#koushiro is good

[koushirouizumi]

{D I G I M O N} ~ K O U S H I R O & T E N T O M O N

{From here!}

(2nd Re-size by Me) {Do Not Re-post} {Do Not Remove Caption} (Please Ask to Use)

[deathberi]

HAPPY 2023~!

[1pcii]

SHADAHKNKAS saw u in the notes of some kuina posts and that made me realize that there is simply a bond with kuina and tashigi fans, who may even often be the same fan, because AOUGHHH KUINA I CARE HIM SO MUCH episode 19 literally changed me forever. swords + gender struggles are all you need to hook me on a character sometimes Maybe. the whole greatest swordsman promise... sob. also. something about zoro promising his name will reach the heavens and trans kuina. which made me think.. what if kuina and The trans fear of dying then having your deadname on your tombstone that you can't do anything about because you're dead. kuina dying before they even get to figure everything out and all of a sudden he's just known as kuina forever, and then zoro making a name for himself in kuina's honor or something idk (i like zoro's backstory) (KUINA )

THERE ISS. people who theorise that they are secretly related or the same person or direct parallels are so close to getting it but don't imo (no shade to those theories tho, I just personally find them narratively unsatisfying).

like they are parallels in that kuina is symbolic of the sexism people suffer and tashigi is an adult woman who has come out the other end sword swinging but ultimately so unsure of herself as a result. also the (trans)genderisms, we are all hand in hand 🤝.

MAN KUINAS STORY BROKE ME DOWN ON A BASE LEVEL AND REWIRED NY BRAIN. I had to take a break from reading just to let it soak in it's so good, a swordsmans promise indeed, that scene was beautiful, I love zoro the world's first a accidental feminist <3. zoro carrying on her dream with his will never not have me in hysterics.

FUCK YEA THATS SUCH A GOOD IDEA. I have soo many thoughts about baby!zoro and kuina and trangenderism. egg kuina cis zoro, egg kuina STEALTH TRANS ZORO ABSVDJFBKSHDKDN <333.

little baby zoro looking at his grave with the uncontrollable urge to carve out those letters. to carry and rearrange them and make sure they get back to him in the afterlife spelling 'worlds greatest swordsman'.

trans kuina makes me so emotional because ultimately I don't know if they were canonically trans but it's my FAVOURITE 'what if' for them. they never really got to be anyone outside the dojo masters daughter. the failure of a heir and the girl who beat zoro 2001 times. who would they have been if they got to grow up? come to terms with themselves and unlearned all that heavy, painful biases pushed onto them? as a transmasc who's studying into a (cis)male dominated field myself ik, the feelings of 'betrayal' and 'proving misogynists right' and imposter syndrome and inadequacy issues and perfectionism they might've gone through,,, sobbing my eyes out HE MEANS EVERYTHING TO MEE.

zoros backstory is genuinely one of my favourite parts of the manga idc how 'simple' it was it's still beautiful.

[izzyizumi]

Digimon Adventure ~ Koushiro{u} Izumi Official Merchandise + {NOISE CANCELLING} HEADPHONES {Tri} Merchandise 2017 (Pre Soushitsu) x Ani-On Station vs {Adventure Merchandise 2024} x KARATEZ {Karaoke}

{EDIT by Me} {DO NOT RE-POST}

[beansproutsong]

[Proxy] Tsurune - Taito Limited Plush

Size: 10cm

Each doll will get the diorama background and a bow that can be taken off.

This is a crane prize, limited to taito online crane game. So price of plush might vary.

DM me here or at my twitter if you want me to get it for you

[ashxketchum]

digimon fandom let people ship whoever tf they wanna ship in 2023 challenge - IMMEDIATELY FAILED !

You can find the original post here.

At this point, it's not about disliking a ship, because if it was as simple as that, then the haters and antis would block the tag and move on.

But belittling the event and the activeness of the fandom, is disturbing, why do you want us to give up something we all enjoy doing? Why do you want us to stop engaging within our community, sharing our love for the characters and ship that have mattered to us all our lives? Why does it matter to you so much that strangers on the internet like to see two fictional characters being in love with each other?

And I never see any other ship in the Digimon fandom getting this kind of hate regularly, it's only us YamaxMimi shippers who have to go through this like clockwork every year. 20+ years and the fandom hasn't moved on from the fact that this ship exist.......ya'll really need to sit down and reevaluate your life if one shipping community being active online in their own little circle fills you with hatred.

And you also need to get it into your head that getting something to happen in the canon is not the end-goal for every person engaging with a series.

Sometimes people are extremely creative and they're able to take characters from a series and breathe a new life into them with their skills. Just because you prefer to stick religiously to the canon doesn't mean the rest of us have to either. We don't care if it's not canon, because we have fanfics and fanarts and group chats filled with silly little headcanons and friends who drop by dms to scream about a silly little screencap and that's more than enough. for us

The event has sustained for three years because of the community and we dedicate our works to them, rather than to build a "cause" on the basis of canon.

AND FYI TOEI WAS TOTALLY FINE WITH SHOWING YAMATO AND MIMI AS FRIENDS

[reliablejoukido]

Digimon LOST AU Headcanons part 2/? - Early Koushiro-centric stuff

Made for @izumikoushiroweek and also for my Digimon Lost AU! Headcanons under the cut

Koushiro Izumi:

Age: 25

Flight main section/beach camp

Koushiro is technical minded and analytical, and also deeply curious.

He has a hard time believing the Island contains real supernatural elements. He believes it’s digital, a realistic simulation/virtual reality like a holodeck from Star Trek. His beliefs are constantly being put to the test as he dedicates himself to studying the Island

From the moment they land on the island and Koushiro is alert, he searches desperately for his carry on luggage that contained his laptop. His smart watch screen shattered in the crash and doesn’t work. His phone seems to be somewhere in the wreckage or in the ocean

It seems no one has cell phone that will turn on or function in any capacity, which distresses Koushiro a great deal. He can’t even check to see if there’s cell service wherever they crashed. Statistically speaking since there are two dozen people here both alive and dead, shouldn’t someone’s phone work? He is still determined to get to his laptop in the off chance it functions

Koushiro watches as Jou and Taichi try to save people after the initial crash. He doesn’t know what he can do right now— he’s squeamish and definitely feeling the shock and trauma of surviving a plane crash. So he just continues looking for working tech. He does not find his laptop (at least for now) and is REALLY mad he didn’t bring his satellite phone on the flight

When they retrieve a radio transceiver from the cockpit, Koushiro goes on an expedition with Mimi and Jou to find a high enough area to get a signal. When they finally do get a signal, it’s a repeating distress call from someone who claims she’s been stranded on the Island for three years (this eventually turns out to be Meiko Mochizuki)

Flashback: For two years, Koushiro has been the CEO of a tech company in Tokyo that focuses on virtual reality. They have been making astounding breakthroughs since he started, and are almost ready to launch the next generation of virtual reality that can help people who are sick or bedridden. He wants to prove that even though he’s young and not very personable, he can be a good CEO and make a difference in the world through his technology.

Flashback: Through a mysterious informant, Koushiro learns that there is a handful of engineers in the company working behind his back to steal tech secrets and start a company of their own or possibly sell information. Koushiro is non-confrontational and doesn’t know what to do with this situation

Flashback: He learns that a few of these conniving employees are traveling to California to potentially make a deal with a US tech company to sell Koushiro’s company’s secrets. He takes time off work to follow them, but still doesn’t know what to do.

Flashback: Koushiro lands at LAX and plans to take a connecting flight to Silicon Valley. But his informant suddenly asks to meet him in person in Los Angeles. Koushiro feels like he’s being strung along on a potential wild goose chase at this point, but agrees to meet. The informant, who Koushiro doesn’t recognize, is a man named Haruhiko Takenouchi, who researches mythology, folklore, and anthropology. He believes Koushiro’s company can bring folklore creatures to life in the real world and can be used to study them. Koushiro is skeptical that his technology could bring to life something worth studying, as they can only input data they already have. They can’t “create life”, digital or otherwise. Mr. Takenouchi is insistent. He’s concerned the people trying to steal tech secrets from Koushiro are going to use it for the wrong reasons, and he wants to stop that. Koushiro… doesn’t know what to make of this. Mr. Takenouchi and Koushiro fail to track down the conniving employees, and it is suggested Koushiro return home to Tokyo from Los Angeles.

As the story on the Island progresses and they encounter monsters and strange occurrences, at first Koushiro believes this place is virtual reality, possibly his own company’s doing. That this place is inorganic and digital. As Koushiro learns more about the Island, he starts to doubt his theories. He wonders if Haruhiko Takenouchi sent him here on purpose to study the kind of tech that can create “life” without a data input. He becomes deeply entrenched in the lore of the Island. He wants to know why everyone was called here, why he was called here, and if there’s something they’re supposed to do. Koushiro wants to know what makes the Island tick— he wants to rip it apart at the seams.

He is sometimes at odds with those who are trying to get off the Island. At first he thinks the people aren’t real to begin with. But as it becomes apparent the people around him are very real, he starts to think they need to stay on the Island to accomplish something important.

[sillypiratelife]

Kuina is probably my favorite female character of One Piece, but that's because she represents just perfectly the experience of being a little girl that's into martial arts— and some other stuff.

Kuina would never be enough because she could not be man enough to inherit the dojo, according to her dad, but she was also not lady-like enough to be considered a "woman". To the eyes of other people (and what they make her believe), Kuina's dream marked her as an eternal outcast, someone who would never reach one shore or the other.

To Kuina, her body was a cage. Even if she had everything within her, her body would make her naturally weaker. Similar to being condemned to fight with a bad sword, a blade that would break. Being a child was safe. Little boys and little girls are equals. Growing up meant losing time, losing ground. Every year must have to be a burden to her, with the constant reminder that her time as the best was running out.

The fear and hatred of puberty, the horror of the way your body changes without your permission, the experience of girls who feel uncomfortable in her bodies because they don't want breasts, they don't want to be weaker once a month because their bodies are bleeding and their hormones are ruining everything— I've seen it all.

Worst even, the way people would stare at those bodies and lust for them. The trauma of being desirable. Now they think that they're entitled to your body, that they can disrespect you. You're a toy, an object, you're a woman so you're weak and fragile, you're a woman so give up, you're not in control of the situation anymore.

When Koushiro said that a woman could never be the best swordman in the world, there are soooo many things in between the lines. Why not?

As if it wasn't enough, the boys accused Kuina of being that much better than them because her dad was the leader of the dojo, so he must be teaching her in secret. Her merits were never hers, just the results of another man. "Ah, that girl can't be that good, she must be getting help, receiving special treatment, getting extra training, etc". It's infuriating and Kuina shows it. They disrespect her like it's nothing, like it's natural. Her own dad allows it and participates in that.

Before Zoro, Kuina had no one to tell her that her skills were only hers. Her body, her heritage, not of that mattered. She was the rightful winner of their matches, at least so far.

When Zoro cries out of frustration and Kuina asks him if he even knows why she should be the one crying for it? Life changing moment. Zoro got the praise and loyalty of the dojo boys, the admiration of the older people training there, he was even the special boy of her dad— Koushiro let Zoro clown around with multiple swords and watch Kuina beat his ass, but it'd never matter.

Zoro wouldn't be betrayed by his own body, his own family, his own dojo and his own hometown. He was an outsider accepted by the community, their pride even. He came out of nowhere and they gave him everything she wanted and both of them deserved. It's just that it wasn't a fair fight: Zoro was a boy and Kuina was a girl. She'd always have to fight harder even if she was better.

For me, I really think that only Zoro could carry Wado Ichimonji with him. He was the only one who respected Kuina as a person and a rival, not seeing what others saw in her. Zoro honored all their fights, never tried to discredit her, because even when Koushiro tried to give Zoro an excuse "you forgot that she's a little older than you", Zoro brushed it away. No, he could beat grown-ups. That was not it.

Kuina was better than him. Period.

The fact that she died in such an accident and the way Koushiro said "humans are fragile things"... It is just so amazing. What Kuina feared the most: all her potential, wasted. When she was finally ready to go after what she wanted, she fell down the stairs and died. Simple. The promise Zoro and Kuina made was wasted too. Now Zoro had all the time in the world and Kuina had no time at all. She was always against fate and Zoro rode with it.

I still think about how Zoro plans to make it all worth something: if she can rightfully fight for the title, then he won't let anyone have it but him. If Kuina was able to beat 2001 times the boy who would become the best swordman in the world, then no one could insult him ever again. And if he won that title with her sword, then he'd elevate both their names. If he could fulfill his promise to her, then that night would hold its meaning.

I love Kuina soooo freaking much and I love how much Zoro values her, even to this day.

[koushirouizumi]

"You're going to {do all these amazing things} to

HELP Other children like Yourself---"

"IT DOESN'T MATTER. IT DOESN'T MATTER-"

"We're still going to--"

{Excerpts from Repeatverse Pt. 21} (Written by Me) (DO NOT Re-post) (DO NOT RE-PRODUCE MY WRITING Without My Permission UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE)

The next time people shove their Bad {/Negative} Koushiro and/or Taichi Takes in my face I'm showing them all these lines I wrote about them back in early Apr. 2k18, even if its A.U. inspired, and even if this part itself didnt get up-loaded until late May of the same year, because this was actually one of the first parts I wrote for the wider fic-verse.

And because I actually like what I wrote here using my interpretation of both Taichi and Koushiro.

{After the first cap, there is a line missing in-between because it reflects the A.U. plot, but I included a variation of it in the body of this post. Its basically a lead-in to younger Adventure-aged Koushiro realizing with a Start that this {Tri-era age-wise, but with the original concept in mind from before Tri}!Taichi Knows Koushiro Is An Adoptee, which means at some point Adventure!Koushiro got to actively TELL Taichi that Koushiro Is An Adoptee, and this Koushiro is Recognizing.}

[izzyizumi]

EVERYONE PLEASE LOOK AT THIS BEAUTIFUL PIECE

+THE RINGS!!!!! THE R I N G S---

"Shall we dance... Again?" Unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of time to work on this, but it's been a few years since I gifted @izzyizumi a birthday gift, so... This can definitely be seen as a little sequel to back then. 🧡💜

[sunnixsunshine]

Gonna just post this all together lol uh big post, lots of words, whatever, enjoy

Anyway, meet Roronoa Hikoboshi and Orihime! Hikoboshi resembles Zoro’s dad, he takes over the restaurant eventually while Sora is off sailing, Shinjiro is off sailing, and Takehiko is just causing massive amounts of problems to every type of authority out there lol. Orihime is actually Pudding’s daughter, her only child in fact. Idk, Pudding just eventually gets over Sanji(good, hes way too old for you sweetie tbh; narratively I enjoy their story but ooooooof couldnt she have been at least 18?), meets a new gentleman whos just as kind to her. He, too, has an interest in baking and they open a bakery together, which eventually moves to the exact oart of the All Blue where Sanji resides. Hikoboshi and Orihime meet when theyre 15/16 years old and immediately theyre pretty infatuated. With Orihime being a fairytale and love at first sight kind of gal and Hikoboshi being just as much as a hopeless romantic as his father. When the two want ther parents to meet—its pretty awkward at first lol

Hikoboshi and Orihime is directly inspired by the myth and Tanabata festival itself. As I said, Hikoboshi more so resembles his grandfather Arashi. Orihime is supposed to look like her father the most, however I wanted to play with the idea of her resembling Big Mom a bit? Mostly just the hair honestly, which starts off as brown but as he gets older it gradually changes to pink. Which makes me think about the possibility of Pudding maybe holding some kind of issues against her early on???? Idk but I would like to explore the idea! Btw, their moles are supposed to reflect their respective stars’ positions, Vega and Altair!

But anyway heres my designs for Zoro’s parents. Arashi was s two swords style user trying to work his way up to three swords style before he died. He grew up an orphan on the very outskirts of the village after both of his parents passed away when he was roughly 10. Tera grew up on the same island but she wasnt born there, her father bringing her there when she was eeeeeh like 4-6. She didnt grow up in the village though, in fact she didnt up grow up having a home town to name, she doesnt know where in the east blue her family is specifically from, they camped out in a tiny cabin in the wood with a few other bandits. She gets lost a lot, which is where Zoro gets it! She actually ended up having to choose between “carrying on the family business” (being a thief) or Arashi, and she chose Arashi because she’s actually really bad ar being a bandit. They met when they were 18, married a year later, but it took four years to finally have a family of their own. And turns out Zoro is the only kid they ever would have. Quick little details; when Arashi was fatally wounded by the pirates attacking the village, his swords were both essentially destroyed and later buried with him. And so was his earring. Same with Tera, who had genetic illness, Huntington’s disease, however she actually died of pneumonia in the winter time, but her Huntington’s symptoms were prevalent and Zoro was aware of what was going on. She, too, was buried with her earring, two of Zoro’s earrings specifically just being replicas in memory of his parents. And gonna state it outright here: no Zoro doesn’t have Huntington’s disease, but it is a fear of his that he pushes off to the back of his mind constantly. Tbh I just think it makes him more human as a character to have such a natural fear, idk.

Something I kinda REALLY wanna expand on is my idea of Arashi and Koushiro having a relationship somewhat similar to Zoro and Kuina; Arashi being a few years younger than Koushiro who has actual training to begin with, Arashi having no formal training, just his parents’ swords that they left behind. Now neither of them even knew they were like distant cousins, to Koushiro Arashi is just this younger kid with an obnoxiously loud desire to go above and beyond to learn two swords style when he doesnt have any formal training nor does he even know one swords style! Koushiro finds Arashi annoying and even talentless—and yet for several years they met in a field so Koushiro could pass his formal lessons onto Arashi. Arashi couldnt learn at the dojo because he couldnt afford it. The lessons would stop once Koushiro is being prepared to take over the dojo one day and also when he meets his future wife—so hes about 21 give or take, Arashi is around 17 at the least. Their relationship was mostly bickering because Koushiro doesnt like Arashi’s rash attitude and tendency to goof off. And Arashi found Koushiro to be uptight and too grown up. Arashi never could surpass Koushiro in a dual, both one sword style and two sword style. Hes just always been several steps behimd Koushiro and that’s what pushed him to train more. Fast forward to present day, and honest to god Koushiro NEVER connected Zoro to being Arashi’s child. For one thing, he didnt know Arashi had a kid, thats how strained they became, and another, Koushiro, to be fair, doesnt even see an ounce of Arashi in this kid whatsoever. The ego and eagerness to go above and beyond, sure, but what little kid ISNT like that?? Anyway, it comes as a shock and a part of him feels more obligated to take care of Zoro after having witnessed Arashi’s death himself years prior when Zoro wouldve only been a toddler.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x52 - The Holy Swordsman! HolyAngemon / Piedmon's Last Jest

Previously on Digimon Adventure: Yamato and Sora picked the worst time to go spelunking. Fortunately, Jou vanquished Sora's insecurities through reason and logic and Gabumon vanquished Yamato's with indignant toothmarks. They returned just in time to stop Taichi from getting himself killed, as tends to happen when he's left unsupervised.

Now, together, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon stand against Piemon. Which you may think will go either very poorly or very well, depending on which spoileriffic episode title you read.

We open on the Chosen Children taking cover behind a ridge, sending the two Ultimates out into the fight.

Yamato: Get him, MetalGarurumon! Taichi: WarGreymon! This all ends after we defeat Piemon! Piemon: But can you defeat me? Ahahahahahaha!

Piemon is very amused by his terrible comeback. He forms a ring of fire over his head while he mocks the children. MetalGarurumon is less amused, however, and takes the obvious bait.

MetalGarurumon: We will defeat you!

MetalGarurumon rushes Piemon. Piemon tosses out the ring of fire he was flagrantly telegraphing, which MetalGarurumon flies straight into. It constricts around his midsection, burning him and bringing him to the ground.

WarGreymon: MetalGarurumon! Piemon: And this one's for you.

Piemon summons a large ball, which emerges from the ground under WarGreymon's feet. He tries, futilely, to balance on it for a couple seconds before slipping and falling on top of MetalGarurumon. Piemon laughs merrily at his jest.

(WarGreymon, you can fly.)

In the dub, Tai uses the establishing shot to lead us in and remind us of what's happening.

Tai: Now that we have two Mega Digimon, let's destroy Piedmon once and for all! Matt: Go get him, MetalGarurumon! Tai: Come on, WarGreymon! Take care of this clown! Piedmon: So... I'm a clown...? Then I'll act like one! CLOWN TRICK!!! (Piedmon forms the ring of fire) MetalGarurumon: I'll get him! (lunges) Piedmon: Try jumping through this hoop! (Fire ring takes down MetalGarurumon) WarGreymon: Whoa, are you okay!? Piedmon: Why don't you join us? We're having a ball! (Balancing ball appears under WarGreymon) Piedmon: Hahahaha! Bravo! Sorry if I caught you off-balance! Round and round he goes; Where he lands, nobody knows! Hahahahahaha!

Dub Piedmon is chewing all of the scenery and it's fun. XD

In the original, MetalGarurumon flew straight into a telegraphed attack because he was baited by the worst comeback in history. In the dub, he's acting on Yamato's plan of "Get him". They changed his motive, but retained the pure essence of dumbness permeating the doomed charge.

Piemon's attacks here don't have a name in the original, but the dub calls them Clown Trick. Which makes more sense than last episode, where Clown Trick was their name for his finishing move, Ending Snipe.

I was initially a little peeved that Tai didn't say "Let's finish this clown once and for all," but then it turned out he was saving it for his next line. Calling someone a clown is a child-friendly burn in the U.S. so you obviously can't pass that up.

So, round 1 to Piemon. Time to regroup and figure out a plan for round 2.

Koushiro: He's toying with us. Taichi-san! Taichi: Hang back for now. Yamato: Agreed. Let's gauge the situation first.

How sick do you think Koushiro is hearing that? Taichi was telling him that all last episode and was nearly beaten to death for it. Fortunately, Taichi seems to have forgotten that he was on death's door between episodes so he's all good now.

Maybe MetalGarurumon brought him back to life too.

Piemon: I think it's time I struck the final blow. TRUMP SWORD!!! Taichi: Careful! We don't know where they might come from!

At the end of last episode, the boys vaporized this attack with a combined assault. But Piemon's got more where that came from, and this time he makes it trickier. The swords separate and flicker out of visibility to make it--

MetalGarurumon: Sensor Catch! WarGreymon, left by 45 degrees! WarGreymon: Got it.

Oh, never mind then. With MetalGarurumon backing him, WarGreymon easily deflects the first incoming sword with his Dramon Killer.

MetalGarurumon: Next, to the right! WarGreymon: Whuh!?

WarGreymon whips around in time to deflect not just one but all three of the other swords, flanking him to try and capitalize off the first's distraction.

(Clever trick. Clever clown trick, if you will. Ahaha ha ha.... Oh no, where did this sword come from?)

MetalGarurumon: I'll handle the rest.

The four swords regroup for their next pass. Firing blue beams from his snout, MetalGarurumon vaporizes them all.

In the dub, Izzy's exchange with Tai and Matt is less argumentative.

Izzy: He thinks this is just a big game! Tai: Well, I'm tired of playing around! Matt: Let's not be hasty. He wants us to make a mistake.

Here, it's Tai getting impatient and Matt coolly telling him to chill. In the original, it's Koushiro getting impatient with both Taichi and Yamato presenting a united front on where we go next.

You know. Because. Taichi and Yamato being united is kind of the big thing going on right now.

Piedmon: What's the matter? Don't want to play with Uncle Piedmon anymore? TRUMP SWORD!!! Tai: Be careful of the swords! Hey, wait... Some of those swords aren't real! MetalGarurumon: WarGreymon, I'm picking up the real swords on my sensors. Over to your right! WarGreymon: Cover me! (WarGreymon deflects the first sword. Then, without a word from MetalGarurumon, whips around and deflects the other three.) Piedmon: (triumphant) WAHA!!! MetalGarurumon: METAL WOLF SNOUT!!! (vaporizes the other swords)

Metal Wolf Snout. XD They are absolutely taking the piss with that one. I swear the dub is written like an Abridged Parody sometimes.

This fight is completely different. First off, the dub interprets the swords suddenly disappearing to mean that there are a bunch of extra illusory swords floating around alongside the four real ones.

I'm not going to bag on them for that. That's a cool idea and it still plays into the idea that MetalGarurumon's sensors will be the key factor in winning this exchange.

But... then the action kinda goes to shit. I don't like that they took out MetalGarurumon's precise instructions as well as him redirecting WarGreymon's attention to deflect the other three swords.

It's a small moment but super important for the theme of Yamato's arc. Remember "There are some things only you can do"? Both Yamato and recently Jou have been about it lately.

We saw WarGreymon face down Trump Sword on his own last episode, and he got decimated by it. He simply can't keep his attention on all of the swords at once. This moment is here to demonstrate how MetalGarurumon's unique abilities can push WarGreymon through an encounter that he can't win with his own strengths.

This is thematically important choreography.

From here, the boys go on the offensive.

MetalGarurumon: That attack won't work anymore!

WarGreymon nails Piemon with Gaia Force, sending him flying.

Taichi: We've got the upper hand! No more waiting around, Koushiro! Everyone, evolve and attack him together! Koushiro: Here we go, team. SUPER EVOLUTION!!! Tentomon: Let's go! Gomamon: Count me in! Andromon: Wait!

Andromon cuts in, warning the others. Piemon is up to something.

In the dub:

MetalGarurumon: Looks like the joke's on you, Piedmon. (WarGreymon hits Piedmon with Terra Force) Tai: Alright! Nice shot! Izzy, have everyone DIgivolve and attack! Izzy: You heard him, guys! Now it's our turn! Tentomon: I'm in! Gomamon: Me too! Andromon: Caution!

Taichi calls out Koushiro here because he and Koushiro have been having it out since last episode over keeping Tentomon in reserve. Koushiro's been chomping at the bit to get in this fight, so Taichi singles him out to say, "Okay, finally, now you can jump in."

The dub version of this is absurdly redundant. Tai tells Izzy to tell the team to evolve and fight, rather than just... telling the team to evolve and fight. They're all right there next to him; No need for a middleman.

In any case, Piemon's up to something. He holds out a simple white cloth.

Jou: What the? Is he waving the white flag to surrender? Sora: That pose... Is he saying there's no trick involved?

Calling Piemon out as setting up a magic trick, Sora seems to have hit the nail on the head. Piemon slowly turns the cloth back and forth, revealing it to be a plain white cloth with nothing on either side.

Taichi: Is he going to pull out a pigeon next? WarGreymon: PLAYTIME IS OVER!!! Piemon: Is it, now?

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon rush Piemon. He tosses the cloth out in response. It expands in the air, growing into a large sheet that blankets the both of them. After a short crackle of pink energy, the sheet falls flat on the ground.

Taichi: WARGREYMON!!! Yamato: METALGARURUMON!!!

The boys run out onto the field to check the now-flat sheet. Piemon tosses another cloth, taking them as well. As before, it blankets the two boys and crackles with pink energy. Then it too goes flat.

Hikari: ONII-CHAN!!! Takeru: WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM!?!? Piemon: Allow me to show you!

Piemon lifts the two sheets and throws them into the air. The boys and their Digimon are gone! It's magic! What a performance!

Oh, shit, this is bad for us.

In the dub:

Joe: A white flag? Maybe he's trying to surrender to us. Sora: I don't trust him. I think he's got another trick up his sleeve. Tai: Hey, why don't you make yourself disappear? WarGreymon: PLAYTIME IS OVER!!! Piedmon: But I'm just getting started! (Digimon get cloth'd) Tai: WARGREYMON!!! Matt: METALGARURUMON!!! (The boys run out there and get cloth'd) Kari: What happened!? T.K.: I don't know.... Piedmon: (revealing) TA-DAAAAAAAA!!! Thanks for coming; Next show's at 7:30. You've been a GREAT crowd! Goodnight!

"Why don't you make yourself disappear!?" XD That one got me.

Also super love Piedmon's expanded last line. He's doing a fantastic job this episode.

On the original's side of things, I like the casual and unimpressed "Is it, now?" retort to WarGreymon over the more indignant response in the dub.

Now for the burning question: What exactly happened to Taichi, Yamato, and their Partners?

Jou: THEY VANISHED!!! Tentomon: WHAT'S GOING ON HERE!?!? Koushiro: (furious) WHERE DID YOU SEND TAICHI-SAN AND THE OTHERS!?!? Piemon: They're still right here, are they not?

Piemon feigns ignorance over Koushiro's accusation, then holds out his hand to show them what he means. As he opens his hand, he reveals a pair of keychains in the image of Taichi and Yamato.

Piemon: Look. And these ones too. Look!

Holding out his other hand, he reveals keychains of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.

Sora: H-He's turned them into dolls! Piemon: That's right. To reward them for trying so hard, I've made them part of my collection. Ahahahahahaha! So, who wants to go next?

What a dick! So, on a scale of 1 to Oh Shit, losing both of our Ultimates in the fight against the strongest Dark Master rates about a 13.

Yamato and Taichi's dramatic reunion after Yamato finally accepted himself and self-actualized made such a difference in this battle. XD

I jest. If Yamato hadn't come back, then Taichi and Agumon would have died last episode. Just because they didn't strike the final blow, that doesn't mean their reunion didn't matter.

Piemon may have had the keychain trick in his back pocket this whole time, but it was only Yamato joining the fight that pushed him hard enough to use it and sent us on to this next stage.

In the dub:

Joe: HE MADE THEM ALL DISAPPEAR!!! Tentomon: Well, at least he didn't saw them in half. Izzy: What did you do to Tai and Matt, Piedmon!? Piedmon: I hold the keys to their existence. And I need a place to put them, so I made a couple of keychains. (Piedmon reveals Tai and Matt) Piedmon: I think I'll hang these two on my backpack. (reveals the other two) Sora: What kind of sicko turns people into keychains!? Piedmon: I'm not a sicko! I'm a collector and these new items have such sentimental value to me. Ha! Haha! DAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Now, who wants to be next!?

Dub Piedmon is a lot more menacing here, rather than the playful tone that Piemon strikes. They also use his final declaration, "Who wants to be next!?" as the cliffhanger for the first commercial break. Good timing.

Cut to the fire cave. ...fire cave? Yes, that's right, the fire cave.

It's a cave that fire shoots out of. Alternating between horizontal flames and vertical flames pouring out of two separate holes. Gennai approaches, piloting that Mekanorimon from the flashback.

(...that was a Metal Empire goon that he temporarily hijacked. How are they friends now? There is an offscreen redemption arc that I need to see.)

Gennai: Centarumon, is this it? Centarumon: Oh! You managed to come? Yes, that's right. This is the Wall of Fire from the prophecy written in File Island's ancient ruins. (Gennai opens the hatch to see for himself) Gennai: But could it really have come through these flames? Centarumon: That's what the prophecy said. Gennai: Unbelievable!

Ominous! Obvious firewall pun aside, something has breached said firewall.

We, uh, need to revisit Centarumon's name for a second, because the situation there's a bit fuckier than I previously understood when I was doing his original episode.

So. Officially, his name is ケンタルモン Kentarumon. The intent here is clearly "Centaurmon". But. That's not. The correct spelling of Centaurmon. It should be ケンタウルモン Kentaurumon. In the process of turning this Romanized Greek word into Japanese, they missed a letter.

Wikimon calls him Centalmon while the dub goes for Centarumon, both for the same purpose. They replace the hard K with a soft C as is appropriate for the word "centaur" but leave the end misspelled. I'm siding with the dub on this one because the "Centaru" does a better job of looking like a misspelled "centaur" than "Cental" does.

The dub returns from commercial here to a bit more lighthearted tone than the original.

Centarumon: LOOK AT ALL THIS FIRE!!! This is terrible; I didn't bring a single marshmallow! Gennai: Centarumon, I came as fast as I could. Centarumon: Oh, Gennai! I'm glad you made it. Gennai: Is this it? Centarumon: Yes, this is the mystical wall of fire the ancient prophecy on File Island describes. Gennai: Really? What do you say we barbecue? (Gennai opens the hatch to see for himself) Gennai: Incredible! Is it really true that he had to make it across these flames? Centarumon: I know it sounds crazy, Gennai. But that's what the prophecy says. Gennai: Unbelievable!

This scene's a little dry, so the dub adds some levity. This has the effect of removing the ominous tone of the original, however. They're having a serious conversation about something bad that's about to happen, setting the stage for our final adversary.

The more casual tone fails to capture that vague sense of foreboding. We don't know what they're talking about but they're super friendly about it, like they're chatting about a friend's achievement.

"Oh, yeah, Tai jumped right through the electric fence without hesitation." "That's CRAZY!"

Neither of them seem too perturbed by the idea of something coming through here.

Back at the fight, Piemon has clipped his new keychains to his coat. They aren't attached to anything but instead awkwardly clipped to the fabric itself. The kids beat a hasty retreat.

Piemon: Hahahaha! Andromon: HIDE IN THAT CAVE!!!

The children run for a small cave entrance under the roots of one of the darkness realm's dead trees. However, Sora realizes that Andromon is not among them and turns back.

Sora: ANDROMON!!! Andromon: I'll hold him off. Sora: But-- Andromon: SPIRAL SWORD!!!

Before she can argue further, Andromon whips around and launches his Spiral Sword at Piemon. Piemon deflects the projectile with his sword, then closes distance.

For a short time, Andromon's metal armor allows him to deflect and parry Piemon's strikes.

Jou-senpai grabs Sora by the arm, forcing her to retreat.

Jou: RUN, SORA-KUN!!! DON'T LET ANDROMON'S GESTURE GO TO WASTE!!! Sora: (anguished) AUGH!!!

For Andromon, things are going well. He even manages to go on the offensive between blows, missing two punches but landing a solid hit with his third and pushing Piemon back. This buys him an opening to fire his Gatling Missiles,

For a moment, it seems as if they hit Piemon dead-on. But then Andromon sees the edges of the cloth coming down around him.

In the dub:

Piedmon: Huhuhahahaha HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Andromon: Get into that cave! (Sora realizes) Sora: ANDROMON!!! Andromon: Don't worry! I'll hold him off! LIGHTNING BLADE!!! (Andromon and Piedmon briefly fight) Sora: (anguished) Andromon! Joe: (pulling Sora) We've got to get out of here, Sora! Andromon's buying us more time! Sora: (wailing) WAAAAAUGH!!!

In the original, it's a little ambiguous as to what happened when the missiles landed. We didn't see Piemon get away, but the way he suddenly enshrouds Andromon in his disappearing cloth from an unseen location seems to imply an answer. He probably did that shonen anime thing where the dust clears and the bad guy's eerily not there because he dodged so hyper-fast you didn't notice.

But it's also possible he took the hit and tanked it with his Ultimate 'mon strength.

The dub has Piedmon grunt in pain when the missiles hit, indicating that not only did he tank the attack but that it hurt him. Still won the fight thanks to the cloth, though.

Inside the cave, the children find things are not so safe as they may have hoped.

Their path comes to the edge of an overhang above a great cavern. The path gives way in this massive room, with the only exit being a similar overhang across the ravine. Curtains are hung along the cavern's walls, with only a pair of trapezes offering a means of passage.

Tentomon: W-What is this place? Sora: It looks like a circus ring. Koushiro: It seems the path continues up ahead. Jou: But how do we get over there!?

Tentomon flies across, gesturing at the trapezes.

Tentomon: You'll have to swing across using these. Hurry up! Tailmon: Hikari, hold on tight! Hikari: Mhm!

Hikari holds onto Tailmon while the latter uses her natural agility to cross the trapezes. They make it across with ease. Tailmon deposits Hikari on the opposite cliff, then goes back for the others.

Takeru makes the jump to the first trapeze by himself. Jumping off at the midpoint, he grabs onto Tailmon's paws and she delivers him safely to the other side. Patamon flies across to join him.

Sora goes next, with Piyomon unhelpfully clinging to her back. Then Jou and Koushiro throw Gomamon to Tailmon, since the poor little sea mammal can't jump himself. Then, the last two on the ledge, Jou loads Koushiro up on the first trapeze to--

Piemon: You won't make it.

Piemon enters, holding Andromon's keychain in front of him.

Jou: ANDROMON!?!? Koushiro, GO!!!

Piemon casts one of his disappearing cloths, but in the moment before it takes him, Jou-senpai gives Koushiro a hard shove on the trapeze. Then he's gone.

Koushiro: (tears in his eyes) JOU-SAN!!!

It's for nothing. A second cloth wraps around Koushiro on the trapeze. By the time it reaches Tailmon, Koushiro is gone too. Tentomon furiously charges at Piemon.

Tentomon: WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO KOUSHIRO-HAN!?!? GYAH!!!

Predictably, Piemon takes him too.

Piemon: (singsong) Look, I ca~ught it, I ca~ught it! It's u~useless to run!

In the dub:

Tentomon: What kind of place is this!? Sora: It looks like a giant circus tent! Izzy: Whatever it is, I don't like it. Hey, there's a way out across this canyon! Joe: My only question is, how do we get to it!? Tentomon: (flying across) The only way is to use these swings like a trapeze artist. But don't look down! There's no net! Gatomon: Kari, hold me tight and don't let go! (Gatomon takes Kari across) Tentomon: Not so easy to fly, is it? (T.K. goes next; Gatomon grabs him) Gatomon: What do you carry in that backpack!? Bricks!? (Gatomon delivers T.K.; Sora's turn) Sora: Ow! Gatomon, you've gotta trim your claws! (Joe and Izzy launch Gatomon) Joe: Away you go! (Joe prepares to send Izzy) Piedmon: Don't you want to take your friend along? Joe: ANDROMON!?!? GO, IZZY!!! (Joe pushes Izzy and gets taken) Izzy: DAAAUGH!!! JOE!!! (The cloth takes Izzy next) Tentomon: Don't worry, Izzy! I'll save you! (Tentomon rushes in and gets taken) Piedmon: Now you see them and now you don't! They're dropping like flies.

The dub adds in some quips to break up the silence when the kids make the trapeze jump. Apart from that, it's mostly the same.

As a villainous boast, I like Piemon's entrance line asserting bluntly, "You won't make it." There's something bone-chilling about a monster stating matter-of-fact that it's too late to run and then immediately proving it when you try. 10 out of 10 on the horror movie scale.

Meanwhile, the playful taunt of "Don't you want to take your friend?" in the dub is also a great entrance line. Tonally, they're very different, but they're both solid "Oh shit he's here" announcements.

Meanwhile, there's one last person who's finally ready to join this party.

Mimi's nakama doesn't get to "But how did we get up here?" their way onto the big bowl-shaped platform at the top of Spiral Mountain or fly on Birdramon's talons. No, they have to fucking climb with ropes.

We join Mimi with Lilimon shoving her butt to try and help her climb.

Lilimon: Nnggh... Yegh... You're too heavy... I can't push you up! Mimi: Liar! I'm not that fat, am I?

It seems Mimi has amassed a small army of Gekomon and Otamamon now, not just the pair. Some have made it to the top and are working at pulling up the ropes, but many more cling to ropes around her.

Gekomon: Mimi! It looks like the fight's already started geko! Mimi: There's so many of us! Isn't there someone in our nakama who can fly!?

As Mimi exclaims that question, the shadow of Unimon passes over her and the many hanging Gekomon and Otamamon.

In the dub:

Lillymon: Ugh! Mimi, I'm getting exhausted! Mimi: Really? That's strange; I feel fresh as a daisy. Gekomon: Mimi, get up here! It looks like the battle's started! Mimi: Oh, it's just my luck! I finally bring all the reinforcements and all they want to do is hang around!

This is a goofy scene in both versions, with the Lilimon exchange having punchlines predicated in Mimi's vanity in the original and her ditzy screwball tendencies in the dub.

But for the second part, the dub's gag doesn't really engage with the scene. She riffs on the animation, with Unimon's passing shadow now entirely divorced from the context of the scene.

Back in the trapeze room, Piemon inspects his new keychains.

A pair of sparkles under his eyes reveals that Koushiro's keychain is locked in the crying expression he had when he was taken.

Piemon: My my, you're still crying even after becoming a doll? You must be lonely without the rest of your nakama. Just wait; You'll all be together soon.

Skipping the trapezes, Piemon leaps across the gorge in a single bound. He pursues the Children into what appears to be a building interior, with brick walls and wooden floors. He calls out into the building, his voice and his footsteps echoing through.

Piemon: I told you it's useless to try and escape. Why not accept your fate and come quietly?

The children don't answer. They're hiding beneath the floor, silently waiting for him to pass.

Piemon: (receding footsteps) That's strange. Maybe they're over here.... Sora: (whispers) I think he's gone to another room--AHHHH!!!

Without warning, Piemon's sword thrusts down through the floor, splitting the air right between Sora and Hikari. The girls shriek, flinching away from the attack.

Piemon: HEY, I FOUND YOU!!!

He conjures his other swords to stab down through the floor as well, scattering the children who are forced to try and dodge in their tight confines. Hikari, terrified, buries herself in Sora's arms.

Piemon: Try this! (more stabs) Hikari: IT'S OVER!!! Sora: NO, IT'S NOT!!! Piemon: (jovially) It might be.

Nobody asked your opinion. XD

In the dub, Piedmon doesn't comment on Koushiro's tears. Additionally, as usual, the sound design misses some details. His echoing footfalls setting the isolating tone of the scene are gone, as is the eerie silence punctuated by a lack of music. He steps silently and the usual "We're in danger" BGM plays.

Piedmon: (mocking) "Hello, my name is Izzy and I'm very smart. Although I didn't know how to stop me and my friends from being made into keychains!" Wahahahaha, I love a good puppet show! (Piedmon jumps across) Piedmon: Ah, so you want to play hide and go seek? Mm, okay, I love a good game! Now, let's see... if I were a little pest, where would I hide? ...maybe you're in this room over here.... Sora: (whispers) I think we're out of danger for now--WHOA!!! (She is stabbingly wrong) Piedmon: PEEK-A-BOO!!! (More stabbing) Sora: RUN FOR IT!!! Piedmon: OLLY OLLY OXEN FREE!!! (stab stab)

Aww, they cut the funny exchange between Hikari, Sora, and Piemon.

"Olly olly oxen free" is an old phrase used during children's games like hide and seek, back in the day before children were banished indoors by a changing society that no longer welcomes them in public. It indicates that the game is over and you can come out now.

Piemon raises his sword for another strike. Thankfully, he's not the only one offering unsolicited opinions at this time.

Angewomon: HOLY ARROOOOOOOW!!!

(I love that she makes a finger gun when she shoots Holy Arrow. I never noticed that before. It's a consequence of using the joint where her thumb connects with her hand to steady the arrow while she aims it, I think, but the result is fantastic.)

Angewomon's arrow strikes the blade, shooting the sword out of Piemon's hand.

Piemon: What the--!? Angewomon: Run, Hikari! Garudamon: Hurry, Sora! Hikari: Angewomon! Sora: Garudamon!

Standing there excitedly shouting their names is neither running nor hurrying. Let's see some hustle, ladies. A man is trying to stab you. :P

Garudamon and Angewomon engage Piemon to try and buy time. Garudamon hits him dead on with her Shadow Wing, which he casually tanks. He does, however, move when Garudamon tries to crush him with her talon. She buries herself in the weak floorboards, and he lays down one of his disappearing cloths on her from there.

With Garudamon out of the picture, Piemon turns his attention to Angewomon. His Trump Swords pin her to the wall by her wings, and he collects her from there.

(Speaking of small details I just noticed, the Trump Swords have different handles. In the shot of Angewomon getting pinned, you can see a heart, a diamond, and a club. Presumably the other one is a spade. That's neat.)

The dub does a great job with the surprise Celestial Arrow too, though they might have overlooked that the arrow doesn't hit Piemon directly. That's a very tiny thing; It's interesting to me that they change his reaction of shock and surprise to a pain grunt.

Piedmon: NGGHH! Angewomon: RUN, KARI!!! Garudamon: Hurry, Sora! Kari: It's Angewomon! Sora: Garudamon!

From there, the fight plays out with no extra dialogue or censorship.

Sora, Hikari, and Takeru emerge from the floor in another style of building entirely. They crawl out from under a huge floor tile in time to hear Angewomon's final scream echo down the halls.

Sora: Takeru-kun! Takeru: W-What? Sora: Take Hikari-chan and get out of here. Takeru: Eh!? But what about you? Sora: Listen to me very carefully. There's no question at this point that Garudamon and Angewomon have both been made into dolls. You are the only one who can protect Hikari-chan now. Do you understand?

She's right. They have two Digimon left: Gomamon and Patamon, and Gomamon's Partner is already gone so he can't evolve. Takeru is the last Chosen Child standing with the ability to fight.

Takeru: But Sora, you-- Sora: Don't worry about me. Do you understand? Takeru: (reluctantly) ...yeah. Sora: No matter what happens, you have to get out of here. Takeru: (more confidently) Got it. I'll make sure to keep Hikari-chan safe.

Sora turns Takeru around and gives him a push to get him going.

Sora: Now, hurry up and go! Takeru: Let's go, Hikari-chan!

The youngest children make their retreat, leaving Sora to face Piemon alone.

In the dub:

Sora: T.K., come here. T.K.: What is it? Sora: I want you to take Kari and get out of here! T.K.: But what about you? Sora: Listen to me, there isn't much time. Piedmon has the rest of our friends and if he gets us, we're doomed. T.K., please, you're the only one who can protect Kari. You have to be brave. Now get going! T.K.: I won't leave you! Sora: Don't worry about me; I'll be fine! T.K.: (reluctantly) ...alright. Sora: No matter what happens, just keep running. T.K.: Okay, Sora. I promise I'll do whatever I can to protect Kari. (Sora turns T.K. around and gets him moving.) Sora: Right. Hurry, go! T.K.: Come on, Kari! Let's go!

"If he gets us, we're doomed" is a terrible line but setting that aside.

In the original, there is no question that Sora is going to sacrifice herself. She lets that hang over the conversation, engaging with Takeru with the expectation that he's strong enough to face that reality.

She's still clearly acting with intent to protect the youngest among them, but she talks to him as one of their nakama.

Dub Sora lies to T.K., adding in the false reassurance that she'll be okay so that he doesn't have to think about her fate. She also adds in the line, "You have to be brave," which isn't something that Takeru needs to be told. He faced down an angry puppet with a magnum revolver and won. His bravery is already well-established.

Sora's conversation with T.K. has the vibe of a parent's last words to their helpless child in a disaster film or something before they die. You have to be strong now, keep your sister safe, I'll meet up with you later (lies), get going and don't look back. Which, as an interpretation of Sora and how she interacts with younger children, is a vibe that works pretty well.

But it comes at the cost of once again downplaying T.K.'s strength and conviction in a scene that's partially about his strength and emotional fortitude. This late in the game, he doesn't need to be lied to and puffed up. He knows what the stakes are and what's about to happen to Sora, and he can make the hard choice.

While Takeru, Hikari, and Patamon go on ahead, Gomamon makes a few short hopes to try and keep up, then stops. He looks back at Sora.

Gomamon: Sora! I'll fight with you. Sora: Don't be stupid. You can't even evolve, so what can you do here?

Harsh. Uh, he can summon infinite fish out of seemingly thin air even without a clear source of water. I'm not saying that's going to be enough against Piemon. but I'd give it better odds than your proficiency at soccer and adequacy at floral arrangement.

Maybe if we throw enough fish at PIemon, some of them will manage to swim away with his swords. He'll probably summon new ones but it will feel like we're doing something!

Gomamon: Sora! Sora: If you get made into a doll here, how will you face Jou-senpai and the others later, knowing that they risked their lives to protect you!? Now get out of here! HURRY!!!

Reluctantly, Gomamon turns back around to go. But it's too late. Piemon bursts through the floor, holding up Angewomon and Garudamon's keychains.

Piemon: Hahahahahahaha! Did you not have time to run away? Well, it's only a matter of time before you become dolls anyway. Gomamon: THAT WON'T HAPPEN!!!

Suddenly, Gomamon lunges for Piemon's coat, snatching Yamato's keychain away.

(Maybe if you attached them to something sturdier than coat fabric, this wouldn't have happened to you.)

Gomamon: SORA, CATCH!!! Sora: (catch) TAKERU-KUN!!!

Gomamon throws the keychain to Sora. Sora prepares to throw it at the same time Piemon prepares a vanishing cloth. In a difference of microseconds, Sora wins the quick-draw and sends the keychain onward an instant before he takes her.

(That shuts me up for shit-talking her athleticism. Her sport doesn't even let you throw things like that! That's raw ability.)

This should be a meaningless gesture. Takeru and Hikari went around and a corner a moment ago so Sora should not have line-of-sight on them anymore. Fortunately, because a plot hole has opened up to warp time and space, Takeru and Hikari are now straight ahead down the path trying to open a huge door. Takeru can not only see what she's doing but receive the keychain in his hands.

(Did the creators change their minds mid-scene and forget to alter Takeru and Hikari's escape path?)

In the dub:

Gomamon: Sora, I wanna stay and fight with you! Sora: Don't be ridiculous! You can't even Digivolve without Joe so go before Piedmon gets here! Gomamon: But Sora-- Sora: Gomamon, Joe risked his neck to protect us and if Piedmon turns you into a doll, his sacrifice will mean nothing! Now please help T.K. and Kari; There's not much time! NOW GO!!! (Piedmon arrives) Piedmon: WAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Look, I only need five more keychains for my collection and then I'll have the whole set! Gomamon: NOT IF I CAN HELP IT!!! (Gomamon swipes Matt's keychain) Gomamon: SORA!!! Sora: (catch) T.K., CATCH!!!

XD Piedmon excitedly sharing his new keychains like a neurodivergent kid info-dumping about his hobby, to one of the "keychains" he's trying to collect. Perfect. Perfectly written, perfect delivery, 10 out of 10. Hahahahaha.

With Sora gone, Piemon turns his attention to Takeru and Hikari.

Piemon: Now, where do you think you're going?

Piemon asks, and the camera slowly pans down to show Gomamon beneath his boot. It's unclear if he's talking to Gomamon or to the kids, but he isn't wrong either way.

They don't answer him. They push the huge door until finally it opens, releasing them back outside. Unfortunately, all that awaits out there is a balcony overlooking the realm of darkness far below. They're up in the observatory now.

Patamon: Oh no! Takeru: It's a dead end! Hikari: What now!? Piemon: Ahahahahahaha!

Piemon laughs us all the way to the commercial break.

The dub riffs off Piedmon having Gomamon underfoot.

Piedmon: In order to succeed, sometimes you have to step on people along the way! Wahahaha! (T.K. and Kari get the door open) T.K.: Quick, let's run! (Balcony) Kari: We just ran out of room! T.K.: This isn't the escape plan I had in mind.... Patamon: Now, what!? T.K.: Can we jump? Kari: It's too far! Piedmon: Nahahahahahaha! Welcome to the dead end! Come be a keychain like your friend.

"Can we jump?" Yes, T.K. Don't worry, the jagged rocks will break our fall. Among other things.

Piedmon is having so much fun right now. XD

We return from commercial to Takeru and Hikari trying to make plans.

Hikari: W-What do we do? Takeru: We have to go down. Hikari: It's too high! I won't make it down without falling. Takeru: But we can't climb up.... Patamon: Hey, Takeru? What's that?

Patamon calls Takeru's attention to a woven basket with a lid sitting in the center of the balcony.

Takeru: What is that?

Takeru approaches the basket, pulling off the lid to reveal a rope coiled up inside of it.

Takeru: Ah! It's a rope! We can use this to get down!

Unfortunately, the rope has other plans. Of its own volition, it uncoils from the basket and ascends into the sky, climbing up into the dark clouds above.

Both Kids: Wha--!? Patamon: Ah! Takeru: What is this!? Hikari: How far is it going to go? Takeru: It keeps going up....

Finally, the rope seems to reach its destination, affixing to somewhere beyond the clouds and holding tight.

So. You know. That seems super untrustworthy but desperate times and all....

The dub skips the commercial break and keeps the scene right on going.

Kari: We can't just sit here! T.K.: We've got no choice; We have to climb down! Kari: It's too high, T.K.! If we slip, we're goners! T.K.: Kari, we're going to have to try! Patamon: Look, T.K.! Where'd that basket come from? T.K.: Who put that there!?

Uh, that basket has been sitting on the balcony since they got out here. Though we don't know exactly what it is, we see it a couple times in wide shots of the balcony. Its origins are not the mystery; Its contents are.

The dub accidentally invented a mysterious benefactor whose identity will never be revealed because the basket was here the whole time.

T.K.: A rope! We can use it to climb down the side of the mountain. (Rope ascends) T.K.: Uwah!? Patamon: Whoa! I didn't know you were a snake charmer, T.K. Kari: Do you think we should climb it? T.K.: I dunno. Mom always said never to take candy or rope from strangers.

That is a weird thing for her to specify. Sound advice, but still weird. XD

Tonally, these quips don't vibe well. This is the height of tension. We could die sort-of in the next ten seconds.

Takeru tests the rope to see if it will hold.

Takeru: It's fine. The rope is holding steady. Alright, climb up, Hikari-chan. Hikari: But.... Takeru: Don't worry. Just climb. Hikari: (reluctantly) Okay....

Hikari takes the rope and begins to climb, with Takeru following up after. They only make it part of the way before Piemon blows open the doors, and our very last Digimon steps up to fight.

Patamon: I'll hold off Piemon!

Takeru's face says everything you need to know about this plan.

In the dub, T.K. backtracks over his awkward comical naysaying a second ago.

T.K.: (thinking) What am I thinking? We have to climb it! Sora told me to be brave no matter how scared I get. T.K.: (frightened) Looks dangerous; You go first. Kari: (disappointed) Oh. (Kari starts climbing) T.K.: That's it, Kari! Pretend you're in gym class! (T.K. climbs up after her) T.K.: LISTEN!!!

...nothing happens after T.K. shouts listen. We hang silently on them for a moment, then cut from there to Piedmon slowly approaching the doors. It takes about ten seconds between T.K. saying that and Piedmon blowing off the door.

So unless he could somehow hear Piedmon's soft, barely audible footsteps through the very heavy door from halfway up the rope, I have absolutely no idea what he wanted Kari to listen to.

Piedmon: OPEN!!! (Piedmon blows the door off) Piedmon: I must quit this. It costs me a fortune in new doors! Patamon: Keep climbing! I'll distract him!

So, yeah, the dub of this scene sucks. T.K. lets Kari go up first because he's too scared to do it himself. That sucks. I think they're trying to do the "(eyeroll) My hero, how brave" gag, but either way, it's pretty much the peak of the dub disempowering Takeru.

The reason Takeru sends Hikari up first is pretty clearly so that she can be the first to reach safety. He's doing what Andromon, Jou, Koushiro, and Sora all did before him: Sending someone else ahead first. So that if only one of them makes it out, it will be Hikari.

Evolving, Angemon throws himself into melee with Piemon.

Angemon's always been fantastic at hitting above his weight class, able to hang with the Perfects in fights with Vamdemon and his goons, and he shows it again here. He parries Piemon's sword strikes with his Holy Rod before taking a hit to the side and backing off. That's when things happen quickly.

Piemon tries to follow up by throwing a sword into Angemon's face. Angemon ducks under the blade and counters, coming in and slamming the tip of his Holy Rod into Piemon's forehead to knock him off-balance.

Before Piemon can recover, Angemon closes distance. Piemon jumps to try and escape, but Angemon swings his rod and slams the side of it into Piemon's gut. The hit takes the wind out of him, sending him stumbling for a second before he falls on his back.

Takeru: Now, Angemon!

With Piemon on his back, Angemon takes the opportunity to back off and prepare his signature attack, Heaven's Knuckle. But, before it can hit, Piemon puts up an energy shield and pushes the attack back, repelling it back into Angemon himself.

Hikari: Angemon!

The dub censors a bit of this fighting. Piemon landing a hit on Angemon and Angemon thocking Piemon in the forehead are both cut. After Angemon's parries, they cut to the sword toss, then cut the scenes together to segue straight into Angemon hitting Piemon in the gut.

Credit where it's due, the splicing's pretty good. It comes through like it's one fluid motion; Angemon ducks under the sword and then swings his rod and hits Piemon's gut. If you didn't know another move was supposed to be between these two, it'd be easy to miss that they did anything. Still, I'm left once again wondering what makes certain hits acceptable but others not.

T.K.: You get him, Angemon! Piedmon: CLOWN TRICK!!! (Piedmon repels Hand of Fate) Kari: Angemon, no!

So I guess this, too, is Clown Trick. What a versatile attack.

Kinda surprised the vanishing cloth isn't Clown Trick, now that I think about it.

Once Piemon's retaken control of the fight, he puts a hard stop to it.

He's got another bolt of energy waiting when Angemon lands, hitting him dead center and throwing him from the balcony. As Angemon falls, Piemon's Trump Swords pass through at once, clipping his wings.

Takeru: ANGEMON!!!

Leaving some feathers behind, Angemon falls from the observatory, hitting the ground far below. His Holy Rod clatters to the ground beside him.

Takeru: (crying) ANGEMOOOOOON!!! Hikari: Takeru-kun! Takeru: Hikari-chan!? Takeru: (thinking) I have to pull it together, or I'll scare Hikari-chan. Takeru: Angemon will be fine, so keep climbing! Hikari: Okay....

Hikari starts climbing again, but it's too late now. One of Piemon's Trump Swords slashes the rope over her head. There is no escape now.

Hikari: AHHHH!!! Takeru: Hikari! Piemon: I told you, there's nowhere you can run to. Hahahahahaha!

Panning down, we see that Piemon has begun to climb the rope after them. They can't go forward and Piemon is behind. There truly is nowhere left to go.

In the dub, Piedmon calls his Trump Sword attack when the blades hit Angemon.

T.K.: DON'T GIVE UP!!! (Angemon falls) T.K.: ANGEMON, NO!!! Kari: I'm scared! T.K.: It's okay! T.K.: (thinking) Great, now Kari's afraid. I can't let her see that I am too. I've got to be brave! T.K.: Angemon will be fine, but you've got to keep on climbing! Don't let that joker Piedmon scare you! Kari: Okay.... (Sword slashes the rope) Kari: AHHHH!!! Piedmon: You've reached the end of your rope! Ahahahahaha!

Sorry, T.K., but I think that joker Piedmon is doing a pretty good job of scaring her. Boy practically asked for this to happen.

Since coming out onto the balcony, the quips have been pretty bleh, but I liked Piedmon's rope quip.

Piemon climbs the rope, closing in on the two helpless children.

Angemon lifts his face out of the dirt, straining weakly.

Angemon: Takeru....

But it's too late for Takeru. Piemon grabs him by the ankle, pulling him downward on the rope.

Takeru: Augh! Piemon: See, I've caught you! Hikari: Takeru-kun!

Hikari turns around, grabbing onto Takeru's wrist to keep him from falling.

Takeru: Let go of my hand! He'll get you too, Hikari-chan! Hikari: No, I'll never let go! Piemon: Hehehehe... THEN FALL TOGETHER!!!

Piemon releases Takeru's leg and swings his blade, severing the rope behind the pair. With no magic rope above and no magic rope below, Takeru and Hikari scream and plummet to their doom, with Hikari still hanging onto Takeru's wrist.

Angemon: TAKERU!!! HIKARI!!! Piemon: NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Then Hikari loses her grip and they fall separately.

In the dub:

Angemon: T.K...! (Piedmon grabs T.K.'s leg) T.K.: NO!!! Piedmon: Sorry if I gave you a wedgie! Kari: Let go of him! (Kari grabs T.K.'s wrist) T.K.: Let go, Kari! Or he'll get you too! Kari: No, I won't let you go, T.K.! Piedmon: Sounds like you two are falling for each other! (slash) Angemon: T.K.!!! KARI!!! Piedmon: Ahahahahahahaha!

As T.K. and Kari fall, the dub finally takes their second commercial break.

Piedmon, don't ship it. They're eight.

I mean. People do ship it. It's one of Adventure's most popular ships. I think it might be the most popular, at least since 02 took Tai/Sora out behind the sports shed and gave it the Old Yeller. But wait until one of the shows where they're older!

As Takeru and Hikari fall to their doom, Takeru suddenly notices his new fashion accessory.

Takeru: AHHHHHH!!! Takeru: (thinking) It's hopeless!

The Yamato keychain clipped to his backpack jingles as he falls. He opens his eyes, turning his head to see where the sound is coming from. Unclipping Yamato, he holds his brother in his hand and examines him.

Takeru: (thinking) Onii-chan....

Takeru hears the sound of his brother's harmonica, and Yamato's voice. It's unclear if he's imagining what Yamato would say to him in this situation, or if the keychain is communicating with him in some way.

Yamato: Takeru. Don't lose hope. Takeru: Onii-chan! Yamato: As my little brother, you can't give up no matter what. You have to muster all of your strength, until the very end. Takeru: I won't give up! Until the end, I'll never give up! If we die, then this world and our world will die out with us! THAT'S WHY WE CAN'T GIVE UP!!! ANGEMON!!!

Over in the dub, as usual, they don't pick up on the little details buried in sound effects. Rather than the jingling of Yamato's keychain, they write in their own reason for T.K. to suddenly notice it.

T.K.: (thinking) I'm sorry I let you down, Matt! ...wait a second! (T.K. grabs the keychain off his backpack) T.K.: (thinking) Matt! What would he say? Matt: T.K.! Don't ever give up. T.K.: ...Matt!? Matt: You can do it, T.K. I have faith in you. But it won't help if you don't have faith in yourself. No matter what happens, you have to fight to the very end. T.K.: I promise you, Matt! I'll never give up the fight! Kari: AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! T.K.: If I don't do it, then this world and our world will be destroyed! I have to do it for Matt, for Angemon, for everybody!

I see the way you carefully talked around the phrase "If we die" but it works. I also love how they opted to have Kari scream for four straight seconds rather than find a way to pad the dialogue out, since they had too many lip flaps to pace it the same way as the original.

Though I am a little irked at the line, "I have faith in you but it won't help if you don't have faith in yourself." Filthy rich coming from Matt when, historically, the problem was always Matt's faith in him, not his own faith in himself. More deflection, I guess.

In any case, I hope that pep talk was real because it shows remarkable character growth and pays off Yamato's cave revelations in a big way. Whether it is or not, Takeru refuses to surrender even in the face of the impossible. And finally, at long last, the Crest of Hope shines.

Angemon: (reinvigorated) TAKERU!!!

Takeru's hope fills Angemon with power, and it's time for the very last new evolution sequence of the first Adventure. Angemon CHO-SHINKAAAAAA!!!

HolyAngemon catches Takeru and Hikari in his arms.

Takeru: Angemon Super-Evolved!

HolyAngemon says nothing in reply. He smiles down at Takeru, then ferries the children safely to the ground below. Time for the rundown.

HolyAngemon is a Perfect-stage Vaccine-type Archangel Digimon. From what I can tell, HolyAngemon was created for the anime. Specifically, the earliest appearance for him that I can find is the anime's tie-in Digivice V-Pet, released in July of 1999 and featuring evolution chains for all seven original Partner Digimon going up to Perfect.

Which is right around the time the kids were invading Nanomon's pyramid and finishing off the Etemon arc. Japan does not give a fuck about spoilers. "We're going into the arc where everyone gets Perfect evolutions. Buy this toy to find out early what they all are! If you don't buy it, don't worry, we'll put them all in the new closing credits."

He wouldn't make his first appearance in the regular V-Pet series until Virus Busters, released one week after this episode debuted, nor in the TCG until November of 1999 when the kids were fighting Vamdemon's Odaiba siege in Tokyo. So he's in a kind of a funny place where the TCG got to him before the anime did but the anime kinda got to him before the TCG.

Narrator: HolyAngemon. On his left arm is his Beam Shield. On his right, the holy sword Excalibur. An archangel Digimon with eight glittering wings. His special attack is Heaven's Gate.

If you're hoping for more information on what "Beam Shield" means, I have none. Those words are in English. That's just what it's called. I guess it blocks beams? He has Excalibur, though, so that's pretty neat. It's a laser sword that comes out of a wrist-mounted beam emitter.

So Excalibur is a beam, but the Beam Shield is not a beam. It's a hard chunk of material that's more of a pauldron than a shield.

I have no idea what's going on with this Digimon.

In the dub, he's called MagnaAngemon. Because... Angemon is fine but Holy is forbidden, I guess. Same reason Holy Arrow had to become Celestial Arrow. The word "magna" is Latin for "great" or "large".

This makes both of their names funny. The redundancy of "holy angel" implies that his prior form has secretly been Insufficiently Holy Angemon this whole time so y'know maybe he should work on that. Meanwhile, in America: "Big Angemon. The biggest."

T.K.: Angemon! I knew you could Digivolve! (MagnaAngemon sets T.K. and Kari down) MagnaAngemon: (rundown) I am MagnaAngemon. I have eight shining wings and a Beam Shield. I wield the mighty sword Excalibur and my devastating attack is the Gate of Destiny.

Between "Hand of Fate" and "Gate of Destiny", it seems the team has settled on predestination as their go-to swap-out for Heaven.

With the children safe, HolyAngemon turns to confront Piemon.

Piemon: What.

Piemon angrily throws a vanishing cloth to capture HolyAngemon.

HolyAngemon: Take the sword of judgment!

Excalibur slices through the cloth. Because it is cloth and Excalibur is a sword.

(This is what the others were missing: Sharp edges. Always bring a pocket knife on survival excursions, kids. ...super embarrassing for WarGreymon, though.)

With his second swing, HolyAngemon slashes Piemon's midsection, cutting all the keychains free and sending Piemon hurtling to the ground below.

In the dub:

Piedmon: Chew on this! (cloth throw) MagnaAngemon: I'm not hungry. (MagnaAngemon slashes the keychains free) MagnaAngemon: I guess my sword trumps yours.

"Chew on this!" "I'm not hungry!" is a pretty weak replacement for a line as raw as "Take the sword of judgment!"

But then he comes back with the Trump Sword burn and that's fantastic.

As an aside, I love what the dub does with MagnaAngemon's voice. HolyAngemon's voice sounds about the same as Angemon's in the original, but a bit sharper and more commanding. MagnaAngemon's voice gets a lot deeper and has an eerie calm about it. Additionally, his words sound artificially synthesized and his lines echo, as if they were coming through a speaker in an empty cave or something.

It all comes together to give MagnaAngemon a profound "Booming Voice of God" resonance in his line deliveries.

Watching Piemon fall, HolyAngemon does not follow up. He prioritizes healing the party instead.

HolyAngemon brings the keychains down to ground, then calls Holy Disinfection. His wings shimmer with rainbow energy, shining a healing light on the keychains that purges them of this strange status ailment.

Taichi: Guys... We're back to normal!

OH GOD THEY WERE CONSCIOUS DURING ALL THAT. Well, that's fucking horrifying.

Again avoiding the H word, the dub calls this Magna Antidote.

MagnaAngemon: Now to bring our friends back to normal. MAGNA ANTIDOTE!!! (MagnaAngemon heals everyone) Tai: Wow! What a weird dream! I had an incredible urge to carry some keys.

Time for some team reunions.

Takeru, Hikari, Yamato, and Taichi run to each other, both pairs of siblings cheerfully embracing one another.

Takeru & Hikari: ONII-CHAN!!! Taichi: HIKARI!!! Yamato: TAKERU!!! Thank you! You were amazing. Takeru: Only because my big brother was there to cheer me on! Yamato: (confused) Eh?

I think Yamato's confusion confirms that Takeru was imagining what he'd want Yamato to say to him. He was having a one-sided conversation with a conscious Yamato doll, who only saw Takeru suddenly burst out with a surge of confidence.

Tentomon, meanwhile, gushes over HolyAngemon.

Tentomon: WHOA!!! When did you evolve!? You look so cool-- Piemon: Haha, is that right? Tentomon: EE-YEE-YEE-YEEP!!!

Angemon whips around in the direction that voice came from, while Tentomon falls to the ground in a flailing panic. This isn't over yet.

In the dub:

Tai & Matt: KARI!!! / T.K.!!! Kari & T.K.: TAI!!! / MATT!!! Matt: You did a great job, T.K. T.K.: If it wasn't for your advice, I don't think I would have been able to do it! Matt: Huh? Tentomon: Wow! When did Angemon digivolve!? You look great! Turn around, let me see! MagnaAngemon: Very well. (MagnaAngemon turns to the side looking worried. A second later, Tentomon flails and falls to the ground.) Tentomon: AUGH!!!

The animation doesn't line up with the joke the dub's trying to make here. But the idea of the gag seems to be that MagnaAngemon turned around at Tentomon's behest, inadvertently swatting Tentomon with his wings and knocking him to the ground.

Piemon, furious, storms towards the children.

Piemon: I had planned on mercifully keeping you as my dolls instead of killing you, BUT YOU'RE SO DETERMINED TO DIE!!! SO BE IT!!! I'LL GIVE YOU WHAT YOU WANT!!! DAHHHHHH!!!

I mean. He says that but "mercifully keeping them as dolls" was Plan B after murdering them all one-by-one failed. I don't think Taichi's barely conscious near-corpse at the end of last episode appreciated Piemon's mercy very much.

Piemon raises his hand, and the ground erupts all around them. Countless strange little gremlin Digimon emerge, filling the sky and the terrain around them.

Tentomon: GYAH!!! They're coming out everywhere! What are these creatures!?

To answer his question, those swarming creatures are the rather bluntly named Evilmon, an Adult-stage Virus-type Imp Digimon. They're from the Sega Saturn V-Pet, the same one that debuted Angewomon and LadyDevimon.

Narrator: Evilmon. A darkness-type Digimon that loves to fight. Their special attack is Nightmare Shock.

And there's like a hundred of them so. Y'know. Have fun with that.

The dub names them Vilemon. Uh, okay. Evilmon may be a bit on the nose but Vilemon isn't that much better.

Piedmon: So, those DigiDestined think the Dark Masters are that easily defeated, hmm? Hahahahaha! Well, guess again! You're not the only ones with an army of friends that can help you! TA-DA!!! (Piedmon summons the Vilemon swarm) Piedmon: This is more fun than a barrel of flying monkeys! Piedmon: (rundown) DigiDestined, meet the Vilemon! Their Nightmare Shock will give you a rude awakening!

Very different vibe with Piedmon. Piemon is losing his shit right now, ranting furiously and vengefully about how he's going to slaughter them all. Piedmon, on the other hand, remains cool and collected, and is still making merry jokes.

He also isn't talking directly to them, courtesy of the reframing from last scene, so they only seem to become aware that he's still around when the Vilemon swarm moves in around them.

Speaking of which, the swarm of Evilmon surrounds the children. There are so many of them.

Jou: We're surrounded! Koushiro: There's nowhere left we can run. Takeru: But we aren't going to lose! Yamato: Yeah! We're turning this around! Taichi: That's right! As long as the Chosen Children and Digimon stand united, these little freaks-- Mimi: WAIT!!! DON'T FORGET ABOUT ME!!!

Mimi charges into the fray atop a gleaming white Unimon, leading her army straight into the carnage.

Sora: (shocked) Mimi-chan! Lilimon: Thank goodness! We made it in time!

Ogremon makes the first move, swiping away three Evilmon with his club.

Ogremon: I hate enemies that swarm. EVERYONE, THIS IS WHAT WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR!!! HAHA!!! Taichi: ALRIGHT, TEAM!!! IT'S THE FINAL BATTLE!!! Digimon: YEAH!!!

It is not the final battle.

Together, Mimi's army and the Partner Digimon pour into the Evilmon horde. MetalGarurumon begins the battle, scattering a group with a stomp.

Elecmon shocks a cluster of Evilmon, incapacitating them long enough for Unimon to fire his Holy Shot, an exploding ball of energy shot from his mouth, into the crowd. The successful combo attack prompts Mimi and Sora to high five each other.

Mimi & Sora: YES!!!

Ogremon slams his Haouken into another trio of Evilmon.

Jou and Koushiro watch from behind a rock with their Partner Digimon, while Mimi's army continues to work together surprisingly well. The Gekomon and Otamamon lure in a trio of Evilmon and retreat, right into Yukidarumon, Meramon, and Andromon.

The latter of whom is not part of Mimi's army but he counts now.

In the dub:

Joe: We're surrounded! Izzy: Oh no! We can't escape! T.K.: Come on, toughen up! Matt: I'm with you, T.K.! Tai: Our only chance is if we all combine our powers together! But the problem is, we're still missing some of our friends.... Mimi: Wait for me! (Mimi rides in on Unimon, leading her army) Mimi: Sorry we're late! Sora: It's Mimi! Lillymon: Are we too late for the party?

Tai's line here is totally different. In the original, he is all set and ready to try and do this with the seven of them. Taichi's not thinking about Mimi here because. Like. She left a while ago and he's made peace with that. He has no reason to be thinking of her now. He's thinking only with the resources they have on-hand, and he's got his game face on. He's ready to fight.

In the dub, Tai doesn't think they can win this and queues up Mimi's cavalry charge by implying that her impending return is their only hope now.

(Ogremon swats three Vilemon) Ogremon: PUMMEL WHACK!!! Nice slice! I guess I'm gonna have to work on my swing, huh? Hehehe! Tai: Alright, gang! Give them the full Digimon attack!

During the combo attack, Elecmon and Unimon call their attacks as Super Thunderstrike and Horn Blaster respectively.

Sora & Mimi: (high five) NICE SHOT!!!

Ogremon's Haouken is also, as usual, renamed Pummel Whack.

Not to be left out, Tentomon and Gomamon quickly evolve and then Super-Evolve so that Zudomon and AtlurKabuterimon can join the fray.

Zudomon obliterates a group of Evilmon with his Hammer Spark. Piemon chooses that moment to get in the thick of it, casting out his Trump Sword - only for AtlurKabuterimon to see him coming and blast his swords out of the air with a shot of Horn Buster.

This is followed by the goofiest-ass shot of Jou, Sora, Mimi, and Koushiro rising from the scenery doing V for Victory poses. XD

With the army engaging the Evilmon, the Partners move in together on Piemon. It's time for the Chosen Children's most powerful technique: dogpiling on an asshole's face.

Lilimon gets the first shot off with her Flower Cannon. Piemon deflects her shot, then tosses his vanishing cloth. But that's not happening this time; Angewomon's Holy Arrow tears through the cloth and narrowly misses a hit on Piemon, who sidesteps quickly.

He can't dodge everything, though. As he's evading the Holy Arrow, Garudamon lets off her Shadow Wing, which hits him dead on and sends him flying from the blast.

Piemon: DOWAAAUGH!!!

Piemon's face in the instant before the Shadow Wing hits him is priceless. A picture truly is worth a thousand words.

Up in the sky, HolyAngemon calls Heaven's Gate. He carves a circle in reality using Excalibur, which opens up into a huge golden door.

Taichi: What is that? Takeru: Ah! It's opening!

As Heaven's Gate opens, the hordes of Evilmon are pulled inside of it. HolyAngemon explains.

HolyAngemon: Evil things are drawn inside the Gate, where they will be consigned to oblivion. Piemon: Eh!? WHAT!? WarGreymon: Let's wrap this up. MetalGarurumon: Yeah!

WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon hit Piemon together, blasting him with a simultaneous Gaia Force and Double Tomahawk. The blast throws him into Heaven's Gate with the rest of his forces, which closes and seals around him as soon as he's inside.

(Y'know, given that he spent most of the episode chasing the kids around with an Instant Kill move, it's fitting that Piemon himself falls victim to an Instant Kill in the end. Ultimately, HolyAngemon collected him.)

Then, explaining what "consign to oblivion" means, the Gate disintegrates into pixel dust as if it were a dying Digimon. A wave of golden dust ushers outward from the disintegrating dust, washing over the Dark Masters' platform and down into the Digital World below. As it goes, the stripe of Piemon's darkness realm recedes from Spiral Mountain.

The dub explains Gate of Destiny like this.

MagnaAngemon: GATE OF DESTINY!!! (The gate pulls in all the Vilemon) Tai, Matt, T.K., and Kari: Wow! Piedmon: Huh!? WarGreymon: Hey! Remember us?

They...

Do not.

Explain Gate of Destiny. At all. They remove all dialogue referencing the gate beyond a simple "Wow" and leave it completely ambiguous as to what the fuck happened to the show's penultimate villain.

Weird choice, guys.

With the very last Dark Master finally defeated, the Chosen Children take a moment to savor their victory. Their long ordeal is finally over.

Taichi: (smiling) It's over. Yamato: Yeah... Both: Huh?

Taichi and Yamato turn and notice Mimi's army cheering their victory and waving to the children. This is their big moment too. Taichi and Mimi wave back, but Taichi's a little confused.

Taichi: Eh? Ogremon is here? Why and how? Mimi: Oh, yeah, you don't know what happened. You see.... Koushiro: Huh? A message from Gennai-san.

Once Mimi's caught Taichi up on the events of her sub-arc, the group gathers around Koushiro's laptop.

Sora: Might be a congratulatory email. Taichi: (griping) Oh, what is it now? Koushiro: (reading) Nonsense! Taichi: (annoyed) What did he write? Koushiro: Our true enemy is not the Dark Masters. Taichi: HUH!?!?

That gets Taichi's attention. He whips around, shocked.

Koushiro: Our true enemy is a creature whose very existence creates the distortions in the world. The Dark Masters merely drew their power from those distortions. Taichi: Then... who's our real enemy--WHOA!!!

Suddenly, the ground beneath the children's feet shakes violently.

Lilimon: What's happening!?

A fissure opens in the ground between Lilimon and Angewomon, forcing them to fly from their positions. A spray of red energy pours out of Piemon's observatory, and the sky turns as black as it was before. The episode closes on the ominous implication that something worse is about to happen.

In the dub:

Izzy: The last remnants of Spiral Mountain are disappearing! The Dark Masters' control over the Digital World is finally gone! Tai: Good riddance!

The final commercial break comes here and we return on the shot of Mimi's army waving. In the process, Matt's line and his and Tai's sudden surprised faces are cut.

Digimon: BYE!!! / TAKE CARE OF YOURSELVES!!! HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!! Tai: You know, I'm starting to think we have a strange looking group of friends. Mimi: They might not have the best fashion sense but they're the best friends we've ever had! Izzy: Hmm... We have email from Gennai. Sora: What's it say, Izzy? Tai: Not now! I need a nap! Izzy: It's coming in now. Tai: Is he congratulating us? Izzy: Gennai says here that the Dark Masters aren't the real enemies. Tai: HUH!?!? Izzy: It says here that the real enemy is an evil force whose very existence warps the Digital World and created the Dark Masters. So according to this, I don't think we're out of the woods quite yet! Tai: Wait a sec! If it's not the Dark Masters, then who do we fight next--wh-WHOA YAHHHH!!! (Earthquakes) Angewomon & Lillymon: What!? (Fissure opens and red energy blackens the sky) Mimi: WHAT'S HAPPENING!?!? Narrator: What is the evil force that Gennai was warning the DigiDestined about? Find out on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

The funny "Wait, why Ogremon" exchange doesn't make it into the dub, which is a shame. Plus side, they do capture Taichi's annoyance at hearing from the useless old codger, as he sees him.

An interesting note: The dub says that the True Enemy created the Dark Masters, which isn't quite accurate. The True Enemy created the distortions in reality, as a passive consequence of existing within it.

This creature's existence is steadily breaking down the fabric of reality itself. This is what the "distortions in the Digital World" that we've been hearing about since we first met Gennai have been all along. The true nemesis was never Devimon or Etemon or Vamdemon or even the Dark Masters; They were all just evil Digimon who drew power from the distortions created by this thing.

We've been battling symptoms all this time. Evil Digimon made stronger by drawing power from the distortions. But there's no implication here that they are in league with the source or even that they are aware of its existence. Only that they found reality straining and breaking down, and promptly went, "Fuck yes, I can use this!"

Something is happening that is destroying both realities. And all of these guys have been opportunistic parasites riding its coattails who thought they could profit off the end of the world.

Assessment: Can you imagine if Piemon won here? This is the guy. Leader of the Dark Masters. When Homeostasis conceived their plan to create the Chosen Children, this was what it was for. It was Piemon they were afraid of. It was Piemon they were right to be afraid of, as it was Piemon who broke through their defenses and nearly strangled this entire countermeasure in its crib.

This was Homeostasis's last, best hope for thwarting the Dark Masters and the growing instability in the Digital World. What a victory this would have been for Piemon to not only vanquish the Chosen Children, but to collect them as memorabilia. To store them on his trophy case as a reminder of the desperate, futile lengths the world went to in order to try and stop him.

This. Right here. This fight. This is what it was all for. I mean, it's not really, the next fight is what it was all for. But so far as anybody knew, this was what it was all for.

There's an interesting implication that Yamato's behavior towards Takeru was suppressing his Crest this whole time. That he needed Yamato's validation, needed his brother to believe in him, before he'd have the strength of will to achieve Super Evolution like the others.

Mimi's cavalry charge gives me life. I legit spent the entire episode wondering when she'd get here. I remembered HolyAngemon and the Heaven's Gate finisher, so when Angemon Super-Evolved and Mimi still wasn't here yet, I was beginning to worry that they'd make her a punchline or something by having her show up after the fight was over.

But nope. Mimi's army to the rescue!

[izzyizumi]

U.S. Dub 2020!Tai: You GOT THIS!!! Now GO!!! Izzy, softly: ...A-Are you sure? TAI, SOFT BUT FIRM: *NOT A DOUBT* IN MY *MIND*. IZZY: ...!!

[beansproutsong]

[Proxy] Tsurune ViewCot Plush vol 3 and 4

Crane plush, it’s hard to estimate price at the moment, but it usually costs around 3000JPY

Vol 1 and 2 also available upon request

[ashxketchum]

New collaboration with Loft & Amnibus was announced for Digimon Adventure!

Details about exact merch will follow soon, but the tweet states that the concept was decided by keeping the idea of 25th Anniversary in focus but the art itself is flower + wedding outfit themed. The collab will start in June which is considered a good month for brides in Japan and so we see many wedding themed anime illustrations get released during this time every year.

Now it is time for another certified Ayushi breakdown 🫡

Taichi and Agumon are seen holding Edelweiss, with a pattern of the flower drawn beautifully on Taichi's shirt as well. Edelweiss in Japanese Language of Flowers (Hanakotoba) is meant to symbolise 'cherished memories/大切な思い出' and 'courage/勇気', while in Western Language of Flowers it's meant to symbolise 'noble courage' and 'daring' - both of which are apt for our best leader 🧡

Yamato and Gabumon are seen holding Alstroemeria (Lily of the Incas, Peruvian Lily), and while the flower motif is not drawn onto his clothes, Yamato's coat's breast pocket is decorated with the flower as well. In Hanakotoba, Alstroemeria is meant to symbolise 'persistence/持続' or 'longing for the future/未来への憧れ', while in Western Language of Flowers it's meant to symbolise 'friendship' and 'devotion'. All meanings are apt for him imo, but especially persistence and longing for the future are very representative of his arc from the first series till Kizuna.

Sora and Piyomon are seen with Pink Carnations, with the neckline of Sora's jumpsuit lined with a bunch of the flowers. I personally love the visual of Sora in this pink jumpsuit, it plays into her slightly tomboyish yet extremely gentle personality so well! In Hanakotoba carnations symbolise 'innocent and deep love/無垢で深い愛' and pink carnations specifically symbolise 'love of a woman/女性の' 'passionate love/熱愛' and "beautiful gesture/美しいしぐさ'. In Western Language of Flowers carnations symbolise 'fascination' and love'. All meanings are pretty accurate for Sora, but red carnations are used to symbolise Mother's love in Japan so it would've been nice if they threw in a mix of red and pink to hint at her relationship with her mother!

Koushiro and Tentomon are seen holding Violet Sage, which at first glance I thought was Lavender. The flower pattern is also visible on his waistcoat and bowtie, which ties together his outfit very nicely! In Hanakotoba, Sage seems to have many symbolisations, 'respect/尊敬', 'wisdom/知恵', 'good home/良い家庭', and 'family love/家族愛'. But Blue (Violet) Sage specifically signify respect and wisdom. In Western Language of Flowers, Sage symbolises 'esteem', 'wisdom' and 'domestic virtue'. Again, a perfect choice for Koushiro, I personally would prefer to believe that they picked this not because of his crest but because of 'good home' and 'family love' since that part of Koushiro's arc in the first series was probably the most impressionable aspect of his character.

Mimi and Palmon are seen holding baby's breath, with Mimi's dress covered in a pattern of it. Even keeping my bias towards Mimi aside, this is possibly one of the prettiest outfit of hers till date, it genuinely looks like she's about to walk down the aisle as a flower girl for a very happy couple! In Hanakotoba, Baby's Breath or Kasumisou, symbolises 'pure heart/清らかな心', 'innocence/無邪気', 'kindness/親切', and 'happiness/幸福'. In Western Language of Flowers it symbolises 'everlasting love', 'purity of heart', and 'innocence'. All meanings apply to Mimi to the T, but they're also very apt for the whole wedding theme of the merch which makes this particular outfit + flower choice my favourite from the lot.

Jou and Gomamon are seen holding Violets or Sumire. I honestly struggled to figure out the flower for a while, at first glance I thought it was Periwinkle but since that was not mentioned in the Hanakotoba reference anywhere, I searched other people's interpretations and settled with Violets. His tie also has a cute pattern of the flower, and it makes me wonder if Koushiro and Jou went shopping for their outfits together! In Hanakotoba, Sumire symbolise 'modesty/謙虚', 'sincerity/誠実', and 'small happiness/小さな幸せ'. Depending on the colour, the symbolism can change in Hanakotoba, and purple Violets specifically represent 'fidelity' along with 'love'. In Western Language of Flowers it symbolises 'modesty' and 'faithfulness'. This is as Jou as a flower can get lol.

Takeru and Patamon are seen with White Gerberas. Like Yamato, Takeru's outfit doesn't have a pattern of the flower, but the Gerberas themselves are pinned to his suspenders. In Hanakotoba, Gerbera symbolises 'hope/希望' and 'always moving forward/常に前進'. White Gerbera specifically are used to symbolise 'hope' and 'honesty/律儀'. In Western Language of Flowers it is meant to symbolise 'cheerfulness' and 'beauty'. All meanings are accurate for Takeru, no comment needed!

Hikari and Tailmon are seen with Sunflowers. I personally feel that Hikari's outfit is a little too much compared to the rest, just the sunflower belt would've been enough but they added that extra line at the hem and it's kind of an overdose. In Hanakotoba, Sunflowers symbolise 'I gaze only at you/私はあなただけを見つめる', 'adoration/愛慕', and 'worship/崇拝'. In Western Language of Flowers, it symbolises 'adoration' and 'false riches'. I understand that they wanted to go with a bright or perky flower for Hikari but something like a Pink Aster which symbolises patience or Cosmos which symbolises harmony, peace etc. might suit Hikari better given the overall theme of the illustration. The only miss in the otherwise perfectly depicted theme and art!

[firefirefruit]

Steel in Her Veins, Chapter: Seventeen

Read On: AO3 | Table of Contents | Next Chapter

Chapter Seventeen: Onigiri

As your hand connects with his, you reluctantly trail behind Gramps, nursing a humongous grudge against him for ousting you from the workshop. 

"Social interaction’s important at your age!" he insists, his stubborn furrow signalling the inevitable shift in the course of your life.

Armed with his illegally immigrated Wano connections scrawled within his logbook, Gramps engages in a series of letters with a familiar Shimotsuki contact, meticulously planning a rendezvous through extensive log pose calculations.

"Why can't we just head to their dojo?" you grumble, eyeing the island that sits perfectly equidistant from your home and the Dojo-guy’s village. At least then there would be something to actually do, and people to see. The prospect of aimlessly wandering around on a boring old island makes you even more reluctant to the thought of ‘socialisation.’

"The less people see us, the easier it is to stay safe," Gramps replies.

His words bring to mind a recent incident, just a month ago, when you both urgently had to evacuate yet again, from another workshop, on yet another island. It was the result of an attack orchestrated by those shittily-dressed CP members who always manage to track you down, no matter how many times and how far you flee.

Hidden upstairs, you could only hear the rattles and thuds following Gramps as you scrambled to pick up your emergency bags, pre-emptively prepared for such occasions before escaping to the meeting point.

Gramps would never, ever, let you fight alongside him. He had this entrenched fear of them finding out about your existence and you didn’t know why. You didn’t get what was so detrimental about them seeing a girl living along with her gramps, working regularly on her craft. But you could tell, if there was only one rule that you had to follow, it was this one. 

The way Gramps demanded this from you from the very start of your immigration from Wano, with such an intense and severe resolution set across his face, made all the objections you wanted to spout out immediately die on your tongue.

The more you grew, the more dangerous it was simply to exist outside of Wano. And the rich bit was, you still didn’t know why. Gramps wouldn’t say – you didn’t know whether he actually knew the reason why, or if he was as unsure as you were, but it was always brushed off whenever you questioned him about it.

“Whatever,” you mutter lowly and roll your eyes, walking even slower behind Suki just to irritate him. 

“I’ll change the locks on the studio again if you keep moping,” he cheekily says, giving you a little side-eye. And in an instant, you kick your feet up to match his pace, not wanting to have to start lockpicking through the doors again just to do your work.

“Look, they’re here,” Gramps whispers to you before turning his attention to the two figures.

From a distance, you eye a young blue-haired girl moping behind the man who seems to be her father, annoyedly swinging a sword in her hand. The sword claws at the grass in front of her feet, becoming more of a pick-axe than a fearsome blade. Your eyes light up as you pay closer attention to the type of sword she has in her fingers, a slight interest warming you from the inside.

“Sukiyaki!” The man says in greeting, tugging on his daughter’s reluctant hand as he walks toward the two of you. 

Gramps grins wildly, embracing him warmly. “It’s been a while. Your old man leaving Wano’s done you some good, eh?”

The man laughs kindly, patting his back. “I can say the same thing about you, ex-Shogun.”

“You can thank this little rascal for that,” Gramps says, staring down at you pointedly. “This is Raya, my granddaughter.”

The man smiles at you, making you instantly want to smile back just by looking at the warmth that emanates from his eyes. “Hello, Raya. I’m Koushiro - this is my daughter, Kuina.”

Your eyes flicker back to the blue-haired girl who now has an eyebrow raised at you, her eyes twinging with slight interest. 

“I like your sword,” you shyly mutter, eyes glued to the weapon in her possession.  

The girl looks taken aback, unsure of what to say. She looks up to her father, uncertain of what to do – and as he gives her a little reassuring nod, a subtle smile creeps onto her face. Finally, there’s another girl who's just like her, who’s really into swords. 

“I like her too,” she finally says, fumbling the hilt across her palm. She steps towards you, extending her Wado Ichimonji out as a friendship offering. “Wanna hold her?”

With a sudden shock to your body, your eyelids groggily slink upwards. Hot breath blows on your face as you try to make sense of your surroundings, realising that the floor beneath you is moving at an incredibly dangerous pace. 

“What...?” You mumble heavily, forcefully blinking a few times to unblur your vision. You feel restrained, feeling fingers that aren’t your own that grip at your skin. A huff of paced breath hits your face again, the boulder set against your cheek expanding with each aggressive step. 

“Stay still,” Zoro exhales, his arms holding your legs and arms even tighter against his chest. 

Your eyes immediately snap wide open, gaping up at the green-haired samurai who’s running like his life is on the line.

“Let me go,” you slur, dizzily slapping your hand against his chest. “I can run by myself.”

“Like fuck I will. Not gonna make that mistake again,” Roronoa mutters through gritted teeth, his eyes glued on the path before him.

His footsteps reverberate through the landscape, each step a jolt that echoes through your restrained form. You squirm in his grasp, desperately trying to break free, but his grip remains unyielding.

“Seriously, Roronoa! Put me down!” you protest, your voice slurred from the side-effect of Chopper’s sedative. The world blurs around you as he sprints, carelessly snapping branches and rocks from beneath his heavy boots.

“Just shut up and stay still,” he snaps, his focus unwavering. The rhythm of his strides runs like a wild drum beat, chaotic and messy, and you can't help but feel a sense of intense dread within you.

As you keep protesting, your eyes catch glimpses of the passing scenery—a chaotic blur of mountains, rocks, and uneven terrain. Zoro seems to navigate effortlessly, his instincts finely tuned to the path ahead.

A surge of irritation courses through you as you look down and away from Roronoa’s clenched jawline, your fingers gripping over his tightening arms as you try to make sense of your surroundings. 

“Where are we even going?” you demand, hoping for an explanation.

Zoro glances down, his singular grey eye piercing through you.

“To safety. Hold on,” he replies.

The erratic journey continues until Zoro abruptly comes to a halt. You're released from his firm grasp, stumbling slightly as you find your footing. The world finally stops spinning, and you take a moment to regain your bearings.

“We’re here,” Zoro states, a hint of urgency still lingering in his voice. Your surroundings slowly come into focus —a cave within a mountain, the canopy casting shadows over the uneven ground.

“What’s going on? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?” you ask, frustration lacing your words. Zoro doesn’t immediately respond, his attention drawn to the surroundings as if assessing potential threats.

He lets out a sigh, then faces you, a hand carefully resting on the hilt of his Kitetsu. "We brought you to the shaman. The moment he laid eyes on you, he started screaming. Kept referring to you as Oni, then ordered his lackeys to spill your blood until it runs dry."

You stare at him silently. Then, you huff out a singular laugh. “What?”

“Yup,” he says, shifting himself to the rocky floor. “He thinks you’re a demon. Said he felt something in your blood.”

“Great, so I’m a demon now,” you say, staring down at your awfully blackened arm. The growth seems to have halted while you were unconscious, prompting a small sigh of relief. Well, at least there’s that.

Zoro looks away with a smirk, his arm crossed. “Now? You always were one.”

You scoff, an eyebrow raised. “You got some jokes, samurai.”

You stumble a little from the disorientation, gasping in the process. Zoro immediately shifts from his position, his eye widening, arms held out in preparation, but you manage to shift your arms onto the wall behind you, panting in surprise.

 “I got it.” You strain out. Zoro lowers his arms and pointedly stares at you in reply.

“Maybe you should sit down. You’re confused.”

So, you sit yourself down on the jagged terrain, earning a surprised stare from Zoro.

“What?” 

“You actually listened.”

“Yeah, well…” You look down at your arm again, grimacing. “Chopper’s sedative is gonna wear off soon, and my arm’s definitely gonna feel it.”

Zoro's gaze very slightly softens as he takes in the exhaustion etched across your face. "We'll find a way to fix this. For now, rest."

“Rest in the terrified Shaman’s cave. Great plan,” you mutter, though you do lean back against the cold, rocky surface.

As the minutes pass, you decide to rest your eyes whilst keeping your ears open. The images of your previous dream swirl in your thoughts, blending with the rhythmic dripping sounds of the cave, and you can't help but purse your lips at the thought of Kuina. What would she have been like, if she was still alive and the same age as you? You'll never know. You'll never know, and that's what hurts.

Before you let yourself completely relax your muscles and slacken your head against the wall, a sudden stampede of footsteps begin to scramble their way to the entrance of the cave, making your eyes snap wide open.

“They found us,” you whisper, instantly knowing the amount of hot shit the both of you are in right now. Your fingers curl over the dagger in your belt. “Tell me, did you see them use magic?”

Zoro drifts his gaze from the sudden clambering of the Shaman’s underlings to you, his lips pursed. You stare back at him, raising your eyebrows.

“Okay. So, are they talented?” 

He remains staring at you, pursing his lips even harder into a straight line. Instantly, you turn away, eyes flickering in thought.

“Well, fuck. Shit. Okay…” You heave yourself from the ground, stumbling slightly in the process. “I think I have a plan.”

Zoro rises, his sword now glimmering and unsheathed. He stands in front of the opening, pure focus in his eye, as he holds the Kitetsu into the air.

“Look, you’ve got to leave and let me deal with them,” you say, making Zoro snap his head to you in outrage.

“Absolutely fucking not,” he growls, narrowing his eye at you. “Are you insane?”

“Seriously, Roronoa, you need to run away. Leave me --”

“You know what you’re sounding awfully a lot like? Your old man.”

“But—”

He glares at you, ferocity lingering in his lone eye.

“I told you, I’m not fuckin’ makin’ that mistake again.”