After the chaotic fight with the mutated Serpoian, we get some quiet moments to reflect on what happened. Then, in Dan Da Dan episode 10, it’s right back into absurd situations with a down-on-his-luck alien and a surprise visit from an old friend. Onto the next adventure!
A Recap of "Dan Da Dan" Episode 10
The trio pay a visit to the school’s strangely spicy nurse named Queen-sensei (because of course she is). There, Momo and Aira lament about rumors spreading given how the whole school saw them half-naked. Meanwhile, Okarun drops a surprising lore bomb. Yokai may be preventing aliens from invading the earth. It’s only speculation on his part, but if he’s right, it will have massive implications for the story going forward. Momo and Aira couldn’t care less, as they are more occupied with their embarrassment. Aira’s friends appear and drag her off with intent to blame Momo for everything they witnessed.
This leaves Momo and Okarun alone to finally talk about the misunderstanding from before the alien fight. Momo pressures Okarun to admit that he was trying to get stronger in secret so he could appear cooler in front of her. It’s an amusing exchange that leaves both Momo and Okarun resorting to their embarrassment ticks. There’s a nice lengthy pause where the romantic vibes are palpable. It’s then comedically interrupted by Momo’s friends who put on a whole detective skit to deduce that Momo was jealous of Aira, a point Momo vehemently denies.
Heartfelt Conversations and Comedic Twists on Classic Alien Tropes
Meanwhile, Aira’s classmates try to comfort her while she plays up the victim card. The mood shifts when everyone starts blaming Momo and making plans to retaliate. In a surprisingly selfless move, Aira admits that she was the one who started the bad rumors about Momo and asks everyone to leave her alone. Aira wanders off, convinced her social life is over. Momo finds her, and the two share a moment of honesty with each other. Suddenly, the boxing alien appears, battered and bruised, but still determined to finish the job. His wounds are too severe, however, and he collapses in front of the girls. Later, the alien wakes up in Momo’s house bandaged and cared for. Relieved and grateful for the hospitality, he promises never to bother our heroes again.
A celebratory dinner is in order. This time, everyone is fighting over the best cuts of sushi. Then, the alien shares his tragic backstory. His son suffers a disease that requires daily blood transfusions. The alien had hoped to make enough money to pay for the treatment, but he was only able to secure the risky illegal jobs. Okarun wants to help, but given the extraterrestrial nature of the problem, there’s not much he can do. That’s when Granny Seiko puts together that the blood of this particular alien species is the same as milk, a readily available resource on Earth.
Granny Seiko arranges for the alien to take a cow back to his home planet, and we’re treated to the classic UFO cow abduction trope.
After they say goodbye to the alien, Momo, Okarun and Aira beg Granny Seiko to buy them new uniforms. She agrees but only if Momo does an impression of the Japanese actor and model, Hiroshi Abe. The doorbell rings and Seiko orders Momo to answer it in character. To Momo’s surprise, her childhood friend Jiji is standing there. He also happens to be her first crush, which makes Okarun’s mind explode.
"Dan Da Dan" Episode 10 Overall Thoughts
A lot happened in Dan Da Dan episode 10, but every little new revelation was so enjoyable. Momo and Okarun’s relationship seems to have taken a step forward and with the introduction of Jiji, Okarun is now in the hot seat. The gong sound effect while zooming in on Okarun’s shocked face was priceless, on par with Momo’s expression from the end of episode one. Giving the alien such a modern day quandary as job-hunting was also an amusing twist. It made things all the more amusing with the milk revelation. The show becomes a legit real-life drama for a few minutes, though sometimes the filter over the alien’s voice made it hard to understand him. All in all, great character moments, great story beats, and a cliffhanger that’s sure to deliver even more rom-com hilarity.
Occult Corner
Cow Abductions: It’s a widespread trope that aliens abduct cows for observation or experimentation. There’s no real consensus on why aliens might do this, and it may just be a product of the overzealous collective consciousness. Some eyewitness reports have been circulated. One such report, that has since been revealed as a hoax, was published in a Kansas newspaper in 1897. A local rancher and his son saw a large cigar-shaped UFO abducting one of their calves. There’s also the case of Barney and Betty Hill in 1961, who under the influence of hypnotherapy, recalled their own abductions. The alien abduction craze really blew up in the 70’s when the FBI conducted an investigation into mysterious unexplained cattle mutilations. To see such an iconic trope given a comedic twist in Dan Da Dan is writing gold.
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