#digimon stage play

[koumi-blog]

Since @atsoraasayoma’s replies to this post cannot be reblogged, let me add the screenshots:

I want to add some things about this matter (please, bear with me and excuse my poor english!).

I could swear that the person that made the confession obviously ships Mimi with someone else. It’s totally ok, but it’s unfair to use the “unhealthy” card and to reduce their relationship to just bickering because of their seemingly diametric personalities, because it’s not true. At the same time, this person is subtly trying to guilt trip Koumi shippers, and it’s not the first time that I see someone trying to disdain Koumi shippers in this very site or stating that all the Koumi shippers are the same (just a bunch of rude fanatics) because certain Koumi shipper didn’t behave properly some time ago. Stop doing that, guys. Let people ship whatever they want, and at least if you are going to criticise a ship, deign to explain yourselves further and to elaborate your arguments.

Returning to the main subject (the alleged toxicity of the ship). This person is judging their relationship only through their negative interactions, omitting their positive moments, forgetting the stage play and Kizuna, and without taking the whole context into account. In first season, they obviously clash because they don’t know each other well, plus Koushirou is a neurodivergent kid with some issues that doesn’t know how to behave socially, while Mimi comes from a sheltered home and she is not used to being ignored. By the end of their shared episode (1x10, if I can recall it correctly) their relationship improved a lot (Koushirou even abandoned his dear laptop in order to save her!), but it’s absolutely normal that they don’t interact too much, because first season put the focus on certain dynamics and relationships (not ships), and their character arcs don’t go hand in hand.

In the second season, Mimi is living in the United States, so she is absent for the most of time, and when she is present she mostly interacts with 02 children. But it’s Koushirou the one who contacts her (I don’t remember if it’s in her first or second appearance) and tells her that a portal has opened in US. This means that they are in permanent contact, so we can safely assume that they are friends. Not best friends like maybe Mimi and Sora (and you know, Koushirou is Koushirou) but friends anyway.

In Diaboromon strikes back, even though their interactions are quite comedic/tension relievers and Koushirou is too focused in their mission, Mimi is shown being friendly and comfortable around him. In the closing credits, we can see them like this:

In Tri, we learn that Koushirou developed (finally!) a crush on Mimi and he wants to learn to properly dress because he knows how much she values fashion and because he wants to dress better for himself. So, Mimi constitutes a double motivation. But he never changes the way he behaves in general or around her. He is capable to tell her off when it’s necessary, even if he goes a bit too far with the “self-centered”, bit he isn’t telling any lie: Mimi is a self-centered person, and 1)That is not a bad thing if one learns to put others’ needs in first place, as she does, and 2)Although she is self-centered, she likes her still. Last (but not least), there’s a parallel between Taichi/Yamato and Koushirou/Mimi, that tells us they can argue/have different views but at the end of the day, they care for each other.

In the Stage Play, we can see Mimi and Koushirou bantering and being comfortable with each other, despite Mimi almost breaking Koushirou’s personal computer. There is also a phrase that Mimi says to Sora about Taichi, that goes something like that, “it’s not worth to waste your time on a guy who refuses to bulge”. The context is not Koumi, but if we take into account that Koushirou is always willing to give in when it comes to her (and in the stage play he concedes few times), you can read that phrase as a Koumi hint (that doesn’t mean that Mimi returns his feelings, but that she values guys who aren’t stubborn like Taichi).

Finally, in Kizuna, we learn that Koushirou helps Mimi with her business (not in the movie, but in one of the special shorts). She especifically flattens him by saying that he is “incredible”. A thing that doesn’t say about the other digiguys.

So no, their relationship was never toxic. They value each other, they care about each other, they disagree sometimes but they are capable of give in when they have to, and they complement each other very well despite being polar opposites, because they also have similarities (they are both extravagant about things!). And their relationship digievolved with time, to the point that Mimi entrust her entire business to Koushirou.

Thanks for reading!

Full confession: I just can’t see Koumi being a healthy relationship. I really can’t. All of their interactions through out the first two seasons and especially Tri are proof enough. They seem to bicker and be at one another’s throats more than anything. For starters Izzy is low energy and pretty introverted while Mimi is high energy and a major extrovert. It just feels to me like they would argue nonstop and neither would get what they need out of the relationship.

[seventeenlovesthree]

@taikouvember Day 4 - Reliability: "I've watched you at your side all these years! Isn't that right?"

Since I still owe the person who wrote the Digimon Adventure Tri Stageplay my whole life... I thought referring back to it for "Reliability" would be perfect. Because while I still maintain that they're both pretty much ride or die for one another, Koushirou in particular is technically dedicating all his time and resources (directly and indirectly) to support Taichi. He did so ever since Adventure overall - but one of his main roles in the stageplay had definitely been to be a foil for Taichi, encouraging, reassuring, enabling him - and even shouting at him to shake him out of his frozen state. It perfectly encapsulates the quintessence of their dynamic as well as their struggles. I've summarized it in various posts already, but I just love how it all comes down to this: Koushirou has been working on distortion-tracking devices in the shape of goggles of all things, it's what his knowledge has enabled him to do - and by giving them back to Taichi by the end of the stageplay, he basically gives him the sign of his leadership - and courage - back as well. Taichi will always be able to rely on Koushirou. (And to refer back to one of my favourite quotes by Tri's writers: "When you think about it now, Koushirou likes Taichi a little too much.")

[cypreus-and-willow]

Chibi Commissions Open

Detailed chibi samples

(w background)

(some old chibi that I did)

Simple chibi samples

(group/multiple)

Mecha and Monster

[xnananko]

Love Story.

We were both young when I first saw you, I close my eyes and the flashback starts, I'm standin' there, On a balcony in summer air.

____________________________________________________

I was inspired from the movie "Romeo and Juliet", so here we are with a "Taioraversion" of one of those scenes. While drawing I had the song "Love story" from Taylor Swift in my head and somehow with this I had this little scene in my head:

-Hikari, Mimi and Sora are meeting at a coffee house and are talking (all still in their teenager years)

-Mimi is fangirling about this song and how romantic it would be to fall in love with someone you know since childhood (because of the lyrics)

- somehow she is teasing Hikari about Takeru and how the song would fit them so well

-while denying everything Hikari trys to change the subject, but Mimi interrupts her and looks at Sora "You know ,there are also two other cute little childhoodfriends, who would match this song quite well"

-of course sora was annoyed from that topic (again), so Mimi ended it with a big cheeky smile

-the next day in school Sora couldn´t get the song out of her head (because Mimi couldn´t stop singing and humming the song), which annoyed Sora to a maximum. On top of that she starts daydreaming in class about the storyline of the song...and about those big brown eyes... But right in the middle Taichi interrupted her thoughts, which led to a stuttering Sora with a bright red face..... And thus Sora knew, she had to avoid Mimi and Taichi for a few days, or else her thoughts would drive her insane.

I would have loved to write it better, but I´m bad at telling storys. I still hope you like the idea and the picture of course!

[smackdownhotel]

OK but if that ain’t a Mood I don’t know what is.

(Happy 8/1, everybody!)

[citruscactus-art]

Turns out I never posted the full version of the piece I did for a zine celebrating Digimon Adventure Tri several years ago, so I might as well release it into the wild!

I chose to make a tribute to the Digimon Stage Play (yes, it was a real thing! The partner digimon were PUPPETS, and it was amazing!! <3). Featuring eight children, a camping trip, some space-time shenanigans, and a very mysterious, terribly strange and yet oddly familiar campground host... and wouldn't you know it, the action just happened to center around August 1. Happy Odaiba Day, and Happy 25 years of Adventure!

[remember-digimon]

Prodigious!

Izzy is the reason all these kids are still alive btw just wanted to make sure we all know that

So Izzy is smart. He brings a laptop and cellphone to summer camp and uses big words. But thankfully he does not fall into the trap of 'smart kids' of western media; overly nerdy, completely socially inept, you get the idea. No, Izzy is more than that. His intelligence has a basis in something besides a trope; namely, computer science and engineering.

(Don't even get me started on Matt being the one to go into engineering when IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN IZZY)

From the moment the kids land in the Digital World, Izzy is curious about it. His crest is knowledge but I really think it should've been curiosity. He gets Tentomon to evolve by hacking his code. He comes up with some aliens conspiracy to explain why they're there and why there's things like phone booths on the beach.

Izzy is the problem solver of the group. In fact, without him, the other kids are just... Kinda lost. Izzy has the answers, and if he doesn't he'll at least know how to find them.

Even though he's younger than the others, being 10 when they're 11, they treat him as an equal. This is opposed to the other kid that's 10, Mimi, who is kind of coddled, and the two youngest, TK and Kari, who are literally the hope and light of the group.

Izzy is basically Tai's second-in-command, deferring to Tai's leadership while Tai takes his input very seriously. However, Izzy isn't much of a leader on his own.

He gets distracted by details. When Mimi finds him in the temple, he's so busy on his laptop that she gets upset and runs off into a maze. I would attribute this to him being younger, and as he gets older he does get better at applying his intelligence to a leadership role.

Most of the kids have an interesting family dynamic and Izzy is no different. It's revealed that he's adopted, that his birth parents died shortly after he was born and his adoptive parents were friends that took him in.

What I like about this reveal is that, of course, Izzy found this out on his own due to his curiosity. He overheard his parents discussing whether or not they should tell him, deciding not to because he's too young.

During the Odaiba raid, when the kids have a moment, Izzy gets to finally have the conversation. They admit that he's adopted and tell him what happened, and he says he already knows. He didn't want to bring it up himself because he thought he could just pretend like things were normal, like before he knew. But obviously it couldn't. This shows the price he pays for his curiosity, that sometimes knowing things isn't all fun times and computer jargon. It isn't helpful for Izzy to pretend to not know, to ignore what he knows. Instead it's better for him to apply what he knows to react appropriately, instead of hiding behind the easier mode of willful ignorance.

This also comes into play, though in a different way, during Izzy's confrontation with Vademon. Izzy gives away his curiosity (under extreme duress but still) and is basically empty of all character after that. He does a weird alphabet yoga meditation and willingly gives up his crest and tag, when earlier in the episode his curiosity was at a boiling point over it.

This causes Tentomon to de-digivolve to the baby stage; the only other partner Digimon to go back to this stage is Patamon. With the loss of his curiosity, Izzy has lost the core of his being and is no longer able to maintain Tentomon's existence.

Of course, he gets it back and everything is fine afterwords. This episode is very interesting when looking at how things work for the kids and their Digimon, why the crests are important, etc. But that's a post for another time.

Izzy is incredibly important to the team. Without him, I highly doubt they would've made it very far at all. He's able to look up Digimon on his laptop, kind of like a Digimon version of a Pokedex, when none of the currently present Digimon can give an explanation about who they're up against. But aside from his usefulness as the Smart Kid, it's noteworthy that he uses his intelligence to be helpful instead of lording it over everyone. And he is still a kid, albeit with an impressive vocabulary, so sometimes his curiosity gets him into trouble.

[grim-echoes]

does anyone remember that digimon tamers stage play that was touted as a canon sequel to the original tamers where the villain was literally named political correctness and one of its moves was called cancel culture and the tamers had to stop it because it was spreading wokeism and fake news and every paranoid, wide-eyed rightoid online was clapping like a seal over digimon being based and japan being a bastion of sanity meanwhile its very much japanese writer who also wrote the original tamers had spent the past several years blogging about his extremely US-centric conspiracy theories about 9/11 and covid and this stage play was the culmination of that

[seventeenlovesthree]

I agree! I believe it's all a matter of perspective here - stageplay!Taichi is in a lot of distress and may look at the past with rose-tinted nostalgia goggles. Under normal circumstances, he may have looked at it with a lot more nuance - because the whole point of Adventure and 02 was showing how he eventually did become more considerate.

Obviously, young!Taichi did do a lot of things that can be considered hotheaded, stubborn, reckless or ignorant, he was by no means "perfect" - like you said, he was only 11 years old for the most part. This becomes especially apparent when you take File Island arc and isolate it from the rest of Adventure - because at this point of production, Hikari wasn't really part of the planning yet (and thus also not part of Taichi's arc) and his entire character was mostly condensed to "action hero protagonist running headfirst into trouble, because somebody HAS to". There wasn't an arc here yet, he was just there to be THAT part of the squad. (And he usually also does act stupid for "plot" reasons.)

When you then add the Etemon arc and everything beyond that, his development becomes a lot more distinct and is a vital part of the ongoing series.

Due to him rushing Agumon to evolve, pushing him with inappropriate, aggressive measures (partly out of a twisted sense of responsibility for the sake of the group, partly because he still hasn't learned to take others into consideration), it causes the dark evolution to SkullGreymon. *cough* Death symbolism, part 1. *cough*

Startled by this experience, he becomes more reluctant and scared of acting for a while - until a dream sequence of his younger self shows him that giving up is never an option.

Still, he hasn't fully grasped the idea that his actions may have consequences if he's not careful - hence why him acting recklessly almost gets himself killed when he wants to walk through the electrical fence. However, his hesitation is the reason why Sora gets captured and he blames himself for that. *cough* Death symbolism, part 2. *cough* It's the first glimpse of him getting that he shouldn't do things JUST by himself and that there is a difference between recklessly pushing forward and courageously facing your fears. Thus, the real Perfect level evolution can happen and MetalGreymon saves the day.

Vamdemon's arc is mainly about him actually acting like a leader who values the strengths of those around him better - up until the point when they return to the Digital World together with Hikari. (This becomes more clear when you also take the novel's narration into account, even if it displays Taichi's doubts a bit differently.)

Here we have two different angles: Angle one is him getting into the fight with Yamato, because he himself doesn't want to see anybody else die, but Yamato tells him to BE CONSIDERATE of how everyone else feels about it. Taichi ends up ready to sort his issues out with Yamato - who in turn, is not ready to do that yet, which is why he leaves Taichi behind, contemplating his own attitude.

Angle two is him getting stressed due to feeling guilty and overprotective of Hikari - which causes him to get loud, emotional and even a little aggressive once things don't go as planned. He doesn't want her to die because of him, as she almost did before due to him having been an inconsiderate kid... *cough* Death symbolism, part 3. *cough* And even though he slides into self-sacrificing tendencies at this point a lot (and will continue to do so, in the stageplay as well), he knows he needs to think things through more and also uses strategic measures to move forward in order not to cause unnecessary sacrifices.

Long story short, I think you can spot a pattern here - Taichi does something reckless, then has to come to terms with the consequences, may become reluctant and regretful, even depressed for a while, before he can get out of it stronger and wiser than before. And I thiiiiiink that's what the stageplay may have tried to hint at too: That young!Taichi was eventually always able to DO something, even if he had to make mistakes to get there first. And his 17-year-old self doesn't really feel capable of moving forward at all, hence why he idealizes his past self. Though he may have overlooked the steps he had to take back then to get there and now he is overthinking TOO MUCH, without being able to act... Plus, the stageplay also elaborates on how everyone thinks he is acting weird. That he is pushing himself, not able to cut himself some slack and so he is merely "playing the role of his former self", who, in his memory, was the courageous leader he thinks he ALWAYS needs to be.

Tldr; Taichi has lost sight of himself and still has to figure himself out (for years and years to come).

I recently saw a post on here about the Digimon stage play where tri. age Tai says he idolizes his younger self. His ability to take action without hesitation is something he misses.

But there's also stuff like this-

Early Adventure Tai did a lot of stupid shit. Some of it still makes me laugh. Some of it- like the Gabumon example- makes me cringe. Some of it was downright mean-spirited, but always in a childlike manner. I don't think he understood what he was doing to Gabumon due to his age.

I feel like older!Tai might purposely choose to ignore these moments when thinking of his childhood self. SkullGreymon is hard to forget. But stuff like this? Stealing and whacking Izzy's computer? Sneaking food when the others were discussing divvying it up? No, he doesn't see it. He doesn't want to see it. He's molded the boy who saved two worlds into an idol.

Hilariously, kiddie!me did the same thing.

[digi-lov]

Digimon & Tamagotchi

Bandai V-Pet Crossovers Part 1 (Part 2)

In 1996 Bandai and WiZ inc. released the original Tamagotchi. To their surprise, the toy proved to be popular among boys as well, despite it being mostly marketed for girls. And in 1997, as a more targeted approach to this demographic, Digital Monsters was born!

A huge virtual pet boom followed and not only did Bandai and Wiz release new versions of Tamagotchi and Digital Monsters, and try multiple v-pets with a variety of styles within the next couple of years, but other companies also tried to bandwagon on the success of these virtual pets!

(Such as Nintendo in 1998 with the Pocket Pikachu-)

While the Tamagotchi was shaped like an egg (jap. tamago) with a crack in its shell where the screen is, the Digital Monster was shaped like a brick cage with bust-open bars! It also featured the ability to connect and battle! Otherwise they both use the same three button layout and similar menu icons. On the Tamagotchi, the toilet icon is portrayed by a duck themed potty, which is also used as the look for the Portable Potty items in many Digimon games.

Now with how closely these two franchises were developed, there's bound to be more that connects the two, right?

One such thing is Tamagotchimoji and Digimoji/DigiCode!

You can see that the two scripts are basically identical, just stylized differently. While Tamagotchimoji got used sparsely until they stopped using it in 2004 (But had a surprising comeback in one social media post on April 10, 2023?!), Digimoji has been used, and still is being used everywhere in the Digimon franchise! There is also a separate set of characters for the Latin Alphabet.

[Tamagotchimoji on the left, Digimoji on the right, respective Hiragana above the character]

Just like we know it from the Digimon Franchise, the Tamagotchi also grow through evolutionary stages along a branching path, depending on how well you take care of them! The original line of Tamagotchi as well as Digimon owe their designs to Kenji Watanabe! Generally all Tamagotchi's names end in "-tchi" or "-chi", similar to how Digimon names end in "-mon".

In these evolution charts, the Tamagotchi and Digimon are arranged by how well they've been taken care of / how good they are, with the top line being the best, and the bottom being the worst.

But that Tamagotchi chart is actually just the international version, which had "Bill" (aka Gaijintchi/Ketotchi) as secret character past the adult stage. Instead the Japanese version featured "Oyajitchi" (jap. oyaji means "old man").

But wait, doesn't that face look familiar...?

According to the Digimon Reference Book, Nanimon's true identity is unknown and it in fact came from another dimension, where it was known under the title OYAJI. In order to survive in the new environment of the Digital World, Nanimon had to go through a lot of training and battling.

Nanimon's name is also a play on its bizarre nature. In Japanese, "nanimon" is a casual abbreviation of "nanimono" which means "what (thing)". So, with intonation indicating a question, "nanimonda" can mean both "What are you?" or "I am Nanimon".

This joke is even included directly in Digimon World when the player encounters Nanimon.

「ん？なにもんだ？！」 "N? Nanimon da?!" “Huh? What are you?!” 「ナニモンだァ！」 "Nanimon da!" “I’m Nanimon!”

Nanimon's nature as an alien to this World is also reflected in his trait in the Card Game being "Invader".

Nanimon BT6-058 by Kenji Watanabe from BT-06 Booster Double Diamond

So yeah, Nanimon is supposed to be Oyajitchi who came from the Tamagotchi World to the Digital World.

Stay tuned for next friday when we talk about another World connected to the Digital World!

Special thanks to: tamagotchi wiki, gotchi-garden and tamatalk for being great resources!

If you're interested in more Tamagotchi stuff, go check out @tamapalace !

[ashxketchum]

Came across a tweet by an anime screenwriter about how he had recently worked on a script for a Chinese stage play adaptation of Digimon Adventure which opened in Shanghai this week.

He shared a few photos from the opening in Shanghai.

Did some digging around and found captures from the play itself posted by the production company on Weibo.

Set and costume design for a show like Digimon can be extremely difficult to replicate in stage plays but they've done such a good job at it!

Source: HappyKids Company on Weibo

The actors who are part of the cast also uploaded photos on their Weibo accounts. I won't share them all here, since I am not familiar with the etiquette for reposting celebrity pictures from Chinese social media posts on other sites. I'll add the photos shared by Official accounts that I could find, and some generic watermarked photos from the cast accounts which I will link at the bottom of the post.

Character profiles shared by Shonen Jump's Weibo Account.

Toei's Weibo account shared similar profiles but in case of Jou and Takeru they went for different poses.

Play captures shared by Bandai Namco's Weibo account.

These were shared by Yamato's actor. There are more pics of them in character here 😍

These were shared by Hikari's actor. There are more pics of them in character here (Mimi is there too!)

Merch being sold at the screening includes some cute stickers, some figurines and what seem to be matching Digi beanies for you and your cat!

Sorry for such a long post and intensive photo dump. I just feel so comforted by China's passion to keep the love for og Digimon Adventure alive, always perks up my mood when they come out with new content!

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 02x01 - The Inheritor of Courage / Enter Flamedramon

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Three years ago, eight children were kidnapped and trafficked into the weirdest summer vacation of their lives. An adventure filled with war, death, friendship, and a lot more poop than you might reasonably have expected.

Then they had to go home and just pick their lives back up like none of that happened.

We open on the photo that the children took on their last day in the Digital World. Takeru kicks us off with a very brief recap.

Takeru: It was a summer I'll never forget. Three years have passed since then....

Brief slides show us where they all are now. Three years means we're looking at an age range of 13 for Mimi and Koushiro, 14 for Taichi, Yamato, and Sora, and 15 for Jou. The three of them have entered middle school, with Jou once again in his final year and needing to start thinking about high school.

Taichi's slide just shows him in his school uniform, ready to go. Yamato's reveals that his musical interest with his harmonica has evolved into forming a band, which is already giving concerts. He's up on center stage as lead singer and guitarist.

While the original lets the slides speak for themselves, the dub has T.K. narrate them.

T.K.: We've sure grown up a lot since that summer in the Digital World! (Tai shot) T.K.: Tai's in high school. (Matt shot) T.K.: My brother Matt's trying to be a rock star!

I didn't have a lot to say about Taichi's shot and neither did the dub. He's there. He is. Also present. It's Taichi. You know Taichi. He's being Taichi.

You may notice that T.K. said Tai's in high school. So we need to talk about that for a moment.

There's a cultural difference here. American high school lasts four years, with students from ages 14 to 18 in attendance. It's also compulsory.

Japanese high school lasts three years, with students from ages 15 to 18 in attendance. However, it's optional. Compulsory education ends with 9th grade, which is the final year of middle school instead of the first year of high school. It's not unreasonable that a 14-year-old would be in 9th grade, as 14-15 is the age range for that grade. Therefore, middle school in Japan, high school in the U.S.

He is in Japan, so he should still be in middle school even so, but. Y'know. Localizing so American kids will understand.

The more glaring issue is that Tai is in 8th grade right now, not 9th. Taichi was in 5th grade three years ago. So this is just wrong? Tai being in high school is just factually wrong with no cultural context affecting it.

We haven't even hit the opening credits. We're six seconds in, and we're already off to a start, aren't we? T.K. had only one thing he could even think of to say about that shot of Tai and it was wrong. XD

Sora's still athletic, but it seems she's changed from soccer to tennis.

The reason for that shift is, to my understanding, only explained in a Drama CD for the series. It's kind of a compromise. Toshiko actually has a history with tennis, so it's an athletic activity that they can play together as mother and daughter.

Koushiro is in 7th grade right now, so he's entering middle school for the first time. That's why his shot shows him trying on his new school uniform for the very first time, while his parents look on with pride and joy in their eyes.

Mimi, I guess, had so much fun in Hawaii that she's taken up piracy on the high seas.

I don't. Actually. Know why she's reintroduced like this. That is not going to be the character design for her when she appears in the show proper.

In the dub:

(Sora shot) T.K.: Sora's become quite a tennis player. (Izzy shot) T.K.: Izzy's in high school too! (Mimi shot) T.K.: Mimi and her folks moved to New York!

SPOILERS, T.K.!!! FUCK!!!

Also, Izzy's in high school too!? I mean, I guess that's fair. If anybody skipped a few grades, it'd be Joe. But if a second person did it, Izzy's a solid bet.

Jou remains hard at work as ever. He's going to have a whole new set of entrance exams next spring to prepare for. Assuming he decides he wants to go to high school once compulsory education ends.

Which he will. Obviously. It's actually super rare for kids to skip out on high school. It's allowed, but rare. But even if it wasn't, Jou's in this for the long haul. He's aiming to become a doctor.

Hikari, I guess needing a new neck dangly to replace the whistle she gave Tailmon, has taken up photography.

Takeru doesn't get a "Where are they now?" slide. It's fine. We'll be seeing him in a moment. Instead, we move into the new OP, which is every bit as spoilery as the ones from the previous series. Not only are all of the Partner Digimon for the new protagonists we haven't even met yet shown, but so is all of their forms in the new evolution type that's going to be introduced.

The new main villain also appears, both masked and unmasked. So that's fun.

In the dub:

(Joe slide) T.K.: And Joe's still studying to be a doctor. (Kari slide) T.K.: But for Kari and I, it's just the beginning....

So that's where our kids are at right now! In other news, slavery.

Gazimon: RUN!!! IT'S THE DIGIMON KAISER!!!

The Digimon Kaiser, a child dressed in bad guy shades and a cape, stands in front of a huge blast obelisk. Cracking his whip, he sends out black rings levitating across the landscape, reminiscent of the Black Gears that Devimon used to distribute.

These rings blanket the region, seizing every Digimon they can find. We see various and Gazimon and Gotsumon taken by the Kaiser, as well as one Unimon.

One ring goes for Tailmon, who is also among the group. The Holy Ring on her tail glows, deflecting the ring and saving her. But before she has time to breathe, Unimon emerges from the bushes, now under the Kaiser's control, and fires a Holy Shot from their mouth.

In the dub:

Gazimon: Run for your lives! It's the evil Digimon Emperor!

Like many of the proper nouns, "Kaiser" is the actual word in the original and not a translation of a Japanese word. The word is borrowed from German, and means "emperor".

The dub opted to translate it to Digimon Emperor, which sounds more natural to say in English.

Gatomon gets an extra line here when her Holy Ring deflects the black ring.

Gatomon: That was close!

I'm sure she's fine. Meanwhile, in the human world, we find Takeru finishing breakfast in the kitchen of his mom's apartment.

Takeru: Gochisousama [Thank you for the delicious meal.]!

In Japan, it's customary to say いただきます Itadakimasu at the start of a meal and ごちそうさま Gochisousama at the end of a meal. If you've been listening to undubbed anime, you're probably more familiar with the former than the latter. It's much more common to write scenes with meals beginning than ending.

Once he's finished up, Takeru takes his dishes to the kitchen. Cutting to Natsuko's office where she's hard at work, we can hear the clink of him setting his dishes in the sink.

Natsuko: I'm sorry I can't go with you on your first day of school, but I have to get this manuscript turned in by the end of the day. Takeru: (walks by doorway) That's okay. I can go by myself. (Takeru steps out the front) Takeru: Ittekimasu [I am leaving but will return]!

Another customary phrase, said when leaving a place you spend time in regularly. Basically means "I am leaving this place but with intent to return again."

Takeru makes for the elevator, which opens to reveal two children from a higher floor also making their way down. A girl with purple hair and glasses and a short boy with brown hair. They were smiling a moment ago, but when the door suddenly opens, they both look surprised and confused.

Purple: Huh? Takeru: Good morning! Purple: (uncertain) ...good morning. Takeru: I just moved into these apartments. My name is Takaishi Takeru, fifth grade. It's nice to meet you!

An interesting note about these apartments: Takeru describes them as マンション manshon as opposed to アパート apaato. Both of these mean "apartments", but a manshon is much more upscale and high-quality than an apaato. For a single mother, Natsuko seems to be doing pretty well for herself.

Once Takeru introduces himself, the hesitancy subsides and the purple girl happily returns the gesture.

Purple: I'm Inoue Miyako, sixth grade. It's written like the "Kyo" from Kyoto but read "Miyako". This is Iori. Iori: I'm Hida Iori, third grade. I am very honored to meet you.

Iori bows politely to Takeru. It seems we have another little Koushiro here.

Takeru: Same to you.

Takeru joins them on the elevator, and together the three children set out for school.

Real quick, what Miyako's talking about: Because there are three different written languages in Japanese, knowing how someone spells their name can be just as important as what their name literally is. Miyako specifies how her name is spelled because it uses an uncommon reading of a particular kanji.

Her name is 井ノ上 Inoue 京 Miyako. The "spelled like Kyoto" is referencing the fact that 京都 Kyoto uses the same kanji, but pronounces it differently. Because... kanji have multiple readings and pronunciations. That's just how it is. Japanese is really hard.

In the dub, it's Nancy who kicks off T.K.'s departure.

Nancy: (offscreen) You're gonna be late for school, T.K.! Hurry up and finish your breakfast! T.K.: New school, new apartment... but the same old lumpy oatmeal. (calls out) I'm done, Mom! I'm leaving! Nancy: Sorry I can't drive you to school on your first day but I have to write this article before the deadline. It's all about the historical significance of toilet paper. Hmmm.... T.K.: It's okay. I'll walk. (T.K. steps out the front) T.K.: See you later! (T.K. runs into the other two on the elevator) Purple: Huh? T.K.: How's it going? Purple: Fine, thank you. T.K.: Great! My name's T.K. and my mom and I just moved into this building. I'm in seventh grade, class A. Nice to meet you! Purple: Oh, hi! My name is Yolei. Would you like to walk to school with us? It takes exactly 12.3 minutes and that's if there's no wind. It will be fun! Oh, and this is Cody. Cody: Welcome to the building, T.K. Come on! We don't want to be late on our first day. (Cody bows politely) T.K.: Let's do it!

No idea why Cody's bowing. Nothing he said warrants a bow.

So, we have our new character names. Miyako is Yolei, which is a pretty obscure Hebrew name. I've only ever heard it in connection with this show. Terri-Lei O'Malley, one of the key people who worked on the dub, wanted Miyako to have "lei" in her name like she does and so I guess they went looking for something that would fit that criteria.

O'Malley is the same person who named Salamon after her pet cat and was then disappointed that Salamon inexplicably turned out to be a puppy.

I'm guessing they picked "Cody" because the lip flaps for it are close enough to "Iori" to make sense.

With T.K. being in seventh grade all of a sudden, it seems the plan is to quietly add an extra two years to the timeskip and hope nobody notices. That explains "high school" for Tai and Izzy.

Takeru heads to school with his new friends.

Iori: Hey, Miyako-san? Could you please come over after school to fix our computer? Miyako: Sure. For your mom's ohagi. Iori: Okay! I'll email her later. Miyako: Ehehe, bingo!

Get used to hearing "Bingo!" from Miyako. It's her favorite word.

Ohagi is a Japanese dessert. They're sweet rice balls covered in a bean paste.

As the kids approach their elementary school, Takeru suddenly spots Taichi on the soccer field? What?

Takeru: Taichi-san?

But his eyes are playing tricks on him, as it's a different boy with spiky hair and goggles. The boy goes for the ball but just winds up eating dirt, leaving the ball sailing towards Takeru. Takeru snatches it out of the air easily enough.

Soccer Boy: Sorry, sorry. Takeru: ... Soccer Boy: Hm?

Takeru tosses him the ball.

Takeru: Cool goggles! Soccer Boy: ...eh...? Other Player: (offscreen) Hey, Daisuke! What are you doing!?

That seems to snap him out of it. Daisuke turns and kicks the ball, rejoining the soccer game.

Takeru: Daisuke, huh? Right, Taichi-san's in middle school now.

And interesting note about Daisuke's name is that Takeru was half-right. Daisuke's name is written 大輔 Daisuke. It means "Great Savior", foreshadowing his role in the series. But its first letter is also very close to that of 太一 Taichi, which means "Exceptional one". That or "Thick one".

Daisuke is also close in pronunciation to 大好き daisuki, who is how you tell someone that you have very strong feelings of affection for them. It basically means "I like you a lot", but in a way that can be used either romantically or platonically. Which... is also foreshadowing some things.

Motomiya Daisuke was very well named. Name-wise, he is to the 02 cast what "Light of the Eight Gods" Yagami Hikari was to the original cast.

In the dub:

Cody: Hey Yolei, can you come over after school and fix my computer again? Yolei: Only if your mom makes those brownies I love. Cody: I'll send an email and ask if she'll make a batch right away. Yolei: It's a deal. Perfecto! T.K.: Huh? (T.K. thinks he sees Tai) T.K.: Tai? ...I'm seeing things. Player: Here you go, Davis! (The ball goes T.K.'s way, which he catches) Players: (various shouting) Come on, man! / What are you doing!? Davis: Thanks! Great catch. T.K.: ... Davis: Huh? (T.K. suddenly tosses him the ball) T.K.: You look familiar! Must be the goggles. Davis: Whuh? Player: Hey, Davis! You're holding up the game! Davis: Huh!? (Davis kicks the ball and returns to the game) T.K.: What am I thinking!? That can't be Tai! He's a much better soccer player than that kid!

T.K. decides to end on a burn rather than reaffirming what grade Tai's in.

Changing ohagi to brownies is a pretty solid localization choice.

Moving right along, it's time to get to class. We find Daisuke entering classroom 5-A, where Hikari's unpacking her things.

Daisuke: Ehehe, I'm in the same class as Hikari-chan again! Hikari: It's good to see you again. Daisuke: Just now, some guy said my goggles looked cool. I have no idea who he was. Hikari: Hmm?

It's a quick snippet of dialogue to establish that Daisuke and Hikari have been classmates for a while.

Before that can continue, we quickly cut to the Digital World, which is still being menaced by those black rings. Agumon falls hard on the ground, crying out.

Agumon: Taichi! TAICHIIIIIIIIIII!!!

His cry seems to get through. A brief shot of Taichi in his school uniform shows his Digivice activating, sending out a distress message in red print.

Back in Hikari's class, the teacher has an announcement to make.

Teacher: Let me introduce you to a new classmate (nakama) for this semester. Come in. (Takeru enters; Davis looks up, surprised) Teacher: This is Takaishi Takeru-kun. Takeru: I'm Takaishi Takeru. Nice to meet you. Daisuke: Him...? Teacher: There's a seat next to Yagami.

Takeru obliges, sitting beside Hikari. They instantly hit it off for reasons that are obvious to the audience but perplexing for Daisuke.

Takeru: Long time, no see. Hikari: Heh. You sure grew up! Daisuke: (watching them chat, thinking) What's with this guy!? How can he just hit it off with Hikari-chan like that!? Takeru: (unintelligible due to Daisuke narrating over him) Hikari: (cracks up laughing)

Daisuke has no idea what these two have been through together.

In the dub:

Davis: Alright, what luck! You're in my class again, Kari! Kari: I wouldn't call that luck. Davis: Hey, the weirdest thing just happened. This new kid said I reminded him of someone. Probably thinks I'm a movie star. Kari: Hmm? (Meanwhile, in the DIgital World) Agumon: (falls) Tai, help! TAIIIIIIIIIIII!!! (Human world) Tai: Huh? (Back to Class 5-A) Teacher: I'm Mr. Hamasaki. I'll be your teacher and I'd like you all to welcome a new student. (T.K. enters. Davis looks up, surprised) Davis: Hm? Whoa! T.K.: It's nice to meet you. I'm T.K. Davis: It's that kid! Hamasaki: Please take a seat next to the girl with the... camera around her neck. (T.K. sits by Kari) T.K.: Together again! Kari: Just like old times! Davis: (watching them chat, thinking) That kid's trying to make a move on my girl! T.K.: Our teacher looks like Ogremon! Kari: (cracks up laughing)

A few things here. Davis's final line is a lot more possessive than Daisuke's. Daisuke is bewildered that this random boy can walk into the room and suddenly be best buddies with Hikari the instant he sits down. There's a hint of jealousy but he never goes beyond "What the hell am I watching?" Davis is going full jealous stalker, claiming ownership of Kari as if they were a couple.

It's not clear what Kari means by "I wouldn't call that luck" but it sounds like a passive-aggressive jab at Davis's expense. Which, given the creepy possessiveness he demonstrates in his final line, makes a lot of sense. Hikari is nothing but pleasant and happy to see Daisuke again.

I don't know why Mr. Hamasaki pauses suddenly before saying the word "camera".

I'm not sure that the dub lines really convey that T.K. and Kari haven't seen each other in years.

Back in the Digital World, Tentomon, Piyomon, and Patamon all flee from an attacking Snimon.

The Snimon has one of those black rings around their waist, so we know who they're working for. Also, New Series Who Dis.

Narrator: Snimon. A cruel and terrifying Adult-stage Digimon who resembles a praying mantis. Their special attack Shadow Sickle can slice anything to pieces with incredible speed.

Objectively better rundown than the one we got in the original series. It's the same, except the original rundown only said Snimon's attack was Shadow Sickle, without explaining anything about what the move does. So this is the same but more.

As soon as the narrator finishes explaining, Snimon's Shadow Sickle projectiles slash Piyomon and Tentomon out of the sky. Patamon takes cover on the branch of a tree, trying to hide.

Patamon: Piyomon! Tentomon!

They could really use their Partners about now.

In the dub, Tentomon takes up his usual role giving the diegetic rundown.

Tentomon: (rundown) Hurry! Don't let Snimon catch us! This praying mantis Digimon can cut through anything with his Twin Sickles attack! (Snimon slashes Biyomon and Tentomon out of the air) Patamon: Oh no! Biyomon! Tentomon!

Tentomon doesn't mention that Snimon is cruel and vicious, but that hardly matters when they're under control of one of those rings anyway.

He does a much better job with the diegetic rundown than Phantomon did way back when; That guy just made a punny quip about how the children will be the praying mantis's "prey".

Good news, their Partners are here! Well, one of them.

Taichi: Agumon!

Taichi sprints to Agumon's side, trying to help him.

Agumon: Taichi! Taichi: Evolve, Agumon!

Taichi holds out his Digivice. However, the device doesn't react.

Agumon: I can't... I can't evolve, Taichi. Taichi: Why!? Why can't you evolve!?

Watching from his control room, the Digimon Kaiser chuckles to himself.

Kaiser: Muhuhuhu... It's useless. That area is already mine. You will never be able to evolve.

In his hand, he's holding something that looks similar to a Digivice, yet is distinctly different.

With no other option, Taichi joins Patamon and Agumon in fleeing from Snimon. Tailmon emerges in their path.

Tailmon: This way!

Tailmon leads them to a cave. Once they're tucked inside, Taichi takes out another device we've never seen before, this one somewhat resembling a Nintendo DS, and uses it to send a message.

Taichi: Please, anyone, come and help us.

Already we're seeing how much has changed in the last three years. Not only is Taichi able to come and go from the Digital World, but the children also have portable devices of unclear origin that they can use to communicate with each other.

In the dub:

Tai: Agumon! Agumon: Tai! You're here! Tai: You've got to Digivolve! (Digivice won't react) Agumon: That's why I need your help, Tai. I can't Digivolve! Tai: Did you forget how!? It's just like riding a bicycle! Now start pedaling and Digivolve! (Cut to Emperor's control room) Emperor: Hmhmhmhmhmhm... It's no use. As long as I have the Black Digivice, there's no way they can Digivolve. Ahahahahahaha! (Tai joins the others in fleeing Snimon) Gatomon: Move your tails! (Everyone hides in a cave) Tai: (sending message) We're gonna need more help. I'd better contact the others.

Tai ignores the fact that his Digivice isn't activating and blames Agumon instead.

The Digimon Emperor name-drops the Black Digivice. The Kaiser just shows it to us. Also, it's Dark Digivice, not Black Digivice. They'll call it Dark Digivice at other points in the episode, so this is just a consistency error.

Back in the human world, Miyako's in the computer clubroom when an alert sounds on the PC.

Miyako: Oh no, an email for Izumi-senpai! But he's already graduated...

The message is from Yagami Taichi, addressed to "Everyone", with the subject line "Emergency!". The text reads, "Everyone come to the Digital World. Something is happening."

Miyako has no idea what to do with this.

Miyako: What is this? I'm pretty sure there's a Yagami in 5th grade....

Out front, Takeru is retrieving his outdoor shoes from the getabako while catching up with Hikari. These are special cupboards at the entrances to schools where you can swap between your outdoor shoes and your indoor shoes.

Hikari: Have you finished unpacking your luggage? Takeru: Well, yeah... Mostly.... Daisuke: (runs up) Hey, you! Hikari: It's not "Hey, you". It's "Takeru-kun". Daisuke: You, Takeru! What sort of relationship do you have with Hikari-chan!? Takeru: Huh? What's this all of a sudden? Ahaha! You're funny, Daisuke! Daisuke: (angrier) I'm not funny at all!

Daisuke is being very rude with his language. Not only does he blow off the honorific that Hikari tells him to use, but he keeps saying addressing Takeru as お前 omae.

It's not the worst second-person pronoun. It's pretty standard. But you should always use second-person pronouns with care, because in a lot of situations, they can come across rude or inappropriate. The verbal equivalent of pointing your finger at someone.

Daisuke wants to come off rude and inappropriate, so he's doing a lot of verbal finger-pointing on purpose right now.

Of course, for Takeru, Daisuke's outrage is water off a duck's back.

Before this can go any further, Miyako arrives.

Miyako: Ah, there! Takeru: Oh, Miyako-san!

She approaches Hikari with a printout of the questionable email.

Miyako: You're Yagami Hikari-san, right? Hikari: Yes, that's right. Miyako: (shows her the printout) Do you know a Yagami Taichi? Hikari: (reads; gasps) Onii-chan!

With Daisuke in two, Takeru and Hikari follow Miyako back to the computer club. On their way, they run into Koushiro coming up the stairs; An unexpected sight, seeing as he graduated last year.

Miyako: Ah! Izumi-senpai! Koushiro: Miyako-kun, may I please use the computer in the clubroom? Miyako: (ecstatic) Of course! Of course! I'm so glad you're visiting us, even after you graduated! Takeru: Koushiro-san! Hikari: We got an email from Onii-chan. Koushiro: (surprised) Takeru-kun! Hikari-san!

Strongly implied that Miyako looks up to Izumi-senpai because he was in charge of the computer club until his graduation. Also, on that note, gonna have to get used to the words "Izumi-senpai". My, how the kids have grown.

In the dub:

Yolei: Huh? "Come to the Digital World right away; The Digimon need our help!" Must be a link to an online game. Let's see who sent it. "Tai Kamiya". Hey! There's a girl in the seventh grade with the same last name! This email's probably hers.

The original specifically mentions that the email was sent to Koushiro. But apparently Tai's email had no intended recipient?

Kari: So, T.K., how does your mom like the new apartment? T.K.: She hasn't seen it yet. She's been on the computer the whole time! Davis: (runs up) Hey, buddy! Kari: His name is not "buddy". It's "T.K." Davis: Alright T.J. or J.V. or whatever it is! How do you know Kari!? T.K.: Huh? How do I know her? Ahahahaha! I get it, you're jealous of me! Davis: (angrier) I'm not jealous of anybody!

It's unclear in the original whether T.K. is actually oblivious to Daisuke's jealousy or is intentionally playing it off. Takeru, meanwhile, directly antagonizes Davis.

The "T.J. or J.V. or whatever" seems to be an attempt to capture the rudeness of Daisuke's verbal finger-pointing. Davis's unwillingness to say T.K.'s name properly will continue to be a thing.

Love the "Nancy hasn't actually seen the new apartment yet" crack. XD That got me.

Yolei: Hey! T.K.: Oh, hi, Yolei! (Yolei approaches Kari) Yolei: You're Kari Kamiya, aren't you? Kari: Yeah, that's right. Why do you ask? Yolei: (shows her the printout) Well, are you related to Tai? He sent this email. Kari: (reads it) My brother needs us! (They race to the computer club and run into Izzy) Yolei: Izzy! Izzy: Hey, Yolei. I'm glad I found you. I need to use the computer room right away. Yolei: (gasp) You mean the legendary former computer club president is actually looking for me!? I'm honored! T.K.: What's up, Izzy? Kari: Tai sent us an urgent email. Izzy: Yeah, I know! I got one too!

It's weird that Yolei acts like they're meeting each other for the first time. Was she not in computer club before this year?

The English dialogue also scrubs out both mentions of Koushiro having graduated.

The younger kids join Koushiro in the computer clubroom.

Takeru, Hikari, and Miyako are all neutral about Koushiro being here but Daisuke in the back is slack-jawed. He has no idea what's going on right now.

Koushiro: I got the email too, but when I tried to reply, my battery died. This place is closer to my middle school than going home would be.

A shot of Koushiro's bag shows a similar email device to the one Taichi was using. From the computer, Koushiro sends Taichi a return email:

"Message received. I'll find a Gate and head over there as soon as possible. Takeru-kun and Hikari-san are with me as well."

Taichi: A reply! It's Koushiro! Hikari and Takeru are there too! Agumon: (from offscreen) TAICHI!!! GET OVER HERE, TAICHI!!!

While Taichi goes to find out what that's all about, we return to computer club.

Miyako: Hey, so where is the Digital World? Is that a new theme park? Takeru & Hikari: .... Daisuke: I think I heard Taichi-senpai talking about some... Digimon thing? Takeru: You know Taichi-san? Hikari: They were senpai and kouhai in soccer club.

I think most of us understand what a senpai is. It's a senior mentor figure that you look up to and learn from. Kouhai is the opposite side of that coin; The junior who respects and learns from the senpai.

Also, the words "Taichi-senpai" are hitting me even harder than "Koushiro-senpai". Dear sweet Digital Jesusmon, Taichi has a kouhai.

In seriousness, there's some interesting subtleties about how well Daisuke and Hikari know each other. They've been classmates for at least one other school year before this one, clearly on friendly terms, and also Daisuke is her brother's kouhai. He's clearly working himself up to formally asking her out, and you can see why he'd already feel like this was a sure thing before Takeru suddenly and confusingly entered the picture.

Koushiro remains hard at work at the computer. As Hikari explains about soccer club, we can hear something activate at the computer. But then an alert siren starts playing in the background as the conversation continues.

Miyako: So what is it? What's a Digimon? Iori: Miyako-saaaaan! (appears in doorway) Are you going to fix my computer? Miyako: Oh, that's right.

Suddenly, the computer makes a more pleasant chime and the alert goes away.

Koushiro: Thought so. The Gate is open.

In the dub:

Izzy: I was just about to send Tai an answer when the battery ran out on my computer! I knew I should have recharged it after I played trigonometry trivia on the internet last night but boy, talk about fun! (Izzy sends email) Tai: It's from Izzy! He's got Kari and T.K. with him! Agumon: (from offscreen) TAI!!! COME QUICK!!! (Back to computer club) Yolei: What's the Digital World? Is that a new amusement park? I bet they have some great rides! Davis: I heard about it from Tai once. He said there were a lot of "Digimon" there. Whatever they are.... T.K.: You know Tai? Kari: They play on the same soccer team. Yolei: Hey, guys! I've got an idea! Let's all go to the Digital World! Cody: Yolei, weren't you coming over? (appears in doorway) Remember, you were gonna fix my computer. Yolei: Oh, sorry, I forgot. Izzy: If Tai's there, the Gate to the Digital World's open.

As usual, details buried in sound effects do not carry over to the dub. The alert siren doesn't sound in this version, nor do we hear the sudden chime of it activating.

Kari's kind of screwed with her explanation of Davis and Tai's relationship because Americans don't have an equivalent to the clear-cut social roles of senpai and kouhai. We're a much more informal society. She tries her best, but accidentally makes it sound like they're still playing soccer together.

Back in the cave, Taichi finds what Agumon was so startled about.

A mysterious egg-shaped object is sitting in the cave with a blade sticking out of it, as well as a familiar-looking symbol.

Taichi: This is.... Agumon: Is that the Crest of Courage? Tailmon: It seems like it's been here for a long time....

Taichi approaches the mystery object.

Taichi: That's definitely the Crest of Courage, but....

Taichi tries to pick up the object, causing it to suddenly glow with a bright orange light that fills the room. Then the glow recedes and three smaller orange lights levitate into the air in front of him.

Taichi: What the...!?

The orange lights offer no explanation. They simply fly off through a hole in the cave ceiling and vanish.

In the dub:

Agumon: Look at that! Tai: That's weird. It's got the Crest of Courage on it. Is it an egg? Agumon: I never saw an egg with a spike in it. Gatomon: It must have been rough on the chicken that laid that thing. Tai: Let's have a closer look at this thing. (Tai activates the egg and conjures the three lights) Tai: They look like fireflies! (The lights shoot off into the sky) Tai: Really fast ones!

The mystique's a bit lost in all this quipping. That said, goddammit, Gatomon. XD That got me.

Back in the human world, Miyako leaves computer club with Iori.

Miyako: (mutters) I'm still curious, though....

Back in computer club, Takeru, Hikari, and Koushiro have their Digivices out and are ready to jump across realities. Daisuke, however, is making a fuss over being left behind.

Daisuke: Let me come with you! Taichi-senpai's in a pinch, right? Takeru: That won't be possible. It's not an easy place for just anyone to go to.

Daisuke glowers at the Digivice in Takeru's hand.

Daisuke: Even if it's impossible, I'm going anyway! So--

Before he can finish, the three lights erupt from the computer screen. Though they're not longer all orange. One red light, one blue light, and one yellow light emerge. The blue one shoots into Daisuke's hands while the red and yellow travel down the hall, finding their way to Miyako and Iori.

Daisuke holds out the device that's appeared in his hands. It's similar to the one the Digimon Kaiser has, but blue instead of black.

Daisuke: W-What is this!? Takeru: A Digivice!? Hikari: (looks down at her Digivice) But it's different from ours....

That's because it's the latest model, COMING SOON TO A TOY STORE NEAR YOU!!! Sorry, kids, but Homeostasis is trying to run a business here. Wait 'til you find out about the planned obsolescence.

In the dub:

Cody: You did promise. Yolei: I know.... (Back in the clubroom) Izzy: We're going back to the Digital World! Prodigious! Davis: I'm going with you! T.K.: That's impossible. Not just anybody can go, you know. You need a Digivice. Davis: Rrrrgh... Listen, T.C., if you can go, so can I! (Digivices shoot out to Davis, Yolei, and Cody) Davis: What's this!? T.K.: A Digivice! Kari: It's a different model than the ones we have.

A subtle note for Davis. In the original, Daisuke exclaims that he's going to the Digital World even if it's impossible. This demonstrates how he's inherited Taichi's pigheaded stubbornness and determination.

Taichi needs help and Daisuke is chomping at the bit to come to his rescue. He's going to do this, even if the arbitrary metaphysical rules of Chosen Children and Digimon Partnerships say he can't.

It's exactly the sort of thing Taichi would say in his position. It's also. Kind of. What 02 is about, thematically. Like, this is setting the stage for 02's entire thesis.

Davis's line in the dub is just him again expressing his jealousy of T.K. He's mad that T.K. gets to go and he doesn't, and refuses to accept the implication that this means he's inferior to T.K.

So, Daisuke's new Digivice is weird. Koushiro returns his attention to the Gate on the computer screen.

Koushiro: The Gate opened on this monitor.... Takeru: Then let's get to the Digital World right away! Hikari: We need to hurry and help Onii-chan! Daisuke: (holds out Digivice) I'm going too. I can go with this? Koushiro: That should be right... That is, if that really is a Digivice.

Daisuke stares at his device, uncertain. Then, out of nowhere, Hikari thrusts her Digivice at the computer screen.

Hikari: I'm going!

The screen glows with light, pulling Hikari through the Gate.

Takeru: Me too!

Takeru does the same, vanishing through the computer to cross realities. Daisuke is left dumbstruck with Koushiro in the computer clubroom.

Koushiro: What are you going to do, Daisuke-kun? Daisuke: ... (Daisuke shakes off the shock) Daisuke: I can go too!

Daisuke repeats Takeru and Hikari's motions, thrusting his Digivice towards the computer screen. As before, it glows with light and absorbs him into the Digital World.

In the dub:

Izzy: Huh... We'd better go now while the Gate to the Digital World is still open. T.K.: Yeah, but how long will it stay open for? Izzy: Hm.... Kari: I don't care! I'm going to help my brother! Davis: (holds out Digivice) Hey, can I get Donkey Madness on this thing? Izzy: It's not a game! If the Digital World sent you a Digivice, then there's a reason and you should take it seriously! Kari: I'm not waiting any longer! (Kari crosses over) T.K.: I'm with you! (T.K. crosses over) Davis: (dumbstruck) ... Izzy: It's your turn. Unless you're scared. Davis: ... (Davis shakes off the shock) Davis: I'm there! (Davis crosses over)

And we need to talk about Daisuke again. Once again, he's made more... dipshit. He's made into more of a dipshit. For Daisuke, this scene sees him once again assert his determination and self-motivation to visit this new world and help Taichi. But in the dub, Izzy bullies him into enlistment.

"That Digivice means you're one of us now! Get the fuck in there, you coward!"

There are. Reasons. Why nobody likes Davis, but Daisuke doesn't get nearly as much flak.

But before Koushiro can make the jump, Miyako comes screeching to a stop in front of the door.

Miyako: IZUMI-SENPAI!!! Koushiro: (frantically hides his Digivice) Ehehehe.... Miyako: WHAT WAS THE LIGHT JUST NOW!?!? Koushiro: Oh, what ever could that have been, ahahaha....

Koushiro is no better at lying now than he was three years ago.

Without Koushiro, the three kids cross over. They land in a forest of the Digital World.

Daisuke: This is the Digital World?

He touches his arm, only to be startled when he feels the fabric of his jacket. It is not what he was wearing when he crossed over.

Daisuke: Ehh!? My clothes changed!?

Yep. A new feature of this Totally Not A Magical Girl show is that the new henshin artifacts cause magical costume changes. I guess Homeostasis was feeling spicy when designing them.

Oddly, neither Hikari nor Takeru comment on this. Takeru opens his mouth as if to say something, but he does not.

While the three kids begin their journey, the Digimon Kaiser watches them from his control room.

Kaiser: Coming into my garden without permission... These people don't have any manners, do they?

And cut to commercial. The Digimon Kaiser knows we're here, but we don't know he's even a thing that exists.

In the dub:

Yolei: WHOA!!! (Yolei screeches to a halt) Yolei: What's going on in here!? Izzy: (frantically hides his Digivice) Uhhhh, nothing! Yolei: Hey Izzy, what was that light!? Izzy: Uh, the computer must need a new screensaver, ehehe....

As utterly nonsensical as that retort is, it's still better than Koushiro's "Oh yeah, weird, huh?"

Davis: Whoa! My first time being downloaded... Pretty cool.... So, this is the Digital World, huh? (Davis discovers his new outfit) Davis: Whoa! This place comes with a new wardrobe! (Meanwhile, the Digimon Emperor is watching) Emperor: (menacing) Hmph! Looks like we have some visitors in my garden. And they weren't even on the guest list....

A little more bantery but basically the same.

Setting out into the Digital World, Hikari uses her Digivice's radar function to track Taichi's Digivice. She and Takeru lead the way, while Daisuke lags behind gawking at this strange new environment.

Daisuke: So this is the Digital World, huh? It's not that different from our wor-- Oh?

Daisuke stops in his tracks, staring at the bizarre sight of a vending machine sitting out in the woods in the middle of nowhere.

Daisuke: What is this doing he-- WAAAAAAAAAUGH!!!

Following in Mimi's footsteps, Daisuke approaches the vending machine only for Numemon to suddenly spill out of it and swarm him.

Takeru: Ahahahaha!!! Hikari: Ehehehe.... Daisuke: IT'S NOT FUNNY!!!

Fortunately for Daisuke, these Numemon seem to just be in a goofy mood and do not drown him in a poop flurry. They go on their merry way and leave him relatively unharassed.

Once Daisuke's back on his feet, the trio gets back on the trail.

Daisuke: So those things were Digimon? Hikari: There are all kinds. Some are cuter! Takeru: And some are scarier!

The way these two dingdongs are bouncing off of each other with wordplay doesn't translate perfectly. The Japanese words for cute and scary are 可愛い kawaii and 怖い kowai respectively. So their lines, Romanized, are:

Hikari: Motto kawaii no mo! Takeru: Motto kowai no mo ne!

Which is fun.

In the dub:

Kari: It's over this way. Davis: This place doesn't seem so scary. The way Tai put it, there were monsters everywhere. ...huh!? (Vending machine) Davis: Hey guys, check it out. There's a vending machine. I am a little thirsty. Huh. (Davis falls for the Numemon trap) Davis: AAAAAAAAAUGH!!! T.K.: Ahahahaha! Kari: Hehehe... Davis: (sarcastic) Ha ha. Very funny! (The Numemon depart) Davis: So were those things Digimon? Kari: Yep. There's tons of other ones too. A lot cuter than those. T.K.: And a lot scarier ones too! Davis: ...do they all come out of vending machines?

The dub adds quite a bit to Davis's lines but it's good stuff. I like the idea that Tai talks openly about his experiences in the Digital World. Like. Why wouldn't he? We all saw the other world appear in the sky and then a rift tear open in time and space, right? There are not enough Men in Black in the world to Flashy Thing that away.

Similarly, Davis's closing line is a valid question for someone with his limited experience to ask.

While the younger kids are tracking Taichi, Taichi is tracking them with Agumon, Patamon, and Tailmon in tow. The two groups meet in the middle.

Taichi: We're close-- Patamon: Ah! TAKERU!!! Takeru: Patamon!

Leaving Taichi behind, Patamon flies straight into Takeru's arms. Daisuke has a minor panic attack behind him, but Takeru and Hikari are thrilled to see their Digimon again.

Takeru: Long time no see! Hahahaha! Taichi: Guys! You came to help! Daisuke: Taichi-senpai! You're safe! Taichi: (stunned) Eh!? ...W...Why is Daisuke here!?

One of these people wasn't on the guest list. Though this did happen because Taichi fucked with that artifact so he really has no one to blame but himself.

Tailmon's turn! She leaps into Hikari's arms.

Tailmon: Hikari! Hikari: Tailmon!

Hugging her Partner, Hikari suddenly realizes that Tailmon's Holy Ring is now missing from her tail.

Hikari: What happened?

Flashing back to the start of the episode, Unimon's shot hits Tailmon dead-on and slams her against a tree. Unimon approaches, rearing up on their hind legs to stomp on her. Tailmon rolls away to safety, but her tail doesn't make it in time. The ring stops Unimon from crushing her tail and allows her to escape, but she loses the ring in the process.

When we return, we're now in the cave with the mysterious Courage artifact, where Tailmon finishes her story.

Tailmon: Somehow, I was able to escape. That human who calls himself Digimon Kaiser is brainwashing the Digimon.

In the dub:

Tai: They're real close by... There! Patamon: T.K.!!! T.K.: Patamon! (Patamon flies into T.K.'s arms) T.K.: Boy, am I glad to see you! Hahahaha!

Minor note: In the original, Taichi's looking down at his Digivice when Patamon suddenly senses Takeru nearby and flies off. Taichi then sprints off and follows Patamon to the others.

In the dub, Tai seems to be the first to spot them. This is despite the fact that he's looking down at his Digivice, and that he has to turn a corner in order to reach them in his next shot.

Tai: Hi, guys! I'm glad you all made it! Davis: Tai! I told those guys you'd be alright! Tai: Uh... Davis? What are you doing here!?

As with the departure scene, we really don't get the sense of how sincerely worried Daisuke was for Taichi-senpai from Davis's flippant dialogue.

Gatomon: KARI!!! Kari: Hahahaha! Gatomon! (Kari notices the missing accessory) Kari: Huh!? Your tail ring.... Tell me what happened.

The flashback proceeds with no dialogue, as in the original. Except for Unimon calling Horn Blaster when firing his shots.

Gatomon: One day, this bossy human appeared and began making Digimon into his slaves. He said, "I am the Digimon Emperor!" I heard we're all gonna have to punch a timeclock too.

Oh, shit. Quick, Gatomon! Unionize! It's your only hope now!

Gatomon neglects to mention that the Digimon being enslaved are under mind control. But we've seen the effects of those black rings for ourselves so we can make the connection.

As Tailmon finishes her story, the others have questions.

Takeru: A human? There's other humans here besides us? Tailmon: Yeah. He had a different kind of Digivice than the one Hikari has. Takeru: Is that....

Takeru and Hikari both look at Daisuke. It takes him a moment realize what they're waiting for, but then he fishes his alternate model of Digivice out of his pocket.

Daisuke: Like this? Tailmon: That's it! It was just like that! Daisuke: But this just flew out of the computer a couple minutes ago!

Daisuke, kinda panicking, backs up a few steps from the rest of the group. Implicitly, he seems to be worried that he just self-incriminated as the Digimon Kaiser.

Taichi, however, begins putting the pieces together.

Taichi: (thinking) That was one of the three lights that flew out of here. Daisuke has it... Does that mean... Daisuke is a new Chosen Child?

Meanwhile, back in the human world, Koushiro has to face the wrath of a Miyako who is not convinced by his poor lies.

Miyako: Where did everyone go? Koushiro: T-They all went home! Miyako: Liar! You're definitely hiding something, Izumi-senpai! What is the Digital World!? What is a Digimon!? Koushiro: Well, it's just-- Miyako: What is this!?

Miyako holds out her Digivice for Koushiro to see.

Koushiro: Why do you have this? Miyako: Iori has one too. Iori: (in the hall, on the phone) Yes, there's been a small change of plans. No, I'll come get the ohagi you worked so hard on.

So that makes four new Digivices that are now in play, but only three came out of the artifact. The Digimon Kaiser's came from somewhere else.

In the dub:

T.K.: Another human!? You mean that someone else comes here besides us!? There goes the neighborhood... Gatomon: Yeah. And he's got this strange new Dark Digivice that makes us unable to Digivolve. T.K.: (to Davis) Show her yours. Davis: Huh!? (Davis fishes his Digivice out of his pocket) Davis: Like this one? Gatomon: That's it! You work for the Digimon Emperor! Davis: WHAT!?!? I don't work for anybody! Besides, mine's not dark! I just got this thing when it came out of the computer! Tai: (thinking) So that's what came out of the egg when I picked it up: Three new Digivices! But why did Davis get one? What's his purpose in the Digital World? And more importantly, who got the other two Digivices?

Tailmon says nothing about a Dark Digivice or the Digivice making them unable to evolve. (Yet.) Only that there's a human menacing them with the same Digivice that Daisuke has.

The mention of the Dark Digivice makes it hard to buy that Davis could be the guy. He even points out that his Digivice is the wrong one, and the others seem to agree given that Gatomon only accuses him of "working for" the Emperor. The implied accusation is that Davis is him.

As a result, Gatomon's accusation comes out of left field. We already agree that Davis's Digivice is not the one that the Emperor has. So. What are we doing here, then?

Yolei: Where did everyone disappear to, Izzy!? Izzy: I-I told you already, Yolei! They went home! Yolei: I'm not letting you off the hook that easy! I know you're hiding something from me, Izzy! Now what is the Digital World and what exactly are Digimon!? Izzy: I-I don't know what you're talking about! Yolei: (holds up Digivice) Then what do you call this!? Izzy: (gasp) Where'd you get that? Yolei: Cody's got one as well. Cody: (in the hall, on the phone) No, Yolei's not coming over. We have to stay after school for computer club. But since you made the brownies, I'll come home and pick them up first.

Solid.

Back in the Digital World, discussion of the Kaiser continues.

Tailmon: That Digivice seems to be the reason that we can't evolve! Taichi: So that's what it is. Agumon: If only I could evolve, I'd mess him up!

Unbeknownst to the group, one of those black rings floats through the cave, making its way inside with them.

Tailmon: Because I lost my Holy Ring, my power's been cut in half. Patamon: And we got separated from Piyomon, Tentomon, and the others. Hikari: (furious) A human who's hunting Digimon!? Becoming king of Digimon!? That's ridiculous!

Tailmon losing half of her power is the in-universe justification for why she, a Digimon who is naturally Adult-stage, is now on the same level as Patamon, Agumon, and the rest. For story balance reasons, this is a nerf.

In the dub:

Gatomon: The Dark Digivice is draining our power and making us all as weak as newborn kittens! Tai: That's why you couldn't Digivolve! Agumon: Yeah! If I could Digivolve, he wouldn't stand a chance! Gatomon: The Digimon Emperor uses these powerful Dark Rings to control the Digimon. Patamon: Yeah, that's right! And once the ring captures you, you're enslaved for life! Gatomon: These collars do everything but get rid of fleas. Kari: (furious) Digimon Emperor! I'm gonna slap a Dark Ring on him!

They stay on-script until Gatomon's second line, then deviate to exposit about the Dark Rings. Fortunately, Izzy wasn't able to make the trip so the dub-exclusive exposition is, at least, fairly accurate.

Meanwhile, in his control room, the Digimon Kaiser is watching all of this unfold.

Kaiser: Hmhmhmhm! So you say. But this is just a game, and I can't stand rude trash who don't even know how to have fun.

He would get along well with Pinocchimon. The Digimon Kaiser is an antagonist who has aged very well, in this modern day of toxic gamers dunking on each other out of spite.

The Kaiser raises his finger and a set of buttons appears in the air in front of him.

Kaiser: I'll delete you.

He presses a button, pulling up an image of Monochromon.

Kaiser: Go, Monochromon!

Elsewhere in his base, he has a variety of captured Digimon crammed inside of tiny cells. A light shines inside Monochromon's cell and the ceiling opens. A platform raises Monochromon up into the world above, to carry out the Kaiser's wishes.

Every time I see the Digimon Kaiser's operation, I can't help but think he's a deliberate Shots Fired at monster-taming games like Pokemon, Dragon Warrior Monsters, or some of Digimon's own games. Our Chosen Children have raised their Virtual Pets with love and care, while this guy's out here playing Gotta Catch 'em All.

He wants to be the very best, like no one ever was.

In the dub, the Emperor responds to Kari saying she'll slap a Dark Ring on him.

Emperor: Hmhmhmhmhmhm... Oh, you think so, do you? Well, this is just a game to me. And I'm afraid that if you can't play by my rules, I'm just going to have to disqualify you. (Emperor brings up the console) Emperor: Hmm, who will destroy you. Eenie meenie miney mon! (beep) Attack, Monochromon!

This is an example of why foreknowledge of the series is useful during translation. When the Emperor says "This is all just a game to me," that's how the dub team interpreted the line "This is just a game". They're playing it for aloof condescension. Which, in a vacuum, is a reasonable interpretation. It sounds like evil banter. That is something a villain might say.

But no, he means that literally. The Kaiser thinks he's playing an immersive video game. He's not being dismissive of the situation; He's watching the kids talk about how mad they are at him and going, "What a bunch of salty tryhards! They're mad that I'm winning."

Back in the cave, the kids study the Courage artifact again.

Takeru: That... Isn't it the Crest of Courage? Taichi: Yeah, and it's really heavy.

Not taking Taichi's word for it, the others decide to try their luck picking it up. Takeru makes the first attempt but, despite his best efforts, he can't lift it.

Takeru: It's true! Hikari: Even though it's so small? (Hikari tries and fails as well.) Hikari: What is going on!? It doesn't even budge! Daisuke: I can handle a little thing like that!

Daisuke steps up to take his turn. He steels himself, squares his stance, and squats down to grip the artifact. Preparing himself for the ordeal, he musters his strength. Then he lifts.

It comes up so easily that he knocks himself over and falls on his ass.

Daisuke: WAUGH!!! Atatatat... Ugh, what the hell!? It's practically weightless! Taichi: (stunned) ...Daisuke....

Okay but Hikari loosened it up for him.

The dub slips a commercial break in here between the release of Monochromon and return to the cave. We return on quips.

T.K.: Looks like a deflated beach ball! No wonder; It's got a spike through it! Tai: Yeah. Plus, it's heavier than my mom's meatloaf! (T.K. tries to lift it and fails) T.K.: It won't budge! Kari: Move aside; This is a woman's job. (Kari tries and fails as well.) Kari: Urrrrrgh.... T.K.: Too bad we don't have a woman here to help! Davis: Guys, I pump iron all the time! Let me do it! (Davis pops it off, no problem, and falls on his ass) Davis: Whoa! ...what did I tell ya? Light as a feather. You guys need to work out a little more. Tai: There's a problem!

Dub T.K. in here delivering a "Sora will remember that"-worthy dig at Kari. Rude. Also, given that he has the same spindly little limbs as the rest of the cast, I find Davis's claims suspect.

I don't like that the dub cut the funny bit where Daisuke falling on his ass both hurt and pissed him off. I do, however, like the flippancy with which he dismisses the others' strength, blissfully unaware that this is a Thor's Hammer situation.

Taichi marveling at Daisuke's accomplishment is changed out to Tai noticing our next development.

Beneath where the artifact had been sitting is a hole in the ground. Orange light pours out of the hole and a figure slowly takes shape inside of it.

The figure is a Digimon, who throws himself at Daisuke with a familiar enthusiasm.

Digimon: Hooray! You did it! You did it! You moved the Digimental! I'm V-mon! What do they call you? Daisuke: D... Daisuke....

So already we see some differences between V-mon and a traditional Partner Digimon. He wasn't... programmed or what have you with Daisuke's personal metadata like the Partners were, and consequently isn't able to recognize Daisuke on sight.

Going into his rundown, V-mon is a Child-stage Free-attribute Small Dragon Digimon. The Free attribute means this Digimon does not fit into the Vaccine/Data/Virus triangle. It's something from outside that standard. Babies are typically Free attribute, but it's unusual for an older Digimon to be, and further hints that something's off about this Partnership.

V-mon debuted right here in the anime, but this isn't the first we've heard of such a creature. Nature Guardians featured the Adult Digimon V-dramon and Perfect evolution AeroV-dramon as Vaccine evolutionary paths for Piyomon, alongside Birdramon and Garudamon.

V-mon is clearly meant to be associated with those forms - Though, surprisingly, they will not be his evolutions in the series.

Narrator: V-mon! A naughty and mischievous Small Dragon-type Digimon, but with a strong sense of justice. He defeats his enemies with his special attack, a powerful headbutt called V-mon Head.

Really scraping the bottom of the barrel for things to name attacks.

V-mon: It's great to meet you, Daisuke! I've been waiting for you for a long time! Daisuke: Eh? Waiting for me? V-mon: Yeah! I've been waiting for the child who could move the Digimental of Courage! Taichi: (thinking) Digimental of Courage? If Daisuke moved it, then that means--

Taichi doesn't get to complete that thought, because suddenly the cave shakes. The Kaiser's fury has arrived.

Like most proper nouns, the word Digimental comes straight out of the Katakana デジメンタル Dejimentaru and is not a translation of anything. It's a composite of the brand's "Digi" with "elemental".

In the games and V-Pets they feature in, a Digimental can be used to imbue a Digimon with the power from the associated Crest. In theory, any Digimon that can use a Digimental could have a Courage form and a Purity form and a Hope form etc. etc. using one of these.

But the show character-locks them like the Crests which kinda defeats the purpose, and modern games have more or less done away with Digimental evolutions that don't feature in the show. Unfortunate, because they're one of the coolest ideas in the franchise.

The franchise didn't commit to them so now they're just a gimmick, adding extra steps to unlock a handful of Digimon that won't be very useful in late-game stuff anyway.

In the dub:

Digimon: Yahoo! Free at last! Free at last! You moved the Digi-Egg. My name is Veemon, but you can just call me Veemon! Davis: ...hi, I'm Davis.... Agumon: (rundown) I've heard of Veemon! Supposedly, he's a fun-loving adventure-seeking little Digimon that brings you good luck! But I thought he was just a legend! Veemon: Nope, I'm real, alright! And I've been waiting a very long time to meetcha, Davis! Davis: Uh, I think you've got the wrong guy. Veemon: Nope, you're the one alright! Because you're the only one who was able to move the Digi-Egg of Courage. Tai: (thinking) That's right! Even though I have the Crest of Courage, I couldn't move the Digi-Egg. But Davis could....

Hard to do a diegetic rundown for a Digimon that no one's ever met before, but Agumon throwing in "I thought he was a legend!" helps cover that. Though his explanation of V-mon being a mischievous prankster but with a strong moral fiber leaves much to be desired.

"Brings you good luck"? Agumon, what the fuck? In his defense, he's just reciting legends so maybe some details have shifted over eons of Telephone Game. XD

The more glaring issue is that they refer to Digimentals as Digi-Eggs. This is despite the fact that Digitama are already Digi-Eggs. Using the same terminology for both conflates things in a way that was very confusing to my childhood brain.

Uh-oh, out of time! The cave shakes violently.

Taichi: W-WAUGH!!! Daisuke: What the-- An earthquake!? Takeru: No! Up there!

Takeru points up through the little hole in the ceiling, where the Kaiser's Monochromon has arrived. It forces its way through, breaking the hole open further to grant it passage.

Monochromon: RRRRAAAAAAAAGH!!! Daisuke: WAHHHHHHHH!!! IT'S A MONSTER!!! Hikari: That's a Digimon too. Takeru: It's Monochromon!

As in the first series, Monochromon is an Adult-stage Data-attribute Ankylosaur Digimon. Fun fact, the Japanese word for ankylosaur is 鎧竜 gairyuu which translates literally to "Armored Dragon".

Narrator: Monochromon. An Adult-stage Digimon whose horn and shell are as hard as diamonds. Their special attack is an intensely hot fireball called Volcano Strike.

The original rundown mentioned that Monochromon is docile, but attacks relentlessly until their enemy is defeated if angered. This one foregoes that information in favor of explaining that they shoot fireballs.

Makes sense. Under the effects of the black ring, Monochromon's behavioral patterns aren't as important as they were on File Island. The fireball is more situationally relevant right now.

In the dub:

Tai: AUGH!!! Davis: What's that, an earthquake!? T.K.: No! Look up there! (Monochromon breaks through) Monochromon: RRRRAAAAAAAAGH!!! Davis: IT'S A MONSTEEEEEEEER!!! Kari: No, that's a Digimon! T.K.: Monochromon! T.K.: (rundown) Monochromon! His shell is harder than diamonds! His attack, Volcanic Strike, sends out millions of fireballs!

It does not. T.K. is embellishing to freak out Davis and that's very rude of him.

I do like using the veteran kids to deliver the diegetic rundowns, but I don't know why you would have him say this. We're going to see Monochromon use Volcanic Strike five seconds from now.

The Digimon give their best attempts at resisting Monochromon.

And by best attempt, I mean Patamon and Agumon fire off shots that glance harmlessly off Monochromon's diamond hide. Monochromon closes their eyes, braces themself, and tanks their shots without flinching. Meanwhile, Tailmon hangs back and provides moral support.

After weathering their attacks, Monochromon opens their mouth and prepares its Volcano Strike. Which would, y'know, be really bad in a confined space like this.

Takeru: That won't work! Run for it! (flees) Hikari: (flees) Taichi: DAISUKE!!! (flees)

Taichi's voice shakes Daisuke out of his shocked Freeze reaction and he joins the others in Flight. As the kids make it into the tunnel, Monochromon lets off Volcano Strike. The fire explodes at the entrance to the room, but the kids are already on their way down the tunnel.

V-mon: Daisuke, what are you doing!? Quick, you have to find your Courage! Daisuke: What are you on about!?

Monochromon races down the tunnel, nearly catching Daisuke and V-mon, but they emerge from the tunnel into daylight ahead.

As usual, the dub has Monochromon call Volcanic Strike as he shoots, even though this is a non-verbal Digimon.

Monochromon: VOLCANIC STRIKE!!! T.K.: Come on, let's go! (flees) Kari: Ah!!! (flees) Tai: Davis! (flees) (Davis shakes out of it and runs too) Veemon: Davis, hurry up and open the Digi-Egg! Davis: I don't know what you're talking about!

Neither of V-mon/Veemon's comments are super helpful.

Daisuke exits the cave, reaching the top of a hill, but Monochromon doesn't follow him out.

Daisuke: Huh? What happened? Taichi: (at the bottom) Daisuke! Over here!

Taichi tries to warn Daisuke to keep going, but only winds up distracting him. From inside the cave, Monochromon fires off another Volcano Strike.

V-mon: DAISUKE!!!

V-mon tackles Daisuke, shoving him down the hill as the fireball shoots past. Somehow, it then descends the hill so it can keep going at the lower ground level, and nearly hits Hikari too.

Daisuke survives the fall, just a bit roughed up, but his goggles shatter when he lands.

V-mon: Are you okay, Daisuke!? Daisuke: Yeah... Thanks.... V-mon: Daisuke, if you'd just find your courage... if you'd just say "Digimental Up"....

Yeah, the Not Magical Girls now have henshin phrases to go with their activation tools. It's definitely not Magical Girls though!

Taichi runs over to Daisuke.

Taichi: Daisuke! Are you okay? Daisuke: Y-Yes.... V-mon: Say "Digimental Up" and I'll be able to evolve! Taichi: What did you say!?

"Digimental Up" is English. Well, as English as the made-up nonsense word "Digimental" can be. But the "Up" is the English word.

Agumon emerges from the woods, along with Takeru and Patamon.

Agumon: TAICHIIIIII!!! Takeru: Hikari-chan's leg!

A short distance away, Hikari's seated on the ground, rubbing her ankle.

Tailmon: Hikari.... Hikari: It's just a little twisted.

Ah, the twisted ankle. A classic debilitating injury for female characters specifically in order to justify while they'll be helpless and vulnerable for a while. We see a lot of that one in media.

Suddenly, Monochromon lunges. Bounding off the cliff, they hurdle the boys and go straight for Hikari. Fortunately, I guess they leap straight into a time vortex left behind by Apocalymon 'cause it's gonna take them a full minute to land that jump.

Hikari: (terrified gasp) V-mon: Hurry! Taichi: Daisuke! Daisuke: Hikari-chan...!

Daisuke stands up, whips the broken goggles off his head, and throws them to the ground.

Daisuke: I'll try it. Taichi: ... Daisuke: DIGIMENTAL UP!!!

In the dub:

Davis: That was close! Tai: Davis! Get down here! (Fireball. Veemon says nothing and pushes Davis down the hill) Veemon: Davis, tell me: What hurts? Davis: Everything but my earlobes. Veemon: You control the Digi-Egg of Courage! You've got to use your courage to open it up! (Tai emerges from the woods) Tai: Davis, get up! It's not safe! Davis: Uggggh... Okay.... Veemon: I can Digivolve if you open the egg, but you have to have courage to do it! Tai: It's worth a try! (T.K., Agumon, and Patamon emerge from the woods) Agumon: TAIIIIIIII!!! T.K.: We've gotta get out of here! (Cut to Kari) Gatomon: Kari? Kari: I can't move my ankle! Tai: We're sitting ducks here! (Monochromon lunges) Kari: (gasp) Veemon: Davis! Tai: Have courage! Davis: Kari's in trouble! (Davis stands up and discards his goggles) Davis: You want courage!? I'll show you courage! Digi-Armor Energize!

"Digi-Armor Energize" is the dub's version of "Digimental Up", but it's a little awkward because nobody told Davis how to do this. All he's been told is to open the egg with his courage, with no practical instruction on the procedure.

V-mon, ARMOR SHINKAAAAAA!!!

Typically, a Digimon evolution only has them give their name at the finish, but Armor Evolutions get titles. This one is Blazing Courage Fladramon. Fladramon's evolution also gives us our first listen of "Break Up", the new "Show Me Your Brave Heart".

Fladramon introduces himself by bringing Monochromon down with a headbutt.

Taichi: He evolved!? Takeru: ... Hikari: ... Daisuke: Amazing!

Fladramon is an Armor-stage Free-attribute Dragon Man Digimon. The Armor stage exists outside the typical level-up hierarchy. Armor Digimon are typically treated as being on the same level as Adult Digimon, though some are far beyond.

Narrator: Fladramon. An Armor-stage Digimon who evolved from V-mon with the Digimental of Courage. Its special attack is Fire Rocket, which wraps its body in flames to pulverize its enemy. Kaiser: (control room) Armor Evolution, huh? The power from my Dark Digivice should have prevented him from evolving. Hm... They're pretty good, aren't they?

Demonstrating exactly how good they are, Fladramon stops Monochromon's charge and then hoists the colossal creature into a suplex.

The dub calls him Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage.

Tai: Armor Digivolve!? T.K.: ... Kari: Huh!? Davis: Whoa! What's that!? Flamedramon: (rundown) I am Flamedramon. As Veemon, I used the Digi-Egg of Courage to Armor Digivolve. My Fire Rocket attack will charbroil the enemy like a well-done steak. Emperor: Armor Digivolve, huh? Against the power of my Dark Digivice, they shouldn't be able to Digivolve at all. Hmm... They're more resourceful than I thought....

As Monochromon charges, the dub starts up Run Around, the replacement song for Hey Digimon which is honestly much better than Hey Digimon. Kind of a banger. They got the sound right for Badass Fuck 'em Up Song this time.

Monochromon may be down, but they're not defenseless.

As Fladramon tries to close distance, Monochromon lets off consecutive shots of Volcano Strike to keep him at bay. Fladramon stays on approach, punching the attacks out of his way.

Monochromon rises and charges, slamming their head into Fladramon and flipping him up into the air. Fladramon recovers in the air, powering up Fire Rocket and engulfing himself in flames.

Tailmon: Aim for that black ring!

As requested, Fladramon slams a blazing headbutt into the ring. It shatters, releasing Monochromon.

With the enemy defeated, Fladramon reverts. The energy from his armor goes into Daisuke's Digivice, then shoots over into a portable communication device in his pocket similar to the ones that Taichi and Koushiro have. Raising further questions about where these devices came from.

Daisuke takes it out of his pocket and flips it open, seeing the egg-shaped Digimental now stored on his screen. Meanwhile, V-mon returns to his base form and Hikari pets the previously rampaging Monochromon.

Hikari: You're okay now.

Now that the peril is over, her Convenient Damselizing Injury has recovered just fine.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Barbecue that Dark Ring, Flamedramon! (Flamedramon frees Monochromon and reverts, giving Davis his new gear) Kari: (petpet, cooing) That's a good Monochromon.

Small change: Tailmon directing Fladramon where to attack is now Gatomon cheering on the attack Flamedramon was already lining up. Remember that V-mon just got here and has zero context for why this Monochromon is attacking them. So far as he knows, this is just a brawl with some asshole who wants to fight.

Returning to the Digimon Kaiser's control room, a small caterpillar Digimon crawls in unnoticed.

Kaiser: It looks like I'll have to play seriously against you guys. Digimon: Ken-chan....

Takeru and Hikari see Monochromon off on their way. Hikari waves goodbye.

Takeru: To turn such a docile Digimon into a ferocious minion....

V-mon shakes hands with Daisuke.

V-mon: One more time, it's nice to meet you, Daisuke. Daisuke: Yeah! Taichi: (approaches) That was amazing! Armor Evolution! Agumon: We can't evolve, but your power could defeat the Digimon Kaiser! V-mon: Yeah! Leave it to me!

The dub puts its final commercial break here, and then we return to the Emperor's control room.

Digimon: You summoned me, oh evil emperor? Emperor: I believe that we've found ourselves a worthy foe at last. Digimon: Great! Just one question... What's a foe?

This is completely wrong. The Kaiser doesn't acknowledge the caterpillar's presence, and he certainly isn't going out of his way to interact with him. At the same time, the Digimon demonstrates a close connection by addressing the Kaiser by his real name, while in the dub he simply banters with the Emperor as an evil minion to an evil overlord.

Dub team has completely misjudged the relationship here.

Kari: Goodbye, Monochromon! Don't forget to write! T.K.: I can't believe the Digimon Emperor can turn such a nice Digimon into such a nasty creature!

This part's solid.

Veemon: Nice workin' with ya, Davis! Let's do it again sometime. Davis: Great! Tai: Hey guys! That Armor Digivolving was pretty cool! Agumon: Even though the rest of us can't Digivolve, I know that you new guys will be able to defeat the Digimon Emperor with no problem! Veemon: Yeah, leave it to me.

Also solid.

It's at this point that Taichi comes to a fateful decision.

Taichi: Daisuke, you really are a new Chosen Child. From now on, you will protect the Digital World.

He takes off his goggles and hands them over to Daisuke.

Taichi: Here. These are my goggles. Use them.

I mean, the mini telescope would probably be a lot more useful but sure. Thanks. Daisuke dons the goggles, accepting his role as Taichi's successor.

Hikari: They suit you, don't they? Daisuke: Eh? (smiling) You think so?

Once that's settled, they notice that the sun's going down.

Patamon: We should be safe now. Takeru: Eh? Why's that? Tailmon: The Digimon Kaiser doesn't come out at night.

It's almost like he has a bedtime schedule or something.

In the dub:

Tai: Davis, I think you were really brave back there in that battle but I noticed that you broke your goggles. And, as we all know, the leader of the DigiDestined just wouldn't look right without them. So here, I want you to have mine. (Davis puts on Tai's goggles) Davis: Wow... Kari: They look real cute! Davis: (embarrassed) Haha....

"The leader of the DigiDestined"? It's his first day, Tai. What the fuck.

In the original, he's just being inducted as "one of us now" but the dub goes full-on "Meet the new boss, everybody!"

Kari's line changes from a meta commentary on how Daisuke fits the role of the Taichi character to just. Flirting. I guess.

Patamon: Good! The sun's going down! Now we can relax. T.K.: Why's that? Gatomon: The Digimon Emperor never appears at night.

Straight translation.

Well, if it's getting late, we should probably get going too.

Agumon: Hey, Taichi, don't you have to be heading home soon? Taichi: Oh, that's right. I hope the Gate hasn't closed yet. (to Daisuke and the others) Where did you guys come from?

The kids lead the way back to their access point. Along the way, they can hear Iori and Miyako with Koushiro on the other side of the Gate.

Miyako: Aww... You're so late, Iori.... Iori: I couldn't help it. I had to go get the ohagi. Koushiro: This ohagi is delicious!

As the kids approach, we finally see what the Gate looks like on this side: It's a little TV displaying the human world from the connected monitor.

The trio back in the human world are taking their sweet time, enjoying their sugary confections from what appear to be takeout boxes.

Miyako: Ahhh, that was so good! So, should we get going? Koushiro: Eh? To where? Miyako: (points at the screen) Isn't that obvious? The Digital Wor--EUGH!?!?

Glancing at the screen, Miyako realizes that Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari, and Taichi are all visible in the Gate's little viewing window.

Daisuke: Hey! It's me! It's Daisuke!

The Gate activates. The children turn into light and are absorbed by the TV in the Digital World, making the return trip back to the human world. They explode out of the computer monitor, landing in a heap on top of Koushiro, Miyako, and Iori.

Agumon: @_@ It just sucked them in....

From here, we close out on the Digimon Kaiser, alone in his command center.

Narrator: And so Daisuke and the others returned to the real world. But who is this Digimon Kaiser who appeared all of a sudden? Now, a new adventure was about to begin.

Lot of unanswered questions hanging in the wake of these events.

In the dub:

Agumon: Excuse me, Tai, but it is getting late! Don't you guys need to go home soon? Tai: We sure do, but I'm not even sure if we can get home. (to Davis and the others) Be careful. Never stay too long. (They head back to the Gate) Yolei: Hey Izzy, Cody's back. Can we go to the Digital World now? Izzy: The Gate might close. It's not safe. Cody: But at least I got the brownies! Izzy: Mmmm, this is the best thing I've ever tasted! Yolei: Hey, what does it mean when the light on that thing goes on? Izzy: What thing? Yolei: That thing on the computer. I just saw the light go on--WAHHHHH!!!! (Yolei sees the others inside and freaks) Davis: HEY!!! Guys, let me in! It's Davis! (Davis and the others warp through the Gate) Agumon: ...you don't see that every day.... (dogpile in the human world) Izzy: GET OFF!!! YOU'RE CRUSHING MY BROWNIES!!! (Digimon Emperor) Emperor: Mhmhmhmhm.... Narrator: While Davis and the others have returned to the real world, the Digimon Emperor was planning his next attack. Can the DigiDestined stop him? A new adventure has just begun on Digimon: Digital Monsters!

Dub seems more interested in fighting the Emperor than figuring out his identity but this is pretty solid. Though Yolei gets an actual "No" from Izzy about going to the Digital World; It's funnier in the original, where Iori's ohagi errand has eaten up their entire window of opportunity and now it's just too late.

Assessment: We are off on a new adventure and you can already feel how different things are going to be this time around. We get to go home at night! We can just pop into the Digital World for a plot and then fuck right off.

Just from that alone, there's some "I had to fight Digimon uphill in the snow both ways! Kids these days!"

This episode is mainly an introduction to the new status quo. New villain, new circumstances, new protagonists. We'll be getting to know Miyako and Iori better in episodes to come, but Daisuke gets a lot of focus for this one.

[bethanythebogwitch]

Giving the Phantom Thieves Digimon Partners

I like Digimon and very much enjoyed Persona 5 so why not combine them by giving the Phantom Thieves of Hearts Digimon partners. For non-Digimon fans, a human character will have a digimon partner that can evolve through different levels and the forms it takes on often have symbolic resemblance to the human's character development. I'll be giving each Phantom Thief a partner with its forms from the Rookie/Child to Mega/Ultimate levels. No Strikers or other spinoff characters because I haven't played those games. There will be P5 spoilers.

We have to start with the protagonist and his main theme is being the rebel against the unjust authority. His role in the plot is being the rebellious fallen angel to the controlling Gnostic god Yaldabaoth and so I'll be giving him fallen angel Digimon as partners. His partner will start as DemiDevimon/Picodevimon, then evolve to Devimon. These are the most iconic fallen angel Digimon in the franchise so they're easy picks. Devimon will then evolve to Baalmon. Baalmon is a demonic Digimon that seeks out knowledge and will put people through trials to show them the truth. This fits with the protagonist putting people through the ordeals of having their heart stolen to show them the truth of the monsters they've become. Finally his partner will evolve to Bagramon. Bagramon really is a great fit to Satanael as it's a fallen archangel Digimon that rebelled against the unreasonable justice of the Digimon god. If Bagramon is played as a hero, this fits really well with the Gnostic myths P5 draws from where Satanael (or the serpent or Sophia depending on which version you read) rebels against the unreasonable and authoritarian false god that is the Demiurge/Yaldabaoth to bring wisdom to humanity.

Next is Ryuji, who has the themes of electricity, delinquents, athletics, and his Persona is a pirate. I think a great partner for him is Pulsemon, an electric Digimon that is the mascot of the vital bracelet (RIP), a device intended to encourage fans to exercise. Ryuji used to be on the track team so a perfect fit is one of Pulsemon's default evos, Runnermon. For the next level, Runnermon will evolve to CaptainHookmon, a pirate like Ryuji's Persona and a good through line to the final form: Gankoomon. Gankoomon's design is based on a Japanese delinquent like Ryuji and it has a very tough and unapproachable demeanor, but is a hero through and through. For non-Digimon fans confused about a tiger turning into a pirate and then a delinquent, be assured that that isn't anywhere near the weirdest evolution in Digimon.

Morgana is one of the ones I struggled with because his themes of cats, wind, and Zorro don't lend themselves to many Digimon options, but I found a great option from Digimon Frontier. In the Frontier continuity, there are human and beast spirits of elements that can combine to a fused spirit and one of the elemental spirits really fits Morgana. The first stage will be Liollmon because it's a cat. Liollmon will then evolve to the human spirit of darkness, Loweemon. The human spirit represents Morgana's belief that he's human and desire to attain a human body. Loweemon will evolve to the beast spirit of darkness JagerLoweemon/KaiserLeomon. This form represents the cat body that Morgana is trapped in. Finally will be the merged spirit Raihimon, the fusing of human and beast, which represents Morgana accepting who he really is. Raihimon also has wings so the wind element can come in at the end.

Ann's themes are cats, fire, beauty, and seduction via her Persona. I will have her start off with Candlemon. It's the least thematically appropriate of her line but it's a good fire Digimon that leads well into the next form: Lynxmon, a cat made of fire. Lynxmon will then evolve to Bastemon, a seductive, feminine cat that seduces prey before attacking them, fitting well with Carmen's depiction. Finally, Ann's partner will evolve to BeelStarmon, which combines Ann's femininity, beauty, blonde hair, and enthusiastic use of firearms. It even wears a similar catsuit, though black and much more revealing.

Yusuke's themes are foxes, art, and ice and his Persona and costume are the most Japanese of the Thieves. I struggled with him because there aren't really any art themed Digimon and the few ice Digimon don't fit him. I decided to go all in on the foxes and Japanese themes with Yusuke to give him Renamon as a partner. Renamon will then have its dark (but not evil) evolution line of Youkomon to Doumon to Kuzuhamon. I picked the dark line over the normally good line of Kyubimon to Taomon to Sakuyamon because that line uses a lot of fire attacks which wouldn't work well with Yusuke's use of ice. The Renamon line is very much based on fox legends from Japan and China plus Onmyodo and Shinto elements. Also Doumon uses a brush for an attack. It's a calligraphy brush instead of a paintbrush, but I'll take what I can get.

Makoto's themes are rebellion, martial arts, motorcycles/machines, intelligence, and radiation. I gave her a machine line starting with Hagurumon. Makoto's story arc started with her just doing what was expected of her even if it was wrong or not what she wanted and Hagurumon is almost literally a cog in the machine. Hagurumon will evolve to Machmon because it's a motorcycle and so is her Persona. Machmon will evolve to Fumamon, a cyborg ninja Digimon. Makoto's skill in strategy and martial arts would suit a ninja well, plus they have similar color schemes. Finally her partner will become Justimon, a cyborg warrior for justice symbolizing Makoto rejecting doing what is expected of her in favor of following her desires and doing what's right. Plus they both have scarves.

Futaba's themes are isolation, shyness, technology, UFOs, and information gathering. A perfect partner for her is Espimon, a cyborg Digimon with stealth powers designed for espionage and data retrieval. Espimon will then follow it's standard evolution line to the UFO themed HoverEspimon and Oblivimon. However I'm not going to use Espimon's standard Mega/Ultimate level of Invisimon because it being a combat-focused humanoid warrior doesn't fit Futaba. Instead Oblivimon will evolve to the superintelligent alien cyborg Ebemon.

Haru's character is an interesting contrast between her sweet, kind, and polite public image and her Thief form showing off her toughness and enjoyment of violence. I decided to combine this contrast with her love of gardening. Her partner will be the pretty flower Floramon who evolves to the boxing cactus Togemon. Togemon will then become pretty and feminine again as Lilymon before finishing up with BanchoLilymon, a pretty and feminine but violent and rebellious delinquent with a heart of gold.

For Goro I decided to focus on the contrast between his polite boy detective act and the violent and unhinged person he is behind the mask. I gave him Lopmon as a partner. Lopmon is notable for having a good and evil evolution line and Goro could use both, switching between them as needed. The good line goes Lopmon -> Tururiemon -> Antylamon/Andiramon Data -> Cherubimon Virtue while the evil line goes Lopmon -> Wendigomon -> Antylamon/Andiramon Virus -> Cherubimon Vice. The two forms of Cherubimon being an angel and fallen angel represents Goro's use of light and dark skills and how he had all the tools to be a real hero but became a monster instead.

Finally is Sumire, which took the longest for me to figure out, but I like what I came up with. I focused on her taking on the mask of her sister and the struggle between that hand her true identity. Her partner will start off as Sistermon Blanc, a cute and feminine Digimon who is close to her sisters Sistermon Noir and Sistermon Ceil like Sumire was close with Kasumi. The next stage will be Lianpumon, a Digimon themed after Chinese opera who always wears a mask and never lets anyone see its true face like how Sumire took over her sister's role and abandoned her true self. The next stage will be Luminamon, a Digimon themed around duality. Luminamon is the angelic and benevolent alternate self to the wicked and violent Shademon which mirrors the duality between who Sumire is and who she wants to be. Also Luminamon nicely fuses the holy and cute elements of Sistermon Blanc with the bestial elements of Lianpumon. Finally the last stage will be Cendrillmon. Both Cendrillmon and Sumire's Persona come from Cendrillon, an adaptation of the tale Cinderella. Cendrillmon also has crystal legs like Sumire's Persona and wears a leotard and coat like Sumire's Thief outfit. I honestly think Cendrillmon's design homages Sumire.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Since it's my personal mission to make everybody watch the Digimon Adventure Tri Stage Play, I dug up one of my favourite interviews again. I owe the producer my life, because he simply managed to create the best piece of Digimon Adventure media since Adventure itself (in my opinion almost as amazing as Our War Game and that MEANS something). However, I saw a few people being confused about a few things, so I wanted to clarify:

"Wait, is the Stage Play just Tri's story but done on stage?"

Nope, it does take place during the Tri era (between the third and fourth movie to be exact), but it is an original (side) story that can be watched without having any knowledge of Tri or Tri's plot.

"Does the story take place in the real or in the Digital World?"

That would actually be a spoiler and since there is no easy answer to this, I'm gonna say you have to watch it for yourself.

"Are the characters like in the original or like in Tri?"

That's the fun part - of course there are glimpses and pieces of the Tri characterizations, but the producer really did his very best to adapt the characters faithfully and as respectfully from the original source material as much as he could and I think you can feel that:

"To be honest, the generational timing was a little off for me, so I had never seen Digimon before. After I received the request for the stage play, I watched all of it, including the original TV series and the movie series, but I didn’t expect that I’d be crying so many times. It was a story of human growth and Digimon evolution being deeply intertwined, and I watched as that growth and evolution was overlaid with so many other things. Maybe it was because I watched it as an adult, but I was able to see it from all sorts of perspectives in regards to “people growing”. (...) While I’ve worked with other people’s stories and made plays out of them several times, it was usually in the sense of taking the original work’s story and repurposing it for the stage format. But for this one, even though I’m borrowing the original series’s characters, the story is being written from scratch, and it’s my first time writing words for characters that were created by other people. It was a high level of difficulty, and I still feel it even now. Also, it made me wonder how the scriptwriters for the anime must have done this. They were also writing the same characters in the same world, while sharing that job with tons of other people. It’s amazing that they were able to do that. But, naturally, it wasn’t just full of difficult and painful things, but once the story properly got going, I got to hear the lines I was writing in the voices of the characters from the original series, and getting to savor those kinds of moments was very fun. Someone like me, who works in the theatre field, gets to take over the job of writing the lines of characters made by others. And then I have Toei check over it, and we get even closer to the mark. So in other words, we bring these characters to life by sharing them between everyone. And especially in the case of Digimon, it was an interesting experience in that there wasn’t just one writer or director, but rather that everyone had their own version of Taichi and Yamato, and the dialogue was born from between all of that.

"Anything else I need to know?"

If you are able to see past some cringe, don't mind nostalgia baiting and are okay with a few... Questionable scenes in regards to the main antagonist (which you will definitely know if you've watched the original Adventure series), you will enjoy this.

Also, personally, I'd say this is the order of plot relevance of each human character, so if your favourite characters are in the top half of the list (and even if they're not), you are likely to have fun:

Taichi

Jyou

Koushirou

Yamato

Mimi

Hikari

Sora

Takeru

[digi-egg]

A countdown has started to mark the release of the new Digimon Adventure 25th Anniversary PV.

Details about its release are as follows:

It will be first screened at 5PM JST on August 1st, in Shinjuku over at Alta Vision.

Next, at 6:30PM JST to celebrate the double feature re-release of Digimon Adventure and 02 movies there will be a special stage and advance screening held. AiM and Chika Sakamoto are scheduled to appear. This will be live broadcast on YouTube for worldwide audience, the PV will also be played as a part of this event. (note the movies will not be part of the YouTube broadcast)

At 7PM JST, the PV will be finally uploaded on the YouTube Channel.

Official hashtag on Twitter is #0801

[rubykgrant]

Concept: a red vs blue video game. I think it would be neat if you could choose from any of the 7 Halo art styles, cuz some might prefer Infinite and others like the old style of CE, while I personally prefer 3, Reach, and 4.

It would be so funny if they made an RVB video game. Like, I know- "That's just Halo", but it really isn't? These colorful goobers had their own nonsensical shenanigans going on, Halo sort of "set the stage" and was happening in the background, but the adventures of these guys went in totally different directions. A game that let's you change the style, but still keep all the available features, would be really cool!

I'm a fan of games that give you options to "play different ways". There could be a "story mode", maybe it lets you create your own character and start on either Red or Blue Team, playing through the plot from the beginning, but with the potential to make different choices in certain parts (with multiple save files, so you can go every route and experience all the different results. the same story-beats still happen, but what your character does/where they go could always change, and you'd be able to see what certain characters were up to while they were "off-screen" in the actual series; if you hang out with Doc and Donut long enough, you can be with them when they had their nice little garden going on~). Other option is "arcade mode", and it works like Smash Bros (or DigiMon Rumble Arena. anybody else remember that?). You have the basic groups of Reds and Blues available, but through getting some prizes and completing tasks, more become available, and you get specific up-grades for the characters (play Church often enough, you can swap between Alpha or Epsilon, and for other characters you can have Epsilon and the Fragments be like an assist mechanic). You run through various environments, doing puzzles/fighting enemies, all that good stuff!