The 9 Donbros
Summary
Shinichi: In order to fight Sonoshi's team, Sonoi's group requested to join the Donbrothers.
But shortly thereafter... Don Momotaro was swallowed by a Hitotsu-Ki.
But shortly thereafter... Don Momotaro was swallowed by a Hitotsu-Ki.
The Nōto Trio and Donbrothers have now banded together, but with Taro and Tsuyoshi being captured by Dengeki-ki and Sekai-ki, they now have to find a way to rescue them. Can they save the two before Sonoshi's group get their hands on them?
Meanwhile, Jiro finally makes a decision on how to move forward...
Tropes
- Batman Gambit:
- To save Taro, the others let Sonoi be the last one standing knowing Sonoshi will stop taking the fight seriously when there was only one left.
- Turns out Taro let himself be captured in order for the two teams to start working together.
- Brick Joke: Calling back to the Hypocritical Humor displayed in the previous episode, Sonoroku (who claimed to have standards) starts doing petty crimes like bullying an old lady and sending a random baby through a Portal Door in order to draw out the Donbrothers, drawing ire from his other two colleagues who claim they wouldn't want to be associated with him outside of work.
- Call-Back:
- Miho mentioned that she is Natsumi's dream. This episode shows that she is speaking the truth with Natsumi talking about her dreams as Miho to Tsubasa.
- The show once more references the fact that the Trio are Money Dumb. In this case, it's a small plot-point: Sonoza gets a job to pay off his debt to the cafe.
- Cannot Spit It Out: After learning of Tsubasa's reinstated status as The Most Wanted and Sononi's ambiguous relation to him, Natsumi demands Tsubasa to explain everything to her. He hesitantly refuses to, and instead changes the topic to asking her if she had any memories of being "Miho".
- Dwindling Party: Continuing from the previous episode, the two Hitotsu-Ki absorbs more and more of the heroes until Sonoi is the only one left.
- Engineered Heroics: Heroic example. Taro allowed himself to be absorbed by Sekai-Ki so that the team would be forced to deal with the issue by working with the Noto trio. Tsubasa confronts Taro at the very end of the episode, revealing he'd figured it out.
- Expository Hairstyle Change: When the two Jiros merge, his hairstyle becomes slick backed.
- Failure Gambit: Shinichi, Sononi and Sonoza all get themselves captured in order to lure the Overseers into a false sense of security, allowing Sonoi to defeat Sekai-Ki and Dengeki-Ki and bring the others back. It's later revealed Taro engaged in this first so the bickering factions would have to work together to save everyone else.
- Hates Being Nicknamed: Sonoi decides to dub the new Nōto trio as "Sonoshigoroku". Sonoshi however hates the name.
- He's Back!: After spending the last two episodes in a catatonic state, the two Jiros merge and get back into the fray just in time to join the Donbrothers against the two Hitotsu-Ki.
- Idiot Ball: Tsubasa's reaction to being on the lam again for a crime even he wasn't aware of was to just run away with Sononi's help while dragging Natsumi in-tow rather than clarify the situation with the authorities. This became the start of his strained relationship with Natsumi.
- In the Name of the Moon: The Overseers do their roll call.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Sonoi's disguise as an oden salesman.
- Poor Communication Kills: Justified. Natsumi repeatedly eggs Tsubasa on about what happened while she was away. Tsubasa remains tight-lipped until he asks about Miho. She explains herself, but the Donblaster summons Tsubasa before he can say anything back, leaving Natsumi alone at home.
- Split-Personality Merge: Inverted, as it is Dangerous Jiro — the original personality — who merges with the actual Split Personality, making the latter the dominant and sole persona.
- Status Quo Is God:
- Thanks to Tsubasa's usage of his Kibi-Points, he's wanted by the police for a third time, though what crime he apparently committed is yet to be revealed.
- While he's officially a member of the team, Tsubasa isn't quite on social terms with them yet and once again (this time deliberately) sits out of a situation involving the team dynamic.
- Despite Jiro's Character Development, he remains a team outlier; only gaining acknowledgement from Taro and being strangely absent from the post-battle socializing.
- Theme Song Power Up: The opening song plays during the mecha fight.
- The Reveal:
- Turns out Natsumi had dreams of Miho's life.
- Sonoza's sealing of Don Murasame using manga pages was a deliberate attempt by him to invoke Character Development from the latter.
- Villain Ball: With only Sonoi left as their opposition, the Overseers decide to finish him off while blindfolding themselves. They completely fail to land a hit on him as he makes his way to defeat the Hitotsu-Ki pair.
- Work Off the Debt: Sonoza starts working with Haruka to pay for his meals.
