Digimon Fusion: Opening 2

*deep breath* IN! THIS! EPISODE! We prep for a dub that struggles to acknowledge the reality of death and its new season whose primary theme is... acknowledging the reality of death.


We'd like to assure everybody that our time spent between seasons of Digimon Fusion have been used productively. There's this really sweet new fanfic we've been working on where we're like five chapters in already and there's this one part that's soooo awesome. We also took care of that pesky curse about not meeting any of the voices of the main kids, thanks to Steve Blum and Anime Milwaukee. Oh, we also got really good at those slidy puzzles and typing games on the site for the new Adventure series. We've been clicking like almost every day. Except when we forgot.

Actually, let's hold off on that, because if we talk about Tri now, you're not going to stick around to listen to the Fusion stuff. That's really why we're back: season two of Digimon Fusion is returning, safe and sound and exclusively on Nicktoons, the channel that still airs episodes of Avatar that include everything that got cut out of season one of Digimon Fusion. This is a good sign; indications are that other than managing the rampage of fanservice, this season will have fewer edits. Considering what goes down, that's really important.

The first half was a little sensitive in talking about death. It's not alone; Adventure struggled with it for the first 33 or so episodes before tackling it head on. Data Squad never quite mustered the nerve to address it directly even as it was happening everywhere. However, a dub that struggles to recognize death is going to have problems when it's one of this season's primary themes.

That's pretty much what all this is about. You have a character who is determined to be the big dog in this fight until the death of a close ally. You have a character who is all about helping those in need being forced to kill somebody who is sick, but not evil. You have a character who is manipulated into believing that death does not exist in this world until his closest companion dies in front of him. No amount of euphemisms will hide the fact that season two of Fusion has a high body count, and failing to acknowledge that runs contrary to the show's biggest lessons.

Season two of Fusion is a series of mini-arcs and therefore runs hot and cold. Some of the arcs are ordinary, some beyond epic. Taking Jeremy and Angie out of the picture gets the clutter out of the way, but unifying Mikey, Christopher and Nene takes away the dynamic that made the first half so interesting. That tension certainly affects their relationship early on in the season, but at the end of the day they are working towards a common objective and they all understand that. Or at least they will eventually.

About our posting schedule, we are totally winging it. When the episode airs, we'll write about it and post it a few days later, either on Monday or Thursday as always. There may be some interruptions since I have a bunch of conventions coming up... oh, and I'm getting married in May. For the most part, however, we'll try to keep up with the actual airing.

So what about Tri? Well, as alluded to last time we posted, the site's Tumblr companion page has digivolved! Here's what you missed:

The Digimon 30 Day Challenge- Short essays on each of the prompts in the popular Tumblr game
How I Learned To Stop Worrying and Love the New Adventure Season- Making peace with an Adventure-focused fandom and the cries to retcon Zero Two
Hiroaki Ishida Facts- Things you didn't know about the world's greatest action hero.
Terrible Tri Trolling- Inventing the worst imaginable responses to the new season 
Back In The Fanfic Saddle- Initial thoughts on writing Digimon fanfic again, with preview 
Why Canon Is Awesome- Defending Tri's decision to utilize the ending/epilogue we all hate so much
10 Times The Dub Did It Better- An adaptation is never automatically an inferior product
How Matt Became An Astronaut (Starring Chris Pratt)- A useful headcanon for understanding the most confusing part of that darn epilogue

This is the sort of stuff you get over there, and this will be where all of my coverage of Tri will be taking place, at least until we see a dub. I'm not sure how extensive the reviews will be, but I gotta do something, right? I mean, a follow up to Zero Two that addresses the messy inter-world relationship left behind by that ending? If you've read my fanfiction, you'll know that's right in my wheelhouse!

Oh, and I'm also on Twitter now. Less of a Digimon focus there, but it's a good way to be in touch with my more general persona.


Well... um... this is... different. It's not a bad song at all, but a radical departure from the usual shounen rock we're used to getting. It definitely has that melancholy tone that usually goes with later opening themes. And I don't know why Cutemon and Dondokomon are dancing in the foreground, but I do know that every self-respecting Digimon fan needs to have Cutemon's dance memorized.

1 comment:

  1. THE EPILOGUE IS CANON?!?! Fuck me with a Steelix. I had heard that Zero Two was going to be accepted as canon but I figured the Epilogue (a.k.a. the most hated three-and-a-half-minutes of the entire franchise) was a whole different kettle of fish. They really aren't doing themselves any favors with all of these links to Zero Two (seriously it'd be like associating a Pokémon reboot with Best Wishes; a very stupid idea). At this point I am really starting to rethink giving Tri a chance because it continues to look like a train wreck in progress. The staff choices aren't exactly filling me with confidence either. Depending on the battle sequences, character development, and, above all, plot. This is either going to be a really good season or the biggest piece of crap since Zero Two itself. Give me The Story We Never Told any day, at least the writing is consistent and there is an actual plot.

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