If your weakness is strong older women, this week’s Dandadan is kryptonite.
Title
Dandadan
Director
Fuga Yamashiro
Studio
Science Saru
Episode Air Date
10/17/2024
Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Dandadan, Episode 3, «It’s a Granny vs. Granny Clash!», now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The newest episode of Dandadan peaks early this week thanks to a ferocious character introduction and then follows through with some more of Okarun and Ayase’s winning chemistry. It’s hyping up a big confrontation that will presumably round out the story’s first major arc before moving on to the next absurd happening that will terrorize these two kids’ lives.
Last week, Okarun and Ayase faced off against the Flatwoods Monster which entrapped them on the grounds of Ayase’s home when she removed the protective talisman from the main gate. After a dazzling battle, they ended up defeating the monster, only for Ayase to pass out from exhaustion, leaving her defenseless as Okarun fell to Turbo Granny’s curse. What Dandadan and Mob Psycho 100 Have in Common
Since the show began, there have been natural comparisons to Mob Psycho 100, from the aesthetic to the lively animation, and most of all, the tone, which feels especially similar this week. Mob Psycho’s logline was about a phony medium working with an actual psychic to deal with paranormal cases. The comedy was derived from the natural skepticism toward so-called «mediums» and the theatricality or seriousness with which they present themselves.
Dandadan’s third episode starts much the same way, with Seiko Ayase appearing on a local daytime show under the moniker Santa Dodoria, a spirit medium. She comes off like any other phony, but beneath that cheap facade, she’s more real than anyone could imagine, and that fantasy is what makes Mob Psycho and Dandadan so fun at their cores. It’s about exploring the paranormal after first grounding it in heavy skepticism.
The first 6 minutes of this episode have only one goal and that is to make Seiko look as cool as humanly possible, a feat achieved effortlessly through some powerful directing choices.
