Dandadan (2022)
[ダンダダン]
Volume 5
Author/Artist: Yokinobu Tatsu
Publisher: Jump Comics+
Synopsis:
Momo and Okarun investigate the haunting of Jiji's house.
Story/Characters:
With no sign of supernatural activity at Jiji's house, Momo expects the cause of the problem to show up after dark, leaving the gang with time to kill. She skips off to the onsen to give Okarun and Jiji the chance for some male bonding. Okarun and Jiji's interaction is pretty funny, and it leads us to our first hint of what's really going on when they uncover a hidden room plastered with talismans. Meanwhile, Momo is enjoying herself until she's about to leave and a bunch of old dudes show up. Turns out it's a mixed bath (the sign was terribly corroded, something I've seen myself during one outing) and the collection of old dudes turn out to be "crocodiles" (that is, aquatic predators that show up at mixed baths). Neko Granny shows up for the save, having tagged along when she realized where the kiddos were going. Now, in the onsen scene, we learn from the angry locals that the creepos were part of the Kitou Family, and while the guys were creeping on Momo, the ladies of the families make themselves at home at Jiji's place. Think of Big Mama Kitou as basically the landlady, but there's obviously more to it than that. They give Jiji the third-degree and are particularly suspicious of Okarun. The sense of tension here is great.
While all this is going on, Momo visits a local shrine where the priest happens to be a former pupil of Seiko's. We learn a bit about the local lore (and that the whole tsuchinoko thing was devised by the priest's father as a way to lure in tourists). When Momo returns to Jiji's place, she find the whole Kitou Family there and having thoroughly trashed Okarun and Jiji. Her response is no small part of the reason why I love her as a character. I'm going to gloss over most of the rest so you can enjoy it for yourselves, but the Kitou Family are responsible for appeasing the local snake god that is supposed to keep the nearby volcano from erupting. How do they appease said snake god? Well, human sacrifice, of course. The people who move into their part of town are unwittingly being set up as sacrifices. When the snake god reveals itself, Okarun identifies it as the Mongolian Death Worm (in keeping with the series' pattern of connecting the monsters with popular cryptids). While being a giant worm monster should be enough, it has this insidious power to compel its victims to kill themselves (hence the attempted suicide of Jiji's parents), but Jiji is the only one immune to it. We learn that the ghost haunting Jiji is the fusion of two different sacrificial victims with a bitter grudge against the Kitou Family. Jiji makes peace with the spirit and... well, we'll save that for next time.
Art:
I have to wonder if Tatsu suffered harassment from some overbearing rural types and channelled that into the Kitou Family. The way they're drawn feels like its been pulled out of a nightmare of having to deal with a bunch of Japanese over-50s. The creepy vibe they give off is perfectly executed. Mama Kitou in particular is something to see, especially when she starts brawling with Momo. The Mongolian Death Worm is suitably monstrous as well and all that Jiji goes through is quite harrowing, all leading us to the big moment in the finale. The bonus chapter goes quite hard on the action for something that's just meant to be a side bit, so you can expect a visual treat there as well.
Other:
We get profiles of the tsuchinoko and the Mongolian Death Worm under the dust cover, a color insert of the illustrations of Jiji and Seiko from the cover, a bonus chapter where Momo and Okarun play kick the can with a fun ape friend, plus a two-page omake where Seiko and Neko Granny argue over shaved ice.
Conclusion:
I love the tense vibe building up to the big reveal. The Kitou Family has a lot of impact, and I don't just mean Mama Kitou's Anaconda. The gimmick for our Monster of the Week really cranks up the drama and it gives Jiji the opportunity to shine, leading up to his big moment. It was brutal that the anime cut off the first season right as this story was getting started, but anime-onlies will get their followup in July. As for this volume, it's definitely worth a place in your collection, so be sure to get it.
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