DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”: Not-Godzilla-Sized Showdown [Review]

DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!” finishes the second season of the anime with one heck of a showdown. Seriously, when you’re watching a fight between a giant mecha-Buddha and a lightning-tossing kaiju, you tend to just sit back and enjoy the show, mouth agape the whole time. The big plot twist at the end will leave your mouth gaping even further while you wait for the third season.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”: Details in Brief

DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!” is the 12th and final episode (you can read my reviews of Ep. 13-14, Ep. 15, Ep. 16-18, Ep. 19, Ep. 20-22, and Ep. 23 here) of the second season of this action horror-comedy anime series, and the 24th overall. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Yukinobu Tatsu. Said anime also comes just seven months after the finale of the first season, which you can read about in my reviews of all 12 episodes of that first season here.

Science SARU (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!, Star Wars: Visions “Akakiri” and “TB-01”, Scott Pilgrim Takes Off) returns as the animation studio for this second season of the anime. Fūga Yamashiro returns as the director but is also now co-directing with Abel Góngora, with Hiroshi Seko also returning as the writer.

Synopsis

Alas, DAN DA DAN Season 2 has come to an end. In fact, DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!” only just recently made its debut on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu on September 18, 2025. However, some of you might not have watched it yet. Thus, I shall give you all the synopsis below:

“Using the nanoskin that Momo’s house is made of, Momo and company create a giant Buddha robot to fight against the space kaiju. Kinta pilots the robot, and together with Momo’s psychic powers and Aira’s hair abilities, the group seeks to turn the tides of battle. Meanwhile, Okarun and Jiji have been ejected from the Buddha robot, and they land in the middle of a rice paddy…”

DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”: The Good

It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? The best part about DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!” is the epic showdown between the giant Buddha mecha created by Kinta Sakata (voiced by Daichi Fujiwara (JP) and Bryce Papenbrook (EN)) and the giant lightning bolt-tossing kaiju that can also go invisible at will. The end result is like the anime’s recreation of a Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla fight, or even a Pacific Rim fight. From the acrobatic moves mecha-Buddha pulls off to the attack name-calling, it’s all quite an entertaining romp of a fight, and proof that no matter what the media, giant robots punching kaiju in the face is going to be a winning formula.

However, Kinta doesn’t get the spotlight all to himself. Momo (voiced by Shion Wakayama (JP) and Abby Trott (EN)) and Aira (voiced by Ayane Sakura (JP) and Lisa Reimold (EN)) also play a huge role in that fight, which is absolutely hilarious because they spent much of that fight doing nothing, and for completely understandable reasons too. It’s hard to do anything, much less fight, when you’re getting motion sickness from being tossed around left and right just by the mere fact of being in a mecha performing gravity-defying acrobatics and getting knocked around like a rag doll. Really, it’s a wonder that they’re even conscious, and it’s only Kinta’s bizarre experience of getting himself used to motion sickness that lets him pilot mecha-Buddha with any skill.

Meanwhile, in the peanut gallery…

All with Okarun (voiced by Natsuki Hanae (JP) and A.J. Beckles (EN)) and Jiji in his Evil Eye persona (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (JP) and Aleks Le (EN)) having absolutely no role in the fight. Mecha-Buddha literally ejects them from the cockpit seemingly by accident, and thereafter, they’re an audience for the fight for much of the episode. It’s really only in the last few minutes that they play any major role in the story whatsoever, and that’s where the plot twist comes in. Due to them being the only ones not crippled by motion sickness and/or fatigue, they get to investigate the downed (and now shrunken) kaiju, which reveals that it actually has a pilot.

The reveal leads to the surprise kiss at the end, which ends the episode on a high note of hilarity after all that action, making it oddly satisfying despite how much of a cliffhanger it is.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 24 “Clash! Space Kaiju vs. Giant Robot!”: The Bad

Honestly, my one and only complaint about this episode is in fact that cliffhanger at the end. There’s no explanation for antennae girl at all. Especially not for her suddenly kissing Okarun out of the blue like that. In fact, only fans of the manga by Yukinobu Tatsu will even know who she is. The anime-only fans will either have to read that manga, or wait until Science SARU gets around to releasing Season 3. Fortunately, we do know that Season 3 is in the works, so all that’s left is the wait.

Beyond that, if you’re not satisfied with the giant robot vs. kaiju action and want even more, then you might want to check out Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, and/or Nyaight of the Living Cat. If you want something calmer and more relaxing to come down from the adrenaline, then check out Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, and/or With You and the Rain. Those should tide you over until we finally get to see the third season of DAN DA DAN.

What did you all think of this season finale of DAN DA DAN? Was it everything you hoped for? Did the surprise kiss (and not between Okarun and Momo) at the end get you too? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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