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「激突！宇宙怪獣対巨大ロボ！」 (Gekitotsu! Uchū Kaijū tai Kyodai Robo!)
“Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”
Well, I’d call that going out with a bang. Except that’s not the end (thankfully), as a Season 3 was announced. Dandadan sure does like to end seasons with a total cliff hanger. Season 1 closed things with the Kido men closing in on Momo in the hot spring, and now this season with the mysterious girl in a kaiju suit. That’s always a mark of a good show- leaves you wanting more.
This was an unabashed celebration of nerddom and loving what you love- as it should be. Robots, geeky interests have no expiration date, no age limit- and hey, you never know when your hobbies might come in handy in unexpected places. Sakata was in full hero mode here- it’s not every day a dream like that comes true. The juxtaposition of his piloting with being bullied was poetic in a way. The very hobbies he was criticized for are the ones that help save the world.
Boy, what an epic action scene that was. I love that they even had a Gurren Lagann reference with the sunglasses. Those fight scenes were a real treat- very elegiac, very fitting for the fight Sakata has been waiting a lifetime for. I got a kick out of how he even trained for motion sickness by going on numerous roller coasters. Much the girls’ chagrin, who get fed up with the motion sickness and take things into their own hands to settle the fight once and for all.
Everyone gets their chance to shine- move over Sakata. Just when you think you couldn’t gattai more, Momo and Aira put aside their differences and team up to fell the big baddie. The beauty of the nano-skin is that it can adapt to the users’ abilities and visualizations- to hilarious effect when the barrier breaks, exposing them to the general public, whose collective imagination turn it into a weird-ass UFO.
After getting KO’d, our kaiju shrinks to just a fraction of the size, but which is still a problem when everyone crowds around it to poke, prod, and photograph it. Some quick thinking on Okarun’s part and a hot pork bun later, Okarun and Jiji book it out of there as fast as possible, hauling the alien between them.
That’s where things get even more whacky. Okarun notices a head inside the kaiju (freaking out Sakata and Jiji lol), and upon closer investigation, reveals it not to be a kaiju- but an adorable alien girl inside a suit. Not only that, but Okarun even gets a good ‘ol lip smacking from the extraterrestrial visitor. Of course, Momo just so happens to see it, and predictably, blows up in anger. Things leave off there, but I think we can picture how the follow up will go, to some extent. Just who is this girl? Not even the credits say- gratifying us with symbols where the name should be. Just wait until next time, folks.
I think one of my favorite things about this episode, other than the epic kaiju robo battle that would leave Godzilla vs. Mecha Godzilla in awe, was Evil Eye. His facial expressions and reactions to the events as they played out was hilarious. I have to say, Evil Eye has grown on me over the season. At first he started out as a pain in the ass, but now I can see his adorable side- he really is a little kid in a body that’s too strong for his own good, and we see that never more clearly than now. All thanks to our group of oddballs who saw Evil Eye for who he was and refused to compromise on that. Good on them for that.
Looking back on the season- it was gloriously oddball. One of the endearing qualities of Dandadan is how it’s not afraid to outdo itself. Just when you think it couldn’t get any more whacky, it tops that, like a cherry on top of whipped cream on top of a sundae of crazy. The art direction and choreography continued to be mostly top notch- some of the best fights scenes of the year there. Some of my favorite moments were the Hayashi (almost) exorcism, the musical genius battle, and the finale. This is not a show that just anyone can do- it needs total commitment and a certain artistic finesse, and somehow, the staff manage to outdo themselves and the manga. Hats off to Season 2 and onwards to #3.
