Tag: Episode 11

Animini: Digimon Adventure – Episode 11 – The Wolf Standing Atop the Desert

A new week, a fresh badge of Animini! We take it from the top and start again with Digimon Adventure. Where last week’s episode ended up to be one of the weaker episodes in the series, this episode is arguably it’s counterpart.. with some very interesting choices and development. I still stand by my point that a series as Digimon doesn’t have to be nearly as good as it is!  Yet this show ends up constantly surprising me!

The Summary

Last episode we saw the group encounter the black Miasma. It is in the way of the direct path of the stronghold the group is going for. Since the group HAS to make it to that location they split up to make sure at least one group will most certainly reach it’s destination. For this random names have been drawn.  Tai-chi leads group one followed by Koshiro and Mimi and Yamato leads the second group with Joe and Sora tagging along. Now I am not sure how random this is as both groups have .. A flyer,  a geek, a girl,  and a powerhouse… but sure!  It will be interesting to see Yamato and Sora interact.   This weeks episode focusses on the adventures of Yamato’s group…(who would have expected it with that episode title) .. the group has to cross a Desert…. They quickly find out small ADORABLE little digimon are being attacked by dragonfly digimon that can summon dust devils.. but also a creature that is lurking beneath the sand. While the Dragonfly’s get killed by whatever is beneath the sand the group realises that this monster.. might have the strength of an ultimate.

Taking shelter after being mostly outclassed the group discovers that more Digmon here are refugees from the evil creature that is known as Scorpiomon Apparently they attempted to flee towards a digmon called Leomon.. who is known as a resistance fighter taking up the fight against those responsible for the black Miasma.. and with that we get a huge reference and potentially later story point! I love Leomon!  Sora and even Joe want to escort these little guys to safety but Yamato  argues they are dead weight and will slow them down too much for their journey. When Sora insists on saving them he leaves the group! Gabumon tells him he should reveal his secret to the group.. but Yamato keeps on walking. Sora and Joe end up in a fight with Scorpiomon and end up on the losing side, just to be saved in the last moment by Garurumon. Seeing his Digimon in trouble.. and Gabumon being all Yamato says he needs.. makes him think of all the bonds that have strengthened him.. even those of his allies. He realises the power in friendship and this allows us to see WereGarurumon for the first time as the second chosen one gets his ultimate. The fight is won and Yamato reveals he used the group as bait and never planned to abandon his friends. He then tells the group of his secret.. he has a brother named Takeru (TK) who is his reason for fighting. 

The Positives

Where to Start?! This episode was amazing!  Mimi has an adorable moment with Palmon, when it is revealed that Mimi can’t climb once again showing this show goes out of his way to diversify the group. They can’t all do the same thing. The idea to pair her up with Koshiro and Taichi to which in the original story she has the “least” connection is also quite interesting.  Seeing Sora and Yamato travel together is interesting for a whole other reason!  
It also makes sense to let Taichi go for the shorter ..but more uncertain route while letting Yamato have the  longer but more controllable route. The way Yamato uses the group as resources yet cares makes his crest of friendship (even though they do not need to collect the item)  so much more interesting and earned this time. The way Gabumon is the primary instigator and the group in general.. more so then his relation to Taichi .. works! Sora having the crest of love makes her a perfect defender of the innocent and Joe wanting to be a doctor not being able to turn out these creatures in need of help and overcoming his fear yet again shows amazing commitment to these characters. Everyone is so much more fleshed out and this episode gives everyone a small moment yet again.. though pushing Taichi a bit aside.. which is perfect because the show needed that.

The music and the cinematography of this episode is amazing as well. The Ultimate battle theme was amazing and with the choreography of the battle added it really lifted the excitement of this episode.  The show is being quite creative with how wounds work on digital characters as well. While not new  to the series it is really used well here! I was also really happy to see Bearmon/Kumamon .. one of the available partners Digimon from Digimon World 3 and while I usually go with Kotemon in that game, I was very happy to see him acknowledged. The show isn’t afraid to dig into the expanded library of the current Digimon world!  The mention of Leomon is great as well! I look forward to seeing more about that! The show does something quite amazing in terms of visual references and other little easter eggs and snippets of knowledge and this episode had some really good ones.  I think it really showcases a great love for the franchise that at times is palpable and here it most certainly is. If the makers had a Biyomon I am sure it would be a Garudamon already!

The Negatives

So here I am fangirling about Digimon a lot, do I have any negatives? Well I guess I would have liked to seen a stock footage digivolution of anyone but Gabumon or Agumon.. but it doesn’t matter THAT much, that Digivolution animation still is really amazing and the way the show manages to make it feel hype and much more choreographed in the battles.. rather than the more stand alone digivolutions of the original. Still there is some favouritism here and once again it shows it’s colours.  Now this is a Gabumon focussed episode so this is no real gripe.. but I have to mention at least something. Another thing is why Takeru is hidden in the shadows. I know some people haven’t seen him yet.. but we only see a Silhouette when his brother remembers him.. which just feels odd.. you know what your brother looks like..  most of us watching probably will know as well.

 Another small gripe I have is how these new Digivices work. Besides evolving your Digimon they can also power it up, which I think is a neat feature. Yet the animation for powering it up also uses this glowing ring in a similar fashion that Super-Evolution works.  In this episode Birdramon gets a filled ring and it results in her getting a super powerful attack.. a Moba player would call it an “ultimate”   I would have liked to see it a bit more visually distinguishable.. The digivice has several segments of “led”  lights that light up in subsequent order and if they move fast enough and all are lit at the same time.. stuff happens.  Whatever the stuff is. I would have loved it if digivolution used that pattern while powered attacks had a single segment glow up in increasing intensity.. or several.. but at least something that conveys a difference so we can get what is coming next. That would make this show even better!

The Score

So it should be quite clear that with negatives like those that this episode will get a high grade. I oftenly found myself leaning into the screen in excitement! This show captures that childhood spirit but at such a high pace that almost every episode feels rewarding and this Episode packs more punch that most of the previous episodes and I am not even that much of a Yamato person.  I bet you all can guess my favourite character quite easily!  Based on the cliffhanger this week I might be in for a treat next week! So if I wasn’t exicted enough this episode also gave me next week to look toward too a perfect ending for a nearly perfect 20 minutes.

Thus it should come as know surprise that this one will get the highest grade in my flavour meter. While not flawless it comes darn close, and while I would love to see an episode of peace and calm.. it just isn’t that type of show. It is something I disliked in the past but if the action is done like THIS  and they keep making smart choises I certainly will not mind.

Animini: Flip Flappers – Episode 11- Pure Storage

Finally after a long time I could pick up Flip Flappers again. Of the shows I am watching Flip Flappers has been one I have constantly liked the most. It’s themes while often obscure resonate with me , in one way or another and whether or not that if it’s intended way doesn’t really matter. It is a show that made me laugh out loud, squee with glee or cry. This episode managed to chill me… I felt so much empathy I felt horrified to find the truth of Cocona’s story. And then came in the other emotions.

The Summary

Episode 11 is a surprisingly down to earth episode …. for Flip Flappers. Cocona has now become possessed by her mother Mimi, who finds herself trapped in Yayaka’s organisation.  She wants nothing but to keep her daughter safe.. so she transforms the enemies into clovers and daisies which seemingly kills them; it even disables their killer robots. From there on out she makes her way to the Headquarters of FlipFlap which now is destroyed by the attack of the Amorphous children. The third one Nyunyu has a lot of fun hunting it’s last remaining members down.. but she is stopped from killing anyone by Yayaka. Mimi is offered to rule the world with the “evil organisation”  but she refuses.. she cares for nothing but Cocona and ends up meeting with Salt.. who holds her at gunpoint. By this time I am completely gonna assume he is Cocona’s father as we flash back to the night of Mimi flee FlipFlap. We see a grown up Papika …I think.. or everyone is just really small.. talk with Mimi about the pregnancy…well we don’t see but it is implied and to Salt they do not mention anything either but tell they want to escape. 

He allows them to escape.. after blamining them for a failed experiment beyond that red portal thing.. ruining his father’s mind.  Seemingly bitter he does allow the organisation to search for them and bring them back. Papika  and Mimi are returned and Salt finds out the woman he is in love with has a daughter named Cocona. We briefly flash back to modern times and Salt tells Mimi she isn’t protecting Cocona like this.. she disagrees and she uses her reality warping powers to easily defeat both him and Papika.  In more flashbacks we see her embracing an evil side of her to keep Cocona safe, killing many people within FlipFlap.. the dark side of Mimi is the one in control now as well and her only goal is to keep Cocona safe. As an incredibly over protective mother she keeps Cocona safe in Pure Illusion.. however both worlds now begin to fuse and reality is at stake. Given an Amorphous shard by Salt, Yayaka convinces Papika to join her to save Cocona from her mother.. who meanwhile tries to build the perfect world for her daughter..even if it is at the cost of reality.

The Positives

While I am not completely sure if Cocona is an actual human or a manifestation of Mimi’s mind, I am fairly sure Salt is her actual father.. though he does seem to care for Cocona very little, we still need pieces of this puzzle..but little by little we get more and more answers and I like it.  The whole idea of what Mimi has been put through and it leaving scars or her sense of reality.. by spending so much time outside of it really works for me. We get a “reap what you sow”  kind of situation.  Even if they made the best of a bad situation.. the damage was still done. Showing friendship and smiles don’t always fix everything.. which I think is a need element to add in a magical girl show of all things.   I also very much like the implications it has on Cocona. We have seen the main girl of the show always struggle with making choices in this series and in this episode we see why. She has a hard time making choices.. because everytime she is making such a choice she wishes she could ask her mother. She never had such a bond that can shape a person and is left without it…. and now she gets offered the exact opposite. The chance to never make a choice again.

The scene where her mother and Cocona are in the boat and her mother starts enforcing hairstyles and dress-styles on Cocona and making choices for her , remind me slightly of my own overprotective mother.. While obviously nowhere near as toxic as Mimi I do see similar elements here. Even at a later age.  “Wear your hair like this.. people will like you better”  .. while actually meaning .. she likes it better but also genuinely being afraid that by making a choice that is not hers I make the wrong one.  I sometimes see a mother that wants me and my sister happy and nothing else in the world would matter.. not to the extent of the anime .. but enough for me to feel like I know Mimi. This one just has a dark side she can refer to for all those things she would otherwise feel conflicted about. Because this episode is mostly set in their reality.. it also feels very concrete , the Pure Illusion elements that feature in this episode still back to that moment in the past, where things were alright. Showing something of perhaps.. regret.. and it keeps everything very real. I really do like this episode.

The Negatives

Apparently this is the episode that a lot of people begin to hate this show, saying it is where it jumps the shark. I honestly do not see that, I feel this has all been pretty well set up from the first episode. From little things such as the fact that Cocona can’t make choices all the way to that first Pure Illusion adventure she had such an impact to reflect her love and fondness for Papika. The latter could be shoehorned in.. but all other worlds would have made less of a visual impact to occur in the real world.. it would have felt more out of place. I do however feel that the evil organisation wasn’t really needed all that much. It could have been another cell in Flip Flappers..  it still might be but since most of the organisation is wiped out I am unsure if we will see any answers on that front. The killer robots in reality might be a tad much… then again.. hover surfboards are a thing. It does push the boundaries of forcing an event.. and I can hear it creak..but for me it never really broke.

Yayaka getting a new hover surfboard and her learning to fly it without fault is a bit of a bigger issue and seeing no resolve with Nyunyu felt strange so the episode does make a few missteps but I am honestly not that bothered by it. Nyunyu is not very consistent in behaviour by character so I can see her just losing interest and pursuing other things. I think we will see what made Papika younger in the next episode.. as that episodes should be centered around her but I would have loved to see a bit of an answer in this episode. Some things were left just a little bit too much in the middle for me.. but that makes me very eager to watch the next episode to see if I can get answers there.. so I am not sure if it is a negative yet.. if I do not get these answers in hindsight it will be but for now I trust them.

The Score

This is one of those exposition episodes that is done well, I think they have done plenty of foreshadowing towards this and it feels earned and sincere.. I felt compassion by what Mimi had to endure and I could see how her mind would snap from something like this. I can see how someone who really has nothing can get obsessed with that one little thing that it becomes her entire life and consumes her.  I can also see why it makes her the bad guy.. and I think it offers an interesting struggle for Papika in the next episodes to deal with this. So despite what I saw people complain about in their reviews I think it was done well. Other people called out the over designed elements of this episode and it’s characters.. and I would like to ask those if they have seen the rest of the show…. that is very much how this show is… and that works for me because this show .. teaches us we are shaped by our choices for better or for worse.. we become more unique through the choices that we make so I think the “overdesign” is to an extent intended.

I do get how suddenly all the domino’s coming down to spell out this message may seem out of place as before we only had single lines of bricks falling and now we move to something so much more intense.. yet I really can not say I mind this… I might have preferred to see some elements be built up just a bit more.. or other elements giving some equal attention but this is great as well. Like if you want a chocolat desert of your favourite brand but it’s out of stock and then picking a brand that hits the exact same notes! It might not have been what you wanted but there is no reason to complain either.. and since there is nothing for me to really complain about that means.. we get a very high score.