Well, that was certainly a statement episode from Science Saru. These things are all planned out well in advance of course, but the timing makes it feel like they heard all the carping about declining production values and delivered a monster ep in response. I have no doubt that we’ll see peaks and valleys going forward, and that production conditions are likely pretty rough – this is Science Saru, that’s just what they do. But there’s still a ton of talent behind this adaptation, and it’s clear they’re saving their powder for the big moments.
This is a complicated situation for the good guys, to say the least. They’re fighting two nasty enemies in the Mongolian Death Worm and briefs boy Evil Eye. Not only that but E.E. is Jiji, and it’s not like Okarun and Momo are looking to haul ass out of there and leave him behind. Trapped underground with no way to reach the distant opening to the surface all seems lost, but Okarun comes up with a plan – go into turbo mode and kick Momo as far as he can (with an ancient couch for buffering), and have her use her powers to get the rest of the way. She’s understandably hesitant but with no other options presenting themselves, finally relents.
In practical terms this clears the stage for Jiji and Okarun to go all-out. And go all out they do, along with the animators. It definitely seems like Evil Eye has the edge in strength here, and even in Turbo Granny form Okarun is mostly dodging and running. Meanwhile the giant earthworm is pumping out poison into the dank air, which not even Jiji’s possessed vessel is immune to. Momo does get out (barely) but that’s a long way from being able to do anything to save the others (which includes Turbo Granny herself, who’s AWOL for most of the episode, a fact about which no one seems much concerned).
This fight is a flat-out cracker, elegant and vicious at the same time. I’d go so far as to say it’s the best action sequence of the second season thus far, and one of the best of the series. Meanwhile Momo, in desperation, sets fire to the house. When I read this bit I assumed she was going to try and use the firehose to pull the boys to safety, but she was more in chess mode than that. Thinking back to an osananajimi-time conversation with Jiji, she remembers than an earthworm breathes through its skin. As such, when the ground gets saturated they come to the surface – and if the sun is out, shrivel up and die. In chibi-Jiji’s words, “earthworm suicide”.
That works – but not before the Evil Eye and Turbo Okarun bring their battle to a truly epic (if intermediate) conclusion. Pissed off Okarun going All-Out is enough to stop E.E. in his tracks, though that’s the second time which means he’s unable to return to turbo form to try and get Jiji – and eventually Turbo Granny – rescued. She’s stuck in death worm mucus, and he gets himself stuck trying to get her out. Back on the surface the giant earthworm coughs up the entire Kito clan (still alive) in what appears to be its dying act. But they don’t seem at all grateful, for reasons that will soon become clear.
Japan, of course, is home to limitless ancient legends about giant underground creatures and earthquakes – causing them and preventing them. I don’t think anyone would defend the Kito method in keeping the Mongolian Death Worm placated for all those years, but could it be that they might just have had a point? Judging by the results of its apparent death, it’s certainly looking that way…
Nadavu
July 19, 2025 at 7:11 amI know it’s dumb to poke holes at the logic here, but the earthworm suicide thing was pretty lame. One firetruck does not push out enough water to soak such a huge and deep underground cavern, and even if it was directly above the worm, couldn’t it just move a little sideways? Loved everything else about this episode, though.
Guardian Enzo
July 19, 2025 at 9:41 amOh, once you start going down that road with Dandadan there’s no turning back.
Sonicsenryaku
July 19, 2025 at 11:24 amMy understanding was that when the firefighters were dousing the house (there were at least two trucks there if what was onscreen is anything to go by; not one), the water was going directly into the gaping hole leading into the underground cavern. From there, the moisture plus humidity being generated from the dousing was doing the rest of the work in making the cavern difficult for the worm to breathe in and the water on the ground would ensure it couldn’t attempt to bide its time underneath terrain closer to the surface. Moving somewhere else doesn’t make it easier for a worm to breathe once its skin begins to saturate with moisture
From that perspective, the tactics’ logic is sound. It’s just that given it’s such a HUGE worm we’re talking about and there’s plenty of dry surface area to dig into that isn’t within the square feet of earth being soaked, the worm should have been very capable of just burying to a drier spot far away from the home if need be to guarantee safety the moment it noticed the soil it was resting in getting moist; given how large the cavern was, there should have still been plenty of drier spots. Unless this Mongolian monstrosity oxygen-sensitivity was THAT high the humidity in the cavern deprived it of oxygen THAT quickly the moment the soil it was resting in got soaked (the latter makes a bit of sense actually, given real-life worms vary in oxygen sensitivity which affects their decision to borrow upwards), this shouldn’t have been an issue.
Dandadan, despite the inanity of its scenarios, actually does have rock-solid logic in its problem solving most of the time; however this was one of those rare occasions in the story where your suspension of disbelief for the solution’s logic (not its application; those are always silly) gets stretched a bit
Simone
July 19, 2025 at 11:53 pmApparently the earthworm suicide phenomenon doesn’t really happen for the reason Jiji says at all either – earthworms can live submerged in water just fine, it’s just that since they are at risk of drying up they take advantage of when the rain has moistened up the soil to travel long distances they can cover underground. Except, since earthworms are animals with barely a nervous system, they’re not cognitively sophisticated enough to calculate precisely when and how to do this, and sometimes they just end up stranded topside, unable to go back to the safety of the underground, and eventually dried up by the sun.
Let’s just say, I’m not sure why a fabled animal from *the Gobi Desert* would need moisture to live, nor why would a giant creature capable of telepathic suggestion have as limited an intelligence as a nematode whose brain contains about 300 neurons.
Long story short: forget it, Nadavu. It’s Dandadan.
Sonicsenryaku
July 20, 2025 at 12:51 pmYes and no; what you’re describing depends on the oxygen sensitivity of the worm. What Jiji described isn’t universally applicable to ALL earthworms; that much is true, but this is partly due to a worms oxygen sensitivity amongst other factors as well. Earthworms that are less oxygen-sensitive will not suffocate being submerged in water for long periods of time; ones that are would need to breathe and devise methods to do so
Simone
July 20, 2025 at 5:06 pmFair, but both points – why would a giant worm have that problem at all (in fact, it shouldn’t, because atmospheric oxygen concentration isn’t high enough to sustain skin-breathing at such a large scale, that worm needs lungs), and why would it not be smart enough to find better solutions, stand. It’s just a Dandadan thing. They even had to go and make the legendary man-eating cryptid *even bigger* than in any of the stories (Okarun remarks on this).
Sonicsenryaku
July 21, 2025 at 1:52 amHaha yea for sure; that’s I said that while Dandadan’s quirky take on problem solving usually has cause and effect narrative writing (despite the application being silly as all hell), this is one of the few genuine instances where you have to stretch your suspension of disbelief for the writing’s logic
Sonicsenryaku
July 19, 2025 at 11:40 amWatching the insanely detailed background animation (background animation usually never has to be that detailed) as Okarun is running through the interconnected web of houses while evading EE’s death ball continues to cement my point that ambitious tv projects like Dandadan should always be allowed the time to cook