#this is mostly about the tamers beelzemon because he is a hot mess

[deadlypincers]

Beelzemon is the most disaster bi-coded character I've ever seen, that dude is just wild in all meanings of the word.

[jolteonjordansh]

Thoughts on The Digital World Arc

Well, I at least only have one college class left on my to-do list, making writing and gushing about Digimon a lot easier than it would have been in the last three weeks. Nevertheless, I should have tackled this much earlier and I have (as always) been putting it off for long enough. Let’s talk about the biggest arc that Digimon Tamers has to offer below the break, because oh boy, there is a lot to talk about.

With the Digimon Tamers cast moving into a whole new environment along with new focal characters like Jeri, her partner Leomon, Kazu and Kenta as well as the introduction of new characters and substantial development of older ones, there is so much to discuss about the Digital World arc that I almost have no idea where to start. But we can make that easy by starting from... well, where else but the start? And while I will definitely say the Digital World arc is a strong arc with strong moments, I would definitely not say it starts off the strongest. To be blunt, it starts off a little awkward and has some slow moments and it does have to take some time to not only establish new characters but establish the new world. For me personally, it by no means ever got bad, but I could completely understand why some people don’t like or even hate Kazu and Kenta as tagalongs, and I’d be lying if I were to deny most of their purpose is to be the comic relief. 

Let me cover most of the “new” characters first before talking about specific episodes and moments. Kazu and Kenta, while definitely being distracting at times, I never really hated. They were never knee-slappingly hilarious, but I never found them obnoxious. They do add some sense of normalcy to the group and did sort of help stabilize things in a group of Tamers, eventually becoming Tamers themselves. Kazu ends up with Guardromon who isn’t particularly interesting, though I do like that he is kind of funny and has whistling Bullet Bills for attacks. He’s quirky enough to fit someone as confident and fun-loving as Kazu. Kenta doesn’t get his partner until the very end of the arc so I won’t get into that just yet, but Kenta is among the most normal yet the one I like the most of the duo--simple yet funny... sometimes anyway. Jeri is someone I should also talk about but I’m only going to go into very specific moments in this post and only talk about her character in-full in the post of my thoughts on the last arc. But to talk about the all-new character Ryo... I’m gonna need a new paragraph.

To say Ryo is complicated is a huge understatement. He was technically present in Digimon Adventure 02, but I could go on about how much of a mess Adventure 02 is plot-wise all day. The Japan-exclusive Digimon WonderSwan games only make this more complicated, and even then there’s no real connection made back to the Adventure universe with this (despite Battle of Adventurers doing this). If these materials didn’t exist, I would just say this Ryo is not the one from the WonderSwan games and is his own guy, but this isn’t the case and because of this his whole existence is extremely weird. Supposedly in the Tamers universe, he’s basically the best Digimon player ever and went missing for some time--being trapped in the Digital World--which makes him a huge idol for Kazu and Kenta (and thus a big running joke). 

But his presence is still very... spaced out, and said presence really doesn’t bring much to the table other than Rika hating his guts. Random excuses will come up for him to leave like his Cyberdramon running off to chase “his enemy” like an upset puppy, so if he comes across as shoehorned... that’s because he is, as his whole involvement in the show was a case of executive meddling. Just by his presence and only really use as being a sort of back-up I can tell the writers wanted as little to do with the character as possible. And considering he’s about as interesting as XY!Ash Ketchum, I’m glad that they barely bothered with him. He’s very much a sort of Digimon Marty Stu character, and it bothers me because from what I read about the WonderSwan games, they do try some interesting things. They just should have never put him in this show because he clearly doesn’t belong here, and the writers made no attempt to make him feel that way.

But if Ryo is pretty much the worst thing about Digimon Tamers and is mostly bad by just being plain and shoehorned into the story, I don’t think that’s really so bad or terrible considering how much worse it could have been. Though the fact that his introduction episode title in the dub is named “Blame it on Ryo” is pretty hilarious in hindsight. A couple of the first few episodes in this arc are odd too, with Kazu and Kenta teaming up with a Jijimon and Babamon, a killer motorcycle attacking a village and some Gekomon having to constantly brew saké to keep an Orochimon drunk (obviously not kept in the dub). But despite this, there are small interesting complexities lying throughout some of these episodes. There’s little bits like how the motorcycle is compared to “The Red Shoes” fairytale (a pretty dark fairytale at that) and Jeri being confident dealing with Orochimon when kidnapped by him because she claims she’s “dealt with drunks before” does give a bit of insight that her life at home might not exactly be so nice. This is also around the time where Beelzemon gets introduced, who is Impmon having basically made a deal with the devil with one of the Devas (Caturamon) to achieve Digivolution.

The search for Calumon also becomes a sort of running fetch quest mixed with a game of Hot Potato (if that makes sense), which does make the pace feel a little slow as well, but it’s nowhere near as bothersome as Digimon Adventure’s search for the very obvious Eighth Child, Kari--being more of a running series of unfortunate events rather than a stream of people’s stupidity. During this however, Henry, Terriermon and Takato get separated from the rest of the group, leaving Guilmon and Takato distressed for each other as they become torn apart. But at the same time, this develops an inner conflict with Takato as he discovers Guilmon’s origins.

Things also get a tad muddy here plot-wise, and I’m not sure if it was a change of plot as the writers went on or something they changed very early on. Shibumi, the last missing member of the Wild Bunch, appears in the Digital World. He’s somehow here due to being in a coma, and I guess it’s because he’s technically attached to a machine that he’s essentially there in a spiritual way, but it’s still pretty odd. Apparently, he was originally going to die at the end of the Devas arc, but this never happened (and was replaced with that odd pseudo-ending I mentioned in the last post) and he’s instead put here. When Takato and Henry get to meet him here, they learn about the DigiGnomes that have been occasionally appearing in the arc. They’re digital data like Digimon, but just... not Digimon I guess. But these guys are capable of granting wishes, which in turn was how Guilmon was created--through Takato’s wish and a collection of data put together.

This is where I admittedly got confused and it took a while for the whole concept to sink in for me. Takato is borderline devastated by this, learning that Guilmon is more or less just data. In my mind, this confused me because my mind process was along the lines of: “Well, DUH he’s data. He’s a DIGImon. DIGITAL monster.” But I guess I wasn’t quite thinking of this through a kid’s perspective. For Takato, Guilmon is truly real, like a fantasy he imagined having become real in a way that a lot of kids look at their toys and wish they were real--we’ve all done it, and we’ve all seen shows where it actually happens. When Takato learns that Guilmon was simply formed out of data rather than magic however, it’s a mental shock for him. Guilmon is potentially no longer unique in his eyes in the same way you could write a program, but it can easily be replicated and has nothing to distinguish it afterwards. It’s not anything like how no human being or animal is alike no matter how similar the genes may be.

Before I go into probably the biggest and most important parts of this arc, I want to discuss a couple of other things. First, some of the involvement of side characters and others like the Devas. Takato is able to communicate with Yamaki from the Digital World with a device he gives him, but only during certain grace periods. I really like how Yamaki becomes far more of an ally and manages to get over his extremism from the first two arcs--it does make him a sort of enigmatic badass who is out to help for some form of redemption for his own mistakes. Henry’s dad also starts to become more involved here too and is also a pretty cool smart guy (being voiced by Jamieson Price in the dub is also a plus). But around the time we start seeing these two together a bit more, things start to get a little weird and sudden.

Out of nowhere, the writers decide to drag Henry's younger sister Suzie into the Digital World and give her a Digimon partner. In fact, they give her a Deva of all things: the rabbit Deva Antylamon who, after becoming Suzie's partner, de-Digivolves to Lopmon. Supposedly from what I understand, Suzie was never meant to be a Tamer and “The Biggest Dreamer” opening animation is to blame by mistakenly showing Suzie holding a Digivice. By the time this error was noticed, it was already too late, so the writers had to work with forcing her into the story. I'd be lying if I said it didn't feel somewhat forced in how she sort of inexplicably gets dragged into the Digital World on top of befriending a Deva, but to be fair Antylamon is shown to be the most gentle of the Devas and it does lead to a kind of funny episode as the two befriend each other. Plus, Lopmon ended up working rather well for Suzie considering her affinity for Terriermon in the first place. For something they did have to force, Suzie still works out miles over the hamfisted Ryo.

Unfortunately for the Devas, I do have to say they are downplayed in this. This isn't necessarily bad, but considering how huge of a role they played in their own arc, it's pretty sad to see most of them treated as jokes. While Makuramon makes sense in he was kind of a joke to begin with (and if you know the episode he dies in, let's face it--the creepy fucker deserved it), to see a freaking dragon Deva like Majiramon go out so easily and barely have a presence is seriously disappointing, especially when he's treated more as Makuramon's steed than anything. Caturamon gets the most attention out of any, being the one to convince Impmon to go against the Tamers and their Digimon and he is a pretty despicable Digimon that gets what he deserves. Other than that though, the other two just feel like sort of leftovers from the Devas arc that just had to be dealt with.

Finally though, I really have to give Digimon Tamers some heavy criticism on one of its bigger problems. This isn't necessarily a problem with the writing or the plot itself, but it is a problem with some of its presentation. This show has no boundaries for spoiler alert whatsoever, and it's actually a huge problem as someone just wanting to enjoy the damn show and its surprises. Not only does the opening from the start of the Digital World arc outright spoil the main three Digimons’ Mega forms, it spoils Beelzemon as well. I was thankfully warned of these ahead of time and kept my eyes closed every time I watched the opening (which kinda sucked), but the fact that they made this decision and don't even show the first Mega form for ten episodes is honestly really aggravating from a story-telling standpoint. The episode previews are no better either. Not only do they also go out of their way to spoil things like the Mega forms and evolutions of Digimon, but they don't even hide the fact that Leomon is meant to outright die in the episode preview for the episode. I mean, not only does the first line of the preview literally yell "Leomon is dead!", the freaking episode title is "The Kind-Hearted Hero, Leomon Dies". Talk about no freaking subtlety! It kills any build-up towards his death in the episode, which would have been a pretty shocking moment had they said nothing. I get that Leomon dying is a sort of cruel running joke in Digimon, but if any series started this trend of doing so, it was undeniably Digimon Tamers. Once again, I was warned not to look at certain episode previews by a friend so from my personal experience, I still got a handful of nice surprises.

Okay, most details out of the way, NOW let me talk about the really important parts of the Digital World arc, where the arc really starts to move fast and for the better. While yes, Leomon dying does become a running joke from here on out in pretty much every Digimon series, as of now I have to say that Digimon Tamers treats it the best (other than, you know, outright spoiling it). While Digimon Adventure still made Leomon's death a sad event and he was a good character, the effects of the death of Leomon in Digimon Tamers are much greater and heavier than Adventure's ever was. Jeri is traumatized to watch Leomon--her Digimon partner she wanted so badly--not only get killed but killed by Beelzemon, who was once a friend. This is also the absolute breaking point for Takato, having reunited with the rest of the group and still dealing with the inner conflict of Guilmon's existence. And this, ultimately breaks to the Dark Digivolution of the series--Guilmon ultimately Dark Digivolving to Megidramon, probably one of the most terrifying monstrosities in Digimon. If people thought SkullGreymon was terrifying, they haven't seen the hellish undead dragon that is Megidramon--a being so rage-filled and powerful that it threatened to destroy the very existence of the Digital World.

This Dark Digivolution is really well-developed, not only with the lead-up of Takato reuniting with Guilmon while still struggling to accept his existence, but also with Takato losing his own self-control after seeing Leomon killed and seeing the girl he adores being broken to pieces. While Tai's Dark Digivolution for Agumon to SkullGreymon was not bad and had its impact, it was a little on the forced side (something the dub made even worse to the point of writing Tai out of character) and didn't have much build-up. Takato's is not only well-developed and by no means forced, it actually works extremely well. A child's wrath is frightening, as they still have much to learn about the concepts of empathy and have not learned to control their emotions well--part of why he outright wants to do everything to kill Beelzemon, even at the risk of Guilmon. But the emotion of anger alone is especially frightening. Anger can be a driving force--it can run our adrenaline and empower us, but it can be a driving force to a terrifying level as well. When we're angry, we lose all rationale and have no idea when to stop. Megidramon is essentially Takato and Guilmon's intertwined emotions personified, with the power to destroy everything if not stopped. And being such an ugly creature, with Jeri even crying to Takato about what he’s done to Guilmon’s original adorable form, Megidramon truly is a physical manifestation of Takato's ugliest emotions, the ones that make him still human nonetheless.

But it's after this traumatizing chain of events where I think the show leads to some of its best moments. After Megidramon gets beaten down by Beelzemon, Takato’s self-reflection (which is pretty abstract and drug-induced) helps him achieve the self-realization that despite Guilmon's existence as data, Guilmon is his true friend and everything they experienced together was and is truly real. With Takato finally reconciling with himself and Guilmon, they just barely dodge probably the slowest bullet ever from Beelzemon (Well, more like Guilmon somehow uses his leftover Megidramon tail to slap it away) and Takato is invigorated to fight along with Guilmon, but he truly wants to actually fight with Guilmon, something that has been established as just impossible with Digimon... until now.

Just as Takato wished for Guilmon, Takato earns his wish to be able to fight with Guilmon by achieving his true Mega form through Matrix Digivolution--Gallantmon--literally becoming one being and fighting together against Beelzemon. On a side note, the dub decided to call this specific Digivolution "Biomerge Digivolution", which I admit I kind of like because just reusing the term "Matrix Evolution" in Japanese doesn't make this type of Digivolution feel unique when it's probably one of the most unique methods of Digivolution that Digimon has done. Regardless, I still don't think I would call it Biomerge Digivolution myself personally. So from here, I'm just going to continue saying Matrix Digivolution because I enjoy being confusing as hell to dub and/or sub watchers (I'm not sorry).

But before I can go in-depth about the Gallantmon VS Beelzemon fight, I need to talk about Gallantmon himself; because my God, I freaking love Gallantmon. I was told the moment I started this series "Guilmon's Mega form is going to be your favorite Mega ever." While I didn't really doubt it, I wasn't really sure how that was going to happen. But the moment I watched the Matrix Digivolution animation and heard One Vision for the first time, I was jumping-off-the-couch-excited (but also extremely emotional because I was still being assaulted with feels from several angles at once). Gallantmon's design isn't just awesome, but the concept of him as Takato's partner and Guilmon's Mega form is just perfect. Absolutely perfect.

Remember how I was just going on about Megidramon as the physical manifestation of Takato's negative emotions? Gallantmon is the exact opposite of this--a physical manifestation of Takato's positive emotions and of his true convictions. Not only that, but the idea of Gallantmon is a perfect example of something a kid like Takato would come up with. Takato created Guilmon, went through a long process of designing the idea of Growlmon, and Megidramon was subconsciously created by Takato's worst feelings and emotions (WarGrowlmon is kind of the exception and just sort of happened, but let's ignore that for now). In the same vein as Megidramon, Gallantmon was subconsciously created by Takato's strongest feelings. Think from the perspective of a kid like Takato--he thought of Guilmon as a sort of lizard/dragon, even often using the White Wings card on him. Dragons are awesome, right? Dragons fight knights all the time in fairy tales, and it's awesome. But what would be the coolest thing ever? An actual dragon knight, a dragon that is actually an armored warrior capable of wielding a sword and shield. Not only that, but knights are symbols of justice and chivalry--exactly what Takato is fighting for against Beelzemon. It's all of these combined elements that make Gallantmon not only an awesome Mega form, but literally the perfect choice for Takato and Guilmon. Their thoughts and feelings are truly one here, which just makes One Vision all the more perfect insert song for this. And it also downright nails and proves my previous point in the Devas arc that Matrix Digivolution is a million times better than Pokéani's Ash-Greninja nonsense.

In the Devas arc, I stated that the Indramon fight was my favorite thus far. But my freaking God. From this point on, I have so many favorite fights in this series that I don't even know if I have an actual favorite. They're all that awesome, but Gallantmon VS Beelzemon begins to set that standard with a really good, evenly matched fight. Who possesses the upper hand is always changing, from powerful attacks from Gallantmon like Royal Saber and Final Elysion, to Beelzemon aiming one of his guns at contact range at Gallantmon (which naturally got censored in the dub), only for Kazu and Guardromon to drive Beelzemon away with Destruction Grenade and finally putting Gallantmon in a position to finish off Beelzemon. It's so action-filled and such a melee combat-heavy battle that it's definitely high up in one of my favorite Digimon fights. But this fight is stopped when Jeri begs Gallantmon not to kill Beelzemon because doing so won't bring Leomon back. And, well... she's right. This actually gets Beelzemon's attention as he retreats, now beginning to lose his own conviction. This arguably makes it an unfinished battle, but regardless of that it's too damn good not to love, and sparing Beelzemon proves to be the better choice as we see later in the series.

Now I know I gushed on and on about why Gallantmon is the perfect Mega Digimon and how he's perfect for Takato and Guilmon, but... unfortunately I can't quite do the same for Henry and Terriermon as well as Rika and Renamon when they achieve their Mega forms. Now, I'm by no means saying they get no development and that it doesn't work at all. But Takato and Guilmon were definitely better thought-out, being the main character of the series. It's the same way how Tai more or less got several episodes to develop activating his Crest of Courage while most characters got a few episodes at best or had a lot of it develop in the background. Still, this doesn't mean Henry and Rika don't get their good bits of writing and development with their Digimon. After defeating all of the Devas barring Lopmon (because of course Caturamon would also get an underwhelming death during the Gallantmon VS Beelzemon episode of all times, but to be fair it's because Beelzemon absorbs his data that the tides of the battle keep changing), Lopmon is to take the group to the "god" the Devas have gone on and on about--Zhuqiaomon, one of the Four Sovereigns. While these Four Sovereigns are different from the ones in the Adventure universe, let me just scream finally and thank you that Digimon Tamers actually brought the Four Sovereigns into a more prominent role than Adventure 02's lone plot-dumping Azulongmon.

Knowing they're about to face a god however, Henry begins to become overprotective of his sister Suzie, and I mean really overprotective. This is to the point that he acts out of his character (but naturally, not because of bad writing) by yelling and even almost hitting Suzie when she cries about not being able to come with Henry to confront Zhuqiaomon. I'd be lying if I said Suzie didn't annoy me here a bit too, but I think that was kind of the point for the audience to understand that Henry was becoming frustrated with the struggle of fighting in the Digital World but having to protect his younger sister at the same time. But because of this, Henry fails to notice Terriermon hiding a bad injury from the last fight with Caturamon. After Henry is forced to watch Zhuqiaomon break Rapidmon to literal pieces in a fight, he realizes this all happened because he worried about Suzie too much, and this basically brings Henry back to when he first saw Terriermon get injured through the Digimon video game, and it does nearly break him. But seeing Suzie sneak in leads both Henry and Terriermon to become protective of her--their convictions lining up just like Takato and Guilmon and leading them to Matrix Digivolve to MegaGargomon, and temporarily defeat Zhuqiaomon with a combination of Terriermon's missiles and Henry's martial arts techniques we saw him practice in previous episodes. Again, there's a sense of unity here in the Matrix Digivolutions that makes them work so well, even if Henry and Rika's aren't as deeply thought-out as Takato's. But I just need to ask: Am I the only one who finds it hilarious that the smallest Digimon of the main three evolves into a gargantuan dog mech?

But as I said before, Zhuqiaomon is just temporarily defeated--or more like it's just a fake-out defeat, but it's clear regardless that the Tamers and their Digimon are no match for a god... until another god shows up, our good old friend Azulongmon. Contrary to my initial belief while watching, he actually defends the Tamers and argues against Zhuqiaomon for taking Calumon in the first place. So it's here that once again, Azulongmon serves the purpose of giving plot dumps to the protagonists about what's going on and who the true enemy is for the show (the dub title for the episode is even called “Azulongmon Explains It All”). But the problem in that is... they don't even know who their true enemy is. Yeah, kinda hard to fight something you don't even know about isn't it? But I will say Azulongmon is definitely not as much of a plot device as he is in Digimon Adventure 02, nor does he have as much exposition. He actually does things and on top of that, we do get to see the other Four Sovereigns like the jolly Ebonwumon and... unfortunately very little presence of Baihumon. It's a shame because I do like how each of the Sovereigns are sort of tropes of old men--Zhuqiaomon is the grumpy old man, Azulongmon is the wise old man, and Ebonwumon is the jolly old man. Baihumon pretty much gets no personality or development, but I still give Tamers way more credit for including them and making most of them do things. Still, if we're going along with the old man tropes, should Baihumon be the senile old man a la Game Grumps' Dr. Hoffman? Not to mention, how do these old guys ever work together or get anything done in the Digital World? Maybe that explains why Azulongmon took forever to actually do something about Zuqiaomon being an asshole.

I should quickly go over Calumon now--revealed by Azulongmon and Zhuqiaomon to be not really a Digimon but a personification (Digification? Digimonification?) of the power to Digivolve Digimon, the "Digi-entelecheia". The term alone had my attention as a big nerd for Tales of Vesperia, but the short of it is that Calumon really is and truly just a plot device. But regardless? I don't care, because he's just too freaking adorable for me to hate and it's not complete BS, being brought forth to grant Digivolution to Digimon in the Digital World to address the real Big Bad of our show. I still have to commend Digimon Tamers for keeping me guessing about who I was supposed to see as the "villain" for the show, until finally giving us one. As for how I feel about our new villain we get to know as the D-Reaper, this is another thing I'll go into with my post of the last arc.

On that note though, Calumon does get in serious danger because he comes in contact with our villain. Something so threatening that just by touching anything in the Digital World, it deletes it. This includes any Digimon or even any human in the Digital World. So yeah, it's kind of no wonder that this thing is a big threat. And considering Calumon is in close range of it, in a cavern where it's basically taken the form of a lava lamp with dangerous blobs constantly floating up, the Tamers need to save him. This leads up to Renamon and Rika's inevitable Matrix Digivolution, which I should finally talk about. I would say it's simultaneously one of the most and least developed of the bunch. On one end, Rika's bond with Renamon has probably grown the most, having originally treated Renamon as nothing more than a servant but now treating her more as a true companion. But on the other end, the way it comes together is that after Rika and Renamon save Calumon and hand him off to Ryo (who just... showed up like he always does), Rika ultimately decides that even if they risk their lives to contain the D-Reaper from the others, they will still ultimately decide their fates together of whether they live or die and they make this life-risking decision together. It does still work, and I do like how Rika has gone through subtle but noticeable development, but the lead-up to the Matrix Digivolution to Mega form isn't quite as impactful to me as Takato and Guilmon's or Henry and Terriermon's. Still, I wouldn't call it bad by any means; I still do like it and I like seeing just how much Rika herself has changed. My personal opinion on Sakuyamon is that it's probably my second least favorite Mega form in this show (we'll get to the least favorite in the last arc fellas, I promise), but I certainly don't dislike her. Considering it's a human and Digimon merged design, I still find it more sensible than something like Nefertimon (whose random cleavage still bothers the crap out of me design-wise).

Having discussed all of the Matrix Evolutions here, I have to say that one detail I really love about them is that all three of them have their own variants for One Vision. Gallantmon's starts with a rocking guitar, MegaGargomon’s has a strong bass, and Sakuyamon's has a beautiful set of vocals with oriental instruments that fit her whole aesthetic. If you guys have read this post and know my personal tastes, you'll already know which variant is my favorite, but I do love all three.

With Calumon finally saved, the Four Sovereigns finally decide to utilize his power and he mass Digivolves many Digimon across the Digital World into their Mega forms, giving a lot of fun cameos of some great Mega forms like Hououmon, Plesiomon, MetalSeadramon, Gryphonmon and even a tiny little guy known as MarineAngemon, who ultimately ends up becoming Kenta's partner. And my God, MY GOD. MARINEANGEMON. IS. ADORABLE. I should be saving this bit for the next arc where MarineAngemon gets a tad more attention, but I may as well go on about it now. MarineAngemon is probably--no, IS the most adorable Mega form Digimon in existence. He has tiny little wings, he's small enough to fit in your pocket (exactly how he sneaks in along with Kenta), and he doesn't talk--he just makes little sounds of gibberish. But they're the most adorable sounds of gibberish ever. Seriously, I'm not sure what it is about Digimon Tamers having extremely adorable Digimon capable of being extremely powerful, but I am all for it and completely adore it. MarineAngemon is so adorable and precious that it's almost like if Gomamon and Patamon Jogress Digivolved into the cutest, most powerful thing in existence. It's that adorable. And normally, I will admit I should be annoyed when in the past I've been bothered by things like Kari ending up with a Champion level Gatomon and Meiko having the Champion level Meicoomon. But I guess I can excuse it for a few reasons:

Kenta is a much more minor character, and he and MarineAngemon are very downplayed (fortunately and unfortunately).

MarineAngemon, while by no means should be underestimated, isn't some sort of behemoth like Armageddemon.

MarineAngemon comes towards the very end of the show (with 10 episodes left), so he isn't relied on as a crutch or Deux ex Machina.

HE’S TOO GOSH DARN CUTE TO GET MAD ABOUT.

But enough gushing about this literal angel. After Calumon mass Digivolves a majority of the Digital World population, Takato receives a message from Yamaki that they have 40 minutes to reach a machine known as the Ark, something he and the Wild Bunch have been working on in the background all of this time to help the kids and their Digimon return home. But Rika and Renamon decide to go search for Impmon, wishing not to leave him behind but vowing to return in time. When they do come across him, they don't find Beelzemon but indeed Impmon, who has become a shadow of his former self in power and is even picked out by hordes of Chrysalismon like a flock of vultures--ironic in that he was once taking them out as target practice early in the arc. Rika and Renamon then rush back towards the Ark with him, but it has already begun leaving to the real world, even beginning to leave Takato behind who stays waiting for Rika. Out of desperation, Guilmon begs for the Ark to stop, and somehow... it does. This gives just enough time for Rika and Renamon to arrive with Impmon, and everyone manages to board the Ark safely and begin to make their way home. The D-Reaper tries to stop this of course, but Takato also begs for the Ark to take them home, actually leading it to respond through Yamaki's PDA with an "OK". It's a good bit of foreshadowing for the next arc, and honestly it was kind of cute to watch Guilmon try to converse with the Ark as if it were a friend.

And thus, everyone finally arrives back in the real world and reunites with their parents (even Ryo, who somehow has parents who knew exactly where he would show up) with the exception of Jeri, who has become ominously quiet since they discovered the D-Reaper. The reason she's alone however is because supposedly Jeri has an asshole dad who is so angry with her leaving that he'd rather her just find her way home by herself. Yeesh dude, she's been in a completely unknown world with her life constantly in danger. She may have made that choice, but show some damn hint of concern. Overhearing this however, Takato vows that he'll guide Jeri home, unable to shake off how much he cares for her. But he's pained to see her as nothing but a shell and even bursts out crying to her as he tries to confess his own feelings. And I have to admit, it's pretty painful to see. I know sometimes I'm annoyed by crushes in shows or that it's easy to get annoyed when a show tries to push a certain couple, but Takato's childish yet truly caring crush on Jeri is genuine enough for me to feel for. Not to mention, it's not often played for laughs too much and when it is, it's simple and charming. Here, there's some actual emotional development going on and it really does not only make you feel for Takato, but feel just as concerned for Jeri as he does.

When Takato manages to actually escort Jeri to her father, you can honestly feel how much of a mystery and how intimidating he is. I was just waiting for the moment he would slap her, and I wouldn't be surprised if he had done it off-screen. The whole thing, as minor as it is to the rest of the story, is pretty heartbreaking regardless.

And finally we reach the end of the Digital World arc, arguably the longest of any Digimon arc while remaining really eventful nonetheless, avoiding being dragged out too much for the most part. And all seems well in the end... until SURPRISE! Takato and Guilmon look on the news to see that the D-Reaper has found its way into the real world! What, were you actually expecting a happy or peaceful conclusion for this arc? Pfft, this is Digimon Tamers! We ain't got time for that!

Overall, the Digital Arc was a really exciting and extremely fun and heartbreaking arc to watch. While a little slow in the beginning and having a few odd episodes, once it picks up, it really picks up. There's so many amazing moments in this arc, from emotional to fun to just downright awesome. I really loved some of the developments that came from here, and there's just so many good fights in this arc alone. It definitely captured some of that Digimon Adventure feel of exploring the Digital World, but also in its own way and I really enjoyed it for that. Lots of characters got some nice development, we got a few random additions--some good and... then there's Ryo--and we got some much-needed insight on things like the origins of Guilmon and Calumon, as well as world-building for the Digital World. It was just really fun. If there's anything else I really had to complain about... it'd be how much it took to write about it. It took me not only a few weeks of putting off due to school work, but several days of actually writing this damned thing. And if it kind of shows in the sloppiness, I do apologize for that.

But now hopefully the D-Reaper arc won't be so hard on me. I mean, it's 10 episodes. How much could they really do in that time for me to talk about, right? ... Right?