[Fish Sandwich]

There are two particularly iconic episodes of Kamen Rider Blade written by Inoue that come to mind here, and the resemblance is so striking that the staff blog was even way ahead of me on bringing it up.

And if you don't know, you've gotta understand here -- there is nothing in the world quite like the magic of Inoue's mid-series gag episodes of early/mid 2000's Rider shows. Pretty much all of those things are treasures, with Blade's standing at the peak, so the thought that all this time later, I get to have a new episode of a toku show that's even kind of like that is ridiculously exciting. It's also just plain ridiculous, of course, but that's what we're all here for, right?

It's maybe telling of just how insane good ol' "Ultimate Form! Special Turbo!" was that this episode of Donbrothers -- of Donbrothers, no less -- actually feels sort of tame by comparison, but the broad strokes here? All these super tense cooking people living their own oddly well-developed melodramatic lives, and one of our heroes getting roped into that madness because he happens to look like one of those guest characters? It's not identical, but it's definitely familiar enough to get me feeling right at home! It sort of goes without saying, I'd imagine, but I found myself very much enjoying the absurd noodle mafia antics this story is framed around. (Like, using noodles to tie someone up? That's *amazing*.)

I think I enjoyed the legitimate drama underlying all that even more though. The thing about this plot is that on top of being the usual silly fun, it's also pretty dang well-considered in terms of how it focuses in on Shinichi's character. There's clearly a deliberate decision to avoid actually directly fleshing out his character, instead building up that guest cast around him, and using that contrast to say things about the Saru Brother we know in a more subtle sort of way. I think it works great.

Just on a broad level, all these noodle guys are clearly so burdened in a way that makes a very compelling case for Shinichi's way of life, when you stop and think about it. They need money and things and more money and more things, and that's funny to watch while also looking very stressful. I'm reasonably sure it isn't possible to fill up your stomach on imaginary food, but the ideal of Shinichi's minimalism shines here, and maybe for the first time in a while, since he's let Tarou get him riled up so much lately. And along those same lines, Shirai specifically makes for a really nice foil. He very much comes off as just some random guy off the street, not at all malicious but not particularly noble either, and it's the reality of that which is this episode's secret weapon. (If I can use the word "reality" in relation to Donbrothers.) The idea that there were literal thousands of reject Donbrothers who simply didn't care enough to selflessly fight monsters is... like, I can't help but use the word "genius" here? It's exactly the kind of detail a writer like Inoue would toss in there, on so many levels. I can only sort of describe it, but the key points are that it's funny to think about such unheroic "heroes" being out there like Shirai, and how that makes the actual heroes of the show seem that much more special. I've said it before and I'll say it again -- these people are all nuts, but they're surprisingly kindhearted nuts. Even Tarou thinks they're worthy of praise! (Which was a nice moment to show his character development is sticking, by the way.)

So yeah, fantastic stuff as always. I think they did an excellent job here refocusing in on the appeal of Shinichi as a character, created a fun bunch of guests to do that with, and even threw some nice bonuses in on the side while they were at it. I could've easily watched much, much more of Haruka's attempts to get back into being an author... which means next time will probably be right up my alley, huh? (Also, I find it hilarious that apparently dark Jirou has just been wandering around the city since last episode. Nobody else even spares him a thought the entire time.)