The first season was all about each of the digidestined figuring themselves out. Many of the challenges and conflicts came when they were holding themselves back or weren't being honest with themselves. In Zero Two, there's still plenty of inner torment, but it's not the point of contention nearly as often. Now the emphasis is on the way each kid relates with their teammates. There's a lot more bickering this time around, emotions run high and at some point Digimon evolution will ride on how well they get along with each other.
With that in mind, it's safe to say that Davis isn't off to a very good start. Until now, he hadn't actually been all that bad. Tai, TK, Kari and Yolei didn't much care for him, but other than a few rookie jitters he's been doing fine. This episode changes that. Now it is painfully obvious that Davis Motomiya is a complete moron.
This week's adventure centers around an enslaved Gazimon village kept in check by the Digimon Emperor's fancy new control spire. After a violent run-in with enforcer RedVegiemon, Gabumon calls for help and summons Matt to head up the rescue. Davis suggests charging in and blowing up the bad guys, but Matt reminds him that with the Gazimon captive, they need a more tactful approach. While I'll give Davis a pass for his crude strategy (remember- he's new), what we can't overlook is how strongly and vocally he disagrees with Matt's approach. TK, Kari and Cody all side with Matt, and at some point Davis needs to realize that sometimes it's best to let the pros take the lead.
This pales in comparison to the nerves Davis accidentally touches later. When TK mentions meeting Davis's sister, Davis goes off on how much he hates Jun and all the bad things she probably said about him. Now... forget for a moment that Jun later emerges as Matt's insane fangirl/groupie/stalker. Her introduction in this episode paints her as nothing more than a polite, albeit boy crazy, fan. Talking smack about her in front of TK, Matt and Kari? Three people that are incredibly sensitive about sibling relations? Yeah, that's not going over well. Matt's ready to slug Davis right then and there, and Kari looks like she might take a few swings herself. It is hard to piss off Kari; Davis did it in record fashion.Normally, this would be the part of the show where Davis learns his lesson, apologizes and saves the day in dramatic fashion. Nuh uh. This one's all Veemon. Normally, the kid gets the credit alongside the Digimon, but Veemon does all the work here. With the Vegiemon tying up everybody else, Veemon submits himself to an absolutely brutal pounding from RedVegiemon, with the sole purpose of showing off his resiliency to cheer up Davis. In the process, the control spire receives collateral damage, breaking completely when Veemon dodges RedVegiemon's final shot. The malfunction allows Gabumon to evolve and he tosses the Vegiemon around like a salad. Flamedramon takes out RedVegiemon, but Garurumon totally steals the show.
In the end, Davis didn't really learn a whole lot. He didn't learn about the value of tactical maneuvers, since they won thanks to Veemon's stunt catching them a lucky break. Furthermore, nothing got resolved with the Jun argument. For all we know, TK, Matt and Kari are still stewing over that, ready to explode at him for the next dumb thing he says or does. In a season where interpersonal relationships mean so much, Davis has a long, long way to go.My Grade: C+
Loose Data:
- For those wanting a relationship thesis for each series, Adventure is about relationship with yourself, Zero Two is about relationship with your friends, Tamers is about relationship with your Digimon, Frontier is about relationship with the world around you and Data Squad is about relationship with your opponents.
- It seemed like Izzy borrowing Yolei's digivice for analysis did nothing other than take her out of the picture as she would have really screwed up the narrative. Given her family, she would be far more sympathetic towards Davis's issues with his sister, to the point where she may have even fought back against TK and Matt.
- In a stunning upset, during Matt's concert the song in the dub was far more appropriate than the song in the Japanese version. While I'm mostly unimpressed with most of the songs written for this season, I Turn Around is a fine bit of generic pop that suits a band like Matt's far better than his season one image song Walk On The Edge, which features a phantom horn section. I still have the full versions of both on my computer.
- Okay... now remember that Jun later emerges as Matt's insane fangirl/groupie/stalker! In hindsight, it's absolutely hilarious that Matt's this close to going to blows to defend her honor.
- Maybe it's just me, but Armadillomon's evolution at the very end just to destroy the spire for good seemed like an arbitrary time waster. Greymon's appearance at the end didn't get such fanfare, and he destroyed a second spire just as easily.
So what is the relationship in Xros Wars and Hunters?
ReplyDeleteSince I haven't seen Xros Wars or Hunters, I can't say. I'm hoping there is one, but it's not a given. It's just a neat, and not necessarily intentional, pattern I found in the first five seasons.
DeleteI really really like your relationship guide! As an avid hardcore Savers fan I totally agree with the relationship with opponents. All the others sound interesting too.
ReplyDeleteYour opinion on Xros Wars and Hunters would be interesting. Been thinking about what those could be.
I really really like it too! I admit it took me a bit to think of one for that season, but seriously... punching the bad guy in the face. It's obvious.
DeleteSeriously though- season one's evolution is powered by recognizing your personal strengths, and thus features the most inner torment. Season two's powered by uniting with a friend, and has the most bickering between the party. Tamers has bio-merging and has the deepest, most personal relationships with the Digimon. In Frontier, you have to find spirits connected to a natural element, while the world itself is under threat of vanishing completely. In Savers, the main character punches the opponent in the face, and the whole conflict is about both sides unwilling to settle disagreements with options other than genocide.
I would have to disagree with you on the relationship with opponents. I get why you say about opponents but really if I was going to have a show where one of the main themes was the relationship with opponents, I would probably give each of the main characters an archenemy to face. Even when Kurata's group came up to oppose the main three, that still left Keenan without one since he never faced Kurata.
ReplyDeleteIt makes more sense to me that the Data Squad focuses more on the relationship with the adults in your life or those that are above you. Firstly, Data Squad has the largest number of active adults in any season and the main characters are also a lot older than usual. Secondly, there's a lot to do with status, respect and maturity in this season. Think of Markus' relationship with almost any character. He's originally in a place where he's no one's equal. Everyone's either above him in importance or below him. Markus, Keenan, Thomas and Yoshi all have problems with their older family members, mainly their parents. They have a commander to report and listen to and they cannot initially go after Kurata because of his status in D.A.T.S. Then you have the digimon enemies they face who are a ruler over a portion of the digital world and then the king of the digital world itself. The way I see it, this season was all about maturity and how to deal with those that are above you. There are those who you should respect and there will be those who will try to use their status to hurt ones who are below them. Also, I can't help thinking that Burst Mode was when the protagonists finally began to see themselves as adults, allowing their digimon to also mature. It's just my own theory, of course.
Data Squad is about Marcus' relationship with hogging the spotlight, resulting in precious little development or growth for everyone else.
DeleteWhy did Davis wait until after the spire was destroyed to armor digivolve?
ReplyDeleteI personally hate Matt and Kari for getting angry at Davis they way they did. It makes them naive to think that everyone HAS to love their sibling like they do, or appricate it. Obvious Jun did something to make Davis this bitter towards her. (And in the original dub he says she talks badly about him all the time which Matt seems to ignore and place his own issues upon the innocent Davis)
ReplyDeleteAnd in the original dub, when Takeru mentions her, she doesn't talk badly about him any more than siblings normally do, and doesn't do anything more than sibling teasing for the rest of season. How is it obvious, when she never does anything onscreen to corroborate Daisuke's story? And Daisuke is hardly innocent, the second she's mentioned he starts badmouthing her, just Takeru's telling him he met his sister. When Takeru even says she wasn't, he says, yeah she did, despite not even being there, and the two who were saying otherwise.
DeleteI agree with Anonymous about hating Kari and Matt. I don't get along with my older brother and we hate each other because we're so different. My brother pisses me off a lot.
DeleteAnd another thing, whenever my older brother teases me or hurts me, I'm always the one who gets in trouble with our parents for defending myself. Boy do I hate my brother and parents! They think I'm nothing more than a piece of garbage they can toss around.
DeleteI don't put up with shit from my brother. If he pisses me off, I kick him right in the groin. Plus if I'm crying and he tells me to stop, I smack him right in the face. I don't put up with any kind of shit he gives me.
DeleteNext time if he pisses me off, I will kick him right in the groin with my huge shoes that can hurt anyone if I put them on people. He really will be hurting.
DeleteIt's probably camera angle but the first screenshot almost fooled me into thinking that Davis while slouching is taller than/about as tall as Matt
ReplyDeleteThey were on steps.
DeleteI just watched this episode and, maaaaaaan, why are they all so pissed off by Davis? He's doing some rookie mistakes the older generation did before him and nobody even is trying to teach him. They're just being mean with him. I can't believe that Matt tried to punch him for badmouthing his OWN sister. Made me really wish to see Yolei's reaction (she'll probably side with them because that's how unbalanced zero two's plot can be).
ReplyDeleteIKR?? It's like they're acting like everyone is required to love their sibling. And don't even get me started on Kari's reaction. How is Davis supposedly "talking bad" about Jun when she talks bad behind his back (this is actually true, Jun in the Japanese version says "Daisuke isn't cute at all...")?
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