Digimon Adventure 2020 Episode 7 [Anime Episode Review]

Welcome, everyone, to my continued weekly review series for the 2020 reboot of Digimon Adventure! So far, things have been very Digimon Adventure. Mostly in a good way too. This week, we’re meeting the last of the initial six Chosen Ones. So, let’s see how it went.

That Boy Is Joe Kido: Recap

Taichi and the gang were heading towards the ocean so they could find the next continent. After a brief break to drink some tea – made by Palmon no less – Taichi, Agumon and Sora attempted a fly-over on Birdramon. This didn’t go well, as they were attacked by a mysterious monster hiding beneath a whirlpool. Everyone was dumped into the ocean and Birdramon was knocked unconscious, returning to her Piyomon form. Just as everything looked lost, Gomamon turned up and hauled them back to land.

Gomamon explained that the monster was Gesomon, who has been preventing anyone from crossing the ocean. He also introduced us to his partner, Joe Kido. Joe, the eldest of the Chosen Ones, was busy studying for his middle school entrance exams and had no interest in finding the Holy Digimon. As far as he was concerned, he’ll contribute to society when he’s a grown-up. Until then, he has to study.

Gomamon joined the others. He explained that Joe is struggling under the pressure of everything and that he’d fight for him. As such, they formulated a plan: Gomamon would lure Gesomon onto land, and that would give the heroes an advantage. The plan started off well enough, but as they drew close to the beach, Gesomon slapped Gomamon with a hard tentacle strike. This brought Joe – who had been secretly watching since Gomamon joined up with the others – out of hiding. He hauled Gomamon to safety, and Greymon and Togemon stepped in. Gesomon realized he was at a disadvantage on land and dragged them into the water.

Meanwhile, Joe and Gomamon had a heart-to-heart, and the bond they formed caused Joe’s Digivice to glow. Gomamon evolved into Ikkakumon, and together with Greymon and Togemon, Gesomon was defeated. The episode ended with the ever-growing team riding Ikkakumon across the ocean.

We also saw some brief moments outside the main arc this week. There was a brief shot of Hikari watching TV at home and hearing about the power shortages. We also saw that Oshiro and Kabuterimon are still heading towards the Digital World. Finally, the next episode preview revealed that Yamato will also be back.

That Boy Is Joe Kido: Thoughts

Almost the entire focus this week was, of course, on Joe and Gomamon. And I have to say, Gomamon always had one of my favourite designs in the original series. He’s equal parts cute and cool, and that really hasn’t changed. Meanwhile, his Ikkakumon form still looks like a cross between a walrus and my parent’s old Yorkshire Terrier Lucky to me.

Joe was really interesting. We saw him buckling under societal pressures here, I think. When you listen to what he was saying, there were a few telling sentiments: My family are all doctors, and I have to be too. I’ll contribute to society when I’m a grown-up but until then I have to study. I have to get back to the real world. Why are there no grown-ups?

These all showed that he’s likely under a lot of pressure at home. He’s seen his family succeed in very worthwhile careers and he feels the need to follow in that. At the same time, he doesn’t view childhood as anything more than building up the skills to be a worthwhile member of society. It’s a stark contrast to Mimi. When she saw her grandfather reacting to the power outages in Tokyo, it spurred her into action. For Joe, his family don’t appear to be lifting him up, but rather weighing him down.

During his heart-to-heart with Gomamon, we also saw him say something else: Weren’t you disappointed to find your partner was a human like me? Joe clearly has some self-esteem issues. A lot of that probably stems from his feeling like he has to succeed and live up to his family’s success. We saw though that Gomamon had already picked up on all the pressure Joe was under. Best of all, he didn’t minimize it either, he simply told the others that it was stuff Joe had to do and that he’d be there to support him. We also got to see some kindness in Joe, as they had a flashback to him covering Gomamon up while he slept. It was all quite sweet.

Outside the character introduction, I thought the battle was fun. Gesomon was way bigger than the heroes’ Digimon, even in their evolved states, and clearly had some advantages there. Still, the plan of attack made sense, and the victory felt realistic.

I’m still loving Sora and Piyomon together too. Their brief interactions this week continued their friendship nicely, I thought. Oh, and the heroic evolution music has really grown a lot on me. I’m excited for next week too. We already saw that Yamato is returning, and the voiceover confirmed that all six Chosen Ones will be reunited, so I’m assuming Koshiro arrives too. Things should really begin to kick off at that point.

But those are just my thoughts. What did you think of these episodes? Let me know in the comments below.

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