Big anime series usually have their publishing & distribution houses show off the first few episodes compiled in movie form, for the sake of drumming up hype and also giving its assigned animators time to finish up the rest of the upcoming season. The latest big anime to experience this common trend is Dan Da Dan, a shonen anime adaptation about a boy and a girl who have to deal with scifi and supernatural bats*** phenomenons disrupting their everyday lives.

With its pretty awesome first season wrapped up, anime fans will be getting second season servings of the eclectic show on Netflix in July. To sate the thirst early, we get to see the first three episodes all focusing on the Evil Eye story arc in theaters all over Southeast Asia, with the compiled segment bookended with intros and behind-the-scenes interview with Science Saru series co-directors Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora (which you should stay on for, in my humble opinion).

Down, Down Underground

The “film” does start off establishing context, summarizing season 1 and starting off with the Evil Eye arc where our trio -Momo Ayase, Okarun, and Jiji- end up at Jiji’s rented house and have to sort out the evil spirits and phenomenon that led to his parent’s near-suicide attempt. The results and payoff end up being on par with Season 1: crazy stuff happens. This involves, while being as vague as possible, a kungfu segment with an old lady, a huge underground battle with a giant mythical earthworm thing, and one of our heroes getting a spiritual buff that may be detrimental in the near future of Season 2. Oh, and comic relief character Turbo Granny being an MVP for the first third of the show.

The titular Evil Eye is that aforementioned spirit buff, where a boy ghost with a tragic past lured one of our heroes to the deepest recess of the underground tomb, in the attempt of possessing them and going all out with their powers. The animation and fight scenes involving this and the worm are nothing short of spectacular, especially as this theatrical preview was meant for TV production.

Science Saru’s Season 2 fight scenes and action sequences so far have put most films to shame: they’re dynamic, paced well, and are even given strong mood and colour to emphasize the contrast between Evil Eye and their adversaries. The show even balances some bits of horror and comedy amidst the ass-kicking; an impressive juggling act that could have been tonally awkward in the wrong hands. Good stuff, long story short.

My only gripe is that I wish there was an English dub theatrical version of this, because the English dub for Season 1 is on par with the Japanese VO. If you can’t wait until 3rd July to tune into the episodic fares on Netflix, do yourself a favour and get your shonen jollies sated with three early episodes of Dandadan Season 2. The timings for the screenings are sparse, so go check them out while you still can!

Final Score (So Far): 90/100