Holed Up Dog
Summary
Who'll come and get me when I have fallen to this guy's mugging or something like that?!
Tsubasa is being pursued by the famed “hound dog” Kenji Sayama. Haruka is trying to find some new ideas for her next manga. When the two of them coincidentally run into each other, Tsubasa plans to use Haruka to evade the police, which she accepts. Tsuyoshi tries to meet Taro at Shirokuma Express to thank him for his work, but is suddenly caught by Tsubasa, who he recognizes. Soon after, all five Donbrothers are holed up in Shirokuma Express, facing a complicated situation all at once.Tropes
- A Birthday, Not a Break: While the team celebrates Tsubasa's birthday much to his surprise, the birthday celebration takes place when they are all holed up in Shirokuma Express thanks to the police believing that it was a hostage situation (which is technically was).
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Sonoi destroying The Mona Lisa, clearly up to no good with his fellow generals.
- Crying at Your Birthday Party: Tsubasa nearly bawls at the team's impromptu birthday party, secretly grateful at the gesture.
- Flashback: Taro has one in his Inner Monologue when Tsubasa mentions that it's his birthday, remembering when no one else showed up to celebrate his until Jin came home late at night, which put him in a dour mood.
- For Happiness: Taro states that he simply doesn't know what happiness is in his What the Hell, Hero? to the team. To rectify this, he tries his best to make others happy in any way he can. Haruka notes by the end of the episode that she understands him a bit more now after hearing this.
- Inner Monologue: Each of the Donbrothers engage in this as their thoughts are what drive most of the plot. This leads to a lot of hilarity and confusion as the team haven't revealed each other's identity to each other (aside from Haruka and Shinichi, as well as the both of them knowing Taro).
- Hostage Situation: Tsubasa plans to use Haruka as a means to evade police capture, which she readily accepts. He doesn't anticipate Tsuyoshi coming to try and thank Taro for his help in last episode. This all quickly escalates into an unintentional hostage situation after the police find Tsubasa and Taro entering Shirokuma Express' office. Shinichi tries to help, but he only ends up holed in with the rest of the team - not that he really minds.
- Myth Arc: This episode starts the series biggest Driving Question: Why do Miho, Tsuyoshi's wife, and Natsumi, Tsubasa's girlfriend, look alike?
- Poor Communication Kills: In classic Inoue fashion, most of the plot occurs due to this, as the team don't honestly communicate their intentions with each other.
- Skewed Priorities:
- Haruka screws every chance Tsuyoshi gets to call for help because she wants to get experience for her new manga. In fact, the only reason that she allowed herself to be a hostage was to simply get the experience.
- Taro takes Tsubasa out to a patron's house to apologize for him opening her package, before making him clean her toilet. Tsuyoshi is incredibly baffled by this, especially since Tsubasa is very well-known to be a fugitive.
- Significant Reference Date: Tsubasa mentions that April 3 is his birthday, which is the day the episode is taking place and when it aired.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Taro calls the team out for thinking about themselves instead of each other, spurned by his desire to make others happy.
