Straight Down the Royal Road
- Original Airdate: July 23, 2023
Written by: Minato Takano
Directed by: Kyouhei Yamaguchi
Summary
Having won the second trial-by-combat, Gira is officially Shugoddam's new king. However, having been thrust into the role with no preparation, Gira is naturally overwhelmed by the amount of responsibilities his new title brings. The other monarchs have wildly different ideas as to how kingship works, which only further complicates matters. To have his status officially recognized, Jeramie suggests that the other four monarchs put him through individual trials to see if he is worthy of the crown.
Meanwhile, Douga decides to find a new job in another kingdom. What could possibly go wrong?
Tropes
- Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: The monarchs' demands to Gira for losing the trials all involve Shugoddam surrendering its sovereignty one way or another (surrendering the Shugods to N'Kosopa, forcing the populace to wear Ishabanan fashion, and for Toufu to expand its farmlands into Shugoddam) - except for Rita's, which is simply revealed to be getting priority for broadcasts of Moffun to Issho, which ironically is something Shugoddam doesn't have jurisdiction for.
- Bad Hair Day: Gira and Douga briefly end up with frazzled afros after they're subject to slapstick: Gira is zapped by Yanma's lying-device after getting his question wrong whereas Douga takes the brunt of an exploding computer to the face.
- Birds of a Feather: Gira readily accepts Douga into his service due to their shared experience as fugitives.
- Breather Episode: This is notably the first episode that is mostly removed from the main conflict, focusing primarily on the wacky antics of Gira's trials and Douga's job search.
- Call-Back:
- Yanma's lie-detector device comes up again, used on Gira again during the first trial.
- Gira's ability to communicate with the Shugods comes up during Yanma's explanation of why the Shugods work on electricity, being the one thing he's yet to figure out.
- The Cameo: Kamen Rider Geats makes a brief appearance during the dance number in the intro.
- Cliffhanger: The episode ends with the team confronting Daigorg.
- Clip Show: In between the trials and job search, we get clips of prior episodes which are the majority of the episode.
- Cooking Duel: Kaguragi's challenge to Gira is a cooking contest where both of them have three minutes to prepare a dish. Unfortunately for Gira, there's no rule stating that neither party can't get outside help as Kaguragi lets his kuroko do most of the work.
- Dreadful Musician: After Hymeno demonstrates her mastery of the piano, Gira plays a random, dissonant chord which causes Rita to stop the competition right off the bat.
- Easily Forgiven: Discussed. After his applications to the other nations end in failure, Douga sheepishly asks Gira for his job at the castle back, ashamed for having fled from Racules during the Bognaarok coup. Gira is completely sympathetic, letting Douga right back in.
- Fee Fi Faux Pas: During his interview in Toufu, Douga is dressed in a Kuroko suit. The heat gets to him and he raises his mask. Kuroko are duty-bound to never reveal their own face, which gets him denied.
- Hidden Depths: Hymeno is revealed to be an expert piano player, masterfully playing Chopin's Fantasie-Impromptu in C-sharp Minor.
- Hopeless with Tech: Douga makes the computer he's provided with explode. Understandable, since it's the first time he's ever used one. Shiokara denies him on the spot.
- How We Got Here: After Gira and Daigorg's confrontation, the episode rewinds backward to explain everything leading up to the general's invasion.
- Humiliation Conga: Both Gira and Douga get subjected to a series of tests that embarrass them, something that they bond over in the last part of the episode.
- Loophole Abuse: Kaguragi spends the cooking battle dancing about, allowing his kuroko to do all the preparation and cooking for him. The rules never stated he couldn't accept outside help.
- Mythology Gag: Douga's Ishabanan outfit bears a passing resemblance to Sonoshi.
- No-Sell: At one point King Kuwagata Ohger goes to intercept an attack to protect Boone, and once the dust clears, it’s shown he’s entirely unaffected.
- Out of Focus: Downplayed. Jeramie is the one that comes up with the idea of mimicking the series of contests the original heroes played out, yet he himself has no bearing on the episode; being there purely to react.
- Recap Episode: Douga, while being interviewed by the attendants, explains most of the history of the Five Kingdoms and their respective rulers while the team are busy with Gira's trials. The explanation of the Shugods and the eventual formation of the Ohsama Sentai King-Ohger is given to Yanma and Gira respectively.
- Special Edition Title: This episode see the series' debut of the opening theme's dance, interspersed with some creative green screen editing and the actors' various antics.
- Status Quo Is God:
- After failing to get a job in any of the other kingdoms, Douga comes crawling back to Shugoddom begging for his old job back, which Gira happily accepts.
- Despite becoming the King of Shugoddam, Gira is roped right back into having to prove himself to the other rulers. This is Played for Laughs in comparison to the seriousness of the events that put him into their notice, however.
- Two Lines, No Waiting: Plot A revolves around the other four monarchs challenging Gira to their own trials to see if he is fit for rulership. Plot B revolves around Douga trying to find a job in the other four kingdoms after escaping the Bognaarok coup in #19.
- The Un-Reveal: Rita's funny face is never shown to the audience, but it is apparently enough to get Gira hysterically laughing.
