YMMV / Avataro Sentai Donbrothers

• Accidental Aesop: The show zig-zags between treating the Sanity Slippage from Miho's manipulation and subsequent abandonment of Tsuyoshi seriously and as a joke. However, the apathy displayed toward Tsuyoshi's plight works as a case study of how not to help one cope with trauma. Tsubasa's attempts to reveal Miho's deception are vague and aggressive. No consideration is taken for Tsuyoshi's view on the matter (which his stuborn tendency does not help) nor is the only other party in the know (Taro) willing to get involved. Tsubasa's attempts to get through to the salaryman's addled state are the equivalent of simply telling him to "get over it," which neither helps nor gets the desired information across; only contributing to the duo's bickering...which reaches a boiling-point when Sononi tricks Tsubasa into attacking Miho under the false pretenses of saving Natsumi, causing hostilities. The message sent ultimately becomes: "Helping someone through trauma is never as simple as telling them to get better. It's a process that requires time, empathy, and understanding."
• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • Due to his personality, Taro can be viewed in a lot of ways.
    • Is Don Momotaro actually a Large Ham Sad Clown as a means for Taro to cope with his insecurities? He hardly says anything else beyond the same few Pre Asskicking One Liners, constantly rambles on about wanting a good fight, even willingly putting a few up against his own teammates because their skills are never good enough for him, and his constant laughing can also be seen as a forced Mirthless Laughter. #13 and #16 seem to hint at it being some kind of act, as his referring to the team as "fools" also includes himself for telling Sonoi his weakness to exploit, as well as his denial that he's softening up on the others.
    • Since Jiro has a Split Personality and is also from the Don Clan, could that be the explanation behind how Taro acts when he transforms?
    • On a related note, how genuine are Taro's feelings for his "companions"? As previously stated, he sees nothing wrong with picking fights with the other Donbrothers under the pretext of "training", and he also tends to engage the enemies on his own if possible. Does he even want allies in his battle against the Noto, or is this a similar situation to what Takeru did by intentionally alienating his teammates out of a belief that he isn't comfortable leading them into battle?
    • With the recent revelation in #21 that there have been several generations of Donbrothers before the main cast who used their powers for selfish reasons instead of fighting the Noto, is Taro's attitude towards the current team partially motivated by being let down by his previous companions in battle?
    • He claims to have not known about the previous Donbrothers, is that just him not knowing how many failed or about the previous ones period?
    • Seeing how they haven't interacted at all since the series began and the fact that Taro hasn't really talked about Jin, is their relationship still strong even after Jin became the Guardian of the seal for the Juto?
    • When Taro justifies Jiro's Split Personality on the belief that it will keep the team on their toes, he said he didn't exactly stick up for him before making sure he was from the Don Clan. Given that he is the only other surviving member of the Don Clan, could the only reason Taro is okay with a Wild Card like Jiro in the first place be because he just wants someone else on the team who is like him in a way?
    • Could the reason Taro's so dismissive of Jiro be an awareness that the expressive Jiro was the Split Personality all along and thus didn't feel the need to genuinely interact with him? That could be why he's willing to humor Dangerous Jiro's antagonism as a "training device."
  • Did Jiro always have a Split Personality, or was it a side effect of getting his powers, like the misfortune Haruka, Shinichi, Tsubasa, and Tsuyoshi went through when they got their powers? Since they're both from the Don Clan, does Taro have the same issue? Given that he claims he's always had an "inner voice" telling him to do things, that may have been his Superpowered Evil Side living within him all along.
    • Episode 29 answers this, turns out that Dangerous Jiro was the original personality, and he developed Jiro when he was just a kid so Jiro could be happy with others while the other focused on being the strongest warrior.
• And You Thought It Would Fail: Pre-release, this show had a lot to go against it. It was another anniversary type season marketed as a sequel to Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, with a gimmick similar to another anniversary season which turned off fans along with two rangers whose default forms are in CGI. In addition, the head writer was Toshiki Inoue, who is very controversial in the toku fanbase due to being the head writer of two very controversial Kamen Rider seasons and abusing his Signature Style in other episodes he writes. In the end, Donbrothers has been highly praised as a breath of fresh air for its unique character-driven focus that sets it apart from other seasons, its ability to do something different from the recent Sentai formula, and its sheer insanity, with an added bonus of being the first Sentai in a while to have their toy sale be raised a significant amount since last year. And while many fans agree that the overall story itself is not perfect, it is certainly good enough for Inoue to win back goodwill among fans.
• Angst? What Angst?: While initially shocked, the other Donbrothers don't mention the fact that Tsuyoshi deliberately stopped Taro from saving a Hitotsu-Ki out of spite in later episodes or treat him any differently, even after finding out his identity.
• Arc Fatigue:
  • Despite being built up as a threat since #9, we still don't know anything about the Juto other than their obsession with origami, the fact that they allegedly possess others, and the reveal that Miho is one of them. The Donbrothers don't even know about them for a while, while even Tsubasa, who did encounter a Juto, doesn't even know what it actually is. It doesn't help that out of the six Donbrothers, Tsubasa is the one with the closest connection to them, and he's mostly been Out of Focus for most of the show's run so far. Not only does it take until #27 for their backstory to be revealed, but that's when the Donbrothers finally learn about their existence and subsequent episodes' piecemeal lore about the Juto's existence and Murasame's ties to them. Somewhat deliberate, as an interview revealed that Toshiki Inoue focused on standalone episodes for the summer.
  • Speaking of Tsubasa, a major complaint surrounding the show is how he is the only member of the team to not know anyone else's identities, even more than halfway through the season. While understandable during the beginning, back when all of the Donbrothers were struggling to properly work together, once the team knew each other's identities and formed a solid dynamic, it felt more like the writers were deliberately keeping Tsubasa away to drag out the plotline with Natsumi/Miho as much as they can. A particularly frustrating example of this comes in #31, which blatantly teases Tsubasa finally learning the identities of the other Donbrothers, especially since it took place after #30 where he sees that Miho and Natsumi seemed to be one in the same and thus implies the plotline's conclusion would lead to him joining the Donbrothers proper, only for a series of Inoue's trademark misunderstandings to never follow through on that promise. They finally learn his true identity in #44, and even then, the reveal is treated as an afterthought for a joke.
• Ass Pull:
  • Whenever the Donbrothers display new abilities, they typically tend to come out of nowhere.
    • It was never explained how Taro is able to transform into Don Momotaro Alter in #2, or any of the subsequent upgrades for the form he obtained in later episodes.
    • In #9, Taro randomly displays the ability to transform into his Robotaro state, with no explanation as to how he got the gear needed for the transformation.
    • #10 follows it up with the other four members accessing their Robotaro forms as well with no buildup.
    • #12 takes it even further by having Taro initiate the team's first combination into Don Onitaijin and having no problem controlling it, even though the other four are freaking out from how new their combination is.
    • #39 reveals that transforming into a Donbrother also magically heals whatever injuries they previously had, with no explanation beforehand.
    • The Kibi-Points are this in general. Outside of the fact that the Donbrothers have to earn them by doing good deeds, there is little to no explanation as to where they come from, what their connection to Kaito is, or if the reality-altering abilities used from spending them have any limits.
  • After having taken on some of Taro's personality traits in #32, Sonoi manages to revert back to his old personality after trying some oden. Yes. Seriously.
  • The fact that not just Rumi, but Jiro's entire hometown are merely illusions from the Penguin Jūto for the sole purpose of raising him with little to no foreshadowing may come across as this for some, given how this contradicts previous characterizations of them, such as showing Rumi's interactions with her mother which Jiro wasn't there for and his friends expressing skepticism over him being a legitimate superhero. It also doesn't help that their interactions with him suddenly amount to being a Broken Record after The Reveal about their nature. It turns out this was the case, as Toshiki Inoue hadn't committed to the idea of them being illusions during the early writing stages.
  • #46 has The Ring Of Forgiveness, a MacGuffin that Sonoi uses to free every Hitotsu-Ki host from the Noto's cyber-prison. What makes it this trope is the fact that this not only includes those assumed Killed Off for Real like the insane artist from #8 but the item itself is located in the Jutos' Forest of Slumbers, a place that's downright impractical for an explicitly Noto-owned item to be.
  • Also from #46, we have Goldon Momotaro's light powers being able to destroy the Juto's origami, an ability that was never hinted at prior.
  • Naoki Shiina turning out to be Haruka from the future in #43. While you could argue that there was some foreshadowing like how "Naoki" managed to replicate Haruka's beef stroganoff recipe and that she was the only one to enjoy the movie she helped produce, there was little to no indication that the Kibi-Points could even be used to travel through time, especially since they hadn't been used since #14. The abrupt resolution to this subplot isn't helped by the fact that after Haruka met Naoki in #23, they had no other interactions, and there weren't even any episodes that really focused on Haruka's manga career, giving off the impression that Inoue had to hastily find a way to wrap this story arc up before the final string of episodes.
  • Taro losing his memories in the final episode is this, as like with the Naoki twist, it had little to no buildup, and to many, came across like Inoue was ripping off the finale of Kamen Rider Revice (which this show aired alongside for its first half.)
• Awesome Music:
  • The opening theme, "Ore Koso Only One" ("I am the Only One") by Win Morisaki is a motivational pop song about tackling your problems head-on. It has been noted by many fans to be a very catchy and memorable tune, helped by its incredibly energetic dance.
  • The ending theme, "Don't Boo! Donbrothers!", also by Win Morisaki, mixes traditional instruments and a full orchestra with brassy funk to create a relaxing, yet catchy tune that gets you grooving. Many have even claimed that the song is even better than the opening.
  • And then there's the insert theme, "A Battle World" which has some high energy instruments and Hot-Blooded lyrics to supplant the debut of the remaining four Robotaros.
• Base-Breaking Character: While fans were initially receptive to the first ever male Pink hero, Tsuyoshi has become this overtime. Some find his comedic antics enjoyable and respect the love he has for his wife. Others crititize him for how obsessive he is with his wife, especially when the show keeps going back and forth on whether it should be Played for Laughs or not. The fact that he ends the series a Karma Houdini only adds more fuel to the debates.
• Catharsis Factor:
  • If getting humiliated by a mecha from an up-and-coming series wasn't enough for Tsuyoshi's antics, a 3-on-1 mugging from Sonoshi's team before he gets captured serves as a rude awakening for him. Though this seems to be a cowardly act even for the villains, if you take Tsuyoshi's heinous acts in the name of protecting his wife into account, it's for the best that beatdown is satisfying to watch.
  • The beatdown of the Crane Juuto is visibly brutal to watch, but given the chaos she sowed between Tsubasa and Tsuyoshi, it is a well-deserved punishment.
• Common Knowledge: From the first rumors that the Sixth Ranger was going to have dragon- and tiger-themed forms, Western fans declared that it was a Homage to the first two Sixth Rangers, Dragon Ranger from Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger and Kiba Ranger from Gosei Sentai Dairanger; or in an even more blatant case of Fan Myopia, to Tommy from Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers who was a Composite Character of the two. In reality, Tiger Versus Dragon is a well-established trope and much more likely to be the basis for the theme; and Dragon Ranger and Kiba Ranger/Tommy just happen to play into it by accident.
• Crazy Is Cool: Haruka managing to defeat Don Murasame using a car.
• Crosses the Line Twice: In episode 40, Haruka's terrible driving might have raised a lot of red flags not just from the damage done to her car but also possible collateral and property damage, as well as the likelihood of facing traffic violation-related legal troubles. But running over Don Murasame of all people seems to rule out all of these repercussions purely out of comedy. Haruka's heroic act behind the wheel was enough to convince her driving instructor to give her a license.
• Designated Hero: We're supposed to see Tsuyoshi as a man who cares a lot about his wife, but with how often he gushes over how amazing she is combined with letting Sonoi kill a Hitotsu-Ki who threatened her and later becoming a Hitotsu-Ki himself over a misunderstanding involving her, it makes him come across as obsessive and very selfish, especially since these moments don't get addressed in the show aside from a comedic, Easily Forgiven moment once the latter situation is handled. Not helping things is that he becomes a Hitotsu-Ki again in #33. His betraying Tsubasa by turning him in to the police does little to redeem himself, particularly how he smiles afterward and receives little to no consequences for his actions. After he became a Hitotsu-Ki for the third time in #45, most fans were just wondering why he's still on the team in the first place, given how much trouble he's caused in the name of "his Miho" The fact that he never gets punished for his behavior (which is Played for Laughs most of the time) only makes his actions more frustrating to a lot of fans.
• Epileptic Trees:
  • Fans looking at the trailer and watching the endgame of Zenkaiger speculate that the alternative Kaito in question is the Creator of Worlds that appears near the end of Zenkaiger, especially given the final form he possessed was Kaito's. This isn't helped by how he utilizes the Kibi-Points since he essentially warps reality to make their wish come true as shown with Haruka's wish in #10.
    • With the reveal that the Jūto are face stealers, many fans alternatively believe this Kaito is actually a Penguin Jūto who stole the original Kaito's looks, based on his monochrome color motif.
  • Since Momoko Arata plays both Miho Kijino, Tsuyoshi's wife, and Natsume, Tsubasa's girlfriend. Many fans wonder if they are either the same person under different aliases or related to each other in some kind of way. This becomes a lot spicier when it's revealed Miho is a Juto, an identity-stealing monster.
  • Some fans have theorized that if a Hitotsu-Ki based on King-Ohger were to appear, Minoru Ohno would be its host. #49 proved them right.
  • While it isn't confirmed, the Imagine Spot of Taro's colors fading to white after his memory reset according to Kaito has many fans theorise that the same had happened to the latter and is the origin of Zenkaizer Black.
• Fan Nickname:
  • Fans have come to call the Kaito Goshikida of this series "Alternate/A.R. Kaito", to differentiate him from the original. Others also call him "Goth Kaito", "Bully Kaito" or — owing to his lack of the original Zenkaizer's Rainbow Motif — "Straight Kaito". One such nickname, given his more serious tone, is "Dark Zenkaiger".
  • With the reveal that Dangerous Jiro is Jiro Momotani's true personality, Normal!Jiro has been referred to by fans as "Outer Jiro", and Dangerous Jiro as "Inner Jiro".
  • "Kaiser Don Onitaijin" for GolDon Onitaijin, due to its comparisons with Kaiser Gridknight. As both have a golden avian mecha that acts as the chestpiece and helmet — Goldburn and Omikoshi Phoenix, respectively.
  • Some fans have taken to calling the Jūto copies of Tsubasa and Taro "Jūbasa" and "Jūtaro" respectively.
• Fanon:
  • Even though canon never states it, many fans nevertheless like to believe that the Nouto trio are actual siblings, with the number in their names indicating their order of birth.
  • Fans tend to chronologically place the Donbrothers Spin-Off: This is the Donbrothers' Roll Call! short right after episode 44, following Tsubasa's long-awaited Internal Reveal as Inu Brother to the team. This is despite the inconsistencies it presents as a non-canon spinoff, such as the exclusion of Jiro as he was not introduced yet when the short was produced.
• Fan-Preferred Couple:
  • Despite Tsubasa's canon relationship with and devotion to Natsumi, a lot of fans would rather he end up with Sononi. It helps that Tsubasa and Sononi have good chemistry together and that the situation with the Crane Juuto impersonating Natsumi/Miho makes the relationship between her, Tsubasa, and Tsuyoshi very complicated. The plot thickens when Sononi begins to actually fall for Tsubasa and begins plotting to kill off Natsumi. Fans rejoiced at the end when Tsubasa and Sononi became an Outlaw Couple after the former lets Natsumi go.
  • As noted in Ho Yay below, Tarou and Sonoi are essentially considered official by most fans. It helps that the amount of Ship Tease between them is at a ridiculous level, and they're frequently compared to Takumi and Yuji, another Fan-Preferred Couple in a series also written by Toshiki Inoue.
• Friendly Fandoms: The series' fanbase has a mostly comedic relationship with Spy X Family fans, particularly after a Don Momotaro parade float accidentally downs one depicting Anya. The interaction between the two is primarily making jokes about the incident.
• Harsher in Hindsight: While the Noto are convinced that the Don Clan must not survive due to their various destructive efforts at peace, Terasaki's last moments revealed that the members of the clan had dedicated themselves to ensure no Juto escapes the forest of slumbers... meaning that the Noto were responsible for letting the Juto loose by killing the original guardians.
• He Really Can Act:
  • #22 shows that Hirofumi Suzuki's range isn't just limited to "meek salaryman". The fact that he's also capable of portraying someone sliding off the slippery slope in later episodes helps, too.
  • Furthering Kiita Kogamine's Zenkaiger examples is how he manages to fully convey how this Kaito is completely different from the original, which is made much more prominent when the two are put side-by-side in the team-up film.
• Hilarious in Hindsight:
  • Taro is revealed to have a royal lineage as one of the surviving heirs of the Don Clan. The next season has royalty as one of its main themes.
  • Tsuyoshi's antics involving him and Miho led to fans comparing him to Masato Kusaka; come the show's endgame arc, we have Kusaka's actor Kohei Murakami himself appearing as Sonoya.
  • When the final episode of Kamen Rider Revice aired, Donbrothers had a Recap Episode. Then, when it came time for them to air their final episode, Revice's succeeding show had a Recap Episode.
  • Speaking of Revice, fans compared Jiro's Split Personality character arc to Daiji's own personal character arc regarding Kagero. Not only does his arc culminate in a Split-Personality Merge not unlike Daiji and Kagero's Fusion Dance final form, but also the final episode deals with Taro losing his memories, something that the endgame of Revice dealt with too with its main character. What makes it eerie is what happens in Kamen Rider Geats, in which its final episode borrows a lot of plot elements from Donbrothers' final episode, specifically the final boss killing and using the powers of a late game antagonist, the heroes and rivals finally uniting into a single team, and the main character disappearing from the group after the final battle.
  • After seemingly defeating Taro in #32, Sonoi tries to recruit Haruka, Shinichi, and Tsuyoshi into the Noto as a "reserve force". Towards the end of the series, Sonoi, Sononi, and Sonoza eventually become members of the Donbrothers
• Ho Yay:
  • Taro and Sonoi have effectively gone on dates, add to that the tension between them, and this one line in their joint character song. It's to the point that almost everyone in the fandom agrees that they are boyfriends.
    Should I take your hand? Or take your life?
  • Kaito and his "True Rival" from the Donburies special (who is basically the Donbrothers equivalent to Stacy) interact in such a way that they might as well be old lovers rather than rivals. The fact that the B-plot of Haruka trying to find out who wrote what she assumed was a love letter was caused by True Rival dropping a letter from Kaito just adds fuel to the fire.
• I Knew It!:
  • Many viewers guessed correctly that Tsuyoshi/Kiji Brother would become a Hitotsu-Ki after he caused the death of Mashin-Ki.
  • Similarly, viewers' guesses that part of Toshiki Inoue's Signature Style involving a Love Triangle would be included in the series would be confirmed in #34.
  • Several viewers were correct in their theory that Naoki Shiina is actually another version of Haruka.
  • Quite a few fans guessed correctly that Minoru Ohno would be the host for Ohsama-Ki.
• It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: The reveal that the Donbrothers' Avataro Gears allow them to Avatar Change into past Super Sentai warriors, just like in Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger, has led some fans to disappointingly call it a "Gokaiger ripoff".
• Just Here for Godzilla:
  • The announcement that Toshiki Inoue would be writing the show has definitely piqued some fans' interest, despite the controversy around him, as many are curious just what he'll pull off with Donbrothers' unique premise.
  • The participation of an alternate version of Kaito brought the curiosity of many to give the show a look.
  • The introduction of a much older Happily Married adult as a warrior, and given the traditionally female pink as his color, brought on an even older Periphery Demographic curious about the portrayal of the character having to juggle his adult matters, familial responsibilities, and being a superhero in what is usually seen as a kids' show.
• Love to Hate: Sonoshi is an effeminate and tyrannical enforcer of the Noto who browbeats any Noto member who they deem not living to their clan's standards. They solely exist being a nuisance for both heroes and villains alike is what makes them entertaining to watch.
• Memetic Badass: Due to his being the host to multiple Hitotsu-kis, Minoru Ohno has gained quite a reputation as this, with many declaring him to be Taro's true rival rather than Jiro or Sonoi. Some have even joked that he'd single-handedly win the Desire Grand Prix if he were a participant.
• Memetic Mutation: See here.
• Most Wonderful Sound: The ham-tastic announcements of the Ryukonogeki, courtesy of none other than Romi Park, ensure that the Geartlinger has some competition in the fiery-voiced Transformation Trinket department.
  (in spear mode) "Dra-Dra-Dragon! Dra-Dra-Dragon! (Jiro fires, techno music) CHOU ICHI RYU! ACHOOOOOOOOO~!!"
  (in axe mode) "Ti-Ti-Tiger! Ti-Ti-Tiger! (Jiro fires, techno music) EX TORA! HOACHOOOOOOOOO~!!"
  • The Donbrothers' own equipment isn't something to sneeze at either, as the announcements by Daiki Hamano instead focus more on being utter earworms. The catchy and fun beats of the background tracks also help a great deal.
  • Adding the Omikoshi Phoenix to the Donblaster only increases the catchiness, as the standby music that follows could easily be played at a wild party on its own.
• Narm: Just about any scene with InuBrother and KijiBrother transformed in them given how poorly animated their CG models are and how obvious it is that they aren't actually making contact with the live-action world around them. Fights scenes especially, particularly when it's InuBrother, as his movements don't quite sync up to the live-action enemies he's fighting.
• Retroactive Recognition: Soko Wada (Jin Momoi) previously portrayed the HumaGear Will/Another Zero-One in Kamen Rider: Reiwa the First Generation.
• The Scrappy: Jiro has slowly become this to fans. Like with Tsuyoshi, any good will he earned during his debut arc quickly faded, as he has been shown to be a very selfish man who is only there just to make Taro look better by comparison, to say nothing about his evil Split Personality. The fact that he was able to know the identies of the other Donbrothers long before Tsubasa, a core member of the team, was didn't help things either. While Jiro did get a little better towards the end as he made peace with Dangerous Jiro, it only led to him becoming a massive Control Freak when he became team leader during the events of the team-up movie.
• Shocking Moments:
  • In #8, Tsuyoshi disrupting Taro's Finishing Move against Mashin-Ki at the last moment, allowing Sonoi to swoop in and kill the Hitotsu-Ki.
  • Episode 11 ends with Miho creepily folding crane origami that cuts off the end theme, showing that she too is a Juto.
  • Episode 13 ends with Taro straight up being killed by Sonoi, with the sixth Ranger being set to take his place as the team's leader.
  • Episode 29 hits the audience with The Reveal that Dangerous Jiro is the original personality, not just the Superpowered Evil Side of Jiro.
  • Episode 34 sees another one from Tsuyoshi, who not only betrays Tsubasa by turning him in to the police, he actively smirks deviously after he does so. The man may be a loving husband and he may have been justified in acting against Tsubasa "stealing away" Miho (being Locked Out of the Loop about what happened to Natsumi), but this is a sign that he's taking the situation way too far and enjoying it in the process.
  • Tsuyoshi continues to deliver these in episode 37, the end of which shows that he's fallen so far off the deep end he starts to talk to a DOLL as if it's his actual wife.
  • Episode 39 sees a break from Tsuyoshi for once when it comes to these moments, this time coming from Jiro, who at the end of the episode leaves behind origami. And not just any origami- an origami PENGUIN.
  • The 43rd episode reveals that Haruka's Sitcom Arch-Nemesis, Naoki Shiina, is a version of herself from an Alternate Timeline.
  • Episode 45 reveals that the entire population of Jiro's hometown, including his girlfriend, were all illusions, and the only physical person still there is his adoptive father, a Juto imposter. Who is a PENGUIN JUTO.
  • The penultimate episode sees Minoru Ohno once again become a Hitotsu-ki. A KING-OHGER Hitotsu-ki.
• Special Effects Failure:
  • The CG used for KijiBrother and InuBrother stick out like a sore thumb whenever they're up against a live-action background. The ways they contort and move also look awkward as they don't have the same weight as the live-action characters. InuBrother even has trouble with his arms clipping through his head due to his mocap forgetting to account for that. The fact that there were usable suits made for certain closeup shots and the tie-in stage shows only raises further questions as to why either of them were fully CGI in the first place.
    • A particularly egregious example comes in Episode 7. When all five Donbrothers are trapped in a classroom by Chikyuu-Ki, KijiBrother is noticeably smaller compared to the others, including InuBrother, and his abnormally long legs don't even reach the floor. The awkward movements and jitterings were made even more obvious with the closeups. His corrected proportions after standing up suggests that his body was actually meant to have been positioned farther back than the others to make space in front for his legs, but his chair wasn't positioned appropriately to reflect that, making it look like he had shrunk while sitting.
  • When Kenji Sayama is viciously eating in #10, the food almost dislodges the prop fangs from his mouth.
  • #27 features a closeup◊ of Sonoza which mistakenly uses the helmet used for action sequences instead of the one normally used for regular ones. As a result, his suit actor's right eye is clearly visible.
  • #32's Mecha fight scene between Toradora Onitaijin and the Black Onitaijin Murasame took a swan dive in CG quality compared to Mecha fights in the previous episodes. Unfortunately, this is a continuing trend for whenever the latter appears on screen.
• Spoiled by the Format: Episodes featuring extended sequences of the Don Momotaro Alter or the Robotaro forms have a significantly reduced chance of having a Make My Monster Grow and subsequent Giant Mecha battle, as the Alter mecha and Robotaro fights already satisfies the Once an Episode requirement of a mecha-based battle.
• Surprisingly Improved Sequel: To Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger, it is much more refined with the comedy compared to Zenkaiger and adding drama and character focus really makes it more balanced as well. Even with the story, it is much more well received and many fans wished that the show could continue a little while longer, with fans praising it as one of the most unique Sentai series in recent memories, if not of all time.
• Tainted by the Preview:
  • Just the reveal of the name was enough to put off some fans for how weird and different it sounds from anything that's come before.
  • The rumor and eventual confirmation that InuBrother and KijiBrother would be animated in CG rather than live action earned some controversy, even before the show began, as CG in Toku is notorious for looking bad. This was not mitigated when previews were released and showed a rather uncanny way their CG models look against the live-action background, For one, their CG models don't have shadows.
  • A combination of the above, plus the fact that this series is a sequel to the very campy Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger have made quite a number of detractors turn away over the potential amount of camp humor that might be carried over.
  • The announcement that Toshiki Inoue would be penning the show, writing for Sentai for the first time in over thirty years, earned mixed reception from fans given how divisive his work during the later Heisei era has been received (though his Sentai work, even his more recent ones, has often been more well-received than his Rider work, allowing some to keep their hopes up). But what really set this one off is the producer, much like what happened with Zenkaiger, is also Shinichiro Shirakura, who, along with Toshiki Inoue, was the production team for Kamen Rider Hibiki's controversial second part, causing many fans to be extremely cautious.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Character:
  • Many fans felt that Don Murasame was criminally underused, especially in the latter half of the series. With the reveal that he was one of the few things that could destroy a Juto, you'd think that he would play a major role in the Juto subplot in #46. Instead, it's Taro/GolDon Momotaro who ultimately defeats the Juto; to add insult to injury, beforehand Tsubasa/Inu Brother was just about to summon Murasame, only to be stopped by Taro. It also does not help that the subplots of him questioning his purpose as a mere weapon for the Noto and his friendship with Jiro end up (apparently) abandoned halfway through. Even worse is that Murasame spends a long time off screen between one episode and the finale, making his decision to "follow his heart's desire" in the latter episode come off as incredibly rushed.
  • The show hypes up the Juto as the threat-to-end-all-threats, but sans the occasional cameo of the Crane Juto (whose scheming is confined to Kiji and Inu Brother's side-stories) and "Kenji Sayama," (who only seriously attacks Tsubasa once, the rest of his cameos mostly leading to mindless chases) they do remarkably little. The Juto remain little more than distant background threats for the show's first half and other than the Noto's brief attempt to invoke Enemy Mine in #30 that saw Haruka's aunt kidnapped, the cast doesn't seem to care that they're even around; not helped by the show using Miho to invoke Gray-and-Gray Morality with a species that, unlike the Noto trio, have been universally hostile up to this point. Because of this, Taro keeps everything related to her and the Juto a secret from the others, ensuring the Juto can continue to infiltrate society and everybody's too apathetic to look into it (contributing to Kiji and Inu Brother's growing hostility in the process). By the time the Juto are allowed to have a role in the story, it's filtered through a Non-Action Big Bad Anti-Villain that never gets to fight (and only interacts with Jiro, the character he's most connected to, once) whose scheme is ruined the moment it's revealed. The Juto are ultimately done in by what amounts to a taunt and they never come up after, putting the entire faction to waste in a show penned by a writer whose Signature Style they seem practically tailor-made for.
  • Despite being one of the show's biggest selling points originally, and having a lot of intrigue at the beginning, the backstory of this version of Kaito and his connection to the Zenkaigers is NEVER explained in the series. Most of the time, the show falls back on saying how mysterious he is without setting up any clues to who he really is, and playing the fact that nobody knows the truth as a joke.
  • Likewise, even though he's connected to Taro, Jin does very little as a mentor. He rarely gives any advice to the Donbrothers (most likely because it can justify one of Inoue's favorite tropes), and compared to past Sentai mentors, doesn't get to do much to advance the plot thanks to being forced to guard the Juto's seal.
• They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot:
  • Very little is done to justify the connection to the Momotarō folk tale, outside of a handful of references.
  • Even though the first episode established the Noto are hiding throughout society and the Donbrothers' sunglasses are the only way to see through the illusion, this plot is quickly dropped. It doesn't help that the same idea is used for the Juto, and that aspect was just as underutilized for them.
  • It is never explained why the Hitotsu-Ki featured in this show are themed after past Sentai seasons, or what their connection to the Donbrothers' gears is.
  • The Reveal in #29 that Jiro's Split Personality is the real Jiro sets up the idea that the two halves frequently clash. The show all but drops this dynamic after that point; the halves barely interact at all sans minor gags. The social side goes dark for a time for the sake of a Red Herring while the Dangerous side only interfaces with the team once to bring Taro to Kaito for the Omikoshi Phoenix surgery (though he does join in on a few clashes, which nobody seems to notice). The last time the halves interact in any meaningful way is #48 for a Split-Personality Merge, which itself glosses over the trauma Jiro faced from discovering that his friends were all illusions - something that should've been significant to both sides. They never even get to confront their adoptive father figure, who created the aforementioned illusory friends as a plot to groom Jiro to be a Penguin Juto replacement. Instead, he ends up being a non-violent antagonist Taro deals with.
  • The show frequently references what a Mean Boss Taro is, but never really takes this idea anywhere outside of jokes. During the final string of episodes, Future!Shinichi and Tsubasa both confront the man at different points about his arrogance and tendency to treat his "companions" like tools, but Taro actively deflects the criticism and the show itself abandons the concept for a forced memory-wipe instead.
  • Emphasis is placed on Tsuyoshi's declining mental state during the show's second half, but it's only hesitantly integrated into the story. Most of Tsuyoshi's emotional episodes are Played for Laughs and the two dramatic moments that do result from them^note Him using a doll as a Replacement Goldfish for an absent Miho at the end of #37 and his battle with Tsubasa in #44 thanks to Sononi's misguided attempts to gain Tsubasa's love by getting Miho and Natsumi murdered end up virtually unnoticed by the cast at-large, who treat Tsuyoshi as a moody nuisance they have No Sympathy for (not helped by the man's inherent stubbornness). What was set up like a Mental Health Recovery Arc is instead downplayed to oblivion; forced to end using Taro's inability to lie to cram down an Awful Truth and ultimately capped with an Imagine Spot for the sake of a joke. And to make things worse, Tsuyoshi never gets any comeuppance for his actions throughout the series, and even ends up with Natsumi/Miho in the finale, while Tsubasa is still forced to go on the run, making his efforts to avoid the police in the name of the girl he loves amount to nothing.
• Unexpected Character:
  • While there were hints that Kikai Sentai Zenkaiger would be involved in some way due to this series serving as a sequel to the former, no one expected Kaito Goshikida here to be a separate Identical Stranger who transforms into a black variant of Zenkaizer.
  • In a similar vein to DonZenkaiOh, King-Ohger, the main giant robo of the next series, appearing almost a whole month after its initial reveal and before its home series even released a teaser, a move that took almost everyone out of left-field.
  • Absolutely nobody expected HAKAIZER to return in the teamup film with the Zenkaigers.
  • The most recent addition to the series' catalog, Donburies, introduces a version of Stacey similar to the Donbrothers Kaito. Fans only learned of him after the special dropped.
• Unfortunate Character Design: While the peach has long been associated with the Momotaro myth, and its iconography is very common in Japan, the inverted design used for the Don Momotaro suit has been compared by many to resemble a pair of testicles on his head.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • Taro is meant to be someone who for all his talents and feats, lacks the social skills to properly lead the team or interact with society as a whole. The problem is that he shows little to no remorse whenever he upsets people with his Brutal Honesty, and never listens to any advice to improve himself. Even when he's called out as a terrible leader, the episodes focusing on this usually have his teammates learn a lesson instead of him, and he never really learns to be a better leader outside of showing the slightest respect for the other Donbrothers.
  • As mentioned under Designated Hero, Tsuyoshi's dedication to his wife borders on obsession, and all of the terrible things he's done in her name are never called out by the other characters. It doesn't help that he ends the series as a complete Karma Houdini, starting his relationship with Natsumi while Tsubasa is still forced to go on the run for a crime he didn't commit.
• Visual Effects of Awesome: Despite only appearing four times in the series, any appearance by DonZenkaiOh is almost immaculately animated, blending shockingly well with the traditional props and costumes of typical sentai productions.
• Win Back the Crowd: Donbrothers became this for Toshiki Inoue as its unique premise and the more character-driven storyline make it stand out among the more recent Sentai shows. It helps that many fans are reevaluating his work and realize that his style of writing fits better towards Super Sentai than Kamen Rider.
• The Woobie:
  • Haruka's entire life is uprooted and messed up beyond repair in the space of the first episode where she gets accused of plagiarizing her popular manga, gets basically thrown out of her high school, and then forcibly drawn into the conflict when the gear refuses to leave her alone. While you can roll your eyes at how stubborn she is for not seeing Taro Momoi as Don Momotaro (since Jin isn't giving her the information she needs) she's had her entire life ruined and can only trust the first person she sees (both of which have tried to kill her by the way) all while having a narrative that's part-obliviousness and part-coping mechanism for how everything has turned south. One just wants to give her a hug and tell her things are going to be okay. Even when she gets to live her happy normal life in episode 10, she doesn't feel satisfied with it and then realizes that someone else has to take her place— one that was unable to handle the trauma like Haruka did — and Haruka realizes that her selfish wish has horrible repercussions.
  • While Tsubasa's personality and aggressive nature leave much to be desired, his backstory can make people unable to do anything but sympathize. His getting betrayed by his own teammate and friend does little to help matters. Given even more of this status when he gets branded as a fugitive for the third time and his relationship with Natsumi becomes strained to the point she breaks up with him making his efforts All for Nothing. Thankfully he still has a devoted Sononi by his side at the end.
  • Jiro. The poor guy was just created to make friends with other villagers... only for the villagers to be revealed to be illusions, just to manipulate him into becoming the successor for a PENGUIN JUTO. After everything blows down and they vanish, Jiro gets so depressed he begins sobbing hard enough to entice just about anyone watching into hugging him.
• Woolseyism:
  • Done by the series itself. "Matsuri/祭り" traditionally translates to "festival", but given the series' heavy use of the English term "party" in its Ending Theme and equipment's Calling Your Attacks it's highly likely meant to be translated as the latter term in the series context.
  • Over-Time spells Taro's name as "Tarou" to differentiate him uniquely from all the other "Taro"s that Haruka encounters on her mission to find him.
  • Over-Time renames the Nōto/Note as "Cerebrans", based on the original kanji's meaning of "Brain People". Similarly, the Jūto are named "Beastials" after their original kanji's meaning of "Beast People".
  • Oni Sister's transformation announcement = This Oni's gonna club you!^note The phrase in Japanese is derived from an idiom that is difficult to translate into English; Over-Time thus went with a play on Oni Sister's weapon.
  • Saru Brother and Inu Brother's transformation announcements are based on puns on Japanese animal onomatopoeia; Over-Time translates them accordingly to their English equivalents:
    • Saru Brother = 'ook at the pecs!
    • Inu Brother = Arf you ready?
  • Over-Time translates Inu Brother's roll call, "Nigeashi Number Wan!"^note Literally "Number one/woof at escaping" as "The fastest getaway alive!", as a nod to the fandom joke about Inu Brother looking like a Sonic the Hedgehog character.

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