Dandadan: What are the Music Room Portraits?

Dandadan features several memorable antagonists, including spirits, ghosts, aliens, and many more. Among them, the Music Room Portraits stand out for their unnerving nature as an urban legend while also playing a crucial role in Okarun’s growth in the series.

The Music Room Portraits in Dandadan are Tulpas, or thought forms, manifested from the fears of people toward the portraits in the school music room. If the piano is played after 2 pm, the spirits turn up, trying to kill everyone in their vicinity. However, once a Tulpa is defeated, it transforms back into its portrait form.

While individuals can certainly be killed by the Tulpas, after defeating all the composers, they are returned to the music room with all their injuries healed. In Dandadan, Okarun, Aira, and Turbo Granny face off against the antagonist for the protagonist to develop his special move to tame the Evil Eye.

The Music Room Portrait Tulpas in Dandadan

There are 6 major Music Portraits in Dandadan. These are Vanben, Ninth, Mozza, Trainspotter, Glasses, and Grandma Back. They represent Beethoven, Leonard Bernstein, Mozart, Antonín Dvořák, Franz Schubert, and Bach, respectively. All of them can levitate in mid-air and create powerful notes through their music.

While the normal notes act as bombs and can leave a devastating impact upon contact, the rest notes can completely freeze a target, leaving them helpless. Additionally, the Music Room Portraits can change their setting based on the symphony they play.

For instance, the very first set they perform is called Symphony No.6: Pastoral, which turns their surroundings into a wide open field. Here, they can bombard their opponents as much as they want.

However, once the conductor of the group is defeated, the remaining composers begin playing Symphony No. 9: Chorus, which creates an Opera House. Here, giant opera singers as well as a horde of illusions pile on top of their enemies, completely overpowering them while the composers take cover in the back.

These antagonists notably appeared in the latest episode of the Dandadan anime, in the midst of the Evil Eye Arc. When Okarun was feeling dismayed due to being unable to protect his friends, Turbo Granny guided him to his school’s music room in order to fight the Music Room Portraits. Aira followed them and ended up getting involved as well.

During the battle, although Okarun was initially overwhelmed and was forced to rely on Aira, he soon gained inspiration to form his own rhythm by remembering the song of the Hayashi performers. Through this, Okarun drastically increased his speed through a rapid dash.

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Additionally, to finally escape the illusion, the protagonist made his finishing move: five successive headbutts within a single beat. Through this, he could take down all the Music Room Portraits and return to safety. This training marked Okarun’s first active step toward becoming stronger on his own, rather than simply relying on Turbo Granny’s power.

Using his training with the Music Room Portraits, the protagonist also challenged the Evil Eye later and landed powerful blows on it. Although the Yokai could get back up, Okarun tricked it into focusing solely on him as its rival, saving Jiji, Momo, and all his other loved ones in the process.

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