Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye

Starting with an abridged catch-up from series one, this is an action-packed and really quite irreverent drama that introduces us to "Turbo Granny". Half granny but mostly half cat, she accompanies four childhood friends as they investigate a mystery that might just result in a volcanic eruption and the escape of a deadly serpent that's been kept at bay by an annual sacrifice from a group of maniacal, mud-bathing pensioners. Meantime, "Momo" and "Okarun" have to combine their efforts to try and help "Jiri" who seems to be under some sort of spell that gets worse as they descend into a pit of ancient houses that lie beneath the surface and contain many mysteries... We have three episodes here so don't go expecting anything definitive or any solutions, but along the way here we have some fun characterisations and loads of colourful and vivid animation with the granny delivering some earthy dialogue as the gang go from frying pan to fire. Given they must have planned a cinema release here, you'd think they could have tightened up the editing and make the story look a little more seamless but at least there isn't an actual roller between them. The techno style of soundtrack also works effectively to keep the pace working and there's just about enough of a self-contained story to make it worth a watch if you're not going to follow through with the rest of the season.

Personally, I have nothing bad to say about this movie! I already loved season one a lot, and I didn't think it could get any better-that is, until I saw this movie.

The animation was so smooth and satisfying that I had my eyes wide open the whole time. I haven't read the manga or anything yet, but I just know they did it justice, story and direction-wise.

The colors, the angles, and the overall cinematography were just perfect. Don't even get me started about the sound effects, just woa. I know I'm glazing a bit, but I haven't seen a movie this good in a while! I can't wait until the rest comes out.

I have a problem with the habit many anime are adopting of presenting their new seasons in "movie" format to be seen in theaters and thus raise much more money.

For example, in "Kimetsu no Yaiba" we had two formats: an incredible movie like "Mugen Train" and the other, the disastrous one of presenting the first two episodes of the upcoming season in an hour-and-a-half compilation.

We also have the case of "Solo Leveling," where the format was the same but with one big difference: they presented us with a complete arc, which is why the experience ended up being fantastic.

When I saw that "Dan Da Dan" would do the same, I was eager to see what kind of format they would present. Unfortunately, it's more "Kimetsu no Yaiba" than "Solo Leveling," and that's a shame.

We have the first three episodes of this new batch of episodes, which are quite good, but they don't surpass what we saw in the first season in terms of action or animation. Yes, it looks good, yes, it maintains the aesthetic and freshness of the series, but it's simply the beginning of the next arc and it doesn't even end.

This makes me wonder if it's worth going to the theaters for the simple excuse of watching the episodes a month in advance, promoting this format, which in my opinion is lazy and regrettable.

JJK will do the same with "Hidden Inventory," and I clearly won't go to the theater to see it... I doubt I'll do it again under this format.

They really put no effort to actually adapt this into a movie, and it really shows. They forgot to edit out the commercial cuts which throws off the experience and didn't care enough to include an ending, which is exceptionally frustrating. It just randomly and jarringly switches to interviews with the development team without any indication of whether there will be more episodes post interview. Heads up: there aren't... It isn't worth the money to see in theaters, so I'd just wait and watch the episodes when they release because then you at least know what to expect and don't waste extra money.

Okarun, Ms. Ayasa, and Jiji are investigating Jiji's house and discover something sinister about the village and the house itself. Things get intense while they work on exorcising the house when they discover another tormented soul haunting Jiji.

This three-episode preview movie of season two is amazing. The story picks up right where season one ends. The animation is beautifully done, with intense fight sequences. The accompanying score adds a layer that makes the entire experience more immersive. The interview with the co-directors shares the thoughts and care that were put into creating season two. The one-hour and thirty-three-minute runtime is worth it. Season two starts with a bang, but watching in a theater makes it even more epic.