#sasatake

What I mean by that is that the episode was super fast-paced. Like, the first battle between Glowing Dawn and Pandamon against Yukari and Astamon ends with the latter pair fleeing and after a bit of respite, the Cleaners and Pandamon fight them again with a clear winner this time around. I thought the battle was going to be the entire episode, so I was surprised that Astamon had to be fought twice. It makes sense given that he’s an Ultimate level Digimon and the first of its level that the group faces off—Fangmon and Machmon are all Champion levels (it does make some sort of confusion as the terminologies are used different in Japanese and English with Ultimate is the term used to describe a Mega level Digimon while Perfect is what JP uses for Ultimate level—this did cause some confusion in the JP fanbase). Even if Pandamon is also an Ultimate level, his morals and lack of an owner and E-pulse were probably the reason why he fell so quick in the first battle while he got quick redemption in the second battle. 

I’ve seen people call this a filler episode, but it’s not. First off, how can this episode be considered filler when everything is anime original? Second, it’s not a filler because it’s a character building episode as Tomoro can see how Sasatake and Pandamon’s relationship mirrors his and Asuka with both Sasatake and Pandamon trying to shoulder burdens which Tomoro doesn’t like one bit given what happened to his brother afterwards. It’s also to help Gekkomon form a deeper brotherly bond with Pandamon that could mirror the Tenma brothers. Given that Pandamon does evolve into BanchoLeomon and given Leomon’s tragic fates in each Digimon series…let’s just hope there isn’t a death flag for Pandamon later on… I’m just glad that no one died in this episode.

Tomoro’s e-pulse is considered special and that it can be spread to others. This was first seen in the very first episode when his e-pulse touched Hitomi’s Sapotama and his data got into hers, causing Hitomi to get attacked because of this. Because of this, the fact that Gekkomon can also spread e-pulse to other Digimon makes absolute sense given that he was born from Tomoro’s Sapotama which is infused with his data.

Kyo mainly works behind the scenes as the younger members of Glowing Dawn are the ones tracking down Astamon and Yukari. Given how scary Kyo looks when he was confronting Nawa does hint at a dark past. He has lifeless eyes and a huge scar that runs down his neck meaning that he’s no ordinary Cleaner. I honestly can’t wait to see what sort of story Kyo has.

The fact that Digimon anime loves bringing back voice actors from past series will always be funny and sweet. Astamon is voiced by none other than Hiroki Takahashi who voiced Beelzemon from Digimon Tamers and Hiro’s father Hokuto from Ghost Game. The fact that they brought back Takahashi to voice another trigger happy Digimon is so funny. At least Pandamon didn’t evolve into BanchoLeomon or we would’ve gotten a Tamers repeat… Also, Nawa, the government official Yukari was working with is voiced by Ryo Yaginuma who has voiced various background characters in Ghost Game.

Overall, it was a nice episode that helped Tomoro and Gekkmon grow closer to each other and towards others. Though, Gekkomon’s idea of sharing is still skewed as he stole Tomoro’s half of the meat bun. It could just be that Gekkomon doesn’t see Tomoro as a brother, but more like his Owner/parent. Speaking of which, Pandamon’s Owner is still unknown. It’s not Yukari. Just who could his Owner be? Someone of significance later on? Let me know your thoughts on this episode!

I do like that Gekkomon and Pandamon becoming brothers is a parallel to how Tomoro has a brother of his own. However, given Asuka’s current state, Pandamon definitely will have something bad happen to him and Gekkomon will definitely go through the emotional pain that Tomoro went through. Hopefully, Tomoro will be there for him when that time comes. Speaking of Gekkomon, I honestly like how he’s being written so far. While he’s like Nebby from Pokemon where he refuses to stay in Tomoro’s bag, he’s not as much of a troublemaker as he appears to be. He doesn’t eat all of the food in the feast the townspeople give him as thanks, and only eats the portions that are given to him, showing off some control he had towards food than before. He’s still food-driven, however, as the reason why he fought off those creeps was due to the minced meat cutlet falling to the ground—the fact that he’s not eating it off the ground also shows that he has standards when it comes to food.

Pandamon is a very interesting Digimon. He hangs around people who do not possess Sapotamas despite being born from one. He’s a gallant creature in a sense. However, I do wonder who his Owner is. Is it that shady Yakuza guy? And the fact that he can create his own rifts to the Mirror World makes him a very mysterious figure. He is the first case where a Digimon is not with their Owner, and it makes me wonder if there will be such cases in future episodes. The fact that he develops a fondness for Gekkomon and wants to be brothers with him is so adorable. Let’s just hope nothing bad happens to him. Pandamon is voiced by Tomokazu Sugita. He has been in Digimon before as ClavisAngemon from Ghost Game. Some of his other roles include Gintoki from Gintama, Hajime from Kowloon Generic Romance and Hidenori from Daily Lives of High School Boys (Tomoro’s VA voiced Tadakuni, so there’s a bit of a reunion there).

Heck, the little shopping district our main duo stumbles upon is a very interesting place where nobody possesses a Sapotama and rejects societal norms. I find it surprising. While they all seem so happy, it does make me wonder about the stuff behind the scenes. From stories I read about utopias, these types of people usually live in secluded areas, yet these people are in a public, known area. I’m surprised that they’re not being turned over to the government because that’s what usually happens in these types of stories as well…maybe a bad ending will happen in the next episode? If so, I just hope my theory doesn’t come true because these people are sweet.

The villain for this two-parter, Yukari, is the guy who sent the letter to Nogi as mentioned in the previous episode. The fact that he possesses a lot of Digimon from Kenkimon to Astamon does make me wonder if he is also Pandamon’s true Owner and why does he possess so many Digimon? The fact that this episode also shows that he has no qualms of deleting a baby Digimon shows how cruel he is—this is the first time a baby got deleted… Yukari is voiced by Mitsuaki Madono, who often voices villanous characters like Toru Adachi from Persona 4 and Ogino from Buddy Daddies. Madono has also been in Digimon in the past as he voiced Neptunemon from Digimon Fusion.

Sasatake is voiced by Ikuya Sawaki who voiced Dr. Gero from the Dragon Ball franchise. In fact, a lot of his roles includes villainous old guys like Fujitora from One Piece and Hanzo from Naruto, so voicing Sasatake must be a nice change of pace for him. Though, since his voice actor is rather prominent, does this mean that something bad will happen to him? I do think that Sasatake could suffer from Cold Heart but he doesn’t have a Sapotama… Please don’t let anything bad happen to him.

While the episode is just heartwarming in terms of vibes, I just can’t help but to worry about what’s to happen next week. I can’t believe it only took one episode for me to care about Pandamon and the people from the shopping district. In a sense, they are one of the rare people who accepts Tomoro without judging him in the sense that they don’t know what to judge him for. Also, will Reina ever get her meat buns? Let me know your thoughts on this episode!