#(EVEN WITH HOW Koushiro is ''''Different'''' from Everyone Else)

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x18 - Piccolomon, the Fairy! / The Piximon Cometh

Previously on Digimon Adventure: What was supposed to be a lovely vacation cruise to get away from it all was ruined by undercooked poultry. Mimi and Sora were forced to skewer and roast it themselves. After filing a complaint with the manager, the kids returned to their journey.

The kids continue their march through the desert, though Taichi and Agumon immediately inform us that at least the heat isn't insufferably blazing this time.

Taichi: Nice weather we're having! Agumon: The wind feels great!

A cool breeze has blown in today, making for a nicer walk than usual. The dub gets this point backwards.

Tai: Okay, I admit a little breeze would be nice, but it's still a beautiful day! Don't you think? Agumon: Yeah, maybe for a scorpion!

Dub Tai is being relentlessly optimistic even though the weather sucks as much as ever. Even Agumon isn't having his bullshit.

While those two march ahead, the rest of the group hangs back behind them, deliberating Mimi's new Crest.

Mimi: I got a Crest, but.... Jou: We don't know how to use them. Sora: How do we raise our Digimon correctly? Yamato: Hang on. We haven't found all the Crests yet. Koushiro: That's true. We should shelve this conversation until everyone has their Crests. Taichi: HEY!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING BACK THERE!? Agumon: HURRY UP!!! Taichi: YOU'RE GOING TO GET LEFT BEHIND!!! Takeru: We're holding a really important conference about the Digimon right now! We'll be right there, so just wait a minute, okay?

Man, Taichi just got told by an eight-year-old. Sorry, Tai, but when twelve people are in the back and you and Agumon are way out front, they aren't falling behind. You're running ahead.

The dub kicks this conversation off on a different tone, matching the tonal shift in the previous episode's ending.

Mimi: It's beautiful, isn't it, Joe? And every Crest we've found so far has been different! Joe: Yeah, but... We need to learn how to use them.... Sora: Or else our Digimon could Digivolve all messed up, right? Matt: Yeah, but none of that really matters until we find all the Crests. Izzy: Hmm, I think you're probably right about that one, Matt. Maybe the Crests' power comes from having them all! Tai: Hmm... What are they doing back there? HEY!!! WE GOTTA MOVE ON!!! IF YOU'RE GONNA TAKE SOME DOWNTIME THEN WE NEED TO FIND SOME SHADE!!! T.K.: Oh, thanks, Tai! We were right in the middle of a serious Digi-conversation about the Crests and everything, and then YOU made me forget what I was saying! You be in charge of finding the shade; We'll catch up!

Even though the dub changed the weather, Tai won't need to find any shade because T.K. threw so much at him already. XD Tai just got told by an eight-year-old squared.

We see a couple shifts here based on previously altered context. Mimi loves her Crest and is excited to have it. Sora's line is altered to emphasize the risks while de-emphasizing the whole "proper care of your Digimon" thing, similar to last episode.

Suddenly, the sand beneath Taichi's feet opens up.

A huge Kuwagamon emerges from the ground, flinging both Taichi and Agumon.

(I guess he wasn't amused by Taichi's impatience either.)

Even though we've already encountered one of these, the narrator gives us a rundown all the same. Kuwagamon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Insect Digimon.

Narrator: Kuwagamon. When using his special attack Scissor Arms, the pincers on his head can slice through anything. He's far stronger than the one on File Island.

The dub seems to think this is actually the same Kuwagamon we met before.

Izzy: AHHHHHH!!! IS THAT THE SAME ONE FROM LAST TIME!?!? REALLY!?!? Palmon: It's Kuwagamon alright. There's no mistaking that ugly face! But he's sure bigger than he was the last time.

A week of flying over solid ocean with nowhere to land does spectacular things for your lats, I guess.

Agumon pelts him with a Baby Flame, but Kuwagamon shrugs it off.

Agumon: He's a lot stronger than the one on File Island!

In the dub:

Agumon: Uh, we have a big problem; This guy's much stronger than he used to be!

The rest of the group stands around watching like a bunch of useless chodes while Agumon's forced to fight alone. Gabumon yells at him to evolve, but Taichi and Agumon hesitate.

Taichi: If... If he evolves wrong this time.... Agumon: If I don't turn into Greymon.... Taichi: (races towards Agumon) AGUMOOOOOOON!!! Gomamon: WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?!? If he gets you with his Scissor Arms, that'll be the end for you!!!

Establishing a big part of the episode's plot, we see that Taichi and Agumon are still traumatized by the SkullGreymon event. They're afraid to even evolve at all without the certainty that it won't happen again.

In the dub:

Tai: Alright, rethinking our training program here. Oh man, I hope Agumon doesn't freak out. Agumon: What if something's wrong with me? What if I can't become Greymon? Tai: (racing towards Agumon) Agumon, stay away from his choppers! Gomamon: Ahh! Move, Agumon! Move! Move! Do something! Get back!

The first two lines aren't so clear about Tai and Agumon's trauma. Tai makes it sound like Agumon's the one with the problem, while Agumon seems physically unable to Digivolve rather than reluctant to.

Taichi tackles Agumon to the ground just as Kuwagamon's Scissor Arms snap shut overhead. Kuwagamon comes in for another swipe and--

A mysterious voice calls out "Pit Bomb" as this single shot erases Kuwagamon. The dub calls it "Pixie Bomb Seek and Destroy", which is a mouthful.

Shortly after, the kids meet their adorable savior.

While Taichi and Agumon unbury themselves from sand and disintegrated Kuwagamon ash, this little guy marches past and lets out an adorable "Pi!" with every step.

Sora: (to Taichi) You look okay. Jou: Where's Kuwagamon? Takeru: Who's that? He's weird. Digimon: PI! Hey, amateurs! Piyomon: WAUGH!!! You're Piccolomon! Mimi: (picks him up) Cute!

Pretty basic dialogue. The dub spices it up with gags.

Mimi: A powderpuff with wings! Sora: Just don't use it on your face. Joe: And where's Kuwagamon? T.K.: Oh man! Maybe that's him! Digimon: Ha! I am no enemy, nope-nope! If anything, you are your own enemies. Biyomon: Oh! I've heard of you! You're the famous Pixiemon, right? Mimi: (picks him up, impressed) You are!?

The dub cuts out his marching Pi's, instead having him hum a marching tune. We also see that here that's very verbose. Dub Piximon speaks very quickly and with peculiar mannerisms to make him odd and quirky but in a different way from the original adorable fluffball.

From here, we go into his rundown. Piccolomon is a Perfect-stage Data-type Fairy Digimon. Notably, his attack is actually "Bit Bomb" but he says "Pit" due to his verbal tic of uttering "Pi" all the time. His name is rooted in the italian word for "small". Dragon Ball fans may also recognize it as a musical instrument; Specifically, the piccolo flute, so named because it's a half-size flute.

His dub name is, of course, a play on "pixie".

Narrator: Piccolomon. A fairy Digimon who brandishes his favorite spear Fairy Tale and wields strange magic.

Since she's the one who recognized him, Biyomon handles the rundown in the dub.

Biyomon: Piximon is famous in the Digital World for his skills and training, but few have ever met him!

As soon as the rundown's finished, Piccolomon lays into the kids for being weak and useless.

Piyomon: It must have been Piccolomon who defeated Kuwagamon for us! Piccolomon: PI PI PI!! Impressed by the strength of my magic, aren't you? (jabs spear in the kids' direction) PI! You're all supposed to be the Chosen Children, aren't you? You're all so weak, I could barely stand to watch, pi. If you keep up like this, then the Tags and Crests will just go to waste, pi. Mimi: This Digimon isn't cute at all. Piccolomon: The same goes for you Digimon PI! You're slacking off PI! You aren't trying hard enough PI! You're gutless PI! Yamato: (grumpy whisper) Pi-pi-pi-pi. He's so noisy. Palmon: I hate exerting myself.... Gomamon: I didn't have any guts to begin with. Piccolomon: That's why all of you are coming with me for training, starting today! Sora: Training? Tentomon: What do you mean? Piccolomon: Especially you two over there! Taichi & Agumon: Me!? Piccolomon: (flies out of Mimi's hands) You and your Agumon win the grand prize. You'll receive intensive training from the Special Menu PI! Taichi: Special Menu!? Agumon: Intensive training!? Piccolomon: Now, follow me! (lands and starts marching) Pi pi pi pi pi pi pi pi....

Piccolomon is incredibly rude and calls them all wankers. It's almost like they're lost children or something. Who could have predicted this?

He doesn't so much invite them to come with him as take ownership of them. He's telling, not asking. These are supposed to be the heroes of legend but he finds them woefully unimpressive, so he's going to fix it.

In the dub, Biyomon continues on from her diegetic rundown.

Biyomon: His secret home is the training ground for all the great Digimon fighters! Piximon: And I've heard all about you two but so far I am NOT IMPRESSED!!! You seven are supposed to be the DigiDestined!? HA! You'd better be more careful or you'll end up DigiDinners yup-yup! Without my spears and my magic, Kuwagamon would be eating you with a side of DigiFries! Mimi: That's gross! Thanks a lot. Piximon: And that's not all! You Digimon there! You're supposed to protect the children, but half the time they're protecting you! I wanna see some guts! I wanna see some courage! Matt: (grumpy whisper) This guy reminds me of a gym teacher I once had. Palmon: He's right. We just don't have any guts. Gomamon: Aww... Don't we get points for enthusiasm? Piximon: But the news isn't all bad! Yep-yep, from now on you're all going to train with me! Sora: But why? Tentomon: Let's not go overboard, Piximon! Piximon: Especially you two guys! Tai & Agumon: Wha--!? Piximon: (flies out of Mimi's hands) You heard me! You two need lots of help and I have a special extreme training program just for you! Tai: Did I hear him right? Agumon: Sounds kind of extreme. Piximon: Yep! Follow me! (lands and starts marching, humming his marching cadence again)

His quickly spoken dialogue peppered with yep-yeps and nope-nopes are what replace the pi pi pis. Otherwise, this scene is mostly identical. The only difference here is Matt's barb. Since he can't make fun of the "pi pi pi", he drops a solid crack about gym teachers who think they're drill sergeants.

Gomamon's line is also different, but it's actually improved over the original line. "Points for enthusiasm" is a better line for him than "I don't have any guts" because. Like. What are you talking about, Gomamon? You're a rowdy thrill-seeker. You have guts for days. Jou wishes you had less guts. Remember that time you tried to fistfight him?

The kids huddle up to decide what to do from here.

Taichi: What should we do? Jou: Can we even trust that Digimon? Yamato: What's your take, Gabumon? Gabumon: He complains a lot, but he's not a bad Digimon. Palmon: I didn't see a Black Gear or Cable either. Sora: Why not give it a try? After all, we don't know how to raise our Digimon correctly. It'll be fun if we think of it like a training camp! Mimi: It may be more relaxing than wandering around.... Yamato: What do you think, Taichi? Taichi: Let's try it. It sounds interesting. Takeru: It's decided! Group: YEAH!!! Piccolomon: WHAT IS TAKING YOU SO LONG!?!? HURRY UP PIIIIIII!!!

Wouldn't count on intensive training being relaxing, Mimi. You're gonna eat those words in a few hours. Also, I'm amused by the implication that Palmon was cautiously inspecting Piccolomon during all that time Mimi was holding him.

In the dub:

Group: (unintelligible murmurs of suspicion from everyone) Mimi: I don't know about this. Joe: I have a question. Do we trust a ping-pong with wings? Tai: But he did save Agumon and me. Why would he do that if he was no good? Izzy: Precisely! He didn't have a Black Gear anywhere on him; I checked. Joe: What do you say, Biyomon? After all, you seem to know a lot about him. Biyomon: Well, it's an honor to be chosen for training by Piximon! Mimi: Sounds like a lot of work to me. Sora: He's right, though. We could use some help. Tai: How can you say that? Just cause we've nearly been eaten a hundred times...! Matt: Well, there are worse options? I mean, do we have a choice? All in favor, say aye. Group: AYE! Piximon: WOULD YOU ALL JUST HURRY UP!?!?

Having a still image of a huddle with no lip flaps moving gives them the flexibility to change who's talking around quite a bit. Joe seems to lead this discussion instead of Taichi and Yamato, though Matt comes in for the vote at the end.

Notably, it's Izzy who inspected Piximon instead of Palmon. He was also less thorough, only checking for a Black Gear and not, like... a cable sticking out of Piccolomon's butt or something? Honestly, not sure where Palmon expected to see a Black Cable.

Biyomon continues to fangirl over Piximon-sama.

And another line about "how to raise our Digimon properly" gets cut down into vagueness.

As the kids trudge through the desert, Mimi complains.

Mimi: Are we there yet!? Piccolomon: A little further PI! Palmon: 'A little further, a little further', that's all you've been saying! Piccolomon: (ten feet later) Here we are pi. This is the place pi. Sora: Here? But I don't see anything. Piccolomon: PI!!!

In the dub, more kids get in on the complaining so it's not just Mimi.

Mimi: Are we there yet!? Piximon: Just a little further! Joe: That's about the seventh time he's said that. Matt: I think he's lost. Tai: So what do we do, ask a cactus for directions!? Sora: ...ice cream... cold root beer-- Group: STOP THAT!!! Piximon: Halt! We have arrived! Sora: What are you talking about!? There isn't anything here.

The dub's so good at its banter. XD

PIccolomon casts a gibberish incantation to open the way, while Piximon calls out "Pixie Portal!" and then spends the rest of his lip flaps giggling like a madman. His spell unseals a hole in reality, leading to a tropical jungle.

Jou: WHAT!?!? Piccolomon: Nothing to fear pi. This is just the entrance through my barrier pi. Now follow me pi.

After a moment of hesitation, the kids cross through the barrier.

In the dub:

Mimi: It's a hole in the desert! Joe: Am I the only one who thinks this looks like trouble? Piximon: Actually, it's just my front door. Come on in now! Quickly, before it closes, yep-yep!

Mimi gets to chime in, while Jou's shocked reaction is changed to conscious whining.

As the kids enter the jungle, Takeru exclaims:

Takeru: (gasp) A jungle!

But most of it is just 13 seconds of looking around the jungle. Prime opportunity for the dub to add banter.

Tai: Cool! A jungle inside a desert! T.K.: I bet you've got LOTS of friends who want to play with ya! Piximon: You should have seen it when I first got it!

Not their best work. T.K.'s line doesn't seem to connect to anything and I'm not sure what Piximon even means by that. Is he trying to compare his jungle to a used car?

Suddenly, Sora hears something. The sound of a horn, like on a car or train, honking in the distance. Whipping around, she spots Etemon's trailer crossing the desert sands just outside the jungle's border where they'd been moments ago.

Sora: Hey! Behind us! Jou: What do we do now!? Piccolomon: That's Etemon's trailer pi. Jou: Ehhhhh!?!?!? Piccolomon: Nothing to worry about pi. He can't see through my barrier on the other side pi.

This is a fun bit because it's something we've glimpsed in past episodes. It's such a minor detail, I haven't even bothered to mention it. Etemon likes to honk his horn when his trailer's getting hauled around, for no apparent reason but shits and giggles. Because he may be Perfect-stage but he is an absolute mon-child.

Suddenly, his unnecessary honking is plot relevant.

The dub makes the inexplicable decision to cut the car horn from Etemon's trailer. So Sora, I guess, has a psychic premonition and that's why she turns around.

Sora: (reacting to nothing) Huh? (turns around) Heads up! BEHIND US, GUYS!!! Mimi: Oh no, it's Etemon and his trailer! Joe: Oh boy, this is bad! Piximon: And right outside the front door he is too! Joe: Huh? Piximon: Oh, don't worry about it. He isn't able to see through the barrier. He sees nothing but desert.

They add in Mimi to ID Etemon in case kids have forgotten. This, however, creates a second continuity error right alongside the lack of the horn.

The kids have never seen Etemon's trailer until now. That's why Jou had the big "EHHHHHH!?!?" reaction when Piccolomon ID'd it. He knee-jerk reacted to the strange vehicle by assuming they were in peril, and then Piccolomon's explanation upgraded that to THE MOST PERIL. So I guess Mimi's having psychic premonitions too today.

I can forgive Mimi's continuity flub. I don't think the dub team approached this show as a serialized story and were instead looking at it like an episodic cartoon, since that's what most cartoons in the 90's were like.

But removing the car horn is an incomprehensible choice to make.

Inside the trailer, repairs on the Dark Network remain underway, though they seem to have several sectors now online. Etemon, however, is throwing a hissy fit.

Etemon: HAVEN'T YOU FIXED IT YET!?!? Gazimon 1: It's being restored at an incredible rate! Gazimon 2: Please wait just a little longer! Etemon: (bouncing on chair) I can't wait anymore! Hurry up and REPAIR MY NETWORK ALREADY!!!

As someone who works in tech, I feel for these Gazimon.

The Gazimon are bolder in the dub.

Etemon: The stupid screen is still broken; What's taking so long!? Gazimon 1: We've almost got it fixed, Etemon. Gazimon 2: No need for a conniption fit! Etemon: (bouncing on chair) I'LL SHOW YOU CONNIPTION YOU INSOLENT LITTLE WORMS!!! Fix it right away; I have a show to get on!

The boldness to say that straight to an already agitated Etemon's face. Holy shit.

So the kids come to Piximon's home. A tall mountain with stairs spiraling up it, leading to the various structures.

How's that "more relaxing than walking" thing coming along, Mimi?

Jou: ...up there...? Mimi: What is that!? (crying) I don't believe it.... Koushiro: We have to climb that? Takeru: How many steps are there? Yamato: There's no use counting them. Sora: Wait, does this mean our training has already started? Piccolomon: That's right PI! Tentomon: (quietly, to himself) Hehehe, this is a piece of cake. I can just-- Piccolomon: By the way, flying is forbidden during training pi! Tentomon: Aww.... Piccolomon: Stop whining and start climbing pi!

Nice try, Tentomon, but no dice. Start walking, everybody.

In the dub:

Piximon: Alright, everybody, home we are! My house is just up these steps. Joe: We have to walk up there!? Mimi: But I didn't bring my stair-climbing sneakers! Tai: Uh, yeah... And I just remembered I'm afraid of heights! Izzy: Purely from a logical standpoint, it doesn't look very safe. Sora: Is this part of our training? Piximon: Exactly! Tentomon: (loudly, to everyone) Hey, no sweat! I'll just FLY up there! Then, before you know it, I'll be chilling by the pool while you guys are still-- Piximon: And oh, by the way, did I mention there will be no flying by anyone during all my training? Tentomon: Aww.... Piximon: Haven't you rookies learned that the easy way is sometimes a TRAP!? Now let's move out! Joe: I guess Piximon never heard of elevators....

Low blow on that last line. XD These kids do struggle with that. They walk into traps so easily.

Meanwhile, Dub Tentomon deserves to walk. The original was whispering to himself about his loophole; In the dub, he's openly gloating.

On the way up the mountain, Piccolomon motivates the kids to reach the very top by promising food when they get there. And by food, he means:

Gomamon: Hey. Where's the food? Piccolomon: You'll have to finish your next training first pi! Gomamon: (distraught) I knew it.... Piccolomon: (conjures up buckets and washrags) You'll be scrubbing all of these floors pi! Yamato: Scrubbing all of the floors!? Jou: All of them from top to bottom!? Mimi: (crying) No way! Piccolomon: (to Taichi and Agumon) You two have the Special Menu pi! Come with me pi! Taichi & Agumon: (groan) Special Menu....

This is the same in the dub but with all of the kids complaining at once upon hearing about the scrubbing such that it's hard to make out any one complaint.

Until we get to Tai and Agumon. Then they drop this gem.

Piximon: But not you, Agumon and Tai. Come now, I have a special chore for you. Tai: Great; We probably have to paint the place!

XD Yeah, probably.

The kids get to work on scrubbing the floors, with various grumbles arising.

Sora: There's no other choice. Let's get this over with. Mimi: I've never scrubbed a floor; Not even in my own house.... Piyomon: Is this really training!? Palmon: Maybe he's just using us to work as his maids! Gomamon: FOOD!!! Takeru: Tokomon, let's race to see who's faster! Tokomon: Okay! I won't lose to you! Yamato: (stops cleaning to watch his brother and smile) Takeru....

In the dub:

Mimi: The last time I scrubbed a floor was... Never! Izzy: It's a simple task, Mimi; Even you'll catch on. Matt: Is this really training or is this just Piximon's maid's day off and he doesn't like to vacuum!? T.K.: Tokomon, let's have a cleaning race! Ready, set, go! VROOM! VROOOOOOM!!! Matt: (stops cleaning to watch his brother and smiles) Ahaha....

Two key differences here, one I appreciate and one I hate. I like that they composited Piyomon and Palmon's lines into one for Matt. It feels a little weird that, in the original, all of the girls grouse while the boys mostly just get straight to work. Except Gomamon, of course, who's still mad about the food fakeout. This way, it's more even.

But also, they add a line that's just Izzy being mean to Mimi about her line from the original. Thanks, I hate it.

For the Special Menu, Piccolomon drops off Taichi and Agumon in a small, pitch-black cave. As they enter, they sink through the ground and are lost to places unknown. Training has begun.

Later that night, the group goes to sleep on the floor of a miserable looking waiting room with one chair and a couch. Jou-senpai takes the chair (perk of being the oldest, I guess) while Sora and Mimi share the couch, sleeping sitting up and leaning against each other. Everyone else piles on the floor.

But Koushiro can't sleep. Starting to get up, he spots Yamato sneaking out. Yamato shushes him, and the pair leave the room together. Once they're outside, they can talk.

Yamato: Taichi and Agumon haven't come back. Koushiro: Yeah. I wonder what happened to them?

Before they can follow that line of conversation further, Yamato and Koushiro's Tags suddenly begin to pulse.

Yamato: They're glowing! Koushiro: Yamato-san! Yamato: Our Crests must be nearby!

Following the pulsing of their Crests, Yamato and Koushiro descend the mountain. As they leave Piccolomon's home in the dead of night, Koushiro starts to get nervous.

Koushiro: Should we bring Tentomon and Gabumon with us? Yamato: No. We're safe inside the barrier. We should let them sleep.

Trusting his senpai to know best, Koushiro follows Yamato's lead. When their Tags begin to pulse again, they race off from the house, following the trail. As they go, we catch a glimpse of the ever inscrutable Piccolomon watching them leave.

Taichi and Agumon wake up on a boat, floating in a mysterious glowing body of water. Agumon wakes first, then rouses Taichi.

Taichi: Wh-Where are we!? Agumon: I don't know! I thought we were in a cave! Taichi: (stands up in the boat and calls out) HEY!!! PICCOLOMON!!!

No answer returns to him but he does rock the boat enough to fall out so that's a reaction, at least. Agumon grabs an oar to fish him out.

Agumon: What are you doing? Taichi: Oh, be quiet. Is this really training?

Tai doesn't get to talk in the dub; Agumon eats up the screentime for both of their lines so he can chastise Tai more.

Agumon: Don't you know not to stand up in a boat!? Here, grab this.

Unfortunately, a sudden bright light in the distance appears, distracting Agumon.

Agumon: Taichi! Something's shining over there! Taichi: H-Hey! Keep looking this way!

Too late. Agumon's so distracted, he can't pull Taichi in properly. Instead, Taichi ends up pulling him out of the boat.

Surfacing, they both end up clinging to the side of the boat and lay into each other.

Taichi: Crap, Agumon! What are you doing!? Agumon: I was just trying to help you! Taichi: That's a lie, you were staring off at something else! Agumon: But the light! Taichi: Wait a second. This boat is drifting somewhere. Come on, hang tight! Agumon: Don't change the subject! To start off, Taichi, you were--

They squabble just as hard in the dub.

Tai: Now look what you did! We're both in the water! Agumon: What I did!? You were the one standing up in the boat. I was just trying to pull- Tai: Well, if you'd been watching what you were doing instead of looking at some stupid light in the distance-- Agumon: Well, if you hadn't pulled on the oar, we wouldn't be swimming like tuna in pea soup! We'd be back in the boat warm and dry! Tai: I do not swim like a tuna fish and where do you get off blaming--

I'm not sure what swimming like a tuna means but it sounds scathing. Take that, Tai!

As their boat drifts further away, the light slowly moves in. Taichi and Agumon fade away as it passes.

The following morning, the kids remaining at the house are woken up by Piccolomon banging on a metal bucket.

Mimi: What is that racket!?!? Piccolomon: Morning! How long do you plan on sleeping, PI!? Look sharp PI! Tentomon: Has anyone seen Koushiro-han? Group: (suddenly alert) Huh!? Gabumon: And Yamato! Takeru: Piccolomon, do you know where they are? Piccolomon: Those two left to find their Crests pi! Tentomon: (grumpy) Oh. So he left me behind.

So help me, if he wasn't Perfect-stage, they would probably make him eat that bucket.

In the dub:

Mimi: ...what is it? What's going on? Piximon: Rise and shine, everybody! Everybody up! Come on, people! Tentomon: Picomon(sic), do you know where Izzy went? He's not in his bed. Group: (suddenly alert) Huh!? Gabumon: And I can't find Matt! T.K.: What!? Hey, did you send my brother somewhere? Piximon: Your brother and his pal left to look for Crests about midnight. Tentomon: Ohh, I don't believe it! Why would Izzy leave me behind!?

Got another flagrant line flub here. Tentomon's actor says "Picomon" instead of "Piximon", as if starting to say Piccolomon but then realizing and snipping it off. Yet again, they just left it in and didn't shoot another take.

Realizing that three people are now missing, the girls do the only sensible thing.

They bully Jou for absolutely no reason. XD

Sora: Taichi and Agumon haven't returned since last night, and now it's Koushiro-kun and Yamato-kun. What a mystery that they keep disappearing, one after another.... Mimi: Maybe Jou-senpai is next. Jou: H-Hey, don't say weird stuff like that! P-Piccolomon might-- Gomamon: D'aww, Jou. You get scared too easily. It's fine. We can trust Piccolomon! Jou: Are you sure...? Piccolomon: Now! Time for training PI!

Savage.

While everyone's triggering Jou's neuroses on purpose for funsies, we return to Yamato and Koushiro. They've descended all the way to the jungle in search of their Crests.

Trudging through the underbrush, they discuss their own motives for pursuing these ambiguous little macguffins.

Yamato: Hey. Why do you want your Crest, Koushiro? Koushiro: Why? I want to see what Kabuterimon evolves into next, of course! How about you, Yamato-san? Yamato: I, uh... I want to improve myself! It's not only Digimon who evolve and grow stronger. I want to mature alongside them and grab hold of a part of me that's different from before.

Yamato putting off incredible senpai energy right now.

The dub expresses the same sentiments but the way they phrase it is interesting.

Matt: Why do you want to find a Crest, Izzy? Izzy: I guess it's mostly because of Kabuterimon. I would like to see which stage he will Digivolve into after that one. Isn't that the reason why you're looking for a Crest? Matt: No. I want to use the Crest to Digivolve me! Izzy: Oh? Matt: Not into a Digimon, but to make me stronger and smarter. Maybe learn something new about myself. Y'know, to reach my next level!

Matt captures the sentiment from Yamato really well. The phrase "Digivolve me" is a bit awkward, but purposely so. It's attention-grabbing and demands explanation, which he provides immediately.

Izzy, however, tries to sound smart by asking what stage Kabuterimon's going to Digivolve into which. Uh. Isn't. Really. A question. It's Perfect/Ultimate, Izzy. He's going to Digivolve to Ultimate stage. That's how the stages work. The question here is what specific Ultimate-stage Digimon he's going to become.

(It will always be confusing that the dub calls Ultimate-stage Mega and Perfect-stage Ultimate.)

Finally, they come across their destination.

Yamato: We're at the edge of the barrier. Koushiro: We came this far only to reach a dead end. (The well in the desert begins to glow) Yamato: Hey! Koushiro: The well is glowing! Our Crests must be inside it, Yamato-san! Yamato: But it's outside the barrier!

Koushiro approaches the barrier and touches it with his hand, testing whether it's a physical obstruction or not. As he slides his hand through, Dub Izzy utters:

Izzy: Hope my hand doesn't melt....

Fortunately, his hand passes through easily.

Koushiro: We can pass through! Yamato: (nods approvingly) Okay!

Yamato descends the well first, with Koushiro following behind. Before long, they're both able to find their Crests glowing along the walls.

Their Crests activate at the same time, slotting into their Tags. Five down, two to go.

It's just too bad they left the barrier.

The Dark Network is back online and fully functional. Yamato and Koushiro appear circled on Etemon's map. They've been found.

Gazimon: There's a signal in Area K-1! Etemon: What!? HEY!!! (strangles the Gazimon) WE JUST PASSED THAT PLACE!!! REEEEEEEEEEEEEEGH!!! (Etemon goes to his console once he's done throttling his technician) Etemon: Area K-1 is Tyrannomon's territory. Alright, I'll teach them a thing or two!

The dub calls it area G-3 but the dialogue is otherwise identical.

As the boys emerge from the well, they soon realize that the enemy is onto them.

It's not subtle.

(Huh, look at that. The Dark Cables really are coming out of his butt. I owe Palmon an apology.)

Koushiro and Yamato run screaming for their lives while the narrator launches into our rundown. Tyrannomon is an Adult-stage Data-type Dinosaur Digimon. Named, of course, for tyrannosaurus rex.

Of note, some sources say Tyranomon with one 'n'. This is because, in Japanese, it's Ti-ra-no-mo-n. However, that's also how the word tyrannosaurus is spelled: Ti-ra-no-sa-u-ru-su. So the intent, to me, for it to be named Tyrannomon with two 'n's is pretty clear. It's supposed to be spelled exactly like tyrannosaurus.

(The t-rex is also called 覇王竜 haou ryuu, which translates literally to Emperor Dragon or Overlord Dragon. Compositing the kanji ha meaning conquest or domination, ou meaning king, and ryuu meaning dragon. So that's pretty badass.)

Narrator: Tyrannomon. A Dinosaur Digimon well-prepared to survive in the wild. His special attack is the scorching flame Fire Breath.

Piximon handles our diegetic rundown from... wherever he is.

Piximon: Tyranomon. A huge Digimon with fire breath strong enough to cook a couple of boys like you!

Koushiro and Yamato sprint as fast as they can for the safety of the barrier. Koushiro barely makes it inside with Yamato about to follow when Tyranomon lets off a shot of Fire Breath. Unfortunately, the barrier doesn't prevent objects from passing through, so they're both caught up and thrown into the jungle by the explosion.

It also has... other consequences....

Up the mountain, Piccolomon is leading the kids in a meditation session when he hears the explosion. Everyone races outside to see to Yamato and Koushiro.

Tyrannomon enters the jungle. The tree cover hides Yamato and Koushiro, so Tyranomon opens fire blindly. Sending off projectile shots of Fire Breath into the jungle indiscriminately.

A subtle blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment I really like: Koushiro starts falling behind and calls out in fear to Yamato to wait for him.

Koushiro: P-Please wait for me, Yamato-san! Yamato: Hurry, Koushiro!

In the next shot, Yamato is leading Koushiro by the hand so they don't get separated by the huge difference in their stride. Big Brother Yamato is such a good senpai.

The dub downplays this gesture, unfortunately. We still get the shot of Matt leading Izzy by the end, but it doesn't connect the same because the dialogue to set it up is gone. Instead, we have a quip.

Izzy: Didn't I see this guy in one of my nightmares!? Matt: I wish you'd be more careful what you dream!

This doesn't segue into the handholding as directly so it's easier to overlook.

Eventually, the rest of the group finds Yamato and Koushiro, joining them in the jungle.

Gabumon: Yamato! Yamato: (releases Koushiro's hand) Gabumon? Tentomon: This is what you get for leaving me behind! Koushiro: Tentomon! Sora: Are you guys alright!?

XD Sassy Tentomon will never not be funny.

Sadly, his sass doesn't make it into the dub.

Gabumon: Matt! Izzy! Over here! Tentomon: Oh, thank goodness you're safe! T.K.: Oh, hey bro!

There's a cacophany of voices talking at once. Matt and Izzy don't respond to the crowd shouting at them. Those three lines are the ones most audible over the crowd, though T.K. sounds like he's running into Matt at the supermarket.

Fortunately, the group's all together now. Unfortunately, the Dark Network is back up and running in full. You know what that means.

Black Cables surge up through the trees so Etemon can be heard. Etemon takes to his guitar, sending out Love Serenade through the jungle and suppressing the Partner Digimon from being able to evolve. All while Tyrannomon makes his way inward, continuing to fire blindly into the jungle.

In their cave, Taichi and Agumon continue drifting through the mysterious glowing water. They've made it back in the boat, where they lie curled up together and float through memories of human buildings and structures.

Until they come across a bridge. There, they find a visual metaphor for the uncertainty and hesitation gripping Taichi's heart.

A younger Taichi is trying to ride his bicycle, but keeps falling down.

A brief cut back to the world outside shows Piccolomon sustaining a dome barrier to block Tyranomon's Fire Breath from hitting the kids. Looks like they've been made.

Taichi watches his younger self pick the bike back up, but start to cry.

Young Taichi: I can't do it. I can't ride a bicycle. Taichi: Don't give up! You can't quit just because of one or two failures. Don't be so faint-hearted. Believe in yourself. Believe it will work out this time Agumon: Taichi....

Encouraging Taichi's younger self to get back on, Taichi and Agumon hold the bike steady for him while they start running. Then they let go, allowing the young Taichi to ride the bike all by himself.

Young Taichi: I'm pedaling on my own! I can ride a bike! Taichi: I almost forgot, Agumon. I forgot that I can't lose heart. I lost my nerve because I was afraid you'd evolve into a strange Digimon again. Agumon: I felt the same way. That's why I couldn't become Greymon. But it's just like riding a bicycle! If we combine our powers, I feel like I can evolve again!

Taichi and Agumon get back in the boat, taking up the oars and paddling their way back to the others. As they paddle through the mysterious glowing plane, they start hearing the terrified screams of their friends and realize they're needed. Agumon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

During Agumon's transformation, we briefly cut to Piccolomon for a line that, though brief, explains an important detail.

Piccolomon: I can't wait for Taichi and Agumon any longer! I'll have to take care of Tyrannomon myself....

As a Perfect-stage Digimon, Piccolomon is more than capable of shutting down Tyrannomon. He's done nothing but sustain a magic barrier to protect the kids and their drained Digimon because he wants to use this as a training exercise for Taichi and Agumon.

However, at the last second before Piccolomon takes the field, it finally happens. Greymon comically flips Tyrannomon over and charges into the jungle as if he wasn't even there. Letting off blasts of Mega Flame from a distance, Greymon destroys the speakers that were blasting Love Serenade into the jungle.

Then he turns his attention back on Tyrannomon.

Greymon hoists Tyrannomon up into the air, tearing the Black Cables attached to him out of the ground and snapping them from the tension. Then he brings him down into the jungle in a crushing suplex.

We don't see the gory details, but we do see the dust of Tyrannomon degenerating rise into the air from the jungle below, signaling the end of this battle.

To prevent kids from realizing that we just fucking killed that guy, the dub adds some dialogue here. When Greymon first starts lifting Tyrannomon, Sora shouts:

Sora: Greymon's pulling the cables out!

Then, once the degeneration dust emerges from the jungle, we get:

Tai: He did it! Greymon did it! Sora: Look at the Black Cables all shattering into pieces!

What happened to Tyrannomon? Don't think about that. What's important is that Greymon destroyed the Black Cables. That is most certainly what he did, and it's what you're seeing onscreen right now.

Cut to Etemon throwing a tantrum in his trailer.

Etemon: Those children piss me off!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEEGH!!!

In the dub:

Etemon: Those rotten kids beat me again! Ugh, I gotta find something easier to beat like some cardboard boxes or something!

XD If it makes you feel better, you got to throttle a Gazimon earlier. Those are way easier to beat!

Now that everyone's back, the group decides it's time to move on from Piccolomon. Quickly.

Taichi: Really. Thank you for everything. Agumon: Thank you for taking care of us. Piccolomon: Don't think your training is over yet pi. Everything in life is training pi. Work hard and never give up pi! Taichi & Agumon: Yes, sir!

Nobody else thanks Piccolomon. I don't think the rest of the team's Yelp reviews are going to be as glowing as Taichi's.

Though they do speak up in the dub.

Matt: Thank you, Piximon! We've learned a lot from you. Joe: Yeah, like how to scrub floors and starve half to death-- Mimi: Joe! That's just Joe's stomach talking. Piximon: Far from over, your training is. Remember, life itself is a training session. Learn all you can. Everyone: RIGHT!

Tai and Agumon only speak up when the camera fixes on them for their "Yes, sir!" moment. For some reason, the dub chose to put everyone else at the forefront of this scene, even though they didn't learn shit.

We close on Piccolomon watching the kids depart his magic jungle.

Piccolomon: Only you can save this world pi. Do your best, Chosen Children PI!

In the dub:

Piximon: They truly are the DigiDestined yep-yep! No doubt have I, for though they are sometimes foolish, I have seen the love in their hearts. With a little luck, they just may succeed and save our Digital World.

Hey, Piximon? Question. What part of the preceding events hinged on "the love in their hearts"? Was it when Matt and Izzy hurt their Partners' feelings by going to the well alone or was it when Sora and Mimi bullied Joe for no reason?

I think the dub is rambling off Generic Good Guy Speech again.

Assessment: With two Crests in one episode, we are ramping towards endgame. The Etemon arc is surprisingly short, lasting only 7 episodes compared to the 13 that Devimon got.

Piccolomon's episode is kind of dull. For all the talk about offering training to everyone, we only really see it with Taichi and Agumon. It feels like he's doing the Wax On Wax Off esoteric martial arts master shtick. However, the purpose of scrubbing his floors is never explained, so it kinda feels like the sharp comments about doing maid service were right.

I'm not going to be hard on literally using "riding a bicycle" for the metaphor because it was the 90's and Japan. I don't remember when that became a tired metaphor and I certainly have no idea if it ever did in Japan. Taichi and Agumon's stuff worked for me. But a lot of the other "training" felt like space filler.

Yamato and Koushiro's segment was gold, however. Their brief discussion on the way to the well, and Yamato grabbing Koushiro's hand as they fled Tyrannomon? Loved that.

The dub nails a few moments, but it's also peppered with continuity mistakes, weird lines, and inexplicable choices. And the triumphant return of adding in dialogue just to be mean to Mimi. Overall, I'd say I'm tepid on this one.

[genork-the-fandork]

Cavalry

Word Count: 644 Prompt: Second Year A/N: Although the prompt is mainly a reference to Our War Game, I played with the story we're told in 02 - that is, the day the Chosen gave up the power of their Crests. I like playing with Hikari and Takeru's way of being part of and yet separate from the 01 cast in that they're very different. Not in a bad way! But in a very excellent one. @takariweek

Hikari and Takeru had had a silent agreement ever since they first met—whatever happened, they would stick together. If all else failed within this tightly knit group of Chosen, they would have each other. Hand in hand and side by side, they would defend the Digital World and Earth. Or, less seriously, they would tuck themselves away while the older kids talked about older kids things. They had more important things to talk about.

They had been summoned back to the Digital World for some mysterious purpose. Supposedly, they would find out more when they got there. Koushiro and Taichi were working out the strategy for how to get there while the others offered their own suggestions. Takeru and Hikari, however, sat apart from the others, waiting. Though they were certainly mature enough to join the "big kids" discussion, they often chose not to. It was pointless, Hikari had pointed out. Even when their brothers did listen, they did not truly hear them. So concerned were Taichi and Yamato with their safety that it would take a miracle to trust them with their ideas.

Not that Takeru was particularly bitter about this. Neither was Hikari. They preferred each other's company, where they could come up with a failsafe plan, should anything go awry. Like knights, or angel knights, as Hikari teased, they were the cavalry, ready to swoop in and save everyone at the last possible second. What were Angemon and Angewomon for, if not to make dire circumstances go away?

"So Yamato just—went into the computer?" Hikari whispered, leaning forward in such a way that her hair fell over her face.

Takeru wanted to say he could remember it clearly, but his memory was unreliable in this fact. One moment, his brother had been beside him, and the next, it was as if he was watching a movie on the screen, featuring Yamato and Taichi. Even Koushiro couldn't say for sure what he'd seen. The scene had filled Takeru with a sense of wonder and fear all at once, and he hoped never again to experience that feeling. "Yeah," he said, staring down at his hands. "He sure does have a close bond with Gabumon, huh?"

Hikari's hands folded on top of his, and he glanced up at his friend's smiling brown eyes. Well, some days they looked more amber than the chocolate brown of her brother's, but that was a secret Takeru kept locked away. If he let slip such a thought, she would surely tease him. Even if it would make her smile. "We all have close bonds with the Digimon," his friend gently reminded him. "I don't think they can beat our bonds by a landslide." Hiding her mouth behind her hand, as if that would prevent Taichi or Yamato from hearing, she added, "They need a little extra help—you know, because they're dummies."

The giggle that erupted out of Takeru was a bit loud, and he caught his brother glancing over his shoulder at them. Blue irises, so like his own, zeroed in on their joined hands. A slight smirk climbed up Yamato's face as he turned back to the others, but Takeru could feel the heat that expression had induced. Before he could take his hands away, however, Hikari squeezed them. He looked to her, seeing that her own face was a bright shade of pink. For a moment, they stared at each other. Then they laughed, still holding fast to each other's hands.

Neither they nor the others saw it, but their Crests briefly appeared in a flash of light on the spots over their hearts. It would be the last time the power of Hope and Light would be theirs to hold, for the Digital World had more need for it than they. Yet in this moment, it was all theirs, and it tied them together.

[sloanerisette]

Digimon Secret Santa 2023 Gift!

So I was @bacomon-art-blog's Secret Santa! I know how much you love Iori and Jou, so I wanted to write something with them for you! I hope you have a merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this and a ton of fun coming up with this fic!

---

For some reason, Iori felt a bit out of his depth for this celebration. According to Takeru and Hikari, August 1st was a big day for the original eight Chosen Children, being the day that they went to the Digital World and came back. As a result, the eight Chosen Children were joined by him, Miyako, and Daisuke to celebrate. They were Chosen Children now, so they had been welcomed wholeheartedly in the group. But while Miyako was quick to find friendship with Sora and Mimi thanks to her exuberant nature, and Daisuke had already been close with Taichi and had recently become closer with Yamato after a he received the Digimental of Friendship, Iori felt… well, a bit out of place.

It wasn’t that he felt unwelcome by any means, but it was a bit different. Everyone was so much older than him, and compared to the other new Chosen Children, he felt he hadn’t gotten nearly that close to any of his seniors. His own Digimentals were Knowledge and Reliability, and while he greatly respected both Koushiro and Jou, his relationship with them wasn’t nearly as close as Miyako was with Mimi or Daisuke was with Taichi.

Still, he was grateful to come along. The heat wasn’t too bad, they had a picnic together, and he had been enthralled by all the stories of that first trip the others took into the Digital World. He couldn’t imagine the idea of being stuck there for so long… it merely made his respect for them all grow so much more. Every so often that day he looked down at Upamon, each time with a fond, if small smile. He and his Digimon partner had already become incredibly close friends, and Upamon had done plenty to get him to lighten up just a bit more than usual. All he could hope was that their bond would continue to grow and grow.

By the mid-afternoon, the humidity had grown quite a bit, and Iori found himself needing to fan himself a bit more.

“Water?”

He snapped from yet another bout of thoughts about what being a Chosen Child meant and he looked up to see Jou offering him a bottle of water. He blinked.

“Ah, thank you, Jou-san,” he said with a bow of his head before taking it.

“I’m surprised the summer hasn’t been rougher,” Jou said as he cracked open his own bottle and took a long drink. Iori opened his bottle and offered some to Upamon before taking a sip himself.

The group of Chosen Children had split up a bit, with all of them splitting up into their own small groups. Miyako had dragged Hikari over to Mimi and Sora, while Daisuke was listening to Taichi and Koushiro, and Yamato and Takeru were standing next to each other, laughing about something one of them said.

“Don’t worry, I made sure to pass water out to everyone else. You just seemed to be in such thought I didn’t want to interrupt you, but considering everyone else got their own by now, I hope you don’t mind,” Jou said lightly. Iori shook his head.

“No, I appreciate it, thank you.”

Things stayed quiet between the two as they sat down on a bench, watching their friends socialize. It was nice to spend some quiet time, but with the oldest of their group there, Iori couldn’t help himself.

“Jou-san, do you mind if I ask a question?” he asked, voice serious as ever. Jou’s eyebrows raised and he let out a gentle chuckle.

“Of course, fire away.”

Compared to the few times he had seen Jou in the Digital World, he seemed a lot more easygoing now. Well, not necessarily easygoing, considering this was the guy who had made sure everyone was staying hydrated on a warm summer day, but he definitely wasn’t as stressed as he was making sure their friends didn’t die or in helping temporarily stop the Digimon Kaiser.

And, really, there were some questions that Iori floated in his mind. Even if Taichi had been the leader in Jou’s group and Daiuske was the leader in theirs, he still wanted to do his best to help out. Frankly, out of all the people to ask, from what he knew and the stories he was told, Jou was the only person to really ask.

“How did you do it?” he asked. Jou blinked and tilted his head.

“Do what?” he asked as Iori gave Upamon another drink of water.

“Keep them all under control,” Iori said simply, before taking another gulp for himself. Jou scratched his cheek and grimaced.

“Ah, well… that was more Taichi’s job than mind…” he trailed off.

“I understand that, but you were the oldest one. Your crest is Reliability, and I share that too through my Digimental. Mimi talking about how you stayed with her to make sure she stayed safe when you went back to the Digital World a second time, the story about making sure Taichi didn’t get in over his head while trying to rescue Sora, making sure Takeru didn’t get hurt… even if you didn’t lead the group, you still did everything you could to keep everyone safe.”

Jou placed his hand to his chin and hummed quietly, in deep thought. Iori focused his attention on him, waiting for what he had to say. He wanted to do his best to keep everyone safe with how dangerous the Digimon Kaiser was dangerous. Ever since they had to fight Metalgreymon, it felt like the stakes were being raised more and more. It wouldn’t be easy, and they needed to do all they could. Iori had to keep an eye out and make sure they all stayed safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of his friends.

“Well, to be honest with you, Iori… I think a lot of it happened by accident,” he said with an awkward laugh. Iori’s jaw dropped.

“Huh?”

At his bewildered expression, Jou waved his hands and shook his head.

“No no no, don’t get me wrong! I worked as hard as I could to keep everyone safe, even if Taichi took the lead of the group,” he said. He paused again and pursed his lips, trying to best figure out how to better word what he meant to say.

“A lot of our group is pretty impulsive. Sora-kun and Koushiro are probably the only others who could keep as much of a level head, and there were plenty of times where I still needed to do what I could to help them out, too. Working with a lot of people isn’t always easy, especially when a lot of them are so headstrong.”

Iori glanced over at Daisuke and then to Miyako. He could definitely understand that pretty well.

“In a way, you sort of have to be an anchor for your group.”

The anchor for the group…

Iori had a hard time thinking of himself that way. While he had been raised with a good head on his shoulders thanks to his family, being the “anchor” felt like something else entirely.

Jou set a gentle hand on Iori’s shoulder, his own gaze having followed towards Iori’s friends.

“Daisuke and Miyako-kun are both pretty energetic, aren’t they,” he mused with a soft chuckle, “They really are like Taichi and Mimi-kun.”

“Jou-san, you really think I could be the anchor to our group?” he asked. He always appreciated the advice, help, and knowledge he received from Koushiro-san, and the few times Jou-san had offered it had been a boon, too. He still thought about what he had said when he needed to call on him in order to help save the group.

“I wouldn’t say think, I would say I’m sure you could be,” Jou said, offering Iori a smile. To Jou, it was almost funny how different the two were. Here Iori had taken helping out the Digital World in stride, doing everything he could in order to help fight against the Digimon Kaiser, while Jou had been so anxious and hesitant during his first trip there. Granted, they were in completely different situations, but he was always impressed by the boy’s convictions and strength.

“Takeru and Hikari-kun may have the experience from being in the Digital World with the rest of us, but you have an incredibly level head. You know when to take action and you focus on the right thing to do.”

Hearing Jou-san say that… really did mean a lot. It wasn’t always easy being the youngest, but…

“Thank you, Jou-san. Going against the Digimon Kaiser hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a battle we can entirely win,” Iori frowned. He wrung his hands together as he watched the others. He didn’t want to see them get hurt. He still thought about how his friends had nearly died, had a few nightmares about it. If it wasn’t for him being able to get Jou-san, then…

“I know we can’t help you all out too much, but we’ll always do what we can. You’ll always have our support.”

Upamon looked up at Iori, with that same adorable smile that he always held. It brought warmth to his chest, and enough relief to cause the knot that had slowly been forming in his stomach to unwind.

“Iori,” Upamon squeaked, “If I get what Jou is saying, then I know you do that for me, too!”

“Upamon?”

Jou smiled in silence as he watched the the pair.

“You always help me out! And if it wasn’t for you, there’s plenty of times I would’ve had way more of your mom’s food than I should!” Upamon said as he wiggled in his place.

And there were a lot of times that he had gotten seconds (and thirds) to give to his partner after a long day in the Digital World.

“Sounds a lot like a seal I know,” Jou said, before pausing for a beat, “Well… a lot less sarcastically than said seal, at least,” he said before adjusting his glasses.

“Thanks. Both of you,” Iori nodded as he held Upamon a little closer. “I hope one day I can be as close with Upamon as you are with Gomamon.”

Jou set a reassuring hand on Iori’s shoulder, patting it a few times before he reached for his bottle of water and took another drink.

“I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about on that front. You two are just as much anchors for each other as Gomamon and I are for each other.”

“Hey, Iori!” Miyako shouted out with an exaggerated wave, “Get over here! Daisuke is buying us ice cream!”

“What!? I didn’t say I was gonna do that!” he shouted, his voice booming through the park.

“Sounds like you have to now!” Takeru said, his laughter mingling with Daisuke’s continued cries of refusal.

“B-But I was talking to—” Iori started, but was stopped by another hand on his shoulder again.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m sure I can find someone to talk to,” Jou said, mirth clear in his voice as he nodded towards his group.

“And I want to get ice cream, too!” Upamon said.

“Hey, wait! If I start buying ice cream for all you guys I’m gonna be broke!” Daisuke shouted.

“Oh! I want ice cream, too!” Chibimon squeaked out happily as he danced around his partner’s feet.

“Me, too!” Patamon said as he flew in circles.

The two stood up and started to walk forward. “Thanks for all of your advice today, Jou-san. It’s really helped me out.” Iori stopped in place and offered his senior a half bow.

Jou smiled, “I’m happy to help.”

“Hey! If you don’t hurry up then you and Upamon aren’t getting any ice cream!” Daisuke shouted over to them.

“Iori come on!” Upamon said, nearly flying from the boy’s arms to secure his frozen treat.

“Oh, and Iori? I think you’re already on the right track to being the anchor for your group,” Jou said, shooting the younger boy a thumbs up before heading over to talk to Mimi and Koushiro.

“Fiiiiiiiinally,” Daisuke said, putting his hands behind his head as Iori approached, Upamon practically buzzing in Iori’s arms as his little eyes darted around to try and find ice cream.

“I thought we were gonna have to leave ya behind,” Daisuke grinned. Miyako flicked his ear, leading to him shouting “Ow!” and rubbing his ear with a grumble.

“He wasn’t going to leave, I wouldn’t let him,” she said as she folded her arms. It caused Hikari to laugh, putting a hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

“Iori, Iori, how many ice creams can I get?” Upamon asked as he finally popped out of his partner’s arms, bouncing on the ground with Chibimon.

“Just one!” Daisuke said with a huff, pouting out his lower lip, “I’m not made of money.” Despite his grumbling, he couldn’t help the way the edge of his mouth turned upwards into a half grin before he led the charge towards a small convenience store, the rest of the group following close behind.

Despite the fact that Upamon ended up having an extra half a popsicle after begging Iori for some more, the tiny Digimon still ended up scarfing down a whole plate of food he had taken to his room after dinner. Iori watched with a mix of wonder and terror as the Digimon chowed down face first on a large pile of rice.

“You know, I still can’t help but wonder how many stomachs you have.”

“I dunno but not enough! I’m still hungry!” Upamon said between bites.

Iori smiled to himself as he leaned back in his chair. His partner was certainly something else. Not that he would ever complain.

“Hey, Upamon?” Iori asked after a few minutes. Upamon looked over at him, chewing on a piece of fish. Iori reached forward and wiped away a few grains of rice that were on his cheek.

“Yeah?” Upamon asked, finally swallowing the massive mouthful of food he had.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Of course we do! We make the best team ever! Ever ever!” Upamon cheered as he bounced in place. Iori chuckled gently.

“I think so, too. I’m glad and I’m grateful to be your partner.”

Upamon couldn’t stop himself from continuing to munch as he watched Iori with wide eyes and rapt attention.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous about taking on the Digimon Kaiser… it won’t be an easy fight. But I want you to know I’ll always stand by you. As long as you’re able to fight, then so will I.”

Upamon suddenly launched himself into Iori’s arms, the force of which caused his chair to nearly fall backwards. Iori barely managed to get his feet planted on the floor in time while Upamon nuzzled into him. Iori grimaced as some soy sauce started to stain his shirt.

“I’ll be your anchor if you’ll be mine, Iori!”

Iori smiled, closed his eyes, held his partner tight, and gently set his forehead against the top of Upamon’s head.

“I will.”

[atsoraasayoma]

All right, this has been a long time coming.

The criticism that Tri has received is ridiculous. Let’s face it most of the criticism is against yeeting the 02 newer digidestined.

And then you have the complainers who attack the personalities of the Digidestined because they are ‘not true to character’ or ‘it’s character assassination’

Saying stuff like that just drives me nuts.

I believe that a lot of people say this for the sake of continuity between the series for consistency. But in doing so They miss something so obvious it’s easy to just condemn it instead and walk by it.

So what do I mean?

That, for the most part people do not stay the same forever. Don’t get me wrong personality wise the continuum stops with Tri otherwise they are the same, but it’s not a matter of personality or character consistency.

No, this is a matter of teenage adolescence.

We saw a different side of the Digidestined that I am very grateful for. With all the angst and emotion of the teenage years it was great to see the Digidestined at a degree for the worse.

Let’s kind of list a couple shall we?

Taichi instead of being headstrong is wishy washy at times, an ass at other times and just comes across as unsure.

Yamato is cold and aloof, jagged and sharp. Not much different honestly. Maybe a little bit colder though.

Sora is…how can I put this lightly? Emotionally supportive but emotionally unstable at the same time even though she seems like the most stable one at times.

Koushiro is so analytical to the breaking point of having a melt down and he has a couple times especially prior to the reboot.

Joe is so distracted like crazy but not really changed that much. He just wants to go back to the real life and who can blame him?

Mimi is a straight up savage who forces her way into getting what she wants without being considerate of others. Even when she thinks of being considerate it’s still her feelings primarily the source of offense.

Takeru is more evolved I should say, but he lies and messes around far more than he should. But again he’s a teenager. We all have to learn.

Hikari is developing even more as an empath but struggles more to release her feelings in a healthy way which triggers physical distress like unleashing Cthulhu type monsters from twisted digivolutions.

Meiko is everything you could expect her to be. She’s been isolated, socially awkward but people have some kind of strange expectation from her to just jump on the same level As the other digidestined as far as personality or likability. She is a defeatist for sure but I enjoy her growth and regression back and forth this whole time.

As for the story I thought it was good, not great, but they left out some information we have to figure out for ourselves or make inferences. Gee I wonder when In the digimon adventure series we did NOT have to do that? Mystery isn’t it?

I also wondered about the digivolution fight choices as far as the level they were at. They are either going way too lax like champions fighting ultimate meicrackmon or way too op sending three or two Megas against one. (Rip machinedramon.)

But again the teenage years are unstable. It makes sense as the Digidestined find out who they are they fluctuate between the levels. They were after all afraid to hurt meicrackmon but ruthless against everyone else.

The part I liked most about Tri were the relationships. You could see how they naturally interacted with each other and unlike some of the digimon digivolutions they were NOT choppy (looking at you plastic gattomon).

For example and this is not the takari fanatic enthusiast within me speaking (ok, maybe it is) I enjoyed watching the takari chemistry in dialogue but also body language wise. Don’t ask me how many times they were there for each other.

But also aside from all of that I really enjoyed how for the most part each digidestined interacted with Meiko. And although she is normal and dare I say a bit bland it’s that blandness that really makes the personalities of the Digidestined pop.

Takeru’s heart to heart about Patamon’s infection.

Taichi telling her to shut up but apologize and lead/handhold her along.

Yamato saying a sharp word and the man performing a daring action to express those words.

Mimi’s dress up uniform and encouragement.

Koushiro grilling her about information to save the world.

Meiko relating with Sora about a digimon partner that won’t play nice.

Hikari bringing all of it together helping her understand her place with gentleness, tact, and just reading the atmosphere and between the lines.

You see? Digimon adventure is good if you can look past a few things. And it’s really good if you decipher everything that is going in like I did.

In second place is the relationship with digimon on full display, each digidestined experiencing the negativity or ‘opposite’ of their crests and overcoming the negativity to unleash the power of Megas. (That deserves its own post. More on that later.)

I could go on and on even about the vagueness of both homeostasis and yggdrassil being expressed by their representatives but I wanted to make this post about the Digidestined.

Any comments or questions? Let me know as always!

[noctisfishing]

Draw Me Closer

Characters: Yamato x Taichi (w/ Mimi, best supporting actress <3)

Summary: A club with bright lights and a flashy theme. Butterflies, idols, and dance pop. Yamato was suckered into setting foot in this scene, but whether he realized it or not, he knew there was only one reason to be drawn to it.

Notes: Dedicated to @pan-kuzu. This art. And this song. I was compelled.

Hope y'all enjoy this li'l slice of Taiyama~ <3

Once again, Yamato found himself in a place he least expected to be in on a Saturday night. He stepped into the lobby in his black button up shirt and dark jeans and observed nothing out of the ordinary from the staff and other guests, though he was mentally prepared for whatever it was that would come next.

It came to him as no surprise when he turned toward Mimi when she called for him. Her outfit was simple, a light spaghetti strapped tank top and a mini skirt and she let her long, wavy tresses flow down. The only thing added was a pair of white embroidered gloves on her hands that were cut to reveal her fingers. When she twirled in excitement and gave him a big smile, Yamato couldn’t help but be reminded of a spritely fairy. If only Mimi had a headband and a pair of wings.

Except the wings in this case were attached behind the ears of the headphones. Mimi held two of them on her wrist, and a pair of black fingerless gloves in her other hand. 

Yamato blinked at her, reluctant. What in the world did she talk him into this time? How silly was he going to look in this get up?

The staff called to them, signaling that the event was about to begin. Mimi glared at Yamato now, holding out her hands towards him. In the pressure of the moment, Yamato grabbed his pairs of headphones and gloves and put them on, then followed quickly behind Mimi as they went through the doors and into the darkened room.

Lights of blue, purple, and pink surrounded the room, where Yamato observed a large group of people wearing butterfly headphones of different colors and the same gloves on their hands. A young, female voice that he recognized announced her introduction as the night’s main performer and disc jockey through his headphones, and when he looked up towards the large screens elevated above he saw the virtual figure wearing her sleeveless collared top and mini skirt, her long twin tails of teal hanging on either side. The cheers from the crowd surrounded him as the music began to play.

So Mimi brought him to a Hatsune Miku-themed event. Yamato looked around for a few moments as he listened to the upbeat music in his ears and everyone around him began to dance, their butterfly headphones bobbing and waving around to the music. He had never been to a “silent disco” before, and he was intrigued at seeing dancing as they heard the same song in their ears.

Then, Miku gave a shout out to the dancers listening to the other station, to which there were less cheers. Curious, Yamato felt around the ear of his headphone to find a switch. When it clicked, a song of a different beat filled his ears along with the soaring sounds of an electric guitar. He dug this station already. 

Mimi’s cheers were louder than the song in his headphones, and Yamato saw that she was dancing with Jou and Sora, whom he had expected to see, especially with Mimi’s talent to convince their circle of friends to go anywhere she asked. Yamato waved at the three of them and walked on, bobbing his head to the music. He also passed Koushiro who was sitting by himself, but Koushiro was paying no mind to anyone else as he listened to the music on his own. 

When the next rock song began to play, Yamato recognized it and began to sing along. He continued to pass people by, scouring through the faces of the people dancing as a couple or in groups, hoping to find the face he was hoping to see. Yamato was surprised that this face had yet to show himself, especially when his hair was so easily spotted even in the densest crowd.

The music transitioned into a different song, though Yamato continued to sing. But the crowd of people seemed to part in front of him, and that was when his eyes caught onto a gaze of chocolate brown, his lips singing along to the same song.

Yamato stopped in his tracks, his lips parted in surprise. Taichi had stopped singing along, his expression appearing to match Yamato’s. Little did he know, Yamato found himself and Taichi making their way towards each other, and the flashing lights and surrounding people seemed to fade from view. 

The butterfly earphones looked sillier on Taichi than Yamato thought they did on himself. Taichi even wore a disproportionately small top hat on the side of his head, which he admitted was not Mimi’s idea as Yamato had thought - Taichi thought it would fit the theme of the night.

Still, Taichi wore the black on blue shirt and jeans to complement. Taichi even wore a nice tie to go with it. The whole outfit worked too well. One of the things Yamato loved about Taichi was that he found a way to make himself look good even in offbeat situations, and Yamato found himself breathless. 

When they stood face to face, eyes still locked on one another, Taichi smiled, singing to the lyrics sounding in Yamato’s ears. Yamato felt a chill on the back of his neck. That was another one of the things he loved about Taichi; aside from some pop songs that Yamato would kick him out of the room the moment he sang them, Taichi had the same taste in music as Yamato did, and he found it endearing to learn that Taichi sang along to a lot of the songs he did.

The more Taichi’s lips moved as he sang, the more Yamato yearned to be closer to him.

Yamato grabbed Taichi by the wrist and began to move for his new search. He waded his way through the sea of people with Taichi following closely behind, his eyes scanning for an ideal spot. In an area where the dancing crowd loosened, he spotted a place to go, and there he headed.

Turning a corner a few feet from the dance floor, Yamato found a small space where the strobing lights didn’t hit, away from the wandering eyes of his friends and from anyone else. He wasn’t in the mood to dance, anyway. It was a space for only him and Taichi, who stayed close behind Yamato the whole time. When Yamato turned around to face Taichi again, there was little space between him and the wall behind him. Taichi reached toward Yamato’s headphones and clicked the switch, changing the station back to Hatsune’s music. It was the type of music that Taichi annoyed Yamato to death with, but Yamato felt like he could tolerate this song, its pop beats with the piano playing the background. What was the song called? “Magnet”? Yamato didn’t want to bother with asking Taichi, not when their gazes remained fixed on each other.

Taichi wore a smirk this time, looking as though he knew exactly what Yamato wanted. Yamato moved closer, the rhythm of the bass and drums bumping in his ears, the beat of his heart pounding in his chest. He met Taichi’s fingers at the tips with one hand, and held Taichi’s chin with his thumb and forefinger of the other, their noses nearly touching. 

Taichi had taught him not to frustrate himself with what drew them to each other. How they could clash in disagreements yet Yamato still wanted him around. How in one moment Yamato couldn’t stand him, but in the next he wanted to feel his touch. Yamato had learned to run with what he felt he wanted to do, and at that moment with the music swelling and feeling Taichi’s warm breath soft, Yamato closed his eyes and gently pressed his lips against Taichi.

Gawd, he loved those lips that kissed back. Those lips that kissed him so deliciously urging him to come back for more. Yamato kissed Taichi slowly, savoring the feeling of Taichi’s soft touch, his tongue brushing his own. 

When Yamato let himself pull away, he only drew back to Taichi’s lips. Then, when he broke off the kiss, Taichi gave them only a few seconds to catch their breaths before he leaned in once again. They succumbed to each other, their arms wrapped around one another and holding each other tight with their bodies pressed together, like two magnets that were never meant to be apart.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Taishiro for 002 and Koushiro Izumi for 003

Alriiiiiight, I know I'm super predictable here, huh? 002 | Taishirou

When I started shipping them: I actually don't remember when exactly it started, but they haven't been my first Digimon ship, that's for sure. I think I maaaay have started shipping them in my later teens, upon watching the OG 01 in Japanese for the first time and couldn't unsee it anymore, though I obviously hadn't been as invested in them at the time.

My thoughts: Oooof, where do I even begin, I mean, I have probably written at least twenty meta posts about them so far, since I simply cannot shut up about how much I adore this dynamic.They go so much further than the tropes they're initially based on make you believe - it's not just brawns/brains, introverted extrovert/extroverted introvert, best friends to lovers and so on... It's also the unconditional trust and support, the way they complement and (potentially) get the best out of each other, thinking so incredibly highly of each other (without being fully able to convey that properly, which leads to a lot of frustration on my behalf, but more on that later down the line). Heck, there might even be some kind of starcrossed theme going on between them even without taking reincarnation theory into account. You just... Have the one who probably would never have gotten out of his shell as easily as he eventually did without the other, supporting him in every way he can... And the other one who actually manages to let his guard down towards him once trauma hits. They just make me go soft and I wouldn't want it any other way.

What makes me happy about them: Lots of things, actually, but mainly the complementing aspect I mentioned above, turning them into partners in crime. Plus, all the times they invade each other's personal space without even noticing or caring. The way they can affect each other in ways others can't do - even if it sometimes takes a loooot of fanfiction to elaborate on that.

What makes me sad about them: Apart from the fact that they're both nuts? That they actually don't realize how good they are for each other. And that opening up towards each other more would do both of them good. It's an ongoing theme, Koushirou basically begs Taichi to be honest with and rely on him - and you can bet, the boy would get a lot of weight off his shoulders if he finally opened up towards Taichi himself. It's frustrating. Especially when you take the subtext of them growing somewhat apart in certain parts of the series, when there are other parts that basically make them look married... Like, you know Koushirou would go to hell and back for Taichi and Taichi, on the flipside, would always sacrifice himself in order not to let the people most precious to him get hurt. So... Please talk to each other for once.

Things done in fanfic that annoys me: The cheating AND the toxic/misogynist seme/uke portrayal. Yes, Koushirou is shorter and more slender than Taichi, yes, I have written entire meta posts about him having a lot of traits that may make him more effeminate at times and I enjoy seeing him turn into a blushing, stuttering mess as much as everyone else, but he's not a helpless, passive wallflower.

Things I look for in fanfic: All the cheese. All the pining. Give me a hundred chapters of them being too stupid to realize their feelings - or actually knowing about them but being too stupid to act on them. I need my happy ends though. Give me all the mutual healing. Them actually TALKING to each other. All the softness, please. Show me how they’d die for each other in all the different timelines.

My wishlist: 1.) An Our War Game sequel with them as adults, actually portraying them as still being friends/becoming close friends again (bonus points for Koushirou talking about his adoption to Taichi) 2.) Similarly to 1, a sequel post epilogue that shows them working together, because, dude their careers are 100% compatible, come on. I don't need confirmation on them being together/married/whatever, I just want to see them maintaining their bond. 3.) A reboot sequel in which they continue being partners in crime like they're supposed to be.

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Oh, that's easy, my favourite second choice for Taichi will always be Sora, and my second favourite choice for Koushirou will always be Hikari. Team Light until the very end. I'll also always root for a poly Taikoura relationship, but shhh.

My happily ever after for them: If I was able to spin the wishlist further, I'd love to see them working together to ensure a symbiosis between the real and the Digital World, while also living and raising their two kids together. Domestic bliss after they've managed to talk to each other and work on their traumas together. Domestic bliss, man.

003 | Koushirou Izumi

How I feel about this character: Again, where do I even begin without writing the 7362728th novel about why I love and adore this boy so much? He has been my first favourite Digimon character ever when I was 9 years old - and now, more than twenty years later, I find myself coming back to him becoming my current comfort character. I love and adore how layered he is; people are quick to just call him a "nerd" and "infodump boy", but he is so much more than that, being a hands-on problem and riddle solver that would go to hell and back for the people he cares about, despite getting lost in the things he researches about to the point of neglecting his own needs while trying not to think about the trauma that has haunted him for years, not having known who he is, where he comes from, unsure how to approach and understand others and himself... But eventually, he is a very kind, very emotional kid who loves his family, partner and friends, who enjoys to teach and ramble, supporting wherever, however and whenever he can, a mentor and connecter. He has his issues and problems, but he's always trying his best. Yes, I may project onto him a lot at times, but that also shows me what a great job the writers did in making him human.

Any/all the people I ship romantically with this character: As mentioned above, Taichi will always be the one for him in my eyes, the absolute Digimon OTP. Second choice, as implied, is Hikari, hands down. (Honorary mention goes to Sora - I have grown very fond of platonic!Koura, but romantic!Koura has become quite exciting to me as well - and, drum roll, Menoa. I could definitely see this becoming a thing and I'm weirdly intrigued by it, even if I rather enjoy than actually ship it.)

My favorite non-romantic relationship for this character: All of Team Light is absolutely delightful on a platonic level, so Taichi (best friends for life, work partners in crime), Sora (fashion buddy) and Hikari (research/photography buddy) being his closest friends will always be wonderful to me - even if canon makes it hard to maintain that sometimes. And while it really feels like he will become more of a background supporter, mainly talking to the majority of the cast through electronic devices, I actually enjoy all (potential) bonds he has with the other characters; Platonic!Koumi for example is absolutely amazing in my eyes (internet buddies), him and Yamato have actually been implied to have grown rather close in Kizuna (and the PSP game also hints at them being very compatible). Jyou and Takeru tried very hard to get through to him in Tri, so that makes me believe that they're having quite the connection as well. Him and Miyako hacking the entire world is always a fun concept, Iori will still see him as a great mentor and I reeeeally wish we would have seen more of him and Ken being amazing geniuses together.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I don't like the extreme nerd/geek stereotype people assign to him - he obviously can be one, but people writing him to be absolutely incapable of social interaction while being a horny idiot might be something I have to blame Tri for. And I absolutely dislike the tendency in fandom to give him the shortest end of the stick in friend/ship groups. Not sure if that's an unpopular opinion though?

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: I wanted to see him talk to anybody about his adoption that wasn't Tentomon. Tri absolutely tried to make the others get through to him, but he literally didn't let them. It was his goal to get closer to others, become less formal at the end of 01 - and 02 did a great job at portraying him as mentor and teacher to others. But in the end, Tentomon has always been the only one who sees him breaking down. So in case the Kizuna scenario will happen to him as well one day - who's gonna catch him then? I absolutely don't want that for him, but heck, let him cry in front of his friends once, please.

Favorite friendship for this character: Still Taichi, but all of what I've written above about the other Chosen Children applies!

My crossover ship: I actually can't think of one right now, even though I'm pretty sure once you mention one or another character from another fandom, I might go "Ooooh, that could be interesting!"

[shihalyfie]

A meta on Mimi and her character

Today’s spotlight character is Mimi! While the Adventure characters are all written to subvert character stereotypes (no, really), I feel this is particularly enhanced for Mimi, whose surface demeanor and the first impression you get from her suggest an almost opposite character to whom she actually is.

Disclaimer before we continue: While not to the same extent as Daisuke, Mimi’s disposition and personality have some significant differences in the American English dub compared to the original Japanese. As usual, this is not meant to be any particular comment about the dub’s changes, but simply that if you’ve only seen that dub, are reading this post, and are thinking “that doesn’t seem right?” that would probably be why.

Mimi’s family background and attitude prior to Adventure

Like with any of the other Adventure characters, understanding Mimi’s personality and why she acts the way she does is most easily done by starting with her family background.

We first meet Mimi’s family in Adventure episode 35.

There is a lot to unpack with only this scene alone, so let’s get started!

Mimi’s family is quite well-to-do. They’re not filthy rich or anything, but they’re well-to-do enough for Mimi’s father to work freelancer (he works in music). This means that Mimi grew up with a fairly “comfortable” life, probably getting pretty much anything she asked for -- in other words, she’s spoiled. It also explains why she’s actually pretty impeccably polite to everyone -- she adheres very firmly to honorifics when speaking to both elders and younger people, and never, ever speaks roughly or aggressively, because her parents have basically been raising her like a “lady of the house” (ojousama) or princess. (She does use casual-form Japanese, but she never lets up on the honorifics.)

They’re very open-minded. We learn in this episode that Mimi’s bizarre food tastes in liking natto on her eggs with sugar (from Adventure episode 6) most likely come from her mother, Satoe, cooking things like kimchi fried rice with whipped cream and strawberries. In other words, the family is very into the idea of “unconventional and strange” and has no qualms about it.

While Mimi in 02 is portrayed as liking practically any kind of fashion aesthetic imaginable, both her room and the overall decor of the apartment suggest that “in-your-face cute” is the generally favored one.

Mimi’s family is also extremely affectionate. They smother each other in lovey-dovey words, her father actively likes Satoe’s weird cooking ideas, and it’s a household where everyone seems to dote on and mutually love and support each other (Mimi’s parents are almost embarrassingly lovey-dovey) without restraint.

The result is that Mimi ends up “spoiled sweet” -- she’s pampered and used to a comfortable life where everyone dotes on her, but because of the family dynamic being so built on “affection” and “open-mindedness”, she also never develops a streak towards condescension or malice.

What does that mean, you might ask?

Mimi in Adventure

A lot of people remember Mimi by the fact that she was “whining a lot” in the early stages of Adventure, and the fact that she’s a “girly-girl” with some of the associated stereotypes. As a result, one may be surprised to hear that her behavior is actually supposed to be mostly representative of an average child in her situation, and she’s often described in press materials as “someone who can befriend anyone” or “someone who can get along with anyone”. Even her official website profile talks about how pretty much everyone considers her likeable.

This may seem difficult to believe at first, but you might actually notice a pattern when it comes to her “complaining” -- it pretty much always boils down to one of the following, or something along these lines:

I’m scared

I’m tired

I don’t like this/I don’t want that

I want a bath/bed/food/(some other home comfort)

I want to go home

In other words, Mimi is basically reacting like an average child would when thrown into another world out of nowhere! All of her complaints are out of low tolerance and high sensitivity -- all of these scary and uncomfortable things around her are making her feel bad, and she’s not hesitating to make that clear with her words.

However -- and this is very important -- these are all things she’s saying specifically because she’s now in a dangerous, unfamiliar situation in another world. All of these things are things she says defensively, because she’s sensitive to being uncomfortable or hurt, but she is also never aggressive towards others. In completely normal situations -- ones where all she’s doing is socializing at school -- it’s not hard to believe that she would actually be one of the nicest and most considerate people on the planet and that she would be instantly likeable to anyone she meets. Why? Because she lacks condescension or malice. She’s a very nice person who, if not for being under heavy stress, would never step on anyone’s toes. Even during those early episodes of Adventure, whenever there’s “down time” and they’re not in an uncomfortable situation or being chased by something, she goes back to being polite and respectful of others (remember: she’s one of the most adherent to honorifics among the cast), and is perfectly kind and agreeable with them.

As much as she may sometimes get demanding during the early episodes of Adventure, she also doesn’t expect her peers to cater to her nor does she look down on them. One of the biggest examples comes from the Adventure novel:

Mi–chan was pointing at the front of the bus, where a boy wearing a long–sleeved orange shirt was about to get off. Even Mimi knew who he was. They hardly ever talked together, but he was her classmate, Koushiro Izumi. Mi–chan wanted them to look at what Koushiro was carrying on his back – a wireless laptop. “Isn’t he so weird for bringing that all the way to camp?” Mi–chan sneered with mocking laughter, but Mimi didn’t laugh. She simply didn’t find any reason to.

In a situation where people are mocking this weirdo kid for bringing his laptop to camp, Mimi “sees no reason” to look down on him. To her, what’s the point? It’s not fun to be malicious towards others, and she sees no benefit in dunking on him. Hence, because she’s actually very polite and open-minded towards others, and doesn’t see any reason to be mean, she’s not mean, and so you can see why everyone would like her -- after all, she’s not only bright and cheerful, she’s also polite and kind! Who wouldn’t like such a nice person?

Mimi’s first “focus episode” is Adventure episode 6, and we already see a lot of these traits in action. Mimi gets to see the other kids making absolute fools of themselves under Monzaemon’s brainwashing, but the most she has to say is just observing that they seem to not be having fun, and being worried about their well-being. Once she finds out the truth behind what he did to them, she gets extremely angry on her friends’ behalf -- she actually calls them her “friends��, despite them barely knowing each other at this point!

And then when the Numemon step in to fight for her, despite her initially having been turned off by them (mainly because they make her uncomfortable, both by indulging in literal poop around her presence and by invading her personal space by flirting with her), she actually almost breaks down in tears over them!

What this all means is that Mimi’s “high sensitivity” also translates to something else: Mimi has extremely high empathy for others. In terms of being “sensitive”, she’s also sensitive to how other people feel. She worries about others’ welfare constantly, even when they’re poop-throwing slime monsters who had just flirted with her, or near-stranger classmates who just happen to have been thrown onto this adventure with her whom she barely knows. That’s why she’s so nice to other people -- she feels for them, and she constantly empathizes with others’ emotions, so that’s why she’s never rude to others nor does she step on their toes.

It’s also why, even after Koushirou rubs her the wrong way and momentarily causes her to lash out at him for being insensitive about her feelings in Adventure episode 10, she also never seems to hold a grudge against him thereafter (especially since, for as much as he was acting pretty frustrating, she understands he was doing it out of good intentions). In fact, Mimi is pretty much incapable of holding a grudge at all. (More on this later!)

Mimi’s most famous incident of “succumbing to her vices” is Adventure episode 25, when she ends up letting the Geckomon and Otamamon pamper her while stringing along and refusing to do the job they’d needed her for in the first place (singing to wake TonosamaGeckomon). Let’s go over what led to Mimi getting in this situation:

Mimi was basically at her limit. She had been in the Digital World for what had been implied to be months. Going that long without her bath or soft bed or comfort, it’s understandable that she finally let stress overcome her and succumbed to her vices in full. This is basically Mimi at one of her worst possible breaking points, not her most of the time.

Taichi, Jou, and their partners never gave her a very good reason why they should leave (Taichi never explained the problems going on in the real world, nor that he’d even taken a pit stop there) and now, for all she knows, they’re trapped in the Digital World forever, so when she sees an offer to make it all stop hurting, she naturally takes it -- especially when the people telling her to leave aren’t giving her any reason why except that she should.

Even despite all that, Mimi has a complete mental breakdown after her tantrum ends up throwing everyone in jail, dreaming about how everyone must hate her now and how even the Geckomon and Otamamon are tiring of her (the fact this pops up in her dream implies that she’d had a feeling this was coming for a while now). Sora comes to give her a little encouragement, but even she says that Mimi already really knows what she should be doing now. Mimi ends up bringing everyone out to apologize to them and fulfill her duty before the night is even over.

So let’s recap: Mimi is so empathetic and worried about other people’s feelings and what they think of her that, even in arguably one of the worst mental health crashes we’ve ever seen her have on screen, she still breaks down at the prospect of disappointing everyone and making them hate her to the point she immediately recognizes how far she’s fallen and takes it back before the night’s even over. That is how much other people, ranging from Taichi to a crowd of Digimon she’s only vaguely acquainted with, matter to her.

The full “payoff” for this episode in terms of the light of the Crest of Purity glowing and achieving Lilimon evolution does not happen until Adventure episode 35.

It is interesting for a lot of reasons, mainly because it involves all of the events happening in response to things that don’t sound very virtuous on their face (early in the episode, Mimi insensitively comments on Palmon being “bad taste”, and later in the episode she starts considering the Digimon tormenting others unforgivable).

The “Crest of Purity” (sometimes “Innocence”) is something that’s often been difficult to translate, mainly because the easiest words that come to mind often have other unwanted implications, but the real point of it is that, again, Mimi is lacking in malice. The way she talks to Palmon at the beginning of the episode indicates she really didn’t think Palmon would take it seriously (she even urges her to “not think too much into it”), only to find out at the end of the episode that she sort of kind of did. (Trust me, she’s very sorry about it.) The other thing is that, when she starts protesting at the Digimon at the end of the episode, she’s doing this specifically because she’s weeping on behalf of all of the tormented civilians (including her family) that are being caught in the crossfire. She’s so constantly empathetic towards other people that seeing other people hurt, regardless of how well she knows them, just eats her inside. So for her, those who cause that kind of suffering are unforgivable, because they’re inflicting that pain on others.

This is also what leads to her breakdown near the three-quarters mark of the series. Like with how she eventually came to empathize with the Numemon who fought on her behalf, Mimi holds no grudge against Scumon and Chuumon despite them having flirted with her earlier, and Chuumon taking a hit for her hurts her the deepest among all of the other kids. Because Mimi is so empathetic towards others, every death starts tearing away further until she finally can’t take it anymore. 

Mimi is fundamentally the kind of person who hates fighting, and even from day one she’d never liked it -- her way of “encouraging” fighting was more like hoping that Palmon (or her evolved forms) could survive. If she wanted to win, it was in the sense of wanting everyone to Not Die; she was never belligerent. But now that the actual body count of people she considers friends is rising, she associates fighting so deeply with that body count that the pain gets to her, and the last straw breaks in Adventure episode 45 in the form of two people she considers friends, Taichi and Yamato, getting in a fight. Everyone around her is hurt. Everyone around her is pain. The naturally empathetic Mimi feels all of this, and she thus decides to pull back from the fighting.

Mimi being such a firm pacifist does have its benefits -- not only does it mean that she holds no grudge against Ogremon in Adventure episode 46 and bid for treating his wounds even though Jou (understandably!) is initially more skeptical because of how he’d initially tried to kill them, she also creates a major dent in Ogremon’s “fated rival” philosophy towards Leomon by forcing him to question: so what if you do defeat your rival? Then what? What’s the point of fighting? Does it actually make you feel better to try and prove your strength this way? (Even Leomon, for all he’s portrayed as noble, is still shown to have a petty investment in his conflict with Ogremon in the following episode.) Ogremon tries not to think too hard about it, but Mimi questioning “what he would do if Leomon were gone” becomes a question he really does have to confront when Leomon dies in the next episode...

...which is also an important learning lesson for Mimi herself as well: fighting may cause collateral damage, but not fighting doesn’t help things either, because when less-than-virtuous forces are at work, casualties will happen either way. In fact, it’s even worse to be a sitting duck, because now you’re just doing nothing when people die right in front of you. Which is a lesson that Jou had wanted to tell her earlier, but didn’t know how to describe to her in words because of his own complicated feelings:

What he wanted to tell her was this: that he didn’t see any likelihood of co-existing with the Dark Masters, and that they had no other choice but to fight them. Even a neutral country like Switzerland had a military. They would be invaded by enemy countries without one. It would be nice and ideal if they used the nonviolent resistance approach as Ghandi did. But that didn’t mean it was okay to just be killed without lifting a finger… But not even he could find a good answer.

However, Mimi is still a pacifist. Even if she finally understands that fighting is necessary, that should not mean that she should now force herself to become someone gung-ho and enthusiastic about it. This is why, in Adventure episode 50, Jou contemplates different ways they can productively contribute to the fight -- because Mimi should not be obligated to personally fight herself when it’s not in her fundamental nature, and Jou personally does not feel that he’s very good at it. But Jou, having put some thought into “one’s own path”, realizes that literal physical violence fighting isn’t the only way to be “part of the fight” -- and so while Jou starts to realize that his unique role is becoming someone who can be a capable healer and doctor for those who are wounded, Mimi has her own talents that she can use to bring Digimon and other allies together. Because Mimi is a kind and charismatic person whom everyone finds likeable and would be willing to come along with, and since she holds no grudges against anyone, nobody would hold any grudges against her, so she’s perfect for the role of “bringing people together for the sake of what they want to protect”.

And she does. Adventure being a series that respects the contributions of those who don’t necessarily participate by direct fighting, Mimi’s rallying together of the Digimon becomes key to saving everyone in Adventure episode 52, and the fact that everyone’s together in the end makes for a great group photo.

Speaking of the final episode, in case the point hadn’t been driven home enough that Mimi’s the most empathetic and emotionally sensitive of the entire cast, the series famously ends on her very emotionally compromised farewell with Palmon. Of course, Palmon’s the one who kind of initiated it (she’s the one who initially refuses to see Mimi because she’s too emotionally compromised), but, after all, the series ends on Mimi being so frazzled about it that she loses her hat.

Mimi in 02 and beyond

As with the other Adventure kids, Mimi’s character arc continues in 02, and we learn a lot about her before she even makes her first personal appearance!

Firstly, we learn that Mimi’s moved to America. The in-universe reason is that it’s for her father’s work...or, at least, ostensibly so, because 02 episode 40 implies that the actual reason was that her parents wanted them to be away from Digimon incidents. (Which, of course, didn’t last very long.) The meta reason for Mimi moving, however, very likely has to do with the fact that 02 involves a subplot of Chosen Children appearing all over the world, and Mimi’s character involves an innate talent for bringing people together.

We learn in Two-and-a-Half Year Break that Mimi moved in 2001, only one year before 02′s events, and eventually got caught in the 9/11 incident -- where she met a number of other American Chosen Children in New York and, now much stronger of heart since the events of Adventure, was able to help them in the recovery efforts, despite there being a language barrier. With this, and the fact she’s shown at a huge party in 02 episode 14: they’re not kidding when they say Mimi can become friends with pretty much anyone. Even going to an entirely different country and dealing with a language and cultural barrier, Mimi is such a naturally kind and compassionate person that she immediately doesn’t have any problem fitting in. (Because, really, someone that level of kind and friendly is hard to dislike.) And in a world where international solidarity between Chosen Children is getting more and more important, that is a very valuable role to have.

The other thing we find out early about Mimi in 02 episode 2 is that Sora catches on that Miyako is a lot like Mimi, based on the fact that Miyako also is empathetic and has an aversion to fighting. And Sora’s completely right, because when Mimi does come into the picture, the similarities -- and differences -- between her and Miyako say a lot about both characters.

When Mimi arrives in Japan in 02 episode 6 (for her cousin’s wedding), she and Miyako immediately get along with each other, and Miyako instantly role-models her, to the point of claiming her as an honorary older sister (despite already having older sisters herself!). It’s not surprising; Mimi and Miyako are both very bright and cheerful people, and Miyako even shares the background of being slightly pampered by her family (although presumably more due to her being the youngest of several siblings). Mimi, for her part, continues her trend of being likeable and fond of pretty much everything (including even her beloved tuna-mayo onigiri that she hadn’t had for so long), and is perfectly happy to be tight with Miyako.

The Digitamamon incident in 02 episode 14, however, adds an extra layer into why Miyako idolizes Mimi so much besides Mimi just being cool in general: Mimi is kind, forgiving, mature, and incapable of holding a grudge -- to the point her pacifistic tendencies kick in even when Digitamamon gets hit by a Evil Spiral and she refuses to fight him, despite him literally starting to beat her up. Again, Mimi came to understand the inevitability of having to fight back in Adventure, but Digitamamon is, to her, a friend who was trying his hardest to turn over a new leaf -- so, naturally, she tries to see if she can appeal to his heart instead. Miyako, on the other hand, is on the opposite extreme -- she’s so judgmental about her poor first impression with Digitamamon that, despite fully knowing well that Evil Spirals cause their victims to lose their ability to have reason, keeps trying to use it as evidence that Digitamamon was a traitor from the get-go.

Considering that the “secondary Digimentals” arc is largely about Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori coming to terms with their deficiencies in their respective traits and aspiring to do better, Miyako unfavorably compares herself to Mimi because Mimi is everything she wants to be and currently isn’t. Unlike Mimi, Miyako is aggressive, in-your-face, occasionally judgmental, belligerent, sometimes insensitive (not by choice), and often shallow, which she fully admits to in this episode. Of course, the reason Miyako gets the Digimental of Purity (Mimi’s trait) is because she hates this about herself -- even in 02 episode 31, she gives herself no shortage of grief for her foot-in-mouth syndrome and the fact she’s not as “kind” of a person she wants to be, and she herself is also fundamentally devoid of malice, just quick to jump to conclusions and a bit sidetracked by first impressions. (After all, Mimi was guilty of being accidentally insensitive when she called Palmon lacking in taste back in Adventure; the point is that when both of them do it, they really don’t mean badly, and end up sorry for it later.)

But that’s a story for another post about Miyako; more importantly, the reason Miyako is harsh on herself about this in this episode is that, in many ways, she’s everything Mimi is not, because Mimi is empathetic and mature and polite and never steps on anyone’s toes.

02 episode 25 gives us more to work with; first of all, she’s depicted in yet another completely different hair and fashion style (which she brings up another of during the winter season), and her drastic shifts in style indicate more of her “open-mindedness”; she’s open to trying out tons of new things and is willing to like just about anything. More importantly, however, she turns out to be completely open-minded about recruiting Ken to help out, even though she’s well aware of what he’d done as the Kaiser (and, again, Miyako sees her ability to be forgiving as something to look up to). Because, again, Mimi doesn’t hold a grudge; she doesn’t send anything accusatory or forceful to Ken, but simply believes that he should be given the chance to know what’s going on and help out if he so chooses, which becomes key to Miyako herself also choosing to accept Ken at the end of the episode.

Given that Mimi is portrayed as so open-minded towards trying all sorts of things, it’s probably no surprise that her “career” in Kizuna is so different from what we eventually know she’ll be doing in the epilogue -- instead of her cooking show, we see her running an online shopping business. After all, with her being so open-minded about wanting to do potentially anything, it’s very like her to "dabble” in a few different experimental things before (or perhaps “without”!) settling for something. What we know about this business is also quite on brand for her; her business specializes in “cute” (her preferred aesthetic, which she also shamelessly dresses in), and she’s established as setting up business all over the world to the point she has to constantly travel. Presumably, her natural charisma made it easy for her to set up connections.

Interestingly, her website profile also omits any discussion of any kind of university or other post-secondary education, implying that, unlike the others, she chose to dive directly into her career after high school. Again, it’s quite like her to find something she wanted to do and pursue it the moment it was in front of her -- no matter what it is, as long as it’s interesting.

Mimi’s largest amount of focus in regards to the movie is in To Sora, where she’s seen checking in on Sora after noticing she hasn’t been in the group chat in a while -- again, as someone constantly empathetic to how her friends are doing, it’s natural that she’s the one who catches on and decides she needs to check in. As someone who loves uplifting and supporting her friends first and foremost, she happens to be fully aware of what everyone’s currently up to (compare how Taichi had to be actively updated on Sora and Takeru’s status from Yamato in the movie proper), and also provides nothing but positive supportiveness to Sora’s troubles during their conversation -- as usual, always respectful and polite, and never condescending.

And, of course, she naturally empathizes with Sora having hesitation about fighting -- both because she’s been busy herself, but also because she, of course, understands exactly how it feels for fighting to be emotionally taxing -- and declares that she’ll support Sora with whatever she does, just like how she found her own path back in Adventure by choosing to contribute by bringing people together instead of fighting. She makes do on this promise as well, considering that she keeps up with supporting Sora during her exhibition.

By the time of the 02 epilogue, Mimi has decided to change tracks entirely and go for cooking, which, while being very different, is also very on-brand. This time, the part about “cooking” is something that comes from her family, since, after all, experimental cooking (...of some kind) was something Satoe got the whole family to embrace. The exact nature of her job is literally “culinary researcher”, which is a Japanese catch-all to refer to the sort of “food critic” who experiments with food and writes extensively (or, in this case, runs a TV show) about different ways you can enjoy and put together food, which also goes in mind with her streak of “open-mindedness”. The common point is, really, that everything Mimi does comes out of positivity, supportiveness, and love.

[dutchforstrangers]

Digiweek 2021 Day 5 - Crossover | Shades of red; a Taikoura fanfiction

Chapter 5/7. Gryffindor ruby

Chapters [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

A/N!: Bear with me, 'cause this was a pain to write. Simply because the prompt 'crossover' was so hard to me... Couldn't quite fit it into the story, but thanks to a little talk with @earlgreymon I could give it a twist. So it has two interpretations of the prompt/word crossover. Hope I did it kind of right... Get ready for the Tumblr fandom references though!! Happy readings ;)

Characters: Taichi Yagami, Sora Takenouchi & Koushiro Izumi (LOTS of background Miyako Inoue! And a bit Hikari Yagami) Genre: Friendship, romance, slightly angst Rating: T Wordcount: 2.364

!Trigger Warning!: Mild alcohol consuming (party drinking)

Art by Sanni @seventeenlovesthree

Some days are worth celebrating, even days that are just ordinary weekend days.

It was the end of January and Miyako and Mimi teamed up to throw a party in order to celebrate Miyako before she would cross over to the, as Mimi described it, “party-less motherhood”. Miyako had burst into tears when Mimi had said that out loud, not ready to take care of a child and touched by the fact Mimi wanted to throw a party with her. Miyako was even more touched when Mimi suggested a theme party, making her cry even harder.

Of course Taichi wouldn’t have known this as it was for Hikari. She had gladly told him how it all went down before she handed him his invitation. He looked at the card, a golden lightning bolt reflecting light in his sensitive eyes.

“Harry Potter?” Taichi guessed based on that lightning bolt, without opening the card. Hikari replied with a nod.

He didn’t knew Miyako all that well, but he knew her good enough to know that she was way too far into the Harry Potter fandom. Stories about her dragging down Ken and Daisuke to cosplay parties, her terrorizing Tumblr with her essay long theories and so called ‘headcanons’, the worn out books she owned and her having movie marathons with Hikari were stories very well known to not only Taichi, but basically everyone else.

As much as he always rolled his eyes regarding Miyako’s passionate Harry Potter outbursts, he also had it in common with her. Not with Harry Potter, but fandoms. Secretly blogging on Tumblr, or actually reblogging, reading headcanons and theories about his favorite characters from his favorite animes. He even had a period where he made edits and gif-sets after soccer games, secretly cheering whenever the soccer fandom on Tumblr appreciated his contributions through likes and reblogs. Thinking back to that time, he remembered Koushiro helping him with how to use certain computer software to create the edits and gifs.

“Is Koushiro invited too?” Taichi blurted out by simply thinking about Koushiro. This gave Hikari all the reasons to raise her eyebrow to him and chuckle.

“Yes,” she said, “and so is Sora-san. You know Taichi, this could be the perfect moment to work on some of that new year’s resolutions.” Hikari winked.

He didn’t want to take her seriously, but he couldn’t help but to think she had a point… In the last few weeks he had looked up things about polyamory on Google and even Tumblr, and he had to admit it all sounded very intriguing. It shocked him how happy he felt reading about the meaning behind it and reading experiences from polyamorous people. As if someone understood him on a level he hadn’t quite understood himself yet. He had come to terms with polyamory being a potential way of succeeding in his love and sex life. The hardest thing was confessing to ‘those two’. And counting from new year’s resolution one to two, the next would be that said confessing. Only thinking about it made him sweat in anticipation.

Eventually Taichi had to cave in, Hikari taking him to different shops to gather an outfit for him, because a good theme party wouldn’t be a theme party without a costume. Hikari thought it would be best for him to dress up as Harry Potter himself. “I mean isn’t courage both of your themes?” was what she had said. Hikari also addressed Sora had once said that Gryffindor ruby looked good on him. Well, Taichi thought to himself, it did look good on Sora herself. But he would be lying saying the compliment wasn’t flattering.

A few days later and Taichi found himself walking through the doors of a venue Mimi had hired for the party, walking in some kind of super classy rip off of the real Hogwarts castle. His eyes grew big, thinking for a moment he wasn’t in Japan but in the United Kingdom. Until a happy Miyako basically jumped on him yelling “PASSWORD” into his ear. She was dressed up as the fat lady who guarded the door to the Gryffindor dormitory, because of the belly obviously, a wineglass with what he guessed was fake wine in hand.

She definitely didn’t need alcohol to act the way she did, already high on pregnancy hormones. But Taichi did need the drink. Badly. Especially after seeing Koushiro and Sora.

He had his mind set on confessing to them, or at least telling them there was something stinging him. But as soon as he caught a glimpse of their red hair accompanied by the same Gryffindor red and golden he was sporting too, he lost it. So he decided to dodge them whenever he had the chance, watching them from a distance, acting as if he was constantly occupied.

Avoiding them the whole night proved to be hard though.

“Taichiiii!” Sora’s -dressed up as Hermione- voice eventually came from behind him. He turned around, meeting her eyes. “Or should I say Harry? You really made that mess on your head work for you.”

“Hey Sora…” his voice cracked, nerves kicking in hard. She must have noticed him tensing up as she stepped closer to him, bridging the gap, one of her feet almost on top of his and her forehead so close it almost touched his lips. One of her hands found its way to his chest, gliding up to his shoulder where she pinched him a bit too hard. Taichi could feel his face heat up fiercly.

“What’s up? You look so tensed.”

“And you seem so… drunk?” He countered seeing Sora’s eyes all big.

“I’m not drunk…!” She exclaimed stepping back, with that withdrawing her hand from him. “I might have drank a little bit too much—”

“You can leave the ‘little bit’…”

“… from that ‘liquid luck’ potion, but I’m not drunk.”

Taichi had to stifle a laugh, thinking it was kind of cute to see her like that. It made his heart skip a beat, remembering how much he had missed talking to her. “Fine. Tipsy then,” he caved in.

“Tipsy,” she giggled back, “that’s a funny word,” clearly showing she had drank too much.

Before Taichi could respond another voice came. “There you are—” Of course Koushiro -dressed up as Ron- had found his way to them and Taichi suddenly couldn’t remember when it was the last time the three of them were this close together. “Ah! Taichi-san.”

“You also look… happy.” He sheepishly told Koushiro, his gaze falling on the drink in Koushiro’s hand.

“Yes,” Koushiro smiled, “This ‘love potion’ is brewed quite good I have to say. Here, you can have the rest. I already had more than enough.”

Koushiro’s unfinished ‘love potion’ was pressed into Taichi’s hand before he knew it, the strong smell immediately deep up into his nose. He smirked to himself wanting to make a comment on Koushiro being tipsy too.

“Watch out Taichiiii,” but Sora was quicker and really good in stretching the last syllable of his name, to Taichi marking her downfall into being the drunkest he had ever seen her, “before it makes you fall in love with us.”

That caught him off guard. Like many times before he could feel and hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, excitement and fear rushing through his body, the smell of the drink in his hand now making him nauseous. They had proved him multiple times they were really good in catching him off guard, but this was a next level. If he didn’t watch out the cup in his hand would be squished and the contents would be spilled all over his robe. He swallowed, knowing he had to act quickly to lose some of the tension building and building.

“As in in love with the both of you…?”

Real smooth Yagami, Taichi thought to himself, mentally facepalming himself while physically downing the drink in his hand in one go. He could feel the alcohol burning on his tongue and in his throat, unable to properly swallow it.

“Why not?! Sounds fun!” Sora said sounding way too excited, probably because of the booze. Somehow it sounded genuine to him as well, making him choke on the remaining alcohol in his mouth. “Don’t you think so Kou…?” Sora turned her head towards Koushiro.

“I would be lying if I said it wouldn’t intrigue me, but that might be the consequence of the alcohol absorbed by my body.”

Taichi truly couldn’t believe his ears. He was the one who had to confess, right? Not Koushiro… nor Sora… It was as if they stood on a crossing path, he on one side and they on the other, facing each other. And now, slow but steady, they were walking towards one another, meeting in the middle.

Stuck in his own head, their voices turned vague and far away. He thought about how the three of them had always sticked together. Like a dynamic trio. Like Harry, Ron and Hermione.

“Quite the coincidence the three of us dressed up as the dynamic trio from the Harry Potter series, isn’t it Taichi-san?” He could hear Koushiro say, pulling Taichi out of his head.

A shiver started on Taichi’s lower back and quickly crept upwards to his neck, leaving a trail of goosebumps along the length of his spine. As if they were thinking exactly what he himself was thinking, but was unable to say out loud. They were completely messing with his head. Just like they did when celebrating Christmas. Like they did in Spain. Like they did every freaking night in his dreams, not to mention the dreams he had during the day. They had been messing with him since the beginning… Frustration high, the thoughts made him nauseous again, but the alcohol on the other hand more bold. Courage rising...

“You two know Ron and Hermione end up together right?” Taichi asked with a façade, safely hidden behind the mask of Harry Potter. It was always easier to say or do things pretending to be someone else. In this case a someone else who unlike Taichi himself wasn’t in love with his best friends.

Seeing Sora smirking and enthusiastically nod in agreement, Taichi wasn’t sure how he said what he had said, the alcohol making his head now dizzier and dizzier. Meanwhile Koushiro had set for another kind of agreement. “Yes they do. Sora-san and I are aware.”

Between the three of them Koushiro definitely sounded most in control. Though to Taichi it remained unclear what he exactly meant and anxiety kicked in. The courageous Gryffindor trait he had felt for a second disappearing into thin air.

“Actually…” Sora started, a mischievous grin now on her face. “We could demonstrate you Taichi...”

Sora's gaze fell shyly to the ground while Koushiro just looked at her, slowly turning his head first. His body following suit, a bit clumsy. And within just split seconds Sora suddenly turned towards Koushiro as well, he catching her in his arms while her arms got squeezed between her and his body. Her hands cupping his face in the best way possible. And in a way Taichi had forever thought was absolutely impossible, their lips locked.

Their lips locked…

He had been anticipating on confessing to them for quite some time. Taichi had been able to avoid them for a long time, but right now they were unavoidable, kissing right in front of his nose. With all his might he tried to prevent his jaw from dropping too low. Thinking back to Hikari’s Harry Potter movie marathons with Miyako, he recognized how Koushiro and Sora imitated the Ron and Hermione kissing scene from the last movie. And just like how Harry could feel the destruction of the horcrux in that scene, Taichi could feel the destruction of his heart.

For as far as he knew he had to be the one to confess. He had to be the one to cross, to walk the longest distance towards them. Not the other way around. He felt responsible for all of this. They wouldn’t have kissed if he wasn’t in love with them, would they? He was the one who provoked it with his stupid feelings. And so he felt responsible for the mess.

With the alcohol kicking in real hard, guilt towards them and the responsibility heavy on his shoulders, wanting to cross the largest distance, Taichi’s mind started crossing. His body tensed up, anticipating to move, as they parted from each other, giggling like they had just done something forbidden. And he couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“I’m in love with the both of you!” Taichi blurted.

The love potion he had drunk worked, the words simply escaped him like both a relieve and a pain. It caught their attention anyway, four big eyes filled with disbelieve staring at him, their mouts gaping.

“Taichi-san we were joking…” Koushiro started matter-of-factly, calmness leading. It didn’t help, panic setting in as Taichi repeated the words he had said in his head.

“Were we though?” Sora questioned, slowly shifting her stare from Taichi to Koushiro. Those words were her spell casted by an invisible wand, petrifying Taichi in his place. He could feel his stomach turning upside down again, his heart circulating the excitement and anxiety to every corner of his tensed body. Before his body would either explode or stop working, for all he knew, he had to move. He had to run.

And so he turned around, running away from them, carrying the shame with him like a cloak he wished made him invisible. He could hear them say his name in the distant, but turning back around would be his deathspell.

He had crossed and so did they. But instead of meeting in the middle, the three of them had passed each other by going too fast and too far. And he knew it wasn't meant to be. Not in the way motherhood was meant to be for Miyako, she crossing the path towards a clear destination. While Taichi would only cross to a place unknown, shame and ignorance overruling the courageous Gryffindor ruby.

[uniarycode]

Takari Week 2021, Day 6: Separation

There were seven Chosen living in Odaiba, and one living outside it. Hikari didn't think that was very fair.

Written as part of @takariweek

There were seven Chosen in Odaiba. All of them went to the same school and while they were a few grades older than her, she still saw the others every day. And if she needed to talk about the Digital World, it wasn’t that strange for her to approach them. It wasn’t odd for a girl to talk to her brother’s friends.

Hikari knew where Sora lived, had known since even before going to the Digital World, and would always be allowed in without question. Over the past few months, she’d learned where Mimi and Koushiro lived as well, although she’d never spent time with Koushiro one-on-one. And of course, she and Taichi shared a bedroom. If she had a particularly bad dream, she knew she could always crawl up and he could instantly comfort her.

There was one Chosen living outside of Odaiba. There were no chosen who went to his school, his brother lived miles away, a phone was their only contact.

A line of communication growing thinner, Yamato had said one day. Takeru’s mom required the phone to work. At first she’d allowed the brothers as much time as they wanted to keep in contact, but lately they were restricted to Sundays.

It seemed so sad, so lonely to her, but what could she do? If his mom wasn’t letting his only brother talk to him, why should she steal his limited phone privileges? And while her parents used to let her on the train so long as Taichi accompanied her, they wouldn’t let the pair go so far away these days.

This couldn’t just be here problem, everyone else was equally far away. But all their answers were different.

Jou had told her to wait, that soon her parents would calm down, and allow her and her brother more freedom to travel.

Mimi had cooed and told her not to worry, that their bond would surely trump everything. Which made her feel all nice, but wasn’t very helpful.

Koushiro had suggested that ports to the digital world had begun to open again, and perhaps they could meet up there. But how was she supposed to know when a gate was open near Takeru if she didn’t talk to him?

Taichi had suggested that Yamato and Takeru would likely spend time together again, as brothers, and that if she asked, they’d let her tag along, but she didn’t feel like intruding on their private time.

Sora had the best advice: Write him a letter, tell him about what was going on in her life, and ask questions in return. It would be like a long, slow conversation. She didn’t know where he lived, but Sora had a solution for that too: Just ask his brother.

Yamato’s eyes lit up at her suggestion. “He’s always asking about you.” The older boy said, writing down the address. He didn’t know the mailing code but delivered it the following day.

“I’m not going to tell him” Yamato had said, “I want it to be a surprise.”

So did she. Hikari tried to follow Sora’s advice, but she was far more interested in asking questions than talking about herself. She already knew what everyone else’s life was like, she wanted to know about him as well.

There was only one Chosen who lived outside of Odaiba, separate from the rest. And she would do anything she could to make that distance a little smaller.

[stormcrawler75]

The Nerd Egg

From the moment that Daisuke picked up that Digi-egg, he felt like this was a big continuous universal joke that had stopped being funny a long time ago.

Daisuke knew that he wasn’t smart. He knew it, there was no hiding it. He struggled in classes so much that whenever teachers found out that they were going to be teaching him, they got a look in their eyes that said that they had already given up on him. He could never focus and even when he tried to focus (He tried, he tried so much, no one liked being the butt of the joke.), the words seemed to just float right over him. He often didn’t notice how much he had missed until everyone had moved onto the next thing. He barely got enough to pass each semester and he knew that his parents dreaded each report card he brought home.

Everyone knew that he was an idiot. At this point, Daisuke just accepted it. He was the class moron. The one good thing that he was good at was playing soccer. Fine, whatever. He could accept that. He could accept that! Everyone else already had so Daisuke might as well. He was stupid and idiotic and there was no changing that.

Which was why getting the Digi-egg of Knowledge hurt so much.

He had seen the looks on everyone’s face when he picked the egg up. Daisuke had been happy for about two seconds. Holding that egg and knowing what that symbol meant sent a rush of pride through him. Maybe he was smart. Maybe everyone was wrong about him and he had some potential in him after all. Maybe he was wrong about himself.

And then Daisuke glanced back at the others.

Miyako was staring at him in unveiled shock, eyes wide behind her glasses. Iori looked just as surprised at Miyako, blinking hard like he wasn’t sure what he was even seeing. Takeru’s mouth was hanging wide open, large enough that he could probably catch flies. Even Hikari . . . even Hikari, someone who Daisuke considered one of his best friends in the world, had her hand over her mouth.  The four of them were just staring at him in disbelief and Daisuke felt himself tense. He couldn’t even look at what V-mon had Digivolved into because all he could see what those looks of shock. And he knew exactly what they were thinking too.

That moron got the digi-egg of Knowledge?

Needless to say, he didn’t stick around long after that. In fact, they had barely returned to the Human World before Daisuke was picking himself up off the floor with DemiV-mon in his arms and practically running out of the computer room. He could hear Tachi calling after him and Takeru calling his  name. But he kept moving.

This wasn’t funny anymore. Daisuke wasn’t sure that this joke had ever been funny at all.

“Daisuke,” DemiV-mon whispered, staring up at him. The two of them were sitting up on the bleachers in the soccer field, DemiV-mon curled up against Daisuke’s side. Daisuke was staring out at the soccer field, but he could see DemiV-mon’s concerned expression out of the corner of his eyes. “Daisuke? Why’d you run away from the others? Weren’t you happy about what happened today? We won. We beat the Digimon Kaiser again, destroyed a Dark Tower, and we found a new Digi-egg. What’s wrong?”

Daisuke just closed his eyes, curling up tightly and resting his chin on his knees. What a joke. An endless, stupid joke.

“So, you got yourself the nerd crest.”

Daisuke tensed and whirled around, DemiV-mon turning just a second after him. Koushiro was standing behind him on the bleachers and smiling down at him, with an unreadable expression. But Daisuke recognized that expression. The look in Koushiro’s eyes screamed that he didn’t know what to do with Daisuke. Daisuke had seen in every teacher’s eyes that he had ever had. “I don’t want to talk about it,” Daisuke snapped, looking away from him and hugging his knees even tighter than before. “Just go away, Koushiro-san.”

He didn’t go away. Daisuke heard careful footsteps walking down the bleachers and saw Koushiro sit on the other side of him. DemiV-mon was staring at Koushiro in in concern but didn’t move to stop him. “Want to mourn your crest choice,” Koushiro asked, tilting his head. “Trying to figure out which kind of nerd you want to be now?”

Daisuke glanced at him with a scowl but couldn’t resist asking, “There are types of nerds?”

Koushiro nodded sagely. “Oh yes. I am a tech nerd. I specialized in any and all technology. Jo-San is a medical nerd, which is strange when you think about it. Since he faints at the sight of blood. But he’s a complete medical nerd. So, figure out what type you want to be yet? Now that you have the nerd crest.”

The mention of the crest reminded Daisuke just why he was out here in the first place. He glared down at the soccer field, his eyes getting a little hot and misty. “I told you that I don’t want to talk about it,” Daisuke muttered, clenching his eyes tightly.

“Yeah, I kind of got that. Since you ran out of the computer room before anyone could say anything. Your team was pretty worried about you.” Koushiro blinked at Daisuke’s snort. “They. . . they really are. Iori-kun was very confused on why you left so quickly, he figured that you’d be happy about getting a new Digi-egg. And Takeru-kun wanted to run after you but Tachi-san stopped him. Said that you probably needed a moment alone. But, that was before I learnt that I was no longer the only one with the nerd –“

“Stop calling it that!”

Daisuke glared at a very surprised Koushiro, barely seeing him through the tears in his eyes. Daisuke was trembling with the effort of holding back his tears, hands curled into fists. He jumped when a tiny hand landed on his wrist, turning to look at a very concerned DemiV-mon. “Daisuke,” he whispered, squeezing his wrist gently. “It’s okay. There’s no reason to cry.”

There was a long moment where Daisuke just stared at DemiV-mon before his face started to crumble and holding back tears suddenly got a lot harder. He quickly closed his eyes but not before a few tears escaped. “Daisuke,” DemiV-mon whispered, trailing off and curling closer to Daisuke.

“Daisuke-kun. . . I'm sorry, I was just trying to lighten the mood. What's wrong?”

“. . . This is. . . this isn’t funny,” Daisuke whispered wetly, gripping his knees tightly. “This isn’t funny anymore. I hate this. It’s just a big joke and it’s not funny anymore.”

There was a moment of hesitation before a hesitant hand landed on Daisuke’s shoulder. “What joke, Daisuke-kun?”

Daisuke laughed, a few more tears leaking out. “This! Me, of all people, getting the crest of knowledge. Not Miyako-san who’s actually smart. Nor Iori-kun who is so freaking curious and wants to know everything about anything. I’m not like them. I’m not like you. I get garbage grades and I’m, I’m just dumb.” His breath hitched and he scrubbed at his eyes, suddenly humiliated that he was crying in front of someone that he barely even knew. “I don’t deserve this digi-egg, Koushiro-san.”

“. . . Who told you that you’re dumb, Daisuke-kun?”

Daisuke glanced up at Koushiro, blinking tears out of his eyes and being surprised at the hard expression on Koushiro’s face. “Who told you that,” Koushiro pressed, squeezing Daisuke’s arm gently. “Did someone in your class? Someone on your team?”

“No. No one has to. I’m not an idiot, even if I am dumb,” Daisuke muttered. He took a shaky breath, wiping at his eyes. “I saw how they all looked at me when I picked up the egg. They were so surprised. Why would Daisuke get the Digi-egg of knowledge,” he muttered. “The guy who teachers know from the moment he walks into the room that he’s going to be the problem student. The one who can’t pay attention no matter how hard he tries.” Daisuke glared at a lone soccer ball on field for a long moment before the anger died in his chest. “I really do try,” he whispered. “I don’t want to be an idiot.”

Koushiro’s hand on Daisuke’s arm tightened slightly. “You’re not an idiot,” he said firmly. “You’re not. Your team doesn’t think that you’re an idiot. Yes, Takeru-kun was surprised but that’s because he had already pegged you for getting you a different Digi-egg. Miyako-chan? She openly admitted that she was a bit jealous of you getting it instead of her, but she was so worried about you that I think she forgot about that jealousy immediately. Iori-kun was a bit surprised but for the same reason as Takeru-kun. And Hikari-chan was proud. She was happy you got your Digi-egg.

“And I’m sure that you do try. You know. . . I was a really bad student for the first few years of school.”

Daisuke straightened, staring at Koushiro in shock. “No way! You?! You’re lying.”

Koushiro smirked and shook his head. “Nope. My teachers hated me so much. Well, not all of them. Some of them really liked me but they all agreed that I was a handful. I was just so bored in every single one of my classes. I liked to read ahead in all my classes. I still do. But my teachers went so slow compared to me that I just got so bored. So I usually stopped listening. But then there would come a subject that I actually didn’t understand easily and,” Koushiro chuckled. “My grades were hit or miss. My parents were so confused. I’d be getting full grades in one class but then I’d barely be passing in the others.”

“. . . I have problems with that too,” Daisuke admitted, slumping a little. “Not the reading ahead part. I hate reading. It gives me a headache. But I just can’t focus at all. I try to focus. I’ll be sitting there, thinking about how much I need to concentrate and then I’ll miss the entire lesson because I was trying so hard to concentrate. And the teachers don’t get it ‘cause they just say to just listen and do the work just like the rest of the students and I’m trying. But the way they’re explaining it, none of it makes any sense.”

Koushiro nodded, eyebrows furrowed in obvious thought. “It could be that the way the teachers are teaching just don’t make sense for you. Yamato-san had that problem in his English class. We did study sessions with him to help him and to make sure he kept up with us. As for your problem having trouble focusing, does it happen often?”

Daisuke snorted and nodded. “Yep. All the time.” He wiped at his eyes and let out a shaky breath. “. . . The others really don’t think that I’m stupid?”

“Of course not, Daisuke-kun. They don’t think you’re stupid at all.” Koushiro chuckled, squeezing his arm gently. “I bet that Hikari-chan would smack anyone who claimed that you are. Daisuke, I had to take some time to learn this, but there are different types of smarts. I’m serious,” Koushiro huffed at Daisuke’s incredulous look. “Listen to me. Mimi-Chan is one of my best friends. She’s amazing. And she’s also the smartest person I know.”

Daisuke blinked in amazement. Mimi? The smartest person Koushiro knew. “I thought that would be Jo-san.”

“Oh, academically, Jo-san has her beat. Heck, he has most of us beat there.  But socially? Mimi-Chan is amazing at that. She looks at someone and just knows what to say. She had problems with it when she was younger, sure, but that’s just cause she didn’t know when to stop. But now? Heck, she’s so smart. And not just there. I can list ten different areas where Mimi-Chan is smarter than me. And what about Sora-san? She may not be the top student but she always knows how to talk to people, especially people who are upset. She has a way of,” Koushiro took a moment to think, “just knowing what to say to help. I think that you’re like her,” Koushiro said, pulling away from Daisuke and giving him a small smile. “Well, from the time I’ve spent with you anyway.”

Daisuke stared at him for a moment. That . . . should feel like a copout. That he was emotionally smart. But the way that Koushiro had explained it, drawing parallels between Daisuke and Sora. . . It didn’t make Daisuke feel less than. It made him feel proud, made him straighten up a little. But . . . “Then why wasn’t I given the crest of Love like her? Why the crest of Knowledge?”

“Maybe you’re smarter than you think,” Koushiro mused, gently bumping his shoulder against Daisuke’s. “How about me and you meet up throughout the week? I can help you with classes, see if I can help any. I have a feeling that you can do well in your classes, Daisuke-kun. Maybe you just need some help. Everyone does now and then.”

Daisuke wiped at his eyes and nodded. He glanced at demiV-mon who nodded encouragingly, smiling at him proudly. Daisuke nodded again, smiling at him weakly. “Okay,” he muttered, glancing at Koushiro. “You’re probably going to get frustrated with me. Every teacher I’ve ever had does.”

Koushiro grinned. “I’ll take that as a challenge. Besides, if I didn’t get frustrated when helping Yamato-san with English, then I doubt that I’ll have trouble helping you. This’ll be fun. Two nerds studying together.”

Daisuke snorted wetly, not getting upset like he had before at being called a nerd. “Sure. Two nerds studying. Sounds like fun.”

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x07 - Roar! Ikkakumon / Ikkakumon's Harpoon Torpedo

Previously on Digimon Adventure: After vanquishing Sid at the end of Toy Story, Woody went mad with power and created an empire. Also, Mimi learned that there can be too many teddy bear hugs.

Now the kids are back on the road again, exploring the island to find options and answers.

We open with a shot of that great mountain in the center of File Island. The Black Gears seem to be coming from it, flying high over the forest below.

This is a quiet, ominous scene in the original; Devoid of music, with only the sounds of the trees rustling and the gears whirring as they make their way across File Island. Then we open on the kids walking, visibly shivering from the cold. Even the Digimon are suffering, with Patamon and Palmon openly complaining that it's too cold.

Everyone except Gomamon, who's visibly having a great time.

The dub adds some background music and has Gomamon talk over the whole setup.

Gomamon: I know this is no day at the beach, Joe, but that's no reason to be a worrywart about it and make all your friends unhappy! Pardon the pun but chill out; Only you have a problem with the cold, right guys? Everyone, think warm!

Well that's a harsh scolding to walk in on. Joe hasn't even had a chance to say anything yet! This sets up a visual contrast, with the sight of everyone freezing and suffering contrasting against Gomamon's claim that everyone else is fine.

Either way, it hits the main point: Gomamon is completely unbothered by the frigid cold that everyone else is suffering from.

Suddenly, Taichi pipes up, giving the group encouragement in the form of a distraction to keep their spirits up.

Taichi: If we get any snow, we can have a snowball fight! Mimi: Snowball fight! Palmon: What's a snowball fight? Koushiro: A snowball fight, huh? Tentomon: What is that? Is it food? Koushiro: No, a snowball fight is a fun activity where we throw snowballs at each other. Yamato: (to Taichi) We can finally have a match! Taichi: I won't lose! Sora: I'm looking forward to it! Takeru: I wanna make an igloo! Palmon: *to Tentomon* Hey, do you know how to make an igloo? Tentomon: Now that has to be food. Koushiro: Again, it's not.

The dub script for this scene is slightly different but conveys the same ideas pretty much perfectly.

Tai: Yeah, but if it snows, we'll throw some snowballs! Mimi: And make snowmen! Gomamon: Who do you think snowmon is? Gabumon: A Digimon from their planet. Izzy: It's difficult to explain. Tentomon: Well, if it's edible, count me in! Izzy: No, the best thing about snowballs is that you can throw them at each other. It's a fun game that we play in the winter months. Tentomon: You throw food!?!? Matt: We can even build a snow fort! Tai: You'll need one! Sora: I bet I can beat you both blindfolded! T.K.: I wanna build an igloo! Palmon: I'll help! ...if you tell me what it is. Tentomon: An igloo sounds scrumptious to me! Izzy: Too bad they're not edible.

The main difference between the two versions is Mimi's introduction of a snowman into the conversation and Sora joining in on the hypothetical snowball duel between Taichi and Yamato.

The highlight of the two versions is definitely Tentomon's horrified misunderstanding of snowball fights in the dub, though. "You throw food!?!?" That got me. XD Nobody tell him about food fights.

Gabumon's confident explanation of snowmon is also pretty funny. Characters confidently answering questions about information they do not possess is never not funny.

Jou, on the other hand, is not swayed by all this fun snowball fight talk. Sora asks why he looks so on edge, and Jou explains exactly what's making him so anxious about all this snow talk.

Jou: (muttering to himself) You guys are taking it too easy. It would be unbearable if it snowed. Sora: Jou-senpai, why are you standing all alone over here looking so serious? Jou: Of course I'm serious! Think about it! If the temperature drops any further, it will be difficult for us to set up camp. In this cold environment, it'll be hard to find food too. My head hurts from all of this! I'm the one who has to protect everybody! ...because I'm the eldest.

While he's talking, we see Takeru, Koushiro, Yamato, and Taichi chatting happily to underscore the difference between his attitude and theirs. We don't hear what they're saying, but the big smiles on their faces conveys the idea that they're taking things much more lightly than he is.

The dub gives them dialogue and distracts from Joe's speech, which paints him more as a joy-killing worrywart.

Joe: Come on, get serious! It would be horrible if it started snowing right now. Sora: Lighten up a little, Joe; We're just trying to look on the positive side of things. Joe: BLEGH!!! T.K.: Hey, Tai! When's it gonna snow? Tai: Probably any second now. Matt: Right on Joe's head! T.K.: That'd be so funny! Tai: I can't wait to see his face! Joe: You know, if the temperature drops any lower than it is already, we won't be able to camp out anymore. We'll be frozen Digi-Treats! That's right! Go ahead and laugh but when your tootsies freeze, don't come crying to me; I'll just say I told you so! It is always better to be safe than sorry; Think first!

The important context of Jou being the eldest and needing to take responsibility he isn't equipped to handle doesn't make it into the dub. He does get the final word, but half of the scene is spent ridiculing him; Even Sora scolds him for his attitude, where in the original she strikes up conversation out of concern for him.

Also the dub just has Joe suddenly going "BLEGH!!!" which automatically costs it a million Joe Dignity Points.

Either way, as the kids keep going, they come upon exactly what they've been discussing.

A snowfield lies ahead. Mimi and Takeru go run around and play in the snow having fun, but the others hang back with Jou to much more seriously discuss what we should do and where to go from here. All talk of snowball fights and igloos evaporates the instant it's really happening.

Taichi puts two options in front of them: Either they cross the snowfield, or they turn around and climb the mountain behind them. Suddenly, Agumon gets a sniff of something. A strong smell from nearby. The other Digimon and even the kids start sniffing the air, and they can all smell it too.

An onsen/hot spring! You can feel the cultural difference in how the kids react to this revelation.

Yamato: I see. This is-- Jou: AN ONSEN!!! Mimi & Takeru: ONSEN!!!

Jou, Mimi, and Takeru all scream at the top of their lungs when they realize what's in front of them. Meanwhile, in the dub:

Matt: But what's it coming from? Joe: A BIG GEYSER!!! Mimi & Takeru: Wow, a hot spring!

Mimi and Takeru are still excited but a bit more reserved with it rather than the ecstatic shriek of the original. Joe's still stoked, though.

Ecstatic, the kids race across the snowfield with hot springs on their mind to find warmth and relaxation. No, wait, hold up. It says here, uh....

It says "boiling black goop". They find boiling black goop. File Island sucks and I want to go home.

(I am reasonably certain that what they're looking at is a mudpot, a highly acidic and viscous bubbling slurry found in volcanic regions. Technically considered a hot spring but you wouldn't want to soak in that.)

Well, we aren't going to be able to bathe here but at least it's warm. Convection from the mudpots is providing relief from the bitter cold, but Jou quickly calls the group's attention to the problem of food. Fortunately, Takeru spies an answer.

An absurd answer. An incomprehensible answer. An answer that visibly makes Jou want to pull his hair out when he sees it. An answer that staggers all reason and sanity, and yet is not that unexpected anymore on File Island.

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Sure, why not. Forget it, Jou; It's File Island. Hopefully this one isn't full of Numemon. Against Jou's protests, the kids race to the fridge. Taichi throws it open to discover eggs for days.

This discovery provokes an interesting conversation on the ethics of food stealing during a survival situation.

Taichi: Guess this means dinner's served! Jou: W-Wait a minute, we don't even know if they're edible! Taichi: (huge grin) Don't worry, I'll test them for poison! Jou: What are you saying!? Even if we could eat them, we'd be common thieves for taking other people's property! Yamato: We don't have a choice. We're hungry. Sora: They'll understand if we explain it to them. Koushiro: At any rate, this is an emergency situation. Tentomon: Let's have dinner!

Honestly, the others have a point. Children stranded in a foreign land and starving rank pretty high on the list of acceptable reasons to violate societal norms. This while File Island excursion is the most emergency that a thing can possibly be.

The dub version of this conversation is pretty much an exact translation, though I really like their version of Tai's "I'll test them for poison" line.

Tai: GRUB ON! These will keep us all fed for a month! Joe: Wait a minute, you shouldn't even touch them! We don't know if they're fit for human consumption! Tai: Then I'll be the guinea pig! If I turn purple, you'll know they're not edible. Joe: There's more to it than that; Even if they were edible, they don't belong to us! That would make us all thieves! You gotta think about stuff like that, Tai! Matt: Unless you're into eating rocks, we don't have too much choice. Sora: I'm sure they'd say yes if they knew we were in trouble. Izzy: Exactly; We'd tell them it's an emergency situation. Tentomon: (sarcastic) Rationalize away.

The biggest difference is that Tentomon oddly seems to be on Joe's side in the dub? But overall it's practically verbatim, just a little wordier. But also, "If I turn people then they're not edible." XD Perfect addition to Tai's line.

Outvoting Jou once again, the kids set to work preparing the eggs. They're getting pretty good at wilderness survival. They make crude bowls, a rudimentary cooking stove to fry eggs on, and nets to boil the eggs in one of the less viscous boiling springs.

(Nobody stops to ask the obvious question of where the eggs came from if there are no chickens in Digimon World. Multiple previous conversations have established that there aren't animals or people here; Only Digimon. But. Y'know. Kids. They probably think eggs come from the supermarket.)

For his part, Jou whittles chopsticks while muttering to himself.

Jou: Everyone's so cheerful. I can't be like that. Because I have responsibility....

Contextually, he means that in the sense that he's responsible for whatever happens to them, not that he has responsibility as like a personal characteristic. It's what he was talking about earlier: Whatever happens to them is on his head because he's the eldest.

The dub makes this another argument between Joe and the others.

Mimi: Hurry! We wanna eat! Joe: (dour) Sorry, this just makes me feel uncomfortable. We'd be in big trouble if someone got sick; No doctors, y'know. Why do I always have to be the one to think about these things?

Ironically, Jou's burden is specifically the answer to Joe's question.

Once everyone's finished, they set out the eggs and dig in. ITADAKIMASU!

Yamato wishes they had some white rice to go with it, while Matt wants ketchup. I feel Matt; I'm a ketchup-on-eggs person too. Dub Sora thinks it's gross though.

(Sora and Matt start dating in a few years. I wonder if there's any fics about the inevitable ketchup-on-eggs bickering? You know that's gotta come up for the dub versions of these characters.)

From there, Jou laments that they wouldn't have to do so much work if they were at home. Joe expresses a similar sentiment, but his lament is that ketchup would be easy to come by at home.

This sets the others on a depression spiral, thinking about how homesick they are. Koushiro gives us a timescale: The kids have been here for four days now. In the dub, Izzy adds that he wonders if anyone's started searching for them yet.

At that point, it's Sora's turn to lift everyone's spirits with a distracting conversation topic.

What kind of topping do you like on your eggs? The kids take turns answering with their preferences.

Jou - Salt and pepper. Taichi - Soy sauce. Yamato - Mayonnaise. Sora - Sauce. Koushiro - Ponzu, a tangy citrus sauce. Mimi - Sugar with natto on top; A fermented soy bean.

The kids agree that Koushiro and Mimi's answers are weird, especially Mimi's. Natto on eggs? What?

(Meanwhile I'm over here recoiling in horror at Yamato's mayo eggs.)

Some of the responses in the dub are a bit different.

Joe - Salt and pepper. Tai - Soy sauce. Matt - Salsa. Sora - Doesn't answer, instead saying Matt needs a reality check. Izzy - Mustard and jelly beans. Mimi - Maple syrup with cherries on top.

The dub kids find Izzy and Mimi's responses weird too, but T.K.'s kinda into it and curious to try.

All this talk of weird egg toppings sends Jou into a complete meltdown.

Jou: You all put that weird stuff on your eggs!? (hangs head in hands) I'm shocked. The Japanese culture is collapsing before my very eyes!!!

Taichi tries to defuse the argument by asserting that everyone's culinary choices are valid except natto, but it's too late. Jou goes off.

Jou: With eggs, all you need is salt and pepper! Not sauce or mayonnaise but salt and pepper!

Gomamon calls Jou stubborn, provoking an argument that quickly devolves to Gomamon asking Jou to Fight Me Bruh.

In the dub, Joe's reaction is honestly tamer than Jou's.

Joe: What!? You're making me completely lose my appetite; I just like plain eggs! (hangs head in hands) I wish we could talk about something other than egg recipes.

Here, Tai's remark isn't so much to defuse the conversation as it is poking fun at the group.

Matt: Come on, join the party! Tai: I think it's really too late for him. I think Joe thinks we've gone a little crazy over these eggs. Joe: Well, really. Jelly beans and cherries on eggs, that's just crazy talk! Salt and pepper's all they need. Keep it simple; That's always been my motto!

He's still grossed out, but he's not calling them the decay of Japanese culture over it.

After Gomamon tries to fight Jou, Yamato steps in to try and de-escalate. Yamato tells Jou that he's acting off today and asks what's up, but Jou screams at the whole group that they're the ones who are off and storms away.

The dub captures the same elements but the delivery of Joe's actor undercooks the emotional tension. Joe sounds mad, telling everyone things like "You're all asking for trouble!" in an angry but still reserved Joe voice; Jou, however, is full-throated screaming at the group, audibly furious beyond any consolation.

Over eggs. Because this isn't really about the eggs. It's about everything that's happened. Jou's crumbling under the pressure of his responsibility.

Finally, Jou storms off to be alone and cool down beside one of the boiling hot springs.

When Jou calms down and returns to the group, he finds Yamato and Taichi at each other's throats. Koushiro explains: They're bickering over whether we should go to that huge mountain we keep seeing in the center of File Island. It's called "Mugen Mountain", mugen being the Japanese word for Infinity. The dub translates Infinity Mountain faithfully.

(Don't know about y'all but I'd be hesitant to start climbing something called Infinity Mountain in a place where physics are playful. The possibility that the name might not be hyperbolic would give me pause.)

While we see the two bickering, Sora summarizes their sides for Jou's benefit.

Sora: Taichi says that if we go there, we can survey our entire surroundings. Jou: That's true. On a mountain that tall, we can see everything. Sora: But Yamato is against it because it's dangerous. Piyomon: There are a lot of ferocious Digimon on that mountain. Jou: I see. That is dangerous.

While in the dub, Tai and Matt themselves yell their opinions at each other mid-argument for Joe to hear and consider.

Tai: It's the perfect spot! We gotta climb up there; It's the best view of the island! Joe: You've gotta admit; He's got a point there. Sora: That's not how Matt sees it. Matt: Nobody would make it up that peak! It's much too big of a gamble! Biyomon: He might be right, Joe; There could be lots of evil Digimon up that peak! Joe: Hmm... That's not good! That wouldn't be worth the risk.

The biggest difference between the two versions is Yamato's side. Piyomon in the original states with certainty that there's ferocious Digimon there, while Biyomon in the dub is only speculating. Given that the Digimon have been Tour Guiding everyone and identifying various important Digimon by name, it makes sense that she'd have a good idea of what's on Infinity Mountain. So that's a point to the original.

However, the way it's phrased makes it sound like Yamato's only worried about fighting Digimon, while Matt sounds more generally concerned with the idea of a bunch of inexperienced children trying to do expert mountain climbing, regardless of what else is up there. So that's a point to the dub.

Taichi calls Yamato out for unproductive cowardice and Yamato calls Taichi out for recklessly endangering the group. Jou tries to convince them to settle down and stop fighting, but they respond by putting him on the spot. Pick a side: Taichi or Yamato? Jou agrees with both of them and demands time to think, and the whole argument turns into a three-way shouting match rather than being settled.

(That's a Nat 1 on Jou's Diplomacy check.)

Eventually Sora is forced to step in and yell at all three of them to cool it. Together with Piyomon, Agumon, and Gabumon, she declares bed time - Leaving Jou with nothing but his abject sense of failure.

While the others sleep, Jou reflects on how badly that went.

Jou: I couldn't do anything. I even got caught up in the fight instead of stopping it. This won't do. I have to stay focused. I have to keep everyone in order! Me!

Jou rises to his feet with determination to take action. He's going to climb Infinity Mountain himself.

He barely makes it out of the cave before Gomamon catches him. Jou protests Gomamon's presence, demanding he stop following him. Gomamon retorts that he has business to take care of up on that mountain so they just happen to be going the same way.

Jou and Gomamon help each other up the mountain, dissolving the tension between them pretty quickly. Gomamon offers Jou a "hand" to help him climb; Jou points out his flippers for a joke, surprising Gomamon with the fact that he even can tell jokes. For his part, Jou physically does help Gomamon up the mountain.

Jou and Gomamon stop to take a break on the mountain, but suddenly a massive earthquake strikes. The partners bear witness to a secret door opening in the mountainside, spilling out more Black Gears and sending them across File Island.

Jou immediately decides to investigate whatever this is.

As they approach the secret door, the sun comes up. However, it's already closed and sealed, and the Black Gears are gone. Jou and Gomamon find nothing waiting for them.

Then they hear a noise. The sound of wings beating in the distance, coming closer.

Unimon, an Adult-stage Vaccine-type Digimon. The narrator explains:

Gomamon: It's Unimon! He's a smart, gentle Digimon. Narrator: A sweet Digimon whose form is a mix of the legendary beasts, the unicorn and Pegasus. His special attack is the fireball Holy Shot.

While in the dub, Joe and Gomamon go over him like this.

Joe: Oh, that's just great; A flying horse wearing a mask! This can't be good. Gomamon: That's not your everyday flying horse, Joe. That's Unimon! He's a wise old Digimon. I never knew he lived in these mountains; He's not much of a talker!

Normally I side with the original over the dub on these character intros, but I like Joe's agitated remark and Gomamon's personalized exposition more than the clinical analysis that the narrator provides this time.

Jou initially insists on hiding. Despite Gomamon's assurance that Unimon's kind and friendly... the kids have heard that a lot on this island.

Fortunately, Unimon's just stopping by for a drink of water. Everything is fine. Gomamon steps out of the cave to go chat up Unimon and--

Red Alert. Everything is no longer fine.

Expectedly, the Black Gear slams into Unimon's back, driving him wild. He turns on Gomamon and Jou, advancing menacingly. In the dub, he says, "Hello, Gomamon; Aren't you happy to see me?" in a hostile voice, but he says nothing in the original.

Back at camp, Sora's the first to wake up. Stepping outside the cave, she finds a message Jou left, informing the other kids that he'll be back in a bit and asking them to wait for him. Immediately realizing what reckless action Jou's taken, Sora wakes everyone up to go after him.

Jou and Gomamon flee for their lives from Unimon, but his flight advantage makes escape impossible. He destroys both sides of the path they're on with his Holy Shots, pinning them down to one area.

Again, the original Unimon only makes horse noises, while dub Unimon speaks English, taunting them with remarks like, "That's a perfectly good route if you're thinking of flying away!" Also, the dub refers to Holy Shot as Aerial Attack.

With Jou and Gomamon pinned down and nowhere left to run, Unimon begins charging up a final Holy Shot to kill them both. Jou hugs Gomamon tightly, closes his eyes, and waits for the end. Then he hears the crash, but nothing hits him. So he opens his eyes and....

Sora and Taichi have arrived as backup!

While they're distracted checking up on Jou, Unimon nails Birdramon with a Holy Shot, sending her tumbling down the cliff. Sora slides down after her to check on her. Meanwhile, Agumon evolves into Greymon to take over fighting Unimon.

It does not go well. Unimon's flight advantage allows him to easily outmaneuver Greymon on this narrow ledge and swing around for a dive bomb.

As Greymon picks himself up and opens fire, Unimon's full three dimensions of maneuverability let him dodge Greymon's Mega Flames, while Greymon has few options to protect himself from Unimon's Holy Shots. Greymon gets pummeled by Unimon's fire while landing no shots of his own.

Birdramon returns to the fight, but Unimon sails straight between the shots of her Meteor Wing to land a body slam, putting her back on the ground.

This fight is ugly, but Jou has a plan. Recognizing that their real enemy here is not Unimon but the Black Gear corrupting him, Jou takes charge and leaps off the fucking cliff to land on Unimon's back when he sails close by below.

Unimon begins bucking and thrashing in the air to stop Jou from pulling out the Black Gear. Gomamon screams at Jou to come down from there, but Jou to stop, but his mind is made up.

Gomamon: JOU, STOP!!! It's impossible! Jou: No! I have to do this! I have to protect everyone! Because... I'm the oldest... I'll PROTECT EVERYONE--

And then Unimon wins, bucking Jou off and sending him tumbling from a lethal height.

It's a strong moment for Jou that doesn't quite hit the same way in the dub.

Gomamon: JOE, STOP!!! Don't try to be a hero! Joe: I know! But I just have to do this one thing... I'm not going to stop until it's done! I have to think positive! I'm responsible! I've gotta do it--

Followed by being bucked off. There's a certain pathetic quality to the dub's Joe that makes this a heartwarming "He tried" moment. While, in the original, this is the culmination of Jou's responsibility and pressure to safeguard the younger kids; the realization of Jou-senpai.

He fails. And he falls. But as he plunges to his doom, this moment is what awakens Gomamon. With a bloodcurdling scream of Jou's name, Gomamon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Ikkakumon has feelings about what just happened. An Adult-stage Vaccine-type Digimon, Ikkakumon derives the name "ikkaku" from the Japanese word for narwhal. He's Narwhalmon.

(This makes pitting Ikkakumon and Unimon against each other exceedingly funny, as narwhal tusks are believed to have been the source for unicorn myths. They're sometimes called the Unicorn of the Sea. So. Y'know. Get wrecked by a REAL unicorn, Unimon.)

Ikkakumon's signature move, Harpoon Vulcan, fires multiple horns from his head at his target. The dub calls it Harpoon Torpedo.

That Unimon is extremely difficult to hit in the air remains a problem, however. Or rather it would be a problem but, much like Andromon's Gatling Missiles, every shot from Harpoon Vulcan contains a fun toy surprise inside!

Specifically, homing missiles that target Unimon's Black Gear, hitting home and destroying the corrupting influence.

With the Gear destroyed, Unimon promptly flies off. Even the dub version has no parting words despite speaking English.

Once that's settled, Taichi, Sora, and Jou unpack things. Taichi congratules Jou and apologizes for last night. Jou shakes hands with Gomamon and formally thanks him for the rescue, much to Gomamon's embarrassment. The hostilities are all swept aside.

Since they're only a hop, skip, and jump from the peak, the trio finishes the climb together. But the answers they find at the top are incredibly discouraging.

Nothing but ocean surrounds this lonely island for as far as the eye can see. There is nowhere else to go. The episode ends on that suspenseful moment, as the kids stare out at the dismal truth.

Taichi: Th-This is.... Narrator: Taichi and the others became highly discouraged when they discovered that File Island was a solitary island admist the vast sea.

The dub, on the other hand, spins this around to end on a positive note.

Group: Whoa! Tai: Not much out there. Joe (V.O.): So Gomamon and I fought all the way to the top to see what was there and we found... Well, nothing. But I think we discovered quite a bit on the way up!

Yeah, that's a bit of a tone difference. They don't find nothing at the top of Infinity Mountain. They find despair. The revelation that there is no escape in sight, that there is nowhere they can go but File Island. That the island sits alone in a vast ocean with no clear indication of where else they can go, or if there even is anywhere else to go.

But. Y'know. We're lightening the show up for an American audience and hoo boy at that. It's just funny to see the Japanese Narrator deliver this revelation with horror and then American Tai's just like, "Huh. Neat. Anyways...."

Assessment: This is the last of the character intro episodes we'll get for a while, as Patamon's evolution is being withheld for later. This one ends on such a dark note because the plot officially begins next episode.

For Jou, this episode really highlights the crushing pressure he's under. Something it doesn't resolve, but instead simply spotlights. No answer is explicitly given for the stresses that led him to explode at everyone on Egg Night. What answer can be given? The situation is what it is.

Everyone moves on and forgives each other, but Jou remains under the burden of a responsibility he's not equipped to handle. Nonetheless, an answer is implicitly given when he and his team lean on each other against Unimon. Jou takes charge and wins the day, but only because they were there to help him in the first place.

Cooperation and mutual respect is what's going to keep them alive out here, more than anything.

Much like with Sora's episode, the dub misses the mark at several points with regard to Jou's character arc, which is basically erased here. What they replace his emotional turmoil with is more like the journey of a weak boy needing to be brave.

Without the perspective of his senpai responsibility, Joe just comes across cowardly due to his cautious sensibilties. Which, I think, is an uncharitable treatment; The way he leaps from the cliff without hesitation pretty well conveys that Jou isn't afraid of harm to himself; He's cautious because he has an obligation to keep these children safe. He'll jump straight into the fire for them, but he'll do everything in his power to keep them from lighting themselves on fire first.

But as usual, the dub also has some great moments and solid lines going for it as well, with the snowball discussion being its highlight.

[holyhikari]

Okay. Okay. It’s 2020, most of the world is shut down and the first episode of Digimon Adventure aired yesterday, missing a ‘Butter-Fly’ and with a colon to spare. Life sure is something. 

Gotta say I’m relieved. (For now, at least.) Sure, yeah, I got into the hype train for the reboot from the get-go and determined to just have fun, but. If I can picture all the ways something can go wrong — go BORING — down to excruciating details right from the first episode, why not? That’s what brains are for. So that’s what I did. 

Should have saved all that energy. 

I want to share with all of you my thoughts on this episode, break it down a little bit; how it made me feel, the few character introductions we got, the pace, the plot and its possibilities. 

As much as I want to approach this series keeping the idea of authenticity in mind, it is a reboot. They chose a certain set of (popular!) pre-existent characters to explore, to work with; a balance between creating and adapting. And I’m very interested in seeing how they’ll combine the core elements of Digimon Adventure with all there is unique to this generation of kids, teens and, you know it, adults who stuck around. 

Since all we’ve got is the introduction to the series, I’ll be contrasting TOKYO DIGITAL CRISIS to how the original Adventure kicked off back in 1999 with  ADRIFT? THE ISLAND OF ADVENTURE!

I did try to keep this as coherent and review-like as possible, but there’s a fair amount of fan-girling and it’s all seen through my very biased Adventure-stan-colored lens. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya. 

‘99 starts with an image of our planet, and  ‘20 starts almost the same. This time, though, we can see we aren’t alone. ‘The Digital World affecting the Earth’ is something that happens, I believe, in every Digimon reincarnation. In ‘99, it’s deeply affecting our climate. Now, the issue doesn’t seem so drastic that it’s able to reach influence organic matter and mess up many Nature’s cycles across the globe, but it’s still not looking so good for our kids. (It’s the first episode and Hikari and Yuuko almost get train-sandwiched, but I suppose that almost having your head chopped off, courtesy of Kuwagamon, isn’t lovely either.) 

Anyway. 

I think this Digital World/Network shot isn’t actually part of the episode? I think it’s part of the opening (I mean, not the OP sequence with the song, obviously), and that we’ll be seeing it before each episode starts. Still, it’s an interesting juxtaposition, isn’t it?

A Glorious World is upon us! I wasn’t actually expecting Butter-Fly or anything similar to it, don’t worry. I’m glad the new OP is its own thing! I want Digimon Adventure ‘20 to be as authentic as possible without losing the original’s heart. The song is nice enough. I don’t want to compare it to Butter-Fly, but I’m only human. Give me a few episodes. Gotta let go. 

The OP has way more Taichi than the others. No surprise there. He’s our goggle boy. (Still, since they went for a quick throwback to the original opening, it’s a shame only Taichi was shown falling down towards the Digital World). 

Everyone got a part, though. Shout out to Takeru and Hikari for being yet again the ominous, powerful baby-faced duo that is definitely up to something. 

It’s so interesting that, while the other crests are shown very clearly and surrounded by sparkles, Light and Hope are only shown briefly shining in their partners’ shadows. Why is Takeru so far away from us, why is this so sinister-looking. Hi, mysterious plot. Nice to meet you.

Wherever Hikari is by the end of the OP, it reminds me of Vamdemon’s castle. Maybe she feels connected to Tailmon and follows her somehow? Angemon wasn’t shown in the OP with the older six children’s partners, just Patamon. I wonder if they’ll try to make us grieve for Angemon a second time. It’d work with me. Either way, I imagine we’re in for another last-minute Patamon evolution when everything looks hopeless. 

This time, though, we’ve got Hikari from the beginning (yes, I am VERY excited about this, thank you for asking, THIS IS WHAT I DESERVE), and, while I think Patamon is more powerful in regular conditions (as in, Angemon can probably take Angewomon in a fight despite the level imbalance, but as soon as Hikari starts glowing you know who’s winning), he will now be sharing the spotlight with another Archangel evolution… as his friend or as his foe, considering that Tailmon might be a double agent of some sorts in the beginning. Welp. 

Anyway. Toei isn’t fooling around, in the OP we can see MetalGreymon in a very scary-looking, glitchy fashion that I’m LIVING for, WarGreymon’s silhouette and, good grief, there’s even a glimpse of Omegamon. Talk about too much information. Maybe chill out a little? (I say this, but the adults already know all of their evos, and the kids just want MOOOOOOORE monstahhhhhrrrrrrsss….which is fair.)

MetalGreymon looks dope here. The others, though, are only shown up to their Adult evolution, even Gabumon. I don’t think they will have only Gabumon and Agumon reaching their Mega forms, and then fusing into Omegamon while everyone else only gets as far as Perfect.  Again.

They wouldn’t do this to us. Right? Yeah, they would. Maybe we can have Holydramon/Ophanimon and Seraphimon later on, as a treat. Aaaaaand, depending on how many episodes — how many seasons — this new timeline gets, I’m not giving up hope just yet. Let me have Phoenixmon, Toei, you heartless thing. 

Moving on to the actual episode… The first non-Digimon character to show up is the true protagonist. Our queen is back. Our little Digivice thief, Miko herself.

Just you wait, you ain’t gonna be Hikari’s favorite cat-like creature for long. 

Speaking of Hikari, LOOK AT THIS WITTLE BABY GIRL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2020 Taichi right off the bat was Taichi for me. He’s talking to Yuuko and yells “Hikariii~” so loudly Hikari hears it from where she stands, the short cutie. Their mom just hands down the phone for her without missing a beat so Taichi can comfort her through whatever she’s worrying about (her summer classes, probably). Such a sweet, natural little moment that flashes both characters out. I want more of that, please.

We’re then introduced to Koushiro! I’m not gonna lie, I cringed the first time I heard him speak. I thought the voice didn’t fit him very well. This impression faded quickly enough, though, and I’m already attached to his new voice. Later, I realized that part of the reason he sounded off to me was because of how nervous he seemed — around Taichi, of all people! In this version, they’re just meeting for the first time, so it’s very in-character for him. Guess I was kinda shocked seeing Koushiro not feeling at ease talking to Taichi. Poor thing is Anxious! And he’s overthinking about Summer Camp! And he’s happy Taichi is his neighbor! That certainly would’ve helped during the Vandemon arc back in ‘99. 

Koushiro gets a little bit over his awkwardness upon hearing the news regarding the cyber attack, something he’s curious about, and finally steps towards Taichi instead of away, which is spot on. These two fall into an easy camaraderie, as they SHOULD, and they head to the train station together, where Taichi decides to, I don’t know… run like crazy on the tracks until he gets to the rogue train where his family is and stop it with sheer force of will? Yeah! Sounds like him! 

And now to one of the most interesting parts of this adaption, is that they’re showing us the Crests early on and HOW they’re doing it. 

Taichi is able to meet Koromon because he’s being brave.

I mean, the first time, he was chosen because of his courage, too, but they all go in together. They’re taken. They’re washed off the Earth. And while Taichi had no idea he was going to be pulled into the Net, he chose to try to save Hikari and his mom (and, a few moments later, he chose to dive in towards Koromon). This time, it feels so much more personal. The screen switched back and forth between the Crest of Courage, Taichi and Hikari, who I believed called his name. The scene worked so well! (Following this pattern, Koushiro gets his Digivice when expressing curiosity, the will to pursue an explanation for what was happening!!!!)

On the other hand, it’s sort of bittersweet  they weren’t pulled in together. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they didn’t try to introduce all of them AND the Digital World at the same time again. But… ‘99 established them as a ‘team’ within seconds. It’s interesting, though. I’m VERY curious to see how their bonding will go this time around!

Taichi and Koromon meeting was beautiful. I was worried the soundtrack wouldn’t even stand a chance against the masterpiece that is the original one, but the musing playing was so delicate, so majestic. I felt I was witnessing a precious moment. Also, Koromon’s ears twisting into how we represent the DNA while he was evolving was!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!SUCH A GOOD DETAIL!!!!!! 

It cracked me up when Koushiro said that what was happening was very surprising while not sounding surprised at all. I wonder how long the kid has been looking into the cyber attacks. Oh, and the Network is pretty. Prettier than I had anticipated, though not that different from Appmon’s style, I think? I can’t wait to get a look at the actual Digital World and see if it has that unique feeling and that odd, watercolor painting aesthetic. I hope I can trust the OP:

 Did you notice that Agumon giggled a few times? He looked at Taichi with such love, familiarity and devotion and like he knew something. It felt… right. My heart. My poor, poor heart. (I know this Agumon probably has met Taichi before inside of this very Universe, like the Hikarigaoka incident in the original version, but I like to think about Universe-hopping platonic soulmates.) 

Overall the sound work was fantastic, but this scene deserves a highlight. The noise of the Kuramon lookalike moving after evolving was genuinely disturbing. And look at how pretty this is:

Speaking of evolution, AGUMON EVOLVING INTO GREYMON WAS THE SHIT. I loved how straight-up FERAL it was, while still keeping the “Digital” part of “Digital Monster” very much present. It reminded me a bit of Hosoda’s Greymon (most amazing Greymon to this day!) in the Digimon Adventure Movie and, now that I think of it, of him fighting in some Tri. Reunion scenes. Scary Greymon is the best Greymon. Yes. I like it when the Digimon manage to disturb and scare me, okay? They aren’t called monsters for nothing. 

I mean we got to see his horn literally bursting out of his skin. This is low-key terrifying. 10/10.

BUT WHERE IS THE EVOLUTION THEME SONG

I am: deceased. Cause of death: Hikari’s soft smile when she realizes her big brother managed to help them. 

Alternatively, this first pic had killed me on the spot.

FINALLY, we get to see Yamato, and of course, he’s staring down dramatically at Taichi on top of Garurumon like the intense person he is. And, no big deal, there’s a cyber attack in a U.S military base and, uh, apparently the next episode is the 2020 version of Bokura no War Game?! 

I— WHAT?!

No pressure, am I right? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be falling off a good ol’ cliff with my camping buddies. 

To be honest, if they intended to end it like this, it felt like this should’ve been a special episode. Maybe one-hour-long or so? Why……….HOW……….. They wanna go from the pilot straight to a Bokura no War game tribute?! The very movie that introduced Omegamon. I swear, if Omegamon’s debut is the SECOND episode, I’m gonna break. How is this gonna work. Well, at least they have us… intrigued? 

The ED is so Yamato-focused it’s almost weird that his voice actor isn’t the one singing lmao. That amount of Yamatoness got me by surprise. Some of the pics look like a PowerPoint presentation of CD cover ideas for his yet-to-exist (or not) band… and I say this lovingly, okay? I love him so much. 

This is my favorite one!

I lost count of how many times I listened to this song!! It also got me hooked up. What’s up with Takeru and how the writers took the whole Angel aesthetic to a whole new level?! Is he sick? Is he dying? Is this why Yamato is so sad and lonely throughout the ED?????? EVERYONE GO BEFRIEND HIM. I heard he’s a good friend.

Be right back, I’m gonna tattoo this pic to my face.

Bonus commentary!

I bet I wasn’t the only one looking for  random cameos whenever they showed us crowds. Didn’t find anyone we know, but I’m sure this will change. 02 characters cameos, I’m ready for you. 

Soooooooooo the Tachikawa own a tech company this time?? For all we know they own Japan. That’s scarier than the Diablomon-like virus giving Trump a headache. If so, Mimi is gonna be way more spoiled than before. Oh, dear.

I HOPE WE SEE MORE OF THESE PIXEL BABIES! That was a perfect Easter egg.

If none of these icons at the bottom is the Digimon Analyzer, then what’s the point of my entire existence? 

I can’t wait for next Saturday! Even if solely to yell “WHY??????” at my screen.  

I can’t thank you enough if you read this far!

[ahiddenpath]

Digimon Adventure 2020 Ep 11 Reaction

In which the kids have their own ideas about how to proceed, and it’s beautiful.

(Warning: I got excited and started cussing a lot.  Also, this ep is really good, and I’m really proud of this reaction, you should read it!).

I love it when the Chosen argue.

The kids arguing means that they have different ideas, different priorities.  The kids making a stand- Yamato prioritizing the mission, Sora and Jyou prioritizing the digimon who will die without help- means that they are exerting agency over the situation.  This is so refreshing after all of those “blindly follow the prophecy, without even having an actual, living being to explain things and provide prospective” episodes.  I mean, seriously, I was a second away from “Would you kindly” jokes.  (If you’ve never played the original Bioshock...  DO IT, OMG).

AND SORA!  FINALLY, SOME GOSH DANGED CHARACTERIZATION FOR SORA!  I am so happy for her!  Now, this is going to get highly subjective, but...  I detest “competency” as the main character trait for female characters.  And so far, what we know of Sora is that she’s: competent, active, brave, warm (so we’re told- we’re mostly left to infer this from her beautiful facial expressions, which I guess is fine, but I’d love to see it guiding her actions more, which we’re finally getting!), and supposedly well-liked at school (no proof of this, just Koushiro’s word).  Er- also, knives.  For some folks, this seems to be enough to celebrate, but it just...  Falls so flat for me.  

The idea of a “competent, active girl” suggests that most female characters aren’t competent and/or active, or that competency/being active are male traits (hence, Sora having these traits somehow makes her “tomboyish”).  In Adventure, Sora was always competent, active, and playing a guiding/decision-making role with Taichi and Yamato, while Koushiro provided intel for them.  I remember and liked that about her, but I love Adventure Sora for simultaneously accepting, struggling with, and resenting her caring, sisterly role for everyone.  The caretaker love and resentment cycle was so fucking real, dude.  Sora’s...  I’m gonna say it, she’s probably the most complex Adventure character, and when people reduce her to AcTiOn ToMbOy, I vomit in my mouth (even though she absolutely is competent and active!  It’s just that competency does not a personality make, and she had SO MUCH relatable, compelling stuff going on!!!!!  And also, “tomboy” in general implies that certain character traits are masculine, which is damaging for everyone, frankly). 

Anyway, here we see Sora standing up for her principles, which means saving these digimon who will die if left where they are.  There is no fighting, no name-calling, no posturing...  Just Sora saying: I care about these digimon, this is the right thing to, and therefore, I will do it.

ALSO I AM PROUD OF JYOU FOR BACKING SORA, and also showing his Adventure roots with an attempt at peace-keeping so ineffective that it was annoying, lol!  First, he is sad that Sora asked Yamato’s opinion, not his...  But when actually asked for his, he says “Er- I guess everyone has good points?” *sweat sweat*  THIS IS SO CLASSIC JYOU, I AM CRYING.  And then Gomamon is like, “What do you want?”  Ie, I don’t want a statement of validity for everyone else’s thoughts, I want your thoughts.  Gomamon is the best!

Then we jump to Gabumon and Yamato, walking off all lonesome-like.  Gabumon says, “Yamato, they can’t know what you’re thinking if you don’t tell them,” and honestly?  THAT’S A HELL OF A LINE FOR A KID SHOW.  Damn, Gabumon is great?  In the fortress siege ep, I thought that Gabumon explaining that Yamato is excluding the others to protect them was a little...  Too much.  Kids shows especially tend to error on the side of being too explainy, though, for the sake of their young audience (I laughed my ass off in Frozen when Olaf goes, “TrUe LoVe SaVeD hEr,” or something similar, because yes Olaf, we fucking got that, thanks, lol!).  This line was similar in intent (helping the audience understand an aloof character who is potentially unlikable on the surface), but damned if that ain’t some tea for real life.

AND JFC, WAS WEREGARURUMON ALWAYS SO FUCKING EXTRA?!  Wait, what am I saying, of course he was!  Hahaha!  I gotta say that these reboot perfect level evolutions aren’t feeling earned or impactful, just a kind of fun, “Oh hey, there you are” (and in this case, “Who does your nails, btw?”).  I’m hoping that we’ll see other content to make up for this, but so far, I’ve given up on the thought of being touched/impressed by evolutions in Digimon Adventure:.

AH SHIT!  BUT AT THE END!  Sora says, “Thanks for coming back!”  And Yams replies, “Eh, you were bait.”  And SORA!  SHE SEES THROUGH THIS BS!  SHE’S ALREADY REACHED GABUMON LEVEL OF SEEING  THROUGH THIS IMPOSSIBLE BOY’S GRUMPY FACADE!  “Well, we’ll leave it at that,” she says, with an understanding smile.  GOD!  THIS IS SO GOOD, I FINALLY SEE SORA IN FRONT OF ME, I’M CRYING, THIS IS 1,000% MORE SORA THAN HER OWN INTRO EP!!!!!!

AND I AM DYING!  Yams says, “I have a brother, so I...  AM SO... DETERMINED TO END THIS AND PROTECT HIM.”  You butt face, EVERY KID HERE HAS A FAMILY, OMG, WHAT A FUCKING DORK!  I am absolutely dying!  Here Yamato is, tryin’a explain his tunnel vision and his DEEP DARK EMBARRASSING SECRET...  HE, A HUMAN, HAS A HUMAN FAMILY THAT HE LOVES.  It tells us a lot about Yamato, alright, but not what Yamato was actually trying to say (ie, I hate to admit it, but I am a huge softie for my brother)!  Instead, what we’re finding out is...  Yamato is forgetting everyone here has a beloved family that they also want to help, because HE LOVES HIS BROTHER SO MUCH!  

GOD, SUCH YAMATO.  SUCH PURE, UNDILUTED, 1,000% CONCENTRATED YAMA JAMMAS.  I FUCKING LOVE HIM.  WHAT A GOOMBA!

THIS EPISODE WAS SO DAMNED GOOD, my second fave so far after Mimi’s intro, and it had 0% to do with the action/plot/evolutions and 1,000% to do with these dumb kids being good, dumb kids, god I love them.

ALSO!  HERE WE ARE AT RUINS AGAIN WITH KOUSHIRO AND MIMI?!?!?!?!  AM I HAVING A STROKE?!?!?!?!?!  BUT THIS TIME IT’S EVEN WORSE BECAUSE TAICHI IS HERE!?!?!?!?!?!?  GOD, I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY.  WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS BOUNTY?!?!?!?!?!?!

God, thank you, reboot.  Bless.

ETA:  I’m also hoping we swing back around to Leomon’s Resistance.  I mean, I assume we will...  And I also assume Leomon ain’t gonna fare so well, lol!  But seriously, I wonder what kind of intel Leomon can provide?  I’m loving that the Digital World has so much going on, its own groups and such.

[higuchimon]

[fanfic] Secrets of Ears:  Chapter 5 [end]

Ken trembled, trying not to let loose the scream that lurked behind his lips. His hands shook, but the sword didn’t vanish. It remained in his grip, as comfortable there as if he’d been born to carry it.

He closed his eyes and shook his head. He hadn’t felt that kind of rage in years. He’d thought it had burned out of him forever. Though this was different in its own way, not quite something that he could put his finger on. It wasn’t the righteous rage that he’d felt after being the Kaiser, a mix of guilt and other emotions.

This had been hate. This had been a cold blaze that lit in his heart and nothing had seemed capable of calming it down. And why? Because someone had – had touched his ears. Twisted and tugged at them, and they still burned, still throbbed, and he wanted to go home and put some lotion on them and curl up in his bed and stay there forever.

But Daisuke stood there, staring at him with worry and concern evident in every feature, one hand reaching out to him. Wormmon remained firm on his shoulders, snuggling against him, utterly unafraid.

They weren’t afraid of him. They weren’t angry at him. They weren’t mad that this happened. He wasn’t sure of why they weren’t, since he was furious at himself.

Why would you be? Why would they be? Akigaramon is a Virus, just like you are.

It wasn’t the Kaiser’s voice, but it was very similar. Older, stronger, deeper. It echoed deep in the depths of Ken’s mind. He shook his head. He didn’t want to listen to this.

Of course you don’t. Because I tell you what you don’t want to hear. You are me – I am you. The Kaiser was your childhood – nothing more than a baby’s tantrum. I am Akogimon – the son of Piemon. I am far more than anything you have ever been.

Yet.

Ken shook his head even harder, doing his best to ignore the voice, to stare at Daisuke, raising one hand to touch Wormmon. “I’m fine,” he choked, the words feeling broken and brittle. “I’m fine. Really.”

Daisuke crossed his arms over his chest and stared at Ken. “I don’t believe you. You don’t look fine.”

Ken didn’t believe himself. Not by a long shot. But he didn’t want them to know that he’d heard a voice that said such horrible things.

Why not? You were told about me. You know who I am. Your dark side. The part of you that is true and pure Virus. The soft laugh echoed inside of his head. Do you want to deny it?

He did. He really did; he wanted to think that everything Koushiro had told him had been false somehow. He didn’t want to be part Viral. He really didn’t want to bring this up to his parents. He was more than willing to take a bet that his mother hadn’t ever known and he didn’t want to know why she didn’t know.

Ken pressed his lips together, straightened up, and stared down at the sword. He didn’t want it there anymore. He hadn’t wanted it there to start with. Tachibana wasn’t going to bother him anymore. He’d probably never bother anyone ever again.

He flexed his hand. He told the sword that he didn’t need it – that he was safe. That everything was all right.

Slowly the sword faded away. But Ken couldn’t shake the feeling that it was there if he needed it again. His power had begun to awaken and he would have to deal with it.

It’s not the only thing I’ve ever had to deal with.

“Ken?” Daisuke’s hand rested on the shoulder that Wormmon wasn’t on. “Ken?”

Ken swallowed and steeled himself to look into Daisuke’s eyes. “I’m sorry,” he murmured. He hadn’t meant to ignore Daisuke. But when that voice got started, it was hard to listen to anything else.

There was another laugh at that, one only he could hear. He pretended that he didn’t.

“Come on. Done with your ramen?” Daisuke asked, voice ever so soft and gentle. Ken nodded. “All right. Let’s go back to my place. My parents aren’t there right now. It’ll be just us.”

That sounded so very good. Whatever else they talked about, Ken didn’t want to do it here, where they could be overheard.

Daisuke made sure they’d paid properly for everything and then they headed out. Wormmon remained a warm, comforting presence around his neck, and that voice remained silent. Maybe it would stay that way forever now.

No. I won’t.

Of course. That wasn’t the kind of luck that he had. But at least the silence remained mostly unbroken until they reached the Motomiya apartment. Jun had moved out the year before, attending college, and he’d started coming over more often since then.

Daisuke pointed towards the couch. “You sit there,” he ordered, and Ken obeyed right away. Wormmon shifted down to rest in his lap and V-mon, at Daisuke’s gesture, settled beside him on the couch, while Daisuke headed into the kitchen and did mysterious things that involved banging and a familiar scent that slowly filled the apartment.

He wasn’t surprised at all when Daisuke brought over two cups of tea, joining him on the couch. One eyebrow flickered up in curiosity.

“Mugicha?” He’d had the barley tea before but not here. Daisuke nodded.

“Mom likes it. Says it helps with her digestion and makes sure she doesn’t gain too much weight.” Daisuke shrugged, offering one of the cups to him. “It’s supposed to help you get calmer, too.”

Now that Ken thought he could deal with. He accepted the cup and sipped quietly, letting the tension ease out of his shoulders and gut. He wanted to think that it hadn’t happened at all but with that voice whispering deep in his thoughts, he knew he couldn’t do that.

“I can hear him,” Ken whispered as he reached the bottom of his teacup. “Remember what the others said? Our – our dark sides?”

Daisuke blinked, then nodded. “You can hear it? Him? Whatever?”

“Yes.” Ken stared deep into the cup. “I hate this. I don’t want this at all. I want to be – normal.”

Daisuke stared into his own cup, then glanced at Wormmon and V-mon before back to Ken. “Ken – we’re not. It’s not just being part Digimon.” He nodded towards their partners. “I mean, more people are getting Digimon, but we’re Chosen. That makes it different. We’re always going to be different from everyone else. This is just a different way of being different.

Ken had to nod. Daisuke tended to see right to the heart of things. But he still wasn’t done.

“If the others can learn to live with what they are, and be that casual about it, then so can we.” Daisuke’s grin lit up, brighter than the sun. “Sure, it’s going to take some effort. We’re probably going to screw up along the way. But what have we learned already?” From the twitch of his lips alone, Ken knew what the answer was.

“That it doesn’t matter if we make mistakes, as long as we keep trying to fix them and to do better.”

Daisuke nodded. “Exactly! So any time we make a mistake learning about this, we just work harder to do better. Besides, look on the bright side. You’ve got a new brother to get to know.” Then his attention flicked to Ken’s ears. “And you know why your ears are like that.”

He couldn’t help but nod at that. “Right.” A faint hint of red crept up his cheeks. “Could you – would you check to make sure they’re all right? They still hurt some.” He’d never trusted anyone else to touch his ears. He’d never even wanted doctors to do it.

But this was Daisuke. If he couldn’t trust Daisuke, then he couldn't trust anyone at all.

Daisuke blinked briefly, then nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

Ken did. Mostly the pain from Tachibana’s manhandling had died down but he would rather be safe than sorry. He would have asked Wormmon, but Wormmon didn’t have fingers. Not to mention he rather liked how Wormmon felt being so warm and cuddly and supportive on his lap.

Daisuke adjusted himself until he was close enough to take a careful look at Ken’s ears. Then, he raised one hand. He didn’t actually touch anything until Ken nodded his permission. Slowly, gently he brushed his fingers on the shell of the ear, tracing one finger across them ever so gently.

Ken swallowed, his heart beating faster. The throbbing eased – or perhaps changed. Softer, sweeter, deeper, richer, better. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes, trembling.

That felt good. Better than good – amazing. He’d never imagined that having his ears touched could be like this.

He stopped bothering to think. What did he need to think for, when everything felt so good? He was here with Daisuke, with V-mon and with Wormmon. His ears felt wonderful now – and so did a lot more of him.

A soft sound fell from his lips, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of what Daisuke did or because Daisuke stopped doing it.

“Ken? You okay there?”

He dragged his eyes open to see Daisuke staring into them. His lips curved into a dazed grin. “Oh. Yes. Wonderful.”

Daisuke’s expression matched his a breath later. “I think you’ve had a bit much.”

Ken wanted to protest but that would have involved making words with his mouth and he didn’t want to. Daisuke settled next to him, leaning his head on Ken’s shoulder and sliding one arm around his waist.

“Get some rest. We can have some fun later,” Daisuke told him. Ken tilted his head to look downward at him.

“Promise?” He managed that much of a word, at least. Maybe he’d be able to make more after he napped. Though perhaps words weren’t really what he wanted to make.

It isn’t. You want -

Ken slammed a mental door that he’d never even known was there on that voice. Then he focused his thoughts all on Daisuke. At least what thoughts he had. There weren’t many of them right now.

Daisuke didn’t seem to have noticed anything in the heartbeat that had taken. Instead, he smiled, and Ken thrilled to the feeling of Daisuke’s lips touching the curve of his ear.

“I promise.”

Ken didn’t doubt for a second that Daisuke would keep his word. He relaxed, his eyes closing, and breathed deeply. There would be danger ahead, but they were used to that. Like everything else, he would face it with Daisuke and all of his other friends by his side.

The End

Notes: Okay, that’s done! Though I am not ruling out the idea of a sequel that delves more into their powers developing and having to deal with their dark sides. That won’t be for a long time, though. Not until, at a minimum, I finish all my other WIPS.

[gossipchii]

Kizuna Countdown

11 -  Favorite Chosen Children Friendship

You know what? I’ve been very careful with the rules, only chosing one of each because since I’m the goddamn police, I had to follow my own rules. Right? RIGHT???

Well, not today!!!! There are way too many special friendships in the Adventure Universe for me to pick just one. So I’ll mention my most precious ones.

VERY LONG POST AHEAD

Taichi and Koushiro

I had to start with this one because I already talked about them in this previous post, so it was way easier.

Let’s keep going.

Jou and Yamato

If you saw these two dorks anywhere together, you would never naturally guess that they are great friends, lie ever. You have the stereotypical “cool kid” and the “total nerd”, and they usually never get along. Actually, if this was a cliché show, Yamato would even bully Jou, can you imagine a universe where that happened? God that would be awful.

But we don’t have a stereotypical show here, and Digimon cab be many things but it never falls into cliché. Sure, Jou and Yamato have their issues, they foght, they are completely different.

But they both open their hearts to each other in the most unexpected way, making the restaurant episodes one of the most entertaining, yes, but also one of the most originals of the bunch.

Sora and Mimi

The ultimate girl power frienship! I’ve read so many good analysis over these two the last few days that I don’t feel like I can add anything else. I can just say once again that I’m so glad that Digimon decided not to fall into clichés, because then these two would compete over the boys’ attention and heck, they never did that.

Instead, they pushed each other into growing and being better and stay close friends no matter the distance and/or changes. Holy shit, why am I crying?

Koushiro and Takeru

I’ve also already talked abou this blessing of a friendhsip before, so let’s keep moving.

Miyako and everyone she interacts with

I’m double cheating here, but Miyako is that much of a good character that everyone she talks with comes to live, I don’t know what it is with Miyako Inoue but she makes everyone around her shine, that’s why I adore every single friendship we get to see from her. Daisuke, Iori, Koushiro, Mimi, Hikari, you name it! She has absolutely not a single meh frienship!

Last but not least, I’m gonna finally talk about my main frienship, like the OG to my heart.

SORA AND TAICHI

I’m kind of cheating here as well, because they were originally my OTP, I know what the hell. But to be honest, I’ve always adored their friendhsip, and God bless Digimon has never been afraid to make a boy and a girl platonic friends, because that’s what Sora and Taichi are. They may have a small crush or something, but it never crossed the platonic line.

I could use many arguments as of why Sora and Taichi have the most special frienship of them all, but nothing will come close as to TAICHI RISKED HIS LIFE, LIKE HE WAS WILLING TO DIE TO RESCUE SORA. Holy shit, if that doesn’t show something about how much these two love each other, nothing else will.

Sora abandoned the group in episode 22 in order to look for Taichi, Taichi pushed Sora (literally) in order for her to stop being a little coward and confess her feelings to Yamato. They are each other’s rocks, even if Taichi ouked on Sora’s hat and all that. They’re the ones taht have known each other for the longest time, apart from, you know, the brothers, and will continue to be there for each other.

I’m salty tri. didn’t give me more Taiora frienship moments because of them playing the sly game of shipping, fuck that! Their frienship is absolute gold and I will never not be in love with it!

[adventure-hearts]

comments on the third adventure novel!

In case you’ve missed it (like I did), the lovely onkei-kunhas begun translating the long-awaited third volume of the digimon adventure novels! 

All the novels are truly worth a read, but here’s some parts I found really interesting.

NOTES: Some events happen differently than in the show. Overall, character motivations/transformations post the events of Vamdemon arc are written in a very direct, clear way in the novels, clarifying things that in the show are more “suggested” than told. The novelisationhave the benefit of hindsight, so they are able to connect the different arcs and 02 in a smoother way. Additionally, you can tell the people behind tri. paid a lot of attention to these books.

There are brief cameos from Daisuke, Iori and their respective families during the Vamdemon arc. It’s confirmed that Daisuke and Taichi knew each other before Adventure.

We get some insights about the Takenouchi family dynamics and few interesting theories are confirmed: Takenouchi is actually Yoshiko’s family surname, and Sora’s parents have a somehow complicated marriage (or, at least, it’s perceived like that from the outside). Sora rebelled against her mother as she felt she “treated her apprentices highly, but her own husband frivolously”.

Natsuko’s backstory also gets more developed. It’s explicitly confirmed that her father is French (something I called years ago!) and that she used to live in France. She works as a translator and as a non-fiction writer who starts investigating the Hikarigaoka attacks. While investigating this, she was contacted by Oikawa, but he stood her up before they could meet.

Natsuko is so cool, man. No wonder she married Hiroaki freaking Ishida:

Most of her work involved being a reportage writer for physics and chemistry research. Although she couldn’t say that she was paid well for it, she felt that this suited her better than a regular desk job. Among her normal jobs, a side project that she was working on involved investigating the “Hikarigaoka terrorist bombing incident” four years ago. It was an incident that occured in the very place where they had lived. Not only did it capture her interest, but as she kept investigating it, she found many aspects about it that weren’t acceptable explanations to her. 

Mimi’s father is a “freelance audio mixer for rock music” (makes sense why he moved so easily to America).

We got more details about where each kid lives:

Taichi’s family lived in a four-unit condominium that was partitioned by a road from the condominium of Sora and Koushiro’s families. Yamato lived in yet another unit that was closer to Fuji TV station.

It’s confirmed directly that Vamdemon, Etemon, and Devimon were working under the Dark Masters. In fact, with the benefit of hindsight, the novels tie all the different arcs together in a more coherent way.

You also get an explanation about how the Holy Beasts were sealed by the Dark Masters.

The argument around the graveyard plays in a somehow different way from the show, and motivations and feelings are made much more explicit. The ideological positions of Taichi and Yamato are given a lot more nuance here.

Yamato is really nasty in this scene, but conversely, you get to really figure out what is going on with his head, and why he is losing confidence in Taichi as a leader and feeling dejected that Takeru is growing up.

Taichi’s evolution into becoming less impulsive and reckless are explicitly linked to the fact that Hikari is now a part of the team and how it made Taichi more empathic with other people.

Koushirou directly and empathically tells Yamato that he’s too emotional to be a good leader. 

For example, Yamato reflects how he went from blocking his emotions to being an overly emotional mess:

Ever since coming to the Digital World, even Yamato was surprised by how much emotion he expressed. All of the emotion that he’d held back while at home, at school, had come bursting out without pause. And this Yamato was the only one that Koushiro knew. That was why Koushiro’s view of Yamato was “an emotionally unstable upperclassman.

Actually, Yamato’s feelings during his whole “breakdown” arc are so well done here. You’ve got to read the whole thing.

Jou offers to accompany Mimi instead of Sora because he felt that it was his job.

Sora understands Yamato going away because she felt the same way when she left the group earlier.

There is actually no MetalGarurumon vs WarGreymon battle at this point.

“Ogremon took a moment to imagine everyone living together as friends, but it made him feel ill.“ (No comment, I just found this line funny).

The reason why MetalGarurumon defeats Pinnochimon so easily is that he is powered by the hatred on Yamato’s heart (after he witnesses Pinnochi murdering his own soldiers).

Yamato goes really dark in this part and thinks allowing himself to bask in merciless hatred will allow him to kill the Dark Masters on his own. This leads directly to him being taken by a “dark gas” (the rough equivalent of the Dark Cave).

Many mentions of Idea — probaby where tri’s writters came up with some ideas... they really went through these novels!

The equivalent to the Dark Cave scene is. SO. GREAT. (Though Sora doesn’t get to be a victim in the novel)

OMG 

“As the gas thinned out around them, Yamato saw the shadows of other people ahead. It was Takeru and Sora, but to Yamato, Sora looked like someone else. Mom…”

(As a shipper, I honestly can’t tell if this is sweet or really messed up.)

To be continued as the translation is out… meanwhile, do yourself a favour and read it! And, while you’re at it, check out onkei’sko-fi page because honestly, we do not deserve her.