Odd Taxi – 09

「ヒーローの憂鬱」 (Hīrō no Yūutsu)
“The Hero’s Melancholy”

Odokawa has a small conversation with Little Diamond at the beginning of this episode, but it seems Little Diamond is not really convinced Dobu is going to be robbing a bank, maybe it’s all a bluff to get Odokawa to do his bidding, and Dobu has some sort of higher agenda, but as we also learned this episode, Odokawa is in it for the long run and wants to turn down this whole organization.

Dobu already knows Odokawas true intentions, or at least, has a hint of them, and is (maybe) covertly helping him in order to get out of this way of life. Maybe Dobu secretly hates working for the Yakuza and sees no other way out of this world, other than to bring an outsider and help settle down this group. Hence the introduction of an actual supervillain, Yano. This is all speculation of course, but Dobu is slowly giving me, softy on the inside, though on the outside vibes.    

Tanaka is still after Odokawa, like a silent killer, he stalks Odokawa all through out the city until he finds him, this time he had a van and initiated a car chase! But fails in his attempt to kill him, mind you, he has Dobu’s gun, so it could be easily all traced back to Dobu and not have any blame fall on Tanaka. Odokawa still has no idea why Tanaka is after him in the first place, they just think he’s some type of crazy mask guy! But that doesn’t deter Odokawa from bailing out of there and heading for the wharf.

Things go smoothly and Odokawa manages to get Kakihana out of there, while Dobu fights Sekiguchi. Dobu comes out on top and wins the fight, not before seemingly getting shot in the leg by Tanaka (We saw a hand and a gun, but no appearance and that specific gun model is standard police issued, unlike the one Dobu has, thanks to Nemo for letting me know in the comments!) It seems just moments later they forgot about him being shot and continued as if nothing happened. Or maybe that was just me. I do recall seeing blood on his leg, so I wonder if that was just a mistake in production, or it was a mere grace wound and nothing more.   

It’s striking how this episode managed to advance the story while holding its mystery at a standstill. No confirmation yet if it is some case of synesthesia, if Odokawa sees everyone as animals, or that’s just the aesthetic the show went for.

The most fascinating part of the whole episode was how Dobu confronted Kabasawa and made him repent for using his virality to get a jab at Dobu. Making him admit that he only wished for fame to get attention from others. It seemed very on point with everything that Kabasawa admitted to in this episode. When he was with Reina and giving his speech, that dialogue was very true to the actual pitfalls a YouTuber might feel once they reach a certain amount of fame. Furthermore, when they inevitably fall off the platform. Kabasawa had to make a statement that he is officially retiring and deleting all of his videos.

Then as the final moments of the episode approach, Gouriki visits Odokawas house but finds the landlady instead. He has a conversation with her about Odokawa, and we learn that there is no hope left for him as his parents are completely gone, like dead, and he’s been living in that house since he was five, thanks to the money from the foundation. But Odokawa has been paying the innkeeper in full, now that he has a job. And the owner is putting that money away, saving it for whenever Odokawa needs it. As this mysterious foundation has already paid in full for life.   

His situation and problems are starting to come into the light, I’m getting the full picture when it comes to Odokawa, maybe he chose to be a taxi driver because it was a simple job that even he could do, and not have to worry too much about getting an above-average education. Maybe those were his reasons. Or he could have other reasons entirely. 

But still – what does this tell us? Nothing. I was hoping Gouriki would snoop around the house and find the person hidden inside his closet, does the landlady know about this? Why are they cheeking away from revealing the full mystery? I understand riddle-filled stories get worse as they explain and force a certain explanation. But man – the show’s been dancing around its main mystery for nine-episode now. Building B story’s that are just mere distractions. I’m starting to want some real answers here, please!

Non the less, I’m happy that Kaiki got rescued, Odokawa puts him in his place, and in his pathetic self, he throws away the ring to the river, but regrets it and decides to jump for it anyway. Makes me feel sad for the guy, he’s beyond hopeless. 

But that being said – most B stories got resolved this episode, so let’s call this one the filler arc, and let’s just say it got resolved. 

Only the Tanaka thing and Dobu thing are missing a closing. But I’m assuming those are heavily intertwined with the reveal of the full extent of this mystery. And if anything is to judge from the preview, Gouriki is going to have something to do with revealing the truth to Odokawa.    

As for everything else, let’s hope we start getting real answers commencing next week!  

Preview