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Digimon Adventure!

by Mina

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First off—*this* *is* *not* *a* *rip-off* *of* *Pokemon*!

Whew! ::sighs:: Okay, now that I got that out of my system, I’ll continue.

I absolutely loathed this series with a passion the first time I watched it. Partly because I was one of those people that considered it a Pokemon rip off. I mean…digimon…pokemon… Who wouldn’t have thought that? And then there were the kids! They were whiny and annoying to listen to…they picked fights over stupid things…they cried and yelled and laughed…

And that’s when I came to a startling realization. This was realistic. If I was eleven (or eight) and at summer camp, and then suddenly I was in an unknown *somewhere* with a talking puffball that said it was my friend and would protect me, wouldn’t *I* be yelling and screaming and crying?

Yeah, I would have. I probably would have done most of the yelling—at everyone and everything—and I probably would have been right in there with Yamato and Taichi fighting. I probably would be gnawing on both of their legs.

Some things in the series seemed unbelievably easy, while others seemed to be too hard. But isn’t that how life is, inconstant? And the characters…well, they began to grow on me the more I watched the series. I finished 01 absolutely in love with Yamato and Taichi (I’m a big sister, and I could really relate to these two.) And when I heard that there was a second series airing over in Japan that continued the story, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.

I must say that 02 quickly outstripped 01 in my eyes. Part of it was because of the improvements—in animation, in storyline, in characterization, everything practically! This series instalment became even more real to me than the first. And by the end of the first episode, I was wondering if Hikari and Takeru had lost their personalities over that three-and-a-half year period between 01 and 02, if Iori *had* a personality outside of stoic, if Miyako were real (and about six to eight years older ::leer::), and whether or not Daisuke was going to survive.

See, I had an inkling of the trouble to come. I knew that people were going to make a comparison from Taichi to Daisuke as soon as I saw him on the soccer field and before Takeru even said anything. My dread increased as the episode went on, and by the end when Taichi gave his goggles to Daisuke…I knew, then, that my fears were going to be more than realized.

Part of it is the American dubbing. Hikari and Takeru came out as being uber-bitches, Miyako came out…well Miyako actually didn’t come out too bad, Iori came out being Iori, and Daisuke came out as arrogant and stupid. As much as I hate to say it, the dub made my dear goggle-boy look like he had nothing but a block of tofu between his ears.

I won’t rant about the differences and dear Daisuke here (that’s what my other Digimon rant is about, after all), but I do want to point out that there were differences.

Ahhh…now we get to the real meat of this rant! ::Mina dissolves into mad cackles.:: Then end of Digimon Adventure 02.

Firstly, that was not an ending. That was something that Toei and the others behind Digimon decided they needed an ending and they used the one at the top of the idea pile. I mean, wasn’t that what everyone wanted? A digimon partner of their own, peace around the world…Sora and Yamato to get married…

ACK!! Now there’s something else that was pulled from someone’s ass. Yamato and Sora, Sora and Yamato. Yeah, I know about the Tegami mini-drama, and I know what happened in episode 38 (the notorious Christmas episode) and the twelve episodes that followed. But I honestly don’t believe it at all. And it’s not just my Yamatai/Taiyama shipping speaking here. Sora and Yamato had a mutual hate/hate relationship throughout most of 01, partially due to the fact that Sora was Taichi’s best friend and Yamato was always fighting with Taichi. If you’re going to force a relationship on me in a series, at least make it believable! I saw absolutely no proof of a Yamato/Sora inclination until that *thing* happened in episode 38.

Not only that, but the newer characterizations of the older characters didn’t support it. We never heard Yamato talking about Sora, or vice-versa. We never saw the two of them together, even when the group was all together. Takeru never mentioned his brother liking Sora, and with as close as those two are, Takeru would have been the first to know.

Then there are all the loose ends that were left by the ending.

Whatever happened to Demon? Why were he and the Demon Corps. after Ken and the Dark Seed in the first place?

Where does the Dark Ocean play into all of this?

What about Quinlongmon? He said that he was one of four guardians. Why didn’t we hear about Zhuqiaomon, Baihumon, and Xuanwumon?

Where does Gennai really play into everything, especially the role that he and his friends had in making the Digivices and in “creating” the partner digimon?

Where exactly do the movies fit in? Wallace is never mentioned in the series. And what about that other Digimental that was used, the Digimental of Dreams? Where the hell did that come from? And since when can Tailmon reach Mega?

I haven’t seen ‘Diablomon Strikes Back’ but I know that there are a couple things that don’t agree with the schmuck ending Toei threw on 02.

Where was Osamu (Ken’s brother) supposed to play into the scheme of things? Was Ken supposed to be a Chosen Child and his brother the Kaiser? Did Osamu’s untimely death ruin things? If so, how?

Ryo! Ryo only has, like, two appearances in the series, but it seems that he plays a significant role of some sort. Why don’t we see more of him? How did he come across Ken and Wormmon the first time Ken visited the Digital World?

At the end, Gennai says that it was the loss of Tailmon’s tail ring that enabled the digimon to Jogress Evolve. How? Why? All we knew prior to this was that the ring increased Tailmon’s power.

How was the Digimental of Miracles powering the Kaiser’s Dark Fortress? I’ve been wondering that for some time now as well.

The sad part is, these are only the ones that I can think of while I type. I know I have about four times as many down on paper somewhere.

Now, there were a couple of other things that really made me mad about the ending. I don’t agree with the Yamato/Sora thing. I can’t see Yamato becoming an astronaut for another. And Sora in fashion design… She but recently was the reigning queen of Tom Boy-dom. What was Mimi doing with a cooking show and back in the cowgirl outfit? And her hair…hell, I liked the bushy blonde hairstyle better! Ken married to Miyako with three kids—that one knocked me for a loop. Again, I saw absolutely no evidence for it outside of Miyako’s crush. And Miyako doesn’t strike me as the type to be a stay-at-home mom. Now, what was up with Daisuke and the noodle cart? Up until that last episode we saw no inclination towards cooking *or* noodles.

::sigh:: Okay, I’ll get off the soapbox now. This series is absolutely wonderful if you ignore certain parts of certain episodes. To find out what *really* happens (or, at least, what happens in the demented world of Digimon Adventure author heads) go out there and find some good Digimon Adventure fanfiction.