Dandadan #04 — Oral Dental

 

Sorry, Elusive Samurai already did the teeth in inappropriate orifaces thing. 

Impressions:

I continue to feel like Science Saru is wasted on this show. The animation can only do so much to dress up the skeleton of the show, though at the same time, they're certainly not taking any risks to make stuff like chase scenes flow well. I can't help but think about the incredible chases in stuff like Rage of Bahamut's first episode, or maybe even Horizon's since that was also filled with nonsense rules made up on the spot. But while both might not have thrown as many animators into the grist mill, they weren't full of sudden cuts, random factoids that were immediately abandoned, and yelling. So much yelling.

The best parts were when it was channeling Spiderman, but those were few compared to Billy The Screaming Toddler in JC Penny. Quips, witty exchanges, and general back-and-forths are so much more palatable and engaging than recycled gags and extra frames. Even the rare occasions that it did try to use quick thinking, like dousing the crab in hot water, they had to explain it, show it, re-explain it, and then they cut to somewhere else and the crab was right next to them and completely fine again. Just a little space to make those things actually feel slightly impactful as they go from one crisis to the next, but since every crisis has to also be explained at length, usually while standing around and with yelling reactions… Animation can only carry things so far.

Next Episode: