otakween

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 26

Hm, this felt like a weaker one to me. Even though there was a plot reveal, a new fusion, and a big villain defeat it somehow felt like not much happened. I'm very sick of diginoir. Why did they think that was a good idea? -_-

Notes:

The main plot of this episode was about Shoutmon struggling to keep up with all of the fusions/xros (xrosses?) It's definitely good for a main character to show weakness, but it seemed pretty easily resolved by the end of the episode.

The Blastmon fight was pretty boring. It kinda feels like "him again?" at this point. At least we got some new lore about him (his ability to create doubles through his shards).

I wonder if Blastmon's dialogue in the original Japanese was improvised at all? He says a lot of goofy stuff that feels unscripted.

A lot of Engrish in this episode which is always fun. I wonder if they ever add English to pass off shows as more educational? (Like how we have random Spanish in our shows sometimes). It's probably more just to sound cool...

Ballistamon holding onto Shoutmon's tail when they were sneaking around at night was really cute.

All the talk of fusing being hard on Shoutmon's body made me wonder what a Shoutmon (non-fusion) digivolution would look like. Maybe if he had a bigger form the fusing would be less harsh?

So Damemon/Tsuwarmon is secretly conspiring against the Bagramon army. This season has too many groups for me to keep track of 😵‍💫

Nene randomly appearing at the end was kind of stupid. It's like the show's saying "she's only relevant if we need her digimon for a fusion." Also...how did she know that this battle was going down exactly? She just decided to take a break from searching for her brother?

Taiki hears another "melody" at the end of the episode. I still think this whole music theme feels really out of place and inconsistent.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 25

This episode was kinda boring, but the visuals were nice. I liked the disc zone's design (even though it's kinda random). It was also cool to see Mercurymon and Lunamon again (I feel like Lunamon deserves more hype honestly).

Kiriha was acting like, Death Note levels of hammy evil this episode, which is weird because I coulda sworn he was kinda chill a few episodes ago. Oh well, I guess things are ramping up.

Notes:

Kiriha mocking Blastamon's attack name caught me off guard lol (though I have no clue what a "zubagon" is). I'm glad they kept that line in the dub.

I was pretty shook when Kiriha's digimon bitch slapped Taiki 😨 someone should make a compilation video of top 10 Digimon smackdowns. Taiki didn't really react that much which was a little disappointing.

Lilithmon's weird Damemon companion continues to be entertaining, "Dame! Dame!" I like how she thinks he's neat.

Speaking of digimon who forget they're digimon...the Evilmon say "evil" in a Japanese accent at the end of their sentences lol. Imagine if they did that in the dub?

Kiriha's intensity was kinda hot in this episode ngl 😏 (you know, if he wasn't like 12 or however old these kids are supposed to be). His goal is kinda stupid though. World domination is just a boring goal.

Wait, why did the fusion dissolve again? (shrug)

When they revealed that Nene wasn't with the group because she's "looking for her brother" I was so annoyed. We just got her, wtf!? Also, didn't Taiki tell her that they'd help search for her brother?? What happened to that!? Way to kill her character's momentum 😑They probably won't give her a solo episode either, huh?

Only 5 episodes to go! Well...in this season. I'm planning on taking a gaming break in between seasons to break things up :)

[otakween]

I can't be the only one who sees the similarities...

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 24

Shiny Nene returns! Why do they keep animating her like that? It looks kinda good but very out of place lol. This was actually a Zenjirou episode which was a nice change of pace. He's a pretty boring character, not gonna lie, but I'm always happy when they give people other than Taiki stuff to do.

Notes:

I've kinda already mentioned this, but the Digimemories are such a letdown of a gimmick. I think it's because the digimon summons are dead silent and look like fuzzy holograms. It's just never exciting like you'd expect.

Dorulumon babysitting Zenjirou and the Monitamon was a funny bit

Loved all of the Japanese-styled digimon at the temple. Kabukimon's design was super cool and it was cool to see one of the Devas again (Caturamon).

Nene's xros loader moment was pretty exciting. I think the animators knew she'd be a favorite (the redeemed character always is). He white xros loader reminds me of when Rika switched to her full heart shirt in Tamers.

Babamon did catch me off guard there, I thought it would just be another Monitamon. (Why is Babamon their princess tho? Digimon society is so random...)

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 23

This episode must have been such a pain to localize...so many puns. I don't know why but I've never liked ninjas. The whole vibe does nothing for me (even though I loved Naruto in middle school like everyone else). Nice to have a silly breather episode, even though this season hasn't been that dark to begin with lol.

Notes:

New opening visuals to show off all the fusions and some new characters. Honestly the reused animation felt pretty cheap though. I suppose we'll get a new song in season 2. Will we ever get an ED?

I thought it was pretty clever that the weaker Monitamon had crappier reception when playing videos. Why did they think to combine ninjas and TV-themed digimon? Is it because there are ninja in TV dramas a lot? (I don't actually watch Japanese period drama so IDK).

It sorta felt like the Etemon added nothing. They seemingly only put them in the episode so there was a reason to fuse (other than the gag fusions)

Karatenmon requiring a laugh battle reminded me of that one character from Neopets who gives you prizes if you make him laugh. I'm not really sure why Akari and Nene were able to get him to crack. I wonder if he just likes girls better lol

Why were the gag fusions better than the actual fusions? The Cutemon and Monitamon fusions were fire. They seemed more cleanly combined and recognizable than the other fusions.

Etemon ripping off their "skin" only to have more skin underneath (under their ninja outfits) was a mind fuck

Akari being happy to see Nene smile was sweet. She probably doesn't feel right smiling and laughing when her brother's in trouble :(

Not the random Seinfeld reference in the dub lol

I just noticed that Taiki says "listen to the melody of this digimon I caught" at the end of each sub episode, but catching digimon isn't really a thing so I don't know what he's talking about...? (I guess putting them in his Xros loader could be consider catching but they volunteer so...)

[otakween]

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 22

I loved this episode! It was a nice change of pace and almost like a bottle episode. Wisemon is a really fun character. I like how he's kind of neutral good. Also, he lives inside a transdimensional book which is just cool.

Notes:

We got some Digital World lore which I always appreciate. The explanation that the Digital World existed before humans is really fun. (It also makes my brain hurt considering how many digimon are based on human concepts, but oh well!)

In addition to that lore we also got some counts for how many code crowns all the "teams" have. The numbers were pretty unexpected to me since we haven't exactly seen the Bagra army or Kiriha collecting crowns. Huh...this would make a good board game, wouldn't it?

Taiki helping a digimon who was about to vivisect him was kinda wild, but it worked in the long run I guess lol. All the "specimen" scenes were kinda freaky..

Arkadimon being a digimon that specifically hunts in the rift between zones was cool too. I liked their design.

Bastemon does something useful for once and Knightmon makes a reappearance! Nice.

I was all excited for Nene to join the crew and then she's unconscious the whole episode, figures -_-

Monitamon was a ninja this whole time!? I feel like I only noticed that on a subliminal level and now it's finally clicked. Next episode looks like a silly goofy good time.

[otakween]

12-sai (manga) - Volumes 1 & 2

I've seen all of the anime for this, but I've never read the manga. To my surprise, it's never been translated into English 😭 No respect for kids' manga, I guess. Anyways, this series isn't that memorable, but it's a cute, fluffy time. Very much "baby's first shoujo manga" vibes. It also has an otome game I look forward to checking out.

By the way, if you study Japanese (like me) this is great beginners reading practice! (Anything kodomomuke would be, I guess).

Volume 1

So Hanabi and Takao are like the generic, perfect couple and Yui and Hiyama are the more angsty, tsundere guy/anxious girl couple. Obviously the latter is more compelling which is probably why they get more screentime. This series has 20 volumes, so I'm hoping we get some character development.

Maybe I'm just naive, but I don't remember this much sexual harassment when I was in 6th grade. If boys went around flipping girls' skirts it would probably lead to some serious repercussions. The immaturity feels realistic though.

Speaking of immaturity, the intensity of Yui and Hiyama's relationships, Yui's constant crying, and them being equally embarrassed and awkward was very sweet. I think that's this series' selling point. Innocent puppy love :)

Hiyama telling Yui she doesn't need to rush into being intimate because they have forever was pretty smooth for a 6th grader

The "a girl's arm feels just like her boobs" thing definitely stuck with me from the anime lol. That elementary school logic...(I mean, kinda true though)

Super cute that a bunch of fanart was included. I kinda wish they put in the ages of the fans because I'm curious about this series' demographics (probably 12 and under I guess). Either way, they're all more talented than me lol.

The teacher crying in the background whenever the boys acted like lil shits was a mood 😂

Volume 2

More puberty drama and bullying. The first chapter was all about buying your first bra. I don't remember anyone giving two shits about that when I was 12 tbh. I vaguely remember wearing some kind of tank top before I graduated to bras, but I don't think getting my first real bra was a big occasion nor was I excited about it. Of course, I'm sure some girls are (a la Lizzie McGuire lol).

We get more of a feel for Hanabi and Takao's dynamic in this volume. I really like Hanabi chapters cuz she's so cute. I wasn't cutesy like her, but I was also a late bloomer and clung on to childhood, so I can relate to her.

Takao continues to be a generic prince but he does manage to get mad at Hanabi at least (for a good reason). The other boys in class keeping a record of all his cheesy lines was funny. I could definitely see kids doing that lol.

Hanabi gets a second admirer (Tsutsumi) for extra drama. They have that dynamic where he's kinda an asshole but Hanabi is such a ray of sunshine that she keeps trying to befriend him (Kyo and Tohru vibes). He might be more interesting than Takao, but more toxic (funny how that works).

The chapter where no one has their own cellphone made me nostalgic. Remember when kids didn't have phones? 😭Good times...(eh, who am I kidding, I got my first one around that age).

Hiyama's mom teasing him about having a girlfriend was also adorable. I hope we get some parent scenes!

Bonus chapter (one-shot): Hitotsu Hana Saitara

A cheesy and predictable story, but it was pretty sweet nonetheless. These "spirit of person in coma visits friends" stories seem common in Japanese media. I wonder how far back that goes? (I can't think of many western examples...)

If I over-analyze stuff, the main couple actually didn't seem that compatible 😅 I know there's more to relationships than food and movie tastes though. It really turned me off how he kept telling her she needed to act more girly to find a boyfriend. I guess he wasn't being all that serious though.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 21

I think it's just because I'm distracted by other stuff today, but I struggled to get super invested in this one. My bad! It definitely had some cool moments but there were a lot of exposition scenes that slowed it down a bit.

Notes:

It was fun to see Lilithmon interact with another villain. I feel like it's kind of unusual to have competing villains in Digimon? I'm probably just forgetting something though...

Taiki being able to punch Kiriha back to his senses was satisfying. Digimon continues the trend of "punching each other = friendship" lol. Kiriha gained +2 respect for Taiki

I think there was a new digi-xros/digi-fuse animation? There was a more elaborate closeup of the xros loader. It felt like a toy ad, not gonna lie. (Hey, it's effective, I kinda want one).

Obviously I know everything will be okay, but Nene trusting Taiki is a big gamble from her POV. For all she knows, DarkKnightmon could insta-kill her brother the second she leaves that tower. We don't even know where he is! It'll be interesting to see how they rescue him.

That MetalGreymon/Cyberdramon fusion was an abomination 😳I can't figure out where its face is!

So DarkKnightmon's evil plan was forced fusion? The implications of that could be pretty creepy. I'm not sure why he would need to "force" his own subordinates to fuse with him, that was confusing to me...It would have been more unsettling if he fused with the good guys, but I'm guessing that comes later.

Hm, I kinda like Bagramon's design. We usually get effeminate big bads, so it's nice to have a burly guy for a change of pace.

Nene's on the team now, hurray! This opens up way more opportunities for fun character moments. 🤩 Let's hope they don't tarnish it by giving us a bunch of jealous Akari moments -_-

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 20

I'll just say again, I really like this season's dedication to having interesting settings. It really keeps things exciting. This was a more low key episode than the previous, but had plenty of fun moments. Also, more train digimon! Makes me nostalgic for Frontier lol.

Notes:

Pinocchimon was so cute in this episode. I don't think they played with his nose growing in the past? It was funny when Akari couldn't remember what the significance of that was.

This zone kinda gives Mad Max vibes with everyone stealing to please the overlord-like GrandLocomon. I like the darker tone contrasted with the lovey-dovey jungle zone.

Please enjoy this frame of Taiki:

(usually they don't let anime characters get this ugly lol)

Akari chucking Dorulumon to cushion Taiki's fall was really funny, but he also has massive blades jutting out of his back, so I'm not sure he makes the best pillow.

Pinocchimon being dragged along the tracks seemed uncharacteristically violent, but I guess he's fine? I was just thinking back to that one scene in Baccano (iykyk). Shoutmon and Dorulumon also get ground against GrandLocomon's wheel like it's no big deal (bars)

It sorta felt like Kiriha fell for DarkKnightmon's trap a little too easily, but whatever. First he used Nene and now Kiriha :'( I wonder where Nene really is? It's kind of weird he needs to rely on children to begin with. I know humans give digimon extra power and all, but there's so many villains that don't rely on that.

Final shot of DarkKnightmon looking very Gurren Lagann-esque. Are the digimon in the back Kiriha's? (Maybe corrupted versions?)

[otakween]

16bit Sensation: Another Layer - Episode 9

Yet another cliffhanger, this show loves those. This one was pretty good! It was inspiring and exciting to see them finish their "big comeback" game. I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes montage a lot. Looks like we're going back to weird stuff next time.

Notes:

I know the butterfly effect is something as small as a butterfly flapping its wings, but a few bishoujo games being release changed the future that much!? I don't know if I buy it. Maybe if it was something more mainstream like a hit TV show or movie, but I feel like bishoujo games are too niche to have that big an impact. (Well, anything's possible with time travel, I guess 🤷‍♀️)

The description of the game they put out sounded insane, 500-ish CGs!? (I don't remember the exact number lol). Do the character models and backgrounds count as CGs because that sounds like an absurd amount to me.

I didn't realize that the main cast did the music and character voices for their games as well. Did that really happen back in the day? If so, damn, that's impressive.

Someday I too will take a bath at an onsen and then drink fruit flavored milk lol. I just...can't go with anyone I know >_>

The quality of game they demoed and then Mamoru flashing the floppy disks did not compute in my brain. Ain't no way...

I wish we had an equivalent of "Banzai" in the US. It would be fun to shout "Hooray!" with my coworkers, but ain't nobody doing that lol (I'm not sure if Japanese people shout banzai nowadays in professional settings, but it looks fun).

Loved the reference to the humble beginnings to modern day Akihabara with the Dejiko building. I wonder which anime are plastered all over the place nowadays? When I was there in 2017 it was Sword Art Online stuff lol

Touya's hair still annoys me, hair doesn't work like that. Also, I felt bad when Konoha gave her the incomprehensible "now may not be the right time" answer. I guess Japanese people are more accustomed to vague answers though...

Konoha's voice continues to be extremely grating. That last line where she calls Mamoru an old man would have been funny but she screamed it and it was irritating instead.

[otakween]

11eyes - Picture Drama (Final Thoughts)

These are little DVD bonus features (13 in total) that are basically an enhanced manga (with voice acting). They can be found on YouTube. Unfortunately, they are only in Japanese. I did my best to understand them, but the voices were so kooky and fast that it was hard sometimes. I watched most of them twice with the speed cut in half.

Firstly, the concept of the villains reacting to each episode like 11eyes fans was hilarious. It was also just fun seeing a sillier side to their characters (especially with such little screen time they have in the anime). The voice acting was (mostly) really good as well. Even the human characters had some cameos and got to act silly.

For the downsides...they, for some reason, gave Acedia the most ear-splittingly awful voice ever 💀 EXTREMELY high pitched and always SCREAMING their dialogue. I had to turn the volume down for their panels it was so obnoxious. Weird. Second, a lot of the humor was super juvenile, lots of jokes about panties and boobs. I found the meta humor funny, but the ecchi jokes got old. Like most of them were just for shock value.

There was a funny gag in the last episode about how you shouldn't watch anime with your parents that made me laugh. I never see that mentioned in Japanese stuff but it's definitely a western meme so I was caught off guard 😂

There was definitely some stuff lost in translation, but I gave this a higher rating than the actual show lol (6 out of 10). At least it was funny!

[otakween]

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 19

This episode popped 👏 off 👏 I usually watch Digimon lying down, but I sat up and at attention once this episode started getting juicy. Even the animation was good, which tells you they knew this was an important one. Now I'm hyped for the final 3rd of the season 🤩

Notes:

So now we have all three team names: Xros Heart, Twilight and Blue Flare. I still don't really get why there are teams to begin with. I guess they're competing for the code crowns, right? Kiriha vaguely wants to make the digital world better and Taiki wants to defeat the Bagra army. At this point Nene just seems like she's only in it to protect her family?

That love dance was pretty funny, very Timon and Pumba vibes. I think it was better in the dub because they put more effort into the lyrics lol.

I was kind of disappointed when Deckerdramon's design was revealed. I liked him better when he looked like a big gold statue instead of an ugly mech.

That scene where DarkKnightmon de-fuses was just like in Steven Universe when you find out that Garnet was a fusion all along. Except...who cares? Like, it doesn't really change much :l (I guess it means there are actually two digimon blackmailing Nene? Is one of them the mastermind?)

Kiriha's digimon don't have much personality. I hope they get more screen time so we can get to know them. They just seem like stoic badasses so far.

Kiriha and Taiki teaming up with a fun insert song was really satisfying. I only wish it wasn't so short lived! (It'll happen again).

I think Kiriha x Nene would be an interesting ship since they're both kind of intense weirdos. They both also clearly have family baggage so plenty of room for bonding there...

The traumatic backstory scenes were kept very vague. I'm kind of more intrigued to find out how Kiriha's family could possibly connected to the digital world? Actually, more real world stuff would be pretty hype. Hopefully we get an interlude like in Adventure.

Beelzebumon one shotting an entire army of GranKuwagamon at the end there was pretty OP lol

Deckerdramon chooses Kiriha because he has "the most love." I did like how unexpected that was. Kiriha didn't question it that much either. Intriguing.

[otakween]

16bit Sensation: Another Layer - Episode 8

WTF was that? lol. This episode was weirdly high concept and about aliens living in 1985? I guess they probably have something to do with the time travel magic? They also seemed aware of the future and who Mamoru was. I know we were already doing time travel, but this was beyond the level of weird I expected from this show.

Notes:

I will say, Mamoru in 1985 was very relatable. I too would go on a massive shopping spree if zapped into the past (I felt genuinely sad for him when he couldn't bring his haul into the present).

I guess the aliens goal is to understand humanity and their capacity to imagine. Pretty funny that bishoujo games would be their medium of choice for that (and not like...painting or something).

Some of the details about 1980s game development was cringe worthy in how tedious it all sounded (drawing with a keyboard and copying a tracing done on cling wrap!?) I guess it makes sense that there was a time when mouses were unnecessary, but that's not a time I'm old enough to remember.

Echo 2 wearing different cosplay for Mamoru's judgement was pretty cute. Did she do anything to help develop the games though? Didn't seem like it...

I know it wasn't normal water, but seeing Echo 1 dunk cassettes and floppies into his liquid-like device made me stressed out lol

Wish we had more time to soak in 80s culture instead of focusing on the aliens, but the retro futuristic vibes were kinda neat.

I'm calling them "aliens" because of the general vibes (and the literal spaceman outfit at the end) but maybe they're not from space. They could be from another dimension.

That would be funny if this was just a one-off and the Echoes were never mentioned again. I'm sure that won't be the case though

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 18

Another fun episode. From the heaven zone to the jungle zone. These are like video game levels lol. I appreciate the variety of scenery and digimon. Stingmon and Lilamon make a cute couple!

Notes:

lol @ Dorulumon's butt helicopter shame

Although I still think their characters are kinda pointless, I was glad that Akari and Zenjirou got some more screen time this time, and without Taiki. I kinda wish they had more time on their own, so they can be developed as more than just Taiki cheerleaders...

Normally I'm not a fan of Stingmon's design but I thought he looked pretty cool here. I think they made his color palette more saturated?

They gave Lilamon a southern belle accent in the dub <3 so cute

Beelzebumon reacting stoically to the comedy relief hijinks made me laugh

Even though I don't really care for Shoutmon X2, it was cool seeing him again after so long.

Nene's tortured look and Sparrowmon's worry were very compelling. It's pretty obvious they'll be redeemed at some point. That plot line is really propelling me forward more than anything else.

I forgot Tactimon was still alive lol. He has a cool design, but why does he have the ability to teleport like he's a hologram or something?

I really thought that Akari and Zenjirou would pretend to be lovers to get favorable treatment. Dorulumon not helping their case was funny XD

Not another "legendary" digimon. That word has lost all meaning at this point (but that's true with most mon series, I suppose). The fact that they called this one a "deity" does have me intrigued though. Looking forward to the design reveal.

[otakween]

Digimon Fusion - Episode 17

This episode was really good! The action was very fast paced and the battle was engaging. We also got some Sparrowmon and Nene moments which made their characters more endearing. (I still want to know more about Nene's past!)

Notes:

Nene in the orb and Sparrowmon failing to save her was very similar (visually) to Juri and Beelzebumon in Tamers. I was like "I've seen this before..." Of course, the character dynamic is completely different

Speaking of orbs, the subs translated Lucemon's as "Gehenna?" Google tells me that this is a religious term that means "abode of the damned in the afterlife." A word that all Japanese children surely know lol. (I do like these weirdly erudite references, I'm just teasing).

They almost got me when Sparrowmon was being attacked by Lucemon. I was like "is this gonna be a dark twist like with Leomon?" 😱 It's good they didn't take that route though because we don't know Nene and Sparrowmon very well for it to be effective

Taiki taking forever to remember to use his digimemories annoyed me -_- Also, this is the part of the show that feels like a big plot hole to me. What's stopping him from using more than one digimemory? More importantly, what's stopping him from using the rest of his army that's supposedly chilling in his xros loader? It's like they forgot to write excuses for why those aren't options...

Nene and Sparrowmon hugging and then later holding hands was very sweet. We haven't had that kind of affection this season (probably because it's been a sausage fest -_-)

I was kinda mad about the boring naming conventions (Shoutmon X5), but then I thought about it and it's not really like these are digivolutions, they're fusions, so giving them each a unique name wouldn't really work. I wonder if they could have used the "mode" method though? (like chaos mode/fall down mode)

Lucemon: Satan Mode had a really lame voice in the sub. It sounded like the VA was just going "raaaaawr" in the most unintimidating voice ever lol

The scene at the end sort of implied that DarkKnightmon is in charge of Nene instead of the other way around? That's an interesting twist...I gotta know how she got in this position!!

Ironically Patamon might have been the most useful digimemory yet. Using them as a tool instead of a weapon makes more sense, I think (especially the child level ones).