How ‘Dan Da Dan’ Mixed Horror and Comedy for Its ‘Evil Eye’ Arc | rssama.com

Editor’s note: The pursuing communicative contains spoilers for “Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye.”

Season 1 of “Dan Da Dan,” nan action drama adjustment of nan manga by Yukinobu Tatsu, ended connected a tantalizing cliffhanger, arsenic main characters Momo and Okarun — 2 oddball teenagers who summation powerful abilities to take sides nan world against threats some supernatural and extraterrestrial alike — get astatine nan location of Momo’s puerility champion friend Jiji to thief observe nan guidelines down a curse, and only conscionable statesman to ace into what’s lurking underneath nan location earlier nan credits role. Fans of nan show frankincense had to hold 5 months for nan communicative to continue.

Now that nan show’s back, it’s coming backmost pinch style. After Season 1 of “Dan Da Dan” received captious acclaim and patient viewership, nan first 3 episodes of nan 2nd play are premiering successful movie theaters arsenic “Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye.” Following a speedy recap of Season 1 to get newer viewers up to speed, nan typical movie arena dives into nan curse of nan Evil Eye haunting Jiji, starring to immoderate of nan show’s astir compelling play and conflict scenes. For Abel Gongora, nan co-director of “Dan Da Dan” Season 2, nan movie’s merchandise offered an breathtaking opportunity to spot his activity connected nan large surface for nan first clip — but a nerve-wracking 1 astatine nan aforesaid time.

“Normally, I spot them connected my machine astatine location pinch nan headphones on,” Gongora said to IndieWire successful an interview. “The problem is that I spot truthful galore mistakes, because it’s truthful big, that I’m for illustration ‘Ah, I wish I fixed that, aliases I wish I did this successful this case.’ I can’t thief but spot a batch of things that I would for illustration to hole if I person nan time. But of course, now it’s excessively late.”

‘Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye’

Gongora was promoted to co-director of “Dan Da Dan” for Season 2, moving alongside Season 1 head Fūga Yamashiro. A Spanish-born animator based successful Japan champion known for directing “Scott Pilgrim Takes Off,” Gongora was responsible for Season 1’s frenetic opening credits sequence, which he describes arsenic a return connected nan opening credits for 1967’s “Ultraman.” For Season 2 of nan show, which promises to beryllium bigger and bolder than nan original, nan heads of animation institution Science Saru decided to beforehand Gongora to co-director alongside Yamashiro; nan 2 person known each different for years, some having worked pinch institution laminitis Masaaki Yuasa.

“I’m learning a batch from him, and possibly he’s learning from me,” Gongora said astir collaborating pinch Yamashiro. “We stock a batch of views astir animation and cinema.”

Although Science Saru doesn’t person a location style per say, galore of its projects stock akin traits arsenic Yuasa’s films specified arsenic “Mind Game:” exaggerated facial expressions, fluid characteristic models, agleam colors, power from Western animation, and a willingness to research pinch different animation techniques. These touchstones are each connected afloat show successful “Dan Da Dan,” which bounces from slapstick drama to aggravated action to (especially successful nan “Evil Eye” arc) melodramatic horror, resulting successful tonal whiplash that nan animators gamely person to replicate successful their art.

“It’s a batch of work, because nan style is very detailed. Some animators for illustration to do comedy, much of a earthy mundane life benignant of situation, and past immoderate animators for illustration action, truthful you tin springiness different animators different scenes and what they want to do. It’s a very versatile show because of that,” Gongora says. “It’s besides very elastic pinch expression. The drawings are realistic compared pinch different anime, but we tin push nan drama successful nan facial expressions.”

A cardinal constituent of what makes nan show specified an arresting acquisition is its bold usage of color, which gives nan show a ocular connection that nan achromatic and achromatic manga lacks. According to Gongora, during Season 1 Yamashiro decided that each force nan characters brushwood are defined by a colour palette that often dominates nan framework during fights: for example, nan aliens that kidnap Momo and kickstart nan crippled are bathed pinch a ray bluish tint, while Turbo Granny — nan Yokai tone that possesses Okarun and grants him unthinkable powerfulness — is powerfully associated pinch nan colour red.

This usage of colour is peculiarly evident successful nan Evil Eye arc, which introduces 3 different threats that nan teens person to fight: nan manipulative cultish Kito Family, who are portrayed pinch graying skin; nan Mongolian Death Worm, a elephantine subterranean cryptid that releases rays of yellowish ray to thrust group to suicide; and nan terrifying titular Evil Eye, which possesses Jiji and emits belief power that manifests arsenic a sickly violet purple glow. According to Gongora, nan determination down nan colour coding was to create a caller ambience that defines each arc, and propulsion nan assemblage into a caller dimension. With nan mostly of nan Evil Eye arc taking spot successful a brown, sepia-toned underground environment, nan yellowish and purple helped guidelines retired successful nan abstraction and contrasted good pinch each other.

“I deliberation we will do that pinch each nan enemies,” Gongora says. “We are trying caller things each time, but that’s nan concept. Like [when a] caller force appears, they spell into that magnitude pinch a caller color.”

“Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye”

The focal constituent of nan arc comes halfway through, erstwhile Jiji has a imagination unearthing nan root communicative down nan Evil Eye spirit, revealing a tragic communicative of a boy who was burned astatine nan liking and sacrificed to his village’s snake god, reborn arsenic a confused tone whose rage against those who killed him transformed him into a monster. While “Dan Da Dan” has tackled dense storylines before, this series is peculiarly horrifying successful its taxable matter — depicting kid execution and termination — and nan animation is simply a stylistic departure from nan remainder of nan series, utilizing a chopped style reminiscent of pencil creation aliases watercolors for respective scenes.

Gongora, who directed and handled compositing for nan scene, said overmuch of nan sequence’s absurd imagery came from nan original manga. To springiness nan series a decidedly different consciousness from nan remainder of nan show, respective shots were done via pencil and paper, creating a grainy physicality to nan Evil Eye. The changeable wherever nan Evil Eye is burned to death, successful particular, was animated successful an absurd fashion, for illustration his look was a coating burning up, arsenic Gongora wanted to debar nan different comparatively lighthearted show from displaying nan calamity truthful realistically.

“It looks very different from a normal anime … a small spot much poetic,” Gongora said. “I wanted it to beryllium a small spot much extreme, amorphous, and experimental.”

After “Evil Eye” premieres successful theaters, “Dan Da Dan” fans are going to person to hold a agelong clip earlier seeing really nan communicative continues (well, extracurricular of reference nan original manga). Season 2 of nan show will premiere adjacent period successful July, pinch nan 4th section not premiering until nan 24th. Gongora teased a batch to travel successful Season 2 — from dense metallic to crazy fights to robots to a kaiju storyline — but he’s peculiarly excited for fans to spot nan 4th episode, which will reason nan “Evil Eye” storyline.

“There’s a immense action scene, and a very beautiful emotion segment too,” Gongora said. “It’s really amazing, I think.”

“Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye” is playing successful prime theaters now. Season 2 of “Dan Da Dan” premieres July 3 connected Netflix, Crunchyroll, and Hulu.