Dandadan is like a theme park, filled with thrilling rides in every volume. But the best ride that Dandadan has to offer is the roller coaster. Sometimes, that roller coaster is an adrenaline rush, as it offers excitement at every turn. But in other situations, the roller coaster is an emotional one, as it makes your stomach sink and leave you feeling discombobulated. Volume Eighteen of Dandadan is a perfect example of both kinds of roller coasters.

For starters, we focus on the first half of this volume. Momo and Zuma have beaten the game, and now Okarun and Turbo Granny find themselves in the world of the board game. Just one problem: the game was never meant to be beaten, as winning makes the yokai trapped in it awaken. The Fairy-Tale Card, with its wacky appearance, has a crazy power: the ability to take over anything that looks at it.

Zuma quickly falls victim to the Fairy-Tale Card, causing him to lose control and go full throttle with his hidden ability: ‘Brella Boy. Now, it becomes a fight to survive, as Momo and Okarun attempt to calm down Zuma and bring him back into the fold. But without a golden ball, Okarun can’t fully unleash his Granny powers. Thus, it becomes a race against time to find a way out of the game, stop Zuma, and defeat the Fairy-Tale Card.

At first, author Yukinobu Tatsu tosses in the usual humor that Dandadan is known for. Watching as Momo, Okarun, and the many others trapped in the game evade Zuma’s powers is pretty funny, as they keep turning on and off the stone card’s skill. But the laughs go away momentarily when Momo is injured, and with little time to take a breather, Okarun has to take over and protect her from any other injuries. However, the humor returns again with the arrival of two unlikely heroes: Rokuro and Officer Bega.

Here, we see what makes Dandadan an entertaining read. As Rokuro and Bega fight Zuma, the two of them keep on bantering and complaining, with Bega wanting to arrest everything and everyone in sight. We’re reminded that Dandadan is meant to be a wild time whenever a new chapter is dropped, and when Okarun nabs a ball and tags himself back in, the excitement kicks into overdrive. But then, just as this adrenaline rush comes to an end, it’s time for readers to get onto the emotional roller coaster.

Boy, how much tragedy can one person experience before snapping? That’s a thought that raced through my head when Zuma’s back story is revealed. Orphaned, left to fend for himself, and getting himself mixed in with a bad crowd, Zuma’s origin tale is filled with every kind of bad situation one can fully imagine. But it takes one kind soul to change a person’s path in life, and a familiar cop is the one to do that.

When that man appears, the tone of the back story slightly changes. They bump heads, learn about their pasts, and Zuma starts to grow into a better person because of it. However, when a situation that mirrored something from Zuma’s past happens, he finds himself stuck between his old self and the new one. That’s when he’s greeted with an entity that once again changes the trajectory of his life, and whether or not this is a good thing is still up for debate.

Nevertheless, Volume Eighteen of Dandadan is explosive both with its action and its emotion. Zuma is looking to be another key player in the world of Okarun and Momo, with his story just as heart-wrenching as many of the other characters that have graced these pages. Even with the story already packed with a plethora of heroes and villains, Tatsu still finds a way to find room for any newcomer. The question is, when we get to the inevitable post-fight dinner, will there be room at Seiko’s table?

Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.