Dandadan's new episode Is All Smiles

Key things

• Dandadan changes things up with a more relaxed episode to bring the characters together.
• The characters face the aftermath of their battle and the awkward moments that followed their victory.
• The magic of the show became more apparent than ever this week through the nostalgic vibes, cute romance and treatment of the antagonists.

Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Dandadan Episode 10, “Have You Ever Seen Cattle Mutilation?”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

From heartbreak to joy, Dandadan has been constantly changing things up over the past few weeks, giving each episode a special tone, whether it's a tease or a battle. As the anime nears the end of its first season, rather than adding to the chaos, it pumps the brakes to let the characters deal with recent events and new feelings in an unexpectedly wholesome chapter.

Earlier, things were wet and wild for Okarun, Momo, and Aira, all of whom faced a new batch of alien enemies in an empty space reminiscent of their school, but gradually filling with water. After another master plan by Momo – and the help of the other two – they emerged victorious… which unfortunately also meant showing up naked in the middle of their school.

How do they even begin to explain?

… Yukinobu Tatsu's apparent penchant for sexually intimidating older women becomes blindingly obvious.

There are a lot of things about this series that have a nostalgic charm. For example, I sometimes get a bit of an old Gainax vibe from the show – maybe not in the art style or script, but definitely in the boldness of his characters. A pattern emerges among the cast in which author Yukinobu Tatsu's apparent penchant for sexually intimidating older women becomes glaringly obvious. The school nurse, Queen Sensei, is a shining example of this.

No shame – much respect, honestly. The queen is strong and wants to know if the mentioned nudity of the main characters was the result of bullying; an act of concern that can only be received with an air of menace given her menacing aura. Her design is way too off for her No to be important later, but I found myself hoping she was just a completely ordinary nurse, just to make an already funny scene even funnier.

Lessons learned and hatchets buried

Episode 10 continues the story in two major ways. First, the trio begins questioning why the aliens have been so aggressive lately. Second, they struggle with how to explain why they were accidentally naked in the middle of school. The first is to think long-term, but the second is an immediate matter that allows the growth of the characters to fully manifest, especially for Aira, who continues to amaze with each passing week.

Given a unique opportunity to escape the humiliation of the day's events, she finds herself overwhelmed with guilt at the thought that Momo is to blame. It's an impressively acted scene, and the moment between her and Momo afterward felt meaningful without rushing into any kind of friendly reconciliation. They still aren't friends per se, but if Aira is mature enough to acknowledge her past rude behavior, Momo is definitely mature enough not to brush it off.

Even better, Okarun finally explains a big misunderstanding from the past to Momo, and his embarrassment when he tells her the real reason he was behind the school is adorable. He just wants to get stronger to impress her and she can't help but tease him about making him so nervous. It's a summation of the season's adorable chemistry, and the animation never fails to imbue every tiny gesture between them with subtle romantic tension.

Awesome submission of Mr. Mantis Shrimp

The second pattern that emerges this week—and one that's even more pleasing to look at than the last—is the treatment of antagonists after their time in the spotlight. Turbo Granny has transformed into a mainstay of the cast, Acrobatic Silky has experienced a spiritual resurrection in the form of Aira's transformation, and now it's Mr. Mantis Shrimp's (AKA the Dover Demon) turn.

Whenever a show takes its major/minor villains and turns them into allies or just keeps them around for fun, it's hard not to smile. It's not hard to feel for the guy once his kid shows up, especially after what happened in episode 7. The slightly more human expressions in his eyes also help, giving his previously creepy design a cute charm that quickly grows on the viewer.

Happiest alien abduction ever

DandadanWhen you look at episodes like this, its international appeal is pretty easy to understand. Regardless of nation or native language, the allure of the supernatural and the conspiracies derived from this fascination are universal. It's fun to think about the unknown, and this series respects that obsession as much as it likes to poke fun at the extremes of such concepts. In this case, it doesn't even have to go that far to be effective.

Evoking images like classic alien conspiracies like UFOs abducting cattle, Dandadan she wears her inspirations on her sleeve and looks great doing it. This episode was so unexpectedly wholesome, even though its standard for cute romance in the past brought many smiles. With two episodes left, let's hope it's a satisfying enough finale, because I can already tell it's going to be sad to say goodbye to the series (if only for a while).