Episode 3

**Borrowed Plumes and the Bodyguard** (付け焼き刃に御用心, *Tsukeyakiba ni Go Youjin*), or **Beware of Borrowed Plumes** , is the 3rd episode of *Odd Taxi* anime series.

## Synopsis

* In the lounge at the sauna, Kakihana overhears Kuroda's phone conversation with Dobu. The former asks the latter to find Odokawa and get any information about the case, which has been withdrawn as the missing girl left a card where she revealed she was running away.
* Dobu tries to blackmail Odokawa into helping him. Dobu was ordered by his boss Kuroda to find the missing girl, as she is the daughter of "Don", a former classmate and friend. According to the SD card from his dash cam Odokawa was the last one to see her. He states that he is only working with Kenshiro, the elder Daimon, and that the younger Koshiro has no idea.
* Dobu suspects that Yano, his junior and also debt collector for Kuroda, is the one behind the missing girl. Due to their rivalry, Yano is using all his tricks to collect more money than Dobu, and has been trying to ruin his senior's reputation with Kuroda. Supposedly, Yano is trying to frame the girl's disappearance on Dobu to get rid of him, which is why Dobu wants to take down Yano first by exposing his scheme. This requires Dobu to work in secret from Kuroda until he has enough proof against Yano. Should his secrecy be discovered, it will surely set off his boss against him as their relationship is currently already rocky.
* When Odokawa refuses, Dobu threatens to shoot him, only for Odokawa to use an SOS signal to attract the police. However, the responder is Kenshiro the elder Daimon, who dismisses him, but in reality Odokawa did it to see if Dobu was telling the truth.
* Kenshiro has a flashback, where an accident is shown, implying the reason for his hatred against taxi drivers.
* Odokawa agrees to help Dobu when he threatens Shirakawa. Dobu tells Odokawa not to tell anyone about it, and to report back if anyone asks him about the dash cam SD card, which probably will be Yano or his henchmen.
* When Dobu leaves, the dash cam next to the heart-shaped pen is shown to be cut, implying that it has not recorded any of the conversation. Later, Dobu goes to the park to bury the gun.
* Odokawa almost runs over Tanaka on his way to Shirakawa, causing Tanaka to drop and break his phone right after hatching a rare Dodo on Zooden.
* During his "date" with Shirakawa, Odokawa reveals he has some yakuza-type guys after him, only for Shirakawa to demonstrate that she knows capoeira. Despite this, Odokawa still has doubts about it, even when Shirakawa reminds him that she is an adult. After their date, Shirakawa goes to the clinic to start her day shift. Odokawa offers to give her a ride for free.
* Baba starts his new job on a food show, in a segment called "What's for Lunch?!"
* At Taeko's tavern, Kakihana asks Odokawa how his "date" with Shirakawa went, with Odokawa revealing that he grows even fonder of her. While complaining about how he misses his days in high school, Kakihana reveals the messages he has shared with Shiho. Odokawa does not believe it and discovers that the reason Shiho has been texting Kakihana is because he is lying about his income. Kakihana asks Odokawa not to tell, which he begrudgingly agrees not to.
* Shirakawa discovers that Gouriki did not go to the clinic that day. On a call with Odokawa, she shares that she has not been able to contact him, for which Odokawa shows concern.
* Kakihana meets with Shiho, who is polite and kind to him. As they leave for a tea bar, they are followed by Yamamoto and Sekiguchi (Yano's henchman).

## Characters

* Eiji Kakihana
* Kuroda
* Missing High School Girl (mentioned)
* Hiroshi Odokawa
* Dobu
* Yano (fantasy)
* Kenshiro Daimon
* Koshiro Daimon
* Miho Shirakawa
* Hajime Tanaka
* Atsuya Baba (TV)
* Taeko Harada
* Shiho Ichimura
* Fuyuki Yamamoto
* Sekiguchi

## Trivia

* The white dog, fox, and black bull sitting at Taeko's are SUMMIT's PUNPEE, VaVa, and OSMB respectively, who produce the music for Odd Taxi anime.
* The episode title literally translates to "Beware of Tsukiyaki blades", which is a Japanese idiom to warn Kakihana against "faking it". Tsukiyaki blades refers to swords that have become dull, to which a sharp steel edge was added. However, this would result in a blade that looks sharp, but which is actually brittle and fragile.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 3 title **Borrowed Plumes and the Bodyguard** is listed as **Beware of Borrowed Plumes** on the Crunchyroll platform (see timestamp 1:31)