Summary
Yukinobu Tatsu’sDandadanhasa unique blend of both sci-fi and supernatural elementswhich feeds people’s long-documented obsession with “that which is not of our world”, and hence borrows many of its concepts from urban legends, folklore, and the vast number of unexplained phenomena and events that have been speculated about for a very long time.
One such concept is the Evil Eye, a concept held across a number of geographic regions including the Mediterranean, the Levant, Asia, Africa and the Caribbean, which all have some account of a curse wrought on a target by means of a malevolent glare. What is the Evil Eye inDandadan, and how does the concept in the series differ from its conception in real life?
What Is The Evil Eye Exactly?
The Curse of Evil Intent
The Evil Eye is a cursethat humans have believed in since prehistory, and it concerns a malevolent glare (you know, like glaring “daggers” at someone?) cast at someone. The inspiration behind such a curse is usually envy, which is why it is a fairly common idea to delay telling people good news until it is at some point in the past to prevent envious individuals from casting the Evil Eye and thus doing what the cool kids would describe as “blocking your blessings”. Talismans or artifacts created to protect against this curse are thought to date as far back as 5000 years ago, and the most famous ones include the nazar, a bead or amulet fashioned after an eye, which looks like this🧿; and also thehamsa/khamsa, also known as the Hand of Fatima, a palm-shaped amulet depicting the five fingers of the hand that is commonly used as a wall decoration and a well-known protective charm against the Evil Eye.
The association of the gaze or the eyes with calamity has been represented in various cultures in vastly different ways; for instance, the story of the Gorgon Medusa speaks of a vicious monster that has the form of a woman with snakes for hair with whom eye contact leads to petrifaction. The eyes have also been considered"windows to the soul"throughout history, possibly due in part to their function as a main way in which humans take in information from the world, and also for their role in the countless facial expressions that human beings have in their repertoire which communicate vital information about how a person is feeling or what they’re thinking.
In Dandadan
A Childish Malignant Spirit
Jashi, known in English as the Evil Eye, is a yokai that is bound to theTsuchinokosacrificial house. Jin Enjoji, better known as Jiji, Momo’s childhood friend, unknowingly lived in a house that was bound to a giant earthworm monster to which a certain family had been sacrificing people in secret for over two centuries to keep the nearby volcano dormant. The Evil Eye isa spirit bound to the houseJiji was living in with his parents, one that had become the sacrificial altar. Originally, the Evil Eye was a young boy whose entire life was spent in solitude and captivity just to end up being sacrificed to the volcano. Since then, the boy’s spirit remained bound to the site of his death for several years until at some point, a house was built over it and a new family moved in. Their young boy could see the ghost, but his parents could not. The family’s stay ended when the parents took their own lives as a result of the psychic effects of theTsuchinokoearthworm monster, which would drive inhabitants of the house to suicide.
When it was decided that the child would also be sacrificed, the Evil Eye was enraged, took over the boy’s body, and vowed to kill everyone responsible for the human sacrifices that had been taking place. InDandadan, the Evil Eye is an evil spirit that causes anyone who makes eye contact with it to kill themselves, making it a similar kind of entity to theTsuchinoko. While it had protected Jiji from the psychic waves of theTsuchinoko, the Evil Eye ultimately wanted to possess Jiji, who possessesimmense spiritual energy and athleticism, and use his body to destroy humanity. Momo and Okarun soon discover that Jiji can regain control of his body if hot water is poured on him, with the Evil Eye taking over whenever a liquid that isn’t hot makes contact with him (it’s likeRanma 1/2). Having seen its memories, Jiji felt empathy for it and its deep desire to play with other children, but likely due to its long quest for revenge, its idea of play and violence have become intertwined. Okarun promises to entertain its bloodthirst once a week if it promises to fight only him and allow Jiji to control his own body.
Dandadan
Based on Yukinobu Tatsu’s popular manga that debuted in 2021 on Shonen Jump+, Dandadan blends action, comedy, romance, and supernatural thrills to create a unique and satisfying adventure. Momo Ayase and Ken Takakura believe in the extraordinary, although the former believes in ghosts and the latter believes in aliens. Determined to confirm their side’s existence, they set out to find their proof.
