witnessing the giant worm for the first time in their attempt to sacrifice Jiji, Okarun, and Momo. The Death Worm feeds by emitting a psychic wave that causes those who experience it to become violently suicidal. Jiji is the only one unaffected by it at first, but their problems don’t end with the Death Worm, as a strange entity, the very one Jiji had been seeing in his house that had been keeping him awake on several nights appears, counteracting the psychic waves with some of its own. The greatest part ofDANDADAN: Evil Eyeis inthe way Jiji is connected to the evilsthat have taken place in and under his home, and how the emergence of the entity – the Evil Eye, features a vibrant change from the desaturation of the early parts to a blue-violet colour scheme.
Much like Turbo Granny and some of the other entities presented throughoutDANDADAN, the Evil Eye is not simply a malicious entity, but the manifestation of the Kito family’s consistent disregard for human life and a small child’s attempt at preventing further tragedy. The way we are given a foray into the horrific existence of the Evil Eye prior to becoming what it is now, is another element ofDANDADANas a whole that make it a truly exceptional series, and when it comes toDANDADAN: Evil Eye, the events that take place after Jiji allows himself to be possessed by the Evil Eye as a result of his compassionate nature give him the kind of main character treatment he’d have if he were the protagonist of any other supernatural shōnen. His movements while possessed are athletic, flexible, and most importantly, reflective of his love for football and the Evil Eye’s once denied desire to play with other kids before his senseless sacrificial murder. The parallel between the Evil Eye-possessed Jiji’s fight against Okarun, and their earlier football passabout is particularly brilliant for Jiji’s characterization. The movements are, as exaggerated as they are, proof of the production team’s attention to detail, and the colour scheme, while similar, is by some miracle, unrelated to Jiji’s love for French football team (and Champions League winners) Paris Saint-Germain.
Great For Hype, Yet Not-So-Conclusive
DANDADAN: Evil Eye’s Cliffhanger
DANDADAN: Evil Eyeis a great taste of what we can expect from the second season, with brilliant direction, amazing art and cinematography, great character development for Jiji, and amazing, dynamic and fluid animation, but just like the last episode of the first season, it simply isn’t conclusive. We don’t get to see the Evil Eye arc in its entirety, although we do get quite far into things, which is great for building anticipation, but once you realize that you still have towait a month for the rest of it, it can feel a little disappointing. However, with the second season set to broadcast on July 3, and the definite proof of its brilliance in the form ofDANDADAN: Evil Eye, the lack of a conclusive ending to the arc over the course of the compilation film’s runtime is a small concern.
The deliberate use of contrasting colours, with the yellowish earthen tones for the Tsuchinoko, and the violet hue engulfing the screen when the Evil Eye appears and possesses Jiji are just some of the ways in which the visuals augment the story being told; while the animation and high stakes of the final battle between Okarun and Jiji createa palpable excitement for what’s to come. The soundtrack by kensuke ushio makes the scenes even more engrossing, showcasing his genius as a composer. One thing’s for sure:DANDADANseason 2 is going to be a definite banger, and I can’t recommend going to watch the theatrical release ofDANDADAN: Evil Eyeeven just for the hype alone.
Final score: 4.5/5 stars
Dandadan
Cast
Based on Yukinobu Tatsu’s popular manga that debuted in 2021 on Shonen Jump+, Dandadan blends action, comedy, romance, and supernatural thrills to create a unique and satisfying adventure. Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura believe in the extraordinary, although the former believes in ghosts and the latter believes in aliens. Determined to confirm their side’s existence, they set out to find their proof.
