Recap / Avataro Sentai Donbrothers Ep 35 The Song Of Origami

The Song of Origami

Original Airdate: October 30, 2022
Written by: Toshiki Inoue
Directed by: Ryuta Tasaki

Summary

"Now I turn around and find I am lost in the woods
North is south, right is left when you're gone..."

Tsuyoshi: We obtained a new power: to become GolDon Onitaijin!
However, my wife... my dearest Miho...
For some inexplicable reason, she ran off with Tsubasa Inuzuka.

Now in police custody due to Tsuyoshi's betrayal, Tsubasa is interrogated by Haruka's aunt Yuriko. Tsuyoshi attempts to win Miho back; however, she has regained her memories as Natsumi, and has no recollection of her time with Tsuyoshi. This causes him to react aggressively towards her, which results in his arrest.

As Tsubasa faces off against Tsuyoshi in the detention center, he is approached by Yuriko, who requests his assistance in investigating the Jūto. Meanwhile, as Jiro is recovering from his injuries after his fight with Don Murasame, his childhood friend Rumi unexpectedly drops in for a visit...

Tropes

• Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Jūto!Tsubasa loose in the real world, with an ominous shot of the real Tsubasa and Natsumi held captive.
• Food as Bribe: Tsubasa decides to give Jin a taste of his cooking so that the latter doesn't rebuff him when he asks a question. It works... somewhat.
• Heroic Willpower: Parodied. Jiro tries to grip the Ryukonogeki when it attempts to summon him into battle against the latest Hitotsu-Ki despite Rumi's protests, but her scent calms him down to the point he capitulates and he falls back on his bed.
• History Repeats:
  • Once again, Tsubasa gets force-fed origami by a Cat Jūto, yet this time there's no Crane Jūto to save him.
  • Tsubasa takes a page from Jiro's playbook and uses the effect of an enemy's powers to make his way into their realm seeking someone - in his case Natsumi.
  • "Tsubasa" re-enacts "Kenji"'s ramen restaurant incident from episode 10, even dunking the exact same ramen chef's face into hot broth to knock him out.
    Ramen chef: Not again...!
• Internal Reveal: Tsubasa properly learns of the Jūto's existence and confirms "Natsumi" and "Kenji" as Jūto when he witnesses them fighting over their attempts to consume an Anōni.
• Karma Houdini Warranty: Unlike with the Hitotsu-Ki artist early in the show, Tsuyoshi's obsessive actions are not without consequence. When he finally reunites with his wife after turning Tsubasa in... she's lost all memory of him.
• Lampshade Hanging: Parodied. When Tsubasa visits Jin to learn more about the Juto, he pokes fun at Jin's tendency to utter his "Visiting Hours are over" Catchphrase and boot people out when they ask him questions. Jin goes along with the joke, which prompts a hasty apology. Jin then gives Tsubasa the briefest of run-downs, refuses to tell him any more and promptly shoos the man away with the dreaded Catchphrase.
• The Lost Woods: The Juto Jungle may as well have jumped out of a horror game: A cloudy forest where humans are imprisoned and hung from its gnarly treetops for Juto to copy - all while mischievous paper animals sing and unfortunate Anoni are hunted down as prey.
• Mood Whiplash: Tsubasa and Kijino's meeting in jail is unexpectedly cordial, the two musing over Tsubasa's bounty and what should be done with it. Then Tsuyoshi's Yandere instincts kick back in and he accuses Tsubasa of trying to bribe him, reigniting hostilities.
• The Mole: The cops assign Tsubasa to surveil Natsumi on the suspicion that she is a Jūto, in exchange for his freedom. Tsubasa agrees to doing this.
• Mythology Gag: One of the sleeping humans in the Juto Jungle's trees is wearing a blue-colored variant of Kaito's BONBONCIEL jacket.
• Out of Focus: Shinichi and Haruka only get one untransformed scene each due to the episode largely focusing on Tsubasa and the Jūto.
• Painting the Medium: As he vents out his frustrations to the other Donbrothers in the beginning of the episode, Tsuyoshi's lines appear on screen and stay up until he catches himself venting on them.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Despite their disagreement over Miho and Natsumi, the first thing Tsubasa does when Tsuyoshi is paired with him in a cell is ask whether Kijino was paid his bounty yet. Kijino says no, but offers to split the bounty when he does, which Tsubasa refuses. The moment is ruined when Tsuyoshi's obsessive side convinces him it's a payoff to disregard his wife and their bickering resumes, officers having to pry them apart.
  • When Tsubasa visits Jin's cell, he brings him food.
• Police Are Useless: Subverted. The police stop antagonizing Tsubasa after verifying his claims as legit, which they follow up with an explanation on how his case is tied with the Jūto.
• Recruiting the Criminal: After realizing Tsubasa is a good person, Yuriko offers to release him from the jail on the condition he surveil Natsumi to ascertain whether she's a Juto or not.
• The Reveal:
  • The police have been aware of the Jūto, thanks to Yuriko's close encounter with them in episode 30, and have set up a task force to investigate them.
  • Raising Taro is the main reason Jin is confined to his virtual prison.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When "Natsumi" realizes Tsubasa has witnessed her feeding, she abandons her feud with "Kenji" and promptly books it.
• "Shaggy Dog" Story: Tsuyoshi sold out Tsubasa to the authorities merely for getting close to Miho in the previous episode, but soon realizes too late that Natsumi has no recollection of her life as Miho. Tsuyoshi then gets arrested for harassing Natsumi.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The Jūto attacks have been in broad daylight, one of their more prominent members is a retired detective, all of them are people who had disappeared and reappeared with different personalities, and another detective was made a hostage as a result of their appearance and saw them with her own eyes. As all the evidence supports Yuriko's account, of course they would investigate the Jūto.
• The Un-Reveal: Jin states the Jūto have found a way to get to the real world without his involvement but refuses to divulge more information than that.
• Through His Stomach: Downplayed. Tsubasa provides food for Jin as an incentive to get him to spill the beans about the Jūto. However, when Tsubasa mocks him over his tendency to cut conversations short, he rejects the food and refuses to talk until Tsubasa apologizes. Nevertheless he promptly finishes the food while revealing for as little as it lasted, leaving no more incentive for him to continue telling more.
• Wham Episode: Tsubasa ends up where the Jūto are keeping prisoner those who they impersonate, only to end up captured himself. A Jūto then steals his face and ends up in the real world...
• Wham Shot: Tsubasa has a delightful dinner with Natsumi after having proposed to her earlier in the day, confident that she isn't a Juto and the whole thing was a mistake. Sometime later, Tsubasa returns to find Natsumi gone - the camera zooming in on a folded paper crane. Tsubasa promptly freaks out.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Jin reveals that he was imprisoned for the crime of raising Taro. Tsubasa calls him out on doing a bad job of it, due to Taro's behavior on the battlefield.