History#
Jiro and his older twin brother Ichiro Hotta are the shopkeeps of the Recycle Shop: Hoppers, however this is just a cover, since they are engaged in dealing with a legal version of Trigger. For months, the brothers had knowledge about a new variant of this drug that is being distributed in Naruhata. They ended up knowing that this drug has uppers mixed in that makes its consumers to turns into Instant Villains and go rampage, so they decided to not get involved with it.
Knowing how dangerous this new Trigger is, they warn their friend Kirihito to keep away from it, but he ignored their warnings. The Villain Factory, responsible for distributing the adulterated Trigger, saw potential in Kirihito's Quirk, and kidnapped him for their experiments. The brothers were very worried about the sudden disappearance of their friend.[1]
Synopsis#
Osaka Incident Arc#
The hero Eraser Head decides to help the Police Force in their investigation about the Villain Factory activities. His inquiries lead him to chase the Hotta brothers through the Naruhata's alleys. After Shota cuts off their retreat, the two brothers inject themselves Trigger, transforming into humanoid insects, and attack Eraser Head, however the hero defeats them easily.
Once they are tied, Shota clarifies that he is not a police officer, and he will overlook their fight and the fact that they used Trigger if they give him information. The Hotta brothers say he will get nothing, but when Aizawa shows them a photo of Kirihito and his bio-engineered current appearance, they immediately consent his requests.
The Hotta Brothers take Aizawa to their shop to continue speaking. The Hotta are surprised about the latest events of his friend and his transformation into a Next-Level Villain. They attribute what happened to Kirihito is because he was involved with the traffic of Bad Trigger. They assure Aizawa that they sell legal Trigger, to help stop balding and erectile dysfunction.
Aizawa tells them that he doubts they have any license to sell the stuff, then both brothers try to play dumb by saying the trigger is for them (Ichiro to stop his baldness and Jiro because he needs a little help down there) Shota decides to turn a blind eye to their illegal activities if they collaborate in the investigation and provide him with all the information they know about the new Trigger variant.[1]
After this meeting, the brothers become, to their dismay, in confidants and informants of Eraser Head, so that he can find out any news or rumor about Trigger appearing on Naruhata black market. Also Aizawa decided to use the Recycle Shop: Hoppers as an improvised base of operations, which frustrates the brothers.
Team Ups Arc#
One day, their friend Kirihito is released from prison. The Hotta Brothers decide to welcome him and let him live in his warehouse, since he cannot return to his apartment because his new body is too big and he can’t get in the place. Naomasa Tsukauchi and Shota Aizawa goes to the Hotta brothers' shop to talk with Kirihito about his kidnapping by the Villain Factory, but the only thing that he wants to complain is about how today's society discriminates against people like him. The others consider that he just exaggerates too much.[2]
Some time later, in the Recycle Shop Hoppers, Jiro and Ichiro are making a deal to sell an illegal drug against baldness to a customer. Suddenly, Shota Aizawa arrives the store, canceling the transaction and the customer hurries away. The Hotta brothers are upset by his presence and they ask him why he does not stop coming to his shop. Shota responds to them because he has to keep his ear to the ground about Naruhata black market, to find out about any news or rumors about Trigger, plus they make good cup of coffee. This response annoys the brothers.
Suddenly a stone breaks the glass of the storefront and causes damage inside, which puts the three on guard. When they get out, they find the Crawler facing Octoid, a Next-Level Villain. Shota tries to stop the villain, but Octoid turns out to be too powerful and dangerous, even for a pro hero like him, and ends up being seriously injured.[3]
Koichi helps Shota, and the Hotta brothers, seeing Eraser Head in danger, also try to help him. Jiro and Ichiro inject themselves Trigger to transform into their insectoid forms, and attack Octoid in unison, but their attacks do not seem to have much effect on the Next-Level Villain. Shota suggests to draw Octoid attention and lude him to an unpopulated area. One of Hotta Brother says he know a area, and everyone goes to the place while Koichi keeps shooting Octoid to make him chase them.
Together they manage to attract Octoid to the Hotta brothers warehouse, where Kirihito resides. This causes Kirihito to be involved in the fight against Octoid, but he is much weaker than before, and he is overtaken by Octoid.[4] Fortunately the others intervene and manage to capture the Next-Level Villain, but another entanglement with Kirihito release Octoid by accident, who escapes, fleeing through the alleys of Naruhata. However, the others end up finding him lying on the ground, tremendously injured after having received a brutal beating by someone unknown.[5]
After this, Shota continues to use the store as a meeting place with Detective Naomasa, exchanging the information obtained regarding the Villain Factory. The brothers do not like this, being their only compensation that sometime the heroine Midnight, of which they are admirers, occasionally also goes to their shop to talk with Shota and Naomasa.[6][7]
After the Octoid incident, Koichi also begins to go frequently to their store, either to lude villains so Shota defeats them,[8] to deliver important data obtained from his vigilantism activities,[9] or only to have an amicable chit chat with someone. Either way, the Hotta Brothers are not happy with his presence.[10]
School Days Arc#
At some point Octoid, whose real name is Ikajiro Takobe, got discharged, and the Hotta brothers decide to take him in by letting him live with Kirihito in tents in the place where his warehouse used to be. Around that time, the Hotta brothers also considered stop dealing with Trigger and closing the Recycle Shop, and opening a cafe-shop, with Takobe as the cook. They plan to use the villain damage insurance payment for the destruction of their warehouse and the welfare subsidy that Takobe and Kirihito get for oversized housing for that.
A few days later, Shota and Koichi go to his store. The brothers explain the situation and their plans for the future. Ikajiro adopts the kitten that Koichi brought with him and suggests to the brothers the idea of making their establishment a cat cafe. Likewise, the brothers also take into account that Shota will continues to visit them, so they include him in their plans for the cafe, where he will have his own assigned seat. Shota, however, tells them that it is not necessary as he will soon leave the city, although he promises that he will visit them when he can.[11]
Final Performance Arc#
A few years pass, and in that time the Hotta brothers open the Hopper's Cafe, of which they are the managers, which turns out to be a quite popular establishment,[12] being a place where Koichi, Kazuho and their friends often hang out.
Days go by with hardly any incident, until suddenly Kazuho mysteriously disappears. Koichi goes to Hopper's Cafe to inform them of her disappearance and ask for help in finding her. Eventually, Kazuho ends up showing up, but totally changed and into a new and anarchistic persona, Bee☆Pop,[13] who decides to bomb Naruhata and confront Koichi, while playing a song she composed. The Hotta brothers witness how Bee☆Pop manages to defeat Koichi before leaving the place, promising that she will return for another "show".[14]
The next day, all the Hopper's members watch the news about the incident, in which it is reported that Kazuho has been declared a villain. Neither Ichiro nor Jiro can help but worry about her situation and the current events. They also wonder where Koichi may be, as no one knows her whereabouts after the incident.[15]
A week goes by, until Pop decides to bomb Naruhata again to the sound of his music. While the heroes who were patrolling Naruhata try to stop her, Koichi and Kazuho's friends and acquaintances take cover at Hopper's Cafe, watching the Kazuho rampage online, and expressing concern over the situation.[16] Koichi ends up showing up to face Bee Pop, who at that time plays a new theme song that she composed especially for that occasion. Hearing the song, Jiro can't help but comment that it's a real bop.[17]