Abhiroop Das
Helmed by Daisuke Mataga, Netflix’s ‘Dandelion‘ expands on the manga one-shot by Hideaki Sorachi, and turns it into an ever-expanding narrative about life and death. Tetsuo is an angel working for the send-off department, which locates wandering spirits in the human world and sends them back to the netherworld, often by force. While the angels are supposed to keep humans safe, the federation’s leader, Daigoro, plans to use malicious forces to cause harm and forces his own son, Masaki, to spy on the elusive Dandelion Squad, which is known for helping spirits with their grievances.
Though the operatives are expected to rush through their job to meet the quotas, Tetsuo’s captain, Misaki, prefers to slow things down and let the souls have their closure before departing. This dynamic, as it turns out, wasn’t always like this, as we later learn that Tetsuo was at one point Misaki’s boss, and the two met under the most unusual, as well as the most dramatic of circumstances. SPOILERS AHEAD.
Misaki’s Mother is a Fallen Angel Who Fell in Love With a Human
In episode 4 of ‘Dandelion,’ we learn that Misaki is part human and part angel, and thus can access both worlds on select occasions. Her unique identity traces back to one of the most infamous incidents of the past, when Asako Kurogane, a former angel of the send-off department, fell in love with a human. In angel culture, such a relationship is considered taboo, and Asako was labeled a “fallen angel” and banished from the realm entirely. Part of the banishment is for Asako to gain a corporeal form that can interact with humans, but no longer with angels, leaving her completely severed. Over the next few years, she marries the man she loves and settles into a peaceful life, eventually giving birth to Misaki.
The fact that Misaki was born a hybrid of humans and angels means she likely struggled to fit in with people at first. While we know that she was battling an unknown disease the entire time she was alive, it isn’t confirmed whether that disease sprang up due to her unique composition, or any other causes. However, the fact that she has a sister who seemingly doesn’t have the same disease strongly points to it not being a side-effect of her angel side. Despite Asako’s best efforts, Misaki dies as a child and turns into an earthbound spirit. As fate would have it, Tetsuo is the one tasked with ushering Misaki back to the netherworld, and when he learns of her desire to meet her mother one last time, he cannot help but say yes, not knowing that the entire federation is keenly watching from the shadows.
Misaki Finds Her True Calling After Death as an Angel
Moments before Tetsuo can reunite Misaki with her mother, Daigoro, alongside a dozen officials from the federation, steps in, demanding that she be handed over. While they claim that Misaki’s unique biology poses a potential threat to the established system, Tetsuo makes it his life’s mission to protect her from erasure. Giving up on his promotion, he offers to turn her into an operative just like him, making use of her athletic abilities as well as her know-how of the human world. Though Daigoro opposes this plan at first, the leader of the association is intrigued by the concept and gives it the green light on one condition: all of Asako’s memories of her angel past, as well as those of her daughter, must be permanently erased.
Though the rule imposed by the Angel Federation completely isolates Misaki from her mother, she finds new companionship in the form of Tetsuo and the rest of the send-off department. Being part human, she is able to empathize with the humanity of the dead, as most earthbound spirits harbor a few regrets that they can’t move on from, just like Misaki herself. Fortunately, by the end of episode 4, she manages to reinitiate contact with her mother in secret, assuring her that she is happy with how her dance with life and death has turned out. Though Asako technically has no memories of this past, a single contact with her daughter is all it takes for her to remember, thus bringing the show’s most potent arc to a close.
Read More: Dandelion Season 2 Plot and Cast Theories
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