Beethoven in Dandadan! Meet All 6 Music Room Ghosts

Dan Da Dan Season 2 has become one of the most entertaining releases of Summer 2025. The Evil Eye arc has truly been a spectacle, with every major character getting involved in stopping the yokai from causing destruction. Alongside this engaging storyline, Yukinobu Tatsu’s masterpiece has also done a great job in paying homage to popular pop culture figures in the last couple of episodes. For example, first there was a nod to the popular comedy anime Ranma ½, followed by a reference to X Japan via HAYASii. Building on these tributes, Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 7 delivered a massive reference to iconic musician Ludwig van Beethoven and several other legendary musicians.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Yukinobu Tatsu used references from the popular urban legend in Japan known as the Beethoven Portrait Mystery, which is a part of the “Seven School Mysteries.” The urban legend explores that the portraits of the musicians in the music room, including Beethoven, come to life in an eerie fashion.

Dan Da Dan introduced the eerie concept of wall-hung portraits of musicians coming to life. Their eyes glow red, an element Yukinobu Tatsu incorporated into the series, and their facial expressions subtly shift when no one is watching. In an empty music room, these ghostly musicians are said to play the instruments, with a haunting melody believed to be an omen of misfortune.

Beethoven Featured In Dan Da Dan Season 2 In The Most Ghostly Way

Dan Da Dan Season 2 Episode 7 features Turbo Granny explaining to Okarun that he is pretty weak and is unable to draw out the yokai’s full potential. Suddenly, the piano in the music room started playing automatically, and Turbo Granny exclaimed that someone was there. It was revealed that the Music Room Ghosts were playing musical instruments. All of them resembled great musicians, whose portraits were on the wall. The ghosts had miniature bodies and large heads and deep, glowing eyes of unique shades.

Their names were Vanben, Grandma Bach, Trainspotter, Ninth, Mozza, and Glasses. Surprisingly, the Vanben was the one playing the piano, inspired by the real-life musician, Ludwig van Beethoven. Beethoven was a legendary musician, and it was shown during the episode that Vanben was angry with the one who was playing wrong notes on the piano. The other members are inspired by:

• Johann Sebastian Bach (Grandma Bach)
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Mozza)
• Leonard Bernstein (Ninth)
• Antonín Dvořák (Trainspotter)
• Franz Schubert (Glasses)

Music Room Ghosts’ Abilities Prove Their Connection To Reality

It is not only the looks of the Music Room Ghosts that raised questions about them, inspired by real-life musicians, but also their abilities. Their most common technique is to generate musical notes and attack the enemies with them. They can also create illusions, and this is where Beethoven’s influence on Dan Da Dan feels real. The illusion techniques are named Symphony 6: Pastoral and Symphony 9: Chorus, and both of them are world-renowned compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven. In the first instance, they create an illusory paddy field, where the ground is soft and the enemies get their feet stuck and sink.

The attacks of musical notes fasten the process by creating shockwaves and explosions. In Symphony 9: Chorus, an illusion of an opera house takes place, and the Music Room Ghosts attacks the enemies by raining down countless attacks on them. While Yukinobu Tatsu never confirmed the Music Room Ghosts being inspired by real-life musicians, it can be pretty well seen that there is a reference, and the attack names makes it more prominent.

---

Also Read: How Dandadan Pays Homage to Ranma ½ Through Jiji’s Transformation

---

Dan Da Dan anime series is available to stream on Crunchyroll.