Dandadan (Volume 9) – It’s About the Powerbomb!

Dandadan Volume 9 Cover

Faced with a giant Space Kaiju, Okarun and the others are forced to use Momo’s house to fight back… Thanks to the nanomachines used to rebuild it, they are able to turn it into a giant fighting machine… Well, if they can make it move!

Dandadan (Volume 9) – It’s About the Powerbomb!

What happened?

At first, Okarun attempts to manipulate the nanomachines, but he has no flair for it. Luckily, they still have Kinta with them and thanks to his love of science fiction and robots, he’s able to transform the house into a giant robot with everyone occupying a different control spot. However, they aren’t able to make it move. Desperate, they start hitting buttons and levers, but they just end up ejecting Okarun before the Kaiju can attack. He can only watch from afar as the Kaiju pounds the giant robot. Then, he sees the Evil Eye burst out of the robot too. Things are looking bad and Okarun is almost ready to give the Evil Eye permission to fight it when Kinta finally gets it under control. He fights back, but then the Kaiju disappears. Luckily, the robot can use the abilities of all the people inside, allowing Momo to use her telekinetic powers and Aira to use her hair. Together, they restrain the Kaiju and then slam it into the ground.

As soon as they do, they reappear in the real world. There’s a moment of panic when a giant robot suddenly appears, but then Momo manages to transform it back into her house. Okarun and Jiji carry the unconscious Kaiju back to the house. While examining it, Okarun sees a person inside and finds a zipper. Once he opens it, they discover an alien girl inside. She jumps out and kisses Okarun just as Momo runs outside to see them. There’s a bit of a confrontation, but no one can understand the alien girl. Momo wants to get rid of her, but Okarun and the others convince her to relax. Then, they take her to see the Mantis Shrimp alien who has a translator although it can only do part of the conversation. The girl reveals that her name is Vamola and she thinks that Okarun defeated her so she is going to marry him! Sounds reasonable enough…

What did you think?

I liked this volume better than the last one, but I’m still not sold on the growing cast. I think they’re adding these characters too quickly. Kinta was introduced in the last volume and now we have Vamola too and she’s just adding further conflict between Momo and Okarun, which is what I thought Aira was there for. Anyhow, the fight was hilarious with Kinta showing just how much of a mecha nerd he is. I loved the chaos of the fight with Momo and Aira getting motion sick from the robot moving around violently. It makes a lot of sense that they would feel that way after being positioned in different parts of the robot.

I liked how Momo and Vamola came to an understanding of sorts after defeating a Slit-Mouthed Woman by using Vamola’s stealth abilities. That was done really well and I liked that it brought them a little closer together. With so many cast members now, we are seeing the group becoming a little more fragmented as there are too many for them to all be together all the time. There were a couple of panels at Momo’s house where they were eating with everyone and the energy was great but I can’t imagine that lasting for long. From here on, I think we’ll see them forming smaller groups for different parts of the story and only really all coming together for the big battles and I have a feeling one is coming soon.

What was your highlight?

The highlight has to be the big fight between the Space Kaiju and the giant mecha that started off as a giant Buddha and then became something else as Kinta stamped his authority on it. I loved the chaos as Momo and Aira struggled to keep their stomachs from escaping out their mouths while also giving Kinta crap once they finally got everything under control. This series is infinitely better when it focuses on Aira, Momo, and Okarun. It’s going to be interesting to see how Vamola fits into the group long-term since she become another girl who likes Okarun.

The really interesting thing was the small scenes we saw of an alien destroying the Serpoians with ease and claiming their territory and everything else. There was a pretty big hint that whoever that was is using a suit similar to Vamola’s as it had the same sort of view as Jiji saw when he got in the suit. Will they somehow also fall for Okarun or are they the reason that Vampola was searching for someone stronger than her? I think she is in danger and needs their help. That would fit with the way things generally seem to work in this series.

Series Information

English TitleDandadan
Japanese TitleDandadan
GenresAction, Comedy, Supernatural
DemographicShounen

Manga

AuthorYukinobu Tatsu
ArtistYukinobu Tatsu
VolumesOngoingChapters
1I am an Awkward Fellow After All!1-5
2Now My Balls Are Gone!6-14
3I’m Supposed to Protect Her…15-23
4First Love!24-32
5You’ve Been Protecting Me?33-40
6This Damn House!41-49
7Pardon the Intrusion!50-58
8You’re Weak!59-67
9It’s About the Powerbomb!68-76
10This is the Power of Words!77-85


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What did you think?