Mimi and Daisuke
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:
Interestingly enough, this is one of the few older/younger Chosen Children relationships they do put some kind of emphasis on besides the usual set ups (Daisuke with Taichi/Yamato, Miyako with Sora/Mimi and Iori with Koushirou/Jyou) and even the World Tour Arc in 02! During their very first meeting, they're already on very good, very casual terms - which you could definitely relate back to both of them being very open personalities who may or may not say what's on their mind very directly, sometimes before thinking beforehand. So besides them being paired up in the World Tour Arc in America, there are a few things that additionally set them up as being rather likely to interact with each other - one of them is the fact that they're both somewhat linked to America, with Mimi temporarily living there, both of them knowing American Chosen Children in Michael and Wallace and both of them being implied to be(come) good at English (in the future). So it's no surprise they even got their own audio drama together with Wallace! Another thing they have in common is their passion for food, as both of their future careers are linked to it, with Mimi becoming a TV chef and Daisuke starting his ramen cart career in, you guessed it, America. Unfortunately, while those things are not directly connected in the series, just like many others, I was delighted to see them being directly mirrored as enthusiastic goofballs in one of the Kizuna artworks, implying that they're having quite similar energy levels. So yes - while you may have to squint a little harder to see it, there are definitely things to work with here!
Whether I think why and how they’d work:
Regarding everything I have just pointed out before - they're more similar to each other than what meets the eye and I really believe that we're dealing with a (potentially) great relationship here. Both their arcs in the series are somewhat linked to becoming less "selfish" so to speak, in order to "unlock" their greatest strengths: Bringing out the best in others by being their most honest, supportive selves. It's baffling how easily you could mirror Daisuke trying to get through to Ken with how Mimi tries to get through to Sora in later iterations - because both of them are quite the "odd ones out" who are trying to be(come) true to their selves, their passions, the things and people they love, even if it means having people look at them funnily, make fun of them (or even gossip about them in the background). Whereas characters like Ken and Sora are struggling with their identity finding processes.
Daisuke and Mimi teaming up with each other could be a force to be reckoned with - and they could also be quite the power couple because of it. Even if one might argue that these two are having more of an "opposites attract" thing going on (if you take people like Ken for Daisuke or Sora/Koushirou for Mimi as potential partners), I think they could really enable and be good for each other on a romantic level as well, being all mutually supportive. And - if they opened up to each other about their doubts, the mutual healing opportunities could be great too, because we've seen both of them becoming soft (and insecure) as well, despite being headstrong. And they both need someone where they can just relax with and who could understand why they're insecure. I absolutely believe that they could be capable of that, because not everybody could actually deal with their intense energy levels.
I'd love for them to practice English together, they'd definitely text with each other in English and, by God, they would take great pride at being BETTER at it than others (namely Takeru and Koushirou, who can be assumed to become good at it too as time goes on, but Daisuke and Mimi would still thrive at correcting them). Plus - Daisuke trying out the most outlandish ramen dishes would be exactly what Mimi would love, adore and encourage, they would try stuff out together, they would travel to collect ingredients and recipes and... While I'm writing this, I may actually just have discovered one of my favourite unusual friendships/relationships in the Digimon Adventure universe, wow.
Whether I’d prefer them as platonic or romantic ship:
Whether they thrive as BFFs in all the aspects I have mentioned above or actually end up in a romantic relationship - I can see them be good for each other. I would really like for someone to write them as romantic partners, but I would generally enjoy both versions and hope the 02 movie might give us more implications of them still being in touch!
