#Digimon World tour

[thoughtaddictand]

I'm excited to see my favourite russians in anime again.

Kudos to Yuri, Anna, and Laura/Sonya

[sweetdreamscafe]

Sorry to ask ak’o but are you a Digimon? If so then how did you keep your Wizardmon form with such low data around you?

[hikari-m]

And even if we were to go by Kizuna dates, {2010};

Chanukah in 2010 began on Wednesday, 1 December 2010 and ended at nightfall on Thursday, 9 December 2010.

The next year, 2011, had it land beginning on Tuesday, 20 December 2011 and ending on nightfall on Wednesday, 28 December 2011. So if you want to place a fic in between those timeframes, 2011 would be the better choice, but it would be better for you to clarify if any such gathering of “Chosen around the world” was an “Interfaith” gathering or not. It would also be better to clarify it was actually still going on during December 2011 and not the final day of Hanukkah.

Digimon Adventure 02 ~ {United States of America Chosen} ~ {Personal} Favorite Supporting Character{s} Steve & Frigimon {+Bonus New York Chosen Children Group} + Daisuke Motomiya + Mimi Tachikawa (+Satoe & Keisuke Tachikawa) & Michael (also technically a U.S. Chosen) "We couldn't have done it without you {Daisuke}." - Steve

"...That was on December 25th at 3 A.M., local time." (Narrator)

Notes: In the books released post-series production and 02's conclusion, Steve was revealed to be the very first confirmed Jewish American Chosen Child, a significant step forward for the Digimon franchise, as it acknowledged the Jewish community living in real-world America.

Because Steve is Jewish, Steve would have been personally celebrating Hanukkah that year, not Christmas (hence I left out the last subtitle referencing Christmas to prevent confusion).

Chanukah in 2002, when 02 officially takes place, however, was November 29th ~ December 7th, and these scenes took place closer to Dec. 25th (early 3 A.M.). But that doesn't mean Steve, as a Jewish American, wouldn’t have noted Hanukkah (or Chanukah) at all earlier that year, and it’s good to note that when we're discussing potentials of 02′s “real-world based” “timeline”!

(Basically, what Steve is doing here is joining in on, via being invited by being a Chosen Child who is able and willing to help, an Interfaith gathering of individuals that was originally meant to simply send corrupted by virus Digimon back into the Digital World, and was not actually a "holiday" focused gathering initially!) :) {If Steve joins them after the fact is unknown, but either way, Steve would have to be invited and it would have to be acknowledged that Steve as an individual does not celebrate Christmas religiously.}

In the scenes above, Steve is one of only two U.S. Chosen that are also given spoken lines to personally thank and acknowledge Daisuke Motomiya's help (along with the rest, but also specifying Daisuke). {Michael aside, as even Michael doesn't get to comment verbally.}

Gifs by @izzyizumi, {Do Not Repost or Reproduce without my Permission} {Do Not Remove Caption} (Please Ask to Use)

Image usage rules + original commentary under the ‘read more’! {Along with another, not Steve specific, but maybe significant "Kizuna spoiler"}

BONUS:

^ Though Steve can't be seen clearly in the shot, in the 'gathering' of Chosen Children including many International ones, a Frigimon can very clearly be seen on left. As other Chosen from the World Tour are included here, it is almost defintely Steve's Frigimon, and either Steve is somewhere in the background but off-screen, or Steve and Frigimon were somehow separated...

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[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x21 - Koromon's Great Tokyo Battle! / Home Away from Home

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The Dark Network got sick of waiting on these kids and decided to do everything itself. It killed Nanomon, killed Etemon, and then gave Taichi a ride home. Honestly, way more useful than Gennai.

We open right where we left off. Taichi and Koromon have returned to the human world.

Koromon: (nervous) There are humans everywhere.... Taichi: It can't be.... It can't be.... We've returned to our world? Did we win!? This isn't a dream, is it!?

Taichi didn't get to watch the last minute or so of the previous episode, so he doesn't realize this is a cosmic glitch. He thinks everyone made it back. He slew Etemon, saved Digimon World, and sent everybody home. It's over. We're done.

The dub and its hatred of quiet moments has a lot of silence to fill. There's a lot of shots of the park just moving around Taichi and of various buildings, demonstrating Taichi's in a city. So to keep the anime from being silent for an extended period of time, Tai has a lot more dialogue.

Tai: No way! Koromon: What happened!? Tai: We must have been pulled through some sort of dimensional opening between Digi-World and this one, wherever this one is. I bet that opening's the same way I got to Digi-World. But where are we now? They look like human beings. This looks like Earth. But is it really? Koromon: I don't know. I've never been here before. Tai: This can't be. This looks like a park I played in as a kid! I think we're in my home town! Koromon: NO WAY!!! Tai: Yeah! That's the toy factory! And that's City Hall over there! Koromon: Tai, I don't mean to cut the sightseeing tour short but have you noticed that I'm not MetalGreymon anymore!? I'm back to Koromon! Tai: Unbelievable! This can't be real!

There is a lot going on here. Tai's much less confused about things than Taichi is. He's just like, "Oh, we fell through a rift and returned home. Easy peasy," while Taichi's struggling with feelings of unreality.

When buildings come up on the screen, Tai invents purposes for what those structures are even though they look nothing like what he's describing. This actually feels a little gross when you know that the show draws its human world geography from real places and structures in Japan.

It's like putting the Empire State Building onscreen and having a character declare, "Look, it's the local fish market!"

To pad for runtime, Tai also speculates that this might be a fake Earth populated by fake humans, while Koromon reacts with shock and confusion about the fact that he regressed from his evolved state as if this were the first time that happened.

Taichi's train of thought is violently interrupted by a little girl playing with a ball.

Koromon was in this world for one minute before being set upon by the horrifying predators that populate its landscape. This little girl and her ball are his Kuwagamon.

True to his name, Koromon is sent korokoro tumbling by the impact. Taichi pays him zero shits and instead focuses on the girl.

Koromon: Taichi--BYAKK!!! Taichi: Ah! Hey! Where am I? Japan? Or still in the world with the Digimon? Girl: Uh.... Koromon: Where's Etemon!? And everyone else!? Taichi: Hey! Answer me, please!

Koromon's still raring to fight, it seems. Being attacked will do that to you.

In the dub, Tai wants the girl to clarify whether or not she's fake.

Koromon: It feels real to-- OOGH! Tai: Huh? Hey! Tell me something: Where are we? Is this world for real or am I imagining it? Girl: Wha--? Koromon: We just want to know if you're a real human being! Tai: Please tell us! Are you a real girl or a digital girl?

Dub's still a little confused but it's starting to get the spirit of Tai's crisis.

Something about being yelled at by a hacky-sack sends the girl crying for her mom, thwarting Taichi's attempt at figuring out where he is.

Good job, team. We have successfully vanquished our Kuwagamon. Now if we can just have one battle go well against theirs....

Koromon: Taichi, you shouldn't have made her cry like that. Taichi: Idiot! She's crying because she saw you! Koromon: EEP!!! ME!? Crowd: (murmuring unintelligibly in a confused and scared tone) Koromon: Am I scary? Hey, am I scary!? Taichi: Shhh! (claps a hand over Koromon's mouth) Don't talk. You'll stand out. Koromon: But am I scary!? Am I!? AM I AM I AM I AM I AM I!?!?!?

The dub cuts both the funny "Taichi you made her cry!" bit and Koromon's "Am I scary!?" freakout. It replaces them with Tai bringing the cops into this.

Koromon: What'd I do? Did I say something wrong to her? Tai: You scared her! Now she's going to tell the park police! Koromon: AHH!!! THE POLICE!?!? WILL THEY ARREST ME FOR MAKING HER CRY!?!? SAVE ME, TAI!!! THEY'RE GOING TO GET ME!!! Tai: Quiet! (claps a hand over Koromon's mouth) Listen, just pretend you're a soccer ball. Now let's get out of here so I can chill and figure out what's going on!

Less funny overall but "Will they arrest me for making her cry" got me. XD

Ugliest soccer ball I've ever seen. No offense to Koromon, I'm just not comfortable kicking something with teeth.

Taichi picks up Koromon and flees into the woods while the distraught Digimon refuses to quiet down. Leaving a bunch of people with the weirdest fucking story to tell at dinner tonight.

Finding answers for himself, Taichi finds his way to Odaiba Seaside Park Station.

Taichi: Odaiba? There's no doubt about it now! This is near where I live! Koromon: Taichi's home? Taichi: I'm back in Japan! (hugs Koromon excitedly) I'm back! Ahahahaha!!! It must be because we got pulled into that rift! That's probably why you're back to Koromon too! We did it! Koromon: That's great, Taichi! Taichi: WE DID IT!!! WE DID IT!!!

Having had a moment to actually stop and think about this, Taichi has caught up to Tai and clued in on the actual cause of his return trip across realities.

The dub cuts out a closeup on the station marker so we can't see the Japanese writing up close, even though it's nonetheless visible in the wider shots. They also have Tai and Koromon talk over a transition sequence leading in, because we got silence to fill.

Tai: This all looks so familiar, Koromon. This has to be my home. Koromon: Well, for your sake, I hope so. But how can you be certain that you're not just imagining it in the Digi-World, Tai? Tai: Well, I guess we'll find out when we go to my house and see. Hey, did you hear what I just said? "Until we go to my house"! Oh wow, Koromon! (hugs Koromon excitedly) This has gotta be the happiest day of my life! I'm home, I'm home, I'm home!

Koromon, why would you think Tai's dreaming? That's a weird thing for you to be proposing. Do you doubt your own existence? In any case, the dub cuts to a commercial midway through this scene, then comes back to Tai hugging Koromon some more.

Tai: It's true! I'm home! This is so cool! I'm finally home! I can't wait to see my family and when they get a look at you, they'll know I'm telling the truth about Digi-World! Then we'll see if the others got home too and hook up with them. Koromon: Mm! I hope you're right! Let's go! Tai: It's a good thing I still had some of my camp money left! The subway's a lot nicer than walking home.

From Odaiba Station, Taichi's able to navigate his way home. Dub Tai takes a moment to drop some epic foreshadowing tee em.

Tai: (looking at the outside of a random store) Wow! Everything looks exactly the way it did on the day I left for camp!

I guess Tai's super familiar with that one local store's inventory. Otherwise this is a bonkers statement to make when walking around an urban exterior.

Then he makes it home. He stands outside the apartment complex first, letting Koromon see the whole building.

Taichi: Take a look, Koromon. This is where I live! Koromon: Are you serious!? It's HUUUUUUUUGE!!!

Then he takes Koromon up to his family's apartment. Standing outside the door, basking in the familiar sight.

Taichi: I wonder if Mom and Dad are doing well? I've been missing, so they must be really worried about me. Koromon: Taichi, hurry up and go say hi to them! Taichi: Yeah, you're right.

He opens the door only a crack before he hesitates.

Taichi: But... Actually... How long was I in the other world? A month? A year? Or even.... What if Mom and Dad have already forgotten me? What will I do if I open the door and a stranger comes out, asking who I am? Koromon: Taichi, are you okay? Taichi: ...yeah.

For the record, It was 12 days when we arrived at Server. The kids haven't discussed time since then so we don't know how many nights they spent in Etemon's desert but I'd be surprised if it's been more than a month since that fateful day at camp.

This question is setting up the reveal, of course. The passage of time is an important point to this episode's revelations. But Taichi is terrible at tracking time if he thinks it's been a year.

Nonetheless, as a neurodivergent person, I can sympathize with that. So.

In the dub, Tai corrects Koromon about his assumption.

Tai: That's where I live, Koromon! Pretty neat, don't you think? Koromon: All those rooms!? Your family's BIG! Tai: It's an apartment building; Lots of families live there. (They go up to the apartment) Tai: I don't know what to expect. Everything's been so weird. Being in Digi-World, I've lost track of time. I wonder if they're even going to recognize me? Koromon: We won't know unless we go in. Tai: Right. Well, here goes. (Tai opens the door a crack and hesitates) Tai: It's unlocked! They must be home!

Needing to fill yet more silence in another quiet scene, Tai then just starts commentating about whatever the camera is dramatically panning over.

Tai: I remember when my mom planted those flowers. I remember buzzing my friends up on that intercom to come over and play video games and watch TV! Oh, and the time when my dad put our family nameplate on this door! But those memories won't mean a thing, Koromon, if we came out of that dimension rift at the wrong time! What if I no longer exist!? Koromon: Tai, can I make a little suggestion? Tai: Huh? Koromon: Open the door. Tai: ...Here we go.

Tai's still trying to figure out what his emotional crisis this episode is supposed to be.

Notably, the thing that Tai calls "flowers" is a bamboo box hanging from the intercom containing decidedly not-flower leafy plants.

Also, due to what I understand to be an error in translation, Taichi's last name has been changed. It's supposed to be 八神 Ya-gami but was translated 神八 Kami-ya. Too late to fix it now; They're committed. So when this episode shows a nameplate on the door reading in English "YAGAMI", they had to edit the footage to read "KAMIYA".

Entering the house, Dub Tai adds on to the "It's unlocked; They must be home," when the camera shows the shoes currently at the door.

Tai: Look, their shoes are here! Mom? Dad?

Tai misunderstands what it means to find his parents' casual sandals by the door while their serious adulting shoes are missing. He has painted a strong argument for them being home, which is a weird thing for the dub to do when. Like. They're not.

Taichi finds everything as he left it.

Taichi: This is my home-- I mean, of course it is, haha! Koromon: It's a lot smaller than it loo-- Taichi: SHUT UP!!!

Taichi bragged a little too well. Koromon thought the whole complex belonged to him.

Since the dub already ruined that joke, they instead use this time to reverse-course on Tai's parents.

Koromon: No one's answering. Maybe they're out. Tai: I wonder where they've gone? Koromon: Maybe they went to Digi-World! Tai: THAT'S NOT FUNNY!!!

Dub Tai's parents are now mysteriously missing instead of. Like. Just. Not being home.

First thing Taichi does is go straight to the fridge and drink a nice, cold Coca-Cola. Somewhere, Mimi is intensely jealous and doesn't know why.

Koromon: Does that taste good? Does it? Taichi: Ahhhh delicious! It's been so long since I had Cola. Koromon: AHHH GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME GIMME (continues in background) Taichi: I really am back in my world... Koromon: GIMME GIMME GIMME GIIIIIIMMEEEE EE EEEEE... (droning off into a sad whine)

Cut to Koromon happily chugging the Coke. Not his best moment but, in his defense, Baby-stage. Nonetheless, happy that Taichi shared.

In the dub, Tai skips the somber reflection and trolls Koromon instead.

Koromon: Hey, Tai! Over here! I'm thirsty! Tai: Sorry, it's the last one. You should have asked for some before I finished drinking it. Koromon: I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'D BE SO STINGY!!! Tai: I was just joking, Crybaby. Koromon: Really? Tai: I left you half of it.

While Koromon's enjoying his half of the Coke, Taichi makes a startling discovery.

Taichi: But what day is it today? It seems to still be summer.... (Taichi closes the fridge door and notices the calendar) Taichi: Huh!? Koromon: (spits out the Coke can) What's wrong, Taichi!? Taichi: It's August... Today is still August 1st, 1999! Koromon: What does that mean? Taichi: August 1st, 1999 was the day we all went to camp! What's going on? We should have been in the other world for days, even months.... We walked for so many days... We fought with so many Digimon.... Why is it still August 1st!? Why is it still the afternoon of that day!? Did I become so homesick that I'm dreaming I'm here? Or maybe the time I spent in the other world was just a dream and I really collapsed in that park?

Taichi's mind is blown by this cosmic gaslighting. He's so messed up by this discovery, he starts frantically theorizing that his brain made up DIgimon World even while Koromon is sitting right there on the counter.

In the dub:

Tai: I sure wish I knew where my family was. And how long I've been gone. (Tai closes the fridge door and notices the calendar) Tai: Huh? AHA!!! Koromon: (spits out the Coke can) ACK! Don't scare me like that! Tai: It's been right in front of me! Today's August 1st, the same day we landed in Digi-World! Koromon: We've gone back in time? Tai: Yeah! This is the day that the Digivices dropped into our hands and this whole crazy adventure began! Which reminds me that this is also the day that my Mom and Dad were planning to visit my Grandmother who lives just outside of the city! See, my Mom marked the date on this calendar so she wouldn't forget. They must have taken my little sister Kari with them! That's why nobody's home now! Cool, then let's just kick back and wait for them to come home!

But then why were their shoes at the door and the door unlocked, Tai? You introduced these things to the conversation as evidence that they're home. You can't just turn around and go, "Oh yeah, they were scheduled to be out, that makes sense," without addressing that.

Also, once again Tai's eagerness to show off how much of the episode he's already watched ends up undercutting a later moment. Just walking all over the interesting character beat of the Grandma reveal.

After this, we have yet more silence to destroy, so Tai and Koromon start bantering some more.

Koromon: Speaking of time, it's time to eat! Tai: Hold your Digi-Horses! I just learned I'm reliving a day I've already lived! Koromon: Sorry, Tai. Tai: No, I'm sorry, Koromon. I didn't mean to yell but this same hour, minute, and second have already occurred! Except I'm home this time. Does that mean that I have a twin living in some parallel world?

Ironically, that does fit well with Izzy's "We exist simultaneously to the other version of ourselves" theory. But no.

While Taichi's struggling to make sense of all this, Koromon tries to get his attention. Escalating in volume until he finally manages to snap Taichi out of it. There's a pressing issue he needs to know about.

Taichi: Hikari? Hikari: Onii-chan, you're back home.... Taichi: Y-Yeah.... Koromon: Onii-chan? Is this Taichi's little sister? Taichi: (tries to clap his hand over Koromon's mouth, hissing) I told you not to talk! (to Hikari) Hikari, it's not what you think! This is-- Hikari: Koromon is with you? Taichi: Ehh? Hikari: Koromon came with you? Taichi: You... You're not scared of him? Hikari: Why should I be? Taichi: How do you even know his name!? Hikari: Because... Koromon is Koromon.

The camera closes in on the whistle hanging around Hikari's neck for good measure, just in case you've forgotten.

For those who never saw the original Adventure OVA, the first Koromon these two ever met was basically Hikari's Tamagotchi, not Taichi's. About four or five years ago, Hikari hatched a Botamon from his Digitama and raised him from Botamon into Koromon while Taichi hung around making snide comments.

That wasn't this Koromon. He died. Though Tri later confuses this issue by claiming that they are the same; That's because Tri is a Mystery Box show barely held together by throwing "Wouldn't It Be Cool If?" sticky notes at a wall. It constantly shifts topics without ever resolving or explaining anything. Tri doesn't even know what Tri is about, let alone what happened in Adventure 01.

The camera fixes on her whistle because, in a highly questionable parenting decision, this whistle was her primary means of communication at age 3 or 4. She could talk, but she mostly communicated by tweeting the whistle to express an emotional state. The Yagami household constantly echoes with the sounds of "TWEET TWEET. Tweeeeeet. Tweet. TWEET! TWEET-TWEET-TWEET-TWEEEEEEET!!!"

Their mother has the patience of a saint.

Hikari's Koromon eventually went on a rampage as Agumon, before brawling with an invading Parrotmon in the form of Greymon in the middle of Hikarigaoka. Taichi (and most of the Hikarigaoka battle's witnesses) forgot these events because he was never invested to begin with. It was just a weird day for most witnesses, and Taichi only started caring at the last possible second. But Hikari's never forgotten. She mourned her Koromon.

These events inform a lot of what's to come in Adventure. That's awkward if, like me, you were in the U.S. The OVA came out one day before the first episode of Adventure 01 broadcast in Japan, and months after the final episode in the U.S.

So, without that vital context, the dub has to... figure things out for themselves.

Kari: Hi, Tai! Tai: Kari? You're here? Mom and Dad left you here at home all alone? Kari: I'm a big girl. Hi, Koromon. Tai: Kari, how did you know his name? Koromon: Maybe she knows my name because your sister's a lot smarter than you. Tai: (tries to clap his hand over Koromon's mouth) Cut it out, Koromon; I'm serious! (to Kari) Now, how did you know his name was Koromon!? Kari: I don't know. I just knew it. Tai: I don't get it. Kari: It's like I've met him before. That's why I'm not afraid. Tai: But that's impossible! This is the first time he's ever been out of Digi-World! Kari: Well, maybe that's where we met. Tai: But you've never been to Digi-World, have you? Kari: I don't know. I think so; It's near your camp.

Holy shit, what? Kari has, at some point, gone up to the campgrounds and stepped through a Digi-World portal to go meet Koromon, then came right back lickety-split.

There is something fucking eerie about Kari in the dub, as a result of the unexplained questions that the missing OVA leave on her shoulders. In the original, she's just the girl from the OVA a few years older. But here, she's an enigma in space and time.

So Hikari remembers Koromon. Or at least, a Koromon. But neither Taichi nor Koromon know how that's possible. Hikari plays paddy-cake with Koromon while Taichi tries to make sense of this.

Taichi: Hikari, you've been home all this time? Hikari: I have a cold. Taichi: You didn't go to the other world or something like we did, did you? Hikari: The other world? Taichi: Oh, uh... Never mind. Where are Mom and Dad? Hikari: They went to visit Grandma. They told us this morning, remember? Taichi: Oh... Yeah, they did.... Hikari: But Onii-chan, why are you home? Taichi: Because... I was worried about you. Has your fever gone down?

I like that Taichi just forgot that their parents were going to be out today. Sure, they told him this morning, but that was like three weeks ago. It's a nice little character moment.

Tai is even more confused than Taichi due to the bonkers writing that Kari's suffering from.

Tai: (thinking) Maybe Kari has been to Digi-World. She did have on that camp whistle! Maybe she goes to my camp in the future and is sucked into Digi-World like I was but comes back before me! Oh, I don't know. This moving back and forth from one time dimension to another is mega whack! No one's ever sure if they're here and now or there and then!? Sometimes I feel like I'm where and when rather than here or there or... What did I just say!? I'm confusing myself! I know, maybe Kari and I have a fever and we're both delirious!

Kari does, in fact, have a fever. You might know that if you'd read the script instead of spending this entire scene rambling incoherently about time travel.

Also, the line, "She did have on that camp whistle," makes me want to throw things. But I remind myself that they hadn't done the OVA yet so they had no idea why the camera suddenly focused in on a closeup of Kari's whistle. They had to improvise.

To try and sell his lie, Taichi takes Hikari's temperature. She isn't buying it.

Hikari: Onii-chan. Taichi: What? Hikari: Where did you really go? Taichi: Huh!? Hikari: By "the other world", you mean the world that Koromon is from, right? You weren't in camp like everyone else, were you? Taichi: Well... (remembering) That's right... Yamato and the others might have made it back here.

Taichi doesn't answer Hikari's question. Rather, her mention of "everyone else" causes him to remember that he doesn't know if they're safe or not.

In the dub:

Kari: What's wrong, Tai? Tai: Nothing. Kari: Then why do you think I have a fever? Tai: Huh? Kari: I'm not sick. And I've been to Digi-World. Tai: No way. Kari: Well, I think you have. Where else could you find a Koromon? Tai: The toy store? Kari: Oh, please! Tai: You do know. I'd better call everyone else's house to see if they got home too!

Bit of a random segue there. To be fair, it's an abrupt topic shift in the original too.

Also, Kari, you'd damn well better be sick because you missing out on going to camp due to your cold is going to be a plot point down the road.

Taichi goes to the phone, calling Koushiro, then Sora, and then Yamato. He gets the same message from all three families: Their kid went to camp this morning. The realization that no one else came home with him joins with the gaslighting date and sends him into an existential crisis, contemplating the Digivice in his hand.

Taichi: No one's back. Is everyone still in the other world? Or maybe I'm the only one who's dreaming. Which is real? Are both of them a dream? Are both real?

Dub says nope to all that existential questioning.

Tai: It looks like I'm the only one who got pulled through that rift. Everyone else is still stuck in Digi-World. I wish Izzy was here. He could get this Digivice to work. Then I could go back to Digi-World and rescue the others! There's just gotta be a way to fix this time dimension thing!

Suddenly, Hikari disrupts Taichi's train of thought by offering him her obento, a popular form of meal preparation in Japan in which a single portion of food is prepared and portioned out inside a rectangular lunchbox, to eat at a later time. Presumably Hikari's mom prepared obentos for everyone before going to Grandma's.

Hikari: Would you like to eat this? I only have my share, but we can split it. Koromon: WAAAAAAUGH FOOD!!! Taichi: Huh? Thank you... Oh, wait a minute!

In the dub, her obento is a "leftover piece of pie".

Taichi appreciates Hikari's offer but he has a better idea.

Taichi goes to the kitchen and whips up a popular Japanese breakfast: Omurice, a type of omelette made from fried rice and fried scrambled eggs topped with ketchup. He makes three; One for each of them, which they eat together with the obento.

Taichi and Koromon quickly declare "Itadakimasu!" before ravenously devouring their omurice. Hikari takes a more hesitant bite, as if uncertain about the item presented in front of her.

Hikari: Delicious... Were you always this good at cooking? Taichi: Yamato taught me in the other world! I can always do something with eggs!

This is probably a callback to the egg feast from File Island that sent Jou into a despair crisis over Japan's future. Taichi learned a lot about cooking eggs that day. Not sure where they would have gotten rice and ketchup for the feast though. Maybe Yamato improvised.

Hikari doesn't eat much, giving most of her omurice to Koromon to finish. Unfortunately, the feast ends badly when Koromon is implied to poop on the table - Itself a callback to OVA Koromon, who comically pooped on the floor a couple times.

They get Koromon to the bathroom, where he and Hikari have an apologetic conversation.

Koromon: I'm sorry, Taichi. I'm sorry, Hikari. I'm helpless when it comes to holding it. Hikari: I know that. Koromon: Oh. Hikari: I used to wet the bed a lot, but my brother would always help me. He'd wash my underwear for me in the middle of the night and, later, he'd pretend he was the one who wet the bed. He's very nice. Koromon: Yeah.

As usual, this discussion of bodily functions wasn't going to fly with American censors, so Koromon's pooping is changed to him suddenly having an anxiety attack.

Koromon: I'd better go rest! Kari: Don't hide in the bathroom! Koromon: How embarrassing? Why do you want to hang out with someone who's such a pig? Kari: 'Cause you're cute. Koromon: Really? Kari: Yeah. You wanna hear what happened to me at school? We took a farm field trip and I slipped and fell in a pigpen. The kids were laughing at me until Tai jumped in. Know what he did? He played in the mud with me like I'd really done it on purpose. Koromon: Wow! Kari: Tai does bug me sometimes but he is the coolest big brother in the world. Koromon: Yeah.

Honestly, both of these anecdotes are plausible and convey the same general idea of Tai: That he's willing to humiliate himself out of love for his sister.

Taichi, meanwhile, relaxes in the living room and enjoys the comforts he hasn't had in Digimon World.

He turns on the AC and the TV and just vibes.

Taichi: A nice, cool breeze... Home is great... How long has it been...? No, it feels weird saying that. Today is still August 1st. I don't even care which is real and which is the dream anymore.

Since Tai doesn't have those anxieties, he does some more line-of-sight commentary on whatever the camera's panning over again.

Tai: I'm really back. Ahh, I used to hate that wind chime. Now I love it. And I really miss sitting around watching TV with my friends. I miss Mom scolding Dad for not hanging up his shirts. (yawn) Boy, it's good to be home.

Sadly, Taichi's not going to get as much time to chill as he thought. A long-forgotten plot point suddenly re-emerges, from the very first minutes of the show.

Reporter: This is the afternoon news for August 1st. Our main story is about the abnormal weather we've been experiencing lately. In southeast Asia, the paddy fields have dried up from drought. This has become a major problem to the citizens.

Though the reporter doesn't seem to notice, Taichi can clearly see a Meramon kneeling amidst the ruined paddy fields.

Taichi: Meramon! Reporter: Heavy rains are savagely flooding the Middle East. (Footage shows Seadramon unleashing a torrentious flood) Reporter: In North America, snow is falling even though it's the middle of summer. (Footage shows Yukidarumon amidst a vast blizzard) Taichi: Seadramon. Yukidarumon. This isn't because of abnormal weather at all! The rift from the Digimon's world is affecting ours! Hikari: You can see them now too? Taichi: You can see them!? Hikari: For a long time now. But if I told anyone about it, no one would believe me. Taichi: Hikari....

Hikari's never lost the ability to see these spectral half-in half-out Digimon because she's never forgotten Koromon. She never lost the knowledge and understanding of Digimon that Taichi's now regained.

This scene plays out mostly the same in the dub until after Tai's seen all the Digimon.

Tai: Could somebody please tell me what's going on here? The Digimon are clearly on the TV screen but the reporter hasn't mentioned them. Kari: Finally! Somebody else can see them! Tai: Huh!? Are you saying that you can see the monsters too? Kari: For a long time now. Mom and Dad don't believe me; They just think that I watch too many scary movies. Tai: Kari....

I like Kari's altered last line. Indicating that she's tried telling someone about the monsters, rather than taking for granted that she wouldn't be believed. She wouldn't, but it makes sense that an 8-year-old would be naive enough to try.

But no time to think about that now because suddenly all the electronics fritz out. However, Taichi's Digivice is glowing blue and vibrating, clearly reacting to something. The computer turns itself on, bringing with it a scrambled communication from another place.

The image is static and cuts in and out, but Koushiro is clearly on the other end calling out for Taichi-san.

Taichi-races to the computer.

Taichi: Koushiro! It's me! It's Taichi! Koushiro: Taichi-san... Where are you right now? Taichi: I'm at home! Back in the real world! Koromon is with me. Koushiro: I see-- --then over here-- Taichi: Hey! Koushiro! I can't hear you! Koushiro: --not come back-- --please-- Taichi: Koushiro! KOUSHIRO!!!

Throughout the conversation, Koushiro is eerily quiet and listless. He never moves and he speaks in a dead monotone, adding a certain Uncanny Valley feeling to his warning that Taichi should not return.

This effect does not carry to the dub, where Izzy's voice is filled with emotional shouting.

Kari: Huh? What's wrong with the computer, Tai? ...There's a face! Izzy: Can you hear me!? We-- --danger! Tai: Izzy!? Izzy: Safe-- --no-- --it isn't-- Tai, wherever you may be, don't come back here! Tai: I can't just leave you guys there, Izzy! I have to come back! I could be your only chance! Izzy: DIGI-MONSTERS!!! TOTAL CHAOS!!! Tai: Wait, Izzy! I need help with the Digivice! Izzy: You're better off where you are! Don't come back! Tai: Izzy! IZZY!!!

In this moment, Taichi finds the answer he desperately did not want.

Koromon: Taichi.... Taichi: What's going on? Both this place and that place... Neither is a dream. Both of them are real. Both are real. I'm over here. They're over there. (Distraught, Taichi slowly turns to look at Koromon) Taichi: Hey, Koromon? Is it okay for only me to be here? Koromon: Taichi... But.... Taichi: You're right. We don't even know how to go back. (hangs his head, visibly unhappy with this answer) Hikari: Onii-chan.... (long pause) Hikari: ...want to eat watermelon?

Hikari doesn't even know what to say. She's eight. She has no answers for how to cope with Survivor's Guilt and the moral dilemma of whether it's okay to be safe when others are not.

But again, Tai's skipping out on being gaslit by reality so he focuses on the heroic implications.

Tai: While we're here safe at home, my friends are in trouble. Koromon: What now? Tai: I don't know, Koromon. I just don't know. Two worlds are in danger and I can't do a thing about it. I feel totally useless. I know this Digivice is powerful enough to do something but I don't have a clue on how to make it work! (Distraught, Tai slowly turns to look at Koromon) Tai: Oh man, I guess I should just quit while I'm ahead. Koromon: But Tai... You can't.... Tai: Why can't I!? What am I going to do? Throw the Digivice at the monsters and hope they get scared and run away!? Koromon: Ohh.... Kari: Come on, Tai. Just relax. Eat some watermelon.

Historically, we've had a lot of success with throwing Digivices at the monsters and making them get scared and run away. Tai, you were the one who strolled cockily up to Corrupted Leomon and then blasted him with sacred energy to purify all of his Black Gears.

All this dub talk of "I have to go save the others I have to" makes this turn come straight out of left field. He comes off almost cowardly here, especially with "We don't even know how to get back" replaced with that line discussed above.

Taichi takes his watermelon to his room and lies down, leaving it untouched.

After lying there for a while, he glances at the melon on the plate and tries to reaffirm himself.

Taichi: Worrying about them won't do any good....

He's starting to let go of the other Chosen Children and accept a reality in which he, alone, made it out safely.

In the dub, he's still trying to figure things out.

Tai: Kari's right, I do need to relax and chill out. Maybe an idea of what to do will come to me. I hope.

Out in the kitchen, Hikari stays with Koromon. He dives into his watermelon while Hikari's lack of appetite crops up again.

Koromon: Hikari! Hikari: Hm? Koromon: This watermelon thing is delicious! Hikari: Koromon. Koromon: What? Hikari: You can have all of it. Koromon: EH!? REALLY!?!? WAAAHAHA!!! (dives in) Hikari: Koromon. Koromon: What? Hikari: Onii-chan doesn't have to go back, does he? Koromon: Eee!? Hikari: You can stay here with us, Koromon. Both of you should stay here.

The ever-ravenous Koromon drops the watermelon the instant she asks about going back. His face darkening with each subsequent word from her mouth. Koromon doesn't answer Hikari's question. He just looks sad and turns away.

Dub Kari continues to control this conversation with her eerie certainty.

Koromon: Boy oh boy, if there's one thing I duly love, I duly love this watermelon! Kari: It's sweet, huh? You can eat all you want, Koromon. Koromon: Wow! I need another slice! This world is great! (dives in) Kari: I'm glad you like it here on Earth because you may be staying here for a while. Koromon: Huh!? Kari: You may not be returning to Digi-World any time soon, if at all. But you are more than welcome to live with us forever. Koromon: (thinking) Hmm... It didn't hit me until just now. I may never get back to my home!

Making explicit what the original made implicit, with regard to what's eating Koromon.

Man, Kari is just... so spooky. "You will never go home; I have spoken. Enjoy this watermelon." It doesn't help that all of her lines are delivered in this matter-of-fact stoicism.

Taichi wakes up suddenly to the sound of the phone ringing in the hall.

Taichi: Is that Yamato!? (rushes out into the hall) Hikari: (on the phone) Yeah. Yeah, I'm okay. (Taichi snatches the receiver away from Hikari) Their Mom, Yuuko: Be sure to take your medicine. We're alright over here. Grandma and Grandpa are fine, but they're worried about you. When you feel better, they want you to come and visit. With Taichi, of course. Taichi: (stunned gasp upon hearing his name) Yuuko: Hello? Hikari, are you listening? Taichi: Mom.... Yuuko: EH!? Taichi, is that-- Taichi: (hangs up abruptly)

Why Yamato specifically, Taichi? XD Screw everyone else, I guess.

Very minor differences in the dub. Kari's medicine doesn't get mentioned because they cut her illness. Tai doesn't surge to the hope of hearing Matt's voice specifically.

Taichi stares at the phone in silence for several seconds. Then he makes a decision.

Taichi: Hey, Koromon? Koromon: Yeah? Taichi: You can stay here forever. Koromon: Taichi.... Taichi: If you stay here, you won't have to fight anymore. You can eat food and candy whenever you want. You can sleep in a bed every night and you can take a bath every day! Mom might get angry sometimes but whatever happens, I'll protect you. Even Dad....

Taichi doesn't finish that sentiment. We don't see a lot of Taichi's father Susumu. The OVA depicted him coming home wasted late one night, long after bedtime, and yelling in a drunken stupor for his children before bickering with Yuuko. He was being exuberant and rowdy, not angry and abusive, but still it doesn't sound like things are great between Susumu and his family. That unfinished pause is unnerving.

Despite giving Tai that moment of cowardice earlier, the dub draws the line here and puts him back on Hero Duty.

Tai: Now I understand. Earth is in just as much danger as the Digi-World. Koromon: How? Tai: Digi-World's troubles are slipping through the dimension. Koromon: What can we do? Tai: There's nothing we can do. Until I figure out how to use the Digivice so we can return to Digi-World and fight the Bad Digimon. But we'll be okay for now, Koromon. This will be a nice break! Here we have all kinds of food and-and candy and stuff. And we get to sleep in a soft bed! We'll be living large! Koromon: Right.

Rather than talk about his dad, Taichi resumes his sales pitch. He gets more and more heated about the idea of being free from Digimon World.

Taichi: It's summer vacation! We're on summer vacation right now! We haven't gone to the ocean yet. And there's the fireworks festival! I have to do my homework too! (Taichi turns his attention to the Digivice in his hand) Taichi: (angrily) I was sent to the other world because of this thing. Who cares if it's a holy device or whatever!? This thing can...!

Taichi raises his Digivice, preparing to angrily throw it down at the ground.

The dub continues carving away Taichi's drama here by erasing his resentment over being summoned, replacing it with frustration at his own inability to save everyone. He also line-of-sight commentates some more in place of the summer vacation talk.

Tai: Sorry, Digi-Bud. Look, there's lots of things to do out there! That satellite dish is more in touch with the world than we are! We could go to the beach, the movies, take Kari shopping.... Koromon: (crying) Yeah.... Tai: What am I talking about? My friends are in danger because I can't make this piece of techno-junko work and I can't do a thing about it!

Of note: The satellite dish he refers to while line-of-sight commentating is clearly a Ferris Wheel.

Just then, the ringing of the wind chimes alerts Taichi and Hikari to the winds picking up outside. Something's happening.

As the OVA's music begins to pick up, an oddly monochrome Tyrannomon emerges from the bay, just like the eerie Digimon of the other "weather" events. Voicelessly, he opens fire on the city with his Fire Breath.

Telling Hikari to stay behind, Taichi grabs up Koromon and races out the door.

Taichi: SHIT!!! (begins putting shoes on) Hikari: Wait! Taichi: Huh? ...Hikari.... You stay here!

He's leaving to go confront Tyrannomon, but the dub goes bigger in objective.

Tai: NO!!! (begins putting shoes on) Koromon: What are you doing!? What about me and Kari!? Tai: She stays here! Kari, don't leave for any reason; Koromon and I have to find that dimensional rift! We've gotta find a way back to Digi-World! Kari: No!

The Tyrannomon fades out of existence before he gets there. But suddenly a Drimogemon rips up through the ground nearby. Taichi goes for that one, but Drimogemon too fades away.

Suddenly, a news report comes on over a nearby TV.

Reporter: We interrupt this program to bring you information on the earthquake here in Hodo Center. The epicenter was Odaiba in the Minato district. Taichi: It wasn't an earthquake. Normal people can't see the Digimon! This is only going to get worse.... Koromon: Taichi... I'm going back to where the others are.

Koromon hops out of Taichi's grasp before he realizes what's happening, bounding to the ground and taking a couple hops away.

Koromon: Digimon shouldn't be in this world. I'm a Digimon too, so I can't stay here. Taichi: Koromon, how can you say that!? Don't say you're going back!

The dub opens this bit by inexplicably revealing that there are actually other people in Japan seeing the Digimon too.

Reporter: Apparently, some of our viewers have called into our station claiming to have seen monsters on our newscast screen. Authorities believe this is merely a bit of hysteria among a few individuals. If you think you see these monsters, you should seek medical attention immediately. Tai: The Digimon are drifting back and forth between both worlds through that dimensional rift! We have to find it and get through it before those monsters destroy Earth AND Digi-World! It will take all of us working together to stop them! We've got to get back! Koromon: (hops out of Tai's arms) Even if we did, I can't help you. In spite of all I've eaten, I can't seem to Digivolve so I can't fight. I'd just get in the way. Tai: I need you, Koromon. We can't win unless we fight as a team. Don't you give up now!

The stuff about Digimon not belonging in this world? Gone, replaced by Koromon being sad that he isn't Agumon and Tai pepping him up.

Suddenly Hikari runs up, wearing a coat and sandals. Exerting herself despite her illness.

Hikari: Onii-chan! Taichi: Hikari!? I told you not to come out! Hikari: But-- Taichi: Go home! Hurry! Hurry! Hikari: But Onii-chan....

Kari's motives here are changed in the dub to wanting to join the adventure.

Kari: Tai! Koromon! Wait for me; I want to go with you! Tai: Kari! I told you not to leave home! You can't go with us; It's too dangerous. Kari: Please, Tai! Oh, please! Pleeeeease!

Joke's on him.

Koromon turns away sadly, but then suddenly sees something across the street.

It's an Ogremon. Comically waiting at a crosswalk for the signal to turn.

Koromon: Huh? That's... TAICHI!!! LOOK!!! Taichi: Huh? O-Ogremon!? Wh-What do we do!? Ogremon is in the city. If I don't do something, he'll endanger everyone!

Before Taichi can think of something, time runs out. The red light changes to green, giving Ogremon the go-ahead to legally blitz across the street and try to crush Koromon with his club.

A joke that Dub Tai ruins by explaining it.

Tai: What's he doing!? He's just standing there waiting for the light to change! ...maybe if we wait, he'll disappear like all the others!

No dice. He's attacking.

The OVA's music kicks up again as Taichi's Koromon now finds himself in the exact situation that led Hikari's Koromon to his death. It's time to fight a maddened Digimon from a higher level in the middle of the city.

Koromon leads Ogremon up above a nearby building, away from people. Koromon spits bubbles for all he's worth, but Ogremon pushes through effortlessly, keeping Koromon on the back foot and dodging his destructive club strikes.

Still gripping his Digivice, Taichi calls out to Koromon.

Taichi: Koromon! Koromon: Taichi, get away from here! Taichi: Don't do this on your own! We've always fought together! Koromon: (touched) ...Taichi.... Hikari: Koromon, look out!

This momentary distraction nearly costs Koromon dearly, as Ogremon catches up and bashes the balcony he's come to rest on. Koromon doesn't get away so cleanly this time, and is thrown by the impact.

This goes down differently in the dub, since they've repeatedly established that Tai's Digivice stopped working.

Tai: Koromon, Digivolve! Koromon: I can't do it unless you use the Digivice! Tai: I don't know what's wrong but the Digivice isn't working! You'll have to Digivolve without it! Koromon: I just can't! Kari: You can do it, Koromon!

This gets no payoff since Taichi's about to use his Digivice to evolve Koromon, so Tai just kinda gets lucky and it starts working.

Taichi's fear and determination to help Koromon activate his Digivice, summoning the holy light. The sacred energy not only evolves Koromon into Agumon; It also tears open the rift between worlds above them.

At the same time, as Koromon evolves into Agumon, the unsettlingly upbeat tootling of the OVA music is replaced by Show Me Your Brave Heart. This isn't going to end the same way as Parrotmon; With the holy device in hand, things are different now.

Agumon drops low, taking a tactical position on a street lamp far below where they'd been fighting. As Ogremon takes the bait and lunges for him, Agumon lets off a Baby Flame, using the force of the impact to hurl Ogremon up into the sky portal.

Once Ogremon's taken care of, Agumon goes slack and lets the updraft carry him back towards Digimon World as well.

Taichi: AGUMON!!! Agumon: Taichi... Hikari... Bye-bye.... (fades out of existence) Taichi: AGUMON, WAIT!!! I'M COMING TOO!!!

Taichi tries to take a step forward, only to find something pulling him back. It's Hikari, clinging to his wrist with all her strength and refusing to let go.

Taichi: Hikari... I... I'll come back. Hikari: (soft gasp) Taichi: If I don't go with him....

Taichi leaves that thought unfinished.

(Boy, it sure would suck if a Partner Digimon was left to fend for themselves in this world of dark powers without their Chosen Child, huh? I wonder if that's going to come up at some point....)

Having reclaimed Ogremon and Agumon, the portal then begins to take Taichi's Digivice. Taichi hangs onto it, letting the Digivice carry him back across realities. Hikari clings to his other arm, unwilling to let him go. But despite her best efforts, his hand slips from her grasp.

In the dub:

Tai: AGUMON, COME BAAAAAACK!!! Agumon: I'm needed... in Digi-World... I'll never forget you my friends! Thanks for your help! Tai: Wait, take me with you! You still need my help! Agumo-- (Kari holds him back) Kari: Tai, stay with me! Tai: (angrily) No! Go wait for Mom and Dad! Kari: I'm so sorry. Tai: Why? Kari: You were right. I know you have to leave. Tai: I really do. Okay? Kari: Okay. Tai: Agumon can't Digivolve without me. This is my fight too! (Tai moves his lips for about two seconds but no words come out because they had him finish his line before the shot where his mouth is moving.) Kari: Please be careful. (Kari clings desperately to Tai's hand only to tragically lose her grip as he rises into the air and away from her) Tai: Goodbye, Kari! Kari: Bye-bye Tai! Don't forget about me!

Kari seamlessly transitioned from wanting to go to Digi-World with Tai (even though she can already apparently go to and from Digi-World as she pleases?) to wanting to keep him from going back like Hikari did. But then got over that real quick.

As Hikari watches her brother go, the narrator cuts in to talk about her because I guess he's salty that he didn't get to do a rundown in this episode.

Narrator: Hikari was left behind on her own. However, before long, she too will enter the Digital World.

Again, the narrator calls it Digital World even though the characters have yet to acquire that terminology.

Tai delivers this narration in the dub.

Tai: It was really hard to watch Kari as I floated away but there was no way I could have taken her with me! I knew it was way too risky. Besides, Mom would have been really mad at me if I had! But what I didn't know is that Kari would soon find her own way to Digi-World!

She will not. That does not happen. She will soon enter Digi-World but not by "finding her own way" there. In fact, the dub has established that she has her own way there already.

As he speaks, the camera cuts from Hikari standing all alone on that street corner to something else, sitting on the table back in the Yagami household.

A new Digivice has appeared.

Meanwhile, in Digimon World, we close on Taichi and Agumon in Etemon's desert once more, discussing Taichi's fateful choice.

Agumon: We're back. Taichi: Yeah. Agumon: Was this really for the best? Taichi: We'll get home some day. After we've done what we're meant to do.

A bittersweet note in the original. And a triumphant return in the dub.

Tai: Agumon, we're back in business! Now we just gotta decide what our first move is! Agumon: Well, we have to find our friends. Then we have to make sure you and the others get home safely. Tai: Not until we conquer all the evil Digimon! Otherwise, neither one of our worlds will ever be safe!

Assessment: This is a fairly quiet episode, doing a lot of emotional work for Taichi. We get to see a lot of facets to his character laid under a microscope here, and in a way that manages to be interesting again despite having spent so many episodes on him already in recent history.

Something that's interesting to note is that it's not the plight of his friends that brings him back to Digimon World. Though he wrestles with the decision, he does more or less make peace with giving up on them. Rather, it's the threat that the rift between worlds is posing. It's the Digimon attacks and his bond with Agumon; These are the things that bring him back into the fray.

As usual, Taichi is thinking with his yuuki. He is many things, but one thing's for sure: He is a consistent character.

The dub, meanwhile... holy shit, this is the most unlike the original episode that a dub episode has been yet. It honestly feels like they threw out the script and just wrote whatever they thought suited the imagery onscreen.

I mean, Kari was always going to be doomed because they didn't have the OVA to provide vital context for her character and Koromon. But they basically tore out every single aspect of Tai's journey through the episode as well. This is practically a different story entirely.

[duckduckhjonk]

here's the next part!

These ones were also decently a challenge. For Harold, I wanted something incredibly dorky. Originally I was hoping for a full Bushi Agumon to Gaioumon line but I think I like what I've done with this one.

Courtney's line I just kinda knew I wanted a holy digimon line. I originally was going to go with Gatomon to do a Mastemon jogress for Gwortney but I don't think Gatomon works for Courtney. I find Labramon's evolution line works. Since I've already used Dobermon, I went with a Siesamon evolution line.

With Beth, she was a little interesting. I was thinking either an insect or a plant, I ended up going with Alraumon and a plant evo line. Something Something growth analogy. I like Beth tbh, I also like the line I picked for her.

Cody, oh, Cody... Cody's line is a mostly basic Terriermon line. I'm going to be so real, this was tricky. I wanted something that both felt like it was main-character-y but could blend into the background easily. Cody is such a weird character, being such a background character for the first two seasons, but becomes one of the main characters in world tour. So I wanted to find some mix of that.

For Tyler, I stuck with the Pulsemon idea, but I figured I could use a separate evo line for Lightning later down the line. I wanted to go with a much more agile foil for Tyler's clumsiness so it was between Runnermon or Exermon. I preferred Runnermon a lot more tbh so that's what I went with.

I skipped doing Sadie so I could do both Katie and Sadie together. Its tricky to find duo digimon that aren't Lopmon and Terriermon. I don't want to repeat them in the same season. I still have a few to do left before I can start writing this au! I still want to include the intern ocs I've made, with some digimon partners of their own :3

again if you have any suggestions or comments or anything at all, please send them! My inbox is open :3

[digimoninteractions]

Digimon World Tour (02x40)

[ID: Screenshots from Digimon Adventure Zero Two episode 40 showing: (1) A shot looking down at Patamon, Takeru, Taichi, and Agumon. (2) Koushirou, Hikari, Tentomon, and Hikari on the top level of a bus. (3) Iori, Jou, and their digimon looking at the sydney opera house. (4) Them looking at each other. (5) Hawkmon, Piyomon, Miyako, and Sora sitting on a brick fence looking at the Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. (6) Miyako looking at her D-Terminal as Sora sits beside her, trying to keep warm. (7) Them looking at each other. (8) Yamato and Ken standing together, looking opposite directions. (9) Ken holding Wormmon as he, Yamato, and Gabumon all head towards a helicopter. End ID]

[skydigiblogs]

honestly thought i would have a lot more to say about adventure 02 but like

i just finished episode 50 and the jist of my thoughts really are "yeah this is better than i remembered it being"

overall, an extremely ambitious follow up to digimon adventure, balancing a lot of plot points and an attempt at having a more cohesive storyline than "bad guy of the arc but suddenly it's apocalymon." in 02, most of the bad guys lead from one to another, in a way that seems much more intentionally thought-out than everything up until the dark master's arc in 01. even the one-off antagonists (dark ocean and demon's crew) played into the larger narrative, and weren't necessarily treated as one-offs so much as chances to expand the scope of the lore and use it to the narrative's benefit.

(although i do think it's a bit sad we never saw follow up on demon going "oh, you all are going to regret sending me to dagomon's ocean SOOOOO much")

also a lot of lore. so much lore. 01 introduced the fact that homeostasis has a bunch of agents that look like gennai, but a2 kept suggesting they're all copies (put a pin in that for my tri rewatch, much as i am loathe to rewatch that one). there wasn't any elaboration, but it is an interesting idea, and unfortunately i understand why it was kind of hastily noted and dismissed (the world tour arc had a lot to get to).

also the dimensional makeup of the digimon franchise got a lot more fascinating in 02. in 01 gennai mentioned that the gate could lead to all kinds of different places, but 02 actually takes that a step further in the lore, showing us the dark ocean and the dimension of dreams (even mentioning that the latter is pulled from by the digital world).

but it does maintain some of the problems i had with the original adventure in that i do wish more of the kids got to see their mega forms. :/

(i know tamers fixes that somewhat, then frontiers backpedals, but. you can't get me to rewatch frontiers lmao.)

furthermore, it does kind of suck that we're still left to wonder about ken's adventures in the digital world. we see ryo and millenniumon in his flashbacks to the adventures, but for audience members who missed out entirely on the wonderswan games, it makes it so we have to trust wormmon's word that ken was a kind person in the past. it's shown to an effective degree in the show, especially with his flashbacks to his childhood after the chimeramon arc.

it also makes narrative sense that they didn't feel the need to go over a story that's already happened, because that likely would have taken too long for 02, which already had so much going on. but maaaaaan. i do not want to play the wonderswan games, frfr (though i know there are fan translations out there for 'em).

i do love ken's arc though, as frustrating as him struggling with self-doubt is to watch. i'm glad the writers didn't make it seem too easy for him to forgive himself, because that's hard even if you weren't the vessel for like. All That Shit. i'm giving this boy a weighted blanket and hot tea.

tl;dr: compared to the oftentimes fever-dream like qualities of 01, 02 feels a lot more narratively focused in its story, and i think that really works to its favor. not a flawless season, but none of the digimon seasons are. a successful sequel to 01, much more so than i remembered from my last rewatch of the dub in 2020.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Digimon: Dark Spore children's partner lines

The Digimon Adventure universe is so open for stories and possibilities that it's fun to speculate about many of the minor characters we see, like the international chosen children and the Dark Spore children from 02. Digimon youtuber Karn EX made a video speculating on the possible evolution lines of all the international chosen children we see in 02's Digimon world tour arc and elsewhere in the franchise. While he did not cover the lines of the partners of the Dark Spore children from the end of 02, he did note that the partner Digimon they got were all the same baby forms as the original Adventure children's partners and this was likely not a coincidence. I also think that this was intentional and that the Dark Spore children's partners should parallel the evolution lines of the Adventure partners. So I'm going to speculate on what their evolution lines could be.

Something to note is that there are 20 Dark Spore children but I'm only going to go over 8 evolution lines to parallel the 8 Adventure partners. I'm also not limiting myself to Digimon available at the time the 02 finale aired. If we ever get some follow-up on the Dark Spore kids in official media, it will be something new with plenty of access to newer Digimon.

The Dark Spore kid who gets the most spotlight in the show is Noriko Kawada, who is partnered with a Punimon. This makes her a counterpart to Matt/Yamato of the original crew and if there was a Dark Spore spin-off or sequel, I think she would be the group leader. There are black variants of the entire Gabumon line, but that's a bit boring so instead she can have Psychemon as her partner. It's a fun Gabumon variant that kind of matches Noriko's color scheme in that they both have a lot of pink. From there, I think a great Champion/Adult level is Fangmon. Fangmon being a more evil and violent counterpart to Garurumon (and more interesting than Garurumon black or Gururumon) would be great. Maybe Noriko could use her knowledge of how to deal with the Dark Spore's darkness could help teach her partner to control the violent imposes that come from being a Fangmon. For the Ultimate/Perfect level I think Astamon works. Psychemon -> Astamon has precedent in the franchise and Astamon matches WereGarurumon as the bipedal, pants-wearing member of the evolution line. For the Mega/Ultimate I picked DinoTigermon. It matches MetalGarurumon in that it goes back to being a quadruped and gains mechanical elements. It is a cat and not a wolf, but Astamon kind of has some saber-toothed cat elements with the shape of it's hair so I'm ok with it as the through line between wolf and saber-toothed cat. I think that Noriko and her partner should also be able to unlock a branched evolution at this level to MetalGarurumon black. You can probably see where I'm going with this.

Another named Dark Spore kid is Takashi Yoshizawa, who has a Poyomon. This makes him the counterpart to T.K./Takeru. They even have similar names. Patamon has two good parallels: Tsukaimon and DemiDevimon/PicoDevimon. I went back and fourth before deciding to give him DemiDevimon as it more closely fits the Angemon/Devimon rivalry. I'll use Tsukaimon later, though. From there is the fairly standard line of Devimon to NeoDevimon to DoneDevimon as the intended parallel to T.K.'s Angemon, MagnaAngemon, and Seraphimon. A heroic Devimon is fun to imagine and could create some unique stories with T.K. If you don't want to use the Devimon line because you see them as too evil or don't want to reuse major villains then an alternate could be Devidramon to Baalmon to Beelzemon.

Next up is Keiko Kurata who gets YukimiBotamon, making her a parallel to (Hi)Kari. For her rookie I will be using Tsukaimon. while it's not a direct parallel, there isn't a Salamon/Plotmon variant and Tsukaimon still lets me represent the connection between Patamon and Gatomon/Tailmon. From there, Tsukaimon will evolve to BlackGatomon/BlackTailmon. Maybe this could be its default level like Kari's partner. The next level will of course be LadyDevimon to parallel Angewomon. A heroic LadyDevimon could be a lot of fun alongside Angewomon and they could even become Mastemon in a story. (Hi)Kari is the only one of the original 8 to get a branched evolution path at the Mega/Ultimate level, getting both Magnadramon/Holydramon and Ophanimon as options. I'll also give Keiko's partner a branch with a humanoid and bestial option. The humanoid option will be Lilithmon, the dark counterpart to Ophanimon and the bestial option will be Ghoulmon/Deathmon as there aren't that many demonic dragons or beasts other than Megidramon, which I don't think fits very well.

The last of the named Dark Spore kids is Hiroshi Shibata, who gets Nyokimon, making him Sora's counterpart. His partner stumped me for a bit as there is no Biyomon/Piyomon variant and there just aren't many dark birds to choose from. I noticed that Sora's evolutions of Birdramon, Garudamon, and Hououmon are all based on mythical birds: the firebird, garuda, and hōō/fenghuang. So for Hiroshi's partner I dropped the bird theme in favor of keeping the winged mythical beast theme. The rookie is Tapirmon/Bakumon, which does not fit the theme but there is literally no other good option. At least it can levitate even if it doesn't have wings. From there it will evolve to Unimon, Hippogriffomon, and Gryphonmon, based on the pegasus, hippogriff, and griffon.

Enering the nameless Dark Spore kids we have a Pabumon to parallel Izzy/Koushiro's Tentomon. There aren't any Tentomon variants, but Kabuterimon is set up as the enemy of Kuwagamon. Therefore this line will go Kunemon, Kuwagamon, Okuwamon, and GranKuwagamon. A classic bug line.

Here I have to cheat as Joe/Jyou doesn't get a counterpart in the Dark Spore kids as his Fresh/Baby 1 form, Pichimon, does not show up among the partners at the end, so something else will have to act as the Bukamon pre-evo. Again, there is no Gomamon variant (I'm not counting x-antibody variants here) so it's time to get creative. I want a line that can work well in and out of water and keeps a consistent theme through, like Gomamon's seal/walrus theme. The line I picked starts with Crabmon/Ganimon and evolves to Ebidramon. Ebidramon being big and a bit goofy I think works to parallel Ikkakumon. The next stage will be Gusokumon, which shares some artificial traits with Zudomon. Zudomon carries a hammer and wears armor while Gusokumon is upgraded with mechanical parts. Sadly, there is no crustacean Mega/Ultimate level to pick from so the final stage will have to be Regalecusmon. It still kind of works, both lines ending with a humanoid warrior and Regalecusmon does use Ebidramon's claw as a shield.

The Yuramon parallels Mimi's Palmon and we finally have an actual variant to work with in the form of Alraumon, a darker Palmon. For the next level I picked RedVegiemon to parallel Togemon. They're both more monstrous and goofy evolutions of a cute little plant and use punches in battle. I picked RedVegiemon over Vegiemon and Weedmon as those two are supposed to be failed Digimon akin to Numemon while RedVegiemon is the complete and ripened form. For the Ultimate/Perfect level, Oleamon is perfect. It looks like a Lilymon with depression and it acts as a carnivorous flower. There's not a prefect Mega/Ultimate level as the only dark plants at that level don't fit, so I picked Lotusmon. That way there could be a hypothetical fusion with Mimi's Rosemon to get a Rafflesimon.

Finally we reach the Tai(chi) parallel with Botamon. We are spoiled for choice when it comes to Agumon variants. YukiAgumon, Agumon black, Agumon 2006, 2006 versions of Yuki and black, and three versions of ToyAgumon before even getting into x-antibodies or Agumon Hakase. Our Tai(chi) parallel will use Agumon black. Once again, there are black versions of the whole Agumon line, but that's a little boring. Instead, Agumon black will evolve to DarkTyrannomon. Tyrannomon was the original default evo for Agumon before Greymon stole the spotlight, so referencing it here with its dark variant works. From there it will become MetalTyrannomon and Samudramon/Gaioumon. This works as a great parallel, going from little dinosaur to big dinosaur to cyborg dinosaur to humanoid warrior dinosaur just like Agumon. Like with Noriko's partner above, this Tai parallel will get an alternate mega in the form of BlackWarGreymon. That way, the Dark Spore kids can have their own Omnimon/Omegamon in the form of Omegamon Zwart. And from there, just like all the original 8 can combine their power to become Omegamon Merciful Mode, all the dark spore kids can combine their power to become Omegamon Zwart Defeat.

[otakween]

Digimon Tamers - Episode 25

Woohoo! Finally in the digital world. Kinda looks like Arizona lol. This episode was a bit slow with the characters just getting their bearings. I like that we have Leomon and Renamon acting as knowledgeable tour guides, so we're not totally stumbling in the dark.

Notes:

Interesting how they acted like the first man on the moon when getting to the digital world. I wonder if they're really the first humans in the digital world this universe? (Was that true for Adventure? I don't remember lol)

Kinda weird how Culumon is just suddenly okay with their predicament because they saw something shiny lol. Just shows they're not operating on too many brain cells...

So in Adventure there was a lot of real world stuff in the digital world (telephone booths, trains, restaurants), but I wonder if things are going to be different this time. They showed the rock formations that looked like antenna and it was implied that they were generated based on real antenna...

The lights of doom coming from the sky reminded me of Alice in Borderland lol

Two separate instances of characters stupidly staring at a dangerous thing rushing towards them for way too long before jumping out of the way. IDK why they can't just choreograph scenes like that to make them more believable

The Jagamon were pretty cute even though they accidentally killed Meramon. Maybe now that we're in the digi-world, digimon deaths are back to being not so big a deal...? Still was a little jarring.

It's hard for me to not hear "Makuramon" as "pillow-mon" lol. I know it's based on some Hindu character though...

Damn, that dragon that Makuramon was flying on was ugly...was that supposed to be one of the "God" digimon or no? He didn't get any lines...

Culumon somehow had the power (or gained the power) to just phase through their cage? I'm guessing we'll be learning the truth behind what they are now that we're in the digi-world.

[atsoraasayoma]

Takari Week 2024

Fourth Day: Fourth Contact:

Title: Digimon ‘Whirled’ Tour Misunderstandings

Summary: Hikari, covered in ink and tired from her journey while traveling home on Imperialdramon after her trip to HongKong has some interesting conversations with Koushirou and Takeru. These talks lead to some misunderstandings due to some poorly timed phrasing from their partners and even hers as well where she will have to clear her name.

***

It had been forever since Hikari had seen Takeru. Ok, maybe less than twenty four hours thanks to Imperialdramon’s blistering light speed taxi that dropped them off to all corners of the world and then back again...But still. She couldn’t wait to see him again yet wished it could have been under better circumstances.

The briny scent of the ink from the three brother’s Octomon Digimon clung to her hair like a sticky sweat. The burning sun and dusty winds also did not help, Hikari feeling worse for wear. Koushiro himself had come out of it unfazed, having somehow been so interlocked and focused on his planning/computer work it shielded him from any Digital or environmental hazards.

Hikari had not noticed she had been staring at him, Koushiro looking a bit nervous, pausing, and then resuming typing on his computer. “Hikarichan,” he said, “I can’t concentrate when you’re looking at me like that. Do I have something on my face or something?”

Hikari shook her head a bit. “N-no,” she said, “Its just that I’m just surprised. How is it that I look like I’ve walked through a wilderness and a pen factory, but you look like you just got out of the shower? We were both at the same place so I’m just wondering how can you be so clean after our last adventure?”

The typing of hands tapping on Koushiro's keyboard immediately ceased. His eyes locked onto the screen, but as if he was looking at something else.

“Koushirousan?” she questioned, Koushiro not turning away.

Sweat beaded down Koushiro's face, his breathing shallow.

“Oh no,” Tentomon said, crawling up on his back inspecting him with his pincers. “It’s happening again.”

Hikari stared at them both confused. “I’m sorry, did I miss something?”

“You wouldn’t know it,” he answered, “But Koushiro has what you call post traumatic stress disorder,” he said. “My Koushiro has been living with it for a long time.”

“PTSD?!” Hikari said a bit shocked. “I had no idea! I can’t believe that our Digimon Adventuring left that much of an impression on you! But you’ve never showed that side of yourself before,” she said calming down. “What changed?”

“Hmm?” he said, turning towards Koushiro, Koushiro weakly glancing at him and nodding his head.

“Oh, you don’t know, do you?”

“Know what?”

“The terror of soccer.”

“Terror of soccer?”

She glanced up, Koushiro's face turning even more despairing as if he had just accepted he would die. His hands trembled, his eyes shivering as if not wanting to relive something unpleasant.

“You see,” Tentomon buzzed manner of factually with his pincers, “Koushiro told me about it. Back when he was little he often went to Taichi’s soccer games.”

“Oh, that’s wonderful!” she said, Tentomon glancing at Koushiro and patting his back.

“But, that’s the problem!” he gestured holding them both up. “That was back when Taichi was not, shall we say, very good.”

“Oh?”

“I still remember it quite well,” Koushiro said his breathing shallow. “Hey Koushiro! Koushiro look at me! Watch this! You’re not paying attention!” he said repeating inflections, placing his thumb and index finger spread apart touching his cheeks so the small curve of skin between them was pressed to his lips shaking.

“I used to watch his games, but the moment I looked at my computer a soccer ball came flying at me. No matter what I did, or position I maintained, I always locked on me somehow like a heat seeking missile- even when I actually sat in a tree watching from overhead!” he said incredulously over the bizarre situation. Over time I learned how to handle such trauma,” he sighed out. “...I never want to go through such a learning curve ever again.”

“Well, that and Taichi did get better,” Tentomon said making sucking squishing sounds between his tiny fangs in his mouth, Hikari a bit creeped out by it, but realized that must have been how he laughed.

“But by that time my Koushiro had adapted natural reflexes towards anything coming his way. Regardless it was a soccer ball or a Digimon attack, Koushiro could dodge it or bat it away and continue his work on the computer as if nothing had happened.

“That’s...impressive,” Hikari said glancing at Koushiro a bit differently as if he was a battle hardened soldier. It was no wonder he got so perturbed so easily when he multi tasked and someone interrupted him.

“Regardless,” Koushiro said, “The only way to snap him back out of this was either green tea or...lavish praise.”

“What, like saying ‘good job?” Hikari questioned.

“Yes, but you’d have to take it up a notch by a scale of 100!”

“Huh,” Hikari pondered.

“And it can’t just be one or two people. It has to be everyone present. Even you Tailmon.”

“Even me?”

“His pride won’t let him recover until everyone in the room acknowledges him.”

“Huh, you’ve got it tough,” Tailmon acknowledged. “All right, I’m in.”

“Very well,” Tentomon said. “I’ll start. Follow my lead,” he said holding up his claws and waiving them as if conducting a symphony. “And a one a two,” he said, “And a now! Koushiro is an outstanding upstanding citizen!”

“That’s a compliment?” Hikari said having a hard time believing they were actually doing this.

“Anything works!” Tentomon said still holding up his claws. “In fact I accidentally told him one time he was the smartest pizza maker! I think he just honed in on the ‘smartest’ part.”

“I think I get it now,” Hikari said having understood. “We just need to inflate his ego.”

“Let’s try it Hikari,” Tailmon smiled nodding her head

With that all three of them started singing Koushiro's praises one by one, some of them even starting to overlap together, this continuing on for several minutes, Hikari starting to feel dazed at the chaos of their words clashing like three symphonies overlapping and their notes narrowly avoiding colliding into each other. Worse, she had been running out of things to say!

Koushiro seemed to still be out of it, Hikari's’ turning having come around again.

“Hikari?” Tailmon said looking at her expectantly.

“Don’t stop now!” Tentomon said trying to keep everyone together. “We need one last push! Anything! Make it up if you have to!”

Hikari searched her mind this way and that, and knew she just had to say something. “K-Koushirou is the only one who can handle my mom’s special recipes!” she yelled raising her voice, Tentomon stopping.

Tentomon stopped, the imaginary rhythm he had been connecting coming to an end.

Koushirou stared at his computer, blinked his eyes a couple of times and glanced up at them all having regained his composure.

“I’ll have you know,” he said, “Those recipes are delicious,” he said. “I could eat blueberry bean spinach casserole any day of the week!”

“Koushirou!” Tentomon said relieved giving him a hug, “You’re back with us!”

“Yeah, I’m here,” he said calmly typing on his computer again. “Though, I don’t remember why I stopped working to begin with. Did something happen?”

Tailmon and Hikari exchanged glances, both of them silently acknowledging the same thing: Koushirou had become so traumatized he had blocked the memory out completely.

Don’t worry about it. Oh look,” Tentomon said flying over to the barrier wall and sticking to it. “Looks like we’re at the next stop!”

***

Eventually Imperialdramon had reached the other locations, the Digidestined greeting each other and catching up, Hikari a bit winded from this Reunited Digidestined Celebration. Lastly they started to slow down landing on the ground with a bit of a rumble, Hikari wishing Imperialdramon had seat belts, but thankfully none of them suffered jet lag...except Jou of course being comforted by Gomamon.

As it slowed down, Hikari felt her heart leap as Taichi and Takeru came up. A pretty girl with blue eyes and blonde hair and a Floramon waving at them. Both Taichi and Takeru waved back,Taichi grinning stupidly which meant that Hikari knew by his mannerisms he had gotten involved more than he probably should have. But that shouldn’t be a problem.

As the other Digidestined greeted them, Takeru walked over to the gleaming blue light and leaned back into the wall sighing out.

“Welcome back...Takerukun,” she said having turned away from him a bit.

“You to Hikarichan. Felt like I haven’t seen you in forever, even though it’s only been less than a day. Kind of weird huh?” he smiled Hikari turning his way, realizing he must have also missed her. She couldn’t react too strongly though in case he might think she cared for him more than what she was letting on, even if it was true.

“Mhm. Time flies when you’re...on Imperialdramon,” she said, Takeru just staring at her.

“And I thought I was tired,” he said lifting up his head and sliding to the ground, Hikari just glancing down at him a bit anxious.

“Hikari, you’ve been standing up this whole time. You sit too,” Tailmon said grabbing her by the hands and making her sit down next to him.

She then sat down as well, Patamon having found comfort curled up resting on Takeru’s hat.

She glanced down at Tailmon who had already passed out, her head nodded down against the wall.

“Our Digimon are really something,” he said. “They work so hard for us. We couldn’t ask for better partners.”

“Mhm,” she said stroking Tailmon’s fur, her ears folding back a bit.

Takeru glanced up at Patamon and tickled his ears a bit, both Digimon mumbling in their sleep.

“Anything interesting happen?” Takeru asked. “You know, aside from probably needing a shower.”

Hikari glanced away from him wishing he had not noticed that. Of course, that would have been impossible.

“Aside from this, nothing,” she said not wanting to talk about herself.“What about you?” Hikari asked, “Taichi was smiling so wide something must have happened. And he’ll never tell me, just get mad and tell me not to worry about it.”

“That sounds like Taichisan all right,” Takeru chuckled. “But, no nothing I could think o-”

“-Takeru,” Patamon moaned sweetly in his sleep, “Why are you kissing that girl?”

His eyes froze, Hikari staring at him, her mouth open.

She wanted to say something, but refrained herself at least for now. She could only could think about that blonde haired girl Katherine she had seen him wave to earlier. She was really pretty too.

Hikari pursed her lips holding them shut not wanting to imagine him kissing another girl. She could have sworn she heard voices in her head saying ‘What’s wrong with them?’ And another voice saying ‘The Lovebirds are being dramatic again’ but she just looked up at him expectantly for an answer.

She wanted to ask it. To ask if it was true he did that to say-

“-All right Hikarichan,” Takeru smirked, “I know you want to ask me if I really kissed a girl. Probably the Katherine girl, am I right?”

Hikari lowered her head and nodded.

“Well, I actually did. And Taichi too!”

Hikari felt her heart sink and then her stomach twist hurt and then horribly confused at the same time.

What kind of situation or relationship would Takeru and her brother and Katherine have to be in to...have such a...relationship? She imagined Katherine wasn’t so nice and had them chained like dogs enacting all kinds of torture on them with chains and a whip and the dogs enjoying it.

“Hikarichan? Hikarichan?” Takeru said having interrupted her imagination.

“Hmm?” she said glancing at Takeru like a dog as if he was beneath her. She couldn’t believe the Takeru she knew so well had-

“-I think you’re misunderstanding something,” he said with a wry smile. “In France people greet each other with a little kiss on the cheek.”

“On the cheek?” she said turning her face his way.

“Mhm, It was pretty awkward for me and Taichi but we managed to do it near the end of our adventure there. Part of my family has a french background. It felt kind of...familiar. I don’t remember ever going there though. It must have been while I was little.”

“Oh,” she said, Her face staring back down not wanting to look up at him. She should have realized the context of all of this. Why was she so flustered? Takeru was her friend. He had the right to do anything he wanted to. They were not going out or anything. It felt wrong of her to even think of him in a negative light.

She sighed out. “I’m sorry Takerukun,” she said. “I could only imagine about what you said when the both of you had kissed her.”

“Right?” he smiled as if a bit relieved. “I mean it’s not like I would come to any weird misunderstanding about you if I heard something about-”

-Tailmon meowed out loud like a yawn, holding up one paw weakly as if warding something away. “No, get away. Hikari, you can’t allow all three of them to surround you like that! Those brothers are dangerous.”

Hikari stared down a bit nervously, a strange pressure glaring down at her from overhead. She slowly lifted up her head to see Takeru smiling, but it wasn’t a happy smile. It seemed kind of...angry.

“Well, I’m sure YOU must be tired from your journey Hikarichan,” he said as if looking past the situation. “I’m sure all the attention really must have been exhausting. Since YOU put yourself in that situation maybe YOU should just sleep it off,” he said, Hikari irritated by his inflections.

“N-no That’s not it!” She protested. “I didn’t choose to! They came at me!”

“What? They came at you Hikarichan?” Takeru said turning seriously, his now icy blue eyes glancing her way and cracking his knuckles in a fist that somehow made Takeru look not only incredibly attractive to her, but also kind of dangerous.

Hikari didn’t know what to do anymore about the situation. She hit her head back against the blue barrier of Imperialdramon wanting to snap herself out of it. She couldn’t lie. Just like she imagined Takeru having once been that Katherine’s ‘Pet’ she couldn’t stop her mind from seeing Takeru beat up a bunch of guys, Takeru shielding her in a seductive manner. It was even worse, or in this case better than Miyako sharing her romantic fan fiction stories with her.

“So, did you get their names?” he asked. “Maybe I’ll have Imperialdramon fly back after everyone else gets off.”

“No, don’t do that,” she said with an exhausted smile. “I can already tell what you’re thinking. But really it was no worse than Daisuke if there was three of him.”

Takeru’s eyes lit up a bit as if having snapped out of it. He also leaned back against the barrier resting his head against it. “I don’t know...if I could win against that,” he sighed with a smile.

“Thankfully I’m gone now though,” Hikari agreed. “I might have had a nervous break down if I had stayed any longer.”

Takeru snickered Hikari returning his back with a sweet smile. She really did miss him. Despite what they thought happened to each other, it was just one big misunderstanding after all. Maybe he even felt jealous too?”

The thought seemed so pleasant, Hikari’s mind drifting back to her imagination about Takeru. She couldn’t get that image out of his mind...in a good way.

“Hikari!” Miyako exclaimed running over to her and sliding down next to her. “Oh, good, your warm. I have the latest chapter on my fan fiction by the way. I wanted to know if you wanted to read it.”

“Maybe later,” she said. “It’s good to see you Miyakochan. “Did you have fun?”

“Of course!” she said. “And I got to meet Yuri, one of the cutest boys I’ve ever met! Man, I’m so lucky! I probably had the best romantic chance meeting yet out of all of us. And there was no weird misunderstandings,” she said both Takeru and Hikari smiling at each other, as if it was there own little secret. “In fact, I’m sure none of us had any-

A shocked gasp escaped from in front of them as everyone looked at Ken.

Both Sora and Mimi stood on either side of him both angry and demanding.

“What do you mean Ken clinged to a little girl?!” they said in unison towering over him.

“Wormmon!” Ken snapped agitated. “Phrasing! Phrasing!”

Hikari couldn’t help but smile just a little more matching Takeru’s smile with her own.

Just then Iori walked over to them a bit wary of them.

“Whatever’s the matter Iorikun?” Hikari asked.

“Come have a seat with us!” Takeru added.

Iori started to slowly back away from them. “You look like your enjoying this,” he said. “Is it that fun to take joy in watching one of your friends suffer?”

“What?” Hikari said turning towards Takeru.

“That’s not what we’re doing,” he said. “Really Iorisan you have such an imagination.”

“I’m not imagining!” he said defensively. “And you’re not answering my question!”

“N-no you’re just misunderstanding,”Takeru said getting up. “Look we’re almost back to Japan!”

Hikari adored him as he continued playing with Iori, dodging his question, Takeru turning back towards her with gladness.

She smiled back, Miyako glancing up at her. “Seriously, would you two just cut it out and stop telepathically communicating while smiling? I haven’t gotten that far even in my fan fictions!”

She could only be amused by her, Hikari knowing this must have been exactly how Takeru felt. She missed that about him; His jokes, his witty sense of humor, his protective eyes that would cut someone to pieces if anything threatened her. Sometimes he even made her feel safer than her own Digimon who could go to the mega level!

She glanced at him a bit differently affectionately retaining the image in his mind of the Takeru she knew so well. Whether being serious or joking and laughing with her, Takeru was Takeru. And no misunderstanding or fantasy could ever change that.

[ahiddenpath]

So I ran into your thoughts on the Beginning, and as far as the timeline goes, I think Lui (like Menoa) is wrong. The JP Chosen are clearly different from the World chosen. Only they are summoned to the Digiworld. I think Lui's wish via homeostasis just made it so that non-Chosen children would get Digivices to be able to maintain partnerships, and they were modeled after the original digivice, and began popping up after Adventure. But when new chosen were needed in 02, they got new digivices.

That's an interesting idea! Apologies, I wish I could be more helpful, but I only saw The Beginning once, and I spent most of it reeling and not taking much in (I didn't respond well to certain plot elements).

I personally find it difficult to make conclusions about "our Japanese Chosen (Taichi and Daisuke's groups) vs the rest of the Chosen around the world," because to my knowledge, we don't receive a lot of details about the global Chosen and what they can and cannot do.

We know Michael Barton and Betamon can go to the Digital World, so I do think all global Chosen can travel to the DW. But does that mean that all global Chosen were selected by Homeostasis? Or are they a second category generated by Lui's wish in The Beginning, and they have partners, can presumably evolve them to some extent, and can travel to the DW, but were not hand selected warriors of the DW? But I really doubt The Beginning's plot beats and lore existed when Adventure and 02 were being written and created, so at best, this is back-filling information. A lot depends on how each viewer feels about adding the information of the new films into their understanding of the old content, or if viewers prefer to let the old content stand alone and treat the new content as fun extras that don't really impact their feelings/understanding of the old content.

I personally haven't assigned much weight to Kizuna or The Beginning for lore, simply because it feels like they wrote around existing lore to make these plots work with existing information. In my mind, that is why both plots hinge on Menoa and Lui being "wrong" about various Lore Important Issues, while details from the original series point us to what most fans see as the "correct" interpretation, with a little bit of subtext from the new films.

I'm not saying that this is bad or wrong, or that people are incorrect for folding the new content into existing lore. In fact, I think a lot of anime movies especially rely on similar write-around methods! Basically, I just think a lot is going to come down to personal preference with what to accept and what to ignore, especially because it's just a LOT of content at this point (two 50+ episode animes, the handful of Digimon movies released in the 2000s ish, Tri, Kizuna, The Beginning, various drama CDs and novels, etc).

This does make me realize that I could really stand a rewatch of the World Tour and the ending of 02. Makes sense that there could be relevant info about the global Chosen there! And I believe the ending of 02 is where we get our most direct (aka non subtext) lore about what makes the Chosen/partner bond work.

Thanks for the ask, your ideas are very interesting and I enjoy hearing them!

[shihalyfie]

Your "the Chosen aren't keeping the Digimon much a secret" post reminded me of the 02 Christmas episode where Tentomon and Palmon were just shown openly hanging out with their partners' parents (And Takeru chatting with his mother after the World Tour with Patamon openly on his head).

Yeah, as far as 02 goes, the Adventure kids keeping the Digimon from their parents at all was more to do with the fact they knew their parents were likely to associate "the Digimon being there = something dangerous happening" and didn't want them to worry than any idea that their parents would have objections to the Digimon being there. Which ends up being unfounded in some cases, too (for instance, Koushirou's mom turning out to be surprised "Tento-san" isn't there at the end of 02 episode 27). Takeru seemed to have been very open with Natsuko about the fact Patamon was there for the entirety of 02, it was just during 02 episode 43 when he had to admit to her that his presence had come with more dangerous incidents happening under her nose.

Obviously, how open one would be about a Digimon partner with their parents would probably depend on each individual kid's relationship with their parents or how much danger they were in at all, but I think a good number of Chosen Children would probably have parents who would be surprisingly cool about the magical talking creature who'd appeared and befriended their kid, especially since the partner can also talk and explain their position. For what it's worth, in Kizuna, we see a board of film-taken photos depicting Menoa and Morphomon playing together (and even obviously posing for/interacting with the camera), and someone had to have taken those photos; combined with the fact Menoa is said to have had difficulty making human friends at school, I'm guessing her parents were well aware of Morphomon's presence and encouraged their relationship in the absence of Menoa having any other friends.

[firstagent]

Digimon Top Tamer Tournament- Video Game/Manga Bracket

Yesterday we unveiled the brackets for the anime side of our Top Tamer Tournament. Today we’re giving you a preview of the Video Game and Manga tournament. Remarkable that there were almost as many entries, but between C’Mon Digimon and Seekers, there are 64 more humans vying for supremacy. They do have to be human: sorry Kyoko. Following the poll earlier this week, first round matchups are primarily within each story. Regions are themed… some more rigidly than others. Let’s take the tour!

The Hidden Server is our manga-exclusive region, as C’Mon Digimon, V-Tamer, Next, Xros Wars, and Dreamers square off. In the first round, we’ve got matches between Neo and the Alias III while Bun’s tamer Kentarou meets Nene’s manga-exclusive sister Kotone. Since we don’t know exactly what we’ll get with Seekers, its two reps are split between here and a game-based region. Eiji and Loogamon meet Kouta from Chronicle… that was the last time we were promised a big story tie-in to a toy product. Anyone remember Chronicle?

The GIGO Server is for the World games, so a lot of Re:Digitize and Next Order here, along with the protagonists from the Playstation games. Mameo’s appearance in Next Order adds some familiarity to his first round match with Kouta, while Akira and Atsushi (aka Junior) have their hands full with the Next Order heroes and Rina. Re:Arise and Survive matches are sprinkled across these three regions, and GIGO pits Survive’s Team Mom against its Team Dad and our first of several matches between siblings.

The City Server is one of the two regions based on Story games, so it’s a lot of Cyber Sleuth, although Mirei can’t help but cross over, this time meddling with Re:Arise’s Digital World orphan Mon. Highlights here include Erika and Yu from Hackers Memory vying for Keisuke’s attention, Yuuko and Fei in a lover’s spat, a proper Hudie battle, and Michi from Re:Arise living out every service worker’s dream in getting to fight her boss.

The EDEN Server is the other Story-based region, leading off with a tag team match between the generic protagonists of Cyber Sleuth and the generic protagonists of Lost Evolution. Winner plays the senpai-kohai Re:Arise match, the closest thing this March Madness ripoff will get to actual basketball content. There’s also a hacker fight between Cyber Sleuth and Seekers, a battle of Survive’s siblings, and Nokia vs. Date, who are apparently cousins according to Habu.

Hidden Server and EDEN Server polls start Thursday with GIGO Server and City Server starting Friday. Polls will run for a week on both Tumblr and Twitter, with votes combined. The next round starts a day later. Also make sure to check out the Anime Tournament running concurrently!

If anyone’s interested in the fine print on the selection process and how we got it down to 64, I’ll be happy to post it, but most questions for this bracket can probably be fielded with “actual humans only.”

[izzyizumi]

Digimon Adventure ~ Episode 31 (J.P.N Ver.) ~ Character Traits & Character Development ~ Important Dialogue + as Adopted representation (Izumi Family)

Bonus:

{Koushiro and “Thank You”} (Koushiro, in the J.P.N. version, is known for using overly-“polite” speech in most of Koushiro’s wider canon. [at the very least, up until the beginnings of the 02 Epilogue timeframe]; (However, we see hints of that changing a little throughout the {+early} series too) {i.e. “Arigato[u] gozaimas[u]” (Formal) vs. slightly more informal {to Izumis, as they’re Koushiro’s family} “Arigato[u]”, which he slowly begins to start using more often by late 02′s World Tour arc} This is right after Koushiro’s returned home the first time, so the Izumis are bemused by Koushiro saying “Thank You” so openly)

{“Even if {Koushiro} is [hiding something], We can’t blame {Koushiro}. We’re [hiding something]* from {Koushiro}, TOO.”}

* = Koushiro’s Adoption backstory, which Koushiro continues to show clear awareness of Izumi Parents knowing & keeping the secret from Koushiro, including throughout this entire episode. (After Koushiro just got back from being stuck in the Digital World for over two months in Digital World time, maybe NOT counting the time Koushiro spent trapped and isolated in Vademon’s ‘pocket’ dimension...)

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[agumonger]

Digimon 02 survey! Part 2

We've seen it around. "I wish we saw them more! I wish we knew more about them!" Well, now's your time! Which supporting characters besides the main 02 cast or the Adventure kids do you think should get some more time in the spotlight in a sequel?

[duckduckhjonk]

another round of me yapping about the Total Drama Digimon au! Some lines are done!

For the most part I've been working backwards on the elimination order. The only exception here is Leshawna because I cannot for the life of me find a partner that suits her. I really want to do her justice and so far I haven't had much luck so I decided to come back to her.

The arrow pointing from the contestant to the digimon just means their base form/what form their in the most often.

I think most of these are really well done so far. I ended up making Tsukaimon Gwen's rookie just to compensate both ideas for her partner that I originally mentioned.

I think in terms of the campers gaining the evolution lines themselves, it would be threefold for most of them. Champion in Island, Ultimate in Action, and Mega in World Tour, maybe some get a Ultra in All Stars? I think the only exceptions would be the non-multi season casts and Alejandro and Sierra who get theirs throughout world tour, although I have some plans for something interesting for Sierra's partner.

lmk what you think! my inbox is always open! :D