In this episode, a bunch of In-Training level Digimon attempt to make a good first impression, in hopes of never being seen in that form again.
Season one starts with a pretty bad-ass opening scene. The world is in turmoil! Floods! Tidal waves! Snow in August! Aurora Borealis localized entirely within your campground! And it pulls seven random children through the void into another world, kicking off the start of Digimon Adventure.
It's a leap of faith to assume that there was a rhyme or reason behind all this. For anyone watching this episode with no advance knowledge of Digimon, there's no indication that fate intended for those specific seven to be there. Or that everything that happened in the first act was far more calculated than it appeared to be. It's generally presumed in respectable anime that nothing is as random as it first appears... but remember that this is the first episode. Digimon hasn't established itself as respectable yet. The first episode, which features little handheld devices crashing from the sky and several ready-made plushie creatures, isn't going to instill optimism.The episode starts out fine. Brief character snippets of the seven kids, nice “pulled through spacetime” effects, Tai and Izzy face mortal peril... good stuff. We're establishing that Koromon is brave, Motimon is smart and this more or less matches with their partners. Then we get Sora and Yokomon... still all right. TK and Tokomon... starting to get irritating. Matt and Tsunomon... was Tsunomon's blushing supposed to be a character note? Joe and... his Digimon... are we supposed to remember all their names?
Things start to go downhill like a boulder, careening down faster and faster as the In-Training Digimon channel the Digital World Visitors Bureau and explain what and where they are, all the while explaining neither what nor where they are. Yes Tokomon, you're adorable. Now why the hell are we here? Before they can give a proper answer, Kuwagamon shows up and tries to kill them all over again.
Throughout the battle, the primary concern seems to be more focused on drilling in the names of all these Digimon as they agree to stand and fight against the wishes of their partners. Not that there's an option as they're all pressed up against a cliff. The children show enough concern for their partners to prompt all seven to digivolve to Rookie. These are the forms that will be featured through the rest of the series... thus negating all the hard work spent learning all of the In-Training names. Seriously, all that trouble to teach those names and the only times we ever see In-Training forms are when something is horribly wrong. The names of the Rookies, meanwhile, are tossed casually as if they're not important.
The boulder finds a ramp and shoots back up at the end when Kuwagamon's not quite dead and sends the gang off the cliff. Thus, the episode ends, quite literally, as a cliffhanger. Much better.
Note that no other season attempts to introduce every primary Digimon in the first episode. Good.
My Grade: C-
Loose Data:
- Tai's reaction to Koromon might be the only time the Japanese meaning of a Digimon's name is explained in the dub. Given how awkward the dialogue is written, it's easy to see why.
- Do we ever see those hollow trees again? Those were pretty cool. Although how did Sora know Tai and Izzy were in there?
- Why does Kuwagamon sound so much like Godzilla? It completely throws the whole debacle into the land of silly.
Excited to read these- should be lots of fun to follow!
ReplyDeletePretty much agree that the first episode was "meh", with it falling into the "weak first episode" category IMO.
ReplyDeleteThis episode certainly had its flaws and was pretty corny at times. They could have handled the character introductions in a less obnoxious and time consuming way.
ReplyDeleteBut it also had some some of the series' most surreal moments. Tuning in to this in the middle of their aimless walkabout that ended on the beach with the phone books, I've gotta say that I was totally perplexed by what I was watching. Enough to get me hooked for good.
I tend to assume Sora's half-vampire, and has, among other things: superhuman senses, supernatural stealth enhancement (including radar suppression), and a boost to her physical cpapabilities. Seriously, it explains a lot.
ReplyDeleteAnother thing that bothers me about these opening episodes is how their first Digimon enemies just attack them for no given reason. I mean, why did Kuwagamon suddenly decide to chase the kids all over the place? Why does he get back up and knock them off the cliff when they set his thorax on fire? Shellmon and Seadramon are given little to no explanation for why they try to kill the kids, too. At least those two Monochromon were established as being territorial.
ReplyDeleteActually, Shellmon's the only one who did it for no good reason. Kuwagamon, in the original version, is described as being an "atrocious Digimon", or an evil one, meaning that he's just naturally violent and predatory. It kind of goes with being a Virus type. As for Seadramon, Agumon lit a fire on his tail, remember? I'd be pretty angry too if I were Seadramon!
DeleteExcited to read these! I heard from a friend that it was real funny and I haven't watched Digimon in years but just got my complete box set!
ReplyDeleteActually, I love that Kuwagamon sounds like Godzilla. Whenever I hear that screech-roar effect, like when Hermione attacks the Devil Snare in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, I always think of Digimon.
ReplyDeleteIt's not even Godzilla's exact roar, but that stock sound effect gets used in a lot of things and yeah, I always think of Kuwagamon when I hear it too.
DeleteMe three, especially the bit when the Rookies set him on fire. Considering he's a Champion, it's actually pretty impressive they manage that much.
DeleteI don't think the grade given to this episode was entirely fair. I'd give it at least a C+ or B- as far as intro episodes go. Yes all seven kids meeting all seven of their Digimon partners in one episode was kind of much, but since it is later explained that these Digimon were specifically put on File Island for a reason, all for the day they'd meet their human partners, this sort of makes sense in hindsight. What I personally enjoy about the episode is how it plays out more like a nice little short story rather than the start of something bigger, with none of the characters requiring any good amount of depth for it to progress and be serviceable, and gets a good payoff at the climax...until that ending, a literal cliff-faller that tells us that this is only the start of a great adventure with Digimon. And yet we still have no clear idea about just what exactly we're in for. The light tone of the early episodes only enhances the effect of the viewings, especially when contrasted to the darkness and intensity of the series' second half. So as far as set up pilot episodes go, I think its just fine.
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