#miyako and other partners

[digimoninteractions]

Miyako & Daisuke + Armadimon (02x16)

[ID: Screenshots from Digimon Adventure Zero Two episode 16 showing: (1) Miyako looks at Armadimon as he speaks. (2) Armadimon faces Miyako as she holds her hands downward in a shrug. (3) Daisuke pats Armadimon on the head. End ID]

[pulaasul]

[ashxketchum]

Some consolidated thoughts on the new Digimon announcement:

Since it's set to Brave Heart, which is originally 4:13 long, assuming that they add an intro scene and round it off to 5 mins, I think that it's best to not have high expectations of the amount of content they will cover.

Having every Digidestined (including 02 kids) get substantial screen time is the highest bar I will set. If this requirement is fulfilled I will personally consider the video a success.

I can't seem to land on one solid reason for why we are getting a PV instead of a third movie to truly tie off the series (giving space for the Reboot version to take off into their journey so we're all like 68 and still watching & arguing about Digimon lol). I've seen a few comments about 02TB not performing well enough to warrant a third part, which I don't feel is the case because that move was even released in India, a rare occurrence, so the global popularity was definitely felt considering Kizuna was hit by the pandemic in this department.

I'm leaning more towards creative differences, because Kakudo has made it quite obvious that his vision does not align fully with the narrative that Kizuna, then 02TB have built. It's entirely possible that Seki and Kakudo just couldn't sign off on the actual plot presented to make a third movie, and decided to do their own thing hence the shorter format.

One staff at NYCC was introduced as being responsible for heading the new Digimon team, which does give me the hope that another anime series (REBOOT SEASON 2!!!) is in the works and they were just waiting for the 25th Anniversary projects to tide over before announcing it.

Onto the actual content of the video, I think for the fans that enjoyed Kizuna, especially the open ending (I'm Fans) a half-assed explanation of how Taichi and Yamato get back together with Agumon and Gabumon will be disappointing. That said, I don't think we'll really get an explanation for it but I do think the video can start off with Taichi and Yamato reuniting with their partners.

However, the tone set by 02TB implies that these guys are also well settled in their lives even without their partner Digimon, so for them to rush back into battle something HUGE would need to disrupt that flow, but can they even explain & sustain a huge occurrence like that in 4-5 mins? I don't want to answer this question lol.

Personally, I wouldn't mind a more laidback take, which leaves a lot of space for fans to interpret what happened, rather than just shoving sequence after sequence of important moments in high speed. Showing Taichi and Yamato and other older kids just going about their lives as adults and then there is that moment when they're hit by a nostalgic memory of their partners which starts off their path to reunion. I understand the need for having a villain for Taichi and Yamato to join forces and battle, but I'm totally okay with a more nuanced, slice-of-life version which hits home for all older Digimon fans currently struggling with adulting.

And finally, the controversial (still traumatized by it) Epilogue. I would prefer it if the point of this video is to show the reunion of the Digidestined and their partners, with the implication that this will lead to the epilogue shown in 02. But I also fear that in order to fit in the societal standard of "adulting", and with Seki being a part of this team most likely, they'll definitely add the married couples with kids tropes.

Keeping shipping aside, I think that showing Sora, Mimi, Miyako and Hikari in their exploration phase during Kizuna/02TB did wonders for their characterisations. Rather than shoehorning all of them into wives/mothers/tradfem roles, we actually got a glimpse of how they will always continue to break barriers and moulds, which is at the core of how every Digigirl was written originally. Still, as life goes on people do change so even if we see Mimi with a typical cooking show or Miyako the Mom, I wouldn't be as upset because Kizuna/02TB already gave us a good glimpse of how the girls are capable of forging their own paths, regardless of any male presence in their lives.

But jk we all know this is going to be a TaiYama fest so Idk why I'm even worrying over my girls, I will be grateful if we get Mimi on screen for more than 10 seconds 😂

So that's my thoughts, open for discussion, not condescending arguments 🫶🏻

[digitalgate02]

The UPDATED (OG) Adventure universe’s Partnership double year math count

Updated Digimon Adventure OG Timeline’s Partnership Math Count List 

Not particularly spoilers from the movie, just stuff stated by the official timeline from the pre-release stream for the movie in Japan (Oct 26)

Early 80s - Oikawa Yukio & Hida Hiroki make the first contact with the Digital World, befriend Pipimon (no partnerships)

1995 - Hikari and Taichi find a Koromon egg* (no partnerships)

1996 - 2 (Rui; someone else gets a digimon later in that year*)

1997 - 4 (Menoa)

1998 - 8 (Possibly the previous 5 mentioned from Adv’99 anime/novels)

1999 - 16 (Adv Eight, Meiko*)

2000 - 32 (Ken*)

2001 - 64 (Michael)

2002 - 128 (Daisuke, Miyako, Iori)

2003 - 256

2004 - 512

2005 - 1,024

2006 - 2,048

2007 - 4,096

2008 - 8,192

2009 - 16,384

2010 - 32,768

2011 - 65,536

2012 - 131,072

2013 - 262,144

2014 - 524,288

2015 - 1.048,576

2016 - 2.097,152

2017 - 4.194,304

2018 - 8.388,608

2019 - 16.777,216

2020 - 33.554,432

2021 - 67.108,864

2022 - 134.217,728

2023 - 268.435,456

2024 - 536.870,912

2025 - 1.073.741,824

2026 - 2.147.483,648

2027 -  4.294.967,296

2028 (02 Epilogue) - 8.589.934,592

↓ Original notes + "Why there's still no retcon of the lore" below ↓

First, the OG notes from the outdated post:

→ This count is not about “which was the very first digimon-human contact”, and yes about people with a digivice. Because if we were going to count who was the first human to have contact with a digimon, it’s actually two and they’re Oikawa Yukio and Iori’s dad, Hida Hiroki.

→ I’m ignoring all the inconsistencies with other material (WS & ▽) because they seem to not match well with the original count. So, in this case, Ken’s statement in the anime (Aug 2000) is the one to be accounted for here. I don’t know if Ryo counts as Chosen (possibly yes, judging by 02 flashbacks) but I’m not sure where to place him here.

→ I’m only adding Michael to the count, even if he’s not a main character and yes a side character, because 02 ep 14 had this statement regarding him. And I like Michael too so, let me have him there :V

→ Menoa states in the movie she met Morphomon when she was nine, and according to the Dash X novel version, she’s the same age as Taichi. Which means she became a Chosen in 1997.

→ I couldn’t think of how to include Maki & Daigo’s group in this because ▽ contradicts with the original lore’s math – The fact the Pt4 book released with the movie on Japanese theaters state them being in Elementary School the time they went to their adventure in the DW, and later the confession scene means they’re in University/College makes them possibly been Chosen Children way before 1995, and I’d take it granted that they were chosen by someone else IF weren’t for the Homeostasis being involved in the scene and the digivice being way too modern for that time (it was basically Taichi group’s model. If you look at Rui’s digivice in the leaked footage from DigiFes2022, his model seems to be different and an older version)

→ That said, Meiko is the only character in ▽ that does not fall into contradiction with the math count. Because in 1999 there was not only Taichi’s group, but also other 8 non-featured Chosen according to Kakudou’s notes. So we can consider Meiko one of those other 8 children.

→ When it comes to Wallace, I prefer to think he is game in the original math – Taichi and Hikari met that Koromon in 95, but they had no digivice until 1999. Which means it can be possible that Wallace had encountered Gummy-Choco’s egg before 1995 and only became an official Chosen Child later.

Now, the new notes:

→ To avoid spoiling any detail about the movie itself, I’ll make sure to tell you they might have changed how the math works only. It’s not like, “everyone gets a digimon at the same time” but rather… “A X number of people get partnered with a digimon in different periods of a year” – Which means yes, you can still count Rui and Ukkomon as the origins of the Digimon partnership, but that later in the same year someone else (or, say, Wallace in the main timeline) got a partner months later.

→ That said, I’m opting to update this list and work within the idea that various sources of partnership (Homeostasis, Holy Beasts, etc) can be counted in the math. Remember – Homeostasis (not referred to as this in the OG series but yes in the novels) had selected Taichi & co., but the Holy Beasts chose Dai-Miya-Iori. And some other entity probably chose Ken in August 2000. This could explain why there’s a higher number of partnerships happening at the same time in Adv’99 and 02.

→ As I mentioned before, and indirectly supported by the staff (check the official timeline at the top of the list), ▽ has violated the lore to the point it goes in direct conflict with the new 02 movie and the entire timeline. So I guess it’s better to consider ▽ as its own timeline/Alternate universe than forcing it into the main timeline.

→ That said, and since Meiko does exist in Kizuna/main timeline, I suppose Maki and Daigo also do exist, and maybe they got their “ages” retconned and down to something suitable to the universe’s math count. They can still be part of the previous five kids mentioned in Adv’99 anime/novels, but they are probably around their teen years, or even early 20s instead, not fully adults working for the government I suppose. Or alternatively, just not Chosen yet. Pick your favorite route, Maki/Daigo fans!!

→ Yes, the Koromon from the very first movie IS NOT THE SAME PARTNERED WITH TAICHI. This never was confirmed, and was just fandom's theory. Considering how ▽ also made this mistake and possibly was one of the lore's violation, I prefer to believe this means it's not the same Koromon/Agumon partnered with Taichi in Adv'99.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digimon Writing Challenge - Mix and Match: Takeru + Gabumon + Light

[Yamato] [Takeru] [Hikari] [Sora] [Taichi] [Koushirou] [Mimi] [Jyou]

Summary: Takeru has committed himself to the task of getting his brother's lost Digimon partner back. But the course of events doesn't go as planned and the growing despair within him causes him to end up at an all too familiar place... [1st part to: Hikari]

Word count: 675

TW: Declining mental health, spoilers for "The Beginning", read at own risk!

„Not fair…“

The sound of waves breaking at the shore was quiet, weirdly distanced.

“It’s not fair…”

It was as if a tin wall was standing between him and the outside world, blocking him, muffling all noise.

“Not fair, not fair, not fair…!”

The outside world… Waves…

Takeru had never been here on his own account before. He dreaded it, despised it with every fiber of his being. Always had, always would.

And yet…

“Why did this have to happen…?!”

He tightly gripped the phone in his hand. He wasn’t even sure if it had been the reason that the gate had opened. Or if he had opened it himself. By sheer will. Or rather – sheer despair.

He had been looking for a clue, anything. Together with Koushirou, Miyako, Ken… There had to have been a reason, a cure, a sign.

They had promised each other to meet again. To always stay together.

He still saw their eyes. Taichi’s gloomy expression. Patamon’s teary glance.

Separated, always separated, never meant to be together…

‘It will be okay, Takeru! We will bring them back!’, Patamon had chimed through the tears.

Months had passed.

His brother still mourned quietly. By himself. All alone.

Like it had been before, years ago, all these years…

“Why does it have to repeat itself again and again…?!”, Takeru screamed towards the Dark Ocean as the foam of the wave licked at his feet.

He had been happy, hadn’t he? He still had his friends. His own partner. Whereas Yamato had nothing left.

Why couldn’t he make his brother smile? Why couldn’t they grow closer again? Why did he have to suffer, lose Gabumon, every possible link…?

“I couldn’t even call him before it happened…”

He still saw the golden particles whenever he closed his eyes. He saw it vanishing again and again and again.

They only glimpse of hope he had left, all in vain…

“Is this my punishment…?”, he pressed through gritted teeth, grinning bitterly, glaring at the darkness around him. “For trying so hard to find Gabumon for my brother…? For wanting my family to get back together…?!”

They had theorized about it. Maybe the Digimon had just ended up in a different world. Maybe if they had found a way to hop through the gates…

Now they didn’t have any digivice to reconnect anymore.

That was when the darkness, the frustration, the fear had swallowed him whole. Leaving Patamon, everyone behind. With no way of turning back. Sinking deeper and deeper, swallowed by the sand, the water, forcing his eyes to shut, drowning in his own thoughts…

If only he hadn’t let it overwhelm him, if only he had remained as positive as Daisuke; he had known how to encourage Rui to renew his partnership after all…

“Taichi-san… I’m so sorry…”

If only he had maintained his own childlike wonder, never fearing the threat of death and decay…

“Patamon… Please don’t leave me too…”

If only he knew how to turn the guilt and anger into something greater, something… Lighter.

“Nii-san… This cannot be the end… I won’t let it happen again…”

He couldn’t see anything as he sank even deeper, he just felt something swell inside of his chest – and something else poking into his side.

“Ts-… Tsunomon…?!”

His eyes snapped back open – was this a miracle? In the middle of hopelessness? How was this possible, was he dreaming, hallucinating? Had his wishes actually manifested as he had crossed a forbidden border, not ready to give in, unwilling to sacrifice everything they had worked for?

Without really feeling his limbs, Takeru tried to pull the small Digimon in closer, cradling its unconscious body against his own as much as he could.

He wouldn’t let go again, he wouldn’t lose, even if the tears were stinging in his eyes, even if the rest of his body – despite his heart hammering against his ribcage – felt completely numb…

“Hi-… Hikari-chan…”

There was a light and he would hold onto it, no matter at what cost. A warm, familiar light…

“… Takeru-kun!!!”

tbc...

[aihoshiino]

Professor of Hoshino Aiology, I need thy wisdom since you understand Ai so well, what do you think Ai would act like if she were to be in a relationship? Her likes, dislikes, what she might like to do with her partner during free time, do you think she'd ever be jealous over something etc

every time you guys address me as professor of aiology i get the most vivid mental image of myself at a pepe silvia board. i need to get art of that.

BUT.... WELL GOSH ANON SINCE YOU'VE TWISTED MY ARM… [<- trying to act like they aren't basically wagging their tail at the prospect of rambling about this]

I've rambled a lot before about what I like in Ai ships in particular, but I think in any scenario, romance with Ai is necessarily founded on deep, bone-marrow-deep trust - she has so, so much to lose on just about every level that romance is a massive risk for her. So I think any romantic relationship is, by necessity, the result of friendship (or just extremely palpable mutual pining lol) and trust developing into deep, deep love. Because of this, I think she's not really the jealous type…? Not only because she has to be 100000% secure before being in a relationship to begin with, but because she's just so resigned to abandonment and being left behind by people who should love her.

Once she's actually IN a relationship tho, I think she really blossoms - just as she does with Saitou and Miyako, two people she clearly has a pretty secure relationship with. She looooves banter and teasing… she has a really cute and cheeky sense of humor and she likes to affectionately and playfully bully the people she likes, so someone being able to give as good as they get and banter with her is one of her favourite things… but she also enjoys when she can get under someone's skin and get a good reaction out of them. She's so annoying. <3

For other things she likes… I think she likes height/size differences, which is good because she's so tiny and petite they're built in whether she likes it or not LOL. She's also pretty aware of people's hands just because of all the handshake sessions she does - she's also suuuuper touchy and cuddly because she's so starved for like, genuine meaningful touch and intimacy. So things like someone gently setting a hand on her back or taking her hand make her go so so sooooo soft.

Her dislikes, she kind of talks about in 45510: she doesn't like people who nitpick or get hung up on or overreact to her mistakes. Ai herself isn't really the type who gets super hung up on small details, so someone who's really particular and high maintenance would be difficult for her to vibe with. People who don't emote super well (and are thus harder for her to read), too… I also think she really, really can't handle people who have a temper and get riled up easily just because of her own experiences growing up as an abuse victim. When people get mad at/around her, she tends to lock up and go really hard on People Pleasing Fawning Mode as a kneejerk survival reaction.

UM THAT GOT GLOOMY… so on a lighter note… couple activities…!!!!

I definitely think Ai is the type who values just being able to spend time with her SO chatting about everything and nothing… she's the kind of girlfriend who is legitimately on cloud nine just sitting with the person she loves and listening to them infodump about something LOL. I think she also really likes… hm, how to put this… typical 'couple'-y date activities? I guess? So much of her life is about being denied normalcy so I think there's something really special for her about getting to be a 'normal girl' enjoying normal, mundane happiness with a person she loves, even if it's just something simple and silly like going to a theme park together or checking out a restaurant they both think looks good.

[otakween]

Digimon Girls Festival (Image Songs)

It's been awhile since I've done a post about "audio-only" Digimon media. Digimon has so many of these!! If you're curious this site seems like a good place to see all the info about the albums out there. Digimon-Basic is where you're going to want to go if you want to download the albums, but most of them are on YouTube too. I gotta say, this fandom is nothing if not super well documented! I'm impressed.

Loving the cover art for this (why do they all look like they're going to different parties though?) As you can see, this is a collection of image songs for all of the girls from Adventure, 02, and Tamers. No Frontier, unfortunately :'( With most anime, characters get 1-2 image songs, with Digimon they get like 5 for some reason (spread across different albums).

Image Songs

Ruki Makino - My Style (Listen here subbed)

A very fitting song for Ruki in terms of the edgy rock n roll style and her singing about wanting to stay true to herself. I found her singing about wanting wings to be pretty random though. I feel like they just stick that in anime songs cuz it sounds cool lol (I think one or two of the other image songs talked about wanting wings).

Favorite line was "I don't want to imitate anyone, I want to be me." I feel like what Ruki is struggling with is that she does care what people think of her a lot (hence her angsty facade) but really wants to break free of that and be her true self.

The lyrics were kinda poorly translated grammatically, but I've tried to translate Japanese song lyrics before...it's super hard. I feel like some things just end up sounding dumb in English and it might be better to go the localization route instead of direct translation (if this were an official thing).

Miyako Inoue - Yamato Nadeshiko Panic (Listen here subbed)

Damn, it's a good thing I know what a yamato nadeshiko is or else this song would seem pretty weird. The subber decided to translate yamato nadeshiko as "japanese woman" which...sort of makes sense but it leaves out so much context. To be fair...it's a tricky one (as I said in the previous bullet, translaton is hard!)

Anyways, this song wasn't super interesting. It was basically Miyako singing about how she wants to be an elegant, "ideal" woman. Low key trad wife vibes lol Nothing wrong with wanting to be a good wife/partner, it's just not something I relate to 😅

I feel like I never fully got a grasp on Miyako's character. The only thing I remember is that she was a fangirl and kinda boy crazy. There was an episode about how she's really outspoken I think?

Sora Takenouchi - Sky-Blue Wind (Listen here subbed)

It seems like a lot of these songs are about not being honest with yourself. It's all very Japanese lol. Sora is singing about putting on a brave face for the sake of her friends. I guess that's fitting since we did see her run away when she was upset in the anime.

She sings that she "likes her role" as the optimistic one...reminds me of Ted Lasso and Waymond from Everything Everywhere All At Once. I can't tell if this kind of outlook is admirable or deeply unhealthy.

Shaochung Lee - My Future (Listen here subbed)

This one was disappointing because I liked Shaochung. It was a super unimaginative song about Shaochung wanting to grow up. Like...I guess that makes sense, but it's a very obvious and lazy choice (with her being the youngest). Maybe she could have sung about her relationship with her brother or Lopmon/Terriermon?

I did think the "I can't see the after-10pm world" line was pretty cute/clever

Hikari Yagami - Reflection (Listen here subbed)

According to fandom wikis, this is a response to the Takeru song Focus which I wrote about here. I still feel weird about these two songs. Why would they depict Takeru and Hikari as a couple when that wasn't in the source material (imo)? I don't remember the 02 epilogue saying anything about them being together! Maybe the image songs aren't canon lol

There's something funny about Hikari calling Takeru's eyes beautiful when I just picture them as generic anime eyes. I guess blue eyes would be something to sing about in Japan. (I actually think Hikari's light brown eyes are prettier).

Juri Katou - The Color of Someday (Listen here subbed)

Sheeesh this one was dark (I mean...to be expected). It sounded to me like Juri was singing about being depressed and anxious, unsure how to live a "normal" life. The color in the title refers to that "normal" future that she wants to achieve.

A lot of the song seemed to be about masking and being afraid to show any vulnerabilities to the world. She also says she doesn't understand what love is or how to love (probably cuz of her crappy parents).

Looking back on it, I kinda wish they had foreshadowed Juri's darker side better in Tamers. She started out as such a goofy, comic relief character that her breakdown felt less real to me (also, I cared less because my brain had already categorized her as "generic background comic relief girl."). If they had shown a tiny hint of a crack in her facade sooner, it probably would have made her more interesting.

Good morning/Goodnight Calls

(These should be easy to find, they're in the same playlist as the videos above)

I don't really know what the point of these are, going to be honest. The album contains random voice lines (around 20 seconds each) of the girls saying good morning and goodnight. It reminds me of those Vtuber voice packs. Personally, I'm a big fan of Japanese oddities like this, but they seem very niche.

I thought the appeal would be to pretend that the characters are talking to me, but in the first voice clip Ruki is addressing her grandma...guess I could pretend to be her grandma lmao

Okay, Sora's wake up/goodnight call literally sounds like waifu bait (very breathy)...which is strange considering she's an elementary schooler. Who was this made for?

Some of these would make decent alarm sounds, if you're into that sorta thing. I think it would get very annoying very fast to have an anime girl yelling at me first thing haha

Sora and Miyako's were so vague and general that they could have been from any series. No mention of digimon or anything like that.

Why is Mimi showing up now but didn't get an image song? Wasn't she the singer of the group!? (Her voice lines were very shrill, my ears are bleeding lol)

Hearing cheerful!Juri after listening to her song feels...uncomfortable

I wonder if these were just improv'd on the spot. I want more backstory.

[digimonarchive]

This scene of Jou/Joe reuniting with Gomamon (thanks to Miyako/Yolei dropping the heating pad by accident) is both heartwarming and a tearjerker.

(Jou looks around, concerned for the whereabouts of his Digimon partner.) Jou: Where could Gomamon be... (Miyako is feeling cold and she tries to hold onto the heating pad.) Miyako: I'm still freezing... (Miyako drops the heating pad onto the snowy ground.) Miyako: Awww, man... (As she picks up the heating pad, it's revealed that Gomamon is unconscious and buried in the snowy ground.) Miyako: Jou-san! (Jou comes in and looks down. He gasps at what he saw in the snow.) Jou: Gomamon! (Jou gets down to dig Gomamon out of the snow. The other Chosen Children and the Digimon hurry over to help him. Moments later, Gomamon is already dug out of the snow. He is unconscious and hurt. Jou is frantically calling Gomamon to wake up.) Jou: Gomamon! Gomamon! Gomamon: Jou... Jou: Hang in there! Gomamon: You came... Jou: Of course! Even though we're apart, I'm worried about you... Gomamon: Tentomon told me I'd be able to contact you using the TV. Jou: Yeah, I've got the signal. (Jou is stroking Gomamon as he's both checking his injuries and giving him affection. Jou looks like he's choked-up with tears.) Jou: What happened? You're hurt badly... Gomamon: That guy...that Digimon Kaiser!

Digimon Adventure 02 episode 5

[adventurexheart]

Issues I had with Meiko's writing (coming from a former fan of Meiko)

One of the things I disliked while watching the Digimon Adventure Tri movies is that Meiko (the new character for the films) took WAY more focus than the original 8 Digidestined/chosen children. Unfortunately, as well as the burning answer on what happened to the Zero 2 kids (Daisuke/Davis, Miyako/Yolei, Ken, and Iori/Cody) by having Tri’s entire plot ignore their existence until the end of the movie series.

This could be my issue, but I dislike it when a character archetype is known for ONLY being shy. I am shy myself, so my problems don't come from just having that mere personality trait, but having that as a character's ONLY defining trait makes the character dull to watch.

Also, while watching the movies, Meiko felt like someone's fanfic oc AT TIMES when all the characters they interact with adore and love her very much, and she and her Digimon partner are extraordinary throughout the plot's run. There’s nothing wrong with characters that are often well-liked. Still, when it gets to a point where any criticism thrown at Meiko or the situation involving her Digimon occurs, she isn’t given the grace to defend herself. Instead, we have other characters speak up for her (ex: being when Mimi confronted Koushiro, who, although on his part, came off as being too harsh when telling Meiko he needed her intel on looking for the source of the virus affecting her Digimon). In Digimon Movie 2, we saw Mimi learning a lot from her friendship with Meiko (which was excellent). But it's a missed opportunity for Toei not to have the reverse happen and see Mimi's influence impact Meiko.

However, at the same time, why can’t Meiko (as someone who represented a lot of shy people) not be allowed to step outside the character mold that Toei made for her?

Again, when I first watched the Tri movies, I would have gotten defensive at the hate Meiko received because I assumed people were just hating her for her personality. Now, looking back at the movies, I understand some of the alarming issues with her writing.

I feel like she was only made as a character just so the writers could give Taichi a love interest and further establish that the 02 epilogue is still, in fact, canon. Even then, the two of them lacked any chemistry.

I should probably clarify that I don’t hate Meiko as a character, but what has done for her character through Tri. These are just a few critical things that I had about how the writers tried to make her feel more like a self-inserted character (at times) by having all the characters around her adore her and try to make the character lack flaws. They also made it feel like she was only introduced for romance.

I'll have a much different angle of this discussion with more about the difference in writing for what Toei has done to her versus the perception of the 02 kids later

[holly-natnicole]

Explanations for why I did the Cinnamon Roll Meme this way:

Looks like a cinnamon roll, is actually a cinnamon roll — Agumon, coz he's an adorable little dinosaur more likely to try the diplomatic approach than to jump immediately into fighting; Piyomon, coz she's an adorable pink bird who gives emotional support to her friends; Tachikawa Mimi, coz (especially after her growth as a person) she's a compassionate person; Kamiya "Kari" Hikari, coz she puts others first to the point of getting ill and/or injured solely coz she wants to not be a burden to them; Wallace "Willis" Williams, coz they cares 'bout the safety of random strangers & tries to solve difficult situations alone to avoid putting others in danger; Motomiya Daisuke, coz he refuses to harm his friends and he'll befriend you even if you've done something bad since he knows you genuinely regret what you did; Hida Iori, coz she's a semi-pacifist who despises killing & lying.

Looks like a cinnamon roll, could actually kill you — Kamiya "Tai" Taichi, coz he's an adorable goofball who (usually) doesn't hesitate to jump into danger to save his friends & has no problem killing anyone threatening them (especially if Kari is the friend whose life is under threat since she's his biological fullsister); Takenouchi Sora, coz when she was age 11-12 it was damned clear in canon that she could easily assassinate people if she wanted to & everyone are lucky that she's genuinely nice; Gomamon, coz he's an adorable goofball who nevertheless can (with his friends' help) kill a Champion Level Digimon as a Rookie; Patamon, coz he's 1 of the most adorable Rookie Level Digimon ever yet also a major powerhouse upon digivolving; Ichijouji Ken, coz he literally tried to murder a fellow human when he was the Digimon Kaiser/Digimon Emperor and even after becoming a good person he had no problem with sending a majorly evil Digimon (who was being basically a terrorist) into the Dark Ocean yet he's still a genuinely nice kid; Inoue Miyako, coz she's a nerdy & genuinely nice kid yet doesn't hesitate to smack an Ultimate Level Digimon with a skateboard and (despite initially hesitating) is willing to do whatever it takes to get rid of enemies who've proven they're willing to slaughter innocent people.

Looks like they could kill you, is a cinnamon roll — Gabumon, coz his teeth and horn make him seem the scariest of the 8 original Digimon partners yet he's also the gentlest of them all; Izumi "Izzy" Kōshirō, coz anyone aware of Izzy's badass computer skills would be scared of him (I certainly was as a kid & still am as an adult despite my immense respect for his skills in both childhood & adulthood), but Izzy actually is a good kid; Kido Joe, coz he's the oldest DigiDestined and literally throws himself on Digimon in attempts to protect his friends, so you'd think he's some badass combatant yet actually Joe is the team's medic & a very responsible person; Takaishi "Keru" Takeru, coz he doesn't hesitate to punch the face of anyone intentionally messing with Darkness & sometimes is abrasive when he talks to people (even when they're his loved ones), so (similarly to Joe) it's easy to assume he's a violent person 'til you get to see his soft side; Wormmon, coz he's an insect Digimon that looks far more scary than cute yet he's as gentle as Gabumon; Hawkmon, coz he looks like a typical bird of prey yet in personality is more of a polite & caring older brother instead of a carnivore; Armadimon/Armadillomon, coz he is an armadillo dinosaur who looks scary yet in personality is simply a goofball.

Looks like they could kill you, could actually kill you — Ishida "Mat" Yamato, coz this DigiDestined by far scares me the most (except Ken was scarier during his time as the Digimon Kaiser/Digimon Emperor) due to his explicit willingness to kill his enemies & ('til he grew as a person) attack his friends making his aloofness feel more threatening than make him seem unapproachable; Tentomon, coz he's a giant bug whose digivolved forms are even bigger & scarier bugs and he once destroyed an entire pocket dimension as AtlerKabuterimon/MegaKabuterimon; Palmon, coz she's a plant lizard with poison attacks; Tailmon/Gatomon, coz she's introduced punching the snot out of 6 fellow Champion Digimon much bigger than her & the 2 being each other's fated adventuring platonic partners is the only reason she didn't murder Kari; Lopmon & Terriermon, coz the twins' horns mitigate their adorable appearance into seeming less approachable plus Lopmon spends most of his screentime as Wendimon plus Terriermon gains gun arms whenever she digivolves into her Champion form; Veemon, coz. he's a junvenile wingless dragon who'll headbutt the snot out of you before digivolving into 1 of his bigger forms which have very sharp claws & teeth.

[genork-the-fandork]

Ours

Word Count: 571 Prompt: Third Meeting A/N:��In case it wasn't clear, I'm sort of interconnecting all of these drabbles. This one calls upon the other two a bit as Hikari and Takeru ponder the adventure ahead of them (02). I love the idea that they're not sure if they belong on this adventure, but they're very much needed. They're very necessary. @takariweek

"Is this Adventure really ours?" Takeru asked, his leg bouncing as he stared up at the sky. They were waiting for the others, waiting to tell them what had transpired today. How Daisuke had come with them to the Digital World, how evolutions were near impossible at the moment, how a Digiegg held the secret to fighting the strange new power at work. 

Hikari's head had been swimming with all this new information ever since they'd returned in a heap on the computer room floor. She shook her head, unsure. "We can't leave Daisuke to fight this, this Digimon Kaiser alone. Not when Tailmon and Agumon and Patamon are there." With a shiver, she put her hands on her arms. "I'm worried about all of the Digimon. I want to help."

"But they can't evolve. How are we supposed to fight anyone if Tailmon and Patamon have no chance?"

She frowned. He had a point. It made little sense to leave such a task up to them with no way of fighting their enemy. Because it always came down to fighting when it came to Digital World business. She hadn't liked it much as a younger child, and it made just as little sense to her now. Still… "Maybe we were always supposed to be the second generation of Chosen. Someone has to help Daisuke learn about the Digimon. Miyako and Iori, too."

"How is it that I happened to move into a building with two other Chosen?" Takeru murmured incredulously. "This is Hikarigaoka all over again."

Bumping her shoulder with his, Hikari pointed out, "The Digital World moves in mysterious ways."

"Too mysterious," he joked, nudging her in the side. They both laughed. Even after not seeing each other for a long time, it was as easy as breathing, being with Takeru. Hikari knew it was something akin to love, what she felt for her friend. It would be a shame (mostly for Daisuke's sake), to care so much about someone at this age, were it not for their history together. How Hikari had gone a day without him in her life, she would never know.

"But you know," Hikari added. "At least Taichi didn't give his goggles to either of us." She grinned. "Can you imagine trying to be like him?"

"Not in a million years. I can barely keep up with my own brother, much less yours." Takeru folded his arms behind his head in a very Taichi-esque gesture. Yet his pose was very Yamato. Hikari knew that neither of them would admit that they were very much the product of their brothers. But neither of them were quite meant to take their places in the group of Chosen, either. "I wonder if Daisuke can handle it."

"He's rough around the edges," Hikari mused. "But I think he's up to it. All he needs is a little hope."

"Maybe some light?" Takeru raised an eyebrow.

"Something like that. He'll be just fine. And if something goes wrong…" Hikari held out her pinkie.

Even though their unspoken promise to each other had not been sealed by pinkies in the slightest, Takeru understood. He interlocked his pinkie with hers. Maybe their Digimon's powers were limited right now, but they would still fight to protect the partners that had come to mean as much to them as they meant to each other. Even if they were the last two Chosen standing.

[digimoninteractions]

Miyako & Babies (02x03)

[ID: Screenshots from Digimon Adventure Zero Two episode 3 showing Miyako smiling as Upamon, Poromon, and Chibimon all eat the food she brought. Tailmon is deadpanning in the background. End ID]

[beginningobserver]

Can I write ONE MORE THING about Rui and that drama CD track? (I mean, this is not only my blog but also a blog dedicated to Rui-posting so...)

Rui is the kind of person who does not want to cause TROUBLE for others.

The reason he felt guilty and bad is probably because he was still under the mentality of not wanting to hurt anyone else. This may come from his own issues with his mother, who assumed that a FOUR-YEAR-OLD can act and behave like a mature child and process her vague instructions quite well, and then snapped at him for not doing it the way she wanted him to.

Since Rui may have been holding in a lot of frustration and faking smiles to avoid getting more bruises for refusing or disobeying her mother's orders, he had the vibe of someone who didn't want to cause trouble for anyone else -- no matter if it was his family or even random people he didn't know at all.

When Ukkomon explains to him that the digimon will fight to protect their human partners until the death, Rui's reaction is immediately full of regrets -- He didn't want that at all. He didn't want the digimon to fight and die for their partners, he didn't want Ukkomon to simply force them to be get this "terrible" fate.

This makes clear when he mistakes Miyako asking Hawkmon to stop him as Miyako ordering Hawkmon and Hawkmon blindly obeying such order with no hesitation. Rui just associated that digimon partnerships were bad because of how awful his connection to Ukkomon had been for years.

But hey, Ukkomon also wasn't that great at communicating either... Ukkomon himself admits his mistakes in the first convo he had with Rui after 9 years since their fight. And he was portrayed as just a normal and silly digimon -- he shows a more cheerful and friendly behavior/personality than what Rui depicted him to the 02 kids hours ago.

Still, Rui's reaction to Ukkomon's tricks was basically the same reaction his mother would have if he didn't do exactly what she asked him to do the way she wanted him to. And then he claimed that Ukkomon didn't understand him and didn't know what he wanted. The same claim is used against Rui later in the movie -- when Daisuke reverts the question as: "Do you know what Ukkomon wants? What Ukkomon likes?" and thanks to this trick (which may have come from Hikari's own comment about how pitiful Ukkomon was in doing all those pathetic things to help), Rui realizes the problem and decides to do what the 02 kids suggested to him, which was to go talk to Ukkomon and solve their 9-year fight.

So... why would he still feel guilty after those events?

Because he was still taking responsibility for the bad things happening in his birthday. Like, the giant Ukkomon DigiEgg and the "Eggcalypse" which later we learn it was just Ukkomon trying to call for Rui's attention and maybe he wasn't planning to force a mass partnership spree through the ENTIRE WORLD.

(Yeah, those two are really bad at communicating)

Anyway, I want to wrap Rui in a blanket and give him his favorite beverage, because I want this little boy to know that he's loved and that he can be himself, that he can like and dislike whatever he wants. And I want him and Ukkomon to have fun and enjoy life together in the healthiest way possible.

[atsoraasayoma]

I often wonder sometimes about the zero two ending. I get hung up by the Takari ship that does not sail yet still I see more and more evidence of a relationship just falling short of getting to a romantic stage.

I follow the anime, the audio shorts, the movies, and I piece it together and still to this day I am baffled.

I don’t think I have seen Takeru go all out for anyone else except Patamon.

I have never seen him so comfortable with anyone but Hikari. They can be agents of chaos, tell wild stories, or just have this air about them that makes you think they are up to something but they really aren’t and just want you to believe that.

The way he acts around her is noticeably different than anyone else.

That being said, despite my refusal to do so I have to ask myself an all important question:

What other girl could he possibly vibe with even more than Hikari moreover fall in love with?

We’ve seen his interactions. He can smooth talk all he wants but only she can see through him and play his game. She can weather his emotions, keep him focused like how we saw in the zero two movie, and even laugh with him and making everything so much more brighter.

Now,let me ask the reverse.

What other guy could Hikari possibly vibe with even more than Takeru moreover fall in love with?

We’ve seen her voice blossom over the years. She slowly grows more assertive but still keeps her feelings locked tight. But even though she can’t say them for whatever reason, her actions show a deep bond of caring. I will say that, when it comes to her, Takeru in a way was a mentor.

He was always a bit of a jokester, and this trait of his passed on to her the more she was around him. She somehow could get on the same wavelength as him and go along while suppressing her emotions. But, she did grow more comfortable over time with that. She grew friendships with the zero two crew, but instead of Takeru being given the same treatment, that is, the same space of friendship-he is still closer to her than all the others. Heck, even her DNA digivolving partner Miyako!

So, for her to find someone more than him, I don’t think I can see it. Maybe it’s because we have not seen the spouses of the non Digidestined, but in my mind I am still not convinced they were not together in the epilogue.

But then you wonder, why would Takeru leave out that detail at the end of his nonfictionnovel-the last few minutes of the zero two epilogue?

Just why? I still can’t think of any reason aside from respecting her privacy/life since she is a teacher. But if their was something it would have to be a dam good reason.

Anyways I can hear the strong rebuttal of ‘they were never together in the epilogue. get over it. That’s why.’

And to that I say IF that’s the case, why do they always frame it otherwise? I mean, at this point, you would think they would have grown at least a little distant, but they still seem close, if not closer than ever!

So I ask you, really, what does this really say about them?

[digitalgate02]

(Rough) Fact Checking on Rui & Ukkomon's statements in 02TB

Tbh I'm kinda concerned about people taking Rui's statements for granted and not realizing the movie is unclear what is legit and whatnot.

This is not Kizuna-like levels of screwed up, but this is still bugging me as i've been discussing about this movie with friends who managed to watch it before me, and once i watched it by myself i completely understood their thoughts and theories regarding the movie and the Rui & Ukkomon lore.

We still got no actual news of digital releases or EN subs (tho i believe fansubs might appear once the JP Blu-Ray/DVD is released in May) or any other country digital release (or Blu-Ray/DVD ones) so i can’t completely make a detailed lore busting post about Rui’s statements and what we know or were presented in the original Adventure’99, 02 and their extra materials like Drama CD and movies.

But i do remember tiny bits of the movie… And stuff said in the pre-release stream.

I’ll do my best here.

[WARNING FOR SPOILERS AHEAD]

The movie staff released a timeline for this movie, which indicates Rui met Ukkomon in February 29 1996 → I don’t think this is a contradiction, because if the Korean interview with SekiP is reliable (i mean, we can’t check what she said in JP, and the telephone game from JP to KR and to EN means something might have been lost in the process!), she said they changed a bit of the lore for this movie. Btw, the OG lore of Digimon Partnership count starts in 1995 and then it doubles year by year is still present in the movie, as there’s a scene where the current number of partnerships in the year of 2012, but the number stated is not exact since the movie takes place in February only. So of course the count wouldn’t be the full year number, which is 131,072 partnerships in total.

Rui and Ukkomon form a bond, and Ukkomon grants Rui the wish of having many friends, which he tells the 02 group that partnerships with digimon were the result of this wish → This is completely uncertain, and it is also doubted by the 02 kids in the movie. In Adv’99 and 02 we learn that there’s multiple sources for becoming a Chosen Child: Homeostasis (Adv Eight, possibly their predecessors); Holy Beasts (Daisuke, Miyako & Iori); unknown sources (Menoa, Meiko, Ken, Wallace, Worldwide Chosen, Dark Seed Children perhaps?)

Rui claims he’s the first person who was partnered with a digimon → Well, this is not wrong! Now, if he were claiming to be the first to have met or interacted with a digimon… He would’ve been wrong: The first human to get in touch with the Digital World and the digimon were actually two – Oikawa Yukio and Hida Hiroki (yes, Iori’s late dad), in the 1980s. Despite that, they never had digivices at all. Then in 1995 we possibly had a double digimon encounter happening: Wallace meeting Gummymon and Chocomon briefly ¹, and the Yagami siblings meeting a Koromon. This could mean Rui and Ukkomon were actually the fourth digimon encounter in the timeline. But what is correct is that he became Ukkomon’s partner first because he got the very first digivice in the world. Taichi and Hikari weren’t partnered with that same Koromon ², but they got their own partner digimon + digivices in 1999. And Wallace probably became Terriermon’s partner years after, possibly in 1996 and after Chocomon’s disappearance ³, or post-1996.

Rui claims Ukkomon is a special digimon because he can grant wishes → Okay, but i definitely remember the 02 Kids going like “sounds cool bro but we doubt it” when he said that. And the movie itself quite shows the opposite later: Ukkomon did not cure Rui’s father, and he was possibly manipulating everyone else like puppets (besides Rui’s parents i meant) – so what kind of digimon who can grant wishes is this?! He has no magical god-like powers at all! And his null lore (Bandai’s) profile points out that part of granting wishes are just rumors. But you know what said profile mentions too? That Ukkomon is able to hijack the opponents’ minds. It’s his species’ special move – Liar Dream – besides spinning like a beyblade to attack (Whirlpool Spin).

Rui claims he killed Ukkomon a long time ago → Also not totally true. Rui tried killing Ukkomon, but he couldn’t commit to it. He tried to destroy the digivice, which resulted in his injury in the right eye. Ukkomon did not… “die” apparently. Yes, he was melting, but one detail you might not know is that when a digimon dies, everything from their body, or their weapon is also erased too. Check Adv’99 death for Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. The eye Ukkomon slapped into Rui’s face was still there after his “death” so this was the biggest hint for the audience. It was also implied in the Audio Drama #3 (released in the Japanese theaters, and soon in the BD/DVD deluxe box as bonus with the other two theater ones) – But it’s okay, he possibly never had a contact with another digimon or even a Chosen Child before meeting Daisuke & co, so we can’t blame him for believing he had killed Ukkomon.

In a flashback, Ukkomon tells Rui that he’s connected to something bigger → This might be the only legitimate truth he had told Rui, besides that Rui was the first person partnered with a digimon. Somehow, Ukkomon is connected to some god-tier entity because once BigUkkomon is destroyed, the digivices are not needed anymore. This part might be completely confusing for everyone else, but it’s not confirming Rui’s claims that the digimon partnerships were caused by Ukkomon, and yes the part of Ukkomon’s claims to be related to some higher up god-like entity.

The notes within the text:

To my biggest surprise… Wallace never mentions when his mother found the egg. But he definitely mentions when Chocomon disappears – 7 years before, which means 1995. I’ve seen many people think this movie goes against the canon in different ways… But now i’ve reached the conclusion that what Wallace meant is that he met Gummymon and Chocomon in the same year Chocomon disappeared in the flower field. Plus, Wallace is shown in those flashbacks as a 4 years old kid (stated in the Memorial Chronicle) and we know via a CD bonus card that Wallace’s age is 11 years old in 2002 (same as Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari and Ken) – so i guess if he had gotten the egg before 1995 he would’ve been too young to remember it (unless you opt for 1994, but i think this wouldn’t be possible…)

The Koromon who met Taichi and Hikari is implied to not be the same who was partnered with Taichi 4 years later in Adventure'99: the TV series Agumon knew Taichi’s name because of the data inserted on his egg by the Agents, which were also manufacturing the Crests and Digivices, according to Homeostasis’ analysis on the children from the Greymon vs Parrotmon fight.

Since Chocomon went missing, i suppose Wallace became partnered with Gummymon only, but if we go with Adv’99 and 02, the Chosen Children can evolve non-partnered digimon as well: Leomon mentions he only managed to evolve into SaberLeomon because of the Chosen Children’s digivices being used on him previously in the series, and in 02 we witnessed the Digimon Kaiser using his digivice to dark evolve Agumon into both SkullGreymon and MetalGreymon virus (the latter only when he created the Evil Spiral, of course).

[seventeenlovesthree]

Digi Dynamic Shipping Game

Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:

Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji

Whether canon provides input on them or not.

Unfortunately I didn't make it before the end of Pride Month, but - while there are a lot of potentially queer ships in the subtext of the Digimon universe that fit the tone, there aren't as many of them that came this close to technically being confirmed as having a valid (canon) baseline as this one.

To ask if canon provides input on Daisuke and Ken - or Daiken, Kensuke, Daisuken, however you want to call them -, is, once again, like asking if water is wet; they're the most elaborated relationship in the entirety of Digimon Adventure 02, the majority of Ken's development is tied to his bond to Daisuke... If you want to read more about why I value their relationship so much, I definitely recommend this post here, because they're just... Endlessly fascinating to me.

The good-hearted goofball with self-esteem issues that lead him to play a role to impress others initially - meets a corrupted genius and literally slaps the darkness out of his system. They turn from fated rivals to fated partners, facing the powers of darkness together and eventually, they become better people in the process thanks to one another. Daisuke's entire priority system changes upon wanting to give Ken a chance, he not only becomes more honest and less defensive, but also lets his personal sense of courage and friendship shine through; Ken, who's initially reluctant to take the hand Daisuke is offering him due to all the guilt he feels, slowly but steadily becomes the kind and gentle soul that was always within him, because there is someone by his side who has his back. Always.

It's a beautiful story of two complementing souls, whose bond enables the first real Jogress evolution, despite the fact - or even because - they couldn't be any more different. It's a story of repentance, forgiveness, learning to befriend others despite your own trauma and differences - and the story of a romantic subtext that almost hits you in the face if you're not careful enough. There is a reason why the screenshot above exists - the most recent movie literally acknowledged that, even after all these years, the bond between Daiken has not vanished and has, instead, gained a somewhat (actively) flirtatious nuance. While it used to be Ken who blushed due to Daisuke's (oftentimes oblivious) bluntness, the same Ken is now forward enough to openly praise Daisuke in ways that make it impossible to overlook the potential implications here - well, for anybody who isn't Daisuke himself at least...

Whether I think why and how they’d work.

Given the circumstances that we're, unfortunately, not talking about a canonically confirmed ship, we just gotta pretend that there will be a day when Ken's attempts of asking Daisuke out will be answered in two potential ways: 1.) "Huh? YOU WERE FLIRTING WITH ME THE ENTIRE TIME????" or 2.) "Huh? I thought we were together this entire time anyway???" Because both of these would be somewhat plausible "Daisuk-esque" reactions in my opinion.

I thoroughly believe that these two would work out romantically in fantastic ways - even though it'd take a lot of work, but which relationship that intends to last doesn't? They both chose careers that require enormous amounts of time and energy - and very irregular working hours. Granted, the latter applies to the majority of the Chosen Children, but an aspiring chef of his own Ramen cart may only be able to see an aspiring police officer if the latter's break time allows him to grab a meal at a Ramen facility that is coincidentally very close by... Gate hopping may have made that a lot easier, but at this point, we don't even know if that is still a thing anymore.

I still maintain that, as much as they'd be married to their jobs, they both still have quite a romantic side to themselves once the curse is broken - so they would make time, just like they did throughout all these years. While their interests in general might also be quite different, they would always find a way to bond over their mutual love for sports, football in particular. Ken needs someone who pulls him out of his head - and Daisuke needs someone who grounds him, which, as The Beginning suggested, is (basically) exactly their dynamic. They always enjoy group gatherings with their friend groups, food tastings are always a reason for Daisuke to invite everybody over - especially to lure Ken away from work. And let's be real, I can also see them go on cheesy dates - that mostly consist of them doing sporting activities (any kind of ball sport, rollerskating, hiking) where Daisuke can (pretend to) be competitive and Ken knowingly plays along with the teasing, just so they have an excuse to be close. Because they'd be cheesy like that, oh Lord, they'd be so cheesy in the most wanna-be-bro way possible.

Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship.

In a universe in which Miyaken doesn't become canon, there is literally no reason for Daiken not to be endgame - unless the writers actually had some guts and turned them into an official OT3 in The Beginning. Of course I can always enjoys them as just platonic life partners, bros 4 life, you don't even have to give it a label, as long as they remain as close as they are. Because they simply belong together, one way or another.