Serving the Santa Clause
Summary
Ho ho ho!
Sononi: After a chaotic struggle, Don Murasame submitted to Tsubasa Inuzuka.
And then, I proceeded to share with him...
One truth...
...and one lie.
And then, I proceeded to share with him...
One truth...
...and one lie.
The Nōto Trio are eager to settle the score with the Donbrothers once and for all; however, they have a secret duty that must be performed once every year around Christmas. Sonoi tries to open a dialogue with Taro, but they find that they are unable to convey their true intentions to one another.
As it turns out, the aforementioned secret duty apparently involves... dressing up as Santa Claus!? Sonoi, who knows next to nothing about Santa, decides to learn about him. To that end, he decides to ask Taro if he's ever met the jolly Giver of Gifts himself...
Tropes
- Bad Santa: Jolly Old Saint Nick has become so jaded that he’s gifting junk to adults.
- The Bus Came Back:
- Don Momotaro Alter returns after being last seen in episode 32.
- The girl who asks the Donbrothers and the Nōto help in finding Santa happens to be the same girl who found Tsubasa in dog form in episode 23.
- Christmas Episode: Meta-wise, the episode aired a week earlier than the actual date. In-Universe, the episode happens 2 days before it.
- Contrived Coincidence: Kaito somehow knows Santa Claus personally, and provides his current location to the gang when they needed to find him.
- Holiday Ceasefire: The Nōto aren't allowed to fight during Christmas week, which some of them (the Nōto Trio in this case) are supposed to become Santa during that period.
- Missed Him by That Much: As the Donbrothers look to the sky while Santa Claus passes through it, Tsubasa holding the Ninjarksword leaves a place right as Jiro arrives. Had he arrived earlier, he would have likely put two and two together.
- Once More, with Clarity: Taro recalls his meeting with Santa Claus as a kid, but because of his terrible communication skills what we're shown of it was Santa bagging his toys while Shinichi and Haruka inform him that was likely a fraud Santa who robbed his home. His subsequent meeting with Santa reveals on that day Santa was out of toys and needed donations, which Taro agreed to, and they even spent some quality time together playing cards, showing he wasn't the petty thief he was initially implied to be.
- "Shaggy Dog" Story: Despite locating Santa, he's not willing to cooperate, forcing the Donbrothers to chase him down and the Nōto Trio to work out their task without any help besides Taro's short advice.
- Subbing for Santa: The Nōto Trio takes the role of Santa Claus for the week while the Donbrothers handle the real Santa's dilemma as Hikari-Ki.
- Tempting Fate: The Donbrothers express relief at the fact that Hikari-Ki doesn't become a Hitotsu-King, but then Don Murasame becomes overwhelmed by his power and becomes Black Onitaijin Murasame.
- Workout Fanservice: Sononi wears some very short shorts during the Training Montage.
