Gyro, Fenton and Huey take a malfunctioning B.O.Y.D. back to the lab where he was created in Japan, but as Huey bonds with the robot boy, a secret from Gyro's past threatens to destroy the city and Gizmoduck.
Tropes:
- An Aesop: Destiny is not the path given to you, but the path you choose for yourself.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Near the beginning of the episode, Huey is teased by the other members of his Junior Woodchuck group for being such a stickler for regulations. Bully Beagle even compares him directly to a robot.
- Amnesiacs are Innocent: Subverted; Gyro has reason to believe B.O.Y.D.'s kind and gentle personality is just a result of losing 2BO's memories, but it is revealed that 2BO always was a sweet boy and the Killer Robot was a result of Akita forcefully converting him.
- Animation Bump: Gizmoduck's missile barrage and B.O.Y.D. dodging them is extremely well animated, courtesy of Studio Yotta.
- Animeland: Averted. Japan is depicted quite realistically, mech battles and robot rampages aside (even then, those are not considered normal).
- Arc Words: "Definitely real boy," as seen under Suspiciously Specific Denial. It turns out that Gyro indirectly coined the phrase upon B.O.Y.D.'s original activation, and he says it again to subdue him.
- Astro Clone: B.O.Y.D.'s backstory extensively homages Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy:
- B.O.Y.D.'s original name in the episode was 2BO. Astro/Atom was made to replace Dr. Tenma's dead son Tobio.
- Dr. Akita dresses like Dr. Tenma, including the labcoat and sunglasses.
- The Inspector who stopped his original rampage is named "Tezuka", after Astro Boy creator Osamu Tezuka.
- Dr. Akita's name is a reference to Akita Shoten, the publishing company that originally published Tetsuwan Atom/Astro Boy as well as many other of Tezuka's creations.
- B.O.Y.D. eventually learns he can fly with feet that turn into rockets.
- A diagram of B.O.Y.D.'s insides show a part with Heart Symbol, a recurring element of the franchise that was especially prominent in the 2003 anime.
- B.O.Y.D. turns out to be a benevolent creation of Gyro's that Dr. Akita repurposed as a weapon, essentially a reverse of Astro Boy's origin (where he started out as a weapon project that was repurposed to be Tenma's Replacement Goldfish).
- Beware the Silly Ones: As much of a dork as Fenton is, his fight with B.O.Y.D as his alter ego Gizmoduck showcases why he's the superhero he is.
- Bilingual Bonus: Plenty, as expected:
- The DuckTales logo is written in katakana.
- A Freeze-Frame Bonus in the picture with the Sailor Moon Cosplayer shows that one of the stores is the Nekohanten, the “Cat Cafe” run by Cologne and Shampoo in Ranma ½.
- When Huey and B.O.Y.D. are getting ice cream, the menu board reads that one of the available flavors is wasabi. Yes, it exists.
- Flintheart Glomgold's Energy Drink poster reads "Become stronger! Become richer! Drink GLOM Energy Drink!".
- Blind Without Them: At one point, both Gyro and Dr. Akita lose their respective glasses. They proceed to grope around to find them.
- Busman's Holiday: Lampshaded by Gyro "Why do we always fight on vacation?"
- Call-Back:
- Gyro's assertion in "The Great Dime Chase!" that half his inventions aren't evil but "wildly misunderstood" is brought up by Huey to convince him that B.O.Y.D. isn't bad. Gyro himself declares it again before fighting Akita.
- Some of the Junior Woodchucks seen at the campout can be recognized from "Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!", including B.O.Y.D. himself. Violet is distinctly not present, as she said she didn't focus on Woodchuck get-togethers.
- The Cameo: The episode marks Glomgold's first 3rd season appearance... as a poster-boy model for Energy Drinks.
- Card-Carrying Villain: Akita smugly says that B.O.Y.D. "will always be a weapon for destruction, for power, for evil!"
- Contrived Coincidence: B.O.Y.D. was apparently already designed as an African Grey Parrot and happened to be found by another one in Mark Beaks. Makes it easier for him to pass B.O.Y.D. off as his own.
- Cooldown Hug: Gyro snaps B.O.Y.D. out of Akita's "Revenge" protocol by acknowledging the robot boy as more than a weapon and giving him a hug.
- Cynicism Catalyst: It's implied that B.O.Y.D. "going evil" is what caused Gyro to go from idealistic intern to cynical scientist.
- A Day in the Limelight:
- This is Gyro's first focus episode since his introduction all the way back in the third episode.
- It's also the first episode to focus on B.O.Y.D.
- Disobey This Message: Fenton tells B.O.Y.D. that he doesn't have to do what Dr. Akita says; he has to do what he (meaning Fenton) says.
- A Dog Named "Dog": Dr. Akita is an Akita dog
. - Enhance Button: Parodied. Dr. Akita tells his computer to zoom and enhance the surveillance footage of his lab, but then just pulls out a magnifying glass. This does nothing to improve the image's resolution, but he is still able to recognize 2BO/B.O.Y.D. and Gyro.
- Exact Words: Gyro voices his intentions to "stop the malfunctioning for good," which B.O.Y.D. innocently assumes to mean Gyro is going to fix him. It's not until near the climax that Gyro admits he means permanently shutting him off.
- Eye Color Change: After being pulled out of Akita's Revenge Protocol Omega by Gyro, the now completely independent B.O.Y.D.'s pupils change from black to blue.
- Failed Attempt at Drama: Dr. Akita dramatically emerges from his underground lair, only to be nearly blinded because he's not used to being out in the sunlight after twenty years in hiding.
- Forgot He Was a Robot: B.O.Y.D. has to remind Huey that he doesn't need to wear a bike helmet because his bones are made out of metal, as an indirect nod to Fantasy Helmet Enforcement.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: Plenty of anime Easter Eggs, such as a Sailor Moon cosplayer (listed more extensively in the Shout-Out paragraph). Also, there are numerous posters of Flintheart Glomgold selling energy drinks.
- Get Out!: Inspector Tezuka's order to everyone, directed at Huey and B.O.Y.D., during the denouement is to leave Tokyolk immediately.
- Given Name Reveal: B.O.Y.D.'s original name was 2BO. When Mark Beaks found him, he renamed him Beaks Optimistic Youth Droid because his original name "wasn't going to work for [Beaks]".
- Good-Times Montage: When B.O.Y.D. and Huey go sightseeing around Tokyolk.
- Heel Realization: Gyro realizes that the way he's been treating Fenton is very similar to the way Dr. Akita treated him, so he decides to stop being so hard on him and start giving him respect.
- High-Altitude Battle: Gizmoduck and 2BO/B.O.Y.D. engage in a big one during the episode's climax. Meanwhile, their creators are engaged in a Wimp Fight on a hovering disc.
- I Am Not a Gun: While B.O.Y.D. was originally made to defend Toyolk, after he was hijacked and attacked the city, everyone keeps telling him that he's at his core, a weapon to which both B.O.Y.D. and Huey disagree with.
- Ironic Echo: Gyro's line, "Not all my invention's are evil. Some of them are just wildly misunderstood," harkens back to his first appearance. Where the original line was humorous in its denial, here it's meaningful as Gyro realizes the one invention of his that he truly believed was evil had been not just misunderstood, but purposely sabotaged.
- I'm Standing Right Here: Even when B.O.Y.D. is right in front of him, Gyro always refers to "it" in the third person. It's not until he discovers Dr. Akita was responsible for his rampage that Gyro actually talks to B.O.Y.D.
- "It" Is Dehumanizing: Gyro continually refers to B.O.Y.D. as "it" throughout the episode, on top of using his former name of 2BO, as part of his distrust and bitterness. Once he learns the truth behind B.O.Y.D's initial rampage, he finally abandons this mindset.
- Japandering: Glomgold appears in a Tokyolk billboard selling energy drinks.
- Killer Robot: Originally, 2BO was created to be a crime-fighting robot, and had built-in weapons that could help him with this. Akita, however, re-programmed him to be a destructive robot soldier.
- Lampshade Hanging:
- After blasting a second hole in the wall on the way out of the lab, Gizmoduck muses that he probably should have just used the first one.
- After Gyro decides to promote Fenton from intern to full time scientist "Dr. Crackshell-Cabrera", Fenton points out that that's not how doctorates work. But then again he's so happy about the gesture he doesn't care.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Literally. B.O.Y.D. accidentally burns down Bully Beagle's s'more with laser eyes during his malfunction, after Bully made fun of Huey calling him a robot.
- Locked Out of the Loop: It appears Louie never bothered to inform Huey and his family about B.O.Y.D. being a robot.
- My Greatest Failure: 2BO (aka B.O.Y.D.) was the first of Gyro's inventions to turn evil. He hasn't been able to live it down since.
- Mythology Gag:
- Bully Beagle is loosely based on the Beagle Brats from the classic comics.
- Gyro's appearance in the flashbacks is similar to the one he had in the original comics and 1987 DuckTales (albeit his hair still being white instead of brown or red). His personality back then was also more like in the original.
- In the lab, L'il Bulb holds up a blueprint for himself titled "Little Helper", his original name.
- National Animal Stereotypes: The Japanese scientist Dr. Akita is an Akita, a Japanese dog breed.
- Never My Fault: Akita says that B.O.Y.D. is responsible for ruining his reputation and forcing him to spend the last twenty years hiding from the law after the rampage he caused, seemingly forgetting that the reason the rampage happened to start with was because altered B.O.Y.D.'s programming to make him act more like a weapon.
- No Name Given: The Outlaw Couple that robs the jewelry store. The credits name the guy "Clown" and the girl "Capsule".
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Gyro usually treats his own inventions as people and insists they aren't evil, but he immediately dehumanizes B.O.Y.D. and denounces him as nothing but a threat, while Huey points out that he always argues his inventions are misunderstood. It turns out B.O.Y.D. was his (co-)creation, and him (seemingly) turning evil is the biggest shame of Gyro's career.
- Oh, Crap!: Gyro panics as soon as he lays his eyes on B.O.Y.D., crawling onto a desk and holding Lil' Bulb in front of him while demanding Manny remove him from the lab at once.
- Once More, with Clarity: B.O.Y.D.'s flashbacks are seen in more detail when Gyro fully accesses his memories. Most significantly, the "rare breed" one reveals that Akita was responsible for B.O.Y.D. going berserk.
- Origins Episode: We see how B.O.Y.D. was created, which turns out to be connected to Gyro's start as an inventor.
- Outlaw Couple: The jewelry store thieves are a couple, and the woman plants a kiss on the man before they take off. The credits nickname them "Capsule" and "Clown" respectively.
- Persona Non Grata: Gyro and his inventions are not welcome in the city of Tokyolk. Even after stopping B.O.Y.D.'s rampage, Inspector Tezuka still insists they leave.
- Psychological Projection:
- Fenton doesn't think B.O.Y.D. is dangerous. However, he immediately assumes B.O.Y.D. wants to be a superhero like him.Fenton: You don't have to do what [Dr. Akita] tells you! Do what I tell you!
- Though Huey's mindset regarding B.O.Y.D. turns out to be correct, he has elements of this as well. He adamantly believes and frequently vocalizes throughout the episode that B.O.Y.D. is a completely normal kid regardless of his machine-like quirks, which pretty much describes Huey himself.
- Fenton doesn't think B.O.Y.D. is dangerous. However, he immediately assumes B.O.Y.D. wants to be a superhero like him.
- Rage Breaking Point: Learning Akita was behind 2BO's rampage infuriates Gyro, but it takes his former mentor specifically saying the robot's purpose is "for evil" (not wildly misunderstood) to drive Gyro to throwing hands.
- Renamed the Same: When asked to choose his new "real name" B.O.Y.D. chooses to name himself... B.O.Y.D. again. Only instead of "Beaks' Optimistic Youth Droid", the acronym now means "Be Only Yourself Dude".
- The Reveal:
- B.O.Y.D., formerly known as 2BO, wasn't invented by Mark Beaks for Doofus Drake's birthday party. He was actually invented by Gyro and his old boss Dr. Akita decades earlier to serve as a defense drone for the city of Tokyolk. After he went on a rampage in the city, he was shut down and Gyro left him in a dump, where Beaks found him.
- Gyro spent the following years believing that B.O.Y.D.'s rampage was a result of a systems malfunction caused by his own error. Turns out Dr. Akita secretly overrode his programming to turn B.O.Y.D. into a weapon for his own evil intentions instead of the city's safety.
- Ridiculously Cute Critter: Huey and B.O.Y.D. visit an animal cafe with an owl, a rabbit, and kittens.
- Say My Name: Gizmoduck lets out a pretty extreme cry of 2BO at the start of their battle.
- Saying Sound Effects Out Loud: When "commanding" his computer, Dr. Akita makes beeping and whooshing sounds to compensate for the lack of advanced tech while in hiding.
- Shout-Out:
- The whole episode is essentially one big love letter to anime. Not only in aesthetics but to several series in general.
- When B.O.Y.D. reaches Gyro's lab and opens his eyes to reveal his laser vision keeps malfunctioning, Fenton gives him red shades to wear to block the beams.
- One background character is cosplaying as Sailor Moon. A Freeze-Frame Bonus shows Akita also having a mini-figure of Sailor Moon. For bonus points, the character is designed as a rabbit, based on Sailor Moon's real name Usaginote Tsukino.
- Across the street from the Sailor Moon cosplayer, one of the signs is for the Nekohanten, the “Cat Cafe” run by Cologne and Shampoo in Ranma ½. Both a Freeze-Frame Bonus and a Bilingual Bonus.
- The episode's poster image is a reference to Metropolis (2001) (which was based on a Tezuka manga by the same creator as Astro Boy).
- Dr. Akita eats from a bag of chips that has a fox version of one of the Matsuno brothers on it. Additionally, it's reminiscent of the infamous "potato chip" scene from Death Note.
- One of the background characters seen throughout the episode is a dog version of Lupin III. Inspector Tezuka's trench coat, hat, way of running and liberal use of handcuffs, are also reminiscent of Inspector Zenigata from the same series.
- The credits name the bike-riding Outlaw Couple "Clown" and "Capsule", after two of the gangs in AKIRA. "Capsule", the female, is most likely also a reference to Capsule Corp. and Bulma (who, like her, also had purple hair and rode a bike in the original Dragon Ball manga covers).
- Huey and B.O.Y.D. during their Good-Times Montage take a photo placing their heads in what looks like Captain Ersatz versions of Chief Otsuka and Gigantor.
- There's even a nod to the infamous "Nani?!" meme (although "nani" means "what" in Japanese, and is a pretty common exclamation of surprise).
- The dogfight between Gizmoduck and B.O.Y.D. is based on the original Macross Missile Massacre. The staff even referred to the trope's Japanese term, "Itano Circus".
- Gizmoduck's Say My Name moment ("2BOOOOOOOOOOO!") references the famous "TETSUOOOOOOO!" from AKIRA.
- Huey and B.O.Y.D.'s bike chase along the wall is very reminiscent of the car chase from The Castle of Cagliostro.
- Shown Their Work:
- The episode has great detail in depicting Japan and its culture.
- As they're touring the show's version of the Tokyo Imperial Palace, Huey was about to explain that ninjas were all but extinct. Ninjas mostly disappeared during the unification of Japan in the 17th Century, and the Tokyo Imperial Palace was built in 1888 (on the sites of the Edo Castle which was destroyed by fire in 1873).
- Smug Snake: Dr. Akita smugly tells Gyro that he never invented anything worthwhile. Right before Gyro's Bulb knocks him out.
- Speaks in Binary: L'il Bulb's graffiti is in binary.
- Special Edition Title: Since this episode takes place in Japan, what better way to start the cartoon than with their title displayed in Japanese.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Because he spent so much time in a dimly-lit room for what can be assumed to be a very long time, Dr. Akita's ominous entrance was interrupted by the sun blinding him.
- The episode ends with Huey, Gyro, Fenton, and B.O.Y.D. all asked by Inspector Tezuka to leave Tokyolk with the heavy implication that they won't be welcomed back anytime in the near future. Well, considering the massive damages their actions caused in the episode, especially in the final battle with Dr. Akita, one would realistically expect to be banned from a city at a minimum. And considering she's able to overpower Gizmoduck and defeated B.O.Y.D. in the past, none of them are about to refute Tezuka's demands.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: B.O.Y.D. always introduces himself as "a definitely real boy." This phrase gets repeated several times throughout the episode.
- Tempting Fate: On arriving in Tokyolk, Gyro tells the others they have to be discreet. They immediately run into Inspector Tezuka, who is not happy to see Gyro again.
- There Was a Door: When Gizmoduck goes off to fight crime, he blasts a second hole in the wall when the hole used to enter was still there. He even lampshades it after doing it.
- Trauma Button: B.O.Y.D.'s glitching is prompted by Huey and Gizmoduck saying phrases that happen to occur in his core memory; "rare breed" and "first-time jitters", respectively.
- Ungrateful Bastard: Even after proving they were against Dr. Akita, Tezuka still tells the group to leave. Although given she roughly interrogated Gyro and tried to arrest Gizmoduck earlier, it's not the worst-case scenario.
- Vacuum Mouth: B.O.Y.D. consumes three bowls of ramen by sucking them up with his mouth.
- What Measure Is a Non-Human?: A major theme in the episode. Gyro originally saw 2BO/B.O.Y.D. as a Robot Kid with feelings while to Dr. Akita he's a Robot Soldier to be used for destruction and programmed the robot as such. By the end of the episode 2BO/B.O.Y.D. chooses to live his life as the former, rather than the latter.
- Wimp Fight: Gyro and Dr. Akita engage in one during the episode's climax, while Gizmoduck and 2BO/B.O.Y.D. are engaged in a High-Altitude Battle.
- Wistful Amnesia: When Huey takes him to the Money Bin's lab, B.O.Y.D. already knows Gyro, but he can't recall from where.
