MANGA REVIEW | "Dandadan" - Volume Ten
You can call Dandadan many things. These things include “funny”, “creepy”, “perverted”, “action-packed”, and “sweet”. What you can’t call Dandadan is “predictable”. If you read Volume Ten, you’ll understand why.
Momo and Okarun have gathered a pretty good team in the last couple of volumes. Their new addition Vamola is still something of a mystery, but as of now, she seems to be on the side of good. After all, she’s got a thing for Okarun, and although Momo despises that, she gets along pretty well with her. However, everyone on the team goes through the wringer in both physical and mental ways.
Let’s start with the mental. It turns out the slit-mouthed woman (named Reiko Kashima) wasn’t defeated in the last volume; she was transported temporarily to another dimension. So from 10 pm until 5 am, Momo and Vamola have to stay cooped up indoors, which should be fine seeing as it’s bedtime. But no, Reiko attempts to get Momo out, and she does it in the cruelest of ways!
At first, it seems like a love confession that’s been waiting to happen since the second volume of Dandadan. Alas, when it comes to things of the heart, Momo can be a fool. Fortunately, a curious question from Momo has Reiko unmasked, leaving our hero to go back under the covers and go to sleep. Well…she would, if her house wasn’t being shaken up all through the night!
Even though Momo knows it wasn’t Okarun, that doesn’t mean she can’t take it out of him. Her mood swings can be a wild thing, as she dishes out punishment to a guy who has zero knowledge of the situation that she’s in. And yet, when she finally calms down, she looks at her Ken Takakura as if he’s the most important person in her life. Thankfully, the feeling is mutual, as Okarun tells Vamola that he cannot take her marriage proposal over his feelings for Momo.
And then…well…how does one put this? Chaos! Mass chaos for Momo, Okarun, Jiji, and Aira! Aliens and other weird beings come in to take them on. Aira and Jiji attempt to thwart whatever is attacking them, whereas Okarun apparently is overpowered by the most all-star alien team since Space Jam! The appearance of a certain milk-loving alien gives hope for the best outcome, but the villains wind up bringing Okarun’s quest back to Square One, albeit in humorous fashion!
As for Momo, there’s “This Man”. How can a bald guy be the creepiest thing Dandadan has ever conjured up?! Is it the uncanny valley aspect of it? Whatever it is, it feels like something out of my own nightmares! “This Man” is such a threat, that even those Frank Sidebottom lookalikes the Serpoians have to come down to take care of them! And it’s a magical set of words that might allow Momo to have the overall upper hand in this battle.
Volume Ten of Dandadan is a spectacle. The action scenes pop like no other, and the humor is as wild as ever. It’s a collection of chapters that deserves to be seen by the eyes of every shonen manga fan around. When the adrenaline of Dandadan reaches eleven, it’s impossible to bring it back down. And just when you think you have author Yukinobu Tatsu figured out, he once again proves to be the most unpredictable storyteller around!
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
