English Dub Review: Dandadan “The Evil Eye”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

In a bid to free Okarun and Momo from the Mongolian Death Worm’s psychic power, Jiji attempts to carry them to safety but runs into a powerful entity.

Our Take:

Momo and Okarun’s confrontation with the Kito Family resulted in them uncovering a dangerous ritual that involves sacrificing people to protect their town.  It also unveiled the existence of the legend of a “giant snake god,” which turned out to be a Mongolian Death Worm called the Tsuchinoko.  This huge-as-hell worm may seem like an easy opponent to tackle despite its appearance, but its unnatural ability proved otherwise, as it can cause its victims to develop suicidal behaviors.  Unfortunately, Momo and Okarun wound up being affected by the worm’s curse, leaving Jiji with enough willpower to rescue them, all while revealing that Jiji’s parents also fell victim to Tsuchinoko’s power.  Of course, this also resulted in Jiji falling victim to a mysterious entity known as “The Evil Eye”.

Dandadan is undoubtedly known for injecting chaotic visuals and energetic dynamics into its stylized violence and comedy.  However, “The Evil Eye” marks an occasion where it utilizes sophisticated animation to highlight its supernatural horror elements, and it shows.  This was the case when the episode delved into the Evil Eye and its haunting backstory, in which he also possesses the ability to make people kill themselves.  As a result, the Evil Eye is just as dangerous as the Death Worm.  But, of course, Jiji, being the naive and trustworthy guy he is, doesn’t see the entity that way, as he believes it was suffering due to its ability and being chosen by the Kito family as a sacrifice.  Unfortunately for him, Jiji’s honorable nature led to his possession by the Evil Eye, which sought to use him as a vessel to exact revenge against the human race.

Through its immersive stylization and effectively disturbing flashbacks, “The Evil Eye” was a superb introduction to a demon that seems to be more formidable than the worm itself.  Watching this episode for the first time via the compilation film had left me with a sense of discomfort for the right reasons, something that the folks at Blumhouse struggled to accomplish in their supernatural horror films.  Upon watching it again with the English dub, the moments involving the Evil Eye didn’t have the same impact because I already knew what to expect.  However, that didn’t make them even less discomforting, with directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora embracing the nightmarish nature of the show’s suicidal aspects.  Of course, if that isn’t enough to chill your bones, just wait until next week for the thrilling showdown between Okarun and the Evil Eye.