Posted in: Crunchyroll, Review, TV | Tagged: anime, Dan Da Dan
Dan Da Dan Season 1 Episode 7 "To a Kinder World" Review: Pure Magic
Crunchyroll's Dan Da Dan Season 1 Ep. 7: "To a Kinder World" was a beautifully written work of art that is also the anime's best effort yet.
Crunchyroll's most recent episode of Dan Da Dan, "To a Kinder World," was a beautifully written art piece. The way the story developed with barely any words and managed to tug at all the heartstrings was truly impressive. This episode had me bawling as the backstories were rolled out in some very impactful ways.
The episode starts right in the action, as Momo and Okarun successfully run away from the Acrobatic Silky and find a way to partially defeat her while ringing to keep Aira safe. As always, the animation and the colors are stunning. It really is enthralling, the way that everything pops whenever there is an altercation with spirits. Turbo Granny then retrieves Okarun's ball and alerts them of a bigger issue.
Aira is dead. Since Momo has her supernatural abilities and Okarun is borrowing power from Turbo Granny, they are able to stand being eaten by a spirit. However, being a normal human, Aira was not able to survive it. It made sense, but I did not want to accept it. I mean, what? I guess it was sobering to know the magnitude of what they are actually dealing weird. It was heartbreaking to see them try to resuscitate her to no avail. But something surprising happens, and Silky offers her aura to bring Aira back, and that is when it hits—as soon as Momo connects their aura, we see the sad story behind the person who became Silky.
As her past unravels we learn the Acrobatic Silky was actually a single mother who, in order to provide for her daughter, works a few jobs. However, things catch up to her, and they are assaulted in order to collect a debt. Her gauche was taken, and we learn she was not able to deal with that pain. I do not know at which point I went full-on waterworks, but my heart broke. The way there was barely any need for words, just the beautifully rendered sadness. We see that as her spirit wanders, she encounters Aira, who has recently lost her mom, and Aira calls her mom. That is when she turned into the Acrobatic Silky, promising to protect her.
We return to the present: Aira is back, and Momo is in tears after seeing all of this. It was even more heartbreaking seeing the Acrobatic Silky turn into dust and choose this deep sadness. However, Aira hugs her and promises to remember her. This episode really hit my emotions like a ten-ton brick. The way they were able to turn this story and, in just a few minutes, leave us crying for this character. It was truly a chef-kiss of an episode, and Dan Da Dan really served. Once again, this left me curious about what is to follow.