Dandadan: The Awesome Zone, Explained

Summary

• Serpo aliens target humans for their reproductive organs, referred to as “Banana Organs,” due to their incapability of reproduction.
• The Serpo’s technique, the Awesome Zone, immobilizes targets with intense gravity but has flaws like needing a third party to attack.
• Despite weaknesses, the Serpo may evolve the Awesome Zone further to enhance efficiency in capturing reproductive organs.

The Serpo have always been characters of questionable intrigue for the viewers of the currently airing popular anime, Dandadan. Right from their introduction in the Dandadan series, the Serpo have allured fans in the weirdest ways, as their mission to obtain reproductive organs from humans is considered absurd, but one can not ignore their evolution.

After their first and unsuccessful attempt, the Serpo returned once more with a new technique known as the Awesome Zone. This zone was invented to hinder their target’s movements and transformations, and it does a fine job of it. However, despite its strength, the technique is not foolproof and has its chinks, which could render this technique counterproductive.

The Serpo Aliens

Creatures Obsessed With Reproductive Organs

The Serpo aliens are male aliens from the planet Serpo. Since they have only male species, these aliens are incapable of reproducing for the sake of biological evolution on their own, resorting to making copies of themselves for efficiency. This flaw in their makeup is something they have recognized, and to combat it, they decided to resort to abducting humans on earth and stealing their reproductive organs, organs they often refer to as Banana Organs. In the case of Takakura Ken and his friends, due to their involvement with the supernatural, that is, yokai, the Serpo seem to believe that their organs would be highly pivotal in their evolution as they display abilities that their knowledge of science and technology can not comprehend.

To this extent, the Serpo seek to harvest Banana Organs forcefully, and Momo Ayase and her crew seem like the ideal targets. However, right before they were able to harvest Momo’s organs, she awakened her psychokinetic abilities and was able to escape them just in time. This led the Serpos to be wary of her due to the explicit control of her aura in their first encounter. Most likely because of this, they devised a technique that would be ideal for capturing their targets without engaging them directly in combat, and that is the Awesome Zone.

The Awesome Zone

A Technique Of Immobility And Suppression

The Awesome Zone is a zone or a particular space created by the Serpo where anyone with spirit abilities in it would be rendered near immobile due to the intense gravity in that space. One can think of it as a force field where gravity is multiplied. However, it does not just render people with spiritual power in that space immobile; it also cuts off any form of spiritual energy, rendering the people in that space unable to use it.

Also, the higher the number of Serpoians that combine their psychokinesis, the stronger the technique gets. This was shown in the ninth episode of the series, where Takakura and Aira

were placed under the effect of the Awesome Zone simultaneously as three Serpoians combined their psychokinesis. This puts them in a more favorable position no matter the opponent, as long as there are enough of them around to combine their abilities. However, despite being a technique with its fair share of advantages, the Awesome Zone also has its drawbacks.

The Limitations Of The Awesome Zone

A System Still With Flaws

The major flaw of the Awesome Zone, a flaw that even the Serpoians themselves are aware of, is that they can not enter the Awesome Zone. They have to rely on a third party, usually a hired help, to attack the people they have held captive in the zone. This is why they employed Chiquitita’s father to do the heavy hitting while they used this technique on Takakura and Aira. Without any other species or devices present to aid them on the offense, there is not much they can do aside from immobilization, making the ability seem like a waste of time and energy in such a scenario.

This technique could also be repelled by those with psychokinetic powers such as Momo Ayase. This was displayed when she came in the nick of time to repel their psychokinesis with hers, saving her friends and allowing Takakura to transform and move once again. Also, depending on the opponent they face, numbers may become an issue. Since they require a higher number of them to subdue stronger opponents or multiple opponents at the same time, in the event that their numbers are not enough, this technique would be rendered ineffective.

The Evolution Of The Awesome Zone

A Technique With Potential For Improvement

Despite the flaws that come with it, the Awesome Zone is still really powerful and should be able to subdue foes of considerable strength. However, it might end here. The Serpoians are known for their surprisingly quick evolution and adaptation, as they were able to come up with this solution just after one encounter with Momo Ayase. As they recognize these flaws, they might already be developing the Awesome Zone into something even more awesome, something that cuts down their disadvantages even more and would assure them the upper hand.

It may seem that the psychokinesis they project might be what affects them should they get inside the Awesome Zone. If this is the case, they might create something that excludes their species from the effect of the psychokinesis and grants them free movement in and out. The hired help alternative is most likely a temporary solution, and it may not work forever as they tend to mistreat them and force them to work even beyond their capabilities, as seen with Chiquitita’s father. They might even just create an entirely different technique altogether, something that gives a better chance at harvesting the reproductive organs they so desire.

Dandadan is now available to stream on Crunchyroll, Hulu, and Netflix.