Dandadan (Volume 5) – You’ve Been Protecting Me?
Momo and Okarun have accompanied Jiji to his home where his parents tried to commit suicide. After a quick look around, Momo decided there was nothing there and went to use the nearby hot spring. What could possibly go wrong?
Dandadan (Volume 5) – You’ve Been Protecting Me?
What happened?
Since Momo was in the hot spring, Jiji and Okarun had a chance to get to know one another a little better. They did so while playing soccer outside of his family home. Of course, the topic quickly turned to Momo and they soon found themselves fighting about who liked her more. Then, Okarun noticed something odd about the home. There appeared to be a space in the building that didn’t have a room inside. Jiji grabbed a sledgehammer and knocked a hole in the wall. Inside they found a strange space that instantly gave them both the creeps. They decided to wait for Momo to come back before exploring further. Then, the doorbell rang. It was not Momo.
Momo was still at the hot spring and was just about to get out when five elderly men walked in. They pointed out that it was actually a mixed bath and then asked if she had heard of gators… Before she knew what was going on, they were moving through the water to grab her. Then, something strange happened. A stone statue of a snake that fed the hot spring with water broke free and hit one of the men. Then, as Momo tried to escape, the fences came crashing down around them, trapping all of the men, but leaving Momo intact. She hurried back to the Jiji’s house and found them both beaten and surrounded by the same old men and several more old ladies.
They attacked, however, they were no match for Momo’s powers. Well, the leader seemed to be as she knocked Momo through the wall into the strange room Jiji and Okarun had found. The ground was quicksand and had already begun to pull her down before she had the chance to notice. Then, Okarun and Jiji jumped the old people, knocking them into the sand too. Everyone fell through an opening in the ground and found themselves standing before a giant Mongolian Death Worm! The Kito family had been offering sacrifices to the worm for generations to keep the town safe. Now, they had three more to give!
What did you think?
Well, this was one brilliantly creepy volume. There seemed to be less of the toilet humour than normal and it was sadly missed. However, it more than made up for that with the Kito family. Initially, I thought that they were going to be the spirits or even aliens, so when they turned out to just be weird-looking humans who have been sacrificing people for generations, I was a little surprised. I also loved that we saw more of the ghost that had been showing itself to Jiji, and it turned out that it was protecting him from the psychic waves of the Mongolian Death Worm that may have caused his parents to attempt to kill themselves. However, it also appears that it was just trying to get his body so that it could eradicate all humans.
Basically, there are layers and layers of crazy all going on at the same time. The ghost who had the Evil Eye was one of the original sacrifices. He somehow survived and then spent centuries trying to find a way to get back at the people who did it to him. Of course, the volume ended with it taking over Jiji’s body which will no doubt mean that when they eventually defeat it, Jiji will be supernaturally powered similar to Okarun, Momo, and Aira. The group is going to grow. I’m excited to see where this arc goes, however, I do have a theory that I’m going to explain in just a moment. There was also a bonus chapter that pitted Ookarun and Momo against a space ape who was using cans to capture people for experiments and called everyone “bro’! It was wonderfully bizarre, as you might expect!
What was your highlight?
So, between being attacked at the hot spring and getting back to Jiji’s home, Momo visited the shrine to the Tsuchinoko. There she saw the remains of a snakeskin but it could have been almost anything. Anyhow, it tried to imply that the Tsuchinoko is the Mongolian Death Worm, but I think it isn’t. The Mongolian Death Worm is probably an alien which means the Tsuchinoko is going to be some sort of spirit, probably a local god that watches over the area. I think that’s what saved Momo at the hot spring. It even provided her with the amazing view of the mountain that she asked for when it destroyed the structure around the pool.
I think the Tsuchinoko is going to be pivotal in defeating the alien Mongolian Death Worm and freeing Jiji from the Evil Eye. There have been lots of little hints that all point me in this direction. I hope that is the case and that I’ve not just been absorbing lots of false leads. Everything up to this point makes me believe that the author is weaving a wonderfully intricate tale and that there are no coincidences. I also don’t think these are deliberate misdirections as they are very subtle and you might miss them if you aren’t paying close attention. Anyhow, there’s much more to come in this arc and I just hope it manages to maintain the level of creepiness that this volume achieved. I felt my skin crawl on numerous occasions.
Series Information
Manga
| Author | Yukinobu Tatsu | |
| Artist | Yukinobu Tatsu | |
| Volumes | Ongoing | Chapters |
| 1 | I am an Awkward Fellow After All! | 1-5 |
| 2 | Now My Balls Are Gone! | 6-14 |
| 3 | I’m Supposed to Protect Her… | 15-23 |
| 4 | First Love! | 24-32 |
| 5 | You’ve Been Protecting Me? | 33-40 |
| 6 | This Damn House! | 41-49 |
| 7 | Pardon the Intrusion! | 50-58 |
| 8 | You’re Weak! | 59-67 |
| 9 | It’s About the Powerbomb! | 68-76 |
| 10 | This is the Power of Words! | 77-85 |
| 11 | You Dead or Something?! | 86-93 |
