The 2024 breakout hit animeDanDaDanis officially back with the release ofDanDaDan: Evil Eyein theaters this weekend. Made up of the first three episodes of Season 2,which premieres next month, the feature-length adventure pits high school students turned fighters of the supernatural, Momo Ayase (Abby Trott) and Ken “Okarun” Takakura (A.J. Beckles),against their most powerful foe yet— the demonic Evil Eye, a Yōkai that has possessed Momo’s childhood friend Jiji (Aleks Le). His transformation to accommodate the imposing spirit is a chilling one, and it was easily one of co-directorAbel Gongora’s favorite moments he helped create. In an interview with Collider’sLaura Adams, he shared why he loves the scene so much and what made it such a challenge to translate from manga to anime.
Before the supernatural action comedy series, Gongora was one of the first five staff members to join the animation studio Science SARU, best known for producingDevilman Crybaby,Star Wars: Visions, andScott Pilgrim Takes Off. After working as a director on the latter two, as well as on the Best Anime Opening Sequence-winning opening forDanDaDan, he was given a new challenge as co-director of Season 2 alongsideFuga Yamashiro. It’s a big responsibility for him following the success of Season 1, especially since it covers the fan-favorite Cursed House and Evil Eye arcs from the manga surrounding Momo and Okarun’s clashes with the violent Evil Eye. The demon-controlled Jiji isthe centerpiece of the anime’s sophomore outing, raising the stakes with his threats to kill every human he comes across, even as the supernatural duo square off againstplenty of other formidable foeslike the Mongolian Death Worm, Tsuchinoko.
When asked about what scene from the upcoming episodes gave him the most trouble in his expanded role, he called out Jiji’s transformation because of the unconventional methods he and the team used when animating it. The moment had to be given the gravity a character like Evil Eye needs, which led to a bit of experimentation. For a series that’s already beenhailed for its colorful art style, it represented a risk that, while it paid off in his eyes, could’ve fallen flat.
“For the moment, I’d say when Jiji transforms into Evil Eye. We wanted to try new things and make it cool, but because it’s a little bit artistic,it could have been a disaster. So we needed to be careful. I think it turned out looking cool, and we achieved what we wanted, so I’m pretty happy with it. But yeah, it was really challenging.”
Jiji’s New Form Defines Gongora’s Favorite ‘DanDaDan’ Season 2 Episode
As a follow-up, Gongora added that the transformation was part of the reasonwhy Episode 2 is his favorite from Season 2. It’s an episode viewers will get to see on the big screen as part ofEvil Eye,and, according to the co-director, it pushes the boundaries ofDanDaDan’s artistry. From the surreal backgrounds to the kinetic scenes involving Momo, Jiji, and Okarun, there’s no shortage of aspects of the episodes he loved watching back and enjoyed bringing to life:
“Connected to what I was saying, it would be that episode: the transformation. So it’s the second episode. I really like the background with the houses and how it’s built. This tower of houses and everything looks very cool and a little bit illogical, because the houses aren’t horizontal; they’re at every angle possible. And then having Jiji struggling and going down the stairs, Momo is also following… I thought, ‘That’s really cool.'”
DanDaDan: Evil Eyeis now in theaters. Season 2, meanwhile, will arrive on Crunchyroll and Netflix on July 3. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the hit anime’s next installment as its return nears. Check out the rest of Adams’ conversation with Gongora below.
“It Could Have Been a Disaster”: ‘DAN DA DAN’ Season 2 Co-Director Explains Why the Evil Eye Arc Was “Really Challenging”
Abel Gongora takes us behind the scenes of bringing this manga from the page to the screen in the hit series adaptation.
