Confronting a Powerful Adversary in Dandadan Chapter 178
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Yukinobi Tatsu graced us with another chapter of Dandadan, and it's truly action-packed. The newest chapter, titled 'The Power of a God,' follows Seiko and her new allies, Payase and Kashimoto, and their epic fight against a formidable foe in the Iron Bull named Tetsu. Amazing artwork, cool fighting choreography, and incredible skills are at the center point of the newest chapter, 178, of Dandadan.
Seiko's New Allies Showcase Their Power
In the previous chapter of Dandadan, we saw Seiko taking on a formidable foe in the Iron Bull. We rarely saw Seiko in action throughout the whole manga series, so it was really nice seeing the older Ayase showcase her power. She fought well, but Iron Bull's special power, which includes being stronger the more he's punched by someone, made our favorite Grandma struggle a bit until her 'cursed buddies,' Kashimoto and Payase, came around. Chapter 178 starts immediately after the previous one, where the 'cursed buddies' join Seiko and organize a plan on how to defeat him. Of course, that's not all, because an ancient being in jiangshi goes against our trio and fights with the Iron Bull.
Seiko's masterplanning plan includes getting to her bag to seal the beast and the 'cursed buddies' to distract the beasts. Kashimoto first strikes the beasts and uses a special spiritual power with which he absolutely pummels through the jiangshi. On the other hand, Payase uses his shadow form and powers to impale the vampires with his power to pave the way for Seiko. This representation of Trio's powers is so cinematic, making one feel like they're watching a movie.
Iron Bull Proves to be a Formidable Enemy
Despite plummeting through the jiangshi, Iron Bull proves to be a 'harder' opponent. As previously mentioned, Tetsu, the Iron Bull, has a special ability that with every strike, he's much stronger and more durable against his enemies. At first, Payase and Kashimoto stun the Bull, but the monster prevails and starts beating both men with relentless power. With all her might, Seiko tries to reach her bag but simply cannot due to the beast always having an upper hand.
The monster eventually captures Seiko in a deathly grip and uses its force to crush the woman. Seiko insists that Kashimoto continues hitting the Bull with all of his strength and power, despite it getting stronger with every hit. While the monster gleefully goads and announces its victory over his foes, even saying to Seiko to finally surrender and accept the defeat.
Seiko's Intellect and Skill Prevails in an Epic Battle
Once more, we see Seiko's incredible intelligence in motion. She knew that the Bull gets stronger with every hit, and with that, its body gets hotter. However, what the monster didn't know is that Kashimoto can manipulate his flames and even decrease their temperature, which he uses in his attack against the Bull. Basically, Kashimoto decreased the temperature of the Bull, and at the same time, made sure his flames shone bright, weakening the beast—giving Payase a moment to strike. Payase is a shadow, so with more light, his shadow gets more pronounced, making him unbelievably strong.
With the Bull helplessly looking around for a way to escape, Seiko deals the beast the ultimate blow—she seals the beast using 'Ganzan Daishi,' or a 'Ward Against Evil and Misfortune. Before the inevitable defeat, Iron Bull uses its last breath to tell Seiko the real foe behind this attack, but in true Tatsu move, the sentence has been cut off and the valuable information seemingly lost—or is it?
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Conclusion: The Epic Battle is on a Horizon
Chapter 178 was truly action-packed, and Yukinobu Tatsu didn't 'slack off' with fantastic artwork and cinematic manga panels at all. Moreover, the creator bestowed on us many cool references to popular culture; this time with Kashimoto's casting of a spell, specifically the term he yells out, 'Aphoomzhah!' which is a reference to 'Cthulhu Mythos,' created by H.P. Lovecraft, a famous American fantasy and horror writer that defined the horror genre with his work. The term 'Aphoomzhah!' means 'Cold Flames,' which Kashimoto uses to defeat the Iron Bull and gives Seiko the opportunity to seal their foe.
The slight cliffhanger, with the Bull failing to finish the sentence on who is the reason behind the attack, sparked many theories by the fans. Some claim that the creator, Tatsu, wanted to prolong the arc by not letting Seiko know the truth, while others speculate that Seiko already knows what is going on and just waits to help Momo and strike their mysterious enemy once and for all. One's for sure, the epic battle is on the horizon.
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