Qiuqa put together 10 key points after watching Dandadan Episode 16.
1. A Misinterpreted Legend
The village’s emergency siren blared from the loudspeakers, ordering all residents to evacuate immediately due to the volcanic eruption.
Naki furiously blamed Momo. She spat that the village had been safe from Mount Merapi’s wrath for centuries solely because the Kito family had preserved the tradition of feeding human sacrifices to the Tsuchinoko. But now, because Momo had killed the beast, their protection was gone, and they were all doomed.
Listening to her, Momo suddenly realized the glaring flaws in the village’s legend. For one, a giant worm naturally wouldn’t surface under the scorching sun. Furthermore, she found it bizarre that the myth claimed a “dragon soaring into the sky” would be followed by a rainbow.
Connecting the dots, Momo told the Kito family that the legend was never about the giant Tsuchinoko snake at all. The “dragon soaring into the sky” was actually the geyser that had erupted while she was bathing in the hot spring. She revealed that the sudden geyser and the resulting rainbow were meant to be natural warning signs that the volcano was about to erupt.
2. The Dragon is a Geyser
Acting quickly, Momo coated her hands in aura and lifted the rear end of the colossal Tsuchinoko’s corpse. With the Kito family chasing furiously behind her, she sprinted toward the hot springs, dragging the massive tail. Reaching the geyser, she forcefully jammed the worm’s rear end directly over the violent spout of boiling water.
Momo then bolted to the other end of the beast, grabbing its head while staring up at the erupting mountain. In her heart, she swore she wouldn’t let their twisted legend of sacrificing humans to appease an angry volcano become a reality.
She hoisted the worm’s head as high as she could, wielding it like a massive firehose, knowing its digestive tract formed a hollow tube from mouth to rear.
The geyser’s intense water pressure blasted straight through the worm’s body, violently spraying a mixture of water and Tsuchinoko slime from its mouth. The slime proved incredibly effective at extinguishing the advancing lava flows. However, the forest fire had spread far too wide; Momo was completely overwhelmed trying to fight it alone.
3. The Kito Family Interferes
Suddenly, Naki launched a brutal dropkick into Momo’s back, sending her crashing into the dirt. The rest of the Kito family quickly gathered around her.
Naki fiercely warned Momo not to desecrate the Tsuchinoko’s corpse. Catching her breath, Momo explained that she was just trying to stop the lava flow and begged them to stay out of her way.
But Naki coldly shot back that an outsider had no business playing the hero just to steal the glory. As far as she was concerned, protecting the village from the volcano’s wrath was the absolute right and sacred duty of the Kito family.
4. Manjiro Appears
Naki led the charge, with the rest of the Kito family following closely behind, preparing to brutalize the defenseless Momo as she sat cornered on the ground. Just as they lunged to ambush her, Manjiro suddenly appeared. He unleashed a devastating kick, launching them backward and leaving them stumbling to regain their balance.
Manjiro stood tall, placing himself firmly between the Kito family and Momo. Glancing back, he remarked that he never would have guessed she was his master’s granddaughter. He then revealed that Seiko had called him a week ago, warning him that three teenagers were heading his way and asking him to keep an eye on them.
Manjiro ordered Momo to get back to putting out the fire with the Tsuchinoko’s body. He would handle the Kito family.
5. Evil Eye Attacks Naki Kito
Momo resumed using her aura hands to levitate the Tsuchinoko’s head, spraying its slime to extinguish the raging forest fire. But suddenly, the Evil Eye launched a rapid-fire barrage of negative energy spheres directly at the corpse.
The surprise attack broke Momo’s concentration, forcing her to drop the worm and halt her firefighting efforts entirely.
Refusing to let up, the Evil Eye fired another volley of dark energy spheres, this time targeting all nine members of the Kito family simultaneously. One by one, they were blasted away, until only Naki remained standing.
The Evil Eye quickly closed in, preparing to deliver a lethal kick to the cornered Naki. But Momo reacted instantly. Using her aura hands, she violently yanked Naki backward, causing the Evil Eye’s kick to swing through empty air.
6. Mantis & Chiquitita
Moving with terrifying speed, the Evil Eye suddenly appeared right in front of Momo. He launched a devastating kick before she had any time to dodge. Out of nowhere, the Mantis intercepted the attack, driving a brutal punch straight into the Evil Eye’s face and sending him staggering backward.
Momo looked up and saw a UFO hovering above, piloted by Chiquitita. The spacecraft fired a yellow tractor beam down to the ground. Gliding down gently within the beam were Seiko and Taro.
Hitting the ground, Seiko immediately began barking orders to execute her strategy against the Evil Eye. She instructed Manjiro to start chanting the Tohokamiemitame mantra, then ordered Taro to prepare to charge the Evil Eye the moment she gave the signal.
7. Sealing the Evil Eye
Seiko and the Mantis moved in, engaging the Evil Eye in close-quarters combat. After the Evil Eye narrowly dodged a punch from the Mantis, Seiko relentlessly matched his speed, delivering a flurry of strikes with her baseball bat that the entity was forced to block with his legs. Amidst the chaotic exchange, Seiko shouted the signal for Taro to initiate the plan.
Taro sprinted furiously toward the brawl. But the Evil Eye was faster. Anticipating the tackle, he drove a crushing punch directly into Taro’s chest. The anatomical model shattered instantly, its plastic pieces bursting into the air.
However, as the pieces flew, the Evil Eye noticed several warding talismans stuck to the insides of Taro’s shattered body. Panic flashed across his face. Manjiro’s Tohokamiemitame chant began to resonate, activating the talismans attached to the scattered fragments.
Like magnets, the airborne pieces of Taro’s body forcefully clamped onto the Evil Eye. Rapidly snapping back together, Taro fully reassembled his anatomical body, successfully trapping the Evil Eye inside him like a living prison.
8. Manjiro & Seiko
With the Evil Eye handled, Chiquitita expertly maneuvered the UFO, using its yellow tractor beam to levitate the Tsuchinoko’s corpse. From high above, she blasted the worm’s slime down across the forest, finally extinguishing the widespread fires.
Meanwhile, Seiko fiercely scolded Manjiro for failing to keep a close eye on the teenagers like she had explicitly asked. Defending himself, Manjiro argued that her phone call had been incredibly vague, and he hadn’t even known who was calling at the time. He boldly suggested she should be praising him instead for assessing the situation and moving quickly to save Momo. Reluctantly, Seiko gave him his due praise.
Looking over, Seiko realized Taro was actually useful. Thanks to his hollow anatomical body, they had successfully sealed the Evil Eye. Taro then awkwardly approached Seiko, holding his plastic internal organs, and asked where he was supposed to put them now. Seiko dryly told him to just shove them into a plastic grocery bag.
9. Chiquitita Saves Okarun & The Turbo Granny
The Mantis and Momo sprinted back to the ruins of Jiji’s house. Upon arriving, the Mantis immediately punched through the heavy rubble blocking the entrance to the underground cavern. Momo gasped in horror—the entire cavern below had transformed into a boiling pool of magma. The Mantis grimly stated that Okarun likely hadn’t survived. Though terrified, Momo firmly refused to believe it.
Looking up at the sky, Momo desperately screamed at Chiquitita, begging her to aim the UFO’s tractor beam and blast the Tsuchinoko’s slime directly into the magma pool. Fearing she was going to jump into the lava on a suicide mission, the Mantis tried to physically restrain her. But Momo fought back, fiercely declaring that she had made a promise to save Okarun.
From the UFO, Chiquitita shouted down that she wouldn’t spray the slime into the magma, warning Momo not to dive in and throw her life away. Instead, she adjusted the UFO’s yellow tractor beam to act as a gravity lift, pulling a massive, lava-coated boulder out from the depths of the fiery pool and raising it to the surface.
Once the lava-covered boulder was thoroughly doused and cooled by the Tsuchinoko’s slime, Momo frantically tore the hardened rock apart with her bare hands. Inside lay Okarun, tightly cradling the Turbo Granny.
Looking up at her, Okarun smiled faintly, saying he always knew she would come to save him. The Turbo Granny woke up, immediately hopping around complaining about the intense heat, and proceeded to angrily scold Momo for taking so damn long to rescue them.
10. How Okarun Survived
Okarun explained to Momo that if he hadn’t jumped in to save the Turbo Granny when she got trapped in the Tsuchinoko’s slime, he probably would have been incinerated by the lava flow. He revealed that they had been stuck inside one of the buried houses, completely flooded with the worm’s thick slime.
When the lava poured in, the intense heat flash-hardened the slime around them, encasing Okarun and the Turbo Granny inside a solid, insulated boulder that prevented the magma from burning them alive.
Reaching down, Momo grabbed both of Okarun’s hands and pulled him to his feet. Overcome with relief, she threw her arms around him in a tight hug. Tears streamed down her face as she whispered, “Thank God you’re still alive, Okarun.”
