So we suddenly get a lore drop this episode, which I’m kind of 50/50 on. On one hand, I really like that the partner Digimon are essentially the reincarnations of the warriors that fought in the war against the darkness. It feels like it adds to their characters since they more or less acted more like support to the kids’ characters and didn’t really feel like characters on their own. But with this added detail of having the souls of the fallen warriors, it feels like they have something more to strive for than just aiding the kids. Also, I can’t help but feel like the destinies between Digimon and Digidestined are switched in this alternative telling. As past warriors, it seems like the kids are there to help their partner Digimon surpass the normal laws of evolution and eventually get them to their mega forms to stop the foreseen darkness. Or something like that. It makes me wonder if they’ll regain their past memories if they were to reach their mega forms. Though it is interesting to mention that Agumon has no memories of being Omnimon in the 3rd episode. Why did he lose his memories? Is it because it was too soon in the evolutionary line to be Omnimon? So many questions now…
However, on the other hand, I feel like this information came a little too soon. In the original the Digidestined had to explore the area blindly and try and figure out why they were “isekaied” to the Digital World. It took a while for them to learn of their destiny, which pushed their characters to become “warriors” in a sense. But here, they are almost immediately told what their destiny is so it feels like the information was a bit less earned than it should be… which seems to be a bit of a trend in this series. They are moving things way too fast where things just seem to fall into their laps without much effort on their part.
So instead of the Black Gears that were used to control Digimon in the original, it’s now just a brainwashing signal from these bat-winged eyeball things, which makes it less creepy to me. Since the Black Gears looked PAINFUL whenever they were inflicted on a Digimon and I was always so terrified of them as a kid. But with this radio wave brainwashing, it feels more “kid friendly” in a sense so I’m kind of disappointed on that front. Though with Devimon waiting to make his official appearance, I suppose I’ll have to wait and see if he is capable of being “kid friendly” lol. Though it seems that the stakes have been heightened with the threat of the darkness that was foretold extends past the Digital World and will affect the human world.
I think they’re still missing the charm from the original series. They haven’t really explored very much of the world that they are in and instead of coming across problems, problems seem to be attracted to them. Which could work, but I think they should have waited a little before sending armies of Digimon attacking them. They haven’t even interacted with the locals yet. I know that the angel Digimon told them that the darkness had detected their presence and are now actively going after them, but I still feel like they should have waited a few episodes before sending armies at them.
Another thing that bothered me was that the bond between Koshiro and Tentomon wasn’t convincing to me. Why is Tentomon so bent on protecting Koshiro when they hardly know each other and haven’t even been through that much together? I don’t mind Tentomon stepping up to protect Koshiro, but him swearing he’ll protect him seems a bit too soon. This was supposed to be a very strong emotional moment, but I just wasn’t convinced Tentomon’s convictions would be that strong so early on. Though I admit that their back and forth at the end of the episode was really adorable. Give me more moments like that to allow them to grow into a believable partnership.
Also I have to say that I do find it a bit unfair and annoying that Agumon is the only one having a cool “magical girl transformation” while the others just go straight into their evolutions. It’s really cool and all, but it just feels like it’s taking too much time (which is probably what they’re doing deliberately). And I actually do prefer the Digimon to evolve straight into their next forms without a transformation sequence every time like what Birdramon did. Though it is also frustrating that their first sequence wasn’t as epic and grand as Greymon’s first Digivolution was. Digimon, your favoritism is showing.
This episode definitely was better than last week’s, but that’s probably because of the lore dump. Not to say that the lore is a bad thing, I just think they should have spent more time developing the characters first and have them figure some things out on their own before getting all this backstory. At this point it feels like they’re taking elements from other Digimon plot lines and converging it into one story. The war feels very reminiscent of Digimon Frontier with the whole Legendary Warrior vibe going on along with the Celestial Digimon (Cherubimon, Seraphimon and Ophanimon, I SEE YOU). Not only that, but the two worlds connected by the net felt like it was something taken from Digimon Tamers. Though hopefully this doesn’t become a mishmash of different Digimon seasons and can truly make this their own thing. The animation was better this episode as well, but still mildly annoyed by the still frames and the enemy Digimon not really moving from their typical poses. Not to mention the obvious Agumon favoritism. But it looks like we’ll be meeting Mimi next episode, so that’s exciting. Especially since her development in the original series was one of the more interesting ones out of the kids.
