Now that I have gotten to episode 9 of Pending Train, I wanted to write down a more thorough comparison to Digimon and... Believe me when I say that this won't be a complete analysis BY FAR, because the amount of potential references, call-backs and allusions is just too immense. I assume I will even have to come back to this post after watching episode 10, because it's just all way too insane.
I still want to take a look at some of the most central characters, which comparisons make the most sense, and what sources exactly you could base the comparisons on. It's interesting that it's not only possible to draw parallels to Adventure and 02, but ALSO Tri and even the stageplay and Kizuna. So, let's break this down.
(Disclaimer: Aside from the Digimon references, I recommend this series to anyone who is into the Sci-Fi/Isekai Survival genre, loves a good portion of drama with satisfying pacing and plot twists and absolutely amazing character/relationship development. So this is also your final spoiler warning if you want to watch the series for yourself. Because while I will not outline everything, this analysis will be spoiler heavy!!!)
Yuto Shirahama - the Taichi Yagami archetype.
Yuto is one of the first characters we're being introduced to - he appears to be some kind of love interest to our main heroine, so far so good. What struck me at first was the way he was dressed - I tend to make fun of "MC like characters who are wearing dark blue", because that is SUCH a Digimon thing in itself... However, I was not aware of how right I would end up being.
Not only is he consistently wearing things Kizuna!Taichi wears - he also acts like him, Tri!Taichi or stageplay!Taichi most of the time. His job in the real world is being a firefighter - so when the squad ends up in "a new world", he immediately steps up as "leader", gets called "dependable" and "reliable" by the people around him, he is calm, collected and has an aura of kindness and trustworthiness oozing from him. He is a force of positivity, who believes in the good in people, his main objective being that he wants to "save everyone" and bring them all back home safely.
... We're also not surprised in the slightest that this attitude is some kind of mask he uses to hide his own insecurities, self-esteem issues and, most importantly, trauma. Due to a mistake he once made, he got his senpai seriously injured, so he ended up in a wheelchair. So in his stead, Yuto is trying to "save as many people as possible", burdening himself with that task regardless of how overwhelming it may be - especially because now, everyone relies on him to make crucial, life-saving decisions... You can almost feel the heaviness he carries around, the anxiety and the pressure it causes him while he keeps pushing through, motivating everyone around him (if they like it or not).
So... He (almost) got someone precious to him killed and has to deal with the guilt and trauma resulting from it, huh... Now, where have I heard THAT before...?
It's basically a mix of Taichi's Hikari trauma combined with his Daigo trauma - although you may take this as an AU in which Daigo actually survived. The word choices are incredibly similar as well and you may want to compare Daigo's motivational speeches to Taichi to the ones his senpai gives to Yuto. Plus, Yuto also has "a person back home" that motivates him to do his best...
Despite him being the leader of the group, he isn't particularly close with a huge number of characters - except for two VERY vital exceptions, which we will get to in a minute, because... This is probably the most heart-wrenching OT3 I have ever witnessed in media. And I mean this in a GOOD way.
So before we can outline his relationship to these other two characters, we may want to take a look at them individually...
Naoya Kayashima - the most Yamato-ish Yamato you will ever meet outside of Digimon.
Despite the fact that the story is told by a female character, Naoya is usually in the center of promotional art. And for good reason, because his back story is probably the most elaborated on and developed among all the main characters - and maybe also the most heartbreaking one.
Where, oh where should I start to describe Naoya Kayashima? How do I do it without throwing something, biting and screaming into a pillow? They knew exactly what they did by writing his character like that - and the casting choice was also marvelous, because this guy is a phenomenal actor.
He's what happens when you create an AU in which you include all the (potentially) best (and worst) qualities of Yamato Ishida - picking from various media pieces, whether it's Adventure, 02, Tri, the stageplay, Kizuna, the reboot, you name it. The Tsundere lone wolf with the tragic back story who claims to be a loner, claiming to wanting to be left alone and being able to survive and go on by himself - even though he probably has the softest heart you can even imagine, a soft spot for the weak, helping "in his own way" wherever he can, even if he may sound harsh while doing so. And everyone who knows him for more than 5 minutes can tell what he is really like - that the cool talking, the sharp joking, the harsh wording, the lonely dismissal are nothing but a facade.
He has a little brother back home, one he had cared for ever since their mother left the family and the abusive father behind. He literally gave everything for his little brother, working his butt off as a hairdresser, saving money, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned... (Sidenote: Watching episode 9 made me think that this could have been the perfect set-up for a potential Kaiser!Yamato plotline, because almost everything would have lined up perfectly; from him being unable to reconcile with his mother, to feeling inadequate to his brother, to him getting an injury that prevents him from playing the guitar working as a hairdresser, to him turning down the confession of someone he likes, to watching his foil breaking down... It would have been positively heartbreaking, but in a good way.)
So just like Yuto, he is ridden by guilt, trying to hide all his softness deep down inside. And... Are we really surprised that Yuto's "hero attitude" is getting to him? Pissing him off, riling him up? He himself lost basically everything he worked for, he has no reason to believe in the good in people - but he can't help but doing it anyway, deep down inside, even if he is living in denial. So being faced with an idealistic opposing force like Yuto is bringing up all his deepest wishes. Daring to have hope. Daring to believe that the things you work for will result in something good...
They clash. Continuously. They get into verbal fights, challenging each other's ideals time and time again... And yet... They also push each other to be better. They're each other's helping hand in times of need, they complement and, may I dare say it, actually manage to "save" each other.
... You can probably already tell where I am going with this, but to keep this as brief as possible: THIS, their relationship, their portrayal and development... Is what Tri!Taito/Taiyama SHOULD have been. Even for someone like me, who usually isn't the biggest fan of this kind of relationship trope, the tension, the yearning was palpable and although if it was also frustrating to watch at times... This series is so skilled at making the back-and-forth SATISFYING to watch. I don't even know how it does it, but the writing and pacing are SO WELL timed that the set-backs don't feel displaced, because there is SO MUCH emotional catharsis going on. Something that Tri, the stageplay or Kizuna, didn't give me in regards to Taito's relationship.
They had so many conversations, staring contests, touches, opening up, being honest about their motivations with each other, which I would have LOVED to see in Tri. Instead, they only ever had monologues or just talked to their Digimon... Or, actually, to a third character, whom we haven't even really included into their arc(s) yet.
Because this is not an MLM story. It could as well have been one - and also could have been the story of one of the greatest poly set-ups I have ever seen. Because - both their arcs are incomplete without the third part of THE OT3:
Sae Hatano - if Meiko had been written like this, Tri would have been the most amazing Digimon sequel under the sun.
Here we have the person who basically tells the whole story, our main heroine. Up until episode 5, I wasn't 100% sold on who I really wanted to compare her with. She appears to be somewhat reserved, shy and timid at first glance, but she absolutely has guts, the motivation and kindness to move forward - she is like the designated damsel in distress who decided that she didn't want to be one and feels so organic and genuine that you simply cannot not root for her.
And Digimon, please take note, this is how you write a love triangle/OT3, okay? Yes, of course everyone is still dense and of course there are misunderstandings and drama, but by GOD, is it well developed.
Sae had actually known Yuto from before they got into the other world - when she was working as a high school PE teacher, she felt inadequate, unable to be straightforward... But then she witnessed Yuto and his kind, heroic attitude during a fire drill and decided to change her life around as well. Be more positive, not letting the world get her down. They watched a rainbow together... And you can immediately tell that girl had fallen head over heels for "supposed MC-kun".
... Little did they know that Naoya was standing just a few meters apart from them, watching the same rainbow as well. I really feel the need to use the goddamn "I know what you are" meme right now, because... This framing is just too good to be true.
After arriving in the new world, Yuto and Sae bond with each other rather quickly, the latter is more than giddy to spend time with the person she admires so dearly - and since they're both so idealistic and caring in nature, they simply cannot NOT let Naoya exclude himself from everyone else. And so the story goes - Naoya tries to pretend not to want to be part of anything, but since the others (and he himself too) are too stubborn to just let him go, they just... Naturally grow closer to each other. Especially because Naoya also cannot not be protective of both of them in return. And it's just so... Natural and organic and you can tell that they all care for each other. There is the usual denial talk of course, but there is also teasing, there is mutual support, there are the most beautiful motivational speeches you will ever hear and then... There are a few plot twists I don't want to mention at this point, but let's say that it felt a little disappointing. Don't get me wrong, like I said, this show is incredibly GOOD at giving you plot twists that make you go "OOOOOOOOOH, SO THAT'S WHAT IT WAS, HOLY DUCK". But still...
Long story short: I tend to switch comparing Sae to both Meiko and Sora, because there are two angles you can go with here: The Sora angle makes you go "Oh my God, I wish this was what Taiorato had been back then!!!" or it makes you go "Awww, if they had set up Taichi/Yamato/Meiko like this, it could have been great." Because no matter which angle you pick (even though the latter makes more sense in the long run), their dynamics just feel beautifully fitting for Digimon and that is great.
Either way, Sae, while not being as hands-on (and vibrant) as Yuto and Naoya, is still a wonderful heroine, who realized her own limitations, but still knows that she has to do what she can and takes initiative wherever she can and it's just great. Again, if you go with the Meiko angle, she is the version of Meiko that would have taken action much sooner. This is NOT meant to be Meiko bashing in any way, but Tri's pacing made her go back and forth too much and invalidated a lot of her own choice-making. Sae went through a lot of suffering too and she also had moments when she may have felt disheartened - but her development just felt a lot more clear. She is being inspired by Yuto and in that way, inspires others as well, including Naoya. She grows stronger and gets enabled to make her own decisions - which, again, is also a thing you may associate with both Meiko and Sora, so in the end... It's up to personal preference. (But really, thinking back on it... She was introduced wearing glasses. And then they broke. Which is exactly what happened to Meiko as well...)
As for the other characters - while the focus of the show with THAT many characters is clearly on the three mentioned above, it still does a fabulous job fleshing out other side characters as well. Their back stories are sprinkled in here and there and through the interactions with other characters, you learn so much about how they roll, what their function in the group is and there is also STILL room for minor development scenes for them. I will mainly focus on the ones that have Digimon character comparison potential, but really, all characters are worth checking out.
Shodai Kato, Rena Watabe and Daichi Yonezawa - the almost-Jyou, almost-Mimi and almost-Koushirou of the story.
I'm grouping these three together, because I found this picture hilarious - because while they do interact with each other, they are 100% not an OT3 in the sense that Yuto/Sae/Naoya are. In fact... The show sets these three up in a way that would make you think that Mimi is c*ckblocking Jyou and Koushirou (instead of her being the center of the OT3 as depicted in many fanworks).
Let's start with Rena being our resident Mimi - or not, because while they do have certain character traits in common, the way their values are executed couldn't have been more different. When I first saw Rena, I noticed her dyed hair and immediately thought "Oh, this could be something". She turned out to be somewhat spoilt and one of her first full sentences in the new world was "I WANT TO GO BACK HOME", which literally made me go "Oh, heck yeah, we found our Mimi". So let's start with the things they do share - aside from seeming somewhat spoilt and very keen to take care of her physical appearance, she is sincere to the point that it gets uncomfortable for everyone else. You may want to say that, this is what Mimi could have turned out to be, if she had stayed as Princess Mimi in Adventure's episode 25 of Adventure. Furthermore, she even falsely framed another character simply because she judged him by his appearance - and that is also where things drift apart quite heavily. Rena, similarly to Naoya, doesn't trust people. She has experienced too many disappointments in the real world, people acting maliciously towards her out of jealousy or because they looked down on her - so she actually ends up fancying to stay in the new world without humans, because that may mean that she won't get disappointed again.
... She also has a somewhat ambiguous relationship with "relationships" to be honest - which is something that definitely reminded me of Tri!Mimi. She claims that people naturally fall for her and that she doesn't quite get it, especially because she "doesn't really care for guys" anyway - it's Sae whom she says these words to, actually finally opening up to SOMEONE in the group. And the words that follow are: "Do you think I'm that sexy?" If that isn't A+ Mimi/Meiko (or Mimi/Sora) framing, I don't even know.
It's also another Tri callback, because previously to this scene, Rena asked Sae "So, if you had to choose, who would you go for, Yuto or Naoya?", basically being the first person who canonically acknowledges the triangle going on there...
While she does have moments with other characters too and gradually warms up to a few of them, she continuously clashes with Daichi, whom I will call Yonezawa from now on, a.) because Daichi is way too close to Taichi and b.) because "Yone-chan" is a nickname I will refer back to in a bit...
So yes, the overly honest girl who has a hard time adapting to her surroundings is having issues with our resident game designer-slash-computer nerd... Where have I heard that before? Yonezawa appears to speak whatever comes to his mind, mostly in polite speech, but also in a very quick manner - and sometimes, he may come across as blunt or insensitive because of it. His thought-dumps include several hypotheses as to "where they may be", whether it's a parallel world or them having been reincarnated... For as long as they work, he is seen using his tablet and phone before he switches to pen and paper, always trying his best to be of support. And have I already mentioned the slightly reddish hair?
He also isn't exactly like Koushirou, but as outlined above, does share quite a few of his positive qualities. He is not a fighter and actually fears being seen as an incapable coward and a failure, so he may hide behind funny phrases - even if he may not even be aware of that most of the time. One of his main themes is that he is having a pacifist attitude - with an incredibly kind heart.
You can also tell that he is very prone to get into hyperfocus mode - particularly as soon as he gets to know our resident Jyou a little better, because they do share a few interests with each other, particularly in regards to geek hobbies.
Shodai, or Kato(-chan) as I will refer to him from now on, is our resident Jyou without a doubt - despite the fact that he also inherited some of Koushirou's more common trademark traits. He is a medical student specializing in biology, so he tries to take note of all the plants they encounter in the new world, helping them to find edible materials. He's quite literally the brain of the group - and yet, he also started off catastrophizing at first, displaying a certain sense of self-esteem issues from episode 1 onwards. Through his back story, we also learn that he always had issues getting along with people, that he rather spent his time researching plants and bugs, that he was never able to make friends - and that even his girlfriend (whom we never see), whom he had actually already bought a house with, dumped him eventually. He is very soft and very kind though... So yes - a somewhat blatant Jyoushirou love child, if you ask me.
Due to some unfortunate circumstances, Kato gets seriously injured and the group has to work together to keep him alive - including Yuto having to make vital decisions, Naoya playing cool while still doing what he can, and Yonezawa moving earth and heaven to make sure they get the right medicine through all the notes Kato took... It's one of the most beautiful episodes in the whole series in my opinion, as it shows the development the entire group went through, working together to save a life. In addition, it also shows the beautiful bond between Kato and Yonezawa - a bond that will get only deeper from there. And even though it's more meant as comic relief (stageplay, I can hear you from here!!!), it's still very nice to witness the relationship development of "Yone-chan" and "Kato-chan", taking baths together and having other members of the group say stuff like "They really are close, huh?" (On a different note, you may see both of them as neurodivergent in their own rights and seeing them be friends and still accepted so nicely into the group as organically as that is a very nice touch.)
They're also always seen strategizing together with Yuto (and Naoya too), which makes this quite the interesting research core. Again, there are still other note-worthy characters involved here, but I will only try to outline three more:
Kazuma Eguchi & Koharu Sato - "They have to be Takari, right?"
I'm saying "have to be" and not "are", because... We'd basically have two Takerus in this story then, as Naoya's brother, Tatsuya... Absolutely passes as being Takeru, thus fulfilling all the Takaishida bro criteria quite wonderfully (down to the hair, the hat and green clothes, just saying). However, Kazuma still has a lot of traits that make you think of him as well, so I wanted to shed some light on them:
Kazuma and Koharu are, quite literally, glued to one another by the hip. At first, they keep to themselves and actually feel a bit antagonistic within the group, giving others cold glances or snide comments. It's not until Yuto (and Naoya) tries to talk some sense into them, as they try to go off on their own, revealing that their family lives had not been the best either and that they intended to run away as a couple... From this point on, they try to integrate into the group a little more. Kazuma, while being incredibly protective of Koharu, actually is a bit of a research nut himself and tends to join Kato and Yonezawa during plan crafting a lot quite enthusiastically. Koharu is a little bit more difficult to decipher, as she is very reserved and she and Kazuma even got c*ckblocked by Yuto once which actually made me laugh out loud in context of the characters I compare them to.
Hiroko Tachibana - The most Miyako-esque Miyako you will ever find outside of Digimon.
The final straws that made me think of Kazuma as Takeru was that, that one time Naoya patted his hair and praised him, he got completely puppy-eyed and you could FEEL the brotherly parallel they played here. Especially because they ended up having a heart-to-heart later on as well... Not only that - but it was also revealed that, back in the real world, Kazuma tried to literally smile all his dismay and disapproval of the world away, showing a fake mask to the world around him. Whereas Koharu was the only one who looked through him, so... If that doesn't feel Takari to you, I don't know. He's also terrified of the disapproval of his father, so that indirectly fits as well.
(Sidenote: If you don't want to have two Takerus, you may want to compare Kazuma to Daisuke as well, as the framing is also fitting here.)
Unfortunately, I couldn't find a solo picture for her, so have a group pic of basically everyone I mentioned so far summarized here. She's the one in the beige trench coat, red shirt and glasses - and while I wasn't sure if it was really her at first, there was not a single doubt in my mind anymore by episode 8. We're being introduced to her scrolling on some kind of Tinder equivalent, looking for "men that are into older women"... She usually appears to be quite polite and collected, but she can definitely be opinionated, loud, screamy - and takes charge when she needs to. Plus, she turns out as part of the research group as well, always willing to put her everything into the task - ending up as the only who capable of finding a power source of a factory and getting it back to full functionality once again.
And there is just... Still so much more I could say about this series. So many more characters. Because, again, we haven't even talked about the other Takeru, the potential other Sora equivalent, the research guys in the real world, the OTHER AMAZING MEMBERS of the group, the (Dark) Gennai comparison, all the plot twists, the auroras and glowing stones, the gates to other worlds, the May 1st equivalent to August 1st, the 3-year-gap, the word "chosen" coming up, trying to save the world... It also offers an interesting angle in regards to modern life, the impact of social media and the struggle of human kind, it feels very real in this regard. Of course the main idea of this show is based on common tropes, but the amount of potential Digimon parallels is just too stunning not to notice.
