Dandadan (2022)
[ダンダダン]
Volume 7
Author/Artist: Yokinobu Tatsu
Publisher: Jump Comics+
Synopsis:
After narrowly succeeding in containing Evil Eye's power, the gang must find a way to exorcise it and free Jiji.
Story/Characters:
With the trigger for Jiji's transformation being hot and cold water, you think, "Oh, so it's just like--" and then Jiji starts singing "Jajauma ni Sasenaide". ^o^ While Evil Eye is contained for the time being in Tarou, it won't last forever (and even if it did, Tarou wants his body back). The solution is a special kind of exorcist known as a hayashi. Until the hayashi arrives, Okarun and Aira are invited to stay over at Momo's to help contain the situation if Jiji should transform. It turns out that a single drop of soy sauce is all it takes, spoiling what was shaping up to be a nice evening. The hayashi arrive in the aftermath of the dustup, but they're not quite what you'd expect. (Casting Kishou Taniyama as lead vocalist Toshirou in the anime was a stroke of genius, by the way.) The exorcism nearly succeeds, but Jiji is reluctant to let go of Evil Eye after promising to play with him and so Seiko decides to take Evil Eye in. However, with a good chunk of the house destroyed by Evil Eye's rampages, things are all the more difficult. While Seiko trains Jiji to gain more control over his powers, the rest of the gang do their bit to try to help keep things under control. It's rather cute to see them all working together like this, but all it takes is one slip-up. One such slip-up goes rather badly and it puts a strain on Okarun and Jji's budding friendship. However, Okarun recognizes that his own weakness is partially to blame, so he seeks special training to get stronger. Mr. Mantis Shrimp (Shako) refuses to take him on as he's got a pacifistic streak to him (though you could argue that him having Okarun help him in his farm work could serve as a form of training), but Neko Baba comes in to put him through the paces. She takes him to the school music room to use music as an explanation for how Okarun's movements fall short of Evil Eye's. Aira has tagged along for this, so they both get to face the Music Room Portraits, manifestations of famous composers who attack with explosive musical notes. That's certainly one way to get you to feel the beat. As a side note, I think it's an interesting touch that Aira can already match Evil Eye's 4-beat rhythm, something Neko Baba is reluctant to admit (though this special training requires them to surpass that limit, so she's still got room to grow).
Amid the main plot, we see lots of nice developments in Okarun and Momo's relationship. I particularly love this one scene in the car where their hands brush against each other. In your average romcom, they'd both pull away and that'd be the end of it for the next ten volumes, but Momo goes for it. What a hero. Then you have Momo take up a part-time job at a maid cafe to help pay for repairs to the house and other expenses. Definitely moe moe kyun antics to be had. I do like how one other reviewer said that Tatsu tricked us into following a love story by wrapping it up in big scifi action. ^o^
As a side note, I enjoy how Aira doesn't like Shako that much but positively dotes on Chiki (Chiquitita).
Art:
As always, there's a lot to love with the art. There's excellent explosive action (the two-page spread of Evil Eye's epic table flip is a fine example) and great comic beats as well
Other:
We get a color insert of the illustrations of a transformed Okarun and Aira from the front cover. Under the dust cover, we get profiles for the Kitou Family and the Night Walker (Subterranean), and the bonus comic features Neko Baba taking in a stray kitten.
Conclusion:
Integrating Evil Eye into the family does great things for developing the dynamic of our core quartet. We could easily be moving the plot along on a single track, but using multiple avenues provides more opportunities for out characters to grow. You've got all the action and comedy you could ask for and a sprinkling of romantic progress as well. The little mini training arc is a bit of a sidestep, but it provides an opportunity for Okarun and Aira to work together. There's lots of good stuff to be had here and this definitely warrants a place in your collection.
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