Tear Jerker / Avataro Sentai Donbrothers

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"Don't talk to me... and get out of my sight. Don't look at me, either! I... I don't want to see you ever again!"

As with its prequel, Donbrothers — despite being just as comedic — has its fair share of depressing moments.

Main series

Don-Episode 4: Onigiri Oni

• Jin tells Haruka that when Taro was a boy he would "help" people so much that they grew annoyed by him and actually held a protest to get him to leave. Taro couldn't even wrap his head around the idea that it was a protest against him and considered it a festival. It wasn't until they all moved away that he realized he had gone too far. Judging by Taro's reaction at the end of the episode, this incident still haunts him in the present.

Don-Episode 5: Holed Up Dog

• Tsubasa had his girlfriend taken from him by some unknown force. He agreed to becoming a fugitive for one year and going on the run in order to get her back. All of this led to him forgetting his birthday, as he would always celebrate it with Natsumi.
• Taro reminisces about his birthday when Tsubasa brings up his birthday. In the Flashback, we see that he was excitedly waiting for friends to show up, but for hours nobody came, so it was just him and Jin celebrating his birthday. The sheer difference between Taro's face in the morning against the night is just heartbreaking.

Don-Episode 6: Pheasant's Short-Lived Glory

• While watching Tsuyoshi talking with his wife, Taro states that Tsuyoshi won their contest to prove he's the better man, claiming that he could never make a woman smile like that.

Don-Episode 9: Broken Taro And The Robotaro

• The victim of the week is an old man who dreams of his childhood days, when he wanted to play with other kids but everyone ran away calling him "Snot-nosed Taichi". Those dreams caused the Tokumei-Ki to materialize outside of him as a child who only wants to play with everyone.

Don-Episode 10: The Rainbow the Oni Saw

• Haruka attempts to reconnect with the Donbrothers after having wished to quit being a Donbrother, except no one remembers her.
• Marina underwent the same plagiarism accusations that Haruka endured, but unlike Haruka she was never able to overcome it, so whenever she remembers — like aiming something similar to that of a camera — she becomes unable to fight again.
  • Haruka realizing that her selfishness has caused Marina major PTSD that she can't go through. She realizes the wish to have her normal life wasn't what she wanted and so she goes back to Kaito and demands to undo the wish.

Don-Episode 13: Goodbye Taro

• The backstory of Fusako is that her son moved away and her husband died, leaving her alone. So she desperately wanted to not be alone anymore, even if she had to be a drama queen and troublemaker. That desire for attention is what turned her into Zyuden-Ki.
• Sonoi's perfection makes him incapable of making art himself, as he is incapable of looking past the imperfections, and every time he does try he trembles uncontrollably.
• The distraught look in Taro and Sonoi's faces when they realize they are actually each other's worst enemy, with Taro regrettably calling off the offer he made earlier to Sonoi.

Don-Episode 14: Substitute Jiro

• Kaito is shocked to hear Taro is gone, having a hard time believing it, and for the first time in a while not even he is sure if something can be done.
• Sonoi is really not feeling like his usual self after Taro's defeat. Whether it is guilt for exploiting his weakness or for the death of someone who was both someone he sympathized with for some time and rivaled is yet to be revealed.
• Haruka's anger at how casually Jin took Taro's death, althought he justified himself that grieving will change nothing and they need to move on.
• The team, specially Haruka, refuses to accept anyone replacing Taro. So when Jiro calls them his companions, she angrily rejects him.
• Tsubasa mistakes Miho for Natsumi and, of course, Miho herself doesn't recognize him.

Don-Episode 15: Welcome Back Taro

• Shinichi falling into a huge slump because he can't make haikus anymore. Or as he puts it, he "lost his soul". It's so bad that when Jiro proposes that he has to off the existing Donbrothers to properly replace them with his own companions, Shinichi doesn't hesitate to offer his head.

Don-Episode 17: Light and Wings

• The victim of the week, Tanabe, was driven to suicide because his loved one, Kanako, ditched him when he ran from a monster that was going to attack them. Weren't it for Tsubasa he would probably die before he could even become a Hitotsu-ki.
• After hearing Tsubasa's story about the disappearance of Natsumi, Sononi grimly remarks that if what he said is true then he should be prepared for the worst.

Don-Episode 18: A Jawsome Strike

• We find out that, as a kid, Taro had a pet beetle that flew away from him. What makes this tragic is how the group uses this story to trick Taro, causing him to fret over his lost pet and allowing a very rare glimpse at a vulnerable Taro.
  • Taro's panicked search for the pet beetle makes the others change their mind in trying to strike him while his guard is lowered.
  • Haruka eventually exposes to Taro that they were lying, this was just a plot to make him vulnerable, and that by now the beetle might be long dead. Taro is visibly saddened by the reveal.
  • As he watches this, Sonoi is reminded of the one time he exploited Taro's weakness and can't help but feel guilt.

Don-Episode 19: Hello Ghost

• The tragic story of Minako is easily this episode's major tearjerker: a girl who died late at night to a hit-and-run ends up unable to move on and waits for her pen pal's call at the very phone booth that was scheduled to be torn down in present time.
• Even though it was for the best and Haruka actively wanted to help Minako pass on, she was very fond of her by the end. This is the second time Haruka made a friend outside of the Donbrothers (who can get on her nerves) or school (who all disrespect her because she's a "plagiarist") that she had to give up for said friend's own happiness. The first was Marina (who even briefly appeared in a flashback this episode) who no longer remembers her after Haruka reversed her Kibi-Point wish.

Don-Episode 21: Extreme Way of the Ramen

• Don Murasame must be hiding something sad that Dangerous Jiro noticed something after their fight:
  Dangerous Jiro: Why... Why can I feel sorrow, from him?

Don-Episode 23: Inu, Become a Dog

• The episode starts with a downer: the Kijino couple sees a child making an improvised shrine and asks him who it is for; the kid explains that it's for his dog, who died after being hit by a car. The couple helps the kid and even prays for the dog's spirit.
• Tsubasa's despair in seeking for help, until the curse got to a point that his memory began to fade, and the last he saw was Miho/Natsumi before turning into a dog.
  Tsubasa: Natsumi... Who is... Natsumi? Who... Am I?

Don-Episode 24: My Son, the Puppet

• Ninja-Ki keeps saying "A reason to live!" wherever he goes, but when confronted by Tomoko, he stops in his tracks, lowers his weapon and lets out a pitifual "A reason... To live...", hinting that not only he is her disappeared son Koichiro, but also that he was still hurting inside that he couldn't find his own call in life.

Don-Episode 29: Mournings and Murasame

• Taro reveals he does have one regret for the late Sonoi: not having taken him to eat Oden, followed by an imagine spot of their moment eating oden at the sunset.

Don-Episode 32: Showdown Part Two

• It is shown that Minoru Ohno, former host of Shuriken-Ki and Mahou-Ki, genuinely tries to move on and let go of his obsession by working with his mother on the farm. Only for him to go cold turkey and become GoGo-Ki to challenge Taro again. However instead of being defeated by the Donbrothers, he ends up presumably killed by the resurrected Sonoi. His last words are an apology towards his mother, who most likely will never know what happened to her son after he transformed into a monster right in front of her.
  • Fortunately a later episode reveals him to be alive and well. Albeit about to be possessed by another Hitotsu-ki.

Don-Episode 34: Natsumi Meets Me

• Tsubasa is betrayed by Tsuyoshi, a man he trusted, and turned over to the police ending his run from the law. On that same end, Tsuyoshi being told that Miho "doesn't exist" and that being the justification for why Tsubasa "stole" Miho, while being Locked Out of the Loop about the whole Natsumi situation stings on both an in-universe and out-of-universe level.

Don-Episode 41: Serving the Santa Clause

• It's very depressing to see just how far Santa has fallen as the times change around him.

Don-Episode 44: White Revealed, Black Revealed

• Previous scenes of Tsuyoshi intending to harm someone shows that he is almost remorseless when his wife is involved, and that he is perfectly willing to break the trust of others if they are the offending party. This ultimately gets shattered the instant he realizes he just shot Sononi and could only stare at his hands in utter horror after the fact. And the real kicker, Sononi did nothing wrong to hurt Miho, only protecting her from being killed by Tsubasa using the Ninjarksword, which could also have killed Natsumi as well.
• Even worse, Sononi should have thought things through sooner about Tsubasa attempting to kill Miho/Crane Juto using Murasame while Natsumi is still trapped in the Forest of Slumber, knowing that she will also die in the process. Instead, she pushes Miho out of the way and takes the blow meant for her. Not to mention, she inadvertently widened the rift between Tsuyoshi and Tsubasa until (for the second time) she took the bullet meant for the latter. Even when Tsubasa used his Kibi-Points to revive Sononi, he is visibly furious at her for not telling him sooner back in episode 40. As such, he pretty much banishes her from his life for said misfire, a situation which both are clearly not happy with.
  • It's also heavily implied that his anger also stems from the realization that by killing Sayama's Jūto doppelganger, he indirectly caused the real Sayama's death as well.
• The visible pain in Sonoi and Sonoza's voices and faces when they realize they have to execute Sononi for breaking the laws of the Noto, but just can't. At the very least they admit they have become like her, and that this is what holds them back.

Don-Episode 45: Kakamura, or Gagamura

• When Taro confronts Miho/Crane Juto over the fact that her kin have never done anything wrong, he rightly calls her a hypocrite for causing the rift between Tsuyoshi and Tsubasa (and the Donbrothers by extension) by also impersonating Natsumi as well to further widen that rift. And despite Tsuyoshi's unhealthy obsession for Miho, this suggests that "Miho" doesn't even reciprocate his feelings at all, if anything, only seeing him as a tool, no less.
• The whole truth about Jiro's upbringing and the whole village of Kakamura turned out to be a lie, and the fact that Terasaki is using him to become the guardian of the Forest of Slumbers.
• Terasaki, the Penguin Juto himself, as his human template has only little time left to live and will pass away due to his old age. He himself will also fade away as well.

Don-Episode 46: A Natsumi Night's Dream

• As expected, Jiro doesn't take the truth of Kakamura well. Once Terasaki finally dies, the illusions of his loved ones fade away while encouraging him; the poor boy is left on his knees sobbing. Making things even more tragic is the fact that the sole reason he existed was due to Dangerous Jiro creating him to fit in with them.
• Miho's dead body is left floating down the river, after having been mortally wounded by the Cat Juto, just when she was starting to realize a purpose for herself.

Don-Episode 48: The 9 Donbros

• We see the consequences of Tsubasa's Kibi-Points expenditure as he is now a criminal once more, though now, he is unable to enjoy the life he had earned with Natsumi. Making matters worse, Natsumi remembered the life she had as Miho.
• Jiro, still in his Heroic BSoD, has withdrawn into his memories of happier times, when he was playing Kagome Kagome with his friends.
  • Once Jiro has a major breakdown and cries on the ground, Dangerous Jiro comes out and admits that he too feels sad, but they need to move on.
• Dangerous Jiro effectively giving up his own life to fuse with Jiro.

Don-Episode 49: Last Memories

• During the counting before their training, Kijino sees the tanline of his wedding ring and let out a depressed "five...". Immediately following that Tsubasa looks concerned at Kijino, and Sononi tries to get close to Tsubasa only to be pulled away by Sonoi.
  • Kijino decides to pass on the training because he's preparing to move as his current residency brings sad memories of Miho, Tsubasa hurries after Kijino, followed closely by Sononi.
• Kijino's resignation was a very tearful and yet at the same time heartwarming moment with his boss, who can't see the company the same way without him.
• The police comes to take Tsubasa and he reaches out for Natsumi as if to have her be on the run with him, only for her to silently reject and him be immediately heartbroken while having to run away.
• After confessing to Tsuyoshi that she remembers every moment of her "life" as Miho, including her feelings for him, Natsumi starts to tear up and apologizes, running away.

Don-Episode Final: We Have Made True Bonds

• Turns out that Taro's strange behavior from the previous episode was due to his memories resetting. The other Donbrothers — especially Sonoi — do not take it well.
  • Taro asked Sonoi to help him with the Donbrothers as they have one last oden, by reminding him who they are so he can give words of encouragement, and right on Tsubasa's turn he forgets Sonoi. Sonoi's pained shock says it all.
  • During the oden scene, everyone is showing sadness over Taro losing his memories, but most of them manage to hold it back. Tsuyoshi, on the other hand, is a blubbering mess.
• Don Momotaro giving the gang one final look over his shoulder before being engulfed by the flames.
• Tsubasa letting Natsumi go as he still is unable to tell her everything and so Natsumi leaves him. It visibly saddens Tsubasa that after everything he has gone through in a year to get her back has all been for naught....... Mostly anyways.
• A Happy Tearjerker moment, but the very last scene of the show has Haruka opening the door and meeting none other than Taro. Even after his memories were reset, they manage to find each other again.