#fiftytenlive

they still don’t have clubs picked out, huh? is this gonna wind up being important?

it’s really nice that Manatsu has been able to make friends with her classmates so quickly & is already doing stuff like going to the mall with them

dasdflkjsdaflfjds Laura really thought that Manatsu would beg her to come along

something interesting about these three friends of Sango and Manatsu’s is that their color schemes are that of a regular Precure trio. like Tropical-Rouge has broken the mold by not having a pink, blue, and yellow trio of Precure on the team, but these three do in-fact have that pink, blue, and yellow colorscheme. they look like Precure but they’re totally normal civilians.

hmmm it seems like Sango is just echoing whatever her friends say is nice...

in direct contrast, Manatsu is going at her own tempo and never falters when the others think that her preferences are weird

lmao Laura got bored so she went to the pool

if you compliment Laura three times in a row you get to be a Precure

i love Manatsu and Laura’s relationship sooo much

so Sango is aware that she has a problem with following the crowd, and doesn’t like it, but has no idea how to stop herself from doing it. interesting.

it’s cute how Manatsu offers people her lipstick to help motivate them, but it also seems really unsanitary...

their friend trio are going on about mermaids having a dugong face and both Manatsu and Sango are just like :|

hey the friend trio’s eyes match each other. like the pink-haired one has brown eyes, the brown-haired one has blue eyes, and the blue-haired one has pink eyes. these three are really interesting

Sango has gathered the courage to go against the trend and tell her friends what she really thinks! she’s also rushing off to confront the monster, which will inevitably lead to her becoming Cure Coral!

another solid fight, though not quite as good as the last two episodes. it’s not quite as weighty.

ooh that was a really cool shot where the camera circles around Sango while she was declaring her determination

YES YES YES RESONATING HEARTS!!!

Coral time!!!

wow this fight has tons of fun camera angles.

why did Manatsu’s lipstick just split apart like a cell

the two of you are pretty cure :)

oh i guess it’s only the pink-haired one and the brown-haired one whose eye colors match each other. the blue one actually has blue eyes.

and now Sango has the courage to share her opinions all the time!

they're doing a new sport AGAIN

i think it's really funny that Tagiru and Yuu just follow him around while he helps people

oh he's fainting like old times

AKARI!!!

you'd think that Taiki would have told all his old friends about the hunt and stuff since they all have ties to the Digimon

oh so this is gonna be like, the super Taiki and Akari ship episode

well i guess it makes a little more sense if they're worried about the others being worried if they tell them about the hunt? i guess?

and Tagiru is going to spy of them through DigiQuartz……. that's really silly, but I'm curious to see how exactly he plans on doing that.

he just put a suit jacket over his regular shirt. what a kid.

...ok Tagiru's schtick is weird. but i guess he's going to meet with his rival? and do rivalry things?

is everyone finally going to get some comeuppance for thinking of Taiki as more-than-human

man do i love DigiQuartz's general aesthetic. this slaps.

wondering if SuperStarmon has any relation to the Starmon of og Xros Wars fame

well they at least referenced that Starmon

so SuperStarmon is a Starmon that was really cool so it evolved. also it's good to see cameos from everyone.

i also still really like the sinking/rising to enter/leave DigiQuartz thing

im no expert on celebrities but aren't most of these people dead

maybe they're wax statues that SuperStarmon thinks are real people

no they were turned into dolls and now SuperStarmon is slowly sapping celebrity power from them

that must be scary to see a bunch of frozen people placed on literal pedestals and then see one with your own name on it

love how glaringly obvious it is that Cutemon's va must have been constantly available since Cutemon has made a ton of appearances so far

*paused the episode for like a week. welcome back to the gumdramon gets beat up show. (i started it a little too far back)

so DigiQuartz is super-brittle…

WHY do the tiny stars turn into a bear

"when digimon things are happening i stop thinking and follow your lead" that's not as cool of a line as the show seems to frame it. man does xros wars suck at writing its girls.

im glad Taiki is finally telling his friends about everything

the rivals are cooperatinggggggggg

they're cobbling together X4 somehow?! and Akari was the one who suggested it!

DOUBLE XROS???

oh that is SO cool. i completely forgot they weren't limited to only xrossing their partners with another Digimon (since Gumdramon is usually the only one getting xrossed)

ohg that was so cool. i don't even like the design of X4 and the fight was short but it was still SO cool to see X4 in action again. really hope they make new combinations with double xros later in the show (since xros heart is currently a trio of Taiki, Tagiru, and Yuu, they could even possibly use great xros at some point? they could xros up to 6 Digimon that way!)

oh, so using double xros is exhausting for the humans… so it definitely won't be a common occurrence

basketball is back in-style

it's the thing that liked chocolate in frontier!

the first adult victim of digimon crimes

*you wouldn't download a car voice* you wouldn't hunt a baby

he would hunt a baby

and now he's putty in Pagumon's hands…

he's just hunting for food now lmao

well that's a new one

oh wait is Jagamon supposed to look like a potato…? also why did the people fade away???

it always seems like the rivals follow Tagiru around just to tell him how much he sucks at hunting

tagiru shouldn't you be the one telling Gumdramon which direction Jagamon is in

the baby is causing a break-up. classic baby activity.

also I was right Tagiru and Gumdramon's relationship isn't very stable yet (being just built on hunting) so it doesn't take too much for a bratty little baby to shake things up. to be fare, i think it's reasonable to try and calm down the crying thing, but Tagiru should also be able to sympathize with and look at things from Gumdramon's perspective. it's frustrating to lose, after all, and the fact that they're both really hot-headed means that they're both the sort who won't back down, even when they're in the wrong or unhappy about the direction the conversation is going in. it’s also interesting that Gumdramon says that Tagiru can’t do anything without him (which he instantly refutes) b/c he’s kinda right. a hunter can’t do anything without a Digimon. that’s why an equal partnership is important.

well I was NOT expecting Gumdramon to jump over to the rivals

this might be an act, but at least Pagumon realizes that it was being a little bratty. the baby is more mature than the 12-year-old and the rookie-level Digimon…

Pagumon was just smelling the okonomiyaki??? it made that guy cook all of those just for the smell???

why did it split up into more Pagumon??? and turn yellow??

they ate the entire stand…… a giant black hole where a building is supposed to be is pretty freaky

they're stealing everything that's fried

ADJAJFKJS XROS LOADER YAKI … that means Tagiru will have to deal with this all on his own

or Ryouma might help. at the very least he'll bring Gumdramon back in Tagiru's proximity

the video's buffering Gumdramon's not gonna say to un-feed them the okonomiyaki right

that's good I don't think that's the plan. also, instead of making up, right now Tagiru and Gumdramon are just barreling through. like they're sorta forgiving each other but in a not-emotionally-vulnerable way because neither of them are like that

this is so silly. this show is fantastic.

you're going to do WHAT to the Pagumon???

if you like okonomiyaki so much then why don't you become it

yeah what DID happen to you. I'm not sure why ANY of that happened but it was fun to watch

•why is there a Very Normal Horse driving this monkart champ kid (micheal). and why does Micheal’s partner get to sit in the front but he doesn’t

•OK this is amazing. last episode everything was super fantasy-like. like sure they had flying machines but they were like fantasy flying machines. but this time there’s a 70s van and an entire truck on the road. so, apparently, this is urban fantasy, which is cool! i really like urban fantasy!

•SFSDLJKFJLKSDG HE KICKED THE HORSE OUT

•sir do you have a license to drive this vehicle. sir. sir. mr leo.

•jokes aside tho having him commandeer the vehicle to race a truck is a fun way to make it clear how battle-hungry this thing is in a show about kart racing

•but if his monsword is a fake then why was Draka inside it? (unless that’s normal monsword behavior?) this Mr. Jesse guy seems to like to avoid trouble by lying, but it seems like at this point he’s better off cutting his losses and explaining what exactly is going on to Jin and the princess and Joke

•wow Jin’s already pulling the “i’m your master” card when Draka causes trouble. it’s going to take at least this episode for these two to start getting along, I’m guessing. at the very least, nothing good is going to happen if Jin keeps trying to pull rank on Draka, they have to have an equal friendship before their partnership will ever work out.

•that said though since Jin’s the tamer he has to pay for the food Draka ate lol

•is the princess just going to trail after him all the time to translate whatever Draka says? personally, i could do without that... Draka’s body language seems clear enough to get across the message.

•laura is also here. and we finally get to know the princess’s name, she’s Sena. right now I’m guessing that the reason why she can understand the monsters is that is was apart of her princess curriculum? but she can’t say anything because her status as a princess is a Secret

•ah that’s cute. they don’t get along yet, but they’re so similar!

•yeah these two are not going to get along until they can find equal footing with each other

•oh. the guy from last time is going to be a recurring antagonist, apparently. which is kinda disappointing since i was already sick of him by the end of the last episode. i guess it’ll give me more reason to root against him?

•apparently dragon monsters are rare and will sell for a lot of money. that’s an interesting bit of lore, and adds to the fact that we already found out last time that monsters can be bought and sold. this guy’s poor bug monster looks so sad about this though... actually nevermind the bug just started maniacally laughing alongside him

•that’s true i hadn’t thought about that. this is probably like a whole new world for Draka, so no wonder it’s acting out

•”draka’s my monster, give him back” you are literally standing right in front of him and the trunk is open. just grab him.

•wow, we’re already pulling out the “precious partner” speech! nice. all it took was a kidnapping.

•so Micheal (and Leo and Robin and his partner) had been gone for 3 years

•the fact that these monsters can also drive normal cars is fantastic

•does the strength of the sword have an affect on the battle?

•a mysterious, very strong competitor dressed in all black with a black dragon... inch resting...

•ok so obviously Jin is going to race against Micheal and his fiery, unburdened spirit is going to cheer him up (that’s what the episode description said & that’s where the plot is going) but ignore all that look at Jin and Draka. why are they standing like that. that’s so adorable.

•also i like the symbolism of Jin’s partner being fire elemental & Micheal’s partner being ice elemental & Micheal currently is a little icy because of his loss

•Leo’s face is a little. off. but besides that this is a cute gesture. and Micheal being like “aw shit you really believe in me. ok i’ll stop being scared” was nice just b/c of the aspect of like. pulling it together for the sake of your battle-loving partner and remembering that you just like to do this for fun. it’s always an interesting angle.

•nice, more lore. when you win a race, you level up (and presumably the opposite is true if you lose). as you level up, you go up the ranks -- novice, expert, master, then knight.

•ohhhhh ok so wanting to be a knight is like. the ultimate goal. OK i was kinda wondering if that was the case or if it was just the title of a MonKart trainer

•so who keeps tracks of the rankings? could it be... the turtle that makes the mario kart noises? or something more technical?

•so the bitroids can be used for more than just combat... you can do clever things like avoid sharp turns with them, too! that makes them a little more interesting.

•mr. jesse sure seems to know a lot about racing strategies... 🤔 could he have been a monkart racer at some point...?

•so many of these attacks seem super overpowered... like, both this ice one and the bug’s attack last time seem really hard to counter

•wh. now there’s a megaroid?????

•idk these ‘roid fights just aren’t very interesting. i feel like they should have just stuck with the go-karting aspect and refined that more. (though it does feel like the bitroids are just here for toy selling so i guess that’s an excuse)

•he’s formally asking to be partners! that’s so nice!!

•idk why but literally every episode i have to manually switch the audio from english

•interesting, we’re finally learning more about what the deal with that evil knight is. he’s got someone with a robot mask who is making evil dandelion seeds that will turn the things they touch evil?

•the lady knight’s name is Isabel

•i guess they’re showing how she found the princess and sir Joke’s foodsteps

•oh it’s the kid from the first episode whose monster’s car exploded. so that’s who Zero is and why the episode description acted like i was supposed to know who that was.

•ohhh Zero didn’t get abandoned, he just ran away. that’s good. i mean it’s definitely not great for Kay here, but it’s better than being abandoned.

•except he yelled at him and told him to go away. and then didn’t apologize. what do you expect to happen after that. at least he realizes his mistake now, though, and can try to make things better (after he finds Zero)

•also I wonder how exactly a robot monster works. all of the other ones so far have been animal-like.

•oh. kuby’s back.

•aw, he’s shy

•so the episode description was accurate, Zero sought out someone to train with so that he could make Kay like him again. (i was wondering if it wasn’t entirely accurate when Kuby said that Zero was helping to sell herbs)

•ah...

•and then Kay ran off crying...

•ok I did not expect them to go in the “so let’s make you stronger so you’re not a burden” path. i thought they were going to go the “you’re not inherently a burden just because you’re not strong path”. anyways they’re all helping Zero train now

•HE ATE THE SNAIL. WHY

•so now those seeds of Auobyss are doing things? and turning Zero evil?

•ok maybe i will have been right b/c it looks like those evil seeds are going to make Zero super strong, but not friendly, so Kay will ultimately like the old Zero better?

•and now it’s like. cinematic parallels because Kay is battling Mark again but this time he’s winning

•and Zero has even become disobedient to boot. and I guess the Aubyss seed even makes it so that he can force Kay to swing his sword to attack and turn into a bitroid and stuff

•so now Jin’s going to race him so that he turns back to normal

•and now that seed’s made a storm?? what can’t the seed of Auobyss do

•a new kind of attack? you can slash the sword in a V shape to get a speed boost?

•wait so just losing the race turned Zero back to normal? none of the yelling at him to snap out of it or anything? does the seed just really hate losing?

•friends :)

crazy that this episode starts with a whale in the sky with searchlights on the bottom of its mouth and shoots a teleporter beam that sends in an army. it’s also crazy that this is a different Whamon than the one from earlier in the show

aw man is Mervamon going to start usurping Sparrowmon now

wait. you’ve gotta be kidding meeeeeeee two episodes in a row where whoever was in charge of the stupid animation sits around and objectifies every single female character in the show. Mervamon’s stomach looks concave. i hate this.

it’s been a while since Dorulumon was important

wonder if part of the reason why Taiki instantly starts trying to get this kid to stop crying and tells Dorulumon to apologize is because of his helpfulness instinct kicking in

wouldn’t they find her at least a little odd since her hair is blue/teal and everyone else in the show has natural hair colors?

ok this part is kinda funny. she tries to kill them with the buttons and everyone is just like “this is fine :) we believe in you Ruka :)”

the other Digimon don’t appear for several episodes but as soon as there’s food they appear

how many bottles of mysterious liquid does this guy have???

so like is anything actually going to happen in this episode? is anyone going to grow or change? or is this going to be an incredibly rare instance of an episode that’s actually pure undistilled filler b/c no character development happens

aw man i wanted more stupid attempts to kill Xros Heart but now she’s just lying to Dorulumon that Bagramon would give him the title of Death General if he defected back to the Bagra Army

now it seems like this land’s Death General specifically has it out for Dorulumon? was that his goal the whole time, or is he just targeting Dorulumon because he never stopped being suspicious of Ruka and wants to try and break him?

this place has such a weird thematic dissonance. it’s the Cyber Zone, but the boss is all about water and weird drippins

not to sound like an annoying person on twitter posing ooc cartoon clips but sometimes i do wonder how this show was broadcasted to children. why does Mervamon have all these seduction-based attacks anyways (rhetorical question), she looks like she should have gun or snake or poison attacks

yeah i don’t think any character development happened, though i guess the plot did advance. 

so the death general made a fake dorulumon to trick everyone into thinking he defected to the bagra army so that he can get more negative energy. ok. that could be interesting.

•the antagonistic bully guy is back and I guess he’s also going to go see the racing expert

•SDJKLFDSLJFSDLFJ LOOK AT THIS THING!! I LOVE IT!! IT LOOKS SO STUPID!

•anyways. this kid wants food and thinks that Jin’s sword is cool

•and then he took it because the princess told him that they would give him something in return for saving them from falling off a cliff

•this is like a minor animation detail but I like how heavy they made Laura’s footsteps since she’s carrying a heavy backpack, it really sells the weight of it.

•i wonder if the Monswords are actually sharp or not. they look like they’d be as sharp as a plastic sword

•well he’s probably going to be a recurring character so I’m sure you’ll learn his name one day

•so that kid is the master racer? since he went out to see the bully?

•sir joke is dead

•it wasn’t in an envelope, so did Jesse read the letter before giving it to Jin?

•oh it was just an invitation from mark

•except he’s making Jin race against the expert (who is the kid from before)

•but he won’t battle against Jin because he was funny and because Laura gave him her lunch. guess he’s pretty nice, in that regard

•but he’ll still race Jin because he asked nicely... but he’s also putting his sword on the line

•so the expert is the sort who treats the race casually and then makes up for that with raw power? and he even has a special strategy where he feeds his monster before taking off to get a speed boost

•ok i was doing my best to tastefully ignore it but now it’s apart of his racing strategy. i could really do without all the fart jokes centered around this kid

•a fireball booster. that’s clever.

•Jin was able to have Draka punch the opponent with the bitroid form, but by launching Moncha into the air he actually threw him farther along the racetrack, accidentally giving his opponent a huge lead. that’s a really interesting drawback to consider when using the bitroid form.

•ohh i was wondering if that swerving from when he was chasing the kid was also a race strategy

•that doesn’t seem fair. it seems like it should only count if the kart passes the finish line. but a tie is nice, and now he’s friends with the kid (who is named Kuby). kinda hope that he either doesn’t join the group or they really wheel back the fart jokes, though.