#(Espimon Meanwhile)

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with DigiAdvs' Koushiro [...and GG!Espimon?]

Koushiro, dozing: Espimon, waking up from dozing: Koushiro: .... Espimon: ... Hey. (*pokes*) Koushiro: Hmm?... (lazily opening eyes) Espimon: You've been resting a lot lately. Espimon: I'm up now, so if you wanna do something before I go out, get up. Koushiro: (*laughs*) I got it... (*slowlyyy getting up*) But, you know, you *should* ask first... Espimon: ... Hmmph. Espimon: But *you* said you wanted to explore together more. Koushiro: right. You're looking for "the real Hiro". I know. (I'll Help You Find Them) Koushiro: -But... since you're living with me temporarily, we should "get along" too. Espimon: ... It's not that we can't But, like Koushiro: Espimon: Like I know that -- like, you sleep {a *little*} too much. Come on and follow me. Koushiro: (*chuckle*) ("It's concerned about me. Like Tento---") (*stops*) Espimon: (What's wrong.) Koushiro: (It's nothing.) Espimon: (You do THAT A Lot too.) Can we go now? Koushiro: Fine, let's... (*stretches, reaches for Digivice-phone Specially Made By Izumi Corp., grabs jacket*) As usual, please lead the way. Espimon: YEAH, I Will. We're going 'there' first-- (*leads Koushiro out the door*) Koushiro: (It Is Somewhat "Like Me", And Somewhat Not, And That's OK.)

[vermilionvector]

Digimon Ghost Game EP. 62

Now this. THIS is a quality episode. Ghost Game never failed with its sound design and this episode just cemented that even further. The visual and direction with subtle camera shake and perspective made it even better.

Espimon, who has now lived with the "fake" Hiro for more than 30 episodes, finally decided to move out because staying with this Hiro wouldn't help him find the real one. And while Gammamon cried his heart out and begged him not to leave, Hiro was indifferent. (Probably thinking: "We're all grown-ups so do whatever you want IDGAF.") Also, Gammamon is not wearing his muffler here, probably because he's indoors.

Meanwhile, Aoi's apartment had an unnatural phenomenon where its residents occasionally wandered into a strange space before being haunted by dominating voice and their bodies being punctured with keyholes. Again, the sound effect made this even more terrifying. After her neighbors moved out and warned her of the incident, she contacted Ruli to investigate. I really loved the transition between her neighbor moving out and Espimon mentioning he's leaving. It's very natural.

But before they could reach her floor, the elevator stopped at the 13.5th floor and Aoi was isolated in it, surrounded by numerous Digimons. (Also appreciate Impmon's cameo here). And soon her body was also punctured by keyholes as well.

Ruli brought the rest of the gang here and tried to rescue Aoi with Kiyo bitching around as usual, only to be faced with a group of Digimons who claimed they're trespassing their homes and were purged from the apartment by the same dominating voice. Kiyo jokingly said that they're in heaven, and in retrospect, I really loved this line considering who's behind all this. Then, the voice purged all other residents and isolated the floors from the building.

Back in the digital space, Aoi met Espimon, whom she recognized as Hiro's AI hologram, he offered his key to Aoi to let her out. They reappeared before the gang with the key still in the keyhole on her forehead. Enraged, the voice manifested itself as ClavisAngemon, a Digimon who can manipulate space. Ruli activated AR field, but since Aoi still got affected by ClavisAngemon's power, she was transported there as well, much to Ruli's dismay.

A fight ensued. Lamortmon was first captured. Canoweissmon and Thethismon evolved to Megas with MAKUAKE playing but then snapped out when ClavisAngemon tuned the tide. Amphimon was taken out next. With only Siriusmon left and got greatly handicapped by ClavisAngemon's power, Espimon, as rarely as it ever happened in Ghost Game, recalled his desire to evolve from the last episode and frustratingly shouted to Hiro that if he was the real Hiro, then he could evolve him. Hiro answered his call and evolved him to HoverEspimon, with a triumphant return of First Riders. We got used to having only one insert song playing once per episode, so having two, and not only that, the insert song for a Champion/Ultimate form at that, to accompany the climax of the episode was extremely fulfilling.

HoverEspimon and Siriusmon cooperated to defeat ClavisAngemon, then Hiro used talk-no-jutsu as usual to resolve their misunderstanding. Hiro, with a smug grin, teased Espimon for finally proving that he's been the real one all along, while Espimon reluctantly admitted it. I hoped this finally moved the plot forward about why he's looking for him in the first place.

Nevertheless, everyone thanked him for saving the day. Aoi, who witnessed everything didn't mind keeping this a secret and offered Espimon to stay at her place. Finally, we have the main cast's friend in the inner circle. And even though Hiro is Espimon partner, I hope he developed some bonds with Aoi during his stay and she could fully attain official partnership (and a Digivice) with him.

Normally, I'll end the recap at the end of the episode, but the preview for the next one is so cute that I have mention it. Ruli is afflicted with insatiable hunger and the way she's eying on Gammamon's wiggling tail like it's dessert is hilarious. (Anyway this scene is very cute. Hope can make a GIF once it comes out.)

[detectiveichijouji]

Case 12 - A fragment’s dungeon

[AO3 version]

Going to school a little late made Daisuke cross his path with a boy named Noel Leblanc, who was an overseas student from Amanogawa High. Daisuke used his good sense of humor and friendlish aura to introduce the kid to the school, with the help of Takeru and Hikari. Meanwhile, Ken discovered what the mysterious ‘treasure’ Arsenemon was after is, and sent the report to Miyako, who called everyone at the karaoke booth to discuss it after school. They learned that said pieces came from a digimental called ‘Digimental of Desire’ and that it was shattered into  20 pieces. Arsenemon has three while the Chosen Children only two. There’s still 15 pieces left!!

However, Arsenemon and his accomplice Espimon discovered the next fragment’s localization -- at Shinjo Michi’s residence. A calling card is sent, and the group went to talk with Michi but they saw Lune with her. And Daisuke dumped this case on the others in order to help Noel again?!

What will happen next?

“... And That’s all!” Daisuke finished explaining the places and routes to go to certain places in Tokyo… by using a map since he’s not very good at explaining things.

“O-oh… Thank you, Motomiya-san…! But… Weren’t you going somewhere with those other kids…?”

“Did you hear us…?” Daisuke blinked, maybe he talked too loud this time…

“No…” Noel shook his head, “I saw you with them and assumed you were hanging out…”

“We were going to a cafe, but you seemed lost again,” V-mon replied.

“Ah… I didn’t want to bug anyone…!! I’m sorry!!”

“N-no, it’s okay, it’s okay!! Daisuke waved his hands, “Besides, they can handle it by themselves, I have faith in them.”

“If that’s the case…”

“Do you have a digimon partner, Noel?” V-mon asked, out of the blue. Noel shook his head, “Ah…”

“Is… Is that bad?” the boy asked, concerned.

“No, but it’s turning into something rare nowadays” Daisuke replied with a sigh, so this kid running around without a digimon might be dangerous… -- he thought.

“There’s big numbers so far” V-mon added, “You might get a partner digimon someday too.”

“No age restriction though, my sister is six years older than me and she got a digimon in 2003--”

Suddenly, Daisuke’s phone rang -- “Just a sec,” and he answered the call, “Heeeeello? H-huh?? You discovered who’s the next target? Ok, I’m comin’ Ken!”

“What’s wrong?” V-mon asked, watching Daisuke hang up the call.

“They found Arsenemon’s target. We have to retrieve that piece before him!”

“Um… Who’s Arsenemon, Motomiya-san?” Noel asked.

“It’s a sneaky thief trying to gather pieces of a forbidden Digimental only for himself!” Daisuke snorted, clenching his hands, “He keeps making fun of us, but not this time!!”

“Hmm… Do you have any proof that he wants it for himself only? Ah, I’m not… defending him…”

“Huh?” V-mon blinked, and Daisuke stood quiet. Noel had a point though… They got something vague about ‘stealing’ a treasure, but… nothing for what purpose…!!

“He said he was going to steal those pieces…” Daisuke frowned, “But not for what purpose… I think…”

“The bad guys… Always want something like world domination… It’s a bit odd, don’t you think?”

“True… Hmm… Maybe next time we meet him, I will straight up ask him!!”

“Daisuke, should we go?” V-mon asked, “Maybe… We can ask him tonight!!”

“Alright! We catch ya later, Noel! Don’t get lost again!” and he and V-mon left, running…

“You shouldn’t do that” Noel heard a voice behind him, and he looked at the tree he was next to, “Why would you--”

“It’s not a lie, you know it… I think they misunderstood what was said.”

“Yeah, they did. Because being vague like this only made things harder.”

“But, doesn’t it make things interesting…?”

“... I won’t reply to that.”

“Soooo… This weird broken Emerald wasn’t actually a normal Emerald and yes a part of a Digimental?” Michi tried to recap everything those people said, right heading to her home.

“Yes/Yeah/Mhm” the 02 Group replied.

“And there’s a phantom thief digimon going after it, so that’s why you want me to give it to you?”

“Yes/Yeah/Exactly.”

“Well, I guess I can give it to you then…” Michi shrugged, “I wanted to make a necklace for a friend but I don’t think I should use a broken gem in it.”

“Will you??” Miyako smiled, “Thank y--” Hikari was about to thank her, but…!

“Besides, if it is a Digimental this could mean a broken Digimental might make digimon go amok without a complete one. So I don’t want any digimon to end up using it on them, including Plotmon or my friend’s Bakumon.”

“-- That’s a valid point here” Takeru blinked. “True, we didn’t get one of those pieces to react to a digimon yet, but it might be plausible” Iori mused.

“Haha, I’m just kidding! It can’t happen, can it??” Michi chuckled, but she noticed the other kids were… Taking it seriously…?!

“..........”

“Are you kidding me!?” She stopped and turned to the group, “Is it possible!?”

“Michi, you shouldn’t take this lightly” Plotmon sighed, on Michi’s arms.

Suddenly, they meet a long black haired girl, running desperately in their direction.

“Huh what is Sara doing here?” Plotmon tilted

“Michi, something’s off with Bakumon!!” she was waverining, pale as she saw a ghost, “Huh, aren’t they…”

“The famous Chosen Children? You bet!”

“What happened to Bakumon?” Plotmon asked.

“... Bakumon found a strange gem and…” she was very hesitant, “Something happened…”

“Could you please give us the details?” Hawkmon asked, politely.

“... Evolved with the gem. But now… It’s running out of control right now.”

“What!?” Michi, Plotmon and the 02 Group’s eyes widened with that big news.

“I think you shouldn’t have said that, Michi” Plotmon looked at the girl.

“D-don’t put the blame on me!! 💦”

At this point, they won’t get the Digimental fragment before Arsenemon, right!?

As the sun goes down, the 02 group alongside Michi find out that Michi’s house has turned into a strange dungeon, possibly fulfilled by Bakumon’s deepest desires. Bakumon evolved into Baluchimon instead of a wild beast, or Monochromon (which is the form Sara achieved before). The place was like a video-game, one of those Bakumon and Sara liked to play with Michi and Plotmon when they were kids.

“What is this…?” Patamon exclaimed, Huh, Takeru’s and everyone’s clothes…!!

They… Changed!?

“Are we on a Final Fan--” Iori covered Armadimon’s mouth.

“Ken-chan got a ponytail!!” Wormmon’s eyes were sparkling with glee, but Ken wasn’t very fond of having his hair way longer than his usual…

“Huh, Michi and Sara’s clothes didn’t change…” Plotmon blinked.

“The calling card mentioned Arsenemon would be here at 9 PM,” Iori reminded them all, “We have to hurry.”

“Alright!/Understood.” 

Daisuke wasn’t there yet, though…

“Man, I wish we could be a little faster…” Daisuke whined, running on Lighdramon through the streets, “It’s already nighttime!”

“I’m doing my best here…!!” Lighdramon snorted, annoyed with that complaint,” It would’ve been easier if we went flying straight up there…!!”

“I’m sorry that I picked the wrong choice! But you can’t Evolve into XV-mon if you devolve now. It will waste your energy and you might not be able to fight!! And if you have no energy to evolve you can’t jogress-evolve into Paildramon with Stingmon so this means--”

“Alright alright, I got it…!!”

“... I have an idea! But promise to not drop me in mid-air.”

“Hm?”

“Let’s go to the top of the buildings and go from there, so you don’t need to worry about the traffic or the pedestrians!”

“Daisuke… Are you crazy?”

“You know I’m serious, and I trust you with my own life. So I know you won’t drop me!”

Lighdramon chuckled, “Ok… But hold tight…!” And he started a wall jump to the top of the buildings. Once they landed at the top, they could see some suspicious digimon flying there on his cane as some sort of magical hoverboard, “That’s…!!”

“Arsenemon” Daisuke clutched his hands, holding Lighdramon’s spine tightly, “Let’s go, Lighdramon!”

“Roger!!”

“This is the power of Baluchimon’s Cloud Vision” Ken reported to the group, “I’ve heard of that kind of digimon before… They use this technique to confuse the enemy and lead them to the exit of their territories.”

“Can we evolve?” Wormmon asked.

“I’m not sure…”

“How do you know that information?” Michi asked, impressed by Ken’s knowledge.

“... Um, let’s say I had studied the digimon and its culture before.”

“It was for Chimeramon, right?” The other four 02 kids looked at Ken, saying it with an annoyed voice.

“... 💧” Ken just felt a little… intimidated by their gaze.

“If you’re not sure about evolving… You could try right now” Sara suggested, and Hikari could feel the other was growing impatient by her seizing her hand with the other.

“Worth a try” Michi replied with a nod, “Let’s do it, Plotmon” and he took her digivice from her pocket.

But… Nothing happened. As Ken suspected, the power of Baluchimon was interfering with the digimon’s evolution. Could this mean…?

“Maybe Armor evolution might work” Miyako suggested, “Ok, here we go! Sincerity Digimental-- ” But the Digimental in front of her took the shape of a big shuriken, like the one used by Shurimon. The only difference was the Crest of Sincerity engraved in it “Huh!?”

“What-- How did you do that, Miyako-san?” Everyone asked her, who just felt the pressure over her.

“I… I don’t know!!” she babbled, “I just tried to Armor evolve Hawkmon into Shurimon!”

“That might be Baluchimon’s power too” Ken replied, “Hmm, interesting.”

“Don’t just say ‘Hm, interesting’ and stay there!” Sara finally snapped, “Bakumon is in danger…!!”

“Maybe we can use those strange weapons to advance,” Iori suggested, “Miyako-san and I have two Digimentals each, we can lend one for each of you.”

“Hohoho, gimme a cool Digimental then!” Michi grinned, then Miyako used the Digimental of Love and it became an Ax with the details of Horusmon -- the helmet became the blades or a twin ax “Hohoho, I loved it!!”

“Michi, don’t do anything reckless…” both Plotmon and Sara showed concern.

“So you think we can handle this by… brute force?” Hikari frowned. “There might exist a way to evolve,” Tailmon mused, “We still don’t know how.”

The rest used their own Digimentals and they turned into JRPG weapons too: Ken got a twin spear based on Pucchiemon’s ears; Iori a sword from Submarimon’s harpoon-nose, Takeru a gunbow based on Pegasusmon, while Hikari had a crossbow with Nefertimon’s motif. Iori offered the Digimental of Knowledge to Sara, but she refused: What if I hurt Bakumon!? -- Her denial was so deep that they decided to leave her in Michi and Plotmon’s hands.

With the help of their partners, they faced the challenges imposed by Baluchimon’s illusion. Since everything was fake, they didn’t care about hurting or destroying the enemy digimon popping out from the way -- also, they were weaker than regular digimon… Allowing the 02 group and Michi to beat them with those weapons.

When they were this close to reaching Baluchimon’s realm… Baluchimon itself had eyes glowing in green, just like the gem in its head. Huh odd, because this gem should be red and the eyes blue, isn’t it? -- Ken thought. 

“Bakumon!!” Sara shouted with a worried face, “Bakumon please stop!! I… I don’t want to lose you!!”

“S…a…r…a…!!?”

“Bakumon’s reacting to Sara’s voice!” Patamon commented, and the group was still unsure what could happen next.

“Bakumon please… Please stop!!”

“...S…a…r…a……H…e…l…p…!!”

“Y’all need to remove the gem from its head,” they heard a voice?! From where!? “This will revert Baluchimon into Bakumon again!”

“Who’s ther-- Nevermind, Wormmon” Ken looked at his partner, “Use Sticky Net technique on that green gem from its head!”

“Right!” Wormmon nodded and aimed at the said diamond-shaped jewel on Baluchimon’s head, “Sticky Net!!”

The silky net hit the gem, and then all they had to do was to pull it out!! Everyone held the other end of the silk net and pulled it until they heard a “POP!” and the broken gem left Baluchimon’s head. And with this, the entire illusion vanished, as Bakumon regained its original form.

“Bakumon!!” Sara ran towards Bakumon’s direction and fell on her knees, then embraced Bakumon in a warm and tight hug, “Bakumon I was so afraid of losing you!!”

Ken took the fragment from the silky net and looked around, that voice…

“Ken-kun--” Miyako called him, but he ran to the entrance, “Wa-wait, where are you going!?”

The group followed him and Wormmon to find out…

“Yo.”

Daisuke and V-mon??

“Why did you take it so long!?” Miyako snapped, “If we needed to face a strong digimon and the only option were Imperialdramon we would’ve been--”

“I… I had another business to do” Daisuke shrugged.

“What business?” Armadimon raised an eyebrow.

“I met him, Arsenemon… He told me something about those pieces.”

“W-what!?”

“And you let him go!?” Patamon gasped.

“Only this time!” Daisuke growled, “Well, those pieces react to the strongest desires of a digimon, so we should be careful with them.”

“So that’s why you left the note on us inside,” Ken mused, “But why didn’t you come inside?”

“I couldn’t,” he sighed, “Something was preventing me from getting inside. But If you heard what I said…”

“Hmmm…/Suspicious…” they all squinted at Daisuke and V-mon.

“W-what’s wrong with y’all!?” V-mon and Daisuke stared at them in return.

“How did you know about the green gem, if you weren’t inside?” Tailmon asked, Daisuke felt this meant they wouldn’t believe him or V-mon. 

“Arsenemon told me. Really, he just let us do it because… He didn’t want to see that Bakumon suffer like that.”

“Suspicious…” Patamon and Armadimon said together.

“ARGH! YA DON’T BELIEVE ME!?” “That’s cruel!!” V-mon dramatically fell on his knees.

“I think he’s telling the truth” Hikari frowned, “But I don’t understand…”

“If Daisuke-san met Arsenemon personally… This means he knows what he looks like, right?” Hawkmon said with a serious tone of voice.

“I didn’t see his face, it was…”

“STOP RIGHT THERE, ARSENEMON!! YOU WON’T ESCAPE TODAY!!” Daisuke screamed, he and Lighdramon were closer to catch the phantom thief this time.

“Pardon, but I can’t let you catch me.”

“Then answer me! Why are you after those Digimental of Desire’s pieces!? Are you a bad guy!?”

“My my… You think a vile digimon would steal those fragments before they run the digimon amok?”

That made both Daisuke and Lighdramon gasp in silence.

“What do you mean!?” Lighdramon asked.

“That Digimental was forbidden and hidden because it drove the digimon insane, besides forcing its user to pay a high cost to achieve that power. It’s a wicked tool, if you ask me.”

Daisuke was confused now…

“Then…Why are YOU stealing those pieces!?”

“That’s something you might not believe me, so I will spare you from the details for now…”

They reached Shinjo Michi’s residence, but once Daisuke tried to get in… Something prevented him and Lighdramon from going inside.

“DARN IT!!” Daisuke snapped, “What should we do!?”

Arsenemon used his own magician powers to look inside, “I’m too late, the fragment reacted to a digimon and evolved it into Baluchimon already.”

“Baluchimon?” Lighdramon and Daisuke repeated.

“I see your friends are inside too, this won’t end well… Unless we do something.”

“What should we do??” Daisuke seemed panicked, “How can we help them??”

“I’ll lend you my magic trick, use it to tell your friends what I’m about to tell you.”

“Daisuke… Should we trust him?” Lighdramon asked, he was tense as well.

“... We have no choice. I accept the deal.”

“So, Arsenemon casted a spell on you?” Hikari asked.

“Yeah sorta, but it didn’t last for much time…” he shrugged, “All I could say was about the green gem on Baluchimon’s head. I couldn’t tell y’all I was outside, or to warn about the piece turning digimon unstable.”

“Hmm, if you say so” Tailmon smiled “We trust you.”

“But why would Arsenemon help us?” Ken asked himself, musing “This is strange…”

“Yeah we don’t know either” V-mon this time shrugged and shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter now,” Takeru smiled, “All's well that ends well.”

They then left, heading back to their homes. But someone watched them from the distance,

“Why did you help them, boss?” Espimon asked Arsenemon, who had a warm smile on his face.

“Let’s say I was paying a favor in return,” he replied, nonchalantly.

What did he mean by that…??

[supercomputer276]

Ghost Game has gone on so long without a proper sixth ranger character, and this has been bugging me for awhile.

Adventure: The entire Myotismon arc is about finding Kairi, with the exact episode she joins in the early 30's. 02: Ken's slow to fully join the party, what with being the first arc's main antagonist, but "Genesis of Evil" is close enough and that's episode 23. Tamers: Ryo is the one outside the main trio to get a Biomerge Digivolution, and he first appears in episode 28. Every other tamer with focus (outside Alice and arguably the twins) has their partner by ep 40. Frontier: Koichi turns his Spirits of Darkness back to their original forms in episode 33. Data Squad: Keenan first appears in episode 14, and has his reunion with his human family at ep 20, which for my skimming is close enough. Tamers: Ewan first starts making himself apparent in episode 37, though he's an enemy until into the late 40s at earliest. Appmon: Rei first appears in episode 10, and Idon't remember exactly when he starts working with the others but I think it's by 25. Adventure 2020: Due to the way Patamon and Gatomon are handled, both TK and Kairi are effectively the sixth rangers of this series, with the former getting his partner in episode 25 (after an initial meeting in ep 20), and the latter in episode 33.

I'm not crunching the exact numbers right now, but in general, sixth rangers in Digimon series tend to lean to appearing in the late 20s, early 30s episode.

Meanwhile, the closest Ghost Game has to a sixth ranger is Espimon. He first appears in the right range in episode 38, but it isn't until he syncs with Hiro here in ep 62 - about double where most of the rest join - that he steps out rolewise from the likes of Clockmon and Mummymon.

There have been plenty of chances to have a new human join. Like, Meicrackmon sticking around with Riku, even if that would screw up the power balance in fights though I can see how that could be written around given she's a cat now and they just do what they want. Ep 50 broke my heart at the end. Like, Riku in general, he's been point-blank at too many of the series' shenanigans to be convinced he's still dreaming them all, including ones he was very clearly conscious for like Lilithmon and Meicrackmon, and (Aoi and Mika aside) is the most standout non-tamer character. He even has a personality quirk, which is something!

Perhaps that's an unfair comparison, given Ghost Game is more interested in being "Gegege no Kitaro but with Digimon" than it is being Digimon, but still.

Incidentally, Ghost Game is now five episodes behind catching up to the length of Adventure 2020, the longest anime series in the franchise (minus Xros Wars if you include Hunters). If this thing is going to have a main plot that isn't going to be a tacked-on two-part finale, it needs to start happening soon.

Digimon Ghost Game #62 Review

In one sense, this is an extremely relevant episode. Two longstanding subplots in the story are effectively resolved here. Espimon’s been on his exhausting “fake Hiro” nonsense for far too long, and we finally get to see why he’s been so unconvinced and actually see a resolution that rids us of this tiresome bit. And Aoi’s been suspicious of Ruli’s Digimon activity for a while, and now that she ends up in a position where she can witness what happens, she’s more understanding and appreciative of both her and the Digimon. We should be thankful to get past these things. Just not when we’re struggling to buy the emotional investment into one story and starving for anything emotional in the other.

For Espimon, giving us the impression that the Fake Hiro thing was taking Hokuto extremely literally instantly made it annoying. We even appreciated a brief reprieve for a while when Espimon was still hanging around but too embarrassed to say he still wasn’t convinced. Now the emphasis changes: on Espimon being convinced/told that Hiro would help him evolve. Now it’s fair to say he’s paid his dues and been just useful enough to catch a break (Ryudamon, of all things, did), and HoverEspimon is used appropriately against ClavisAngemon. But it feels like we’re just getting the real story about this character now, in essence giving us exactly one episode of buildup. And if he really went into this with the intention of getting an evolution out of it, more or less gaslighting Hiro into getting what he wants, that comes off more manipulative than endearing.

The more interesting subjects of conversation are mostly left unspoken. Aoi and Mika have known that Ruli’s not being fully open with them, and while they’ve accepted that gracefully, it’s about time we hit a point where Aoi really can’t go back. Her reaction to the Digimon isn’t unsurprising, but we could have had more of it, with a deeper reflection of the trust she’s had in Ruli this whole time. Tolerating that kind of secrecy for so long after they’ve been through so much makes her incredibly faithful and that doesn’t come off here. The other point of note is that Hiro essentially has two partners now. We’ve seen the team utilize each other’s Digimon successfully, but this is the first time he’s triggered an unaffiliated Digimon to evolution, synced with him in battle, and brought him back down. That’s the biggest takeaway from this episode, and it’s very much lost in the shuffle with the focus shifting to Espimon’s ultimatum.

Initial Grade: C+

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[shihalyfie]

Between Hiro and Espimon, I kind of jokingly hope that Umi Tenjin and somehow Mona Marshall to do voices in Ghost Game as well. "The Koushirouing never ends~"

Oh, goodness, I am so glad I am not the only one who thought this. (For those unaware, Hiro's voice actress Tamura Mutsumi voiced Koushirou in tri. and Kizuna, while Espimon's voice actress Kobayashi Yumiko voiced Koushirou in Adventure:, and official has even pointed this out.)

In fact, Tenjin seems to have retired from voice acting -- she's had no new roles in over a decade, and she currently has no agency affiliation, which usually is a sign of withdrawal from the industry. (The voice acting industry is rather extremely make-it-or-break-it, and one of the really unfortunate things is that a lot of Digimon voice actors don't end up getting a decent flow of work in the industry, so a rather significant percentage has retired.) But she did return for Adventure PSP (2013) and the 15th anniversary drama CD (2015), and it seems she quietly showed up to a Digimon music event in 2019 with Kazama (Yamato), the probably-industry-retired Araki (Hikari), and the very industry-retired Tada (Terriermon/Lopmon), so she's probably not averse to picking up Koushirou again if it's for something short and not a full TV series. That said, I wonder if she would be willing to do so for a role that's a reference to Koushirou, not necessarily Koushirou himself (not that I think she'd hate the idea, but we are talking about dragging someone out of retirement)...

This is a bit of a digression (and perhaps a bit of a sadder note to divert this post into, I'm sorry about that), but I do wonder about things like this in regards to the extremely awkward circumstances Adventure-related things are currently in right now, something I've been calling a "divorce" situation between the old staff and the new staff due to the fallout of tri. and Kizuna. The most infamous part of it is the fallout between Kakudou and Kizuna production (which was only really the last straw in a passive-aggressiveness war that had been going on since the later parts of tri., this was just the first time it was so obvious in public), but I've seen other production staff members from the original Adventure and 02 also dancing around the topic of tri. and Kizuna/The Beginning on Twitter with differing levels of awkwardness. (I can't say I really blame them; considering how enthusiastically they like to talk about their work on the original series, it really seems to have been like their baby to them, so it's only natural something like this happening with something so personal is likely to give them mixed feelings.)

This awkward situation has been happening to a lesser extent with the voice actors as well -- for one example, Tochika Kouichi (Hawkmon) joined Twitter last year and didn't hesitate to re-establish contact with Natsuki Rio (Miyako's original voice actress), shortly after which the latter's profile suddenly updated from "Miyako" to "Miyako (2000)", as if the incident (and especially Tochika's promotion of Kizuna/The Beginning-related stuff in front of her) had given her increased awareness that she doesn't get to be Miyako anymore. But on the bright side, most of our voice actor testimony indicates that they seem to have also been understanding of the reason why this all happened; Fujita Toshiko gave her blessing to the new tri. voice actors before she passed, Maeda Ai was openly supportive of Yoshida as Mimi, and Urawa certainly took the fact Iori's role was basically taken away from her right in front of her eyes in stride for the most part. And after all, Tenjin being likely industry retired means she probably would have less of a stake in this than the actors who are still active and therefore really did have an important role taken away from them.

Meanwhile, Mona was lucky and got to voice Izzy every time (for those who aren't aware, people who know the American English dub generally agree she's got to be one of the most iconic voices in it), and I actually even wonder if they'll end up keeping her for the upcoming Adventure: dub despite the fact that the Japanese version deliberately changed out the cast (edit: I’ve been informed that apparently they’re definitively changing them out, ah well). If they do dub Ghost Game, she should absolutely voice Hiro. Either way, please bless another generation of kids with her. (In fact, she probably actually sounds closer to Tamura than Tenjin when you think about it.)

[jadeazora]

It’s good Angoramon is around or the other three might have just provoked Airdramon into a fight lol

Meanwhile, Espimon and Gammamon continue to make their way to Hiro.

[izzyizumi]

{Index}/{DigiAdvs}/{Head-canon[s]} The (Mis?-)Adventures of Steve & Frigimon

Since 'today' is basically Yet Another Day for me, I'm collecting a series of head-canon / reaction posts & Thoughts TM I recently made for a vastly under-acknowledged Long-Time Fav That Most People Apparently Don't Remember Exists! (even though they, too, featured briefly in 02's "World Tour" arc...)

This Series A.K.A, What It (May) Mean To Be A (Canon!)Jew In The Digital World (Yes! A Certain One Exists!) + Dealing with Certain Aspects of DigiAdv + 02 ""Lore""

Most of these I marked as 'no r.b'., but feel free to 'Like' anything involved, or refer to this index + if you also appreciate Steve & Frigimon! (of Inter-national Chosen fame!...)

Pt 1: "Gole...m"on Pt 2: "S...ephiroth"mon Pt 3: "Wizar"mon & "Witch"elny Pt 4: Meeting Daisuke Again ("Holiday"s in ..'03!) Pt 5: "Sister"mon{s} Pt 6: "Devi"mon Pt 7: {+"Belial"}"Vamde"mon? / Literally Any "Evil" 'Mon, really Pt 8: (~Totally Not Confronting~) Qinglongmon Pt 9: Meeting Jou Again & "Studying" Pt 10: "Pump"mon & "Costumes" Pt 11: "Gobli"...mon ("Let's Just...") Pt 12: Meeting Koushiro Again / Meanwhile With KouTai & Steve? Pt 13: "Snow"mons (Or ... Featuring, Frigimon! ...) Pt 14: The meaning(?) of "Becoming Adults" {Kizuna Spoiler} Pt 15: 'Meeting' Menoa {Kizuna Spoiler} ("You see, Frigimon was asking me about {MY}---") Pt 16: Lighting the Candles & "Potential" [Post-Kizuna] & an aftermath of Meanwhile With KouTai & What It May Mean to Be "Partners" (Mentioned: Tentomon) Pt 17: "Witch"mon Pt 18: "Witch"mon & "Pump"mon Pt. 19: Espimon Appears Pt. 20: Meanwhile with Steve, Frigimon, Espimon & KouTai ("You know, Espimon reminds me A LOT of...")

(If you have questions about any of these, feel free to send a respectful Ask, So long as my blogrules are followed!)

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with Digimon Adventures' KouTai{/shiro} [Koushiro x Taichi] {Post-Kizuna, somewhere around "The Beginning" x GhostGame}

Koushiro, collapsed in back of room on a comfy chair, reading (for once not on the laptop but...): Espimon, nearby, relaxing on comfy chair, ...fiddling with Espimon's "odd items" again: Taichi, walking in: Koushiro, turning page: Espimon, fiddling: Taichi, grinning: You two look like you're having a blast. Espimon, not looking up: Huh? I'm busy... Koushiro, not looking up quite yet: Taichi-san, just let me finish this one page and... Taichi: I know, I know. (*putting things down*) Koushiro & Espimon, returning to Those: Taichi, watching for some moments: Taichi, gaze drifting more in Koushiro's direction: Espimon: Espimon, blinking, looking up: You're looking at Koushiro funny. Koushiro, caught by surprise only slightly: ????? Taichi, lightly laughing: Koushiro looks cool. Koushiro: T-Taichi-san--- Espimon: ... Now your face looks funny. (In Mind, about Koushiro's current expression: "What is That.") Koushiro: You don't have to 'comment' on it...-- Espimon, missing the cue: But it does? Taichi: Guys, it's no big deal, I just... (*hand on back of neck*) Um, Koushiro, talk to me about what we're doing for food later. Koushiro, nodding, shifting away so Koushiro can finish reading that 'page' as Taichi goes to change: Espimon, glancing at Koushiro: I did "this" with Fake-Hiro too, you know. Koushiro: "This"? Espimon, shrugging in the direction of thing Espimon's holding: Like, "Relaxing"... but 'this'... Koushiro, Instantly: It's 'stimulation'. Espimon: "Stimulation"... Koushiro, calmly: Like to regulate, or recharge... Espimon: "recharge"... like (my) circuits?? Koushiro, blinking: Something like that... Espimon: ... Huh, ok. (*goes back to Stimming*) Taichi, coming back from changing: Koushiro, to Taichi, light-chuckling: It still needs some time. Espimon, ~suddenly~ finishing up: I'm done now... Koushiro, glancing at Taichi: Taichi, glancing back to Espimon: ...Wanna come with? Espimon: Is there good food? Taichi: THE BEST. Espimon: I'm there. Koushiro: (..It's similar to 'me', but not just 'me'.)

[koushirouizumi]

Meanwhile with Steve and Frigimon [+Espimon] {DigiAdvs 02}

Takeru, glancing down at Espimon: Espimon, fiddling with "odd item" out of place that's caught Espimon's Interest, Ignoring: ... Takeru: ... Takeru, glancing at Steve: It's like Koushiro-san. Steve, nodding...: It's like Koushiro. Takeru: Takeru, glancing back up: It's "always" doing things like this? When did you meet it? Steve, shrugging but genuine: A while ago. It seems to "wander". It's looking for someone "Not a {'Fake'} Hiro Amanokawa". Koushiro can't find them yet, we searched the database and asked around... Takeru, bemused: That's... odd. Steve: Overall, it's a bit of a "different one". Takeru: Like Koushiro-san. Steve: Like Koushiro.(pauses) With a bit of a "tough"...-er side. Takeru, blinking in clear surprise: ?? Steve: Koushiro's clearly "tough" in ways too, but Espimon's even more *proud* of its ability. Not sure if the others have noticed as much yet how similar they seem, though. Frigimon: (Mimi is indulging it, and Jou is flustered by it as typical... Taichi is treating it in a friendly way too, if also a bit bemused by these things.) Patamon: (Isn't all that, the same with K---) Frigimon: (Don't ask me.) Espimon, finally realizing Espimon's being commented on: What? Steve, casually: Oh, nothing really, we just think you're really amazing. Takeru: Espimon: Got that right. (*goes back to Stimming*) Takeru, in mind: ("It's like Koushiro-san.") Steve, glancing at Takeru, lowly: (Koushiro also clearly likes being called "amazing", right? Even if Koushiro hides it more, Koushiro was happy.) Takeru: (When Taichi-san said it.) Steve: (When Taichi says----) Frigimon: (They're all very obvious.) Espimon, looking up: It's fine if you keep calling me "amazing", but I'm trying to focus on this... Steve: No, no, go back to your fun. Takeru: (It keeps missing---) Steve: (It's kind in its own way, though.)

[koushirouizumi]

{About That} @ Allistics: Please Watch This

{Compare}:

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Digimon Ghost Game EP. 64

This is probably the closest Ghost Game has ever been to the horror it promoted, and the only one I had to watch twice in full because THERE IS A LOT TO UNFOLD HERE.

The captain of a ship named Toei 3 (I know what you did there) was seen hiding from a crowd before he himself heard mysterious chanting. Soon after, a staff and a police officer who were anxious about the ship's delayed docking witnessed the seemingly brainwashed crew approached them inside a thick fog, accompanied by a gigantic shadow looming over them. This giant shadow and the absence of music were extremely unsettling, and the decision behind this shot would be explained afterwards.

We then cut to Hiro, Nomura, Fukatsu and Gammamon going on a fishing trip (with Gammamon being excitingly adorable as always). But the ship that was supposed to bring them back to the shore was significantly delayed. Stranded on the fishing pier in the middle of the sea and without internet connection, they could only wait. I gotta say that the lighting of these shots were spectacular. It's really soft, subtle and atmospheric.

Meanwhile, Ruli, Angoramon, Kiyo and Jellymon attended the meeting at the usual Digimon gathering spot and discussed the recent soar in numbers of Digimons and the rumor of new disappearance with mildly bad internet connection. I'm both surprised and pleased to see Gumdramon who is one of my favorite Digimons here. He's as cute as always. I'm also happy to see Labramon and Floramon who were both featured in Digimon Survive again (but I still haven't finished the True Ending of that game yet.) I know both of them were Digimons that were released for a long time but the fact that they appeared together was enough to conclude that this was a Survive reference.

Later, a ship, though different from the one in the evening, finally came and picked them up. But before Hiro boarded it, he noticed a group of people blankly stared at them. While Kiyo's ranting about them not returning before the curfew in his room, Espimon leisurely tasted sour plums Kiyo had which sent shivers throughout his body.

Back on the ship, Hiro, who fell asleep earlier, was woken up by Gammamon when there was a commotion outside. They heard the mysterious chanting and had strong headache. However, Hiro quickly used the AR field to counter it. The body language when Hiro was struggling to activate the field was impressive. Really showed how much the headache affected his senses. Unfortunately, unlike before where the AR field expanded widely, it only surrounded them like a barrier this time. Though they were not affected by the headache anymore, those who were brainwashed were still after them, so Hiro grabbed Gammamon and jumped to a different ship to escape them. The shot where a normal rail became affected by the AR field was also impressive. A lot of details went into the production here.

Meanwhile, the city was invaded by the same fog, which also mystically teleported all affected people along with it and continued the infection. Simple blockades like doors were not effective as the fog could go through the seams. When they appeared, the environment shook as if it's unstable. They also kept chanting: "You'll understand eventually."

Kiyo and Ruli were able to escape thanks to Airdramon. After they heard the announcement to "return", they hurried to Hiro who were still at sea. On the beach, they encountered the afflicted, who started to transform into nautical green creatures. Here I thought Ghost Game could not top the body horror it had like in the Spiral or Red Eye episodes, but they proved me wrong yet again.

They then gazed upon the sky, and was faced with a colossal shadow, whose red eyes and mark glowed menacingly. Angoramon uttered the name with fear: Dagomon.

Upon this reveal, I understood why the direction of this episode was as it was. This Digimon was based on Cthulu, one of the Eldritch/cosmic horror created by H.P. Lovecraft. Its ephemeral form and non-existence throughout the episode until now was all to build-up its threat to the human, slowly injecting fear into our hearts without us even noticing.

Cornered by the transformed victims, Gammamon evolved to Canoweissmon to protect Hiro and attacked Dagomon. However, his attack was seemingly reversed when contacting the shadow and was counterattacked afterwards. Hiro who was backed to the edge of the ship was saved by HoverEspimon. Lamortmon and Thetismon then joined the fight, but was countered by Dagomon as well.

The situation worsened when the injury made by Dagomon had an underlying effect: hallucination. All three Digimons saw lots of tentacles coming out of their wounds and strangled them. I liked that the sky went back to clear blue as normal to differentiate between reality and hallucination, but it's also an irony that such a clear sky indicated that the danger was present, contrast to the dark sky which represented safety.

To wake them up, HoverEspimon poured sour plums that he ate earlier into Canoweissmon's mouth, who also got shivers down his spine and was freed from the hallucination. He saved his friends by clearing the fog around them, which also forced the real Dagomon to appear. It started to turn black and roared ferociously. At this moment, a black spot appeared on Canoweissmon's back.

The time limit ran out and Thetismon and Lamortmon were out. Luckily, Canoweissmon used his last juice of energy and evolved to Siriusmon and defeated Dagomon. However, the supposedly unconscious Dagomon suddenly spread its tentacles and attack everything around it. Luckily, the digital gate appear and sent it back.

After witnessing such a scene, Hiro and the gang were immediately greeted with Cthyllamon, Hangyomons and Blacktailmon Uver. Cthyllamon and Hangyomons helped rescued the humans to the shore. (Than you. You've learned your lessons.) Then, Blacktailmon had Hiro sign the tablet to receive a delivery, which was none other than Hokuto, his father, and Doctor Terriermon.

Just as everyone was having a sweet reunion and Angoramon was having his closing words of the wise as usual, the screen cut to black, the internet was down, and the lights were out. The holograms that we were all acquainted (and bored to see) during the intro sequence (which was absent here for good reason) flickered and vanished one by one. This scene hit me so hard because we've seen it so may times that it became a part of this show, and seeing it gone just like that was terrifying.

And it's not the only thing we lost. Suddenly, all Digimons shivered. The warmth akin to their life snapped into coldness of the dark. Jellymon cried, not knowing what happened to her. But in a certain hospital, Mummymon could surmise:

The Digital World.... disappeared.

The fact that they chose Eldritch/cosmic horror along with the disappearance of the Digital World was marvelous. Fear of the unknown has always been one of mankind's staple and probably the one hardest to conquer. The direction delivered on that feeling perfectly through interesting camera shots and ambience (with enough cuteness from Gammamon and other rookies to help alleviate that a bit). This is peak Ghost Game right here and I couldn't fathom the thrill I'd have if they manage to top it in future episodes (which, according to leaks, would end at EP. 68. So unless we have another season, we only have 4 episodes left to wrap up EVERYTHING. If anything, the next episode would be exposition heavy and that leaves us with ONLY THREE to work with. Those three episodes better deliver.)

The black color Dagomon transformed into closely resembles that of GulusGammamon. This also applies to the preview of the forest in the next episode as well. It mentions about how far you would go to sacrifice your friend to obtain more power and would likely play with Kiyo's alternate personality. It seems that whatever that was affecting Dagomon was related to Gulus. It could be a virus that sent Digimon World into ruin, and Gammamon could be the only one to handle it since he coexists with Gulus.

PS. I knew about evolved forms of GulusGammamon and read their lore, but I won't discuss it here.

[vermilionvector]

Digimon Ghost Game EP. 59

The problem with this episode wasn't that it's not good from visual/animation standpoint, but it's inconsistent with our established power level. Nevertheless, it's certainly a milestone for the series.

Kiyo went to work out of town and met with his colleague and fellow anime fan, Meru. Right from the start, their shared interest made them quite a loveable duo, and unexpectedly, she would have an indirect impact in this episode. Having overheard Kiyo calling Gammamon on the phone and questioned what it meant, Meru has unknowingly stepped into one heck of a chaotic mess that were the Digimons.

Later that day, they attended a super sentai show based on the folklore of Jiraiya, a form of hero who vanquished evil. Then, Tonosamagekomon crashed the show, claiming he was looking for Jiraiya. Kiyo, who was worried the audience would be harmed, lied to Tonosamagekomon that he was Jiraiya. I know Kiyo had this courage sleeping inside him but didn't have the chance to show it out much, so it's a good thing this episode gave him this chance. Even though this episode wasn't Amphimon's debut, this would be a great build up nonetheless. I wonder what her debut episode was gonna be like, considering the next episode would be flooded with water.

Tonosamagekomon then kidnapped Kiyo and trapped him on his back. Gekomon, Tonosamagekomon's servant, threatened Kiyo to never try to leave as his lord didn't know what was happening on his back. Meanwhile, Hiro and Ruli who were contacted earlier by Kiyo arrived at the festival site but couldn't find him. Meru, who once again overheard Gammamon's name, approached them and told her story.

Also, we learned Gammamon's new baby vocab: Nababa = Choco banana. This is more important than the main story, trust me.

At night, Tonosamagekomon continuously punished evildoers (both major and minor crimes alike) while Kiyo constantly sank inside his back. By the time the gang caught up with him (Meru also happened to stalk them too, having gone unnoticed by Gammamon who was riding in Hiro's backpack all the time), he's already been absorbed. Gammamon and Angoramon evolved to Canoweissmon and Lamortmon to fight Tonosamagekomon and were on equal footings, being able to push Tonosamagekomon into a corner.

Then, conveniently, the evolution timer went off.

What followed was a one-side beating from Tonosamagekomon. Gammamon was injured badly but yet still able to stand up, with a grim look on his face.

And when that theme played, we knew what was going to happen.

Gulusgammamon was back. boys.

But while I always appreciated his screen time, there were some things I disliked about his return here.

At this point Gammamon and Angoramon both achieved Mega evolution. It's a much clearer and better way of beating Tonosamagekomon. But since "the plot" required them to lose, it's fixed that Mega NOT happened, which was inconsistent with what they could do.

Like I said in Ghost Taxi episode, Gulus's appearance was becoming more arbitrary, as if Gammamon was more aware of what's inside him and became less hesitant to call it out. But to resort to such power, he must have thought that the situation was very dire. But as I mentioned in the first bullet, he could evolve to Mega, but the plot prohibited him from doing so. You could argue that the time limit was for both Ultimate and Mega, but since this is a Digimon show, they could always wing it off with the power of bond.

In short, his return was a bit too late. It'd have been fine if it were before the Megas' debut.

Back to the episode, shortly after his return, we saw a few shots:

Espimon seemingly recognized Gulus. I don't know if Hokuto told him anything about Gulus or he's just genuinely surprised.

BlackAgumon, BlackGargomon and BlackGrowlmon's return, all in one place. I don't know how the hell they appeared so fast. Maybe they have always been stalking Hiro's gang. Their return corresponded to earlier episodes with Gulus, but all of them appearing together could mean that we won't get more BlackXXX Digimons, which could also mean that Gulus's plotline might be resolved soon.

Sadly, Gulus had to be a part of Meru's first experience with Digimons as she has been watching from afar all this time.

Gulus then proceeded to beat the hell out of Tonosamagekomon (and he should be grateful that Gulus went "easy" on him, using only punches and kicks). Hiro stepped in to stop Gulus. And here, Gulus stated his goal: for Hiro to sync with him (which we've already seen almost being accomplished in EP. 13), then he could easily save Kiyo and other victims by killing Tonosamagekomon. Hiro declined such savagery, but still intent on saving them nonetheless. Gulus was going to proceed to do whatever he pleased like in EP. 13, but then Gekomon interrupted him and saved the victims himself.

On retrospect, this scene was very funny to me. Gulus has always been portrayed as this brooding, merciless, life-threatening being. Unmatched and unbeatable. But then Gekomon, a mere Rookie, had the gall to interrupt him and easily destroyed the impetus of saving the victims that he was using to manipulate Hiro jut a few seconds ago. It was so disrespectful that I found it hilarious (especially that short "Huh?" Gulus muttered). And Gulus's malice to get rid of Gekomon after all that was totally understandable.

Luckily, Hiro intervened again, and Gulus conceded. But before he disappeared, he said it's only "a matter of time" before he got what he wanted eventually. Either he knew what's going to happen (with the memory from his past life), or he's just confident that the future would be so grim that Hiro would eventually rely on him anyway.

(Also, not gonna lie, this scene is kinda hot. And this shot is like 1-1 recreation of a doujin cover I've accidentally stumbled upon on Twitter).

Lastly, the most unexpected resolution, Meru, being an anime otaku as she was, volunteered to take care of Tonosamagekomon and Gekomon, thinking living with monsters cool (as we all are, Meru). This was the first time that a human without a Digivice took Digimons under her care. Not even Yuto or Kotaro who were more directly involved with Digimons were given such privilege. I don't know if she only thought of them as cool AI Holograms and didn't know about their true identities as Digimons, but that's only a minor detail. I hope we see more of her in the future. A few more supporting characters always give more life to the series.

[koushirouizumi]

Koushiro, receiving the message N.Y Chosen Steve previously sent: ("'A cute'" "'Mon'" that "kind of acts like" me' 'showed up...' '?? ? ? ?'") Taichi, leaning over to read: Koushiro, giving Taichi a LOOK: (H-hey!!!) Taichi: (OK, OK, I won't look) Koushiro: (*...reads Taichi the message*) Taichi: Tell Steve I'm seeing a cute expression on your face right about now. Koushiro: (t-tAICHI-SAN---) Steve: (*receives the reply*) Oh--- (*laugh*) Frigimon & Espimon: (?????) Steve, showing the pic Taichi snapped and convinced Koushiro to send: They're really cute. Espimon: ...Che. I don't GET it, but they look "happy" here, I Guess. Kind of like "fake Hiro" when Fake-Hiro is with the others. Steve, mentally taking Note: And cute. Espimon, psuedo-nodding, repeating: And cu---- Frigimon: (Got you.) Espimon: ---Well, I GUESS. (*huff!*) Not me, though. Frigimon: (This feels like it might go on for a while.) Steve: (It's just genuinely really sweet, they're pretty similar, too...) Steve, laughing in mind: (Anyway, TAICHI... sure is going to keep Koushiro's attention today.) Taichi, later on: (You were messaging Koushiro ever since the meeting back in '02????) Steve: (Well, we're something like 'friends'... but Koushiro was always talking about you too, it just naturally flowed like that) Taichi: (!!??!?) ("Koushiro talked about me?!??") Steve, laughing: ("I don't know where Taichi-san would, even like to 'hang out' at? Taichi-san likes to eat but... Steve-san, do you have any advice? I'm rather bad at this kind of thing, I don't eat out often, my parents usually..." "Taichi-san seemed happy when I finally asked Taichi-san to 'hang out' the other day. I know I took some time to ask, but the level of confidence that was required..." "I'm trying to introduce Taichi-san to the concept of e-mailing for a while now, but Taichi-san doesn't typically write long messages." "Taichi-san wrote back. It was rather short, but... And, uses a lot of 'emojis'..." "I want to wear something a little 'different' - I know I did with Mimi-san 'back then', but I'm still a little, well, it's disconcerting..." "I gave the tickets my other American friend gave me, to go the football game, to Taichi-san, and Taichi-san was really, really thrilled. I can't obtain these all the time, but if possible..." "The football game was really loud, but Taichi-san seemed to have a lot of fun, and I can't help but admit it was a very exciting atmosphere." "Is it ok if we practice speaking again? I'd like to brush up on my French. Someday, I think Taichi-san would also like to go to..." "After making the new Digivices, Taichi-san began to call more, but as for proper communication over the phone, I wonder if I'm handling it well with Taichi-san..." "Is it all right to also invite Taichi-san to {gathering Koushiro was also invited to by Steve}?" "Taichi-san seemed to really enjoy the gatherings, so I was quite pleasantly surprised.") TAICHI: (oH) STEVE: (Go for it, "Taichi-san".)

[koushirouizumi]

Sometime post DigiAdvs 02, Steve & Frigimon encounter... an Espimon: Steve, walking around, observing Espimon from different angles without getting too close to Espimon's Personal Space zone: You're a cute one. Espimon, blushing: D-Don't call me CUTE!!! Steve: (Oh) Steve: ... You sound a bit like someone else I know. Espimon: ??? ??? ? ??--- Steve: I bet you don't know Koushiro, though. Espimon: Che. I bet that "Koushiro" doesn't like to be called "cute", either. Steve: (You'd be surprised.) Espimon: (...?? ? ?) Steve: (Oh) Espimon: Anyway, I don't really know this "Koushiro" person, but fake-Hiro might. Steve, actually confused for once: "Fake Hiro"?? ? ? Espimon: Yeah. "That guy", Hokuto told me Hiro was a "different" person he knew. Even if Hiro claims to also be "Amanokawa". Steve: ...Sorry, not sure I follow. I don't really know a "Hiro" or "Amanokawa", but Koushiro might. Espimon: cHE. I don't think "Koushiro" would know "fake-Hiro". "Fake-Hiro" is just, a fake. Koushiro at least sounds /somewhat/ more useful. But at least "Fake-Hiro" has some good food... Steve: (Ah. I get it now) Steve: Do you know what an online "message" is? Espimon: Of course. I send them on "Fake-Hiro"'s "tablet" all the time. Mainly to "Kiyoshiro", but... Steve: I might send Koushiro a "message" about you, if it's ok. We have to find the "real Hiro", right? Espimon, psuedo nodding: (YEAH.) I need to find the "real Hiro" quick. If that "Koushiro" can help, then I don't *really* mind... Steve: (Got you.) Steve: Let's do that then. (*sits down to begin a message to Koushiro, talking just loud enough so Espimon can hear*) Hey, Koushiro, a cute robo 'Mon turned up at my place today. It seems to be kind of lost, and like it wandered on its own a lot... Funnily enough, it scarily sounds like you. Almost even acts like you. By the way, do you know a "Hiro" 'Amanokawa'? Is "Hiro" or "Kiyoshiro" in the Network? As for the food it likes, (*rambles off examples as Espimon lists them*) Huh, that sounds kind of like you, too. It's a little bad at personal conversing, but so are you. It seems to possess amazing "Searching" capabilities, and it's good at divulging the "Knowledge" it can gather, and it gets embarrassed if you call it "cute"... Frigimon: (This is sounding repetitive.) Steve: ... Anyway, how are things going with Taichi? (*hits send*) Espimon, drifting back over: ...This "Taichi" person. You're saying it's Taichi who calls Koushiro "cute"?? ? ? Steve, cheerily: Yup. Espimon: ..... Frigimon: (It's almost getti...) Espimon: ... Anyway, but in that message, you mentioned "cute". Steve: I mean, you are... Espimon: But, I don't get it. It's almost like you think "that person" is cu--- Steve, laughing: But "they" are cute. Frigimon: (I don't think Steve was talking about 'just' Espimon.)

[koushirouizumi]

Me, watching GhostGame #45: And then Kiyoshiro is indebted to Espimon now (Good Job Espimon)

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Digimon Ghost Game EP. 37

This is an interesting episode.

Although the premise seemingly came out of nowhere (as per usual), the stage is perfectly set for the conflict. Kiyo is out in the upcountry for data center maintenance and asked Hiro to bring the special Galaxy donuts to him. His reaction when finally feasting upon them was hilarious, not to mention he's also a dorm leader and had to plan for the school's trip as well.

Meanwhile, Jellymon was up to her usual shenanigans when she stumbled upon a gigantic pile of trashes and zombies. The situation quickly escalated into a zombie outbreak at night. Though Hiro and the gang were able to subdue and contain the infected, they're up against probably one of the most interesting antagonist by far: RareRaremon.

It's a cumulation of Raremons that were squished to death by the illegal trash dumping in the forest. Their desire to live was so strong that it persisted even after their bodies perished. It used its body fluids to take control of objects and living beings and consume them to become 'alive' again. It was only an unfortunate being without any real malicious intent.

Judging that its predicament was beyond salvation, they decided to coordinate their attacks and returned him to the cycle for good. This is the first time our gang decide to kill a Digimon and this decision did not come easily. They even flashbacked to when Bokomon died. Fortunately, everyone understands what's at stake and what the best course of action is. This is also the first time we have a consecutive Ultimate evolution and it's awesome. If only the battle got the same animation quality treatment as some of the previous episodes it'd be more epic.

As built up in EP. 14, Gammamon's understanding of 'death' is that that Digimon went on a 'journey' and it's only a temporary farewell before they could meet again. I don't know how long will this notion last, though. Things are going to get more serious as the show goes on, especially with a human's death that is final and absolute.

Also, a new Digimon partner is introduced on the Official Twitter and it's Espimon. I don't like its design that much, but we'll see how it performs in the series.