Gira on the Run
- Original Airdate: April 30, 2023
Written by: Minato Takano
Directed by: Hiroyuki Kato
Summary
Narrator: A trial by combat had commenced between Gira and Racules.
Gira was defeated, but survived by the skin of his teeth, thanks to the help of the four kings.
Gifted with the power to control King-Ohger, Gira has now been hidden away, as part of a plan to fake his death.
And the last of the Three Greater Shugods, God Hopper, made itself known!
...Or so the story goes.
Gira was defeated, but survived by the skin of his teeth, thanks to the help of the four kings.
Gifted with the power to control King-Ohger, Gira has now been hidden away, as part of a plan to fake his death.
And the last of the Three Greater Shugods, God Hopper, made itself known!
...Or so the story goes.
Gira may have lost the duel with Racules, but the other monarchs are willing to offer him sanctuary now that he's been declared "dead". In actuality, all of the rulers plan to use his seeking refuge as a way to obtain King-Ohger for themselves.
While the rulers try to fight off the Bognaarok's forces, the royal aides start a fight over which kingdom Gira shall reside in! Meanwhile, Racules has his suspicions that Gira is still alive, as his body was not found. And to top it off, the last of the Greater Shugods, God Hopper, has decided to appear...
Tropes
- An Aesop: No man is an island. Even if you think you're protecting someone, you might be depending on them instead. It's important to acknowledge and contribute to bonds by communicating.Gira: You think you're protecting someone, when you're being protected. You may think you're living on your own, but there are others who support you.
- Armor-Piercing Question: Annoyed at Morphonia's nonchalance at Rita, Gira calls her out and asks her if she's ever asked if Rita ever needed help.
- Bait-and-Switch: Douga intently looks at Gira, leading to the aides and Gira believing that he's been caught... only for Douga to believe that Gira is a popular genius celebrity due to their similar appearances.
- Big "YES!": Rita let’s out a loud “YEAH” when the 4 monarchs “agree” to house Gira.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with Dethnaarok revealing he took out the other monarchs and he has also placed five more cocoon-bombs like the one back in #6. The final shot is of him capturing Gira.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Dethnaarok walks over the other four monarchs one-by-one like nothing. Kaguragi puts up more of a fight, but not even he can stand up to the Hades King's raw strength.
- A Day in the Limelight: The monarchs get less focus here compared to their retainers, including one of Kaguragi's kuroko named Kuroda. Even Douga gets some Hidden Depths in the process.
- Death Faked for You: Premise of the episode. Gira survived the duel with Racules by sheer luck and the other rulers managed to find him first; hence why they're all trying to hide him from Racules (and hoard him for themselves).
- Downer Ending: The rulers and their servants have been toppled, Dethnaarok has captured Gira and five cocoon-bombs are primed to wipe every kingdom off the map.
- Divided We Fall:
- The monarchs squabbling over who gets to ally with Gira allows Dethnaarok to pick them off one by one.
- A more humorous example: Shiokara, Sebastian and Kuroda squabbling over who gets to accompany Gira allows Morphonia to swoop in and arrest Gira.
- Gunboat Diplomacy: Kaguragi hints that he's aware of Shugoddam having another Shugod; having discovered an Evil Knockoff of King-Ohger. Racules tells him that if he thinks the rumor is true, it would be wiser for him to "adjust his attitude".
- Keet: In a very literal sense. The game show host Gira's disguise resembles is named "Keet."
- Love Triangle: It's discovered God Hopper has a crush on God Scorpion, who's infatuated with God Kabuto in turn. Gira encourages Hopper to confess to Scorpion directly.
- Never Found the Body: The N'Kosopa and Toufu portions of the episode reveal that Racules is having Shugoddam representatives investigate the kingdoms to find Gira's body, skeptical of his death.
- Not Afraid to Die: Roughly Dethnaarok VIII's philosophy. Because the Bognaarok have no fear of death, he sees them as flawless.
- Not So Stoic: Twice, Played for Laughs.
- When Gira disregards everyone's advice to stay put and announces a plan to ambush Racules, Rita lets out a monstrous scream and headbutts him right in the stomach.
- Shortly after, the monarchs go for a Team Hand-Stack to solidify their "keep Gira hidden" plan, Rita lets out a loud "YEAH!" The others are clearly put off.
- Plot Parallel: The rulers' backstabbing one another to take control of Gira (and by proxy King-Ohger) coincides with how their respective retainers treat each other throughout the entire affair. The backstabbing allows Dethnaarok to ambush and pick the rulers off while the servants one-upping each other prevents them from coming to a consensus, that indecision giving Dethnaarok time to overwhelm Rita and snatch Gira up at the last minute.
- The Reveal:
- We see what Kaguragi was shocked by in the previous episode: a complete clone of King-Ohger in black and gold.
- Morphonia reveals herself to be next in line to the throne of Gokkan.
- Robo Romance: Gira discovers that God Hopper has a crush on God Scorpion.
- Shoot the Medic First: Dethnaarok chooses to attack Hymeno and Ishabana first.
- Special Aesop Victim: The rulers are progressively picked off one-by-one by Dethnaarok throughout the course of the episode after their alliance devolves to backstabbing. Rita is saved for last; Morphonia discovering her superior's injured body (as well as the various servants battered) after Gira's speech on loyalty and offering support, demonstrating what everyone accomplished (IE: nothing) by going it alone instead of unifying and working together.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: The rulers mass-backstabbing one another and conscripting their servants into securing Gira instead of establishing an alliance at what's ostensibly a crucial juncture isolates them from any sort of support when the Bognaarok launch a mass-invasion of their kingdoms, making them easy pickings for Dethnaarok.
- Tempting Fate:
- Hymeno remarks how surprising she finds it that Gira's on-board with keeping out-of-sight. Not long after, Gira's next instinct is to abandon all logic and go after Racules again, to which Rita responds by knocking him flat.
- Gira calls out Morphonia for her apathy towards Rita, suggesting she ask Rita if she needs help. When the girl does finally go to check on her ruler, the monarch has been downed alongside everyone else.
- Token Good Teammate: Downplayed, but Rita is the only one who wants to keep Gira’s power out of other people’s hands for semi-altruistic reasons (that only Gokkan, the land of neutrality, should control such a power to prevent an imbalance).
- Wrong Assumption: Once again, Gorōge attributes God Hopper's swift defeat of Gerojim to Racules himself, assuming the Shugod was under his control, all while proclaiming the latter's victory in the earlier Trial by Combat as he leads the villagers into celebrating, while Kogane and Boone mourn over Gira's apparent death.
