Warning: Contains spoilers for Dan Da Dan episode #6.Dan Da Dan episode #6 began a new story centered around Aira Shiratori, an eccentric classmate of Momo and Okarun’s who awakened to spiritual powers after finding one of Okarun’s testicles. Aira believed that she was chosen to be a hero and that a demon had possessed Momo, so she took it upon herself to use Okarun’s testicle, a sacred orb in her mind, to try and destroy Momo.

Unfortunately, Aira possessing one of Okarun's magical testicles meant she’d be targeted by the supernatural, and that’s exactly what happened in episode #6. As Aira tried and failed to perform an exorcism, Aira, Momo, and Okarun were attacked by a yokai named Acrobatic Silky who claimed Aira to be her daughter and tried to kill everyone in the group. Like previous villains, of course, Dan Da Dan’s Acrobatic Silky is based on a real urban legend, albeit a rather obscure one, and the origins of her legend do a lot to explain her actions within the context of the show.

The Origin Of Dan Da Dan's New Villain Explained

Everything To Know About Acrobatic Silky

Dan Da Dan’s Acrobatic Silky takes inspiration from the yokai called Akusara. Akusara is a giant woman over two meters in height wearing a red dress and a wide-brimmed hat with no eyes and a massive smile from ear to ear. Akusara appears in front of people she’s taken a liking to, and a curse tends to befall anyone who catches her eye. Just from a single episode, Dan Da Dan’s Acrobatic Silky does a perfect job of bringing the disturbing nature of its legend to life, as has been the case with every other monster to appear before it.

Something worth noting about Acrobatic Silky’s real-life origin is its similarities with the yokai Hasshaku-sama. Hasshaku-sama is also depicted as a tall woman in a dress and large hat who puts a curse on anyone who catches her eye, but while Akusara is a fairly obscure yokai, Hasshaku-sama is one of the most recognizable yokai in modern Japanese culture. Akusara is relatively modern by the standards of yokai, so with how similar she is to Hasshaku-sama, Akusara, and by extension Acrobatic Silky, might be a legend designed to be deliberately derivative of Hasshaku-sama and other more notable yokai.

Acrobatic Silky's Origin's Make One Dan Da Dan Joke Even Better

Acrobatic Silky being derivative of Hasshaku-sama is largely relevant to Dan Da Dan because of a joke made in episode #6. When Turbo Granny explained who Acrobatic Silky was to Momo, she derided her as nothing but a rookie to the point that she needed to do an internet search on her when she would normally know yokai by heart, and while that was largely just Turbo Granny being arrogant, Turbo Granny’s lack of knowledge about Acrobatic Silky could be seen as Dan Da Dan acknowledging how derivative she is of Hasshaku-sama and other more popular yokai.

That being said, Dan Da Dan is already doing a lot to make Acrobatic Silky stand out. In addition to her unique fighting style and her disturbing demeanor, Dan Da Dan episode #6 and the preview for episode #7 hint at a tragic backstory for Acrobatic Silky, so her arc is bound to end with her becoming a far more recognizable yokai, at least within the framework of the story. Acrobatic Silky is another hallmark of Dan Da Dan's unique handling of yokai, and overall, it will be great to see how her story plays out.

Dan Da Dan releases new episodes Thursdays on Crunchyroll.

Source: Konbanwa.net.