Appmon 40 review

[davetheanalyzer]

With a franchise like Digimon that doesn’t like to pussyfoot around when it comes to villain arcs, this one felt especially sort when it came to offing three of the four hyped ones in one episode. I’ve some mixed feelings about it but the three segments didn’t feel too rushed.

The Rei and Hackmon segment felt like the strongest. Though them pretending to struggle against Biomon could feel like a cheat, it felt in-character for them. Rei going all Jack Bauer on Biomon to divulge information was unease-inducing but in-character with how driven he is to find his brother. It’d have been interesting to see how the other Appli Drivers reacted to this or if this might be a question of how wobbly Rei’s morals are becoming. Maybe the latter will be explored in another episode. At any rate, Biomon pretending to be Hajime too was its own kind of screwed up and actually got under Rei’s skin. Rei might know he’s being played but it’d still affect him. It’s a pity that battle of wits can’t continue on to future episodes when Charismon offed Biomon.

The revelation Hajime’s now another Appmon does open interesting possibilities. Hackmon would be the obvious reveal, and because of that I wouldn’t want that, though since this is a kids’ show, they might go that route. Still, it can be compelling, with Rei forced to choose between two people he very much values, a beloved brother or a beloved partner. I could see an ending where Hajime gets chosen but Hackmon will still occasionally emerge out or where they take a third option and can separate them into two different beings. The latter might be the likelier ending, since they mightn’t want anything too depressing. The other option I can think of is that he’s Bootmon, since Biomon did say Leviathan had a special role in mind for Hajime and Bootmon seems pretty important. If that’s the scenario, that likely guarantees Hajime would be revived at Bootmon’s (probably willing) sacrifice. Of course, the show could throw a curveball for all I know, so we’ll have to see where that goes.

Eri and Dokamon vs. Beautymon did go the route I feared with being focused on jokes about appearance than any substantive character stuff. Beautymon did provide some lols with trying to provide Eri “proper makeup” and then immediately undoing that out of jealousy when the mirror called Eri he fairest of them all – twice. Dokamon saying Eri was fine the way she was is sweet but I couldn’t find much else there. Beautymon’s makeup and appearance issue doesn’t seem to have much to do with Eri’s conflicts. Eri does get embarrassed when something comedic cracks the image of her Idol persona and that can conflict with her goal of making people smile even if it might take a dig at her dignity. But that image is different from the kind of image that Beautymon is about. It’d have been interesting to see how Beautymon would have provided challenge to Eri when it came to that embarrassment vs. smiles conflict. But oh wells.

I find it a bit of a stretch that Astra would quickly believe Fakemon’s illusion about Eri being at the end of her rope. That was foreshadowed a bit with their friendly bantering earlier, which was sweet, but Astra came in knowing that Fakemon’s interest in deception is his thing. I also thought he might also be a lot quicker if he thought Eri was in danger, just going back the way he came. I would have found it more interesting if Astra and Musimon went through Fakemon’s base and had a hard time figuring out lies from truth. This could have tapped into issues about Astra’s persona and what is truly him and what is for show, and that could lead to interesting relationship issues with Musimon and the Buddy Appmon presents himself. Oh well, there’s always fanfic. Astra cottoning on that the real Eri, someone who works really hard to make others smile, would never regret becoming an Appli Driver, was sweet too.

Fakemon’s stomach puppet(?) appearing was…interesting but otherwise the one-hit kills weren’t very exciting. Having the App Chip’s grayed out upon the three of the Ultimate 4’s defeat seems to indicate they are dead or at least unusable. Charismon disregard for his supposed comrades does indicate that he doesn’t value or respect their lives as previous thought. For finding out the Appli Drive Duo’s power and accomplishing his and Leviathan’s goals, he’d sacrifice them. It’s sad the usual backstabery between villains is present instead of any genuine comradery but it doesn’t bother me too much in the grand scheme of things.

Next time, Globemon will battle creepy glowing eyed Charismon at his creepy castle. And there will apparently be much revealed about Leviathan’s actual plans and motives. Also, Knight looking angry? This shall be interesting.