Saagar Kote
The anime series ‘Dan Da Dan’ deals with the complex friendship between Okarun and Momo. As the two characters connect over their fascination with aliens and ghosts, they face demons, magic, supernatural threats, mysteries, and love. The show deals with deeper themes such as death, despite being a comedy adventure series. The previous episode ended with the shocking death of the Mongolian Death Worm due to a phenomenon called “worm suicide.” As Okarun and Jiji still find themselves trapped beneath the Kito house, Momo is on the surface, having led the worm towards a death by sunlight, and finding out that the Kito family is still alive. While Naki berates the young girl for destroying their Great Serpent, the village looks on in horror as the volcano begins to erupt, after being dormant for so long. SPOILERS AHEAD.
The Unparalleled Genius of Momo Ayase
The episode begins with a public service announcement stating that the people should evacuate immediately as the volcano has erupted in the village. Naki angrily tells Momo that the volcano remained dormant for so long because of their rituals, pleasing the Great Serpent, and that the young girl has caused a great tragedy. The Kito family head repeats the myth about a dragon rising to heaven and casting a rainbow, and the wrath of the mountain engulfing the village. The old lady goes on to say that the legend will come true, leading to the destruction of the village. She orders Momo to fix the things she caused.
Despite being shocked by the ongoing incident, Momo pauses to think and realizes that worms usually hate being above ground, as the sun dries them up. However, the myth spread by the Kitos appears to be contrary to this reality, as it says that a dragon will rise to heaven, which doesn’t hold true in a biological sense. The protagonist tells the Kitos that the old legend wasn’t talking about the Great Serpent, but a geyser. In ancient times, geysers were seen as a sign of an upcoming volcanic eruption, which led to the creation of the myth. However, the legend got reinterpreted over time, leading people to believe in the Great Serpent.
Momo uses her extraordinary powers to drag the Mongolian Death Worm’s corpse to the geyser, and connects the butt of the creature to the rising water geyser, using it as a long tube of water and goop. As the angry Kito family chases her, she rushes to the volcano to cool it down by spraying water on it through the corpse of the giant being. The lava from the volcano begins spreading, but the powerful girl begins dousing it using the mouth of the Death Worm to pour water. As the protagonist decides to cool down more areas of the forest being engulfed by lava, the evil Naki and her family start attacking her for disrespecting their Great Serpent and intend to sacrifice her to please the new “Volcano Lord.”
The Rise and Fall of Evil Eye
As the Kitos are about to cause harm to the young girl, the Boo Tuber priest of the Tsuchinoko temple intervenes to protect her, and reveals that Seiko, Momo’s grandmother, is his master, and that she told him to keep an eye on her, Okarun, and Jiji. The Boo Tuber Priest tells Momo to handle the lava and leave the demented family to him. Just when the girl is about to cool down more areas, Jiji (as Evil Eye) intervenes by attacking a part of the Death Worm’s corpse, and starts attacking everyone in sight. In a shocking twist, Naki, Momo, and the priest team up to stop Evil Eye.
The aura ball of souls makes it difficult for all of them to match Evil Eye’s power. Just as the entity prepares to destroy Momo, a creature called “Mantisian” intervenes to help the protagonist. In an epic moment, Seiko appears at the scene, flying on the back of Taro, along with a UFO-like vehicle in the sky, beaming light on the ground. Seiko and the priest Manjiro begin to attack Evil Eye, who still fights strongly. Seiko orders Taro to intervene, who runs at superhuman speed to counter the entity. However, the power of Evil Eye proves too much for Taro, who is smashed to bits, even destroying his skeleton. Due to Manjiro’s prayers and Seiko’s powers, Taro’s body parts begin to fuse with the Evil Eye’s body, calming him down and making him appear like Taro.
A Deepening Bond Between Friends
The alien Chiquitita aboard the UFO uses the beam of light to lift the corpse of the Death Worm to cool down the areas flooded by lava. Seiko thanks Manjiro for his efforts in saving the day. Momo starts running desperately towards the Kito house to save Okarun, stuck beneath the surface, before it’s too late. Mantisian destroys a part of the house to help Momo get there faster. Momo looks down and sees that the area under the house is covered by lava, and starts to think that Okarun died under it.
The sad young girl orders Chiquitita to aim the water from the geyser at the underground of the Kito house, hoping to see if Okarun is still alive. Chiquita uses a beam of light from the UFO to lift the lava above the ground and then cool it down with the worm goop and water. Momo opens up the solidified lava and finds Okarun alive, with the cat figurine. Ken Takakura says he knew that Momo would save him, and thanks her. He reveals that the worm goop shielded him from the lava, leading him to his survival. Momo tells Okarun that Jiji is okay, and proceeds to hug him emotionally, expressing happiness that her friend is still there with her.
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