Okarun and Evil Eye square off for round 2! What does Okarun have up his sleeve this time that will save both Jiji & Evil Eye?
Video Review
What Stands Out About This Episode?
No Longer “THAT” Okarun
The most impressive character in this arc to stop Evil Eye is Okarun. It’s his most quintessential shonen arc from the mental trauma of being too helpless to save Momo from Evil Eye NTR, to training to get stronger and using his best quality to get him out of a jam—his brain. From the aspect of “rising to the challenge” to fight and save his friends, Okarun is beyond ever entertaining being the annoying pipsqueak that isn’t willing to push the limits. However, there is one flaw even Okarun’s parents can see off screen—taking the reins of his relationship with Momo to the next level.
Time and time again, Momo has given Okarun every hint possible like the double boop taps of body heat from Momo. No matter what you Bumble people say about girls taking the initiative in asking the guy out—the expectation should be and still falls upon Okarun shonen’s shoulders.
Momo x Jiji
There is a pendulum in the romance of Dan Da Dan and it involves NTR.. The two main characters are destined to be together, but there is going to be a long road of romantic obstacles like Jiji and Aira that plays the romantic foil. Last episode, it was Aira that helped Okarun get stronger and not Momo. This episode, it is Momo’s turn for Yukinobu Tatsu to continue to exploit the “romantic blindside” to Momo’s character.
What is this “romantic exploit” that ends up being the cause of all of the NTR moments when it comes to Momo? She can’t say that she likes Okarun.. This is a big issue because Momo ends up beating around the bush, saying and taking action that misconstrues Momo’s real feelings and intent. If she was able to say that she likes Okarun to Jiji or anyone else, then we would lose much of the entertaining value that Jiji & Aira brings. I must say for the entertainment of a story, that actually feels kind of boring. It would take away a big motivation of Jiji & Aira’s characters and all the fun scenes that occur between Momo & Aira’s rivalry.
Small Changes Can Lead to..?
This is an anime where the main plot is actually pretty ridiculous, like finding Okarun’s golden balls and later down the line, a similar scenario presents itself. So, what is the deeper binding intrigue when it comes to Dan Da Dan? It’s 100% the fact that we are invested in the romance of the characters. Because of that fact, it makes the changes like removing of the “blush” in the manga change the interpretation of anime’s version slightly differ.
The Dan Da Dan anime has actually done a few subtle tweaks to tone down the NTR. In the Evil Eye or Cursed Mansion Arc flashback between a toddler Jiji & Momo, the animators actually removed some of the blushing coming from Momo when she was impressed by Jiji knowing about the earthworms. In this episode, there is also a slight difference of impact between the anime scene and the manga.
As you can see below, Jiji blushes when Momo offers Jiji help anytime he has an issue with Evil Eye, which leads him to bluntly ask her about who she likes. In my interpretation of how she reacted in the next panel, it can be construed from Jiji’s POV that she might actually like him. The anime made this scene feel a bit more neutral, but can still be confusing for Jiji. On the flipside, I’m sure Jiji understands that Okarun is his competition on some level anyways.
Miscellaneous
- This episode covers manga (end of) chapters 61–63
OTAKU SINH 