Three years have passed since the Chosen defeated Apocalymon and the Dark Masters. Now, a new threat has arisen in the Digital World; a human calling himself the Digimon Kaiser has declared himself the ruler of the Digital World and is enslaving the digimon with his Evil Rings, which puts them under his spell. In addition, his Demonic Digivice prevents the Chosen's digimon from evolving to fight him. Taichi finds this out and sends an SOS to Hikari. Back on Earth, Takeru gets ready for school, and meets three new kids, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori. Meanwhile, Taichi discovers a strage relic in a cave with the Crest of Courage on it. When he touches it, three new Digivices come out of it, though they're different from the other kids'. Hikari receives the SOS and comes to the Digital World with Takeru and Daisuke, who received one of the Digivices. Miyako and Iori got the other two. Daisuke, meanwhile, is able to lift the strange relic, which the others couldn't budge. When he takes it, a digimon called V-mon appears and explains that he's his partner and that he removed the Digimental of Courage. At that point, a Monochromon that's under the Kaiser's influence appears. Daisuke manages to use the Digimental to make V-mon evolve into Fladramon, who then destroys the Evil Ring that was controlling the Monochromon. Everyone then returns home.
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The kickoff of Zero Two. It certainly has its ups and downs. The music has improved a tad. At least we didn't hear that terrible, terrible "Hey Digimon" during the big fight. But it still doesn't match the original score; not by a longshot. The major downside, however, is the corny humor has just gotten worse. Ah, and here are the name changes for this episode:
Daisuke >>> Davis
Miyako >>> Yolei
Iori >>> Cody
Digimon Kaiser >>> Digimon Emperor
As with "Kamiya <> Yagami" in the first season, I have no idea why they opted to change Miyako to Yolei, especially since it still sounds Japanese. Saban also seems to have a problem with the word 'kaiser'.
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Originally, it was three years since the events of Digimon Adventure. The dub can't seem to make up its mind on this. They start by saying four years, then in later episodes, they go back to three years, then they seem to bounce back and forth like that.
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Mrs. Takashi says she can't take TK to school since she's writing a report. That's fine... but the dub says the report is about toilet paper. Yes, this is the moronic brand of humor you can expect from now on...
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Another big change throughout the series; Hikari is very nice to Daisuke. Kari acts like a stuck-up little snot with Davis.
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DAVIS (after getting his Digivice): "Can I play Donkey Madness on this?"
Another shot at Davis. In the original, he was just asking if he can enter the Digital World with it. This line was simply for the dubbers to establish Davis as stupid and irresponsible.
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The gold ring around Gatomon's tail was changed from "Holy Ring" to "Tail Ring". Oh, and while Tailmon mentions that the loss of her ring has cut her power in half, Gatomon never says this.
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Evil Rings were changed to Dark Rings.
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GATOMON (when Davis shows her his Digivice): "You work for the Digimon Emperor!"
Er... no. Tailmon just verified that the Kaiser's Digivice looked like Daisuke's, she never thought that he was his lackey.
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V-mon became Veemon. It's pronounced the same, only the spelling's different.
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Digimentals are changed to "Digi-Eggs". How moronic is that? Yeah, the Digimental of Courage kinda looks like an egg, but the others don't look anything like eggs! Plus, I thought those things digimon hatched from were called digi-eggs...
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The phrase that activates the Digimental/Digi-Egg was changed from "Digimental Up!" to "Digi-Armor Energize!". By the way, Veemon never told Davis what to say in the dub. Davis somehow knew already...
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Fladramon became Flamedramon. His Fire Rocket attack was retained, however.
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DIGIMON EMPEROR: "I believe we've found a worthy foe at last."
WORMMON: "Great! Just one question... What's a foe?"
Oh, god... What a way to introduce poor Wormmon, one of my favorite digimon from this season. All he originally said in this scene was "Ken-chan...". Now, not only does he have a horrible voice like a spokesman for Robitussen, but he's portrayed here as an utter moron. Urgh...
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Everyone decides to head home, but Miyako is excited about going to the Digital World. The next day, she, along with Daisuke and Iori, gather in the computer lab to head there, along with Sora and Koushiro. When they arrive, they quickly find V-mon, along with Patamon, Tailmon, Piyomon, and Tentomon. But the Kaiser finds them as well and sics several of his servents on the Chosen. They capture Daisuke and V-mon, and the others are left with no choice but to flee. Miyako's excitement from before has quickly turned to terror. As they run, she and Iori get a signal from their Digivices. Following them, they discover an old ruin with two more Digimentals; those of Love and Knowledge. When Miyako and Iori take them, their partners, Hawkmon and Armadimon appear before them. Using the Digimentals, the two can evolve to Holsmon and Digmon and quickly head off to save Daisuke. When they do, V-mon evolves to Fladramon and helps the other two fight off the Kaiser's slaves, destroying their Evil Rings. They return home, along with the new digimon, who revert to their baby forms. Tentomon and Piyomon stay behind to keep watch.
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Tai distracts Mr. Fujiyama so that the others can go to the Digital World without him seeing them. The same things happend in the original, but with a change. Taichi wanted Fujiyama-sensei to help him with schoolwork. Tai wanted to ask Mr. Fujiyama about girls because "they're so much older".
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The phrase to open the gate to the Digital World was changed from "Digital Gate, Open!" to "Digi-Port, Open!".
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Snimon, Drimogemon, and Mojamon all appeared in the first season, and their attacks in the dub are all the same as before.
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The new digimon's name changes:
Armadimon >>> Armadillomon
Holsmon >>> Halsemon
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Both of the attacks Halsemon used in this episode, Red Sun and Mach Impulse, were both changed to Tempest Wing. That is the name of one of Holsmon's attacks, but we don't see him use it until later. Fladramon's Knuckle Fire was also called Fire Rocket. Digmon's Gold Rush stayed the same, however.
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The Chosen again head back to the Digital World, but Iori hasn't come yet. As they wait, they watch a news report on the local celebrity Ken Ichijouji, who's both an academic genius and an outstanding athlete. Little do they know that Ken is also the Digimon Kaiser. Iori finally arrives and they head to the Digital World. Suddenly, they get a reading on their Digivices about another Digimental. They go to check it out, but are stopped by the Kaiser, with a herd of Tyrannomon that are under his spell. V-mon, Hawkmon, and Armadimon evolve to fight them, but the sheer numbers of Tyrannomon take a toll on them. Hikari, Takeru, and Iori run to find the Digimental they detected before. They find two of them, with the crests of Hope and Light on them. Takeru and Hikari aren't sure if they belong to them, but they try to lift them anyways. Sure enough, they do belong to them. Their Digivices transform into the ones like Daisuke's, and Patamon and Tailmon evolve to Pegusmon and Nefertimon respectively. They manage to defeat the Kaiser's Tyrannomon and destroy their Rings, and the Kaiser escapes to fight another day.
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Ken retains his name, but I guess that's expected, as Ken is a well-known name in the States as well.
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This season's first cut happens in this episode; where Ken kicked a puppy as he walked down the street. In the dub, he just said "Beat it, or I'll call the pound." and it cuts to the puppy running away, as if it understood what he said :p
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CODY (regarding Ken): "I hear he's so smart, he gives his teachers homework."
*sigh* Saban, you're not clever and you're not funny...
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As they walk through the Digital World, Davis offers to hold Kari's hand, and TK tells him that he's holding his hand. Har har. But what makes this exchange especially stupid is that just by looking at their marching order, you can see that Takeru is nowhere near Daisuke.
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Another cut; Where the Tyrannomon hits Patamon and Tailmon, they slam into a tree and fall to the ground. The dub cuts them actually hitting the tree. We just see the Tyrannomon swing his claw, and Patamon and Gatomon falling to the ground.
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Pegusmon was changed to Pegasusmon.
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Attack changes:
Utchat Gaze >>> Tempest Wing
Fire Breath >>> Blaze Blast
Sanctuary Bind >>> Golden Noose
Needle Rain >>> Star Shower
Nile Jewel >>> Rosetta Stone
(Rosetta Stone is one of Nefertimon's attacks, but as with Holsmon in the previous episode, she doesn't use it until later.)
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KARI (looking at pictures she took of the Tyrannomon): "I think the Tyrannomon have red eye. Oh wait, they always have red eyes!"
And you must be color blind, Kari you stupid twit. The Tyrannomon had blue eyes. Their eyes were only red when under the Evil Ring's spell.
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The Kaiser begins to expand his domain, taking over a Gazimon village and leaving a garrison of Vegiemon led by a RedVegiemon, all under the Evil Ring's power. Gabumon tries freeing the Gazimon, but he's beaten up by RedVegiemon and left for dead. Back on Earth, Yamato is signing an autograph for Daisuke's sister, Jun (Yamato has recently started his own rock band), when he gets Gabumon's SOS. He and the others head out to save him and the Gazimon. Daisuke seems eager to just jump in, guns blazing, but everyone else opts to be more covert. Pretending to be slaves of the Evil Ring, the digimon bring the kids into the village and imprison them, where they then free the Gazimon and take off into the mountains, where a mysterious black tower resides. The RedVegimon and his forces follow them, however, and ensnare everyone but V-mon, whom the RedVegiemon pummels personally. When the black tower is damaged by the onslaught, Gabumon suddenly evolves to Garurumon and frees the others. Their digimon evolve and destroy the tower, which released all the Kaiser's lackies from the spell. Obviously, these Black Towers transmit the Kaiser's evil signal that powers the rings and halts evolution. The Chosen now set out to eradicate these Black Towers.
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First, allow me to explain the dub RedVegiemon. He fancies himself as some kind of chef, hence the dub title "Iron Vegiemon". When he first attacks Gabumon, he doesn't beat him up like his original counterpart does; he makes him "smell his roots" instead. Stupid, no?
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Black Towers were changed to Control Spires.
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Amazingly, though. The rest of the episode was surprisingly intact. Even Davis and Matt's spat when the former insults Jun is kept with no apparent mangling
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Gomamon is seriously wounded when he intervenes in the Kaiser's assault on the Gizamon during his latest conquest over a frozen plain. Jou gets his SOS and rushes for help. Meanwhile, Iori brushes off going to the Digital World at first to practice kendo with his grandfather. But, Grandpa Hida sees something is wrong and tells Iori that he must do what he thinks is right. Iori rushes back and meets up with Jou and the others and heads to the Digital World with them. Armadimon is a bit miffed at him about this, at the thought of Iori choosing kendo over him. They find Gomamon and nurse him back to health, then they make their way to the Kaiser's Dark Tower, which they find is guarded by a group of Yukidarumon. Iori gets tossed into the freezing water, and Jou and Gomamon help him back up. Daisuke, Miyako, Hikari, and Takeru go to destroy the tower while Iori recovers. In the meantime, he and Jou have a heart to heart chat and he patched things with Armadimon. But then the Kaiser attacks with a Shellmon, which Digmon takes care of, but then he's grabbed by yet another of the Kaiser's slaves, an Ebidramon. Daisuke and the others destroyed the tower by now however and Gomamon evolves to Ikkakumon to defeat Ebidramon. The Kaiser retreats and all is well.
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WORMMON: "Okay, they defeated Gomamon. Tell them what they won!"
Just a stupid line because in the original, the Kaiser told the Gizamon that he'll go easy on them if they beat up Gomamon. The Kaiser 'fulfilled' his promise by slapping Evil Rings on them and telling them that their work isn't so bad now. In the dub, he promised a prize to them, hence this dumb line.
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As with Sora and Biyomon in episode 4 of the first season, the friction between Cody and Armadillomon was totally covered up. You can tell Armi's annoyed just by by looking at his facial reactions to Iori in the first half of the episode. Hell, even good friends quarrel from time to time, so why did they feel this had to be censored?
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Like the previous season, Yukidarumon was changed to Frigimon. Likewise, his attack was changed again, from Absolute Zero Punch to Sub-Zero Ice Punch.
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Other attack changes:
V-mon Head >>> Vee Headbutt
Feather Slash >>> Beak Buzzsaw
Curse of the Queen >>> Cat's Eye Beam
Hydro Pressure >>> Aqua Blaster
Twin Neptune >>> Twin Scissors
Fladramon's Knuckle Fire was changed twice. The first time he used it, he called it 'Fire Rocket' like he usually does in the dub. The second time, he yells out "Flamedramon: The Fire of Courage!!" like at the end of his evo sequence. Yeah, I was binking my eyes in confusion as well.
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It's Golden Week, so the gang decides to take a day off from fighting the Digimon Kaiser and go on a picnic in the Digital world instead. Mimi, who had moved to America, has come home to visit, so she joins them as well. Things go awry, though, when Miyako and Mimi find themselves transported to a dark forest under the Kaiser's command. They're found by Palmon, but also by the Evil Ring-controlled Gokimon brothers. After a firece battle, Holsmon manages to destroy the black tower, enabling Palmon to evolve to Togemon and destroy the Gokimon's Rings.
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Most of this episode came out pretty good in the dub version. Just a couple of points worth mentioning.
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Golden Week is a holiday in Japan that would be unfamiliar to the average American. So it's merely a Saturday in the dub.
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I have no freakin' clue what was up with Mimi's Digimon Analyzer screen. It was in both the original and the dub, but I can't comprehend what the point of it was.
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Gokimon was changed to Roachmon. Its attack, Dream Dust, was changed to Garbage Dump and Yard-Sale Bomb.
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The personalities of the Gokimon brothers were greatly changed in the dub. In the original version, they were very friendly and cooperative with one another when they were under the Evil Ring's influence, but then stared fighting once the Rings came off. In the dub, they quarreled when they had the Rings on, and continued fighting after they were removed. Your guess is as good as mine as to why this was changed.
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The Chosen's battle with the Kaiser's minions in a mechanical city goes sour when they're forced to retreat, but Hikari is left stranded. Daisuke and Takeru return to the Digital World to find her while the others make a cover story for them for their families. Jun, Daisuke's sister, knows Yamato is lying, though, and makes him go out with her as the price for her silence. Meanwhile, Patamon manages to get them back in the city by evolving to Angemon, since there's no Black Tower outside the city. But once they catch up with Hikari, they encounter Andromon, who's under the Kaiser's spell as well. He attacks Hikari, but gradually regains his memory thanks to her and Taichi, and overcomes the Evil Ring's powers, much to the Kaiser's dismay. Andromon then destroys the Tower, and vows to keep protecting the city.
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What?! An episode with minimal changes?! Say it ain't so! Well, it is. I really can't think of anything to say about this episode, as the dubbing stayed pretty well on-track. See, Saban? It's not so hard!
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Just one thing... In the e-mail she sent back to the others, saying she's alright, she adds that she's sorry if any words are misspelled. WTF? I would think spelling would be the least of her worries at the moment. If it was an attempt to be funny, it failed miserably. --------------------------------------------
Not worth noting much, but Andromon's attacks were once again changed from Spiral Sword and Gatling Missile to Lightning Blade and Gatling Attack, just like last season.
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Pegususmon's other two attacks were changed as well:
Shooting Star >>> Star Shower
Silver Blaze >>> Eques Beam
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Daisuke is getting pumped over a big soccer match with the team that Ken Ichijouji is part of. Daisuke is a huge admirerer of Ken and he's looking forward to playing against him (Miyako also looks forward to it, as she has an apparent crush on him). Ken is an amazing player, however, and single-handedly beats Daisuke's team soundly. However, Daisuke does get a bold move in that screws up Ken's last play, accidently screatching his ankle in the process. Later, as the Kaiser, he baits the Chosen to a Black Tower and imprisons all of them but Daisuke. He then makes Daisuke grovel before him, then offers the sadistic choice to Daisuke to choose which of his friends he won't kill. It proves to be a ploy, however; the Kaiser's way of screwing with Daisuke's head. Enraged, Daisuke attacks the Kaiser while Fladramon defeats his bodyguard, Deltamon. Then Daisuke sees the same wound on the Kaiser's ankle as before. Confronted with this, the Kaiser reveals his identity as Ken before escaping. Daisuke is left devastated, as the one who he thought was his hero is now his enemy...
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Yet again, a well-dubbed episode. I honestly can't think of anything to call 'em out on this one.
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Now that the Kaiser's identity has been found out, the Chosen try to go and confront him personally. However, they find that Ken has gone missing. They quickly discover that he's taken up permanent residence in the Digital World. They go there to find him, but are waylaid by Ring-controlled Meramon. Meanwhile, Ken has decided to capture Taichi's Greymon and, combined with the Evil Ring and his Demonic Digivice, hopes to evolve him to a MetalGreymon under his command. However, he evolves instead to SkullGreymon and goes berserk. After savagely wiping out many of the Kaiser's minions, he reverts back to Agumon. However, before the other Chosen can get to him, he's retaken by the Kaiser. Things have just gotten a lot uglier...
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The first half of the episode had a few stupid parts, but the second half went great.
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After Ken's interview, Ken's teacher approaches him and first asks him to tutor his daughter, which Ken turns down, then for his autograph. The dub completely screwed this up. First, the teacher asks Ken for help with Donkey Madness, to which Ken replies "Aren't you a little old for video games?" (hey, now...). Then, when he gives his autograph, Ken writes "Good luck with Donkey Madness!". Will you drop the Donkey Madness crap already??? It's not funny!
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When the gang sees police cars in front of Ken's appartment, Davis says "Alright, what'd Ken do now?!", or something to that effect. Originally, Daisuke was just wondering what was going on.
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One attack change (SkullGreymon's):
Ground Zero >>> Dark Shot
Unlike last season, Meramon's attack was retained as Burning Fist.
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Taichi heads to the Digital World with Daisuke, Takeru, Hikari, and Iori to track down Agumon. He's understandably extremely distressed, but it causes him to lash out at the others from time to time. Meanwhile, the Kaiser is experimenting with Agumon to find out why the Evil Rings can't control digimon at the Perfect stage. However, Wormmon sets Agumon free and allows him to escape. The Chosen, meanwhile, make their way to Locomo Town, where they find Agumon. Before they can make their escape however, the Kaiser finds them, siccing several Airdramon and DarkTyrannomon on them. The Chosen digimon fight them off, but when victory seems imminent, the Kaiser unveils his newly-discovered Evil Spiral, which now allows him to control Perfects. He uses it on Agumon, who evolves to MetalGreymon, but now under the control of the Digimon Kaiser. MetalGreymon easily defeats the Chosen, and the Kaiser sets off with his new prize. Meanwhile, Yamato and Miyako join the other Chosen. Taichi flips out again at losing Agumon, but Yamato quickly brings him around. They agree to set off after the Kaiser again, and this time, they can't afford to hold back against their former friend.
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Most of the episode was done alright; byfar the worst part of the dub was the whole thing with Tentomon's tree. Agumon was just stolen to be turned into a servent of the Kaiser's, and all Tentomon's worried about is some dead tree?! Allrightie then...
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Locomo Town was changed to Rail Town.
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As with the Rings, the Evil Spiral was changed to Dark Spiral.
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As was with the first season, MetalGreymon's Giga Destroyer was changed to Giga Blaster.
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Also, like in the first season, the part where Matt punched Tai was covered up with a white flash.
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Tentomon joins the Chosen as the head off to stop the Kaiser and MetalGreymon, and Yamato asks him to go find Garurumon. Meanwhile, Daisuke is uncertain about fighting Taichi's Agumon with all their strength. Takeru tells him they have no choice, and that Agumon would rather be killed by them than remain a slave of the Digimon Kaiser. This leads to an arguement between the two, which Iori interrupts with a reading on his Digivice. Following the signal, they find another Digimental, this one with the Crest of Friendship on it. All of the Chosen except Daisuke try lifting it, but to no avail. Daisuke seems to think he's unworthy of the Digimental of Friendship, so he's reluctant to even try. As he's about to, the group gets attacked by a Flymon who captures Patamon. The Kaiser arrives at that time with MetalGreymon. He's about to put another Dark Spiral on Patamon when Garurumon shows up and saves him. The other Chosen's digimon then evolve to battle MetalGreymon, but Daisuke refuses to let Fladramon fight. During the course of the battle, though, he sees the deep bond that the others have with their digimon. When he comes to this realization, the Digimental of Friendship activates and V-mon evolves to Lighdramon. Together, Lighdramon and Garurumon destroy MetalGreymon's Evil Spiral, and he reverts to a normal Agumon. The Kaiser flees once more, extremely pissed off.
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The only part I didn't like about the dub episode was Davis's line "Veemon, I'm your frieeeeeeeeeeeend!!". It was really cheesy and it wasn't even close to what Daisuke originally said.
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TK: (When the Kaiser holds the Evil Spiral up to Patamon) "He's got more Dark Rings!!"
No, Takeru. That's a "Dark" Spiral, as established in the previous episode. Later, Matt talks about removing the "Dark Rings" from MetalGreymon. One inconsistancy point for Saban!
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A lesser issue was the fact that while Davis was in his indecisive state, the other Chosen were a heck of a lot meaner to him than they were in the original.
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Lighdramon was changed to Raidramon. This is an interesting change, since 'Ligh' is short for the English word 'Lightning', while Rai is Japanese for 'Lightning'. So the Japanese version uses the English word while the English version uses the Japanese word. ;p
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Lighdramon's Blue Thunder and Lightning Blade attacks were both changed to 'Blue Thunder' in this episode. But in every episode after this, his attack is permanently changed to 'Thunder Blast'. His Digimon Analyzer screen in the dub said his other attack was Electric Bite, but it's never used at all.
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Sora gets an SOS from Piyomon, so she goes to the Digital World with Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori, where they end up in a town out of the Old West. They're greeted by a Starmon who appears hospitable at first, but he's actually under the Kaiser's control. He jails the Chosen, where they find Piyomon was also imprisoned. As they plan an escape, they're "saved" by an eccentric Revolvermon. He was actually only interested in resuing the girls, however. When Starmon finds out about this, he runs of after Revolvermon and Daisuke and Iori bust out. They find Starmon and Fladramon defeats him and destroys his Evil Ring.
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This was really a so-so filler episode for the most part, but at least we got to see Sora again for a little bit. It had some great moments, however, but the dub did a fantastic job of screwing it all up, as we will soon see.
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Starmon's Meteor Squall was changed to Meteor Shower.
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Starmon does a 'spit-take' when Sora mentions the Digimon Kaiser, which was cut out from the dub. Why they did this, I have no idea.
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Revolvermon was changed to Deputymon, possibly to try and wriggle around the firearms reference. He also talks in a funny John Wayne impersonation :)
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Revolvermon's intentions of only freeing the girls to play cards with should've been obvious to most people. But in the dub, "Deputymon" said is was because "Men cheat at cards.".
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Starmon said originally that he was building a gallows and was going to hang the Chosen. The gallows themselves and any reference made to them were removed from the dub.
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Now for the duel with Starmon and Revolvermon; the dub really mangled this part, probably to once again remove as much gun stuff as possible. Now what happened in the original is this; Revolvermon turned around early and shot Starmon, grazing his "cheek". He then chases Starmon around a while shooting at him while Sora and Miyako wonder who the real bad guy is here. Finally, Revolvermon runs out of ammo and Starmon blasts him with a Meteor Squall. In the dub, "Deputymon" turns around early, but he doesn't shoot Starmon (even though you can see the mark left on Starmon's face by the original shot). Deputymon says he's confident that he'll win, so he lets Starmon take the first shot, and then gets nailed by the Meteor Squall.
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Again to the gallows. The Dark Tower was inside the gallows, so when Starmon smashed into it in the dub, a couple frames were removed so that we don't see exactly what structure was covering the Tower.
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Hikari has been feeling strange lately. She's had the feeling like something is calling her to another world, and that she'll be unable to resist it soon. Suddenly, she finds herself transported to a strange and surreal world, one that's much different from the Digital World. Takeru, Patamon, and Tailmon, finding out what happened, go searching for her. Hikari, meanwhile, has encountered a group of Hangyomon who tell her that the Kaiser has invaded their world and forces them to worship him as their new god, as well as put Evil Spirals on them to drain their strength. As they explain, an Airdramon attacks them. At that moment, Takeru and the others arrive in this world as well. Patamon evolves to Pegusmon to battle the Airdramon. Tailmon sees a strange lighthouse that's inhibiting her power and has Pegusmon destroy it. When he does, a light erupts from it and Tailmon evolves to Angewomon! Angewomon and Pegusmon destroy the Airdramon and free the Hangyomon, but... Tehy turn out to be not Hangyomon, but spectre-like beings that reveal their true intention; to take Hikari back to their real god (Dagomon) to make her his wife. Angewomon drives them off and they all escape from this strange "Dark World".
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Ah, here it is, the Takari fans' favorite episode, where Takeru and Hikari confess their love for each other... Except for one thing: That's not how it went down in the original! More later.
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Most of the dub episode was pretty intact, with the exception of corny one-liners in spots where there should've been silence, resulting in the dub ep feels a lot less tense.
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Okay, "The scene". Where in the dub, TK blurts out that Kari is too important to him to lose. In the original, Hikari was talking about how if only her brother were there to protect her. Takeru then goes off about "Taichi this" and "Taichi that" and tells her that she has to stop acting so weak and to start beleiving in herself.
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Again, there's supposed to be a lot of tension-building silence during much of the time Hikari's in the Dark World. But in the dub, Kari just runs her mouth about stupid crap almost non-stop.
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Last season, Hangyomon was changed to Divermon. Now, suddenly they're changed to Scubamon. Baka Saban; now you can't even agree on your own dub names!
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The actual reason Hikari was summoned to the Dark World was changed in the dub as well. There, Kari was called by the spectre creatures to lead them in a revolt against their "Undersea Master". Also, Dagomon was never refered to by name in either version (except in the title of the Japanese ep). However, other references in merchandise has shown that Dagomon was changed to Dragomon.
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As Hikari and Takeru fly back home, there was originally just silence as the narrator speaks of the world that they discovered. In the dub, Kari tells TK that she has feelings for him also. *Gag*
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The Chosen have received a signal for a new Digimental, so they begin scouring the Digital World for it. Soon, they spot a quaint restaurant on the edge of a lake and go down to have a bite. However, this is the same one run by Digitamamon, one of Vamdemon's servents from three years ago. He at first makes an issue of them being unable to pay (The Chosen only have Yen, but Digitamamon only accepts Dollars). But he calms down a bit after Mimi arrives with a new friend, Micheal, who is also a Chosen. Betamon is his partner. The group talks for a while, reminiscing about how they first encountered a digimon. And Digitamamon tells how he's had a change of heart since the Dark Masters were destroyed. an explosion is heard outside. It's a Gorimon under the Kaiser's control. Digitamamon protects the group from one of his attacks, getting knocked far into the nearby forest. Meanwhile, Betamon evolves to Seadramon and defeats Gorimon, with some help from Togemon. Later, they decide to search for Digitamamon, but then he finds them, under the control of an Evil Spiral. The Chosen figit him, but Mimi is insistant on trying to talk to Digitamamon. But when Digitamamon attacks Mimi, Miyako berates him mercilessly, going into an emotional display of her feelings. As she does so, the Digimental of Purity appears before her, evolving Hawkmon to Shurimon, who destroys the Evil Spiral. After some words between Miyako and Digitamamon, and some goodbyes to Mimi and Micheal, the group heads home.
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This is one of my favorite episodes in Zero Two. How did the dub stack up? Uh...
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In the original, Digitamamon only accepted Dollars in his store, which created the problem when the Chosen only had Yen (Japanese currency) to pay with. In an attempt to mask the dub's Japanese origin, Digitamamon only accepted "Digi-Dollars", and the "Digi-Destined" only had regular Dollars.
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Micheal retained his name (since it's a common American name). So did Betamon. Betamon's attack, however, was changed from 1 Million Volts to Beta Slugger.
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Gorimon became Gorillamon.
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Seadramon's Ice Arrow was changed once again to Ice Blast.
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When Halsemon was hit by Digitamamon, the part of him being hit was covered with a hit flash. Ditto for when he hit Mimi.
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Okay, Miyako's big speech. This is the part that was totally ruined by the dub. They took her message about her being true to herself and turned it around into some crappy public service message (Yolei's medicore voice acting didn't help things much). See for yourself; here's a transcript from each version;
Original
MIYAKO: Digitamamon! What the hell are you thinking?! Attacking Mimi like that! Unlike me, Mimi believed that you were a nice guy from the beginning! Let me make myself clear: I hate people like you! People like you make me sick! I don't understand how people like you think! But back when you protected us from Gorimon, at that time, I thought you might be a good guy. It's the truth! Even so, what's the meaning of this?! How dare you betray the people who believed in you!!
DIGITAMAMON: What are you saying? You just said that you didn't trust me at all until just a while ago!
MIYAKO: Of course I didn't trust you! Naturally, it's because I judge people by their looks! Of course that's how it is! Because I've already decided that cool-looking people are better! That's right! I prefer good-looking people! That's why I like hot people like Micheal! (Funny face from Daisuke) BUT I CAN'T HELP THAT!! IF ANYONE ASKS "WHY?", IT'S BECAUSE THIS IS THE TRUE ME!!!
The music that played in this scene, BTW, made it really good as well. Now let's see how Saban hacked it all up.
Dub
YOLEI: Digitamamon, you're the rudest digimon I've ever met! At first I thought you were just an obnoxious waiter looking for a tip, but when you told everyone you had a change of personality, I gave you the benefit of the doubt. But when you pushed Mimi to the ground (ooohhh... he pushed her... riiight...), that was absolutely the last straw! All she was trying to do was make you our friend and how did you thank her? By viciously attacking her without any cause! Mimi doesn't have a mean bone in her body and you couldn't see that! Well, I want you to know that I will not tolerate that kind of behavior for any longer!
DIGITAMAMON: You're one to talk! You want to be friends and then you call me a phoney?! YOU'RE the phoney!
YOLEI: Okay, I admit it; I have a problem with judging others by my first impression of them. I see a cute-looking boy and I instantly fall in love. I never stop to think of what kind of person they might be. They could be really cool like TK, or a real jerk like Davis! (Now's where Davis gives the funny face) Well those days are finally over!! From now on I promise to be as sincere with people as I possibly can!
It sounds like a total 180 from how the original sounded, and the result sounds completely cheesy.
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Shurimon retains his name, even though his Digimental, like the Crest, was changed from Purity to Sincerity. His attacks, Kusanagi and Momiji Oroshi, were both changed to Double Stars (even though Kusangi is one star, not two...).
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The Chosen head back to the Digital World, this time to a town designed after feudal Japan. They quickly discover that the town is under the Kaiser's control, and are attacked by a group of ring-controlled Floramon and Mushmon. Hawkmon is ambushed by an Igamon which he evolves to Shurimon to confront. The battle is cut short when the group is rescued by a Gekomon from the nearby palace. It turns out that the Gekomon and Otamamon that Mimi and Miyako rescued earlier (back in episode 6) have taken refuge here, led by the powerful TonosamaGekomon (we don't know if he's the same one from Adventure). As TG naps, however, the Igamon sneaks into the castle and slips an Evil Spiral on him, putting him under the Kaiser's control. Tonosama goes on a rampage, and the Chosen digimon armor evolve to stop him, except for Hawkmon, who recives another challenge from Igamon. The Chosen manage to destroy the area's Dark Tower by using TonosamaGekomon's own attack against it. Though the Evil Ring's control has been broken, Igamon continues his duel with Shurimon until he's eventually beaten. He then retreats, and the others manage to remove Tonosama's Evil Spiral. The Kaiser is watching this victory against him, but he seems unconcerned; he obviously has something much bigger in store for his foes...
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Other than the usual gripes, I honestly thought this episode was dubbed alright. Just a few name and attack changes to talk about.
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As in the last season, TonosamaGekomon was changed to ShogunGekomon. Mushmon was lengthened out to Mushroomon. Igamon became Ninjamon. I have to say, though, I hated Ninjamon's voice. A shreeky, squealy voice is not very ninja-like at all.
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A few attack changes to mention:
Allergy Shower >>> Rain of Pollen
Poison Smash >>> Fungus Cruncher, Laughing Smasher
Feather Slash >>> Hawk Beam (??)
Scratch Beat >>> Diamond Shell
Koboshi Tone >>> Musical Fist
I don't think Ninjamon called any attacks in this episode, but in other publications, I see that Iga Ryuu Shuriken Nage was changed to Ninja Knife Throwing.
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This has nothing to do with the dub translation, but it kinda sucks that even though Igamon promised that his fight with Shurimon wasn't over, we never see or hear from him again for the rest of the series. I would've rather liked to have seen a rematch with Igamon, also giving an opportunity for more character development with Miyako and Hawkmon. Especially later in the series where it almost completely focuses on Daisuke and Ken.
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There was a cute little scene that I'm glad the dub kept intact. As everyone's discussing the removal of Tonosama's Evil Spiral, Daisuke suggests they just cut off his topknot. A samurai removing his topknot is a highly disgraceful act, and so his suggestion gets shot down by everyone including a hysterical Gekomon and by Hikari, to whom Daisuke bends over backwards to insist he was kidding. It was pretty funny and I'm glad the dub retained it.
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The Chosen get another Digimental reading, this time in an abandoned oil rig. But as they enter, they're ambushed by a MegaSeadramon that beseiges the entire rig. Faced with the dilemma of running out of air in the underwater facility, they manage to find a single escape pod, in which they send Iori to go get help. Iori searches out Jou, who's in the middle of class, and he's forced to lie to the teacher to get him out. Back at the rig, the others find the Digimental, bearing the Crest of Integrity. But as they begin to run out of air, Jou and Iori arrive with Whamon while Ikkakumon holds off MegaSeadramon. Shown the Digimental, Iori becomes doubtful that it's his; as he had to lie to get Jou, he feels he's undeserving of the Digimental of Integrity. But Jou assures him that he did the right thing, and Iori accepts the Digimental, allowing Armadimon to evolve to Submarimon. Iori and Submarimon help Ikkakumon and successfully destroy MegaSeadramon's Evil Spiral. The group heads home, but not before Iori and Submarimon take a ride under the sea, marveling at its majesty.
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Well, the dub managed to keep most of the episode intact, with the exception of the usual beefing up the comedy where it doesn't belong. But they also made a pointless change to Iori's character that I'll discuss more on later.
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MegaSeadramon's Thunder Javelin was changed to Lightning Javelin. What was the point in changing that? Especially when they got it right in the first season?
Not just that, but dub MegaSeadramon is a lot... noisier. He constantly laughs or makes what can only be described as "monster noises". The original MS was much more silent, which I think was actually more effective. He didn't call his attacks in the original either.
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Okay, let's talk about Iori's little "problem". In the original, he was just concerned that it was all his fault that they were trapped in the rig. The dub had Cody going on about a recurring dream he's been having about being trapped under the ocean and unable to escape and that's why he's so afraid to be there. This will be an issue later, namely at the end of the episode and I'll talk about it then.
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CODY (imagining the others collapsing after running out of air): "... And someone might have to go to the hospital!"
No, they wouldn't need to go to the hospital... Because they'd be DEAD.
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There was a short bit of Ikkakumon's fight with MegaSeadramon that the dub cut where the former barely dodges being stabbed by the latter's horn. Did they feel it was too close a call? I don't get it.
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The Digimental of Integrity is changed to the Digi-Egg of Reliability, just as its respective crest.
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Aqua Vulcan >>> Submarine Attack
Oxygen Homing >>> Oxygen Torpedo
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TK: "Don't worry, we can count on Cody!"
It's not the line, it's the delivery of it that came off to me as incrediby cheesy.
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Okay, now the end of the episode, with Iori and Submarimon's little romp through the sea. The original just had the two admiring the ocean's beauty. While the dub has this as well, they slipped in a sappy little moral like with Shurimon's appearence in Episode 14. Submarimon rambles on to Cody about how the reason he was so afraid of the ocean was because he never saw it for himself. A lot of this scene was silent in the original, but as usual, the dub has those two yakkin' back and forth throughout half the scene.
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