Fusion Episode 54: Final Fusion – The Fight for Earth!

In this episode, the entire world rallies around Shoutmon in a fusion involving everybody! Steven Universe fans are going to freak when they see this.

There's enough emotional punch in this finale to send everybody home happy. The Fusion Fighters lift Ewan's spirits enough to make him a key part of the final battle. Angie refuses to let Mikey be the only crazy one. Shoutmon returns in typically loud fashion. We get some closure on the nature of these digimemories that we, ironically, forgot about. In the end, Bagramon is defeated, everybody rallies around Shoutmon and he takes his rightful place as king. It has all the tears and triumphs that a final episode should. It's just lacking the most important thing.

Once we get past the obligatory explanation of how Jeremy, Angie and the final two digimemories saved everybody sentenced to limbo, the buildup to the final battle is done well. Examon's story is probably important in covering how the digimemories came to be and their role in the story, but it's been so long since anyone actually used a digicard that it feels like tying up loose ends and writing out of the corner Bagramon put everyone in. Meanwhile everybody getting Ewan back online simply by caring about him was nice in an understated way. Forgiveness isn't as important as everyone's desire to move on and utilize Ewan's talents in a way that helps instead of destroys. The oddball fusions he puts together gets the most potential out of digifuse and was something we didn't get enough of from Mikey.

While Ewan, Nene and Christopher fend off the main armies, Mikey's going straight into Bagramon to go after the code crown. It's labeled as reckless, but it's also the only way to stop him. Perhaps the method of transportation is a little crazy, but the actual operation is appropriately desperate. Now Angie and Cutemon jumping on board at the last second? Now we're talking crazy! As much as she struggled in the Digital World, she hated the idea of letting Mikey battle alone. Now, as he's literally launching himself straight at the final boss, she refuses to leave his side. Not that she or Cutemon do anything while with him, but it's an utterly insane and equally sweet gesture. It's also the shippiest thing we've seen since Tamers.

In the end, it's not Mikey or even the revived Shoutmon that saves the day. It's the whole damn Digital World that gets fed up with Bagramon's intent to deny both worlds free will. By the time it starts hitting the human world, the concept of D5 is so odious that the world itself basically rallies around Shoutmon as its chosen king. In many ways the code crown itself is exercising its own free will in jumping the gun on the whole “pro-regeneration” Shoutmon constantly championed.

In case it wasn't obvious enough, Final Fusion provides the exclamation point. What better way to emphasize the Digital World supporting Shoutmon than having all the Digimon in it becoming part of his final evolution? Shoutmon X7 Superior Mode is insane, and you can only imagine what level it would be at if Fusion believed in levels. This sort of thing makes it understandable for levels to not be a thing. Who wants to try to quantify the power levels going on between him and Bagramon in this battle?

Even though all the boxes get ticked off, there's still something important missing- the tearful goodbye. We get tears from Mervamon when Beelzemon shows up, but that should be a bonus. It's a sudden and slightly disappointing way for Mikey and Shoutmon to part, and we get nothing from Nene and Sparrowmon. Mikey just got Shoutmon back even, and he was certainly emotional losing him the first time. For all he knows, he's not seeing Shoutmon ever again. You'd think there'd be a little more to their parting. Maybe in the end, Mikey's content just walking away, satisfied with a job well done, as if it was just another charity project for him and nothing more.

My Grade: A-

Loose Data:

• This is the first time a finale has gotten the season's token fanservice animation team. Pretty sure the dub took out a couple action sequences that should have been fairly innocent.
• So of all the things that made it possible for Mikey and them to escape, it was two digimemories randomly getting trapped between words, becoming slightly less trapped thanks to Tactimon, then being freed by Jeremy and Angie (who were just in the right place at the right time). Question is could any of the digimemories do that or just Examon and Wargreymon?
• It isn't dwelled on, but the teamwork shown between Christopher and Nene in covering each other's backs is fantastic. And Cyberdracomon is totally lost in all of Ewan's cool fusions.
• Also lost in all of Ewan's cool fusions is Lillymon on her own just kicking total ass. Where's she been all season?
• Wouldn't the added weight of Angie and Cutemon throw off Mikey's trajectory? That had to be a precise shot.
• Bagramon going scorched earth might be the other final point in why the Digital World would reject his rule.
• Funny how all the humans waking up to see the Digimon flying away just assume they just repelled alien invaders and think nothing of it. 'Murica!
• The ending is set up in such a way where even it doesn't seem to know whether Hunters is going to be dubbed.