DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18: Much Ado About Evil Eye [Review]

This trio of episodes really tells us quite a bit about where DAN DA DAN Season 2 is headed. The episodes are as much about Evil Eye as they are about Jiji. Oh, and there’s an epic volcanic eruption and power metal performances thrown in for kicks to boot.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18: Details in Brief

DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18 are the 4th, 5th, and 6th episodes (you can read my reviews of Ep. 13-14 and Ep. 15 here) of the second season of this action horror-comedy anime series, and the 16th, 17th, and 18th episodes overall. The 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 is still ongoing as of this writing. In fact, the latest episode, Ep. 18 “We Became a Family”, only just premiered on August 7, 2025 on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu. Thus, here are the synopses of the three episodes below to catch you up to speed if you haven’t watched them yet, starting with Ep. 16 “That’s, Like, Way Deadly”:

“Momo succeeds in bringing the Mongolian Death Worm to the surface. However, it may have had some influence on the land, as the nearby volcano suddenly erupts. To stop the approaching magma, Momo fights the fire by picking up the Mongolian Death Worm with her psychic powers and using it like a fire hose. However, the Kito family gets in the way of Momo. Jiji, possessed by the Evil Eye, also shows up, creating a major crisis.”

Ep. 17 “We Can All Stay There Together!”:

“Momo succeeds in rescuing Okarun. They return safely to their home, but Jiji is still possessed by Evil Eye.”

And Ep. 18 “We Became a Family”:

“Jiji’s transformation into Evil Eye intensifies. The group tries to exorcize Evil Eye from Jiji’s body with a Hayashi performance. They invite the Hayashi and almost succeed in pushing Evil Eye out, but Jiji pleads with them to not kill Evil Eye…”

DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18: The Good

There’s really no doubt that the story is the highlight of DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18. However, every single episode here is so good that it’s hard to pick a single story point that makes it outstanding compared to the others. Thus, here’s the highlight of each episode:

The highlight of Ep. 16 “That’s, Like, Way Deadly” would have to be the volcano. It’s the dominant force in the entire episode. Even the actual fights don’t quite compare to the magnificent power of nature on display, and are rendered in an incredible amount of detail to boot. The fact that Momo (voiced by Shion Wakyama and Abby Trott) then defeats it with a giant worm’s corpse is absolutely silly and clever at the same time. Honestly, it’s the fact that Momo proves time and time again that she’s the brains of the operation, which is why she’s one of the most likable characters in the all-too-likable cast. Plus, the fact that she drives the plot is also what makes this episode quite good. As well as the revelation that in making an enemy out of the Kito boss lady, the group may have made a far deadlier enemy than they’d ever thought.

Then there’s Ep. 17 “We Can All Stay There Together!”, where the highlight is Jiji (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa and Aleks Le) himself. It’s not just the fact that he’s the driver of the conflict due to his hosting the Evil Eye. It’s also because he’s such a dominant personality whenever he’s around for any significant length of time. All because he possesses such an irrepressibly positive and outgoing personality that you can’t help but like the guy, even if he annoys some of the other characters in-universe.

Which then leads up to Ep. 18 “We Became a Family”, where the highlight is…none of the above! Honestly, the highlight has to be the Hayashi band that shows up to attempt to exorcise Jiji, appropriately named HAYASii. Regardless of whether it’s Kishō Taniyama or Marc Hudson singing, they really steal the show in this episode with a power metal performance fit to wake the dead. Honestly, it makes me hope that they appear in a future episode, just to hear whatever performance they put on next. A performance that is all the impressive considering that it’s an anime original. The manga didn’t have a single piece of lyrics in it.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 16-18: The Bad

Honestly, there’s very little to nitpick in these three episodes of DAN DA DAN. Even the food looks like it’s of much higher quality than in the first season. If I had to nitpick even a little, it’d be because HAYASii doesn’t get enough screentime, but that’s probably going to change in future episodes. Oh, and one shot of the food looked so photorealistic that it looked almost photoshopped, but that had to be for stylistic purposes, and it did so with great effect.

As for action, there’s plenty of it in these three episodes to satisfy even the most fervent action junkie. However, if you wish for 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, and/or Black Butler. However, if you want something a bit more calm and relaxing, then you might want to check out With You and the Rain, My Dress-Up Darling, Senpai is an Otokonoko, and/or Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf.

What did you think of DAN DA DAN so far? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.