otakween
The Otakween
A weeb on a mission.
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 34
A lore dump episode. It wasn't bad, but I had trouble focusing as they blabbed on and on lol. Lots of nice background art at least. A needed break from all the boring gray backgrounds they've been throwing at us.
Notes:
The Venus Rose sky kinda looks like the Northern lights that everyone in the States have been memeing about. Appropriate timing!
It doesn't seem like there's any rhyme or reason whether they digivolve into their human or beast spirit form first. They definitely favor the human form (maybe it's still easier to control?)
Koichi got his own digivolution sequence which, though appreciated, felt kind of weird because they had a split screen for Takuya and Koji and then a 3 way screen for Junpei, Izumi, and Tomoki. They could have just stuck Takuya, Koji, and Koichi together, but I guess the rival characters have to be separate?
Nice to finally meet Ophanimon and hear the same story we heard previously from their point of view. Not sure we needed to hear the whole war story over again, but oh well. It's probably for the kids that missed those episodes lol.
I really like Ophanimon's design/colors. Fascinated by their hair that is brunette/red at the top but blonde at the bottom. Is that even hair? Maybe just part of their helmet? It kinda looked like a mullet in some scenes lol
Lowemon is casually OP, single handedly dealing with the Phantomon. I wonder when Koichi will get to the stage where he feels more comfortable with the group.
MC Escher strikes again! This time in Cherubimon's palace. They sure love doing those kinds of backgrounds in anime.
I was a little surprised they didn't acknowledge Patamon in the scene with Ophanimon, but I guess maybe Ophanimon already knows the situation.
We learn some more about Ophanimon, Seraphimon, and Cherubimon's roles as rulers and the drama that arose from having two human-types out numbering one beast type. That does seem pretty unbalanced, they shoulda gone with an even number lol
So wait, when Cherubimon ~went to the dark side~ was that considered a digivolution? Can you digivolve into a different color palate cuz you're angry? lol
Ophanimon's plan to get the children to the digital world sounded pretty far fetched but I liked the explanation for how the kids were guided to their spirits. The destinations Ophanimon gave them via the digivices make a little more sense.
Izumi being like "I wonder if Cherubimon was in love with Ophanimon" took me by surprise. Like "huh?? That's what you got from the story?" Was that foreshadowing or was that just showing Izumi's romantic side?
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 33
Yaaay, this episode was really good! Lots of character bonding and some added backstory PLUS new spirits. Pretty jam packed now that I think about it.
Koichi's storyline feels a LOT like Ken's (and wait a minute, KAISERLeomon...), but the vibes are different since he's one of the main squad's siblings. Kinda a remix of Ken's plot. Glad they're giving the characters time to transition instead of insta-redemption (not that Koichi really did anything wrong).
Notes:
So Koichi says he's "jealous" of Koji, but I'm not positive why. It could be because Koji has a father and mother figure living with him (most likely). Is it also a financial thing though? Like Koji lives in a nicer house? (I should have paid closer attention lol). We know Koichi's mom is overworking herself so times must be tough.
Koji has a German shepherd! (Or one of those other breeds that looks like a German shepherd). I feel like there haven't been many pets in the digimon franchis (cept for that cat in Adventure). Hey, what's with the German theme? Koichi's new spirits have German names lol. (The writers were just in a mood that day).
New big mystery: how the heck did Koichi get to the digital world? Did Cherubimon just come out of one of the monitors at the train station or something? I'm not sure if this is something that's going to be revealed later or just something we're supposed to ignore lol.
The whole sequence on the train was really good. The awkwardness of Koji and Koichi sitting far apart, the other kids not sure how to handle the situation and walking on egg shells, and Koji being appreciative when Takuya gently approaches him. Very sweet and realistic. I also really liked the mini debate outside the train when Junpei said "If it was me, I would want to be left alone."
I don't think Koichi's spirits really needed to change to show that he's fighting on the good side now, but oh well. Lowemon is kinda boring but KaiserLeomon is straight up gorgeous. He's got that Umbreon color palette. Very regal. It's also just neat that Koji's line is wolf based and Koichi's is lion based. Nice contrast.
From the side, Cherubimon kinda looks kangaroo shaped lol. I like his design because it's so...unorthodox. He sorta has a creepy jester vibe, but his body sorta looks like that of a mascot character or something? Like things that shouldn't be creepy/intimidating. He's got the same great, deep voice in both sub and dub.
Koji protecting his brother during the fight and calling him nii-san 馃槶鉂わ笍
Trailmon just getting yeeted into oblivion was pretty hilarious ngl. I guess they just walkin now.
Seeing Koichi's digivolution sequence for the first time was hype. Hope we get to see it in full a few more times. (Will Koichi be getting a double spirit evolution? Maybe he'll combine with Koji?)
When Koichi defeated Cherubimon and Junpei was like "this isn't right" I half expected him to end his sentence with "it's only episode 33!" lol
Wonder why the American DVD has Duskmon next to Koichi as the disc image instead of Lowemon?
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Won't spoil anything specific for you regarding the Koji stuff, but remember that Japanese custody law does NOT work like it probably does where you live 馃槗 Siblings being split up is a recurring thing in Japanese media simply bc that's literally how it works in real life. Yamato and Takeru still getting to see each other at least once a year over summer vacation in Adventure was actually highly unusual, and shows their parents were actually making a personal effort to make sure their sons could still see one another. It seems bare-bones from a western perspective, but by Japanese standards Hiroaki and Natsuko were going above and beyond for Yamato and Takeru 馃槗
Okay, I've desperately tried to find out if this is true or not and all I've found is that until very recently, shared custody was not a thing in Japan. In other words, the children would go to one parent or the other and lose access to the other parent. I have not seen anything about children being split up with one child going to each parent.
If someone is actually from Japan and wants to chime in or just has a source I can look at, I would be grateful (not that this is that important lol).
TV Tropes claims that this kinda setup is usually a fictional trope for drama, but that site can be edited by literally anyone so yeah...: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SolomonDivorce
Edit: Okay, Quora comes in to help me out. Apparently, there are cases where siblings can be separated, but it's not encouraged and only possible if certain conditions are met.
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One Pound Gospel - Volume 1
Yay, new series! (This one was next on MAL after 0 Man). Happy to be reading something by another icon (Rumiko Takahashi). I've never heard anyone talk about this one at all, so I don't know what general opinions are nor do I know anything about the plot. Let's go!
Ch. 1
So we got a boxer in love with a nun...I saw a commenter comparing this premise to Nacho Libre and now I can't unsee it.
(I might need to include a rewatch of that movie, for the meme).
Anyways, our leads are Kosaku and Sister Angela. Kosaku seems like a head empty jock who thinks with his heart and stomach. Sister Angela seems like she can whip him into shape (emotionally lol).
Despite having watched most of Ranma 1/2, I don't think I've ever read a Rumiko Takahashi manga? Craziness! This isn't her first work but it's one of the earlier ones from the 1980s, so I'm expecting some newbie scuff (or maybe she was just a legend from the start?)
Christianity in anime/manga isn't that uncommon, but to have it be one of the main focuses is intriguing. I wonder if we'll find out how Kosaku and Angela came to the religion as Japanese people?
I don't care about boxing at all IRL, but I don't mind reading about it and learning the lingo. Maybe I'll gain an appreciation I didn't have before lol.
Didn't like Kosaku forcing a kiss on Angela (her being a nun makes it extra scuzzy). Oh the 80s...
Ch. 2
See? I'm already learning stuff. Apparently boxers aren't supposed to drink water during a fight (just rinse) and they're not supposed to have sex prior to the fight (I already knew about that one, but this reminded me). That second one's more of a superstition though.
I wasn't sure if Sister Angela wearing her habit all the time was realistic, but I googled it and apparently in some cases that is enforced. Also, I've seen nuns in public wearing habits, so I guess it's legit.
Sister Angela getting plastered was kind of funny but her breaking her wine bottle was a bit extreme. She's kinda unhinged in general, she shows up at Kosaku's match and tells him she'll never forgive him if he loses? (Seems toxic but okay)
The strategies Kosaku's coach has him using to make weight are kinda fucked up (borderline disordered). Starving himself, laxatives and sweating the weight off. I'm sure that happens plenty IRL though. Pretty sad that athletes feel the need to put their bodies through that.
Ch. 3
People in Japan...they can't actually down like 5 bowls of ramen right, that's just an anime thing? I eat one bowl and I need to lie down lol.
I look forward to seeing the food in the adaptations of the manga. Particularly in the live action.
The crucifix falling over when Angela prays for Kosaku was a funny gag.
At this point in the story the focus is definitely more on Kosaku's boxing career than on romance. I wonder if it will kind of go back and forth between the two or if the romance will always just be on the sidelines?
Ch. 4
I can't tell if Kosaku has a food addiction or if they're literally starving him. They never show him eating healthy/low calorie food that's approved by his coach so it kind of feels like he's just not allowed to eat at all. Anyone would obsessively seek out food if that's the case! He did mention "diet" earlier, so I'll hope it's not...
If I was let loose in Tokyo I'd struggle with food temptation too lol. So much street food... (Wait, is this set in Tokyo?)
Ch. 5
Kosaku stumbles into a win after throwing up in the ring again. Apparently you're allowed to win by yeeting your opponent outside the ring? Seems wrong, but what do I know
All this starvation-binge stuff is making me a little nauseous. There's gotta be a better way!
Ch. 6
You know how straight dudes in the 1980s dressed in a way that seems gay-coded by today's standards? That's kinda what Kosaku's giving. He's really cute. (Not much of a personality tho)
Takahashi sure likes her repetitive gags doesn't she? A lot of "comedy" anime do this and it's frankly kind of frustrating. I'm not gonna laugh when you do the same joke for the millionth time...
They seriously just should have put him in a heavier weight class sooner, but it feels like I'm missing something here. Why does it matter which weight class you're in and why are some more sought after than others? -shrug-
I also don't get the "4 rounds" vs. "6 rounds" thing. Is it like baseball vs. softball or something? At least Sister Angela is just as clueless as me!
Ch. 7
Okay so apparently you pick your weight class based on your bone structure, I get it I don't really get it
Ch. 8
Okay, I immediately hate Onimaru for begging his pregnant wife to have a son and not a daughter 馃槖 I hope Kosaku kicks his ass
It almost seems like a conflict of interest to have your friend do your confession, no?
This series is reminding me of Spy x Family. Like you know how in that show Yor's plotline is mostly sidelined compared to Loid's? That's kinda how the Kosaku/Angela balance feels here.
Ch. 9
I really don't know anything about boxing, so I don't know what makes a good or bad fight, but this one seemed really pathetic lol. I'm glad at least Onimaru wasn't a sore loser, he probably needed to be humbled anyways.
The manga seems to be implying that Kosaku is fat which...huh? He doesn't look fat at all? Sure, he eats like a fat person but...I think 1980s "fat" meant something different lol.
IDK why Angela is so set on Kosaku being in the lower weight class. I guess it's good to be disciplined, so she sees that as the morally right thing to do?
So so far this seems like a very low stakes manga. It's leaning more towards the sports genre than the romcom, which isn't really what I expected. Well, after 0-Man I could definitely use an easy-breezy read like this. Onto the next volume!
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 32
What the fuuuuuck..? What is wrong with Koji's dad? Is he just an abusive sociopath or something?? This is like a crazy Reddit story lol.
So we didn't get all the details, but I guess Koji's been gaslit by his dad for awhile now. He's believed his mom was dead (not true) and he's completely unaware he had a twin brother somehow. The only possible explanation I can think of is amnesia. We'll see...
Notes:
There were a little too many flashbacks in this episode, hence my lack of interesting screenshots. Typical early 2000s shounen -sigh-
What is this franchise's obsession with brothers being split up in a divorce? Okay, so it's only happened twice. But it's such a weird dynamic that it feels weird they're doing it again! (Although way more effed up this time)
So my prediction is that Koji got in some kind of accident and when he woke up his dad was like "your mom's dead and you're an only child" and that became Koji's new reality. If true, what the fuck. If it's not that, I'm interested to see where else they could go with this.
Does Koji's step mom know everything? Is that why she dropped the dishes dramatically?
This wouldn't be the first time we've seen abusive parents in this franchise (Juri's were messed up too). Not very common for a kids show, but I guess it's important to show that everyone comes from different circumstances.
The moments with Takuya bein a bro and giving Koji a pep talk were nice. Sure it's the generic Digimon rivals relationship, but I'll take the character moments I can get.
The scenes with Junpei, Izumi, and Tomoki were pretty pointless lol. We don't always need to know what everyone's doing (especially it they're just waiting around).
When digimon warriors get their code scanned they "die" (if you take all of their spirits) but when human warriors get their code scanned they just go back to being human. Kinda confusing but oh well.
The story is heating up which is good, but I'm hoping for better visuals, please! My eyes are so bored.
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 31
I like these quirky side episodes. No big battles, just shenanigans. I was grateful that they introduced a lil bit of new info at the end to take it out of filler territory. Also, it was kinda nice to have an episode without Takuya, Koji and the supporting digimon. Nice to give this trio some time to shine.
Notes:
Koji meeting Patamon and thanking him for the Beowolfmon evolution was cute. So far Patamon's personality is just "polite and well behaved" which is cute, but not particularly interesting. (Just like the other digimon in this show lol)
The art style shift when Junpei was talking about horror movies caught me off guard. I wish they'd do stuff like that more often
The Trailmon graveyard concept was neat but then Angler Trailmon was rejuvenated instead of dying? What does it mean...Also, it was kinda unclear if he knew that was going to happen or not. (Btw, I googled it and apparently elephant graveyards are more of a legend than a reality).
Angler Trailmon was mildly annoying in Japanese and extremely annoying in the dub (they gave him a heavy German accent for some reason). When the kids were crying over him I was rolling my eyes. They got way too emotionally invested in this old dude they just met.
I get that it's to show his age but that mustache they gave Trailmon is nasty (hair on metal in general is...no)
Tiny part of the episode, but I thought the way they used all 3 of the kids' powers to create an ice bowl to bring water to Trailmon was really clever. Always cool to see their powers used for practical things rather than fighting (it might be cool if there was a whole season like that, like digimon powers being used for jobs or hobbies instead of battles)
I feel like they went a little far when they just decided to beat Trailmon up (or maybe just threaten to beat him up) at the end there. It was funny tho. The fact that they all jumped to their strongest forms was the icing on the cake.
So they find out that Ophanimon is imprisoned at the Rose Morning Star which I kinda feel like I already knew based on context clues. Oh well, it's good to know why I should care about this next place their going. Guessing will switch back to Takuya and Koji first though. Maybe by the time they head to Rose Morning Star Koichi will be in the party
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 30
Damn, another episode where basically nothing happens. They acted like this was some big reveal, but it was pretty obvious that Koichi was Koji's brother (the only other option is clone lol). I'm waiting for the "why" not the "what!" Also, I'm sick of seeing that damn "running around the train station" animation over and over again >:/ We get it, Koichi saw Koji on the train.
Notes:
Another uber dark episode. Some scenes had a grey filter over them (smoke or fog I guess) and there was a lot of limited animation. One of those episodes that makes you question the show's budget lol.
Having the rest of the gang digivolve just to attack a fence felt like a lame excuse to digivolve. Especially since it didn't even work lol
So Koichi is aware of Koji because his grandma told him about him on her sickbed (deathbed?) Also, Koichi has a dad lol. Was it the same dad as the one in the other episode or a different dad? I guess it would have to be the same if they're twins. (Wait...are they even twins?)
Velgemon kinda uggo, I don't like his color scheme. It is kinda nice to have a bird digimon in the show though. Mixing it up. His name comes from Norse mythology.
Koichi is like the Ken of this season with all the brainwashing and exploitation going on. He seems like he'll be the gentle-type too.
Omg, they dubbed Koichi's insert song. That's kinda based. Dub version was very manly lol
Wait what kinda weirdo names their sons Koichi and Koji? Those sound way too similar! Kinda like naming your sons Tom and Tim or something lol
Cherubimon and Ophanimon are just directly contributing to battles now apparently. Makes me question why they don't just do that all the time. (I'm sure there's some "oh, they're not at full power" excuse)
Patamon has super locatin' powers or something. I guess since he's a Seraphimon Patamon he's like Patamon+ haha
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 29
A very blah episode visually. There have been a few episodes of Frontier that suffer from being too dark and desaturated. I get that that was sort of the point of this one, so it gets a pass.
I'm starting to suspect they designed Sephirothmon like that because he's really easy to draw (just a buncha circles).
Notes:
I didn't realize that when they defeated Mercuremon they didn't defeat Sephirothmon. Guess it's kinda hard to defeat someone when you're inside them.
They totally ruined Sephirothmon's design with those giant, red lips. Now he just looks stupid. Also, his evil laugh was really annoying in this episode. He's dead to me (on top of being actually dead lol).
It's kinda like...did anything even happen in this episode? It was just one big battle I suppose. The gang experimented with combined attacks and then had flashbacks about being afraid of the dark. Takuya realizing Sephirothmon's weak point was very Zelda boss battle lol.
Wonder how long we'll have to wait for the rest of the gang to get a double evolution? Considering the first two were lackluster, I guess I don't really care lol
Although I'm mad they gave Sephirothmon candy lips, he was effectively nightmare fuely when he was wiggling after them in a tunnel. No thank you...
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 28
American title card this time because the fansub one was badly cropped. Although this was basically a repeat of the Koji/Duskmon fight in some ways, it still had a lot of interesting moments and visuals (thanks to Mercuremon's theatrics). Plus we get the satisfaction of the ending of an arc with the defeat of the final bad guy warrior (Duskmon no longer counts) and the birth of Patamon. Let's goooo!
Notes:
I was grateful for Takuya asking "how can Mercuremon and Sephirothmon exist at the same time??" Finally someone acknowledges the weirdness of the digimon inside him! Of course Mercuremon is like "that's my secret ;')"
Mercuremon has theater kid energy, especially in the dub. He had a whole set design for his battle complete with special effects.
Lol at the Christian symbolism. Typical anime. This isn't the first time I've seen a crucified digimon btw (one of the games did that too).
Finally we see a digimon actually do something with the code they scanned! Mercuremon is able to use Seraphimon's data to digivolve into BlackSeraphimon. It's cool that BlackSeraphimon combines bits of Mercuremon and Seraphimon's designs. I would have liked to have seen more fusion-like designs like that. I looked up BlackSeraphimon and he does look different in other franchise entries. Apparently I fought him in DW3 and forgot about it lol.
A little silly how after Takuya does his double spirit evolution he's just suddenly impervious to damage and basically all powerful. Ya know, until the next time he uses this digivolution and probably can take damage.
When Takuya's goggles break I was like "oh snap, not the goggles!" but of course they're fixed moments later through...fire magic? Sure...
Aldamon is just as underwhelming as Beowolfmon was. I feel like he has the exact same face as Agnimon and the fact that this show is doing close ups most of the time makes it feel like he barely changed at all. (At least he's got a cool Hindu name)
The final blow against Mercuremon was pretty badass and violent, with Aldamon shattering the mirror on his torso. Very satisfying.
It kinda feels like the kids have forgotten all about Koji? Takuya doesn't question the fact that he's missing and they're all joking around about Bokomon giving birth at the end. Lol, poor Koji
In the Japanese episode, Bokomon calls Patamon his "son-daughter?" IDK why tho. I know in Tamers that digimon were genderless but in this series they've called digimon "female" before, so that's not the case. Maybe only some digimon are genderless (the less humanoid ones) or maybe he just said that because he doesn't know Patamon's gender? Either way he can just say child lol
Patamon inheriting Bokomon's haramaki is silly and cute
I get to experience the excitement of having no idea what's going to happen next! I guess they'll probably go looking for Koji so I guess it's time to figure out who Koichi is?
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 27
This episode was juicy! Koji's backstory unlocked (partially anyways), Seraphimon does something, and Duskmon's identity revealed (kinda!) I will say, I had to close my eyes during the new ending theme because there were so many spoilers in it! Why tf does Digimon always do that? >:( I've seen other anime put stuff in silhouette until it's revealed in the show, so they could at least do that.
Notes:
Everything with Koji and Duskmon was so exciting. I love when the grumpy/dark character gets caught off guard. I feel like we saw a lot of rare Koji emotions in this one.
It was kind of funny how Koji just spent the whole episode confused. Most of his dialogue was just "what's happening?" or "what's going on!?" Same, buddy.
Takuya and Izumi realizing that their digivices are also walky talkies was also funny. Either you can just will the digivice to do things or its always done that and they never found that feature. I think the latter is funnier.
"You have to defeat all 10 areas to escape" Yeah unless your name is Izumi, Junpei or Tomoki apparently.
Out of pocket adults in this episode! First the flower lady rudely asks Koji why his parents have only been married 3 years (wtf) and then his dad is like "you STILL have a picture of your dead mom?" (double wtf). Even though Koji seems to think his dad's in the right, I think what he said was fucked up. You shouldn't try to force your child to call their step parent "mom" if they don't feel comfortable doing so and you shouldn't deny their grief and connection with their deceased parent! I know plenty of people who call their step parents by their first names and still have a healthy relationship. In the dub they soften this a lot by implying that Koji was mean to his step mom: "Can't you at least be nice for her for me?" instead of "I want you to call her Mom."
Lol @ Takuya and Panjyamon's manly Dragonball Z battle where they just kinda stare dramatically at each other for awhile.
Beowolfmon is a fantastic name, BUT the concept pisses me off. Koji's human spirit is already a human combined with a beast so this is nothing new! I kinda miss it when digivolutions were more random and varied (even though I thought that was weird at first lol).
So it's revealed that Duskmon was actually Koichi all along (some of y'all spoiled his name for me 馃槕). However, I still don't really know who Koichi is. Koji doesn't seem to know who he was and he wasn't in the flashback scenes at all, so...separated at birth? We'll see!
The comedic pause when Neemon asks Bokomon how he knew that Beowolfmon was called that was great.
So apparently Sephirothmon was Mercuremon's digivolution. But wait...wha? It doesn't look like a human or beast spirit so...? I think they said something like "iron spirit" (too lazy to go back haha) Feels very "making shit up as we go along" but okay.
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0-Man - Volume 4 (Final volume!)
Woooo this was a wild ride. Kind of a repetitive, hard to read ride, but wild nonetheless. This was probably a bizarre choice for my first Tezuka manga, but it was first alphabetically so that's just the way the cookie crumbles! Overall it was a fun concept, the art was great and I love Ricky a lot. He's adorable and I want a plushie. Just look at this awesome animation of him I found on YouTube!
youtube
Ch. 36
So now Liz is just buddy buddy with her dad again because "he's my only father!" Filial piety has its limits lady!
There was a weird bit of exposition this chapter that appeared to be Tezuka speaking directly to the reader. Like there was just a random paragraph thrown in between panels. That's one way to do things I suppose.
The 0 Man origin story was like a mix of the Bible story with Adam and Eve and the story of the first pilgrims that came to America lol. I wonder how much time has passed since the first Venus residents traveled to Earth?
There's a new human character named Charcoal Black...gratefully he's not Black lol
Ch. 37
Ah, I was fooled. Ricky did not crash land on Mars, it was Japan all along! Dun dun dunnn...Apparently most of Earth is just a big ball of rocks at the moment, no countries, towns or roads. It's kinda giving Dr. Stone vibes. They gotta start again from scratch!
Ricky goes all "shaggy dog" in this chapter when...absurdly...a sheepdog provides him with a dog suit so he can disguise himself around humans who want him dead. Sure, why not? Seeing the dog emote was really cute, I wouldn't mind reading a Tezuka manga with dogs as the main characters.
The current bad guy's plan is to use the ice machine left behind by the 0 men to rule the world. The 0 man universe sure has a lot of megalomaniacs in it.
Ch. 38
Pete just immediately accepting that talking dogs are real was cute
Once again the spears are OP as heck.
Did Pete really fly from America to Japan in like 2 seconds? Man, why do SciFi people get all the fun? 馃槶
This chapter was really short, but essentially Pete found out about the evil dude's plan to take over the world and came to Japan to reunite with Ricky and meet Tanigawa (the other human dude that I mentioned).
Ch. 39
Charcoal Grey returns and we find out he was helping the grand priest hide. I swear this series has had like 15 random, generic villain dudes. I haven't cared about a single one of them lol
It was nice having some happy, peaceful panels at the end. Very "Disney movie-esque." I didn't even really realize how little plant life there's been in the past volumes until Ricky got so excited to see grass. Wholesome but sad.
Ch. 40
Liz fights with her dad and eventually blows up the ice machine when he threatens to use it again. (She continued to be quite badass in this chapter, we stan).
I enjoyed the little detail that the climate change has stimulated some new plant species to evolve. I doubt things would happen that quickly, but it's still a fun concept.
Ch. 41
I guess it's all happy fun times from here on? Let's see what happens in the final 4 chapters...This one was short and cute. Ricky and his 0 man friend/adopted brother (never figured his name out lol) become peace ambassadors and bring messages from humanity to 0-man country
This is it's 2nd appearance but I like the "spicalia" tool that the 0-men use. I takes words as input and outputs images. I hate to say it...but we've sort of reached that future with the advent of AI image generators. (Too bad they suck).
Ch. 42
Lol I knew the happy fun times were too good to be true. We immediately get too more deaths in this chapter (Professor Royal and Crazy Cats...yeah, that's a character's name). If this wasn't a kids manga, Ricky would be a basket case riddled with PTSD by this point with all the shit he's been through!
I can't believe the frickin' high priest and Liz survived. Did that bomb actually do anything at all? Ugh, I hate pointless fake outs like that. Okay, let's see how they actually defeat him for real for real this time...
Ch. 43
To be honest, every chapter is starting to feel the same at this point. "Ah, we're finally safe...just kidding we're under attack!!!"
For some reason they thought it would be a good idea to introduce a random side character 3 chapters from the end of this series. He's the stereotypical dumb fat guy character who just eats a lot. Speaking of offensive stereotypes...
This was like the racism chapter. First we have Tezuka's racist stereotypes of Black, Chinese, Inuit ("Eskimo") which I suppose is "well intentioned" by 1960s standards (but come on, he basically had the Black person and the Inuit say "Oonga boonga" gibberish) and then we have racism between bad guys. One of them calls Japan a backwards country and basically says that "yellow" people are inferior. It just felt ironic to have Tezuka's racism (portrayed as inspirational) and then his character's racism (portrayed as bad) back to back, the irony!
Damn, will all these villains just die already!?
Ch. 44
Lol well egg on my face, that guy that was "introduced" last chapter was actually a character (Donpei) from like volume 1, chapter 1 that I completely forgot existed. To be fair, he hasn't been relevant in a very long time. I don't think I even acknowledged him in my old posts and I tend to not remember stuff I don't write down. (Blogging is great for improving memory, kids!)
And the final battle ends...by the bad guys just disappearing?? Unfortunately the explanation was too kanji heavy for me to grasp, but my headcanon is that the laser that Charcoal Grey was trying to use caused some kind of quantum event and he got sucked into another universe (I have been playing a lot of Steins;Gate though...) Either that or it was just a total bullshit, Deus ex machina moment ending lol.
Ricky comforting Liz when her dad died was super sweet. Low key wanna see them grow old together.
Ch. 45
LMAOOO they really just said "eff dis shit" and moved to Venus LOL. So much for "ally to humanity!" Even Ricky was like "nah...humans suck." Based ending.
No but for real, the ending for this was so dark and cynical. They literally said "we're going to bide our time on Venus until humanity inevitably offs itself out of stupidity, then we'll come back to Earth." Sheesh.
So I'm not sure what the deeper meaning behind this ending is other than "violence and greed = bad." The message about "the weak and kindhearted will always eventually overcome the strong and terrible" seemed like a metaphor for something specific (like an IRL war) but no other English speaker in existence has read this (I'm being hyperbolic) so I have no one to analyze it for me lol.
I kind of wonder if the 0-Man will even be welcome on Venus. They've been away for so long that the squirrel people on Venus are basically a different species. I wonder if they would actually come across as colonizers? That might make an interesting sequel manga...
(Love his expression in this panel. RICKY DOESN'T GIVE A SHIT ANYMORE.)
Pete reading the goodbye letter from Ricky's mom was so touching 馃槶. She's like "I consider you my son and I love you" and he calls her mom in his mind. Poor Pete got the short end of the stick with this ending honestly, being stuck on Earth.
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 26
Okay, I actually liked this one. They focused more on Izumi's strength and kindness rather than her external beauty. The color palette was bright and happy in this one compared to the boys' episodes and they paid homage to Snow White, I appreciate a little girliness in the rough.
Notes:
I like how they're using Ranamon's fan clubs to introduce new digimon. The Honeybeemon were really cute (even though they were simps lol).
When I was in middle school I actually did have a girl tell me she didn't talk to me cuz it would hurt her reputation, so Izumi's struggles with catty girls is pretty realistic. It's kinda funny because I feel like in other anime the foreign student is uber popular lol.
So...why was Ranamon inside of Sephirothmon exactly? I kinda thought the other digimon people were fighting were just illusions, but Ranamon was definitely real.
The scenes with Junpei, Takuya, and Koji were pretty random and unnecessary. Just mini filler fights for extra padding. Cool to see Parrotmon again tho. Also, not fair that Tomoki and Izumi got our after one fight but the others have to go through several battles for some reason?
I was surprised to see Ranamon defeated! For some reason I didn't see a big defeat coming in this kind of episode. Is this Izumi's first real win? (Even though she won Ranamon/Calmaramon's attacks looked way stronger, especially that one drill attack 馃槼)
Funny how Izumi just...willed herself better from the effects of the poison apple? I mean, it was kinda badass, but should she really be able to overpower drugs/magic so easily?
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Y'all I'd just like to point out that when I first saw this I didn't realize that Terriermon was pretending to be a plushie, I just thought he was a lil weirdo 馃槶馃槀
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So Volcamon is actually based on Volcano Ota, a man who has worked on Digimon, the franchise, in various ways since the beginning and even voices Volcamon in most of his appearances I believe. He still works as a VA and makes appearances at Digimon stuff to this day.
Awe, that's actually kinda wholesome! Sorry I don't care for your digisona's design, Ota-san 馃槶
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Digimon Frontier - Episode 25
Okay, now that I have a better grasp on what's happening, I was able to enjoy this one more than the last. Also, the digimon designs were a lot better this time and visuals are half the battle.
On a personal note, I had a rough day at work (coworker troubles) so seeing Tomoki's struggle with his brother being mean to him was kinda comforting in a way.
So, we learn that the giant eyeball thing is called Sephirothmon and everyone is inside of him experiencing his illusions. I really love the idea of one of the warriors being this massive, eldritch abomination. Can he communicate without sucking people in tho? Does he ever talk to the other bad guy warriors? I want to raise him in a video game lol
Aside from the other, obvious Sephiroth, I tried googling what that name means and apparently it's a term (sefirot) from Kabbalah, which I know absolutely nothing about. The wiki article kinda just hurt my brain and I gave up. I see where the visual inspo came from though.
We get to meet Tomoki's family which is always nice. His brother's kinda a hater but Tomoki comes to the revelation that he means well (I still think he's kinda an asshole lol). In the dub Tomoki says he's acting "pooey" which made me laugh.
Junpei gets his own episode but Tomoki and Koji have to share? That's kind of disappointing. I guess it's kind of interesting how their inner conflicts were juxtaposed though (Tomoki relies on people too heavily but Koji doesn't rely on others enough).
I guess Koji has mommy issues now? And Sephirothmon figured this out cuz he can read minds or something...?
Asuramon and Karatenmon have really cool designs, no notes. I guess I can add them to my mental "digimon based on mythology" chart
Asuramon tricking Tomoki felt extra unsettling because of Tomoki's age/naivety. I was really proud of Tomoki for staying strong. So far everyone's been pretty good at not falling for the BS. Respect.
There were some kind of Van Gogh-esque backgrounds in this episode that were really nice to look at.
Blizzarmon taunting Asuramon with a butt smack was amazing. (Also, is he supposed to be a yeti? I didn't realize before...)
In the preview, Izumi's inner struggle is that...she's ugly? Gimme a break 馃槕
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