Heck Yeah Digimon!

Now I did make a post about these two before and how Daisuke & Takeru are not the "next" Taichi & Yamato, but that post is old but I still stand by what I said. Daisuke is not Taichi and Takeru is not Yamato, and they do not act like them in terms of the leader and their rival.

Takeru never attacks Daisuke's leadership like Yamato did. Even in the episode with MetalGreymon. While Takeru and Daisuke almost fight like Taichi and Yamato did, they don't. It is also Daisuke who makes them physical, while Takeru is trying to explain why they had to attack MetalGreymon. Takeru does disagree with a decision Daisuke is making, but this the only time it happens. This is Takeru acting like a rival to Daisuke, but it just doesn't feel the same as it did with Taichi and Yamato.

I'm not sure if I can explain it in a way that will make sense, but it more feels like Takeru is trying to make Daisuke realize he's wrong in his choice than forcing him to realize that he's making a mistake. Takeru isn't trying to make Daisuke change his mind in term of leadership, but in his definition of friendship and what it is. Sorry if my explanation doesn't make sense, but my main thing with his scene is that it only happens once.

Yes, it does show Takeru pushing back against a decision Daisuke is making, even if it's not directly tided to his leadership Takeru does get angry with him like we've seen Yamato do with Taichi, but this only happened once. It is only once in the entire 50 episode anime that Takeru pushes back against Daisuke at the same level Yamato did with Taichi, and I just don't personally see that as enough to call him Daisuke's rival.

Now I do want to say, if you see this as enough to call Takeru Daisuke's rivel than I won't stop you, mostly because I can't but also because I don't care enough. However, I just don't see it as enough to call him Daisuke's rivel. For all the times Yamato fought Taichi and disagreed with him, only for Takeru to do it once, it just doesn't seem like enough to me.

I'm just explaining why for me personally, this one scene is not enough for me to call Takeru Daisuke's rivel.

There's also Hikari, which is what causes Daisuke to see Takeru as a rivel. I can see why a lot of people don't like this, but considering they don't really fight over Hikari and they are like, ten, I don't. Daisuke has self confidence issues, and that projects into wanting to impress Hikari, someone he finds pretty and someone who is nice to him(as well as being his senpais younger sister) and seeing Takeru as a rivel as he his close with Hikari.

Takeru also never tires to counter act Daisuke's teasing or trying to win Hikari over. He acknowledges it, but he never seems annoyed by it and just let it happens. An example, in the episode 7, Daisuke teases Takeru that Hikari said his name first, but Takeru doesn't try to counter it nor really any of the things Daisuke does to "win over" Hikari. Takeru doesn't seem to care, and that's why I don't see him as rival for Hikari's affection because in the end there isn't anything to fight over, Hikari is her own person.

Takeru is hesitant to let Ken join their group but he doesn't yell at Daisuke. He even says that they should let Ken be and see if he's truly changed, not really pushing back against Daisuke like some of the others do(mainly miyako and iori). There's also after Ken joins, and Daisuke mostly forgets about Hikari which leaves him and Takeru no longer bickering as much as they did. Takeru trusts Daisuke's leadership, and even if they did fight once, Takeru never thinks Daisuke made a bad decision again, even with Ken.

Yamato trusted Taichi as well, or at least, he learned too. They fought because Yamato thought they should do something different than Taichi wanted them to do, because he thought they was a better decisions. Takeru never does that with Daisuke. He did once, but Yamato did multiple times in Adv1999. It took time for Yamato to trust Taichi, but Takeru seems to right out of the gate. It doesn't fit the mold we saw in Adv1999, and it is nowhere near as extreme as it was before.

Now, I do think Daisuke and Takeru had a missed opportunity for friendship. They do have conflicting personalities like Taichi and Yamato, and not just with the fact Daisuke doesn't have experience with the Digital World and Takeru does, though that does play a role in their bickering. Daisuke is very straightforward and courageous, getting annoyed easily. Takeru is more calm and cool-headed, at least one the outside, and he likes teasing his friends. This is a president for how they are rivals, but again, it just doesn't show them butting heads a lot nor Takeru being angry at Daisuke's leadership.

Now I don't ship them together and don't think they should have been Jogress Partners(which is an opinion i do not understand nor agree with), just that they could have been friends is 02 explored them more.

You could say that later in their lives they butt heads more and act more like rivals, but we unfortunately don't see that and I think there's just as much precedent to say Takeru continues to be okay with Daisuke's leadership. Also that they really wouldn't be rivals, but just two friends who bicker and tease each other a lot.

Now maybe they are rivels, and I do think at least early in 02 they do butt heads a bit, but later in 02 they just don't and they never fought on the same level as Taichi and Yamato did. They don't really fight over Hikari, that was just something Daisuke did as he is a child and has self-confidence issues, and Takeru never pushed back against Daisuke as much as you see other rivels do their goggleheads.

Even if we ignore how Digimon tends to portray leaders and their rivals, Takeru doesn't fit the definition of a rival character all that well when you look at how he acts for the entirely of 02 towards Daisuke, even with the few times he pushes back against him. I just don't personally see it as enough to say Takeru is Daisuke's rival.

I wouldn't even saw Takeru is Daisuke's lancer, as while they do have conflicting personalities, it never expresses itself during a fight nor decision Daisuke is making or in a way that causes them to start yelling at each other or disagreeing. In the end, I think Daisuke and Takeru are similar because they both care about those they love, and in the end can probably agree that's what's most important(its also what takeru tries to teach daisuke in the episode with metalgreymon)

Daisuke & Takeru just aren't like Taichi & Yamato, and that's not enough to say they aren't rivels, but they just don't really act like rivals. Maybe towards Hikari, but Takeru doesn't try to win over her affection like we see Daisuke do. Takeru doesn't care that Daisuke is trying to win over Hikari, and Takeru is mostly okay with Daisuke's leadership. Daisuke no longer sees Takeru as a rival for Hikari's affection later in the series so he doesn't have a meaning to be rude to him and he doesn't once Ken joins, so I just do not see them as rivals at all.

Takeru doesn't push back against Daisuke like you would expect a rival to do, and they don't even fight a lot like Taichi and Yamato did. It's just not enough for me to call Takeru Daisuke's rival. Maybe Takeru is something less than a rival or his rivalness is more muted than Yamato's, but than I'd just say he and Daisuke bicker a lot.

To summarize, Takeru does not push back against Daisuke a lot and is mostly shown to trust Daisuke's leader and doesn't fight with him alot, while Daisuke doesn't see Takeru as a rival for the entire series, and that rivelness has nothing to do with his position as a leader but as a friend to Hikari, so I do not see enough evidence to call Takeru Daisuke's rival/lancer in 02.

Than what about Ken?

Ken is shown as being mostly soft in 02, made nervous by Daisuke's forwardness and friendship. He doesn't push back against Daisuke at all, expect when wanting to be partners but that's because of Ken's own self hatred and he doesn't get over that.

Ken is shown teasing Daisuke in Diablomon Strikes Back and standing up to Daisuke in the audio drama Armor Evolution into the Unknown, but these are again more personal. They are Ken teasing Daisuke and helping him realize his mistakes, which doesn't scream rival to me. Maybe rivals that have gotten close like Taichi and Yamato(as they do tease each other in later media) but they weren't really rivals in 02. Ken never once pushes against Daisuke's decisions because he's angry at him or disagrees with them.

He does maybe a little in the finally against Vamdemon, but Ken doesn't nearly fight as much to get Daisuke to stop. It's not because he's angry in that scene either, it's because he's scared and wants Daisuke to think for a moment. Ken also doesn't do anything when Daisuke slaps him during their Jogress, which Takeru is shown to fight back when Daisuke started a fight. Again, I don't think that scene is enough to say Takeru is Daisuke's rivel, I'm just saying Ken doesn't fight against Daisuke like you would expect a rival from Digimon, or the rival archetype, to do.

Ken is not Daisuke's rival, he's his partner, which I think explains how he acts much better than rival. Ken teases Daisuke like a partner would, he helps him realize he's special in his own way in the audio drama which is the reason Daisuke made a bad decision(because he doesnt think hes speical like ken, so ken reminds him that he is)

Ken also doesn't act like Yamato. Only once he gets into a fight with Daisuke in the audio drama and that's the same as Takeru. Other than that, Ken trusts Daisuke's leadership and doesn't fight it. He doesn't push back against Daisuke much at all. He defiantly isn't like Yamato, and to call him a rival just feels wrong considering how close he and Daisuke are. They already have a term for each other, partners.

So Ken isn't really a rival either. Takeru doesn't really fit the mold perfectly, but I would call him one if I to chose. However, Takeru doesn't act like a rival for the entirely of 02, and Ken doesn't act like on really at all. Which if you ask me, makes sense for 02.

One major theme of 02 is friendship, partnership, and connection.

While they to show the effort it can take to form that friendship, to continue Takeru pushing back against Daisuke, to me, feels wrong. They should have been shown getting closer, but once Daisuke realizes himself and no longer is striving for Hikari's affection, he is able to get closer to Takeru and no longer try to one up him. Takeru also never showed much anger towards Daisuke, so to have him suddenly push back against Daisuke when Daisuke makes relatively good decisions would have been weird.

You could have Takeru learn to trust Daisuke's leadership as a way of them getting closer like you did with Taichi and Yamato, but Takeru was never as pushy as his brother and considering his calm and cool-headed personality. I think it fits him better to have trusted Daisuke out the gate but also help him grow when he needed it. And like I said before, Daisuke is not Taichi and Takeru is not Yamato, so I liked how they bonded in their own way instead of copying how Taichi and Yamato bonded.

Ken also wasn't written to be Daisuke's rival, but his partner. Ken was meant to be an opposite to Daisuke, and while that can cause tension between two people, for Jogress. it was meant as them complementing each other. Ken and Daisuke complete and complement each other, to help them grow as people and Chosen Children.

It was meant to give Daisuke a place where he could find a purpose that wasn't just living up to Taichi's name. Ken was meant to help Daisuke find himself and grow not just as a leader but as a person. This could cause some fights between them, but not the same fights you would expect from a leader and their lancer. Plus, having Daisuke and Ken act like that when they understand each other's hearts also feels weird to me, like unnecessary tension when they don't need to get closer to each other as their hearts already beat in sync. That is just my opinion, however.

So to sum it up again, while Takeru does fight against Daisuke and act like his rival in the first half of 02, it isn't nearly as strong as it was with Taichi & Yamato and doesn't last the whole season as Takeru never pushed back against Daisuke's decisions as much as Yamato did to Taichi and Daisuke no longer saw Takeru as a rival for Hikari's affections. Ken also isn't a rival because he isn't meant to be. He's meant to complement Daisuke and never pushes back against him like we see Yamato did with Taichi.

I'm not saying you can't think either of them can't be Daisuke's rival, just that they aren't the same as Taichi & Yamato(which is see a decent amount of people say) and that they aren't even really rivels because they either don't really act like it or only act like it for a small amount of time and just once.