Dan Da Dan, Vol. 2 - Review

The first volume of Dan Da Dan ended with Momo and Okarun being attacked by a giant spirit crab unleashed upon them by the yokai known as Turbo Granny.

No surprise that the first two chapters of this second volume are a prolonged chase sequence. One that culminates with a rather unique method of exorcism. 

Momo and Okarun's victory celebration is a short-lived one, however. The restoration of Okarun's, um, manhood turns out to have been incomplete. While he has his frank back, his beans are still missing. Where are they?

The defeated and weakened Turbo Granny, who now resides inside of a maneki-neko figurine, has no idea. But she does agree to help them with their search, for reasons I will not spoil here, and more exciting and hilarious spiritual shenanigans ensue.

This second volume is not marred by presenting the potential sexual assault of a young girl as something to be laughed at by its readership, while also having it empower the threatened character. Here writer-artist Yukinobu Tatsu manages to balance and blend the horror elements with the rom-com tropes to create an engaging and entertaining story that is equal parts sweet and spicy, spooky and silly.

All that Dan Da Dan is doing is dressing raging, confusing, contradictory, and frightening teen hormones in scary costumes, allowing for all that rage, confusion, contradiction, and fear to manifest in delightfully weird and entertaining ways. For the moment, I am loving it.

Dan Da Dan, Vol. 1 - Review

An impulsive act of kindness by Momo Ayase kickstarts a friendship that, in turn, 'arouses' all manner of excitable and dangerous paranormal entities. 

How's that for an elevator pitch?

When I try and take a moment to gather my thoughts to write this review, I just start chuckling. I also roll my eyes. Because that is the overall effect this first volume of Dan Da Dan, or Dandadan, had on me. I chuckled, rolled my eyes, and enjoyed the hell out of most of it.

I also need to admit that I struggled with both the sophomoric sexual humor and almost lackadaisical approach to sexual violation and/or assault displayed in the opening chapter(s). That did not sit well with me, at all.

But as the story progressed, the Victoria's Secret level imagery combined with some otherworldly phenomena that managed too illicit some genuine chills. Then there was all that cute and combative banter between Momo and the friend she calls Okarun (for a reason best left unspoiled for those that have yet to read Dan Da Dan).

Perhaps, maybe, this is all meant to dramatize, or satirize, the tumultuous nature of youthful attraction to somebody that seems, at first glance, to be so-not-your type. Yet attracted you are and, no matter how hard you try to stop it, that attraction just wants to grow stronger.

On the less heavy-handed side of my critical read, there was enough prurient naughtiness, spooky creepiness, and meet-cute sweetness to make me want to read the next volume. Just to see what the hell happens next...