Aw cripes missed a day! Welp, time to make up for with with a double ask...
Day 8. Favorite couple?
and
Day 9: Favorite friendship?
Adventure:
My favorite romantic couple would probably be Sorato. I bet you saw that one coming, huh? Their interactions throughout the season are subtle but still... tender, I think is the word. They don’t clash like they do with Tai, but you really get the feeling that they both understand one another on a rather deep level. I really do think their relationship during Season 1 is highly underrated, even among Sorato fans. Just a nice, comfy ship, but also one that’s easy to ignore if you’re not actively pushing for a different Sora couple.
For friendship, I’m trying to avoid bringing up partnerships because those are all pretty cute, but between the humans... I think I’m rather fond of T.K. and Sora’s relationship. She really does look after him quite a bit in the first season. Beyond that, ok, I’ll admit it- the 2020 anime is charming with Tai and Izzy.
And heck with it, I’ll also talk about favorite partnership because that’s not listed. I think my favorite partnership is between Sora and Biyomon. Just a cute mother/daughter relationship.
02:
Favorite ship is easily Kenyako! This is another highly underrated ship. If it’s not hated for “coming out of nowhere” (and/or breaking up teh gay ships), it just tends to be... ignored by the larger fandom. At least, back in the day it was. I feel like more and more people have come around to this ship, and for good reason- it actually DID have some decent development (for an Adventure romance), and Yolei really does click well with Ken. She’s extroverted and excitable like Davis, his best friend, but she’s also very much Ken’s intellectual equal. They’re different but not opposing towards one another.
Favorite friendship is hard, because I actually think pretty much everyone on the 02 gang has great chemistry with one another. I think my main favorite though might be Kari and Yolei. Female friendships in fiction... tend to be pretty shallow, in my opinion, but Kari and Yolei just click in a nice way. While their friendship does hinge a little bit on “we’re the only two human girls on the team so we need to be best friends”, once again it’s a friendship where two people with opposite personalities really work well together. Kari really is this saintly, patient maiden while Yolei is something of a disaster, but they both compliment each other really well and you get the feeling these two really are friends. Plus... .tri and Kizuna both COMPLETELY neglect this friendship and it’s made me mad. I miss it.
Favorite partnership is like I said before, Yolei and Hawkmon (yes I have a bias!). I realize Yolei’s strongest relationships are all with people who could be called her opposites, but what can I say? That’s just how she is. Hawkmon is just such a sweetie towards her, and I can see why.
Tamers:
For my favorite couple, it’s definitely Jurato. It’s just a simple, sickeningly sweet and pure ship between two young kids who go through... well, they go through a lot together, that’s for sure. It’s also one of the most well-developed canon romances in the entire franchise, and everytime somebody says Digimon has never had a canon ship developed properly throughout the series I just want to smack them and remind them that Jurato exists!
Oh, also, Renamon x Impmon is a very close second favorite ship. Just thought I’d mention that.
As for friendships, I find myself at a tie. I find myself really drawn to the friendship between Takato, Kazu and Kenta. Their relationship tends to get overshadowed in comparison to Takato’s relationship with Rika and Henry, for obvious reasons, but what strikes me in my rewatches is just how strong a bond Kazu and Kenta feel towards Takato. It’s easy to forget, but Kazu and Kenta have known Takato longer than Henry or Rika and were already very good friends. The other friendship I really like, though, is between Suzie and Terriermon. I really do like how Terriermon slowly forms a brotherly bond with her, despite her tortures. Really, Digimon/Human friendships that aren’t between partners are criminally underrepresented in this series.
As for partnerships, gosh, this is a hard one. There’s just... they’re all so good here. I have a hard time picking my favorite. I think I might have to give it to Leomon and Jeri, simply because their entire arc together is so darn good and hurts my heart. Not bad for one of the franchise’s oldest meme-mons.
Frontier:
Junzumi!
I will go to the WALL for this ship. It definitely frustrates me that J.P.’s crush on Zoe is so purely played for laughs- “oh lol the fat ugly kid has a crush on the hot chick that’s out of his league, let’s laugh at his failure”- especially when J.P. and Zoe have so much screen time together and their friendship really is one of the most developed in the entire show.
In fact, remember how I was complaining about Takumi? One of the main problems with that ship is that ultimately, Zoe and Takuya have very limited screentime together. I honestly can’t remember too many scenes where Zoe and Takuya are together that actively develop their relationship, at least platonically. They just... don’t have that much interaction with one another. At least direct interaction (they do have ship-tease, though). But J.P. and Zoe have a TON of interaction with one another, both platonically and ship-wise. Like, even if you don’t support these two romantically, there’s no denying they are an incredibly strong partnership. I don’t think Zoe is obligated to return J.P.’s feelings just because he’s been the most involved with her, of course, but just by their characters, and the strength of their interactions... yeah, I really like this pairing.
For friendships, I’m rather fond of Tommy and Takuya’s surrogate brotherhood. I think I have a fondness for these familial relationships.
Savers:
Oddly enough, I think my favorite Savers ship has got to be Agumon x Rhythm. Really wished they did more with her- including design her Digimon form, dangit!
For friendship, this was also a hard one, but I think I like Marcus and Thomas’s rivalry? Their whole relationship was just a classic shonen hero/rival dynamic, which I can enjoy.
For my favorite partnership, I gotta go with Agumon/Marcus. I have my... issues with Marcus and his pawnching abilities (spoiler alert: not a fan of them at ALL), but I really do like his gang-leader relationship with Agumon. It was weirdly endearing.
Xros Wars:
Favorite couple would probably be Beelzemon x Mervamon. Hate Mervamon’s design, but it does amuse me to know that no matter the universe, Beelzemon is a lady-killer.
Friendship wise, eugh, I dunno... Mikey/Jeremy? The interpersonal dynamics in this series were SO horribly under cooked. Which is a shame, because there was real potential there.
Same with “partnerships”, that... technically didn’t exist in Xros Wars? (Also another wasted opportunity) I think my favorite would have to be between Shoutmon and Mikey. Again, because Shoutmon himself is so great. Just wish he had a better partner...
Appmon:
I have not seen enough of Appmon to fully decide, but I guess my favorite ship would be... either Haru/Ai or Eri/Astra. Both good ships.
Favorite friendship? Um... Rei/Anyone on the team, maybe?
And favorite partnership, I think I’ll have to give that one to Eri/Dokamon. I like his devotion to her, and his crush was kind of amusing. Certainly gave a unique spin to the partner dynamic.
