This episode, thankfully, is the first true sign of the story commencing, and the writers seemingly wanted to put a little more thought into the occasion. The result has a semblance of productivity, but the more accurate descriptor would be "busy", as so much is thrown at us that nothing really gains momentum.
Everything starts off well, with Thomas getting the chance to share his findings with his teammates. These details on the effects of human emotion and the artificially deteriorating barrier between the two worlds will be important down the road. Some good humor ensues after the appearance of a new digi-egg, largely thanks to the predicaments Agumon either inflicts on himself or stumbles into. Then Puwamon digivolves, and all the warts begin to show.
See, the subplot with Biyomon and the precocious Kristy is clearly central to the episode, but ironically never manages to be as substantial as it wants to be. I never really felt for their supposed bond because it suffers from what might as well be coined "The Data Squad Curse": melodrama. The fact that this relationship is based upon next to nothing reverberates through the story, yet the episode wants you to believe the accompanying predicament is the saddest thing in the world. In the end, Biyomon never comes across as more than an unadulterated plot device that motivates others to act, and half of those actions are of no consequence anyway. Not to mention, Biyomon's dub voice is HORRENDOUSLY inappropriate. The real issue, arguably, is that there hasn't been much effort to endear us to Kristy, making all of this a case of drawing sympathy by virtue of a rough situation rather than an engaging personality.
Marcus gets to demonstrate his older sibling concern for his sister, but, again, what reason is there to care for this? There hasn't been any success in building a believable, heartening sibling dynamic between these two, nor is there any focus on their interactions in this episode. It's a quandary purely thrown in to give Marcus something dramatic to do. If the previous episode had not been a waste of time and instead focused on this relationship, this subplot would have weight instead of just acting as if it does. Anyway, he decides to send the new digimon back to his world to spare Kristy the recruitment into DATS, and the resulting fistfight with Biyomon isÂ…hilarious. Considering the facial expressions of both participants, the choice of music and the inherently humorous notion of a belligerent teenager fighting a large pink bird, there's no way I can accept that this was intended to be anything other than laughable (to be fair, Biyomon's female voice in the original actually elicits pity and almost makes up for these things).
As far as other new elements go, Falcomon is unimpressive, just a cheap version of Hawkmon with a voice that makes him sound like a timid cartoon butler (not unlike the one from the old Cheetohs commercials). Merukimon, voiced by Richard Epcar (!), is given a foreboding entrance that really draws the viewer in for the next episode.
Everything starts off well, with Thomas getting the chance to share his findings with his teammates. These details on the effects of human emotion and the artificially deteriorating barrier between the two worlds will be important down the road. Some good humor ensues after the appearance of a new digi-egg, largely thanks to the predicaments Agumon either inflicts on himself or stumbles into. Then Puwamon digivolves, and all the warts begin to show.
See, the subplot with Biyomon and the precocious Kristy is clearly central to the episode, but ironically never manages to be as substantial as it wants to be. I never really felt for their supposed bond because it suffers from what might as well be coined "The Data Squad Curse": melodrama. The fact that this relationship is based upon next to nothing reverberates through the story, yet the episode wants you to believe the accompanying predicament is the saddest thing in the world. In the end, Biyomon never comes across as more than an unadulterated plot device that motivates others to act, and half of those actions are of no consequence anyway. Not to mention, Biyomon's dub voice is HORRENDOUSLY inappropriate. The real issue, arguably, is that there hasn't been much effort to endear us to Kristy, making all of this a case of drawing sympathy by virtue of a rough situation rather than an engaging personality.
Marcus gets to demonstrate his older sibling concern for his sister, but, again, what reason is there to care for this? There hasn't been any success in building a believable, heartening sibling dynamic between these two, nor is there any focus on their interactions in this episode. It's a quandary purely thrown in to give Marcus something dramatic to do. If the previous episode had not been a waste of time and instead focused on this relationship, this subplot would have weight instead of just acting as if it does. Anyway, he decides to send the new digimon back to his world to spare Kristy the recruitment into DATS, and the resulting fistfight with Biyomon isÂ…hilarious. Considering the facial expressions of both participants, the choice of music and the inherently humorous notion of a belligerent teenager fighting a large pink bird, there's no way I can accept that this was intended to be anything other than laughable (to be fair, Biyomon's female voice in the original actually elicits pity and almost makes up for these things).
As far as other new elements go, Falcomon is unimpressive, just a cheap version of Hawkmon with a voice that makes him sound like a timid cartoon butler (not unlike the one from the old Cheetohs commercials). Merukimon, voiced by Richard Epcar (!), is given a foreboding entrance that really draws the viewer in for the next episode.
