Tag Archive | Chocolate

(Catch Episode 1 HERE)

Digimon Frontier’s production is something of an oddity to me. Not only did it go all in on the Human-Digimon fusion mechanic at a very basic level of the series’ operation, but it changed the Digidestined formula from one of Predetermination of a few children as the chosen ones toward a new formula wherein all children of Tokyo had the chance to become a Digidestined given their willingness to embrace the text-quest game and enter the trains at the Shibuya Station Underground Terminal (needless to say, NGE’s Shinji would have stayed home).

Another oddity is the series director Yukio Kaizawa. He began work for the Digimon Franchise initially as the head director of Digimon Tamers. On Frontier and later, on Xros Wars, he also was sleighted as head director. However, before his work on Tamer’s, Kaizawa’s career showed little promise. He had been directing anime since 1986, but only on franchise’s that few Westerners would be apt to recognize like Maple Town, Majikaru Taruruto-kun, and Jigoku sensei Nube (Congrats. If you know any of these series you a better weeb than I). How such a director could be hired to helm one of Toei’s most popular and commercially viable series with so little relevant previous expertise is a story that needs to be researched and told (and if anyone reading this post has information regarding this development, and ultimately successful choice by the Digimon franchise, please don’t hesitate to send that information my way).

After Takuya defeated the Ultimate-level Cerberumon (again, in episode 01!) using his H Spirit Evolution form of Agunimon, he returns back to his human form as Takuya. Immediately, he has the response that I imagine all real kids would have after turning into a Digimon and succeeding in one’s first battle: He is in awe and super excited. Takuya toys with his D-Tector in an attempt to revert back to Agunimon, and instead presses a button combination on his device that releases the Fractal Code absorbed after defeating Cerberumon. This code transforms Flame Terminal Island into a peninsula once more attached to the the main adjacent landmass.

During this segment, we learn a bit of backstory about what has happened in the Digital World to make it fragment so. Bokomon, the self-described ‘Keeper of the Book’, explains that the Digital World was once peaceful and in proper order until the arrival of Cherubimon whose demicky disposition somehow triggered the current situation. If the book is this vague about the events in the Digital World’s deep past, then no wonder no Digimon has been able to restore the world to its former glory: You can’t really fix a problem until you diagnose it first.

Although Koji previously left the Shibuya Station Underground Terminal from a different, albeit adjacent, train to that in which Takuya and his crew traveled, he somehow arrives at Flame Terminal nonetheless. Furthermore, instead of being informed by his Trailmon train about the necessity of tracking down a ‘Spirit’ to survive in the Digital World, his D-Tector’s voice gives him this information and even manifests a tracker application to help him find it. While the latter option is pretty helpful, the former feels like a Deus ex Machina of the sort of a bad DM in D&D might introduce to prevent players from straying from the ‘established’ game path, but whatevs.

For some reason, Takuya, Zoe, Bokomon, and Neemon split off from J.P. and Tommy to investigate the Poyomon and Pagumon town on Flame Terminal while the latter traverse the woods, searching all the way for a way to return home. J.P. uses his large number of chocolate bars as barter for information from a Pagumon on how to return home, finds out that the trains ought to be able to do so, and then ventures out to bribe a train to bring them back home using two more chocolate bars. Trailmon has, unfortunately, been advised by the powers that be not to return any children to the Real World and only to serve as a one-way path to the Digital World. As such, Trailmon rides off after eating the chocolate bars, leaving J.P. and Tommy at the mercy of increasingly greedy Pagumon who have heard about the delicious candy on J.P.’s person.

Meanwhile, Koji’s tracker leads him into an Underground Labyrinth of machines wherein his H Spirit of Light supposedly resides. J.P. and Tommy find themselves within the passageways after falling through the ground in the forest whilst running from the Pagumon, and eventually Takuya, Zoe, and the others find this entrance and drop down likewise to save their friends. However, before Takuya and his crew can arrive to help J.P. and Tommy in the maze, the latter are attacked once more by a group of Pagumon and Koji intervenes, fighting off the demonic little In-training Digimon with a metal pole qua staff and his honed martial arts skills.

When Takuya arrives, the Pagumon mob is still not beaten, and what’s worse, one has Digivolved into the Champion-level acid-spitting Raremon whose power is well beyond the ability of an unassisted human being to defeat. Takuya manages to Spirit evolve once more into Agunimon, but not for long as his energy levels have already been used up by his fight against Cerberumon mere hours previously. In the course of the battle, Koji falls into a pit in the center of the room and finds the H Spirit of Light. Using his D-Tector he Spirit evolves into Lobomon for the first time and makes short work of the Champion-level Raremon (as has already been established, he could potentially make short work of an Ultimate if need be).

After Lobomon reverts to his human form as Koji, he reflects his lone wolf status by begrudgingly explaining that his debt to Takuya for momentarily saving him as Agunimon before Koji was able to take over the fight as Lobomon has now been paid by defeating Raremon. Koji splits off from the rest of the group, which won’t be much of a problem for Takuya’s crew as they have two Digimon and one human who can Spirit Evolve (viz. Takuya himself). However, Koji, now alone, will not be able to Spirit evolve until he regains his energy from the previous fight. Hopefully, his stubborn lone wolf nature won”t lead him to a bad end.

Ciao for now,

The Digidestined Cody

[Continued HERE]