Extreme Way of The Ramen
Summary
Kaito is quite the celebrity here—wait, that was in that other world. Oh well, hope you like his book, Haruka!
Shinichi: Jiro Momotani has another personality...
...and that other self transformed into Don Torabolt.
...and that other self transformed into Don Torabolt.
Shinichi is attacked by a group of yakuza who witnessed his transformation into Saru Brother, allegedly being mistaken for a man named Shirai. When Shinichi is captured, the actual Shirai rescues him, and reveals himself as the predecessor Saru Brother before the role was given to Shinichi. Shirai intends to confront the Matsui Clan that had attempted to kidnap Shinichi, and wants him to come along as a support and witness. At the same time, Haruka is kidnapped by Sonoza. When she wakes up, what lies in store for her is...!?
Tropes
- Aside Comment:
- Through Inner Monologue, Haruka comments that she may be a genius after all when Sonoza requests her to draw a manga.
- In the same fashion, Shinichi expresses his sheer bewilderment at how Shirai used Saru Brother's abilities.
- Bait-and-Switch: As it turns out the Matsui Clan are nothing more than a ramen business that operates like yakuza, due to their boss's penchant for the film genre.
- Desperately Seeking A Purpose In Life: In a moment of clarity, Don Murasame directly asks Mother why he was made. The dubious schemer gives it a Hand Wave and tells him to fight. Cue Dangerous Jiro.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Having understood Shinichi's ascetic ways, Shirai opens a small humble ramen cart, using the same pot of sauce the Matsui Clan swindled him with, as well as having "Imaginary Ramen" as part of his menu.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good: Or in this case, "Greed Cannot Comprehend Asceticism". After meeting Shinichi, Shirai tries and fails to understand why Shinichi would use his powers to fight Hitotsu-Ki rather than using them only to benefit himself. This desire leads to him becoming Samurai-Ki.
- Evil Versus Evil: The puppeteered Living Weapon Don Murasame against the Obviously Evil Split Personality Don Torabolt.
- Imagine Spot: Aside from Shinichi's ability to imagine himself eating imaginary ramen, he manages to force both Shirai and the Matsui Clan head into imagining themselves in a desert, with only one water bottle to quench their thirst.
- Mistaken Identity: The Matsui Clan's goons kidnap Shinichi under the assumption that he is Shirai due to their knowledge that Shirai could "transform into a monkey". When their leader shows up, he immediately tells them they got the wrong guy despite them telling him they witnessed Shinichi having Shirai's unique "ability".
- Mundane Utility: A Flashback shows that Shirai would use Saru Brother's abilities for anything that he could use them for, such as transporting a love interest, running in a race, and cutting his way through a line to get a handshake. Because of this, his powers were forcefully removed from him and were transferred to Shinichi.
- Not So Above It All: Kaito casually sets up a stand for his photobook from last episode in Donbura.
- Out-Gambitted: The Matsui Clan head is willing to share a pot of his tare sauce with Shirai in exchange for the return of a rare autograph from his favorite actor, which Shirai stole when he left them. Shirai was willing to part with the autograph, only for him to realize he was swindled with the wrong sauce after the clan head realized he was given a forged autograph as Shirai had sold the authentic one long ago.
- The Reveal:
- Kaito reveals that the current Donbrothers are successors to about 5000 predecessors of the team. Said predecessors abused their powers to the point of being forcefully removed from service before being able to meet Kaito, thus subverting the Alternate Timeline created when a Donbrother willingly retires.
- Juto like Sayama eat Anoni, and for reasons unknown "Mother" asks Don Murasame to save Anoni, but not before he's interrupted by Dangerous Jiro.
- Serious Business: Shirai is extremely passionate about ramen, even going as far to forge a signature of the Matsui leader's favorite actor just to get a pot of the Matsui Clan's special tare.note
- The Unreveal: Shinichi and Shirai's final exchange sets up a one-on-one fight between the two Saru Brothers in which Shirai would learn what kind of person Shinichi really is and what drives him to fight Hitotsu-Ki rather than benefit. Instead, the rest of the team arrives and hijacks the fight with Samurai-Ki before the battle can really begin, leaving those questions unanswered.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Plot A revolves around Shinichi meeting Shirai, the previous Saru Brother, and helping him out with his escapades with the Matsui Clan while also learning about who each other are. Plot B has Sonoza kidnap Haruka so that she create a manga that can bring out his emotions. A third plot in a one-off scene has Dangerous Jiro come to blows with Don Murasame right before the latter could save an Anoni from a Juto.
- Villainous Rescue: Mother attempts to spur Don Murasame into acting on one for the Anoni being assailed by "Kenji Sayama," but Don Torabolt's arrival on-scene distracts him before he can.
- With Great Power Comes Great Perks: While the Donbrothers using their powers for mundane uses isn't exactly frowned upon, a user of the powers using them solely for personal gain such as Shirai would lose them rather easily.
