Digi Dynamic Shipping Game
Send me two names among the following 12 and I’ll write a short analysis post about them:
Taichi Yagami | Yamato Ishida | Sora Takenouchi | Koushirou Izumi | Mimi Tachikawa | Jyou Kidou | Takeru Takaishi | Hikari Yagami | Daisuke Motomiya | Miyako Inoue | Iori Hida | Ken Ichijouji
Disclaimer: I won’t claim this to be a conclusive/definitive analysis of all of the ship’s aspects. Ship dynamics vary depending on which parts of the series/timeline or media types you are looking at. So this is going to be my personal take on it and just a personal interpretation of how I perceive them.
Whether canon provides input on them or not:
When deciding which picture I wanted to use for their analysis, it actually took quite a while for me to be truly satisfied with it - and admittedly, I do believe there may be even better ones out there. On the other hand, it also summarizes a certain vibe they’re giving me - but let’s start at the beginning before I get there.
With their ship gaining a lot more popularity throughout recent years, I was very excited to see them getting as many votes as they did in the poll mentioned above. At first - very superficial - glance, they seem to play off of their designated tropes rather perfectly; you have the reckless and enthusiastic let’s-go-for-it protagonist and the overly-correct and anxious voice of reason who has to hold him back - and that quite literally happens several times in Adventure. It looks like they’re contrasting leadership portrayals, with one of them being self proclaimed due to being the oldest, thinking they HAVE to do it, whereas the other doesn’t actively strive to be a leader, but has a strong sense of “moving (the group) forward”. And that’s what makes you think they would constantly clash - but that’s where the trope gets torn apart throughout the series:
While Taichi does have a hard time respecting and “relying” on Jyou and Jyou cannot help but role his eyes at Taichi’s forwardness AT FIRST - they both learn the good qualities of the other throughout the series and you can VISIBLY and AUDIBLY tell that the mutual admiration grows. And the older they get, the more we actually learn that they’re more similar to each other than their tropes would have liked us to believe at first.
Once Taichi witnesses Jyou’s own courage (and self-sacrificing recklessness by doing so), his respect starts to increase - not surprising, as this is one of his own themes throughout the series, so the mutual relatability actually starts very early. Jyou’s arc throughout Adventure 01 (and in general) is to come to terms with what his “personal role” is, among the group, in the future, etc. And while going through that journey, he is the FIRST one to acknowledge Taichi as rightful leader of the group, reassuring him in front of everyone in times when everyone’s fate is resting on his shoulders. He has seen Taichi falter just as much as he had done himself - and yet he knows that it was his charisma, his natural sense of togetherness that brought everyone back together. He’s not “rejecting his own responsibility”, he just sees Taichi’s qualities - and has been witnessing them for a while.
Looking back at the screenshot taken above, things people like to associate both Taichi and Jyou with in different contexts is - that they’re actually not the “smartest” in the group. Taichi is often assumed to be a head-through-wall-character who tends to not think twice (mostly if the plot requires it), while Jyou has to go out of his way to STUDY HIS BUTT OFF in order to deal with tests, cram school, high school entrance exams, etc. However, Taichi’s own arc throughout Adventure 01 (and in general) is that he has to become more mindful, of his surroundings, the people he cares about and thus he is not only shown to become more empathetic, his strategies also become more those of a great, observant tactician. And Jyou sees and acknowledges that. They may have a more teasing attitude in regards to their weaknesses (and strengths), which is often played for (very endearing) comic relief moments, but they also begin to praise each other a lot at this point. Not only that, but they appear to grow significantly more physically comfortable throughout the series (lots of hands on shoulders and casual touches may indicate that as well). Jyou, while always being portrayed as rather clumsy, also eventually comes to terms with the fact that his help, his support looks different from what he once thought was his path - he may have to study to become “booksmart”, but he also becomes wiser through his experiences. And so does Taichi.
They might actually be the ones who become most contemplative as the series goes on - and that’s why it’s a shame we actually do not see them interact a lot with each other past 01. Because you can tell they’ve grown to trust and understand each other a lot. One of my favourite sequences all throughout Tri is in the second movie - while the group goes on about how Jyou is letting them down by not showing up and prioritizing his studies over fighting, Taichi is the one who cuts him some slack. He UNDERSTANDS that “talking to him might just remind him of things he doesn’t want to face”, so he wants to give Jyou the time and space he needs - because he himself is going through the exact same thing. And so it also is no surprise that Jyou is the one who looks through Taichi as well - in the stageplay (and the fourth movie, very briefly) he is the one who approaches Taichi for being “weird” and having another fight with Yamato, knowing EXACTLY how much that has ALWAYS worn him down (ever since he saw them fight in the Dark Master’s Arc). Even if they don’t fully succeed in reaching through to each other at this point in time - they understand each other’s wants and needs and that they’ve both been wearing masks to hide their true feelings behind.
It’s all a lot more subtle as it’s - as mentioned - all very brief and more in the background than anything else, but paying close attention to their moments together really shows how compatible they can be.
Whether I think why and how they’d work:
As outlined above, it’s remarkable how much they just STOP clashing against each other at some point in the series. Unlike other character duos who contrast each other very blatantly and never really stop doing so, even when they do get more familiar/comfortable with each other through the seasons, there is usually a factor of remaining friction (examples here are Taiyama and Koumi, but not exclusively). Jyou is one of the few characters who just breaks through people’s barriers like that as he becomes more and more of a senpai to the others as the series progresses (which is why he and Mimi are growing to become so compatible as well - and I’m inclined to say that stageplay!Jyou has literally perfected the art of breaking through people’s barriers, such as in Koushirou’s and Yamato’s cases). And that, ladies and gentlemen, might also be the reason why he would be a very appealing partner to Taichi - who definitely NEEDS someone to break through his own barriers, because he has grown accustomed to not let others in. Jyou, having become the person he is displayed to be as a young adult, would see through all of that - and choose whether or not confronting him or leaving him be for a while might be the right choice for the moment. We have seen that he understands Taichi’s needs - and while they both might not be the best to voice their own needs and concerns in the perfect way, they actually play off of each other much, much better than others would.
And I’d say it’s not unlikely to believe they would spend a lot of time together off duty as adults - we already know Agumon and Gomamon like to hang out together when Taichi’s at uni and Jyou at work. Additionally, they have chosen to go through the most daunting, most demanding education paths, which will take them years and years of studying - remember how I said they both seem to be not the smartest? Hard work and dedication always made up for that and even if they might curse themselves for having gone down their respective roads, maybe even spend entire evenings rambling about how much everything sucks... I can actually see them NOT drowning in negativity because of that. If their relationship analysis has taught me anything about their personality structures, even as adults, they might pick a more humorous way of moping, thus picking each other up again and again. A bit of gloominess is fine, but they would find ways out of it by teasing and nudging. Even big senpai!Jyou may need to have some of Taichi’s warmth (figuratively and literally) shine on him in return. (Even if they might have to stick to long distance calls a lot.)
They might need the enouragement of the others - including their Digimon partners, but also through the likes of Mimi - to come out of their “own four walls” every once in a while, but once they do, they would have a great time. They’d have Ramen dates, being Daisuke’s main test subjects (mostly together with Yamato and Ken), I could also see them having cram (and moping) sessions over at Koushirou’s office (maybe they can pull him out of his own four walls too... Takeru would also be there btw) and they’d DEFINITELY go to Sora’s exhibitions together. That aside, they’re more on the relaxed side when it comes to spending their freetime (vacation time chilling on the beach, my dudes), but I can also see Taichi trying to push Jyou more towards sports activities.
Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:
As mentioned, the recent wave of fandom popularity surely has made me want to dig deeper into their dynamics - and while I usually focus more on their other relationships (mainly Yamato and Mimi for Jyou as well as Koushirou and Sora for Taichi), this one has definitely been one of the deeper AND fun ones. And I must say, I think I have fallen a little more for their romantic side than I used to, looking at all the mutual healing potential. I can just sense a lot of fondness between them and I’ll always go for ships that are mutually supportive and loyal - which definitely appears to be the case here! In general, they could be great platonic bros too, ESPECIALLY in terms of moping about how much life sucks as adults, so overall, I am definitely a fan of both angles.
