The One Where Everyone Is Naked

Key Takeaways

• Romantic tensions are interrupted by a familiar alien threat that begins flooding the school.
• Comedic chaos ensues as Okarun is forced to battle naked, while Aira shines in combat with her new powers.
• Ayase continues to shine as MVP in battles, showcasing intelligence and cleverness.

Warning: The following contains minor spoilers for Dandadan, Episode 9, “Merge! Serpo Dover Demon Nessie”, now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Between Aira’s crossed-wires misreading of the plot and Ayase’s resentment toward Okarun’s perceived infidelity, Dandadan heightened the romantic tension considerably last time. As those tensions rise with the return of the Serpoians, that romantic tension evolves into something sexually tinged this week, as our trio battles their foe, soaking wet and barely (if at all) clothed.

Previously, Ayase became livid with Okarun upon stumbling upon him lying on top of Aira, when in reality he was just on the receiving end of Aira’s misguided attempts at “confessing her love.” Separated by a sea of mixed emotions, that metaphorical water soon became literal as the aliens pulled our duo and Aira into a void space slowly filling with water, not to mention deadly monsters.

Okarun, Put Some Pants On

There’s something about the underlying comedic predicament this week that gives off a distinct “classic cartoon” vibe. It’s one thing to be hunted by aliens that want to do god knows what to your genitals, but being completely naked smack-dab in the middle of your high school? Priorities tend to be eschewed in such circumstances, and the creative blocking of Okarun’s junk only adds to the hilarity as he scrambles to find any scrap of clothing – which is the least of his worries.

Picking up the slack in his stead, Aira stuns this week in her Acrobatic Silky form, prancing around her enemy with the same grace as the spirit whose powers she has adopted. Dandadan continues to keep its action fresh by introducing new powers, or in Aira’s case, recycling Acrobatic Silky’s abilities, but this time with a refined aesthetic similar to Okarun’s Turbo Granny Form.

Aira Spices Up Combat With Acrobatic Flair

Like him, Aira’s transformation creates a mask around her face, but it’s far more prone to opening up and allowing her to emote with her eyes. Interestingly, while Okarun’s transformation warps his personality, Aira’s standard bubbly attitude tends to peek through even while transformed. Either because of their different personalities or the nature of how they became entangled with spirits, Okarun and Aira’s powers express themselves differently, and the result is very cool.

Even cooler is what happens when Okarun and Aira’s transformations interact. In combat, Okarun’s speed and Aira’s dextrous attacks combine in a literal tango, one that Turbo Okarun can’t help but play along with, even with such a glum attitude. Normal Okarun’s heart may belong to Ayase, but his transformed self has some undeniably strong chemistry with Acrobatic Silky, who wouldn’t be the same without Kikuko Inoue’s captivating voice.

Fighting… The Loch Ness Monster?

Much like Episode 2’s big fight, which also saw Okarun and Ayase pulled into a void space, the creativity is off the charts. Having the school fill up with water is one thing, but having every physical surface slowly become water as well does a lot to turn the fight into a thalassophobe’s worst nightmare. The structure that seemed to give the surroundings a sense of place is slowly whittled away until, by the end of the episode, it may as well be the deep ocean.

There are a lot of cryptozoological creatures that Dandadan has the freedom to utilize and Nessie is certainly a big name, so it’s a big win that this episode lives up to that kind of reputation. The aforementioned spookiness of the setting combined with Nessie’s strangely Godzilla-like laser beam combine effectively to create the episode’s final boss. But that’s just half of the creativity that makes this one of the most satisfying climaxes yet.

Ayase Continues to Be the MVP

Okarun is awesome – don’t get me wrong – but Ayase has been the mastermind behind more than half of the battles so far. That’s not a flaw, it’s a feature, and combined with everything else that makes her so lovable, she’s a supremely cool and clever shōnen lead. Just about every part of their plan to survive worked because of her psychic powers and how she used them in tandem with the others’ powers.

The fact that she effectively brings them victory by remembering a lesson she was just learning in class and using it to defeat the aliens was awesome, and a nice way to bridge this episode to the one before. Best of all, before the big finale, Okarun and Ayase made amends after the big misunderstanding from one week previous. It’s in this scene, funnily enough, where Okarun steals the spotlight.

Okarun Addresses the Elephant in the Room

If it’s weighing on your mind, please let me explain myself! I don’t care how much other people will take things the wrong way, but I don’t want you to have the wrong idea, Miss Ayase!

It’s not necessarily an apology, but only because he doesn’t have the time to get there. More crucially, it’s him earnestly expressing a desire to be honest with her, and for her to be honest with him when she’s upset. The way Okarun conveys his feelings to her means everything and between the music and artwork, it’s a small but poignant moment in an otherwise hectic episode.

Manga readers must have been very eager to see this episode adapted if only to experience its ending and the second-hand embarrassment therein in all its glory. It certainly isn’t a letdown, and it comes off the heels of one of Dandadan‘s most elaborate and well-constructed battles yet. The aftermath of this arc, and what the characters will take away from it, will be fascinating to see.