Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan: Evil Eye’ Is A Crackling Delight

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan: Evil Eye’ Is A Crackling Delight

Allyson JohnsonBy Allyson Johnson06/04/20256 Mins ReadUpdated:06/06/2025
DanDaDan Evil Eye
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Picking up immediately where Season 1 left off, DanDaDan Evil Eye wastes little time in reminding us of its intoxicating infectiousness. Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yukinobu Tatsu and produced by the consistently great Science Saru, the film, which comprises the first three episodes of Season 2, launches straight into the mayhem.

While Season 1 prioritized introducing our central, lovable duo as they faced all things alien and yōkai, the film quickly delves into the latest arrival with Jiji (Kaito Ishikawa/Aleks Le), as his story further expands a universe without limits.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

DanDaDan Evil Eye picks up where Season 1 left off with Momo Ayase (Shion Wakayama/Abby Trott) cornered in a public hot spring while Okarun/Ken Takakura (Natsuki Hanae/A.J. Beckles) and Jiji learn that there’s more going on in the latter’s family home than meets the eye. While the Season 1 finale made us feel the threat of the men imposing themselves on Momo, the direction heightens it in Evil Eye, prompting a big release of held breath after her eventual escape.

The trio – along with a hilariously stowed away Turbo Granny (Mayumi Tanaka/Barbara Goodson) – have been sent to Jiji’s hot springs town home to solve the mystery of his parents, who are hospitalized due to some unnatural force possessing their house. However, while there, it’s not just all-powerful spirits that they encounter.

As a traditional movie, DanDaDan Evil Eye falters because, frankly, it isn’t one.

Okarun in DanDaDan Evil Eye

Instead, they discover the roots of evil, along with the domineering Kito family, which leads the charge in maintaining order, and how the two intersect, bearing insidious and grievous results. It’s not just that there’s evil lurking underneath the idyllic and tranquil town – it’s being actively fed by those who blindly support an unnamed being to keep their village “safe.”

While it’s become a frequent model for anime releases these days, slapping a title on three episodes doesn’t make a film. It’s an event, certainly, but there’s no missing the stitching of the three separate installments together, no more glaring than the abrupt end that marks a suitable cliffhanger. While the sheer quality is undeniable (it looks superb), it very clearly is operating on an episodic structure. Even if the OP isn’t playing at the top of the episode, the start and end times are apparent.

Co-directed by the returning Fuga Yamashiro and Abel Gongora (who directed the opening theme animation for Season 1), DanDaDan Evil Eye is positively breathtaking to behold from start to finish. The beauty and skill are not just found in the action (though it’s fantastic) but in the downtime and in-between moments as well.

The composition is gorgeous, following the trend of Season 1, which ensures realism and character-driven direction to guide the story. Despite the larger-than-life foes Momo and Okarun face, the series refuses to lose its sense of self or humanistic qualities. We’re grounded with the two even if their adversaries take to the stratosphere.

DanDaDan Evil Eye highlights what makes the anime stand apart.

DanDaDan Evil Eye

One aspect that the series (and Science Saru in general) excels at is ensuring that it doesn’t feel like any other anime. While certain beats and tropes mirror the very best of the best shonen series today, DanDaDan separates itself from the crowd. It vibrates with chaos and a specific brand of charm, aided by the direction that sets us at ground level as the world, as Momo and Okarun know it, crumbles and remakes itself. With an electrifying score composed by Kensuke Ushio, the series showcases a clear desire to be more than what we expect from shonen these days.

And it does so gleefully, as is evident in DanDaDan Evil Eye. The colors are immaculate, the world bleeding gratuitously with every frame, framed by reds, oranges, and purples in the most emotionally fraught moments. However, the series also finds moments of normality that showcase the more intricate and detailed artistry on display.

Scenes such as Momo and Turbo Granny walking through this small town offer tactile and lived-in frames that add greater depth and personality to the space they occupy. The detailed work in these more down-to-earth moments helps build the world around them.

And this is necessary for Evil Eye to give us something to hold onto beyond the main narrative itself as the trio tries to navigate it. But beyond the direction, artistry, and character designs, it’s the writing that shines through. It’s the same as it was with our introduction to Aira.

What begins as a shallow start transforms into something that becomes the nucleus of what DanDaDan is about: humans—beings—finding comfort, camaraderie, and healing through the efforts and companionship of others. Jiji might be shallow at first glance, but his kindness opens up endless avenues for the series to explore, especially with the Evil Eye character.

The character design for Jiji and the countless faces he pulls are animated wonderfully, but he comes into his own in this arc. Despite being a supporting character, he, like Aira, is pivotal to the series’ trajectory and immediately lovable. His journey in Evil Eye keeps us emotionally engaged as yet another backstory demonstrates the ongoing horrors of the world and how kindness and innocence can be warped into malevolent forces through the greed and violence of others.

Among the breakneck speed and humor, there’s undeniable heart.

DanDaDan Evil Eye

Not to suggest that all three episodes are overwhelmed by misery. There’s plenty of charm and levity, often found in the three’s dynamics and Turbo Granny’s observations. Okarun’s continuing stability in his yōkai form makes for instant hilarity because, as frequently as he is triumphant, he stumbles.

But it’s that marriage of tones and the balance the series finds in managing it that makes DanDanDan such a formidable entry. There’s such clear care in the writing and animation, with no corners cut or rushed artistry. Each frame is as strong as the next.

The only major fallback of DanDaDan Evil Eye is that, once again, Momo faces down sexual threats—this time from human men rather than aliens. The only thing that stops the sequence from echoing the unpleasantness of the premiere is the combination of her not being shot with such a leering lens and the threat of the Kito men being apparent. We’re meant to feel the danger rather than it being played off as a joke. Their grotesque forms and overbearing presence ensure that we know this is intended to cause discomfort rather than laughs.

DanDaDan Evil Eye instantly reminds us just why this series is so beloved while demonstrating how much we’ve yet to explore. Ending on yet another cliffhanger, the film sets the stage for Season 2 with its vibrant and kinetic animation, the impassioned and colorful voice acting, and a story that thrums with anticipation of the twists and turns the series is about to hurtle us into. Bombastic in the direction without ever forgoing the intimacy and character work at its core, DanDaDan Evil Eye relentlessly plunges us straight back into joyous madness.

DanDaDan Evil Eye arrives in theaters on June 6. 

DanDaDan Evil Eye
  • 8.5/10
    Rating - 8.5/10
8.5/10

TL;DR

DanDaDan Evil Eye instantly reminds us just why this series is so beloved while demonstrating how much we’ve yet to explore. Bombastic in the direction without ever forgoing the intimacy and character work at its core, it relentlessly plunges us straight back into joyous madness.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleREVIEW: ‘Nine Puzzles’ Spins An Addictingly Twisted Tale
Next Article Everything To Know About Eve Macarro In ‘Ballerina’
Allyson Johnson

Allyson Johnson is co-founder and Editor-in-Chief of InBetweenDrafts. Former Editor-in-Chief at TheYoungFolks, she is a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and the Boston Online Film Critics Association. Her writing has also appeared at CambridgeDay, ThePlaylist, Pajiba, VagueVisages, RogerEbert, TheBostonGlobe, Inverse, Bustle, her Substack, and every scrap of paper within her reach.

Related Posts

The Pickup Promotional Image from Prime Video
6.0

REVIEW: ‘The Pickup’ Lets Keke Palmer Flex Her Action Skills

08/07/2025
Weapons (2025) promotional image from New Line Cinemas and Warner Bros.
9.5

REVIEW: ‘Weapons’ Is Equal Parts Unsettling, Funny, And Folkloric

08/07/2025
Freakier Friday promotional still from Disney
8.0

REVIEW: ‘Freakier Friday’ Made Me Feel Old And That Was The Point

08/05/2025
Boys Go to Jupiter
7.0

REVIEW: ‘Boys Go To Jupiter’ Delights In Its Oddity

08/04/2025
Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

08/02/2025
Brandon Routh and co in Ick
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ick’ Is A Near Perfect Horror-Comedy

07/29/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 6
8.5
Anime

REVIEW: ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode 6 – “We Became A Family”

By Allyson Johnson08/07/2025

The Hayashi arrive to help perform an exorcism in the excellent and detailed DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 6, “We Became a Family.”

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

Cover art for One World Under Doom Issue 6 Marvel Comics

REVIEW: ‘One World Under Doom’ Issue 6

By William Tucker08/06/2025

One World Under Doom Issue 6 finally breaks into Latveria, uncovering the truth behind Doctor Doom’s power source within his home.

Foundation Season 3 Episode 5 promo image from AppleTV+
7.0
SELECT A CATEGORY

RECAP: ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 5 — “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity”

By Will Borger08/08/2025

At the midpoint, Foundation Season 3 Episode 5 falls back into bad habits when it should be soaring with the event between Gaal and Dawn.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here