#the beginning koushiro

[izzyizumi]

M E, BurSTING Through THE DOOR: I, for one, think Koushiro *ESPECIALLY* deserves to have *MULTIPLE* 1 to 2-WEEK~ long breaks throughout future years of Helping Out The TeamTM if not mOrE--

[seventeenlovesthree]

Did you know that Takeru Takaishi is a Neon Genesis Evangelion fanboy who likes to write friendfiction AUs? Well, now you know, you're welcome.

[hikaritakaishi]

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning [My Movie Review]

♡ ! SPOILER ALERT! ♡

This review will contain spoilers of the movie, continue reading if you already saw the movie, or just don’t mind the spoiler! Enjoy & comment something if you want to share an opinion! ♡

After what seemed ages of waiting, Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning finally aired in Portugal, on May 16, 2024, several months after it’s national premiere in Japan, on October 27, 2023. I was worried that it wouldn't come to my country, but perhaps due to the huge acceptance of Digimon Adventure: LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA, the distributor made the hearts of the DigiDestined from the most hidden corner of Europe warm again and brought us the sequel. Thank you remembering us once again! ♡

I really tried to keep my expectations as neutral as possible until the day I went to see the movie, which was pretty difficult, due to the fact that I was constantly being bombarded with online information about it, whether on Tumblr or Twitter, or through video recommendations on Youtube. I was so excited for the movie, that I had to control myself immensely not to go see the spoilers.

Initial considerations? I like it. In general. But let's go in parts!

This will be an analysis of what I consider to be the most important points of the movie and what caught my attention the most. A personal analysis, so don't take it too seriously if I don't talk about a certain point or a certain specific topic, I probably just missed that.

Firstly, I would like to comment on the initial dynamics of the movie.

Everything seems to happen much faster here than it did in Kizuna. Despite being two movies with practically the same time span, this one seemed to go by much faster. But it might just be me. [LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA have 94 minutes, and The Beginning have 87 minutes total].

 We're introduced to the key plot problem pretty quickly too.

People's digital devices are glitching, and the same message is repeating itself on all of them, not just on the phones and televisions, but on computers and large digital screens in cities all around the world. And this all around the world is very important, because it not only brings us closer to what will be the future of humanity and it’s increasing contact with the Digimon and the Digital World, but it opens the path we take since 2012 [time of the movie] until to the epilogue of 02 (which the production team and Toei animation seem to insist on wanting to keep canon, despite all the script inconsistencies it can cause, or how different from the initial profile of each character it may be).

“May everyone have friends, may everyone have a partner Digimon”

It's the message. Meanwhile, we are told that a suspicious and unknown Digitama appeared in the sky of Tokyo, right above the Tokyo Tower, and it’s been there for a while. Taichi and Koushiro are showned to be trying to help resolve this issue as professionals in the field of diplomacy and technology respectively, but without major progress.

I think it's important to highlight that they are the only two characters from the first season of Adventure who appear in this movie, and even so, without any direct speech or great relevance, beyond contextualization, and later Taichi as well again for the context of “space- time”, in that frame we see in the trailer of the movie with Hikari, which we later discover is located in Hikarigaoka, where Rui also lived when he had his first contact with Ukkomon.

The focus is on the characters from 02, or at least, it should have been. But as in Digimon Adventure Tri, this focus is overshadowed by the introduction of another new character in the story: Rui Owhada [or Lui, in Japanese pronunciation].

Rui [or Lui] is a much more charismatic character than Meiko was in Digimon Adventure Tri. There is no doubt about that.

Meiko was a somewhat empty character. A static character without great charisma. The only pleasant scenes she had were driven by the other characters around her (namely Mimi).

Rui doesn't. Rui is a character on his own. With a much more aggressive personality and a much more interesting past. The only issue here is the length of the movie: This movie is too short; too short for us to get attached to this character and actually be able feel empathy for everything we are shown about him. So short, that it's difficult to develop both this new character and the others around him, which, by the way, is a shame.

I mostly went to see the movie in hopes to see more from the 02 cast, and not because, again, of a random character they created for this new script. Just like what happened in Tri.

And this is important because notice that one of the most complex and best-built characters in the Adventure universe is literally the character with the most screen time: Takeru.

Analyzing Takeru's character as a whole is extremely time-consuming, because he was in every season, and practically involved in all the main events of the plot, either by himself or through the relationships he establishes throughout the plot, which feed the character's emotional charge. Which makes him a very complex character.

There's no time for that here. There is no time to establish a relationship between Rui and the other characters, nor to establish a relationship between Rui… and the audience.

Rui's childhood is very shocking and once again, Digimon brings a very strong narrative based on a complex and deep family plot.

We had already had examples in Adventure of family issues with Takeru and Yamato, Koushiro, and in 02 with Iori and also Ken. To a certain extent, even with Miyako. But here we reach a higher level of complexity... and violence (remember that the age to see the movie is over 12 years old. I can totally understand why).

Rui is physically abused and neglected by his mother, who leaves him out in the cold, starving when he makes a childish mistake or does something she doesn't like... when he is only four years old. His father has a very serious illness and depends on his wife to survive. Rui is then shown as a sorrowful child, lonely and without any support network. We've never had anything in the Digimon Adventure series so… raw. The aura of the movie is deeply heavy and dark.

The evolutions and battles in this movie are far from being the focus, which probably frustrated many people who went to see the movie for this more dynamic side of the anime.

It is a film with a moral content and even touches on the philosophical, about the bonds we create with others and their nature, about how we should relate to others and learn about them every day we have them in our lives.

It's about healthy communication, and how it's okay to correct the people around us, as long as it's made based with pure intentions. Because love is not omissive. Love corrects, love draws the other's attention for what really matters, in the form of love. In the form of companionship. Nothing physical or superficial is worth the price of a real bond.

The movie really grew with it’s audience. It is not, at all, a movie targeted for new fans of the franchise, or for those who know little about the Adventure series universe. It's for those who know the characters, for those who grew up with them. If you don't know the characters, you will miss details and conversations that are important to really understand the plot as a whole.

Daisuke and Ken look on Rui’s past with him. They see the arrival of Ukkomon in his life, who should’ve bring peace and comfort, but it is only the beginning of all his problems.

Let's take a break from the movie's plot to talk about the characters of 02.

I'm going to divide them into groups, because it seems like they individually… don't have much progress or very memorable scenes, honestly. It doesn't even make sense to separate them, in my opinion, and you'll understand why.

♡ Daisuke & Iori

There is not much to talk about them here. Daisuke and Iori are the flattest characters in the movie. Iori much more than Daisuke, let's be honest. Iori barely speaks, and has very few relevant scenes.

Daisuke works at a ramen restaurant, as he always wanted, where he gathers his friends to talk about the problems they are facing right at the beginning of the movie.

His personality is practically the same, Daisuke from 02 is the same Daisuke from The Beginning, and even the same character as in Kizuna, he is just taller here and wears different clothes. He still aspires to have his own ramen business and is extremely focused on his career goals. Which was predictable, given the way he talks about his dream in 02.

Daisuke's only two relevant scenes are seconds long: the first when he convinces Rui that the bond of friendship he and his Digimon partner share is much more than something superficial; it's something that comes from the heart, and that no object makes a difference between them, namely the Digivice, (something we also expected to hear from Daisuke in 02, which justifies my opinion that in the meantime... he remains the same).

The other is a scene that had enormous potential, but is cut short by a comical moment in which Miyako pops up.

Daisuke is talking to Ken seriously about Rui, and how he and his Digimon could understand each other better if they just communicate more effectively and directly, and Ken comments that Daisuke's more serious side is very pleasant and rarely appears. However, Miyako speaks up and dismisses the subject. Sadly.

We could have had a conversation here that could tell us more about Daisuke’s presente self and way he sees life now.

*sigh* Anyway.

Iori, again, doesn't speak much. Seems to only have intermediary interventions, and serves as a “pair” for Daisuke and Rui in the snowball fight that we see at the end of the movie. A very beautiful scene, don't get me wrong, but only if we see it from the perspective of Ken and Miyako, and Hikari and Takeru. I'll talk about that now.

♡ Ken & Miyako

Ken and Miyako are two characters who seem to grow more together than apart within the movie's plot. Which is natural, given that we know at the end of 02 that they become in fact a couple, and that they build a family together in the future. Here we see the first steps towards their future as a couple.

As expected, nothing explicit or direct is given to us about the nature of their relationship, but we can understand that there is progress, especially by the end of the movie, before the snowball fight, when Miyako tells Ken something that seems extremely vague, but actually means something.

 “Let's do it together! "  What? I don't think they are aware yet. Ken also seemed very confused about it.

“ Keep thinking Ken, we have to find another solution. “ We also see Miyako trying to support Ken at that moment when they have to make a decision about the future of Ukkomon and the world.

Here comes what I said above: Love cannot be omissive. We cannot expect the least from those we love. If we know the potential of the person we have by our side, we have to support them. If we see that they are trying to go further, we must support their journey and be a source of advice and rest. Alone we can go faster, but with the right company we can certainly go further.

And I think this is where the movie touches on something really important.

It is in these small moments that we see that they really want to tell the audience something beyond, but we need to have a fine power of perception.

No conversation or comment is random, everything contributes to the story. Digimon Adventure has always been made up of metaphors and subjectivities, it is necessary to know how to interpret and be attentive.

In the midst of that dilemma of whether or not to defeat Ukkomon that we talked about a moment ago in relation to Ken and Miyako, we have another moment that I consider important between Takeru and Hikari, which for those who don't know the characters, can take it as a normal conversation of two people who know each other well. Too well, even.

♡ Takeru & Hikari

Keeping in mind their journey, and everything they went through together, is the key to understand the nature of the relationship they share now. But before that:

Much like Ken and Miyako, Takeru and Hikari do not exist separately in the plot. It's ridiculously difficult to separate them. If you talk about one, you have to talk about the other.

At the beginning we see them together in the city when the electronic devices break down, and this dynamic continues throughout the entire movie.

They practically always walk side by side, Hikari takes the front seat in Takeru's car, and even when they are talking to Rui and trying to understand what happened to him in his past, they were a nucleus apart from the others. Nothing new, really. More of the same. But it's in that conversation I spoke about earlier that we understand something that is even part of the main moral of the movie: the way they now communicate with each other now, is different.

Anyone who has followed Takeru and Hikari throughout the series knows that the main “problem” in their relationship has always been direct communication.

Exposing things to others as they are is scary. And none of them were good at doing that.

Deliberating about feelings, exposing what disturbs us, what distresses us, what we think of a certain attitude of the other person. That was always Takeru and Hikari's problem and what hindered the possible evolution of their friendship, into a real love relationship.

In Tri we discover that Hikari starts to look at Takeru differently. And we know that Takeru has concrete feelings for Hikari (Said by the actor who plays Takeru's voice) And then? It's done? Things… are much more complicated than that.

They first need to accept the situation in question (And I tell you this as someone who also developed a romantic relationship with a childhood friend. It's not easy. Trust me. It's far from easy!)

And far from being quick.

It requires a lot of deliberation mostly. Just accepting the fact that we see that person we grew up with differently, someone who has always been part of our life, and we can lose them. Just because we developed feelings. Is scary. There's a lot to lose. It's all or nothing. Especially when one side has trauma associated with romantic relationships. (remembering that Takeru's parents are divorced) it's even worse.

What seems to exist between them in The Beginning was the result of a long process. But effective, it seems to me. Whatever decision they made, it went… pretty well.

Takeru is completely against defeating Ukkomon, from the moment he realizes that this could also imply the disappearance of his Digimon partner.

He probably saw the suffering Taichi and Yamato went through when Agumon and Gabumon disappeared and the suffering he would go through if he lose Patamon... again. And he is extremely vocal and firm in what he says and what he thinks about all of that. Impulsive really.

Until Hikari intervenes. Which cuts through his catastrophic reasoning. She asks him to think, opening up a new perspective on the situation.

Here we have a conversation between them that is quite lengthy (compared to the fast action standard of the rest of the movie) in which Hikari tries her best to make Takeru use reason and not emotion in his deliberation on the situation.

Takeru who, remember, whenever “darkness” or “sacrifice” is mentioned, leaves his rationality aside, becomes blind with pain because of his past traumas.

Hikari's role here is almost the same as Miyako’s in Ken's case: calling to earth and calming Takeru, always in an understanding way, because you can see that she knows where that feeling comes from and that position initially adopted by him (and it is something which she can almost predict would happen, by the speed with which she responds) but she knows that he is better than those triggers that make him impulsively speak based on emotion and neglect reason.

It's about getting to know each other. Knowing how to talk to our person about the most difficult topics. Because it is necessary to strengthen your union. Predict reactions, and be there to calm them down, because you may even know that the person is not to blame for the feelings and traumas they carry, but believe that they are bigger than them. And expect the same from the other side.

The way Miyako knew that Ken could find a solution, he just needed to think a little more. Hikari understood perfectly where Takeru's impulsive reaction came from, but she knew that if she appeal to his racional side he would be able to think of a better alternative to the problem, which he thought would be the end of the world.

That's why I separated this analysis into groups (although the first one isn't... substantial) and decided to analyze the characters together, because that's what this movie is about.

It's about who you are with your people, and the bond you share with them. In a world so individualized, so selfish and so distant (largely because of technology, which distances us from each other), I found it a very necessary message.

And the role of adults? With children and more painful lives?

It is to understand that children are also humans. Who also think, and feel, and understand things. Just like them. Adults tend to forget that they were once children themselves.

We already saw this topic being developed in Adventure 02, but seeing Rui as an adult, reaching to his mother in the past, and drawing her attention to the fact that she neglects her son, is something very touching. Sometimes, we just need a wake-up call, and we can change the future. Ours, and our future with others.

 The DigiDestined of 02 encouraged Rui not to give up on someone he loved, Ukkomon, because after all, he only acted the way he acted because he thought it would make Rui happier, even though he failed. Several times.

Ukkomon basically gave Rui everything he thought he needed, everything he wanted. But this is not always ideal.

He acted with his partner's happiness in mind, and this blinded him to the risks he was putting him into. He idealized their entire relationship, and everyone's relationship with him. Instead of being, real. And real things are never perfect.

Rui wanted friends? He gave him friends. He even reprogrammed his parents. They became manufactured humans. And the movie is about reality and accepting it as imperfect as it is.

Do you know what that reminded me of? That whole fantasy created by Ukkomon of “perfect world where Rui is never sad and everything is wonderful?” The fantasies in which the characters from 02 cast were trapped in at the end of the series. That world created with the characters’ deepest desires.

Takeru wanted his family united. Iori wanted his father back and to be able to show him the Digital Word. Miyako wanted attention. Ken… wanted to redeem himself. Hikari wanted peace. It's exactly the same thing.

Think about it with me: For example, Takeru's parents could’ve stay together, they could never have divorced, but they would still have problems. They would argue, and there would be conflicts. Which doesn't mean that this wouldn't traumatize their children even more. Maybe the divorce was in fact the best option for all four of them.

Ken felt he deserved the same suffering he inflicted on others. Would that really be the answer to appease his soul?

But none of it was real.

Not even Hikari's utopia of a world constantly at peace is real. Not even the absence of siblings in Miyako's life would solve anything. Things are not black and white and really, what we want is not always what we need.

Rui just needed to talk to Ukkomon and be sincere.

Where is Mimi tho?!

I will end with a few quick notes that I think are worth highlighting: First, the music and animation in general. As expected, they are excellent.

Very well done visually, appealing scenes, and the last snowball fight scene is so simple… but so delightful.

Life is made up of beautiful moments as well as tragic moments, light and darkness.

Did you notice that part of the movie takes place in a much dark environment, and when the main action is resolved, the movie gains light? I believe that is not just because!

Visually it can be very strong because there is blood, there is violence, there are physical wounds, it conveys the affliction in a very literal way.

Another thing that was expected to happen, but that probably wasn't even thought of properly when the Epilogue of 02 was made, was the problematic of whether or not everyone deserves, has enough morals and ethics, to have a Digimon partner.

How do you maintain peace between humans when you give them free access to machines of war and mass destruction? How do we build the world we see bz the end of 02 where everyone lives in peace even under these circumstances? Which is the the role of the government?

We'll probably need one more movie to find out.

Honestly, I hope you enjoyed this short (not... that short in fact) and sincere review. If I were to give stars, I would give the film 4/5 stars.

It could’ve been better, sure, if there was at least another half hour of animation.

But I don't complain. Despite that, I liked it. I cried, I laughed, just like I cried and laughed when I saw Digimon in my childhood, and that's everything for me. I was surprised by the message of the movie and the way they chose to visually convey it to us. Either way, I hope there's one more movie. To finally conclude the arc of all these characters, and finally, reach the epilogue of 02 (but in a dignified way please).

♡ Thank you once again Digimon ♡

[beginningobserver]

Daily Rui-kun Doodle project part 8

[geneenart]

The boys

[taichi-x-koushiro]

Digimon Adventure 02 ~ Japanese Version ~ vs. Ken Arc {End} + Taichi Yagami & Koushiro{u} Izumi + 02 Chosen Children + 02 Timeline

"Child prodigy Ichijouji Ken-kun, who had been missing since May, was found at {their} home just moments ago."

"There are no details as to why {they} who had been missing for three months was discovered in {their} own home."

"...They all did great." - Koushiro, gently & softly, with a smile

Gifs by @izzyizumi / koushirouizumi, {Do Not Re-post} {Do Not Remove Caption} {Do Not Re-produce Without My Permission!} (Please Ask to Use)

Image usage rules under the 'read more'!

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PLEASE ALSO NOTE: {My headcanons for the characters of this series VARY} {for this set particularly; I headcanon most as M-spec/Multi-gender attracted*} {this post/my icons ARE NOT for people who cannot respect this fact or M-spec people / M-spec headcanons / MF relationships, Queer identities, etc. in general!}

[PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL AND FOLLOW MY RULES]

[koushirouizumi]

Digimon Adventure+02/tri./Kizuna/(+Adventure:) {2020 Reboot} + Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (+minimal Kizuna) A.M.V x “Apologize” {David Archuleta} Live Concert Version Featuring Characters/Duos/Ships: + {+2020!}/{Kizuna!}KOUTAI, {02!}KENSUKE, (Implied/Former?/Un-requited??) YamaSoraTai/Yamachi, {briefly/+also from Yamato's end); Adventures Chosen; (Overall 02 Chosen-Leaning +Side KouxTai)

“I’m hearing 'what' you say…”

“Take a Fall {?}”–

“I Need you like a heart 'needs' a BEAT– … BUT that’s Nothing {N E W…}”

“{’XXXXX’} like the A N G E L…"

“IT’S TOO– (???)”

"...Ten feet..."

Comment: If you think I'M not in this CROWD somewhere, {despite the fact my voice is really soft 'irl'} you might just be Mistaken,,,,, (Also - This is my overall personal 'final thesis' on The Beginning.) {If you watch, please genuinely try to FOLLOW the themes presented.}

{Note: Tri Pt. #6 Bokura no Mirai/"Our Future" Spoilers, Major The Beginning Spoilers, (select scenes from opening, final battle, FINAL Post-credits scene at very end clip) + middle part Big spoiler (Rui’s eye & Ukkomon) {Notes: Eye Trauma/Injury; Blood}

Original Song © O.n.e.R.e.p.u.b.l.i.c Archuleta cover from AUGUST 1st 2009’s Sunrise, Florida Concert {“Hey O.P., can you explain that GAP in your blogs' hISTORY of this fANDOM—???”} [Do you hear 'THEM' here???]

*Edited in about 5 hrs 10~ min overall (Preparing for this however took at least four days of off-and-on out-lining) {Any final fix's will come in the future...!!}

{*Slightly LOUD/Low quality audio at points!!} (*Contains cheering, as its LIVE Ver.)

by Me/Hikari M. Productions @hikari-m/@koushirouizumi/@izzyizumi {DO NOT Repost} {DO NOT Copy} {DO NOT Reproduce my Work/Video Edits Without my Permission Under any Circumstances}

[general-cyno]

since I've rambled quite a bit on zoro's side of things in some of my zolu posts, I wanted to give luffy a try too! though perhaps overall subtler than zoro's grand gestures throughout the manga, there's no doubt to me that luffy cares for him just as much and his relationship with zoro is one of the most important he has (without intending to downplay others btw), both as individuals and crew, so let's goooo.

(warning: it's going to be long. sorry. also spoilers for the manga, as usual.)

albeit luffy and zoro's journey as a crew starts in the marine base where they met, I've mentioned here before that their childhood experiences, the way they sort of parallel each other's, also play a big role in their personalities and understanding of one another later on. the specifics are different, sure, but both were acquainted with struggle since they were young. zoro had already lost his parents by the time he was 8 and dragon left a baby luffy in garp's care, which... involved some questionable (dangerous) caretaking choices in order to make luffy "stronger". eventually, zoro would become a student in the isshin dojo, interact with koushiro and kozaburo, and start his rivalry/friendship with kuina just like luffy would later meet folks like makino, shanks and his crew whom he'd be inspired by, then dadan, ace and sabo, who'd become his family.

although we don't know yet what luffy's particular dream is, it's one he's had since young and that he mentioned to his brothers. similarly, as a kid, zoro wanted to become the world's greatest swordsman too, which he told kuina about and promised to strive for along with her. still, it's not until they lose sabo and kuina respectively that their dreams are accompanied by the necessity to become stronger for other people's sake. this is a specific sort of grief they share and are motivated by. and in luffy's case, his vow to become stronger is so he can prevent the further loss of those he loves.

(I'll get back to this, because it's important!)

fastforward to years later and we have a luffy that's started his journey to become the pirate king and achieve his dream. the insane thing about zoro's recruitment is that it only took hearing about the guy's name and fearsome reputation to have luffy pester koby about meeting him. I've also mentioned here that "fate" seems to be a recurring theme in OP especially in the latest arcs, and especially where luffy and zoro are concerned, seeing as they not only have a bunch of parallels with each other but also with important figures/characters in OP, some of who share or have shared a close relationship among themselves as well - namely, roger and rayleigh.

heck, luffy and zoro's lives are so intertwined you can even see lil zoro training during the ASL flashback chapters, when dragon mentions the dojo providing the revolutionaries with some food (ch 589). it's kinda incredible tbh. even so, when it comes to zoro... he was first and foremost a choice. regardless of how fate has come into play in the story, it was luffy's decision to actively seek him out and rope him into joining his crew, one he made after realizing zoro wasn't just a good guy but that he also had a cool, crazy dream and a determination to make it come true that was similar to luffy's own.

back then, luffy was already punching others (helmeppo) and getting angry on zoro's behalf, taking bullets for him and leaving himself wide open for zoro to protect during their confrontation with morgan. this is pretty much the beginning of his unwavering trust in zoro's strength and his willingness to step in when luffy needs someone to watch over him in turn. this is what their relationship is based on within? hours? of meeting and it's the foundation of the straw hat crew.

he's praising zoro before he's actually taken morgan down and luffy doesn't even look back to check. the amount of trust luffy's placing on zoro off the bat is bonkers and it's literally just the start.

from shells town onwards - well, in spite of how luffy's considered an anchor by shanks in the first chapters of OP because of his inability to swim, I believe the anchor metaphor is actually kinda perfect to describe zoro and his relationship with luffy, more so from luffy's side, even if he doesn't necessarily say this stuff on the pages.

I may be going on a slightly poetic tangent but it works imo. anchor symbolism is pretty popular and you can find all sorts of articles about it online. I read a few out of curiosity and y'know, the anchor as a nautical symbol has supposedly been regarded as one rooted in feelings such as those of stability and safety. you can probably tell where I'm going with this.

in terms of stability, think of OP's arcs and how many of them zoro's been in alongside luffy. they don't always fight side by side strictly speaking, but zoro is a constant - he's usually there to fight the second strongest threat and sometimes protect or lead the others when luffy's otherwise occupied, or he handles things while luffy gets there/recuperates enough to battle again. for the most part, zoro's also there in a bunch of the crewmate-rescuing arcs and he's even the one to directly liberate brook's shadow in thriller bark. there's only two major instances in which luffy and zoro (+ the crew) get separated for a considerable amount of time, one of them unwillingly and the other by choice: sabaody and zou/whole cake island. ig you could count baratie/arlong park too, but I don't think as much time passed in between one and the other compared to zou/WCI and the reunion in wano.

something that really got me even though it was tinted by a comedic feel, is the fact that bon-chan turned into zoro out of all straw hats back at impel down when luffy was trying to rescue ace and how happy he was at the prospect of having zoro there to aid him. no matter how the adaptation differs from the manga, I couldn't help but think of opla luffy's I need you speech too. would he have been as happy to see any other members of the crew? likely so! still, zoro's definitely someone luffy particularly looks forward to having by his side when things get tough.

irl, anchors are generally used to secure a vessel and prevent it from drifting. sounds a little familiar, I'd say.

it's not as though zoro's the only character in OP who's "guided" luffy but there are moments when he does ground his captain in a manner other characters can't at the time, and my favorite part of it is how seriously luffy takes zoro's words/advice whenever it happens. water 7 and enies lobby are perhaps the best examples of this, as it comes up in the context of luffy's fight with usopp and robin's supposed betrayal.

this is a really, really good moment imo. once luffy slows down to consider what zoro's saying, you can see he understands the importance of it. plus, luffy knows zoro's not someone who'd just leave a friend behind (he's fought to bring some of them back at this point, with luffy and the rest of the crew) and if anything, his "so the fact that he left our crew means nothing to you?!" outburst proves he's as upset as all of them about usopp's choice.

that said, you can tell how much luffy values and respect zoro's imput simply by the way he cries his soul out when usopp finally apologizes and asks to come back. luffy wears his heart on his sleeve and adores his friends, doesn't want to lose them ever, so reining all those feelings in to stay true to his position as the captain that zoro has placed his faith and loyalty in? amazing. and consider it from another angle: if he had ignored zoro, luffy would've lost him too. he certainly doesn't want that either or this would've gone differently.

this kinda thing happens also post timeskip, with zoro reminding luffy to get his shit together at punk hazard, bringing up the fact that they can't just ignore the threat kaido poses in zou to have the entire crew going after sanji, or when they're facing kaido and big mom in wano. zoro's someone luffy counts on to keep him steady and afloat, and this part of their relationship is something that was portrayed (again) nicely in the live action. in ep 6, it's zoro who manages to reassure luffy of his position as the captain and that he's done nothing wrong, that their crew isn't falling apart, because if luffy needs him then zoro vows to stand by his side til the very end. (they're insane).

in addition, their core similarities, understanding of each other and luffy's (almost unbelievable) faith/trust in zoro is what allows him to depend on zoro, specifically, when it comes to things like saving smoker in alabasta, not fighting back against bellamy's crew on jaya, or just mentioning the spilled oshiruko as explanation enough for zoro to get why luffy's angry during the onigashima raid, to name a few of examples off the top of my head.

as for the safety aspect of the anchor symbolism... that one speaks for itself I think. I feel like I must mention once more that zoro's not the only character or even the only straw hat to help or protect luffy, but he's fairly insistent and consistent in this aspect compared to others. compiling all the moments in which zoro's stepped in to protect luffy, worried about his well-being or signaled the rest when luffy's truly in danger/has reached his limits would probably break this site's image upload limit lol.

that said, luffy's the same back at zoro just in a bit of a less common manner or in a different way rather - mostly because of his belief in zoro's strength and the lengths he'd go to keep people safe, which includes allies and more so their friends. one could argue depositing that kind of faith in zoro can have its drawbacks (sabaody) or isn't completely fair (like when he goes all, "with you here, how could this happen?!" in skypiea) BUT. my opinion is that trusting zoro any less than that would likely hurt his pride more. so when luffy says stuff like this,

it's not about having unrealistic expectations wrt zoro but more about fully trusting in the man who tearfully swore to him that he'd become the greatest swordsman and never lose again. the one who trusts luffy just as much in turn, called him captain and pirate king first. luffy's seen zoro pull through some impossible situations, so it'd be more unfair to doubt him this way if you ask me.

this is also why I mentioned luffy's childhood vow. if you ever wonder "how important is zoro to luffy?" compare this,

to this:

luffy's past is revealed hundreds of chapters after skypiea. yet in hindsight, it adds so many layers to his relationship with zoro. for someone like luffy, who promised to become strong so that the people he loves wouldn't have to leave him, who would even die as long as it means he won't lose a member of his crew, the fact that he can relax this much when he gets separated from his friends because zoro's with them is... a lot, man. when you remember luffy's lost people close to him or had them leave him (for very understandable reasons, often out of everyone's control), zoro being one of the most stable presences in his life since they met - someone who will help him fight to get their friends back or stay behind to watch over them when they can't all go together, that for zoro to leave he'd have to be pried by force from his side unless they both agree to it for the sake of their journey and crewmates, is likely to be a very comforting fact to luffy. luffy, who's afraid of/hates being alone more than getting hurt.

he doesn't voice it out but allowing zoro to protect him and the people they both care for is giant sign of love and unbeatable trust, where luffy's concerned. although he doesn't know about it, zoro's sacrifice in thriller bark demonstrated why luffy does this without hesitation too. however, it's worth noting that luffy does worry for zoro's own safety whenever he's there to actually witness him being in danger and he knows zoro well enough to tell when said danger is real. it happens during the mihawk duel, when kizaru almost kills zoro in sabaody then as kuma sends him away, for example. he gets angry, desperate and teary in all of these instances. luffy cares so much about him.

lastly yet just as relevant... is that luffy likes zoro, beyond metaphors and all zoro might represent/stand for in the crew. luffy thinks he's cool, that he'll certainly achieve his dream, enjoys teasing and bullying him harmlessly, offered to share his food with him to convince zoro into accompanying them in thriller bark, tried to give an injured zoro an entire barrel of alcohol because luffy knows he loves booze and thought it'd make him feel better, and is generally someone luffy's happy to be with.

I bring up the wano hug a lot but honestly it doesn't get clearer than this. I've seen people try to downplay this moment but hey, context. people that luffy's hugged this way include 1) sabo, the brother luffy believed had been dead for years, 2) hancock who helped him try and rescue ace and 3) jimbei who's helped luffy during some of the most dire moments he's gone through, like impel down, marineford and WCI. for luffy to straight up hug zoro with just as much happiness, eagerness and enthusiasm in a relatively danger-free situation... he likes zoro, there's no better way to put it.

it's not that they can't butt heads sometimes either, but never seriously enough to damage their relationship. as a more recent example, luffy's shown he can put his stubbornness and recklessness aside when zoro's right even if he doesn't like it (ch 1060, about vivi's current situation). and as long as he's there, luffy won't let people interfere in zoro's fights, much less when it involves zoro's dream - like when he held johnny and yosaku back from stepping into zoro's duel with mihawk, even though luffy himself was worried about zoro.

so yeah, zoro might get to be crazier about luffy more often and explicitly but imo, it's an entirely reciprocal thing.

if you got this far, thanks so much for reading!

[taikouvember]

TAIKOUVEMBER 2024 - ANNOUNCEMENT POST

Hello everyone!

First of all, thank you to all 30 participants of the interest poll, it was very interesting to see how another ship week would be perceived! Considering that the majority of voters confirmed to be happy to participate or enjoy the event, we shall dive into the third year of Taikouvember! (Title picture + new icon by @seventeenlovesthree)

November is the last month of autumn, right before Christmas time begins. It’s a time that can be filled with light and coziness, gloominess and melancholy, inspiring us to reminisce about our best, most precious qualities - and those of the ones we love. So, November 4th to November 10th shall be dedicated to the platonic or romantic relationship between Taichi Yagami and Koushiro Izumi (Taikou, Koutai or mainly known as Taishiro(u) in the English speaking fandom). Of course they're known for their courageous and knowledgable traits - so this time, let's shed some light on their potential other qualities:

Day 1, Monday, November 4th: Friendship

Day 2, Tuesday, November 5th: Love

Day 3, Wednesday, November 6th: Sincerity

Day 4, Thursday, November 7th: Reliability

Day 5, Friday, November 8th: Hope

Day 6, Saturday, November 9th: Light

Day 7, Sunday, November 10th: Kindness / Miracles

You can interpret the prompts however you like. In addition, you are absolutely free to use the same prompts for 2022 and 2023 if these are more to your liking! If you want us to reblog your posts, please tag everything as #taikouvember, #taikouvember2024 or #taikouvember 2024 and we will be happy to share your content, let it be fanart, fanfiction, edits or whatever comes to your mind.

@digievents If possible, I would love for the event to be added to this year's calender!

Please check our Rules & FAQ and a more detailed Prompt Guideline for more information. Stay tuned for the upcoming updates!

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x48 - Bombing Mission! Mugendramon / My Sister's Keeper

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The combined efforts of Zudomon, SaberLeomon, and MetalEtemon finally succeeded in taking down MetalEtemon, at the cost of Leomon's life. Meanwhile, the rest of the children gathered around Pinocchimon and stomped on him until he broke.

Onward to the next Dark Master!

We open in the shot that the previous episode snatched to end on in the dub: Taichi's crew traversing a long highway in a vast desert. As they walk, Hikari begins to cough. Her steps become shaky and unsteady. Before long, she trips over her own foot and falls face-down into the pavement.

The other kids keep walking for a couple seconds, unaware that she's no longer with them. Once they realize, however, Taichi rushes to her side.

Taichi: HIKARI!!!

The dub adds some dialogue as we join them.

Tai: This road has to be going somewhere, right...? Kari: (cough cough) Tentomon: Don't count on it! Nothing is certain in the Digi-World! Kari: (cough cough, cough cough) Gatomon: Do you have a furball, Kari? Kari: No, silly... I'm okay.... Sora: One thing is certain; Only a cactus could love this place. (Kari falls) Group: ... Tai: (suddenly notices) KARI!!!

This conversation is basically nothing fluff, but I can see merit in it. In the original, the group seems too exhausted to notice when Hikari drops at first. They're all just trudging through silently.

The dub seems to be angling for them being too lost in conversation to notice - besides Gatomon, who they have monitoring Kari's condition. Though if Gatomon was paying attention to her, you'd think she would have said something when Kari dropped.

I do think they should have had one more line of dialogue here, during and after Kari dropping. To cement the "lost in conversation" vibe, have someone saying something while she falls, and then have Tai suddenly interrupt them with his "KARI" yell.

Nonetheless, I see what they're going for. It's a different interpretation but it works.

The children carry Hikari to a bus stop and set her down on the bench.

Unhelpfully, the bus stop's marker shows destinations as "Somewhere" and "Anywhere". In English.

Sora: I guess her cold must be acting up again. Her legs must be exhausted. Tailmon: Hikari... Are you okay...? Hikari: (opens eyes and nods, smiling weakly) Taichi: Why did you let this go on for so long? Why are you burdening yourself? Hikari: Because... We have to hurry and save-- (cough cough) Taichi: (worried) ...Hikari....

Hikari's condition has been worsening, but she's kept it to herself to avoid inconveniencing the rest of the group. Or, at least, she's attempted to do so.

The dub previously unwrote Kari being sick as her reason for not making it to summer camp. So here, she's recently come down with something. No relation to past events.

Sora: She has to stay out of the sun. And we've got to find a way to get her fever down soon! Gatomon: Don't worry. I won't leave you. Kari: (opens eyes and nods, smiling weakly) Yeah.... Tai: How come you didn't say something before now, Kari!? If we'd known sooner, we could have rested until you felt better. Kari: ...you mad? I didn't want to slow everyone down. (cough cough cough) Tai: (worried) Oh, I'm not mad.

Kari's a bit more verbose than her Japanese counterpart.

Taichi momentarily flashes back on something from their history. He briefly remembers a playground when they were little, watching emergency responders load Hikari into an ambulance.

Taichi: Now that I think about it, it may have been better if we didn't bring Hikari with us after all. Koushiro: Eh!? We wouldn't be able to save the Digimon World or the Earth without Hikari. You realize she's a Chosen Child, right? Taichi: But she's only in second grade... And she's recovering from a cold.... Taichi: (thinking) Takeru's in second grade too.... Koushiro: What's wrong, Taichi-san? Taichi: I-It's nothing. It's just... She tends to try and quietly endure things even when she doesn't have to. Koushiro: Taichi-san....

The curse of being a younger sibling. Hikari's afraid of being burdensome and overcompensates.

In the dub:

Tai: I wasn't paying attention. We probably shouldn't have even brought her along. Izzy: Huh!? What are you talking about!? We had to bring her! We need her if we want to save the Digi-World! She's one of the DigiDestined; Have you forgotten that!? Tai: Not at all! But her being sick... We should have left her someplace safe. We should have split up so someone could take care of her while the others looked. Izzy: SPLIT UP!?!? Tai, this isn't like you! Tai: I'm just a little... worried about her. It's all a part of what I do to be a good leader, Izzy. Izzy: Uh, yeah, but....

They depersonalized this bit hard. They stay in script through Izzy's first line, at which point Tai concedes the point that she has to be physically present in the Digi-World but then wildly suggests stashing Kari somewhere on this side of the boundary.

This replaces Taichi nervously fretting over how young Hikari is. And, by extension, suddenly realizing how young Takeru is too.

Tai wraps up by removing himself entirely from the role of Kari's brother and instead assuring Izzy that this is about his leadership duties.

Suddenly, Tentomon intrudes on the conversation.

Tentomon: KOUSHIRO-HAAAAAAAN!!! I FOUND SOMETHING!!!

Kabuterimon brings the children to what he's discovered. They approach a great landmass across a body of water. A landmass that looks suspiciously like New York City.

Kabuterimon: Look! Over there! Kids: (collective gasp) Takeru: It's America! ...huh?

As they fly, the architecture of the city below suddenly shifts to a new region.

Koushiro: This is Italy. And that's the Arc de Triomphe! That's in France. Sora: It's too quiet. There's something strange about this. Piyomon: No Digimon either.

Taichi rides with Hikari in front of him, keeping a firm grip on her shoulders. She suddenly weakens and goes slack, prompting him to start yelling with urgency.

Taichi: HEY!!! Please! We need to stop and rest somewhere! Koushiro: Uhh... Yeah, sure.

Taichi's request pulls everyone reluctantly away from the mystery they've found themselves in, and they begin looking around for somewhere to land.

In the dub:

Tentomon: FOUND IT!!! Izzy: Huh? Tentomon: We're saved! (Kabuterimon takes the kids to the mishmash city) Kabuterimon: Look! Right up ahead! You wanted civilization? Well, it doesn't get more civilized than this! Kids: (collective gasp) T.K.: IS THAT AMERICA!?!?

The dub slips it's first commercial break, leaving us with the intrigue of having found New York City. Upon return, we briefly replay the shot of Kabuterimon approaching NYC as a reminder of where we left off.

T.K.: Do you think they have a bathroom? Kids: Huh!? Sora: That's New York City.... (They pass into Italy) Sora: ...but that isn't! Izzy: That's Rome. We studied it in geography. And up there? That's the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. They're all smushed together. Tai: It's like that theme park in Florida! Sora: Except that this place is deserted. Look, there's not a sign of life anywhere! Kari: (groan, goes slack) Tai: HEY!!! IZZY!!! Kari's getting worse; Let's find someplace to land! Izzy: Oh! Yeah, right. (looks around) Uhhh....

Taichi is silent through this exchange until he suddenly speaks up about Hikari because he has bigger things on his mind than weird mashup cities. Tai's happy to pitch in and compare the place to... You know, I'm actually not sure which theme park he means. The two I know (Disney World and Universal Studios) are based around movies, not world geography.

Is there a world geography theme park in Florida?

(No, T.K., the entire city of New York does not have a bathroom. Why didn't you go during the commercial?)

Overall, this is pretty faithful to the original, albeit lighter in tone. But we expect that from the dub.

Kabuterimon lands on the lawn of a house, and the children invite themselves in.

Was the door unlocked or were we deprived a funny scene of the Chosen Children pulling a B&E? Taichi totally seems like the type to smash a window next to the door and just turn the inside handle, especially under these circumstances. Possibly in the middle of a debate about whether or not it's okay to break in.

I mean, Jou isn't here to stop us. When the senpai's away, the kouhais will... commit crimes.

In any case, the children proceed to ransack the house looking for medicine. We find Taichi, Koushiro, and Takeru turning the kitchen upside-down when suddenly Agumon runs in.

Agumon: HEY!!! TAICHI!!! Is this it?

Taichi takes the bottle from Agumon's hand and inspects it.

Taichi: YES!!! THIS IS IT!!! Koushiro: You found the cold medicine?

Taichi opens the package, only for his hopes to immediately be dashed when it's empty.

Defeated, he returns to the bedroom where they've laid up Hikari. Sora, Piyomon, and Tailmon are watching over her. Sora looks up hopefully at him as he enters, but he shakes his head.

Sora: I see.... Taichi: We're going out to search. How is Hikari doing? Sora: The same as before. However, she isn't sweating as much. Taichi: That's good to hear. Well, take care of her for me. Sora: Mhm. Take care of yourself out there, Taichi.

As Taichi turns to go, he finds Takeru and Koushiro in the doorway.

Takeru: Taichi-san! I'll search for the cold medicine with you. Taichi: No, I want you to stay here, Takeru. We have no way of knowing when the next attack from the Dark Masters will happen. Takeru: Got it! We'll be sure to protect everyone! Patamon: You can count on us! Taichi: You're the man of the house while we're gone.

The dub credits Sora with finding the house.

Sora: This looks like a nice, quiet spot. (Kabuterimon lands and the search begins) Izzy: These cupboards are empty! There's not even a speck of food! Agumon: HEY!!! This what you're looking for? Tai: (takes the packages) Alright! Way to go! Izzy: What is it, Agumon!? Did you find some Aspirin!? Tai: Yeah, this ought to do the trick! (Tai opens the package and finds it empty) Tai: It's empty! Izzy: Just like everything else! This place is weird!

Izzy, the cupboards are visibly not empty. Additionally, you're not supposed to be scavenging for food right now. We're trying to find Kari some meds!

I guess Sora looking at Tai and Tai sadly shaking his head was too subtle for the dub team because they give Tai something else to respond to.

Gatomon: Tai, humans aren't supposed to be this color, are they? Tai: (shakes head sadly) Sora: Well? Tai: I'm afraid to leave in case something happens, but she needs medicine. Sora: She's stable, I think. All we can do for now is hope her fever breaks soon. Tai: It will! At least I know I'm leaving her in good hands, with you. Sora: Don't worry. Just be careful. T.K.: Listen, Tai! I wanna come with you! I won't get in the way, honest! Tai: No way; You're my last line of defense! What if the Dark Masters come, huh? I need you here to look after the others. T.K.: You can count on me! Don't worry; I'm on the job! Patamon: Yeah! Leave it to us! Tai: I knew I could count on you guys!

Apart from that context shift on the headshake, this is pretty faithful. Tai really plays up the whole "It's actually a super important duty for you to NOT come with me!" thing, which sells it well.

Taichi, Koushiro, and their Partner Digimon make their way into the city.

Agumon: Medicine, medicine... Where is the medicine!?

Taichi stops when he notices Koushiro's fallen behind. Koushiro seems to be looking around for something.

Taichi: (urgently)What are you doing, Koushiro? Koushiro: (points) THERE!!!

Koushiro points out a phone booth. Taichi's team makes their way over, and Koushiro breaks out his laptop, using Tentomon's back as a table.

Koushiro: Searching blindly would be a waste of time, don't you think?

Koushiro plugs his computer into the ethernet jack on the pay phone. (Yes, that is actually a thing some pay phones had back in the day when pay phones existed.) From there, he pulls up a map.

Koushiro: Yes! I have a map of the city! Taichi: (excited) S-So where is the cold medicine? Koushiro: The nearest hospital or drug store is....

A set of yellow blinking lights appear on the map near the central red dot.

Koushiro: There! Taichi: (points to one) Great. We'll try that one!

Taichi bolts out of the phone booth, nearly bowling over Agumon in the process, and sprints down the sidewalk.

There's a continuity error here in the animation. The door to the booth is visibly open in interior shots of the group. (Why bother closing it?) But here we see Taichi throw the door open as he exits - with Agumon teleporting outside of the booth so that he can be startled by the sudden action.

Agumon: T-Taichi!? Koushiro: P-Please wait for me!

Rude, but his sister is unwell.

In the dub, Agumon has his mind on other things than the cold medicine. Namely, reading the script and unsubtly dropping foreshadowing.

Agumon: This place is deserted but I still get the feeling we're being followed. Isn't that strange? (Tai notices that Izzy isn't keeping up and stops) Tai: (urgently) IZZY!!! What do you think you're doing!? Izzy: (points) AHA!!! (Izzy takes Tai to the phone booth) Izzy: This is the Digital Age, Tai. There are a lot simpler ways of finding things now. Tentomon: Good. I was beginning to get a cramp in my wing. (Izzy pulls up a map) Izzy: I knew it! There's an online map of the city! Tai: Izzy, you're a genius! Nice going! Izzy: Okay, now I'll search for hospitals and pharmacies.... (Yellow lights appear) Izzy: Jackpot! Take your pick. Tai: (points) This one's the closest. Let's go! (Tai bolts out of the booth) Izzy: HEY!!! WAIT FOR ME!!! I GOTTA UNPLUG MYSELF!!!

Agumon's foreshadowing is also incorrect. They are not physically being watched. ...well, maybe by Piedmon but he's not what this is setting up.

Koushiro unplugs from the phone booth and follows Taichi. As he does, we see they're being monitored. A pair of gear-shaped Digimon have their own map up on a screen, and can see the red and yellow blips from Koushiro's computer - up until the moment he disconnects.

I don't think the gears ever get an Analyzer rundown, so I'm just gonna cover them real quick. These are Hagurumon, the Child-stage Viruses of the Metal Empire line. They're what evolves into Mekanorimon and Guardromon from Homeostasis's flashback, among other things.

The name comes from the word 歯車 haguruma, which means "toothy wheel" or, in other words, a gear.

Hagurumon 1: The line has disconnected!

Hagurumon turns around, reporting to Mugendramon behind them - who finally speaks for the first time.

Hagurumon 1: Mugendramon-sama! The children were looking up the locations of nearby hospitals and drug stores. Mugendramon: Hospitals. Drug stores. Display their locations. Hagurumon 1: Sir!

The Hagurumon pull up their own yellow blips for the referenced locations.

Hagurumon 1: There are twelve in the area. Mugendramon: We'll target them all. Metal Empire Army! Move out! Hagurumon 2: Metal Empire Army! Move out! Hagurumon 1: Metal Empire Army! Move out!

Mugendramon is not playing around. Knowing the Chosen Children will be in one of twelve places is all he needs.

In the dub, the reporting Hagurumon is super obnoxious.

Hagurumon 2: They have logged off. Hagurumon 1: Yes! My lord, Machinedramon, sir! They've accessed maps and things for hospitals and pharmacies. Hi-yoooo! Machinedramon: And you're waiting for what!? Show me those locations. Hagurumon 1: Right away, sir! (Yellow blips appear) Hagurumon 1: There are, uh, one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight-nine-ten-eleven-TWELVE of them! Machinedramon: Let me put this in words you can understand. Send units to all twelve locations and blow them up! Hagurumon 1: Oh, I get it now! Blow them up! Yes, sir! Hagurumon 2: Consider it already done, my lord!

They're going for the "serious cartoon supervillain constantly frustrated by his useless buffoon minions" but they don't have any buffoonery to work with here that they can frustrate Machinedramon with. So they have to make the Hagurumon's personality super annoying to compensate.

They hit the important plot beats but I'm gonna call this one a miss in the attempted comedy. They can't all be winners.

From here, the Metal Empire transforms and rolls out.

This is where the Mekanorimon from the assault on Homeostasis's base came from. An unassuming wall in one of the mashed up cities opens, revealing a hidden entrance to the base. Mekanorimon troops enter into the city on foot.

Beneath the Arc de Triomphe, a secret panel in the ground lowers into a ramp. Tank-shaped Digimon roll up and onto the streets.

A large, round Roman plaza in the Italy section opens up to reveal a secret launchpad. Two huge, serpentine Digimon, one red and one blue, spread their wings and take to the skies.

The Metal Empire is on the move.

In the dub, Machinedramon talks over this.

Machinedramon: The little fools have swallowed the bait! Now it is time to spring the trap.

...what bait? Did you remote-infect Kari with a cold on purpose somehow? Dub villains really do just say things.

The dub Mekanorimon hum a marching cadence to themselves as they emerge. Additionally, the winged Digimon have lines when they take flight.

Red: Finally! Blue: It was getting stuffy!

Meanwhile, Taichi and Koushiro reach their destination. Koushiro raids the hospital's supplies while Taichi goes into another flashback, this time remembering a hospital when he was younger. His mother, out of breath and sweating hard from running, comes to a stop in front of him.

Yuuko: Where is Hikari!? TAICHI!!!

In the present, Taichi shakes, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists.

Koushiro: (calling out suddenly) I found it! This turned out to be the right place!

Taichi and Koushiro adjourn to the supply cabinets, to sort through medications and try to figure out which bottle they need.

Taichi: Which one is the cold medicine!? Koushiro: If only Jou-san were here. His father's a doctor. Taichi: He's never around when we need him! Koushiro: (notices something) That'll work!

Koushiro notices a phone. He unplugs the phone from its jack and plugs in his laptop's ethernet cable, going online.

The dub gives Agumon a line to kick us off. He remains confused by the emptiness of the city.

Agumon: No wonder this hospital's so clean! There's no sick people! Hello! Hello? (Flashback) Yuuko: TAI!!! (runs up) DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU'VE DONE!?!? (End flashback) Tai: (shakes, gritting teeth and clenching fists) Agumon: ...Tai? Izzy: HEY, OVER HERE!!! I FOUND THE PHARMACY!!! (Cut to pharmacy) Tai: There's a lot of medicine, alright. But how do we know what to use for Kari's fever? Izzy: Strange as it sounds, I wish Joe were here. He might know what these are; His father's a doctor. Tai: That's a doctor's kid for ya; There's never one around when you need him! Izzy: Huh!? Hold on! I can patch into the hospital's computer! (Izzy unplugs the phone and plugs in his laptop) Tentomon: Izzy shoots! He scores! Izzy: (typing) Fever reduction. Children.

Yuuko is super accusatory in this flashback. The original Yuuko just asks him where Hikari's been taken to; English Yuuko is more interested in throwing blame around and maximizing how bad Tai feels.

This is not the plot difference that it may seem like; It's actually a pacing shift. The original is holding off on revealing Taichi's complicity in Hikari's hospitalization; Right now, it just wants you to know that Taichi has pre-existing trauma over Hikari's health. Meanwhile the dub comes right out and frontloads it.

The Jou exchange is mostly unchanged, but Izzy makes a point to qualify his statement as a rare deviation from norm. Can't have you thinking anyone likes Joe or anything.

Izzy also describes plugging into the wall jack as "patching into the hospital's computer" despite no computer besides his own being present.

Unbeknownst to them, when Koushiro accesses the city's network, he reveals his location to Mugendramon once again.

Hagurumon1: Someone's accessing the network at Target Area 1. Mugendramon: Hmm.... Narrow our targets to area 1. Prepare to attack!

At Mugendramon's command, Metal Empire forces peel off from their original trajectories and converge on the hospital. They take offensive positions around it, ready to begin the siege.

In the dub:

Hagurumon 1: Sir! There they are, sir! Haha! Hagurumon 2: The network is being accessed from inside Target 4, Master, Sir. Machinedramon: It would then be a good idea to have all forces converge on that target and prepare to attack! Hagurumon 2: Uhhhhh brilliant idea, my lord, sir!

The dub Mekanorimon continue humming their wordless marchine cadence as their forces converge. The sky serpents again have dialogue.

Blue: After you, Megadramon. Red: Oh no, after you!

Inside the hospital, unaware of the impending attack, Taichi and Koushiro compare medications to data Koushiro's pulled up in order to discern which bottle to use.

Taichi: (holding out a bottle) This one? Koushiro: Eh? ...yes! I'm sure of it! Taichi: Great! We should hurr-- Mugendramon: (command room) FIRE!!!

The tanks fire off their opening volley into the hospital. Inside, the boys can feel the building shake and the power cuts out.

(Not that Mugendramon cares but this is a war crime, by the way.)

Agumon: (scared) W-What the...?

Taichi and Koushiro hurry back to the front lobby. Through the sliding doors, they see a row of Mekanorimon foot soldiers waiting for them outside. These Mekanorimon receive the rare luxury of a second rundown.

Mekanorimon is still one of the two Adult-stage Virus-types of the Metal Empire evolution line.

Taichi: T-The enemy! Narrator: Mekanorimon. An Adult-stage Machine type Digimon. Their special attack. Twinkle Beam, is fired from their Linear Lens.

No mention of them being pilotable as a vehicle. This rundown provides less information than the last time they were up here.

Now that they have eyes on target, the Mekanorimon start shooting. Firing off their Twinkle Beams into the hospital lobby. Their shots disintegrate anything they hit, wiping out the front doors and the lobby furniture.

Though momentarily startled, Taichi's crew manage to flee deeper into the hospital.

In the dub:

Tai: Hey, Izzy: You're sure that's the right stuff? Izzy: It's as safe as children's Aspirin! Tai: Good job! Then let's get back! Machinedramon: (command room) FIRE!!! (Assault begins) Agumon: Hey, let's beat it!

When Tai's crew makes it to the front lobby, the Mekanorimon are still singing their wordless cadence. Tai immediately quips about their predicament.

Tai: Lucky we're in a hospital, 'cause it looks like we might need one! Mekanorimon: (singing cadence) Tai: What are they? Agumon: (rundown) Mekanorimon. Evil robots with one job: Blasting Digimon. I suggest we get out of here, and fast! Mekanorimon: Target in range.

Tai doesn't remember that he already saw these Digimon during Homeostasis's vision quest. But we can cut him some slack for that; The narrator forgot too.

Agumon's diegetic rundown is way better than the repeated original. Doing it diegetically allows Agumon to fill it with situational context. That often comes at the expense of the info that's supposed to be delivered, but since this one's a repeat anyway, it's all good.

As Taichi's crew flees into the hospital, they find their path cut off; One of the tanks from outside comes straight through a wall into the hallway, pinning them in.

Tankmon is an Adult-stage Data-type Cyborg Digimon. Also of the Metal Empire line, of course. There's not much to say here. They're a tank. They want to shoot Taichi in the face.

Team: (collective gasp) Agumon: There's another one! Narrator: Tankmon. Using their heavy power and the heavy weapons all over their body, they blast their enemies to pieces. Their special move Hyper Cannon is fired from the barrel on their head.

Something about having a tank cannon pointed directly at their faces makes the group want to stand there and discuss. Fortunately, Tankmon is willing to stand by and let them chat.

Tentomon: HOW DID THEY EVEN KNOW WE WERE HERE!?!? Koushiro: Could they have spotted us when we came in? Taichi: Shit! And we just found the medicine, too!

As if that weren't bad enough, one of the Mekanorimon enters the hospital and rounds the corner, cutting off the children's retreat. Taichi's crew is pincered in the hallway.

(Maybe that's what Tankmon was waiting for. Didn't want to open fire until their retreat was cut off.

The pair fire together, Twinkle Beam and Hyper Cannon. Thinking quickly, Taichi breaks down the door next to him with his shoulder, guiding everyone into a doctor's office.

Taichi: THIS WAY!!!

Taichi's crew escapes the hall just before the two shots collide, detonating in a blast that tosses both Mekanorimon and Tankmon. Taichi's group manage to pile out a window and take cover under the windowsill, while the explosion rips through the windows above them.

Once, the initial blast wave has passed, Taichi gets to his feet and leads the team away.

Taichi: Let's go!

In the dub:

Agumon: They brought along a friend! Agumon: (rundown) Tankmon. An armor-plated bully with a sneeze like a cannon! If you think the other guys are bad, these creeps have more firepower than a volcano! Tentomon: I thought we'd lost them! How did they find us so quickly!? Izzy: One of them must have been following us and saw us come in here. Tai: Think! Kari needs us to get back, pronto! Mekanorimon: (rounding corner) Target in range. (Mekanorimon and Tankmon fire together_ Tai: (bashing down door) LOOK OUT!!! (The kids pile out of the window) Tai: DUCK!!! (They take cover. The explosion passes, then they get up.) Tai: Come on!

Agumon's rundown is a little hyperbolic but covers the key point very well: Tankmon has so much gun. So, so very much gun.

The dub adds "I thought we lost them" to Tentomon's line, which doesn't make a lick of sense. This is our first encounter with the Metal Empire. They have never been chasing us before this moment.

Unless he means "I thought we lost the Mekanorimon out front when we ran deeper into the hall." That would parse, but then Izzy's follow-up line is weird. Yeah, they did see us round a corner.

Between this and Agumon's "I think someone's watching us," the dub seems to be having a hard time with Mugendramon's tracking of the Children.

With Taichi's crew out of the hospital, the Metal Empire fans out to search the city.

Taichi's crew take shelter in the upper floor of an office building. Taichi and Agumon watch a Tankmon pass on the street below. Meanwhile, Koushiro works feverishly at his laptop.

Taichi: How many of them are there!? Agumon: That's it! I'm gonna go deal with them-- Koushiro: Please hold off a moment! We don't have an accurate understanding of the enemy's military assets. It's too dangerous! Taichi: (angry) Then what are we supposed to do, Koushiro!? Koushiro: I'm studying the enemy's positions in order to discern the safest route to take us back. After all, our main priority is to return with the medicine. Taichi: (softens, embarrassed) O-Oh... yeah, you're right.

Taichi always wants to do everything the hard way. ...though they might be better off if they did.

In the dub, the Tankmon are now also singing the marching cadence.

Tai: I'm really getting sick of that sound! When are they gonna call it quits and go home!? Agumon: We don't have time for this! I'm gonna go down there and take care of them! Izzy: No, wait! Those rolling arsenals are just waiting for us! We show ourselves and they'll go ballistic! Tai: (angry)So we just hide here all day!? Is that it!? Izzy: Those machines are the only things moving out there, so a map of the city's traffic flow will show us where they are! Then it's just a question of plotting the best course to avoid them! Tai: Yeah. Just might work. Izzy: Of course it'll work!

A map of the city's traffic flow? Bit of a workaround.

Koushiro's just tapping into the network (unknowingly Mugendramon's network) and looking at the blips showing the locations of his forces. Which is a normal thing for his network to show him.

Izzy's argument against attacking is a lot weaker here, too. Koushiro rightfully points out that we have no idea how many are out there or how strong they are. Attacking blindly is an extremely risky proposition.

Izzy just says "They're gonna shoot at you if you try." Uh. Yeah. That's how violence works. Thanks, Izzy.

Before long, Koushiro's able to pull up the city map again, with white blips showing the locations of each individual enemy unit.

Koushiro: Yes! I have the enemy's positions! Taichi: Really!?

At the same time, a large yellow blip appears on Mugendramon's screen. The Hagurumon zoom in on it, then report.

Hagurumon 1: Mugendramon-sama! An access has occurred in Sector B-12! Mugendramon: Change targets. Sector B-12!

Back in the office building, Koushiro finds that all routes are now unsafe because the white blips have stopped moving in scattershot ways. Instead, they are all converging towards his location.

Koushiro: (jaw open, horrified) .... Taichi: What's wrong, Koushiro? Koushiro: The enemy... They're surrounding the building. Taichi: What!?

Suddenly, Koushiro lets out a startled gasp. His eyes widening with revelation, he looks down at the ethernet cable connected to his laptop.

Koushiro: (thinking) It can't be... They're using my network access to track us!

Today, Koushiro learned an important lesson about what malicious actors are capable of doing with an unsecured IP address. THIS EPISODE IS SPONSORED BY NORD VPN, PROTECT YOUR DATA ONLINE--

In the dub, he continues gloating about "accessing the traffic flow".

Izzy: You see? There! I've pinpointed every one of them! Tai: Good job, Izzy! (Cut to Machinedramon's lair) Hagurumon 2: Excuse me, Your Metalness. They are accessing the network again but the access point has relocated to Sector B-17. Machinedramon: Then relay those coordinates to all forces and attack!

As the Tankmon change course, we see they are continuing to sing the cadence. Though the Mekanorimon are now not singing it. Guess they got bored.

Izzy: (watching the white dots converge on their location) Inconceivable! Huh.... Tai: Incon-what!? What now!? Izzy: The machines! Every one of them rotated in sync and now they're heading our way! Tai: Wha--!? Izzy: (startled gasp) Izzy: (thinking) Of course! They're zeroing in on my computer connection!

Pretty solid, no notes. They even have the not-annoying Hagurumon make the report to avoid disrupting the rising tension. I like the added detail that "every machine rotated in sync". You can picture that in your head and get a good, visceral feel for what's causing Izzy to freak out.

I don't know how he knows that when all he has are blipping dots. He might just be painting a word picture for Tai. But it's a good word picture.

Koushiro doesn't have time to follow this train of thought, however.

Agumon: TAICHI!!!

Agumon's warning comes just in time. The kids look up at the red sky serpent making a beeline for their window. They get up and run just before the creature crashes into the office.

Due to its colossal size, the creature struggles to enter the relatively cramped confines of the office building. Agumon capitalizes on this disadvantage, evolving to Greymon and nailing the struggling creature in the eye with a Mega Flame. Then, as the creature recoils in pain, Greymon takes off deeper into the building - With Taichi and Koushiro riding on his back. We go to commercial from here.

In the dub:

Agumon: INCOMING!!!

The dub slips their commercial break here, as the sky serpent hurtles towards the building. Probably reasoning (correctly) that this is a more suspenseful cliffhanger to leave off on.

No dialogue is added to the brief altercation.

Returning from commercial, we find ourselves at Piemon's observatory.

His telescope displays Mugendramon's command center on the screen, while he waxes poetic about his Dark Master colleague.

Piemon: This is boring to watch. There is no escape. Truly, a Digimon who exists solely for destruction; That is Mugendramon. I suppose he will be the one to bring the Chosen Children to their doom. It's too bad I won't get to play.

Piemon raises his cocktail glass to the screen, on which the fleeing children on Greymon's back are now displayed.

Piemon: (in Spanish) Adios!

The dub adds a lot of extra dialogue to Piedmon, to fill the quiet moments of this scene.

Piedmon: Ahh, the plot sickens. Ahh, me... I had such high hopes that these little ones would put on a more entertaining show! But this? Really, it's too tiresome! Can we just get this over with and get onto something a little less TEDIOUS!? There's no escape from Machinedramon! He's designed for total annihilation; It's only a matter of time now before he catches them. And then the game is over. Ah, it's not fair that that overgrown can opener gets all the fun when I was so looking forward to playing with them myself. (Piedmon raises his cocktail glass to the screen) Piedmon: Farewell, little ones!

Piedmon's actor is chewing every last possible bit of scenery that he can, and it's fun. Mixed into with this rant are all the things Piemon brought up too, so nothing gets left out.

Down below, Greymon smashes his way out through a window of the office building. Freed from the tight confines, he quickly Super-Evolves.

MetalGreymon lands on top of the front line of Tankmon, crushing them underfoot. He charges down the street, weaving through enemy fire, then vanishes around a corner.

Brief cut to the command center, as Hagurumon reports.

Hagurumon 1: We've lost the target! Those jerks escaped again! Mugendramon: (displeased growl)

The Hagurumon are getting frustrated. They broke out the yatsura.

In the dub, it is once more the non-annoying Hagurumon who delivers the news.

Hagurumon 2: Oh, I've got a teeny bit of bad news. They've escaped again, my lord, sir. Machinedramon: And yet you're still here....

Weird line to add. They're the Command Center Digimon, and also they're too juvenile to be useful in a fight. They will not be joining the battle, nor should they.

Taichi and Koushiro find a new hidey-hole in an empty church.

Koushiro: That was careless of me. The enemy was using the signal from my computer connection to track us.

Taichi lunges for Koushiro, violently grabbing him by the collar.

Taichi: Your carelessness is unforgivable! While we're stuck here, Hikari is... Hikari is....

Agumon and Tentomon attempt to pry the boys apart.

Tentomon: H-H-Hey, Taichi-han.... Agumon: What's wrong with you!? This isn't like you, Taichi!

Agumon's words get through. Taichi suddenly lets go of Koushiro, covering his face with his hand and apologizing.

Taichi: ...I'm sorry. Koushiro: Did something happen, Taichi-san? Taichi: She almost died once because of me.

The group lets out a collective gasp at Taichi's confession.

In the dub:

Izzy: It's all my fault! I was giving away our location every time I logged on with my computer! How could I have not thought of that before!? Tai: (grapple) Good question! Now we're stuck here! Meanwhile, Kari's getting sicker and sicker BECAUSE OF YOU!!! (Agumon and Tentomon try to separate them) Agumon: Stop it, Tai! What's come over you! Tai: (gasp) (Tai lets go and shrinks away) Tai: I'm sorry, Izzy. Izzy: Hey, Tai, this isn't your normal behavior. Tai: It's Kari. She almost died once before because of me. Team: (Collective gasp)

Taichi is so freaked out he can't bear to say what Hikari is, while Tai snowballs his fury, burning hotter with each word out of his mouth. Both good interpretations. I liked both versions of this scene.

Also, props to the dub for being willing to use the D word here. This scene wouldn't have half as much impact if he just said she "got hurt" or something.

Taichi goes on, explaining what's been bothering him all episode with a flashback.

Taichi: I was in second grade at the time. Hikari was in kindergarten. On that day, she stayed home because she had a cold.

Taichi flashes back on himself at that age, returning home to find Hikari watching TV.

Taichi: I'm home! Taichi (V.O.): But when I got back, she was sitting up and watching TV. I thought she'd gotten better, so I took her outside to play.

Taichi takes Hikari to the playground and readies a soccer ball.

Taichi: Here I go! Catch!

Taichi kicks the ball to Hikari. She bends down, stopping it with her hands. Then she tries to kick it herself, but her foot goes sideways and she seems to stumble back.

Taichi doesn't notice at first; His eyes are on the ball, watching it pass a few feet away from him. He jogs over to pick it up.

Taichi: Come on! You have to do it right--Whuh!?

When he turns back around, Hikari is facedown on the playground concrete.

In the dub, Tai refrains from giving his own age.

Tai: It happened when she was four or five; Just a little kid. She stayed home from kindergarten one day because she was sick. I mean, I knew she was sick but all I could think about on the way home was playing soccer. (Flashback) Tai: Hey, I'm home! Tai (V.O.): I wanted to go out and play, but I didn't want to leave her by herself so I took her outside with me. She seemed okay. Really, she did! (Cut to the park) Tai: Now watch me! (kicks the ball to Kari) Just like that! (Kari attempts to kick the ball but misses) Tai: (collects the ball) No, that's not right! (Tai turns back around and gasps) Tai: Kari!? KARIIIIIIIII!!!

The dub tweaks Tai's intentions here. Taichi made a well-meaning mistake out of ignorance. (Not unlike Koushiro's mistake, I should note. That's an interesting parallel.) He saw Hikari sitting up and watching TV, so he assumed that meant she was better.

Implicitly, Hikari could have said otherwise and did not. That connects back to Taichi's outburst at the start of the episode about her keeping her suffering to herself and refusing to burden others when actually she direly needs help.

Hikari is a people-pleaser. Taichi thought she was well, and she let him think that because she didn't want to trouble him with the fact that she could barely walk.

The dub rewrites the story to be about Tai being personally selfish. It's not that he didn't notice; It's that he didn't want to notice. He was too wrapped up in soccer to care about Kari's wellbeing.

The way he suddenly gets defensive about "She seemed okay; Really, she did!" implies that even now, he can't fully accept that he made such a selfish choice. But also that he knows it's true deep down. Unprompted by others, that is a defensive statement made in argument with himself.

The flashback continues with a slap in the face.

Yuuko: (trembling and weeping) I TOLD YOU THAT HIKARI WAS SICK!!!

Yuuko breaks down crying from there, still holding out her hand as if to indicate her palm is sore. Taichi slowly grabs the side of his face, crying as well. Susumu rests a hand on Yuuko's shoulder.

Brief shot of the door to Hikari's room, with a sign that reads "No Visitors". Then we find Taichi waiting at the apartment, as Susumu and Yuuko bring Hikari home.

Taichi (V.O.): Hikari's cold was aggravated so much that it left her on the edge of death for three days. When she was finally brought home, the first thing she said to me was: Hikari: Onii-chan.... I'm sorry I couldn't do it right...

Hikari's words cause Past Taichi to start breaking down in tears again. Because of course they do. Holy shit. T_T

Unsurprisingly, the dub cuts the shot of Yuuko slapping Taichi in the face. From their body language, however, it's impossible to not notice that the slap took place.

Yuuko: WHAT COULD YOU HAVE BEEN THINKING!?!? YOU KNEW SHE WAS SICK!!! Tai (V.O.): She ended up with pneumonia or something. She almost didn't make it. But what really kills me is what she said when they brought her home from the hospital. The first words out of her mouth.... Kari: ...Tai... I'm sorry I can't kick the ball very good... You'll probably never want to play with me again....

The dub specifies that it was probably pneumonia that nearly ended Kari's young life. They also add an extra gut-punch to her words to Tai.

The original doesn't clarify her illness, but does viscerally mention that she spent three days in 生死の境 seishi no sakai, meaning "on the border between life and death". The dub offers no timeframe and merely states that she "almost didn't make it".

Returning to the present, Taichi finishes his story.

Taichi: That's the kind of person she is. She's always thinking about people other than herself, and she won't tell anyone that she's struggling or in pain even if it kills her! Honestly, she probably didn't even want to come to this stupid world to begin with! But when the fate of the world is so dire, Hikari couldn't refuse! Koushiro: Taichi-san.... Taichi: That's why I'm supposed to look after and protect her! But I....

Taichi breaks down from there, crying and gripping the bottle of medicine. The others give him the time he needs.

In the dub:

Tai: That's her. That's Kari. She never thinks... about herself.... It doesn't matter if she feels bad or if she's bummed out about other stuff, she's always worried about the other kids! She wouldn't be sick, she'd be just fine if she never came to this stupid place! But she came because she knew that we needed her help; She never thought about what she wanted! She never does! Izzy: Because she cares. Tai: She's a kid! I'm her big brother! I'm supposed to look after her and protect her and think about what's best for her! That's what I'm supposed to do! Agumon: Oh, Tai....

Tai makes the bold claim that Kari only got sick because the Digital World infected her. Given that the original plot point is a resurgence of the illness that made her miss camp, that's a hell of a plot shift.

But, again, this is the result of past changes compounding into future plot points. The dub unwrote her illness before so now it has to claim this is some new Digi-virus she picked up when she got here.

(To be honest, I wonder if Hikari has an immunodeficiency disorder.)

By the way, it is not lost on me that they went into a Christian church to discuss the sacrificial selflessness of Hikari "Light of the Eight Gods" Yagami.

Once Taichi's gotten it all out and is ready to move on, the boys begin making plans.

Koushiro: Since it would be impossible to break through their lines head-on, let's use the enemy's strategy to our advantage. Tentomon: What do you mean, Koushiro-han? Koushiro: This software will prevent them from identifying our access point.

No, for real, this is the best twenty-minute commercial for a VPN service I've ever watched. XD This episode aged well.

Koushiro plugs in his ethernet cable and the game begins.

Koushiro: Using this, we should be able to deceive the enemy.

In the dub:

Izzy: Okay, it would be ridiculous to try to break through them but maybe we can use their own surveillance techniques against them. Tentomon: YOU'RE NOT GOING ONLINE AGAIN, ARE YOU!?!? Izzy: Yes, but this time, I know what I'm doing. I've got a program that will throw them off our trail! (Izzy plugs in the ethernet cable) Izzy: I'm going to mask our access point. It's a little trick a computer programmer taught me once.

I love Tentomon's outburst here.

Koushiro offers no indication of where he acquired the software he's using or whether he made it himself. He even might be actively coding it as they speak. Izzy states that it's a trick he learned from a computer programmer.

Koushiro's trick seems to work. We cut to Mugendramon's command center.

Hagurumon 1: Caught an access--GYECK!?!? This is--!

Dozens of yellow blips appear on the map, indicating several simultaneous accesses from all over the city.

Hagurumon 1: What should we do now, Mugendramon-sama? Mugendramon: (contemplative growl)

Back in the church office, a set of white blips including two massive ones appear on Koushiro's map, as before.

Tentomon: What are those? Koushiro: They indicate the enemy's positions. Taichi: They aren't moving. Koushiro: They can't. Because they don't know where we are. The plan worked!

With the enemy now paralyzed with confusion, Taichi and Koushiro exit the church to make their way back to the house Hikari's resting in.

Taichi: (thinking) Just wait a little longer, Hikari. I'm bringing your meds right now!

In the dub, it's the annoying Hagurumon who reports this time.

Hagurumon 1: There they are again--HUUUUH!?!? Um, boss! Uh, there are now DOZENS of access points ALLLLLLL over the map! Hagurumon 2: Does this mean what I think it does, my lord, sir? Machinedramon: That you have the brains of a tin can!? (Meanwhile, at the church) Tentomon: What are those!? Izzy: Those are the enemy Digimon. Tai: They're not moving. Izzy: That's because the program worked and they don't have a clue where to look for us. PROOOODIGIOUS! Tai: Well? What are we waiting for? Let's get going! (Tai and Izzy flee the church) Machinedramon (V.O.): I'm bored with this game of cat and mouse!

Izzy shouts his "prodigious" catchphrase like a triumphant battle cry here. XD

Unfortunately, things won't be so simple for Taichi and Koushiro. Mugendramon's jaws suddenly clamp down on the shot as if he were devouring Taichi, transitioning us back to the command center.

Mugendramon: Initiate Plan Z immediately! Hagurumon 2: B-But that plan-- Mugendramon: Our utmost priority is to defeat the Chosen Children. Prepare to execute at once! Both Hagurumon: Y-YES, SIR!!! Hagurumon 2: Plan Z: Preparing to Execute! Hagurumon 1: Plan Z: Preparing to Execute! Mugendramon: Plan Z... EXECUTE!!!

The two sky serpents peel off and fly up high above the city. Taichi and Koushiro watch them rise higher into the air. A brief shot of the house shows Takeru at the window, watching what's about to occur as well.

The dub has a playful name for Plan Z.

Machinedramon: Initiate Plan Elimin-8. Hagurumon 2: Uhhh, Elimin-8? How about Elimin-9? Machinedramon: Are you actually questioning me!? Initiate Plan Elimin-8 now! Both Hagurumon: NO, SIR!!! YES, SIR!!! Hagurumon 2: Attention: Initiate Plan Elimin-8! Hagurumon 1: Attention: Initiate Plan Elimin-8! Machinedramon: I'm glad you agree. Fire at will.

There's also some extra dialogue as the serpents rise into the air.

Red: Can I blow something up? Blue: I don't know. Can you? (Cut to Tai and Izzy watching below) Tai: Now we're in for it!

The context that what they're about to do is so brutal that Mugendramon's own forces are reluctant to go through with it is present in both versions, but comes through stronger in the original due to its darker tone.

The Hagurumon, who have been fine with everything up to this point, have moral reservations about Plan Z - Which Mugendramon ruthlessly cuts down.

It doesn't take long to find out why. The red serpent raises their cannons towards the city below and calls out Genocide Attack.

Taichi and Koushiro watch from below with Agumon and Tentomon.

Taichi: What are they doing? Tentomon: They're firing all over the place. Koushiro: (gasp) T-They can't be--!

From here, we get the Analyzers for both of them. The red serpent, Megadramon, is a Perfect-stage Virus-type Cyborg Digimon. Originally an evolution for Monochromon and Leomon in the original Digital Monster lines, Megadramon was brought back for Metal Empire as the evolved form of Guardromon and Mekanorimon.

Gigadramon is a blue recolor of Megadramon created to add more enemy types to the Digimon World video game. They are, as well, a Perfect-stage Virus-type Cyborg Digimon.

Narrator: Megadramon. Proudly one of the most powerful of all Perfect-stage Dragon-type Digimon. Their Genocide Attack, organic missiles fired from both arms, burn everything to the ground. Narrator: Gigadramon. A Cyborg-type Dark Dragon Digimon whose speed and destructive power surpass even Megadramon! Their special attack is Genocide Gear.

Down below, Koushiro opens his laptop and despairs.

Koushiro: It seems that my strategy has backfired. Agumon: What do you mean? Koushiro: The enemy has stopped searching for us entirely. Instead, they're going to level the city with us inside of it. Taichi & Digimon: EHHH!?!? Taichi: T-That can't be...!

That's... certainly one way to deal with an enemy whose whereabouts are unknown. This is another one of those episodes that's harder to watch as an adult. In a literal sense, the city appears to be vacant from what we can tell. But the coding - carpet-bombing a population center to exterminate guerilla insurgents hidden within - is unmistakable.

And remarkably relevant to Current Day 2024.

The dub, unsurprisingly, renames Megadramon's attack to "Dark Side Blaster".

Tai: Man, what a waste of ammo! They're way off! Tentomon: I don't think they're shooting at us! Izzy: Huh!? No, it can't be! Tentomon: (rundown) That's Megadramon, a fully Digivolved flying fiend with devastating destructive powers! Those missiles of his can level a city block in the blink of an eye! Tentomon: (rundown) The other one's Gigadramon! If anything, he's more powerful than his buddy! Believe me, if these guys were shooting at us, we wouldn't still be here talking about it! Izzy: Looks like my plan may have backfired on us.... Agumon: How do you figure that? Izzy: It appears they've decided searching for us is too much trouble, so instead they're just going to level the whole city and everybody in it! Tai & Digimon: (collective gasp) Tai: You've gotta be kidding!

I love Tai's smarmy "LOL These clowns" reaction when he first sees what they're doing. Nice moment of ironic confidence about to be undercut by the reveal.

Less fond of the fact that we are now, in episode 48, still using the phrase "fully Digivolved" to describe Perfect-stage Digimon. Show, you know better now. Why are you still doing this?

Back in the command center, the Hagurumon's screen now displays the damage.

Hagurumon 2: Bombing of Sectors A-1 and A-2 is complete! Hagurumon 1: Megadramon and Gigadramon have commenced bombing of Sector A-3. The Chosen Children have not yet been found. Mugendramon: (quiet growl)

An ominous shimmer comes over Mugendramon's cannons while he considers.

In the dub:

Hagurumon 1: That's it for Sectors A and B! What a mess! Hagurumon 2: Megadramon and Gigadramon have begun operations in Sectors C and D! Children sneaky, nyeh! Machinedramon: Soon there will be no place left to hide, and this game will abruptly END!

"Children sneaky, nyeh!" is a surprising comment coming from the not-annoying one.

No longer worried about enemy troops but instead having something very much more pressing in mind, Taichi and Koushiro double-time it through the city streets.

Suddenly, a colossal shadow passes over them.

Koushiro: Ah! It's Megadramon! Tentomon: The others are over that way! Taichi: Shit! HIKARI!!!

Taichi picks up the pace, screaming at the top of his lungs.

By the time they reach the house, it's still standing.

Koushiro: Thank goodness! They're still safe! Taichi: HIKARI!!!

Taichi sprints towards the house as fast as his legs can carry him. But a missile from Genocide Attack does the same. Right as Taichi approaches, the house explodes, hurling him backwards with the blast wave.

Izzy: It can't be.... Taichi: (sitting up) No... Hikari... HIKARIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!

In the dub:

Tentomon: Uh-oh! Megadramon! He's heading right for where the others are hiding! Tai: No! Tentomon: I hope they see him coming! Tai: KARI!!! (They make it to the house) Izzy: Safe and sound. Everything's okay. Tai: We're back, Kari! (Tai runs to the house, but it explodes) Izzy: The building's gone! Tai: No! No way! It can't be! KARIIIIIIIII!!!

Suddenly, a loud sound comes roaring in their direction.

Koushiro: ANOTHER MISSILE!!!

Before Taichi and Koushiro can react, a beam of light slaps the missile off-course. The shot knocks it back up into the air, detonating it harmlessly.

Turning around, they see Angemon floating above the hedges.

Group: ANGEMON!!!

From there, Takeru, Piyomon, and Tailmon all poke their heads through the hedges. Sora stands behind it, carrying Hikari in piggyback.

(Awww, he did his job! Great work, Takeru. This was the literal exact reason Taichi gave for not bringing him along.)

Takeru: Taichi-san, are you okay? Taichi: Takeru!? HIKARI!!!

We made it through with no fatalities. Yet.

In the dub:

Izzy: HERE COMES ONE MORE!!!

The dub seizes the impending missile strike as a great opportunity for their third commercial break cliffhanger. They are correct. Solid suspense.

When we come back, they replay Izzy's reaction in case anyone forgot where we were.

Izzy: OH NO, LOOK OUT!!! (Angemon destroys the missile) Agumon: Angemon! Izzy: But that means..... (The others reveal themselves) T.K.: Hey, what's up; You look tired! Tai: T.K.! Agumon: Biyomon! Tentomon: And the others! Tai: Kari! You're okay!

Biyomon gets special mention but Gatomon's reduced to "and the rest". No respect.

Taichi and Koushiro join the others on the other side of the hedge.

Koushiro: You're all safe! Sora: We went for cover as soon as the bombing started. Takeru: Taichi-san! I managed to protect everyone! Taichi: Great job, Takeru!

Before they can say any more, the ground beside them crumbles as a laser weapon rips through from below. Then Mugendramon emerges, crashing up through the street. He towers over the Chosen Children. Y'all, I was not prepared for the size disparity here. This is VenomVamdemon all over again.

Koushiro: MUGENDRAMON!!! Taichi: RUN FOR IT!!! Mugendramon: This is over, Chosen Children.

In the dub:

Tai: Kari! You're okay! Izzy: Actually, you look better than okay! Sora: When we saw them bombing buildings, we thought we'd better get out. T.K.: And I led the way! I took care of 'em, like you said! Tai: I never doubted you! (Suddenly, Machinedramon) Agumon: MACHINEDRAMON!!! Machinedramon: You can't rely on scrap metal if you want the job done right! Tai: Take cover, everybody!

The Chosen Children flee inside the building next to them. It will not keep them safe.

Mugendramon fires his signature Mugen Cannon. As a reminder, mugen means "Infinite". So the move is basically "Infinity Cannon".

In one (twin) shot, Mugen Cannon collapses the entire building. As it comes crashing down, we see the children falling into an endless black void in two distinct groups. Sora, Takeru, and Hikari in one group, Taichi and Koushiro in the other.

Hikari: ONII-CHAAAAAAAN!!! Taichi: HIKARIIIIIIIIII!!! Narrator: Unable to stand before Mugendramon, the children fell into the abyss where darkness rules.

Well, that's fucking fun, isn't it!? I'm pretty sure they just landed in the sewers but "The abyss where darkness rules" is a fucking awesome way of describing it.

In the dub, Machinedramon remains wordier than Mugendramon.

Machinedramon: That's right! Scurry away! Ask any ratcatcher; The chase is part of the fun! GIGA CANNON!!! (Giga Cannon destroys the building, and it begins to collapse) Machinedramon: Nothing like a little wholesale destruction to end a hard day's work. Goodbye, DigiDestined! (Children plunge into abyss) Kari: HELP ME TAIIIIIIII!!! Tai: KARIIIIIIIII!!! Narrator: Has Machinedramon succeeded in destroying the DigiDestined? Don't miss the next Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Assessment: Machinedramon has a Stock American Villain persona, contrasting Mugendramon being a 'mon of few words. Mugendramon is mission-focused and only speaks to give orders to his troops, in as minimal words as possible.

You could easily mistake him for one of those bestial mons incapable of speech. In fact, in his first appearance at the start of the Dark Master arc, I legit thought that was going to be the case because he never spoke a word back there.

But no. There is a tactical military intelligence there. He simply can't be bothered by socializing or banter. He has strategies to consider.

A significant departure from Pinocchimon, to be sure.

But the main appeal of this episode is, of course, learning more about Taichi and Hikari's relationship. The dub made a few changes to it, but still milked the drama for all it's worth.

We know Taichi is not very bright and that he's very impulsive. His mistake here feels entirely consistent with his and Hikari's established characters, and that makes its catastrophic outcome so effective.

The same is true of Koushiro, who similarly makes a well-meaning mistake (two of them, even) out of a desire to help and to put his impressive talents to use. None of them, Taichi, Hikari, and Koushiro, really did wrong; They're just. Children. With a lot still to learn, but whose actions can have dire consequences if they aren't careful with the choices they make.

Both in the military campaign of the present and Taichi and Hikari's flashback, they just... didn't know better. And it almost cost them dearly.

[ashxketchum]

Fairy Tail Parfum (Japanese perfume brand) announced a collab with Digimon Adventure, with the products releasing early at the Digimon 25th Anniversary Exhibition set to begin in 2 days.

Details about the products listed on the website:

Taichi Yagami: This perfume inspired by the protagonist of the work possesses fresh and invigorating fruity notes which easily bring to mind the image of an athletic, cheerful and active Taichi. The change from an aromatic fragrance to a fruity sweet fragrance gives us a sense of Taichi's bravery, and how with his positive attitude he acts as the leader for his friends.

Fragrance: Fresh Green Note. Scent image: Top notes: Pink Pepper, Bergamot, Mango, Lotus. Middle notes: Cardamom, Geranium, Soft Rush (Grass) Last notes: Amber, White Musk, Patchouli, Cedarwood.

Yamato Ishida: The uplifting fruity notes take inspiration from the cool demeanour of Yamato, who also has acts with a strong sense of responsibility, bringing forth his wild personality. The last note, which changes to a calm fragrance with a lingering fruity freshness, gives us a sense of Yamato's inner feelings, who despite of putting up the front of a lone wolf, feels strongly for people he considers friends, which makes him a suitable partner for Garurumon.

Fragrance: Fruity Floral. Scent image: Top notes: Apple, Narcissus, Lemon. Middle notes: Jasmine, Rose, Bamboo. Last notes: Amber, White Musk.

Koushiro Izumi: The fresh and invigorating fragrance brings forth the image of a curious, intelligent and practical Koushiro. The change to softer floral notes brings to mind his adeptness at solving mysteries and how reliably Koushiro uses his knowledge to stand as the chief advisor among the members of the group.

Fragrance: Floral Ambery. Scent image: Top notes: Pear, Coriander. Middle notes: Cabbage Rose, Linen, Pink Lily. Last notes: White musk, Amber, Sandalwood

Jou Kido: The natural citrus note inspires the image of Jou, who is self conscious about his role as the oldest member of the group. The fresh fragrance lasts and as it dries down the scent changes, resembling the growth of Jou through his adventures in the digital world.

Fragrance: Sheer Citrus. Scent image: Top notes: Bergamot, Neroli, Ginger. Middle notes: Ivy, Oakmoss. Last notes: Cardamom, Tea Leaves, Sandalwood.

Takeru Takaishi: At first the fresh and invigorating fragrance evokes the image of Takeru as the youngest member of the group, who through this journey embraces growing up by developing a strong will and building up a sense of self-reliance. After the fragrance settles down, it leaves a fresh and lasting scent changing into something which gives a glimpse of the strength of Takeru's character, who never gives up, no matter what the situation.

Fragrance: Fruity Floral Scent image: Top notes: Apple, Blackcurrant, Cherry Blossom, Peach. Middle notes: Peony, Freesia, Pomegranate, Ylang-Ylang. Last notes: Musk, Cedarwood.

Sora Takenouchi: The fresh and soft scent of the citrus notes is at first glance boyish, but under it's layers it is easy to visualise a gentle and mature Sora. The change in fragrance with the addition of sweetness to the floral notes brings to mind the image of Sora, who is good at paying close attention to other's feelings and acts like an elder sister to her friends.

Fragrance: Floral Fruity. Scent image: Top notes: Honeysuckle, Grapefruit, Mango. Middle notes: Jasmine, White Rose, Cabbage Rose. Last notes: Musk, Sandalwood.

Mimi Tachikawa: The strong and pleasant fruity notes bring forth the innocent side of Mimi, who expresses all her feelings be it joy, anger or sorrow with a sense of purity, but who is also kind at heart and cares deeply for her friends. The change to floral notes, which are pleasant yet strong at the core, aptly shows Mimi's kindness.

Fragrance: Floral Fruity. Scent image: Top notes: Honeysuckle, Passion Fruit. Middle notes: Wild Jasmine, Cabbage Rose. Last notes: Sandalwood, White Musk.

Hikari Yagami: Using Lemon and Lilac as it's base, the sweet and refreshing fragrance takes inspiration from the mysterious atmosphere surrounding Hikari and her kind-hearted yet fragile nature. The change from the sweet scent of fruit to a spreading fragrance represents the gentle feeling she possesses towards all Digimon and her friends.

Fragrance: Floral Musk. Scent image: Top notes: Lemon, Lilac. Middle Notes: Blossom, Green Tea, Peach, Peony. Last Notes: Cedarwood, Musk, Amber.

And now, time to choose!

[izzyizumi]

D I G I M O N Adventure 02: The Beginning ~ J.P.N Version + Koushiro Izumi & (Bonus) Taichi & 02 Chosen

"...It's been really overwhelming for Koushiro-san." - Miyako, Near the start of the conversation, after they mention, "a whole week"

"...I d o u b t {Koushiro} even has TIME to s l e e p..." - Takeru, in a hushed/softer, semi-bemused tone

Bonus:

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[seventeenlovesthree]

@izumikoushiroweek: Day 4 - Koushirou, the mentor

This could also refer to the "What is something you wish we saw happen for Koushirou in canon?" prompt again, because if there is one thing I wanna see happening at the end of "The Beginning", it's a semi-comedic scene of the 02 kids appreciating Koushirou - because they already said that, if he can't figure out what's going on, who can? He's been their mentor for so long already and may contribute to victory once more one way or another - I hope! He may look a little annoyed here, but it's really just relief that everything turned out well after all the sleepless nights (and maybe also a little bashfulness due to physicality, but hey, that's a good thing)!

[sunnixsunshine]

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

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

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

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

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

[beginningobserver]

One Eighth Plan Day countdown.

Digimon Day (08.01) Special: Lui ⨉ Chosen Children 1999 gen.

The idea of Rui meeting the 02 children's elders is appealing, and I wanted to do it from day one. I think they're also essential to the lore, so I like to imagine how they would interact with the supposed First Chosen.

Rui's impressions of them are not bad, don't let some of his reactions fool you! He pretty much thinks they are all cool and oh my god why are all these people turning into some important famous people?!

Rui feels like when you know someone who knows someone famous, or when you witness your friends going BIG later in life.

This kid is easily impressed (headcanon? based on his first impression on the Ukkomon scene?), so of course they are all so cool in his opinion. And he's still sorry for giving Taichi and Koushiro a headache with the Eggcalypse.

They're not perfect, and I'm pretty sure Daisuke and the 02 group are using themselves and their senpai team as proof that digimon partnerships are supposed to be messy and mutual, not perfect bonds.

I love this universe and these kids. Oh my god, I want to write more headcanons and fanfics about them interacting with Rui-kun now... 😔

(And, maybe... some for... others too... You know... them, him and her... and oh some sad person who's possibly Rui's antithesis lol)

[ahiddenpath]

Cover art commissioned from kbondoxxxxav

HAPPY ODAIBA DAY! I just published a new chapter of my digimon fanfic, Infinite Possibilities! Read it on AO3 or FFN!

In today's chapter, Koushiro gives Eimi background info on the relationship between the Chosen and the Bureau, and we see the lingering damage from the events of Tri. I was so interested in thinking up what happened to the 02 kids afterward, I hope I can expand those ideas into a full fic someday.

I'm so excited, because things really start to pick up next chapter, when Hikari and Miyako tell the villages of baby digimon what happened to their missing friends.

Fic Summary:

As more people meet their digimon partners, the challenges of digimon and humans coexisting on earth cannot be ignored. College student Anami Eimi begins her career in digimon research, hoping to help digimon and humans understand one another. When she discovers caged digimon in her new lab, she contacts the Japanese Chosen, setting off a chain of events that force the Chosen and their digimon to reevaluate the dynamics of their partnership.

This fic is set pre and post Kizuna, and is a mostly canon compliant expansion. It's a three phase story, the first starring OC Anami Eimi, then Izumi Koushiro, then Yagami Hikari. It explores the realities, challenges, and politics of digimon living on earth, and the nature of the Chosen/digimon partnership.

Can the Chosen and their digimon find the infinite possibilities that will sustain their partnerships into adulthood?

There are mentions of couples in this fic, but it's action/world expansion/plot driven, not a romance.