[Fish Sandwich]

This show really taxes my meager brain power when it comes time to remember everything that happens in a given episode. Where do I even begin with this one?

I find the implication that Tarou believes there is not a single thing even remotely praiseworthy about his companions to be pretty hilarious. Probably like, deeply telling of his character too or something, but even before that, it just seems about right for this team? Total bunch of misfits so lacking in traditionally heroic qualities that their own leader dies trying to think of one nice thing to say about them?

That's probably not even the most important thing to take away from that scene though, and that moment is but one of many, many threads this episode weaves together. It's impressively dense, even by Donbrothers' insane standard. I felt like the monster this week was notably more fleshed out than they've been lately, for one thing. Obnoxiously loud self-important lady who needs to be the center of everything is a perfect fit for a villain themed after the deliberately gaudy and loud (even by Sentai's insane standards) Kyoryuger. But even she isn't that important to the overall episode, is she? Beyond being a monster to fight, her biggest contribution is distracting Haruka from asking Kaito what his deal is again.

Maybe it's all that lore that gets dropped here? That seems pretty important! So much gets revealed all at once I'd be lying if I told you I felt like I was keeping up with it right away. But yeah, somewhat abruptly, the audience has been informed of Tarou's origins, and in typical fashion, the answers given here are only liable to lead to more questions. The story just keeps expanding in ways that ensure it will never stop expanding. We've got a whole royal family in the picture now, and that's definitely got me curious. Here I was thinking I was so clever for guessing Tarou was related to the Nouto, like I'd figured it all out, when in reality, that fact by itself is but one piece of a puzzle. And I don't even know how many pieces there are total! This thing's a lot bigger than I thought it'd be! Don Momotaro might not be all that humbled by the end of this one, but I definitely was. (Although on that note, it's also pretty great that he starts actively insulting his team when they show up to help? It's downright impossible to tell once he's transformed, but I like the idea that he took the boycott thing that personally.)

Or wait! Who cares about any of that stuff! No, if there's any Inoue staple here that's most important to me, it isn't the year-long web of mysteries gradually being unraveled, and, shocking as it may be, it's not how aggressively ill-mannered the protagonists are either. When it comes to beats this writer loves to hit, there are few that get me as invested as two people becoming friends at the same their alter egos are bitter enemies.

Tarou and Sonoi have basically done a speedrun of the first stretch of that sort of arc, and while that may make it seem like a lesser copy of something that's been done before, I think there's a merit to doing this big internal reveal so quickly? It's more or less forcing the relationship between the two to play out differently from how Inoue has done this before, because now we have most of the series to see how they develop from this point, rather than focusing on building up that irony until the halfway point or later. Essentially, we're getting something completely different at the same time we're getting something immensely familiar. Hypothetically, anyway. I suppose I'm getting ahead of myself now.

It just goes to show how invested I am in this dynamic already though. Tarou and Sonoi's few scenes together have all left quite the impression -- more than enough to make the drama here land. I think an element that makes their budding friendship particularly sad to watch fall apart is how calm they both are about it? Tarou isn't quite as stoic as Sonoi, but they're both composed enough to just politely acknowledge that things aren't going to work out, even though you can tell it's killing them both a little on the inside.

It's also killing Tarou a *lot* on the outside, too, which made for one heck of an ending. It's a pretty brutal moment for Sonoi, who would of course have no qualms about performing his duty, which just makes everything even sadder. This is one of those things Inoue can be really great at. The tragedy this episode leaves off on is a direct result of the characters being chained by their own personalities. Tarou can't help but tell the truth, even when it isn't a good idea, and Sonoi can't help but take every opportunity to eliminate a threat, even if cutting down evil means cutting down everything good that comes with it.