- Story Arc: Avalon Mystic Tour
- Characters: Goliath, Elisa, Angela, Bronx, Kai, Sora, Yama, Ishimura Clan
- Enemy(ies): Taro
Arriving in Ishimura, Goliath and the others meet a new clan of Japanese Gargoyles, who are something of an open secret to the locals. However, forces are at work to kidnap the Ishimura Clan and reveal them to the world at large.
Yama makes his next appearance as part of the Redemption Squad in the Gargoyles: Clan Building spinoff Gargoyles: Bad Guys.
This Episode contains the following Tropes:
- Ape Shall Never Kill Ape: Or as Kai puts it, gargoyle must not fight gargoyle. Neither Yama nor the Manhattan Clan seem to much agree.note
- A Pupil of Mine Until He Turned to Evil: Taro, back when he was a boy, studied Bushido under Kai and the other Japanese Gargoyles. He admits he was a poor student, but just how poor is revealed over the course of the episode.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Taro. He works hard to maintain the aura of a legitimate businessman, and an old ward of the Ishimura gargoyles, but in reality he's a ruthless entrepreneur and will say or do anything to make a profit off of them.
- Combat Hand Fan: Taro wields a pair in his Powered Armor. Electrified tessens, to be specific.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive: Taro.
- Everything's Better with Samurai
- Expy: The Ishimura Clan has a startling number of similarities to the Manhattan Clan, including Kai greatly resembling Goliath (stoic and wise, and one of their biggest members, to say nothing of being leader), their own Demona-esque traitor who makes a pact with corrupt humans and otherwise finds them reprehensible (though thankfully, Yama manages to recover from this), a Friend on the Force just like Elisa, and even their own gargoyle beast. They even have an enemy who's a businessman just like Xanatos, and Taro uses a suit of Powered Armor just like his American counterpart.
- Foil: Yama is this for Demona. Despite their similarities as mentioned above, a major difference between them is Yama doesn't hold any extreme hatred of humans. But rather wishes for their kind to reveal themselves to the world, so they don't have to hide.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: The Ishimura Clan have a red, dragon like gargoyle beast which can be briefly spotted when they and the townspeople confront two woefully unprepared burglars.
- Heel–Face Turn: Yama, already having doubts when Taro darts Kai, completely turns against him when he finds out he lied about the schoolchildren. His subsequent defeat of Taro in a duel seems to indicate he's earned his redemption, though in Gargoyles: Bad Guys we learn that he was exiled until such a time as he felt he had regained his honor.
- "Hey, You!" Haymaker: After Taro’s ninja squad incapacitate everyone in the Clan’s shrine, Elisa taps and punches out another to show she’s not going down without a fight.Elisa: You forgot about me! (Punches ninja)
- Honor Before Reason: Once they confront Taro, Yama demands to face him alone to recover his honor, despite the fact that their numbers could overwhelm him quickly. It clearly takes a toll on Yama, but in the end he is able to triumph and restore his honor.
- Humiliation Conga: Taro gets one at the end of "Bushido". He created a gargoyle theme park with the Ishimura clan as the main attraction. Elisa foiled his plan and the gargoyles left the park without being noticed. Guest reporters came in and find Taro humiliated hung in a robot gargoyle's hand only to clumsily fall down. Elisa and Hiroshi then make up wild stories of gargoyles, effectively destroying Taro's credibility. Not to mention this will result in a huge loss of investment.
- Jerkass: Yama acts this way towards Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx when they question Taro's goal, since what the Ishimura Clan decide is none of their concern.
- Kimonos are Traditional: And Elisa rocks the look, even managing to fight in one. By part two she's back in her usual duds, however, which are much more practical.
- Ninja: Taro employs some to help in his operations.
- Pink Is Feminine: Sora, the most prominently seen female gargoyle in the Ishimura Clan, not only wears a pink kimono but also has a pink skin color.
- Powered Armor: Just like Xanatos, Taro uses a suit to put him even against his super strong Gargoyle opponents, though he stylizes his own like a samurai's armor in gold.
- Self-Deprecation: While the complaints of Taro making a "cheap theme park" might be a bit of (unintentional) Biting-the-Hand Humor considering that Disney owns both this series and the Disney theme parks, the part about mocking Taro as having "watching too many cartoons", said amusingly enough by a character in an animated show, is a much straighter example of self-deprecating humor.
- Similar Squad: The world travelers meet a clan of gargoyles living in Japan. They're led by a tall, deep-voiced gargoyle named Kai, have a policeman ally, are betrayed by one of their own, and as it turns out later, they're actually being manipulated by a shifty Japanese businessman named Taro who's set himself up as the gargoyles' benefactor. Sounds familiar... hell, Taro even turns out to have a kick-ass robot suit just like Xanatos, though his is built to look like samurai armor.
- The Unmasqued World: Taro wanted to create this, by putting gargoyles in his amusement park and charging for admission, giving him a monopoly on gargoyles. Thankfully, they all escape, and thanks to Elisa the reporters are convinced it was all a publicity stunt and the gargoyles remain a well-kept secret both in Ishimura and the wider world...for now.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Yama may have a distaste for humans, and is willing to work alongside Taro and do questionable things to Goliath and Angela (they're not part of his Clan, after all), but darting Kai and especially lying about the children push him over the edge into his Heel–Face Turn.Yama: "You have no honor, Taro!"
Taro: "Hey, nobody ever got rich off of Bushido." - You Are Not Alone: Kai and the rest of his clan are amazed to meet Goliath, Angela, and Bronx, as they had long thought they were the last of their kind.
- You Have to Believe Me!: Taro desperately tries to convince the skeptical reporters that gargoyles are real.
