Avataro Sentai DonBrothers Episode 3- "Light Thief!" Discussion
 

A young man named Shinichi with a penchant for haiku picks up a smartphone and becomes the newest hero.

Don Momotarou shows his serious side and he can be pretty scary when he's not allowed to have fun. After Sononi murders Kurokuma, breaking one of his treasured bonds, it vexes him so much that he becomes hyper-focused on fighting her and continues to fight his own teammates even after she retreats. The only consolation is getting the Lupinranger Avatarou Gear, but otherwise this episode is a win for the Noto. It's an intriguing conflict, where both sides are fighting the same enemy, but the difference is whether than enemy is seen as a monster to be destroyed or a person to be saved.

Kito learns an important moral about prejudice here, that you should learn to understand someone first before judging them. Not everybody is like a manga or anime protagonist, with "hero" resounding in their every action. The Donbrothers are heroes, but they're also just random guys. Kito inadvertently sabotaged her quest to find Tarou by limiting her search to her specific criteria and she would have learned his identity sooner if she wasn't so quick to dismiss him as civilian. I do pity her getting kicked again after accepting her mistake, but it was probably a bad idea to swear fealty when Don Momotarou was ticked off like that. Would make a great humorous GIF though!

I dislike the ToQGer Avatar Change and ToQ Alter Change, but I was expecting it, so I can't be too annoyed. The Alter gimmick in general continues to seem superfluous though, as there's probably other ways Tarou could've stopped that car without risking a road accident by abandoning the wheel.

About that, is Tarou actually a competent leader? He seems reluctant to communicate any of his tactics to the others and mostly leaves them to figure everything out on their own. I'm not sure how they're all supposed to come together as a real team when he's so flighty like this. He even leaves a fight after morphing just so he can make a cooler entrance on his CGI motorcycle. It's good that he has such high spirits, but for the sake of the team, maybe he should also learn a little restraint.

Saruhara is smart, cool, strong and even kind to kids. He's got a great personality so far! Some of his quirks like not believing in money might get him in trouble as not all business owners are generous like Kaito or care about haikus, but I appreciate his desire to want to give something more unique and profound to people than mere paper and metal with arbitrary value. I'm not picking favorites until I get more information about Inuzuka outside his bio, but it's currently between Saruhara and Kijino.

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Haruka isn't even the character I most want to talk about this week, and it'd probably be nice to have more variety in my choice of screencaps than either Oni Sister, the last shot of the episode, or both at once, but darn it, she's just too good. I couldn't make it anything else! I already praised Kousuke Asai for being an exceptionally expressive suit actor this show is lucky to have, but I've also learned from paying excessive amounts of attention to her in Zenkaiger that Ayumi Shimozono is also really freakin' good at what she does, and Donbrothers has only cemented that even further. Haruka has been a great character so far because of how human and relatable she feels, and as Oni Sister, all of that vulnerability comes across in a way that's also so delightfully comical, on top of everything. Her sheer exasperation and confusion at all the madness she gets caught up in has consistently been a joy to watch. I kind of hope people never stop kicking Haruka around, as rude as that is to say! There's just something so charming about a tokusatsu hero who doesn't really behave anything like a tokusatsu hero, and hey, if that's what I think, then Donbrothers is definitely a show for me, huh?

And of course, I don't want to downplay how good I feel Haruka's writing still is, either. Everything with her here was fantastic, and I especially loved how you can tell seeing another person get erased is what motivates her to put aside her natural distaste for Tarou and bow down to him. Her refusal to acknowledge the obvious truth for most of the runtime is classic Inoue, especially because complaining about things like her cutting Tarou off before he says his name misses how all of those things are properly grounded in character.

Oh, and speaking of Tarou! He's the one I actually thought I'd be talking about right away! Inoue is building a character here who truly feels one of a kind. For one thing, I just wanna say how much I love that his day-job is specifically as a deliveryman? You don't come to Tarou; Tarou comes to you. Like, it's the simplest thing, but that's what makes it such a perfect choice for his character. It's exactly the kind of occupation Tarou would take, as someone who wants to put himself out there and proactively make connections with as many people as possible. Without the show even elaborating on it much, it's already easy to imagine how much his line of work means to him, and why.

So to have the show elaborate on that anyway, and to do it by giving him a one-off rival character who abuses that same noble profession for evil? Man, I was so down for this plot! You know Sononi is evil because she denied us the chance for a potential series-long conflict between those two! ...Okay, obviously you probably couldn't squeeze *that* much out of this idea, but between the fun concept for a central conflict, and Haruka shadowing Tarou throughout a day in his life, this episode did a fantastic job giving us in a window into Tarou's mysterious worldview. And it really is mysterious! Tarou is a weird guy, and the very end, with him basically going nuts, definitely reflects that. There's so much about how he thinks that seems inherently unknowable, but it's hard not to trust the guy at the same time, because he's so clearly got strong values. There's no sense of affectation to his upstanding attitude. When he's talking about how he doesn't hit people, or how he has to drive careful because of the fragile goods in the back of the car, or whatever else, he always says it all in a downplayed manner that makes for a huge contrast with his bravado as Don Momotaro. It's not about making excuses, or impressing people, or whatever else; these are just the facts of how he lives, and Tarou would never tell a lie.

Donbrothers is just a really interesting show, basically! Haven't even mentioned Shinichi yet, but rest assured, he also leaves an impact too. Everybody in Donbrothers does. These are all wonderful characters I'm excited to follow for a year, and that year has only barely started.

The ending to this one felt like it came so suddenly because I was expecting a giant robot fight. But truth is, this show is so good I'm always sad for the episode to come to an end. There's still so much I want to know about all the members of the team, and even these other heroes. Oh and Zenkaiger! The mystery continues to build and I'm here for the ride.

Haruka was an extra bratty teenager she deserved that kick.

I can't wait to find out what made Momoi Tarou run away from home

Episode 3...

-Shinichi!! Seems to have fallen to the same bad luck as the rest of the Donbrothers, but taking it the best? The whole "advice exchange for food" seems like a excellent deal for him, but I wonder how he keeps the lights on...?

-Speaking of lights! Haruka and Taro are on a hunt today for a light thief! I think it's a real nice contrast, Shinchi taking the bad luck in stride while Haruka's frusturations with her situation have cause her to not see what's in front in her!

-Sononi! Not the kind of person I'd thought she might be, honestly? She enjoys seeing a person reach a peak of their desire before killing them, like a cat playing with their food. Bit unsettling, isn't it? I'm sure her "I'd love to see what you look like under there", hints at something abt Taro, I'm sure of it.

-That kick, huh? I think I might understand why Don Momotaro rejected Haruka's plea with a legit reason.....but then again, Don Momotaro is an enigma. He could have just felt like it, and not much else?

Anyway, Donbros continues to be good! Excited to see next episode!

Well this show continues to the absolutely fantastic, to my sheer surprise.

Props to Saru Brother's suit actor though, did not expect the ape movements at all.

I have to agree with this. I didn't care for the Alter Combination cause it felt like the Alter Normal could've stopped a car without ToQger Power (to say nothing of the inherent risks you take when blowing out someone's tire)!

The ToQ Avatar Change was even more pointless. If they could instead summon Legend Rangers or their weapons like in Zenkaiger, then it would make a mild degree of sense (but it could potentially inhibit the point of an "Avatar").

Still trying to accept the lack of constant Mecha Battles, but I suppose they're more impactful when they don't happen.

DonBro Kaito needs to do more than give one-liners before I accept this new iteration.

Like I've said before, I really think Inoue is not writing any mecha or CGI-based fight scenes at all and Toei is just shoehorning them in where he writes [insert combat here]. He is here for the characters and the relationships!

You could remove all the Momotaro Alter scenes and they would not make a difference. Which is not necessarily a bad thing. This is already a very strong and enjoyable story just 3 episodes in.

There are some fun practical effects with OniSister and it kinda makes me remember why I love tokusatsu so much.

Just gotta pipe in and say how much I’m LOVING the hell out of this show.

After reading some of the supplemental material that Shirakura puts out every week, I’m really interested in this idea that they’re using the Sentai stuff as a metaphor for online interactions. This is very intriguingly demonstrated with Momoi Tarou’s radically different personalities when in costume and out. We all have a tendency to become different people when we’re hidden behind the mask of our online avatars, right?

There are Big Themes in play here, and I am so excited I get to watch this show every week for a whole year.

So, that bit where OniSister and SaruBrother call each other a gorilla and rabbit is totally a reference to Go-Busters right? Or am I just too obsessed with my first Sentai?

On a more serious note I am loving this show, but I still haven't gotten used to the cgi for InuBrother and KijiBrother. Maybe one day it'll stop bothering me...

Expect one in a blue moon like stacy mecha summoning spamrangers clones shadow whatever you call it. Kaito probably film his scenes in bulk in cafe set in a toei studio. Most toku actors grad in to mainstream tv movies music etc. after they gain fame. He's probably busy. Like tiga and kuuga actors in early day their manager distance them from toku. However, in recent years toei trues establish some form continuity via versus crossover taisen spinoff. Kaito might do one big thing and disappear until mid to late season or the summer movie / next year vs.

The toqger bit is like zemkai gear tribute from last year. More eloborate and pointless aside from using gear from last week. This week gear will be used next. Kaito feellike secret commander since he gain a gear the resr will. There is an argument to be made if momoi currently knows about his adopted dad and zenkai black mecha summon. Kaito would make a move after all 5 rangers get close and prett much hang under one roof in his cafe with their own mecha. Curious is inoue creativity change or will he go down a path of bad ending aside from kiva. Very inoue to distance 5 rangers of all different background. It is a surprise yellow learn about red id already. Usually he would pull stretch it out for a whole quarter in riders like faiz and kiva.

We're on Episode 3, I think this time is best spent fleshing out the new characters rather than focusing on older ones. And considering it's Inoue we're talking about.....we might not get anything about him or what his deal is for a long time. It's best to be patient, yknow?

(Oh and I think I talked about it last week but while he hasn't done much, this Kaito is already interesting due to how he contrasts our Kaito and is a foil to Haruka.)

Tarou got real lucky, cause he could've ended up with a higher bodycount than the Noto if he screwed up.

And yeah, even disregarding my bias against ToQGer, the way the Avatar Changes are used so far doesn't have the same situational usefulness that Zenkaiger had, where Secchan would use tactics to determine what Gear they should use. The Donbrothers just seem to Avatar Change whenever they feel like it and that's not so great. Even the Ryusoulger Avatar Change only shows off the swordsmanship, when it would have been cooler to see them try out some Ryusouls.

Understandable.

That's - kind of awesome actually. I didn?t get this angle yet, but it makes a lot of sense, I did wonder why Don Momotaro was acting the way he does when Tarou himself doesn't act wild like this at all.

Same. It's probably the strongest start for a Sentai show that I personally have seen yet.

I mean, I could certainly be reading too much into Shirakura's commentary, but I think I'm picking up what they're laying down. :lol

It's kind of weird. I definitely think this is one of the strongest sets of opening Sentai episodes I've seen (and that is... a lot).

But it's also so different from most Sentai that it almost seems unfair to judge it the way I would something like, I dunno, Flashman or Gokaiger. Those are shows with very strong starts, but they operate in a more "this is classic Sentai" kind of way.

Donbrothers is doing something new and far more character-driven (and dare I say, a bit more Kamen Rider-y) than what Sentai usually attempts. That novelty is definitely contributing to my appreciation for these eps, but I dunno... aside from the aesthetics, it almost feels like a new team-based super hero show.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all... I straight up think these may be the best written and directed first-three episodes of Sentai ever, and I think they capture the spirit of Sentai if not the form. It's just hard to compare them to other Sentai openers when they're not really playing in the same sandbox as the last 45 series. Know what I mean?

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Late to the thread this week, and it sort of sucks to show up and say this one wasn't my favorite?

It's sort of the peril of leaning into the hang-out vibe this show does so well, where I get to the end of the episode and go That Was Nice. Not thrilling or shocking or thought-provoking, but: Nice. We get to spend an episode with Tarou and Haruka running a mismatched buddy cop plot as delivery people, and it's good fun, but it feels almost too weightless to remember. The shift to an action-y tokusatsu story at the end feels almost grudging, with the Weird Train Kids Avatar Change lasting about four seconds and being abandoned between shots. The resolution is nicely dark, but it feels sort of disconnected from the episode at large.

(Like... the point is that New Villain Lady just executed a dude, and that's shocking, but it also makes a lot of the preceding story feel sort of unfinished? We have Saru Brother's take on what the Black Bear Thief was driven by, but we never really get a sense of his... anything. I don't know. Felt like half an idea to me?)

The cast is still great, though, so I get why the show is fine with two or three of them being weird for 20-odd minutes. Haruka is delightfully bratty, Tarou is an unpredictable leader, and Saru Brother (my subs have him as "Professor", and I'm not sure he's given another name) is an island of tranquility in a sea of insanity. The chemistry that any couple of them have could power an entire series, so getting three in one brief plot feels like it should be enough for an episode.

It wasn't for me, though? I don't mind it, really. It's okay to take the story down a couple notches in intensity. What's here is still poignant -- the ways the invisible parts of our society long to be seen, and the benefit to remembering we're all people. I just... I don't know. It left me unfulfilled, which is maybe too thematically appropriate to get upset about.

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