We’re used to the show mashing together two or more different segments into one episode. The three featured here are even more thematically related than some of the other attempts. It’s clear none of them were developed or interesting enough to stand on their own. They all have some sparks of creativity and in the end gives the overall story a herculean push forward as we near the home stretch. But the tonal shifts from silly Appmon hijinks to emotional domestic drama to Hajime’s storytime are too strong for one episode to handle. The result leaves this clumsy and disappointing, which is a shame since it contains a moment we’ve been building toward all season.
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Then, suddenly, we go from loud competitive Appmon vying for supremacy to a touching montage of Rei returning to normality. It’s sweet and striking and gives us such a fascinating new glimpse at Rei… but we weren’t ready for it! It takes a while to come down to its speed, realizing that despite Hajime stuck as Sleepmon, his mere presence is enough for Rei to act like everything’s gone back to normal and he can resume his quiet domestic life. The super hacker cooks for Sleepmon and takes him on shopping trips and shrine visits, caring for his brother no matter what form he’s in. The edge comes off and he’s more content than he’s been all season. He got what he fought so ferociously for, and now he’s free to sit under his vine and fig tree.
Then, suddenly, Hajime’s human again. We don’t even see it. It’s another jolt in an episode with too many of them, and maybe it needed a little more of a pause since we’ve been waiting for it for so long, but at least what triggered it was both sweet and logical. Leviathan struggles to account for smells and touches being closely tied to specific memories, so the smell of burnt eggs—just the way Rei used to make them—broke through and tapped something. It’s a genuine moment, an outpouring of emotion from a most emotionless protagonist. It’s just a little wasted squished where it is.
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My Grade: B
Loose Data:
- At both the beginning and end of this episode, Rei delivers some nasty sideeye to Yujin. It’s consistent with his reactions to him before. We all get there’s something going on here, and if Rei does too he really needs to open his mouth.
- When Yujin marvels at the Cyber Arena being in the school gym, Haru reminds us that’s where they met Rei. When Rei… had Hackmon viciously attack everybody. That’s an awkward moment.
- Navimon is quick to boast about his newfound strength coming out of the Duo and renews the rivalry with Gatchmon everybody forgot about. Shame there’s really nothing a navigation app can contribute to the specific goal of waking up Sleepmon.
- Someone waking up after their snot bubble pops is an ancient anime trope. Adventure even had fun playing with it. It gets explored in a hilariously scientific fashion here.
- Once the attempts to wake Sleepmon get into the truly pathetic and ridiculous, it’s nice to see Offmon showing a bit of sadism with his “plan B,” just outright blowing him up.
- It’s a little strange Leviathan sought one human genius under the belief that all AIs had their human creators breathe life into them. While there were plenty of brilliant individual minds inspiring progress in the field of artificial intelligence, many specific AI programs tend to be the work of universities and conglomerates creating something tangible out of the research.
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