Digimon Beatbreak Episode 10 Review - A Reflection Of One's Self
We’re finally at the double digits in terms of episode count now! By the way, the official Twitter account announced that there will be a new ending song that will be revealed in the anime starting January 4, 2026, meaning that the first quarter of the story is approaching! A lot has happened in this episode and I can’t wait to talk about it!
With the way Makoto talks about how Digimon are a reflection of their Owner, this entire episode reminds me a lot of the concept and themes of the game Persona 4 with the whole Shadows and the real “you” in a sense. I honestly love Persona 4, which is why I really enjoyed this episode. Makoto is surprisingly a mature boy because he never once blamed Chiropmon for the misfortunes around him. He embraced him instead as his Digimon is a part of him. Chiropmon is reserved and observes people from afar, which is what Makoto is and also does. Chiropmon is also loyal, which was why Makoto never gave up on him. This was why they were able to become one and obtain the persona—err , I mean the evolution. I have to say, I did NOT expect Nightchiropmon to be the Champion form, but I honestly like it! I like it when a Rookie-level Digimon’s Champion form becomes something really different but still keeps the same theme like how Tentomon becomes Kabuterimon or how Biyomon becomes Birdramon. Chiropmon turning into Nightchiropmon does remind of how Patamon turned into Angemon back in Adventure. I honestly love the design though! It gives off a cyberpunk version of Batman Beyond (Does anyone even remember that animated show?).
I knew Sunny was abusive and evil and his actions proved it in this episode. He calls Haruko creepy, ugly and possessed and even planned on abandoning her once he obtained a Sapotama Fake for himself and not for her. Haruko crashing out was justified because she’s been doing everything for her father and her mindset of Digimon being tools was all because of him. She never really had a chance to think deeply about herself. I felt bad for her in a sense. I’m glad that Shademon still loved her regardless of her abuse which was how she finally accepted it as apart of her. I do wonder what part of Haruko Shademon is a reflection of. Is it how they’re both lonely souls? Is it because both try to hold onto people they love? The dream Haruko had in the beginning makes me wonder if she had Shademon ever since she was little or if Shademon just interfered with her dream so that she wouldn’t be sad… Regardless, the way Shademon fused with Haruko and became this nightmare goth girl was so cool! Since Haruko’s mother is alive, I hope Haruko will live a happier life now.
This episode does also showcase that some Digimon reject others’ e-pulse in favor of their Owner’s. This was how Chiropmon was able to break his mind control from Haruko because his bond with Makoto makes it only want his e-pulse. It does make it different from how Pandamon can consume Sasatake’s e-pulse despite him not being his Owner and how Digimon without a prominent Owner can consume e-pulse of different people. I think it was a nice way to showcase how the e-pulse lore works.
My favorite part of the episode is how Kyo chose violence from beginning to end. He manhandled that Hino guy, busted into Shangri-La Egg, got a gun pointed at him, and punched Sunny twice. He is the MVP of the episode and you can’t change my mind! While Sunny deserves a harsher punishment, I do think that putting him in a box like a caged Digimon is karma in a sense.
If I have to give some gripes about the episode, I feel like for an episode centering around Makoto, there’s very little flashbacks that center him. Rather than a Makoto episode, it felt more like a Haruko episode. I was hoping to see some flashbacks of his life before and after meeting Chiropmon, but there were only Haruko flashbacks. It’s a bummer, but maybe the writers are saving the flashbacks for later when the Kuonji family becomes more prominent, I guess.
For the voice actor trivia, let’s talk about Makoto and Chiropmon! Makoto is voiced by Arisa Sekine who voiced Aoi in Ghost Game. Other than her Digimon roles, Sekine didn’t have a lot of prominent roles. Chiropmon and his evolution are voiced by Misaki Kuno who is new to the franchise. Some of Kuno’s roles consist of cute little girls or mascots like Xiaolan from The Apothecary Diaries and Hawk from The Seven Deadly Sins. To be honest, Kuno can put on a deeper voice so I was surprised that NightChiropmon’s voice is quite high-pitched. I’m sure she’s saving the deeper voice for the future evolutions.
The lady in the mask is named Izumi, according to the credits, and she’s voiced by Ami Matsushima, who voiced Mimicmon back in Episode 8, but she also voices the Sapotama. Remember how she provided Sunny with the Sapotama Fake? I theorize that this Izumi lady could be the creator of the egg devices and that she’s wearing a mask to hide her identity. I also theorize that the reason she buys Digimon in secret is because she’s probably using them to put them in new Sapotamas or put them back into their Sapotama as a blank state. Either way, she’s definitely someone to watch out for later on.
Now that Chiropmon evolved, I do worry about Gekkomon because the preview for next week’s episode is NOT looking good on him. What could’ve happened that triggered negative emotions from Tomoro? Though, I do see that fire guy from the Five Stars, so I do anticipate the long awaited villain debut. Next week is definitely going to be brutal. Let me know your thoughts on this episode!
The Hino Contessa Sprint 900 was designed by Giovanni Michelotti and presented at the 1962 Turin Motor Show. The rear-engined drivetrain had evolved from the Renault 4CV that Hino built under licence in Japan. A limited production run was planned but abandoned due to cost. Hino stopped making cars in 1969, after being taken over by Toyota in 1966; the brand survives on trucks and buses.
