In this episode, Taiki and Yuu
recognize every problem with Tagiru getting involved with the Hunt.
They let him anyway.
Beyond everything going on with
DigiQuartz, Quartzmon, the watchmaker and all the trans-dimensional
hijinks that happen later, a much more subtle mystery involves Taiki.
So far, we haven't seen anything out of Tagiru suggesting that he has
what it takes to be an effective partner to his Digimon and fulfill
the obligations that come with the job. It's fair to question
everything from his innate ability to his mentality to his
intentions. So why is it that Taiki, who most certainly does have the
right stuff and understands the game better than anyone in the Xros
Wars universe, is able to trust Tagiru with such confidence?
The ultimate outcome of all of this is
irrelevant. Tagiru will come through for Taiki in the end, albeit in
a roundabout, not-so-satisfying way. But did Taiki see all that
coming? When first confronted with the sight of Tagiru with a Xros
Loader, Taiki seemed concerned. He had to know what Tagiru was like,
and Shoutmon has similar misgivings about Gumdramon. But even after
hearing the gruesome details about the Hunt, Taiki simply returns the
Xros Loader and encourages Tagiru on.
Taiki's tactical game may be strong,
but he's never had the broader perspective of somebody like Daisuke
or Taichi. Many of Taichi's smarter moves couldn't be appreciated
without taking a step back or viewing them in hindsight. Daisuke's
actions tended to look foolish immediately but paid off in the long
run. That's sort of place Taiki would be at regarding Tagiru, but
it's hard to buy. We're left with the possibility that Taiki is
making a serious error in judgment, especially when compared to Yuu.
Or there's a third possibility- a
front. Taiki doesn't know how long it will take Shoutmon to
materialize in the human world. Meanwhile, Digimon are getting into
DigiQuartz and endangering themselves and/or humans. Realizing that
kids like Ryouma are involved with their round-up, Taiki has no
choice but to trust Tagiru. But rather than showing the kind of
skepticism Yuu does, Taiki wants Tagiru to do the job with no
reservations, even if he knows Tagiru has a terrible sense of
discretion. It's not ideal, and in reality Taiki may hate the
situation, but he realizes it's the only way Tagiru will function,
and it also makes Tagiru more likely to listen to senpai. A false
trust also explains Taiki seeking out the watchmaker on his own and
learning as much as he can about the Hunt. No matter what Taiki's
mentality, he's taking a serious gamble on Tagiru. Hopefully he knows
that.
While Taiki either trusts or pretends
to trust Tagiru, Yuu vehemently objects. Yuu's biggest issue is
Tagiru's enthusiasm for hunting and capturing Digimon. His efforts to
use his personal experience to explain what's wrong with this
mentality are mostly ignored, although that's because Tagiru
discovered a missing kid in his last romp. Never mind that Tagiru
learned first hand how the Digimon in DigiQuartz are serious threats
that play for keeps; someone's in trouble and he needs to help. It's
one of the most pivotal conversations Yuu needs to have with Tagiru,
but circumstances conspire against him and make Tagiru in the right
this one time. No wonder Yuu's so frustrated that he even questions
whether Tagiru is being honest, as if he'd make up something like
that.
Although Yuu helps the rescue in his
own way (namely the part involving actual rescue), Tagiru is totally
dismissive of him and his original contributions to Xros Heart. To
him, Yuu doesn't have a Digimon and therefore should stay the hell
out of the way (given why he doesn't have a Digimon, Yuu absolutely
should have punched Tagiru in the face). This may help explain why
Taiki goes all out to help Tagiru capture Sagomon, pulling out
OmegaShoutmon and a digixros he never needed in the first war. He's
making it clear who the boss is, and that he will help Tagiru so long
as he recognizes who is superior. Tagiru is left with an immense
respect for Taiki even if he disregards everybody else.
My Grade: C
Loose Data:
- These Xros Loaders have a few new features like scanning tools and a stronger holographic visual display. Thing is, Taiki seems to know his way around them. Was he aware of the OS upgrade and played around with it in the interim?
- There is no explanation for the rule about only having one Digimon out at a time and there really needs to be. If it's the way the watchmaker designed the Xros Loaders, Taiki would be exempt. If there was some limitation in the human world or Digiquartz, it should have applied to the previous arc.
- Gumdramon is fully aware of the digixros process and even explains it to Tagiru. But Taiki's the one that has to walk him through it like it has some complicated mechanics and isn't just a bunch of shouting.
- One of the unusual quirks of the Xros Wars universe is that it's the only time we see Digimon age. Three years between Adventure and Zero Two (and another three between Zero Two and tri.) and the Digimon there look about the same. One year as king and Shoutmon looks like hell with a cape.
- All of the kidnapped kids seemed to have very real problems. Nobody talks to them. Nobody asks if they're all right. Sagomon just takes them when they want to disappear and Yuu just rescues them. Yet somehow they all seem to be a little more encouraged and rejuvenated. This makes absolutely no sense. Even if they remembered the experience, it wouldn't have changed anything. Their lives are still miserable... they just may choose to word their grievances a little differently next time.
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