Tarou makes a delivery at Shinichi’s home and is left speechless when Haruka answers the door dressed in colorful clothes calling Shinichi her older brother. Not only that, they are calling a prosthetic makeup-wearing Tsuyoshi their father. And later, their mother.
Tarou heads to Donbura to ask Master Kaito if Shinichi, Haruka and Tsuyoshi really are family. And Tarou is even more shocked when Kaito says “Yes.”
What Tarou does not know is that the others are actually playing roles in order to help Shinichi catch Kameda Tsutomu, a fraudster who pretends to be a psychic. As he is welcomed into homes, he breaks the families apart and then robs them blind.
Kameda had started his scam with Shinichi a few days ago, saying he sensed some bad energy that he could help expel from his home. Since he recognized the name from a woman whose family had fallen victim to the crook, Shinichi decided to enlist Haruka and Tsuyoshi to form a fake family in order to expose Kameda.
Shinichi, Haruka and Tsuyoshi step out to Donbura for a little bit. They talk about how they couldn’t include Tarou in their plan since he is unable to lie.
Kameda walks in and the others try to quell his suspicions. But Tsubasa also arrives and is surprised to see Tsuyoshi dressed as an old woman. Kameda is again leery of the situation. But Haruka introduces Tsubasa as her boyfriend and Shinichi ushers him out in order to explain what’s going on.
Tsubasa says he will be happy to help, especially since he’s an actor.
Meanwhile, the Noto3 are out training. Sonoi cannot understand why Murasame chose to align with Inu Brother. Sonoza says Murasame is just finding himself. Sonoi thinks something is up if Murasame and Inu are teaming up. Sononi just smiles to herself.
Back at Shinichi’s home, Kameda begins a fake purification ritual while the others watch. Jirou comes running up to give them some fresh vegetables Rumi-chan has sent over. But Jirou also is taken aback by Tsuyoshi’s disguise.
Haruka introduces Jirou as her boyfriend as well and Shinichi pulls him aside to just tell him to play along.
They head inside, Kameda is impressed with Haruka having two boys. Jirou says it’s actually just because Haruka is so pretty that he and Tsubasa are rivals, but also very close friends. Tsubasa thinks to himself that even if this is acting, going out with a guy like Jirou is a bit of a stretch.
Kameda begins to tell them that anything and anyone can be possessed. He says Haruka is possessed by the soul of an angry cat she had when she was young. Haruka apologizes to a cat named Stroganoff whose head she had placed a sock on.
Kameda says a dark energy is possessing Mama Tsuyoshi. He takes offense and says that is impossible when he has his Miho-chan. He runs back inside and Shinichi explains that Miho was his sister who died when she was young.
For Tsubasa, Kameda says he is possessed by a dog. Tsubasa says he once owned a shuriken breed and kind of likes this news.
Jirou wants Kameda to do him. But Kameda thinks he is too annoying to even deal with. He moves on to Shinichi who he says looks like a scarecrow.
Just then, Tarou arrives with some meat he got from his boss. Since it’s too much meat for one person, he wanted to share it with everyone. Kameda thinks Tarou is another one of Haruka’s boyfriends. Tarou asks what he means by that and Jirou tells him both he and Tsubasa are dating her.
After Tsubasa confirms, Tarou says it’s none of his business anyway. Shinichi thanks him for meat and tells him to go home. But Tarou says he will eat it with them.
Tarou is still confused by the situation, especially since Master Kaito had confirmed that Haruka and Shinichi were siblings. His hiccups are only getting worse alongside the confusion. Kameda suggests he pinch his nose and drink water.
They all have a seat at the table to enjoy the meat. Kameda tells them he would like to exorcise the spirits possessing them. But for that to happen, they must give the spirit what they hold most dear. For Shinichi, it is his haikus. For Mama Tsuyoshi, it’s her dead daughter Miho-chan. For Haruka, it’s the first love letter she ever received through text message. And Tsubasa likes the dog that’s lived inside him his whole life.
Kameda can’t believe how worthless these prized possessions are.
Tarou leaves to get more meat from the fridge and Haruka follows him in order to explain what’s going on. Tarou says he’ll be fine because it’ll be part of his character development. Haruka makes him her brother as well. Shinichi isn’t sure if this will work.
Kameda says Tarou has a lot of supernatural baggage about him like a monster. Tarou says that’s okay since that makes him who he is. Kameda cannot believe these weird people.
Kameda decides it’s time for him to bail and excuses himself. But later that evening, he is able to sneak into the house through the kitchen window he left unlocked.
Kameda sneaks around, but finds nothing of value. He then continues to be weirded out by the strange “family.” First, Mama Tsuyoshi is talking to her dead daughter Miho on the phone. Tsubasa is passed out from drinking oolong tea and Kameda remembers he is a wanted criminal.
He peeks into Haruka’s room and is frightened, thinking she is a ghost after she henshins in her sleep.
abunaiJirou sneaks up behind Kameda in the hallway and wants to play with him tonight until he drops.
Kameda screams and runs into Tarou, asking him what the hell is up with this family. When Tarou confirms that he is really one of the siblings, he drops dead. Kameda is horrified.
Shinichi finally confronts Kameda about his scamming and he runs out, turning into a Hitotsuki.
The Donbros henshin and are teleported to a garage to battle the Hitotsuki. After a peach finisher, they all embiggen and combine. They toss around an End Ball until they are able to use it to help finish off the Hitotsuking for good.
Kameda is finally arrested for his crimes.
Haruka apologizes for leaving Tarou out of their plan and asks if he was feeling lonely. Tarou says maybe. But he still has hiccups. Master Kaito suggests spinning your head while taking a big gulp of water.
Shinichi and Tsuyoshi feel bad about having to rope Tsubasa into their crazy hijinks. But as he passes by Shinichi’s home, Tsubasa thinks about how much he enjoyed his time with the others today.
In fact, he enjoyed it so much he jumps up and clicks his heels.
Episode Thoughts
Ah! A fun, cute episode. Nice way to end Christmas Day.
Of course, the best part was having the entire team together in their random hilarious chaotic shenanigans. I think Tarou’s acknowledgement of being lonely and then Tsubasa being happy about being a part of a family at the end were both really wonderful moments that I wish we got more of this season.
I suppose Tarou’s loneliness, a plot and character point they seem to have forgotten for a while, is coming back for the final episodes. As it should. Tarou’s origins and his growing up should be one of the major plot threads. At least heading into the finale. There’s still lots of questions left. So we’ll see if any of it actually plays a part in the endgame. (Does this season even have an endgame? Lol)
I admit at first, at the beginning of the episode, I was like “Here we go again.” I wasn’t sure what the episode was going to be about. And thought it might be the usual randomness, but not the good kind. Lol
I’m happy I was proven wrong and the episode delivered probably some of the most fun moments from the entire season. And the fact that it was all the Donbros together and in on the chaos, I loved it. We only have eight episodes left. And I hope starting with the next episode, we will FINALLY reveal all and the Donbros can finally be together full time. Even if just for this final stretch of episodes.
I will say though, they missed a huge opportunity for more fun by not having the Noto3 also stumble upon the fake family and then Sononi getting jealous of Haruka “dating” Tsubasa. I was really expecting something like that. And having the Noto3 pop in too to take part in the mischief would’ve added even more fun to the episode.
So overall, it was just a fun filler and perfect for Christmas Day. Again, if this were any other season, I’d absolutely be ripping the episode apart for existing in the 40s. But this is Donbrothers, so I just cover my eyes and pretend I don’t see any of its obvious flaws. Lolol
Anyway, what I hope for in these final eight episodes? The biggest thing for me is definitely the Tsubasa reveal. I think it has to be a big moment. Whether it is done in a very dramatic, serious way or in a wild, hilarious way, I just want it to be interesting and fun and impactful. Not some underwhelming thing in passing. With Donbrothers, I wouldn’t be surprised if they did do it like that. But I just hope they buck their own trend and actually put some effort into the reveal. Maybe in a big moment when the team needs to come together to fight off a big foe. (omg, that means the finale doesn’t it? lol)
Other things I’ll look out for include the resolution to whatever the hell is up with Tsuyoshi and in turn the climax of Donbrothers of our Lives, Tarou and Jirou’s origins and what that means to the endgame (if there even is one lol) and what does Mother really want and what will become of Murasame. Everything else (and there are a lot of loose ends), I’ll welcome and take as something extra if they actually get to them here. But I think the things I listed are what I’m hoping get wrapped up the most.
Share:
Related posts ..
8 thoughts on “Recap: Avataro Sentai Donbrothers, Episode 42 – The Off-Putting Family”
Share your thoughts!Cancel reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I’ve enjoyed your reviews throughout the season, but I think it’s telling that, for you, the whole plagiarism plot that was in the 1st episode is now is just an “extra”. I’m not being critical of you at all, just frustrated at the show. I’ve enjoyed Donbrothers very much. Take each episode by itself, it’s great, but as a whole these running threads kinda fall flat. Haruka being sidelined since post the “mvp” episode (being generous here) is probably my biggest frustration. She was the audience surrogate and integral to Donbrothers building so much good will. For me, I wanted to see her journey of growth, but she’s been stagnate. I’m not sure the keeping of Tsubasa in his own show was worth it when you see how great he is with the others like in this episode. Feels like a misstep.
I’ve enjoyed your reviews throughout the season, but I think it’s telling that, for you, the whole plagiarism plot that was in the 1st episode is now is just an “extra”. I’m not being critical of you at all, just frustrated at the show. I’ve enjoyed Donbrothers very much. Take each episode by itself, it’s great, but as a whole these running threads kinda fall flat. Haruka being sidelined since post the “mvp” episode (being generous here) is probably my biggest frustration. She was the audience surrogate and integral to Donbrothers building so much good will. For me, I wanted to see her journey of growth, but she’s been stagnate. I’m not sure the keeping of Tsubasa in his own show was worth it when you see how great he is with the others like in this episode. Feels like a misstep.
You know what? I completely forgot about the plagiarism! That’s a good point. I guess Haruka’s goofy moments has made me forget how she was basically our surrogate in those early episodes. And her character development has been touched upon a few times, but not as steady as we would like. (Which is true for all of the Donbros, sadly.) Having to work for her new boss Sonoza is always played more for laughs rather than actual growth. But the preview implies we’ll get some kind of movement next episode.
And yes, I would have preferred they integrate Tsubasa much earlier. Even if not reveal his identity yet, but have him interacting more with the others in random scenarios. I think there’s a lot of fun oddball stuff they could’ve done by roping him in to their crazy antics more often. If there were just one big misstep I’d highlight, it would be how they kept Tsubasa separate longer than necessary.
I honestly thought it was because of COVID protocols. Kind of limiting how many people work together at any one time. But that became more absurd an idea as the season went along, all things considered. Then I thought the actor Totaro might have other work, so he isn’t as available as the others. But I don’t think that’s the case either.
Apologies for the double post. First time commenter and wasn’t sure if post went through. Agree and share your thoughts on Tsubasa. Just having him around more of the cast, without revealing his identity could’ve work. It’s a common heroic trope like Clark Kent and Superman. Lex Luthor could never believe Kent was Superman. Donbrothers scoffed at the idea Tsubasa was Inu Brother. He’s probably actually a dog!!
I think the audience will find out the identity of Naoki, but not Haruka. The main reason why I paid so much attention to this storyline was because of Shirakura’s earlier comments that the identity would be important and there was already figured out reason as to why there was an Oni as a Donbrother when in the Momotaro tale there was only 3 companions. The Oni was the villain. Haruka being so initially prominent, I thought this was going to lead somewhere. Now not sure. This future Haruka, etc. will probably be wiped (comically) out by the end of the episode.
I’m enjoying Donbrothers. I just want it to finish strong. I’m nervous. These are fun, great characters. Wanted more for them character wise. It’s all there. The show just isn’t interested in really engaging in their growth & development. I’m all in till the end, but with so few episodes left there’s so much to cover when there was plenty of prior episodes to do so.
Yes, definitely agree with all your points.
That’s interesting about the Oni. I only vaguely know of the Momotaro tale from back when Kamen Rider Ghost incorporated him into the story. So I really liked that Donbrothers would put a fun twist on that epic story. But now that you mention that possibility, it makes me even more sad they didn’t do more actual story development than they did.
Donbrothers has been such a joy to watch. But thinking about how much more they could’ve done and actually do some deeper and more dramatic stories alongside the fun comedy, it does make one feel a bit disappointed. Kind of like you enjoy it, but it’s hard not to think about what could’ve been also. We’ll see how they wrap up the next two months!
A fun episode. I agree. It’s the best when the whole team is together.
Yeah, this was a fun, cure eps. and Kameda definitely got more than he bargained for.
Hoping they really step up in the final episodes though!