Today's Dandadan episode felt like a sad movie. The anime took a different approach with Acro Silky's backstory than the manga, but it was still deeply affecting. The episode was beautifully directed, and this whole backstory was handled with care, no doubt. It explores a mother's struggle through a dark phase, yet she finds joy in coming home to her daughter, teaching her ballet in her spare time, and using her earnings from sex work to buy nice and cute clothes for her lovely little child. The manga's depiction was much harsher, ngl. It showed how the world can be so cruel to some people who want nothing but the best for their children. The mother was living a cruel life, but she was doing that sort of work to ensure her daughter gets to live a better life. But things didn't go the way she planned..
She was brutally assaulted by these men, probably her past customers, or they needed her back in the business because she had been slacking off, not showing up for work. She was likely spending time with her daughter, teaching her ballet. After beating her like shit, they took her daughter away and disappeared. Acro Silky was unconscious after the assault, so she couldn't go rescue her.. I doubt it would've made any difference because she didn't have the strength to fight these monsters alone. Nobody would help a sex worker like her. You literally see her screaming in pain, but nobody showed up. There was enough noise, but nobody listened, or even came to save her child. Her only source of happiness and her will to live.
When she regained consciousness and found her daughter missing, she rushed outside barefoot, consumed by the single thought of saving her child. She searched everywhere but couldn't find her, and that's when I felt tears well up because it was obviously too late. The men who assaulted her had probably sold her child for money.. That's the kind of people she was working for. These monsters are devoid of feelings, caring only for their own benefits, and in their world, only money matters.
And that was it for her. Her only source of happiness was gone, and she had nobody else to rely on, not even the cops would have helped a woman like her. How could they? She was involved with dangerous people, and instead of reporting, she worked for them. They would have laughed at her, so she just gave up on life, doing one last ballet dance move while remembering her daughter, then she jumps off. This is where I realized that I had picked a very real manga, because Tatsu is an amazing writer and artist. He knows, and he wants you to know, how cruel this world can be. He doesn't shy away from showing this at all, he wants you to be aware so that as a reader, you'll be kind and do the right thing when you see people in danger. Dandadan isn't just a funny story about stupid teenagers...
She died, but her spirit couldn't pass on to the other side for obvious reasons. She was still searching for her daughter, unable to find her even as a ghost. Then there was little Aira, who saw her and, for some reason, Aira could see her. Acro Silky began to see her as her lost daughter. That's why she wanted to be called mommy. Those words made her feel like a mother again. She couldn’t find her real daughter, but she found Aira and genuinely cared for her. You can see her desperation just to be called "mommy'' because that was the first thing Aira told her when she saw her walking on the street searching for her daughter.. Just a simple word made the ghost of a sad mother so happy.
Acro Silky transferred her yokai energy to the girl who died due to reckless behavior. Aira wasn't her daughter, but she deserved to live the life Acro wished for her own daughter, to be kind, make friends, and live happily. Both Aira and Momo saw the spirit's painful past while she was giving her energy to Aira, which was so touching that it brought them to tears. Reading this backstory was heart wrenching for me too. So, please don't hate Aira, she lost her mother at a very young age and lacked guidance. Had her mother been alive, Aira might have turned out differently. She's not a bad character, she's simply another child who grew up without the nurturing presence of a caring mother.
Shout out to Science Suru for doing justice to this backstory. I was initially concerned due to its disturbing elements, but the way they've infused their unique style is genius. We should all be grateful that Tatsu's work is being treated with the respect it deserves, Science Suru is ensuring that his story and messages are accessible to everyone through their amazing animation style, direction, music and the overall blood, sweat and tears of everyone who are working so hard on this anime project. Watch/Read Dandadan because it's that one manga you don't wanna miss out.
SCIENCE SARU****
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