1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…
Dandadan‘s penultimate episode is hot off the press. Episode 11, titled ‘First Love’, opened with a surprisingly creepy opening, featured even more nudity (or partial nudity in Taro’s case), and teased the romance between the two leads: Momo and Okarun. But also endlessly entertaining Dandadan there was still room to introduce the franchise’s most annoying character (so far).
Videos from ComicBook.com
Based on the manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, Dandadan follows Momo and Okarun, two teenagers who slowly become friends at school due to their shared love of the occult and extraterrestrial. Momo is a strong believer in ghosts, while Okarun follows UFO sightings. As they each set out to disprove the other’s theory, Momo unlocks dormant paranormal powers. At the same time, Okarun inherits the powers of the ghost Turbo Granny, but not before losing his Crown Jewels. What follows is a desperate race to bring them back, as the pair discover their true feelings for each other along the way.
After the character was set up in episode 10, Dandadan‘s latest introduces Jiji (Aleks Le) to the group. Jiji and Momo go way back, with the latter admitting that she used to have a big crush on the new character. As a result Okarun sees him as competition and assumes he will be a cool, friendly, athletic rival. But the moment Jiji opens his mouth, the facade collapses.
To say that Jiji is the most annoying character Dandadan so far this is probably not an exaggeration as the character is deliberately designed to be deliberately cringy. Similar to Aira’s self-crush, Jiji adores himself more than anyone else and can’t acknowledge that someone (especially Momo) doesn’t like him. Like Turbo Granny in the show’s opening credits, Jiji can’t sit still, especially when he’s talking. His physical movements feel like an animator’s fever dream, as he combines goofy dance moves with dated pop culture references – like a long one-frame dab – to hugely annoying and entertaining effect. When Jiji says something, it is to praise herself or to attack Momo and/or her friends, and it is often in an exaggerated voice.
That’s not the only reason why Jiji is annoying to fans. For ten episodes, the audience has been desperately looking for Okarun to confess his feelings to Momo. Just as he gets comfortable opening up to her, Jiji walks along to place another emotional barrier between them. While the introduction of the lovelorn ghost Taro once again solidifies Momo’s emotional power, anime fans want the pair to hurry up and confess their feelings.
Like Aira, Jiji becomes a main character in Dandadan. With his long-standing ties to Momo and Seiko, Jiji is quickly accepted into the fold and helps Okarun on his journey to get his Kintama back. Jiji also gets his own unique powers. Given his penchant for pop culture references, Jiji can release his stored Ki in a devastating ‘Ha Wave’. Dropping into a lunge position and extending both palms, the “Ha Wave” looks suspiciously like Hadoken Street fighter.
Despite being a deliberately annoying character, fans can’t get enough of Science SARU’s interpretation of Jiji. Fans flocked to social media in the minutes following Episode 11’s release to share their thoughts and reactions to his full introduction. Although new fans had no preconceptions about Jiji, manga readers knew exactly what to expect. “JIJI HAS FINALLY ARRIVED. I’m sorry but I can never hate him, he’s just too funny,” he wrote @Picsking2before describing him as the “GOAT.” As more viewers tune in to the new episode, social media is slowly being flooded with an outpouring of love for Jiji.
Only one episode of it Dandadan is even before season 1 comes to an end. Episode 12 will be released next Thursday. The season 1 finale, titled “Let’s Go To The Cursed House,” delves into Jiji’s terrifying description of his childhood home. So far, the show has only dipped its toes into the horror genre. But now that Jiji is being introduced, the story is expected to become much darker. The last episode is expected to end with them entering Jiji’s house i.e the “Cursed House Arc” will likely be delayed until Season 2.
H/T: @Picsking2 And @thebeav20 on X
1000+ unique media and news posts every 24 hours…