October 28th, 2015
Suicide
Anime Relations: Digimon Tamers
There is no solution better than suicide.
Suicide solves all problems.
Suicide is opting out of a society that doesn't want you.
The world owes me nothing. I owe it nothing either,
Suicide solves all problems.
Suicide is opting out of a society that doesn't want you.
The world owes me nothing. I owe it nothing either,
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Oct 28, 2015 6:15 PM | 3 comments
September 21st, 2015
Digimon Tamers: The Deva/Digital World Arc
Anime Relations: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!, Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon no Gyakushuu, Digimon Savers the Movie: Kyuukyoku Power! Burst Mode Hatsudou!!, Digimon Adventure Movie, Digimon Adventure 02 Movies, Digimon Frontier: Ornismon Fukkatsu!!, Digimon Tamers: Boukensha-tachi no Tatakai, Digimon Tamers: Bousou Digimon Tokkyuu, Digimon Savers: Agumon! Gaomon! Lalamon! Bakuretsu! Jougai Last Battle!, Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grand Prix!, Digimon Xros Wars, Digimon Xros Wars: Aku no Death General to Nanatsu no Oukoku, Digimon Xros Wars: Toki wo Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi, Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai
The first arc had the group learning to form. That’s a story that will never get old, because what drives it are the difference between the characters and how they bridge their gap. The last arc of Tamers has the D-Reaper, where it’s supposed go full-psycho. The Deva arc was supposes to be the weakest. We even get a bit of bland, ‘we must protect our world’ motive to shower the episodes with villains of the week.
The Deva arc is longer and drags a little more than the Hypnos arc. We get the occasional pointless dialogue that made the first Adventure so awful. Characters sayng they must do something, or telling us that they already know. The Villain of the Week structure is also a little tiring by this point. Yet, the creators all use these methods to continue to develop their characters.
The Digital World section is where it gets intense. The arc is pretty slow until then, but it’s still fun. The Devas are much better designed than the enemies of Adventure. They sometimes suffer from over-detailing, but the monkey and the snake have an elegance to them that suggest careful choice of details rather than piling them. That said, they’re never very interesting. They’re no different than the Villians of the Week from the previous arc, only they talk a lot more.
While the heroes remain the real world, Impmon’s story continues. His degeneration goes on until he reaches his breakdown and succumbs to self-loathing. It’s a heavy subject, but its presentation is fantastic. Impmon is not even presented as a villain with a reasonable motive. He’s just a person who sank so far down into his self-loathing that he can’t accept help from anyone. As the saying goes, if you don’t love yourself no one will love you.
Moving to the Digital World lifts the arc up. The series becomes a response to Adventure, complete with a huge cast. Three more characters join in, but they’re not brushed aside. They’re not even given a token episode so we’ll remember they exist. Kazu and Kenta don’t get the development and breakdowns of the other characters, but they still modify the scenes they’re in. They have their worldview – Kazu is cocky, Kenta wants to be but always backs down – and each scene they’re in is modified by them.
The new center is Jeri. Unlike our protagonists, Jeri doesn’t have a heroic worldview. She’s an ordinary girl who finds wonder in something fantastical like the Digital World. In a way, she’s no different than us. Like us, she expects a fun adventure, hopefully something like the first season.
Adventures are only exciting because they contain a variety of emotional moments, both happy and tragic. Jeri faces these head-on. At some point, Jeri becomes the emotional core of the series.
It’s a bold move. Her optimistic and innocent views may more appropriate for a shoujo romance. Her femininity is the sort of thing that makes other shounen series uncomfortable. Look at how Soul Eater put some boobs, but none of that female softness that make women look like women. How many shounen shows have a female protagonist who’s not an attempt to make women more approachable by making them ‘sexier’ or ‘strong’ (read: making them beat up bad guys)?
Her breakdown goes along with Impmon’s. The final episodes of these arc are intense because of these emotional stakes. The final battle is amazing, but less because of the animation (fighting in Digimon is often boring). Impmon’s, Takato’s and Jeri’s worldviews all come into questions.
Mature shows don’t often put their characters in such positions. Seeing it in a kid’s show is even more impressive. This is not darkness for darkness’ sake. The only reason it’s dark is because questioning your own worldview is an emotionally draining activity.
The darkness is even more effective because of the lighter moments. There are lighter episodes of silly antics, and they are necessary. Constant darkness is often a gimmick and a cover. An emotionally-rich work must address a variety of emotions, and Tamers captures the joy and wonder of childhood when the children are allowed to be children. Seeing the kids having fun at camp somehow feels profound, but that’s because the series invested effort into making these characters seem real. An episode where Kazu and Kenta meet a married Digimon couple that fights because they’re bored out of their minds is hilarious. These are necessary to let us know these are real human beings, and their life contains not only tragedy but joy and absurdity.
The Devas/Sovereign aren’t much of an antagonist, but it becomes obvious Impmon is the main event. Still, the Devas aren’t allowed to be senseless bad guys. They’re simpler than Yamaki but even in their brief speeches they let on that they have a legitimate reason for what they do. When the big reveal comes in, it turns out it’s true. The sovereign are not evil. They just have a purpose that collides with our main characters’.
I expected this to be just filler until the D-Reaper comes in, but it’s not. In some ways the D-Reaper arc is a little worse. While some episodes can be easily merged, this arc is another reason why Tamers is one of the best anime series we have.
Also posted in my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/digimon-tamers-the-devadigital-world-arc/
The Deva arc is longer and drags a little more than the Hypnos arc. We get the occasional pointless dialogue that made the first Adventure so awful. Characters sayng they must do something, or telling us that they already know. The Villain of the Week structure is also a little tiring by this point. Yet, the creators all use these methods to continue to develop their characters.
The Digital World section is where it gets intense. The arc is pretty slow until then, but it’s still fun. The Devas are much better designed than the enemies of Adventure. They sometimes suffer from over-detailing, but the monkey and the snake have an elegance to them that suggest careful choice of details rather than piling them. That said, they’re never very interesting. They’re no different than the Villians of the Week from the previous arc, only they talk a lot more.
While the heroes remain the real world, Impmon’s story continues. His degeneration goes on until he reaches his breakdown and succumbs to self-loathing. It’s a heavy subject, but its presentation is fantastic. Impmon is not even presented as a villain with a reasonable motive. He’s just a person who sank so far down into his self-loathing that he can’t accept help from anyone. As the saying goes, if you don’t love yourself no one will love you.
Moving to the Digital World lifts the arc up. The series becomes a response to Adventure, complete with a huge cast. Three more characters join in, but they’re not brushed aside. They’re not even given a token episode so we’ll remember they exist. Kazu and Kenta don’t get the development and breakdowns of the other characters, but they still modify the scenes they’re in. They have their worldview – Kazu is cocky, Kenta wants to be but always backs down – and each scene they’re in is modified by them.
The new center is Jeri. Unlike our protagonists, Jeri doesn’t have a heroic worldview. She’s an ordinary girl who finds wonder in something fantastical like the Digital World. In a way, she’s no different than us. Like us, she expects a fun adventure, hopefully something like the first season.
Adventures are only exciting because they contain a variety of emotional moments, both happy and tragic. Jeri faces these head-on. At some point, Jeri becomes the emotional core of the series.
It’s a bold move. Her optimistic and innocent views may more appropriate for a shoujo romance. Her femininity is the sort of thing that makes other shounen series uncomfortable. Look at how Soul Eater put some boobs, but none of that female softness that make women look like women. How many shounen shows have a female protagonist who’s not an attempt to make women more approachable by making them ‘sexier’ or ‘strong’ (read: making them beat up bad guys)?
Her breakdown goes along with Impmon’s. The final episodes of these arc are intense because of these emotional stakes. The final battle is amazing, but less because of the animation (fighting in Digimon is often boring). Impmon’s, Takato’s and Jeri’s worldviews all come into questions.
Mature shows don’t often put their characters in such positions. Seeing it in a kid’s show is even more impressive. This is not darkness for darkness’ sake. The only reason it’s dark is because questioning your own worldview is an emotionally draining activity.
The darkness is even more effective because of the lighter moments. There are lighter episodes of silly antics, and they are necessary. Constant darkness is often a gimmick and a cover. An emotionally-rich work must address a variety of emotions, and Tamers captures the joy and wonder of childhood when the children are allowed to be children. Seeing the kids having fun at camp somehow feels profound, but that’s because the series invested effort into making these characters seem real. An episode where Kazu and Kenta meet a married Digimon couple that fights because they’re bored out of their minds is hilarious. These are necessary to let us know these are real human beings, and their life contains not only tragedy but joy and absurdity.
The Devas/Sovereign aren’t much of an antagonist, but it becomes obvious Impmon is the main event. Still, the Devas aren’t allowed to be senseless bad guys. They’re simpler than Yamaki but even in their brief speeches they let on that they have a legitimate reason for what they do. When the big reveal comes in, it turns out it’s true. The sovereign are not evil. They just have a purpose that collides with our main characters’.
I expected this to be just filler until the D-Reaper comes in, but it’s not. In some ways the D-Reaper arc is a little worse. While some episodes can be easily merged, this arc is another reason why Tamers is one of the best anime series we have.
Also posted in my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/09/22/digimon-tamers-the-devadigital-world-arc/
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Sep 21, 2015 6:29 PM | 0 comments
September 17th, 2015
Digimon Tamers: The Hypnos Arc
Anime Relations: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure: Bokura no War Game!, Digimon Adventure 02: Diablomon no Gyakushuu, Digimon Adventure Movie, Digimon Adventure 02 Movies, Digimon Frontier: Ornismon Fukkatsu!!, Digimon Tamers: Boukensha-tachi no Tatakai, Digimon Tamers: Bousou Digimon Tokkyuu, Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grand Prix!, Digimon Xros Wars, Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai
Also posted in my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/digimon-tamers-the-hypnos-arc/
The D-Reaper is where it’s at. It’s a personification of death in a children’s show. After the disappointment of the first Digimon Adventure, I just hoped this will be good enough until that arrives. I did not expect it to be this subversive, well-written and exciting early on.
The original Digimon Adventure was very basic. It was all about becoming more powerful to defeat a senseless enemy that wants to destroy in order to destroy. They somehow managed to drag it for 50 episodes. It’s a remarkable achievement for such a thin premise where even the action is unexciting. Throughout the first arc, Tamers constantly questions it.
We get Villains of the Weak whose sole purpose is to be defeated, but they are not the center. It’s Yamaki and Impmon – two characters closer to being antagonists – that define this series.
Yamaki is first seen as an evil, detatched Government Agent who wants to destroy Digimon because he’s cruel and wears a suit. Very early though, it’s shown he’s more than that. Yamaki is not villainous. He’s a person in need of control, but because he sees what chaos does. The Villains of the Weak wreck havoc and cause nothing but panic. It’s only logical to want to stop them.
He’s not like the kids, who got their Digimon and felt like their dream was coming true. He views things from a wider, but more detatched angle. He sees all the havoc that’s going on and doesn’t mind to hurt a few kids’ feeling if it means peace to everyone else.
But Yamaki is a person who wants control so much that this desire controls him. He tries to tighten his control more and more, moving from observing to trying to destroy to trying to eradicate all Digimon. Yet his own technology spins out of control, just like the Digimon are a technology that’s gone out of control (doesn’t it happen all the time?). Yamaki eventually breaks down and even gets a little violent. But what makes it so powerful is not because his violent reaction is cruel (it’s not), it’s because we’ve come to see Yamaki is like us when things go out of our control.
Impmon is another case. Impmon is a person who found out he doesn’t fit in society. He had his chance, but he couldn’t do it. So now he tries to live outside of it, bragging about his independence and not being a slave like all the Digimon.
He’s like that kid who made fun of you for being a slave for Pop music, when his whole existance is letting people know how special he is. Impmon doesn’t live outside of human society because he relies on their feedback. He pulls pranks and scares them for fun. Without humans to be scared of him, he’s nothing.
He’s an Antichrist Superstar, a person who couldn’t fit into society yet can’t live outside of it. Like Manson’s character, this leads to a desire for power to overcome this. Impmon can’t help but feel weak. His pranks are nothing but a nuiscance. As the series goes on, Impmon realizes how pointless his whole quest is. He’s starting to reconsider his worldview, but not his hatred for humans.
He sees the hero’s Digimon evolving defeating enemies, and he mistakes that for success. Since he has no alternative to society, all he wants is to destroy. This is developed further later in the series, but it’s hinted at early on. Impmon isn’t a buried gun that plays in the background until the series needs him. His downward spiral already beings.
These are the first of many breakdowns that this series will feature. It’s shocking at first to see it in a kid’s show. That’s why it’s brilliant, though. It creates characters and puts their worldview through challenges. Call Mushishi mature all you want because it doesn’t have fighting, but Mushishi never puts his characters through these breakdowns.
The whole idea of power, which the original Digimon and many shounen shows rely on is put into question. Digivolution is not plain getting stronger. The power it gives the Digimon is violent and destructive, and you can’t stay indifferent to it. I remember the first time I held a gun and how it felt.
Power does change people. We all think of changing our environment, but when we’re given the means to do it that’s when we start taking it more seriously. The series gives us three different viewpoints. Takato is a naive kid who, if he’s going to fight will do it for fun. Henry is a pacifist who can’t unsee the harm violence does to others, even when they’re enemies. Rika is a subversion of the Shounen hero. Ash Ketchum wanted to be Pokemon Master. So does Rika, only for Digimon. It’s a violent path to mastery.
Gargamon’s Digivolution illustrates this best. It’s a shocking episode, one that takes the first series and flips it on its head. Getting stronger, instead of solving the problem creates a worse one. Gargomon has a great design. He’s cute and cuddly, but instead of arms he got two revolver barrels. The series acknowledges these weapons were meant to hurt. How many shows question violence like this?
While these characters don’t experience the serious breakdowns of Impmon’s and Yamaki’s, their viewpoints are constantly being challenged. Henry’s pacifism, Rika’s bullying ambition and Takato’s naivety are all put under constant testing. This will get more serious as the show goes on. Already in the beginning, though, Tamers is brilliant. It makes it look so easy. You don’t need realistic art or no fighting to have a ‘mature anime’. Just continue to test your character’s worldview.
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/09/17/digimon-tamers-the-hypnos-arc/
The D-Reaper is where it’s at. It’s a personification of death in a children’s show. After the disappointment of the first Digimon Adventure, I just hoped this will be good enough until that arrives. I did not expect it to be this subversive, well-written and exciting early on.
The original Digimon Adventure was very basic. It was all about becoming more powerful to defeat a senseless enemy that wants to destroy in order to destroy. They somehow managed to drag it for 50 episodes. It’s a remarkable achievement for such a thin premise where even the action is unexciting. Throughout the first arc, Tamers constantly questions it.
We get Villains of the Weak whose sole purpose is to be defeated, but they are not the center. It’s Yamaki and Impmon – two characters closer to being antagonists – that define this series.
Yamaki is first seen as an evil, detatched Government Agent who wants to destroy Digimon because he’s cruel and wears a suit. Very early though, it’s shown he’s more than that. Yamaki is not villainous. He’s a person in need of control, but because he sees what chaos does. The Villains of the Weak wreck havoc and cause nothing but panic. It’s only logical to want to stop them.
He’s not like the kids, who got their Digimon and felt like their dream was coming true. He views things from a wider, but more detatched angle. He sees all the havoc that’s going on and doesn’t mind to hurt a few kids’ feeling if it means peace to everyone else.
But Yamaki is a person who wants control so much that this desire controls him. He tries to tighten his control more and more, moving from observing to trying to destroy to trying to eradicate all Digimon. Yet his own technology spins out of control, just like the Digimon are a technology that’s gone out of control (doesn’t it happen all the time?). Yamaki eventually breaks down and even gets a little violent. But what makes it so powerful is not because his violent reaction is cruel (it’s not), it’s because we’ve come to see Yamaki is like us when things go out of our control.
Impmon is another case. Impmon is a person who found out he doesn’t fit in society. He had his chance, but he couldn’t do it. So now he tries to live outside of it, bragging about his independence and not being a slave like all the Digimon.
He’s like that kid who made fun of you for being a slave for Pop music, when his whole existance is letting people know how special he is. Impmon doesn’t live outside of human society because he relies on their feedback. He pulls pranks and scares them for fun. Without humans to be scared of him, he’s nothing.
He’s an Antichrist Superstar, a person who couldn’t fit into society yet can’t live outside of it. Like Manson’s character, this leads to a desire for power to overcome this. Impmon can’t help but feel weak. His pranks are nothing but a nuiscance. As the series goes on, Impmon realizes how pointless his whole quest is. He’s starting to reconsider his worldview, but not his hatred for humans.
He sees the hero’s Digimon evolving defeating enemies, and he mistakes that for success. Since he has no alternative to society, all he wants is to destroy. This is developed further later in the series, but it’s hinted at early on. Impmon isn’t a buried gun that plays in the background until the series needs him. His downward spiral already beings.
These are the first of many breakdowns that this series will feature. It’s shocking at first to see it in a kid’s show. That’s why it’s brilliant, though. It creates characters and puts their worldview through challenges. Call Mushishi mature all you want because it doesn’t have fighting, but Mushishi never puts his characters through these breakdowns.
The whole idea of power, which the original Digimon and many shounen shows rely on is put into question. Digivolution is not plain getting stronger. The power it gives the Digimon is violent and destructive, and you can’t stay indifferent to it. I remember the first time I held a gun and how it felt.
Power does change people. We all think of changing our environment, but when we’re given the means to do it that’s when we start taking it more seriously. The series gives us three different viewpoints. Takato is a naive kid who, if he’s going to fight will do it for fun. Henry is a pacifist who can’t unsee the harm violence does to others, even when they’re enemies. Rika is a subversion of the Shounen hero. Ash Ketchum wanted to be Pokemon Master. So does Rika, only for Digimon. It’s a violent path to mastery.
Gargamon’s Digivolution illustrates this best. It’s a shocking episode, one that takes the first series and flips it on its head. Getting stronger, instead of solving the problem creates a worse one. Gargomon has a great design. He’s cute and cuddly, but instead of arms he got two revolver barrels. The series acknowledges these weapons were meant to hurt. How many shows question violence like this?
While these characters don’t experience the serious breakdowns of Impmon’s and Yamaki’s, their viewpoints are constantly being challenged. Henry’s pacifism, Rika’s bullying ambition and Takato’s naivety are all put under constant testing. This will get more serious as the show goes on. Already in the beginning, though, Tamers is brilliant. It makes it look so easy. You don’t need realistic art or no fighting to have a ‘mature anime’. Just continue to test your character’s worldview.
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Sep 17, 2015 3:42 PM | 0 comments
July 21st, 2015
Digimon Adventure: The Dark Masters/Apocalymon Arc
Anime Relations: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Xros Wars
Also posted on my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/digimon-adventure-the-dark-mastersapocalymon-arc/
A bit anticlimatic, isn’t it?
It’s not bad as what came for. There is a clear improvement from the very first episode. The Dark Masters are far more interesting than what came before. They represent various types of danger, instead of darkness. While it’s an improvement, the approach itself didn’t change.
There is a brief and very successful attempt at developing these characters when Puppetmon comes around. These few episodes are so good they’re worth watching even if the series doesn’t interest you. It’s a brief moment where the approach changes, and everything that was wrong goes right.
Unlike all the other villains in the series, Puppetmon is a genuine character. He’s not even like Etemon, who is evil but given a method to make him fun. Puppetmon is evil mainly because he’s a Dark Master, but time and again his behavior points to an existence outside of that role.
Most of Puppetmon’s actions aren’t related to his desire to defeat the Digi-Destined and help bring darkness, whatever that will get him. He acts mainly out of frustration. Puppetmon is that spoiled brat who really wants to connect with people, but do it on his own terms. He’s manipulative, but for selfish reasons rather than evil ones. His death isn’t very victorious, but rather tragic.
It’s a first time where the whole ‘friendship is important’ theme is presented actions instead of speeches. Puppetmon’s downfall comes not because they digivolved to UltraMega Something and fired a powerful beam. He devises his own demise. His childish and selfish puts him on a downward spiral and his death is him hitting the bottom. Matt’s Digimon firing his beam is just an extra.
The kids are also on a spiral of their own. Their varied personalities finally come in conflict. It’s not just the rivalry between Matt and Tai that was boiling for the whole series. Everyone starts to look around them and question the point of the whole thing. People begin to choose sides based on their personality. An adventure is only as powerful and tense as how it affects the characters. The excitement is not found in just the explosions and the fights but how the characters react to them. After all, the reason we’re attracted to adventures is because such an experience can’t leave us indifferent and the same.
Yet that only happens in the those episodes. The rest see a return to the generic method of defeating the bad guy by Digivolving. They’re better than what came before. Unlike Miyotismon, the other Dark Masters don’t spend too much time in the shadows. Machinedramon kills off his teddy bear once he fails him and goes to take care of things. It makes him feel more dangerous, but it’s obvious it’s the same formula as before. Improving on a bad formula doesn’t do much, especially when the creators proved themselves capable with Puppetmon.
Apocalymon is the biggest disappointment. He’s too good to be an asspull, something the creators pulled for the last episodes to make it seem big and huge. His episodes aren’t connected to the rest of the story. There’s no actual build-up, and using the weapons of the old bad guys is pretty lame. His speech though, hints that he could have been developed. It invites us not to fear or hate him but understand him a little. He’s a bit of an Antichrist Superstar, someone who represents the weak and whose bitterness consumed him.
He barely has 20 minutes of screen time. There is a long monologue sequence which is like the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but worse. If he was given time to develop, if the creators knew they could do more with him but just pull him out for the climax it would have improved the series greatly. He has one of the best designs in the series. Why did they waste so much time with Miyotismon when they could have had fun with Apocalymon?
The last goodbyes are nice and all, but the little power they have is because I sat through all 54 episodes of the thing. The Dark Masters are an improvement, but I expected the Modus Operandi to change. I expected the characters to be divided throughout the arc, to have some sort of crisis that just such a weird adventure should lead to. I expected villains who are more than just evil and sadistic. I did get that from Puppetmon, and Apocalymon is an idea that I could incorporate in my fiction but overall, it was disappointing and not worth the whole 54 episodes.
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/21/digimon-adventure-the-dark-mastersapocalymon-arc/
A bit anticlimatic, isn’t it?
It’s not bad as what came for. There is a clear improvement from the very first episode. The Dark Masters are far more interesting than what came before. They represent various types of danger, instead of darkness. While it’s an improvement, the approach itself didn’t change.
There is a brief and very successful attempt at developing these characters when Puppetmon comes around. These few episodes are so good they’re worth watching even if the series doesn’t interest you. It’s a brief moment where the approach changes, and everything that was wrong goes right.
Unlike all the other villains in the series, Puppetmon is a genuine character. He’s not even like Etemon, who is evil but given a method to make him fun. Puppetmon is evil mainly because he’s a Dark Master, but time and again his behavior points to an existence outside of that role.
Most of Puppetmon’s actions aren’t related to his desire to defeat the Digi-Destined and help bring darkness, whatever that will get him. He acts mainly out of frustration. Puppetmon is that spoiled brat who really wants to connect with people, but do it on his own terms. He’s manipulative, but for selfish reasons rather than evil ones. His death isn’t very victorious, but rather tragic.
It’s a first time where the whole ‘friendship is important’ theme is presented actions instead of speeches. Puppetmon’s downfall comes not because they digivolved to UltraMega Something and fired a powerful beam. He devises his own demise. His childish and selfish puts him on a downward spiral and his death is him hitting the bottom. Matt’s Digimon firing his beam is just an extra.
The kids are also on a spiral of their own. Their varied personalities finally come in conflict. It’s not just the rivalry between Matt and Tai that was boiling for the whole series. Everyone starts to look around them and question the point of the whole thing. People begin to choose sides based on their personality. An adventure is only as powerful and tense as how it affects the characters. The excitement is not found in just the explosions and the fights but how the characters react to them. After all, the reason we’re attracted to adventures is because such an experience can’t leave us indifferent and the same.
Yet that only happens in the those episodes. The rest see a return to the generic method of defeating the bad guy by Digivolving. They’re better than what came before. Unlike Miyotismon, the other Dark Masters don’t spend too much time in the shadows. Machinedramon kills off his teddy bear once he fails him and goes to take care of things. It makes him feel more dangerous, but it’s obvious it’s the same formula as before. Improving on a bad formula doesn’t do much, especially when the creators proved themselves capable with Puppetmon.
Apocalymon is the biggest disappointment. He’s too good to be an asspull, something the creators pulled for the last episodes to make it seem big and huge. His episodes aren’t connected to the rest of the story. There’s no actual build-up, and using the weapons of the old bad guys is pretty lame. His speech though, hints that he could have been developed. It invites us not to fear or hate him but understand him a little. He’s a bit of an Antichrist Superstar, someone who represents the weak and whose bitterness consumed him.
He barely has 20 minutes of screen time. There is a long monologue sequence which is like the end of Neon Genesis Evangelion, but worse. If he was given time to develop, if the creators knew they could do more with him but just pull him out for the climax it would have improved the series greatly. He has one of the best designs in the series. Why did they waste so much time with Miyotismon when they could have had fun with Apocalymon?
The last goodbyes are nice and all, but the little power they have is because I sat through all 54 episodes of the thing. The Dark Masters are an improvement, but I expected the Modus Operandi to change. I expected the characters to be divided throughout the arc, to have some sort of crisis that just such a weird adventure should lead to. I expected villains who are more than just evil and sadistic. I did get that from Puppetmon, and Apocalymon is an idea that I could incorporate in my fiction but overall, it was disappointing and not worth the whole 54 episodes.
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Jul 21, 2015 12:48 PM | 0 comments
July 20th, 2015
Digimon Adventure: The Miyotismon Arc
Anime Relations: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Xros Wars
Also posted in my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/digimon-adventure-the-miyotismon-arc/
This is the end of the line. If I didn’t have fond memories of Puppetmon as an interesting villain, I would have dropped the series halfway through this arc. Somehow, the creators learned nothing from Etemon’s story. It’s as if these last two episodes were accidentally good. There is barely any hint of that in this arc.
It doesn’t start so bad. Moving the story to the real world helps to remind that these are, first of all, ordinary kids. They had a full life outside of saving the Digi-World, and this could be used to generate some strong drama. You get some development for the kids’ families. Each one has a distinct family and the ‘missing parent’ cliche is avoided. There’s even a small arc that gives Izzy some heart.
There are never whole episodes of this, though. The dialogue is still stuck in exposition, telling us what already happened or who is who even though we know. None of the comments the characters make help us understand who they are. It’s all interchangeable. The occasional character moment doesn’t redeem this. It just emphasizes how much wasted potential there is here.
It does gain a little dramatic tension when they return to Earth, but by then it’s too late. The first half of that arc consists of dull villain of the week episode. Maybe they would have been bearable if the story wasn’t so episodic. It all builds up to a great battle with a big enemy, but why Miyotismon hides in the shadows so much?
He’s powerful. We know that because we’re being told so and DemiDevimon is afraid of him. His behavior is the complete opposite. He has none of the charisma of Etemon or the late Dark Masters. He’s a typical villain representing darkness, this time taking the form of a vampire. They couldn’t even make him seem dangerous, though.
He sends DemiDevimon to wreck havoc on the kids, but every time he fails he just threatens him. That’s it. For about 10 episodes, or even more. Miyotismon does nothing to make us fear him aside from look dangerous. It takes barely 10 minutes before the Dark Masters reveal themselves to be quite violent, but it’s not until the real world that Miyotismon does something.
It all ends with a big battle that’s as meaningless as this arc is long. Miyotismon is given a last minute ressurection, like Etemon. Only Etemon was fun, and him getting one lost shot kind of fit with his megalomaniac and out of touch personality. Miyotismon comes back in a pathetic attempt to make an epic fight. Big building and big monsters don’t increase the tension though. When they mean nothing, the meaninglessness is all the more apparent.
Maybe if they trimmed it a little, it would’ve been servicable. There’s a decent episode in a resturaunt that builds Matt’s and Joe’s character a little. Instead of connecting it to the larger story though, it ends with everyone being happy and liking each other.
These kids have spent 30 episodes in a strange world that’s pretty violent. They faced Digimon who are awful. If we can’t believe Devimon was that bad, we can at least believe Etemon was a menace. Yet, nothing changed. They still act as a single protagonist. Mimi is still the butt of the jokes. All that’s changed is that the villain is worse this time. At least Devimon converted Digimon by force. He was acting through other Digimon, but it was him. Miyotismon has a bunch of weak saps doing his work for him. How dangerous can he be?
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/20/digimon-adventure-the-miyotismon-arc/
This is the end of the line. If I didn’t have fond memories of Puppetmon as an interesting villain, I would have dropped the series halfway through this arc. Somehow, the creators learned nothing from Etemon’s story. It’s as if these last two episodes were accidentally good. There is barely any hint of that in this arc.
It doesn’t start so bad. Moving the story to the real world helps to remind that these are, first of all, ordinary kids. They had a full life outside of saving the Digi-World, and this could be used to generate some strong drama. You get some development for the kids’ families. Each one has a distinct family and the ‘missing parent’ cliche is avoided. There’s even a small arc that gives Izzy some heart.
There are never whole episodes of this, though. The dialogue is still stuck in exposition, telling us what already happened or who is who even though we know. None of the comments the characters make help us understand who they are. It’s all interchangeable. The occasional character moment doesn’t redeem this. It just emphasizes how much wasted potential there is here.
It does gain a little dramatic tension when they return to Earth, but by then it’s too late. The first half of that arc consists of dull villain of the week episode. Maybe they would have been bearable if the story wasn’t so episodic. It all builds up to a great battle with a big enemy, but why Miyotismon hides in the shadows so much?
He’s powerful. We know that because we’re being told so and DemiDevimon is afraid of him. His behavior is the complete opposite. He has none of the charisma of Etemon or the late Dark Masters. He’s a typical villain representing darkness, this time taking the form of a vampire. They couldn’t even make him seem dangerous, though.
He sends DemiDevimon to wreck havoc on the kids, but every time he fails he just threatens him. That’s it. For about 10 episodes, or even more. Miyotismon does nothing to make us fear him aside from look dangerous. It takes barely 10 minutes before the Dark Masters reveal themselves to be quite violent, but it’s not until the real world that Miyotismon does something.
It all ends with a big battle that’s as meaningless as this arc is long. Miyotismon is given a last minute ressurection, like Etemon. Only Etemon was fun, and him getting one lost shot kind of fit with his megalomaniac and out of touch personality. Miyotismon comes back in a pathetic attempt to make an epic fight. Big building and big monsters don’t increase the tension though. When they mean nothing, the meaninglessness is all the more apparent.
Maybe if they trimmed it a little, it would’ve been servicable. There’s a decent episode in a resturaunt that builds Matt’s and Joe’s character a little. Instead of connecting it to the larger story though, it ends with everyone being happy and liking each other.
These kids have spent 30 episodes in a strange world that’s pretty violent. They faced Digimon who are awful. If we can’t believe Devimon was that bad, we can at least believe Etemon was a menace. Yet, nothing changed. They still act as a single protagonist. Mimi is still the butt of the jokes. All that’s changed is that the villain is worse this time. At least Devimon converted Digimon by force. He was acting through other Digimon, but it was him. Miyotismon has a bunch of weak saps doing his work for him. How dangerous can he be?
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Jul 20, 2015 12:53 PM | 0 comments
July 13th, 2015
Digimon Aventure: The Etemon Arc
Anime Relations: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Savers, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier, Digimon Adventure 02
Also posted in my blog:
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/digimon-adventure-the-etemon-arc/
It's amazing how much changing the antagonist improves the show.
The Etemon arc fails in similar ways like the Devimon's. In some ways, it's worse. Yet by the time it concludes it explains why Digimon became such a huge franchise. From the second Etemon appears until the last episode, there's a sense of focus that hints at a grand conclusion, instead of just boring villain of the week episodes.
Etemon is a fantastic antagonist. He's a shallow one. He doesn't have any logical motivation for being evil aside from being evil, but his way of doing it makes the difference. Devimon was a manipulator whose method wasn't inside his character, anyway. It was just a tacked-on skill, and Devimon was unseen until the last episodes. Etemon comes off as genuinely deranged, and thus dangerous.
Every moment he's on screen reinforces that Etemon is not right in the head. He doesn't symbolize darkness, like Devimon or Miyotismon. His appearance is bright and funny. His matter is more jovial than tough. His plans for taking over everything comes from his megalomania, which is a real trait instead of 'evil'. It's a genuine motive that drives a character's behavior.
It's not deep, of course. Etemon is no deep exploration of megalomania. The series never pretends he should be, though. Defeating the enemy isn't the focus of Digimon Adventure anyway, but the relationship between the characters. The series needs a charismatic enough antagonist who will also seem dangerous. That will be an effective backdrop for the relationships to develop with.
For some reason, though, the kids act again like a single protagonist instead of a group. They spend most of the arc searching for plot coupons, with Etemon appearing once in a while to add some excitement. It's the exact plot we've seen in the previous arc. The only major change is that there's a real element of danger. There's a little more tension, so all this collecting is bit more exciting this time.
The arc redeems itself with the last two episodes, which are years ahead of anything surrounding them. After two dull episodes, one with a boring chicken villain and another with a 'trainer' the creators add another extra villain and put the kids face to face with Etemon. The extra villain is not much, but like Etemon he's a bit funny in the head and that also makes him genuinely dangerous. He's also a third party, so you get a climax where three different sides collide, just to make it all bigger.
Datamon and Etemon are genuine threats, so when the group finally confronts them it's intense. The last two episodes have perfect pacing. The first one sets up Datamon as another legitimate threat, while the second one brings an epic, final fight. It still relies on Digivolution to solve it, but there's more thrill there because Etemon was shown to be tough. Tai also get a strong character moment that reminds us how different these kids are. It's the most emotionally powerful scene in the series so far (And the next arc doesn't provide anything better). If only the series had more scenes that stem from the characters' personality.
The Etemon arc is not as good as expected, but the main antagonist is a joy to watch. It's the first hint that the creators haven't wasted all of their ideas in the first few episodes. Etemon is a blueprint for how to make a shallow, but an entertaining and effective one. You don't need to watch the first arc to enjoy this one. It's best to read summaries of the Devimon arc, and start from here. This is where the Digi-World fulfills its promise of weirdness, danger and excitement. Sadly, they slide right back to the mediocrity in the Miyotismon arc.
https://allcoloursdotorg.wordpress.com/2015/07/13/digimon-adventure-the-etemon-arc/
It's amazing how much changing the antagonist improves the show.
The Etemon arc fails in similar ways like the Devimon's. In some ways, it's worse. Yet by the time it concludes it explains why Digimon became such a huge franchise. From the second Etemon appears until the last episode, there's a sense of focus that hints at a grand conclusion, instead of just boring villain of the week episodes.
Etemon is a fantastic antagonist. He's a shallow one. He doesn't have any logical motivation for being evil aside from being evil, but his way of doing it makes the difference. Devimon was a manipulator whose method wasn't inside his character, anyway. It was just a tacked-on skill, and Devimon was unseen until the last episodes. Etemon comes off as genuinely deranged, and thus dangerous.
Every moment he's on screen reinforces that Etemon is not right in the head. He doesn't symbolize darkness, like Devimon or Miyotismon. His appearance is bright and funny. His matter is more jovial than tough. His plans for taking over everything comes from his megalomania, which is a real trait instead of 'evil'. It's a genuine motive that drives a character's behavior.
It's not deep, of course. Etemon is no deep exploration of megalomania. The series never pretends he should be, though. Defeating the enemy isn't the focus of Digimon Adventure anyway, but the relationship between the characters. The series needs a charismatic enough antagonist who will also seem dangerous. That will be an effective backdrop for the relationships to develop with.
For some reason, though, the kids act again like a single protagonist instead of a group. They spend most of the arc searching for plot coupons, with Etemon appearing once in a while to add some excitement. It's the exact plot we've seen in the previous arc. The only major change is that there's a real element of danger. There's a little more tension, so all this collecting is bit more exciting this time.
The arc redeems itself with the last two episodes, which are years ahead of anything surrounding them. After two dull episodes, one with a boring chicken villain and another with a 'trainer' the creators add another extra villain and put the kids face to face with Etemon. The extra villain is not much, but like Etemon he's a bit funny in the head and that also makes him genuinely dangerous. He's also a third party, so you get a climax where three different sides collide, just to make it all bigger.
Datamon and Etemon are genuine threats, so when the group finally confronts them it's intense. The last two episodes have perfect pacing. The first one sets up Datamon as another legitimate threat, while the second one brings an epic, final fight. It still relies on Digivolution to solve it, but there's more thrill there because Etemon was shown to be tough. Tai also get a strong character moment that reminds us how different these kids are. It's the most emotionally powerful scene in the series so far (And the next arc doesn't provide anything better). If only the series had more scenes that stem from the characters' personality.
The Etemon arc is not as good as expected, but the main antagonist is a joy to watch. It's the first hint that the creators haven't wasted all of their ideas in the first few episodes. Etemon is a blueprint for how to make a shallow, but an entertaining and effective one. You don't need to watch the first arc to enjoy this one. It's best to read summaries of the Devimon arc, and start from here. This is where the Digi-World fulfills its promise of weirdness, danger and excitement. Sadly, they slide right back to the mediocrity in the Miyotismon arc.
Posted by TheBrainintheJar | Jul 13, 2015 11:55 AM | 0 comments