I was ready to deny this one a recommendation, since the handling of both the characters and story is subpar. The entirety of it is an extended affirmation that the group needs to become stronger, which translates to "achieving a higher evolutionary form".
The first two thirds are pretty weak, with the trio getting thrashed by several Gizumon only to get saved by the fortuitous arrival of Bancholeomon, who proceeds to spout out all sorts of laughable platitudes; he and Tea Garner from "Yu-Gi-Oh" would have quite a conversation. Clearly, he's an alternate mega-form for the Leomon line, but conceptually he is not sufficiently removed from his namesake to be interesting. In other words, Leomon is an anthropomorphic lion with a sword and flaming fist attack, while Bancholeomon is an anthropomorphic lion with a sword and flaming fist attack; I miss Saberleomon.
The final act features the return of Cherrymon, with the somber sight of some hidden injured digimon. I was glad to see him again, and admired his efforts to defend the others. The digimon-hybrid trio from the previous episode returns for a rematch, and they're no less bothersome than before; frankly, the "I wonder if she'll go out with me/how did she know what I was thinking/don't think out loud" gag is already overtly unfunny.
All of this amounts to a distinctly average product, but the intense final few minutes are what save it. There's a real sense of hopelessness in this fight, one that works because they're facing 3 lackeys instead of just 1, which would have been frustrating. Seeing Marcus, Thomas and Yoshi tap into a new level of power by getting all emotional from desperation is pretty shallow but will see some follow-up in the next episode, and the visual of the ultimate digimon surrounded by D.N.A. auras is a creative way to foreshadow their mega-level forms.
The first two thirds are pretty weak, with the trio getting thrashed by several Gizumon only to get saved by the fortuitous arrival of Bancholeomon, who proceeds to spout out all sorts of laughable platitudes; he and Tea Garner from "Yu-Gi-Oh" would have quite a conversation. Clearly, he's an alternate mega-form for the Leomon line, but conceptually he is not sufficiently removed from his namesake to be interesting. In other words, Leomon is an anthropomorphic lion with a sword and flaming fist attack, while Bancholeomon is an anthropomorphic lion with a sword and flaming fist attack; I miss Saberleomon.
The final act features the return of Cherrymon, with the somber sight of some hidden injured digimon. I was glad to see him again, and admired his efforts to defend the others. The digimon-hybrid trio from the previous episode returns for a rematch, and they're no less bothersome than before; frankly, the "I wonder if she'll go out with me/how did she know what I was thinking/don't think out loud" gag is already overtly unfunny.
All of this amounts to a distinctly average product, but the intense final few minutes are what save it. There's a real sense of hopelessness in this fight, one that works because they're facing 3 lackeys instead of just 1, which would have been frustrating. Seeing Marcus, Thomas and Yoshi tap into a new level of power by getting all emotional from desperation is pretty shallow but will see some follow-up in the next episode, and the visual of the ultimate digimon surrounded by D.N.A. auras is a creative way to foreshadow their mega-level forms.
