DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 Review

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 titled “The Legend of the Great Snake” has finally been released after almost a year-long wait, and it continues exactly where the first season left off. This episode covers chapters 34 to 37 of the manga, keeping the pacing really good and avoiding any filler or delay. It is still in the middle of the Cursed House arc, which runs from chapter 28 to 50, so this is just the beginning of what is to come.

DanDaDan Season 2 Animation Has Improved Alot

Science SARU is once again handling the animation, and the style is the same as last season, but this time they have polished it more. Color tones look more balanced now, especially in the hot spring scenes. Warm and shadowy tones create the right uneasy atmosphere without overdoing it. Effects like water reflection are also handled with more detail compared to Season 1.

Fight direction in this episode was much more focused. The fight between Momo and the Kito Family’s martial arts old lady had proper spacing and motion. Wide-angle movement was smooth and nothing felt off-timed. Line control was stable, even in high-motion frames. It was clear that this episode had better post-production work than many of the early episodes in Season 1.

Voice acting was also well-matched. Momo’s panic, Okarun’s confusion, and the Kito Family’s threats were all delivered at the right pitch and speed. Sound design helped too, especially in the hot spring scene where the horror background music played, and after that you could only hear the water sounds as things got worse for Momo.

The episode was storyboarded by Jong Heo, directed by Kayona Yamada, and had three animation directors: Tomomi Noda, Yumi Horie, and Shouko Nishigaki. They kept the episode consistent throughout without any jarring cuts or visual drops.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 Recap

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 starts with Momo alone at the hot spring. She starts feeling uneasy before members of the Kito Family appear and block her exit. They attack her, but the bath collapses as she uses her psychic powers. It is then revealed that Turbo Granny had snuck into Momo’s bag to enjoy the hot spring. She is then saved by the Chamber of Commerce guys. Momo then leaves the place with Turbo Granny and later goes to the Tsuchinoko shrine, where she meets Manjiro, a new character introduced in season 2.

Meanwhile, Okarun and Jiji find a hidden room full of talismans at Jiji’s place, as revealed in the Season 1 Finale. They realize something strange is going on. They decide to wait for Momo, and the doorbell rings.

However, it was not Momo, the Kito Family shows up, and one of them threatens Jiji with a shotgun. The men from earlier are let go by a corrupt cop and show up again. They ask Okarun questions to test him, and after confirming he is Jiji’s friend, they attack both of them when they realize Momo is not with them.

Momo comes back and finds both of them unconscious. The head of the Kito Family starts fighting Momo and eventually throws her into the hidden room, and we learn the truth, for generations, this family has been sacrificing people to a cryptid to keep the nearby volcano from erupting. Jiji’s parents were sacrifices too, and his house is basically an altar.

Okarun and Jiji wake up and tries to save Momo, and all of them fall into a cryptid lair. The monster appears, and Turbo Granny says it is actually a Mongolian Death Worm, not a Tsuchinoko like the family believed. The family tries to offer Momo and the others as sacrifices, but gets eaten instead. The trio escapes to a small hut inside the lair. The episode ends as Okarun begins to transform due to the pain into his yokai form and starts moving towards Jiji.

Direction and Adaptation Handling

The adaptation follows the manga almost directly, with a few original shots and slight changes in pacing to improve the tension. Especially the hot spring scene, which was more silent and slower in animation compared to the manga panels.

Science Saru adapted four chapters in this one episode, which is a decent amount. It did not feel rushed, and still had time to show the setting, side character movement, and the horror buildup. This is one of the most well-structured episodes Science SARU has made in this series yet.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 is a good start. Visual handling is cleaner, the episode direction is more stable, and the overall production seems a lot better. Fight scenes are handled properly, and the color work looks more refined this time. The Cursed House arc is still ongoing, and we have only seen a small part of it.

If this quality is kept up, this season might end up being better paced and better animated than Season 1.

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 1 is now streaming on Crunchyroll and Netflix.

DanDaDan Season 2 Review

Masab Farooque

Summary

Dandadan Season 2 Episode 13 continues the Cursed House arc as Momo gets attacked in the hot spring by the Kito Family. Turbo Granny saves her. Okarun and Jiji find a hidden room linked to old rituals. It is revealed the Kito Family sacrifices people to stop a volcano from erupting. The trio is pulled into a cryptid lair where the creature appears and eats the Kito Family instead. The episode ends with Okarun starting to transform.

4.8