THIS. EPISODE. WAS. INSANE. I had all sorts of expectations going into this episode but then it just took all of them and flung them out the window. I admit, I did not care too much for the previous episode, but because they set up the situation like they did with several past antagonists in the series, it made me roll my eyes thinking that it was going to have a similar outcome. But then it just slapped me in the face and went “you thought!” Because yeah, I DID THINK. I honestly thought this episode was going to end up being a lot more predictable than it was. Sure, a lot of things were predictable, but they were able to change up the formula enough where it made it more exciting than a slog.
Devimon has evolved into the psychotic Donedevimon, who’s name makes me giggle, and is just going on this deranged rampage against the kids. And unlike the other Mega Digimon the kids have faced off against, Donedevimon’s mind has been completely eroded away and seems to act on instinct and just seems to attack anyone in range. When I looked him up to see the logistics of the thing, I was horrified to see that it seemed to move on its hands and feet. And when it started actually moving like that in the anime I was just: UGHHHHHHHHH. It was creepy. It also reminds me a lot of that horror game that seemed to be based off the Disney style, Bendy and the Ink Machine. The design, the unsettling smile and just the way it moves and laughs felt very reminiscent of Bendy and it was terrifying. But despite that, it was actually fun to watch in a weird, sadistic way I guess. And it also does have those goopy miasma arms that corrupts everything it touches. While we don’t exactly know what it actually does, I can imagine it can poison both the body and soul as it seems to have a hand in escalating Taichi and Metalgreymon’s fury.
The episode kind of fell back into a state of hopelessness again with Donedevimon poisoning Taichi and Metalgreymon, hitting Weregarurumon and Yamato at point blank range with an attack (to which I’m still scratching my head over how Yamato wasn’t just killed from an attack like that by a freaking mega) and the Algomon still causing a bunch of problems in the real world for the other group. However, seeing Takeru desperately run over to Yamato’s unconscious body while Taichi can only limp after him due to his severe wounds still hit me. But man, the boosts they gave to Tokomon is just hilariously amazing. This baby Digimon was able fend off a freaking mega Digimon’s attacks. And while it was only for a little bit, that was still an amazing feat.
At first I found it, not really as impactful for Taichi to fly into a rage like that over Yamato and Takeru. Though looking back on it, Taichi might have been comparing Yamato and Takeru to how he might have felt if it were him and Hikari. Especially since earlier he shoved Yamato out of the way because he didn’t want Yamato hurt for Takeru’s sake. And even despite that save, Yamato still ended up in critical condition with Takeru crying over Yamato. So, I guess it’s still pretty understandable why Taichi fell into a rage over that.
It was established earlier on in the series that the emotional states of the kids directly effect their Digimon partners and while it looked as if Taichi’s rage and hatred was granting Metalgreymon more power, both were slipping mentally due to their emotional states and the miasma. But man, I never expected Donedevimon to freaking EAT Taichi, pushing Metalgreymon’s already teetering mental state off the edge. And here I expected Taichi’s anger to turn Metalgreymon into Skullgreymon and I was going to be disappointed because I thought it was going to turn out into a more shallow version of how it happened in the original. But instead, my mouth DROPPED when he turned into freaking Machinedramon. And if you’ve seen some of my other posts, you’d know I am an avid fan of watching characters go into a berserked state when overcome with grief and rage and this was no exception.
But man, the battle between Donedevimon and Machinedramon was BRUTAL. I found it interesting how they didn’t add in Machinedramon’s back cannons, but I guess I can see it as an incomplete evolution and it allowed more movement animation-wise for Machinedramon. So… I’ll let it slide. Especially when the animation changed just for this scene that I felt resembled the movies. The way they animated Machinedramon move was just fantastic with its wild and berserked movements and attacks. I couldn’t believe it ripped through Donedevimon’s wings and proceeded to try and bite off his neck. And then Donedevimon freaking blows up Machinedramon’s tail. BRUH.
My heart went out to Tokomon as well in this episode. I never personally liked Devimon, when Tokomon stated that he isn’t Devimon anymore, I found that incredibly sad. Considering Tokomon had to witness a past friend succumb to insanity. And then I became even more sad for Tokomon when Metalgreymon’s mind started degrading as well when it evolved into Machinedramon. Tokomon literally could only watch as the others around him were hurt and driven to insanity. And it must have hurt him to be unable to be able to help in that situation. However, with the help of Takeru, they were able to send our boy Angemon into just the smallest fraction of hope in Machinedramon’s being to help snap him out of his rage. And yes, I did feel tears welling up. Especially when Angemon gently told Machinedramon to search for the person irreplaceable to him and that he isn’t gone just yet.
AND THEN I started crying when they had the audacity to show all the moments between Agumon and Taichi with tears in Agumon’s eyes as he tore himself out of Machinedramon’s rage. And then I cried harder when Agumon cried out Taichi’s name while he changed into FREAKING WARGREYMON to completely obliterate Donedevimon. While this wasn’t a complete evolution as I’d assume, finally seeing my boy after so long felt so satisfying. Taichi and Agumon’s bond is just… UGH. I freaking cried over their bond because of how well it was built up in that moment. This scene emotionally wrecked me and even watching it several more times, I still tear up.
I don’t care what anyone says, this episode was GREAT. It takes a lot for me to cry over something, much less several more times watching the same scene. So kudos to this episode. I’m glad my expectations were broken in this episode because wow, I did not expect to get so emotional. All the build ups, the pacing, animation, everything was really well done. Agumon turning into Machinedramon felt like it represented him losing his “humanity” in a sense. The mechanical part of him took over, becoming an unfeeling monster that attacks out of instinct. And just finding the smallest bit of hope still alive inside him felt so powerful. Even amongst a dire situation, there is always hope, no matter how small it is. With Devimon defeated and the Holy Digimon rescued (who performed a magical girl transformation into Patamon), I can only wait for next week to see what happens. Especially since it seems like they’re not out of the woods quite yet from the ground breaking apart underneath them. Not to mention that one Digimon that was hinted at a few episodes ago and Darkknightmon is still around… somewhere.
