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commentaryvorg · 3 years ago

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Digimon Savers Commentary Episode 43 - Power Means Justice! The Beast Knight, Duftmon

In this episode, Chika is reunited with Piyomon as he and some baby Digimon appear at her house, while Yoshino and Ikuto visit there and help out to protect the Daimons from the Royal Knights, and they both achieve their Burst Modes.

After a brief recap, we open inside the giant tree in the Digital World, where Yggdrasil, still in its borrowed body, has just learned of RhodoKnightmon being defeated last episode along with Dukemon the episode before.

Yggdrasil: “But the human world must be eliminated. It is the only way to save the Digital World.”

You just keep telling Craniummon that, Yggdrasil. I still don’t believe you.

A new voice speaks up, declaring that he’ll carry out that mission. It’s Duftmon, another Royal Knight whom we haven’t met until now, not even in the gathering of them in episode 40. This guy likes to work alone, I guess?

Digimon Analyser: “An Ultimate-level Digimon who believes that power means justice.”

This motto of his is apparently something the writers thought was so important it needed to be the title of this episode, but… it really isn’t? It’s literally just him being a tyrant: powerful people are more just and right than weaker people. Wow. What a dick.

Apparently he’s also the Royal Knights’ strategist. Not that this remotely matters either.

Craniummon: “What’s this? You’ve never voluntarily made a move before now.”

Duftmon: “We are dealing with a serious matter that is putting the destruction of the Digital World in question!”

…Yes, Duftmon, and we’ve been dealing with that for several episodes now. Why did you not show up to help then? Craniummon’s remark that Duftmon apparently never voluntarily did anything should either, A, make him a terrible Royal Knight when they’re supposed to help the Digital World, or B, not matter because they all follow Yggdrasil’s orders whether it’s voluntary of them or not.

Also, for those of you not familiar with the original, I need to let you know that the U in Duftmon is not pronounced like in “dust”, as you’d probably expect. It’s pronounced “Dooft”. Now have fun trying to take this guy seriously when his name sounds like that.

Anyway, they make a thing of Yggdrasil grandly telling Duftmon to go help destroy humanity, and I am still raising an eyebrow at why this is supposed to matter any more than the multiple other Royal Knights who were already out there doing just that. I’m being kind of dismissive about Duftmon here because the writers clearly want us to care about him in particular and I just. Don’t. Nothing about him is interesting.

There’s actually a reason for the writers treating him this way! In between the previous piece of Digimon media to feature the Royal Knights, and Digimon Savers, three new Royal Knights were created and added to the roster: Craniummon, Sleipmon, and Duftmon. Those three debuted in this series, so the writers clearly wanted to give them more important roles and some time in the spotlight to show them off. They managed that with Craniummon and Sleipmon, who are both significant characters who matter a lot in this arc. They… really didn’t with Duftmon, who, despite the writers trying to shove his importance in our face in this scene, is really just another uninteresting villain-of-the-week like RhodoKnightmon was last episode.

The other reason for Duftmon being introduced separately from the rest of the Royal Knights we saw in episode 40 is that he happens to be a lot smaller than the others, in Savers canon at least. This is because he exists to fight Rosemon and Ravemon in this episode and nothing else, so that fight would look weird if he was as huge as, say, ShineGreymon. But on the other hand, it would look weird if he was standing there alongside the rest of the Knights in episode 40 just being awkwardly way shorter than anyone else. Hence him being conveniently introduced alone. (Or, well, Craniummon’s here, but the shots are never angled such that we can really see their difference in size.)

Over in the human world, Yoshino and Ikuto are driving in a minivan through the abandoned neighbourhood where the Daimons’ house is.

Yoshino: “DATS subdivisions around the world are doing all they can to fight the Royal Knights, but the damages on our side keep rising.”

Ah yes, those very vaguely-defined other DATS subdivisions outside Japan. It’s still unclear as to whether those divisions even have Digimon partners with them (though that line in episode 12 about the “only five eggs” who’d appeared in the human world could have been referring specifically to Japan, making Digimon partners in other DATS branches possible), but even if they do, I doubt they can evolve to Ultimate. No wonder they’re getting creamed.

Ikuto: “I’ll fight, too!”

Ikuto says this while punching his palm; look at how Masaru he’s being.

Yoshino reminds him that they’re here to protect Masaru’s home like they promised him they’d do.

Yoshino: “We have to work harder for Tohma’s share now, too.”

This line would be implying that this episode happens concurrently with episode 42, while Tohma’s off at the airport dealing with his family issues. Except that the opening scene had Yggdrasil mention that RhodoKnightmon had already been defeated, so apparently… not…? Not sure what Tohma’s doing with himself in the interim in that case, then (he’s not already headed to the Digital World, because he's gonna show up here at the end of this episode) – I guess it’s just taking him a really long time to get here, for… some reason?

In amongst some talk about hoping things will be able to get back to normal, Yoshino mentions that Ikuto’s parents are busy trying to find a way to fix the dimensional barrier. Good for them! They’re the only experts in interdimensional gates that we have, so of course they of all people ought to be trying to help.

They spot a tornado in the distance, which coincidentally (or maybe not so coincidentally?) happens to be headed towards Masaru’s house. It turns out to narrowly miss the house, but not before depositing a small group of Digimon in the garden right before Sayuri and Chika’s eyes. It’s a bunch of nine Baby-level Digimon, and also, to Chika’s astonishment, Piyomon. Yes, that Piyomon. We hadn’t seen the last of him, it turns out!

As Chika rushes towards her long-lost friend in excitement, we go to the opening. Here’s a shot of Ikuto and Yoshino being cute together! It’s a bit of an unusual pair to see together in the opening every episode (kinda just left over because of course the first pair-shot had to be Masaru and Tohma), but now we finally are getting an episode focused on the two of them together.

Anyway, we interrupted Chika in the middle of flinging her arms around Piyomon.

Chika: “Piyomon! You came to see me, right?”

Maybe? Perhaps it’s not such a coincidence that the tornado came right by their house, if there was some kind of invisible force drawing Piyomon and Chika back together. But if so…

Piyomon: “You’re… Who are you?”

…it wasn’t at all on a conscious level. Piyomon doesn’t remember her.

Of course he doesn’t. Digimon who get turned into eggs lose all their memories of their past lives. Gotsumon didn’t remember, either.

And okay, so, yes, Agumon did remember. But I talked back in the episode where he hatched about my belief that that was down to the strong bond Agumon had with Masaru, allowing his memories to be retained. So what I believe happened with Piyomon – I can finally properly talk about what was going on in episode 13! – is that this only sort of half happened for him.

He had that bond with a human, but his time with her was so brief that it wasn’t quite enough for his memories to carry over completely. Instead, he was reborn in that messed-up state in which he retained the emotions of having somebody important to him, which caused him to rampage, but not enough to actually remember who she was. And then it took another egg-reversion reboot, just like is always needed when a Digimon rampages, to wipe that out and reset him back to his natural state of not remembering anything at all.

If Chika and Piyomon had had longer together before he got turned into an egg the first time, I believe he would have remembered everything about her just like Agumon did, and episode 13 wouldn’t have needed to happen. They just got very unlucky.

Sayuri and Chika, along with Yoshino and Ikuto, who made it here, take Piyomon and the babies inside the house to take care of them.

Lalamon: “Is it really that Piyomon?”

Chika: “Yes. I can tell.”

Aww. She just can, because they were friends. (Or rather, perhaps, because they were destined to be partners and share an intangible connection? Like Lalamon appeared as an egg in front of Yoshino when she found her courage. It seems like the Digimon who become someone’s partner often aren’t just any random Digimon but a specific Digimon who’s intrinsically drawn to that person’s inner strength.)

Chika looks sadly at Piyomon, recalling how she felt when he became an egg again at the end of episode 13 – glad that he didn’t have to suffer any more. (Since that really was unfortunately the only way to stop his rampage, him having lost his memories but being safe and himself now is better than the alternative.)

Chika: “Piyomon. Have you really forgotten about me? Are you sure you can’t remember?”

Piyomon: “I’m sorry…”

Aww, Chika, trying to hold onto some last hope that maybe he might remember her if he just tries. Of course she’d feel like they had enough of a bond that surely he couldn’t just forget like that. Alas, it worked for Masaru, but not quite enough for her.

Ikuto: “Falcomon, is this Piyomon…?”

Falcomon: “Yes. He’s from the Digiegg we planned to raise together.”

Aww, remember when Falcomon and Ikuto were gonna be Digi-dads! It’s nice to have them reflect that Piyomon’s the reason they ever got involved in all of this in the first place, even though things have changed enough that it wouldn’t really be appropriate right now for them to try and raise him any more.

Yoshino asks Piyomon how he and the babies ended up here. He explains that the Digital World is currently suffering from all kinds of natural disasters and a lot of Digimon have lost their homes. (He doesn’t ever quite explain why he’s with the babies, but I imagine he happened across them and tried to make an effort to protect them, being stronger than them? Look at him being something of a dad, heh.) As they were trying to find shelter, they got caught up in a tornado, which blew them all the way over to the human world.

Falcomon: “But I guess this means not all Digimon think the human world should be erased.”

Yoshino: “You guys are also victims.”

How about that! It’s almost like the Digimon side is also mostly good people who wish no harm on the other species and is just being driven by a small bunch of close-minded pricks right now.

(Yoshino picks up the Tokomon, who yawns, and oh god Tokomon please close your mouth your teeth are terrifying. This is a thing about Tokomon: cute, so long as it keeps its mouth closed.)

Piyomon worries about what’ll happen to him and the babies now. After a pause, Yoshino stands up and dramatically declares that she’ll look after all of them. Her mom-friend side is showing in full force, it seems!

Lalamon: “But where will you take care of them?”

Yoshino: “At my place, of course.”

Lalamon: “But there’s no floor to step on.”

Yoshino continues to be deeply relatable. As I mentioned way near the beginning of the series, though she’s extremely reliable and gets all the stuff done in her work at DATS because it’s expected of her, apparently she does not extend that diligence and energy to her home life.

Chika instead suggests that they can stay here.

Chika: “Piyomon. Even if you don’t remember, I do. We promised we’d always be together. I believe that being able to meet you again isn’t a coincidence.”

Aww. It’s hard for her to see her friend not remembering her, but that doesn’t mean their friendship and promises didn’t happen! She also believes in the power of (not even consciously-remembered) friendship bringing them back together again, of course she does.

Piyomon just sits there silently, not responding. It must feel kind of awkward on his end, knowing he’s so important to this person who seems like a stranger to him.

Sayuri: “I’m glad to be given a reason to cook again!”

Sayuri says this with a happiness that might be a little bit forced, to lighten the mood in this grim situation. But we do know that she copes best with her worry when she can cook food for people, don’t we.

Lalamon: “What are you doing?”

Yoshino: “Oh, shut up. I’m helping out, too.”

We cut to a dramatic sparkly apron Yoshino… who is immediately sassed by Lalamon for the fact that she’s taking this so seriously. Again, more signs that she is not usually like this at home.

Their attempts at cooking keep getting interrupted by chaotic Baby Shenanigans. Pyocomon somehow manages to unroll enough toilet paper to wrap Falcomon up in it; Pukamon and Otamamon, the two aquatic ones, fill up the bath to overflowing so they can splash around; YukimiBotamon, a cold-loving Digimon, decides to hang out inside the fridge; two other babies fight over a pillow and tear it apart when Ikuto tries to pull it off them, knocking over a vase in the process. Then, just as Yoshino’s already had enough and loses her temper, Tokomon comes along and provides the one (1) singular brief poop joke in the entirety of Savers. I would complain about this, but also, I have watched Digimon Adventure in Japanese, so really this is incredibly tame in comparison.

A bit later, Yoshino’s calmed down, and she and Chika are cleaning up the mess.

Yoshino: “I’m sorry, Chika-chan. Just when I said I’d look after them, too.”

Seems that after her bold promises, Yoshino somewhat regrets not being able to stop the chaos and letting herself get worked up at the babies, who are, after all, basically just Digi-toddlers who don’t know any better.

Chika: “No, I’m having fun! I love it when things are lively.”

I mean, when your brothers are Masaru and Agumon, you kind of have to like lively, don’t you, Chika.

Yoshino: “I admit, I enjoyed myself too. It’s been a while since I’ve found something worth doing.”

Now this is an interesting seemingly-innocuous comment from Yoshino. Apparently, the things she’s doing at DATS, she doesn’t consider to be ‘something worth doing’, by her own metric? I’ve often talked about how she must have joined DATS because she had to, in order to keep Lalamon around, and not necessarily because she cared about their mission. And even, more recently with all the stopping-genocide and saving-the-world she’s been doing, she doesn’t consider those ‘something worth doing’ in quite this way either? Perhaps she’s also been doing that out of a sense of obligation, simply because it's the right thing to do and she’s one of only a few people who can. But this here seems to be one of the first things in a while she’s found herself actually caring about doing on a personal, individual level.

Chika: “Such as?”

Yoshino: “Well… I’m always looking after Masaru and Tohma, so this isn’t all that different.”

Hah. She sure is. I love how she also includes Tohma in that as well; he is often no better at not being ridiculous than Masaru, and Yoshino has always been the most competent and practical of the team. Her mom-friend tendencies don’t just have to apply to them, however!

Lalamon: “I actually think it’s those two who are always looking after you.”

Yoshino: “What was that?”

Lalamon casually floats past and sasses her with this. In a way that’s also true! The team all look after each other in different ways, with their different strengths.

Yoshino: “Anyway… I just think I should do my best as well.”

Implying she isn’t necessarily always doing her best in her usual DATS business, and instead only does good enough to get the job done satisfactorily. But having found something she actually cares about here, she’s more willing to put her all into it.

(I’ll be honest, this brief little look into Yoshino’s issues and implication that she’s finding a true calling here isn’t really going to go anywhere – and maybe there would be something a little awkward if it did, in that the one female character on the main cast would be finding her purpose in doing housework and looking after babies. But I at least appreciate these tantalisingly rare tidbits here that, again, hint at the fact that Yoshino was never really happy with her work at DATS and only did it out of a sense of obligation because she was forced into it. I really do wish this had been explored more.)

Later, Sayuri has prepared plenty of food. Piyomon awkwardly doesn’t join in with the itadakimasu, because of course he wouldn’t know to do that. (Which does beg the question of why Ikuto and Falcomon did do so in episode 22 when they were new to it, but at least the writers remembered to think about that this time.)

Yoshino: “Delicious! I didn’t know emergency rations could taste so good…”

Apparently Sayuri managed to whip up something tasty even out of emergency rations, look at her go. But there still also are a bunch of fried eggs, somehow (who knows where she’s getting the eggs from right now), because Sayuri’s fried eggs are important and we cannot go without them. Ikuto and Falcomon are, of course, eagerly stuffing their faces.

Ikuto: “Sayuri is a carrot at cooking!”

Falcomon: “You mean, an expert!”

Ikuto: “Yeah, a carrot!”

The subbers’ notes explain that Ikuto’s mixing up two similar Japanese words here (though they’re not even that similar; ninjin versus tatsujin). There’s something amusing about Ikuto’s dorky stubbornness in insisting that, no, I was right the first time, she’s a carrot.

Piyomon is awkwardly peering at his bowl of rice, when Chika places some fried eggs in front of him instead. She knows what’s up.

He tries one, and though he’s pretty low-key about it, he clearly loves them. Everyone loves Sayuri’s fried eggs. The babies were apparently waiting for their Digi-dad’s cue to see if it was okay for them to eat this food, because they only dig into their own meals after this.

Yoshino: “Why did you come back here, Sayuri-san?”

Sayuri: “Well… I wanted to greet them here when they came back. I’m sure Masaru will bring Suguru-san back with him.”

As she says this, Sayuri looks at the family photo, which has had the glass taped back together after it was broken by the power of symbolism a few episodes ago. If Masaru’s finally actually going to be bringing Suguru back, of course she wants to have that long-awaited reunion in their family home.

(Maybe. She says she’s sure, but I don’t think she’s actually so completely sure that Masaru will be able to manage it. She completely believes in Suguru being Suguru and not a genocidal god, of course, but Masaru actually bringing him back? She’s gone so long without him that in some ways that must feel too good to be true.)

Chika wonders how Masaru and Agumon are getting along right now, leading into a brief cutaway to the two of them in the Digital World. They would be wandering aimlessly through a desert! …were it not for the fact that they’re sitting back-to-back feeling too thirsty to move at all.

Masaru: “Damn it, of all the places we had to fall in…”

This might actually be happening earlier than concurrently with the rest of this episode, because based on this, they’re specifically sitting in the giant crater that ShineGreymon landed in, so I can’t imagine they’ve been here for that long.

They notice something else falling towards them from the sky. It’s Gotsumon, who crashes into them and creates a smaller crater inside their big one. Fair payback for ShineGreymon landing on him last time they met, I guess!

Gotsumon: “Oh, it’s you… Daimon Osaru and Ahomon!”

Or, as the subbers’ notes translate for us, Monkey Daimon and Moronmon. These words in Japanese are just about plausibly similar enough to their actual names that it’s possible this is a genuine mistake and not Gotsumon being a dick. Even if he is being a dick, he’s playing it off as not deliberate, because he’s simperingly polite like that. It’s very him.

(Chill, Gotsumon, you got your revenge for them falling on you, no need to keep holding a grudge.)

Gotsumon was also thrown here by a tornado, much like Piyomon. At least this conveniently allows him to guide Masaru and Agumon to Yggdrasil’s tree again, so that they don’t have to spend several episodes having irrelevant filler adventures while wandering aimlessly through a desert. Hooray for coincidences that make the plot happen! Plus, all of their not-aimless desert-wandering until they reach the tree again is going to happen (/has already happened) offscreen while we’ve been focusing on Tohma, Yoshino and Ikuto in the human world.

Back at the Daimons’ house, Ikuto and Falcomon are with Piyomon and the babies in Masaru’s room. Satisfyingly stuffed from the meal, Ikuto stretches out on Masaru’s bed. It’s a small thing, but it’s a really great sign of how much he unconsciously feels like he belongs here, after everything in his earlier arc.

Ikuto: “Piyomon, do you like this place?”

It’s cute how enthusiastically Ikuto asks Piyomon this. He, Ikuto, really loves this place and how at home he’s been able to feel here. He’s sure Piyomon must feel the same, right?

Piyomon: “We’re not being nuisances, are we?”

Aww, Piyomon. He’s not so sure – all of these people he doesn’t even know, going to such lengths to cater to them and clean up after the babies’ messes. What if they don’t really want to? (He was not present for Yoshino’s conversation in which she talked about how she was invested in helping with this.)

Piyomon: “Is it really okay for us to be here?”

These words in particular make Ikuto take notice. That’s the exact thing he asked Masaru in episode 22, when he was having doubts about whether he really belonged here (or anywhere) and whether Masaru really wanted to take care of him. But of course Masaru did, and that was all there was to it.

Ikuto knows exactly how Piyomon feels – and now, he’s secure enough in his own sense of belonging that he can be the one to tell Piyomon it’s okay.

Ikuto: “I’ll be your aniki.”

Piyomon: “Aniki?”

Ikuto: “Masaru protected everyone. I’ll protect everyone, too. I’ll protect all of you!”

Falcomon: “Me, too!”

Or, more specifically, he can be this! Aww. Look at him learning from Masaru and now feeling confident enough to be an aniki himself to people weaker than him. It’s such a cute symbol of how much he’s grown. (And Falcomon, too!)

As the babies all excitedly start calling Ikuto aniki, he blushes and laughs, and it’s adorable.

Ikuto: “All right! Time for a pillow fight!”

Falcomon: “Yeah!”

Of course, the most important thing for anikis to do with their followers: teach them how to have a pillow fight! Man, I love all the callbacks to episode 22, it was such a good episode.

Yoshino walks in to pillows flying everywhere among excited yelling, and Ikuto accidentally throws one in her face. She’s almost about to get mad at them – including Ikuto – for being chaotic again, but then there’s a crashing noise from outside.

Ikuto: “Th-That wasn’t me!”

Yoshino: [heading towards the window] “I know that!”

I like this; Ikuto still thinks he’s somehow about to be chewed out for that too, but as soon as there’s evidence of actual danger, Yoshino’s dropped her petty frustration with them entirely and is getting right down to the business of figuring out what’s going on.

It’s Duftmon, of course, happening to be doing some human-world destruction in an area worryingly close to Masaru’s neighbourhood.

Duftmon: “Weak and foolish humans. Accept Yggdrasil’s verdict!”

Duftmon, you are monologuing to literally nobody. Even if the humans in the houses below could hear your voice (probably not), there aren’t even any humans in the houses below, because everybody’s evacuated.

His attacks leave gaping holes of Digital Gate throughout the suburbs, and again, I don’t think this is a property of his attacks (it’d be a bit much if Royal Knights could just do that without having swallowed any space-time bombs), but rather a side effect of how deeply unstable the barrier is right now.

Duftmon: “The weak should perish.”

So to him, this isn’t even just about Yggdrasil’s orders to supposedly protect the Digital World, it’s also about his bullshit tyrannical philosophy: strong people good, weak people bad. What a great person.

As they head out to fight, Sayuri tells Yoshino and Ikuto to be careful.

Piyomon: “Will we be forced to leave this place, too?”

Aww, Piyomon. He’s been forced out of anything that might have been a home to him thanks to all the disasters in the Digital World, and now that he’s finally found somewhere he can belong at least for the time being, he’s afraid he might not be able to stay here, either. All the more reason for Yoshino and Ikuto to fight to protect not just everyone’s lives, but this place in particular. They could always flee to somewhere safer, but they don’t want to have to.

They take the minivan up to the edge of the destruction where the huge Digital Gate gash in the streets is, because of course it didn’t cross their minds to evolve your partners for transport goddammit. They only evolve them once they get there and see Duftmon.

Their attacks do very little to Duftmon; unimpressed, he does some more pompous gloating and counters them with an attack that also causes a bunch more destruction. Back at home, the Daimons hear the tremors, and Chika gets worried enough to go outside and see from the balcony, despite her mother’s protest.

Chika: “Why can’t both Digimon and humans get along?”

Aww. That same question that’s been bothering her almost from the beginning, since she befriended Piyomon, when everyone else was starting down the warpath with Mercurimon. There really is no reason at all that the two species shouldn’t be friends; it’s all just been a bunch of misunderstandings and prejudices and deliberately twisted truths on both sides that’s led to all this fighting. Thanks a bunch, Kurata. (And Yggdrasil, too. It claims that it’s only doing this because of Kurata’s actions, but it also sat around and deliberately let Kurata’s genocide happen, so it’s equally culpable, really.)

Piyomon: “It’s dangerous out here.”

At seeing her go out into potential danger, Piyomon’s forgotten protective instinct towards Chika seems to be surfacing, even if he doesn’t consciously remember his promise.

Duftmon is still determined to carry out Yggdrasil’s orders, and Yoshino and Ikuto are still determined to protect this place and stop him. Despite being somewhat smaller than the other Royal Knights, Duftmon’s nonetheless quite a bit bigger than Rosemon and Ravemon in their current forms and can smack them bodily away by just backhanding them, before hitting them with an attack that blasts through a bunch of houses down below as well.

The destruction’s edging ever closer to the Daimons’ house as the fight goes on. It’s only a few streets away now, close enough that Yoshino can look back and see Chika and Piyomon watching them from the balcony.

Yoshino: “Stop this!”

Ikuto: “There are Digimon who were blown from the Digital World up ahead!”

Duftmon: “Then they will have to disappear along with the human world!”

Ikuto: “Why?! You destroy human world because you want to save the Digimon, isn’t it?!”

Duftmon: “Saving the Digital World is justice. The small number of Digimon lives that are sacrificed in the name of that justice is meaningless!”

Welp, Duftmon is a massive dick who will murder babies for the sake of doing what he’s told and pass that off as justice. Like, dude, it wouldn’t be that hard for you to go in there, grab the Digimon and give them a lift back to the Digital World before continuing your destruction. Ikuto totally has the right idea to call him out on this blatant hypocrisy.

Ikuto: “We will protect them. Both the people *and* the places we care for!”

It’s a neat little thing that Ikuto also stresses protecting the places that are important to him, too. He’s finally become able to feel like he belongs, not just in the human world in general but in places like Masaru’s house where he made all those good memories. He is not letting that get destroyed.

Duftmon’s attack collides with Rosemon’s and Ravemon’s in a huge explosion that sends a shockwave and dust cloud all the way back to the Daimons’ house. Piyomon clings to Chika protectively to shield her from it, and when the dust clears, he’s evolved. All the way to Garudamon, his Perfect-level.

Garudamon: “Chika… I will protect you!”

That fierce desire and promise of his to protect her from two whole lives ago really was incredibly powerful, to have persisted all this way without even any memory and let him evolve. There is still a flash of (orange!) Digisoul over him as he does it, so in some way I suppose Chika’s emotions towards him also helped do this even if she wasn’t doing it consciously, but, damn. Still impressive, without a Digivice to channel it all through.

Yoshino and Ikuto look back and see that Piyomon evolved. Perhaps seeing his determination is the last little nudge they need to push their own determination into overdrive. Or, uh, not overdrive, I guess, but Burst. Shush, that was an unintentional pun and then I ran with it.

Yoshino: “So that Masaru and the others can return home… We will protect this place!”

Yoshino also cares about protecting this place in particular, after hearing why Sayuri chose to stay here!

Ikuto: “My duty is to protect everyone!”

And I bet Ikuto’s thinking about his newfound duty as an aniki, aww.

Ikuto’s Digivice has still been the original version all this time, incidentally, since he wasn’t there for the episodes where the others broke their Digivices and fixed them through BanchouLeomon’s training. That older model has been enough for him to still manage Ultimate-level anyway, knowing how to control his emotions, but apparently Burst Mode does need the Digivice Burst in particular. Luckily the Digivice can also evolve itself just from Ikuto achieving Burst Mode level emotions, even without being broken, so it finally does that now.

Rosemon and Ravemon don’t get the fancier 3D CGI evolution animations for their Burst Modes like ShineGreymon and MirageGaogamon did. Rosemon’s still feels the need to remind us that she has boobs and a butt, of freaking course, ugh.

Their Burst Mode forms are largely recolours with some extra adornments, like usual, but in their case they also happen to make them significantly larger than human-size, so that they’re almost as large as Duftmon now.

Ikuto: “One-sided justice…”

Yoshino: “Isn’t justice at all!”

Not that it wasn’t already obvious that Duftmon’s concept of “justice” was a load of tyrannical bullshit, but I guess I can appreciate them telling him that.

Ravemon Burst Mode has more of those long elaborate Japanese attack names, but it does look cool, with him swooping in and hitting Duftmon at super-speed from multiple directions. And Rosemon’s new attack name is French for “arousing lips”, because why the heck wouldn’t it be, ughhhhh.

They win the fight pretty uninterestingly in one attack each, but, hey. Duftmon doesn’t really deserve to get to put up more of a fight than that.

His egg still gets yoinked up into the sky by a beam of light, like RhodoKnightmon’s did.

The morning after, on the street outside the Daimons’ house, Yoshino and Ikuto are getting ready to head off to the Digital World after all.

Ikuto: “The Royal Knights’ way of thinking is wrong.”

Falcomon: “We’ve decided that we must fight!”

Yoshino: “We have no other choice but to fight if we want to protect what’s important to us.”

The way they’re talking here makes it sound like they hadn’t had any kind of resolve to fight until the events of this episode. Which… isn’t really what it was at all? They were still resolved to fight, just to specifically protect the human world, where all the attacks were happening.

I talked last episode about how there is a sensible reason for them to want to head up there to help Masaru, in that the Royal Knights’ attack is too large-scale for them to make any meaningful dent in it by themselves, and the only real way to stop it is to confront Yggdrasil. But that’s… not at all the angle on it they’re taking here, nor Tohma last episode, really. It kinda does read a bit transparently like the three of them only had these episodes here in the human world for the sake of getting their Burst Modes before they joined up with Masaru again. Ah, well.

Ikuto: “Piyomon, can you protect everyone for us?”

Piyomon: “Okay. I’ll protect everyone.”

At least, although they may be leaving this place that they were just stressing the importance of protecting back in the fight, they do still know they’re leaving it with someone to protect it, because Piyomon can evolve now. Only to Perfect and not Ultimate, mind, but still better than nothing.

Tohma and Gaomon show up at the street, having apparently made their way here after the end of last episode rather than heading straight to the Digital World. I guess Tohma had a feeling that Yoshino and Ikuto would also be having a somewhat-inexplicable change of mind about heeding Masaru’s wishes to let him go alone. So they’re all going to head off after him together.

Chika: “Have a safe trip!”

Though it’s not subbed the same way, this is exactly the same Japanese phrase of goodbye-with-the-expectation-of-coming-back that little Masaru said to his dad all those years ago. And Chika’s waving them off from the same street, as they’re heading to the same place that Masaru’s dad was. Parallels! I like to think that was intentional.

Overall thoughts

Ehhhhh, this may be the weakest episode of this arc, other than the clip-show one. It’s fine, it does its job, but I didn’t find myself with nearly as much juicy stuff to talk about here as I do in most episodes.

I appreciate the brief bits hinting at Yoshino’s issues and showing Ikuto’s growth into an aniki himself, but there’s so little time to focus and expand on them; I wish there’d been more. As it is, it’s somewhat hard to tell exactly what it is about this episode’s events that triggered such new strength for them. It probably would have been better to split this up and spend one episode each for their Burst Modes, to explore them more. Perhaps Ikuto could have been here with the Daimons, and meanwhile Yoshino could have visited her family in some capacity? It would have been nice to get some follow-up on her issues with them that were hinted at in episode 17.

Then of course, Duftmon is just as uninteresting a one-off villain as RhodoKnightmon was, so it’s silly that the writers apparently expect us to care about him more. He does not carry this episode, guys, really.

Despite all that, I appreciate this episode feeling like less of a bottle episode plot-wise than Tohma’s, in that a bunch of other stuff happens relating to multiple different characters. Some more focus on the Daimons is nice, and it’s neat to see Piyomon again and have him brought back into things at last. Oops, looks like one of the Daimons does have to deal with the pain of their partner forgetting all about them, ouch. Poor Chika.

---

[Dub comparison]

#digimon #digimon savers #yoshino fujieda #ikuto noguchi #chika daimon #piyomon #sayuri daimon

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butterfly-on-my-love · 6 years ago

Text

Misfits Digimon AU!

No one asked.

I did this with the Creatures and the Derp Crew way way back so why not? I had images for those, so I might do some here but not now.

~Matt~

Partner: Falcomon Digivolution line: Puwamon-Pinamon-Falcomon-Peckmon-Crowmon-Ravemon-Ravemon Burst Mode Crest/Digi-Egg: Reliability

Matt met his perfect partner when a large black egg came out of his computer one late night. He had been editing the podcast, half asleep, and only really realized something was going on when the screen froze and turned whiter than an angel’s wings. The egg formed and appeared on his lap with a small device. He hadn’t been high or drunk, and was almost positive he was dreaming. It wasn’t until all the other guys, and some others online, had eggs, too. He made a joke about turning it into breakfast. “Think we can turn it into breakfast? How do you like your eggs, guys?” “I am not food!” A tiny voice had stated loudly. Angry little eyes on a brown tuft of fur glared up at Matt, then softened with joy. “I’m Puwamon, your partner!”

As Puwamon grew to Pinamon and then Falcomon, Matt learned to care for and love the creature. It wasn’t until Falcomon turned into Peckmon to save Matt that he realized just how much he cared for the ninja bird. Their bond only strengthened as they grew together.

~Jay~

Partner: Gatomon Digivolution line: SnowBotamon-Nyaromon-Salamon-Gatomon-Angewomon-Ophanimon/Mastemon (w/ BlackGatomon) Crest/Digi-Egg: Light

Jay’s partner transcended the regular Rookie stage, going to full Champion. Jay and Mason were the only two to have permanent Champion-level partners. They’re also the only two with partners that DNA digivolve to Mega level together. Jay fell in love with SnowBotamon from the start, especially knowing his best friend had the same Digimon. She only got cuter as she grew, eventually branching off from her sister and becoming a white angel. She and Jay sing together all the time. Like Jay and Mason, Gatomon and BlackGatomon tend to encourage each others’ antics.

~Mason~

Partner: BlackGatomon Digivolution line: SnowBotamon-Nyaromon-Salamon-BlackGatomon-LadyDevimon-Minervamon/Mastemon (w/ Gatomon) Crest/Digi-Egg: Hope

It’s no surprise that Jay’s partner and crest match perfectly, and they match him, but Mason didn’t think his matched at all. He had a black cat that turned into a lady demon, and his crest was Hope. How had he managed that? He wasn’t ever hopeful of shit. Okay, he was, secretly. The little black and purple creature was hopeful, too, but never showed it. They complimented each other perfectly, as they did with Jay and Gatomon. BlackGatomon was the brains to Mason’s brawn, helping him keep a level head and not run head first, stupidly, into danger, like he so often wanted to.

~Toby~

Partner: Lalamon Digivolution line: Nyokimon-Budmon-Lalamon-Sunflowmon-Lilamon-Rosemon-Rosemon Burst Mode Crest/Digi-Egg: Love “Fuck yeah! I get a sexy woman as my partner!” That’s the first thing Toby said as he faced almost certain death in a big fight. Lilamon rivaled LadyDevimon and Angewomon, but Rosemon’s appearance was Toby’s proudest moment. “I’m a proud mother.” He had commented after the fight was over. He and Lalamon are always out shopping together. He often gets her matching accessories. The two are always looking after the others, too.

~Cam~

Partner: Renamon Digivolution line: Relemon-Viximon-Renamon-Kyubimon-Taomon-Sakuyamon-Kuzuhamon Crest/Digi-Egg: Courage

Cam’s perfect partner was a fox, but one that was even taller than him. A small furball grew into a towering beast that he loved more than anything. He enjoyed when she moved to all fours in her Champrion form. He was taller than her again, but her ultimate form and mega form towered over him again. Her “extra-mile” evolution, Kuzuhamon, scared him at first. Had he been too prideful in her and made her dark digivolve? She had become almost scary with her dark color scheme, but she assured him that she could only achieve this form with his help. It was the best form she could turn into, and very few of her kind did.

~Swagger~

Partner: Kotemon Digivolution line: MetalKoromon-Kapurimon-Kotemon-Gladimon-Knightmon-Crusadermon Crest/Digi-Egg: Friendship

As the only member of the group to not have a partner with an “extra-step” in their evolution line, he was lucky enough to get a borderline God as his partner. Despite his pink coloring, Crusadermon identifies as a male that gives no fucks. “I am pink because it’s a cool color.” He always says when Toby asks and when Mason makes fun of him. He shuts shit down like Negan would, proving to Swagger that he is his perfect partner, through and through. It was cool to have a tiny little guy with a mask hiding his face and a stick to fight with. It was cooler to have a little fat knight, and even cooler still to have a bigger knight. Yet, Crusadermon took the cake in all his pink glory. It was like his childhood fantasy coming true.

~Bee~

Partner: FanBeemon Digivolution line: Pupumon-Puroromon-FanBeemon-Waspmon-CannonBeemon-TigerVespamon-Grademon Crest/Digi-Egg: Sincerity

Obviously, Bianca was gifted with a Bee Digimon as her perfect partner. FanBeemon was adorable, but definitely bigger than the average human bee. She and Bee quickly became best friends and did everything together. FanBeemon formed a crush on Kotemon, sometimes getting into trouble just so he could save her. She enjoyed becoming Grademon just to prove she was better than he was, though.

~Brodie~

Partner: Palmon Digivolution line: Nyokimon-Tanemon-Palmon-Togemon-Lillymon-BanchoLillymon-Rafflesimon Crest/Digi-Egg: Knowledge

Palmon and Lalamon were as good of friends as their human partners were. Palmon, however, had quickly formed a crush on Falcomon. Unlike her other friend, FanBeemon, she didn’t try and get into dumb situations to be saved. She admired from afar, but proved her own strength, too. She once saved Falcomon and Matt, but they, too, had once saved them. Palmon would never forget the moment Crowmon had swooped in and saved her, as Matt leaped off of his back to catch a falling Brodie. Lillymon and Lilamon were close in design, but BanchoLillymon was “epic,” according to Toby. She was a gothic beauty that became even more gorgeous when she took the extra step to becoming Rafflesimon. Much like her other female counterparts, all the boy Digimon swooned over her. Except the one she wanted most.

~John~

Partner: Vorvomon Digivolution line: Mokumon-DemiMeramon-Vorvomon-Lavorvomon-Lavogaritamon-Volcanicdramon-AncientVolcanomon Crest/Digi-Egg: Vanity

What’s better than a goddess for a partner? A dragon that is made of lava and smoke. Vorvomon is adorable and fierce, and a little vain. He often steals John’s rings because they are “shiny” and he likes them. The two also have contests to see who can blow more smoke. John’s vape tricks amaze the small dragon, but in his final form of Volcanidramon, he out smokes anyone. He’s proud of this fact, too.

~Jaren~

Partner: Gomamon Digivolution line: Pichimon-Bukamon-Gomamon-Ikkakumon-Zudomon-Vikemon-Plesiomon Crest/Digi-Egg: Desire

What’s more Canadian than a seal? One that turns into both a Viking beast and a mythological Cryptid dinosaur. Jaren refers to Gomamon as “Bappo” from time to time, for no other reason than to piss the little guy off. Gomamon hates the nickname, but he loves his partner too much to truly be mad. He’ll never admit it, but after a while, he gets used to it. The two are a perfect pair, and match John and Vorvomon. Vorvomon is a fire monster, while Gomamon loves the water. They’re perfect best friends.

~Ezra~

Partner: Patamon Digivolution line: Poyomon-Tokomon-Patamon-Angemon-MagnaAngemon-Seraphimon-ShadowSeraphimon Crest/Digiegg: Kindness

Okay, so you’d think the kind of Raccoons would get a Raccoon as a partner. Sadly, none exist, so he is stuck with an orange hamster with wings. Patamon turns into an angel, and by his “extra step,” is dark and beautiful. Ezra jokes he made him this way with his dark humor, but the idea of the angel of kindness and hope forming into a shadowy fallen angel terrified him at first. It made up for not being a Raccoon and for being a literal religious being. Ezra wouldn’t admit it, but Angemon had better hair than he did.

~Grizzy~

Partner: Bearmon Digivolution line: Punimon-Tsunomon-Bearmon-Grizzlymon-Pandamon-BanchoLeomon-Callismon Crest/Digi-Egg: Guts

Nelson was surprised to get a partner at all. But Bearmon, with his cute little snapback, was perfect. He couldn’t be happier to have him. How the little bear turned into a grizzly, then a panda, than a goddamn lion in a suit, and then to a bigger grizzly bear with guns for hands, he didn’t know, nor care. He loved his little buddy more than anything.

#misfits #misfits and associates #gay baby gang #inotorious #swaggersouls #goodguyfitz #mccreamy #Zuckles #tobyonthetele #grizzy #smii7y #KryozGaming #raccooneggs #bordie #heyimbee #digimon #crossover

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