Dandadan deals with some incredibly dark themes, with Episode 7 proving to be its heaviest yet. If you haven’t read the manga, you might not have spotted this hidden detail that makes its saddest scene even more tragic.
Yukinobu Tatsu’s Dandadan manga started in 2021, where it quickly built up a cult following with its imaginative, genre-bending storytelling.
The plot follows an unlikely duo: Ken Takakura, a UFO enthusiast, and Momo Ayase, a high schooler intrigued by the supernatural.
After gaining a solid readership, Dandadan has made its anime debut, premiering in October on Crunchyroll and Netflix.
The new series has received widespread praise so far, with Science Saru’s adaptation making tweaks to cater to audiences while staying true to the manga’s essence.
It’s for this reason you may have missed a heart-wrenching moment in the latest episode of the Acrobatic Silky arc, ‘To a Kinder World’, which dealt with some of its darkest themes yet.
In Episode 7, we’re shown flashbacks to Acrobatic Silky’s tragic backstory. When she was human, she led a difficult life, owing debt and juggling numerous jobs to raise her daughter, who she loved with all her heart.
One of the jobs included sex work, which is shown to have a significant impact on her. However, her entire demeanor changes when she returns home and is greeted by hugs from her daughter.
One night, the yakuza breaks in and kidnaps Silky’s daughter. It’s not fully shown why they did this, but it’s assumed this is down to her owing debt.
Although she tries to chase them down through the pouring rain, she’s unable to catch up with the gang.
Following these horrifying scenes, we see an ambiguous yet beautiful shot of Silky performing a ballet scene through a star-filled cityscape. The sky suddenly goes blurry, as if she’s traveling through time.
It then cuts to Silky and her daughter hugging, as the little girl says, “Mommy, thank you for all you do,” before we hear a thud in the background.
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Anyone who hasn’t read the manga might not know that this was actually portraying Silky, stricken with grief, jumping off the rooftop of her apartment complex and dying by suicide.
It was after this decision that Silky transformed into a yokai and began her obsession with Aira. At the end of Dandadan Episode 7, she sacrifices her aura to save Aira, thus ending her heart-wrenching journey.
“It really makes me cry after reading the manga but I think the part where she jumped off the building was a bit confusing,” said one Dandadan reader.
“For the people who don’t read it, some people thought she got run over by a car. But the truth is she actually unalived herself.”
Confusion aside, one of the great things about the anime series is how much it leaves certain details open to interpretation. Although it doesn’t outright say it, when Silky turns into dust and Aira embraces her, the final shot sees her human form reunited with her daughter.
As one fan explained on Reddit, “The final panel in the manga shows both AcroSilky and her daughter, hand in hand, walking towards a ‘kinder place’.”
Others have simply been sharing the emotional toil the latest episode has had on them. “it broke me plain and simple,” wrote one, while another said, “I cried like a f**king baby three times.”
A third added, “Dad of two girls, one being only four so watching this absolutely destroyed me, it’s been four days and I still can’t get over it.
“I don’t usually get upset watching anything, but after this I can now understand how people can genuinely die of heartbreak, as my heart hurts after this episode, hugged my daughters so hard last few days.”
Dandadan Episode 8 drops on Netflix on November 21. Be sure to keep tabs on the Dandadan release schedule, and you can also check out the best upcoming anime series.