#digimon introduced in 1998

[digi-lov]

I wanna talk about Tailmon, Angewomon, and Holydramon for a moment.

All three of them debuted in Digital Monster Ver. S for the Sega Saturn back in September 1998. The game functions mostly like a V-Pet, with 4 slots for Digimon to raise. The game also featured the rosters of the V-Pets Ver. 1, 2, 3, and 4, as well as 14 new Digimon, including these three.

Now, the Ultimate (Dub: Mega) stage didn't get introduced to the franchise until the release of the Pendulum 1.0 Nature Spirits in October 1998. This was only a month later, but Digital Monsters Ver. S had likely been in development for a while.

So, in their debut game, Holydramon wasn't actually the evolution of Angewomon, but one of the possible Perfect evolutions of Tailmon, alongside Angewomon.

成熟期 seijukuki Adult (Champion) | 完全体 kanzentai Perfect (Ultimate)

Not much later, with the release of the Pendulum 1.5 Nature Spirits in January 1999, Holydramon was promoted to Ultimate level. However, despite this, and both Angewomon and Holydramon being featured in this V-Pet, it was still not possible to evolve Angewomon into Holydramon.

As I mentioned in my post about the history of Adventure's Tailmon's Ultimate level, the Digivice Version 2 is the first instance of Holydramon as an evolution of Angewomon. It is also weirdly the only Ultimate in the toy, with neither WarGreymon nor MetalGarurumon being included.

Anyway, I think it's interesting to look at their origin and to consider the perspective of them as different directions for Tailmon to take in evolution.

Magnadramon EX3-036 by Takase from EX-03 Theme Booster Draconic Roar

[tobiasdrake]

To further complicate the Gatomon/Tailmon issue, the species debuted in THE SEGA SATURN V-Pet game. Which predates the Ultimate/Mega level, and introduced a few species than in the Pendulum V-Pet would have different levels (Tailmon would evolve into either the humanoid Angewomon or the bestial Holydramon, Syakomon was a Perfect rather than a Child, Mekanorimon was a suit-esque Perfect like Monzaemon rather than an Adult...) The first version of the Pendulum V-Pet is also a bit messy, due to release dates: The Saturn V-Pet released in September 1998, Pendulum 1.0 in October 1998, and both Pendulum 1.5 and Digimon World in January 1999. They all were in development at the same time, use the same general pool of new 'mons... and has them at different levels. So, yeah, that's one confusing point in the history of the franchise.

I love Digimon, but the way they keep changing up the evolution paths is something I noticed even just from playing the video games.

One good thing about the animes is that for Partner Digimon, they effectively carve at least one path into stone. Maybe in this one Agumon can become Tyrannomon and in that one Agumon can become IDK Kabuterimon or something, but one thing's for sure: If Agumon can't become Greymon then MetalGreymon then WarGreymon, people will riot.

[viperzerofsx]

Our antagonists are introduced

[pop-goes-the-sneasel]

eh. Raremon?

Raremon!!!!

In the original Digimon virtual pets, you would traditionally begin with a small “Baby I” digimon, which would soon after evolve into a “Baby II” digimon. From there, it would typically branch into one of two Child-level digimon, which is the usual default stage of most partner digimon and the most recognizable mascots of the franchise. The way virtual pets work is that, depending on the way you care for your digimon, you could influence the outcome of its evolution. The next stage, the Adult-level, is where the original line of virtual pets had the widest span of possibilities. You could influence the resulting evolution depending on factors such as how much training you do with your digimon, how much food you give it, and how often you disturb its sleep. If you fail to meet the requirements for any other evolution, typically through too many care mistakes due to overfeeding, underfeeding, or not letting your digimon get sufficient sleep, your digimon will commonly evolve into what’s known as a “failure evolution” for its Adult stage.

Failure evolutions, as the term implies, tend to be relatively weak and unsightly. They’re typically associated with sludge or garbage, and were a recurring trend of all of the virtual pets in the early years of Digimon. Raremon is one such example. Most failure evolutions tend to be rather small and goofy, but Raremon notably averts this trend, appearing as a massive rotting monstrosity. Raremon essentially represents the attempt of a dying, poorly-treated digimon to extend its own life through mechanization, but in the process it destabilized its form and corrupted its data. Its mental faculties have been rendered nonexistent and it continues to decay indefinitely, but thanks to the machines incorporated into its body, it is unable to actually die.

Needless to say, this is an absolutely marvelous concept for a Digimon. Raremon is simultaneously horrifying and pathetic; a perfect balance of repulsive and pitiable. Its design reflects this superb balance quite well, with a ghastly visage of viscous, rotten slime permeated by wires and metal cords. Its asymmetrical eyes bulge out of metal-plated orifices, and its gaping maw is lined with horrible talon-like teeth. What appears to be a ribcage can be seen peeking from its side, and its back is lined with markings reminiscent of a circuitboard. All of these elements would be quite good individually, but together they make for a truly stunning entity. Appropriate for such a wretched being, its primary method of attack is the expulsion of rancid breath and acid from its mouth, though few beings can tolerate the foul stench it emanates long enough to fight it in the first place.

Raremon is almost entirely antithetical to what is traditionally considered marketable. It’s not cute, badass, or even silly. It’s just a putrid affront to nature that absolutely should not exist. This is the beauty of Raremon: it commits to its concept perfectly and whole-heartedly, making no sacrifice for the sake of toning itself down in the name of commercial appeal. And for a long time – more than 20 years – it would remain the only digimon to really capture such a excellent aesthetic. As of 2021 though, we’ve finally been blessed with a direct evolution that directly carries on Raremon’s theme: Rare Raremon. And with that, it feels like this fetid fiend is finally getting some of the respect it rightfully deserves.

Cute/10

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 - Volume 1

I'm doing things slightly out of order here, but I'd like to get to all the side stuff that came out prior to Tamers before I move on from Adventure. This is the first Digimon manga that came out (aside from C'mon Digimon which is contained within this release) so it'll be interesting to see those humble beginnings.

Ch.1

-So I guess this is some alternate universe version of season 1? (Or maybe like a beta version?) The plot feels a little similar to Digimon World where digimon are a battling v-pet IRL and the main character gets sucked into the digital world solo.

-In this version of the story, Taichi has a V-dramon. Unclear so far what level digivolution a V-dramon is or if it's related to Veemon. Zeromaru is a dumb name...

-Goggles AND a cape? That's a bit much Taichi...

-I like how doofy Gabumon looks in this. The digimon are way more cartoony and expressive so far.

-Full color and actual, red blood!? This manga looks fabulous on my tablet <3

Ch. 2

-More Digimon World vibes. The Holy Angel Castle looks a lot like the ice castle that you can only enter if you have a vaccine digimon in the PSX game...

-There's a "should digimon have human partners?" element here that we haven't really seen in the show yet. I feel like this question is inevitable for most mon series.

Ch. 3

-Okay, I'll admit, I didn't see the pun in "Zeromaru" (maru is another way to say zero) until this chapter. I hate the name slightly less now.

-A Tonosama Gekomon and a HolyAngemon are a pretty bizarre combo lol

-I really love the art style in this actually. Chibi-mode Taichi was adorable in this chapter and the colors are really nice as well. I wish we got more full-color manga releases like this one!

-So Demon is gonna be the big bad in this? That's kinda nice actually cuz he got majorly short shrifted in 02. Seems like his design is completely different here. Kinda looks like Ogremon...

Ch. 4

-I kinda like how the wild digimon get names in this. Since every digimon from the same species seems to be pretty much identical, giving them names allows me to become more attached to them.

-Only just realized that I don't really know why Etemon is called Etemon. I tried googling it and the Digimon wiki's explanation didn't really help...

-Pretty wild that Gabo said "God is gone" lol. Also, Digi-world creation myth confirmed.

-The manga's McGuffin was introduced: V-tags. I'm guessing the "V" is for "Virtual," but if you're going to call everything "digi" that seems to go against the branding a bit...

Ch. 5

-Okay Gabo's incessant "You guys need to act more concerned!!" gag is getting really annoying. He says it like every 3 pages!

-I had no memory of Deltamon so I thought he was new, but I guess he appeared in an 02 episode? He's really ugly. Also, how many samey dino digimon designs do we need!?

Ch. 6

-These chapters are super short and since a lot of them are battles, they take like 2 minutes to read. Perfect for young kids I guess!

-That triceratops with pecs was pretty cursed.

Ch. 7

-When the digimon are hurt their skin cracks like they're made of plastic or something. Kind of a weird choice...

-Another thing that differs between the manga and anime is that we see Taichi perform first-aid care after fights. The anime doesn't really show a lot of wounds in the first place and usually the digimon just rest to heal.

Ch. 8

-I was surprised to see MarineDevimon who doesn't appear in the anime until 02. I wish I knew more about which chapters of this came out when because it apparently came out over the course of 5 years (1998-2003) -- Edit: this info is thankfully on the wiki

-In this chapter Gomamon says that Triceramon being a data-type means he's a "good" digimon. In the anime they said that even virus-types can be good. So maybe that's more of a prejudice than a fact? (Or it's just different in the manga).

-Gomamon is so baby in this!

Ch. 9

-This manga reminds me of Yu-Gi-Oh! season 0 where everything is just slightly off.

-The digimon are more blatantly programs and apparently if you go inside them it's just a neon void? Also, I guess the 01 in the manga's title is a reference to binary.

-Let's see how much random stuff the digivice can do in the manga. So far it allows you to scan digimon for their HP and to communicate telepathically.

Ch. 10

-Already 2 out of 5 tags collected which means that this tag collecting thing is probably just one out of many arcs.

-For some reason the official release goes up to chapter 10 for volume 1 but the fan scans go beyond that? I'm going to stick to the official release because 10 is a nice clean end point.

This manga seems pretty typical for a game/anime-tie in for young boys. The chapters are very easily digestible and nothing too deep happens. The magazine it was serialized in, V-Jump was also home to things like Yu-Gi-Oh!, Dragon Ball and Dragon Quest, so the demographic is pretty clear. I'm really enjoying the artwork mostly. I wish there were more character moments but the reoccurring cast is pretty dinky at the moment. Let's see where this goes!

[shihalyfie]

Adventure, 02, and the “secret double life”

Adventure’s concept of “Chosen Children” prophesized save-the-world heroes is hardly unique to it, and given that it ostensibly follows so many fantasy tropes, it’s easy to see it as having a textbook pattern of the “secret identity”/”secret double life” tropes, in which adventure-faring kids keep everything from their parents and society under the idea that if people found out about their adventures, they’d be kept from action or be experimented on.

But as much as it’s easy to see it that way, in fact, Adventure and 02 had a somewhat different view of the matter. Although 02 in particular, with its concept of “wake up, go to school, save the world,” probably gives off the strongest “double life” aura, in actuality, Adventure and 02 both had an underlying sentiment that the concept of keeping Digimon from one’s parents -- and, eventually, the public -- was practically impossible.

(Unless otherwise stated, translations for Adventure/02/Kizuna are from Ryuu-Rogue/PositronCannon/L Subs, respectively.)

The Hikarigaoka incident

The aftermath of the Hikarigaoka incident in 1995 (or, in other words, the Greymon and Parrotmon incident depicted in the first movie) was depicted in Adventure episode 29, in which, as it turned out, was passed off as a “terrorist bombing incident” -- and that kids like Takeru who attempted to explain the situation to their parents were dismissed for imagining things.

The Adventure novels add a bit of extra addition that there might have been some external finagling to make sure things were cleaned up, but even then, things weren’t all that clean-cut. For one, the Hikarigaoka incident was a rather short one that was cleaned up in quick order -- there was a minimal amount of destruction compared to what later events would bring (only a single localized area in terms of collateral damage, especially since Parrotmon wasn’t there to cause wanton destruction), the full brunt of the incident may not have even spanned so much of an hour, and both Digimon involved vanished almost as quickly as they came. It really is just enough that you could sweep it under the normalcy filter of wanting to throw out any supernatural explanations, especially since the kids themselves eventually succumbed to the adults’ explanations.

And yet, even despite that, Takaishi Natsuko still found the Hikarigaoka incident a topic of interest to the point she started doing independent research on it -- especially when a certain incident four years later pushed things far beyond the range of plausible deniability. The novels make this pretty explicit:

Among her normal jobs, a side project that she was working on involved investigating the “Hikarigaoka terrorist bombing incident” four years ago. It was an incident that occured in the very place where they had lived. Not only did it capture her interest, but as she kept investigating it, she found many aspects about it that weren’t acceptable explanations to her. It still wasn’t enough information for her to put into an article or a book, but someone, somehow, had managed to find out that she was working on it and had contacted her wanting to talk. But when the time of their appointment came, the man she was supposed to meet didn’t appear. What was that man’s name? Oikawa? I think? Well, I’m never going to set up a meeting with him again. 

So in other words, the fact that she had spotted a rat was somewhat public enough for someone to figure out that she was on the case. Not to mention that said someone had also spotted a rat -- someone who was not possessed by any Digimon vampires at this point, and was merely just an enthusiast trying to reconnect with a mysterious phenomenon from his childhood and dealing with grief for his recently deceased friend. It probably would not have been long before the truth would have been fully spilled even by itself -- but later events that would confirm everyone’s suspicious pretty firmly were already on the horizon.

Menoa Bellucci and the advent of Chosen Children

In a bit of “hidden” Adventure lore, the number of Chosen Children thus started to double every year -- something cited by Two-and-a-Half Year Break (Koushirou’s track) and confirmed by directorial statement. (Kizuna’s To Sora is consistent with this principle, and the 02 epilogue being set in 2027-2028 also tracks with the global population being partnered to Digimon with that precise number.) Either way, Adventure episode 53 confirmed that the eight “Tokyo Chosen Children” from 1999 (or, in other words, the Adventure main cast and their partners) were hardly isolated singularities -- there was a group of Chosen Children before them that placed an incomplete seal on Apocalymon prior, and, according to the Adventure novels, four of their partners evolved over a long period of time to become the Holy Beasts. The fact that there had to be at least four gives only a very narrow period of time said Chosen could be from, most likely between 1997 (4 Chosen) to early 1999 (16 Chosen), with the very short real-world time in between likely correlating to enough time in the Digital World for their names to be lost to their history.

(Note that Oikawa Yukio doesn’t count here; although he and Hiroki made contact with the Digital World through video games in the 80s, there is no indication that Oikawa was fundamentally partnered to Pipimon at this time, in the same way that it was only after the Tokyo Chosen Children witnessed the Hikarigaoka incident that “the one who wishes for stability” -- Homeostasis -- came up with the idea for creating a system to tie Digimon evolution to human partners.)

Kizuna confirms it further by introducing Menoa Bellucci, who says that she met Morphomon (and, presumably, did become a Chosen Child) at the age of nine, meaning presumably 1997 -- making her one of the small handful of people who became Chosen Children before the Tokyo eight.

The little snippets we get of Menoa and Morphomon’s life are interesting, but also telling. For one, their life together is depicted through a bunch of photos with both of them there, through events such as birthdays and travel...and given that someone had to have taken all of those photos, this means that it is extremely likely Menoa’s parents were fully aware of Morphomon’s presence and existence as her partner. In other words, Morphomon was not a secret to them in the first place.

Another interesting thing here is that it’s never said that Menoa went on any incredible world-saving adventure during her time with Morphomon, so it’s ambiguous whether she did or not. It’s entirely possible that she did but doesn’t want to bring it up to Taichi and the others because of how much baggage would be associated with it compared to, well, the rest of her early childhood life with Morphomon; given the time dilation that was in play prior to 1999, it’s very likely any adventure she could have gone on would have been lost to Digital World history. (That said, given that Morphomon doesn’t seem to have any ties to Holy Beast lines, a group of 4+ Chosen distinct from her and the other Tokyo Chosen Children by necessity would have to be from 1998 or early 1999.) She does, at the very least, seem to have evolved Morphomon at least once, given that she cites “loss of the ability to evolve” as part of the process of partnership dissolution when explaining it to the others (and it’s implied very heavily she only has her own personal experience to work with). But if Menoa’s parents were sufficiently supportive, it’s possible they might have had no problem with Menoa having a large and very cute butterfly friend -- especially if Menoa didn’t go on some grand adventure and wasn’t even in danger anyway.

We also learn a bit more about the Yagami siblings in Adventure episode 21, which takes place on August 1, 1999, and that Hikari has been witnessing the increased Digimon contact with the human world (part of a long, ongoing process of the Digital World slowly coming into more concrete contact with the human world) for quite a while now, but because it isn’t very “clear” contact yet, she’s the only one who can see them. She’s been trying to tell people for a long time, but nobody believed her -- and that’s the only reason she kept quiet about it.

There’s also another interesting line in this episode, when Taichi considers never returning to the Digital World and staying home with Koromon -- it seems that he intends to be straightforward with Koromon’s presence and not hide him from his parents! At worst, he simply thinks his mom might think Koromon to be a nuisance -- but not something he has to entirely keep a secret, meaning he also trusts his parents to be open-minded about a weird pink talking creature.

The Odaiba fog incident

The “Odaiba fog” incident refers to the events of August 3, 1999, spanning Adventure episodes 35 to 54, when Vamdemon covered Odaiba in fog and launched a bunch of mass kidnappings in the search for the eighth Tokyo Chosen Child, put a large amount of adults to sleep, was defeated by the Chosen Children, and eventually was followed by a projection of the Digital World in the sky, resulting in the surrounding witnesses observing the eight Tokyo Chosen Children and their partners rising into the sky, returning to the Digital World, and defeating the Dark Masters and Apocalymon.

Unlike the Hikarigaoka incident, this was not something that could be easily ignored. People in Odaiba saw, in vivid daylight, a bunch of strange monsters kidnapping them and stuffing them in Tokyo Big Sight. The Digital World appearing in the sky, Digimon falling out of them, and freezing anything they touched happened all over the world. Ultimately, this was not the kind of thing you could just sweep under the rug!

Daisuke, Iori, and Michael recount their experiences with this in 02 episode 14, and Spring 2003 and the Adventure novels depict this as a formative experience for Daisuke wanting to become someone strong enough to protect others. The kids’ parents in Tokyo saw their kids fighting in the sky (in fact, it’s likely everyone did, but only the parents were aware of the actual identities of the kids up there, considering it wasn’t like the sky gives you much of a close-up view). And, of course, we had our “intrepid reporter” Ishida Hiroaki, who was insistent on covering these incidents in Adventure episode 35 before he even knew his sons were involved, and Takaishi Natsuko, who, as per 02 episode 38, ended up tacking this on her list of Digimon incidents to investigate.

So by the conclusion of this incident, it is pretty safe to say the populace knows that Digimon are a thing. Of course, they still haven’t made sense of all of it, and everyone (including Hiroaki and Natsuko themselves) is missing some key details, but the fact that these monsters are A Thing That Exist is hardly a secret. In fact, this is made pretty explicit in 02 episode 39:

The governments of every country most certainly did not just see that whole incident and decide “well, that’s nothing to worry about” -- they immediately went ahead and started doing military research on the Digimon! But Gennai and his fellow Agents figured out pretty quickly that very bad things would happen if the Digimon became public knowledge and government militaries started exploiting them, so they secretly wiped away data regarding Digimon in order to hide their existence.

Note that this does not mean they wiped everyone’s memories -- they’re not that all-powerful -- but merely made it so that anytime anyone tried to do organized research on Digimon, poof! -- the info would just magically vanish. Of course, that doesn’t stop pen-and-paper work, and, again, it also did not stop reporters like Takaishi Natsuko or Ishida Hiroaki from doing investigations into everything from a journalistic perspective, nor humanities scholars like Takenouchi Haruhiko or Kido Shuu from taking an interest in Digimon. And, of course, it’s not like you can just wipe human memory that saw all of that happening! But it sure does put a major slowdown on attempted organized research of Digimon to the extent of being easily able to do the kinds of things Gennai and the Agents feared, because it makes it significantly harder to exchange info or collect anything.

Which of course leads to...

The events of 02

The Tokyo Chosen Children got a “break” of sorts after the events of Adventure, and for the most part they didn’t have to think too hard about how to deal with their Digimon in regards to society, especially since they were separated from them. Then, in April 2002, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori get their partners, and they, Takeru, and Hikari become lucky enough to be able to bring their partners back and forth between the real world and Digital World. With their partners small enough to be passed off as plushes, and no Digimon battles taking place in the real world at this time, the kids choose to keep their Digimon activities a secret from their parents.

At this point, it should be pointed out that this was not actually strictly necessary in terms of keeping the Digimon from society -- especially on the part of the Adventure kids, whose parents already know they exist and certainly have not forgotten! In fact, this is made into a prominent scene in 02 episode 18, when Koushirou’s mother is surprised Tentomon is not there (even though there’s no indication a conflict is going on at the time), in contrast to Koushirou having just been worried about opening a gate in her presence.

In fact, Kizuna adds an important detail by showing us a newspaper clip from around 2002 (when Menoa was accepted into university), indicating that apparently the concept of a “Digimon partner” was well-recognized enough that Morphomon was openly in the newspaper clipping, accompanied by a caption identifying her as Menoa’s Digimon partner. (Kizuna having so much attention to detail with background lore that it even complies with the doubling-every-year principle, it’s not something you can easily pass off as a writer mistake.) Doing the math, 16 Chosen Children in 1999 means around 128 by 2002 (which also tracks with the approximate amount we see around the world in 02 episodes 40-42 and 50). That’s still a drop in the pond in terms of how much the global population truly understands this, but considering that there were reporters like Takaishi Natsuko and Ishida Hiroaki already on the case, it’s not too much of a stretch to think that the press and informational publications would have an idea.

So why did the kids still try so hard to keep the Digimon from their parents and society? A lot of it has to do with the way the kids make their plan to infiltrate the Kaiser’s base in 02 episode 18.

Prior to this point in the series, their fight in the Digital World had been an after-school affair, one that they were capable of hiding instead of having the truth presented up-front to their parents, whether they liked it or not. Starting in April 2002, the kids voluntarily chose to enter a territory war after school. Think about how they’d have to explain this to their parents -- “oh yeah, by the way, I befriended a mysterious monster and will now be going to another world after school to fight a territory war with even bigger monsters on a near-weekly basis” -- of course, most parents would start being obstructive and immediately put an end to that, and there would be so much they’d have to explain to them. In fact, the way the kids parade their Digimon around and try to use the “plushes” excuse instead of really making any decent attempts to hide them indicates they’re not really trying that hard to maintain a facade, just enough to not get awkward questions and people intervening with their actions. After all, if even incidents like the ones in 02 episode 9 can be safely passed off as “being over late at a friend’s place,” why not use that excuse?

So when they first start a real trip into the Digital World that may span multiple days (with Miyako being visibly out of place with this, a sharp contrast to her seniors being used to the idea of being “trapped” there for days on end), Iori says very explicitly that he doesn’t want to worry his family, and the discussion immediately shifts to how they’ll keep this from their families. Interestingly, when Daisuke suggests just lying about it, Hikari scolds him for doing so -- implying that it’s not like she (or the others) is even comfortable with that kind of lie, hence why they ultimately resort to having the seniors stage a camping trip so that the lie can at least be a bit less far-fetched.

But the fact that they can do this in the first place ultimately ends up being a luxury, because they can get away with this as long as the conflict is still in the Digital World. Eventually, we arrive at...

The Christmas 2002 incident

A lot happened on Christmas 2002, especially given the timezone stretch and the number of episodes it spanned, but this effectively sparked the point of no return where Digimon incidents were unavoidable and staring everyone in the face -- especially since it spanned multiple days. Dark Towers started appearing all over the world, wandering Digimon started appearing everywhere, Chosen Children around the world mobilized to round them back into the Digital World, Demon and his army invaded Tokyo, Oikawa kidnapped a large number of children, and eventually the battle with BelialVamdemon on New Year’s Eve ended up bleeding into the real world, with Chosen Children appearing en masse to help them defeat him.

During the course of the international Chosen arc, we do see that quite a few other kids have been hiding their Digimon from their parents -- indeed, not everyone is like Menoa, and especially if they’ve been involved in dangerous incidents or are very small children! Even Mimi tries to hide her involvement from her parents in 02 episode 10, despite them already knowing about the Digimon from the Odaiba fog incident, because -- as they say in the episode -- moving to the US was partially motivated by them wanting to get away from all of this, so, naturally, they’d prefer Mimi have nothing to do with it. But Takeru is comfortable enough to call his grandfather in to help, presumably deciding that he was trustworthy enough about it.

And, indeed, the first major break we see in the facade with the core cast’s parents is with Takeru’s mother Natsuko, who correctly deduces that something is going on and confronts Takeru about it -- to which he immediately does not attempt to cover up or deny, and admits without hesitation. Natsuko, in turn, decides to accept it without grilling him too much, deciding that she’ll trust in Takeru to handle this (presumably, especially after seeing him handle quite a lot even at the young age of eight). At the end of 02 episode 45, Ken -- whose parents have seen so many horrors going on with him that the explanation of him engaging in dangerous monster battles would be more of a comfort to them, because at least they’d be aware of what’s going on -- ultimately chooses to confide in his parents, leading to them and the rest of the Adventure kids’ parents actively choosing to support their kids in their fight over the course of episodes 46-48. Naturally, as much as they’d probably rather their kids not get engaged in dangerous things, they understand what this is and that it’s important, and at the very least want to support them as much as they can -- Koushirou’s mother laments in 02 episode 48 that she wishes she could do more besides just bring food!

02 episode 46 has a moment where Oikawa and Archnemon watch a TV program with people trying (very badly) to blame the recent incidents on a mass delusion -- the TV show itself is portrayed as a sort of trash gossip kind of special -- and Oikawa provides an explanation for the impasse of acknowledgment where people seem to be increasingly aware of Digimon but also not quite aware: things are undeniably happening, but people still aren’t quite ready to accept an explanation that borders on the supernatural. The entire concept of Digimon is a massive shake to the status quo, after all, so while certain investigative and curious people like Natsuko or Haruhiko are naturally more open-minded, and many parents are likely to pay closer attention when kids are involved, only slightly over a hundred Chosen Children (many of whom are still erring on the side of keeping it a secret) and a few reporters aren’t enough to really help people understand...

...but all things considered, it seems to be enough that the Chosen are now functionally giving up on hiding it at all!

By the time of episode 50, the situation has now escalated to the point where any member of the families of the Tokyo Chosen Children who wasn’t already aware of what was going on is now definitely aware, as they await their children’s return from the Digital World. Considering that Jun was already witnessing the return of dangerous things as early as 02 episode 38, and Iori’s grandfather Chikara discovers Armadimon’s existence in episode 47, it becomes rather important to point out that Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori failed to hide their partners’ existence and involvement in Digimon battles for any longer than eight months (April to December 2002). That is how flimsy the facade was. Again, they weren’t even doing that spectacular a job keeping their partners under wraps, Chikara discovered Armadimon by sheer accident just from Armadimon being too big and being unable to control his hunger, and, ultimately, it really is pretty hard to conceal the existence of a living creature constantly accompanying you everywhere.

The aftermath of 02

Well, firstly, there were definitely other things that happened right after the events of 02 that would be pretty hard for people to deny. For instance:

The Internet being the Internet, the incident in Our War Game! could have potentially been passed off as some kind of graphics stunt. But the 2003 Diablomon/Armagemon incident? Nah. People saw that one, and even actively participated in that one! In real life!

With that, as much as Oikawa claims that people are too stubborn to accept changes to the status quo and thus accept Digimon, ultimately, Spring 2003 makes it clear that the Christmas 2002 incident made enough of a fuss that the involved parties all got put on the spot by the public and media. This got to the point where the kids had a risk of their privacy being invaded, and had to be covered by their parents.

My mother, who followed the Hikarigaoka incident as a non-fiction writer, along with Sora-san’s father, are known today as “Digimon critics.” Although the two weren’t sure whether they appreciated their new titles or not, they accepted it and went from investigators to people who were most sought after... ...Thanks to [Hiroaki], we were saved from publicity. It’s sort of like… we’d like to keep our identities and the Digimon a secret. I don’t mean forever, when I say that, but the relationship between us and our partner Digimon is unique and other people probably wouldn’t understand that. For example, we can’t have people thinking that Digimon are slightly strange pets. If they do, then they won’t take us seriously either, and of course, the Digimon wouldn’t like that perception themselves. That’s why, until we get the general public to acknowledge Digimon and the Digital World for what they really are, we’d like to lay low. But in order for that to happen, someone must go out there to explain about the Digimon to others. It was both my mother and Sora-san’s father who accepted that role wholeheartedly. We told the two everything we knew, and they spoke for us to the TV, newspapers, and magazines.

Being people directly connected to the children and understanding of their position, but also in media and publicity positions, Natsuko, Hiroaki, and Haruhiko took on the jobs of advocating for Digimon and explaining their part to the world, while also deliberately acting as go-betweens so that the kids could maintain their privacy. But nevertheless, at this point, the incident in 2002 was such a major thing that it basically was a turning point for people realizing that Digimon exist and are a major presence, and starting to grill informed parties about the details (and, technically, getting those details from the kids themselves, speaking through said media outlets). Hikari also starts working on a “surprisingly useful” informational video for new Chosen Children confused about having a partner -- encouraging them to contact them for help -- and it is also revealed that Shuu, Miyako’s sisters, and Jun had all just gotten partners, meaning that the issue was now starting to become significantly more relevant to their families.

Kizuna also drops an interesting detail about what happened right after 02, or, rather, right after 2002:

The articles describing Menoa’s Digimon research team have titles that indicate that this is one of the first major Digmon scientific research efforts in the world, indicating that, shortly after Menoa’s admission into university and establishing herself there, she began to open up the field of Digimon academic research (her declared major beforehand had been “biology”, presumably the closest she could get to studying Digimon when such a topic didn’t formally exist yet). This is significant because it means that Gennai and the Agents had finally dropped the embargo on Digimon organized research, since it presumably would have been bad for Menoa’s data to vanish without warning -- and, indeed, it makes sense that they would allow for Menoa’s research team to proceed, since Menoa is a Chosen Child herself who has a vested interest in studying Digimon for the greater good and advocating for them in the same way Haruhiko is.

It also provides potential context as to why Menoa may not have been involved much in Digimon fighting and battles in the past but was chosen as a Chosen Child anyway -- Koushirou describes the definition of a “Chosen Child” as such in Two-and-a-Half Year Break:

Having a partner Digimon isn’t really that special. Being a “Chosen Child” means… to cease the hostilities that break out and inconvenience the Digital World. In order to do so, that child gains a partner Digimon faster than another.

While it’s not necessarily in terms of aggressive fighting, a bright and intelligent child like Menoa being chosen to “fight” in the sense of using her intellect to study more about Digimon and help advocate for them seems like a fitting way to fulfill this role in her own way. But, alas, as Gennai and Homeostasis and the Holy Beasts couldn’t necessarily predict what happened to Ichijouji Ken and his fall into becoming the Kaiser, they didn’t seem to be able to predict Menoa’s unfortunate fate and downfall...

Kizuna and 2010

Again, To Sora citing the number of Digimon partners to be over 30,000 by 2010 correctly tracks with the “doubling every year” principle, so it’s probably prudent to assume it’s still been applying over the years. 30,000 is certainly a lot, but it’s not exactly a huge chunk of the global population -- especially since said 30,000 are spread out all over the world, and it’s hard to say how many of them would even live in Japan, let alone Tokyo. It’s a big enough number that Koushirou and Miyako now need to maintain a whole network of Chosen Children (Hikari’s video presumably helped with that), but there are still a lot of unknowns, like the still uncharted territory of the partnership dissolution phenomenon.

Nevertheless, what we see in Kizuna is what you’d probably expect from a society that has now had eight more years to properly digest the existence of Digimon and Digimon incidents. This is most starkly demonstrated in the opening, when a waitress comes by to berate Agumon and Gabumon for making too much noise -- and that’s it, with no weirdness or being taken aback by their presence or existence, just telling them to calm down. The characters in the movie carry around and parade their Digimon quite openly in almost all walks of life, and others interact with them in a very normal manner. One of the credits scenes even shows Daisuke’s higher-up at vocational school being more annoyed at Daisuke’s fight with V-mon than he is at the fact V-mon is there. A newspaper article from early in the movie also correctly identifies Parrotmon and Greymon as Digimon (even if not their specific species), and it is merely treated as an incident rather than paying any particular attention to the fact that Digimon exist. The drama CD also indicates that Daisuke and co. are at the point of sneaking their Digimon into a karaoke bar because said bar has enough awareness of Digimon to charge them admissions fees!

There’s another interesting minor detail in that Palmon, Tailmon, and Patamon are depicted on digital cameras without any static interference. In Adventure and 02, it was impossible to catch them on digital camera in the real world, because, as per Adventure episode 39 and 02 episode 33 (among others), trying to do so would cause nasty static interference and ruin the attempted photo/recording. (This is presumably why Menoa’s photos with Morphomon seem to be film photos.) But for a society where the presence of Digimon is becoming more and more expected, and digital cameras are naturally becoming more commonplace, it would be very bad if this continued to be a problem -- so it makes sense that, by 2010, technological research would have figured out a way around that.

Obviously, not everyone has a Digimon yet, and it’s not like everything in the world has accounted for the assumption people will be walking around with partners -- after all, Taichi’s thesis still involves having to help advocate for Digimon partners and the fact that many people are still skeptical about them. But nevertheless, people are not surprised or perturbed by them anymore, and when something does happen with them, they’re relatively accepting of them. Again, 30,000+ is not exactly a lot to the extent that the entire population has a partner, but with the doubling-every-year principle in play, it seems like society is already well on its way to adjusting to their increasing presence and the eventual point in 2027-2028 when everyone will be expected to have one.

[retrogamingyiz]

Fox Kids, Cherished Memories.

Long gone are the 1990s, the days of pogs, analog TV, the dawn of the world wide web and the best Kids television block: Fox Kids. I was born in 1992 and I spent my early childhood watching everything fox kids related. Power Rangers, Beetleborgs, Masked Rider, X-men, Beastwars, Spider-Man, Digimon, Dinozaurs, you name it and I most likely loved it back then! However, after 1998 it had become something new for me. A special place that helped me deal with some issues from an unfortunate encounter in March of ‘98 that changed my mind at an age where it should’ve been left pure. Depression and psychiatric trauma had taken hold in me and one of the things that helped me cope was Fox Kids, and the toys I had related to the shows I would watched. One of my favorite toys was my Astro Megazord from Power Rangers in Space and anything Power Rangers related to be honest. There has been times where I got amazing gifts from Shows I loved like Beast Wars and X-men. But I digress. Fox kids was unlike anything in that day, I watched my second ever anime on it being Digimon Adventure and I ate that shit up like candy. It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen back then and Wargreymon was my first thing from that show up until I was introduced to Omnimon (Omegamon). Unfortunately in 2001, it would be rebranded into the fox box and after that into the worst tv block I had ever experienced. 4kids Television. Thankfully, I can still find entire programming blocks for Fox Kids on youtube if I ever want to take a trip down memory lane. Then for a few hours, everything is right inside of my head for a time. Thank you for reading, this Yisreald. Signing off.

[uniarycode]

Remember when I said I might to a Xros Wars liveblog/rewatch becuase I don’t remember it all that well?  No? Well today is apparently the 8th anniversary of Digimon Fusion, and while I’m going to go off of the sub (Xros Qars), if I’m going to do this re-watch liveblog thing it’s as good a time as any to start.

Haven’t really tried anything of this style, so I’m experimenting a little bit.

(Have to turn off the beta for this because pic limit, lol tumblr)

Pic of the day: Common sense

We open with a menacing army full of Mookmon, sorry, Troopmon, Tankmon, and some bigger baddies. Like physically bigger, I don’t recall them being very important. (I see you Valvemon in the top left.)  

Then we get introduced to a human and a trio of Digimon that will in no way be important.

There’s also an army of good guys, you can tell they are good guys because they show up in previous seasons.  I uh, only actually remember two of them appearing in this show.

Anyway, Taiki says Digixros a bunch, and the three non-silhouettes merge together into….x4?  Poor Starmon I guess, no recognition.  

X4 then solos the army of Mookmon, which is probably why the rest of the ‘good’ army never appears again, clearly they are superfluous.  But X4 gets taken down by a lone off-color Greymon because nostalgia.

..and it was a dream.

(So Akari and Zenjirou don’t matter....that sounds about right.)

We are then introduced to Akari, who is trying to deduce exactly which ball-based team sport she got stood up for.

She stops midway to take a selfie, kids these days, amirite?  Also to grab a bag with Taiki’s name on it...literally.

Taiki manages to pull an MVP move on the basketball court, by pretending to be in a sports anime when really just passing to a teammate.  Thus securing the team the win that he’s been looking for for months… sorry, I mean four days.

Yeah, that’s a Taiki thing.  The kid is a prodigy at nearly anything he picks up.  The implication is that he throws himself into it completely, and then:

He does not necessarily pick the best time or place for a nap.

Akari being the best character (of this arc)

Taiki reveals that his need to throw himself headfirst is because of a desire to help those in need, not because he’s just showing off.

(I am reminded how much his gary-stu ness annoyed me the first time I watched this.)

Zenjirou shows up and I’m def going to spell that name wrong at some point.  He’s mostly here for comic relief, but also to reinforce that Taiki can pick up a sport (kendo) in a couple of days and beat people who have been training their entire lives.

While Akari and Zenjirou rehash the great 1998 case of Bros V. Hoes, Taiki hears the voice of a dying king, then suddenly: chaos.  Cars merge into walls, phones stop working, the sky turns green, dogs and cats, living together.

Turns out, cars superimposed into building are not stable.  The strange voice warns Taiki of the falling car, and after he saves his friends, he is now able to see the tortured outline of Shoutmon.

All well and good, Taiki, but how do you propose helping the disembodied light?

(We also get a flashback to baby Taiki between these)

Shoutmon soft-mocks Taiki for trying to help him, and Taiki points out Shoutmon did the same, just in case you didn’t believe they were destined partners.

Floating toy with another disembodied voice.  Offering to help if Taiki accepts, he does and the x loader turns from white to red.  The others reasonably do not think touching the floating mystical toy is a good idea.

They wake up in a strange world, normal Digimon stuff, turns out the X-loader doubles as a Pokecenter, very convinent.

Then, suddenly the army of mookmon appear, lead by a new Digimon:

(Look. if the writers determined you were going to die every season, you wouldn’t be very happy either.)

But then dream Digimon #2 shows up to save them, alongside a bunch of babies.  Shoutmon also comes out to fight.  .

We get a quick sequence of the allies using special attacks to wipe the floor with the mooks, normal debut episode things.  Then Madleomon gets mad that a human is involved and absorbs all his friends to…Digivolve?

(They missed a perfect opportunity for raving MadLeomon)

Uhh, good plan?

The mysterious voice tells Taiki to use the x-loader, which he does to form…the top half of a super-fighting robot.  Which lasts long enough to get off one punch before dissolving. He then xroses the Starmon and Pickmons into a sword, (will happen a bunch.) just in case you weren’t sure of the core mechanic.

Madleomon’s powerup breaks, and he gets forced back, namedropping a greater villain.  Tactimon, obsessed with perfection.  Which is a good thing, because if he’s like half the perfectionist I know he’ll be too busy sorting out all the details of his plan to actually execute it.

Coming on a little strong there bub.  Maybe take him out for a coffee first?

The name of the kids this time is generals, but that also gets extended to some Digimon.

If you are used to normal Digimon seasons, this is going to be a bit of a jump.  It isn’t the normal 1 human 1 partner here.  This is a battle of armies, (but mostly just jogress ++)

And yeah, they know nothing.

Keep being creepy Nene.

And also blond blue boy featuring off-color Greymon. 

And thus ends the first episode that was mostly about introducing Taiki, and the concept of Digixrosing. Also uses a lot of X4 for never showing every component. 

Final note: add break card

I think maaayyybe Vmon shows up in a limited capacity?  For a series that is perfectly willing to completely ignore levels and do something completely different in terms of evolution, there sure is a lot of nostalgia pandering. 

[deskraven]

My 2021 Winter Break Watch List

It has been a long year under the influence of Coronavirus, and my life has been totally out of schedule.

Now that school is over and I have a whole month at my own disposal - I declare that I'm gonna work hard! And do my best to watch all the anime I've been looking forward to in the past year >:0

So currently I'm in love with two universes.

One is, of course, the Digimon multiverse.

Watching Digimon has been my summer / winter main activity in the past few years.

In 2018 winter I was rewatching Digimon Adventure, then in 2019 summer Digimon Adventure 02, then Digimon Tamers in 2019 winter... And of course, I finished Digimon Frontier this summer. And I have almost finished Digimon Savers by now!

But I want to speed up the schedule a little bit since I recently started obsessing over appmons and I want to finish DXW asap so that I can jump into Appmon XD

I know I don't have to watch in order, but I want to feel the development of the series.

So for Digimon, my plan is:

Finish the last 3 episodes of Savers - Actually, I'm gonna finish them today.

Finish the first two seasons of Digimon Xros Wars (DXW), so that's a total of 54 episodes.

If possible, finish the last season of DXW as well. But I don't think that would be reasonable.

So I have two friends who are Digimon fans in real life. One of them loves DXW the most, the other hates it the most XD. So I'm really interested. So far I've had a great experience with all past Digimon seasons (and most of the movies).

My ranking would be: DT > 02 > DA = DF > DS. I would discuss the ranking in detail in another post.

Aside from the 54 episodes of DXW, I also need to watch the movie for Savers :D It would be perfect to watch it on New Year's night.

Now, let me introduce - Leijiverse.

Leijiverse is a really old IP, older than my mom, something that belongs to the generation of my grandpa. It was first created in 1977 by Leiji Matsumoto(松本 零士)when the old TV series Space Pirate Captain Harlock was released. The series then evolved with the introduction of Galaxy Express 999, Queen Millennium, Queen Emeraldas, and Maetel Legend, etc.

Captain Harlock, as far as I know, is probably the most iconic pirate captain in history. Many many heroic pirates in the future would use him as a prototype. I think the design of CaptainHookmon in Digimon is also a reference to him. (Yes, unlike Captain Hook, CaptainHookmon is a heroic pirate with a quest for justice like Captain Harlock.)

I jumped into the series from Galaxy Express 999. This kinda messes up the watch order. The following is the release order but the bold part is the ones I have watched:

Space Pirate Captain Harlock (1978)

Galaxy Express 999 (1978)

Galaxy Express 999 Movie (1979)

Adieu Galaxy Express 999: Andromeda Terminal Station (1981)

Galaxy Express 999: Eternal Fantasy (1998)

Queen Millennium (1982)

Queen Emeraldas (1998)

Maetel Legend (2000)

Space Symphony Maetel (2004)

Yeh... Of course, the timeline is different. Queen Millenium's stories happened first, then it's the generation of Emeraldas, Maetel, and Harlock, and eventually Tetsuro's story in 999. But I always prefer to watch in the order of release date instead of the real timeline.

I want to pretend I have grown up with that series, and I want to see how the creators developed those ideas, which ones they explored deeper and which ones they abandoned, which ones were successful and which ones were not... Stuff like then.

To restore order to the Leijiverse (?) I decided to finish the 42-episode Captain Harlock TV series - the first piece to be created in the series! And I surely need to finish the last movie of Galaxy Express 999.

(So far my favorite character in the series is the train itself hhhh)

So in summary, after I finish Savers tonight, I will start watching 3 episodes a day (probably DXW first then Harlock, but it depends on my mental state). My winter break lasts until February, so I will have 35 days to go and a total of 96 episodes to watch!

But keep in mind that aside from the 96 episodes, I also have 2 movies and the weekly Digimon Adventure reboot to watch, and a ton of reviews to write if they both turn out to be GOOD.

So I guess this is gonna be a harsh but interesting winter >:[

[pokecommunitycenter]

Hi Dash !! It’s Time to Meet a Member of the RPC !!

Ditto would like to introduce... Dun Duuuuuun !! 

It’s Jason ♡ !! Though some of you may know them as @haematophiliac​ !!

Established in Spooky October of 2018, they’ve been around the RPC for a good long while as a Team Rocket Scientist OC, but here’s a looksee at some things you may have not known !! Ditto hopes you enjoy getting to know the writer just as much as Ditto did !!

♡ Interview... START !!

Ditto would like you to introduce yourself a little bit. The url you go by, maybe how you picked it. Was it a joke at first that you just stuck with, does it have significant meaning?

The username is what people would call a lover of blood. I started Jax in … 2018? Octoberish and he had the common username including Rocket in it and I decided to pick a theme more fitting to him. Eventually I settled with the current one as it fits him as a blood obsessor to put it bluntly. I mean he likes blood, works around a lot of it and all that so it just… Well, stuck!

Was there something about Team Rocket in general that drew you in? Over other ‘evil’ organizations, Rocket is considered the OG & probably largest. But, over Plasma/Galactic, what made you choose Rocket?

I’ve always been a Rocket fan. I started in the Pokemon fandom (can you call it a fandom back then) in 1998 when I was only eight by watching the anime. You could say that Rocket started my love for bad guys actually! I used to adore Jessie and James so much. They were just so fun, funny and adorable. Maybe I had a crush on one… Ahem! But yes, as a kid I fell for the trio (I didn’t forget loveable Meowth there!) and ever since then I’ve been a fan. I love all the bad guys mind you but Rocket holds a special place in my heart. Just always been like that.

A bonus question !! Did any characters from the original Anime / Franchise…  help you develop Jax at all?

A good question but Jax actually was inspired by a character I role played in a completely different fandom. I mean you cannot compare them - Jax is a human with so many faults and the other character is… Well, a plain old monster. But when I first made Jax I put little bits of the old character into him, such as formal speaking and love for blood. He started pretty much as a clean slate. I evolved him over the first few weeks.

Do you think that, because you play a character that is not a ‘good guy’ or as you put it, a monster, that people that may not know you well find you hard to approach?

Indeed so. Though I only speak of experience in the past here! When I played my full out monster in another fandom, people would tell others they were actually scared of me on an OOC level. Needless to say I’ve spoken to many people who were scared and helped them realise that it is just a muse I play. When it comes to Tumblr I find the fandom much more open and less afraid? Though I don’t know for certain because people could be afraid for all I know and I just don’t know. I hope I’m approachable enough anyway!

So then !! To help the part community that may not know you well, or might be a little hesitant because you play a blood loving bad guy, what are some things that you may have in common with everyone? Do you have a favorite pokemon? Or a region that just was WACK & you loved it so much? What’s on that most repeated playlist you got? Or maybe a few movies that you really love?

I read every blog’s rules and I’ve noticed that a lot of people are socially anxious. Which to be fair… I am too! I get nervous around people I don’t know and aahhhh, well, I’m in the exact same boat. We all start as strangers and all it takes is one foot forward to break that ice but, like others, I do find that first step very intimidating. I’m just your average nerd to be fair haha. As for my favourite Pokemon? Sneasel! I fell in love with that little critter after watching the Celebi movie when it came out. Favourite region would be Hoenn. I just have fond memories of it I guess as a Ruby fan. It was the first game my battery ran out of energy on. My music is too horrific for anybody’s ears if that’s what you mean hah. And movies? … … Digimon the movie (1+2+3 in Japan and just the first (all three combined) in UK and presumably other places too).

As someone who feels that weird wiggle when trying to step out of your comfort zone to make friends. Do you have any advice for people that want to get to know you better? Or, reaching out to people in general?

When reaching out to me - or anybody else - I find the best approach can be a simple hello. It instantly shatters that ice between two people. Like… Many of us are afraid to simply say hello. But if you manage to break that first bit it’s amazing! If you don’t there is always another day. Conversation can escalate from a mere hello. Or even reply to an open post if serious or funny! That first step is the hardest indeed but things get easier after that first hurdle. The worst someone can do is walk away and then perhaps it just wasn’t meant to be. Everybody has friends in the end and making more is great.

That said. We all know how the Poke RPC has its ups, & its downs. Sometimes both happen in one day. LOL. There is always room for growth though, & Ditto believes that everyone can work together to make that happen. Is there anything you would like to see change in the community?

Everything in life will come with ups and downs, it’s just how things go. We can all work through things however. If something bad happens there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. As a community it is great we can all work on whatever needs addressing. I understand some people rather turn a blind eye depending upon the situation. We all should work on what makes us comfortable. Nonetheless, if I could change one thing I’d change anon hate. Argh. That’s one thing that gets under my skin. We, as a community, should be open to criticism and praise alike and nobody should need to harass another person anonymously. If someone has a disagreement then they should tell the person. Only that way can they work on the issue. But then again there is needless anon hate without true purpose behind it and that makes me sad. But nobody is perfect and sometimes people will rear their ugly side. Yet when anon hate has popped up it has been utterly overwhelming to see everybody support each other with kindness!

Ditto wonders, do you think anon hate may… slow down, or go away, if it was ignored instead of responded to when received? Most times, the people that feel the need to do hurtful things to others is for response. The attention received whether it is good or bad.

I think it’s highly dependent upon the situation. As someone who has received hate in the past (not on Tumblr mind you) I found that even ignoring people doesn’t work. Yet every case is different. Some do it for response, some do it to just get under someone’s skin. We can’t tell which however. If, say, it is needless hate then to ignore it would be the best option, even reporting it to Tumblr’s staff. But if in the situation something needs defending like a misconception then it could be a good idea to clear the air. Keyword could though. I’ve learned that people will get ideas into their mind and battle for it rather than accepting what is truth. In those cases a good air clearing is good and then to ignore any further.... Jabbing could be best. But if people feel the need to respond they should have the freedom to, as well as the freedom to ignore it.

Is there anything you’d like to pass on to those in the RPC that receive anon hate? Maybe a word of advice, or just something supportive to remember if it ever happens?

Well, as long as someone isn’t breaking any rules, doing something bad OOC or whatever- Actually I was going to say they should keep going and doing their thing. And yet I feel the need to mention that all people make mistakes in their lives. Anon hate is a bad way to go. The person on the receiving end of a message is a person too. They have feelings and thoughts and a life also. If you ever receive anon hate then just remember that there’s someone sending it and perhaps they don’t realize their mistake. That isn’t to say it’s justified. Just that people do indeed forget there are real people involved. … I think I word things bad! I mean… Anon hate is wrong, end of. But it is so easy to forget that real people are sat to read it. If you ever get anon hate then it is best to ignore it. That spark could evolve into a full blown fire and make you worse off. Hm, I forgot my train of thought but in the end we all need less hate and to just enjoy ourselves. People tend to send hate from bad experiences with the person or disagreements if right or wrong on either side but words are just words on a screen. They can say all they want to you but you are you. You are a person who deserves a life and love and no mere text on a monitor - Or phone screen! - can ever truly harm you.

Ditto thinks you did a fine job. We all take time to find words in our own ways, & no one has the perfect ones all the time. So please do not worry about wording things. It takes some practice sometimes, when you’re put on the spot !! 

Ditto would like to wrap up with something uplifting & super positive. After your time here in the Poke RPC, what are some of your favorite memories? Things that make you stick around, or just enjoy seeing go on? Give Ditto a little insight ( & the RPC too ) on what makes you happy to be here.

I have a vast array of good memories. Mainly ones of that first move of saying hello to someone or just that first interaction. Then again you’re asking someone with a bad memory! I truly just enjoy seeing people having a good time, enjoying their time here. When people are comfortable enough to do crack threads, that’s something that makes me smile. For instance the RPC could have been super strict and look down upon anything not considered serious and yet there everybody is just having fun! I enjoy watching people get along all in all. When new relations are formed, plots explored, the crack-like threads that ensue. Dash commentary is always a favourite. It shows someone isn’t afraid to get involved. I like it when people aren’t afraid. As I said, we’re all humans with lives and just watching people have fun makes me smile, even if I’m not involved. And of course, being involved in things makes me happy too, to just be included :D

A big Thank You !! to Jason for allowing Ditto to take some of their time for this interview. 

Ditto hopes everyone has a good Monday !! 

See you next week for the next Community Interview. ♡

[o-w-quinlan]

Favorite Digimon from each V-Pet, part 1

Inspired by the recent V-Pet popularity poll, I thought of going through each iteration of the Digimon V-Pets and determining which are my favorite digimon introduced by them.

For today: The original Digital Monster (1997-1998), and the answer is very easy for me:

I’ve liked Andromon ever since I rewatched Digimon Adventure. His first appearence is wonderfully atmospheric, foregoing the fantasy elements of the previous episodes for pure “sci-fi” (soft sci-fi, but still), clearly aping “Terminator” for the tension and succeeding. Andromon was then mostly forgotten... until the Dark Masters arc, where suddenly we learn that he’s been fighting Mugendramon on his own for years, and he’s even become badass enough to trade blows with Piedmon himself (for a few seconds, but this is a minor character going up against the main villain of the arc). His later role in Digimon Tamers was also good, though admittedly he was only Andromon for a short time there. The Next manga has him as the leader of the resistance against Barbamon, helping Yuu overcome his trauma, fearlessly fighting a hopeless battle against Chaosdramon and his forces. Personally, he’s also been my ace in several Digimon games, and carried my team through a lot of the later portions of Digimon Story: Moonlight.

Design-wise, he’s my favorite example of how crude these first cyborg designs were. Later on, they’d become more polished and complete, clearly showing that the Crack Team had gotten better at this, but the half-finished look of this first batch remains my favorite. It gives the impression of being a process that is being perfected, the very start of a new type of creature. It also highlights how horrible it might be, as the uncovered parts of his body hint at what exactly might have been done to create him. It feels more “real” than later, cleaner designs.

His profile indicates he was one of the first “artificial” digimon to be created by the Crack Team, alongside Boltmon, and that he lacks any will or emotion. I picture a silent Andromon, unmoving inside the Crack Team’s base as the emotional Boltmon is "consigned to oblivion in the darkness”, uncaring for his fellow creation’s suffering. I picture the same Andromon, years later, being upgraded to HiAndromon and suddenly becoming self-aware, being able to feel, remembering how he stood by and did nothing as someone who might as well be his brother was banished. It’s a shame no digimon product (barring a Heroes card) has ever done anything with the backstory hinted at in these profiles, because its fascinating to think of the possibilities.

My favorite line for this digimon is: Choromon -> Caprimon -> Kokuwamon -> Guardromon -> Andromon -> HiAndromon. HiAndromon was explained above, and the reasoning for the pre-evolutions will come at a later date.

Honorary Mentions: MetalGreymon (virus), MetalMamemon, Coelamon, Raremon.

[digi-lov]

I wanna talk about Angewomon, LadyDevimon and Mastemon.

Angewomon and LadyDevimon both debuted in Digital Monster Ver. S: Digimon Tamers for the Sega Saturn back in 1998.

Angewomon is an Archangel, and LadyDevimon is a Fallen Angel who can be considered somewhat of Angewomon's dark counterpart. This is reflected in their designs, as they contain certain elements that mirror each other.

Digimon World Re:Digitize features them as Partner Digimon of one singular tamer, Mirei Mikagure. Later in Digimon Cyber Sleuth, we get introduced to their Jogress Evolution Mastemon, almost 20 years after their own debut.

The Starter Deck ST-10 Parallel World Tactician revolves around that very Jogress Evolution. It contains matching cards for Angewomon and LadyDevimon, and of course, Mastemon is featured in it.

The ST-10 Mastemon Alternative Art card was released in the Japanese format through the Starter Deck Complete Set 2021 and in the English format as Box Toppers in EX-02 Digital Hazard and AB-01 Adventure Box. The ST-10 Angewomon and LadyDevimon will receive Alternative Art Cards along with a matching Playmat in 2023s PB-14.

On the playmat, you can also see Mastemon's silhouette in between the two.

The Starter Deck name Parallel World Tactician is also Mastemon's title. The Reference Book states that it leads an army of Angel and Fallen Angel Digimon. The BT3 card of Mastemon also makes a reference to this.

In the upcoming BT-11, Angewomon and LadyDevimon once again received matching cards with mutual support effects, this time also featuring Mirei alongside them on the card.

[recentanimenews]

Studio Bones Celebrates 21 Years of Excellence!

I watched plenty of anime as a child—Pokémon, Digimon Tamers, Crush Gear Turbo. But much of it I absorbed passively, because my friends were watching it or it was airing on Toonami or because it was based on a video game I loved. I happily consumed all cartoons equally regardless of quality, chronology or origin. Then one day I discovered the manga series Fullmetal Alchemist, which was just then being published in English. After blazing through volumes of the comic, I discovered the Fullmetal Alchemist anime which aired in 2003.

  Just like that, I was hooked. Something in the anime adaptation spoke to me as a teenager: the plaintive choirs of the song “Brothers,” the sadness infecting Ed and Al's rollicking adventures. In the Philippines I sought the series out on Animax and implored by friends (confused by anime) to do the same. Later, in the United States, I would record overnight episodes on my parents's TiVo and watch them on Saturday afternoons with microwaved pizza in hand. To this day I have never seen the whole thing, and there are many other anime series I would rank above it. But in retrospect, the first Fullmetal Alchemist series is the first I understood and loved as an anime, rather than as a cartoon. It was my gateway.

  Then in college, I made a friend who had a similar experience with anime—but not with Fullmetal Alchemist. No, her turning point was Scrapped Princess, another animated fantasy series from 2003. Like Fullmetal Alchemist, Scrapped Princess combined an elaborate fantasy world packed with nested secrets, a constant sense of high adventure, and surprising darkness. Scrapped Princess's heroine, the bratty but well-meaning princess Pacifica, was hunted by her world as an instrument of its destruction; the medieval world she traversed with her friends was a cover-up for its true science-fictional origins. Just like I cried when Colonel Hughes met his end in Fullmetal Alchemist, my friend cried when Pacifica's love interest Fulle sacrifices his life to ensure her safety. And as Fullmetal Alchemist ends with a shocking twist that punches through the rules of its setting, Scrapped Princess wraps its fantasy narrative with robot dragons dueling in space.

  You probably know someone just like me, or just like her. Perhaps the series that turned them into anime fans was the recent Shounen Jump megahit My Hero Academia. Perhaps it was the spooky creatures and slick animation of Soul Eater. Or maybe it was Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, which in 2009 tackled the full story of the original manga to excellent results. If you're an anime fan like me and you've been following along, you can probably guess the twist here. All of the shows mentioned so far were produced by Bones!

    Today, the famous studio Bones turns 21 years old! Founded in 1998 by Masahiko Minami, Hiroshi Osaka and Toshihiro Kawamoto—all veterans of the legendary mecha animation studio Sunrise—the studio has been releasing both adaptations of popular material and original series all this time. Much has changed in these 21 years: Gainax has fragmented into fiefdoms, Madhouse lost its famous producer, Masao Maruyama, and more anime is being produced than ever before, at a rate that threatens the health and sanity of those creating it. As chaos ravages the industry, Bones has been a rock. It's continued to produce series with ambitious worlds and settings, whether that be the skewed New York fantasia of Blood Blockade Battlefront or the political commentary of Un-Go. It has done so with consistently solid animation quality; famously, Bones chose to split My Hero Academia up into multiple seasons of material separated by breaks, rather than risk a production collapse in the strain of continuous release. If some have blasted Bones for often prioritizing that consistency over more flexible, visually experimental art... well, Bones also produced Space Dandy, which features some of the weirdest individual episodes of the past decade.

Bones has also consistently provided a venue for talented animators and directors to flex their muscles over these twenty-one years. Masahiro Ando directed one of the best action films in the history of the medium with Sword of the Stranger, but was also invited back to direct the eccentric Shakespearean action series Blast of Tempest and the endearing romance Snow White with the Red Hair. Takuya Igarashi set the stage for soon-to-be-legendary action sequences in Soul Eater and Star Driver, and even now is working with his favorite collaborators on pumping out seasons of fan-favorite series Bungo Stray Dogs. Star animator Yoshimichi Kameda rose to fame knocking scenes out of the park in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, most famously where Roy Mustang roasts Lust to a crisp. And of course you have Yutaka Nakamura, who some have claimed to be the most popular and influential action animator currently working today. Nakamura's work reaches across the studio's entire filmography, from the well-choreographed fisticuffs in Cowboy Bebop: Knockin' on Heaven's Door to multi-level sword on sword combat in Sword of the Stranger, to his current outrageous fights in Concrete Revolutio and My Hero Academia.

  And this only sums up a small portion of their total output! There's also RahXephon, an ambitious reversioning of Neon Genesis Evangelion that classmates of mine in college would insist was superior to its inspiration. You have the two seasons of Show by Rock!!, one of the most bizarre idol shows of all time that happens to feature some very good CG. Then there's Darker Than Black's cryptic worldbuilding and fantastic soundtrack by Yoko Kanno. Also, there's the spiritual sequel to Scrapped Princess, cult favorite Chaika -The Coffin Princess-. And of course, there's the skewed workplace drama of Hisone and Masotan. Even Bones's deep cuts rival the highlights of other studios.

To me there are two shows that most of all define Bones's past and future. The first is Eureka Seven, a big sloppy love letter to mecha series that pulls in elements from Gundam, Macross and Evangelion into a vast and emotional saga. Its complex and fascinating world, fantastic action, grounded character work and blockbuster sensibilities mark it out as what I would say is the studio's defining work, despite the flaws in its construction. The second is Mob Psycho 100, which stands alone as one of the wildest and most cutting-edge action series of the past several years. Yutaka Nakamura contributed some excellent scenes to the first season, but even he was outdone by the work of countless young and talented animators in season 2! Watching the Mogami arc, you can see the next generation of fantastic artists spreading their wings. The exciting future of a medium being stretched to its breaking point by the forces of commerce. May Bones give them the support they need to survive and thrive in the next twenty-one years.

If you would like to learn more about Bones, I highly recommend following @liborek3 on Twitter, and checking out his articles on Sakugablog (starting with this one!) I would also recommend seeking out Kim Morrissy's article on the studio's history, which heavily cites multiple interviews Bones released on their twentieth anniversary. Happy twenty-first birthday to Bones's many employees and graduates! I'll be waiting patiently in the corner for the third season of Mob Psycho 100.

Are you a fan of Studio Bones? Did they help introduce you to the medium? Do you have a favorite production by them? Let us know in the comments!

---

Adam W is a features writer at Crunchyroll. When he isn't repeatedly listening to the soundtrack for Eureka Seven Ao, he sporadically contributes with a loose coalition of friends to a blog called Isn't it Electrifying? Follow him on Twitter at: @wendeego

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[digimonreviews]

Child Digimon Sundays: Bubbmon and Mochimon

This week we’re covering Tentomon’s evolution line, so that means we’re starting with Bubbmon and Mochimon, who are known as Pabumon and Motimon in the dub.

As you can see, he’s very excited.

As it so happens, Bubbmon, Mochimon, and Tentomon were the some of the only members of Adventure’s original cast that didn’t even exist when the original virtual-pets were a thing, with Kabuterimon being the only one already established. They and the rest of their line were introduced just ahead of the anime in October of 1998 in the first iteration of the Pendulum series, “Nature Spirits”.

Bubbmon - Slime Digimon | Attribute: None Attacks: Sticky Bubbles [Nenchakusei no Awa]; (Dub) Bubble Blow

Although it looks like it is just pale green bubbles at first glance, it is a Bubble Digimon that can move freely and express a plethora of facial expressions. Because its surface has not hardened yet, its defensive power is nonexistent and it is equally unsuited for combat. From the portion that looks like a pacifier held in its mouth, it generates tiny bubbles, and proliferates them infinitely. As for that proliferation, at one point it started being used for computer virus development, but because its life force was too weak that was fortunately never implemented. Although its life is fleeting, it is a lovable Digimon Baby that lives earnestly. Its specialty is escaping while the intruder's movement is restricted by the adhesive bubbles it generates from within its body.

- Translation by Wikimon.

Bubbmon is the quintessential Baby Digimon to me. It’s one of the few Slime type Digimon that’s actually made of slime, it blows bubbles, is named after bubbles, and its mouth is a pacifier. All the ideas behind this particular level are embodied pretty clearly here, so Bubbmon makes an excellent representative of all concept - even better than Botamon.

Plus, it’s super adorable. You just wanna hug one, don’t you?

Bubbmon’s profile sure is mildly horrifying though.

Bubbmon gets...

FOUR STARMONS!

Mochimon - Lesser Digimon | None Attacks: Bubbles [Awa], Elastic Bubbles [Shinshukusei no aru Awa or  Shinshukusei no Awa]; (Dub) Bubble Blow

Possessing elastic skin, it is a soft-bodied Digimon that uses the protuberances on the underside of its body to toddle about. It came to be called "Mochimon" from inflating its body when it gets worked up, causing it to look like mochi. However, as a result of having a great intellect that couldn't even be imagined from its appearance, its origin is conjectured to derive from a computer's dictionary feature. It understands human languages, and it is sometimes seen freely deforming its body like it's trying to return communications. It produces mochi-like elastic bubbles to restrict the opponent's movement.

- Translation by Wikimon.

I like Mochimon’s profile a fair bit. It’s got a bit more of a concept behind it than most of the profiles we’ve seen so far, which usually basically adds up to “this creature is small and helpless and innocent and must be protected and also sometimes they might be mischievous or flock together or eat a lot”. It being so smart for a Baby is a clear link to Mochimon’s future status as Koushirou’s, who would have the Crest of Knowledge, partner, so they were either building this line with the anime in mind even then, or they chose Mochimon appropriately.

Mochimon’s design is a bit more simple than even Bubbmon’s, however, in that he’s a pink thing that looks like a ghost. It being similar to mochi isn’t really played up much in the anime, which is a shame since Mochimon puffing up and blustering about would fit Tentomon’s character to a T.

Bless him, he tries.

I don’t dislike Mochimon, but just like Pyocomon, it fails to really stand out compared to the rest of its line. It does get points for interesting lore, though.

Mochimon gets...

THREE STARMONS!

[pop-goes-the-sneasel]

Tentomon!

Tentomon!!!!!!

Tentomon’s a neat robot-like ladybug digimon, and one of the core Child-level digimon of the first season of the anime, Digimon Adventure. It’s also one of my favourites of the bunch! Usually, ladybugs are played for cuteness – and I’m not saying Tentomon isn’t cute – but it definitely goes about ladybug representation differently from what’s typical. To such a degree I never even realised it was a ladybug as a child! I just regarded it as some cool bug thing.

Perhaps one of its most distinctive traits is its variance in limbs, with its forelegs each having a single claw, whereas its middle and hindlegs each have four. It’s reductive to call the digits on the middle legs “claws”, however, as they’re individually segmented like complex fingers: its description stating that they’re able to grasp as effectively as a human hand. This style of segmentation also appears on the connecting bits of its limbs, and is actually quite common amongst other insectoid digimon as well. Tentomon’s also got a very distinctive face with large, green compound eyes and interlocking mandibles. The shell on its back can also open up and reveal wings, with the shell closing around the central spot on its back. My favourite part of its design, though, is probably its antenna – they’re so wavy, they have an almost fire-like quality to them. Rather than fire, though, Tentomon is associated with electricity! In fact, many bugs in this franchise are electric-oriented in general.

Personality-wise, Tentomon is said to be quite peaceful, enjoying sniffing flowers and napping in the shade of trees. This makes it a prime candidate for partnering up with a human, which is exactly what happens. Tentomon is the partner of Izumi Koushiro (dub name: Izzy), who nurtures Izumi’s stereotypical nerd interests whilst also helping to encourage him to open up past his relatively unsociable nature and be there for his friends. Digimon Adventure has a significant focus on character growth, with digimon partners commonly being crucial to that growth, and Tentomon is a great example of that.

Digimon unfortunately has far less bug representation than Pokemon does, but at least it has Tentomon. I adore this dweeby little ladybug, and it’s a shame that the Digimon aesthetic has seemingly deviated so far from this that we’ll never get anything similar to Tentomon ever again. We don’t even have any recolours to go over!

Wholesome bug boi/10.

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen – Episode 1 [Sakura and the Clear Cards] [First Impression]

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2018/01/08/cardcaptor-sakura-clear-card-hen-episode-1-sakura-and-the-clear-cards-first-impression/

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen – Episode 1 [Sakura and the Clear Cards] [First Impression]

I�� I don’t know what I’m feeling right now. o_o

You know, aside from ALL THE FEELS!

I was… actually I was a little younger than Sakura’s Clear Card-hen [CCH] age when a close friend of mine got me into the original Cardcaptor Sakura. I was never as big a fan as she was, but it was cute, funny, and was one of the first anime I was introduced to (alongside Escaflowne, Digimon, Pokémon – that whole YTV/Fox Kids/Toonami anime lineup). I didn’t learn until much later how heavily censored the North American version of CCS was, but as a kid I enjoyed it for what it was.

I will say that I did lose interest between the original seasons and the movies, so I have only a vague understanding of how the original series ended. I saw some faces in this first episode that I recognized, but that I will have to wiki later in order to fill myself in.

Being that the original CCS ran from 1998 – 2000, the animation in CCH is of a much higher quality. Omg, it’s beautiful ~ > )

Anyways, so if you’re familiar with the original Cardcaptor Sakura anime and/or manga, this first episode is going to be a walk in the park for you. Aside from a mysterious new villain whom we get virtually no information about, everyone shown in the first episode is from the original series. Plus guess what – the entire original Japanese seiyuu cast has returned for CCH too! Huzzah!  (And yes most if not all the female characters still sound like they’ve been sucking on helium. But that’s always been what the Japanese version has sounded like, so I know I’ll get used to it eventually. Hopefully.)

In this first episode, Sakura goes to her first day of middle school.. Sakura learns quick that some of her middle school subjects are going to be much harder for her now (specifically shown are math and English). On her way home she bumps into Syaoran, who has returned from Hong Kong at long last. They have a sappy reunion, one which Tomoyo interrupts with her sneaky cockblocking antics as always. ;D   Some things never change.

That night Sakura has a nightmare in which all her Clow cards have turned clear. There is an unknown figure floating a distance away from her, and she cannot make out the individual’s face or body as they are wearing some kind of hood or mask that covers everything but their (shadowed) eyes. This person makes Sakura’s cards shatter and the broken pieces go racing towards her body. When Sakura is jolted awake, she rushes to open her Clow book and sees that her cards have indeed all turned clear.

The next day Sakura and Kero go to visit Yukito, who turns into Yue when Kero announces that they’re having an emergency. Together Kero and Yue deduce that Sakura hasn’t lost her magical powers, but they don’t know either why the cards have turned clear. Sakura asks Yue to please not reveal anything to Yukito if he can help it, and lets Yue know that Syaoran has returned.

Later at school Sakura fills Syaoran and Tomoyo in on what’s going on with her Clow cards. Kero shares that he’s already e-mailed Eriol in England and is waiting for a reply. With nothing else to do, the three return to their classes and finish their day at school.

Sakura has another nightmare that night, again with the broken clear cards and the mysterious person in the long robes. This time however, the dream continues on for much longer. Sakura is protected from the clear card shards by what turns out to be her new Clow Key (it’s so pretty!  0  ). This appears to anger the

robed figure, who summons a huge, dark dragon and perhaps tries to suppress or remove Sakura’s powers from her. (This figure doesn’t speak a word, so I was a little unclear with this person’s intentions towards Sakura, aside from that they were obviously not positive.)  When Sakura wakes up, her new Clow key is in her hand. Whoa!

While walking to school the next day, Sakura and Kero are attacked by what is obviously some kind of wild Clow card. It has the power to rip gashes in the sidewalk and rip a tree down, so it looks pretty powerful. It attacks Sakura a during a vulnerable moment and she is saved at the last moment by her new Clow key, which transforms into a fancy new staff. Her new incantation magically comes to mind and Sakura is able to seal the new card: Gale.

Despite not being a huge CCS fan, I’m rather excited for CCH! I love that Maaya Sakamoto is singing the opening theme (“Clear”), and the ending theme (“Jewelry” by Saori Hayami) is catchy too. My favourite moment/scene from this first episode? Sakura’s reunion with Syaoran – not only because it’s such a romantic moment, but because in the background a beautifully remixed version of the original Japanese opening (“Catch You Catch Me” by Gumi), and I honest to god almost cried.  ;~;

CCH is set to run for two seasons, and I’m unsure at this point whether I’ll be covering both. I might pass it to another AAB writer at the end of this season, but time will tell. If I absolutely adore CCH then I’d love to cover it until the very end.

Possibility of Watching: High Possibility of Blogging: High

(A small bonus, random tidbit for all you CCS fans out there – my all-time favourite piece of CCS music is “Purachina” (Platinum), the season 3 opening theme. It’s also sung by the great Maaya Sakamoto. 😀   What is your favourite CCS song?)

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