Digimon Season 3 (Digimon Tamers)
Arc 1: Episodes - 1-12
Summary: In a world, where Digimon were only thought to exist as a game, occasional disturbances between the real and digital worlds are monitored by a shady government organization, Hypnos, supervised by Yamaki. Takato inadvertently taps into this when the Digimon he created, Guilmon, becomes real. Rika and Henry also acquire real-life Digimon along with Digivices. The Tamers' Digimon are initially kept a secret from their friends and family. Meanwhile, other Digimon manifest in the real world, some dangerous and some harmless and playful. At first, Rika only wants her Digimon to fight them, Henry wants to avoid fighting altogether, and Takato falls in the middle. As the Tamers bond with their Digimon and each other, they reach deeper truths that enable their Digimon to digivolve to Champion level. All the while, Calumon occasionally plays with them, the mischievous Impmon causes trouble, and Hypnos plots to destroy all living data.
Place: Real World (around Tokyo, Japan, I think)
Principal Bad Guy(s): Yamaki and Hypnos; Impmon, sort of
Principal Mentor: -none-
The Good: the emphasis on character development for all, even minor characters and also lots of random character interactions; Impmon and Terriermon are very funny; IceDevimon was effectively creepy. Ep.1-4, 7, 9, 10, 12
The Bad: Not much happens in this arc, and the feeling is that some episodes run together. Ep. 6?
The Indifferent: The pacing is very slow. Ep. 5, 8, 11
Overall: This first arc has a different approach - without a mission or quest and fewer children, there's more time for character development but also a slower pacing. I particularly appreciate the character emphasis and being able to watch the kids bond to their Digimon. The evil government conspiracy angle is kinda interesting, and I like how the wild Digimon have varying degrees of maliciousness. A good start that gets me interested in the Tamers.
Arc 2: Episodes - 13-24
Summary: Yamaki creates a program, Juggernaut, that seems to succeed in destroying wild Digimon, but unfortunately also opens a gateway for more dangerous Ultimate level Digimon, the Devas, to enter the real world. There are apparently twelve Devas devoted to serving a Master who wants all humans eradicated. As they emerge one by one, the Tamers struggle to defeat them while also trying to solve the mystery of how the Digimon digivolve using blue cards. The public battles attract attention, and the Tamers' friends and family gradually learn of the Digimons' existence. Takato's friend Jeri even gets a Digimon of her own, Leomon. The Tamers are able to defeat most of the Devas after digivolving to Ultimate themselves. During a destructive battle with the eighth Deva, however, another Deva kidnaps Calumon and takes it back to the Digital World. The Tamers and some of their friends resolve to follow.
Place: Real World (around Tokyo, Japan, I think)
Principal Bad Guy(s): the Devas; Hypnos to a lesser extent
Principal Mentor(s): Henry's dad?
The Good: Impmon and Henry's dad's character development; Jeri's hilarious quest for a Digimon; I liked how the Devas weren't all of the same strength; it's fun watching Takato's friends playing with the Digimon. Ep. 14, 17, 19-24
The Bad: I liked the option card strategy at first, but now the cards are uncreative and now I have to sit through two stock sequences instead of one per Digimon. Ep. 16
The Indifferent: Takato sure cries a lot... and I could take or leave some of the episodes. Ep. 13, 15, 18
Overall: The pace picks up for this episode, which I like, but the episode flow is still kinda meh. I appreciate how skillfully the main Tamers continue to grow, even as character development is extended to what were minor characters in the first arc. It's like the Digimon and Tamer need to better understand each other in order to reach the next level. While only eight Devas are defeated here, the decision to go to the Digital World marks a clear ending.
Arc 3: Episodes - 25-41
Summary: I put off this summary for almost a year because of how complicated it gets. After a bumpy arrival to the Digital World, Calumon escapes from his abductor, and a digital field separates Rika, Renamon, Kazu and Kenta from the rest of the gang. Impmon stumbles into the Digital World as well, and accepts an offer from a Deva to become the Mega Beelzemon in exchange for killing the Tamers. Rika's group meets the Legendary Tamer, a boy named Ryo who beat Rika once in a card game. Rika and Renamon leave in a huff, while Ryo leads Kazu and Kenta to the rest of the team and then departs to tame his wild Digimon. Rika and Renamon find Calumon and meet up with the other Tamers in time for Beelzemon to attack. Fortunately, a digital storm intercedes, but Calumon is captured again and Takato, Henry, and Terriermon are separated from the rest of the team. While the other group finds a Digimon for Kazu, Takato's team runs into Suzie, who wandered into the Digital World and now has a former Deva as a partner. The two groups unite just in time for Beelzemon to attack again. This time, Leomon gets deleted and Takato flies into a rage that causes Guilmon to digivolve incorrectly. After much soul searching, he is able to merge with Guilmon and correctly biomerge Digivolve to Mega. Jeri tells them to spare Beelzemon though, who becomes regretful and devolves back to Impmon. The Tamers attempt to take on the Devas' leader, a Sovereign Digimon (Henry and Terriermon biomerge here) but are rescued by another Sovereign (there are four, apparently). The Sovereign have bigger problems, namely a chaos substance that deletes everything it touches. Ryo returns to help, and Rika biomerges with Renamon to rescue Calumon.The Tamers and all the Mega Digimon in the Digital World try to fight the Chaos with Calumon's help, but it's too much. The four Sovereign order the Tamers to retreat back to the Real World, which they do (even Impmon!) with the help of Hypnos and the Monster Makers, Henry's dad's computer friends who created the original Digimon. There are two stowaways, though - one is a Digimon for Kenta, but the other is more sinister...
Place: the Digital World
Principal Bad Guy(s): remaining Devas, Beelzemon, Zuchaomon, Chaos
Principal Mentor(s): Hypnos, the Monster Makers, and Shibumi (coma), aka the Adults; Azulongmon
The Good: Character development! Henry's dad's anxiety and angst; Suzie playing with a Deva; the interactions between Ryo and Rika; Yamaki finding a new, good purpose; Kazu caring for Andromon; Leomon's tragic end and Takato giving into the rage, then pulling back to soul search; Jerri falling apart; Impmon's self-loathing; Rika becoming more motherly; Henry going through some bad moments of his own; Shibumi's spaciness; the teary reunion in the park; Takato's emotional monologue to Jeri Ep. 25, 27, 28, 31, 33-37, 39-41
The Bad: too many plotlines; Beelzemon's first attack, which seemed kinda pointless except to capture Calumon...again...; everyone separating and coming back together and separating and coming back together was kind of annoying; isn't really explained why Ryo's Digimon is now tame enough for the Real World, but whatever. Ep. 29, 30
The Indifferent: Some of the lighter filler episodes were dumb, but I think they're needed to balance out all the heavy stuff; Kazu, Kenta and Suzie start to fade into the background as the arc wraps up. Ep. 26, 32, 38
Overall: Most of this arc was good, especially if you're into drama and character development moments, especially for the minor ones. The plotting was very complex, maybe too complex as I needed to sit through those series of episodes twice to remember what happened, and I still can't remember all the details. I thought the explanation of how the Digital World can be affected by Real World technology was a neat touch. Beelzemon's second attack had me transfixed for all those episodes as Leomon fell, Takato went berserk, had a soul-searching moment, and biomerged to Mega. And the wrap-up episodes were sort of sweet and touching. Well, except for Jerri, but that's a story for the next arc.
Arc 4: Episodes - 42-51
Summary: As the parents collect their kids with varying degrees of emotion, Takato must take Jeri to her family because her father’s too angry to pick her up. While he’s gone, buildings in Shinjuku are being absorbed by the Chaos, which is a computer program called the D-Reaper Henry’s dad and friends (the Monster Makers) thought up, but has now entered the real world. Despite their parents’ pleas, Takato, Henry, Rika and their Digimon return to Shinjuku and hide out searching for a weakness. Meanwhile, Impmon finds and reconciles with his original Tamers, enabling him to become a good Beelzemon and help fight D-Reaper. The parents ask the Tamers to take a pause in fighting so the Monster Makers and Yamaki can plan a strategy to defeat D-Reaper, as it continues to evolve past the Digimons’ ability to fight it. Fortunately, the Sovereign Digimon brings a gift giving them the ability to biomerge in the real world. Unfortunately, Gallantmon is absorbed by the D-Reaper in battle, but Takato and Guilmon survive and find what appears to be Jeri inside but is actually an arm of the D-Reaper. Apparently, the D-Reaper is using the real Jeri as a power source and learning tool, and her sadness and depression make it think humanity is too unstable. Kazu, Kenta, Ryo, Suzie and their Digimon pitch in to rescue Takato. The Monster Makers find a way to convert the Ark into Grani, a flying machine to help Gallantmon, while Jeri’s dad makes an anguished attempt to get her back. Beelzemon and Calumon, meanwhile, find Jeri within a kernel of the D-Reaper and try to rescue her, but she is too depressed to help, and Beelzemon is almost deleted while Calumon stays behind with Jeri. The parents make the Tamers take another break while the Monster Makers plan a final assault, using a red card to allow them to biomerge within the D-Reaper and Juggernaut to de-evolve the errant program. For the final battle, Henry, Rika, Takato, and Ryo biomerge with their Digimon and enter the D-Reaper, which has engulfed most of Shinjuku. While Rika and Ryo fight the D-Reaper’s agents, Henry activates Juggernaut and Takato rescues Jeri, who realizes Leomon wouldn’t want her destiny to be sorrow and now is ready to leave. They’re all rescued by Kazu, Kenta, and their Digimon. In the end, all the Digimon and their partners have a reunion in the park, where the Digimon suddenly start to de-digivolve, as their bodies can no longer handle being in the real world. They sadly leave their human friends and return to the Digital World. But one day, after everything has returned to normal, Takato finds a gateway in the park…
Place: Real World (around Tokyo, Japan, I think)
Principal Bad Guy(s): the D-Reaper and its agents
Principal Mentor(s): the Monster Makers and Yamaki's team
The Good: Ep. 42-51 This arc bursts at the seams with character development - Fake Jeri's creepiness, real Jeri coming to terms with her destiny, Impmon/ Beelzemon's tortured redemption, Jeri and her dad's relationship, Rika's character metamorphosis, Takato's maturity, and poor Henry's dad; the secondary Tamers lending a hand; Ryo and Rika's interactions; the emotional conclusion.
The Bad:
The Indifferent: What was the point of Alice, really? A lot of the technical mumbo-jumbo the Monster Makers were spouting went over my head. And much like the other seasons, in the end the lead goggle-head, ie Takato, got all the special upgrades.
Overall: The plotline of the arc itself was relatively simple and probably could have been compressed into fewer episodes, but then there wouldn't have been all the rich character interactions between the Tamers, their parents, and their Digimon. It was a chance to see how much they'd matured and learned during the season. And I think that's why this is my favorite season, all the attention to character development. When the Digimon have to leave their Tamers at the end, it feels especially emotional because of it.
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