King and Prince in Trial by Combat
- Original Airdate: April 23, 2023
Written by: Minato Takano
Directed by: Kyohei Yamaguchi
Summary
Narrator: Two of the Three Greater Shugods, God Kabuto and God Scorpion, have now been awakened.
After obtaining the aid of the misanthropic Scorpion, Gira, Yanma, and Himeno were able to defeat the Bognaarok.
However, Gira — still a wanted criminal — was then forced into a trial by combat by Racules!
...Or so the story goes.
After obtaining the aid of the misanthropic Scorpion, Gira, Yanma, and Himeno were able to defeat the Bognaarok.
However, Gira — still a wanted criminal — was then forced into a trial by combat by Racules!
...Or so the story goes.
Having been tracked down by the authorities, Gira is ordered by Rita to engage Racules in a duel to the death, with the throne of Shugoddam at stake. While waiting for the duel to begin, Rita questions Gira about his past, while Racules divulges his intentions to his aides.
While all this is going on, Yanma, Himeno, and Kaguragi try to come up with a plan to ensure Gira's safety, using God Scorpion's poison to hopefully hoodwink the corrupt king. Things seem to be going well at first, but a certain mix-up might turn things sideways...
Tropes
- Ambiguous Situation: Whether the venom Racules used was real or fake, due to the fact that Gerojim, who it was used on, had an Unexplained Recovery and still managed to grow giant just moments after.
- Bad Boss: Racules doesn't take the idea that he might fail well, drawing his sword on Douga for being the slightest bit concerned about the duel and Kaguragi's involvement.
- Bait-and-Switch: Both involve Gerojim.
- When Dethnaarok is constricting Kamejim for failing, an image of the later appears behind him. But it turns out to be one of Gerojim's illusions with the real Kamejim strangled by Dethnaarok's tentacles.
- While Yanma is acting considerably odd for running up to Gira while calling him his "best friend", one might be right to assume that's just his attempt at disrupting the duel due to the potential venom mix-up at the time, making it shocking when it seemed Racules simply used the venom on Yanma regardless. Come moments later, and turns out that really wasn't Yanma after all, but Gerojim in disguise.
- BBC Quarry: The fight between the two Kuwagatas transitions from the top of Caucasus Kabuto castle to the usual quarry mid-way through.
- The Conspiracy: Discussed. Rita finds herself skeptical about Racules' claim that Gira was kidnapped and grills the latter about it, whose memory draws a blank. During the latter half of the duel, Gira confronts Racules about the topic directly, asking him if he was actually taken or was intended to be disposed of. Racules' next attack is less refined and more blatantly forceful, leading Gira to the conclusion that he hit the nail on the head.
- Disney Death: Gira seemingly falls to his death over the cliff after Racules lands the final blow... only for it to be revealed that he survived by the skin of his teeth.
- Disproportionate Retribution: Racules' response to his advisor Douga insinuating that Kaguragi might be a bad choice for co-conspirators is to threaten the guy with his sword for even implying something might go wrong.
- Downer Ending: Downplayed. Gira being declared dead means Racules wins their Trial by Combat, solidifying his tyranny over Shugoddam. On the other hand, the other kings' Faking the Dead gambit succeeded despite the hiccups that happened, allowing them to gain Gira's assistance without having to deal with the troubles of other forces such as the Bognaarok and Shugoddam seeking his capture.
- Dressing as the Enemy: The other rulers (sans Rita) pose as Shuggodam guards to facilitate a plan to give Racules anesthetic instead of God Scorpion's venom to ensure Gira doesn't die after the Trial by Combat. Kaguragi actually gave Racules the real thing instead and played dumb, but that point's moot since it ends up used on Gerojim instead of the intended target.
- Dynamic Entry: God Hopper destroys a rampaging Gerojim by landing on top of it.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: While the other monarchs explain to Rita about faking Gira's death from the duel, Kaguragi forgets if the poison he gave to Racules was the fake one or not, forcing the other monarchs (sans Kaguragi) to follow the brothers in case it was the real one.
- Hope Spot: After confronting Racules about The Conspiracy, Gira appears to gain Heroic Second Wind, making it look like he'll turn the tide of the duel. Then Gerojim crashes the fight in its Yanma disguise and Gira completely falls for it when Racules poisons it, putting Gira in a position that makes it looks like KuwagataOhger was protecting a Bognaarok operative. Racules then uses the chaos to knock Gira off the nearby cliffside, winning the duel. Gira only survives by sheer luck.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Rita was supposed to be let in on The Plan the other rulers concocted to swap God Scorpion's venom for an anesthetic duplicate, but she was never contacted. Thus, the "guards" isolate Rita during the duel and explain things directly.
- Master of Illusion: Gerojim has the ability to imitate the appearances of others, which it uses to pose as Yanma during the duel.
- Not Himself: Defied. Gerojim's impression of Yanma is that of a "best friend," which would usually tip everyone off that's it's a fake. Gira falls for it wholeheartedly, which bites him when the monster's disguise fades away just as the cameras come back on - making it look like he was protecting the Bognaarok from Racules.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Kaguragi sporting a small smirk when the battle is taken to the BBC Quarry suggests that he lied about not knowing whether he gave Racules the right poison or not, playing true to both sides of the coin.
- The Plan: The other rulers (sans Rita) develop a plan to give Racules anesthetic instead of God Scorpion's venom to ensure he can't cheat the duel and kill Gira with it. Of course, Kaguragi, being Kaguragi, "forgot" whether or not he gave Racules the venom or the fake; leading the others to pose as guards to monitor the duel for foul play. Turns out he gave him the real thing, but it ends up used on Gerojim instead of Gira.
- Spanner in the Works:
- Gerojim interfering with the duel foils the monarchs' plan by Racules poisoning him instead of Gira. While foiling Racules' plot to poison Gira mid-combat, he also made Gira more of a pariah.
- God Hopper steals Racules' thunder by jumping Gerojim right before the latter could summon King-Ohger ZERO.
- Trial by Combat: By way of Rita, Racules challenges Gira to one to see who will take the throne. Racules seemingly wins, but Gira manages to barely survive.
- The Unreveal: While the other kings worriedly follow the Trial by Combat to ensure Racules doesn't use the actual venom on Gira, Kaguragi heads off on his own investigation within Shugoddam, reacting with shock at a revelation that is not revealed to the viewers.
- Unspoken Plan Guarantee: After the monarchs explain how they're getting Gira out from the duel by using a fake poison, issues pop up when Kaguragi forgets which poison he gave to Racules, which later becomes moot when Racules uses it on Gerojim.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Himeno calls Kaguragi out for his willingness to throw in his lot with Racules, asking if he forgot about the Fury of the Gods event and about the king's intent to hijack KingOhger. Kaguragi's only response is a dismissive "the past is the past."
- Also the citizens of Shuggodam to Gira since they cannot see Gerojim's glamour and assumed he was protecting the Bugnarok.
