#digimon thoughts

[miloucomehome]

DIGIMON BEATBREAK - EP 12 - Initial thoughts and theories

This is just going to be a wall of thoughts and theories. I couldn't even make a thread of thoughts on Twitter or Bsky because every development and point in this episode is a massive spoiler. 😭

I stayed up late to write these all out so that I could sleep helpppp lol

With that, please note that there are spoilers for episode 12 and parts of the preview for episode 13 and the new story arc PV that just came out

Let's start! (this is a long post) Uhm, so--

Kyo has been a Cleaner since he was a child (and I find the reveal surprising but also sad)

Children in the world of Beatbreak have it absolutely rough if they chose to keep their Digimon don't they? I really want to know what happened to Kyo as a child. I'm still holding out faint hope that he's related to The Star of Wood (Green) aka Rose, but that he was kicked out of the family first. Then maybe she was recruited to be a Five Star (or maybe they were both kicked out then recruited later) I feel like he isn't orphaned and his parents may be alive.

I can see why in earlier episodes he looked at Tomoro with that look of sadness or anguish when he was acting out angrily-- it was because he was seeing flashes of himself from when he was a child, alone as a Cleaner. Kyo saw his younger self reflected in Tomoro.

Going back to his past -- we know he was without any empathy, was battle-obsessed, already had what seems to have been a strong bond with Cougarmon at the time (11 years ago!), looked to be incredibly strong, and had had to grow up very quickly and learned to be independent. Is that why his eyes are the way they are then? Trauma and indifference? Disillusionment? I can't imagine child Cleaners doing well mentally at all when there's adult Cleaners who are (mostly?) greedy, desperate and likely grossly manipulative and the only way to survive is to go down to their level.

EDIT: It's almost like a reverse "Chosen Children" scenario? The children aren't cherished, there's a high risk of starting out alone, and maybe any potential allies might just try to use you to get that bounty (or lash out if you steal their bounty)

This first arc has established that very young children can be Cleaners, and be alone. That's really sad to think about because, that means these children were either pulled out from their regular lives, "willingly" left on their own, or potentially were kicked out from their families. We have so much left to learn about this world but the children are definitely bearing the brunt of things along with the adults. Oof...

(And I think Reina may potentially have been an older child or pre-teen when she started working as a Cleaner, depending on what a future flashback lore story reveals later in the series)

What they showed from 11 years ago seems a little...grim and dangerous for Cleaners work (judging from the flashback)?

It's made me realize that Kaito's comments about "Playing 'family'" were very much on point. We've only been seeing what Cleaner life is like through Glowing Dawn and their little oasis and safe space in the 'safer' zones of Shin-Hikarigahama. I feel that as we progress through the series, we're going to venture deeper into the world of the year 2050 and it's not going to be great? Could it be that it's easier and safer to operate where Kyo has them based?

Goodbye "Murasamemon may not be his original partner" theory!

It was good knowing you!!

Oh and maybe it looks like we also get some insight into some evolution mechanics in Beatbreak in Kyo's flashback? My interpretation of the scene where he evolves Cougarmon for the first time was that he was initially trying to simply give him a big e-Pulse power-up, but he unlocked Ultimate/Perfect evolution in the process. At age 11.

In the other Digimon series, this isn't a big deal as most of the kids achieve this eventually. But here I'd imagine the reason the World Union had their eyes on him (clearly they had been tracking him), was because only some Cleaners can do it consciously it would seem? And usually the ones that do are mostly adults, I would think?

So to have an 11-yr old child have a Champion/Adult Digimon, have what seems to be hinted at as a strong record as a Cleaner, a fairly strong Digimon and to then evolve them to Ultimate/Perfect without any kind of strain that we could see...that must be rare in the world of Beatbreak.

That said, I have to wonder...what happened to the previous Star of Gold then, 11 years ago to necessitate a search for a replacement? Same with the Star of Fire, since Kyo mentions that Kaito joined roughly around the same time. What happened to the previous title holders?

Kyo Sawashiro, The Star of Gold--maybe Kyo the Adamantine?

So, thanks to latest PR posts we've learned the full title of the current Star of Gold --Kanada Genjou the Adamantine.

The adamantine (金剛 (kongou) ) part can also refer to diamond lustre and indestructability (like a diamond) and that may explain Kyo's e-Pulse being so bright and two coloured? I really want to know what Kyo was like back then though. With all the glimpses of his menacing nature we've had throughout Beatbreak's first act, the slightly manipulative or strategically cautious way of talking with others, the way he controls the conversation, it may be that his outfit back then betrays what he was really like.

(Ok. His past outfit looks...well. I'll blame the "low-res" of it all. Maybe it was his final outfit before he quit? Right? Staff, you have quite possibly the most good looking character in your cast and you're letting him out the door dressed like that during his "cool but make it evil" era?)

I do wonder if the titles are passed down between members...and I wonder if replacement candidates are tracked down by the World Union based on e-Pulse colour matching then whittled down to the best candidates? For all we may know, maybe later on it turns out his title isn't Kyo the Adamantine.

As for the current Star of Gold...

The newest Star of Gold, Kanada Genjou I realize has serious potential to be absolutely unhinged later in a face-to-face confrontation. Kamiyan is excellent at this ok I believe it's clear he super-charged that Digimon with more e-Pulse than it could handle, causing it to go beserk. Kaito's little confrontation was interesting too that I wonder if any of the Five Stars actually get along.

Which does keep my "Five Stars are members with glitched e-Pulses" still alive for another week! I do think that if Kyo has one, it's under control. Or is under control because he's not at his strongest anymore because of the Nirinso Project. Or maybe the gems the Five Stars all have, act as limiters/boosters.

Now I do wonder if Genjou is truly the one behind the theft of the Sapotama with Asuka's e-Pulse...and why. Does he have beef with Kyo? He wants to show how loyal he is to the cause? Did Chairmon Wong order it? If so, then why...?

His profile also highlights that he's very loyal and close to Chairman Wong...was that the same for Kyo?

(I find it interesting his eyes are gold, like Kyo's...coincidental?)

Reina's looks to Kyo during the conversation about the Five Stars

I'm not sure where it could even lead, but could she have encountered one of the other Five Stars when she was younger? Between Makoto and Reina, Reina was definitely more invested during this part I found. As if, in a way, she was searching for an answer from Kyo that could confirm that he was staying put with Glowing Dawn. And the way she spoke made me think there was more to it...a fear ? I wonder where this could lead in the future.

This whole post has become highly Kyo-centric and I want to write about Tomoro and Gekkomon (that part was SO good), but I think that that will definitely need to be a separate post. ^^;

[dterminaldatabase]

Thanks to a previous post, I wound up having this idea in my head.

Remember that Ken's memory of his first adventure into the Digital World was spotty. He barely remembers any of it. It doesn't even appear he remembered Ryo or Milleniummon all that well.

So, the plot that came to me was that as time went on, Ken is slowly regaining his memory of his first adventure. The reason behind this is because the Dark Spore's influence on him is near non-existent. I say 'near' because I like to think that the Spore's presence will always be this lingering threat, but as long as Ken still has his support system, he'd be fine.

Since the Dark Spore had lost its influence on Ken, Ken's memory of his first adventure starts to return little by little.

And, at some point, Ken gets a clearer memory of Ryo. He remembered how Ryo helped him navigate in the Digital World and cared for him. He remembered how nice it was that someone was giving him attention for a change (since this was when Sam was still alive and their parents doted on him more).

Ken starts wanting to find Ryo. This could potentially drive a wedge between him and Davis. I don't think Davis would feel resentment towards Ken over this, but he would feel a little left out. However, Davis wouldn't want to take this away from Ken. After all, Ryo was probably Ken's first ever friend.

And Davis might feel a little jealous of that, but won't have it against Ken.

And, of course, Ken would realize what he was doing was kinda hurting his current friend indirectly and the two would further reforge their bond.

Oh, and Ken's searching for Ryo somehow reawakens/revives Milleniummon. I didn't really think this part through yet.

In a lot of the recent Digimon films, there was a focus on Tai and Matt. Makes sense. They're the first duo.

I'd like for a new movie (or even a short anime) focused on Davis and Ken's friendship. Was it there in Digimon Adventure 02: the Beginning? Sorta, but the movie was more focused on Lui and his backstory.

[digi-lov]

The fact that the majority of Leomon cards have an On Deletion effect is kind of hilarious

[jyoumifeels]

Episode 7 Thoughts

Yay! We finally get to see Jou! I’ll occasionally post details related to Jou and Mimi as the series progresses. I understand the reboot is already different and I don’t expect everything to stay the same. 

However, I just want to track the changes and see where the series will go with their interactions.

I still need time to process Jou’s pants though. The change from shorts and knee-high socks to crop pants is too much for me. Is it supposed to be fashionable? Is it his uniform? Is he too tall for his pants? The pants leave me with so many questions.

Jou and Mimi don’t know each other prior to entering the Digital World!!! I’m a little disappointed by this but this opens up opportunity for different interactions for them

The three children and their partners introduce themselves to Jou.

Jou introduces himself and Taichi realizes Jou is his and Sora’s senpai at school. Sora mentions she has seen Jou around the camp. Mimi says nothing here.

OG episode 1, here is the first scene Jou and Mimi are seen together after they first enter the Digital World.   

OG episode 2, everyone discusses what they brought to camp and ask Jou about his bag. It wasn’t mentioned in the series but in the novel version (I think), Mim and Jou are in the same camp group. They already knew each other in some way before entering the Digital World.

Let me add, as comical Jou and Pukamon’s first meeting was, I appreciate how sweet Gomamon and Jou’s meeting was in Psi. Don’t ever make Gomamon sad again! ;~;

Who can say no to being Gomamon’s partner?? Although I do have questions about the hut. Was it already there? Who made it? How did Gomamon move Jou??

I’m happy to finally see Jou. It was a long, long wait but his episode was quite enjoyable.

[digi-lov]

Thinking about the potential evolution lines from Nishijima Daigo's Bearmon and Himekawa Maki's Bakumon, in the flashback in Digimon Adventure Tri. we got to see:

Bearmon, LoaderLeomon and Baihumon, and Bakumon and Megadramon.

Now in the Digimon Card Game Booster Set BT-09 X Record, Nishijima and Himekawa are both featured as Tamer cards, along with their Partner Digimon amongst the set's Digimon cards.

These, while obviously being able to mix and match, usually follow an intended line.

Which leaves us with these potential missing levels in their lines:

[saiikavon]

Has anyone ever had the odd realization that the reason you love a certain piece of media has very little to do with its intended purpose?

I had this realization about Digimon recently. The reason I loved Adventure 01 and, to a lesser degree, 02, had very little to do with the Digimon and much more to do with the story of these seven kids surviving in a strange world together. Which like. The Digimon were included in that and they themselves were very fun and endearing characters, but the digivolving gimmicks and such that are supposed to be important to the genre were kind of secondary.

Idk where I was going with this, just a very odd feeling to have I guess.

[reliablejoukido]

[ interesting things of note in the design of the Yagami residences:

The Daikanransha ferris wheel is visible from the terrace in episode 21 (August 1999) of Adventure, and visible from the front door in Our War Game (March 2000). This means their building either makes one full rotation per year, or the ferris wheel terrifyingly rolls around the city as it spins.

Those wall hangings change so much, they are literally all switched out between August 1st and 2nd, 1999.

They had Miko and also a fish tank in Hikarigaoka

They decided hanging kitchen supplies was no longer en vogue in 2005

I still can’t tell if Taichi and Hikari shared a bedroom during Adventure, judging by the cat decor and bedding on the top bunk. Since the room contains mostly Taichi’s junk, Hikari might just sleep there occasionally. Potentially they continued to share a room when they first moved from Hikarigaoka to Odaiba, and stopped at some point. Clearly Hikari had her own room in 2002, and Taichi’s top bunk was made into storage by then.

The dress/sunhat/handbag combo that perpetually hangs on Hikari’s wall is just really cute

Hikari displays her own photography on her wall, which includes the Daikanransha, the Rainbow Bridge, and a headshot of her brother

Girl has fake digieggs as decorations and I LOVE IT. Pretty much Hikari’s entire bedroom from floor to ceiling is my aesthetic.

I didn’t have room to include this in the imageset, but there’s a shot of Taichi’s bedroom from episode 21 (Taichi’s brief return home on Aug 1) that is almost identical visually to its layout and design in Our War Game (which takes place in March 2000). Interestingly, when the entire group returns in episodes 31 and beyond, Taichi’s bedroom is set up completely differently, even though it is still August 1999. If I were someone who knew anything about the history of Digimon animation, I could probably come up with a reason for this based on who worked on which episode/film at what time. I am well aware that Digimon had quite a few different animators. It’s just really fascinating to see how that affects such minute things as home decor. ]

[noctilucentstorm]

Ok so now Toei has released the trailer for everyone to see, here are my thoughts from watching it:

So I hadn’t expected the PV to air straight after the break (for some reason assumed it would be at the end).  Note all of this is pure speculation from the same trailer you’ve (hopefully) watched.

• The new version of Butter-fly sounds fantastic. Kouji Wada has done an amazing job! His weaker voice actually adds to it in my opinion.

• I know these are only PVs but the animation quality is such a step up from anything we’ve seen from past Digimon series.  The image/sequence that stuck out for me was Gabumon’s fur flying up as he fell.

• So Omegamon-Alphamon fight is not going to be in the first episode after all?   • Jou, Mimi and Koushiro with phones: they’re totally in a threesome!

• Looks like some new Chosen are being introduced (more girls? Yes please!)… question is whose side are they on?

• Taichi’s still playing soccer. :D

• Seems that the fight scene between the Greymon and Kuwagamon is going to be a big part of the first episode (maybe?)

Edit: I just realised after watching the scene again that Greymon and Kuwagamon seem to break through a digital gate to arrive in front of that plane! This could be interesting.

• I’m glad they’re focusing on the kids’ school life.  To me it suggests they should have enough time for a few nice character-developing dialogue scenes. Here’s hoping.

• That the focus seems to be on the kids’ school life and the digimon battles makes me feel a bit more certain that they’re sticking to the general theme of Digimon, which is a relief.

• Only 4/5 months to go!