The worst part was that the show doesn't betray it's true terrible nature until the final 3 episodes.
You can watch the first 22 episodes and find nothing too wrong with the season on a whole. It's not interesting and nothing happens, but it's not overtly painful, just boring and unimaginative.
This season continues the original Xros Wars tradition of Super Evolution and DigiXros, something I was never too big a fan of because it's different and I don't like things that are different...
I kid I kid. I may not be a fan of DigiXros and how it meshes with the established Digimon levels, but hey it's not my place to judge on that.
The new protagonist Tagiru takes the reigns from Taiki, in a move I suspect was meant to pay homage to the way Adventure handed the reigns off in 02. Only one problem, the show begins a trend of not understanding the most important parts of the things it tries to pay tribute to (COMPLETELY RIP OFF), and getting them completely wrong. For you see, the reigns aren't actually handed over. No. Taiki soon is back with Shoutmon, leaving Tagiru as some sort of crony.
Ever wanted a show to focus on and follow the life of a henchmen? Don't care about the established boss or superior leader? Want to see how a run of the mill day goes, but with Digimon?
What's that? You said no? You want kickass action, a topnotch protagonist and a deep engaging story?
Well then you might see why the first 23 episodes are painfully boring and banal.
The formula for episodes 1-23 go something like this:
Evil Digimon shows up and starts wreaking havoc and kidnapping humans, no one cares or makes a fuss, Tagiru bumbles around with his partner Gumdramon, they finally manage to subdue the baddie, roll credits.
Now there are 3 opposing hunters and Taiki and Yuu are there, but the show does nothing to develop their characters at all so I won't even bother describing them.
Now let's begin the PAINFUL BETRAYAL THAT IS THE LAST 3 EPISODES my lovelies...
You see, in these last three episodes, the season realizes they have no bug baddie, and need to set something up QUICK!
So what do you think they do?
What's that? You said they pulled something out of their ass?
Ooooh if only!
Nope!
They pulled something so far out of their ass, they pulled it right out of Tamers!
I could only sit there and seethe with impotentent rage as the Quartzmon plot unfolded in some parody of the masterful D-Reaper final showdown. From the digitization of the human world, to using a loved one as a power source, to so much of it but without any of what made Tamers so amazing.
Oh but it get's worse.
This season has no lovable or memorable protagonist, so guess what?
That's right they start spewing the protagonists of each season prior into the show, even taking some of the most loved characters from Adventure and Tamers and throwing them in as half minute cameos too.
To understand how bad this season is, you should just go watch the Redlettermedia reviews of the Starwars Prequels.
The way they compare the garbage that is the prequels to the original trilogy, showing how the prequels had to try and steal whatever imagery you hold dear from the originals is a fair comparison to how this show sucks in anything you might have loved about Tamers, Adventure, 02, Frontier, and Savers and tries to make you think it's as cool as those seasons.
Except by trying to rip them off it only exposes how little creativity or depth it has.
I wept a little when I finally realized what this season had done.
I don't know how they intend to salvage the franchise from something like this, because this was a horrible blow...
