pushovermediacritic - Tumblr blog

pushovermediacritic · 2 days ago

Text

Okay, so.

I was completely unfamiliar with this episode. Completely.

I fully thought, the whole time, that the shadow looking like Wizarmon was a fake-out and it was actually going to be an early-bird cameo of Arachnimon, since she has a similar hat and silhouette to Wizarmon.

Digimon Adventure 01x17 - Odaiba Memorial / Ghost of a Chance

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Iori nearly got all of his friends killed, argued with them relentlessly, disobeyed his grandfather, defrauded school officials, and operated a motor vehicle while underage. Thus earning him accreditation for upstanding moral virtue and social responsibility.

You know, I thought this episode was way later in the series. Huh.

We open this episode with a timestamp placing today as July 30th. The famous Fuji Broadcasting Center or FCG Building has been reconstructed three years after its famous observation deck was used to punt Vamdemon in the nuts. Inside, Chioka from Ishida Hiroaki's crew in the first series is working on a show along with a nameless video editor.

On the computer screen, they're going over footage of a woman nearly being hit by a swooping bird.

Chioka: Ah, right there! Put this shot right after the panning shot. Editor: (teasing) Chioka-chan, did you say an exorcism rite for this footage? Chioka: Uh, no? Why do you ask? Editor: (teasing) Strange things often happen with these sorts of mystery shows.... Chioka: Strange things? Editor: Like ghosts appearing on the tape and stuff. Chioka: Ahaha! As if something like that would happen on a show like-- (gasp) Editor: Huh? What's up?

Editor, who had been focusing on Chioka instead of the footage, looks up to see what's so shocking. In the corner of the footage, a mysterious shadow with clearly discernable eyes can be seen. Both men let out sharp gasps of shock.

The particular type of spooker that Editor tries to scare Chioka with is 幽霊 yuurei. This is an umbrella category; There's a wide variety of spooky things that can be considered 幽霊 yuurei, but they are flavors of your classical ghosty; The souls of deceased humans lingering in the living world, or that come and go from this one and the beyond.

Supernatural entities like 化け物 bakemono often get translated as "ghost" which misses some important nuance. But this one really is just "ghost".

The dub cuts out the part of the footage showing the "July 30th" timestamp.

Chioka: And here we go! (Footage of swooping bird) Chioka: Awesome! My new TV show "When Parakeets Attack" will be a smash hit! Editor: (disinterested) Yeah, yeah, whatever. Did you check the camera before you filmed this footage? Chioka: Of course! I'm a professional. Editor: Okay, then what the heck is that shadow!?

The dub cuts the following shots of Chioka and Editor facing the camera and chatting, probably because Chioka's smoking in them. One of the cut shots is even a closeup on his cigarette pack labeled, in English, "Gaster Hard --" with his hand covering the rest.

Instead, we go straight to the ominous shadow and both men freaking out.

July 31st. The Chosen Children return from the Digital World, reappearing in Computer Club after another successful day of battling the Digimon Kaiser.

Chibimon: (stomach gurgle) I'm starving! Hikari: (laughing) We just got home and you're already hungry? Chibimon: I can't help it! I'm really hungry! Takeru: Well, we reclaimed an area today so we deserve a snack! Miyako: Bingo! I just bought a new game. You guys want to come over and play it? Daisuke: (psyched) Wait, what? What did you buy?

Daisuke is so down for playing games with his team. He, Takeru, and Miyako are all in good spirits, but Hikari notices that Iori seems bothered.

Hikari: What's wrong, Iori-kun? Iori: I was just thinking that we still don't know what the Digimon Kaiser's been doing lately. Takeru: Now that you mention it, that's true. He's still expanding his territory, but he hasn't really done anything else. Daisuke: Don't worry about it! We've got the upper hand! Miyako: (nods) Mhm!

In what way do we have the upper hand? Even if all he's doing is expanding his territory, which is not correct, he still has more time to put up Towers than we have to knock them down.

The dub again cuts out the part of the footage showing the "July 31st" timestamp.

DemiVeemon: Time for a snaaa~aaack! Kari: Ahaha, is that all you can think about? Food? DemiVeemon: Traveling to and from the Digital World can work up quite an appetite. T.K.: He's right! We deserve to celebrate for our latest victory over the Digimon Emperor! Yolei: Pizza! I heard there's a rad new place down by the beach. Let's get a lunch! Davis: Half-anchovies, half-mustard. Kari: Cody, what's the matter? Cody: Nothing. i'm just not sure it's time to celebrate when we don't know what the Digimon Emperor is up to. T.K.: Maybe Cody's right. We should probably hold off on the pizza until we can figure out our next plan of attack. Davis: Come on, T.K.! You know we can't fight him on an empty stomach! Yolei: (nods) Yeah! Yeah!

Miyako's new game is replaced by a beachside pizza restaurant. Also, in the original, Iori and Takeru were merely perturbed by the lack of information regarding the Kaiser; They didn't go so far as to oppose the victory celebration.

Iori: But we won't be able to use this classroom anymore, starting tomorrow, right? Miyako: Huh? Why's that? Takeru: Oh, that's right! They're going to be holding summer computer classes for the students in the low grades.

For clarity, he means students in like 1st through 3rd grade, not students with poor grades. English!

Also, how rude. What do the administration think this is, a classroom!? We're trying to run a cross-dimensional guerilla war here! The nerve.

Daisuke: Ehh!? I never heard about that! Miyako: So then we can't go to the Digital World tomorrow? Takeru: Uh, well.... Miyako: Hm? Takeru: ...we already have plans for tomorrow, so we wouldn't be able to make it anyway. Daisuke: (suspicious) "We"? Who's "we"? Hikari: Me and Takeru-kun. Daisuke: GCK!!!

Daisuke is so mortified by that answer that his face distends into a comical caricature. With a huge shit-eating grin, Miyako turns around to enjoy the destruction of Daisuke's universe.

Between Daisuke's huge reaction and Hikari clearly playing this up to fuck with him, it's Miyako who got the big laugh out of me. XD She might as well be munching popcorn right now.

Daisuke: W-What do y-you mean? L-Like a d-d-date!? Hikari: (laughing) It's nothing like that!

Hikari shows the new kids her planner. On Thursday 8/1, she's redundantly written in red pen, "8/1 計画". Translator's note: 計画 Keikaku means "Plan".

Also, though I can't make out her 8/5 entry very well, I'm pretty sure her 8/7 with the happy smiley face is プール Puuru, or "Pool". Which absolutely warrants a happy smiley face.

Daisuke: One-eighths Plan? What's that? Takeru: That's "August 1st Plan". Also, if you were going to read it like that, wouldn't it be "Eight-oneths Plan"? Iori: That's for sure. Group: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Daisuke: Who cares! So what if I'm bad at fractions!

Everyone has a good laugh at Daisuke's expense. I would defend him by again pointing out the awkward redundancy of Hikari writing the date in but reading it as 1/8 is completely indefensible. XD

Takeru: (getting serious) Why don't you guys come too? Daisuke: Huh!? On your date? Hikari: (laughing) That's not what it is! Daisuke: (half-crying) Then what is it!?

The date of the wedding, Daisuke; They've actually been dating for months and you just didn't notice.

In the dub:

Cody: But starting tomorrow, we won't be able to use this classroom. Yolei: What? Why not? T.K.: Oh yeah, that's right! The detention room has been moved here and all the bad kids will be put in the computer lab. Davis: Hey! We're not all bad!

Even though summer school is a thing in the U.S., the dub opts for this detention bit.

Yolei: How can we go tomorrow if we can't access the computer lab!? T.K.: Wait a sec! Yolei: Hmm? T.K.: We can't go into the Digital World tomorrow anyway! I almost forgot we have big plans! Davis: What plans!? What do you mean, "We"? Kari: He means plans with me, Davis. Davis: DAHHHHHHH!!!! Are you two t-talking ab-bout a date together? Kari: Ahaha, of course not, silly! (Kari shows her planner) Davis: You guys have a date to do fractions!? What gives!? T.K.: No, Davis; That's a date, not a fraction. Tomorrow marks the anniversary of when the DigiDestined defeated Myotismon!

It does not. 08/01 is the date that the Chosen Children/DigiDestined first entered the Digital World. Vamdemon/Myotismon was killed on 08/03.

Cody: Davis thought it was a fraction! Group: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Davis: Well, how should I know they started putting math in calendars!? T.K.: Come on, Davis. Do you want to come with us? Davis: On your date!? Kari: (laughing) I told you, it's not a date! Davis: Do you promise, Kari?

The dub takes its first commercial break here.

The jokes don't hit as hard in this version. They get as far as "Davis thinks the date is a fraction", but he doesn't read it out incorrectly as 1/8 and get dunked on for it so the gag isn't quite as strong. Though the "putting math in calendars" bit is a strong punchline, so it gets points back for that.

But also, Davis's final line is delivered in a neutral voice, whereas Daisuke's voice is quivering on the verge of tears. Without the big reaction, it's not as funny.

One day later. August 1st, 2002. An establishing shot shows us where the children are meeting, though if you aren't familiar with the geography, the meaning might not be as immediately clear. They're in a grassy diamond-shaped artificial landmass just a short skip across the Tokyo Bay from the FCG Building, overlooked by the Rainbow Bridge.

Map Time! We haven't gotten to do one of these since Vamdemon died. Since the red tick on this map is the FCG Building, that places them here, which should be startlingly familiar to everyone who went through the other Map Time segments with me.

The Chosen Children are meeting at Daiba Park, the very place that Vamdemon fortified as his base of operations three years ago. This reunion is being held on the closest clear geographical landmark you could visit to dance on his grave.

Takeru: It was three years ago on August 1st, in the summer of 1999. Iori: Oh, I get it. That was the day Taichi-san and the others were first taken to the Digital World. Hikari: I was stuck at home, though. Takeru: Hikari-chan had to miss camp because she was sick that day. Patamon: That was when Takeru and I first met! Miyako: I see!

On this important day, it's story time for the junior team.

In the dub, we once again skip over the timestamp as we return from commercial.

T.K.: I can't believe it's already been four years since we went into the Digital World. It seems like yesterday. Cody: I can't imagine being at summer camp one second, then in another dimension the next! That sure beats canoeing and archery any day! Kari: I was sick, so I missed camp that summer. T.K.: I almost forgot! You weren't there the first time we saw all the weird stuff. Patamon: Wait a sec! You guys looked pretty weird to us, you know. Yolei: I guess!

Solid. This exchange is very different but it still covers the key points.

Suddenly, a voice calls out to the group.

Taichi: HEY!!! Daisuke: Ah! It's Taichi-san-tachi and the others!

The other six veterans have all arrived at Daiba Park. In fact, even Mimi is here! And she's let her hair go back to its natural brown and brought her old cowboy styles and hat.

Taichi: You guys came too! Daisuke: Yep! Miyako: Mimi-san! Mimi: Hi! Jou: How are you guys? Sora: It's been too long since we were all together like this. Iori: Oh wow! Takeru: That's right. Today is our anniversary.

As much of the anniversary is spent reminiscing about the first series, the narrator comes in to skim over it. Eleven Chosen Children find a nice shady spot under a tree to go over old memories and tell the new kids all about their experience together.

Narrator: For these children, that day was the beginning of a long yet short journey that they would never forget. The three of them, Daisuke and the others, had only ever heard bits and pieces about past events in the Digital World. But today, everyone shared their stories with them. Daisuke: What, that's what happened!? I can't believe it.... Miyako: You really are something else, Mimi-oneesama! Iori: I see. So that's what brought Takeru-san and Hikari-san to where they are now. Narrator: And yet, there were still too many battles and adventures to relate in a single day.

Yeah, you'd probably need about 54 episodes of television to really do it justice.

Daisuke is listening intently and ravenously consuming information. Miyako is worshipping Mimi again so hard that she actually says oneesama out loud when she normally keeps that tucked away in her internal monologue. And Iori is using this as a way to better understand Takeru and Hikari specifically.

In the dub:

Tai: Hey! Davis: Look, it's Tai and the whole gang! Tai: Happy anniversary, guys! Davis: Hey! Yolei: Mimi! Mimi: Hi! Joe: Wow, what a reunion! Sora: It has been a long time since we've all been together. Cody: No kidding! T.K.: Yeah, think about it. There's enough of us here to start our own soccer league!

In place of the narrator, we get to hear some of the reminiscing directly.

Tai: So you see, not all of the corrupted Digimon we encountered were, in fact, bad. They were just under the influence of the evil Black Gears. Sora: But we found out we could destroy the Black Gears with our Digivices and freed them from their spell. They became good friends and eventually helped us defeat the four Dark Masters. Davis: Geeze, those Dark Masters sound like my math teacher! Yolei: They should make a movie out of this story! Cody: I hope these grass stains will come out of my clothes or else my mom will ground me. Tai: You guys have to stick together no matter what. Remember that friendship is the key or you'll all be toast!

Not to Um Actually but Um Actually friendship is only one of eight keys. Sorry, Tai. :P

This serves to give us a brief slice of what's still implied to be an overall sharing of the experiences of the past. I like the decision to center that slice on Devimon and the Black Gears, as that's the part of the first series that's most relevant to what the junior team's going through with the Evil Rings and Evil Spirals.

It's nice to actually hear some of the sharing rather than having the narrator dryly exposit, "And then they told the junior team some stuff. Next scene."

...but it comes at the cost of Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori's well-characterized reactions to hearing the story as a whole. Davis makes a shallow quip, Yolei makes the same obvious joke that I did a moment ago, and Cody isn't even paying attention at all. That sucks.

Across the bay in the FCG Building, Chioka and Editor are still trying to figure out what's wrong with their footage.

They play the video and the shadow passes across the bottom of the screen, from right to left. They rewind the footage and play it again and, this time the shadow dashes from the bottom left corner to the top right.

Editor: (frustrated) It changed again! This is definitely bizarre! If it was recorded on the tape, there's no reason it would change every time it's played! Chioka: (distraught) And this is my first time getting to be director too....

Poor Chioka. Figuring correctly that the video isn't responsible, they make for the broadcasting control room where similar shadows are visible on every screen.

Editor: Here too. Chioka: It's not just our show. Editor: The whole station is.... Chioka: The station is what? Editor: Cursed. Chioka: Don't be stupid! They just rebuilt this place! All the equipment is brand new, so... (nervous) So....

Chioka trails off.

He makes a decent point. Generally speaking, for something to be cursed, it needs to have been around long enough for some sort of strong feeling or grudge to have developed around it. Because the FCG Building was leveled three years ago, the building is new and the equipment is new so what curse could any of it be afflicted by?

Well, the familiar shape of that shadow might give the game away to the audience.

In the dub:

Editor: There it is! (Rewind the footage and the shadow moves differently) Editor: There it is again! This is absolutely impossible. I've watched this stupid tape fifty times and every time, that shadow does something completely different! I give up. Chioka: And this was my first time as a director.... (Broadcasting room) Editor: Take a look at those monitors. See? It's not just us! That creepy shadow is on every program on this TV station! Chioka: And you've checked for technical difficulties? Editor: This isn't technical, boss. Chioka: Then what is it, smart guy? Editor: A ghost. Chioka: How am I supposed to tell my boss that I can't get my show on the air because of a ghost!? (worried) They'll can me for sure... I should have listened to my mother and gone to accounting school....

...your boss is probably vividly aware of the eerie shadow showing up on every single program being broadcast, Chioka. I don't think they'll hold the station-wide broadcasting error against you.

The dub leaves out the part where this is a new building with new equipment. It's possible they didn't see the relevancy, or they just liked their "But my boss!" gag better.

Evening falls over Daiba Park. The Chosen Children watch a ferry pass, heading for the Rainbow Bridge.

Mimi: What's wrong with you three? Iori: We're overwhelmed after hearing so many stories at once. Yolei: It feels like my stomach is overstuffed.... Daisuke: I don't think I can listen to anymore. Sora: (teasing) Already? You're not that soft, are you? Taichi: Now it's your turn to put in the work, right? Daisuke: (embarrassed) I guess so.... Yamato: Will you be okay? Miyako: (downtrodden) Probably not. Jou: Well, just hang in there!

Jou gives Daisuke an encouraging pat on the back. Too hard. Jou smacks him so hard that Daisuke nearly topples over the truly terrible fence that seems custom-made for tripping. Nobody helps him and everyone laughs instead.

Eh, y'know, falling into the Tokyo Bay "builds character", I suppose. :P At least Miyako and Iori actually look worried for him.

In the dub:

Cody: That's an incredible story. I must admit, I'm a little afraid we can't live up to the achievements of you original DigiDestined. Yolei: We wouldn't be here if we couldn't handle it! Davis: What she said! I'm ready to fight right here right now! Sora: (sarcastic) Davis, you're so brave. Tai: (sincere) That's the spirit, Davis! Take no prisoners! Davis: (embarrassed) Oh-ho-ho, yeah? Matt: Can the rest of you handle it? Yolei: (downtrodden) I'm not sure.... Joe: Just follow Davis! (Joe nearly pushes Davis in the water)

The original script is a lot more humanized, with the new kids expressing their human fragility against the encouragement of the veterans. The dub version is just a big Ra-Ra Let's Go moment dominated by Davis's machismo.

I'm not sure why Sora delivers her line in a patronizing tone.

As the team goes their separate ways for the night, Takeru goes home with Yamato. He steps into the Ishida apartment with Patamon clutched in his arms and a wide-eyed smile on his face.

Takeru: It's been so long! And it's... as messy as ever. Yamato: It can't be helped. Two guys live here.

As Yamato suggests, this apartment lives down to stereotypes. There's dirty dishes left sitting on the table and discarded clothes on the floor.

Takeru sets down Patamon and kneels down, picking up the clothes off the floor.

Takeru: I can help with the laundry-- Yamato: Stop fussing over it!

Yamato yanks the dirty clothes out of Takeru's hands.

Yamato: You said this same thing when you came over three years ago, remember? Takeru: Eh? I did? Three years ago... the day we left for camp? Yamato: I remember thinking, "Mom must do this stuff for him all the time. His room's probably always clean, his clothes are freshly washed, and when he comes home each day, there's a meal waiting for him on the table." Takeru: Sorry... I never really thought about that.... Yamato: It's okay. You shouldn't have to think too much about it.

Yamato takes the dirty clothes offscreen to put them away. In a hamper or laundry machine or... I'm not really sure.

Yamato: Well, since you came all the way here, maybe we should find someone to come by to clean up and do the laundry. Takeru: Like Mom! Yamato: Haha she would kill me!

Yamato laughs off the suggestion, but Takeru looks down at the floor, sincerely disappointed that they aren't inviting Natsuko into this sleepover. He says nothing, but the camera focuses for a moment on Patamon silently looking up at him. A moment of silent sympathy.

Yamato is absolutely correct, though. If they called Natsuko to come clean up Hiroaki's apartment, no one would ever find Hiroaki and Yamato's bodies. XD

We haven't seen much of Takeru and Natsuko's home life but we did get a glimpse of it in the first episode. Natsuko's a busy woman. We don't know how much Takeru cooks, cleans, and looks after himself, but he at least put his dishes in the sink which is more than Yamato and Hiroaki are doing for themselves.

The opinion Yamato expresses here is a reflection of how he used to view Takeru. It says more about the way Yamato used to think about Takeru than about Takeru and Natusko's relationship. By his admission, Takeru tried to do back then the same thing he's doing now: Offering to help pick up the house for Yamato and Hiroaki.

But Yamato just felt criticized by a spoiled child of privilege. Because it was important to his self-identity back then that he view Takeru as helpless. Takeru can't be someone who can tidy up and clean; He must just be being taken care of by Natsuko and that's why he's questioning the state of the apartment.

Takeru's behavior hasn't changed. What's changed is how Yamato perceives it. But he still isn't going to let Takeru spend all night cleaning his apartment. Are you shitting me? No.

Bestie's little sister does this same fucking thing. Comes over and immediately starts looking for chores she can do. I don't know why little siblings are like this.

In the dub:

T.K.: I haven't been here in a while! Iiiiiit's... the same. Including the smell of your socks.

Perfect delivery. A+

Matt: What are you talking about? I just finished cleaning the place! T.K.: I see.... (T.K. kneels down and picks up discarded laundry) T.K.: (laughing) And how long have these been here? (Matt yanks the clothes away) Matt: Quit nitpicking, T.K.! Dad's been putting in a lot of hours at the TV station and I've been rehearsing with my band! T.K.: Oh. Sorry. I almost forgot it's just you two guys. Matt: Don't worry about it. You're right, this place does have a distinct odor to it. Those dishes are so filthy, I think I'd rather face the Dark Masters again than clean them. If Mom lived with me, she'd never let this mess happen. She always kept us in line. T.K.: Yeah. She cracks the whip on me! Matt: Anyway, I'm starving. What do you want to eat? And don't expect anything fancy 'cause we haven't gone grocery shopping in quite a while.... T.K.: Anything will be fine. Matt: Okay, but I warned you! (T.K. looks down, disappointed)

Where Yamato and Takeru spend their dialogue reminiscing about the past, Matt and T.K. are more focused on the present state of the apartment and why it's like this.

The dub script doesn't explain why T.K. suddenly gets sad. In the original, it's simple. He's young, he wants to spend time with his whole family together in one place, and the unlikelihood of ever doing that again depresses him. Takeru is a child of divorce and he carries that weight on his shoulders.

In the dub, the next section about dinner starts a couple lines early. I guess T.K.'s unhappy about the poor menu options?

Yamato returns from putting away the laundry.

Yamato: What do you want to eat? I'm going to be the one making it, so don't expect too much. Takeru: (perks up) Anything will be fine as long as it's a home-cooked meal by my Onii-chan! Yamato: (wicked grin) Oh, is that right? Then prepare yourself.

Smash cut to the end of dinner. Takeru drops his spoon into his empty curry bowl and inhales a glass of water before choking out the customary Japanese phrase to conclude a meal. It seems the curry he just ate was unbelievably spicy.

Takeru: (finishes water) NYAGH!!! Yamato: Hahahahaha! Takeru: G-Gouchisousama! Dad always eats like this!? Yamato: No, to honor our guest Takeru-sama, this was a Special Dinner.

"Special Dinner" is in English.

Takeru: Special!? The normal one would have been fine.... Yamato: That wouldn't be right. This only happens one night out of every year. It's just like Orihime and Hikoboshi on Tanabata. Takeru: (facepalm) Orihime and HIkoboshi would be furious if they heard that.

Yamato and Takeru are referring to a Japanese holiday they borrowed from China. It's based on a popular story about a pair of star-crossed lovers separated by Orihime's father who can only meet one day out of every year. That one day when the lovers can meet has been a real-world holiday in China and Japan for well over a thousand years.

In the dub, the boys have already begun discussing dinner.

Matt: First, I'll take a little stroll to our old refrigerator and, uh... Take a peek at what's not expired. T.K.: (perks up) I have an idea. Why don't we just order a pizza? I'll buy! Matt: (wicked grin) I've got an idea. A real hot one! (Smash cut to empty curry bowl and T.K. inhaling water) Matt: Ahahahahahahahaha! T.K.: Quick, call 9-1-1! Or the Poison Center! I'm gonna pass out! Matt: I thought I told you, "Eat at your own risk." But you said you were hungry! T.K.: Are you crazy!? What is this stuff!? Matt: It's a secret, but I'll tell you: A little bit of hot sauce, a little wasabi, and a mystery meat I found in the refrigerator covered in green fuzz! T.K.: (facepalm) Oh man, I never thought cooking could make you feel dizzy....

Obviously, the Tanabata stuff wasn't making it over. We do lose Yamato asserting that Takeru only gets to sleep over once a year. The boys are still as estranged by the divorce as they were in the first series.

That's a minor background detail that I like. Even after everything that happened in the first series, Yamato and Takeru's living situations haven't changed. Hiroaki and Natsuko went through a mutual terrifying experience with their children during Vamdemon's invasion of Odaiba, and they were visibly supporting each other when the Chosen Children returned to the Digital World and fought Apocalymon.

But once those events ended... They went right back to business as usual. Hiroaki and Natsuko divorced for a reason. They are never, ever getting back together. Sorry, Takeru, but it's true. And that's neat. It's rare to see stories commit to a divorce.

But the dialogue that replaces all of that is charming, goofy, and likable too. Some solid brotherly banter in this scene.

Suddenly, the door opens and closes.

Takeru: Ah! He's home!

Hiroaki comes down the hall, entering the apartment's dining area.

Takeru: Welcome home! Hiroaki: Oh, you're here? So that was today then.... Yamato: What, did you forget? Hiroaki: No, no, you're right, it's today....

Hiroaki slumps down in his chair and lets out a hard sigh. His uneaten Special Dinner curry set out on the plate in front of him. Waiting. Lurking.

Takeru: What is it? Did something happen? Hiroaki: No, it's nothing....

Hiroaki lets out another sigh and holds his head in his hands. He is clearly upset about something.

Yamato: Okay, what's with the eerie noises? Hiroaki: Eerie? Yes. You're right. It's eerie. I don't want to think about it but no matter what, I just can't get these eerie things out of my head. Yamato: What are you talking about?

Hiroaki stands up and slowly walks across the room with his arms slumped down, like a shambling corpse.

Hiroaki: If you saw someone walking down the hall like this, what would you think? Yamato: (dismissive) Probably just something like "Where is he going?" Hiroaki: That's right! That's what you'd think. So then you watch them to see what they're going. And then.... Yamato: And then...? Hiroaki: In the hallway where you thought someone was walking, there's nobody there. Takeru: So you thought you saw someone at first, but you were just seeing things? Hiroaki: (unconvinced) Yeah... Seeing things....

Probably just old age. Or ghosts. It's a proven scientific fact that ghosts exist and that they come out of the wifi network. And also draculas. Which I would have lost money on if we'd been betting on how ghosts and draculas work but that's life.

In the dub:

(Door opens and closes) T.K.: Oh! Dad must be home. Hey, Dad! Hiroaki: Hey, T.K. Hey, Matt. Sorry I'm late again. Matt: Another tough day at the TV station? Hiroaki: It's always tough but lately it's been just brutal. (Hiroaki slumps into his chair in front of the murderous curry) T.K.: Dad, what's the matter? Hiroaki: Ugh, I don't even know how to explain it. Matt: Don't tell me Myotismon destroyed the station again. Hiroaki: Ha! I almost wish! At least then I would have an answer for what's going on! My staff is quitting every hour saying they're seeing strange things and I don't blame them! I must be losing my mind.... Matt: What's happening, Dad? Hiroaki: Okay.... (Hiroaki gets up and shambles like a zombie) Hiroaki: One second you're walking down the hall and you see something moving out of the corner of your eye. Takeru: That doesn't sound too crazy so far. Hiroaki: Right! But when you turn to look, nothing! Not a trace of anyone or anything! Just an empty hallway. Yamato: So what? Hiroaki: It might sound crazy but I've come to a conclusion. The station is haunted! T.K.: Are you sure you're not just overtired? You have been putting in a lot of hours lately. Hiroaki: I know. But it's more than that.

They remove the part where Hiroaki's surprised by Takeru's presence and add in T.K. being pretty knowledgeable about Hiroaki's recent working hours. Coupled with the rewrites in the previous part and it seems pretty clear to me that they're trying to scrub out Takeru and Yamato's estrangement.

I guess they just didn't like the plot point of Takeru only staying here on the Adventure anniversary and want him to be a regular guest of Hiroaki's home.

Also of note is that when Hiroaki shambles across the room, he now seems to be describing himself walking down the hall instead of describing the person he saw.

Hiroaki: Oh... So what do you think of this? While I'm editing, I see a shadow on the screen that shouldn't be there. Yamato: Maybe no one noticed it during filming. Hiroaki: Oh? Is that right? Takeru: What else could it be? Hiroaki: Yeah, sure. That'd be nice. Takeru: What, a ghost did it? Hiroaki: That's right. If one or two people saw it, we could just assume they're seeing things. But when it's ten or twenty people....

The boys have no answer to that.

In the dub:

Hiroaki: For instance, there's this dark shadow. It keeps appearing on every monitor in the station but it's different every single time. Matt: I bet it's just the equipment. It probably needs to be cleaned. Hiroaki: I know. I thought of that. T.K.: Wow, that's pretty weird! Hiroaki: You're telling me. ...maybe it is stress. T.K.: Well, what are you gonna do? Hiroaki: I dunno. Maybe I'll go on a vacation. I heard the Arctic is a nice place to visit. I haven't taken one in fifteen years.

In both version, Matt makes counterarguments that the discovery scene with Chioka already answered in the Japanese script. It's not a filming error because the shadow changes every time and it's not the equipment because it's all brand new stuff straight out of the box.

Hiroaki's reply doesn't really answer either concern. He basically just goes "Nuh uh!" in both versions so it's unsurprising that Yamato/Matt isn't taking this seriously.

Dub Hiroaki is more willing to accept that he might be delusional. Original Hiroaki makes the salient point that other people are seeing this shit too so there's no way the problem is just him.

Though there is another possibility nobody points out and it's that the newly reconstructed FCG building might have a gas leak. A mass hallucination is possible if there's something bad in the air, and they should probably evacuate the building and call someone to look at it.

It's at this point that the boys notice Hiroaki brought home a Sony Sonic portable MiniDisc player.

Takeru: Hey dad, what's that MD? Hiroaki: Oh, Sakurada made me a copy of his sutra. Boys: A sutra!? Hiroaki: Well, with some kind of bakemono going around, I thought this would help. But it hasn't done anything! Yamato: (irritated) This is so dumb.

Yamato gets up and leaves the table, unwilling to participate in this conversation any longer.

Takeru: Oh, that's right! I wanted to take a bath.

Takeru more politely excuses himself but he quits the conversation too, leaving Hiroaki alone in the living room. Hiroaki sits back down at the table.

Hiroaki: Well, guess I'll have dinner, then.

He takes one bite of the Special Dinner and his face turns bright red. Cut to exterior shot of the apartment as he screams in agony.

Hiroaki: HOT!!! IT'S SO HOT!!!

Cause of death: Having kids.

Up to this point, the entity in the TV station has been referred to with the term 幽霊 yuurei for ghost. However, Hiroaki calls it 化け物系 bakemono-kei or "A bakemono type of thing". We're pretty familiar with the concept of 化け物 bakemono by now; They're shapeshifting supernatural entities that impersonate a human guise in order to manipulate and deceive people. Quite literally what the Bakemon are based on.

It's not the same thing as 幽霊 yuurei. Though its shorthand お化け obake sometimes gets used to mean 幽霊 yuurei. Language drift!

His staff and Takeru sarcastically all suggest it's a ghost, but Hiroaki isn't willing to commit to anything more than "Some sort of spooky creature in the shape of a person."

As usual, the dub doesn't like the use of Buddhist sutras to ward off evil spirits.

Matt: What's up with the CD player? Hiroaki: It's a soothing recording of buffalos migrating. Boys: BUFFALO!?!? Hiroaki: Yeah, I heard these recordings help with stress. At this point, I'm willing to try anything. (chanting) I'm a happy little buffalo.... Matt: (laughing) You've flipped your lid! Hiroaki: Huh? (Matt leaves) T.K.: Don't mind him, Dad. He's just not a happy little buffalo! (T.K. leaves) Hiroaki: (sigh) Boy, am I hungry. (Hiroaki takes a bite and regrets it immediately) Hiroaki: CALL THE FIRE DEPARTMENT!!!

Matt and T.K. seem to be taking this in good fun in the dub, which goes in a more absurd direction with the introduction of the buffalo recording. It's a difference of "Oh my god, what the fuck" versus "LOL what the fuck", culminating in T.K. getting a pretty solid joke in at Hiroaki's expense. XD

We return to the FCG Building the next day, with text helpfully informing us that it's now August 2nd.

Chioka and the Editor are still trying to get their footage to work. They hit Play and watch the footage carefully for a couple seconds... until the shadow crosses over it.

Editor: Gragh! Chioka: Not again! Editor: if this keeps up, we'll get nothing done! This show airs the day after tomorrow! Chioka: Don't say things like that! We can't broadcast it like this! Editor: NYAAAAGH WHAT DO WE DO!?!?

Editor holds his head in his hands and freaks out while Chioka starts crying outright.

Chioka: T_T I put so much work into it....

Our only choice now is to just get used to having to edit with the Station Ghost haunting our monitors. I'm sure eventually this will just become something everyone at the office lives with.

The dub once again skips the date.

Editor: This is the moment of truth. So far so good. (Shadow jumps across the screen) Editor: Gragh! Chioka: Not again! Editor: Look, boss. We're never gonna finish at this rate. We're definitely gonna need more time. Chioka: Are you crazy!? This is supposed to go on the air tomorrow! Editor: OH THAT'S JUST GREAT!!! WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO!?!? Chioka: T_T My career is finished! I'll forever be known as the Haunted Director!

"Haunted Director" is a pretty badass title, honestly. You could probably make a killing in the horror industry with that kind of reputation.

The dub bumps up the deadline by a day, making this even more urgent.

Suddenly, Sakurada approaches carrying his stereo.

Sakurada: Should I play this? Chioka: Eh? Sakurada: The sutra. Chioka: (irritated) You bring an MD just to listen to that? Editor: At this point, we might as well try anything! Chioka: Eh?

Sakurada brings the stereo over to the Editor's desk and hits play. But nothing happens. For four seconds, the room is silent.

Editor: Eh? There's no sound. Is it broken? Sakurada: Huh? That's impossible. I just got this MD player.

Sakurada leans down and inspects the stereo. A deep, ghastly wailing slowly fills in the room. An eerie moan of the dead.

Editor: ^_^;; Uh, that's a weird sutra. Sakurada: (freaked out) N-No, that's... That voice isn't coming from this deck. Chioka: Then where would....

As the realization settles in over the three men, they all stand up at once. We leave them here, looking frantically around the editing room, as we go to commercial.

In the dub:

Jeremiah: We got the soundtrack back but... it's weird. Chioka: This is the very worst day of my entire life. Editor: What do you mean by weird? Play the darn tape! Chioka: Huh!? Jeremiah: Here goes! (Jeremiah plays the tape) Stereo: ... Editor: Hey, wait. I don't hear anything. Where's the music? Jeremiah: That's the thing! We recorded this music but it plays back this voice! Mysterious Voice: ...Ga...to... Jeremiah: Huh!? Editor: I didn't sign up for this! Mysterious Voice: G... Ga... to.... Jeremiah: It's the ghost! It doesn't sound happy and I bet it's coming for us! Editor: Yeah? Chioka: Agh! It could be anywhere! (All three stand up, panicking and wailing)

Having to remove the sutra leaves this scene stilted. In the original, Chioka shit-talks the sutra only for Editor to insist on trying it, causing Chioka to react with surprise. Here, the Editor simply says he wants to hear the weird thing Jeremiah brought, which is a natural reaction to what Jeremiah said. So it's not clear why Chioka suddenly gets shocked.

The original's more subtle and haunting in how it builds up the ghost.

The dub skips the commercial here and kicks it out to later.

When we return from commercial, a staff member enters Hiroaki's office to tell him what happened.

Hiroaki: What did you say!? There's a voice now!?

Then we immediately cut away from that because it's MIMI TIME, FUCKOS!!!

Mimi and Sora visit Tokyo Tower with their kouhai Miyako, reminiscing about that time they were in a punch-up with SkullMeramon that destroyed it.

Mimi: YEEEEEEAH IT'S TOKYO TOWER!!! Long time no see! Sora: And it's been fully repaired, too. Miyako: Part of it melted once, didn't it? Mimi: That was a pretty rough time for Tokyo. Miyako: I didn't know Digimon from the Digital World were responsible for that!

It still amazes me that the Chosen Children somehow managed to navigate the fallout of Odaiba being leveled by a kaiju monster, the sky splitting apart, and the whole world watching them fight a cross-dimensional monster through an omnipresent void without anyone ever finding out what any of that was about.

Fucking Dracula kidnapped everyone in Odaiba, then took all their children away in order to check them for something. And no one ever wondered what he was looking for?

I blame Godzilla. All the endless kaiju attacks desensitized the Japanese people into a state of "Well, that happened, but I have work tomorrow."

That's a joke, but it's also sort of true. This is what 頑張る ganbaru, what the spirit of Japanese perseverance against adversity, means. Japan is a nation beset by national disaster. Hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, nuclear disasters, these things are part of life in Japan and baked into the social fabric.

Living in Japan means understanding that sometimes the universe is just gonna kick you in the nuts for no reason, and then you gotta do what you gotta do. Stand firm, do the work, and get it done so we can move forward.

No one really understands what happened on those days three years ago. But they survived, they rebuilt what the monsters destroyed, and now life moves on.

In the dub:

Employee: Sir, we need you right away! Hiroaki: A shadow!? Oh no, not again!

Despite the voice being more legible in the dub version, they apparently didn't see fit to tell Hiroaki about it.

Here the dub takes its second commercial break. I guess they figured it made more sense that way. I can see the logic of both.

In the original, Hiroaki's line is a reminder of what just happened before the commercial. The dub instead keeps the TV station scenes over there on that side of the commercial and the Chosen Children scenes over here, making a clean break.

Mimi: Hey, it's Tokyo Tower! I did my first fashion shoot here. Sora: This place looks better than the last time I saw it. Yolei: Is it true that a Digimon leveled it? Mimi: Yep. And he almost demolished the entire city too. Yolei: Why did he have to destroy the tower? Why couldn't have have blasted my dentist's office instead!

...he did not almost demolish the entire city. The dub's thinking of something else.

I think they forgot about SkullMeramon and thought Tokyo Tower was destroyed in the VenomVamdemon attack. They also thought 08/01 was the date of that attack. The dub's kind of fixated on just that one battle.

But this tower wasn't anywhere near the carnage of that day. We're on the other side of the Rainbow Bridge from Odaiba and then a good 2-3 miles northwest.

If you recall, Vamdemon set up shop in the northwest corner of Odaiba, Daiba Park, and then immediately sent all of his forces in the wrong direction. It's hilarious. So we had this fight with SkullMeramon well outside of what would later become the barrier-enshrouded destruction zone of Odaiba.

Checking in with Jou, would it surprise you to learn he's studying in cram school right now?

Takeru and Yamato are out in Shibuya.

Yamato: Shibuya's as crowded as ever, huh? Takeru: Yeah! ...ah! Here.

Takeru stops Yamato when they find what they're looking for: A simple storefront with a glass display window. The boys remember Pumpmon and Gotsumon playing around and trying on clothes in the shop.

Yamato: (fondly) They were good guys. Takeru: (fondly) Yeah....

The way Takeru stops Yamato implies that they came out here specifically for this. As part of their anniversary, they make an annual trip to Shibuya to remember the Shibuya-type Digimon who gave their lives for them.

Decide for yourself whether Yamato and Takeru also annually rob an ice cream stand in their honor.

The dub gives Joe's teacher some dialogue.

Teacher: And that, students, is how we determine how fast the pie was moving when it hit the clown in the face. Joe: (thinking) Please let the bell ring. Please get me out of here!

Apparently this class sucks so much that even studious Joe hates it.

T.K.: Mall's crowded just like always. Matt: This anniversary is making me think about the Digimon we lost. T.K.: I know what you mean. Everywhere I look today, I'm seeing their faces. (Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon appear in the window briefly) Matt: (fondly) Sure are lots of good memories. T.K.: (fondly) Mhm....

The dub takes the opposite approach and suggests Matt and T.K. are just visiting "the mall" but are also haunted by the memory of Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon that saturates this place.

It's worth noting that Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon are alive in the dub version, so they might not feel obligated to memorialize the pair in the same way. Though Matt still explicitly refers to them as Digimon "we lost", which can really only mean one thing.

While Miyako's with her senpais and Takeru's with his brother, Daisuke and Iori have joined Koushiro at the Yagami residence. They're all in Taichi's room together, since the siblings have separate rooms now.

Koushiro: Since we're here, I'd like to run a little experiment.

Fuck off, Koushiro. It's a team holiday. T_T Workaholics....

Daisuke: Eh? Like what? Koushiro: Actually, it pertains to the Digital Gate. Hikari: Gate? The one we use to go to the Digital World? Koushiro: Yes.

Even in this casual setting, Iori is sitting in the formal 正座 seiza posture. Koushiro doesn't give a shit and is on his butt because he's learned how to be sociable. However, once he starts explaining himself, Koushiro gets up and transitions into the 正座 seiza position for respectability.

Koushiro: Up until now, we've always used the computer in the Computer Room to travel to and from the Digital World. I want to find out if it's possible to open the Gate from somewhere else. Iori: (excited) Eh!? How would we do that? Is that even possible? Koushiro: (sheepish) No, I just meant that it might be possible. I can't say for sure right now.

That's why we're experimenting. Koushiro has hypotheses that he wants to turn into facts.

As an aside, Tailmon has gotten really good at looking like a stuffed animal. The dead-eyed stare she's giving right now even though they aren't in public is haunting.

The dub continues the running joke of Yuuko's horrifying cooking.

Tai: My mom won't be home for a while. She's at a Cooking with Fungus class. Izzy: So, while she's gone, I thought we could do an experiment. Davis: Huh!? What kind of experiment!? Izzy: It's simple. It has to do with the Digi-Port. Kari: Digi-Port? But how are we supposed to do an experiment from here? Izzy: Right. We always have to use the computers in the school's computer lab to travel to and from the Digital World. But what if we could program our D-3 Digivices to be able to open the Digi-Port from our home computers too? Cody: Yeah! But that's easier said than done, Izzy. Where do we begin? Izzy: See, that's where it gets a little foggy. I have a couple of theories but I'm not real sure....

Kari's redundant "You mean THAT Digital Gate?" line is replaced with a very reasonable question that I really like.

And Izzy's tripping over his words again. I'm referring, specifically, to the part where he says "program our D-3 Digivices". In four words he manages to say the wrong thing twice.

First, Izzy suggests that the D-3s would need to be "programmed". They can't open Digi-Ports anywhere but the computer room now, but we could modify them to allow that. This is incorrect; What both Koushiro and Izzy is about to suggest is that they always could. No modification required.

Second, he refers to the D-3 as "our", indicating that he too has one. He does not. He has a standard Digivice incapable of opening the Digital Gate/Digi-Port.

Taichi: Get to the point, Koushiro. Koushiro: To put it simply, I don't think that computer we always use is what has the power to open the Digital Gate.

Koushiro turns away from Taichi and speaks to the junior members in the room.

Koushiro: What opens the Gate is the power of those D-3s that all of you have.

Hikari holds up her D-3.

Hikari: This? Koushiro: Yes. I'd considered this before, but I couldn't be sure so I didn't want to say anything. However, on a day like this when the computer room isn't available, it could be a problem if the Digimon Kaiser starts making any moves.

I mean. He lives there. He's kind of always making moves.

Taichi: I get it. But if that's right... Where else would we be able to enter the Digital World from? Koushiro: Right here. Taichi: HERE!?!?

Koushiro stands up and points at the computer behind Taichi.

Koushiro: As long as there's a computer. No, even without a computer, it may be possible to enter the Digital World with a D-3 alone. Group: (collective gasps) Iori: (gasp)

They let everyone give a communal shocked gasp and then zoom in on Iori just... watching how awesome his senpai is.

In the dub:

Tai: Come on, Izzy. Let's hear 'em. Izzy: Here's the thing. We've always just assumed the power of the computer is the key to opening the Digi-Port. My theory is that the computers are incidental and that the D-3s are the true power of the Digi-Port. (Kari holds up her D-3) Kari: These things? Izzy: Right. I've suspected it for some time now but I didn't say anything because I didn't have enough proof to be absolutely sure. Now with the school's computer lab being used for detention and our access to the Digi-Port being limited, the Digimon Emperor might do some damage while we're stuck looking for a way into the Digital World! Tai: That's a really good point, Izzy, but where exactly are we supposed to open the Digi-Port? Izzy: Right here. Group: HUH!?!? (Izzy stands and points at the computer) Izzy: We'll open it up right here. See, according to my theory, the D-3 is all we'll need to open the portal. But if I'm wrong, it could be dangerous. Group: (collective gasp) Cody: Ohhhhhh....

That last vocalization from Cody is somewhere between a sigh and a dawning realization.

This was pretty solid all up to "It could be dangerous", which Izzy pulls straight of his asshole. If he's wrong, the only thing that will happen is that the Digi-Port won't open. Why is he suddenly trying to inject tension into this?

This line replaces the important point that the D-3 might even be able to open Digital Gates away from the computer. Which makes sense. We never used a computer to go to and from the Digital World in the first series, and neither did Hikari and Takeru to reach the Dark Ocean. This will become relevant again.

Koushiro: Daisuke-kun, please give it a try. Daisuke: M-Me!? Hikari: That's right, Daisuke-kun. Go try it. Daisuke: G-Got it!

You heard izzy; It could be dangerous and you're expendable so chop chop!

I say this with love. Sorry, I couldn't help myself. ^_^;;

Daisuke approaches the computer and brings up the Digital Gate. He holds out his D-3 to the monitor.

Daisuke: DIGITAL GATE, OPEN!!!

The light turns green. The Digital Gate is open. Everyone shares a collective gasp of surprised glee.

Iori: The Digital Gate opened! Daisuke: Let's go! Iori: Eh? Daisuke: We went to all this trouble, so we might as well go!

Nobody answers him, but the determined smiles they shoot to the computer is answer enough.

In the dub:

Izzy: Well, who's the first guinea pig? Come on, Davis, give it a try! Davis: What!? Who, me!? Kari: (aggressively sarcastic) No, silly. He means the other boy with goggles. Davis: Oh! Where is he? (Davis brings up the Digital Gate) Davis: Here goes. DIGI-PORT OPEN!!! (The light turns green) Cody: I can't believe it! Nice work, Izzy! Davis: Let's go through! Group: Huh!? Davis: We need to test the Digi-Port!

The tonal whiplash between Hikari/Kari's two lines is a reminder of how aggressively different the vibes between her and Daisuke/Davis is in the two versions. As Taichi's kouhai, Daisuke's basically an honorary part of the Yagami family who Hikari occasionally flexes her influence over to move the plot along. While Kari just has reasonably well-justified contempt for this possessive dipshit.

Kari's line read for that sarcastic quip is scathing. This is not poking fun; This is "Oh my god, he can't actually be that stupid" tone which sets up Davis's punchline of actually being that stupid.

Davis's motive for going through the Digi-Port has also changed. In the original, he's just gung-ho about any chance he gets to get in there. Daisuke loves being a Chosen Child. He really is having a blast with all this. There is no other reason. Davis just wants to finish testing it to make sure it worked.

Once the rest of the team's onboard, Daisuke turns back around to the computer. It's time to--

Yuuko: (from the entrance hall) I'm home!!!

ABORT. It's time to ABORT.

Fun linguistic fact, the phrase for returning home is ただいま帰りました Tadaima kaerimashita. There's no funny meaning to it like the "I am here to bother you" thing you say when visiting someone. It's literally just "I have now returned home".

However, it's also a mouthful after a long trip so people have gotten into the habit of just saying ただいま Tadaima. Which is not the "returned home" part but the "I have now" part.

So basically, in Japan, it is customary to yell out "Right now!" as you burst through the front door.

Out front, Yuuko notices five pairs of shoes by the door.

Yuuko: Huh? We have a lot of guests....

Back in Taichi's room, he stops Daisuke.

Taichi: Daisuke, wait! The bag is home.

Okay that's gonna need some explaining. That sounds bad in English but in Japan, お袋 Ofukuro is actually a term of endearment. A bag is what holds valuables and important treasures. It's a phrase typically used by men or boys to indicate a particularly close and emotionally dependent relationship with their mothers.

In essence, a "bag" mother is a bottomless container from which love and support pours out. Taichi basically just called her "Mommy" right in front of everyone.

Taichi: Daisuke, wait! Mommy's home. Daisuke: B-But.... Taichi: All of our shoes are out front! It will be weird if no one's here. Iori: He's right.

Daisuke reluctantly relents and closes the Gate.

Daisuke: It's closed. Koushiro: Like I thought, it can open from here too. Taichi: If only we knew that sooner, we could all have gone to the Digital World yesterday right on August 1st. Koushiro: You're right. I'm sorry I didn't think of that. Taichi: Ahaha, that's fine! It's not your fault, Koushiro. There's always next year. Hikari: Mhm! Iori: That said, while being able to reach the Digital World from home may seem convenient, it may also be troublesome. Hikari: Why is that?

As if on cue, Yuuko knocks twice and then opens the door uninvited.

Yuuko: You have friends over? Iori, Daisuke, & Koushiro: Ojamashitemasu! Taichi: H-Hi!

There's "I'm here to bother you", the customary phrase for entering into another person's hospitality. Even though the Gate is closed, everybody lines up in front of the computer, guiltily using their bodies to shield Tailmon, Chibimon, and Upamon from view.

Yuuko: Hello. Make yourselves at home.

Yuuko shuts the door and leaves the kids to their business.

Koushiro: Iori-kun is right. If we start going in and out from our home computers, we have to be more careful than ever to avoid being caught by our families. Hikari: Yeah, if we suddenly vanished from our rooms, Mom would be so shocked that she might call the police. Taichi: Yeah. Koushiro: We'll have to devise some sort of countermeasure....

One step forward and one step back. We can go to the Digital World from any computer but without a solid plan in place, we shouldn't. No one here wants to be the next missing child.

In the dub:

Yuuko: I'm home! Group: (collective gasp) (Cut to Yuuko out front) Yuuko: Visitors? I'd better make fungus cookies.

I'm sure Izzy and nobody else will be thrilled about that.

Tai: Wait! We can't go! My mom's home early! Davis: But-but-- Tai: She saw our shoes by the door. If she comes up here and we're gone, we're toast! Cody: Tai is right.

He is not. "Up" here, Tai? You're in an apartment. There is only one floor.

(Digi-Port closes) Davis: Aww, man.... Izzy: Bummer. I wanted to see my theory through. Tai: Don't worry, Izzy. You'll get your chance soon enough. I just wish we would have known about this earlier; It might have saved us some close calls with our parents. Izzy: Yeah, I know. I should have said something sooner. Tai: Haha, no need to sweat it! It's not your fault! Nice work, Izzy! Kari: Mhm! Cody: Now that we know that the D-3 can open the portal from any one of our homes, we're going to have to be extra especially careful. Kari: But why? (Yuuko knocks six times and then enters) Yuuko: Hey kids! Group: Hi! Kari: (guiltily) Hi, Mom! Tai: (panicked) Hi, Mom! Yuuko: I hope everyone's hungyyyyyy! (Yuuko closes the door) Izzy: Because of just that, Kari. Keeping this secret from our families becomes a lot more difficult when they can barge in on us at any second. Kari: I can't imagine if our mother came into our rooms in the night and we weren't there. She'd probably call the National Guard and the Army! Tai: Mhm.... Izzy: We're just gonna have to work out some sort of a plan....

The correct term for Japan's military is the Japan Self-Defense Force or JSDF, but localization strikes again. Per the Constitution of Japan which the U.S. forced on them after WWII, Japan legally cannot have a standing army. The JSDF is their "Technically not an army so it's not breaking the rules" army.

In any case, the dub changes the context for the "If only we knew about this sooner" bit. Taichi laments that visiting the Digital World on the anniversary of the day they were all pulled int would be great. But the only part of the anniversary that the dub cares about is the final battle with VenomMyotismon. so they change that to Tai regretting how much easier this would make their recent adventures.

The next day. August 3rd. Today is the day that they defeated Vamdemon.

The Chosen Children gather outside the FCG Building. Hikari's brought a bouquet of flowers. The show never explicitly says what those flowers are for but, from context, she probably intends to leave them at Wizarmon's "grave", so to speak.

Coming to the FCG Building to memorialize Wizarmon on the day of their death is implicitly the last leg of the annual anniversary event. Just like how Yamato and Takeru visit Shibuya to memorialize Pumpmon and Gotsumon on 08/02, the day of their death.

Suddenly, dark storm clouds roll in over the building.

Hikari: The weather changed so suddenly.... Tailmon: Yeah....

Uh, the last time this happened (on this exact date, even) Odaiba was turned into a rubble field. So. We should. Probably be ready for that.

With the stormclouds comes lightning. A few stay bolts strike in the general area. But then one hits the FCG Building itself,

Group: HUH!?!? Daisuke: It was struck by lightning!

Thanks, Daisuke.

In the dub, the timestamp's gone again.

Kari: Look at that huge cloud! Did you see how it just came out of nowhere? Gatomon: Uh-huh. T.K.: Those weathermen are always wrong! (Lightning strike) Group: HUH!?!? Davis: Aggggh Something here's not right!

It's a little dry in both versions but T.K. tries to punch it up with a quip.

Inside the building, it's a total blackout. The terrorized staff run screaming from the building.

Hiroaki follows his staff out into a hallway. Suddenly, a shadow passes beneath his foot. It's the shadow from the monitors. In the darkened hallway, Hiroaki watches the shadow move across the walls, then double back and head the other way.

Outside, the Chosen Children watch people evacuate the building, unsure of what's happening.

Hikari: What's going on? Tailmon: (gasp)

Tailmon suddenly realizes something. Dropping to all fours, she bounds into the FCG Building.

Hikari: Tailmon!

The other children give chase, pursuing Tailmon inside.

The dub gives Hiroaki a line upon seeing the shadow on the wall.

Hiroaki: Not again! (Everyone flees the building) Woman: IT'S THE GHOST!!! Man: IT'S AFTER US!!! Group: Huh!? Gatomon: (gasp) (Gatomon bounds inside) Kari: Gatomon!

The children enter the station, following Tailmon up to the spherical observation deck. The room where they confronted Vamdemon and Phantomon three years ago to try and save Hikari. A lone computer quietly turns itself on.

Up on the ceiling, the shadow rapidly circles the light fixture.

Hikari: What the hell is that!?

The desk shakes, blowing a stack of fliers at the children. The computer monitor fills in with random letters in eerie red font. Tailmon tries to call out to the entity.

Tailmon: I'm... I'm here! That's enough! I'm here!

The only reply she gets is that low, deep-throated groaning from before.

In the dub, once again, there's much less mystery surrounding what this haunting is because it uses its words.

Ghost: Ga... Ga... Ga... To... To... To... GATOMON!!! (Gatomon enters followed by the kids) Kari: Gatomon! (Ghost whirls on the ceiling) T.K.: It's the ghost! Kari: Who ya gonna call? (Desk shakes) T.K.: Hey, what's going on!? (Fliers are blown at the children and the monitor fills in with random letters in red text) Ghost: Gatomon! Davis: WHAT DOES IT WANT!?!? Tai: You're asking me!? Gatomon: It wants me. I'm here! I'm right here! What do you want!?

Tai and Kari make quips to try and ease the tension.

Following Tailmon's cue, Chibimon has a realization of his own.

Chibimon: It's a Digimon that's doing this! Daisuke: Wait, what!?

Chibimon leaps out of Daisuke's arms. Poromon and Upamon join him.

Upamon: Yeah, no question about it! Miyako: How can you be so sure? Poromon: We're Digimon too! We just know!

Chibimon, Poromon, and Upamon evolve into their Child forms, ready to fight.

Miyako: They evolved! Hawkmon: If a Digimon is present in the real world, that can only mean they're our enemy! Daisuke: Then it really is a Digimon!? Hikari: (contemplative) A Digimon....

Hikari's starting to put the pieces together. But the new recruits lack the context to see this as anything other than Bad Digimon Causing Trouble.

In the dub, DemiVeemon shit-talks Gatomon for trying to answer the ghost's call.

DemiVeemon: Davis, I think she flipped her lid. Davis: What's that!? (The Baby Digimon line up in front of the children) Upamon: Oh no! Let's do something! Yolei: Are you guys sure this is a good idea? Poromon: We've gotta save Gatomon! (Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon evolve) Yolei: Go get 'em! Hawkmon: I assume that's a servant of the Digimon Emperor sent here to frighten us! Davis: He doesn't stand a ghost of a chance! Kari: (half-hearted) Good one.

Oh, like your Ghostbusters quip was any better.

They cut out all of the Digimon IDing the ghost as a fellow Digimon but Hawkmon nonetheless confidently asserts that the ghost works for Ken.

In the original, the Digimon pre-judge this ghost based on the logic that there's not really any reason a Digimon would be here other than to cause trouble.

They aren't necessarily wrong in that; Entering the human world without the assistance of a human Partner isn't exactly an easy thing to do. Korra has not opened Spirit Portals to the Digital World; Crossing the boundary is very hard. Historically, non-Partner Digimon appearing in the human world has only ever happened for destructive purposes.

But they are wrong nonetheless. They're making a bad assumption and escalating the situation.

In the dub, they're just jumping in to protect Gatomon from a perceived threat. There is no bad assumption; This thing is after Gatomon and they intend to get in between them.

There's also a difference in the reactions of their human Partners. Miyako and Daisuke are struggling to keep up with what the Digimon are doing. They're confused, and this is escalating too fast for them to follow. Yolei and Davis are completely on the same page as their Digimon and want to fuck up this ghost.

Alright, it's Fight Time!

V-mon: Alright, let's go! Hawkmon: HO-- Tailmon: STOP!!!

Due to an animation error, Hawkmon accidentally leaves his beak behind when he charges.

The trio gets all of two steps forward before Tailmon jumps in front of them. Fight Time is cancelled. There will be no Fight Time.

She does not say anything further to them. Just tells them to buzz off and resumes addressing the ghost.

Tailmon: I'm here.

This time, her words get through. The random text on the screen suddenly vanishes, replaced by the word テイルモン Tailmon. The groaning voice finally speaks a legible word.

Ghost: Taaaaaailmoooooon....

The screen scrolls, revealing the word テイルモン Tailmon written over and over and over again.

Tailmon: Yes, I'm here. Ghost: Taaaaaailmoooooon.... Iori: It's calling for Tailmon!

Thanks, Iori.

In the dub:

Veemon: Ready!? Huh? (The Digimon charge but Gatomon cuts them off) Gatomon: Wait! Digimon: Huh!? Gatomon: I'm here! Ghost: Gatomon!

They rewrite Gatomon's name in English on the computer, both the big lettering and the repeated scrawling.

Gatomon: Don't move, guys! Ghost: Ooooogh.... Cody: GATOMON, RUN FOR IT!!!

At the part where the ghost starts speaking Tailmon's name in the original, it stops speaking Gatomon's name and everyone acts like it's attacking. Even Gatomon seems to think the ghost's about to start shooting at them.

Finally, the shadow drifts to the floor and crosses over to Tailmon, stopping just in front of her.

Tailmon: Wizarmon!

All eight veterans let out shocked gasps. Sure enough, a transparent Wizarmon rises out of the floor.

Wizarmon: Tailmon.... Hikari: WIZARMON!!! Daisuke: Th-That's.... Iori: It's.... Miyako: Wizarmon? Tailmon: Wizarmon, you were calling out for me, weren't you? Wizarmon: There's something I had to tell you. Tailmon: Something you had to tell me? What is it? Wizarmon: You cannot win against this enemy with only the power you currently possess. Daisuke: Enemy? You mean the Digimon Kaiser? Wizarmon: The enemy is not merely what you see standing against you now. A far greater darkness is gathering. This darkness cannot be dispelled by your power alone. To restore what has been swallowed by darkness to its original state-- Tailmon: Restore!? Wizarmon: --kindness will release a golden radiance. Miyako: Kindness will release a golden radiance? Wizarmon: Kindness alone will not be enough. You'll need the golden radiance. Tailmon: I understand. Wizarmon: Time is running you. All of you must hurry. V-mon: Us? Wizarmon: I'm counting on you, Tailmon.

Wizarmon returned from the grave to be a cryptic fuck. Where did he even get this intel?

I love how Tailmon interrupts him like, "Hold up, as far as I knew, the only mission statement we have involves consecutive punches to a child's most vital organs."

In the dub:

Gatomon: Wizardmon! (Veterans all gasp in shock; Wizardmon rises from the floor) Wizardmon: ...Gatomon....

The dub takes its third commercial break here. Then, on return, we watch the tail end of Wizardmon emerging again.

Wizardmon: Gatomon, I'm glad you've come. Kari: WIZARDMON!!! Cody: ...a friend!? Yolei: I SURE HOPE SO!!! Gatomon: Wizardmon... It's good to see you again. Wizardmon: I need to tell you something, Gatomon. Gatomon: What is it, old friend? Wizardmon: Your great enemy... You cannot beat him as you are now. Davis: Does he... Does he mean the Digimon Emperor? Wizardmon: Your enemy is not only the Digimon Emperor but a much greater darkness. The darkness... It cannot be defeated with strength alone. You must return the one wrapped in darkness to his true self. Gatomon: What? True self? Wizardmon: Kindness will release the golden radiance. Yolei: Kindness!? I hope he doesn't mean we have to be nice to Ken! Wizardmon: Kindness alone will not prevail, Gatomon. The golden radiance is also necessary. Gatomon: I see, but-- Wizardmon: You don't have much time. You must hurry. Goodbye, my friend. Veemon: But wait! Wizardmon: I can't. Gatomon, be careful.

Pretty solid.

It's time for Wizarmon to go but Tailmon isn't ready to say goodbye.

Tailmon: WIZARMON!!!

She holds her paw up for them. Wizarmon reaches out, but their hand passes straight through Tailmon's paw. Tailmon lets out a distraught gasp. Wizarmon looks at their hands and then, with resignation, floats backwards away from Tailmon.

In the dub:

Gatomon: WIZARDMON!!! (They try to touch hands, but pass through each other) Wizardmon: (looks at his hands) ...I'm sorry. (Wizardmon floats away)

One extra line of pure heartbreak.

As Wizardmon floats backwards towards the window to the exterior walkway, Tailmon gives chase.

Tailmon: WIZARMON!!! WIZARMON!!!

Wizarmon floats through the glass, while Tailmon runs face-first into it. Pressed against the glass, she screams for them.

Tailmon: WIZARMON!!! Wizarmon: Hurry!

That's the last word they speak. Wizarmon drifts out onto the walkway where they died and fades away into nothing.

As Tailmon starts crying, Hikari slowly approaches her from behind.

Hikari: ...Tailmon....

Hikari kneels down and hugs Tailmon. They grieve together.

In the dub, Gatomon doesn't say anything until she smacks into the window glass.

Gatomon: WIZARDMON!!! Wizardmon: Hurry! (Wizardmon fades away) Kari: ...Gatomon....

While Hikari tends to Tailmon's feelings, the other children unpack.

Sora: They came to warn us. Takeru: On this day, in this place, Wizarmon....

Flashback to the moment they died. Leaping in front of Vamdemon's Night Raid, Wizarmon gave their life to protect Hikari and Tailmon.

As Wizarmon dies, Tailmon and Hikari cry for them all over again. Then we return to the present.

Hikari: Will we ever see them again? Taichi: I'm sure we will. Yamato: That's right.

Hikari holds Tailmon who, in turn, holds the bouquet. With tears in her eyes, Tailmon says her farewell.

Tailmon: Thank you, Wizarmon. I will not waste the life you gave me that day. Narrator: The message that Wizarmon left with them during that brief reunion, "Kindness will release the golden radiance", remains shrouded in mystery.

Oh, I thought they solved it. My bad. Thanks, Narrator-sama.

We end here, leaving the children to finish saying goodbye to their departed friend.

In the dub, like usual, they talk over the flashback.

Sora: He came back to tell us.... Davis: Who was Wizardmon, anyway? (Flashback) Sora (V.O.): We were battling a very evil dark Digimon named Myotismon. He was about to destroy Kari and Gatomon. Wizardmon stepped in the way of Myotismon's attack. And he paid the ultimate price. Wizardmon sacrificed himself in order to save Kari and Gatomon, and they'll never forget him for it. Kari: Will we ever see him again? Tai: I'm sure we will, Kari. Gatomon: That Wizardmon... What a friend. Even from beyond, he still continues to watch over me. Narrator: What is the significance of the golden radiance? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!

We will not. That's a few episodes off. Nice try.

It's a little awkward that the episode where Wizardmon died went to a lot of trouble, even slicing and rearranging the footage to make it seem like he'd be okay. But now his ghost is here and they just have to fess up and go, "Yeah, he died. He's dead. Sorry." But at least they own up to it.

Assessment: You know, as hauntings go, there are worse places to be anchored than a TV station. It's like haunting Disney Plus or HBO Max. Wizarmon will never run out of entertainment options.

I love that the kids take a three-day holiday every year to stroll down memory lane and remember what happened to them back then. It's a good thing Yamato's dad is an important guy at Fuji or it'd be pretty awkward explaining why they need to bring flowers to the observation deck every year. I can't imagine them getting past security under normal circumstances.

Do you think the janitor throws away the bouquet in the trash after they leave? Or do they leave it on the walkway itself, and then the wind whips it into some passerby's face? This really is an awkward place for a gravesite.

In any case, this episode not only foreshadows things to come but also serves as a beautiful added epilogue on the original series.

I don't know why the dub removed all the timestamps but based on that "08/01 is the day we defeated Myotismon" bit, I think they're trying to suggest that the entire episode happened in one day. For some reason. IDK.

Dub's full of dub-isms but they do not fuck up the Wizardmon reunion scene and that's the most important part of the episode.

20 notes · View notes

pushovermediacritic · 4 days ago

Text

The Land Before Time Liveblog 2

The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure

Last Time: The Gang went on the Worst Road Trip ever. Littlefoot's mom died, they met up and broke up like 10 times due to racism, they starved, in-fought, ran for their lives, and almost fell into lava. But by the end of the journey, they overcame racism and came together using the power of racism to murder a man.

And then they found paradise and lived Happily Ever After.

But this movie made 84M on a budget of 12M, so now we've got SEQUELS, baby! Let's see how their story continues after Happily Ever After.

The Universal Logo still isn't Pangaea.

We start in space with a meteor shower, then the narrator introduces dinosaurs.

Narrator: "Some ate plants."

Narrator: "While others, the dreaded Sharpteeth, hunted their fellow dinosaurs."

Really unsubtle about that dichotomy, huh?

Narrator: "But the plant-eaters found refuge from their predators in one special place: the Great Valley."

Uuuhhh, no?

No, that's not why Littlefoot and The Gang went to the Great Valley. They went to the Great Valley because there was a famine and they were promised there would be green food aplenty there. There was no mention in the first movie that the Great Valley would be a safe space away from predators.

This concept will become a load-bearing pillar for all of the sequels, that the Great Valley is a safe place for herbivores, but I need to emphasize that is something made up by the second movie, not the first.

Narrator: "A place where friends: Littlefoot the Longneck, Cera the Threehorn, Ducky the Swimmer, Petrie the Flier, and Spike the Spiketail, can grow and play together under the watchful eye of their loving families."

Their loving families who are apparently all chill now with each other now. Even though inter-herbivore racism was a big deal in the last movie, and the kids only overcame it by coming together in a situation without their parents' influence.

And now, SURPRISE SONG! Yep, the first movie wasn't a musical, but ALL THE OTHERS ARE! The first song of this movie is Peaceful Valley, which is a cute little ditty the kids sing about playing together.

Well, not really. The kids don't sing it. The voice actors sing it in the kids' voices, but the kids themselves aren't actually singing, they're playing and laughing while the song plays over top. It's honestly a little weird, since I remember most other songs in this franchise being diegetic (sung by the characters in the scene).

Littlefoot's grandpa calls him away for breakfast, and then the narrator introduces us to the dangers lurking in the grass of the Great Valley...

Menacing.

This is Ozzy and Strut, the villains of the film. Two Struthiomimus brothers, they're basically Pinky and the Brain, complete with similar voices (topical, Pinky and the Brain started in 1993 and this movie came out in 1994). Ozzy is a schemer who insists they eat eggs and Strut is a doofus who is willing to eat anything, even grass.

Strut tries to eat some grass and Ozzy slaps the shit out of him to make him spit it out, then he says they're going to eat all the delicious eggs ripe for the taking in the Great Valley. So much for the Great Valley being a safe space from predators, these guys are already in!

Littlefoot's grandpa uses his weight to bend a tree down with one leg so that Littlefoot can eat the last Tree Star on that tree. Littlefoot tries to replicate the trick on a smaller tree, but he's too small and it launches him away.

You know, the designs aren't all that different compared to the last movie. The colors are brighter, but Littlefoot's still got a lot of his wrinkles and folds. The main difference is that Littlefoot was more pink in the last movie, but now he's more brown. At least in this lighting.

Littlefoot sulks about being small, but then Cera calls him over to play tag. Ozzy and and Strut find a nest and Ozzy is about to eat an egg when a random rock falls on his head.

Another rock falls on Struts head, and then the brothers book it when the egg's mother shows up. She yells at The Gang, who were apparently rolling rocks down a hill just for fun, putting her nest in danger unknowingly (also saving it unknowingly). The kids almost lampshade how they had no real reason to be doing that:

Cera: "Aw, it wadn't much fun anyway."

Ducky: "Yep yep yep, no fun at all."

Petrie: "Boooring."

Littlefoot: "What do you wanna do now?"

Spike (shrug): *I dunno sound*

Ducky suggests they go to the Sheltering Grass and play Sharptooth Attack. Cera doesn't want to be the Sharptooth again (apparently they always make her do it), so Ducky convinces Spike to do it.

Man, it's hard to focus because Ducky's new voice actress (Heather Hogan) is not nearly as good as Judith Barsi. Really sad what happened, Judith was such a talent at such a young age....

Littlefoot objects to going to the Sheltering Grass because it's on the other side of the Sinking Sand, and his grandparents don't want him crossing the Sinking Sand without them because it's dangerous. Cera calls him a wuss and says she can cross it with her eyes closed, and the others follow her. Littlefoot bows to peer pressure and joins them.

That's the "Sinking Sand"? It looks like a bog. It's literally bubbling. I don't see any sand anywhere. Cera tries to jump across on the rocks, but she slips, then they all get into a chain to pull her out, but then the kids all fall in and start screaming for help as they sink into the bog.

The parents all hear their cries for help, and then Littlefoot's Grandpa saves them.

The kids cough and hack up bog water, then they look up to see their parents and guardians, mad.

Some fun reaction images in this movie.

At night, Ozzy plots to steal eggs while Strut complains, prompting Ozzy to sing. This is song number 2: "Eggs". It's all about how much Ozzy loves eggs and refuses to eat anything else or allow Strut to eat anything else. This song kinda sucks, though it does imply their diet is a choice on Ozzy's part.

The most notable thing about "Eggs" is that it got fucking annihilated in Round 1 of a Villain Song tournament because it was up against BE PREPARED, of all things!

Well, that and that Ozzy actually calls himself a "Struthiomimus" in it. Which completely goes counter to the world-building the series has established so far that dinosaurs have their own straightforward terms for stuff. I guess Ozzy is so self-aggrandizing that he made sure to break the 4th wall and check Wikipedia on what exactly he is, rather than refer to himself as an "Eggnapper", the term all the other characters will use.

Littlefoot's grandpa and grandma gently scold Littlefoot for being reckless. Grandma reminds him that he's all they have (calling back to Littlefoot's mom dying last movie), and tells him not to be too impatient in growing up. And Grandpa drops some Lore:

Grandpa: "We feel safe here in the Valley. The Great Wall protects us from Sharpteeth and other dangers in the Mysterious Beyond. But there are dangers in the Valley as well, Littlefoot. You must always be careful."

This is the first time we get the name-drops of the Great Wall (the mountain range surrounding the Great Valley) and the Mysterious Beyond. Technically, the whole first movie took place in the Mysterious Beyond, but it's still treated as mysterious.

Littlefoot goes to sleep, but then Cera calls out to him. She gathers the kids on top of the same hill they were rolling rocks down earlier, and they ask why.

Cera: "I suppose you all got the same lecture I did?"

Littlefoot, Spike, Petrie, and Ducky (nodding): "Mhh-hmm."

Petrie: "Me too young to wander far."

Ducky: "We are not grown-ups and should remember it."

Littlefoot: "There are many dangers, I must always be careful."

Cera: "Don't hang around with Longnecks, Bigfaces, and Spiketails."

Littlefoot, Spike, Petrie, and Ducky: O_O

Cera: "Well, it was mostly the same lecture."

Oh cool, the racism issue isn't dealt with. Cera's dad, at least, is apparently still super racist. Not sure what "Bigfaces" are, though. I'm guessing Ducky, but she's always been referred to as a "Swimmer" before. Maybe Bigface is a slur.

Cera suggests that in order to be taken seriously by the grown-ups, they should run away from home. When Petrie asks "Where we run?" she suggests they just stay on this hill. Littlefoot and Spike share a sarcastic glance.

Again, some great reaction images in this film.

Littlefoot: "That's silly, anybody could find us here."

Cera retorts that this spot is up high and surrounded by rocks, and it has a great view, you can see everything from here. They can see Ducky's nest from here!

They can see Ozzy and Strut stealing an egg from Ducky's nest from here!!!

Ducky (aghast): "They're eggnapping a part of our family!"

Littlefoot wants to alert the grown-ups, but Cera steps in and says that if they catch the eggnappers themselves, the grown-ups will have to take them seriously. The kids chase after the brothers, yelling at them.

Ducky: "Bring back my brother! Um, or sister!"

The brothers escape by climbing over the Great Wall into the Mysterious Beyond. Cera suggests they go get help, but Littlefoot insists it's too late, they need to follow or they'll get away. She hesitates and cowers, and he reminds her this was her idea. Angry at herself for being afraid, Cera headbutts a rock to destroy it before following him.

This is the difference between Cera and Littlefoot. Cera tends to plow ahead at first but then pulls back when the going gets tough, while Littlefoot hesitates at first but once he starts something, he pushes forward on that path no matter what. We saw this dynamic in the first movie, too. Littlefoot was depressed and lacking motivation after his mom died, while Cera was gung-ho to follow her own path back to her family. Once they joined up, however, Littlefoot was determined to follow his mother's directions to the Great Valley no matter how hard the journey got, while Cera wanted to try an easier path. Littlefoot and Cera are good narrative foils for each other.

Strut thinks their pursuers are huge because of their shadows. At the top of the Great Wall, the brothers leap a massive chasm, and the kids are all able to follow. Seriously, look at this fucking thing:

Between this and the rock Cera just exploded, I think this movie is keeping the power-scaling of the previous film, where dinosaurs are the powerful ancient titans of our world. Every one of the kids makes this jump, only Ducky falls a bit short, but she still catches Cera's tail while Cera climbs up from her own jump. They follow a bit further, then it starts raining.

Ozzy and Strut return home to their cave, and the kids find it and follow them. Cera hesitates because the cave entrance is dark and scary, but then a lightning strike proves scarier and she screams and runs inside. Inside the cave, the brothers drop the egg and run into the kids. All 7 of them panic and run around like a bunch of idiots, and Cera accidentally runs into a wall so hard that she DESTROYS IT AND COLLAPSES THE WHOLE CAVE.

Holy shit, Cera. These kids are STRONG. The cave collapsing causes a rockslide that goes back down the Great Wall (completely ignoring the giant chasm?) and the egg coincidentally rolls down the Great Wall into the Great Valley and back into Ducky's nest. Well, that was easy.

But the kids ride the rockslide down the other side of the Great Wall into the Mysterious Beyond, on a cliff over a bubbling bog. The kids regroup, a little bruised and battered, and realize where they are. They want to go home, but not without the egg. Littlefoot suggests it got destroyed in the rockslide.

Ducky (crying): *sniff* "Bye-bye baby sister." *sniff* "Or baby brother."

Littlefoot: "Don't cry Ducky. It's... it's all part of the Great Circle of Life."

Nice callback to Rooter's advice in the first movie when Littlefoot was grieving the death of his own mother. It's easy to forget, but Ducky was the first one we saw hatch in the first movie, she's the oldest of the group. Combine that with her relationship to Spike, and Ducky is very much the "big sister" of the group, ironic considering she's the second smallest.

Ducky walks over and sits down to cry against a tree root with an egg sitting on it behind her. Then she notices it and assumes that's her sibling. The fact it's significantly larger than before is brushed aside by her saying "Heeey, you grow'd!" Because it's too big for any of them to carry individually, they decide to carry it back by constructing a "carrying nest" out of leaves and twigs and stuff. Sounds like a good idea. Let's see how that goes.

That is not a carrying nest. That is two twigs and Petrie. This shit sucks, you kids suck at nest-building. Your parents would be ashamed if they saw this contraption. They get back by morning, and Ducky notices her egg is already back. They take the egg to another location and discuss whose it is, if it's not Ducky's. Petrie presumes the Eggnappers stole it from another nest, but there's no way to tell who until it hatches.

They discuss taking care of the egg until it hatches, then they can return it, but Littlefoot thinks they should tell the grown-ups about it. Cera confronts him:

Cera: "If they find out where we were, they'll put US back in our nests! We don't tell the grown-ups anything, right?! Riiight?!"

Littlefoot: *sigh* "Right."

Littlefoot goes back to sleep and Grandma immediately tries to wake him up.

Ozzy and Strut emerge from some rocks and Strut blames the egg being missing on those kids. Ozzy swears revenge.

The next day, the kids discuss how to hatch the egg and what it could be. Littlefoot makes an insane suggestion:

Littlefoot: "Heeey, why can't we be its parents?"

The other kids laugh but Littlefoot convinces them on the grounds that "it'll be fun", and all the kids gas up how good they would be as parents, with Cera saying she'd be the best parent because she'll "let her do anything she wants". It's agreed. They are going to completely throw away the original plan of giving the kid back to their parents when they hatch, and instead The Gang are going to raise them.

And then the egg hatches.

Littlefoot: "It's... it's a..."

Littlefoot, Ducky, Cera, and Petrie: "SHARPTOOTH!!!"

Everyone panics. The kids run away, while Ozzy and Strut (who were watching) are equally shocked and duck for cover. Littlefoot gets caught on a vine which bounces him back, then he runs away. Poor little baby Sharptooth gets sad and confused. Littlefoot sees this and returns.

Littlefoot: "He doesn't look so dangerous. It's alright, I won't hurt you."

Baby Sharptooth: *lick*

Littlefoot: "Hehehaha, friendly aren't you. Heeey, I bet you think I'm your mama, uhh, papa. Well, I'm not really. But don't worry, I'm gonna take good care of you. My friends will, too, once they see how nice you are. C'mon, I'll show you around."

The baby Sharptooth tries to follow, but falls. Littlefoot teaches him how to walk, and the baby Sharptooth starts walking, but gets too much momentum and falls again.

Littlefoot: "Are you okay? You're gonna have to be more careful."

Baby Sharptooth: *sheds one tear*

Littlefoot: "It's okay, I'm not mad-umm."

Littlefoot hesitates, realizing what he's saying sounds familiar. Then he decides the baby needs a name. The baby Sharptooth snaps at a passing dragonfly, and Littlefoot dubs him Chomper. Chomper then catches and eats the dragonfly, and Littlefoot is disturbed. He says that since he's his papa, maybe he can teach Chomper to eat green food. Littlefoot pulls down some tasty leaves for Chomper to eat, but he spits them out. Littlefoot leaves to get some advice from his grandparents and tells Chomper to stay put, but of course he doesn't, he starts chasing some butterflies.

Littlefoot: "Um, Grandma, Grandpa. Can I talk to you?"

Grandpa: "Of course Littlefoot. What is it?"

Littlefoot: "Well, um... I wanna know about babies."

Grandma and Grandpa: o_o

This movie really is good for reaction faces. I love the immediate awkwardness as Grandma and Grandpa have to internally wonder why their small child is asking for The Talk. Grandma tells Littlefoot that he's too young for that, but he says that it's just curiosity. They agree to tell him some stuff.

Littlefoot asks what if babies don't eat what you give them, and Grandpa tells him that he didn't always eat what they gave him, but he did eat when he got hungry enough. Littlefoot says that's enough and leaves.

Grandpa: "Hehehehe, kids. They want to grow up so fast."

Grandma: "Yes. And once they do, they wish they were young again."

Then they chuckle together and nuzzle faces. It's cute, the first time we really see them being lovey-dovey. It's interesting how this scene kinda talks around Littlefoot's mom.

The other kids return to the scene of the egg and conclude that Sharptooth must have eaten Littlefoot. Then the Struthiomimus brothers show up and chase them off. Littlefoot returns and notices Chomper is gone, so he goes looking for him. Littlefoot finds Chomper at the Sinking Sands. He calls Chomper back and scolds him for worrying him.

The other kids start yelling for help, and Littlefoot and Chomper hear them. The brothers have cornered them at the edge of a cliff. Ozzy demands to know what they did with his egg, and Cera responds that it hatched. Littlefoot shows up, but he can't do much, Ozzy just turns to menace him, and Ozzy and Strut are like twice their size. Then a huge shadow of a Sharptooth appears and the brothers panic and jump off the cliff, crashing into the ground below. The kids cower in fear, but the shadow is just Chomper (obviously). Littlefoot is relieved and tells his friends not to worry about Chomper, he's a nice Sharptooth.

Littlefoot introduces the others as Chomper's aunts and uncles. Then he starts singing. This is song number 3: You're One Of Us Now. I know this is a fan-favorite, and I agree, it's pretty great, actually. The best parts of the song are the subtle poison in it.

It's overall upbeat and accepting, but also full of racist microaggressions.

Littlefoot glosses over how they totally eggnapped him.

The chorus has a line "though you look like you, we think you'll like us too". Chomper was just born and they're already implying there's something wrong with how he looks.

Petrie implies Chomper can teach him how to be scary (which actually scares Chomper).

Ducky pulls him away to make him try swimming right now, and Littlefoot has to tell her to take it slow and not frighten him before taking Chomper back.

Cera references her racist dad's words that Chomper can hang with her "even though you're not a Threehorn".

All three also try to introduce Chomper to something he's not made for: flying, swimming, and headbutting.

The song ends with Chomper getting overly excited and doing the thing that he is made for: biting.

As an aside, I feel more justified in referencing Always Sunny In Philadelphia by calling the kids The Gang, because Cera literally calls them a gang in the song. So that's fun.

My only complaint about the song is that Spike is a non-entity. They should have given him a bit where he hits a tree with his (spike)tail to knock down some leaves to eat. Chomper tries to copy him, but it hurts his tail and he can't eat leaves.

Anyway, after Chomper bites Cera's tail, she COMPLETELY flips out on him. Though he's obviously sad and sorry, Cera insists he can never be one of them and he has to leave. Littlefoot defends Chomper, and this starts another physical fight between Littlefoot and Cera. Not quite as big as last time, though, and Cera storms off. Ducky asks Chomper if he meant to bite Cera, and he seems unsure. Then Chomper starts sniffing Petrie and Ducky yells at him that he can't eat Petrie, before she suddenly realizes that she sounds just like her parents. Littlefoot tries to fix things by saying something EXTREMELY racist:

Littlefoot: "Don't you see, Chomper? You can't be a Sharptooth. Sharpteeth aren't allowed in this Valley."

This causes Chomper to break into tears and run away crying. Ducky pleads with Littlefoot to reconsider bringing Chomper back since he's... different. Littlefoot retorts that even if he is different, it's still important to make sure he's safe, and he runs after Chomper. Chomper walks in the direction of an active volcano. Then we see two fully-grown Sharpteeth roaring. Ozzy and Strut climb back up and go hunt for more eggs.

Later, The Gang are looking for Chomper, and they're getting tired and hungry. Cera has rejoined them, but claims not to care whether they find him or not. Littlefoot glares her down and points out that no-one's making her come, implying that she does care, despite her bluster. They spot Chomper on the Smoking Mountain, and he's absentmindedly biting at a dragonfly. Ducky points out that he could fall into the Gurgling Pit, and Littlefoot warns Chomper that it's dangerous. Ozzy and Strut find another nest, this one for a Flier, and the kids yelling for Chomper gives them away to the Flier, who chases them off.

The Gang climbs Smoking Mountain looking for Chomper, and then the brothers confront them. Cera tries to bluff that they're friends with a Sharptooth, but then she accidentally gives away that Chomper is a baby when mocking Strut for being a moron for falling for the shadow trick.

Then the Smoking Mountain fucking erupts and suddenly, a couple Struthiomimuses are not the biggest concern. Giant fireballs and a river of lava are.

You know, they dealt with lava in the last movie, too.

They run away and reach a ravine with a dead tree next to it. They run along the edge until the brothers cut them off. Then Strut yelps in pain because Chomper bit his tail. The kids reunite with Chomper happily, but then the brothers advance again. Trapped between two Struthiomimus on one side and molten rock on the other, Littlefoot decides to man up and does the Longneck trick to push the tree over, making a bridge.

Though I don't know why he bothered. They easily could have just leapt across that ravine, just like they did earlier. Anyway, The Gang cross the tree, then Ozzy pushes Strut out of the way to cross first. The lava reaches the tree and sets it on fire, meaning Strut can't go at all, and the bridge breaks before Ozzy can reach the other side, plunging him into the abyss. And then Strut leaps in after him.

The Gang is finally safe, right? WRONG!!!

Double Sharpteeth attack!

The Gang runs for the lives, and the Sharpteeth chase after them, biting the ground and then spitting out the dirt and grass. Grandma and Grandpa hear the roaring and decide to warn everyone. Cera tries hiding in their little hill surrounded by rocks, but that doesn't go well.

The Gang manage to lose the Sharpteeth by hiding behind a tree, and Cera and Ducky wonder how the Sharpteeth got into the Great Valley. Littlefoot realizes it's their fault. The rockslide last night made a hole in the Great Wall (that route is how the kids got back in). Technically if you want to get nitpicky, it's Cera's fault, she's the one who destroyed the wall that collapsed the cave that caused the rockslide. Then Littlefoot sees his grandpa squaring up against a Sharptooth. Cera tells him that he's a grown-up, he can handle it, but Littlefoot is CLEARLY having flashbacks to his mom dying last time this happened, so he runs off to help. Chomper follows.

Littlefoot's Grandpa gets in a few good tail-strikes on the Sharptooth's face, but then the Sharptooth gets in a headbutt to the body and knocks him down. Right when it looks like the Sharptooth is going for the killing bite, Petrie's mom comes in out of nowhere to harass the Sharptooth and draw aggro.

Petrie's mom continues pulling aggro, luring the Sharptooth away and diving and swooping to dodge its bites and keep annoying it. She lures it out of the water and into the forest, forcing Littlefoot to turn around and run the other way. Littlefoot and Chomper set up a vine tripwire right in Petrie's mom's path. She lures the Sharptooth over it and it falls, hook, line, and sinker.

The Sharptooth goes down hard, but it's not out. It gets back up and keeps chasing. Cera tells Littlefoot and Chomper to hide in a small cave, and when the Sharptooth reaches it, Petrie and Ducky start attacking from above. They're in a coconut tree (did coconuts exist in the time of the dinosaurs?). Petrie is pulling the coconuts and Ducky is throwing them. When the Sharptooth turns its attention to them, Cera runs out and headbutts its heel. Which, uh, does nothing, Cera just bounces off. But the Sharptooth flinches a little, so it hurt a tiny bit.

Sharptooth turns its attention to Cera and she runs away next a humongous rock, calling out to Spike. Spike is in position at the top of the rock, and he pushes a big rock over on top of the Sharptooth's head (nice callback to the first movie). That does the job, the rock knocks the Sharptooth down. But there are two. The other one shows up when Cera and Spike are celebrating, and Cera runs while Spike is frozen in fear. As the Sharptooth advances on Spike, Ducky leaps out of the coconut tree onto its head.

Ducky: "YOU LEAVE MY LITTLE BROTHER ALONE!!!" *she jumps multiple times and kicks its nostril*

Seeing this breaks Spike out of his freeze response and he runs. Littlefoot's grandma, grandpa, Ducky's mom, and Cera's dad hear Ducky scream for help as she frantically tries to hold on as the Sharptooth whips its head around. Then the second Sharptooth gets back up and Ducky is caught in the middle. She kicks the other one in the nose as Petrie swoops in and grabs her right before that one bites where she was.

Ouch.

The two Sharpteeth seem to argue for a bit over that bite before turning their attention to Ducky and Petrie, on the ground because Petrie isn't quite good enough at flying to carry Ducky, who is bigger than him. Right when they're about to attack, the parents jump in the way. Littlefoot's grandpa tail whips one in the face while Cera's dad headbutts the other with his horns, then both of Littlefoot's grandparents slam the first one with both tails on either side.

The grown-ups push the Sharpteeth back, and they run away. There's one weird shot of the grown-ups where we see them as a group, and there's one random Stegosaurus among them.

Did they... did they forget that Spike is adopted? By Ducky's mother? Were the animators drawing this scene like "okay, this is a cool team shot of all the parents, now we've got Littlefoot's grandparents, Ducky's mom, Petrie's mom flying in, Cera's dad, what about Spike? He's got a Spiketail dad, right?" I mean, I guess it could just be a random Spiketail who happens to live in the Great Valley. We see quite a few later. But for some reason, I remember it being a plot point in a later movie that there aren't any Spiketails in the Valley besides Spike. Maybe I'm misremembering.

Also, Ducky's mom didn't do shit. The MVP of this battle was clearly Littlefoot's grandpa, with Petrie's mom, Spike, and Ducky getting honorable mentions.

The Gang run to their parents to celebrate, but Chomper can't. He has no parents, and Sharpteeth aren't allowed here. He's sad and lonely, and he wanders off in the other direction.

The parents wonder how the Sharpteeth got into the Valley in the first place. Littlefoot's Grandma asks The Gang if they know, and they look very uncomfortable before Ducky lies, poorly, that they don't. The parents press them more, and Cera gives in to her dad and tries to explain everything.

Cera: "Well, um, see. After-we-chased-those-Eggnappers-into-the-Mysterious-Beyond-"

Cera's Dad: "Mysterious Beyond?"

Littlefoot's Grandma: "Eggnappers?!"

Cera: "Some-rocks-fell-and-that-made-a-big-hole-and-"

Littlefoot's Grandpa: "So that's how the Sharpteeth came through."

Littlefoot's Grandma: "We must close the opening at once."

Littlefoot offers to help, but is told to stay behind. The adults discuss how to deal with it, and Cera says she's going to go regardless. Then Littlefoot notices Chomper missing. He runs off to go find him. The Sharpteeth walk past Chomper without noticing, then Littlefoot finds him. The Sharpteeth turn around and notice them. They give chase. Littlefoot and Chomper cross a chasm over a log, but Littlefoot falls through and gets his leg stuck.

Littlefoot tells Chomper to save himself as the Sharpteeth close in. But then Chomper and the Sharpteeth start talking to each other in roars and growls, and the twist we all saw coming from a mile away happens. These are Chomper's parents.

Now go back and re-read the whole fight scene with the perspective these are Chomper's mom and Chomper's dad. This is a loving couple, they had their one and only egg go missing right when it was due to hatch, they rampaged around looking for their baby, went through the hole in the Great Wall, and got in a big epic battle with The Gang and their parents just looking for their baby. The real MVPs of the battle were Chomper's mom and Chomper's dad.

Littlefoot dislodges his leg and walks back over the log, only to be confronted on the other side by Ozzy and Strut. HOW ARE YOU TWO ALIVE?! You fell into a ravine! That later filled up with FUCKING LAVA! Whatever, they jump him and decide to throw him off the Great Wall. Later, the Sharpteeth are walking with Chomper back through the Great Wall and Chomper hears Littlefoot screaming. They are holding Littlefoot by the tail, dangling over the edge. Then Chomper shows up with his big scary shadow, and Ozzy scolds Strut for falling for that again.

Strut grabs Chomper by the neck, and then Chomper's parents start biting at them and the brothers run for their lives, Chomper's parents in hot pursuit. I don't think we ever see Ozzy and Strut again, so I think we have to assume Chomper's parents ate them. Good riddance. Littlefoot walks Chomper to the opening and then overhears his grandpa at the bottom talking about closing it up. He urges Chomper to run, go catch up with his mom and dad. Chomper hesitates, though, and Littlefoot says his goodbyes.

Littlefoot: "I can't take care of you anymore Chomper. I'm, I'm just a kid."

Chomper: *squeak, hug*

Littlefoot: "I know, I'll miss you too. But, maybe we'll meet again someday. Go on now, hurry." *sheds one tear*

The other kids join Littlefoot and say goodbye to Chomper, too.

Later, Grandpa talks to Littlefoot. Littlefoot assures him that the Sharpteeth left, and they discuss how Littlefoot disobeyed him because he wanted to make things right. Grandpa predicts that Littlefoot will someday understand why they worry, and he says that he already knows. Littlefoot pushes over a tree with the Longneck trick and Grandpa pushes a big rock onto it. All the other adults push a ton of boulders off a cliff, filling in the hole. Then Littlefoot releases the tree, launching the rock into some more boulders, which collapse and fully seal the wall.

Another day, we rejoin The Gang playing, and their guardians call them back one-by-one. Littlefoot tells his parents that he's happy being a kid now, but he still can't wait to grow up. Over the credits, The Gang sings a reprise of Peaceful Valley as Ducky's siblings hatch and they play. They actually sing it this time, diegetically, and the lyrics tie in to the eggs hatching.

Honestly, I'm very pleasantly surprised. I was expecting to have a much more negative impression of this movie than I actually do. The villains suck, but everything else is kinda... great? Definitely a solid follow-up to the previous film. This movie has two themes, one is a very complicated and nuanced discussion of the roles of parents and children, while the other is an on-point follow-up to the racism moral of the previous movie.

It seems like the writers had the same exact thought I did regarding the racism message last time, that being that Sharptooth was a huge, glaring flaw in it. So they set out to fix that flaw. Cera sets up the racism theme early on, and Chomper and his parents knock it out of the park. It's still a little muddy by the fact that Chomper and his parents still have to live in the Mysterious Beyond, but that's more of a universal problem with metaphors, they always eventually break down, like how Chomper and his parents are still carnivores. The anti-racism intent is still VERY clear in the writing.

Pros: The dialogue writing is a bit more snappy and fun this time around. The animation is also solid, with lots of fun expressions in the character animation. It had some really strong theme writing, both with the parent-child dichotomy and the racism angle. You're One of Us Now is genuinely a fantastic piece of character writing, loaded with microaggressions and layers. Also Ducky got a good "big sister" arc with the egg and jumping in to save Spike. And the action in the big battle at the end is actually awesome, it totally tops the final battle of the first movie.

Cons: The villains suck. Not Chomper's parents, they're awesome but they're just in the last 20 minutes and they're not really villains. Ozzy and Strut are two-bit knock-offs of Pinky and the Brain and they never rise above that. Also, this is BARELY a musical. Only four songs, one of which is a reprise over the credits. And the song Eggs is just bad.

Score: I can't believe I'm saying this, but Ozzy and Strut really don't hurt the film much more than the editing cuts did last time, and the rest of the movie, especially Chomper and his parents, is really strong. I'm giving The Land Before Time II: The Great Valley Adventure an 8/10. Same score I gave The Land Before Time. I'm just as shocked as you are by that.

The Land Before Time: 8/10 (hypothetical uncut version: 9/10)

The Great Valley Adventure: 8/10

#the land before time #PMC watches TLBT #the land before time ii: the great valley adventure

17 notes · View notes