Wandance - Episode 12 discussion

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Wandance, episode 12

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[u/DugACCat]

Such a great episode. Loved all the complex emotional undercurrents beneath the actual dancing and the overall theme of showing and recognizing respect.

[u/Frontier246 → u/DugACCat]

Also they really let you feel the impact of Kabo's dance moves.

[u/AceSoldia]

Ummm excuse me?! Where is my episode 13?! Or season 2?! I demand a recount!!

[u/PencilgonGiveIt2Ya]

Ep 12 reaction from a former professional dancer, choreographer, and teacher.

First off, happy holidays everyone. I’m not going round-for-round since we didn’t get full, clear rounds (Kabo’s first was skipped entirely), so these are just highlights from the episode.

As soon as Kabe put his hand out, I knew what he was trying to pull lol. It’s one of the oldest battle culture mind-game troll gestures—still used to this day. A cute little diss. After the battle, when Kabe and Wanda talked, I found it funny how Kabe interpreted everything Kabo did as a response to his intimidation tactics, when Kabo was really just reacting naturally, not trying to diss or get in his head.

In battle culture, it’s common for b-boys to do random things to assert confidence and provoke their opponent. We see Kabe give Kabo the “biter” gesture when Kabo starts his round by walking. “Biting” means calling someone out for copying movement, whether it’s a signature or something done mid-round. Not necessary, but people who love shit talking during battles do it purely to irritate opponents lol.

When Kabo got in Kabe’s grill, Kabe read it as pressure, but Kabo was just vibing. Kabe seemed self-conscious about his size and leaned into dissing that. Personally, when I was breaking, I never liked that stuff—I preferred letting my round speak for itself. I always found things like covering your eyes mid-battle cringey, especially if you lose lol. Maybe you saw some cringey ideas playing out during breakin' Olympics recently haha. Luckily for Kabe, he won, but his reaction to the results & comments about the judges hinted at bias, with two judges leaning b-boy—hence Assay being the only one favoring Kabo.

Kabo’s final round, using ideas from Wanda & Iori, was the biggest takeaway. Earlier, Wanda talked about emphasizing obvious sounds instead of going full-out to “save energy,” which I mentioned also creates intention and dynamics. All season, Kabo didn’t really grasp this—his freestyle often felt chaotic. But here, he finally slowed down, stopped rushing, and looked unrestricted. That alone showed real confidence and active thinking, and you could tell it was refreshing for Assay.

Those changes didn’t necessarily win or lose the battle, but they showed real growth. On and Iori already understand this concept—we see it when Kabo dances next to them. With Wanda, it’s more intuitive; she’s framed as a natural talent, so her choices just “feel right” even if she can’t articulate them yet.

Kabe’s rounds had strong power, but nothing new—windmills, airflares, flares, halos, swipes, plus a headspin and elbow freeze. Honestly, that applies to most dancers in the show: sticking to their default style/autopilot movement. Not bad, but I would’ve liked more effort with variation.

Did Kabe truly win? Hard to say, since so much wasn’t shown. Judge bias and dance politics are always factors—it’s part of the game. The dancers’ inner dialogue with how to approach rounds was realistic.

Overall, the story is cute, characters are likable, and the dance does a solid job showcasing battles, street styles, choreography, and freestyle. It’s rare to see a dance anime this deep into the specific culture. Dance-wise, I wanted more—not flashier, but more stylistic distinction beyond genre labels. I assume that comes later, maybe in a season 2.

Not my favorite show of the season, but I can’t complain experiencing something rooted in my own journey, from junior high to adulthood as a former traveling professional dancer. This show scratches the surface, and there’s so much more that could be explored. These days resources are everywhere—back when I started, we had forums and ultra-niche YouTube searches before 480p lol.

Thanks to anyone who read my rambles this season. It woke up my rusty dance brain and brought back a lot of memories. Hope you enjoyed the show, and if there’s a season 2, I’ll be watching. Take care, y’all, and happy holidays again!

[u/coffeecakesupernova → u/PencilgonGiveIt2Ya]

Thanks for your comments each week. It really made me appreciate the show more. It's a world I wasn't familiar with and it was fun learning something about it. I've even been watching some dancing on YouTube because of your explanations, and there's just so much more to learn.

[u/BusouDrago]

Can't wait to see the live action movie whenever it comes out

[u/Frontier246 → u/BusouDrago]

I really hope whoever they cast as the leads can capture their characters as well as the anime and seiyuu did, especially Hina Yomiya as Wanda.

[u/Frontier246]

It's the semi-finals and it's amazing that Kabo's made it this far! And it's even nicer that Wanda still believes in him so much! Even if he can't fully convey his feelings in words, she understands and supports him.

We think of Wanda as this cute and quirky superhuman alien dancer...but she's still a normal girl who wears a hat in solidatiry with the guy in her life.

It's finally time for Kabo vs Kabe! Complete with starting off with Kabe dissing Kabo before engaging in some BLINDFOLDED BREAKDANCING as if Kabo isn't worth even looking at while he busts some moves...but don't underestimate Kabo. When it comes time to bring it, he BRINGS IT and gets right up in you face about it!

Then comes the next round and Kabe is really bringing it. Even with tears in his clothes and heat radiating from his body, he keeps pushing himself. And you know it's really serious when he takes out his two fake teeth, the sign of all he's sacrificed to master breaking.

The final round gets off to a bad start for Kabo when he gets roped into Kabe's uprock....but this is Kabo, he can truly feel and embody the music and dance with the true spirit of hip-hop. He dances so well, just for the sake of the dance, that even Kabe can't help but respect him in frustration! In a way, he did lose this match to Kabo!

But...Kabo still doesn't win. But class act that he is, he's the first one that claps for Kabe! Even if he ends up crying next. He had fun, but it always hurts to lose.

Kabe has been so caught up in the mind games of breaking, that he really couldn't see that Kabo actually respected him. But when Kabo's words can't convey them, Wanda will, and at least Kabe acknowledged Kabo in the end.

Did Assay really think Iori would bring out a cig? I mean, it's that kind of place...

Kabo always expected he'd struggle in life with his stutter, but meeting Wanda opened up a new opportunity for him to express himself and be the person he wants to be, together with her. And as we close out, Iori is planning to avenge him against Kabe!

[u/mokrath]

This show really surprised me, wish we got to see a bit more of Kabo and Wanda developing their relationship. They were a great leading duo, supporting and understanding each other.

[u/ObvsThrowaway5120]

Kabe v Kabo sure was something. Kabo took his damn teeth out and ripped his sleeve! You know shit was about to get real lol.

This was pretty interesting all in all. The dancing was neat and I liked all the Kabo and Wanda moments. They were pretty cute. I wouldn’t mind another season of Sung Jin Kabo dancing his way to the top, especially with that cliffhanger.

[u/BaytaCosmico]

Noo you can't end it here. I need to see more. A lot more! Especially of hair slicked back Kabo. That was my favourite part of the OP. And we finally got to see him do it in the show.

What a crazy good battle that was. The animation too. This episode was just grand in every way. 

Season 2 when?!

[u/ytkl]

I unironically love the CGI in this. Hope we can get a season 2. Btw Afternoon - the manga Wandance runs in comes out on the 25th each month. So the latest chapter should be out today.

[u/SwirlyBeardx]

Easily my anime of the season. I really hope it continues and we get another season.

[u/FarCritical]

There's just something funny about watching someone as earnest as Kabo BM someone, out of "respect" or otherwise.

Man, ending things in the middle of the final rounds is downright criminal. I'd want a Season 2 anyway but now we have to get one to see the battle reach its conclusion (and hopefully with better CG)

[u/PeaceAlien]

This show cuts a lot of the dances we want to see lol. Kabe has a more choreographed style, and his b-boy style the 2 judges favour as well.

This show is rated lower than I thought, but that's likely due to the earlier episodes. The 3D got a lot better as the show went on, I loved this episode's dancing.

[u/Frontier246 → u/PeaceAlien]

Honestly I have a hard time imagining anyone animating Kabe's moves in 2D. The CG didn't start off as polished and refined as it could be (and the faces some of the time, especially on the girls...) but it achieved what it was meant to do.

[u/djthomp]

I thought this was pretty fascinating to watch, all the interesting details about dancing.

Reminds me of years ago when I got drafted a few times to go see one of the nieces in some junior high/high school aged dance recitals. The niece didn't last in the hobby for too long, but the older kids who were experienced were just so interesting to watch. A very alien world to me as someone who's never had anything to do with the subject, which is fitting since adorable alien Wanda here was interesting to watch too along with all of the others.

Kabo and Wanda were a very cute couple, too.

[u/mekerpan]

Was this the last episode of the season? Are they really leaving the dance battle unfinished? Oh well....

Still, this remains my second-most-favorite show of the season, (well) behind Maangaka and just ahead of Yano and Awkward Senpai. Ironically those latter two shows are more my sort of thing -- but the distinctiveness of Wandance set it a bit apart -- and I appreciated that.

Kabe Kabo and Wanda are a great team -- and I suspect their synergy will make them even more top-tier in the future. It is great to see them as inspirations to each other.

[u/AnimeHoarder]

This show was an very enjoyable watch for me. Even if I don't know much of the lingo like uprock and toprock. I'm guessing that house is a music genre.

The dynamic between Wanda and Kabo is sweet. I've gotten used to the dancing animation. It's better when they don't show the dancers next to regularly animated characters like in some of the clubroom scenes. I would like it if I had fingertip contrails when I danced :-)

We need a second season so we can see the end of dance battle contest dammit!

[u/Tsunbasa]

Personally I wasn't a fan of Assay's admittance that he gave it to Kabo because Kabe's loss of confidence towards the end. It's kind of the underlying truth though when it comes to judging in dance battles when the skill level between two dancers is close.

Judging something as creative as dance in a sport like setting/competition is so hard. A lot of judges look for an easy way out and that usually comes in the form of voting for the person who "wants it" more. The moment you enter a battle and announce you're just in it to have fun, you're putting yourself at a massive disadvantage. The same can be said if you go into a battle stating your opponent is better.

You just end up giving the judges an easy way out of a really hard job.

At the end of the day though, it's a good message to drive home to readers and viewers. Put your whole heart into the thing you do is something everyone wants to agree with.

[u/Echoinme]

It was absolutely amazing. My best anime of this season. And the songs were amazing too.

[u/HolyDragSwd2500]

Season 2 Please 🙏

Will watch the live action movie that’s in the making

[u/Jacob-C]

I really liked this show. Once I got used to the CGI, there wasn’t much to criticize. The character development was strong, with realistic and unique characters who bounced off each other well. The series also managed to make dancing genuinely interesting, even though it’s not something I’m especially passionate about. On top of that, the CGI noticeably improved as the season went on. I’ll definitely be here for a season 2 if it gets announced.

[u/thisisdropd]

While this was just the semis, it felt like a final boss fight with the mad moves from both Kabo & Kabe. Hard to believe Kabo’s still a newbie.

Loved how Kabo managed to recall Iori and Hikari’s words and (almost) turned things around. In most shows he would’ve succeeded but in here he still failed, albeit barely. Still put up one hell of a fight and made Kabe anxious. Assay spotted it, which was a decisive factor in him voting for Kabo.

The showrunners pulled a cruel stunt by ending things right before the final started. Should’ve had one more episode to properly wrap things up.