Akusara’s past depicted in episode 7 of “Danda Dan” – The unreasonableness of reality shown by the realistic depiction

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In anime and manga works, the popularity and discussion of characters tends to be biased toward the main character or hero. However, the reason why “light” appears to shine brightly is because of the existence of “shadow.”
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The seventh episode of the TV anime “Dandadan” produced by Science SARU, “Toward a Kinder World,” became a hot topic. In this episode, the main characters Momo Ayase (hereinafter referred to as Momo) and Ken Takakura (hereinafter referred to as Okarun) faced off against the evil spirit “Acrobatic Sarasara” (hereinafter referred to as Akusara), and the showdown was depicted, as well as episodes from Akusara’s life.

Particularly popular was the depiction of Akusara’s episodes before his death. The production and drawing skills are excellent, and this episode shows that “Dandadan” is not only comical and sexual, but also has a keen eye for the unreasonableness of the world.

The stance of this work can be said to be clearly reflected in the existence of Akusara, who appears as one of the antagonists of Momo and Okarun. Behind the world’s strangeness lies the unreasonableness of society.

◆The “common” tragedy of single mothers

Akusara is an evil spirit who wears long hair and a red dress and is obsessed with having Okarun’s classmate, Aira Shiratori, call her “mom.” She has strong feelings for her “daughter,” but these feelings have grown to the point of madness and are going out of control. Her existence as a demon originates from before she was alive.

Before her death, she was raising her young daughter as a single mother. She lived alone in a cheap-looking apartment, working as a cleaner and working at a convenience store, which was probably not enough to make ends meet, and there are also depictions of her engaging in prostitution. Although her life is hard and demanding, she feels satisfied when she returns home and sees her daughter’s smile.

However, one day while enjoying such modest happiness, a debt collector comes and kidnaps the child. Akusara desperately chased after him but lost track of him, and out of despair, he attempted suicide and became a demon.

The poverty rate of single mothers in Japanese society is extremely high. The relative poverty rate (percentage of single-parent households below half of the national median income) is 44.5% (2021 survey), meaning one in two households is in financial hardship. There are more than 1.3 million single-parent households nationwide, and nearly 90% of them are single-parent households.

According to a survey by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, 80% of single-parent households are employed, but almost half of them are in non-regular employment and have extremely low incomes. Among the 36 OECSD countries, the poverty rate for single-parent households ranks fifth worst. People like Akusara are common throughout the country.

◆The unreasonableness of society is a reality

The anime portrays such episodes from Akusara’s life with the utmost realism. At the beginning of episode 7, a first-person shot that reproduces the shaking of a handheld camera gives viewers the impression of being in reality. He also takes on the challenge of creating realistic drawings that include even the small girl’s smile lines, placing even more emphasis on realism than usual. This episode, drawn based on this policy, had content that made viewers feel more “pain” than usual. This episode seemed to be saying that even though it’s an anime, it’s not fiction.

“Dandadan” seems to deal with occult themes in a comical way, but it never forgets to shed light on the background behind urban legends and tales of evil spirits. It was explained that the reason Turbo Baba was in the tunnel, which is a haunted spot, was because many women lost their lives there. Real-life haunted spots often have similar tragedies behind them.

“Dandadan” is a work that does not forget to depict the unreasonableness of such society. The depiction of Akusara is the most obvious symbol of this.

Science SARU has created a video that captures that feeling to the fullest. I hope that viewers will accept her wish for a “kinder world” where people like her can live in peace, and not just a fantasy.

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(C) Yukinobu Tatsu/Shueisha/Dandadan Production Committee