REVIEW: DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 – “The Secret Art of Being Attractive”

Kinta (Daichi Fujiwara) is a divisive character in the manga. And yet, DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 once again proves the Science Saru magic, demonstrating the level of care and effort going on behind the scenes to bring this anime to life. Despite being an established studio, the result evokes the feeling of the very best labors of love. Because Kinta is still an often annoying character, even just in his first introduction. And yet the anime does a superb job at granting him a small, necessary moment of humanization. 

He’s divisive because he is, to a fault, the expected version of this type of otaku. A teenage boy who believes he is somehow owed the same level of affection that his peer, Okarun (Natsuki Hanae), is granted by girls, seemingly way out of “their” league. He’s, on paper, the requisite perv character that must rear its head in any shonen.

He’s a boy obsessed with Gundam and looking cool, but loses his cool the moment a girl is within earshot. Which is why the anime deserves praise for making such an often aggravating character oddly lovable in his intro. By deviating a bit from the manga DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 adds a layer necessary for this character as we see a montage of the effort he puts into his appearance before going to school. 

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 is driven by personality. 

It being backdropped by his singing Gundam’s “Here Comes Char (Cha ga Kuru)” only makes it more charming. His confidence is overflowing as he heads to school, but it fades when others pass by, and his voice weakens until he’s not singing at all. It’s some terrific work from Fujiwara, establishing a sense of character before he’s even interacted with others – his confidence only existing in solitude. There’s no scrubbing away his rough edges – evident later in the episode – but the sequence allows for greater charm than the manga intro. 

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 plays with the narrative as we bounce back to a moment in Season 1 where Kinta witnesses Okarun and Momo’s (Shion Wakayama) accidental kiss, leading him to his current belief that Okarun is his enemy. He tells Okarun that he isn’t particularly good-looking, he’s short and a nerd, so how on earth has he earned the affections of Momo and Aira (Ayane Sakura)? 

The idea of Okarun’s growing charm is expanded on when Momo rushes into his classroom to share the news of the floating, golden ball in the apartment complex. Before they can leave, the class president intervenes, believing that Okarun is somehow being bullied. So now there are two girls arguing over Okarun – much to his chagrin – with Kinta misinterpreting it as some greater declarations of affection. 

Okarun’s newfound popularity gets a hilarious focus. 

It’s a charmingly animated sequence filled with personality, punctuated when Kinta tries to get attention by using “spicy” language since he believes it’s what will make him more popular. It’s a dud for Momo and co but a hilarious punchline. 

The majority of DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 takes place as Momo, Okarun, and a lurking Kinta investigate the building where the golden ball has been spotted. The sequence shifts dramatically as the three find themselves in empty space, attacked by an invisible assailant only identifiable by the golden ball. 

Delivering a fast-paced surge of spectacle, the action quickly ramps up the moment they’re transported. Kinta is placed on bag duty first as the other two race through a building in search of the ball. “The Secret Art of Being Attractive” allows for greater playfulness in the action, which adds to the weight and dynamic choreography. Despite their combined strengths, they’re struggling to see their attacker, which makes their efforts rushed and impulsive. 

Science Saru delivers action with heightened comedy. 

Momo, in a fit of frustrated desperation, tells Okarun to swap and hold onto her as they careen down the side of the building in chase. It allows for a hilarious image of Okarun in his yōkai form clinging to Momo, while also showing the trials and errors of two people who aren’t fighters by nature but by circumstance.

This little moment, and the one that follows, of the two catching their breath after having the wind knocked out of them once the plan fails, offers that necessary reminder that, despite their strengths, they’re just teenagers. 

Kinta joining the fray only heightens this notion. DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 is big on comedy both in and out of action. But there’s something amusing about watching the three spring throughout the building, the direction capturing the bobbing of their heads as they hurtle up the flights of stairs.

A kaiju reveal leaves us on a major cliffhanger. 

The physicality and the fatigue is palpable, and we see their personalities shine further as the three take different approaches in the final plan to surround the attacker. 

The attacker, who, in a fantastic key reveal, is a kaiju. A kaiju who, as the episode ends, grows to gargantuan scale. Sure, the trio can see it down, but the threat now seems far more looming as it towers over the building they stand in. 

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 is a strong mix of straight comedy and innovative, playful action, and it all allows for the characters’ personalities to shine through. It might not be the most breathtaking animation of the season or most emotionally potent. Still, it’s yet another strong, invigorating installment that reminds us what makes anime such a fun and surprising medium. Because even when longtime readers of the source material think they know everything coming their way, the best anime manages to surprise. 

DanDaDan Season 2 Episode 10 is available now on Crunchyroll and Netflix. 

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