Manga Mavericks @ Movies #52: "Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye" (w/Abel Góngora & the English Dub Cast!)

Dun Da Dun, we’re talking about Dan Da Dan! Dan Da Dan is one of the best-produced anime on the scene, and the first three episodes of season two are currently screening in U.S. theaters as a compilation film dubbed Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye. I had the opportunity to interview the new season’s co-director, Abel Góngora, a longtime Science Saru animator who directed the beloved opening sequence for Dan Da Dan’s first season, as well as the English dub voice cast: A.J. Beckles (Okarun), Abby Trott (Momo), and Aleks Le (Jiji/Evil Eye)! 

I talked with Abel about how he collaborated with first season director Fuga Yamashiro on this season and his thought process behind many of the creative choices made with the animation, color, and art direction in the show. Then, I ask the dub cast about the highlights and difficulties of performing their characters, with A.J. discussing how he captures the interiority of Okarun in both his normal and Turbo forms and tries to push himself to match or surpass Natsuki Hanae’s performance, Abby sharing how they protect their voices when having to do lots of yelling, and Aleks explaining how he manages to do all of Jiji’s crazy vocal chances all in one take and tried not to make his Evil Eye voice sound too sexy! (ymmv, ;D) 

It was such a delight to do these interviews. Abel is incredibly humble about his work, but his brilliant creative vision shines on the screen. Meanwhile, I really appreciate how the dub cast are all incredibly passionate about the show and their characters and really think about their interiority and want to do right by them and the fans, and I really love how they all support and build each other up, particularly Abby and Aleks for A.J. Listening to these interviews, you get a great sense of the passion and love everyone involved has for the show, and their combined efforts really come alive on the screen.

That said, how is Evil Eye as a “movie,” or at least theatrical experience? Before getting into my interviews with the Dan Da Dan crew, I give my review of Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye and share my reasons why you should definitely take a look at it! Trust me, unlike the character of the Evil Eye, looking right at it won’t make you want to die! 

PODCAST BREAKDOWN:

00:00  - Pre-Order Manga Mavericks Books! 

00:37 -  Intro

04:02 - Dan Da Dan: Evil Eye Review

26:15 - Interview w/Abel Góngora, co-director of Dan Da Dan Season 2

37:34 - Interview w/A.J. Beckles, Abby Trott, & Aleks Le 

54:30 - Wrap-up

Enjoy the show, and follow us on Twitter at @manga_mavericks, on Bluesky at @mangamavericks.bsky.social, on Instagram at @mangamavericks_official, and on Youtube! You can also follow the hosts on Twitter at @VLordGTZ and @lumranmayasha. If you’d like to help support the show financially you can pledge to our Patreon or our Substack and receive some awesome rewards like our .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}