Once upon a time, there was the birth of the word, “artistic.” It just so happens to be reborn again as Dan Da Dan episode 7. Abstract, beauty, insight, emotions.. these are all words that perfectly sum up the perfect storytelling experience.

Video Review

What Stands Out About This Episode?

No One Could Have EVER GUESSED it!

After six and quarter episodes of Dan Da Dan, not once have the mood or tone ever shifted into the deep depth of despair. How does an anime, known for “Alien Diddies” and complicated teenage affairs, turn into masterpiece work of art? Tragedy. While it’s not as simple as to taking something tragic behind a momentary villain, and turn it into an audience filled with the in-depth deep sorrows of a make-believe character—that takes an incredible amount of vision, skill and execution; combined with the synergy of an entire cast of creators that turned this romantically fun slice-of-life, into the most touching backstory one can possibly deliver on.

Taking a step away from the main characters for half an episode, to put the burden on a villain that felt like another throwaway antagonist for our young budding romantic couple, feels like quite the gamble for the writer. However, the anime took this backstory of Acrobatic Silky and delivered us the sad tragedy that is the complete opposite of nirvana.

People might be give me a side-eye for this example, but this is the exact kind of episode of what Demon Slayer does really well with exploring the backstories of the demons before they meet their end. Crafting characters with any semblance of depth is one thing, but it is the immersive nature of this episode of Dan Da Dan that almost made a grown man cry!

In a short period of time with various mother & child montages, we understood the struggles of a single parent, that literally sold her body to do everything she could to provide for her child. Except, messing with the dark depths of the underworld is like playing with fire. It became a fire that only Acrobatic Silky could put out in the rain, resulting in her death..

A Change in TONE and then DELIVERING!

How an episode starts off is the biggest indicator of what exactly a viewer may be taking away from that particular episode. For the first time, Dan Da Dan opened up an episode with the first person view of hints of something deeply dark, disturbingly desperate with huffs and puffs of a jarring tragedy. It is the first time, it felt like a total shift of the norms of those fun teenage romantically cute moments that every young relationship experiences—shifting into an experience of your heart free falling into the disasters of the dark underworld.

At this point in the anime, it’s become pretty predictable how Ken and Momo will work together to defeat any kind of spirits or aliens; which makes it a point of emphasis in this episode for the creators to focus heavily on delivering the most heartfelt moments of Acrobatic Silky’s character. To immerse the audience in the misery of her human life, was to feel the peak of motherly love and then to have it ripped out of our souls..

Even though it was short-lived, Aira being dead brought this anime’s first real moment of tension and emotional distress. Using this possible tragic end for a supporting character perfectly links the poetic irony of Acrobatic Silky losing her child with Aira Shiratori losing her mother. It is this perfect connection between a spirit and a human that the story might have connected the secret sauce to building a rewarding depth to the story. Bridging connections in this way with aliens and spirits like between Acrobatic Silky and Aira—this may have unlocked an element of the Dan Da Dan story that truly makes it one of the most complete animes out in 2024.

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