Dandadan: That's A Space Alien, Ain't It?!
October 31, 2024 2:28 PM - Season 1, Episode 2 - Subscribe
With Momo and Ken...er, Okarun still recovering from the crash of the Serponian ship, they decide to retreat to Momo's place to seek out the counsel of her grandmother - a spirit medium of no small skill - to figure out what to do with Turbo Granny. But she's not the only threat here, as a slip in letting their guard down soon illustrates - and her curse might just be able to be bent to their ends...
With this episode, we get a bit more of the rules of this world fleshed out - and we get to see one of the major bits of the series shown off, as Okarun learns how to tap into the power of the Granny Side.
And yes, he's Okarun now, after Momo threatens him on pain of death to not use his actual name given the...effect it has on her. With that, they head to Momo's house, where she lives with her grandmother - unfortunately for Okarun, it's also warded, as he finds out the hard way when trying to step through the torii gate at the entrance causes him to be lit on fire, necessitating a toss into the nearby irrigation ditch. Said spontaneous conflagration does have one upside of curing Okarun of his background character looks, instead leaving him with what can be best described as a heat treatment perm. Realizing that the house's protective ward is the source of Okarun's flammability, Momo removes the talisman generating it so he can enter, leaving it at the front door as they head upstairs.
This is perfectly fine and will have no repercussions.
Finally able to change clothes, Momo and Okarun start discussing what they just went through. At first, the topic is Okarun realizing that Turbo Granny's comment about devouring a...particular part of his anatomy was not metaphorical at all, as he is now currently sporting the anatomy of a Ken doll. But after that, they turn to the argument and bet that started all this, with Okarun discussing how he had always been an outsider - and while he thought that Momo would be a friend, that she's just as different as the others and he'll leave her alone - a statement that she takes rather personally, pointing out that he needs to stop pushing people away. Which leads to a fight as Okarun does have some pride and doesn't appreciate his faults called out...and then a doorbell rings.
Not the normal doorbell, mind you. This one's the evil spirits doorbell, and Momo realizes that she forgot to rearm the barrier (which was probably for the best, as it would have barbecued Okarun), and so they have a guest. A rather large, annoyed guest who seals off the house and is capable of releasing a poisonous black mist. As the two dodge the monster's attacks, Okarun notes that it's actually an alien known as a Flatwoods monster - though this particular specimen is a bit larger then usual. The problem is that just running around won't help, as they're confined, and the black mist will surely do them in if they can't break free. So Okarun makes a desperate gamble with Momo - suppress Granny's presence, but not her curse, and he might just be able to use her powers to fight back.
And with this, we get to see Granny Okarun, in all his ennui-infused glory. While he might have Granny's power now, it's taxing on his body, as well as disinhibiting his mind - as he tells Momo, he can only go All Out in that form twice. But realizing that the alien is in a sumo pose, they might be able to use that to beat it, and they get the fall - but the alien winds up being a dirty cheat. This pisses Momo off, who then has it pummel her into the wall by the gate...getting her past the gate, which means that she can safely restore the ward - and with that we get an alien bonfire, and the seal released.
With the threat gone, the two get a moment to breathe and Momo apprecaiting Okarun's new messy hairdo...but the fight wore out Momo and she collapses - and with her no longer suppressing Granny, she begins taking over Okarun, leering over Momo...
With this episode, we get a bit more of the rules of this world fleshed out - and we get to see one of the major bits of the series shown off, as Okarun learns how to tap into the power of the Granny Side.
And yes, he's Okarun now, after Momo threatens him on pain of death to not use his actual name given the...effect it has on her. With that, they head to Momo's house, where she lives with her grandmother - unfortunately for Okarun, it's also warded, as he finds out the hard way when trying to step through the torii gate at the entrance causes him to be lit on fire, necessitating a toss into the nearby irrigation ditch. Said spontaneous conflagration does have one upside of curing Okarun of his background character looks, instead leaving him with what can be best described as a heat treatment perm. Realizing that the house's protective ward is the source of Okarun's flammability, Momo removes the talisman generating it so he can enter, leaving it at the front door as they head upstairs.
This is perfectly fine and will have no repercussions.
Finally able to change clothes, Momo and Okarun start discussing what they just went through. At first, the topic is Okarun realizing that Turbo Granny's comment about devouring a...particular part of his anatomy was not metaphorical at all, as he is now currently sporting the anatomy of a Ken doll. But after that, they turn to the argument and bet that started all this, with Okarun discussing how he had always been an outsider - and while he thought that Momo would be a friend, that she's just as different as the others and he'll leave her alone - a statement that she takes rather personally, pointing out that he needs to stop pushing people away. Which leads to a fight as Okarun does have some pride and doesn't appreciate his faults called out...and then a doorbell rings.
Not the normal doorbell, mind you. This one's the evil spirits doorbell, and Momo realizes that she forgot to rearm the barrier (which was probably for the best, as it would have barbecued Okarun), and so they have a guest. A rather large, annoyed guest who seals off the house and is capable of releasing a poisonous black mist. As the two dodge the monster's attacks, Okarun notes that it's actually an alien known as a Flatwoods monster - though this particular specimen is a bit larger then usual. The problem is that just running around won't help, as they're confined, and the black mist will surely do them in if they can't break free. So Okarun makes a desperate gamble with Momo - suppress Granny's presence, but not her curse, and he might just be able to use her powers to fight back.
And with this, we get to see Granny Okarun, in all his ennui-infused glory. While he might have Granny's power now, it's taxing on his body, as well as disinhibiting his mind - as he tells Momo, he can only go All Out in that form twice. But realizing that the alien is in a sumo pose, they might be able to use that to beat it, and they get the fall - but the alien winds up being a dirty cheat. This pisses Momo off, who then has it pummel her into the wall by the gate...getting her past the gate, which means that she can safely restore the ward - and with that we get an alien bonfire, and the seal released.
With the threat gone, the two get a moment to breathe and Momo apprecaiting Okarun's new messy hairdo...but the fight wore out Momo and she collapses - and with her no longer suppressing Granny, she begins taking over Okarun, leering over Momo...
Little throwaway line at the beginning, "[Grandma] almost killed a former boyfriend.[of Momo's]"
Speaking of, two episodes in and we still haven't met Grandma. But we got our first glimpse of the Beckoning Cat when they enter the house.
I love the dynamic between Okarun and Momo, especially the way they rile each other up. Not too surprising from Momo, given what we've seen of her, but very surprising from Okarun.
Sumo Flatbush Alien. Just love that bit of madness. And Negative Space seems to be gray in this production, which feels right.
in a fight between Turbo Okarun and Chainsaw Man, who would win?
We get something like that later in this season.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:28 PM on October 31
Speaking of, two episodes in and we still haven't met Grandma. But we got our first glimpse of the Beckoning Cat when they enter the house.
I love the dynamic between Okarun and Momo, especially the way they rile each other up. Not too surprising from Momo, given what we've seen of her, but very surprising from Okarun.
Sumo Flatbush Alien. Just love that bit of madness. And Negative Space seems to be gray in this production, which feels right.
in a fight between Turbo Okarun and Chainsaw Man, who would win?
We get something like that later in this season.
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 9:28 PM on October 31
This was a nice step forward from the problematic opening episode. I cackled when it was revealed that Okarun in his Granny Mode is super depressed.
posted by Atreides at 6:54 AM on November 1 [1 favorite]
posted by Atreides at 6:54 AM on November 1 [1 favorite]
I’m loving this show!
posted by WedgedPiano at 6:11 PM on November 1
posted by WedgedPiano at 6:11 PM on November 1
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posted by SPrintF at 3:06 PM on October 31 [1 favorite]