#just miyako and hikari vibing :D

[benjidigitalchaos]

The gorls °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

Ignore my terrible ampersand-drawing skills I never learned how to draw one 😭

Some alt versions ⬇

They're so silly :3

[digitalgate02]

Can I be honest for a minute? As much i understand a few of those people were not vibing with this particular character based on the fears of her being just treated as a replacement for the 02 kids...

Meiko did not deserve the shitty hate she got back in 2015-2018.

Again, yeah i agree i was harsh on this subject, but i never had a legit hatred attitude towards Meiko as character and only as how her concept in the story was executed and how it felt like the narrative was pushing her to be more important than the missing 02 quartet.

But honestly, as a character she was a refreshing concept to me. A child suffering with struggles to adapt to the big city after living in a small town for years, possibly knowing everyone else there. And with a digimon partner who was also suffering strong issues to deal with when it comes to times she had to stay away from Meiko.

Meiko's whole concept was interesting to see, even if the direction and development was a whole mess imo. No, this is not supposed to be negative, i swear. I mean, there's messier things i like (lol Sonic franchise, anyone?) so i don't associate production problems = bad series, just "it had issues, like anything else had -- nothing is PERFECT"

Recently one of my old posts trying to bring positivity towards the Advverse and ▽ in a meme format had reblogged and i managed to now see the tags/comments in those reblogs. Those comments were OLD, but it reminded me of why I wanted to draw the line between my issues with Meiko and Meicoomon and their real haters -- Because I felt it was UNFAIR for them to be hated.

Like okay everyone also hated the 02 kids for being added to the Advverse and a good chunk of people only cares about 02 as a sequel with Taichi and co. instead of a brand new story about a new group of children. I don't condemn people who prefers Taichi over Daisuke, etc. But i feel kinda wary when people thinks it's okay to drop hate on the new characters like if they were there to "steal the spotlight" from the "Original Eight", getting people losing their minds the moment Daisuke has a crush on Hikari, or has strong bonds with Taichi enough to Taichi himself pass the goggles to him as form of support. Countless of times seeing people claiming weird takes about the 02 kids, and only accepting Ken as the "only good new character" for some reason.

Meiko was in the same position as the 02 kids were a long time ago, and that rubbed me the wrong way. Like i said, my problem with Meiko was not her being a brand new character and yes how she had a very messy development, her role was poorly handled enough to make me (and possibly other people) mistake her as some sort of "02 kids replacement". But as character?! She's cute, she had really fun moments and i liked when she managed to be brave and stand for herself. Her design is pretty cute too! And despite how this series handled Meicoomon, i think Meicoomon's design is one of the best designs we got in 2015-2018 and it's sad that the good line for Meicrackmon had never been used until ReArise (for a character banner event alas) and Rasielmon briefly cameo-ing in Adventure 2020 (the reboot, Psi, whatever you call it)

"Oh Ni, if Meiko had been handled better, don't you think--" No, i know this fanbase well enough since 2010s -- They would find a reason to hate on her. I mean, she's in a weird position of people just being kinda misogynic because you don't see this awful hatred towards Rui? I don't think I saw ONE person who hates Ohwada Rui (tbh i blocked most of the 02TB haters to avoid them all) and all the hate falls upon Ukkomon instead. But Meiko? She was hated for multiple reasons that felt very similar to how people hated Miyako back in time. (Or Sora, but Sora seems to get less hate than Miyako and Meiko imo?)

Not to mention the weird hatred Himekawa Maki got too (some old RPer friends who used to write Maki claimed they got HATE from anons for writing this character) -- The only character from that series that i did not see getting any hate was Nishijima Daigo, and oh i do wonder why??

So yeah, ▽ is soon 10th years old and i'm still thinking about it -- how people thought (and still think, i suppose) that new characters in an existed universe franchise are bad, and how the GIRLS are always getting shitty hatred for just "getting in the way" of ships or friendships.

However, i never liked that some of the Meiko fans would be condescending and fight hatred with hatred by saying unfair things about the 02 kids, inaccurate facts, treating every single criticism towards the way Meiko had been handled as some sort of "hate" and labeling people who was chill about her but didn't like her as if they were part of the annoying awful hatedom she got.

Seeing the 02 kids fans and the Meiko fans FIGHTING made me mad. As much i am upset at any discourse involving "who's the FIRST!?" when it comes to Maki-Daigo and Rui. (Also i repeat that i hate the whole retcon campaign and i think they just altered anything contradictory to fit both Kizuna and 02TB, because canon is something more complex than what you think.)

Anyway, I came to like Meiko later when i got to see legit positivity from friends and talking with them about her supposed concept in the story. I'm a fanartist/writer so i can pick what isn't contradictory to the lore AND that wasn't self-contradicted by the series, and write what makes me happy.

I'd like to vent this out, how it had been a pain to explain that "No, i'm no Meiko-Meicoo hater, i'm just a disappointed person who wished they had gotten better treatment instead" and i admit my behavior back in time was insufferable and my head wasn't in the right place, so most of my posts and such might have sounded like a legit hater when i wasn't. And now this kinda haunts me because people may think me making silly jokes to cope as some sort of condescending attitude but nope. I was utterly disappointed with its development. (Also again, i'd prefer to be allowed to disown part of the 5th movie and the entirely of the 6th and last one because i don't like how they were done and i don't want Maki and Daigo to be DEAD.)

[otakween]

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning

So, I saw The Beginning yesterday at an AMC theater. I saw it subbed to keep things consistent. I'm gonna split up my reaction into two parts: experience and the movie itself. Angry rant ahead...

Side note: Why is this movie called "The Beginning?" Are they planning more...? (I mean, they're always planning more I guess lol).

Theater Experience:

Always such a delight to see an anime movie in theaters, it's becoming as common as every-other-month these days which is very exciting! It's very rare that I get to see a movie like this that's a continuation of a series. Usually I'm not caught up enough to do that (although I did watch the Shirobako and Jujutsu Kaisen movies without watching the shows lol).

I had no idea that they were going to give me trading cards as I walked in!! This seems to becoming a more common gimmick these days. When I saw the most recent MHA movie they gave me a mini manga. More of this please! I know it's just cheap junk, but it makes the whole thing feel like an experience :D

Theater was more crowded than I expected and full of geeks, of course. I heard someone's ring tone go off and it was a Digimon sound effect. When the ad for the vital bracelet played one dude proudly shook his wrist in the air. I saw a Gatomon plush and the dude in front of me got so hype for the digivolutions that he started filming it on his phone (which I don't condone, but it was kinda funny seeing how into it he was).

Not a single child in the crowd. I guess this movie is obvious millennial-bait tho, so that's to be expected. (Also it was 7pm on a dark Thursday).

Cute little intro interview with the director was cute. My brain had to adjust to reading subtitles on a big screen. I guess I just don't watch foreign films outside the home too often.

Movie Reaction (MAJOR SPOLERS AHEAD):

WTF did I watch!? This movie was batshit crazy and I have many conflicting emotions. I feel like it was simultaneously super intense and really bland at the same time? Let me elaborate...

Putting aside the new dude for a second, the 02 cast really didn't do much in this at all. They all kind of acted as a collective instead of feeling like distinct people with their own roles to play. Their entire motivations/existence revolved around Lui's plot line which is really a bummer. Some characters, like Iori and Hikari were especially sidelined and bland (not that Iori was that great to begin with lol).

The only scenes I really liked with the 02 cast were when everyone (especially Miyako) was telling Lui to cut the edgy crap and just talk to them. I like when aloof characters are called out like that. Also, I liked the part where Miyako accused Daisuke and Ken of flirting teehee (queer baiting!? In MY digimon??) That got a laugh out of the audience too.

Okay...moving onto Lui's story. Jesus Christ. I liked where it was going at first and thought the whole grimdark, Madoka angle (major Kyuubey vibes) was interesting (if not a little too over the top), but then (in my opinion) they COMPLETELY bungled things!! So essentially, Ukkomon kills Lui's parents and potentially multiple children in their efforts to "make Lui happy" by making all the humans in his life behave "correctly." Horrifying and effectively creepy (especially in the scene where they "puppet" Lui's parents). This all culminates in Lui "killing" Ukkomon and losing his eye (which then gets replaced with Ukkomon's eye). I was on board for this horror angle, but then the 02 kids were like "awwww, poor Ukkomon~" WHAT. THE. FUCK. A kid tells you that a monster thingy killed your parents and your reaction is "but did you try being their friend??" Nooooo! So basically the rest of the movie is the kids victim blaming/gaslighting Lui into submission and he's like "you know what? It IS my fault that my parents died! I should have been a better friend." NOPE. This madness just ruined the whole thing for me. Like, what the hell were they thinking? Anyway, rant over. I'll go back to talking about the not as heinous things now.

I liked Ukkomon's sea angel-based design. I didn't exactly find them cute but they were good at being creepy. It was definitely disturbing to see what happens when a digimon partner is HATED by their human.

The "Unkomon" joke was funny but they didn't give a translator's note or anything so I was wondering how many people in my theater got it lol (I guess it depends on how much anime you've seen).

Lui's digimon eye looked really stupid and I think they knew that because they covered it up for most of the movie. I think it was more effectively shown in brief closeups but anymore than that it was just too goofy looking to take seriously.

The scenes about digimon bonds and the (obviously fake) threat of losing them were boring and cheesy. I think they were going for heartwarming, but something about it was very forced. The stakes definitely never felt real.

At the beginning of the movie they used smartphones to digivolve instead of their D3s...wha...?

Speaking of D3s, when they faded away (weirdly slowly) at the end and Hikari was like "what even was the digivice for anyway?" I had to laugh. That's what I've been saying! The lore around digivices, D3s, Arcs (or whatever Tamers wanted me to call them) has always been so vague. Anyway, I feel like they should be more concerned. Doesn't this mean they can't digivolve now...? (They acted like the power of friendship would just make it happen somehow, but I'm not convinced).

The updated digivolution scenes were fun (and funny to see on the big screen), but after watching Tamers, they still seemed lazily done comparatively. I still dislike that they show the greater digivolution at the start of the sequence. What's the point of that?

The movie started with Bolero, because of course. I had to roll my eyes at the nostalgia pandering. We also got a random reference to the first Digimon Adventure short film. That felt jarring since the animation style is so different.

So like...Lui time traveled and told his abusive mom to "be nice cuz your son loves you" and that just stopped all abuse forever? Riiiight...What is it with anime's crappy handling of child abuse lately? They pulled this same shit in Belle. You can't stop domestic violence by going "tsk tsk" to the abuser!

Rolling my eyes at Lui's introduction: "He's the first kid to ever partner with a digimon AND he has a super special eye AND cool grey hair AND his digimon can grant wishes." Serious "My OC don't steal!!" vibes.

Wait...I don't think they ever followed through with the "Ukkomon is connected to a digimon God" plot thread. Is that for the sequel or something? (Digimon 02 2 - The End? lol)

We got a little shipping stuff with Miyako and Ken at the end there. They had zero chemistry in the show and they continue to have zero chemistry in the movie...yaaaay.

I feel like, other than Daisuke and Lui, they just gave all the other guys the same haircut and they faded into the background lol. Ken just looks like some guy now.

Ukkomon's eldritch design was cool. I wish they just let him be evil instead of misunderstood...

So yeah, the writing in this was kind of a train wreck but I had fun regardless! Very curious to hear the dubbed version someday. How many people reprised their roles?

[dutchforstrangers]

EXTRA! DIGIWEEK DAY 5 - CROSSOVER

Let's do some headcanons, shall we? Last week @imaginedigimon posted these headcanons of a mixed Asian/Hispanic Sora and it led me to this:

In the Heights... I LOVE this musical so much <3 All the latino and dancing and vibing and yes! Here's the trailer:

And like I said, those mixed Asian/Hispanic headcanons gave me the reason to think of In the Heights x Digimon Adventure crossover headcanons. And what better day to write such a post than on Crossover day 5 of @digiweek! So here goes.

The story

The story here is basically the same. There's a guy (Usnavi) with a store, inherited from his deceased parents, who has this dream to go back to the land he was born in, thinking that's his dream. However he was raised on this block in this city he's living in now, so eventually he's torn between leaving or staying. Simultaneously all the other characters have their own aspirations and dreams, but they shouldn't forget where they came from. That's the main theme and story, the characters will be quite the same from the movie/musical, but with some changes here and there suiting the Chosen Children and the relationships between them (for now I will only cover the 8 Digimon Adventure 01 crew members).

I want the set up to be a little different though. So it's not like a latino block on the Island Manhattan in NYC, but it's more like a city or village on it's own. Something like Big Hero 6's 'San Fransokyo'... Maybe 'Santo Dotokyo'? Could be. Anyway, it's a mix of Latino and Japan (that's actually a very weird combination. I like it!).

How about pairings you may ask?? You'll find out when you proceed reading ;D

The characters

Usnavi / Taichi Yagami: Of course my boy is the lead! He's smooth yet awkward, fierce yet cute, determined yet clueless. Sounds like our goggle headed fella right? So Taichi owns the store, like a true work-a-holic works very very hard. He's friendly, always supporting and beaming positivity. He knows the whole community and the whole community knows him, everyone well aware of his father's dream to patch up the bar on the exotic island they came from. Taichi though is still figuring out his dream and is torn between staying for the community (and his love interest...) or leaving for his (father's?) dream. Plus let's not forget he has some very serious salsa skills like a true latino! The dancing is on, gosh how much I love my Taichi swaying...

Nina / Hikari Yagami: Taichi's younger sister, kind and innocent, who followed their mother's dream to study abroad. The community believed in her and fully supported her like the little light she is, she being the first one to 'make it out'. However during her time abroad she starts to feel lonely and left out, gets homesick and travels back to her hometown and brother with the idea to never go back abroad. Though she just needs the courage to go through and that convincing might come from her community, her brother and her lover.......

Sonny / Koushiro Izumi: In this universe Koushiro, who works with Taichi in the shop, is a 'cousin' from Taichi and Hikari! He has been abandoned by his own mother -who probably was someone with a drug addict- but then he was taken in by Taichi's and Hikari's aunt and uncle..! Yes, this makes Kae a blood relative to Taichi and Hikari, being Yuuko's sister (I love that idea, although it makes both Taishiro and Koukari impossible...). Koushiro is a smart kid, quiet, but always there with his words right on time. He wants to go to college or university badly, the smart kid he is, but because he was never officially adopted and therefore isn't fully registered, his chances are low... Taichi and the community might be of help here.

Vanessa / Sora Takenouchi: WEPA VANESSA SORA! In the musical Vanessa aspires to become a fashion designer. Oh hey, that's such a Sora! Where Hikari wants to come home, Sora desperately wants to leave everything behind to start anew. She works in Mimi's beauty salon only to make money so she can move to a bigger city. It's kind of like a rebellion against her traditional mother who wants her to stay in the community and take over the flower shop. However she might be staying as fashion inspiration can also come from within the community and a certain someone she loves *cough*Taichi*cough*, but doesn't want to admit (this is a very self indulgent Taiora AU thank you very much).

Daniela / Mimi Tachikawa: The salon lady! Or boss is better. She is an entrepreneur pur sang and makes sure everyone looks good with beautiful nails and shiny hair! She's fierce, doesn't take no for an answer (no nonsense policy yup) and always has her eyes and ears open. And her mouth too, because the girl looooooves to gossip! Especially with her two salon companions (from which one HAS to be Miyako -and yes Mimi and Miyako are the lesbian couple-), ¡No me diga! Also: she absolutely loves to tease employee Sora by telling untrue rumors about Taichi just to see how Sora reacts. So sly Meems.

Benny / Takeru Takaishi: This might come as a surprise, because to be honest Taichi would fit Benny so well. But I went for Takeru as Benny, because Takeru can be just as smooth -and kinda sly-. Takeru is one of Taichi's best friends if not thé best friend (I love to explore that dynamic)! A best friend with a love interest in the best friend's sister a.k.a. Hikari. They are secret lovers who are not as secretly in love (Nina Kari and Benny Keru sitting in a tree... k i s s i n g) as they think they are. Takeru works across the street in a record store (yes, this is a big difference from the musical itself) where he takes over the community radio station in the morning. There he has a story telling podcast, telling fictional stories based on the stories of the community (Mimi always informs him with the latest gossip). Eventually he wants to go to college, just like Hikari studies abroad, to become a writer.

(Graffiti) Pete / Yamato Ishida: This is even more of a stretch, but bear with me! Graffiti Pete is a true artistic lone wolf! Spraying art on walls through the whole city and it's absolutely fabulous. He's Takeru's older brother, but was raised by his father after their parents splitted up, and also friends with the gang. Though he may have made some art on the window shutters from Taichi's shop... However, Yamato is not only a graffiti artist, he's also a musician, always 'borrowing' stealing records from the shop Takeru is working. Yamato is just a very mysterious guy, but also a very nice friend with artistic and deep emotional help from unexpected corners.

Piragüero / Jyou Kido: Haha okay, this is weird..! Actually this is great role for Daisuke, but because we're here giving the roles to the Adventure 01 cast, this one goes to Jyou. Simply because piragua (which is shaved ice) guy has a heart of gold and is super reliable, one of the oldest ones on the block, one who has seen it all. He's also a bit silly, doing this horrible work on the street, while he failed to become a doctor (so sad), but he brings joy to others! And also great advice, especially when it comes to following dreams no matter how big or small. Jyou is the one who doesn't let you forget where you came from!

And there are so many more headcanons I could come up with, so this might gets a continuation eventually. But for now, this is it (: