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obiyuki-beebs · 5 years ago

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I found this in chapter 56 and I thought it was kinda interesting. While Zen is comforting Shirayuki as she's crying, Mitsuhide says,"But this is about Zen and Shirayuki. I don't think this sudden distance is a big problem. It's not like being apart would cause their existence to become smaller in each other's lives." Maybe it's foreshadowing they will separate? What are your thoughts on this? Do you think ObiYuki still has a chance or is it just the author toying with us?

hi anon!! (￣ω￣)

Short answer:

Yes, Whoaboy get ready I have some THOUGHTS, YESS!! and No.

I have been sitting on this ask for a long time sorry for le wait

The vast majority of this post is below the cut. I hope it is not too much / addresses what you meant.

Here are some notes before I subject whoever reads this to my madness:

These little moments of “It’s okay to do what you want to do” always strike me, and I think about them when I’m considering Zen v Obi endgame because it opens up the possibility that things can change.

Yes it’s a shojo and shojo protagonists tend to stick with their initial love interest... blah blah blah. I don’t think this preconceived notion of how shojo manga ‘always goes’ is a valid point anymore.

So .... I think the comments we are both thinking of usually refer to Shirayuki’s Path and how she must be able to Stand By Zen’s Side as an Ally, etc. So I’ll kind of be thinking of this from the angle of a Journey.

Everything discussed is also after The Play We Believe is Foreshadowing (except for the panels pulled from ch 9 and 20) which I think should be considered for the context of the plot.

If it is actually foreshadowing for an eventual Obi & Shirayuki story arc -- which tbh we might be in the midst of (currently) at ch 117 without realizing it -- then it’s relevant to how we frame the comments made afterwards. At the end of the day, Akizuki-sensei is an author. She is telling us a story. I think it’s reasonable to seek out clues to foreshadowing in fictional stories. So I’m operating under a 90% certainty that the play is foreshadowing.

I have found that the best (fictional) stories are ones that have been planned carefully. I have no way of verifying if AnS has been so precisely crafted to weave in so much foreshadowing that we speculate over, but damn it sure feels like it was.

The manga was originally just the first chapter, so we can assume that after writing that chapter and deciding to make it into a series, there was some planning done.

ANyway............... strong speculation ahead. I think I was ~60% thorough in my search to find material relevant to Foreshadowing of a Separation.

Please enjoy!

1) So we’ll start with a panel from ch 9,

where Zen is considering his relationship with Shirayuki and his growing crush.

This panel is, as stated above, part of the story that Akizuki expanded on after the original one-shot. In the first chapter, we get a lot of cute fate-chitchat between Zen and Shirayuki, but I think -- after deciding to continue the story -- Akizuki changed the tone to allow for more character development, and to challenge the Fate tropes often seen in romance.

Thus, the statement above from Zen that they may not always be together.

foreshadowing ?! ( ˙▿˙ )

___________________________

2) In Chapter 28,

we have the crew essentially saying they are all growing stronger for the sake of each other, and lending their strength as needed.

Within the story, Akizuki-sensei has established a theme of moving forward and changing as needed as a way to get stronger.

Mitsuhide says this to Shirayuki, also in Ch 28:

Why .... does Mitsuhide look so serious as he says this to her? Is he reconciling the fact that Shirayuki and Zens paths may diverge at some point, as they do for the Lyrias arc?

He follows up the above statement with:

He goes on to say,

“I want you to follow your heart so you can stand on your own wherever Zen takes you.”

So... maybe that context takes away some of the significance for fellow lovers of AnS. But I don’t think we should just ignore the statement.

I think she’s being given permission to change her mind; that it’s okay for her to have feelings for Zen, but it’s also okay if she chooses to end things. Mitsuhide will support her either way.

Even though the the full remark still has to do with Zen, she is being encouraged to stand on her own. She is her own person. She has friends who will still be there even if she chooses something different from what people expect of her.

In this case -- pertaining to AnS as a whole, from the perspective of everyone who ‘knows’ about ZenYuki in-story and also (meta!) the manga readers -- Shirayuki is expected to someday marry Zen.

After this, in Chapter 29, Izana is a bit derisive to Shirayuki after she gets the title from Tanbarun. I think his comments are intentionally made to make her uncomfortable. He says,

“Hahahaha! What an unusual title! Amazing!”

- cue confusion from Zen and Shirayuki -

“I wasn’t poking fun at it, it’s just a bit strange. Hmm... before, I said a nobody like her at your side would sully your name, Zen, but with this you can be friends without any such worry, right?

“Shirayuki, I’ve never asked what kind of relationship you want to have with Zen. And I don’t know if it’s something that can be said.”

Alrighty. So. Izana says in front of Shirayuki that he had described her as a nobody. This seems like something said meant to disquiet her, and her initial reaction is, “taken aback,” so we can safely say it was at least temporarily disconcerting for her to hear. I imagine it’s hurtful to hear you were once thought of as someone unworthy of notice.

Don’t get me wrong, I think most of what Izana says and does is in relatively good faith. I think the fandom has come to a general conclusion that he’s testing their relationship.

Obi finds her in the early morning and he notices that she’s upset, commenting that she’s making a strange face. She is still thinking about what Izana said, and Obi asks,

“Is it about the path you want to take?”

“....No. It’s that I haven’t given it any thought.”

Zen already wishes (though I don’t think he’s explicitly stated it the way he does later in ch 33) to marry Shirayuki, and we see her here facing emotional turmoil because that part of her future isn’t something she has thought about yet. Interesting, to say the least.

I’m not really sure about this, but it seems like she either means where Zen is taking her and / or where she can stand on her own.

And then .......

“Obi, will you lend me a hand?”

“Didn’t I tell you before that I’ll take you wherever you want to go?”

This part of the story is still heavy ZenYuki, but I think Obi saying this to her right now is significant. Akizuki has repeatedly weaved Shirayuki’s path into the themes of the story so far, while contrasting that Zen will meet her at her destination, while Obi will be at her side for the journey.

Zen and Shirayuki meet and talk. They basically address that Shirayuki doesn’t really know what the future holds, but that she still wants to stand by his side, and says that even though he’s a prince she wants to think it’s okay for her to feel that way.

You almost forget about the significance of Obi and Shirayuki’s relationship when it’s followed up by this ZenYuki scene. I wonder about the aforementioned nature-of-planning involved in the story and the future of the characters at this point.

gnah how did this post get so long already

___________________________

3) Zen has presumably given his blessing for Obi to be happy in love

In chapter 31, while the group is stranded outside Wistal due to rain, Zen and Obi are in the bath talking about the possibility of Kiki and Mitsuhide getting married.

“It’s fine with me as long as they can say that they’re happy. I intend to make sure of that.”

“You’ll make sure of that?”

“The same applies to you too, Obi.”

More foreshadowing? Presently it seems that the MitsuKiki ship has sunk, so contrasting this conversation to current-manga-events is titillating to me. ESPECIALLY because Zen says that he wants to make sure Obi is happy when Zen knows how Obi feels about Shirayuki. So it’s established that they will support one another as friends.

Later, Kiki and Mitsuhide are talking after dinner and discuss how the nature of Zen and Shirauki’s friendship never changes (that’s the impression I got from it). Mitsuhide recalls when he and Zen talked about the same thing:

I think what Kiki and Mitsuhide are referring to is that Zen and Shirayuki have made a conscious effort to become friends despite the barriers they’ve encountered so far, by way of them showing the strength of their mutual respect and desire to aid one another. I get a similar feel from the conversation between Zen and Mitsuhide.

And then .....

“The two of us will always be friends.”

ahem

Zen saying this -- in context to everything from the past four chapters -- implies that Zen is okay if their relationship is not romantic. If it is true that the mangas plot was deliberately planned out, these chapters will become increasingly interesting to look back on as the plot progresses.

The direction of the story has changed since then if we are only looking at the big turning point of Mitsuhide rejecting Kiki.

And despite that rejection, the group is still a group despite their physical distance.

___________________________

Brief note to say that in Ch 33 Izana says to Zen,

“Let me be an ally as you and Shirayuki follow your own path.”

While this is a ZenYuki comment, I see it as Akizuki reinforcing that each character is following their own path and they will be supported as they do.

___________________________

3.5) After this point is the first Lyrias arc,

where obiyuki shippers are starting to salivate over how much is packed in just for their relationship. I mean .... remember when she pushed him to the ground because she thought he would get hit by snow? And he gives her those moony eyes just like it didn’t stop ... my heart

UGH JUST SAYING IT BECAUSE context! Shirayuki’s path is changing slowly, and Obi is still by her side.

___________________________

4) A period of transition

I think this is around the time the Bergatt arc is actually beginning, leading up even to current-manga-events.

In Chapter 53

And thus, they head towards the path that a new wind blows upon.

The times are changing.

While Shirayuki is preparing for her and Ryuu’s move to Lyrias, Zen and co. are at Wilant meeting with Haruto, who describes fools aiming to throw the country into turmoil. This is a seed for the plot that develops, ie, the Bergatt arc that was not actually resolved when Touka gets taken down at Sereg in ch (?) 86. I bring this up because I think it shows the level of planning that Akizuki has put into the story at this point.

In chapter 55, after Shirayuki has finally been able to tell Zen she’ll be away from Wistal for 2 years, and they have this conversation (slightly paraphrased) after he’s processed for a short time:

Zen -

“Sorry. The fact that you would be leaving the castle was something that I’d never considered. So my reaction was a little slow.

“I’ll hear it. I’m sure there was more you wanted to say.”

Shirayuki -

“I’m really glad that I got to meet you and come to the castle! I’m where I am now because I wanted to become Zen’s ally; and i achieved that by coming to the castle and becoming a royal pharmacist.

“I’m sure that, like how it’s always been, there’s something ahead connecting to my path now. That’s why, because there’s a place I have yet to go, I want to be there.”

This is Zen’s face after she says the above:

What is he thinking? Is he worried about their romantic relationship? I interpret it as preemptive disappointment that they may not stay together.

Shortly after we get to the point you made in your ask (sweet anon) re ch 56 with Mitsuhides comment. This adds to the reinforced theme that change is okay and they will all still be friends and allies regardless of where life takes them.

BUT IMMEDIATELY AFTER Mitsuhide says that in reference to Zen and Shirayuki, Obi responds:

Is Akizuki drawing a parallel between MitsuKiki and ZenYuki? No idea. maybe. But somehow I do not find it coincidental.

This seems like a MitsuKiki hint, meant to fuel the ultra-shippable pair that we all loved... but after the rejected proposal, it’s hard not to see the whole situation differently re: zenyuki / obiyuki and mitsukiki / hisakiki.

Then the first true ObiYuki hug, and this:

“It feels as though Obi might suddenly appear in Lyrias!”

girl you already knew. Shirayuki knows that Obi will follow her.

Obi deliberately postpones going to Lyrias, though, in order to consider his feelings for Shirayuki and how to tell Zen.

Then!! in 58-59 we get long-awaited confirmation from Obi that he has feelings for Shirayuki, and after this beautiful moment Obi goes to Lyrias to be at Shirayuki’s side, and after everything that has happened so far that is a clincher for me regarding our beloved Foreshadowing.

While discussing Obi’s crush on Shirayuki, Obi asks Zen

“Aren’t you going to propose?”

“.......................Well, I’m.. making her .. wait.”

“Master ... I don’t recommend postponing it, you know.”

I wonder about this comment. Is this a clue for us that Zen postponing engagement is going to be a negative thing in the future?

idk maybe ╮(￣ω￣)╭

Either way ........ This transition period, in between Lyrias 1 and 2, shows us that the story is changing.

___________________________

I have definitely not covered all of the possible moments of foreshadowing and am actually going to leave off on that topic for the time being. I might do a part 2 as its own post.

But for now I will switch to previously mentioned point that...

5) Obi and Shirayuki’s paths are walked together

I think the following two panels are a great way to frame their relationship. Chapter 20 in early Tanbarun arc:

And then, much later in chapter 106 as they stand by the fire and Shirayuki tells Obi he’s handsome in the light:

“... because you come with me.” ( ╥ω╥ )

And then more delightful talk from chapter 104 that I think is ... gasp

foreshadowing !!!!!

They are having this discussion after they’ve found out about Kiki becoming engaged to Hisame.

“It’s necessary to have the courage to make a decision and take a step down that path, isn’t it?”

Shirayuki is possibly saying this due to the implications of Kiki’s letter. Kiki has made the choice to take a new path from the one she had been on by marrying Hisame.

So what about Shirayuki’s journey? Has her growth led her to a path she didn’t expect, and now it will take courage to step down it?

In recent chapters Shirayuki is shown to be seeing Obi differently and as a man:

overhearing him calling her beautiful and being surprised that he is embarrassed she heard

witnessing him going to a marriage meeting

that little moment where he is holding her wrist as a Lyrias knight tells him that the knights sister wishes him luck in love

the firelight comment oh my god

realizing she lost the pin Obi gave her and tearing up as she literally stared at him; upset that the gift she cherished is now missing and potentially realizing how very dear to her Obi actually is

fake dating and the 10 seconds of ... just... I still cant even

Obi is the one who is by Shirayuki’s side. They developed a bond through years friendship that is now being reframed by Akizuki. The nature of their relationship has been slowly changing and I think we approaching a time in the manga where Shirayuki will realize it.

___________________________

To answer your last question ... I do think ObiYuki has a chance and I do not think the author is just toying with us. I’ve talked a lot about my ObiYuki Endgame feels in previous posts/asks. I could probably talk about it forever but this post is absurdly long .... sorry

Thank you so much for the ask! and wow thank you so much if you actually read this whole thing!

<3 beebs <3

#obiyuki #obi x shirayuki #speculating #so much speculating #ask beebs #i dont think this is even my longest post #that may be an issue #ans #akagami no shirayukihime #obyuki #meta

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jolteonjordansh · 8 years ago

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Thoughts on D-Reaper Arc

It took so, so long for me to get to this point because so much happens in Digimon Tamers that it even took me by surprise. But in a way I’m glad that a show like this could have so many complexities regarding it that I could write on and on about it and still not say everything there is to say. But I need to lay this to rest, and finish talking about the last of the third Digimon series--Digimon Tamers.

As a note, there’s going to be a lot of points I spend talking in this post about my full thoughts on certain characters and elements of the whole show than the overall plot of this specific arc, but I will address everything I can. I’ll try to keep it as linear as possible, but when certain characters come up, I will be discussing them in bulk. So let me get this post rolling under the break.

Honestly, the best way I can think to describe this arc based on past Digimon series is if you took the elements of danger from The Eighth Child/Myotismon arc from Digimon Adventure and the battle with Apocalymon and made it a ten episode arc. It has the kind of stakes you want in the finale of a Digimon series, but it has the sort of abstractness of Apocalymon and raises said abstractness up to 11. There is a lot of depth, and I probably can't dig deep enough into it in a single post, but that's part of what made it so good to watch.

I can't believe it took this long, but it finally takes until the freaking D-Reaper enters the real world that the people of this world realize how dangerous it might be to stick around and begin a mass evacuation of Shinjuku, even if it's a bit gradual. Seriously, were giant boars and equines not convincing enough for you people? Regardless, the Tamers want to do whatever they can to fight the D-Reaper, but their families are naturally against it. These conflicts do allow for some subtle developments, like Rika further reconciling with her mother before leaving to fight the D-Reaper as she's given a new shirt, now with a full heart as opposed to the broken heart one she always wears. And she actually changes into it. It's subtle, but little moments like this can help me really appreciate how Rika has developed in the series to become more open and establish more relationships with the people (and Digimon) around her, even if she won't always admit it. Henry also has to deal with the struggle of worrying his family--especially his mother--about taking such big risks to save others, but it really helps make the family dynamic complex while still not out of the ordinary either (other than Henry and Suzie being Tamers). The kind of conflict Henry's mother especially feels is very genuine and I really appreciate it. Takato doesn't get much here in that he already left his parents to guide Jeri home, but he kind of had his moment where he had to convince them to allow him to escort her anyway.

Later the parents do get to support the Tamers later on, similar to how the DigiDestined's parents in Digimon Adventure did, but we can really see them go out of their way to do so. The Tamers and their Digimon get invited to Rika's house, making them suspicious, but they arrive to a big meal prepared for them. It's basically the parents accepting that they have to let the kids do what they feel is best and try to stop the D-Reaper, and it is pretty touching. Again, it's a small thing, but it really shows just how much the parents really care for their kids in this series and even when it's so difficult for them, they are willing to support them. Plus, they do start to help out at Hypnos along with the Wild Bunch later. Also, Guilmon gets more Guilmon bread! Hurray!

Even Ryo gets like... a single moment with who we can assume is his dad, but it's not really enough for him. Unfortunately, the best that comes out of this is seeing his partner in Rookie form as Monodramon. But honestly? Monodramon is pretty quirky and adorable, now actually having a hint of personality over being Cyberdramon in a constantly grouchy mood. Still, when the Digimon partner is more interesting and deep than the Tamer... that's kind of a problem.

Jeri has also started acting... really weird after coming home. And I mean really weird. Not only is she a mindless zombie, but when she isn't she's pinning little kids to the ground and speaking nonsense, she eventually outright disappears. This is where Digimon Tamers starts to get into Nightmare Fuel territory and now I can start to see why the word "dark" is used for this series so often. Don't get me wrong, it was dark from the start, but it just gets downright creepy and surreal here, almost to kind of Silent Hill levels.

But with all of the danger now in the real world, we finally get some focus back on Impmon which we really haven't had since the Gallantmon fight. He finally decides to reconcile with his implied Tamers, Ai and Mako, but they're missing from their apartment due to the mass evacuation. However, they do leave a note specifically for Impmon letting him know they're at their grandmother's house. He decides to give another chance at reuniting with them, and to his surprise the two apologize to him and have learned to share with one another. I have to admit, despite being such minor characters with subtle development, it's really nice to see how they've changed. I maybe would have liked to actually seen this change happen, but that's a nitpick at best--it's still clear that Impmon’s leave triggered said development and I can appreciate that. When they all see the main three Digimon and their Tamers fighting the D-Reaper on TV however, Impmon decides he has to help and promises his two friends he will be back. This leads to Mako giving Impmon a toy gun to "beat the bad guys"--a nice gesture of child innocence. Impmon takes it anyway, but this reconnection with his Tamers not only leads to him Warp Digivolving to Beelzemon, but also allowing a Mode Change to Beelzemon Blast Mode.

This is where Impmon really started to grow on me as probably one of my favorite redemption characters ever. I'm a sucker for the trope, and the way it's executed with Impmon is just really well written and it's given a lot of time and attention to really make this change feel realistic and convincing for the audience. I want to root for him now, whether the protagonists believe in him or not. I want him to follow his newfound convictions and win his battles. I can't believe I've gone from saying "This character is a little shit," to "This character is one of my favorite redemption characters I've ever experienced in any medium." It really goes to show just how powerful and well-executed the whole transition is. From the moment you see his wings sprout and Mako's gun transform with the Mode Change to Beelzemon Blast Mode along with probably the best use of the song EVO, it's hard to deny that Impmon is probably one of the most if not the most developed character in Tamers.

Cutting to the fight on TV, the Tamers find themselves unable to take on the D-Reaper with their Digimon at Ultimate level, so they need to achieve Mega level. However... they can no longer Matrix Digivolve since they're back in the real world and are no longer data. Thankfully Beelzemon does come in to help to defeat one of the D-Reaper Agents, but this isn't the solution to the whole problem. This leads to them being confronted by a strange girl named Alice and her Doberman... Sorry, no, Dobermon (Digimon sure loves making puns with the -mon prefix, don't they?). Fun fact that Dobermon is actually a fan-made Digimon that won a V-Jump contest for original Digimon designs and earned an appearance in the anime. He appears as a messenger from the Four Sovereigns to give the Tamers a special power to allow them to Matrix Digivolve with their partners. But this... requires him to sacrifice himself to give them this power. Come on, a second Digimon dog death!? God, I chose the wrong time to watch this series... Aim straight for the heart, why don't you. I hope the person who designed Dobermon wasn’t too torn to watch the writers kill off their own creation. Anyway, Alice also disappears by the end of the episode, apparently having been dead and was also a granddaughter of one of the members of the Wild Bunch, "Dolphin". Huh, random connections.

So the Tamers and their Digimon are finally able to Matrix Digivolve again and stand a chance against the D-Reaper, but now we see more of the D-Reaper's true colors, and this would probably be a good time for me to talk about how I feel about this antagonist. And as an antagonist, I think it works well. Since it's basically an old security program gone rogue, it's a sort of an AI takeover plot--thinking it's doing the right thing entirely based on logic that all beings are inferior creatures. And that is, technically, the case. The Digimon are capable of easily being erased by merely making contact with the D-Reaper, while humans in general are just flawed creatures.

Things like our emotions and feelings do cause problems, and it makes things way more complicated than for a machine to make a simple deduction. Just as an example, imagine a person having to make the choice of either killing one person or 1,000 people, but the one person was an important individual like a family member or significant other. By emotional attachment, this decision would be much harder to make if even possible. For a machine or program like the D-Reaper, it could easily decide without hesitation that killing a single person over 1,000 is the best decision that would cause the least amount of damage. And for a series like Digimon Tamers which has focused so much on things like the development and the flaws of people and even Digimon, it does work well.

Although I do have to admit, I kind of wish we had an antagonist with a little more... sentience? Personally, an antagonist like Apocalymon fits that kind of role perfectly for me, but I wouldn't have wanted them to do the same thing again either so I do appreciate the variance. Still, I can't help but feel like the D-Reaper's threat level somehow goes down in the real world. Remember how I mentioned it could literally delete Digimon by mere physical contact? Well, the Digimon come in contact with the D-Reaper several times in the real world, with Gallantmon even being dragged inside it, but nothing like that happens to them. No deleting, not even so much as disintegration. I guess being in the real world changes things, but it kind of bothered me and made it feel less threatening than before.

Though, when Gallantmon does get pulled into the D-Reaper, it does separate him back to Takato and Guilmon, but they land in an untouched park area since apparently the D-Reaper hates organic life, as told by Jeri who suddenly shows up. Except... the real Jeri has been gone the whole time, and zombie Jeri was simply an Agent of the D-Reaper, while the D-Reaper has been carrying and using Jeri the whole time since her sorrowful emotions have apparently helped power it. The Nightmare Fuel kicks off even further from here, as fake Jeri goes from being a creepy zombie Jeri to this freaking monster. It's scary just looking at it, but the transformation itself is even more horrifying, and it eventually starts wreaking havoc on Takato's mind and manipulating him with thoughts of Jeri. Thankfully, they're saved by the cutest hero ever MarineAngemon, with what else? KISSES! KISSES OF DEATH! He also heals Sakuyamon with these kisses. Gosh, have I ever told you guys how wonderful and adorable MarineAngemon is? Saving the day with kisses since 2002.

Before Takato and Guilmon are able to return to the battle, things seem hopeless for the rest of the Tamers outside as D-Reaper Agents continue fighting them. That is until a mysterious new Digimon conveniently shows up to save the day for everyone--Justimon! ... Yeah, you guys can already tell who this is supposed to be, right? Who else but freaking Ryo? Yep, Ryo has managed to achieve Matrix Digivolution with Cyberdramon. And thus... I have to talk about the worst of the Mega forms in this series, Justimon. Justimon is just really lame as a Mega form and as a Matrix Digivolution. His design is really boring and uninspired, basically just a really bland Super Sentai-like character with no redeeming qualities. I mean, if they had made him a more dragon-like sort of Kamen Rider character that would have been neat (considering even Cyberdramon was more of a dragon than any of Guilmon's Digivolutions), but he's about as much of a blank slate as could be. There's also no hint of Cyberdramon's presence or personality whatsoever. I mean, I get that Cyberdramon basically had no personality, but Monodramon at least had something that could be worked with. All of the other Mega forms typically focus on the personalities of the Digimon with some occasional input from the Tamers. With Justimon, it's all Ryo, who we all know is as bland as cardboard.

It's obvious that he was just thrown in because the executives wanted an excuse for the writers to use and advertise him more, and that's exactly why Justimon is present. Hell, I only recently realized a huge problem with his existence: How the hell were Ryo and Cyberdramon able to Matrix Digivolve in the real world? Keep in mind, they never even Matrix Digivolved in the Digital World, meaning they just now learned how to do this. The Four Sovereigns solely sent out Dobermon to give the three main Tamers the power to Matrix Digivolve. Ryo got nothing. Not only that, there was no development towards it whatsoever like with the other Tamers. So the short answer? He's Ryo, he can do what he wants. The long answer? The executives demanded it, and the writers either didn't have time to establish a reason or didn't want to bother with one, so they just made it so. But considering how forced Ryo is in this show, I still can't really blame them for just not giving a damn. I mean, considering Ryo never got a Card Slash animation, but Suzie of all characters gets one, you know the showrunners just did not like having this character. Justimon never even gets a Matrix Digovolution animation. He just... shows up, and rarely does anything that meaningful. He's basically always in the backseat and never does anything important--kind of like how he's been the entire show I guess, which really explains everything in the end. For as little as characters like Kazu, Kenta and Suzie do, they still feel more impactful than Ryo ever does.

Okay, so Ryo's not exactly a great character, I think literally the only other thing that actually bores me around the same level on this show would maybe be the Agents of the D-Reaper? Their designs aren't quite as interesting as Digimon designs, and I still kind of wish the Tamers were fighting Digimon. They just feel like a mesh of abstract ideas with not much thought put into them. Maybe that's either the point, or I'm not looking into it deep enough, but most of them have such little screentime that I wouldn't get the chance to really analyze them unless I looked at still frames or official art.

I know I'm ranting here, but I swear there's still a lot of good to Digimon Tamers here. Impmon finds himself working with Calumon a lot in this arc, which is a great irony when you consider how much he picked on him in the beginning and, again, really shows how far his character has come. They work together as Calumon claims to be able to sense Jeri within the D-Reaper, who Impmon does want to try to make up to. Their teamwork is really part of what helps save Jeri, with Calumon able to sense Jeri's presence, Beelzemon being able to break through an invisible barrier containing Jeri, while Calumon is able to get through but Beelzemon ends up captured for a while. Meanwhile, Calumon finds another zombie Jeri, though this is actual Jeri stuck in a trance of sorrow. Seeing Calumon trying to be as supportive of Jeri as possible throughout this arc and basically be like a lending ear and source of encouragement for her shows just how pure and sweet Calumon is.

So now, I can finally talk about Jeri, who I think is probably the most "controversial" character in this series. But honestly? I like her, and I really like and respect her character and the maturity of it. I'm not calling her character herself mature, but rather just how deeply she's written. She could have gone wrong in so, so many ways and she had so much going against her to easily be a bad character in similar ways I feel about early season Kari and Meiko. She could have easily fallen into the Damsel in Distress, the Living MacGuffin and Purity Personified tropes that would have made her an extremely unlikeable character that could have potentially made her even worse than the other two Digimon characters I mentioned earlier. But the execution of her character avoids these easy pitfalls so well and writes her to be an incredibly realistic character that someone in the audience can relate to. Leomon's death triggers serious PTSD of her mother's death, all of which led her to live the philosophy that everything in life is destined and written and it cannot be fought. On top of this, she feels like she's part of this problem, and as humans, it's easy for our despair to lead us to believe that something we have no control over is our fault. It gets to the point that she honestly thinks she's better off dead and even makes a suicide attempt, which really shows just how much she doesn't want to hurt anyone but feels trapped.

This isn't helped by her not-so-good relationship with her father, who does seem like an uncaring asshole from the end of the Digital World arc. But as Digimon Tamers loves teaching its audience, not everything is as it seems. Jeri's father is more of an awkward dad who doesn't really understand how to be a proper dad, likely due to the death of Jeri's mother early on. It doesn't necessarily mean he hates Jeri, because after Takato tells everyone that Jeri is inside the D-Reaper, the man goes out of his way to take action by stealing a vehicle and trying to ram through the D-Reaper with it. It's not that he ever disliked Jeri, but he simply doesn't understand how to express how much he cares about and loves her. And after really understanding what Tamers was trying to do with this situation, it hit close to home since I've had a lot of trouble communicating with and understanding my dad, and he's always been a kind of awkward dad in general. It never made him a terrible father or meant he didn't love me or I didn't love him.

The D-Reaper's indifference and logical mindset really works here, and I can appreciate it's more machine-like nature in how it simply uses whatever it can to throw Jeri further into despair for its own benefit. It utilizes flashbacks of the moment her mother's death, and then turns it up to 11 with some seriously horrifying imagery. It's no wonder she becomes so broken and horrified--How was this show for kids again? Not to mention it tries to use her father's images against her, but now that he's actually standing up to act like a father, the whole plan backfires. Jeri herself isn’t entirely powerless on her own either, as throughout much of her self-reflection she has Calumon trying to cheer her up. And ultimately in the end, she does begin to fight back against the D-Reaper, and she ultimately couldn't have been freed from it nor could have the Tamers and their Digimon been able to bring themselves to defeat the D-Reaper without her trying to break through.

Although... For dub watchers, I can understand why they may not like Jeri because some of the script writing really destroys some of these complexities. What triggers this entire episode with Jeri is Leomon's last words to her, which originally were along the lines of "So this is my fate." This triggered her memories of her mother's death, so not only was she in despair over Leomon, but her own mother, so past memories and pain resurfaced for her. But in the dub... They changed Leomon's last words to "Remember, you have a lion's heart." This isn't just unnecessarily cheesy (coming from someone who likes cheesy things), but it completely ruins the original meaning and can make Jeri's mourning come off as more selfish when Leomon's new words are ones of encouragement to her. In which case, I can understand why more people might find her whiny and be annoyed by her. But for me? I honestly really like her. She doesn't necessarily develop at the same level as some of the other characters like Takato, Henry or Rika, but she's a flawed human being like many of us, and she's a young girl who's still growing up and recovering from some unfortunate events in her life, and I think that makes her a great character. Also, there's some speculation in the fandom that she might be autistic, but there's no official confirmation of this and I am not touching that subject on this website with a ten foot pole despite my own experiences.

Part of this recovery is reconciling with Beelzemon, which is something Beelzemon has to work for himself. And my God, it's so good. This is part of why I love Beelzemon as a redemption character, because he truly has to work for his redemption to Jeri and still works for it knowing she may not even forgive him. After Beelzemon awakens in the D-Reaper and breaks free, he deals with a psychological battle between the D-Reaper and himself as it utilizes the fact that he killed Leomon to upset not only Jeri, but also upsetting Beelzemon for reminding him of his sins. But the fact that he still keeps fighting to save Jeri, knowing he doesn't deserve forgiveness, even when his gun Mako had given him shatters and forces him to fight down to his fists to break Jeri free really shows his desire to help her. Gallantmon even fights alongside him, and eventually Beelzemon breaks the barrier holding Jeri and Calumon by utilizing Leomon's Beast-King Fist, which makes Jeri remember Leomon. But because of this, Jeri is paralyzed with such shock that she doesn't reach out to Beelzemon. This is both an incredibly awesome and badass moment of redemption as well as a tragic one. Beelzemon's determination to save Jeri despite everything against him is honestly inspiring as I've gone on before. But his ability of using Leomon's signature move to save her is, while undeniably a Crowning Moment of Awesome, is a moment of irony as it prevents him from saving her due to his previous actions.

It hurts even more because when the barrier shuts again, he still tries to punch his way through until he's fatally wounded by one of the D-Reaper's Agents, slowly falling as his data disintegrates. This moment actually really got me and is probably one of the most effective fake-out deaths I've seen. Usually, I get extremely mad at these, but the way his redemption was built up only for his attempt to save Jeri to fail does give the impression that maybe he wouldn't be able to earn said redemption and let karma take its course by killing him off. Considering how Tamers really wasn't afraid to kill off characters (except Shibumi I guess), I wasn't entirely sure if the show was going to be willing to spare Beelzemon. Not to mention, for how slow they show his "death", even pushing it to the next episode as a cliffhanger, I was gradually, internally, repeatedly screaming "NO" inside and could feel my heart sinking lower and lower with every second he continued to disappear. Thankfully, Beelzemon is spared and reverts to Impmon, but I honestly do not remember the last time I was so convinced a character could die. Many times I find myself rolling my eyes, questioning what cop-out a show will find to prevent a death or bring a character back to life. None of that happens here, and even though Impmon lives, it's hard to see him reduced so low despite his true efforts. It's such a well-executed set of scenes that it's part of what makes me adore Beelzemon so much as a character. And with how hard he tries to save Jeri, it's no wonder she feels so terrible for being unable to bring herself to reach out to him.

Impmon's savior is one of the more minor but one of my favorite characters in this arc and series. With all that Hypnos and the Wild Bunch have been working on in the background, they've worked on upgrading the Ark that brought the Tamers home from the Digital World. Its communication with Takato and Guilmon wasn't a simple one-off thing, as the Wild Bunch develop and work on him further to make him a steed for Gallantmon--Grani, who's a sort of flying... dragon-horse vehicle whose named after Sigurd's horse from Norse mythology (because HELL YES NORSE MYTHOLOGY IS AWESOME). But Grani helps in multiple battles by giving Gallantmon aerial mobility (something you'd swear he already had from how high he can jump in some shots), making some fights go much smoother as Takato and Guilmon bond with him throughout the few episodes he has, with them even talking to him and thanking him. His sentience is hinted at further throughout the arc, but I'll get to that reveal for the last of the arc.

But after Beelzemon fails to save Jeri, the D-Reaper spreads to the Wild Bunch's HQ and becomes too dangerous for the Tamers and their Digimon to deal with and even they are forced to evacuate. This really makes the whole fight against the D-Reaper feel genuinely hopeless considering the protagonists have to make a full-on retreat--something I can't think of happening in many shows to this degree. It does lead to an interesting bit of continuity with the Battle of Adventurers movie, with Takato's family retreating to Okinawa to see his cousin Kai. Not something the dub watchers of 2002 would have understood, but it's a nice little touch. All hope is lost until the Wild Bunch develops a plan to defeat the D-Reaper while still saving Jeri. It's... too complicated for me to paraphrase, but if you've watched Digimon Tamers then you know how ridiculously in-depth the plan is. Once it's set however, the Tamers say farewell to their families for a final battle against the D-Reaper and go on their mission to save Jeri. With a Red Card developed by the Wild Bunch, the Tamers Card Slash it and can now maintain Matrix Digivolution even when inside the D-Reaper.

This is probably where I should mention one of my other personal problems with the D-Reaper. The last fight... doesn't particularly click with me. It's not really bad, but I was kind of left wanting a little more. This still has to do with me wanting Digimon to fight, the D-Reaper Agents being rather unmemorable to me, and the D-Reaper not having much of its own sentience. The battle is more of a mission than it is a duel of hand-to-hand combat with a specific target, and said mission is to eradicate the D-Reaper and also save Jeri, so I understand why it is the way it is. Still, this doesn't mean the fights with the Agents aren't easy, as Gallantmon eventually falls to the ground only to hear a voice asking "Do you want wings?".

Once again, our savior is Grani! Grani proves his true sentience here, with the ability to talk and make his own thoughts and decisions. This all sadly leads to Grani sacrificing himself, fusing with Gallantmon to allow him to Mode Change into Gallantmon Crimson Mode, giving him more robust, red armor, a new lance and a sword to wield, and of course, has now been given five pairs of radiant white wings. This tears me up knowing Grani ends up being sacrificed after finally talking to Takato and Guilmon, but I don't exaggerate when I say this: Gallantmon Crimson Mode is one of my absolute favorite and one of the best things to come out of Digimon Tamers.

I already talked on and on about why Gallantmon is my favorite Mega form, including because of how well he works for Takato and Guilmon. All of this still applies for both Gallantmon and Gallantmon Crimson Mode. But I do remember one thing I thought of when I saw Gallantmon was "Man, the only thing that could make him even better was if he had wings!” So they gave him wings. And let me tell you, the moment I heard Grani ask Gallantmon "Do you want wings?" I literally was ready to jump off the couch, screaming "YES! YES! YES! YES!". If Gallantmon is perfect, Gallantmon Crimson Mode is absolutely perfect. I literally have nothing to complain about with this Digimon. Its design, its concept, its abilities and its debut... literally the only thing I would complain about is the sacrifice of Grani, but I am glad Grani's sacrifice went to probably one of my favorite things in Digimon, period.

With the entrance of Gallantmon Crimson Mode, he destroys one of the Agents that frees Jeri out of her depression. The rest of the Tamers and their Digimon destroy the D-Reaper, and Guilmon and Takato separate as Takato is thrown into the air to catch Jeri and Calumon (in what I admit is a really sweet shot). And thus, finally the world is at peace. The Tamers can rest with their Digimon from all of the fighting and are able to all reconcile with each other. ... Oh wait, this is Digimon Tamers, where we hate happy endings.

In short, the plan to defeat the D-Reaper known as "Operation: Doodlebug" utilized part of Yamaki's Shaggai program, meaning the Digimon will be forced back into the Digital World, or else they'll disappear just like the D-Reaper. Henry's father is forced to approach all of the Tamers, including Impmon with Ai and Mako, and explain the situation to them as all of the Digimon are regressed to their In-Training forms in order to be small enough to return to the Digital World (except for Calumon and MarineAngemon). Seeing each of the Tamers having to give a tearful goodbye to their Digimon--especially when they're all in heart-crushingly adorable forms--is extremely heartbreaking and did bring me to tears. So yes, the one time I get to see my precious and wonderful Gigimon is at the very end to break my heart. It hurts especially hearing Gigimon ask Takato to promise that they'll see each other again, which Takato agrees to. But honestly? It really shows just how much these two in particular have grown--the boy who once protected the juvenile Guilmon to an unhealthy degree is willing to make a promise with his friend he has grown with to meet again. The use of 3 Primary Colors here is much more effective, while sort of random and out of place earlier in the series, it's so much more meaningful here and listening to it again gets me teary-eyed even now.

This scene is especially hurtful when Henry's father apologizes over and over, knowing there's nothing he could do to make up for this separation between the Tamers and their Digimon. Henry, however, just shakes his head--indicating he has already forgiven his father. It's honestly a really strong and mature message, one about forgiveness and acceptance that's pretty deep for kids but one that should definitely be told. However, this is another thing the dub decided to tweak the script with that hurts the original message. In the dub, Henry's father apologizes but insists that things will get better over time, with Henry shaking his head in response. This completely changes the context of the original message, and it just comes across as cruel. Not only does it feel like Henry’s father is basically dismissing the pain of the Tamers, but Henry shaking his head in response is basically like him saying he can't forgive him for what's happened. It may seem like a nitpick here, but it really is an important part of the original story that gets changed for no good reason.

After a timeskip however, everyone's lives are seemingly back to normal with Digimon no longer in the picture. That is until Takato one day goes by Guilmon's hideout, checking inside to find a portal to the Digital World--giving hope that he may be able to see his Digimon once more. And this is where Digimon Tamers ends.

I would by lying if I didn’t say that when I first watched this ending, I felt a bit of Mood Whiplash. It's great to see the Tamers finally find some peace after the events of the D-Reaper, though I guess to be expecting a happy ending from Digimon Tamers might seem naïve of me. At the same time though, the whole reveal of the Digimon having to return to the Digital World is a little sudden. I'm not saying it doesn't work, as it is an effective sucker punch that hits hard. But at the same time, it comes and goes a little too fast for me. Personally, I would have preferred a little more development with the goodbyes like in Digimon Adventure, but I wouldn't have wanted them to have carbon copy endings either. So I guess a sucker punch bittersweet ending makes more sense for the kind of tone Digimon Tamers has in comparison. At the same time, suddenly resolving the issue with this goodbye by showing a Digital World portal right at the end kind of hurts the impact of such a bittersweet ending.

However, I heard there was a bit of executive meddling in this regard. From what I understand, the network--presumably Fuji Television--was against the producers ending the show with a downer ending, so they asked for it to be lightened up. Hence, the flashforward with the Digital World portal. I can understand the thought behind this, and it would be pretty hard on some kids, but from a story-telling standpoint I do think it hurts some of the impact. Not enough to ruin the ending, but enough to notice how softened up it is. I also heard that the producers decided, in response, to make a drama CD that would have reflected their original ending with the Tamers sending a message to their Digimon in the Digital World. I have not listened to it, so I don't know what exactly happens, but I do know it's pretty sad.

So to make some final closure, I absolutely adore Digimon Tamers. I know a lot of Digimon fans agree it's the best anime series of the bunch, but for me? I'm... not really sure. While I will admit that compared to Digimon Adventure, it's generally more coherently written with a lot more complexities in mind, and overall has better technique. But at the same time, there are some elements of Digimon Adventure that I like more than I do about Digimon Tamers--a certain charm that can't be replicated. This does not make Digimon Adventure better, but it doesn't make Digimon Tamers better either. Personally, I think I love both on an equal level. They both have their own merits and reasons to enjoy them, and a few of their own issues as well. They have a different cast with their own appeal, different Digimon that are loveable in their own ways, and different universes that just work differently. Some people either love or criticize Digimon Tamers for being darker, and while I could feel it is darker in tone I never felt that it was forced. It felt natural enough for me to enjoy it without it feeling jarring, disturbing, or have me rolling my eyes thinking this was Digimon's attempt to be "cool". Digimon was already pretty cool from the start, so having a different tone like Tamers that was noticeably darker but still had enough heartwarming moments made it feel just right. It's fun, it's charming, it's thoughtful, it has depth, it's even scary at times, but it's also just awesome... even if it's filled to the brim with tearjerkers.

But... I'm not done with Digimon Tamers yet, because apparently the showrunners wanted to do more--with another movie.

#Shut Up JJ #JJ DigiWatches #Final Thoughts

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