The ninth episode of Dan Da Dan hit the ground running with an explosive rematch between Okarun and Evil Eye. But in an episode that otherwise was pretty chill and low-key, Science Saru set up the building blocks for the show’s big showdown that manga readers have been waiting for with bated breath to see adapted in all its glory.
As noted up top, Okarun and Evil Eye fought in a cold open that we won’t even attempt to give the play-by-play for. The only thing that matters is that it nailed manga creator Yukinobu Tatsu‘s ink-splotch-esque outline of an enraged Okarun putting the Evil Eye on the back foot, adding to the show’s already stellar adaptation of the manga.
The end of their battle saw Okarun rage-bait Evil Eye into promising to only fight him every week instead of putting humanity on notice for his purple-tinted onslaught. With Evil Eye surrendering control of Jiji Enjoji’s body, the gang calls it quits for their impromptu sleepover at Momo Ayase’s house, which was left in rubble after Okarun and Evil Eye’s battle.
Setting aside their problems for later, Momo, Seiko, Turbo Granny, and Hana decided to use the remainder of their funds for a much-needed spa day. Although Momo suggested asking Jiji, Aira, and Okarun to contribute towards the repairs, they ultimately chose to ignore that idea.
Upon returning home, they were met with a peculiar sight: a blocky alien at their doorstep. Unlike everyone else, who are animated in 2D, Ludris, the blocky alien, is animated in 3D, giving him an off-brand Minecraft Steve look. Thankfully, Science Saru didn’t have to issue an apology for paying homage to video game developer Mojang Studios like it had to last week for another pop culture reference. However, instead of being a new foe, it turns out that the alien is a friend of their boxing ally, Peeny-Weeny.
It’s here where Ludris, via Peeny-Weeny, explains the rules of nanoskin, a new alien element they’ll use to fix the Ayase house. Essentially, just as gamers can use Minecraft blocks to create whatever their imagination can conceive, nanoskin is an alloy that molds into whatever the user’s memory envisions it to become. After some experimentation with the alloy, Okarun, Momo, and the crew restore the Ayase house. The rest of the episode follows Momo as she tries, in vain, to wrangle Evil Eye at school without causing too much of a ruckus in the rest of the episode.
In an after-credits stinger, Dan Da Dan teased the long-awaited, social media-hyped arrival of a new member of their Scooby-Doo-esque gang of weirdos, Kinta Sakata. Daichi Fujiwara voices Kinta in Japanese and Bryce Papenbrook (Eren Jaeger in Attack on Titan and Inosuke in Demon Slayer) in English. Science Saru’s social media has been heavily promoting Kinta’s arrival, releasing his own character trailer and a painted poster to hype his arrival.
While manga fans love to hate him, they all owe their loyalty to the otaku’s arrival for being responsible for one of the hardest double-page spreads in the manga to date, with a big kaiju mecha showdown. However, today’s humble episode laid the groundwork for understanding the mechanics of one side of its Godzilla versus Gundam battle.
Kinta, like Okarun and crew, will use his own vivid imagination for everything mecha to construct a giant robot to do battle with a towering kaiju. We love a modest episode explaining lore mechanics so a show can get busy delivering the action. Plus, it’s looking like this climactic battle is the note that Dan Da Dan‘s second season will send viewers home with. Anything beats that painful mid-arc cliffhanger from its first season, so hopefully Science Saru will keep doing Science Saru things, adapting the manga’s fight and elevating it to new heights only achievable in animation.
New episodes of Dan Da Dan release every Thursday on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu.
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