English Dub Review: Dandadan “Feeling Kinda Gloomy”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Okarun has an awkward time at the maid cafe where Momo works.  Seiko tries teaching Jiji how to suppress Evil Eye’s possession of his body.

Our Take:

Besides the Evil Eye arc, one of the other moments of Dandadan that fans were eagerly anticipating getting adapted is Momo’s part-time job in a maid cafe.  I’m not just talking about the job itself, but rather Momo in her maid outfit.  Despite not reading the manga itself, I can tell that the source material’s followers have been waiting for this moment ever since the second season’s trailers came out.  Unsurprisingly, it did not disappoint in terms of the conclusion of last week’s episode.  I will admit she did look pretty good in that outfit, even though she’s already embarrassed by it, especially when Momo’s friends dragged Okarun into this awkward situation.

The episode’s first act expanded upon Momo’s struggling attempt at her part-time job, and given her snarky attitude, we can conclude that she wasn’t the right fit to be a perky maid.  However, we can also deduce that it provided the humor we expected from Momo’s demeanor.  Following that, we returned to the real problem at hand, where Jiji attempts (and fails) to control Evil Eye thanks to Aira’s clumsy mistake of spilling her boba tea on him, further concerning not just Jiji himself but also those around him, including Manjiro.  Of course, this also further fueled Okarun’s determination to get even stronger to combat Evil Eye.  Unfortunately, the only problem standing in his way is that, despite having Turbo Granny’s abilities, his movements are still slower than those of Evil Eye and even Acrobatic Silky.

This introduces viewers to Turbo Granny’s explanation of combat rhythms, where Evil Eye’s movements follow a faster tempo, while Okarun’s movements have a slower tempo.  This is one of the plot elements that make the action, anime or otherwise, far more exciting and dynamic, highlighting how specific everyday traditions can influence combat techniques.  Think of it as a “wax on, wax off” form from the Karate Kid movies, but with musical tempos.  Of course, Okarun would have to learn Turbo Granny’s teachings fast to combat the spirits of famous musicians.  Despite the cliffhanging endings becoming too much of a pain to deal with, “Feeling Kinda Gloomy” retains the hilarity and stylization of previous episodes to keep me from feeling gloomy as well.