DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju”: Not-Godzilla Fight [Review]

The main focus of DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju” is all in the title. It’s not quite Godzilla due to copyright reasons. However, it’s as close to the King of Monsters as you can get in this anime, and wow, is the fight a blast to watch. Quite literally in many cases.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju”: Details in Brief

DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju” is the 11th episode  (you can read my reviews of Ep. 13-14, Ep. 15, Ep. 16-18, Ep. 19, and Ep. 20-22 here) of the second season of this action horror-comedy anime series, and the 23rd 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 is still ongoing as of this writing. In fact, DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju” only just made its debut on Crunchyroll, Netflix, and Hulu on September 11, 2025. Thus, here is the synopsis for the episode below:

“Kinta’s quick thinking lets Momo and Okarun defeat the invisible “something” that has a golden ball. Its optical camouflage wears off, and out comes a space kaiju. The trio is then attacked by the now-gigantic space kaiju. The entire town is enveloped in a pitch-black dimension, and Aira and Jiji get wrapped up as well.”

DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju”: The Good

As you might be able to guess if you’ve been a regular viewer, the main draw of DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju” is the action. Said action is some of the most entertaining action sequences I’ve seen yet. It reminds me of some of the free-wheeling action in Attack on Titan, with Aira (voiced by Ayane Sakura (JP) and Lisa Reimold (EN)) using her super-powered hair, Okarun (voiced by Natsuki Hanae (JP) and A.J. Beckles (EN)) using his super-speed, and Momo (voiced by Shion Wakayama (JP) and Abby Trott (EN)) using her telekinetic hands to swing around at high speeds, dodging the kaiju’s attacks and getting around to its blind spots. All with some very fluid and smooth animation from Science SARU, whose animation teams have done a magnificent job animating this kaiju battle. Really, Wit Studio and MAPPA would approve of the quality, methinks.

However, it’s not just the action. The story is just as magnificent too. It’s the perfect blend of action and comedy that we’ve come to know Yukinobu Tatsu for. Even when fighting for their lives against a skyscraper-sized kaiju, Momo and co. still find time for hijinks in between and even during that fight. Heck, even Jiji (voiced by Kaito Ishikawa (JP) and Aleks Le (EN)) gets his moments of silliness when he accidentally gets splashed by cold sweat, courtesy of new guy Kinta Sakata (voiced by Daichi Fujiwara (JP) and Bryce Papenbrook (EN)) and Evil Eye comes out. The fact that Evil Eye has revealed himself to be a petulant child is most amusing, especially when you see him constantly grumbling about not being able to fight/kill.

Oh, and of course, the plot twist at the end in which we get to see the anime turn into a mecha battle. Complete with a hilariously insane transportation sequence in which the house zips everyone away into their respective cockpit positions. Fans of older anime will be most amused by this nod to those old mecha anime and tokusatsu shows alike. Even if this one looks remarkably Buddha-like.

DAN DA DAN Ep. 23 “Hey, it’s a Kaiju”: The Bad

Honestly, my one gripe about this episode is still Kinta Sakata. I’m still not entirely sure about him. Yes, he has proven himself to be very useful and occasionally amusing, but he feels a bit on the annoying side for me. I also think he has qualities that I feel should’ve gone to Okarun. Okarun’s biggest advantage is his brains and his interest in sci-fi. And yet, it feels like Okarun isn’t using that knowledge base at all, purely to give Kinta a role in the story. I honestly feel like Kinta could be cut from the story altogether, or just have it be that his strength lies in something else. Either way, I’m still not sold on his character. Not yet. Maybe my opinion might change in the future, but for now, he’s just annoying to me.

Aside from that, mayhaps you might be in need of more action? If so, 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. Or if you want to watch something calm and relaxing, then you might want to watch Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, and/or Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf. Either way, you can bet that the next episode of DAN DA DAN is going to be quite epic.

What do you all think of this week’s episode of DAN DA DAN? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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