REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Episode 10 — “Have You Ever Seen a Cattle Mutilation?”

After the wild events of the last episode, our main trio has been left exposed in front of the entire school. Literally. DanDaDan Episode 10, “Have You Ever Seen a Cattle Mutilation?” picks up with Momo, Okarun, and Aira in the nurse’s office, facing their latest revelation.

If you, like me, thought that DanDaDan Episode 10 might lay off on the full weirdness, the first 30 seconds make it very clear that it absolutely will not. The school nurse, known as Queen, brandishing a whip and wearing what can only be described as a Spirit Halloween sexy nurse costume, believes the trio is pretending to be the victims of bullying. Queen, it turns out, really hates bullies. But what she hates more is when delinquents pretend to be victims of bullying, which is what she suspects here.

It is established immediately that Queen, like almost every other character in the series, is bananas. She gets interrupted by a balding teacher and takes him outside in the hallway to mercilessly whip him while the three students watch on awkwardly.

Just when you think DanDaDan can’t get any crazier, they throw a new character at you that ups the ante and takes wackiness to an entirely new level. That ability to keep viewers on their toes makes DanDaDan Episode 10 so great. You come in expecting it to be crazy, especially after how hectic the last episode was, but you never quite know how they will do it.

DanDaDan Episode 10 keeps getting better.

After Queen leaves the trio by themselves, they finally start to react as expected to the fact that the entire school just saw them almost entirely naked in the hallway. Their hijinx has slowly started to permeate their everyday lives, but this is the first time everything has been laid out so clearly. The entire school is now paying attention to them, even if they don’t understand what is really going on.

This scene is also a great way for the characters to sit back and consider what happened to them. They talk about their abilities, why they are being hunted, and what they need to do going forward. Scenes like this can feel boring, but by building on the character dynamics like Aira’s obsession with Okarun, there is a healthy mix of humor to keep it entertaining. A ton of information needs to be dumped on viewers, and DanDaDan Episode 10 handles it well.

We also finally get to see Momo and Okarun talk about the compromising position Momo found Okarun and Aira in. She thinks there is some sort of relationship between them, but they haven’t had a chance to discuss this. The relationship between Momo and Okarun is one of the main driving forces that makes the story of the series so appealing, so it was nice to see them confront the issue and continue to develop their dynamic.

The other students in their school also get more screen time in DanDaDan Episode 10. There are some neat scenes about their classmates investigating what is going on in what appears to be a love triangle. All three main characters care deeply about what their classmates think about them, but we rarely see those thoughts from the other students’ perspectives. These scenes are minimal but give crucial added context to what is going on.

Backstory, backstory, backstory, even for an alien.

The alien from the last episode appears midway through the episode, which helps move the plot forward. A surprisingly heartfelt scene gives some backstory to their enemy that came completely out of left field. Instead of leading to another fight scene, as many would expect, their appearance leads the trio back to Granny’s house with the alien in tow.

What is really neat about the scene at Granny’s house is that it shows the trio’s compassion. They are just kids trying to figure out what is happening, so it is not too surprising that they would nurse a hurting alien back to health and try to help them. It is a gentle reminder that, despite the sheer insanity happening around them, these kids have good hearts and want to do what’s right. Wrapping that in an absurd shell helps keep it light and funny, but some genuine goodness is on display here.

The meeting at the house has a healthy mix of humor and serious moments that resolve in a way that, at first, can leave viewers a little disappointed. It seems like the story is about to go off in another wacky direction before it all resolves fairly quickly. DanDaDan Episode 10 catches viewers and the main characters off guard through a shocking revelation at the end with mysterious ramifications. It is a great way to throw viewers off balance without feeling forced or awkward.

DanDaDan Episode 10 is another delightfully wacky episode full of humor and heart as Momo, Okarun, and Aira continue to grow as a trio. Things are really heating up between the three as their absurd adventures continue.

DanDaDan Episode 10 is airing now on Netflix and Crunchyroll.