Episode 54
YOOOOOOOO. This episode was really GOOD. Did it have any plot relevance? Not really. Did it tell us an interesting story? Yes, yes it did. It’s like, if you HAVE to give us filler, at least give us a good story and this episode did just that. Maybe it will have relevance later on as it very obviously stated that this is most likely Ogremon from way back when.
Already into the first few minutes into the episode and I’m like: WHY IS THE ANIMATION, SHOT COMPOSITION AND CHOREOGRAPHY SO GOOD???? I don’t know why the animation budget went up for this episode, but it sure made it a spectacle and 10x more fun to watch. Though I will admit that it kind of felt like a waste because of how not plot relevant this episode was. However, if they do bring Rebellimon back for a bigger purpose, I’ll forgive it. Speaking of which the way they animated Rebellimon was amazing and just made him all the more cool.
The episode was rather simple and focused almost solely on developing Rebellimon as a character who is fighting without purpose to finding purpose and partnership with Cutemon. Which I admit, was really cute and could be seen happening from a mile away. Because come on, just LOOK at Cutemon. It obviously looks like something that would ride on a motorcycle with how it’s designed. And it being able to look after and heal Rebellimon when he pushes himself too hard while he provides protection makes them a great and balanced pair. And just the contrast of rugged and wild Rebellimon to the adorable plush-like design of Cutemon is just adorable. It’s almost like a big burly man riding a motorcycle with a small kitten on his shoulder.
I do appreciate that Taichi and Agumon mostly took a backseat this episode and mostly posed as an inspiration of sorts to Rebellimon. Instead of taking on the random Boltmon that appeared out of nowhere themselves, their partnership inspired Cutemon and Rebellimon to work together to win the fight. And I do really like that they were able to outsmart and outmaneuver Boltmon instead of just overpowering it.
I did have my suspicions that this may have been Ogremon considering it looked like a possible evolution, similar voice and just seeking the thrill of battle. Not to mention the Giromon said that Rebellimon was a Digimon that failed to die. And I’m trying to think back to when Ogremon “died” and I do not recall seeing data flying everywhere when he got stomped on. Though I do wish they let us ruminate on the possibility a bit longer instead of just giving us the answer almost right away. Especially since I feel like his final scene in the episode would have made a much bigger impact if we weren’t given that very obvious image of Ogremon and Greymon fighting at the start. I absolutely loved that final shot of the camera focusing on Rebellimon’s horn ring. Exactly where Ogremon’s horn got broken. HORN IS PRIDE.
Episode 55
Another good Mimi episode if not for the reason for evolution being a little underwhelming. But I feel like that is to be expected with this series nowadays. Now, I understand what they were going for, but it did feel a tad lackluster. However, that didn’t mean this episode wasn’t fun, because it definitely was. I’m happy that they didn’t just rehash an earlier episode and actually gave Mimi a different trial to overcome. Which actually was a nice change of pace.
Most of Mimi’s episodes comprised of her telling others what to do, however, this episode’s premise gave Mimi a very different challenge by having her take on physical tasks. Mimi’s digivice lead her and Palmon back onto the floating continent where they ended up visiting the place where their journey started. However, the Tanamon village was redeveloped into a Digimon school where Digimon train to evolve. Initially, Mimi just kind of enrolled into the school for fun, but it soon started feeling like a boot camp of sorts, even forcing Mimi to take part in the different athletic challenges. To which was hilarious, especially since the school’s principal, Babamon treated her like a Digimon and expected the same results.
At first I was pretty skeptical about the school since it made it seem like Babamon was just acting as a dictator. However, it was later proved that she did actually want to help Digimon reach their full potential but was betrayed by one of her students. And let me just tell you, no matter what Google says, Banchomamemon is a freaking Jojo reference. Like sure, it’s definitely taking inspiration from the typical delinquent archetype, but the fact that it has that weird hat-hair and yells “ora” while attacking in rapid attacks, you cannot convince me this is not a Jojo’s reference.
However, the references didn’t stop there. From what I heard, Lilymon’s evolution into Rosemon was basically a Precure magical girl transformation, which I can believe from how it was animated lol. Anyways, due to Babamon’s training, Mimi and Lilymon were able to use what they learned in combat while also taking the three pillars to heart: Power, purity and beauty. Which allows Lilymon to evolve into Rosemon. I understand that one of the pillars is Mimi’s crest: Purity, but I’m still kind of iffy on the overall impact of that being the reason for Rosemon’s evolution.
In the end, Bachomamemon agrees to continue his training with Babamon while Palmon graduates with full marks. Though Mimi seems to have a long way to go before she’s able to graduate lol. This didn’t feel like a particularly strong Mimi episode, but it was still good and fun. We actually get to see Mimi be a little more active in the action instead of just letting Palmon do all the heavy lifting. I also think this is the first time we see Mimi ride into battle with her partner Digimon. Though most of it had to do with Togemon being too prickly and Lilymon basically being the same size as Mimi. Despite that, it still feels like a good character moment for actually fighting alongside Rosemon instead of just sending her out to fight for her. It was also good to see her actually persevere through the harsh training and slowly start getting better over time.
The thing I didn’t like about the episode was Taichi just having to be there. He literally didn’t have any relevance and if you took him out of the episode, nothing really changes. But overall, the episode was fine and we got some nice character moments with Mimi and apparently she’s one step closer to unlocking the secrets to her crest. Making her first one out of all the kids to achieve this so far. So she may just have one more focus episode before the series ends and I’m curious to see how that will go.
Looks like the next episode will focus on Yamato and I will continue to be salty over the fact they keep spoiling the new evolution in the previews.
Also the new ending absolutely SLAPS. The visuals were a bit lackluster due to a majority of them being recycled animation from the actual show, however, I love the song. At first I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it didn’t sound like a typical anime ending. Upon finding out who sang the ending song, I realized why this ending felt so different. Instead of the typical J-pop, the way it sounds definitely is more K-pop, which makes sense since a K-pop group performed the song which is pretty cool.
