Sushi Pack - No Clowning Around

It's been a while, huh?  I never really meant to stop posting Sushi Pack recaps, though I also never meant to post every single episode, either.  Much as I love the show, there are episodes that I just didn't feel warranted a full write up.  Granted, my feelings have changed by now, in both directions (i.e. some of the shows I wrote up probably didn't deserve it), but this is one I always meant to get to.

No Clowning Around - "There are no small jobs, just small sushi."
It's a typical day in Wharf City: the sun is shining, kids are having fun playing in the park, and lovers are having their romantic interludes interrupted by the sudden arrival of clouds.  No, wait, this isn't a typical onset of clouds, it's the doing of Sir Darkly, the personification of misery.  His very presence causes flowers to wilt, seesaws to break, and makes everyone in the vicinity burst into tears, much to his deadpan delight.
Over at The Green Donut, the Sushi Pack are testing out their new periscope viewer and manage to get it working, thanks to teamwork!  Thanks to the viewer, they catch sight of Sir Darkly, and as this is his first episode, Maguro points out some of his villainous quality, with Tako adding the most important one three times.  They're also aware of his ultimate goal: collecting enough tears of sorrow to seed the clouds, making misery literally rain down on the entire world.  While the Pack contemplates this, Ben calls for them to see the weather report.  Sophia Tucker is on location to report on the strange storm that appears to be moving in, right in the middle of the mayor's annual picnic!  And even this perky reporter is no match for Sir Darkly's gloom.

Seeing Sir Darkly on screen, Ben flashes back to the last time that guy was in town, and how he was carried off by the north wind, vowing revenge on the Sushi Pack.  Though we are not privy to what exactly happened that time (did the Sushi Pack cause the wind?  Was it serendipity?), we get a clue from Ben, who warns the Pack that they won't be able to sneak up on Sir Darkly the way they did last time.  And having jumped into their action pose to do this, he abruptly falls over when they stop to come up with a plan.  Ikura suggests a plan that's all him, but Maguro reminds him that they're a team, and Ben chimes in about teamwork, as he is wont to do.  Tako surmises they'll need a disguise, and luckily, Kani has just the thing.
Down in the basement, she unveils her latest creation: B.O.B. (Being Of Bamboo), a giant robot (giant to them, anyway) that they all operate.  Though impressed, Maguro has a feeling B.O.B. won't exactly blend in, but Kani already has the answer.  With her handy remote, she activates B.O.B.'s disguise mode, turning him into a clown, the perfect camouflage for a party.  Now that that's out of the way, it's time to learn how B.O.B. actually works.  Kani dons her science gear (so cute!) to explain that each member of the Pack controls a different part of B.O.B.: Wasabi controls the right hand, Ikura has the left foot (he isn't impressed), Maguro takes the right foot, Tako gets the left foot, and Kani forms the head!  She instructs everyone to strap in and wait for the command.  With everyone in place, it's time for action!  Unfortunately, no one but Kani takes the whole thing seriously, with Ikura and Wasabi being overenthusiastic and Maguro and Tako not feeling terribly needed, and thus B.O.B. wanders about haphazardly.

Sir Darkly is able to breeze right in to the mayor's picnic, thanks to his cloud of sadness, and continues collecting tears.  The inconsolable security guards also let B.O.B. right in, and so Kani again tries to get the rest of the Pack to follow her instructions, but to no avail.  B.O.B. continues his willy-nilly gambol, catching the attention of Sir Darkly.  Noticing no tears coming from B.O.B.'s eyes, he goes in to investigate.  Kani, as B.O.B.'s voice, introduces the robot as "Bob the Party Clown," then instructs Wasabi and Ikura to wave hello. They overdo it, whacking B.O.B.'s head, so Kani to tell them both to knock it off.  Wasabi gets offended, making his flame shoot up into the cooling chamber, melting the ice.  This causes water to drip on Ikura's head, so he plugs the hole up with a sticky orange ball, which just fills up with water and dumps itself all over him.
Wet and sticky, Ikura quits being the left hand and tries to take Wasabi with him, despite Kani's protests.  This causes B.O.B. to become even more unbalanced than he was before, and he ends up smashing into the cake and collapsing.  Unable to get B.O.B. to lift up, Kani proclaims herself a failure.  Tako quickly points out that it was the rest of them, not her, that failed, and even Ikura begrudgingly admits that teamwork means working together.  Which is all well and good, but what can they do now?
To the rest of the party guests, it appears that Bob the Party Clown is dead, and Sir Darkly seizes upon this opportunity to have everyone shed a tear for the departed clown.  While he collects tears, the Sushi Pack decides it's never too late, and work together to get B.O.B. back on his feet.  With their resolve to act as a team renewed, the others follow Kani's instructions to the letter, and manage to hit Sir Darkly with some slapstick, making the guests laugh.  The laughter starts breaking up Sir Darkly's clouds, and sends the specter himself to the sky, as he and the clouds disappear in a twinkling.  Kani congratulates everyone on a job well done and lesson well learned, and B.O.B. does a little dance.

I'll admit it, my main reason for wanting to do this one was Kani in her scientist get-up.  I love it!
Watching this ep again, I wonder if Sir Darkly's earlier appearance in Wharf City was supposed to be an actual episode, or it was never written on purpose.  You know, kind of a tongue-in-cheek reference to how most superheroes have a Rogue's Gallery.  In fact, it might have been an interesting concept for there to be no recurring villains on the show, but each new one treated as if they had shown up before.  With the only exceptions being Titanium Chef and the Legion of Low Tide, obviously.  I'm glad that they didn't go in that direction, though, since then we wouldn't have gotten the next episode I'll be covering: Yam Yakkers.