#koushiro and socializing

[koushirouizumi]

By the seventh day, Koushiro had dropped his “t”s and “o”s. Tentomon felt somewhat sad that {it} had been reduced to nothing but an “e”.

Digimon Adventure Novel; “The Inquisitive Heart” Translation from Digital Scratch (Link in the comments)

[izzyizumi]

DigiAdvs U.S. DUB Blu ray Liner notes: *explains abt Ep31 scene where Koushiro (badly) 'tells' 'jokes' but what he was REALLY trying to do was cover up Tentomons Kansai dialect to his Adoptive (!!!) Parents (who DIDNT KNOW yet that Koushiro KNEW ABOUT HIS ADOPTION AND IT WAS MAKING EVERYTHING INVOLVING HIM AND HIS FAMILY AWKWARD!!!!! while He Tried To Cover That Up And It Was Going V. VerY BADLY)*

M E, Koushiro Fan Who Keeps Attempting to Explain abt Koushiros assumed """bad humor""" to other Adv-02 Fans: THANK YOU (for finally explaining at least this in official media so I dont have to as much anymore!!!!)

Me: btw the much more obvious Point of the scene was Koushiro is TERRIBLE at Hiding Things (The Way Koushiro Initially 'Intends' at the LEAST) (+from Parents ESPECIALLY) + Koushiros blatant awkwardness HIDING SUCH THINGS WHILE!!! TRYING TO MAKE A GOOD IMPRESSION!!! TO HIS PARENTS!!! the 'bad' jokes ASIDE...

[firefirefruit]

Steel in Her Veins, Chapter: Seventeen

Read On: AO3 | Table of Contents | Next Chapter

Chapter Seventeen: Onigiri

As your hand connects with his, you reluctantly trail behind Gramps, nursing a humongous grudge against him for ousting you from the workshop. 

"Social interaction’s important at your age!" he insists, his stubborn furrow signalling the inevitable shift in the course of your life.

Armed with his illegally immigrated Wano connections scrawled within his logbook, Gramps engages in a series of letters with a familiar Shimotsuki contact, meticulously planning a rendezvous through extensive log pose calculations.

"Why can't we just head to their dojo?" you grumble, eyeing the island that sits perfectly equidistant from your home and the Dojo-guy’s village. At least then there would be something to actually do, and people to see. The prospect of aimlessly wandering around on a boring old island makes you even more reluctant to the thought of ‘socialisation.’

"The less people see us, the easier it is to stay safe," Gramps replies.

His words bring to mind a recent incident, just a month ago, when you both urgently had to evacuate yet again, from another workshop, on yet another island. It was the result of an attack orchestrated by those shittily-dressed CP members who always manage to track you down, no matter how many times and how far you flee.

Hidden upstairs, you could only hear the rattles and thuds following Gramps as you scrambled to pick up your emergency bags, pre-emptively prepared for such occasions before escaping to the meeting point.

Gramps would never, ever, let you fight alongside him. He had this entrenched fear of them finding out about your existence and you didn’t know why. You didn’t get what was so detrimental about them seeing a girl living along with her gramps, working regularly on her craft. But you could tell, if there was only one rule that you had to follow, it was this one. 

The way Gramps demanded this from you from the very start of your immigration from Wano, with such an intense and severe resolution set across his face, made all the objections you wanted to spout out immediately die on your tongue.

The more you grew, the more dangerous it was simply to exist outside of Wano. And the rich bit was, you still didn’t know why. Gramps wouldn’t say – you didn’t know whether he actually knew the reason why, or if he was as unsure as you were, but it was always brushed off whenever you questioned him about it.

“Whatever,” you mutter lowly and roll your eyes, walking even slower behind Suki just to irritate him. 

“I’ll change the locks on the studio again if you keep moping,” he cheekily says, giving you a little side-eye. And in an instant, you kick your feet up to match his pace, not wanting to have to start lockpicking through the doors again just to do your work.

“Look, they’re here,” Gramps whispers to you before turning his attention to the two figures.

From a distance, you eye a young blue-haired girl moping behind the man who seems to be her father, annoyedly swinging a sword in her hand. The sword claws at the grass in front of her feet, becoming more of a pick-axe than a fearsome blade. Your eyes light up as you pay closer attention to the type of sword she has in her fingers, a slight interest warming you from the inside.

“Sukiyaki!” The man says in greeting, tugging on his daughter’s reluctant hand as he walks toward the two of you. 

Gramps grins wildly, embracing him warmly. “It’s been a while. Your old man leaving Wano’s done you some good, eh?”

The man laughs kindly, patting his back. “I can say the same thing about you, ex-Shogun.”

“You can thank this little rascal for that,” Gramps says, staring down at you pointedly. “This is Raya, my granddaughter.”

The man smiles at you, making you instantly want to smile back just by looking at the warmth that emanates from his eyes. “Hello, Raya. I’m Koushiro - this is my daughter, Kuina.”

Your eyes flicker back to the blue-haired girl who now has an eyebrow raised at you, her eyes twinging with slight interest. 

“I like your sword,” you shyly mutter, eyes glued to the weapon in her possession.  

The girl looks taken aback, unsure of what to say. She looks up to her father, uncertain of what to do – and as he gives her a little reassuring nod, a subtle smile creeps onto her face. Finally, there’s another girl who's just like her, who’s really into swords. 

“I like her too,” she finally says, fumbling the hilt across her palm. She steps towards you, extending her Wado Ichimonji out as a friendship offering. “Wanna hold her?”

With a sudden shock to your body, your eyelids groggily slink upwards. Hot breath blows on your face as you try to make sense of your surroundings, realising that the floor beneath you is moving at an incredibly dangerous pace. 

“What...?” You mumble heavily, forcefully blinking a few times to unblur your vision. You feel restrained, feeling fingers that aren’t your own that grip at your skin. A huff of paced breath hits your face again, the boulder set against your cheek expanding with each aggressive step. 

“Stay still,” Zoro exhales, his arms holding your legs and arms even tighter against his chest. 

Your eyes immediately snap wide open, gaping up at the green-haired samurai who’s running like his life is on the line.

“Let me go,” you slur, dizzily slapping your hand against his chest. “I can run by myself.”

“Like fuck I will. Not gonna make that mistake again,” Roronoa mutters through gritted teeth, his eyes glued on the path before him.

His footsteps reverberate through the landscape, each step a jolt that echoes through your restrained form. You squirm in his grasp, desperately trying to break free, but his grip remains unyielding.

“Seriously, Roronoa! Put me down!” you protest, your voice slurred from the side-effect of Chopper’s sedative. The world blurs around you as he sprints, carelessly snapping branches and rocks from beneath his heavy boots.

“Just shut up and stay still,” he snaps, his focus unwavering. The rhythm of his strides runs like a wild drum beat, chaotic and messy, and you can't help but feel a sense of intense dread within you.

As you keep protesting, your eyes catch glimpses of the passing scenery—a chaotic blur of mountains, rocks, and uneven terrain. Zoro seems to navigate effortlessly, his instincts finely tuned to the path ahead.

A surge of irritation courses through you as you look down and away from Roronoa’s clenched jawline, your fingers gripping over his tightening arms as you try to make sense of your surroundings. 

“Where are we even going?” you demand, hoping for an explanation.

Zoro glances down, his singular grey eye piercing through you.

“To safety. Hold on,” he replies.

The erratic journey continues until Zoro abruptly comes to a halt. You're released from his firm grasp, stumbling slightly as you find your footing. The world finally stops spinning, and you take a moment to regain your bearings.

“We’re here,” Zoro states, a hint of urgency still lingering in his voice. Your surroundings slowly come into focus —a cave within a mountain, the canopy casting shadows over the uneven ground.

“What’s going on? Why are we in the middle of nowhere?” you ask, frustration lacing your words. Zoro doesn’t immediately respond, his attention drawn to the surroundings as if assessing potential threats.

He lets out a sigh, then faces you, a hand carefully resting on the hilt of his Kitetsu. "We brought you to the shaman. The moment he laid eyes on you, he started screaming. Kept referring to you as Oni, then ordered his lackeys to spill your blood until it runs dry."

You stare at him silently. Then, you huff out a singular laugh. “What?”

“Yup,” he says, shifting himself to the rocky floor. “He thinks you’re a demon. Said he felt something in your blood.”

“Great, so I’m a demon now,” you say, staring down at your awfully blackened arm. The growth seems to have halted while you were unconscious, prompting a small sigh of relief. Well, at least there’s that.

Zoro looks away with a smirk, his arm crossed. “Now? You always were one.”

You scoff, an eyebrow raised. “You got some jokes, samurai.”

You stumble a little from the disorientation, gasping in the process. Zoro immediately shifts from his position, his eye widening, arms held out in preparation, but you manage to shift your arms onto the wall behind you, panting in surprise.

 “I got it.” You strain out. Zoro lowers his arms and pointedly stares at you in reply.

“Maybe you should sit down. You’re confused.”

So, you sit yourself down on the jagged terrain, earning a surprised stare from Zoro.

“What?” 

“You actually listened.”

“Yeah, well…” You look down at your arm again, grimacing. “Chopper’s sedative is gonna wear off soon, and my arm’s definitely gonna feel it.”

Zoro's gaze very slightly softens as he takes in the exhaustion etched across your face. "We'll find a way to fix this. For now, rest."

“Rest in the terrified Shaman’s cave. Great plan,” you mutter, though you do lean back against the cold, rocky surface.

As the minutes pass, you decide to rest your eyes whilst keeping your ears open. The images of your previous dream swirl in your thoughts, blending with the rhythmic dripping sounds of the cave, and you can't help but purse your lips at the thought of Kuina. What would she have been like, if she was still alive and the same age as you? You'll never know. You'll never know, and that's what hurts.

Before you let yourself completely relax your muscles and slacken your head against the wall, a sudden stampede of footsteps begin to scramble their way to the entrance of the cave, making your eyes snap wide open.

“They found us,” you whisper, instantly knowing the amount of hot shit the both of you are in right now. Your fingers curl over the dagger in your belt. “Tell me, did you see them use magic?”

Zoro drifts his gaze from the sudden clambering of the Shaman’s underlings to you, his lips pursed. You stare back at him, raising your eyebrows.

“Okay. So, are they talented?” 

He remains staring at you, pursing his lips even harder into a straight line. Instantly, you turn away, eyes flickering in thought.

“Well, fuck. Shit. Okay…” You heave yourself from the ground, stumbling slightly in the process. “I think I have a plan.”

Zoro rises, his sword now glimmering and unsheathed. He stands in front of the opening, pure focus in his eye, as he holds the Kitetsu into the air.

“Look, you’ve got to leave and let me deal with them,” you say, making Zoro snap his head to you in outrage.

“Absolutely fucking not,” he growls, narrowing his eye at you. “Are you insane?”

“Seriously, Roronoa, you need to run away. Leave me --”

“You know what you’re sounding awfully a lot like? Your old man.”

“But—”

He glares at you, ferocity lingering in his lone eye.

“I told you, I’m not fuckin’ makin’ that mistake again.”

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x27 - Vamdemon's Castle of Darkness / The Gateway to Home

Previously on Digimon Adventure: PicoDevimon bullied Sora into remember that her mom never loved her so she realized she can't love anyone and quit. But then she realized the truth: Her mom loved her, her friends love her, she loves her friends, and PicoDevimon loves being punted like the football.

After a disappointed Vamdemon petulantly whined at ominously warned the Chosen Children that their doom is still to come, they're left with time to breathe and figure out what all that was about.

The truth is something they could not possibly expect. And something that I had to read a 15-page Argentinian short story to digest.

Taichi and Jou use plastic bags to collect drinking water from the river we were decompressing at last episode.

Jou: These bags are useful, aren't they? I swiped them from the restaurant. Gomamon: I thought you were always honest and straightforward, Jou! Jou: No comment.

Hahahaha Jou looted the fucking diner on their way out the door. I guess even Mr. "Decay of Japanese Society's" sense of social propriety has its breaking point. We are a bad influence on this boy.

However, while they're collecting water, Mimi sits nearby looking distraught.

Jou: Mimi-kun, cheer up. Mimi: But now that Vamdemon's shown up, we'll have to keep running away from him like we were with Etemon, won't we? Jou: (dour) I guess that's true.... Taichi: What? Only for a while. Palmon: We have to be brave! Mimi: You're right.

Taichi is unsurprisingly flippant in the face of a new asshole trying to kill them, but that infectious courage is what Mimi needs right now.

In the dub, Joe's theft is retained but Gomamon doesn't call him on it.

Joe: Hey, check it out, Mimi! How about this for an instant bath? I'm glad I took these bags from the restaurant. Gomamon: Gee, now you'll be able to go soak your head the next time you have an allergy attack. Joe: Right. That was so funny, I forgot to laugh. Mimi: Now that Myotismon's chasing us, we're gonna have to keep running like a bunch of crazed shoppers at the mall! He's just a big creep, if you ask me! Joe: I have to agree with you on that. Tai: Yeah, he's small potatoes for us! Palmon: My wish is to never see him again, period! Mimi: Mine too!

Okay, so we're off to a bad start. Gomamon congratulating Jou for pragmatically breaking character is now another quip about Joe's allergies. Mimi's fears about another round of Kill the Children is played more light-hearted and goofy. And then we wrap it up with everyone being as flippant about Myotismon as Taichi was in the original.

Suddenly, Koushiro runs up with news.

Koushiro: TAICHI-SAAAAAAN!!! Taichi: What is it? Are all of you finished preparing the food? Koushiro: It's not that! It's Gennai-san! Taichi, Jou, & Mimi: Gennai is here!?

This is the same in the dub, except they give Tai, Joe, and Mimi separate remarks spoken all at once.

Mimi: Is this a scheduled visit? Joe: Hope he's found a way to get us out of here. Tai: What is it this time?

Mimi and Joe completely drown out Tai. As they should.

The kids gather around Gennai and very respectfully inquire about his message.

Taichi: What's up, Geezer? What is it this time? Gennai: I have both good news and bad news, so which would you like to hear first? Jou: I'd like to say we should leave the good news for last, but.... Yamato: We're going to be disappointed either way so let's hear the good news first. Gennai: Okay then. We'll start with the good news. Truth is, I've found a new member for your nakama. Sora: Nakama? You mean the Chosen Children!?

Gennai tries to be hip with the youngsters and use that word Taichi's been throwing around. Sora gets confused and demands specifically terminology for this context.

Gennai: Yes. There are actually supposed to be eight Chosen Children. Group: EHHH!?!? Pyokomon: Hey, wouldn't that mean there's supposed to be another Digimon in our nakama too? Sora: Yeah, it would.... Gennai: The important thing is that without all eight of you, the distortions in this world can't be corrected. That means the distortions in your world also won't be corrected. Do you understand? Taichi: Of course. Sora: (nods) Mm. Takeru: I wonder what this person is like? Mimi: I hope we meet them soon! Taichi: So where is this person? What's their name? Gennai: Their name is... Uh... I don't know. Taichi: GEEZER!!!

Gennai living down to the ageist slur jiji that Taichi keeps hurling at him every time they meet.

In the dub:

Tai: Well!? Don't keep us all in suspense! What's this all about, anyway? Gennai: Well, I've brought you some good news and some bad news. Which would you like to hear first? Joe: Save the good news for last; I hate being depressed. Matt: He's a basket case anyway! Let's start with the good news! Gennai: Actually, you all look like you could use some cheering up. I've been told another child will be joining your group. Sora: Another child? Who tells you these things anyway?

Joe and Matt's exchange rewritten so that Matt can be mean to Joe despite more or less expressing the same sentiment.

Meanwhile, Sora's asking the real questions here. Gennai, being a complete asshole, ignores her. Keeps right on expositing as if she never said anything at all.

Gennai: Well, this is someone you shall want as a friend. This someone is a DigiDestined. Group: Whoa! Really? Yokomon: Oh, I hope this new one will have a Digimon that will be able to help us! Sora: You and me both! Gennai: The important thing to remember is that all eight of you must be together. As long as you are separated, the worlds will not be in harmony with each other. Everything will go whacko. So we must find that other child as soon as possible. Tai: How do we do that? Sora: (nods) Hm. T.K.: I hope it's someone my size! Mimi: I hope she's my size so we can swap clothes! Tai: Tell us something about this kid! Like, what's his or her name? Gennai: Uh, the name? Tai: Yeah! Gennai: It's... I forgot.

We cut to a commercial break here. I hope you remember that dumb shit he just said after the commercials because we're picking right back up where we left off after the break, with Tai yelling at him for it.

Tai: GENNAI!!!

"We need all eight of you in order to correct the distortions in our world, which are causing the distortions in yours," is the point here.

What Dub Gennai says is, "If the eight of you are separated then the worlds won't be in harmony and everything will go whacko." What?

He makes it sound like Hikari not going to camp is the reason rice paddies are drying up and New York is buried in snow.

Once the kids have expressed their frustration with Gennai, he continues updating them on the situation.

Gennai: Sorry about that. But I do know where the child is located: Japan. Group: EHHHH!?!? Taichi: Japan!? Gabumon: Where is that? Agumon: It's in the word Taichi and the others are from. Koushiro: Oh yeah, you went there once, didn't you, Agumon? Agumon: Yep. Jou: But... That means we can't find this person. Gennai: Don't be so disappointed! Taichi: Yeah? What's the bad news? Gennai: Uh... Vamdemon knows everything I just told you. He's gathering an army to invade Japan and kill the child. Taichi: VAMDEMON IS GOING TO JAPAN!?!?

Seriously. What the fuck, Gennai?

"By the way there were actually supposed to be eight of you all along and either I just figured that out even though I'm part of this whole shebang or I've been withholding it all this time. But I just found out Vamdemon's after the other kid so I'm throwing all of this at you at once OKAY GO TO JAPAN NOW BYYYYYYE!!!"

Jiji is the fucking worst. He was legit just going to hang out and hope for the best with understaffed Chosen Children. I don't think he had any intention of ever bringing this up until Vamdemon forced his hand.

In the dub, it's time to finally set in stone a setting for where the kids are from. California? New York? Florida? At long last, where have they been localized to?

Gennai: Calm down. I do know of the location of the child. It's Japan. Group: Huh? Tai: JAPAN!?!? Gabumon: Where is Japan? Agumon: Japan's a big island in the far east. Izzy: Agumon and Tai were transported there when our two worlds converged. Agumon: Mmhmm. Joe: If they ever converge again, maybe we'll all get to go home. Mimi: Yeah.... Gennai: Remember, that was the good news. Tai: Can't wait to hear the bad. Gennai: Myotismon has heard of the eighth child and will be going to Japan soon. He's gathering his forces as we speak. If he gets to the child first, both of our worlds will be doomed. Tai: DOOMED!?!? WE NEED SOME SPIES ON THE INSIDE!!!

That's right! With the looming threat of an entire goddamn arc spent in Japan, the dub officially throws up its hands and gives up on any possibility of localizing to an American setting. We will not be visiting Japanifornia in Digimon Adventure. We are returning to Japan, in English and in Japanese.

Though still talking about it from an American point of reference, of course. "Japan's a big island in the far East," Agumon definitely explains to the children watching at home and not to the Digimon around him because it makes zero sense in context.

Fortunately, the dub up to this point has mostly set their origins in a region-neutral void of geography. They never said it was the U.S., so they can make the transition to Fine It's Japan Okay smoothly. Contrast Ace Attorney, which is in too deep and now has to make up shit like "A village of Japanese immigrants!" to explain away their explicitly Japanese settings.

(Maybe it's a good thing that they skipped the OVA. Can you imagine if the OVA came out first and was like, "Once upon a time in Chicago....")

We cut to Vamdemon's castle, where we see he's aggressively recruiting. Various Vegiemon, Numemon, and Scumon are here. I guess something about the job listing sounded super appealing to Adult-stage junk evolutions and no one else.

Speaking of which:

PicoDevimon is not impressed by the recruits.

PicoDevimon: (sigh) They look like a bunch of useless clods. Nanimon: Nothing to worry about! I'll whip them into shape!

Fellow junk evolution Nanimon descends the steps to train these junk recruits while the narrator gives us his rundown.

Nanimon is an Adult-stage Virus-type Invader Digimon. He's the bottom-tier Digimon that evolves into Digitamamon. He's named for the expression you give when your Digimon evolves into this abomination: "What."

Narrator: What is this Digimon? No, that's his name. A drifter whose true identity is unknown, nicknamed Oyaji. His special attack is poop.

His nickname, oyaji, can refer informally to a father or more generically to any middle-aged man. Contrast ojisan, a respectful way of addressing an older man. And jiji, the rude and disrespectful terminology that Taichi regularly uses for Gennai.

PicoDevimon: I'm counting on you. Only a sensei with years of military experience like yours is fit for this job. Nanimon: Got it. PicoDevimon: Well, they're all yours! (wanders off)

In the dub, DemiDevimon's as unsubtle about his feelings as PicoDevimon.

DemiDevimon: Bah! The noodle-brainer team! Nanimon: Don't worry, I'll whip 'em all into shape! These dweebs will be unbeatable when I get through with them.

DemiDevimon handles our rundown here.

DemiDevimon: Nanimon is an Invader Digimon. I'd tell him what I really think about his sunglasses but his Power Punch would flatten me!

The dub keeps the name Nanimon but pronounces it differently. In Japanese it's Nani-mon, where in English it's Nanny-mon.

DemiDevimon: Okay, big boy, we know you can talk the talk but now it's time for you to do your stuff! Nanimon: Just watch! DemiDevimon: I don't wanna. (wanders off)

No mention of Nanimon's military service record. Rather, he just seems to have made some promises about being able to train these Digimon.

Coming in the gate, a couple of new recruits volunteer to join the training session.

Agumon & Palmon: (flamboyant) Yaaaaay! Palmon: Hey, is it ~true~ that you're recruiting soldiers? Agumon: Can we sign up? Nanimon: Who are you? Agumon: I'm PunkAgumon! Palmon: And I'm ReggaePalmon! Agumon & Palmon: Yaaaaay! Nanimon: (looks at the assembled junk evos) ...They might be better than these guys. (turns back to the new recruits) Okay! You're in!

I sincerely wonder which kid came up with this. We can probably 1:1 them and say Taichi's a fan of punk and Mimi listens to reggae. Those aren't localizations of Japanese genres, either; They say "Punk" and "Reggae" in English.

(When will the Digimon video games officially acknowledge PunkAgumon and ReggaePalmon as proper evolutions? The ball's in your court, Bandai.)

In the dub, Nanimon notices Agumon and Palmon and calls out to them, rather than them having to call out and get his attention.

Nanimon: Can I help you two!? Agumon & Palmon: Yup! Palmon: We're a couple of renegade soldiers looking for a battle to fight! Agumon: We may look silly but underneath our cool exterior, we're fighting machines! Nanimon: Is that so? Who are ya? Agumon: I'm PunkAgumon! Palmon: I'm ReggaePalmon! Agumon & Palmon: Yeah! Nanimon: (looks at the assembled junk evos) ...What a couple of weirdos. (turns back to the new recruits) You're perfect! I'll take ya!

Between "we look silly" and "couple of weirdos", you can feel a localizer cringing over these disguises. Nanimon, you have no butt yet still throw poop. You don't get to talk shit.

Sadly, that costs us Nanimon's point that even these two clowns are an improvement over poop-throwing junk evos.

(A point he makes despite being a poop-throwing junko evo himself, but you heard what PicoDevimon said about his service record. This particular Nanimon is trying to make the leap to Digitamamon.)

Meanwhile, in Vamdemon's library.

He sits at a desk lit by a candelabra, poring over a musty old tome. Suddenly, there's a knock at the door.

Vamdemon: Enter. PicoDevimon: (pushing open the doors) Vamdemon-sama, reporting in. Soldiers are pouring in from everywhere. Vamdemon: Are they any good? PicoDevimon: Uh... Maybe?

Suddenly, a new voice roars with laughter, echoing through the room.

New Voice: AHAHAHAHAHA!!! Those alleged soldiers are pathetic. PicoDevimon: W-Who's there!?

She's not wrong.

In the dub, DemiDevimon lies to Myotismon's face.

Myotismon: Come in. DemiDevimon: Myotismon, I have some good news to report! The soldiers are assembled and we're ready to move out! Myotismon: Are they worthy of me? DemiDevimon: Yes, my Master. New Voice: Hahahahaha! They're a bunch of helpless sea slugs if you want my opinion. DemiDevimon: Who are you!? New Voice: (approaching in silhouette) Greetings, little blue one.

This new servant of darkness steps forward into the light of the candelabra, revealing herself.

The narrator goes straight into the rundown. Tailmon is an Adult-stage Vaccine-type Holy Beast Digimon. Her name comes from the English word Tail, likely to draw attention to the Holy Ring on her tail. It's kind of a big deal.

Narrator: Tailmon. She looks like a cute kitty, but pretty roses have thorns. Using her long, sharp claws, her special attack Neko Punch holds considerable power.

In the dub, she's called Gatomon. For the spanish word "gato", meaning cat. DemiDevimon handles her rundown.

DemiDevimon: Gatomon! Gatomon might look like a harmless little kitty, but deep down inside, she's an out-of-control wildcat! Don't ever cross her path!

Once intros are out of the way, Tailmon lays into PicoDevimon.

Tailmon: Are you planning to make a second-string army out of those useless idiots? PicoDevimon: Rrrrgh, if I had the chance-- Tailmon: (provoking) What? Gonna do something? Vamdemon: (rising from his chair) Stop that. More importantly, Tailmon, have you found anyone useful? Tailmon: Yes, sir! As you ordered, I've searched the world and found many!

As she speaks, we see the silhouettes of Tailmon's recruits. They look more formidable than Scumon, to be sure.

Vamdemon: I look forward to seeing how useful they are. Tailmon: Yes, sir!

In the dub, Gatomon and DemiDevimon do not implicitly threaten each other with violence.

Gatomon: Just where did you manage to find that group of goofballs anyway? DemiDevimon: RRRRRRGH!!! YOU CAN DO BETTER!?!? Gatomon: With my paws tied! Myotismon: (rising from his chair) Gatomon, don't waste your time on him! Have you done what I asked of you? Gatomon: Yes! Purr your instructions, I searched everywhere and found the most ferocious Digimon I could find. You'll be very pleased. Myotismon: I knew I could trust you, Gatomon. I look forward to meeting them. Gatomon: Thanks.

Dub Gatomon isn't quite so formal when speaking to Myotismon. Tailmon speaks directly as if she were a soldier talking to a commanding officer, bowing and kneeling in deference with respectful barks of "Hai!" to respond to him.

Gatomon is more playful, even making cat puns, which causes her bows and kneel to come off a bit more sarcastic. She is also incredibly well-voiced, holy shit. Her actress is having the time of her life.

Suddenly, a Bakemon floats through the wall.

Bakemon: Excuse the interruption, Vamdemon-sama. Vamdemon: What is it? Bakemon: The stone room is ready for your inspection.

Vamdemon turns back to Tailmon and PicoDevimon.

Vamdemon: You can go. Both: Yes, sir.

Tailmon's "Hai!" is, again, forceful and alert, like a proud underling. PicoDevimon's is weaker, sounding reluctant and obligatory.

In the dub, Bakemon makes no apology for intruding on Myotismon. Instead, he makes spooky monster noises like he's trying to frighten everyone.

Bakemon: NYAAARGHHHH RRRRRRGHHH.... Myotismon: (annoyed) What is it? Bakemon: We've prepared the room and it's ready for your inspection. Myotismon: (turning to the other two) Fine, the two of you are dismissed. Both: Right!

Gatomon and DemiDevimon deliver their lines in identical cadences, no real difference between them.

I have no idea why they thought Bakemon should snarl and gnash at Myotismon. And then he just goes straight to talking normal the second Myotismon talks to him. XD Like he was just trying to be as annoying as possible so he wouldn't have to wait around for Myotismon to address him.

Once Tailmon and PicoDevimon have left, Vamdemon uses a hidden lever in the bookshelf to open a secret door. He descends a long stairwell to a chamber deep underground, with a stone pedestal and a large metal door.

Bakemon: Vamdemon-sama? What is this, if I can ask? Vamdemon: Something passed down in myths from ancient times: The door to the other world. We will use this Gate to invade the human world!

Pretty straightforward. No changes in the dub.

Outside the castle walls, the kids confer with Gennai again.

Gennai: The Gate that connects to Japan should be somewhere inside this castle. Koushiro: So the reason Vamdemon left PicoDevimon to deal with us is because he was busy preparing to open the Gate. Gennai: That's right. Taichi: But what are Agumon and Palmon doing? They disguised themselves to enlist in the army and help us sneak in, but we haven't seen them since.

Closing the circuit on why Vamdemon didn't just come kill us all like Etemon would have. It's clear that he prioritizes the Eighth Child far above the other seven.

In the dub:

Gennai: According to my information, the Gate to the other world should be somewhere inside this castle. Izzy: My theory is that Myotismon sent DemiDevimon to distract us while he stayed behind to prepare the Gate. Truly an ingenious plan on his part! Gennai: A good theory, indeed! Tai: Agumon and Palmon have certainly been gone a long time. It's not that I'm worried, it's just that... Well, I hope they're looking for the location of the Gate.

Everybody here is wrong.

Izzy, your theory is bad and you should be ashamed. DemiDevimon wasn't distracting you from the Gate, he was trying to steal your Crests.

Gennai, don't encourage him.

Tai, the plan is not for them to go find the Gate all by themselves. Why would that be the plan? That's a terrible plan.

Inside the castle, Nanimon's working these recruits hard.

Doing pushups with the others, Palmon and Agumon can sense that they're being talked about.

Palmon: We'd like more than anything to help.... Agumon: But we're kind of busy right now! Nanimon: Next! Bunny hops!

The Digimon switch from pushups to hopping.

Nanimon: Listen up! Stretch those earholes wide open and listen good! Only the toughest survive on the battlefield! So toughen up, shut up, and ganbari!

Remember ganbaru from Jou and Yamato's episode? The cultural construct of hard work and perseverance through difficult times? Yep, Nanimon's trying to use it to whip his recruits into shape and they are not having it.

Numemon: We're supposed to ganbari? They haven't even fed us! I can't take any more! Nanimon: Hey! No chatting over there! As punishment, you're skipping dinner! Numemon: Oh no! I only enlisted because I heard I could eat my fill every night! Other Numemon: This sucks!

Honestly, nobody looks good here. These recruits are ill-suited to what PicoDevimon expects of them and Nanimon isn't helping.

Meanwhile, the dub makes the -ahem- questionable decision to keep Agumon silent while only Palmon whines about the training.

Palmon: I'm wilting! I wanna get out of here now! Ugh! Nanimon: Now hop like Bunnymon! Get the jelly out of your legs! I want you grunts to be tough! This battle's gonna be big, so get with it, you worthless warts! You gotta try like you've never tried before! Numemon 1: He's right! We've never tried before! Numemon 2: So why should we start now!? Nanimon: Listen up! Everybody that mouthed off will go without dinner tonight. You do understand me, don't you!? Numemon 1: No way! The food's the only reason we joined this dorky army in the first place! Other Numemon: Yeah yeah yeah....

Gonna file that under Mimi slander by proxy. Hmph!

But the rest of it does a pretty good job of making the bit work without ganbaru to lean on. "We've never tried before so why start now?" got me. XD

A short time later, the exhausted recruits take a break while a pair of Vegiemon massage Nanimon's biceps.

Yeah, this seems above-board and not at all an abuse of power.

Palmon: (whispering) if this keeps up, we won't have a chance to sneak everyone in. Agumon: (whispering) We have to do something about Nanimon.

The one Scumon in the group overhears Agumon, but hopefully not Palmon, and offers his two cents.

Scumon: I used to be in the same squad as him. Agumon: What? Scumon: Back then, he liked to throw his weight around but whenever a real battle started up, he'd get wasted on sake and do nothing at all. Chuumon: We should get him drunk on sake! Palmon: He's a heavy drinker, huh? Agumon: That just might work. Palmon: Eh? Agumon: We'll give him sake and get him to drink himself to sleep! Scumon: Great thinking! Chuumon: Nice idea! Agumon: But the two of us will stick out like sore thumbs if we try to sneak off. Palmon: You're right.... Numemon 1: Leave it to us, then! Numemon 2: There's so many of us here, he won't even notice if a few are missing! Palmon: Can you do it? Numemon 1: Of course! I'm pissed off that he won't let us eat! Here I go.

In the dub, Palmon and Agumon are just complaining about how tired they are. Sukamon comes up with the idea to mess with Nanimon, apropos of nothing.

Palmon: I'd like to soak in a hot tub for about two months! Agumon: I've got blisters on my blisters! Sukamon: I think we have to stop this guy and I know how to do it! Agumon: Yeah? Sukamon: I was a soldier with him before. He likes to drink soda but the bubbles go right to his head and make him as dipsy as a doodlemon. Chuumon: He gets real kooky and he'll do anything you want! Palmon: Even let us escape!? Agumon: I must be exhausted! Palmon: Why? Agumon: I thought I saw a little pink thing pop up and talk to us! Sukamon: His stomach will fill with bubbles. Chuumon: Yeah! He's sure to explode! Agumon: But if it explodes, won't he make us hang around and clean it up? Palmon: You're nutsy. Numemon 1: Forget the mess! We can all escape! Numemon 2: One of us should go and get some soda. He won't miss one of us. Palmon: That might work! Numemon 1: After that slob wouldn't let us have dinner, I'll open the bottles and pour 'em down his throat myself!

I sure am glad Sukamon is on the ball here because our Partner Digimon are fucking useless. Viruses over here making the plan to get our kids inside while Agumon and Palmon get high and contemplate the existence of Chuumon. Holy shit, this one's bad.

Why does everyone suddenly think we're trying to escape? Agumon and Palmon are here to infiltrate and the others want to be part of this army; They just don't like Nanimon specifically. It's not hard to see why.

The alcohol censorship is unsurprising, of course. You know how people with a low soda tolerance get. That soda goes straight to their head and makes 'em goofy. In fact, I'm gonna crack open a Dr. Pepper right now and take the edge off.

While Nanimon's massage keeps him distracted, that one Numemon slimes his way up the wall and through an open window.

Nanimon stands up suddenly.

Nanimon: ALRIGHT!!! Time to make a pyramid! Whole Squad: (feigning excitement) Yaaaay!

In Japan, kumitaiso or the human pyramid is a controversial gymnastics exercise that children of all ages are made to do in schools. Kind of odd as a military training exercise, but it's a point of reference that kids watching at home can point to and go "Oh, shit, yeah. That's hard!"

Numemon makes his way straight to the liquor cabinet and grabs a couple bottles.

Numemon: Just you wait. The grudge of food is deep and terrifying....

In the U.S., however, human pyramids are primarily associated with cheerleading. Not exactly a point of reference most kids will recognize. But also it's girly. Which I feel like was the deciding factor in how they take this, because what they replace it with isn't exactly standard elementary-school P.E. either.

Nanimon: Next up: Contact sports! How about wrestling!? Whole Squad/Sukamon: Oh boy!/You're the boss, yeah! (Numemon climbs in the window) Numemon: I wonder where... There! (grabs the bottles) This is what he gets for not feeding us!

Yeah, that's really more of a high school extracurricular sport. It fits the aesthetic, though; Nanimon certainly looks like a pro wrestler.

Nanimon leads the Digimon in an activity that's definitely wrestling and not at all that other thing.

Good ol' battle royale wrestling, where we all get in a big pile of bodies together and see what limbs we can grapple. Agumon's winning!

Nanimon: Hey! Hey! You pipsqueaks shouldn't get tired just from this! Don't lose focus!

While they're holding Nanimon's attention, Numemon sends a bottle floating out the window with a little parachute.

Nanimon: Huh? What's this? (catches the bottle) I-It's sake!

Which, in the dub, becomes:

Nanimon: Oh boy! Me likes orange.

Just as planned, Nanimon proceeds to get absolutely shitfaced as more and more bottles rain down.

Nanimon: (visibly wrestling with himself) Oh no! My body's moving on its own!

Nanimon tries to stop himself, but he can't. He's just gotta dance! He starts moving to a beat in his head, while rhythmically repeating the word yoi, for when something's pleasant or nice. The others do not help him.

Nanimon: Yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi.... Group: (cheering) YOI-YOI-YOI-YOI!!! Nanimon: ...yoi-yoi-yoi-yoi! Ahhh, I feel great!

Immediately after that announcement, Nanimon passes out.

The Digimon gather around him to celebrate their accomplishment.

Squad: HOORAY!!! Agumon: SUCCESS!!! Palmon: (to Agumon) Okay, let's go!

In the dub, meanwhile, Nanimon's getting bubbly.

Nanimon: (visibly wrestling with himself) Hey, anybody wanna go dancing? I'm light on my feet! (Nanimon starts dancing) Nanimon: Whoa ho ho whoa! Group: GO GO GO!!! Nanimon: (various grunts) Ha! Love that soda!

Courteous of him to remind us in the middle of his dance that he's high on carbonation fizz. It's just carbonation fizz. Remember, it's just carbonation fizz.

It's not super clear what takes him out all of a sudden, but he loudly vocalizes "WHOA!" type flailing grunts so I think we're meant to take it as him tripping and bonking his head. Nonetheless, the squad celebrates as if this was part of the plan.

Agumon: It worked. Group: YEAH!!! Agumon: Let's get out of here! Palmon: Before he wakes up! Agumon: YEAH!!! Palmon: Bubble fizz won't last forever!

It's just carbonation fizz.

With Nanimon out of the way, Agumon and Palmon are able to complete their part of the plan.

The kids wait impatiently with Gennai in the bushes outside their planned rendezvous.

(Can... Can we turn him off? We're trying to infiltrate here and he's a glowing rainbow hologram. What if a passing guard saw that shit?)

Taichi: (whispering) Aren't they here yet!? Yamato: (hissing) Be patient!

Palmon's vines suddenly lower from the tower above.

Mimi: Ahaha, Palmon! Palmon: Sorry for the wait! Taichi: Hooray!

As the kids make for Palmon's vines, Gennai leaves them with a warning.

Gennai: I won't be able to contact you in the castle, so you're on your own from here. Taichi: We'll take care of it! Gennai: You must stop Vamdemon's plans and protect your colleague (nakama) in Japan! Palmon: (sending the vines back down) Next! Hurry!

The dub shifts Tai's opening line to make his tone more sympathizing.

Tai: (whispering) I'm worried. Matt: (hisses) Just be patient. (Palmon's vines lower) Mimi: Hey, look! They're back! Palmon: Sorry, we had a big bruiser on our hands! Tai: Let's go! (The kids run for the vines) Gennai: My signal is useless inside the castle, so you are on your own. I'm counting on you. Tai: We got it covered! Gennai: I hope so! You must stop Myotismon from carrying out his plans and protect your friend in Japan! Palmon: (sending the vines back down) We'd better move it!

Aside from that small tonal shift in Tai's characterization at the start, it's mostly the same. Though, just as a fun note, they play a slide-whistle sound effect over Palmon retracting her vines to pull up Tai and Mimi. In the original, there's no sound effect associated with the vines stealthily pulling them up, though we do get a tiny wooshing sound as she sends them back down in both versions.

Either way, probably not as audible as Palmon shouting down at them to hustle. She is not good at espionage.

Inside the castle, Vamdemon contemplates a set of cards in his library, which are clearly computer chips.

Vamdemon: The key is within my grasp. Once I understand the meaning hidden in these cards, I have to place them in the proper order. Then the door to the other world will open. Chosen Children, no matter how hard you try, it's already too late. Hmhmhmhmhmhm.....

In the dub:

Myotismon: I must find the secret to the Gate. Once I understand the meaning of these cards, the key will open the lock. Then I will be able to enter the path to the human world. You DigiDestined think you're so smart but in reality I am always one step ahead of you! Hmhmhmhmhmhm....

Dude we just met last night. The insecurity of this man!

We go to commercial and come back to the kids exploring Vamdemon's castle in separate groups. I guess they split up?

And discovering for themselves that the castle was seemingly designed by M.C. Escher.

Patamon: That's.... Takeru: What's wrong? Patamon: Something's weird. Takeru: What is? (The kids approach the torch, burning in the wrong direction; Everyone gasps) Yamato: WHY!?!?

Yamato just sort of tuning into this conversation and then suddenly screaming at the torch got me. XD

Dub's about the same, but Matt's outburst is just a vocalized gasp. Instead of him. Yelling at the torch. For being wrong. XD

Meanwhile, the girls are with Jou. He's trying to break an iron lock off a wooden door by fiddling the lock with his bare hands.

Gomamon: How's it coming? Jou: It's very sturdy. That must mean that this is a very important room! Mimi: But doesn't this lock look rusty to you? Sora: Yeah. Maybe this room just hasn't been used in a long time. Jou: (stops) .... Pyokomon: Let's look somewhere else. Sora: Sounds good. (The girls start to leave while Jou remains frozen) Gomamon: Let's go, Jou! Jou: (distraught) I was so sure this was it. Eh.... (reluctantly follows the girls)

The dub removes Jou's comical oversight from this exchange.

Gomamon: Making any progress, Joe? Joe: No. This lock's ancient, but I still can't break it. Mimi: Maybe if we had the key, it would open. Sora: Yeah, and maybe if we had a cannon, we could blast our way in. Joe: (stops) It's no use! Yokomon: Maybe there's another way in! Sora: Let's check! (The girls start to leave while Joe remains frozen) Gomamon: Joe, let's go. Joe: (distraught; sigh) How come I never get to be the hero? (sighs again and reluctantly follows the girls)

It's always weird when they take gags out of the lighter and goofier dub version. It doesn't happen often, and it always makes me wonder what they didn't like about this bit. The new, weaker punchline is still Joe being humiliated; It's abstract humiliation about his role in the plot instead of direct humiliation about his bad decision-making.

Is it because Jou was shown up by girls? IDK.

Meanwhile, Taichi and Koushiro find themselves on opposite sides of the same bridge.

Taichi: I think we're lost. Agumon: Shit! Taichi: I'm sure we've passed through here before. Koushiro: (from below) Taichi-san! Taichi: (leans over railing) Koushiro!? You guys were searching down there? Tentomon: Eh? That's a weird thing to say. You two are below us. Agumon: No, you guys are below us! Koushiro: No, you are! (Taichi and Koushiro see each other over the railing) Taichi: Hey.... Koushiro: What the...? Group: Ehhh!?

This one's the same in the dub too.

Meanwhile, in his library, Vamdemon's ready to go.

Vamdemon: The time is ripe. Gather the soldiers in the stone room! PicoDevimon & Tailmon: Yes, sir!

Unlike last time, this time PicoDevimon and Tailmon reply to Vamdemon with the same energy. Once they're gone, he withdraws the computer chip cards from his cloak.

Vamdemon: I've made many preparations to open the Gate for the sake of my goals. But to think we're finally using them. First comes the eighth Chosen Child. Your dead body will serve as the foundation for my ambitions!

Shut away in his castle, Vamdemon has been researching and studying and planning this for a very long time. Ravenously devouring every last scrap of Chosen Children lore and other ancient secrets, while preparing this assault on Japan to kill the Eighth Child.

But now that it's finally here, that it's no longer theoretical but actually something we're doing, he takes a moment of privacy to orient himself.

In the dub:

Myotismon: I'm ready to proceed. Go now and tell our forces that no sacrifice is too great in this moment of glory! DemiDevimon & Gatomon: Right! (The pair departs) Myotismon: There's certainly no need to tell them that they won't be sharing in the rewards! I hold all of the cards, and they are no longer a mystery. Now all I need is to find that DigiDestined Eighth Child!

"Some of you may die, but that is a sacrifice I am willing to make!"

While Vamdemon prepares for departure, the kids manage to find each other again after... whatever made them split up to begin with.

Koushiro: This place is strange. The space here must be warped. Taichi: This isn't the first time we've seen this world acting weird. Yamato: But this place seems weirder than the others. Maybe it's because Vamdemon's power is so great. Jou: Don't say that.

I don't know about that, Yamato. Remember that time Nanomon's program made a short tunnel between two distant points in space? I feel like that's about as weird as contextual gravity.

Given everything we've seen of Vamdemon to this point, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that his castle's like this because he's extensively well-researched and is pretty good at coding. I bet he wrote the entire castle himself.

Over in the dub, the kids seem to be under the impression that they've been made. Which given that "Make any sacrifices!" order Myotismon gave, might be true in this version.

Izzy: My theory is that Myotismon has set up these optical illusions to deter us from finding the Gate. Tai: Well, I'd say he succeeded! We're still as lost as we were before we started! Matt: All we've done so far is go round and round in circles, and we don't know up from down! Joe: It's making me dizzy!

This weird Escher painting of a labyrinth is like that as a fiendish plot to delay the DigiDestined from coming in and dying at Myotismon's hand! Instead of the castle just... being like that.

Hey, Izzy? If this is a trap, why aren't there any traps? Just saying. Mr. "Alien scheme" is still using many words to confidently and intellectually assert things that are wrong.

Suddenly, Gomamon notices movement nearby. Over on another bridge, oriented upside-down from our orientation, Tailmon's actually tough recruits march to the Gate chamber. They say no words, only giving off various horrifying bestial sounds.

The dub cuts out most of the horrific monster noises and just has them quip.

Unknown Digimon 1: I'm itching to fight! Unknown Digimon 2: Why, 'cause you got fleas?

Not nearly as intimidating. The kids watch in silence as the monsters pass by, then whisper to each other.

Yamato: They're about to depart. Sora: We should follow them. Taichi: Agreed. Let's go!

No change in the dub.

The kids follow Tailmon's creatures, crossing their own bridge to enter the same structure as the Digimon did. Inside, both Tailmon's forces and PicoDevimon's meager recruits assemble in front of the pedestal to open the Gate.

As his recently-hired mercenary force assembles, Vamdemon gives them their instructions.

Vamdemon: Listen up! Your target is the Eighth Chosen Child. Find them and put an end to them. Envelop everything in darkness and dark power!

He lays out the cards on the table and gives a, uh... magic incantation, of a sort.

Vamdemon: Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius!

This passphrase to open the gate between worlds is actually the title of a short story from Argentina. That connection is... Honestly fascinating? The story details the efforts of a conspiracy of men to invent a fictional world, Tlön, in which objective reality doesn't exist. The only true reality in Tlön is the reality that we perceive. Reality is a collective delusion, a product of our agreement that it exists.

Tlön is a fiction, a fantasy of a place where this is true. But over time, as it becomes known, it begins to impose itself on material reality. Objects and ideas from this fictional world of speculative reality begin to emerge into material reality, invading the real world and making themselves real.

You. Uh. You can see the connection between that idea and Vamdemon's invasion of Japan, right? The Digimon World is a digital Tlön, a world of subjective reality constructed from collective ideas. Vamdemon exists because vampires and demons are things that exist within the library of humanity's cultural creations, and so in this subjective space born out of the accumulated data of the Earth, vampires and demons take material form.

Now Vamdemon's subjective reality is about to impose itself upon the material world pretty fucking hard. Essentially, we are experiencing the imposition of Tlön into the world from the side of Tlön, after spending months lost in its impossible wildernesses.

After much research, Vamdemon has determined that this Argentinian tale is the pass phrase to begin the invasion - as if the story itself was the key to imposing subjective reality upon the material. Invoking Tlön to empower the Digimon World to do to the real world what was done to the fictional world in the story by the fictional-fictional world of Tlön. Layers of subjective reality.

The dub, meanwhile, seems to be under the impression that Myotismon is going alone?

Myotismon: I shall now be embarking on a journey to another world. There are forces which must be neutralized before our victory here can be complete. But never fear! I shall return in triumph! Gathered Forces: YEAH!!! WOOHOO!!! Myotismon: (lays down the cards) It's time to stand back and watch me work my magic! OPEN THE GATE TO MY DESTINY!!!

Not gonna mark them down for not expecting nine-year-olds to know an obscure Argentinian short story. That's one of the least surprising changes in the anime.

But. Like. Myotismon, what the hell did you gather all these soldiers for if you aren't taking them with you? Are they just supposed to stand here and watch the Gate? He mobilized them all here so he could tell them "Buh-bye" and scoot?

Contrary to the speech Myotismon just gave, Tailmon/Gatomon nonetheless begins moving her forces through the Gate the instant it opens. The dub even lets them make monster noises this time, particularly an eerie high-pitched wailing like the screams of the damned.

So. I guess Myotismon wasn't talking to them. ...who the fuck was he talking to? This was a weird speech.

As his troops pass through the portal, Vamdemon heads for his carriage. Before he can get in, Taichi calls out from the staircase.

Taichi: Hold it! You won't get away with this! Vamdemon: Oh, you're finally here. But you're too late. Look well upon this historic moment! Taichi: Cut the crap! Vamdemon: Unfortunately, I don't have time to deal with you. PicoDevimon? PicoDevimon: Yes, sir! Vamdemon: Stop them. PicoDevimon: Understood!

Vamdemon's last line is delivered with little energy, as if he doesn't honestly expect this to go well for PicoDevimon. Less "VANQUISH MY FOES!!!" and more "Uh, get 'em, I guess; Have fun with that." He's tactically throwing PicoDevimon to the wolves.

Their real forces, Tailmon's army, are already through the portal and have entered Japan. If PicoDevimon and his recruits all have to die here to buy Vamdemon five seconds of time to pass through, it's no skin off his back.

In the dub, either Myotismon forgot who these kids are or he's patronizing them.

Tai: You're not going anywhere! Not as long as we can help it! Myotismon: What is your name? Do you work for me? Can't you see I'm busy at the moment? Tai: Yeah, right! Myotismon: DemiDevimon, would you please take care of this annoying gang of hoodlums? I have better things to do. DemiDevimon: Of course, sir. Anything you want. I'm at your service!

Vamdemon's "Stop them" is so devoid of any real energy or enthusiasm that they get away with compositing his lines into one here. During DemiDevimon's last line, Myotismon's lips flap for it, but it's super easy to overlook if you don't already know it's there.

While Vamdemon gets in his carriage to depart, Nanimon brings PicoDevimon's forces forward.

Taichi: WAIT!!! PicoDevimon: (moves in to block the kids' pursuit, backed up by Nanimon and the others) Taichi: You still think you can win after all the times we've beaten you? PicoDevimon: This won't be like those times! Sensei, get them!

PicoDevimon retreats to the back of the group while Nanimon replaces him, stepping up to lead his forces into battle.

Nanimon: Got it! I won't let you pass! Taichi: DON'T GET IN OUR WAY!!!

We briefly see Vamdemon enter his carriage silent to depart while Taichi's shouting.

Nanimon: Soldiers! SEIZE THEM!!! Soldiers: (unenthused) Rargh! Agumon: I don't want to fight any of you, but we're running out of time. Palmon: Please forgive us.

Nanimon and PicoDevimon are the only ones enthused about this battle. Including Vamdemon.

In the dub:

DemiDevimon: I'm not letting you get past this Gate! Tai: Fat chance, you little twerp! DemiDevimon: I brought reinforcements! It's all yours, Nanimon. Nanimon: (steps forward to replace DemiDevimon) Right! Don't even think about passing by me, you got it! Myotismon: (entering his carriage) Farewell, DigiDoomed! Nanimon: Okay, let's FIIIIIGHT!!! Soldiers: (unenthused) Yeah! Agumon: We don't wanna fight you guys but the future is at stake. Palmon: You'll have to forgive us!

Taichi's line is changed so that Myotismon can drop some parting jabs about how definitely screwed the kids are in the face of this overwhelming force. Between this and the tonal shift in how his orders were given, Myotismon seems way more optimistic about DemiDevimon's chances than Vamdemon is.

At long last, it's go time. The Partner Digimon evolve to meet the forces arrayed against them! A fierce battle is ready to explode!

PicoDevimon's soldiers immediately break ranks and nope the fuck on out of there.

Nanimon: HEY!!! EVERYONE!!! FLEEING FROM THE ENEMY IS A FELONY!!! Numemon: Who cares!? You didn't even feed us! Scumon: I'd rather go work for an honest living!

In the dub:

Nanimon: I ORDER EVERYONE BACK INTO RANKS!!! Numemon: Right now!? Nanimon: Come on, I'll buy you dinner! Sukamon: Too late now! We're going for some fast food!

The two versions are very different, but both serve to pay off the ongoing subplot about Nanimon denying them dinner.

That's okay. We've still got Nanimon. The odds may seem against PicoDevimon's defense force, but Nanimon is a veteran soldier with a master plan that he's ready to put into action.

Nanimon: Surrender! I surrender! PicoDevimon: Sensei, you can't do that! Nanimon: Shut up! Only the toughest survive on the battlefield, but you won't survive if being tough is all you have. Escaping from a fight is also a victory, right? Taichi: GO HOME!!! Nanimon: (bolts from the room) PARDON THE INTRUSION!!!

So ends the saga of PicoDevimon's fiendish army.

In the dub:

Nanimon: Whoa! Y-y-you're big! (contemplative) Hm mm mm... (white flag) Anybody need a wrestling coach? DemiDevimon: HEY!!! YOU CAN'T RESIGN!!! Nanimon: You wanna bet, pipsqueak? When it comes down to having my fanny kicked, I'm out of here. And if you don't believe me, you might check the fine print on my contract! Tai: WE'RE COMING THROUGH!!! Nanimon: (bolts from the room) DON'T LET ME STAND IN YOUR WAY!!! WHOA HO HO!!!

Both versions of PicoDevimon's forces collapsing are pretty good. Of note, the dub seems to be trying to preserve Nanimon's dignity. Both versions are craven, but Nanimon's confidence never falters in the English version; He's proud of his cowardice.

A difference of "LOL I'm out of here bitches!" vs "FUCK THIS!!! I CHOOSE LIFE!!!".

Which is, in its own way, equally ridiculous. The dub's idea that Nanimon was just a paper tiger grifting DemiDevimon this whole time meshes pretty well with Scumon's anecdote about Nanimon getting wasted and never showing up to battles. Though, ironically, that part of his backstory got thrown out with the sake when it came time for Sukamon to tell the tale.

Sadly, we lose Taichi snapping "GO HOME!!!" and Nanimon instantly complying, which is the funniest part of this entire confrontation.

As Nanimon flees, he shits himself, leaving behind a single poop which lands on PicoDevimon's head. PicoDevimon is so panicked, he doesn't even notice.

Yamato: So, what will you do now? PicoDevimon: Th-This isn't fair! It's five against one! Takeru: Hey, let's get rid of this guy and hurry on through. PicoDevimon: E-Even you would say that? (crying desperately) Damn it, how did this happen!?

When even Takeru is like, "Can we just waste this asshole?" you know you've fucked up.

In the dub, the kids try to take DemiDevimon prisoner or something.

Matt: You might as well give up! DemiDevimon: I'm outnumbered! Good help is so hard to find! T.K.: Just admit you picked the wrong side and give it a rest already! DemiDevimon: If you're trying to prank me, it won't work! (crying desperately)

DemiDevimon just vocalizes exaggerated teeth-grinding crying noises for the second half of that last line. This bit does not flow well at all.

In sheer desperation, PicoDevimon attacks suddenly with his Pico Darts. Patamon knocks his syringes out of the sky with an Air Shot, sending them clattering to the ground at PicoDevimon's feet.

But then a new player enters the field.

Sora: The Gate is closing! Taichi: Playtime's over! Let's go!

The kids sprint for the door. But before they can reach PicoDevimon's position, a new reinforcement arrives. Tailmon, standing guard at the Gate, leaps over in front of PicoDevimon to intervene.

Tailmon: Honestly, I can't stand watching this anymore. Jou: Another small fry. Shoo-shoo! Out of the way! You don't want to get hurt, do you? Tailmon: I see you underestimate me. Watch this.

Tailmon proceeds to demonstrate her strength with a show of force.

Leaping up into the air, she uses consecutive Neko Kicks to lay out Greymon, Kabuterimon, and Ikkakumon.

To edit out the syringes (even though we already saw them last episode), the dub cuts everything from PicoDevimon throwing his Pico Darts to here. The conversation with Tailmon takes place with visible syringes on the ground so that has to go too.

For their version, we go straight from DemiDevimon crying to Gatomon kicking Greymon, with just one line to bridge the gap.

Gatomon: You haven't dealt with me yet!

It's the largest single chunk of carved-out material thus far.

Which is kind of a shame, because this bit is a really interesting characterization moment for Tailmon. The way she intervenes and takes over right when they're about to kill PicoDevimon is... ambiguous. Did she come back to protect him and help him through the Gate? Or is she just trying to prevent the children from passing through? An interesting question.

In the dub, she attacks out of nowhere and is pretty clearly just the last evil minion standing between the children and the Gate.

The dub also plays comical bonking sounds for each of her kicks. Additionally, when they fall over, they add in the tree-falling effect usually associated with cartoon "TIMBERRRRRR!!!" lumberjack bits.

Togemon and Garurumon move in to engage Tailmon. Togemon tries to crush her with a punch, but Tailmon springs into the air, landing on Garurumon's snout. From there, she bounds back and forth between them, keeping away from their punches and slashes.

Taichi: Now! Sora: Let's go!

While Garurumon and Togemon keep Tailmon busy, Taichi sees a chance to run for the Gate and takes it. The rest of the group following on his heels. But Tailmon spots them out of the corner of her eye, and she isn't going to let them go.

Tailmon: YOU WON'T GET AWAY!!!

The ring on Tailmon's tail glows with energy, causing gargoyles at the top of the room to come to life, becoming more of those beasts pulling Vamdemon's carriage.

Which we are finally formally introduced to.

This is Devidramon, literally the Devil Dragon Digimon. An Adult-stage Virus-type Evil Dragon Digimon. Despite his obvious resemblance to Devimon and DemiDevimon, Devidramon has no relation to them on the evolutionary chart.

Narrator: Devidramon. An evil dragon Digimon called the Multi-Eyed Demon. His nails can tear through flesh and skewer his enemies from long distance. His special attack is Crimson Nail.

Not to be confused with WereGarurumon's Kaiser Nail.

Gatomon handles the dub's rundown.

Gatomon: Devidramon! He's one nasty dragon guarding the gate. Devi doesn't like losing. If you want a real surprise / Look into his eyes! / You'll be hypnotized.

I have no idea why she suddenly starts rhyming. But it sets up what comes next pretty well.

The Adult-stage Partners open fire on the three Devidramon that Tailmon awakened. However, as usual, trying to shoot something with three dimensions of agility proves futile, as shots miss left and right. Flying is OP in a projectile-based combat system.

The Devidramon's eyes glow and the air shimmers around the Partners, stopping them in place momentarily. Then the Devidramon move in and slash with their Crimson Nails.

PicoDevimon: That's it! That's it! Get 'em! Get 'em! Togemon: Keep up the assault!

The team finds their second wind and renews their attack. Kabuterimon throws a Devidramon against a wall, where Greymon and Garurumon pummel it with Mega Flame and Fox Fire. The Devidramon disintegates into pixels under their assault.

PicoDevimon goes for the Gate, but Patamon's taken a guarding position there. He batters PicoDevimon with an Air Shot to launch him back into the room with everyone else.

With two Devidramon remaining, Greymon tackles one to force open a path to the Gate. In the dub, he taunts:

Greymon: Come to Papa, lizard breath!

But the second Devidramon cuts in to block the kids once more. Taichi's determination super-evolves Greymon into MetalGreymon, instantly changing the tide of the battle.

The kids take cover behind MetalGreymon while he fucking erases the two Devidramon with his Giga Destroyer, then reverts to Koromon.

Taichi: Thank you, Koromon. Let's go, everyone! Others: Right!

The path now clear, the kids sprint as fast as they can to reach the door. However, someone else has already gotten there.

Patamon: HURRY!!! EVERYONE!!!

Patamon screams at them, still wrestling with PicoDevimon. Gatomon, already within the Gate, bats Patamon aside and frees PicoDevimon to make it through as well. Much more explicitly taking action to protect him.

In the dub, it's DemiDevimon who speaks here.

DemiDevimon: GET OFF OF ME!!!

Once PicoDevimon's through, Tailmon turns her attention back to the children.

Tailmon: Can't let you guys pass!

Tailmon's tail ring glows again, awakening two more Devidramon.

In the dub:

Gatomon: Sorry, but you're too late! I'll miss you in Japan!

This doesn't connect very well to the action she's taking, but still works as a taunt.

The Digimon dogpile on these two to keep them out of the way. Dub Tai inexplicably orders his group:

Tai: Get ready to jump!

Even though there is nothing for them to jump over.

But it's too late.

Tailmon: Bye-bye!

Seconds before Taichi at the front can reach it, the Gate closes, closing off the children from reaching Japan and leaving them still trapped in the Digimon World.

Taichi: It can't be.... Sora: We were so close!

Taichi pounds his fist on the iron door, to no avail. His voice breaking up.

Taichi: DAMMIT!!! Now the Eighth Child will be....

While Dub Tai is about as broken up.

Tai: NO!!! OPEN UP!!! OPEN!!! It can't be.... (vocalized sobbing)

The episode closes here on this hopeless moment.

And debuts the unbelievably tone-destroying lighthearted and upbeat new EP! Which is riddled with spoilers, holy shit.

Hikari's identity as the Eighth Child was already pretty clearly stated way back in Taichi's return home episode. But they give away who her Partner Digimon is (which is kind of a big fucking reveal) and also all of the remaining Perfect-stage Evolutions, including Angemon's evolution which won't come into play until the very end of the series.

And then they end on WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon just for good measure. Man, sometimes I forget how unapologetically spoiler-heavy Japanese media is sometimes. They do not give a fuck.

Assessment: I've always kind of felt like Myotismon was just Devimon But More. Same personality type. I was okay with that, since Myotismon is an evolved Devimon. But I'm seeing more nuance here, going through this.

Vamdemon does have his own niche, distinctive from Devimon and Etemon. Devimon was kind of a tinkerer. He had an evil plan, but it was something he constructed from the ground up. He made these gears and he was going to infect the world with them, and he had a bunch of way he could manipulate his tools to great effect. That was his thing.

And Etemon was... Etemon.

Vamdemon is a scholar. The reason he's been inactive through the arc thus far is because he's been sitting in his library ravenously devouring ancient histories and secret myths and as much Chosen Children lore as he could possibly find. Learning everything he possibly can about everything he possibly can.

He's better read than Gennai, as demonstrated by Gennai fumbling to keep up with him in this episode.

He's evil Koushiro. Right down to the fact that this arc would have been over several episodes if he just put down the tomes, went outside for five minutes, and throttled some children while they were still separated. He's a little too invested in theoretical physics when practical application is amassing its forces around him.

There's also something appropriately Bram Stoker about first meeting Vamdemon on his turf, only to have to chase him back to our home country and protect a young woman from his malevolence.

For the dub, I'm gonna call this another butcher job. There were a few points where they didn't have much choice due to censors, like Nanimon's love of sake, but there's also a lot of just weird lines and questionable choices in this one.

But credit where it's due, I super appreciate that we've stopped talking around it, aren't trying to gaslight the kiddos about it, and are finally just saying "Japan." There are plenty of dub teams that would swear up and down that we're going to Southern California, but Digimon Adventure has decided they're gonna take that leap.

[taikouvember]

Taikouvember 2024 - Prompt Guideline:

Day 1, Monday, November 4th 2024: Friendship

"Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbour, coworker, or colleague. Friendships are foremost formed by choice, typically on the basis that the parties involved admire each other on an intimate level, and enjoy commonality and socializing. Sometimes friends are distinguished from family, as in the saying "friends and family", and sometimes from lovers. Forming and maintaining friendships often requires time and effort. Most people underestimate how much other people like them."

What is your favourite aspect about Taichi's and Koushiro's friendship with one another? What do you enjoy the most about their dynamics, what makes them special to you? Do you have headcanons about inside jokes, hobbies, etc.? Where could you see them have quarrels and arguments? Are there moments in the anime, manhua, games, etc. that stuck out to you, which display their platonic bond best?

Additional idea: What is your favourite aspect about their relationship/dynamic with Yamato?

Alternate prompts: Connection / Distance (2022) & The Multiverse: Canon vs. AUs (2023)

Take a look at the prompts of the other days too!

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

[jubilines]

any interest in a digimon (adventure + 02) x miraculous ladybug au? 🫣

headcanons under the cut!

(full disclosure - i’ve only watched seasons 1+2 of miraculous ladybug. the rest of my knowledge is pieced together from the wiki + lurking off and on in the fandom over the last few years!)

koushiro as the ladybug holder:

the obvious ladybug-tentomon connection aside, i think his analytical abilities would be super helpful when figuring out how to use a lucky charm

his arc would be growing out of being awkward and socially withdrawn through the confidence he builds up as ladybug (mister bug?)

hikari as the cat holder:

no thoughts, just meow (jk)

her arc would be breaking away from being a people-pleaser and the “perfect” image that people project onto her, and learning to set boundaries and express herself through the freedom she gets as chat noir (lady noir?)

(she would definitely have a chat blanc episode!)

ideas other potential holders (open to suggestions!):

mimi - peacock

jou - turtle

takeru - snake

ken - bee

miyako - fox

wallace - rabbit

menoa - butterfly

also still brainstorming their love square dynamic... 👀

[asknarashikari]

I'm back from Disney World! It was awesome!

Anyways, back to the headcanons.

When they are old enough, Flynt makes Cutanner and Ricky their own transformation trinkets. They would obviously be the Navy & Scarlet rangers of the Zenkaiger crew, both going by Twokai Ricky and Twokai Cutanner, obviously. Though I'd like to imagine rather than having their transformation trinkets look like Zox's. Cutanner's is a sword, shaped similarly to the one Momotarou has, with a slot for his gear. And Ricky's being a glove/gauntlet like design with a gear slot on the back of the hand

Juliana inherited Magine's little verbal tick of muttering when she's nervous. Juliana doesn't like it, Magine blames herself for passing it on, and Reika finds it adorable. Satoshi made fun of her when they were little saying she sounded like a lawn mower, she promptly hit him for that

Koushiro has had a girlfriend for a few years but has yet to tell anyone outside of his parents about her, due to the fact that he was afraid of his siblings finding out, mainly Ikki.

Yoshino doesn't like to socialize much in and out of work, so to the department, she's practically a mystery outside of a few we'll know facts, like her favorite treat, her father and small things like that. It shocks the whole department when she accepts an invitation to go out if, asking if she can bring her boyfriend along

Ricky and Cuttaner as Rangers? I see chaos in the near future

Juliana should hit him a bit more 😊

Koushirou... I don't know if that's smart or asking for pain...

Lolrip Yoshino 😂

[sloanerisette]

Digimon Secret Santa 2023 Gift!

So I was @bacomon-art-blog's Secret Santa! I know how much you love Iori and Jou, so I wanted to write something with them for you! I hope you have a merry Christmas, and I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this and a ton of fun coming up with this fic!

---

For some reason, Iori felt a bit out of his depth for this celebration. According to Takeru and Hikari, August 1st was a big day for the original eight Chosen Children, being the day that they went to the Digital World and came back. As a result, the eight Chosen Children were joined by him, Miyako, and Daisuke to celebrate. They were Chosen Children now, so they had been welcomed wholeheartedly in the group. But while Miyako was quick to find friendship with Sora and Mimi thanks to her exuberant nature, and Daisuke had already been close with Taichi and had recently become closer with Yamato after a he received the Digimental of Friendship, Iori felt… well, a bit out of place.

It wasn’t that he felt unwelcome by any means, but it was a bit different. Everyone was so much older than him, and compared to the other new Chosen Children, he felt he hadn’t gotten nearly that close to any of his seniors. His own Digimentals were Knowledge and Reliability, and while he greatly respected both Koushiro and Jou, his relationship with them wasn’t nearly as close as Miyako was with Mimi or Daisuke was with Taichi.

Still, he was grateful to come along. The heat wasn’t too bad, they had a picnic together, and he had been enthralled by all the stories of that first trip the others took into the Digital World. He couldn’t imagine the idea of being stuck there for so long… it merely made his respect for them all grow so much more. Every so often that day he looked down at Upamon, each time with a fond, if small smile. He and his Digimon partner had already become incredibly close friends, and Upamon had done plenty to get him to lighten up just a bit more than usual. All he could hope was that their bond would continue to grow and grow.

By the mid-afternoon, the humidity had grown quite a bit, and Iori found himself needing to fan himself a bit more.

“Water?”

He snapped from yet another bout of thoughts about what being a Chosen Child meant and he looked up to see Jou offering him a bottle of water. He blinked.

“Ah, thank you, Jou-san,” he said with a bow of his head before taking it.

“I’m surprised the summer hasn’t been rougher,” Jou said as he cracked open his own bottle and took a long drink. Iori opened his bottle and offered some to Upamon before taking a sip himself.

The group of Chosen Children had split up a bit, with all of them splitting up into their own small groups. Miyako had dragged Hikari over to Mimi and Sora, while Daisuke was listening to Taichi and Koushiro, and Yamato and Takeru were standing next to each other, laughing about something one of them said.

“Don’t worry, I made sure to pass water out to everyone else. You just seemed to be in such thought I didn’t want to interrupt you, but considering everyone else got their own by now, I hope you don’t mind,” Jou said lightly. Iori shook his head.

“No, I appreciate it, thank you.”

Things stayed quiet between the two as they sat down on a bench, watching their friends socialize. It was nice to spend some quiet time, but with the oldest of their group there, Iori couldn’t help himself.

“Jou-san, do you mind if I ask a question?” he asked, voice serious as ever. Jou’s eyebrows raised and he let out a gentle chuckle.

“Of course, fire away.”

Compared to the few times he had seen Jou in the Digital World, he seemed a lot more easygoing now. Well, not necessarily easygoing, considering this was the guy who had made sure everyone was staying hydrated on a warm summer day, but he definitely wasn’t as stressed as he was making sure their friends didn’t die or in helping temporarily stop the Digimon Kaiser.

And, really, there were some questions that Iori floated in his mind. Even if Taichi had been the leader in Jou’s group and Daiuske was the leader in theirs, he still wanted to do his best to help out. Frankly, out of all the people to ask, from what he knew and the stories he was told, Jou was the only person to really ask.

“How did you do it?” he asked. Jou blinked and tilted his head.

“Do what?” he asked as Iori gave Upamon another drink of water.

“Keep them all under control,” Iori said simply, before taking another gulp for himself. Jou scratched his cheek and grimaced.

“Ah, well… that was more Taichi’s job than mind…” he trailed off.

“I understand that, but you were the oldest one. Your crest is Reliability, and I share that too through my Digimental. Mimi talking about how you stayed with her to make sure she stayed safe when you went back to the Digital World a second time, the story about making sure Taichi didn’t get in over his head while trying to rescue Sora, making sure Takeru didn’t get hurt… even if you didn’t lead the group, you still did everything you could to keep everyone safe.”

Jou placed his hand to his chin and hummed quietly, in deep thought. Iori focused his attention on him, waiting for what he had to say. He wanted to do his best to keep everyone safe with how dangerous the Digimon Kaiser was dangerous. Ever since they had to fight Metalgreymon, it felt like the stakes were being raised more and more. It wouldn’t be easy, and they needed to do all they could. Iori had to keep an eye out and make sure they all stayed safe. He wouldn’t let anything happen to any of his friends.

“Well, to be honest with you, Iori… I think a lot of it happened by accident,” he said with an awkward laugh. Iori’s jaw dropped.

“Huh?”

At his bewildered expression, Jou waved his hands and shook his head.

“No no no, don’t get me wrong! I worked as hard as I could to keep everyone safe, even if Taichi took the lead of the group,” he said. He paused again and pursed his lips, trying to best figure out how to better word what he meant to say.

“A lot of our group is pretty impulsive. Sora-kun and Koushiro are probably the only others who could keep as much of a level head, and there were plenty of times where I still needed to do what I could to help them out, too. Working with a lot of people isn’t always easy, especially when a lot of them are so headstrong.”

Iori glanced over at Daisuke and then to Miyako. He could definitely understand that pretty well.

“In a way, you sort of have to be an anchor for your group.”

The anchor for the group…

Iori had a hard time thinking of himself that way. While he had been raised with a good head on his shoulders thanks to his family, being the “anchor” felt like something else entirely.

Jou set a gentle hand on Iori’s shoulder, his own gaze having followed towards Iori’s friends.

“Daisuke and Miyako-kun are both pretty energetic, aren’t they,” he mused with a soft chuckle, “They really are like Taichi and Mimi-kun.”

“Jou-san, you really think I could be the anchor to our group?” he asked. He always appreciated the advice, help, and knowledge he received from Koushiro-san, and the few times Jou-san had offered it had been a boon, too. He still thought about what he had said when he needed to call on him in order to help save the group.

“I wouldn’t say think, I would say I’m sure you could be,” Jou said, offering Iori a smile. To Jou, it was almost funny how different the two were. Here Iori had taken helping out the Digital World in stride, doing everything he could in order to help fight against the Digimon Kaiser, while Jou had been so anxious and hesitant during his first trip there. Granted, they were in completely different situations, but he was always impressed by the boy’s convictions and strength.

“Takeru and Hikari-kun may have the experience from being in the Digital World with the rest of us, but you have an incredibly level head. You know when to take action and you focus on the right thing to do.”

Hearing Jou-san say that… really did mean a lot. It wasn’t always easy being the youngest, but…

“Thank you, Jou-san. Going against the Digimon Kaiser hasn’t been easy. Sometimes I wonder if it’s a battle we can entirely win,” Iori frowned. He wrung his hands together as he watched the others. He didn’t want to see them get hurt. He still thought about how his friends had nearly died, had a few nightmares about it. If it wasn’t for him being able to get Jou-san, then…

“I know we can’t help you all out too much, but we’ll always do what we can. You’ll always have our support.”

Upamon looked up at Iori, with that same adorable smile that he always held. It brought warmth to his chest, and enough relief to cause the knot that had slowly been forming in his stomach to unwind.

“Iori,” Upamon squeaked, “If I get what Jou is saying, then I know you do that for me, too!”

“Upamon?”

Jou smiled in silence as he watched the the pair.

“You always help me out! And if it wasn’t for you, there’s plenty of times I would’ve had way more of your mom’s food than I should!” Upamon said as he wiggled in his place.

And there were a lot of times that he had gotten seconds (and thirds) to give to his partner after a long day in the Digital World.

“Sounds a lot like a seal I know,” Jou said, before pausing for a beat, “Well… a lot less sarcastically than said seal, at least,” he said before adjusting his glasses.

“Thanks. Both of you,” Iori nodded as he held Upamon a little closer. “I hope one day I can be as close with Upamon as you are with Gomamon.”

Jou set a reassuring hand on Iori’s shoulder, patting it a few times before he reached for his bottle of water and took another drink.

“I don’t think you’ll have anything to worry about on that front. You two are just as much anchors for each other as Gomamon and I are for each other.”

“Hey, Iori!” Miyako shouted out with an exaggerated wave, “Get over here! Daisuke is buying us ice cream!”

“What!? I didn’t say I was gonna do that!” he shouted, his voice booming through the park.

“Sounds like you have to now!” Takeru said, his laughter mingling with Daisuke’s continued cries of refusal.

“B-But I was talking to—” Iori started, but was stopped by another hand on his shoulder again.

“Don’t worry about me, I’m sure I can find someone to talk to,” Jou said, mirth clear in his voice as he nodded towards his group.

“And I want to get ice cream, too!” Upamon said.

“Hey, wait! If I start buying ice cream for all you guys I’m gonna be broke!” Daisuke shouted.

“Oh! I want ice cream, too!” Chibimon squeaked out happily as he danced around his partner’s feet.

“Me, too!” Patamon said as he flew in circles.

The two stood up and started to walk forward. “Thanks for all of your advice today, Jou-san. It’s really helped me out.” Iori stopped in place and offered his senior a half bow.

Jou smiled, “I’m happy to help.”

“Hey! If you don’t hurry up then you and Upamon aren’t getting any ice cream!” Daisuke shouted over to them.

“Iori come on!” Upamon said, nearly flying from the boy’s arms to secure his frozen treat.

“Oh, and Iori? I think you’re already on the right track to being the anchor for your group,” Jou said, shooting the younger boy a thumbs up before heading over to talk to Mimi and Koushiro.

“Fiiiiiiiinally,” Daisuke said, putting his hands behind his head as Iori approached, Upamon practically buzzing in Iori’s arms as his little eyes darted around to try and find ice cream.

“I thought we were gonna have to leave ya behind,” Daisuke grinned. Miyako flicked his ear, leading to him shouting “Ow!” and rubbing his ear with a grumble.

“He wasn’t going to leave, I wouldn’t let him,” she said as she folded her arms. It caused Hikari to laugh, putting a hand in front of her mouth to cover it.

“Iori, Iori, how many ice creams can I get?” Upamon asked as he finally popped out of his partner’s arms, bouncing on the ground with Chibimon.

“Just one!” Daisuke said with a huff, pouting out his lower lip, “I’m not made of money.” Despite his grumbling, he couldn’t help the way the edge of his mouth turned upwards into a half grin before he led the charge towards a small convenience store, the rest of the group following close behind.

Despite the fact that Upamon ended up having an extra half a popsicle after begging Iori for some more, the tiny Digimon still ended up scarfing down a whole plate of food he had taken to his room after dinner. Iori watched with a mix of wonder and terror as the Digimon chowed down face first on a large pile of rice.

“You know, I still can’t help but wonder how many stomachs you have.”

“I dunno but not enough! I’m still hungry!” Upamon said between bites.

Iori smiled to himself as he leaned back in his chair. His partner was certainly something else. Not that he would ever complain.

“Hey, Upamon?” Iori asked after a few minutes. Upamon looked over at him, chewing on a piece of fish. Iori reached forward and wiped away a few grains of rice that were on his cheek.

“Yeah?” Upamon asked, finally swallowing the massive mouthful of food he had.

“We make a pretty good team, don’t we?”

“Of course we do! We make the best team ever! Ever ever!” Upamon cheered as he bounced in place. Iori chuckled gently.

“I think so, too. I’m glad and I’m grateful to be your partner.”

Upamon couldn’t stop himself from continuing to munch as he watched Iori with wide eyes and rapt attention.

“I won’t lie, I’m a little nervous about taking on the Digimon Kaiser… it won’t be an easy fight. But I want you to know I’ll always stand by you. As long as you’re able to fight, then so will I.”

Upamon suddenly launched himself into Iori’s arms, the force of which caused his chair to nearly fall backwards. Iori barely managed to get his feet planted on the floor in time while Upamon nuzzled into him. Iori grimaced as some soy sauce started to stain his shirt.

“I’ll be your anchor if you’ll be mine, Iori!”

Iori smiled, closed his eyes, held his partner tight, and gently set his forehead against the top of Upamon’s head.

“I will.”

[digisurvive]

Refreshing honesty

In which I contrast Saki and Mimi for fun lol

[Image id: Screenshot of Saki looking upset and leaning forward]

Saki getting compared to Mimi is inevitable given her character was crafted to be outwardly similar: they’re both in the lower age bracket without being the youngest, they have a cheerful, sensitive disposition, distaste for violence and a tendency to bluntness in a way that’s refreshing~. Therefore, certain expectations on Saki are placed: that she would be self-centered and learn how to get along with others and consider their needs, that she’d be outspoken and open and that she’d have to learn how to endure hard tasks and stand firm before adversity.

However, Saki’s very introduction scene subverts these expectations— after all, we first see her tagging along with Ryo, who has a combative and nasty disposition. Her patience in dealing with him makes Aoi and Minoru remark that Saki could get along with just about anyone, which already sets the first point of contrast with Mimi.

As we learn further down the line, Saki has a very keen eye for people: upon Ryo’s death, she reflects that he was lonely and had trouble expressing himself, which showcases she’s able to look past his unpleasant and selfish behavior and understand him to an extent. The degree to which she related to those traits, albeit in a different manner, is shown in her Wrathful flashback, where she talks about how lonely she is (If someone like me disappeared, I doubt anyone would miss me...!) and how she lost her friends to a fight, which seems like a recurrent event in her life given her strong fears of rejection underlined in her moral shadow event. This information recontextualizes some of her dialogue during Vegiemon’s evolution scene: “I did it because it was the ‘good’ thing to do, I didn’t want others to hate me…”. This shows that she chooses her words carefully using her keenness to navigate the world and fit in, even though she still gets it wrong at times.

This continues to hugely set her apart from Mimi, who could be a bit thoughtless in her honesty, either hurting Palmon’s feelings for not being ‘cute enough’ or making it hard for her to get along with people she deemed difficult (Koushiro). Mimi is naturally charismatic and doesn’t have trouble socializing and being accepted by others. Unlike some of the other adventure kids, she has her own friend circle before the summer camp started and her home life is very stable, so her outspokenness comes from a place of being a well-adjusted kid who isn’t afraid of expressing her needs and opinions, which is another point of contrast to Saki. As we learn over the course of the game, Saki is very ill and tires easily. However, she’s very discreet about her needs, only voicing them until she has no other recourse (until she literally couldn’t keep going during the trek to the amusement park in part 4). Saki is generally cagey and avoidant to talk about it at all, even as it permeates every aspect of her life (her wistfulness over her missed experiences when wandering around the amusement park, her comical vague excuses when explaining Takuma she won’t be able to meet with them after camp due reasons~ in part 7).

Despite her bluntness, Saki has trouble talking without reservations about her worries and problems, and it takes a lot of work showing her she’s accepted for her to open up— first to Aoi and then to Takuma, who are both people who are very attuned to others’ emotions and taking care of them. Thus, Saki’s own bluntness isn’t necessarily straightforward honesty, and it’s something that can either be born out of her social inexperience (her passive-aggressive remarks to Shuuji in part five only antagonize him further and form part of what makes him dig his heels, instead of helping her stand up for herself and the group) and her strong sense of justice: that she will speak up when things are unfair (she shows strong ethics when rejecting Minoru’s idea to make a tally about whether to look for Miu or not, arguing it’s immoral to take a vote on a human life). Where Mimi is accepted and has to grow to be committed to her community in order to stand for it (her crest activation literally hinges on this), Saki already has strong values and needs a supporting community to be able to act on them.

[seventeenlovesthree]

How would you describe Koushiro's personality, this is definitely not me following up on you describing Iori in DMs :P

Hehe, as I said, that's perfectly fine, since I highly enjoy doing character (and relationship) analyses! And this is a good one, because it forces me to put my own biases aside to make a somewhat objective statement. (Potential biases will probably still be included, but I'll try my best.)

So... How would I describe Koushirou's personality?

Aside from being Digimon Adventure's smart info-slash-exposition-dump-boy who has to figure out both the plot and the potential solution to every single problem the group encounters...

He is incredibly dedicated, committed and loyal - and I think the screenshot below sums that up quite well:

He has a high sense of responsibility and, in accordance with his dedicated nature, will do whatever it takes to find answers and solutions. Whether it's for the sake of his friends or the entire world(s). Because researching, being curious and wanting to know everything about everything - those are the "things that make him himself", the true holder of the Crest of Knowledge. Thus, he is not only "the resourceful problem-solver", the group's resident computer genius and an absolute over-achiever (he's got his own freaking company by the age of 21 after all), but also very prone to overworking himself, neglecting both his physical and mental health in the process.

It also means that he goes into hyperfocus mode easily - and those are the times where he is prone to become somewhat ignorant and unable to pick up on social cues. And so he may come off as too rational, not empathetic enough or even rude - but that doesn't mean that he's always that way! He's actually quite capable at making others open up to him - like a true dad senpai. He's quite observant of his friends and their issues - at least when things are not too urgent or at stake. His great sense of senpai-ness, unfortunately, also means that he feels responsible for keeping "the kids" in check (that includes friends that are actually older than him, btw.). He enjoys (over-)explaining things (read: rambling!) and providing tech and guidance for them - but they may also exhaust him sometimes, especially when they get themselves into unnecessarily dangerous situations. After all, he may not always be able to understand or adapt to the people around him, so he'd rather turn to technology at times instead. But he's really trying.

When it comes to himself, he used to hide behind a mask of self-imposed politeness. And yes, he is a kind and caring person at heart - those who grind his gears, take his gadgets without permission or make his computer freeze know that he can get very snappy and shouty though. Especially when they act irrationally to him. Or against his very strong moral code. He may make use of his networking and hacking skills to save the world - but he wouldn't break the law for harmful reasons. He is a giver through and through, his love language is definitely "acts of service" and he would do anything for his family and friends. To the point of literally sacrificing himself.

He's very much used to keeping secrets and his emotions (mostly) to himself though - Tentomon may still be the only one who has actually ever seen him have emotional breakdowns. Because he, unfortunately, still assigns a lot of his self-worth to being able to use his computer for the sake of "good". If he cannot be "useful", he still has the tendency to panic - all by himself. And may get flustered if you praise him too much. Otherwise, he is pretty confident in the mentioned hard skills. And since he's so goal-oriented, one can easily see why he evolved into a leading figure (basically Taichi's second in command) AND the #1 Digimon research expert, who not only manages the Chosen Children network as a connector and tech-sponsor, but also does PR work and such.

(On a sidenote: The subjects of fashion and romance may not come easily to him, but once again - he is trying his best.)

Tldr; he's an awfully smart, incredibly caring and loyal bean, immensely resourceful and a natural problem solver, but there's a lot he carries on his shoulders by himself (even if he doesn't have to) and he is still pretty bad at opening up to others.

I love him a lot and if you're interested in all my other meta posts I wrote about him, feel free to check these out: [Breaking male stereotypes] [On his own] [Selfishness vs. Selflessness] [Reboot] [Physical Touch] [Boyfriend] [Appreciation Hours] [Magical Boy] [Stageplay]

[tutituticafe]

My thoughts after watching Digimon Adventure the Beginning

It's nice idea to know that not only upper middle class family child get Digimon. Some of child who struggles with financial and affection can get one too, like Lui.

And also the second idea that can be develop is "Not force people to have digimon patner" so we can see in the ending of Zero Two all protagonists children get patner, we can assumme that all children get ones too, then that mean someone who doesn't get one can be a problem?

And this is the last one I really wanted to see this one, I hope in future Toei or Bandai have this kind idea. We see human suffering because Digimon died, but they can come back because Digimon just data. What about if on the contrary, the human is the one who died? A digimon who loses human patner because of suicide? Dark theme like social media bullying lead people to died? A digimon who despise human so much? (I know this simmillar with idea with Re-Creators, but I wanna see it in Digimon)

The animation is so smooth and good. But it's more like a CD drama rather than movie, because YES! we don't get one new evolution. About all it's nice and interesting idea. So many opportunity that it can become an opening series after this.

I love how they portrait the 01 in that story the important one, like Taichi and Koushiro.

Rating 8/10

[koushirouizumi]

On the second day, Koushiro dropped his “m”s. “You   ay   ot u  dersta  d, Te  to  o  , but I feel as though a heavy weight has bee   lifted off of   y shoulders.” “I see. That’s good.” Tentomon smiled encouragingly.

Digimon Adventure Novel; “The Inquisitive Heart” Translation from Digital Scratch (Link in the comments)

[izzyizumi]

{Taichi Yagami} was someone who treated others {including at the school} without discrimination {unjust hatred or prejudice based on social status and class}. That {outlook} of Taichi's never changed {in that time}, even towards {Koushiro Izumi}.

-Digimon Adventure Novel (Summarized)/(Amended)

If it hadn't been for {Taichi continuing to treat Koushiro that way}, Koushiro {believed} Koushiro {might} have (read as: would not have) ever gone to the summer camp.

{The summer camp where the Chosen Children originally were dragged in to the Digital World, and met their partners.}

[shihalyfie]

Kōshirō/Koushiro/Koushirou and Jō/Jou/Jyou: Is there a correct or most accurate version or is it a free-for-all? (I don't know any Japanese apart from baka! and I don't know how romanization works.)

Yep, they're all correct!

So what's going on here with both names is that that the kanji in their names map to the readings "ko-u-shi-ro-u" and "jo-u". Therefore, if you want to show the embedded reading most accurately from a linguistics perspective (since there is a difference between "o" and "ou" in that case), yes, you should be including the u -- but as long as we're talking on social media and not in a linguistics conference, the priority should be more on what's easier for the average person to read (or what looks nice).

Japanese has a quirk where if "o" and "u" are next to each other in that order, it's usually read off as a long "o" (or in other words, "o-u" and "o-o" are pronounced the same). For the sake of neatness, a lot of things will drop the "u" because it can get confusing to have too many of those in English contexts. And, I mean, I think even the most stubborn of "but the spelling!" diehards will have a hard time writing JoJo Part 3's protagonist's name as Kujou Joutarou. A lot of people will get mad at you if you do that.

The use of ō is the same principle in that it drops the u to make it look nice, but also has the line (called a "macron") to correctly indicate it's a long "o", not a single-syllable "o". Personally, I don't prefer it because I just don't like how it looks (and my American keyboard can't type it easily anyway), but it's a compromise for those who don't want to see potentially confusing romanizations but want to be more linguistically accurate.

As for "Koushiro" and "Jyou", those originate from the Ryuu-Rogue fansub of Adventure. I'm not from that team, so you'll have to ask them about their reasoning, but my guess is that "Koushiro" was just done for how it looks (as you can see, it's not linguistically accurate since it mismatches by retaining one "ou" but not the other). "Jyou" seems to be a byproduct of the fact that, for some reason, the fansub group liked to transliterate "j-" as "jy-". To be honest, it's kind of an odd decision because no standard romanization system does this, and the main translator for Ryuu-Rogue (onkeikun, whom you probably owe something to if you follow any fan translated Digimon stuff) stopped using that romanization several years ago and currently uses "Jou" in any Adventure-related stuff she translates now. But due to the important position of RyRo's fansub and all of onkeikun's early translations for anyone who follows Digimon in Japanese, a lot of fandom veterans picked up on that "Jyou" romanization and still use it today.

Incidentally, official stuff sometimes romanizes the name as "Joe", even when using Japanese names. This is a total Anglicization and a "stylized romanization" rather than a linguistically accurate one, but it's actually pretty common for characters or even public figures named "Jou" to use this romanization on an official basis (for instance, the protagonist of Cyborg 009). Probably because it looks cool.

Personally I use "Jou" and "Koushirou" just because I think it feels consistent, and it's also the romanization used in PositronCannon's 02 fansubs, so there's precedent. To be honest, I don't think Digimon fans have ever really been that picky about romanizations for the Japanese names, so I just recommend using whatever works best for you.

[tobiasdrake]

Digimon Adventure 01x04 - Scorching Heat! Birdramon! / Biyomon Gets Firepower

Previously on Digimon Adventure: The kids spent their first night on File Island, accidentally assaulted a sea dragon, and then slept in dirt. Also, Yamato loves his brother very much.

Now it's Sora's turn for a spotlight episode.

As the kids make their way through the woods, they hear a loud rumbling sound like a train coming from the sky. Looking up, there's a mysterious flying disc.

Yamato gets the best look at it, identifying it as some kind of gear. Sora suggests flying saucer, while Mimi splits the difference offers gear-shaped meteorite. Jou doesn't know what it was; He just gets a bad vibe from it.

In the dub, Matt suggests some kind of aircraft. Sora's the one who pegs it as a gear, while Izzy takes it as clear visible evidence for his alien theory. Joe agrees with Izzy and riffs on the show's art, declaring "They hit us with an antigravity way to make us all crooked; Or maybe that sign's just crooked?"

The conversation is interrupted when Takeru trips on a vine and hurts his ankle. Wilderness travel sucks.

Taichi and Yamato both rush to Takeru's side, but Taichi gets there first. One detail I really love in this scene is that Takeru visibly turns his head to talk directly to Yamato when he cries that his fall hurt.

Takeru tries to be tough, saying he can take it and it doesn't really hurt that much. Sora assures him that it's okay to be honest about his pain, and gives Takeru confidence to withdraw that retraction. It does hurt. Patamon, way too late on the uptake, suddenly screams "ARE YOU OKAY, TAKERU!?" and Tentomon calls him out for being slow.

The dub cuts this whole discussion of Takeru's pain. When Tai picks him up, he chastizes him because "That could have been a snake!" T.K. apologizes for being clumsy, then asks Biyomon if the island has snakes on it. She assures him it doesn't; There's just giant killer bugs and stuff, no snakes. Patamon then boldly proclaims that he'll fight those Digimon to protect T.K.

From here, we get into Sora and Piyomon's conflict for this arc. As the group discusses where we even go from here, Piyomon begins nuzzling Sora and declares that she'll be perfectly happy as long as she's with Sora.

Sora does not take this well. "Even if you're 100% happy, it'll be troublesome for me. I can't be held responsible." Piyomon doesn't understand what she means by that and eagerly asks her to explain, because she wants to know everything about Sora. Sora tries to wave off her questions; That was not an invitation for further conversation.

As the kids start walking again, Tentomon explains to Koushiro that Piyomon are highly social Digimon. Behind them, Piyomon takes Sora's hand while they walk and sings, "Sora~ Sora~ Sora~!" While Piyomon physically clings to her, Sora wonders to herself whether she's going to be able to get along with a "mushy Digimon" like Piyomon.

The dub cuts all of this. As the kids discuss where to go, Tai suggests looking for signs of intelligent life. Biyomon takes offense to that, asking Sora if Tai just insulted the Digimon. Sora assures her that Tai didn't mean it like that, then spends the rest of her dialogue explaining how important it is that they stick together and work as a team to find their way out of here.

As the kids start walking, Matt imitates a tour guide and introduces everyone to "The Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs". Sora rolls her eyes and complains internally, "We're lost and these guys are making jokes!"

Good news is, the kids finally find their way out of the Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs. Bad news is, the Desert of Inexplicable Telephone Poles seems much worse. I vote we stay here.

A quick cut shows us the gear crashing into a nearby mountain shaped like a layered sponge cake, because File Island is weird. In the dub, the kids see and comment on "the flying saucer again", with Matt proclaiming that it's "heading for a close encounter!" But this shot is for the audience's benefit, not theirs.

Walking through the desert, Koushiro compares it to the African savannah he saw on TV. This prompts discussion of whether they'll run into lions or giraffes, but the Digimon assure them there are no such animals here. Only Digimon.

Yamato asks Koushiro if the African savannah has phone poles in it. My heart goes out to him for that question. Like, you can hear the hopefulness behind the question, like maybe they've finally pegged where they are. But no. There are no inexplicable telephone poles in the African savannah.

Jou, however, takes the phone poles as a sign of hope. We flash back on the pay phones and the trolley. If there's so much stuff here then there must be people. Behind him, Tentomon whispers to Koushiro, once again reasserting that there are no people. Only Digimon.

In the dub, they head into the desert to purposefully follow the phone poles, then use the rest of their dialogue to complain about the heat. T.K. whines that he can feel the heat coming up through his socks, so Matt suggests putting his shoes back on. Mimi then complains that the desert air is bad for her complexion, providing the others another opportunity to yell at her.

Dub Sora points out that the phone poles aren't connected to anything. Izzy takes that as a chance to theorize that they're some kind of alien devices.

For the flashbacks on the pay phones and trolley, Dub Mimi abruptly asks, "Hey, remember those phone booths and the street car?" but she's not going anywhere with this. "I was just wondering if anyone else remembered!" This provokes Joe into suddenly proclaiming that everyone is doomed and the heat is baking their brains. Behind him, Tentomon whispers to Izzy that they need to find shade for Joe.

Amid all this, Mimi has an idea to help them navigate the desert. Remember that compass from the survival kit she stole from her dad? Mimi remembers.

The dub plays this for a joke. "You won't believe what happened to my favorite watch. The sun melted the numbers right off!" The way she delivers this suggests Mimi herself might be cracking a joke, but the way the dub treats her in general leaves it kind of ambiguous.

They also seem to think this is a different compass, as Tai cracks a joke about Mimi having "a lot of compasses for someone who hates hiking". No, Tai. She has the one. From the survival kit she stole from her dad.

Holding the compass out flat, it begins to spin wildly and can't find a direction. So. That sucks. Koushiro assesses the sand they're walking on and realizes it's actually powdered iron, which is throwing off the compass. So much for that.

Next steps: We should probably find water before we all dehydrate. Seems like that would probably have been a good thing to think about before beginning a death march through the desert, but these are children.

Here, the Japanese crew start suffering from the heat, joining the dub crew. Gomamon proclaims that he needs ice or, at least, water. In the dub, Izzy lands a good joke by explaining that he's taken a soil sample, measured the barometric pressure, and analyzed the relative humidity to come to the conclusion: "It's really, really hot."

Mimi takes off her hat and gives it to Palmon to protect her from the harsh sun. Dub Palmon gets in a crack about "If this goes on too long, I'm going to look like a wilted salad."

Mimi's kind gesture surprises Sora, who starts to say something but then stops herself. Piyomon then starts in, calling out Sora's name like a child trying to get her mom's attention until Sora finally snaps at her. Sora yells at Piyomon to quit clinging to her, because she's tired and thirsty and can't take it anymore.

Feeling guilty for hurting Piyomon's feelings, Sora takes it back and agrees to let Piyomon keep walking with her. Piyomon forgives her instantly, hugging her legs and proclaiming, "Sora, I love you!"

Once again I want to take a moment and comment on the art, as the decision to center Mimi and Palmon with their clear, visible gesture of care for one another on full display in this shot is perfect.

Though I also want to note that, while Sora's behavior towards Piyomon is hurtful and that's what drives the plot of the episode, it should be taken with the perspective that they just met yesterday. Piyomon is being pretty clingy. There's nuance here.

Again, the dub cuts Sora and Piyomon's emotional conflict out of the scene entirely. They use the screentime to make jokes. Matt cracks, "Now you know why they call them SWEAT socks!" while Mimi gets in a stellar crack, pointing out that this "beach" would be a lot more popular if it had a couple more things like an ocean. XD

When Biyomon stops walking in visible distress, it's because she's tired and needs to rest. Sora suggests pretending that it's raining, which gives Biyomon so much encouragement that she runs up and hugs Sora. She loves the rain so much.

Breaking out his telescope, Taichi finds the most wonderful sight in the distance. That's not just an oasis, it's a full-blown village. This is the brightest moment since the kids arrived on File Island! Let's get over there!

Jou triumphantly declares victory; He knew there'd be people here! Mimi's thirsty, Takeru's hungry, everyone's excited for an end to the desert.

Dub Tai and Joe are both more interested in the water than the village, but Izzy's interested in the village; He's the only one that suggests there may be people. Mimi wants shade, while T.K. is "hungry enough to eat broccoli!"

Meanwhile, the gear finds its way to its target. Slamming into this man made of fire, it grotesquely digs into his flesh and buries itself in his body.

The village... isn't exactly what they anticipated. The kids quickly realize that they will not find shelter here. The huts are like two feet tall and populated by dozens of Pyocomon.

This revelation naturally leaves Jou distraught; No people, once again. Mimi thinks it's cute, though; It reminds her of a faerie tale. Dub Joe's upset because they won't fit into the huts, while Mimi wants to take a Pyocomon home with her to put with the rest of her plushies. This gives them yet another chance to shit-talk her, with Matt wondering aloud if Mimi even hears the same things the rest of them do while Izzy accuses her of being an alien spy.

The dub is so mean to Mimi.

In fact, Piyomon used to be one of those Pyocomon, and takes the opportunity to catch up. While Sora listens in and seems genuinely touched by how much Piyomon cares about her. We watch her frown turn to a smile as Piyomon brags that she evolved because of Sora and she's learning new words from Sora.

But then Piyomon says she evolved to "protect Sora" and that offends her. Sora grumpily mutters to herself that Piyomon's too lovey-dovey to protect anyone. But then she flashes back on Greymon and Garurumon's evolution, realizing that something similar might happen to Piyomon if she's put in danger. That brings the smile back to her face.

The dub keeps most of this, but Sora isn't as mean about the "protect Sora" remark. She sounds more curious about what that means, then thinks about Greymon and Garurumon and she gets it. Grinning, she proclaims, "We're lucky kids!"

The Pyocomon offer to prepare a feast in the kids' honor. Koushiro briefly considers what the food will be, but his thoughts are interrupted when Takeru finds the water!

Tentomon explains that this isn't just any spring; This water comes from Miharashi Mountain, that odd layered mountain that the gear flew off to. Dub T.K. observes that it's a volcano, but the Yokomon assure him that "the heat boils away all the germs".

At this point, we see the gear finish burrowing into the fire man from before. Then the attack begins.

The kids try the lake that the derelict boat was sitting in, but it's completely dried up. They move to a well in the village, but fire pours out of that as well.

They quickly assess that this must be related to that gear they saw flying to Miharashi, seeing as it's the water source for everything here. The Pyocomon offer context that Meramon lives on Miharashi and he's supposed to protect it. How could something have happened?

Like Seadramon, the dub makes Meramon out to be more vicious than the original. Here, the Yokomon speak of Meramon with terror, saying they don't dare visit the mountain because of how dangerous he is. "He burns up everything he touches!"

Taichi scouts the mountain with his telescope and finds no answers, only a bigger question: Why is Meramon descending the mountain and coming right for us?

Meramon irrationally screams that he's on fire and burning up, while the narrator officially introduces him. He's an Adult-stage Data-type Digimon. This is where the dub got "He burns up everything he touches", but the narrator clarifies "in battle".

In the dub, Palmon handles his introduction but all she offers is that it's weird for his own flames to be causing him pain like this. Accurate, but also self-evident.

Also, while he's clearly out of his mind and screaming about burning up and being in pain in both versions, Dub Meramon starts throwing out violent taunts like "You're gonna need more than sunscreen to stop me!" that imply more deliberation in attacking the village.

Both versions do start laughing maniacally as they approach the village, however, so the dub isn't wrong with their take. The gear-infected Meramon isn't coming this way by chance.

Evacuating the village, the kids usher the Pyocomon to take cover inside the wrecked ship. But while they're helping these Pyocomon, Sora's struck with a horrifying realization: Piyomon's still up there, at the top of the cliff that the lakeshore's become, guiding the Pyocomon. She won't leave until the rest of her village are safe.

The intensity of Piyomon's peril sends Sora racing for the cliffside to come get her, but she's too late. While the Pyocomon all make it out, Meramon catches Piyomon on the cliff's edge and takes a swipe at her, sending her tumbling down the cliff. Sora catches her at the bottom, and the two share a moment as Sora expresses how worried she was for her friend.

But, up at the top of the cliff, Meramon prepares to attack. As he forms a fireball in his hand for his Burning Fist attack, Piyomon flies back up to defend Sora.

Piyomon's signature move is Magical Fire, a green spiral flame that proves absolutely ineffectual against the ever-burning and Adult-stage Meramon. The dub calls it Spiral Twister. Meramon shrugs off the attack and blasts Piyomon out of the sky with his Burning Fist.

The others offer cover fire with such moves as Baby Flame and Petit Fire, all of which Meramon absorbs and grows larger. It takes the kids a moment to realize that fire isn't going to work out here.

The dub here offers a reminder that Meramon's a victim in all this. Dub Meramon exclaims, "Why do I suffer so!?" which Tai overhears and wonders the same; He wants to help Meramon but they don't know what's afflicting him.

As the now-colossal Meramon descends into the lakebed to assault the ship and kids, Piyomon picks herself off the ground. Seeing Sora in Meramon's path, she finds her second wind and refuses to give up.

Piyomon SHINKAAAAAA!!!

The dub takes the focus of that moment off of Sora. Biyomon exclaims, "We're all in trouble; Meramon cannot be allowed to win!" and then digivolves because "My friends need my help now!"

Birdramon's name at this point is fairly self-explanatory. She's a Bird Dragon Digimon.

Returning Meramon to the lakeshore, Birdramon tanks multiple Burning Fists before returning fire with her own signature move: Meteor Wing.

This does not get a dub name; At least, not in this episode. Whoever did the script for this episode seems to have not liked the whole attack-calling thing, as both Meramon's Burning Fists and Birdramon's Meteor Wing go completely unnamed. Meramon's attack calls are replaced with exertion grunts, while Birdramon's is replaced by high-pitched bird cries. Later episodes will have Birdramon call Meteor Wing by name, however.

Somehow, despite Meramon absorbing fire moves and growing stronger, hitting him with six massive fireballs does the trick.

Meramon doubles over in pain, returns to normal size, and ejects the gear from his back. The gear flies up into the air, then explodes in a puff of smoke. The kids all see the black gear, but they don't really understand what they're seeing. Still, Yamato wonders aloud if the gear was the problem here.

As usual, the dub kids are quicker on the uptake. Izzy and Tai both agree in much more confident terms that the gear drove Meramon mad. Matt relates; "If you had a big black gear stuck inside of you, you'd act a little crazy too."

Sora and Piyomon reunited, and Sora's overwhelmed with gratitude for Piyomon's protection. When Piyomon declares, "I love you, Sora!' again, it's met with an appreciative smile.

This moment's gushier in the dub, because Sora never had any reservations about their relationship to begin with. She spends her lines gushing that Biyomon's always there for her and that she's super proud of her.

Offscreen, the lake fills back up with water. The Pyocomon return to their village and unpack what happened with Meramon. He's as confused as they are. Still, they have no hard feelings over it and ask him to continue protecting Miharashi as he always has.

Despite the dub making the Yokomon terrified of Meramon and portraying him as a violent, territorial menace, this scene is played straight. "You're needed to protect Mount Miharashi!" they say of a 'mon they previously said burns up everything.

In any case, Meramon returns to his mountain and the water is restored. There's just one thing left to do: Let's get to that feast!

All the grain and birdseed you can eat!

The kids quickly agree that this is not people food. But also that they're starving and desperate, so dig in, everybody!

To varying degrees of acceptance. Mimi, in particular, cries out that she wants to go home, giving everyone a chuckle.

Ironically, the dub makes Mimi the most gracious. "Be polite and just eat it; A gracious guest never insults his host's cooking!" she says from offscreen, criticizing the others for their reluctance. Joe, meanwhile, refuses to eat, saying he's probably allergic anyway.

We close on Sora contemplating Piyomon, acknowledging that she really did evolve to protect her, just like she said she would. Dub Sora, again, had nothing to learn in this episode so she closes with the observation, "For being so little, she sure has a huge heart."

Assessment: The dub butchered this one. The previous episode seemed to be going a different direction with Matt, seeming to make him more abrasive to T.K. so he has room to grow. This one does the opposite; They erased Sora's entire character arc. Which is. Y'know. The plot of this episode. So.

Sora having trouble with Piyomon's displays of affection is our first glimpse at a deeper turmoil that will become important in later episodes, so I'm not happy about having that removed.

I do, however, like the mid-fight reminder of Meramon's affliction. And the dub also landed some solid jokes too; I particularly liked Matt sarcastically calling their surroundings the "Forest of Irrelevant Road Signs", conveying that he's starting to get irritated by the bizarre and inexplicable geography of File Island. So it does have a couple things going for it in this one.

[atsoraasayoma]

All right, this has been a long time coming.

The criticism that Tri has received is ridiculous. Let’s face it most of the criticism is against yeeting the 02 newer digidestined.

And then you have the complainers who attack the personalities of the Digidestined because they are ‘not true to character’ or ‘it’s character assassination’

Saying stuff like that just drives me nuts.

I believe that a lot of people say this for the sake of continuity between the series for consistency. But in doing so They miss something so obvious it’s easy to just condemn it instead and walk by it.

So what do I mean?

That, for the most part people do not stay the same forever. Don’t get me wrong personality wise the continuum stops with Tri otherwise they are the same, but it’s not a matter of personality or character consistency.

No, this is a matter of teenage adolescence.

We saw a different side of the Digidestined that I am very grateful for. With all the angst and emotion of the teenage years it was great to see the Digidestined at a degree for the worse.

Let’s kind of list a couple shall we?

Taichi instead of being headstrong is wishy washy at times, an ass at other times and just comes across as unsure.

Yamato is cold and aloof, jagged and sharp. Not much different honestly. Maybe a little bit colder though.

Sora is…how can I put this lightly? Emotionally supportive but emotionally unstable at the same time even though she seems like the most stable one at times.

Koushiro is so analytical to the breaking point of having a melt down and he has a couple times especially prior to the reboot.

Joe is so distracted like crazy but not really changed that much. He just wants to go back to the real life and who can blame him?

Mimi is a straight up savage who forces her way into getting what she wants without being considerate of others. Even when she thinks of being considerate it’s still her feelings primarily the source of offense.

Takeru is more evolved I should say, but he lies and messes around far more than he should. But again he’s a teenager. We all have to learn.

Hikari is developing even more as an empath but struggles more to release her feelings in a healthy way which triggers physical distress like unleashing Cthulhu type monsters from twisted digivolutions.

Meiko is everything you could expect her to be. She’s been isolated, socially awkward but people have some kind of strange expectation from her to just jump on the same level As the other digidestined as far as personality or likability. She is a defeatist for sure but I enjoy her growth and regression back and forth this whole time.

As for the story I thought it was good, not great, but they left out some information we have to figure out for ourselves or make inferences. Gee I wonder when In the digimon adventure series we did NOT have to do that? Mystery isn’t it?

I also wondered about the digivolution fight choices as far as the level they were at. They are either going way too lax like champions fighting ultimate meicrackmon or way too op sending three or two Megas against one. (Rip machinedramon.)

But again the teenage years are unstable. It makes sense as the Digidestined find out who they are they fluctuate between the levels. They were after all afraid to hurt meicrackmon but ruthless against everyone else.

The part I liked most about Tri were the relationships. You could see how they naturally interacted with each other and unlike some of the digimon digivolutions they were NOT choppy (looking at you plastic gattomon).

For example and this is not the takari fanatic enthusiast within me speaking (ok, maybe it is) I enjoyed watching the takari chemistry in dialogue but also body language wise. Don’t ask me how many times they were there for each other.

But also aside from all of that I really enjoyed how for the most part each digidestined interacted with Meiko. And although she is normal and dare I say a bit bland it’s that blandness that really makes the personalities of the Digidestined pop.

Takeru’s heart to heart about Patamon’s infection.

Taichi telling her to shut up but apologize and lead/handhold her along.

Yamato saying a sharp word and the man performing a daring action to express those words.

Mimi’s dress up uniform and encouragement.

Koushiro grilling her about information to save the world.

Meiko relating with Sora about a digimon partner that won’t play nice.

Hikari bringing all of it together helping her understand her place with gentleness, tact, and just reading the atmosphere and between the lines.

You see? Digimon adventure is good if you can look past a few things. And it’s really good if you decipher everything that is going in like I did.

In second place is the relationship with digimon on full display, each digidestined experiencing the negativity or ‘opposite’ of their crests and overcoming the negativity to unleash the power of Megas. (That deserves its own post. More on that later.)

I could go on and on even about the vagueness of both homeostasis and yggdrassil being expressed by their representatives but I wanted to make this post about the Digidestined.

Any comments or questions? Let me know as always!