Recap: Guilmon Comes Alive

Hello again. It’s been a bit since I did my look at “Princess VS Princess”. As opposed to my usual turnaround; I ended up writing, screen capping; and posting that piece in just 24 hours, yet it still managed to pull the views my usual stuff did. I feel like Roger Corman.

Be that as it may; man cannot live by Pokémon alone, so I say it’s time to take a look at another Digimon series for another installment of From Humble Beginnings! This time, it’s on my favorite season; Digimon Tamers! I definitely share the fans’ enthusiasm for this series with its dark tone and unique approach to how the Digimon are dealt with as opposed to the Adventure series. So, let’s open up “Guilmon Comes Alive” and get plugged in! 

Furthering my belief that the franchise is like the kids’ version of The Matrix; the theme song got an industrial metal remix for this season! I’m posting a link of it for you to hear. 

We open on Calumon being chased by a rogue Digimon. I used to have a figure of him; i wonder what happened to it?

As he enters the real world; we cut to our lead, Takato Matsuda; playing the Digimon card game with his friend Kazu.

He then discovers a mysterious blue card in with his collection. He scans the card; and his scanner starts going crazy.

As he is late; the penalty is something that’s more common in Japan than here: standing in the hallway.

You can choose to be at your desk on time, or you can choose to find yourself another school.

With the extra time on his hands; he starts designing his own Digimon. We all did this when we were younger, be honest.

Later that day; we see his friend Jeri pick up her flute from her desk. As for the dog puppet on her hand: I can’t really joke about this, knowing what lies ahead. I shall simply state she has issues. Major issues.

As if the day wasn’t any more bizarre already; it starts to rain on Takato’s way home.

He stops back at the playground; and it turns out his card scanner is a Digivice. He expresses incredulity at the fact he’s holding it inside a dinosaur.

What next? The Power Rangers fight some dude that can pull swords out of his bones?

It also turns out his parents run a bakery. If this all seems a bit slow; I’m sorry: I actually like the way they’re building up how Digimon appear in our world. After a pair of seasons with a bunch of colorful creatures abound; I found this to be quite refreshing when I was younger. 

His Digivice starts scanning his notebook while he’s at dinner; including the notes about Guilmon. Yes, the studio with a proud legacy including Dragon Ball and Fist of the North Star now presents a toy commercial starring a red dinosaur! Yet, unlike Yo-Kai Watch; this has a sense of atmosphere and mood to it that remain entertaining after all this time.

He goes to bed with the Digivice in his hand. It’s 2001: The year where the line between cool toy and sleek gadget became closer than ever.

We then get one of the more notable parts of the episode: Takato’s prophetic dream. While the writers of this series would later go on to make Serial Experiments Lain; I’m just going on record to say I’m not interested in that one. I do intend to keep enjoying this series; as it effectively does for Digimon what Evangelion did for mecha pilots.

His dream, of course, involves another entry on my Top 13 anime women: Rika Nonaka. After a myriad of happy-go-lucky Digidestined; she was a notable departure from that, being snarky and having a more serious approach to what she does. She’s so driven she wears three belts: one to keep her pants up, and two to show she doesn’t care what others think.

We then get a very good fight scene with her Digimon; Renamon. There’s a lot more fan art of her than you might think, and filthier too.

As he wakes up the next morning; he wonders if it was really just a dream. I really enjoy whenever a work messes with my perception of what’s real and what isn’t. Takato’s reaction is my own.

When he tries to tell Kazu and his friend (I forget his name; I’ve been working on wrapping up my school term; he not only scoffs at the idea, but insinuates that Takato is a bedwetter. Good grief, it’s a running gag. The fact that Takato is at the age that he’s going through puberty does not help matters. Well, here you go.

When my Digi-Egg hatched I JIZZED IN MY PANTS.

After they run off, Takato of course is eager to find the Digimon he created before it wrecks up Akihabara. Wait till those guys turn their Hanes into a honey pot, then they’ll change their tune!

At the control center; we see a man who wonders what will happen if the Digimon are allowed to roam free in the world. Interesting how Saban cut all the scenes with him smoking; but left in the ones with him twiddling his lighter.

So, Takato dashes off into the city to find his Digimon; with his Digivice around his neck.

To his dismay; he follows the compass through the sewers to its location.

Also, I never noticed that Steve Blum voiced the man in the shadows here. Consider my childhood enhanced for my 9-year-old self.

As Takato reaches the location; we get our first glimpse of Guilmon in the flesh. Even though things will get progressively darker as they go with this season; the early episodes still possess a sense of childlike wonder of how one would reacting to finding a real Digimon.

So, we close on Takato in awe of how he spawned something to call his own in his favorite merchandise-driven series.

“Guilmon Comes Alive” is the ideal first outing for Digimon Tamers. While the Adventure series were entertaining in their own right; this is what the franchise is truly capable of in terms of storytelling. It also helps the animation style is given a more distinct look to further distinguish it from those seasons. It works quite well in and of itself for animation as well. It also manages to establish the tone of the series from the outset; making quite clear that this is not the same Digimon we got started with. Overall; it’s well worth your time. It also happens I’ve found something for my rooster phase of my Chinese Zodiac theme! Next up: “Biyomon Gets Firepower!” See you space cowboy!