Dandadan has built up incredible hype over the past few months, becoming one of the most eagerly anticipated anime of the year. Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan introduces Japanese yokai and otherworldly occult science fiction monsters as part of its shonen romance adventure.
Indeed, the anime is a treat for alien and occult fans, with much of its growing popularity driven by these enthusiasts. With over 170 chapters, anime viewers can relax and anticipate the thrilling arcs to come, featuring new antagonists and allies. Among all such bizarreness comes the Evil Eye, a distinctive and menacing Yokai.
Who is the Evil Eye in Dandadan?
Anyone with their ear to the ground has likely heard the buzz around Dandadan, an adaptation of Yukinobu Tatsu’s million-selling oddball manga. Studio Science Saru delivers an unapologetically weird, stylish, and anarchic opener that marks it out as one of anime’s first must-watch shows in the Fall season, keeping fans anticipating more.
Unlike most anime that spend an episode or two explaining the backstory or its characters’ motivations, Dandadan takes a different approach with its brisk pace that prioritizes getting straight to the big moments. As most characters have already been introduced in the anime, manga readers eagerly anticipate the debut of the Evil Eye.
The Evil Eye is a curse that humans have believed in since prehistory, and it concerns a malevolent glare cast at someone. The inspiration behind such a curse is usually envy. In Dandadan, Yukinobu Tatsu brings this evil curse to the big screen and leaves readers with a mind-boggling design and narrative.
Tatsu brought the Evil Eye into the spotlight early in the series as a formidable antagonist. The Evil Eye was a Yokai who was bound to the Tsuchinoko sacrificial house, who possessed Jiji and decided to eradicate all the humans it came across.
However, after becoming friends with Okarun through an exchange of fights, the evil spirit decides to target the boy and become less of a threat to the main cast. The Evil Eye plays the role of one of the Cursed House Arc’s primary antagonists and the main antagonist for the Evil Eye Arc.
The Evil Eye gradually transitions from an antagonist to a supportive role, captivating readers with his development.
Unveiling the Evil Eye: Abilities and Mysterious Backstory
Dandadan revolves around high school classmates Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura, aka Okarun. After a quick talk, each realizes they’re into slightly ‘out there’ interests. Momo believes in ghosts, while Okarun is mad at alien conspiracies. Tatsu quickly unites the main cast, even bringing in the Evil Eye, who initially appeared as an antagonist.
Jiji Enjoji, Momo’s childhood friend, unknowingly lived in a house tied to a giant earthworm monster, where a family secretly sacrificed people for two centuries to keep a nearby volcano dormant. The Evil Eye is a spirit bound to the house Jiji was living in with his parents, one that had become the sacrificial altar.
Originally, the Evil Eye was a young boy whose entire life was spent in solitude and captivity just to end up being sacrificed to the volcano. In Dandadan, the Evil Eye is a malevolent spirit that forces anyone who makes eye contact with it to commit suicide, making it similar to the Tsuchinoko.
While the Evil Eye was protecting Jiji from the psychic waves of the Tsuchinoko, the Yokai ultimately wanted to possess Jiji, who had immense spiritual energy and athleticism. Not to mention, the Yokai would make Jiji’s body highly damage-resilient when possessed.
The Evil Eye was introduced as a formidable rival to Okarun, who was a very capable hand-to-hand combatant, skilled enough to take on powerful opponents. Being a Yokai, the Evil Eye boasts abilities such as Curse (compelling people to comment suicide), Memory Sharing (sharing his memories through eye contact), and Possession (taking over the human body as a vessel).
Apart from that, the Evil Eye also possessed more combat abilities like Grudge Construction, Cursed House, and Grudge Ball.
The anime is a testament to Yukinobu Tatsu’s writing, as the show goes from spooky to gross to hilarious to even cute, all in the span of a few minutes without ever feeling jarring. While Okarun often steals the spotlight, Dandadan focuses on Momo Ayase, as Yukinobu Tatsu has expressed his intent to have a female lead from the start.
Dandadan is available to stream on Netflix and Crunchyroll
