Dandadan Chapter 179: Wishes Coming True and the Power of Yokai

Despite many manga series having breaks due to Christmas holidays, Yukinobu Tatsu still graced us with another new chapter of Dandadan, titled 'This Seems Kinda Deadly,' that continues immediately after the epic fight between Seiko and 'cursed buddies' against an evil yokai, the Iron Bull.

The Enemy is Not What They Seem

The previous chapter of Dandadan saw Seiko and 'cursed buddies' fighting against the yokai, an Iron Bull called Tetsu. The fight was difficult for our heroes, but with the raw strength and martial arts of Seiko and the magical prowess of Kashimoto and Payase, chapter 179 starts with Seiko's anti-curse tag revealing the real face of the Iron Bull—an ordinary man who is incredibly scared. Seiko is shocked by this revelation and immediately starts questioning the man. Apparently, he got a tip-off from the 'orchestrator,' a man who is behind the attack. We also learn that there was another man involved simply to control the jiangshi to attack the group and that the tip-off of their whereabouts was sent to multiple people.

Kashimoto pressures the man more, and we finally see the weapons that we already saw being previously used by Kuoki to attack Momo—the Kozuka knives. As Seiko explains, the knives are part of the legendary and powerful sword 'Asura'—the' one who wields that weapon has an enormous advantage against their opponents. If Asura takes on the abilities of yokai, it could cut down every single master swordsman in its path, hence why an organization of magi sealed the sword away from everyone. However, it was stolen a few years ago, and these small knives are 'kozuka' of 'Asura.' 'Kozuka' serves as the handle of a small utility knife carried within the scabbard of Japanese daggers or, in this case, a sword. This is a huge development of the story since we now finally know the origins of these weapons and have a clearer picture of the opponent Momo and Seiko are dealing with.

Taking Advantage of Human Desperation

After hearing the lore dump behind the mysterious knives, the nervous man reveals he was tasked to gather the power of the yokai. If he collects the most yokai among others, the man will be granted his wish. Payase isn't having that and immediately tells the man that he's the motivation behind the attack and accepting this deal from the 'orchestrator' is ridiculous and childish.

The man cracks and tells that his wife has only one year to live and that the mysterious man promised him to deal with her disease after accomplishing his mission. The whole story behind him meeting his wife is beautiful and continues to say that he was recommended as 'orchestrator' by a mysterious work colleague, who never even existed. Apparently, no one saw or met this guy ever, making this whole situation even more complicated.

A very heartbreaking story of a broken man loving his wife, whom he wants to live no matter what.

Potential Enemy in the Spotlight

Interestingly enough, the next manga panel pans to Mr. Sanjome, whom we also know as Count Saint-Germain, one of the brief antagonists in the 'Danmanra Arc.' Besides him having interests in the game of basketball, there is no other reason why Tatsu would show Count after that reveal by the nervous man in the previous manga panel. Anyway, if you thought that destruction in the restaurant would go unnoticed, you're wrong because we have Officer Bega on the case. The policeman goes around the block to ask what happened in the restaurant, and eyewitnesses confirm that besides the middle-aged man, there were a beautiful woman and two young men having lunch. Also, we learn the trio paid for the bill, which is quite cool to know.

Meanwhile, Seiko and 'cursed buddies' are preparing to depart, and the older woman warns the guys to be careful, and she needs to 'tidy up' things with her granddaughter. The 'cursed buddies' promise to keep investigating and that they will communicate everything they find. During their talk, Officer Bega stumbles upon them in the alley, and just as he was supposed to question them, the trio mysteriously disappears—probably using Payase's shadow clone skill.

Conclusion: Love Makes Us Desperate

Another great Dandadan chapter that lore dropped and explained essential parts of this story arc—the weapons we're dealing with and a mysterious figure known as 'orchestrator.' We got another hint that Count Saint-Germain might be behind these attacks, with a not-so-subtle pan to him after a middle-aged man confirmed someone shady contacted him and he simply doesn't know who that is. Moreover, we learned the true identity of the Iron Bull, whose story is absolutely heartbreaking, proving once again how love can be powerful and make us desperate. This is another triumph of Tatsu, who once again proved his incredible art of making every character more 'human' and likeable.

The fan-favorite Officer Bega got his cameo in this chapter, and we'll probably see more of him in this story arc. However, the main thing that excites everyone is that after three chapters, we will finally be back with Momo, Okarun, and the rest of the kids to see what is truly going on with Momo and how her state will be fixed by her friends and family. Nevertheless, we are up for another great Dandadan chapter.

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