Rinko tries to call the station, but Shunpei steps on the brakes, grabs her phone and tosses it out the window.
Kosuke’s brought Haruto back to the shop and they let him rest in bed while they are worried about the Gate who none of them really believe is an arsonist.
Meanwhile, Sora visits Raum/Kaga-san who is perched on a rooftop trying to find the Gate.
Shunpei drives to a junkyard and asks Rinko to let Nemoto tell his side of the story. Nemoto continues to plead his innocence. Trying to get him to calm down, Shunpei turns the radio on, but the music is interrupted by breaking news about Nemoto being wanted as the arsonist along with two accomplices, Rinko and Shunpei.
Wajima and Koyomi are shocked and Haruto says this is probably not the best time to take a nap. He assures them he’s fine and goes out to help.
While Rinko and Shunpei argue, the myna flies in, sees them in the car and flies away.
Nemoto gets out of the car and cries about being too weak, which is why stuff like this always happens to him. He’s definitely a negative Nancy.
The myna bird flies back to the two cops they had knocked over and seemingly leads them somewhere while Kosuke runs into Haruto with a sack of bird food.
Haruto tells Kosuke the myna is actually a Phantom which causes him to go into some epileptic comic book shock.
The myna leads the cops right to Shunpei-tachi and aim their guns at Nemoto. Rinko decides to knock a car over to distract them long enough for them to escape.
Meanwhile, Garuda and Griffon find the myna and combine. They begin to fight in the air until the myna transforms back into Phantom Raum.
Kosuke tries to fight him off, but instead gets rolled down the hill. He joins Haruto in trying to convince the cops that Nemoto is not a dangerous person, but they are not understanding.
Down in the sewers, Shunpei, Rinko and Nemoto get flushed out into a canal. Nemoto continues crying over his life and Shunpei tries comforting him. But Rinko is tired of his whining and tells him to grow up and not expect others to fix his problems.
Nemoto turns to Shunpei for more comfort, but instead, he agrees with Rinko and pleads with Nemoto to be stronger.
Nemoto calms down and decides to take their advice. He asks Rinko for the surveillance camera picture and says he regularly passes by that area and knows there’s a 2nd security camera. They head over and distract the guard while Rinko and Shunpei head inside the office and find the footage they need. Outside, Nemoto’s myna bird returns to its cage.
Next morning, Rinko calls the shop and updates the others, saying they’re heading to the station to report the real culprit. Haruto tries to stop them, but Rinko hangs up. He and Kosuke hurry out.
Rinko and Shunpei take Nemoto and bird to the station. Haruto and Kosuke arrive just as Chief orders the suspects surrounded. But Rinko and Shunpei present the real arsonist and say they’ve got a USB with evidence.
The myna bursts out of the cage and transforms into its Phantom form and flies out of the station.
Haruto and Kosuke run after it and henshin. They tag team the Phantom and the Ghouls it summons before quickly finishing them off.
Rinko and Shunpei apologize for keeping Nemoto in the dark. He seems relieved that he’s been proven innocent, but suddenly becomes upset, realizing his Kyuta was a Phantom. The purple begins cracking through his face.
Episode Thoughts
Well then. That ending doe!
I thought the episode was going to be a Shunpei ep, but it was definitely nice to see it end up actually being a Shunpei-Rinko focus. Their sidekickery to Haruto hasn’t been fully explored and enjoyed, but it was nice to see them get a little bit of the spotlight here.
An okay episode with Shunpei-Rinko being the only highlight, honestly.