In this episode, sometimes the only
way to resolve a dispute between working to make people happy and
working for glory is through a cooking reality show.
We're not quite halfway through Hunters
and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel. As bad as we've
had it before, there's been at least something resembling redemption
up until this point. Sometimes the episode introduces a concept or
gives us a fuller picture of one of the new characters. Sometimes
it's a visit from Akari or Nene (or the way he's written sometimes,
getting to see something from Yuu is generally pleasant). Even pure
filler episodes give us more insight into a character, although we
may not always like what we see when it's Tagiru. When the main
problem is with some other kid, there's somehow a parallel that we
can appreciate.
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The conflict that the young hunters
fail to fix combines the two basic premises of most of these filler
episodes: Digimon are achieving their ends through humans and humans
being too obsessed with their goals to avoid being corrupted. This
means there isn't any new ground to cover. While Ogremon and Fugamon
legitimately want to make delicious ramen, as does Suguru (in the
interest of not having to say “Masaru's dad” all the time, we're
calling him Suguru), their combination gets sinister in a hurry.
Suguru's soup combined with Red and Green's peppers draws crowds from
both worlds, which goes to their heads in a hurry.
The thing about making delicious ramen
is that people actually need to taste it, and the increasing throngs
make it easier to brush off those who dislike the added spice. This
upsets Masaru, who doesn't like the increased focus on popularity and
the way Dad treats the sissies. There's also the whole issue of
Suguru doing double duty and wearing himself out. Sure, Tagiru, Taiki
and Yuu get into Digiquartz and discover the problem, but this
face-off is all Masaru's idea. The actual contribution from the
hunters and their Digimon is minimal at best.
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Really, make the damn ramen with the
damn clams and make your damn dad eat it and realize where he lost
the damn path. There's no need for the big showdown, which meant
there was no need to even have Arresterdramon in this episode. Sure
Ogremon and Fugamon would get angry, but they went down with minimal
coordination between the trio. It's such a simple resolution to a
simple problem. It wasn't even something we needed to see at all. We
should think Taiki can take care of these crises in his sleep.
My Grade: D-
Loose Data:
- Tagiru's afterschool plans involve either playing with Gumdramon or hunting. This is literally the only thing going on in his life, while it's clear that Taiki and Yuu have other hobbies.
- It's a pretty nice touch that while Tagiru and Taiki enjoy Suguru's crappy noodles, Yuu's the only one who recognizes they're subpar. Because he has actual goddamn standards.
- There's a serious problem if random bystanders can hear Gumdramon shouting from inside his Xros Loader.
- Masaru telling his dad to judge was a simultaneously ballsy move and proof that the face-off was pointless. Him giving Tagiru, Taiki and Yuu the most basic of cooking tasks is simultaneously proof of how little the main characters actually did and totally awesome.
- The climactic battle is short and totally dull. It feels like Damemon's special orders were thrown in just to give it some sort of kick, although a standard digixros or evolution would have done the trick too.
- Given how tame Ogremon and Fugamon are after their capture, you wonder if fighting them was necessary at all or if an hour of cooldown time would have been enough to get them to behave.
01 Ogremon is seared into my brain so much that it's weird seeing Ogremon in other continuities and situations like this.
ReplyDeleteParticularly egregious is that neither Ogremon nor Fugamon actually did any harm in this episode. Sure, they flipped out when they tried to take Suguru back, but honestly all they wanted to do is to sell those ramen. They aren't even abusive to Suguru, treating the dude with respect, unlike the other digimon feeding off people's emotions earlier in this show.
ReplyDeleteAnd what did they get for trying to make a decent living? Captured and trapped for the rest of their life within Tagiru's Xros Loader.