It’s a battle of the grannies in Dan Da Dan episode 3! We get a brief glimpse into Momo’s personal life before Turbo Granny delivers one final warning: challenge her, or everyone Momo loves will die. Are Okarun and Momo ready for a death race against an ancient ghost?
Meeting Momo's Grandmother in "Dan Da Dan" Episode 3
Fresh off of a TV appearance, Momo’s grandmother, Seiko, comes home to find Turbo Granny-possessed Okarun about to attack Momo. Sporting a witch’s broom up-do, sports jacket, cape, and bat/charcoal pencil, she looks the farthest from your traditional spirit medium. Quickly, though, she dispatches Turbo Granny with some expertly placed barriers. It’s a great character introduction, showing off her expertise in handling spirits and her brute-force methodology.
Later, Momo wakes up and starts panicking about Okarun. She confronts her grandmother about potentially killing the spirit along with Okarun, but Seiko doesn’t give a straight answer. That’s when Momo apologizes for calling her a fake spirit medium. This moment holds a lot of weight for Momo, who tries to maintain her pride even in embarrassing situations. It demonstrates a level of maturity we haven’t seen from her. She owned up to her mistake for the sake of Okarun, and that says a lot about how much she values him.
Momo and Okarun Learn More About the Curse
Momo discovers Okarun safe and sound and fills in her grandmother about Turbo Granny’s curse and her own psychic powers. The plot thickens as Seiko explains that Turbo Granny has likely fused with a spirit bound to the tunnel, creating a very powerful vengeful spirit. Afterwards, Momo and Okarun share a moment reaffirming their friendship. It’s nice seeing a pair of characters develop their relationship. They don’t start all doe-eyed and blushing, there’s room for arguments, bickering, and making up. It’s a great foundation on which to build these characters.
The next day, hijinks ensue as Okarun tries to hold his bowel movement while Momo tries to control his curse. Here, we get the first instance of Momo’s powers depicted as giant translucent hands. It’s a nice visual benchmark showing her powers are growing and getting stronger. As she’s forced to watch Okarun do his business, Turbo Granny appears again and threatens to kill Seiko if they don’t challenge her right away.
The way Turbo Granny fills the space is genuinely disturbing. Her eye has its own vanishing point with speed lines reflecting her supersonic nature. With an impossibly large mouth and impossibly flexible limbs, her design is top-notch. With Turbo Granny’s ultimatum uttered and a heartfelt hug from her grandmother, Momo and Okarun set out to put Turbo Granny to rest once and for all.
Overall Thoughts
After two action packed episodes, it’s nice to have a slower episode like Dan Da Dan episode 3. It gives viewers a chance to catch up, meet new characters, and reestablish the stakes of the current conflict. Grandma Seiko is a great addition to the cast as the stoic, sometimes mischievous mentor. We also see the seeds of Momo and Okarun’s feelings for each other, albeit behind prickly exteriors. When next we meet our heroes, they’ll be in for the race of their lives.
New episodes of Dan Da Dan are available every Thursday on Crunchyroll.
Occult Corner
Local Gods and Shintoism: The way Granny Seiko describes Turbo Granny, and her own spirit medium powers is very similar to certain aspects of Shinto. Shinto is a religion originating in Japan that practices the worship of “kami,” basically divine beings that reside in everything from rivers to trees to mountains and even forces of nature. Faithful prayer and worship were believed to deliver good fortune and blessings. Granny Seiko claiming her power comes from the local god of her home prefecture isn’t too far off base.
As far as a spirit bound to a location of immense regret, that borrows more from general ghost mythology, but the concept of “kegare” from Shintoism could explain why it’s so powerful in DanDaDan. “Kegare” is the concept of impurity that can affect all things, human and kami. One line of thinking suggests yokai are just kami who succumbed to kegare. The longer it goes unpurified, the worse it gets until it reaches the level of Turbo Granny or a bound spirit.
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