
Unmasking the Mystery: Who Is the Real Villain in Dandadan?
Dora NaletilićShare
The ongoing saga of Dandadan is incredibly interesting and a proof that Tatsu rarely misses in his hit series. 'Pygmies arc' brought us so much excitement but also mysteries that have been getting even more complex with every new chapter. Everyone is questioning their original theories about the potential villain of this saga, and this blog post will specifically focus on that part of the Dandadan.
Mysterious Figure with Kozuka Knives
In the beginning of the 'Pygmies arc,' we saw a mysterious girl attacking Momo, seeking her yokai or rather, spiritual powers. This continued with the attacks on Seiko at the restaurant and probably will go even further. Kozuka knives are used to extract the yokai powers from the individual after the bearer admits the defeat. Furthermore, we learned that the mysterious figure blackmailed desperate people and fed on their fears for them to hunt for Momo, Seiko, and others, for them to extract those powers, but they always failed due to our character managing to contain them.
This is why the fans speculated that the group's high school teacher, Mr. Sanjome, is actually Count Saint-Germain, trying to collect all yokai powers for either his collection or something more sinister. It wasn't hard to connect those dots, but the recent appearance of the mysterious Kur being in the recent chapter made those theories much murkier.
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Questions Around Count Saint-Germain's Villainy?
Despite 'meeting' Count in the 'Danmanra' story arc, his role and motivations are still fairly unknown. Of course, we know that Count seeks everything paranormal related to Dandadan, which is still unexplored in the series itself. When 'Pygmies arc' started, there were huge suspicions and hints that Count alone was involved in the whole conspiracy, mostly regarding the blackmailing of the innocent people for his personal goals.
However, in the most recent manga chapter, it seems that Count might be just part of the whole thing, who is only seeking his own goal. He hired an alien mercenary, specifically a Kur, and offered them help to withstand Earth's gravity to get something in return. Count explained his motivations as something 'he needs' from the alien being, making his involvement questioned by the fans. Now, Count is definitely involved in some way, but there is a reason to believe that Count is not a mysterious figure who blackmailed Kuoki, Okarun's former bully Hase, a middle-aged man who attacked Seiko, and finally Miss Adachi, who controlled the beings known as jiangshi.
True Figure Behind the Conspiracy?
Why is everyone questioning Count as the leader of the conspiracy? Simply because he is too pragmatic to rely on very vulnerable and inexperienced people to fight as paranormal against paranormal (them being the 'Family'). Count is a manipulative and intelligent individual who uses all resources he has at his disposal for his ultimate goals, but relying on unreliable people to do his 'dirty job' seems quite out of character for him.
Plus, him hiring an alien mercenary to accomplish a mission for him makes much more sense, and combining that with Kuoki and Miss Adachi simply is not part of his M.O. Count Saint-Germain is definitely part of the whole thing, trying to accomplish his goal, in this case reach Dandadan, and if he has to go against the 'Family,' he'll most definitely do it. However, the question of another mysterious figure still stands: Is it a proxy or someone much bigger than Count, trying to gain powers from people with great spiritual powers?
Conclusion: Dandadan's Villain is Still a Mystery
It's safe to say that we can only speculate who is the real endgame villain of this story arc. Yukinobu Tatsu isn't necessarily trying to use plot twists in every single one of his arcs, but he does slowly but surely ease us into the whole lore and 'throws' something at us that absolutely makes sense in the grand scheme of things.
Count Saint-Germain is definitely back as a villain in the Dandadan series, but his role is questionable due to two different approaches to the whole conspiracy. One likes to use powerful people to reach his goals, while the other uses human desperation to gain power, making it possible that the Count doesn't work by himself at all. Making Count the sole orchestrator of the whole situation is not Tatsu's style, but we'll have to wait and see what awaits us in the newest chapter of Dandadan that continues its run next month.
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