Following on from last week’s review and, of course, our podcast discussion episode, it’s time to watch the 18th episode of Digimon Adventure: (2020)!
Opening thoughts
Are we finally going to meet Devimon this week? Will we get to find out Takeru and Hikari are the 7th and 8th chosen children? Find out on this week’s Digimon. Digital Monsters.
Digimon Adventure 2020 Episode 18 “Countdown to Tokyo’s Annihilation”
Digimon Adventure 2020 Episode 18 Review
Okay, so the episode starts and jumps straight into the opening – so this leads me to question if the Digimon Encyclopedia has been moved or if AnimeLab has just chopped it off. Also, I’m a tad slow, but I just realised after Taichi is falling into Digital nonsense ala Digimon Adventure (1999), the resolution is retro and switched off like an older model TV. Cute touch I only picked up on then.
We get our last time on and I’m going to try and ignore the feelings of pessimism that I have going into this episode after reading so many spoilers on the internet prior to watching.
Hikari’s Mother is looking for her and everyone is watching the countdown. Koshiro mentions that power is returning to their world and wonders what the count down is. Mimi has a bad feeling, and so do I. There’s a big giant purple mess of data in the distance. Koshiro notices that the spark in the distance is also happening in Tokyo. A giant Digimon appears – it’s Orochimon’s head.
A mass of data and energy envelops Orochimon. Hey three and a half minutes into the episode and there’s three and a half minutes less on the clock, so I guess my prediction and hope was right – the countdown timer IS actually a timer as it’s ticking down through the whole episode, even in the episode title earlier we heard it ticking.
Orochimon has appeared to evolved to Nidhogmon and Koshiro is unable to read his data – Nidhogmon can speak and explains that he is a level beyond Ultimate – Mega!
Meanwhile, we see a feather floating near Takeru as we previously saw when we got Omegamon earlier in the season. Takeru appears to be able to see Yamato on the phone display. Two minutes later and the countdown shows two minutes less than before – SO IT’S A REAL TIME CLOCK?
Koshiro suspects that, when the countdown reaches 0, Nidhogmon will release his power and the real Tokyo will be annihilated. Taichi and Yamato basically help carry their Digimon towards Nidhogmon, which makes me annoyed because…why not the whole group.
Hikari is standing in the middle. of what I think is the scramble crossing, as data streams from the dropped phones. The countdown as two minutes left. Agumon and Gabumon are attacking Nidhogmon and then proceed to evolve to Greymon and Garurumon – who are both glowing slightly.
I have no idea why the other kids can’t join in – everyone is equally tired. Nidhogmon attacks Greymon and Garurumon and the feathers float down to Takeru and Hikari again – we see the crests of Hope and Light and once more, Greymon and Garurumon become Omegamon in a fairly cool scene despite how slightly annoying it is that it’s the Taichi and Yamato show again.
One minute remains on the countdown, multiple kids are watching Omegamon on the screen but none of them look like any 02 children which is a completely missed opportunity. Omegamon fights as Koshiro keeps us updated with the countdown. The music is absolutely incredible and the animation quality is pretty great except for random Omegamon standing there for like five seconds after I point out the animation being nice. Thanks.
Omegamon freezes Nidhogmon, but the energy level continues – I think the clock has also slowed down during this battle which is disappointing but I’m pleased it was accurate for the majority of the countdown.
Nidhogmon releases all of the energy at Omegamon, who is able to slice through it – during this time Sora looks like she’s trying to stand and get Piyomon to stand, which is fairly cool because she actually looks like she wants to do something proactive.
Omegamon strikes through the released power with his sword – okay I do like how Sora was just gradually standing up during the fight. Anyway, Omegamon slices Nidhogmon like an onion and the countdown stops at six seconds remaining and power returns to Tokyo.
Hikari is reunited with her Mother and Hikari is just so emotionless and catches her falling feather and says that Taichi is okay because she can tell with her Jesus powers.
Koshiro says that the timer has stopped in Tokyo and then wonders who Omegamon is. Omegamon drops to the ground and breaks fake-Tokyo into a desert. The countdown timer resumes counting down and some weird eye Digimon shows up and decides it’s time for a new separation arc I guess because only Taichi, Yamato, and Omegamon get to stay in the desert.
We then see Devimon, turning around and smiling because that’s all we ever get to see of him apparently. Meanwhile, Omegamon has reverted back to child (not baby, sadly), and Yamato mentions how he felt a weird presence when fake Tokyo disperses – and then of course Devimon decides to appear to Taichi and Yamato as a sand ghost and give them vague exposition and throws sand at the children and decides that that’s enough of an appearance for today. Yamato says that they’ll meet again when they reach their goal and the episode ends – so new arc time I guess.
NOW WE GET THE DIGIMON ENCYCLOPEDIA, it feels much better to go here, honestly. Koshiro says he’ll check what is inside Togemon next time. PLEASE DO NOT. Next time it’s Ikkakumon.
Rating for Digimon Adventure 2020 Episode 18
2.5/5
An okay episode? I liked aspects of it, but it really just came down to being the Taichi and Yamato show…again.
How did they make an end of an arc feel so empty?
I appreciated that the count down was seemingly real time, but that just made the last 30 seconds seem really, really weird.
I mean, I guess Takeru got taken to the Digital World when his hands got all pixelated and now the Ending animation of him being there but separate from the rest of the group can be accurate?
I also appreciate the music (which was incredible) and the animation being not terrible, but I’m sick of the ‘Omegamon shows up and fights while the other kids watch’. Do we get a reason for them not being able to fight? No, get off my back.
I’m a big fan of new Digimon showing up and being menacing but it sure does feel cheapened when Omegamon can show up and just fist through the world-ending attack.
Picking my favourite character in this episode is really hard because we didn’t really see ANY characters do ANYTHING character-y, so I guess, spoilers for the podcast tomorrow morning, I’m going to have to give it to Devimon for appearing just to say, in very vague words “HUMANS ARE SHITE!” before vanishing for probably another ten or so episodes. PLOT!
It was better than Episode 10, but not by much.
So what were your thoughts on Digimon Adventure 2020 Episode 18? Let me know in the comments or in the discussion thread on /r/Digimon!
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