Dandadan: What is a location binding soul?

Key Takeaways

• Location-Bound Souls are bound to a specific location, have tremendous power, and can fuse with other souls.
• The land-bound spirit crab of Dandadan terrorizes the city of Shono, chained in a tunnel where the souls of murdered girls remain.
• Lure location-bound spirits out of their territory to weaken them and drive them out. But each also has its own weaknesses.

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Dandadan, Episode 4, “Kicking Turbo Granny's Ass,” now streaming on Crunchyroll.

Location-bound spirits, also known as Earth-bound spirits, are one of the many types of esoteric anomalies that Momo and Okarun will encounter. Dan Dan Dan. In the series, souls are dead humans who, for whatever reason, do not travel to the afterlife and remain in the land of the living. They are mostly invisible to normal humans and can only be seen by those with spiritual awareness.

Dan Dan Dan There are tons of mysterious anomalies, and they all have strange rules. In addition to Spirits, Momo and Okarun will face off against a variety of alien creatures and Cryptids, each of which deserves its own classification. So what makes Location-Bound Spirits different from the rest?

How are location-bound souls different from other souls?

These souls hold on to memories of significant places in their time with the living.

In the world Dan Dan DanThere are currently three known categories that spirits fall into: location-bound/earth-bound spirits, yokai, and guardian spirits. As the name suggests, a location-bound soul is linked to a specific location that has some significant connection to when the soul was still alive.

While in their realm, a location-bound spirit possesses incredible power and is essentially invulnerable. Even experienced spirit mediums like Momo's grandmother, Ayase Seiko, cannot drive out location-bound spirits within their territory. However, unlike yōkai, location-bound spirits are not necessarily inherently evil. Although it may vary from spirit to spirit, location bound spirits generally do not seek to harm a person unless the person trespasses into their realm.

If you trample on their territory rudely, you will have no choice but to blame yourself for your death. That is the law of the coexistence of the living and the dead.

spirit fusion

Spirits of various types can also form pacts, fusing together to become a new creature that is stronger than either of the two parts and can use both powers. For example, in Episode 4, “Kicking Turbo Granny's Ass”, Turbo Granny fuses with the Earthbound Spirit Crab, creating a creature with the Spirit Crab's powers and Turbo Granny's speed.

However, this fusion may have a downside, as the youkai Turbo Granny was tied to Shono City like the Spirit Crab. Before they met, Grandma Turbo is said to have terrorized people across Japan, implying that she appeared in other areas outside of Shono City.

spirit crab in the ground

A spirit tied to Shono City's infamous place

The underground spirit, Crab, had the misfortune of confronting Momo, the spirit of Witch Binding, and Okarun for the first and only time. This particular spirit is bound in the tunnels of Shono City and takes the form of a giant crab with a face on its back and four rows of mouths on its underbelly. The tunnel where the spirit lived is where several girls were violated and murdered, and where their restless spirits resided and gave birth to the Jibak spirit crab. The faces of those girls are the same as those seen on the shell of an underground spirit crab.

The underground spirit crab mainly lives in tunnels, but its territory seems to encompass the entire city of Shono, so it is invincible there. To make matters worse, Jippakryeong had fused with Turbo Granny and was so powerful that it could prevent powerful psychics like Seiko Ayase from entering the tunnel. However, since Shonoshi was outside the jurisdiction of the gods from whom he borrowed his power, Seiko would have been weakened in the meantime.

To defeat Spirit, Momo and Okarun had to lure Spirit near the borders of Shono City and Kamigoe City. There, the two boarded a train heading to Kamigoe City with the Earth Spirit Crab in hot pursuit, and eventually boarded the train as well. Momo then used her telekinesis to keep the spirits in place until they crossed over to Kamigoe City, where Seiko set up a trap to chase the spirits away.

The appearance of the underground spirit crab is similar to the actual crab species known as Heikegani. This species of crab has a shell with a pattern that resembles a human face, especially the face of an angry samurai.

Witch Bound Soul's Weakness

If you lure them out of the house or drag them out of the house, they are like a fish out of water.

but Dan Dan DanWitchbound spirits are virtually unstoppable while within their realm, and as soon as they leave they become as vulnerable to exorcism as any other spirit. Even if they cannot be expelled immediately, location-bound spirits still lose their power outside of their domain, making it easier to fight, contain them, or flee.

In addition to their general vulnerability when leaving their realm, location-bound spirits seem to have weaknesses specific to each spirit. For example, underground spirit crabs are weak to hot water. Momo correctly deduced this weakness based on the knowledge that crab meat hardens when boiled. She drenched the spirits in the hot water of the bathhouse, which temporarily slowed them down even while they were still within Shono City.

Dandadan is now available to stream on Crunchyroll, Netflix, Muse Asia, and many other streaming platforms. The release date for Dandadan's next episode, Episode 5, is set for November 7, 2024 at 9 AM PT.