Odd Taxi – 03

「付け焼き刃に御用心」 (Tsukeyakiba ni Go-yōjin)
“Borrowed Plumes and the Bodyguard”

Picking up right where we left off last week. Odd Taxi continues delivering bit-size pieces of its mystery, setting up a trail of crumbs and expecting us to pick up the scraps. At the same time somewhere along the way, it tries to subvert our expectations. 

Dobu might not be so bad after all. 

The past two episodes set everything up so that we assumed Dobu as the main antagonist of the show, I was quick to place the blame on him. Thinking he had done the deed. But this episode we learned that even though he’s on the dark side of the law, he’s still not a murderer. As Odokawa is quick to point out, pride comes first.

During their revealing conversation, the tension rises, and Odokawa uses the taxi’s SOS. We learn the name of whom I’m assuming is the leader of this particular Yakuza group, Don-chan. 

We also learned about Yano, a character that has been teased in the intro, but we have yet to see. Dobu points out, Yano is his underling but is only interested in collecting more debt (making more money) than Dobu. And we finally learned the relationship that person who’s been hiding in Odokawa’s closet has to this whole thing.

The mystery is coming together, but in small and substantial ways, I’m sure we will not get the full picture until the clock strikes twelve. 

Kaikibana is officially the new scumbag.

Even though Kaikibana learned some important information when Kuroda (Kuroda Takaya) is talking on the phone. It’s not enough to redeem him in my eyes. First of all Kaikibana in the show is forty-one, the same age as Odokawa. Second, he lied about his annual incoming in the tinder-like dating app. Third, he agrees to go out with an 18-year-old. Fourth, Odokawa mentions if he’s not being deceived. Which of course Kaikibana ignores this rationality.

To which I think, that’s exactly the case. This 18-year-old girl is looking for something. What is she getting out of this relationship? I think we know exactly what that is. And knowing Kaikibana lied about how much money he makes, he’s not going to be able to meet her demands. It might all just blow up in his face in the future. This is perhaps, exactly what they’re trying to set up.

Nonetheless, Kaikibana might be a sweet aloof guy, but his dreams and fantasies make him blind to the real world. He prefers to sit in a figment of his own making, rather than accept the truth and try to make a better living for himself. It hits a little bit too close to home.

Shirakawa has some moves! 

At the end of the episode, Odokawa goes as speedy as he can. Almost running someone over, to the meeting spot with Shirakawa. Thankfully she’s still waiting for him. They talk about their feelings, but something strange happens. 

Right now, they only want to be friends. This reads to me as Odokawa trying to deny her feelings. But once again she launches herself at him, only touching his hand and letting him know she feels at ease with him. 

Of course, Odokawa mentions some Yakuza-type guys are ganging up on him and those he deems friends. Shirakawa pulls out her Capoeria martial art moves. They even recorded a small piece of music for this particular section of the episode. It was very funny and unexpected!

One final thought.

Is it just me or is the B story starting to feel like padding on the edges? Not that it’s particularly bad, since there’s an eclectic cast of characters and many to choose from. (Personal favorite is Imai right now). I can only wonder, this whole thing is centered around Odokawa, and the relationships he has with those around him. 

But right now. some characters are way far off the influence circle. For example: How is Reina going to be mixed in all of this? How are Imai and Kabasawa part of the mystery as well? Maybe they’re just secondary characters that are meant to pad out the runtime.

It could be, or this show could turn dark and start killing everyone left and right. Who knows… Only time will tell. 

Now it’s your turn. how did you fare this episode? Let me know!

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