I love 02 because of how much nostalgia I have for it – it’s the first season I watched in its entirety as it aired instead of just catching the last ten episodes and then catching up with reruns like I did with the first season – and I absolutely love the D3 (my first Digivice toy was Yolei’s D3).
However, as an adult I’ve found that the writing is not as great as it could be and a lot and I feel the majority of each episode could be cut out as it’s stock footage (evolutions, attacks, and ‘let’s go to the Digital World’ animation).
I have a lot of feelings about 02.
Best
Episode 43 – “Invasion of the Daemon Corps” (“Onslaught of the Daemon Army”)
Easiest decision ever as this is the only episode I will ever say is truly good from Digimon Adventure 02.
This episode, which is fairly late on in the season, is the point where we realise that the new kids have never actually killed Digimon before – the black tower Digimon aren’t ‘real Digimon’ and prior to that they were just liberating innocent Digimon from bad accessory choices – compared to in the first season where the children were constantly killing Digimon because the alternative was less attractive.
The new kids are now faced against Digimon who are actually evil and not under the control of anything and don’t appear to be the type to be talked out of it. Miyako, Iori, and Daisuke seem very, very opposed to actually killing anything or seeing anybody die causing Hikari and Taichi to talk in the shadows: “We have to tell them it’s okay to kill them like we always did back in the old days.”
Takeru, being one of the chosen from the first season and has dealt with more death and trauma (remember the time he was held at gunpoint or how his best friend died in front of him?) than an eight year old should have, explains to the kind-hearted and gentle Iori that they have to kill Digimon if it’s a situation of life or death. Iori more or less understands
Meanwhile, Hikari has to explain to the emotional Miyako about killing Digimon and she is less understanding than Iori until Silphymon murders LadyDevimon right in front of her because she was about to murder Miyako for hitting her in the back of a head with a skateboard (sick move, by the way).
Not only are the themes of this episode deep and meaningful, the episode is absolutely beautifully animated – the shadows when Hikari and Taichi have their heart-to-heart makes the scene seem even darker and more important.
It’s just an all-round good episode that points out how ‘safe’ the 02 kids are compared to the Adventure kids – able to return home at any time, not having to actually kill Digimon, seemingly less danger, nobody is really trying to kill them. It’s a point that is brought up a few times in the season how the new kids see the Digital World as a holiday fun time and not as a terrifying other world with monsters.
It’s the latter.
Dullest
Episode 15 – “Big Trouble in Little Edo” (“Shurimon’s Martial Arts”)
I don’t know why, but in my mind this episode is part of the episode where Miyako goes to Kyoto. I guess because of the setting.
Anyway, this episode gets my dullest vote for the season because it’s weirdly animated – so much so the dub even points it out with having Davis point out “why are they just standing their, surrounding us, and not attacking?” – and I feel like nothing really happens. It’s just..so dull?
A close second is Episode 36 “Stone Soup” (“The Steel Angel – Shakkoumon”) as it is basically twenty minutes of evolutions.
Worst
Episode 22 – “Davis Cries Wolfmon” (“The Courageous Evolution! XV-mon”)
Remember that episode in Adventure where Taichi abused, mistreated, and lied to Agumon to get him to evolve because he felt like the only one who could save the Digital World and his friends? Remember how his motive was justifiable but he still made a mistake and Agumon dark evolved?
Well it all would have been fine if his motive was ‘impress the girl I like despite their being no actual threats at the moment’! This is what episode 22 of Digimon Adventure 02 teaches us, anyway.
So the Digimon Kaiser has just been defeated and the Digital World is at peace for a few episodes, so the children go to the Digital World to help rebuild villages.
However, Daisuke remembers he’s obsessed with Hikari and comes to the conclusion that Hikari will love him if Vmon evolves to his adult form. Vmon also has a crush on Tailmon now for some reason too.
Daisuke spends the episode either putting himself and Vmon in actually deadly situations and lying to him in order to get him to evolve.
Which, of course, after nearly dying several times, works!
Does he get a dark evolution and nearly kill everybody? Of course not! It works out perfectly. Hikari is still not interested in Daisuke, thankfully.
This episode has funny bits where Daisuke is being chased by Tortamon and everyone is working – did I mention that? Everybody else is helping rebuild and Daisuke is abusing his Digimon? Yeah, that’s a thing.
The episode forgets that we learnt in Digimon Adventure ‘Hey your Digimon can evolve incorrectly if you’re a piece of shit so how about be nice?’ and instead teaches us ‘Hey if you’re thisty you’ll get your baby lizard evolve into a buff lizard!’
It’s annoying and should have ended in a dark evolution (or at least, became dangerous in some way) like we have in every other season (except Appmon but Haru is perfect and I’ll die for him and Xros Wars but Taiki just kinda falls asleep when he has his bad times).
Taichi ‘I wanted to save everyone because I felt I was the only one who could’ Yagami
Takato ‘One of my friend’s Digimon got murdered and I wanted revenge’ Matsuda
Takuya ‘I couldn’t control my new evolution yet’ Kanbara
Masaru ‘I thought my friend had switched sides and got mad and then my Digimon died’ Daimon
and
Daisuke ‘I was thirsty but everything worked out ok’ Motomiya
Great.
Anyway, that’s the best, dullest, and worst episodes for Digimon’s second seasons.
How do you feel?
I’m going to go beat up a picture of Daisuke now.
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