I Saved Yuujin And Offmon For Last Because I Simply Couldn’t Talk About Them Properly Without Having

Sorry for the delay, I've been fighting battles in the real world (boring schoolwork-related battles, but battles nevertheless). Honestly, when I finalized the Katsura's I was tired and was just going to call it a day. Which is a shame, because I feel like I didn't do them justice, but whatever. And I was going to do the same for Haru… but Haru’s section is the one I had the most issues with, to begin with. Simply because as our main character, he’s perhaps got the most going on, but also the most straightforward which is just overall not very appealing to write honestly. So Haru involves a bit more rewatching and I just didn't have time, (Most of the Katsura’s brother’s details are confined to a few easily identifiable episodes) so I just cast it aside. And Haru's relates a lot to Yuujin which. Hoo boy. I have a lot to say about him.

Anyway, without further delay here are my thoughts on our main protagonist.

Haru is the kind of boy who watches and admires hot-headed anime protagonists, rather than the kind of boy who is a hot-headed anime protagonist. Though he admires these characters greatly for their values and beliefs, Haru himself starts the show viewing himself as a side character. This is a point that is refuted in-universe by Yuujin, and out-of-universe by well, Haru being billed as the protagonist. “Are you a protagonist?” is the question that defines Haru’s arc, and Haru spends the season proving his response of “yes” true to himself and those around him. But Haru’s assessment that he's more of a side character is not inaccurate when it comes to his personality. He can be somewhat self-centered and prone to annoyance and embarrassment. He’s not very confident, he’s a bit cowardly, likes to read, not athletic but also not shown to be particularly intelligent. He’s not shown to be dumb, or anything, just nothing is really made of his academic abilities and he’s not shown to be particularly strategic. In fact, he on multiple occasions is shown to be fairly clever, but he doesn’t exactly make up for his more mild personality with genius strategic ability. He is able to come up with applicable search terms to situations, deciding to draw Shootmon’s attention using Puzzlemon, and using Navimon to track Mienumon. But He takes hours to solve Puzzlemon’s puzzles (though he does solve them which is more than Astra or Eri can say.

Haru’s story is about becoming a protagonist. Though at the beginning of the series Haru decides for himself he’s going to be a protagonist, this is a fate that was out of his hands. Though we don’t know it at first, Haru has a very personal connection to this whole thing, as Haru’s grandfather is responsible for this whole mess, but more importantly, Haru has been monitored by super AI since he was a small child. Super AI who manipulated events throughout the entire season, for all our protagonists, but in particular have been manipulating the events in Haru’s life since he was in 4th grade at the least. He himself is an ordinary boy, but he’s part of an extraordinary situation, even if he doesn’t know it at first. A situation where knowingly or not Haru has been monitored and groomed to be an ideal protagonist. While we don’t know to what degree Haru has been influenced, if really much at all (purposefully) prior to the series start beyond monitoring, AI has unknowingly played a huge role in who Haru is.

But even so, Haru’s nature as a kind, fantasy-loving, boy is genuine. His desire to be a protagonist is real, even if potentially encouraged even indirectly, by Leviathan, the machinations behind Haru himself is the one who takes these steps to be the kind of hero he wants to be. Kind and brave.

And while I said, Haru starts the show as cowardly, that doesn’t actually mean he’s any less prone to reckless behavior later in the series. Haru’s reckless in the same way many protagonists, Digimon or otherwise are. While Haru may not have realized it, Haru’s admiration of the protagonist's values makes them his values, even if Haru initially lacks the same emotional strength to follow through on these ideals. While Haru starts out as a quiet bookworm, (and those traits don’t just disappear, although certainly overshadowed by everything else going on in his life) Haru makes a constant effort to be better. To make the right decisions. To reach out to those that are hurting and offer a helping hand. When he chooses to help save Christmas for Ai, or becomes dedicated to helping Rei with Hajime, or diving in to help Gatchmon as he drowns in the L-Virus. But these actions gradually require more and more action on Haru’s part, until we reach the end and Haru, Haru, who started the series cowering under his covers, is leaping off the top of a building on the slim chance it will help save the world. The one who has the courage to look his best friend in the eye and say I’m sorry, but I have to do this, but I will make it up to you.

Aside from the connections between humanity and AI, Appmon has another big theme of choice. Haru has to make a choice. The first choice Haru makes is to assert that he is a protagonist. The last choice is to do his duty as a protagonist and make the choice. Generally speaking, a good protagonist is one who actively pushes the direction of a story, actively makes choices that have consequences. It’s why we associate many protagonists as leaders, while being the leader and the main protagonist aren’t mutually exclusive they overlap in the way that they make decisions that affect the story and their teammates. I’m sure we all remember that moment in Digimon Adventure where it’s Taichi who has to make the choice of which card to use to take them home. The choice Taiki made to rescue Shoutmon. The moment where Takuya makes that choice to go home (another series about choice). Choices are important. While the choices Haru and the others make are certainly influenced by the AI, Denemon notes that Minerva likely gave the questions as a prompt in the right direction rather than as the deciding factor in choosing them, but ultimately they are the ones making the decisions. Leviathan gives Haru the choice between Yuujin and humanity under the mistaken belief of being able to predict Haru’s choice. (And is proven wrong yet again when it's Yuujin who pulls the plug). But Haru proves humanity, life, as fully capable of defining their own lives with their decisions. Haru growing into a protagonist involves him growing more proactive, which is the detail Yuujin comments on in episode 2.

But it’s not Haru’s growing courage and confidence that marks him as the main protagonist of Appmon. It’s his kindness, the trait that he had from the very beginning that facilitates his growth, and the Appdriver’s successes. His kindness is what Yuujin uses to label Haru as the protagonist. Haru is the one who gathered the Appdrivers together, who reached out to Rei. Who reached out to someone who was once, and possibly still, his enemy once he had been betrayed. Haru’s kindness is what won him Yuujin’s genuine admiration, to the point where Yuujin was willing to die for him. This is a kindness that he’s had since elementary school. In a story about the questions of the dangers of AI, and the growing connections between humanity and AI’s, Haru’s kindness is the answer Appmon gives. It’s this charisma that makes him the natural foil to Charismon. It’s this genuine kindness that brings others to his side and inspires actions to protect others. Not to mention that beyond Haru’s kindness, Haru wasn’t the type to be easily discouraged even prior to meeting Yuujin, learning soccer even though he wasn’t very good at it. It’s this determination that pulls him through difficult RPGs, and spending hours on puzzles.

Haru isn’t a total nice guy. He’s capable of selfishness at times. He’s capable of being annoyed with others, (often Gatchmon). Particularly earlier in the series before he realized his capability for helping others. For the first couple episodes, Haru regularly has moments where he expresses annoyance at his situation. Focused on his own embarrassment, and having to be prompted into action by Gatchmon. He’s a bit of a coward, to the point of actively trying to escape the fight, and rather pitifully insists he’s not fit for the situation. Similarly, while Gatchmon goes to find Haru to fight Leviathan, Gatchmon also starts with some somewhat cowardly behavior, being afraid to even say Leviathan’s name. The kind of behaviors that make you go “Hey, why would an AI choose him”. But Haru quickly grows into the role of the protagonist, out of a genuine desire to help others, Gatchman and Ai in particular. And when I say quickly I mean quickly (again growth as soon as episode 2). He still demonstrates some more selfish tendencies in those early episodes (wanting to read instead of taking a cooped up Gatchmon trick or treating in episode 4) but as others join Haru’s team they become less prominent. The moment he declares himself a protagonist he starts to live up to the kind of protagonist he wants to be, even if takes a little bit for him to fully grow into the role, demonstrating the power this subtle guidance had on Haru and the others.

Haru’s family, despite its plot relevance, is pushed to the background, which is kind of odd for a Digimon series, especially one set in the real world. For Haru early on we meet his mom and see his home. His mother is apparently a housewife who runs a blog. She seems to care about Haru a lot and is shown to be rather attentive, noticing odd sounds coming from his room on numerous occasions, including recognizing Denemon’s voice. She also seemed to be on good terms with Denemon, and was willing and able to tell Haru about him. That doesn’t really tell us a lot about Haru however, it does tell us that Haru grew up in a loving household and that Haru seemed to inherit his mild, but observant nature from her.

Denemon, while plot-relevant, died when Haru was very small, and so while he has everything to do with the situation Haru is in now, he doesn’t seem to have a whole lot to do with the way Haru is. And really they are opposites in a lot of ways, Denemon being a passionate and ambitious person while Haru is more reserved and at the start of the series significantly less ambitious. That said, Denemon and Haru do have a few similarities. Both are somewhat forward-thinking and curious people. Haru’s Buddy is a search Appmon. To search for answers, to find something you want to know. Denemon built Minerva to help solve problems, which serves a similar function to a search app if you think about it. Furthermore, both Haru and Denemon are very open-minded and put a lot of hope in the future of humanity to live alongside AI. Of course, by the end of the series, Haru comes to share in his grandfather’s interest in AI as well as his more hard-working nature.

We never meet Haru’s father, despite being Denemon’s son, and presumably still around in some capacity, due to being mentioned neutrally when discussing Haru’s relationship to Denemon, but there really isn’t enough there to extrapolate from. But Appmon’s finale, and Yuujin’s revelation give us the implication that Haru was not the only one being monitored by Leviathan, which may suggest there are others like Yuujn to monitor other people in Denemon’s life. After all, Yuujin seems pretty geared to monitoring Haru specifically. Even if there aren’t other androids, Haru is not the only person from Denemon’s life who Leviathan paid attention to. Haru’s father, Denemon’s son, is a likely candidate as well. But of course, we don’t see any of that, so that’s left to the realm of theories and fanfics.

If I were to wager a guess, part of the reason Haru grew so entrenched in the Appmon situation is in part due to his age. As Denemon’s grandson, Haru was probably by far the youngest of those who Leviathan deemed important enough to monitor. Which also made it difficult to monitor. If Yuujin is the only android, he probably is an android because it's difficult to recruit children to befriend a target the way an adult would. And if he’s not the only android, Yuujin still would have involved the most upkeep and attention due to the fact Yuujin had to age. Either way monitoring Haru was probably a bit more of an endeavor than any other character. On top of that his youthful open-mindedness (and free time) was definitely an asset for him bridging the gap between humans and AI, with both Yuujin and the Appmon. Though, all of that is just speculative.

Gatchmon is very aggressive when compared to Haru, which while an uncommon Goggle Boy/Partner pairing, isn’t really new either. Gatchmon assertive "ore". While Yuujin is definitely who Haru imagines as a protagonist type, Gatchmon is more in line with a typical shonen protagonist with his recklessness and aggressive nature. This is a role swap that has been done before, notably in Xros Wars where you could consider Shoutmon to be the real main protagonist. But it’s still somewhat refreshing (and done much differently than in Xros Wars anyway). Gatchmon isn't always the most sensitive or the most selfless, as he gets irritated by Offmon and is a general nuisance to Haru in some of the early episodes. Gatchmon is the one who gives Haru the strength to take action to protect and become the person Haru wanted to be. Gatchmon also shows a desire to get involved, his investigation leading him to Leviathan and eventually to Haru, the way Haru desires to be a protagonist. They share the same desire (that all of our main trio does really), to be people who make a difference. Gatchmon’s thematic connection to Haru is highlighted in the finale, where they are tied by their search for something.

“It was a destined encounter, arranged by a greater power” Those are among the first words Haru speaks in the series, referring to his encounter with Gatchmon. But Appmon is unique among Digimon series in that we see no hide or hair of a power that could be what we consider a god. We know who arranged this meeting, and it is perhaps fair to refer to Minerva and/or Leviathan as a higher power. But that’s the thing about Appmon. The grand forces that rock the earth, with their perfect schemes and subtle influence are ultimately man-made. The final form of Appmon are “God Grades”, and mostly derive their names from human gods. But they too are man-made. While I could probably say a lot about Appmon’s discussion on how humanity's greatest influencing factor, the one force closest to a real god, is something we made ourselves. But nevertheless, Haru as the grandson of the creator of these “higher powers” proves humans worth. A war of ideals battled out between Denemon’s children, children who have grown past him. In Greek mythology, the gods are repeatedly overthrown by their children. Zeus overthrew Cronus, who overthrew Uranus. The God Grades just so happen to be largely named for Greek deities.

But unlike those stories in which the gods do everything they can to prevent being overthrown by their own children, Denemon does not begrudge the AI the chance to grow and surpass him. He and Haru, and all of the Applidrivers, put their trust into building connections and putting their trust in the AI, helping them to grow stronger. While Leviathan does take advantage of this, allowing the children to grow stronger to then consume the god grades, the god grades come about because the kids weren’t afraid of the AI having more power than them. They were perfectly content with living together. Unlike many of your more conventional protagonists, Haru isn’t exactly the most aggressive kid. Haru’s not a leader in the traditional sense. Haru is far more inclined to follow the leader, which makes him exactly the kind of person who is fine with not being the most powerful or important person in the room. Appmon’s big central question is of the singularity, the fear of being overtaken by the AI we created. So it's fitting that Appmon's protagonist, is a character who solves their issues through conflict, but through reaching out. Who breaks the trope of the self-fulfilling prophecy that's repeated over and over again throughout the history of storytelling of trying to destroy those who are predicted to destroy you. Who better as a Digimon protaganist?

Rei’s turn baby.

And by Rei’s turn, I mean, Rei and Hackmon.

but also Hajime

And Bootmon a bit too

It’s the Katsura’s turn

This ones kind of long

Backstory?

Of course the most notable thing about the Katsura brothers and their backstory is that they are orphans, and despite their young ages live alone. The second most notable thing is they are both computer geniuses. Really, this all just facilitates the plot more than anything, which leads to a lot of open ended questions about the brothers, but what we do have is interesting.

So it goes without saying that Rei and Hajime have presumably had a somewhat lonely childhood. Their mother died 2 years prior to the start of the show, and through the course of the show we never see them interact with anyone outside the Appmon friend group. There didn’t seem to be anyone else looking after them during the funeral, (if there was anyone there at all) and apparently no extended family members have been clued into the fact they are living alone, and the fact no one wanted (or could I suppose) take them both in, indicates they really weren’t close to this extended family to begin with. Then we get into their absent father. Rei claims that he doesn’t remember his father, which… he was about 6 when Hajime was born, which is old enough to remember. So either Rei does have memories, even if not clear of their father, or they have different fathers, or there’s some other family drama conspiracy going on. (I don’t speak Japanese and the two different subs I looked at are inconsistent with this, so maybe there is a clear explanation of their deal, it's just the translations are funky idk). Doesn’t really matter, the important bit is they don’t have a father in their life who matters.

Its an unconventional family structure from the get go, and a family structure, that again in my limited understanding of Japanese culture, is not exactly a very accepted one. I can see this being something that causes tension with their extended family, and potentially between the brother’s and their peers. 

We don’t know how exactly they lived their day to day lives, or how their family is officially noted in the hacked family registry, nor do we know what exactly they do about school. So, we don’t know anything about how they are perceived by others around them at all. Neither of them have been shown attending school. Rei is described as a 2nd/3rd year in Jr. High, but I find it incredibly doubtful that he attended school at all over the course of the series b/c of his obsession with finding Hajime. While it's not something that I can discount he did all together, I think it definitely makes sense if he didn’t actually go to school, at least not often enough to matter. And I’m sure he’s capable of hacking school records to keep authorities from taking note of that. School seems like a place where questions might have been asked about the boy’s living situation, especially when Hajime was younger and just entering elementary school. After all, Hajime wouldn’t have even been in 1st grade yet when their mom died.  Granted, we didn’t get a lot of school in general for any of the kids. But we did see Haru, Ai and Yuujin around school, and Astra at the beginning and in flashbacks, and Eri in school uniforms (though all prior to her idol career), as well as seeing everyone else interacting with their classmates in at least one scene. It’s still possible they are enrolled in a school, but are still isolated from their peers due to the circumstances in their family. Rei at the very least doesn’t have any friends prior to the series, and I have no reason to think Hajime does either. After all, the brothers are more alike than they appear on the surface. 

The show has, despite limited family appearances, has shown the similarities between the kids to their families, and so, despite not knowing anything about their mother otherwise, we can probably glean a lot about what type of person she was from who her sons are. We don’t know anything about their mother for sure other than she’s dead, and her sons seemed to mourn her death. While she still could have been a neglectful mother who Rei doesn’t have great memories of and thus doesn’t bring her up, again, the show didn’t go too in depth into families and so lack of info doesn’t mean lack of care on the characters' parts. People have parents, and her absence needs to be explained for Hajime and Rei’s backstory. But I think she has a little more importance on Hajime and Rei’s character beyond “dead”.

Because, speaking of the apartment, I’d like to draw attention to the décor in their apartment. Their apartment does not look like the type of place you’d expect to find two young boys living alone. While I feel like in many stories you’d expect the place the cool edgy orphan loner boy to have lived in to be sort of edgy. Either overly techy, or at least a bit modest, the Katsura apartment is neither. It’s decorated, well, like a middle aged woman decorated it. I don’t know how else to describe it. Neutral tones, plants, and a bit minimalist in the décor. It’s kept very clean by the boys and it overall looks like a very nice apartment.

Hajime’s room in the secret base is a little more like how you’d expect a bunch of kids to decorate a room with the way the wall is painted but it still has the plants though that the Katsura apartment has and blue I think is a good color to choose to make a room feel less claustrophobic. Which implies to me that this isn’t just a we’re putting a conscientious effort into dressing nicely to keep anyone from asking questions, and just how they are.

Their clothing also matches that aesthetic. Hajime is noted to be a polite little kid, and his polo shirts and sweater vest of his normal outfits match that impression. But despite Rei wearing a kind of garish outfit as his main outfit it doesn’t seem to be his normal style. In the flashback in episode 13, it’s kind of clear that Rei and Hajime usually dress similarly too. Rei wears a lot of button downs and nicer looking pants. They both wear t-shirts, jeans and sweats too, but even then their clothes are very neat. The two are overall tend to wear clothing that falls more on the semi-formal side of things. 

I’d assume it’s at least in part because it was the way their mother raised them. This implies to me that their mother was also a very “put-together” person. And probably where her son’s got their intelligence. And like I said, by assuming that their style of dress, their apartment, and their diligence in their work, stems from her. 

While I have no real evidence, I at least headcanon that she was a computer scientist as well which is where Rei gained his hacking ability. Either way, Rei had to have had this ability prior to her death, as he used it to hack the family registry, So Rei had to have this kind of skill as an elementary schooler. Which… this is an anime so I’m probably thinking too hard on this. While Hajime’s programming ability was almost certainly nurtured by Rei, whether directly or indirectly it’s unlikely Hajime, who was around 7ish at the time of his abduction, got his programming skills from just watching Rei. (Though, that doesn’t prove anything, it’s not very likely a 7 year old is the best hacker in the world). I just have assumed that Rei and Hajime both were surrounded by computer programming from a young age.

Speaking of Hajime being the hacker chosen by Leviathan, and Leviathan also being known to be manipulative of the situation to a degree that starts with having kept an eye on Haru since mid-elementary school, also means that its very likely that there is more to the Hajime abduction than meets the eye. The Katsura brothers were ideal targets in that there was no one else to miss them. On the other hand while Hajime was the first to solve the puzzle, we do not know exactly how many people the puzzle was sent to. Not to mention it’s very likely that other people with Hajime and Rei’s skill levels have more responsibilities than those two, and thus less time dedicated to deciphering random online puzzles (though, I know it is a popular past time). 

This, in addition to the fact that they were both able to maintain this way of living (idk how expensive apartments are, but not cheap and I know good computers aren’t cheap) implies few outside obligations (say, school), and a somewhat consistent source of income. Rei does straight up say he takes jobs. It’s not out of the question for Hajime to have helped him with these.

Either way, both the Katsura boys prior to the start of the series were hardworking, intelligent, independent, tidy boys who cared deeply for each other.

Rei and Hackmon

Rei is someone who bears an immense amount of responsibility, and has high expectations (mostly for himself) for someone so young. He’s responsible for looking after his younger brother, making money for the food, cooking the food, doing laundry, and generally just managing a household on top of a job. Which is a lot for a 12 year old. And Hajime helps, the flashback shows Hajime helping out with housework, but as a 6 year old at the time of his mothers death, there was probably a lot he couldn’t yet help with. But I think it also may be fair to say Rei was dismissive of the degree to which Hajime helped him.

I don’t even think Rei was completely unaware of the extent of Hajime’s genius, though this is based on… nothing but a feeling and one line that was 95% probably just Rei being evasive. But Rei almost certainly knew that Hajime was a bright kid. Though, if they weren’t hanging around with other people their age they may have a warped sense of what is unusual. But still Rei didn’t see Hajime as someone on his level. While we see Rei and Hajime living together happily, and we do see Hajime help out with chores, we also do see Rei neglect to give Hajime attention while Rei tries to figure out the puzzle, indicating that while, yes, the boys are doing well, they perhaps aren’t thriving. That a month went by between them solving the puzzle, and it wasn’t communicated about in all that time indicates that Rei was perhaps somewhat dismissive of Hajime’s thoughts, and that he didn’t see merit in sharing the puzzle with Hajime. 

Hajime’s competence as a programmer is unknown to the audience until Hajime is awakened in episode 43. Rei never considers that Hajime’s intelligence is part of the factor that got him kidnapped, and rather places all the blame and responsibility on himself for failing to protect Hajime (and well, Leviathan for abducting him in the first place). Hajime’s own abilities and shortcomings are a nonfactor to what Rei does. Hajime’s own choices are not initially made clear as to Rei they are somewhat irrelevant. I think it's evident that to Rei, while Hajime’s help was appreciated, Hajime was viewed as a responsibility rather than a help. 

Rei’s “I am alone” is not just one of only believing himself to have one person in his life, but also believing he only has himself to depend on. It’s not that he’s heartless or isn’t overall a nice person. We do after all mostly see him in the context of Hajime’s kidnapping, something he feels immense guilt for. Even if out of all our main protagonists he’s probably one of the highest on the “ends justify the means” scale, he is not above torture and invoke fear to get what he wants, but ultimately he’s shown to care for others. He might not be the most socially competent person (if his brief stint as a manager tells us anything), but it shows us that he is willing to help people out. He leaves Dantemon Chuu Chuu Jelly, as well as offers it to Eri’s coworkers. The last ED shows him making Macarons for Haru’s bday. But Rei’s arc is about learning to trust in others to help him, not that others are worthy of care.

I mean, it's obvious, he avoids working with the others to a point beyond simple practicality. He doesn’t trust people. He doesn’t trust Hajime to look out for himself. He doesn’t trust Hackmon to help him find his brother. He doesn’t even initially trust Haru’s group to fight Leviathan. Even in the last episode he doesn’t have 100% trust in Haru, doesn’t trust Haru to save the world over Yuujin (who he also didn’t trust). Rei’s journey to learning to trust isn’t over yet. But it’s getting there, step by step. It was slow going, Rei not properly joining the group until the final quarter. Like all of the characters, Rei had begun this journey prior to the series start when Rei trusts Hackmon. He gets further when he’s first properly introduced to the story and the others, and he trusts Haru’s group to find the Seven Code Appmon. culminating of course when he asks Eri for help to rescue Hajime, coming full circle when he and Hajime work together to write the programs that help them get Bootmon back.

That said, Rei’s seeming lack of trust in Haru in the final episode may be in part Rei projecting onto Haru. Rei warned Haru of Yuujin for what were, in all fairness, valid concerns. (But Rei didn’t do anything else, more or less trusting Haru to handle it). Haru assured him by relating Yuujin and himself to Rei and Hajime. Haru went off into a depressive state after finding out Yuujin’s true nature, not unlike Rei’s obsessiveness after Hajime’s disappearance. But that’s where Haru and Rei differ. Haru is able to pick himself up and move on in life. Understand what’s for the greater good, and that he can help Yuujin without sacrificing everyone else. He can put value on knowing that Yuujin wouldn’t want that, that Yuujin is an independent person beyond Haru’s care for him. Rei on the other hand quite likely would have hesitated more if it came down to Hajime vs. the world. While post series Rei with his wider social circle and acceptance of others (especially Hajime’s) help will ultimately lead him to becoming happier.

And that’s why Hajime learning to cook is important for Rei.

The recurring motif of food with Rei beyond that is twofold, him making eggs for his brother, turning into subsisting on Chuu Chuu Jelly’s showing how much Rei is neglecting himself in his search for Hajime. But food is also how Rei shows his care. While it’s obvious Rei cares for Hackmon just as much as the others, Rei’s support on the surface doesn’t extend beyond a bit of praise, and making Chuu Chuu. And when asked to find something for the idols, he brings in the Chuu Chuu. But the Chuu Chuu is really just Rei making do with the best he can. Rei making Macarons for Haru’s birthday, like previously said, the iconic egg dishes for his brother, and of course the Crème Brule, show Rei putting in more effort to show his affection. (A recurring theme it seems with many Appmon characters). So with Hajime learning to cook, its Rei accepting the affections and help from other that he usually gives. Hajime is taking on some more of Rei’s “responsibilities” and Rei is letting him. Them taking things on together in the future, a stark improvement of them solving the puzzle separately, and ending up alone.

While of course the smell of eggs, burnt, imperfect eggs, something that Leviathan failed to account for, a reminder of days when Rei was not as reliable a caretaker as he was later waking Hajime up is poetic all on its own. Rei’s imperfections and mess ups being just as important as his dramatic abilities and successes, Rei getting Hajime back by not only having to ask for help, but also giving his help, even for something as seemingly trivial (compared to the evil AI shenanigans) as a stage performance. It’s his “immaturity” that lets him find Hajime among the Sleepmon. Hajime is returned to Rei when Rei accepts that he’s not completely independent. When he’s not 100% driven by harsh desperation for Hajime’s return. When he grows past the belief that being cold and tough is the best thing to help Hajime. When he (almost) accepts that he at least rescued Hajime from Leviathan, even if he’s not able to return him to his old self. When he accepts his “flaws”.

Prior to the start of the series Rei seems to have been very well put together and organized. In other words. Not edgy. He still used “Ore” prior to Hajime’s abduction, but that’s not unusual or anything just that while he does give off a far more polite vibe to me prior to Hajime’s abduction, he was still a hacker and still assertive and a bit prideful. But when we first meet Rei, he’s wearing a black hoodie with zippered leggings. Edgy, indicative of the persona Rei wants to give off. But perhaps not indicative of the person Rei truly is. After Hajime’s return of course, he wears a more casual ensemble than before it all began, but it has lost its edginess. Not to be too cliché or anything, but it's a good symbolism for how Hajime’s abduction changed him but even after Hajime returns Rei has changed. 

Hackmon, like Rei is very goal oriented and plays things close. However, Hackmon is less single minded than Rei, and is less abrasive to the other Appmon than Rei is to the drivers. I think a notable moment is when Hackmon goes to accept some Gatch Monaka from Gatchmon, but Rei calls them away. Hackmon tends to act a bit as Rei’s voice of reason. Hackmon is constantly asking Rei questions, making him think through what he’s doing and why. In their image song, Hackmon notably doesn't really sing. He basically is there to dial back Rei’s edginess. Reminding him he’s not alone and that he needs to calm down sometimes and live in the moment. To not let hate fuel him. And in the end, Hackmon tells Rei to eat an actual meal. Unlike most of the Buddies, Hackmon isn’t really child-coded and Hackmon acts more as Rei’s caretaker than the other way around. Supporting and somewhat mom-friending the boy who's taken on so much responsibility for others sake. Obviously, Hackmon doesn’t really fight with the things Rei decided, with a staunch loyalty reminiscent of Adventure’s partnerships, not unlike Rei’s unflinching loyalty to Hajime. I always liked the moment where Hackmon asks “Well, am I a devil” and Rei snarkily remarks he’s not an angel. While both of them appear edgy on the surface, and neither are above a bit of force to get what they’d like, both are ultimately driven by their desire to protect.

Rei and Hackmon are characters who, despite their aloof airs, they are primarily motivated by looking after others. Even if Rei is not initially very good about accepting help from others, and Hackmon initially seems to be in the deal for strength. Rei is a kid with too much responsibility, but by the end of the series, is starting to allow himself to be a kid again.

Hajime and Onmon

Okay, so Bootmon isn’t technically Hajime’s Buddy. And we never see Onmon (at least not in the anime). But they do fulfil this sort of role. And… of course this is going to rehash some of Rei’s stuff but bear with me. This will probably be the shortest because ultimately Hajime’s role is just an extension of Rei’s… but I believe he deserves his own section.

Hajime is a child computer science genius who has been primarily raised by his older brother since he was about 5 or 6. He is polite and rather mature and clever for his age. Rei describes Hajime as his “only family” and while we don’t know too much about their prior circumstances, it’s likely that there really weren't a lot of people in Hajime’s life to begin with. And anyone who may have been involved in their life prior was probably pushed out to avoid raising any suspicions. Hajime has had very little adult support, which is probably why he is incredibly independent, Rei himself only being a young teen. So while he is incredibly close to his brother, and is likely rather dependent on Rei for both emotional and physical needs (particularly prior to the series) its not to the extent we may have assumed from the first time we met Rei.

So Hajime is an incredibly mature child who likely had to grow up way too fast and become rather independent from a young age. While Rei prefers to think of himself as someone who takes care of Hajime, Rei ultimately could not take care of everything, on his own, and as seen when Rei dismisses Hajime’s desire to go out to complete the puzzle, Hajime must have spent a lot of time by himself, both playing by himself, and probably learning by himself, meaning Hajime is actually way more self sufficient than the initial reveal of his existence might have you believe. Way more self-sufficient than Rei seems to know (or at least acknowledge).

This isn’t to say that Rei’s assessment of Hajime of a scared innocent little boy is completely wrong. There isn’t anything to suggest that all of the video Rei found of Hajime was fake. Hajime really did cry and call out to his brother, scared because he didn’t know what was happening. Hajime really did ask when his mother was coming back at her grave, despite probably being old enough to know better. Hajime really is a kid. And he really is dependent primarily on Rei. Hajime had to have grown up while kidnapped by Leviathan of course. Being enslaved and then “operated” on by Biomon and put in a coma is… probably going to result in some sort of trauma character development. But even so, throughout his ordeal, Hajime shows a courage and self sufficiency that isn’t solely from his abduction.

Bootmon is an Appmon Hajime made himself. But Bootmon is also incredibly childish. While it is in part because Bootmon is a young appmon, there’s probably a narrative parallel to Hajime. Though the Appmon are in general rather childish, Bootmon seems particularly young compared to the others (well, Offmon maybe). We see old apps, and we see apps “die” and Appmon go to school. But Bootmon is portrayed as innocent and easily frightened, not unlike how Hajime initially appeared to be. 

Hajime, despite his young age, has fallen into the caretaker role to Bootmon more so than any of the other relationships between Buddies. Their relationship may parallel Rei and Hajime’s, particularly in those early days when Hajime was still a bit naïve. We see a lot of Rei taking care of Hajime, yes, such as cooking, but we also see Hajime taking his share of chores. Both Bootmon and Hajime, despite their young ages, play a key role in Leviathan’s plan, both dealing with facing against Leviathan alone, leaving them both in vulnerable situations, left with responsibilities beyond their youth. For Hajime it’s being kidnapped, held hostage while being forced to work on a project and being operated on against his will and put into a coma. For Bootmon it’s being left to hide alone in a world he’s unfamiliar with. Bootmon and Hajime both are very loyal to their guardian Hajime and Rei respectively, and have a lot of trust in them.

Hajime is just a kid, albeit an incredibly capable one, in a world out to get him with the world on his shoulders. But fortunately an older brother (and now friends) to carry it with.

The Katsura brothers were just both incredibly capable kids, though ultimately still just kids who had no one to turn to but each other. But even if they had each other, that wasn’t enough, Rei grew overly self-sufficient to the point of not recognizing Hajime’s abilities. But at the end of the series they now have a more extensive support system, as well as being better able to rely on each other. Rei no longer going it alone.

Mirrors

Haru once calls Yuujin his Hajime to Rei. And as far as narrative parallels go its true. I’d argue all of our main protags have a person. For Haru that’s Yuujin, and for Rei its Hajime. And for Astra and Eri it’s each other, though they aren’t as clear an example for numerous reasons, and are not the clear parallel Haru and Yuujin are to Rei and Hajime. 

Haru is to Rei as Yuujin is to Hajime.

This parallel is also furthered by Yuujin and Hajime’s appmon. Offmon and Bootmon(Onmon). I’d also like to draw attention to their lines, as they're the ones that didn’t get full focus for logistical reasons. Offmon goes Super with Hackmon(Rei’s buddy). Onmon goes super with Gatchmon (Haru’s buddy). So… their super partners are the buddies of the other “main protag.” I mean, I think it's also game/marketing logistics because in the 3DS game, which I kind of assume many of the logistics were designed for (though I’m sure the anime was also being planned concurrently) because they are also the buddies of the main protag and the rival in the game, so giving their supers the anime protag buddy and the anime “rival” buddy just makes sense but I digress. 

Yuujin is an AI who goes through the story as a “Human”. Hajime is a human who is converted to an AI. Yuujin was let out into the world to gather information and act as a double agent. Hajime was taken from the world to make use of his skills as a programmer. Both are used by Leviathan against their will. Yuujin is younger than he seems, and Hajime is more capable than his age would indicate. They are the characters whose existence acts as a catalyst to their “Protectors” future. At the beginning of the show Hajime’s abduction is what catalyzes Rei into becoming an Applidriver, and is his driving force for much of the show. Yuujin’s death at the end of the show is what catalyzes Haru’s decision to study computer science. That said, Haru’s decision to become an Appdriver is also influenced by Yuujin, declaring Haru has the potential to be a protagonist. Yuujin noted that Haru was changing, and that he had made new friends before he was brought into the fold, helping to highlight how Haru was changin even without Yuujin. Similarly, Hajime’s return at the end of the series seems to lead to Rei relaxing and truly appreciating all that he’s gained as an Applidriver when Hajime was gone. Even if he was already starting to appreciate everyone else beforehand.

Consistently throughout the story Haru was the one who understood that Rei’s priority was Hajime and was constantly reaching out to him to help with that. Haru was going to help Rei save his precious person. Yuujin was also kidnapped later in the story, and his rescue was helped by everyone, including Rei pitching in.

Rei thought he put Hajime in danger, but Hajime put himself in danger as Hajime was the one who “won”. Haru avoided telling Yuujin about Appmon because he wanted to keep him safe, despite the fact that Yuujin was his friend was because of the danger in the first place, and really, it being likely that if it hadn’t been for Yuujin Haru wouldn’t have become a “protagonist”. (Another case of Minerva and Leviathan’s circular 4D chess game). 

Hajime created Bootmon. Hajime is already proficient in creating AI. This is what led to his abduction. But this is something that Haru hopes to study at the end of the show in order to bring Yuujin back.

Rei worked himself down and stopped taking care of himself in order to rescue Hajime, and was reckless in his pursuit. Haru similarly did reckless stunts to save Gatchmon, the world, and Yuujin. Yuujin actually did sacrifice himself, twice to save Haru and everyone else. Not to mention stopping Shutmon. 

Yuujin’s sacrifice to save the world at the cost of his own life, ending Leviathan’s plans, is probably the series crowning moment, but Hajime also sacrificed himself to let Bootmon escape in an attempt to prevent Leviathan’s plans from coming to fruition.  All four of these boys were tied to the plot in ways they didn’t fully understand at first, and are all the types of people to put their all into protecting people, even at the cost of their own well being.

    Okay, but now that I’ve talked about the obvious plot players I’d like to talk about our final pair. Astra and Eri aren’t really as plot important as the other four. There really is no reason they of all people ended up as Appdrivers. They are both there to round out the cast so to speak. 

    Eri is the only girl of the group (as well as one of the oldest members of the group), and Astra is the only elementary schooler and somehow simultaneously both the season's token “traditional household” and the season’s token half-japanese diversity. They are both public entertainers, a role that stands in stark contrast with Rei’s intensely on the grid off the grid way of living. Their arcs both related heavily to making their decisions because of how much they care about their families.  They are also a bit similar demeanor wise. They both have obnoxious catchphrases, are as purposefully arrogant as part of their schtick. As I said before, neither of them have a particularly large stake in the fight against leviathan (besides the obvious) and so overall have the same place narratively.

    I mean, we didn’t know Haru’s connection to the whole thing initially, and it seems even Ai’s tangentially connected. But it can be said that Minerva somewhat purposefully chose someone she believed could be an idol to be an Appdriver because it would give them insider access to L-corp and the media. We know she’s not against somewhat far fetched plans (Yuujin for one). Which is why I think Eri’s idol career has a surprising amount of focus in the show because of its relevance to the plot. I can’t think of any reason why Astra would be a choice for an appdriver, beyond his social media presence, and… maybe a risk taken that didn’t pan out the way Minerva hoped (I mean, an elementary student, somewhat laid back, with little free time? There had to be some reason?). 

    Speaking of Minerva, Astra and Eri’s questions stand in stark contrast to each other. Eri’s question is related to deciding to support other people, and Astra’s question is related to following his own heart rather than people’s expectations.

    Specifically Eri became an Appdriver after discussing with her mother about how hard she was working and her mom assuring her that she was happy as long as she did as she liked. Eri of course, did do as she liked, choosing to be an idol because idols made her happy hoping she could share that happiness, particularly to her mother who was working to make her happy. Early episodes featured Eri meeting fans, or in other words those who she was making smile, thus fulfilling that role. While her focus episodes became more about Eri’s drive as an idol, to succeed in her career for her mom by the end, she was willing to give up being an idol to move out from under Leviathan and more plot reasons.

    Like Eri, Astra started out rather lonely, and became an Apptuber because watching an Apptuber made him happy. But unlike Eri’s initial episodes, which were about learning who exactly it was she was supporting as an idol, beyond herself (and mother) which made her efforts to succeed as an idol later on more appreciated. Astra’s first focus episodes were about him being himself learning not to try and be someone he’s not, even in his new role, and that he shouldn’t have to impress people. His later focus episodes then went to deciding that even if he was choosing his own path as an Apptuber, he was still holding to obligations because he wanted to hold to them, and finding ways to support his family as an Apptuber. Astra’s arc is a little harder to grasp due to the relative lack of focus episodes, and like the Katsura’s backstory, not really being explained in full, his motivations as a character are a bit multilayered.

And as I’ve said, each member of the cast has their “important person” who they’d potentially sacrifice the fight for. Yuujin and Haru for each other, and the Katsura brothers for each other. Despite having no deep backstory prior to the start of the show, and in fact kind of starting out at constant odds they form an extremely close relationship over the course of the show. Astra treats Eri with his trademark casualness (referring her to just Eri, which is something no one else does, but also, he treats everyone like this). But Eri quite notably refers to Astra as “Tora”. While she picks this habit up before she met Jenny, it’s interesting to note that Jenny also calls Astra “Tora”. (And Dantemon? For Whatever reason?). And for his part, Astra does not discourage her from calling him this, despite the fact it’s probably a rather personal nickname. I personally take this as sort of an indicator as the sibling-like relationship they have. (I think it’s very important that despite their numerous moments showcasing their relationship, there is never any romantic implication. I mean, it’d be kinda weird since it’s 3 years and they are still so young. But it's not unshippable by any means, and I’ve seen worse).

While Rei was shown to prioritize Hajime over everything throughout the show, and Haru’s internal struggle with fighting over his friend are clear moments of characters having to choose to do the right thing at the potential harm to their loved ones, Astra also has a moment like this in regards to Eri during his final fight with Fakemon. There’s also the way he reacts when he realizes she’s potentially in danger in episode 36. Astra cares deeply for Eri and despite the casualness in the way he treats her, it’s clear that he has a lot of respect for her, and the passion she dedicates to being an idol.

Another important moment is when Astra asks Eri why she’s working herself so hard. Astra of course knows his father who works himself to the point of the detriment to his health, and so this drive is something he is familiar with, but as Astra’s arc is the one that relates to him doing what he thinks his best for himself, and then the support to others working its way in from that. Eri’s arc is more about learning to work to others’ benefit as well as your own. So Astra being the one to ask her if working herself like this is really what she wants to do and thinks she should do.

Eri doesn’t have a similar dramatic moment over Astra, much of her growth involving less personal interactions between people. Again, Eri’s career is marked by inspiring more people, and perhaps being more big picture, Eri is frequently approached by fans, and is constantly building her presence. And while Astra has his fans, he’s rarely approached on the street and has relatively little fan interaction.

 Whereas Astra’s shown to have a more narrow minded focus on who he cares about, doing Apptube primarily to do as he’d like, getting over his focus on other people's opinions rather early on. His priority being his family, Musimon, and his friends (especially Eri). But Eri does seem to care for Astra in return. Her reaching out to save Astra during episode 15 was a moment where she reached out to someone first to help forge a bond.

Perhaps its because Astra and Eri are the characters meant to flesh out the cast, is why I find them and their dynamic so interesting. They aren’t part of this tragedy. But they, and to a lesser extent Haru’s friends, tie the cast back to the rest of the world, which I think was really important in Appmon.

The characters in Appmon relate to each other both in their relationships with each other and the parallels in which they go about protecting and supporting each other. In this way, connecting to each other, AI or human, learning from each other and changing how they act, they come to push back against Leviathan's idea of the predictability of humanity, and against fear for those we don't understand.

This year I spontaneously watched Appmon nearly 2 times, and I have thoughts about it. And what better way to acknowledge it than on its 5th Anniversary. (Or 4th anniversary of Our Singularity). I'm planning on at least covering my thoughts on the main 5 kids this month, in an order based 100% on who I want to talk about first.

It's Astra.

I think Astra is generally the least liked Appmon character, or perhaps more accurately, is the character I see the most disdain for. And, honestly, I can understand where it comes from. But he’s my favorite Appmon character actually. In a cast with a non-conventional protagonist, a blackbelt idol, and a hacker, Astra’s “Apptube” is well, just kind of there. Like a more modern version of Eri’s idol career. His personality is clearly meant to be representative of the target audience, the group whose number one career aspiration is Youtuber. So, he’s kind of cringy and kind of annoying, especially to an adult audience. I get it. But Astra’s a character I found to have a lot of stuff going on.

I admittedly tend to have a soft spot for the babies of any team, especially if they are assertive enough to keep up with their seniors. And Astra does fit the bill. He’s generally seen to be on equal footing with the others, and his rather aggressive way of talking to the other doesn’t exactly make you think baby of the team. He doesn’t use honorifics, and in general Astra’s referred to in the same terms as Haru and Rei. (As near as I can tell, anyway with my nonexistent Japanese skills, correct me if I’m wrong). The fact he’s in elementary school is a bit more incidental than anything.

We learn the most about Astra’s family and upbringing compared to the other characters, and it is central to his arc. We get a lot of information straightforwardly in the show. He had a lot of pressure on him as the heir to the school, and felt pressured to act the part of the perfect heir. Throughout the show we see him struggle with the pressure of being the heir. As a child he was extremely dedicated to following his father's footsteps. He didn’t seem to see himself as anything other than the heir to his father's school. He seemed set apart from other children, seemingly due to the closed-off way he acted. This dedication to being a good heir was to the detriment of his happiness. Until Musimon came into his life allowing him to loosen up and seek his own happiness. Classic stuff. But Astra is a little more at war with himself than may be obvious by his “annoying” attitude.

While we first learn about Astra suppressing his own eccentricities, in his debut episodes, it’s not until later that we learn about his mother, and learn that this side of his personality didn’t come out of nowhere. His mother is very similar to him, which gives us the question of why he ever became so disciplined in the first place if his behavior isn't out of place in his family, and his mother is a strong advocate for him doing his own thing. In fact, Astra seemed initially a bit embarrassed by his mother when he introduced her to the other Appdrivers. Of course this is almost certainly because his mother calling his friend “pretty” and gushing about her husband and how they met is embarrassing, and even if Astra himself acts just as obnoxious. But even so, he's clearly less respectful towards her. The reasons behind why Astra calls his mother by her first name are unclear, though it doesn't seem to stem from a lack of love for his mother.

But regardless, it helps build the idea that more likely, he was trying to win the approval of people outside his immediate family. After all, as shown in episode 7, it was the assumption that Astra would inherit the school by others that prompted Astra’s response to his father. Even if Astra’s father does have a desire for Astra to inherit his position, he also understands that it's first and foremost Astra’s life to live. Astra however does have a lot of respect for his father and seems to value his opinion immensely, he recognizes that not inheriting the school would be disappointing to his father and does not want to disappoint him. So while I think there is something to be said for Astra’s behavior relating to a desire to impress his father, I don’t personally think it's the origin in its entirety.

Astra over the course of the series is very independent and marches to his own beat, Astra, like Eri, had made the first step to change prior to his introduction, but that doesn’t mean he was already completely different from the boy who acted stiff to prove himself to others. Astra’s second episode deals with him succumbing to peer pressure in his new activity, and his final episode is about not succumbing to his uncle's expectations, the old expectations that kept him down for so long. (But it's also a bit about fulfilling Hinarin’s expectations, expectations he agreed to).

Despite Apptubing being the career choice where Astra does as he pleases, his final episode isn’t about him Apptubing because he wants to but as a way to help someone else. Particularly his cousin. While it isn’t explicitly clear if Astra knows it’s his cousin the fact of the matter is that he’s helping his family through his Apptubing, even if it is something he picked up for himself. (A reasoning perhaps parallels Eri’s reasons for being an idol, wanting to bring smiles to her mom, despite it clearly being something she herself enjoys). His care for his family is exactly the reason he continues to train to be the heir, but that doesn’t mean even if he doesn’t uphold expectations that he can’t be a help to his family.

Astra’s arc deals with expectations vs. a desire to help. Astra in large part is assertive about not having to help other people out and doing his own thing, recognizing he doesn’t have to do anything he doesn’t want to. But his actions consistently betray his care for others. I think this is most evident in the way Astra acted as if he wasn’t going to help Eri out with her elections, but did so anyway, even if he antagonized her a bit in the process, but ended up being the proudest of her accomplishments. Not to mention the way he continues to train as the heir, albeit on his own terms. Over the course of the series, he becomes more open with his care towards others, culminating in the jailbreak episode, but he’s always been shown to care. He’s finding that balance between living his own life and helping others.

It’s clear that Astra doesn’t hate being heir at least. He’s extremely determined to do both. And personally, I think it’s very possible that he sees Apptubing as a hobby. He after all proposed the half-hour limit himself. Even at the beginning with his most abrasive. He dutifully kept it to a relatively small impact on his life. For all that it’s brought up as an important element in his life, and he is shown breaking his own rule on occasion without consequence. One of the longest times we see him Apptubing is when he’s helping Eri out. Of course on the flip side of that, we have episode 8 where he breaks the rule because his videos aren't doing as well as he likes, but that's definitely tying back to his desire for people's approval. While he is for lack of a better word, tempted into giving up training to be an iemoto to dedicate himself to Apptubing, it isn’t something he seems to seriously consider at all.

The biggest thing Musimon gave him was not the courage to be an Apptuber, but the courage to be himself. Indulging in Apptubing for fun is merely a small part of that. Astra is still the good heir, but he is no longer letting that define his entire life, sometimes forgoing certain parts of training. But that doesn’t mean that tea ceremony is a bad part of his life. There’s also a certain balance in his personality between the abrasive “annoying” boy at the start of the series and the passive boy prior to the show's beginning. I don’t feel that the polite Astra is completely disingenuous. Astra is capable of acting calm and grounded, and this side of himself becomes more apparent as the series goes on, particularly with Eri who, in contrast to him, throws herself into her idol career with more and more genuine passion. When he supports Eri with his videos but asks her to take a break, which tracks with what we know about his fathers working habits. It’s his final focus episode where he is shown to be acting, more in someone else's interest, and even shown to be a bit embarrassed by it. In contrast to an Astra who even in episode 19, was not taking much seriously. I think it’s only fair to say Astra did genuinely inherit some of his father's more grounded and dutiful nature.

And while earlier I did say Astra’s age feels incidental, I don’t think that is to say it has no bearing on his role in the story. It's part of the reason Eri is so dismissive of him at first, Sure, the other’s treat him as equal, and are in no way particularly protective of him, nor do they expect him to be any less capable than him. But this isn’t to say Astra’s relative youthfulness isn’t apparent when with the others at least in the beginning. Astra is definitely on the more immature side of things, he after all is the one who started the rivalry with Eri because his ego was bruised (not that Eri's initial dismissal of him was helping matters any). As I said earlier, Astra mellowed as the show progressed and I think it’s a fair assumption to say he’d continue to do so. Not that he’ll lose his energy, but that he’ll be able to act with more maturity and consideration for others. The most common complaint about him I’ve heard is “annoying”, which is understandable. But that’s not accidental, even in-universe (hah), others seem to find him to be a bit much at first at the beginning of the series. His “annoying” personality is him testing the waters beyond the role of dutiful heir he’s always played. He’s annoying because he’s an 11-year-old boy who does not always know how to act in ways appropriate to his situation. He’s the kid of the group. I do understand if that still makes watching irritating. Watching should be fun after all, but it’s more of a matter of opinion than an objective flaw.

Unlike Gatchmon, Offmon, and Dokamon whose personalities seem to clash a bit with their buddies, Musimon and Astra are consistently on the same page, after episode 8. This is exemplified in episode 29, where Musimon runs away for fun rather than because he wants something from Astra, and Astra is the only partner who seems to have not been worried, recognizing what Musimon was doing. Of course, their fight in episode 8 was about Astra not being true to himself, thus naturally conflicting with the one who is on the same page as his true self. Musimon shares Astra’s high energy but caring nature. I’m not an expert on the Japanese language by any means, but there is something notable about the fact Musimon uses “Boku” to Astra’s usual “Ore”. Musimon and Astra are without a doubt very similar, the only difference in their demeanors being Musimon is perhaps a bit less confrontational. If Musimon being Astra’s buddy says anything about Astra, it’s probably that Astra is by his nature not quite as aggressive as he seems. Which for someone who clearly used to takes people's opinions of him to heart, seems about right.

Astra’s arc is all about expectations, expectations as an Apptuber, and as the heir. Astra living up to, or disregarding expectations based on what he believes is best. Living the life he wants to live.

Some final observations from me in regards to Astra, is that he’s paired with Fakemon for God Grade. While it’s probably in part just how things worked out logistically, it also makes a bit of sense as a foil. Fakemon is constantly being disingenuous, while a huge part of Astra’s arc is being true to himself, while also fulfilling other people's expectations of him. Also of note, Entermon is described as a Digimon who exists wherever you can find culture something that is particularly relevant to Astra.

While being biracial is not directly important to the story, it’s not incidental and clearly is thematically related to him being trapped between the traditional and the modern Japan. While in story Astra’s story is simply about outside expectations of inheritance, It’s possible to read Astra prior to the series as trying to overcompensate for his foreign mother in the eyes of the people at his father’s school. This is something I find notable considering that Appmon’s assistant producer, Akari Yanagawa, went on to become the producer of 2019’s Star Twinkle Precure, a season of Precure notable for the franchise's 2nd biracial cure, whose personal arc more obviously alluded to racism than Astra's, though still very indirectly.

So you loved Kira Kira Precure a la Mode, and/or some of the other seasons of the past 10 or so years. So you go to watch the season that started it all, and its probably not what your expecting. And there's a good chance you don't like it. That's fair. The two could not be more different. Now, Kira Kira Precure A la Mode is not a bad magical girl anime. Not by any stretch of the imagination. It has charming characters and creative battles. But is it a good Precure show? It is Futari wa Precure's antithesis. At least as much of an antithesis as it can possibly be while still being a show targeted towards young girls. Kira Kira Precure A La Mode is a colorful show, with 6-8 larger than life characters as they battle against hatred. They fight in confection themed outfits while wearing heels and being unabashedly cutesy. It's main protagonist always saving the day with an energetic "Whip Step Jump" or a "Bright Idea". To be fair, many modern Precure series are more similar to Kira Kira. Girls who are role models. Girls who chase after their dreams with everything they have. Who even without being Precure live extraordinary lives. There is only one Whip, there are many like her. There is no Cure like Black.

Now excuse me while I get really emotional and overdramatic about Futari wa Precure.

Futari wa Precure is not modern Precure, Modern Precure wouldn't really start until Fresh. Splash Star took the first steps, and Precure continues to evolve, but the first seasons of Precure, particularly the first 3 are not the Modern Cure. Futari wa Precure is not a story about Extraordinary girls, doing extraordinary things. It's not loud, nor bright spectacle. A show is not wrong for being these things. But these things are not Futari wa. It is a story about ordinary girls, who live ordinary lives, who fight against eternal forces that seek to destroy the normal things they hold dear, with only each other to count on. There are two sides to Nagisa and Honoka's lives. Their day to day lives, filled with people they love. Takoyaki and Chocolate and Dogs and Lacrosse and a million other simple things. Slice of life filled with unapologetically ordinary vibes. The world they seek to protect. And the things they do to protect it. The lonely brutal battles. The interruptions to their day to day. The threats on those they love. The villains dismissal of their important feelings and things in a battle that feels bigger than them. There are only the two of them. And 2 fairies who, themselves, only have each other, desperate refugees stuck in a world that makes them so tired that they cannot navigate it on their own.

And when I say there's no Cure like Black, I'm not exaggerating. There aren't many sporty lead cures anymore. But even when there were. There was no one like black. Melody, Rouge and Bloom are closest. But even then. Cure Black is not an optimist. She is not confident. Nagisa does not want to be a Cure. She does not want things to change. She bullies her little brother, she argues with her fairy. She is irresponsible and struggles to do things she dislikes. She hates fighting. But she fights anyway. She is not hope. She is courage. Because if she's going to die, she will die fighting. Bitterly.

When I say there hardly any Cures like Black, I mean there are also no Cures like White. We have cures into Science, though even now not many. And when we do, they are mostly into biology. (Doctors, Nurses, Marine Biologists, Botany). The closest we have is Himari, and her way of connecting sweets to science. We do have two cures who want to be astronauts (Tsubomi and Hikaru), but even then their primary interests are Botany and Cryptids respectively. Not that these are bad goals. But they are not White's more nebulous interest in science, that extends beyond the life sciences. Beyond domesticity. She loves learning, pure and simple. Honoka is well off, but gets her hands dirty. She is a woman of science, but takes the supernatural in stride. She is kind, but does things her way. She is graceful and polite, but temperamental and bold. In this way, Rhythm and Egret perhaps resemble her though not each other. Egret shares her independent nature, and mild obliviousness. Rhythm shares her temper and hands-onness. Honoka is hope. But she is not the loud Hope, like so many pinks, burning towards a dream. Burning with the possibilities. She is the quiet hope. The stubborn hope. She is the hope born of sorrow and things that cannot be. The hope that hears "This is the way it is" and says "No".

Cure Black and Cure White are not merciful. They do not redeem their enemies. A general hurts Black's brother and laughs. She kills him in rage. He was desperate. But she was vengeful. The enemies they fight are not all encompassing evil. They are darkness, and a threat that needs to be eliminated. But for many they merely want to survive. But so do Black and White. Cure Black and White fight, pitting the survival of their world against the survival of their enemies. It's them or her, and she chooses her and she loses. Her brother is vengeful and angry, and its him or them. And he chooses them. They lose a friend to this pointless struggle. But they continue on. The battle continues on. Honoka cries and cries for him. Did it have to be this way? It doesn't matter because it is. And there is no one she can talk to aside from Nagisa, and Mipple.

There is no one shouting to cheer on the Precure, no miracle lights. Those wouldn't come until Yes 5! They are merely rumors. A half seen fight. A figure seemingly out of a dream. Are they even real? Their imitators on the playground are more real than they are. Bring more smiles than they do. The universe is more vast than any of them could comprehend. There are entire other worlds with people who laugh and cry.

And there is no setting quite like Futari wa's setting. The setting in Futari wa, which I don't believe is named in show, is based on the Tokyo area. Not a made up city. A real one. Sure their school is fictional, as are the stores they visit. But the amusement park they visit is directly inspired by a real one. Nagisa lives in an Apartment building I believe to be modeled off a real one. They travel busy trains. Honoka's grandmother lived through war and tells stories of bombings. This is the Tokyo of a world not quite unlike our own. And perhaps most notably, this world is melancholic. Not bright.

Nagisa does not have pink hair. She does not have blond hair. She has orange hair. Not bright orange. Orangish brown. Though not one common in Japan, a real color. Honoka has black hair. Some might say blue. Although with its darkness its otherwise indistinguishable. It might as well be black. Shiho has red hair. And later Hikari will have blond. Kirya's will be green, but like Honoka so green it might as well be black. These may not be real hair colors, exactly. But they're close. Their muted. In the same way this is Tokyo but not.

With all of this said, there is still one core tenant Kira Kira holds to. It is still a story about girls, different kinds of girls, protecting the things they love. In Kira Kira, it is sweets. In Futari wa... its sweets.

Sweets. Precure was always about sweets go home.

After nearly 2 years I finally finished survive, all routes. I've had Harmony done for a long time, and finished Moral and Truthful like a year ago. Just finished wrathful. I love these kids so much, I'm just a busy person. Miyuki is probably my favorite, but considering Hikari is my Adventure favorite and Kyubimon is my favorite digimon, and I'm a huge fan of Renamon's line in general, that really shouldn't be a surprise. Miyuki's even an older sister.

Speaking of Adventure, I'm also halfway through rewatching Adventure (eng sub), got a vital hero (they're relatively cheap now it's been fun to mess around with) have restarted cyber sleuth, and am planning to get Next 0rder next time its on sale, so to say Digimon is on the brain would be an understatement.

I have new adventure thoughts AND survive thoughts. Okay some of my survive thoughts are old, but I didn't want to say anything until I had the full picture of the world and story and now I do.

Playing next 0rder for the first time. I'm having an absolute blast. But I also know that knowing what I was getting myself into before hand is probably a huge portion of it. I've watched playthroughs of the original World, and review videos, as well as a playthrough of next 0rder itself and Re:Digitize. And also just knowing about how de-evolution is a near constant in this franchise probably also helps. I definitely probably couldn't recommend it cold, because who in their right mind would intuitively know that the cycle of "restarting" is part of the appeal and progress is marked more by the progress of the city than your monsters, which in turn helps you get better at raising your monsters. But as someone who also enjoys her 20th anniversary Digimon V-Pet this is just the same thing but faster with more options. It's great. Anyway the characters may not be super in depth (which is fine I'm here for my digimon partners and helping them grow big and strong). But Himari, despite her limited characterization has my attention. She's her sister's primary caregiver? It also feels like her sisters are her only family to her, she probably has a dad who in true anime dad fashion is busy with work. But she still acted like she was leaving her sisters completely alone, so what degree of responsibility is she taking on for her sisters. Definitely being parentified to an extent but to what extent? Does she have a proper support network? Also the wording "doesn't have a mom" could be anything. Is she dead? Digimon's never shied away from that before, so why wouldn't they just say it. Did her mom leave, or is the vagueness just to leave it to imagination? Also her sisters are 2nd graders? So, 7 or 8, which means they would have been babies at the time of the tournament 7 years ago. Was the tournament a last happy memory for her before, whatever left her motherless happened? I'm definitely overthinking it but there is just enough character there to be interesting enough for me to chew on for a bit. Also "Mameo" being a teacher is great. He really showed up trying to do his protaganist thing and then now has to mentor these new teen protags when he's been doing this since he was younger than them, for as long as they've been alive. So now he's basically this old wisened mentor despite being in like. His early 30s at most. And also it contrasts with analogman. An adult man who is the only human there with experience with the digital world. Mameo grew from an analogboy into a more benevolent analogman of sorts.

I love Beyond as an AU of the Kizuna timeline etc., because Beyond is the first new content since I've become a digimon fan that feels like Adventure. I dont hate Kizuna, I definitely have some issues with it but there's also a LOT I appreciate. Admittedly, when I say Beyond feels like Digimon Adventure, I kinda literally do just mean the character designs, art style (when was the last time we really saw Adventure's digital world? Tri's digital world lacked Adventure's stylization), and the main plot idea, (digidestined being targetted by militaries) which feels like a natural bridge between 02 and the epilogue.

That's almost certainly in part because, it is just a short music video, so that's all there is in it. Which means it doesn't have the room in it to tell me things that I will disagree with. It does raise a lot of questions, but nothing specific. Like why is Takeru in what looks like the dark ocean? There could be 10000s of explanations, and a lot of them would make sense so there's less need to worry about specifics. It also doesn't promise to answer those questions, having been marketed from the beginning as a standalone thing. Its a very different beast from a stand alone movie which requires a clear story arc and character drama that has to resolve quickly, so I'm not disparaging Kizuna and 02tb for NOT diving into that kind of plot, but acknowledging that it made it more difficult for me to care.

A lot of post 02 adventure content has addressed the need for movie content by introducing new characters/conflict that they can resolve in the limited runtime rather than taking from pre-existing threads which does make sense for the format but does leave those stories feeling superfluous. Kizuna and 02TB also take the epilogue for granted rather than seek to show the progression towards it. Not to say there isn't any recognition of the inevitable ending but that this underlying thread takes a backseat to more specific conflicts within the setting of a world approaching a digimon partnership singularity.

I don't think its necessarily a bad thing that they try to use the audiences understanding that the epilogue is canon as a way to filter the story through to make you question the things the characters tell you. Like obviously "digimon disappear when kids become adults" and Taichi and Yamato's separation can't be the whole story if the epilogue shows us that it won't stay. So we are theoretically driven to read between the lines and look for the discrepancies and clues about what IS going on. But it IS extremely frustrating to have mysteries raised but not show the resolution for a 20 year old show, especially after tri. wasted a lot of audience goodwill on that kind of thing.

I also think a huge part of what makes Beyond feel more like Adventure is the lack of adhesion to real life for the setting. 02 took place 2 years into the future from when it was written. Not significant amount of tine, but like 9/11 happened between when the show was written and when it was set. It and especially the epilogue were written speculating about the future that they couldn't really predict. And so tri. Kizuna and 02TB which were all written after the time they take place all try to emulate the real world past, invoking nostalgia of that time period as well, when the world of 02 was already going in a different direction from ours. So I think naturally a world where the timeline has diverged more strongly than from our real timeline would reflect in things like fashion and societal behavior, and even the characters adhesion to the norms that exist.

This of course shows in things like the cell phones and Sora's fashion. I don't think Sora wearing typical Japanese adult women's fashions is at all inaccurate to her character, particularly in the timeline/world those entries present (ie more similar to irl). Similarly Ken and his long hair; long haired Japanese high school boys isn't particularly realistic to the fashion norms of our world, but it IS in line with Ken's fashion choices in 02 and the epilogue. Just two different approaches to the kids designs.

But I personally ultimately do like the Beyond outfits more, because they feel more like a progression between 02 fashions and epilogue. And also I don't really have nostalgia for the 2000s-2010s, much less in Japan. But this also extends to things like character arcs, where I don't think that it's not possible for the chosen children to be plagued by the kind of doubts we see them suffer from in recent iterations, and those doubts make for continued stories for them, but I don't think that's the only potential future for them. So seeing a Sora who is happily flying freely in the digital world makes me happy (and for me calls to mind her Best Partner duet).

I do think I would love a novelization as an elaboration to know what the vision for Beyond is, but I'm otherwise so burnt out Adventure that I don't want anything higher budget to tell me what happens. It's highly possible that any further elaboration on Beyond (such as a novelization) would tell me things that I don't believe. The thing about a show that's had such a long-standing presence is it doesn't really belong to anyone in particular. Shows like Digimon Adventure are made by a group of people at a particular time, so no one person, or even group of people from the crew are the one authority on the story. It's impossible to truly have one true canon continuation of the story, but to me Beyond feels at least somewhat close.

I do appreciate the inclusion of Meiko (&Lui) as sort of a assurance this isn't a pure rejection of other official interpretations of post-02 content. That stuff isn't without merit. But beyond is just one of the creators visions on the subject filtered through music video time constraints rather than big budget movie constraints. Just one potential path.

Why I think Appmon is the Best Digimon to Start With

Digimon Universe: Applimonsters, better known as Appmon, is the forgotten digimon series, because it quite frankly barely counts as a digimon series. In fact digimon only appear in one episode. And that is exactly why it is the perfect season to start with when getting into Digimon.

Appmon is just a show I'd recommend on its own, even if it wasn't a digimon show. It's got a lot going for it. It's character's are fun, both larger than life and compelling. The characters start immature and flawed, before growing into themselves. Their character dynamics are honestly also unique and fascinating. The plot is well constructed with regular progression, ample foreshadowing and well-earned twists. It's one of the best shows in the franchise.

A lot of the best things about Appmon, are the reoccurring elements that I love about digimon to begin with. The human/monster relationships where the monster evolutions reflecting human growth, themes about humanities future and cross-cultural interactions, strong sibling relationships, and normal kids growing into heroes. Appmon is very much everything I love about Digimon, and thus showcases some of the best the franchise has to offer. But without, the baggage of being a digimon season.

Digimon can be intensely metatextual. While individual digimon stories may be complete unto themselves, its very common for digimon stories to make reference to other lore and themes. Glossing over them for the older fans. Things like Yggdrasil, Royal Knights, Jogress, File Island, Homeostasis as they appear. They are explained when relevant, sure, and often are excluded more than included but any given entry (Cyber Sleuth for example) may throw a whole heck of a lot of them at you without a whole lot of elaboration on the idea. Appmon almost completely strips out the metatext. It strips out the recognizable monsters and by extension, the virtual pet elements (thus the two baby levels and eggs), the character archetype shorthand's, and general digimon reference book references. No Leomon or Wizarmon variants to wave death flags. No virus, data, vaccine types nor armor or hybrid levels or x-antibodies potentially randomly dropped in without context. Because it's not that context is ever really needed: they'll explain if they are, but there is still the decades long, exceedingly over-complicated metalore cooking in the background of any given digimon series. Instead the Appmon being Apps means that any context on the creatures are rather self evident, their app type. The simple act of living in our modern society provides enough context. There are a lot of references to IRL AI culture, such as all the protagonists being seemingly named after AI, and the Dartmouth Workshop of 1956 being a plot point. Appmon has plenty of references and lore, it's just not overly all about Digimon. It doesn't completely strip out metatextual references to digimon, but it is kept subtle and unobtrusive. Haru has goggles because they make him more protag like, the kids find a phone booth, the kids are called "chosen children" once, and episode 44 does bring in Agumon as a video game but its non intrusive and isn't really used as any sort of shorthand. You can know that goggles that do nothing is a very extra character design element denoting protag status without knowing its a digimon thing. Old fashioned technology and modern kids is always funny. The kids were in fact chosen. And one episode out of 52 being a cute and heartfelt crossover is nothing. In short, Appmon doesn't have any of the baggage that might make a traditional Digimon season difficult to get into.

Which is probably the reason they made Appmon, well Appmon to begin with. Why they decided to start the franchise fresh so to speak to target the child (new) demographic while tri. targeted the older demographic. Appmon's come and gone, and they've abandoned that strategy, so newer entries of digimon still try to capture a new demographic while building on the old, so Appmon still remains as most stand alone entry of the anime.

But it is still very digimon in the ways that matter, meaning that if you DO like Appmon, you're very likely going to find at least one other season worth looking into. Logistically the season is a lot like Hunters and Ghost Game, with how evolution and the digital field works, the characters vaguely (with heavy emphasis on vaugely) resemble the Tamer's cast, the way the human digimon relationship's function resembles Savers imo. It's themes of humanities future and chosen one narratives are very Adventure. In other words it feels like a digimon season, because it works a lot like what came before it. Really, digimon seasons vary a lot. For the most part no two seasons are alike, there are very few things consistent in Digimon. Just a lot of things that reoccur frequently. So in the end, Appmon feels like a Digimon season, because it's just like a Digimon season in every way EXCEPT for the actual monsters.

Appmon is particularly similar in it's themes. Digimon often tackles themes of identity, alternate selves, destiny and responsibility, humanities evolution, humanities relationship with digital technology, and cross cultural exchange. So an entry may dive right into: what happens when you abuse your alternate self, or where does the locus of the self actually lie, glossing over the lighter "what would it be like to have an alternate self". Appmon covers many these themes too but it does so through the fresh lens, of Apps and realisticish (Heavy emphasis on the 'ish') AI, building its case from the ground up rather than falling back on typical digital world backstories. What makes an AI a fully fledged person, what is the point of being alive, how will humanity handle being overtaken by its creation, humanties newfound dependence on various AIs, and how can humans and sufficiently advanced AI coexist without one taking advantage of the other. Many of the same themes Digimon usually covers, but in the more specific context of a war between hyperintelligent super AI. Rarely are digimon significantly more intelligent than a human, but Appmon builds itself around the idea. Being Very Digimon, while also bringing something new to the table.

Appmon may have come out in 2016, but it's themes of AI transcending humanity are perhaps more topical than when it debuted. The original Digimon was on some level born out of the mystique of the new technology that the internet was in the early 2000s. As such, while Digimon generally toes the line between sci-fi and fantasy, it usually incorperates Sci-Fi aesthetics, but fantasy worldbuilding. Appmon's worldbuilding actually is heavily sci-fi, no implications of magic, but the themes and motifs of the story border still on mythological. Something closer to our modern understanding of technology. We know our internet, it's nothing special to us anymore. But we forget to a certain extent the power held by the internet in the modern day. Who is this power meant for? Digimon is in many ways, conceptually, a holdover from a bygone era, even as it seeks to stay modern. But Appmon is unapologetically modern, in a way that feels like it should have aged super fast, but somehow still feels contemporary 8 years later.

The other side of what makes Appmon the best to start isn't just that it's good to start with, it's that the other seasons are worse. To start with that is. I love them to death, and I don't think they are necessarily bad, but if you aren't already interested in what digimon has to offer, it might be a bit harder to sell. With how metatextual digimon can be you might think the first season would be the best place to start. I mean how could it not be. It's the first. Well, not exactly. Adventure is both the best and worst place to start otherwise. It is one of the cornerstones of the franchise, and so much of what comes after calls back to it. Adventure is a subtle story in a lot of ways that leaves a lot of the details to be parsed on rewatches. It's a genuinely passionate piece of art. In fact, the show is so detailed they many of the details didn't even make it in the show, with lore clarified in side materials. Most of these details aren't incredibly important, but they do provide insight into some of the shows otherwise confusing choices. Also, most were never officially translated into english. Also, the shows attention to detail left the show rife with opportunities for translation to be mishandled, leading to additional issues. Not to mention the 90s weren't exactly known for their faithful dubs, and this is true of Adventure too. Though Adventure itself still suffers a lot from metatext even outside of its own lore. Taichi's name and design are reused from the manga. File island, Server Continent, the idea of "raising digimon", the frequent presence of "garbage" digimon, and the disjointed evolution lines, are all borrowed from the general V-Pet lore. And ultimately Adventure is even more complicated by the franchises refusal to let it go. New releases, and cameos in other works are varying degrees of canon incompliant. Sometimes recent releases are insightful to the original work, sometimes they perpetuate misconceptions about the original work. Sometimes both. Sometimes its hard to say one way or another. To be clear, Adventure isn't really that complicated, itself. Very enjoyable even if you don't think too hard on it. But it's barely covering a whole maze of rabbit holes. I do recommend Adventure and 02, and it can ABSOLUTELY work as a first digimon series. But it does leave itself open to a lot of bad takes.

But, a familiarity with Adventure is sort of required to get the full effect of Tamer's, which serves as a sort of deconstruction of Adventure era digimon to a certain extent, or to actually understand Digimon Survive (a visual novel) which is in many ways a more mature retelling of Digimon Adventure. Otherwise Digimon series are either too unique in premise (Frontier and Xros Wars), and/or not very good (Adventure: 2020, Ghost Game) to warrant as a recommendation for a "first" digimon series. In all fairness, all digimon season are a perfectly fair place to start. None of them depend on each other to tell their story. I'd even argue that 02 is an acceptable place to start, if a baffling one. You don't need to know the meta-textual elements to appreciate their stories and characters and worldbuilding. That's how the franchise has survived through its multiple iterations. But when Digimon throws "Armor" level around casually, an artifact of an old storyline, it's kind of hard to argue that on some level digimon doesn't have an overwhelming history.

Savers is my second choice recommendation of a first digimon season. It too has its own metatextual elements of course, they are less overt and Saver's also just does its own thing worldbuilding wise a surprising amount. Otherwise its a solid story that utilizes typical digimon tropes, but doesn't explicitly call back to Adventure in its premise.

Of course there ARE other digimon media. The original Digimon media was the V-pets, which are fun, but have niche appeal. The same applies to the Digimon World games. Speaking of which, Digimon Games are generally not the best way to get into the franchise. They're mostly not very good, and I'd also add that Digimon games are even more heavily marketed to pre-existing digimon fans than the animes are. Digimon Cyber Sleuth is maybe the only exception, but even that very heavily pays homage to Digimon Adventure. Though, some of the manga, like Liberator or V-Tamer might be good places to start too.

There is one big problem though with Appmon as a first series. No English dub. Now, generally speaking the digimon fandom is plagued by bad translations. So many of the dubs generally kinda suck, so I usually recommend subs anyway, but I recognize not everyone can handle subs. There is a french dub, for those who understand French. I don't so I don't even know if its a good dub. If you're a dub only person honestly I recommend Tamers as a first season. It was the first one I finished. Its got a few issues that hold it back as an ideal first show for the uninitiated, but a solid story you don't actually need any context for. Adventure and Saver's dubs have problems imo that keep me from recommending them. (There IS a more supposedly more accurate SE asian dub of the early digimon seasons out there, but its harder to find + I haven't actually watched more than a few clips so I feel I can't exactly speak to its overall quality).

Ultimately, Digimon is the kind of thing where you can jump in anytime, and the kind of thing where there are plenty of fans who would be happy to explain the weird stuff. But you DO have to start somewhere. I just personally suggest Appmon.

Appmon is overall, just a solid children's tv anime on its own, as well as a fantastic example of what a digimon season can be. But without the 20+ years of baggage.

Fresh Precure is about community, and how community forms support systems beyond the family unit.

Many heel face turns focus on the characters growth. How they come to understand differently, and how they grow into a new person. Setsuna, once freed from Labyrinth actually changes her personality rather quickly, she doesn't spend much time struggling with everything all things considered. Now, I think Setsuna's arc is top tier: her denying her true wants because its different from what she's been told she wants all her life, wanting to be useful to her community but her community not serving her, finding people who care about her and give to Setsuna rather than only take, her guilt for taking the happiness away from others that people have been giving her. But ultimately, it's not so much about Setsuna's personal growth, so much as about how this community rehabilitates an abused girl.

Unlike many other seasons where her living situation would be a bit of an afterthought its front and center here. We get to see all the little things that the Momozono's do for Setsuna, all the little things they get for her.

It's why the toothbrush scene is so important. A toothbrush is such a little thing, but the Momozono's are going out of their way to remember she needs one, to get one for her. And they ask her what kind she wants. The Momozono's are giving her freedom, are allowing her to embrace her own decisions, rather than in Labyrinth where she was manipulated into doing what others wanted of her.

It's not just the Momozono's. It's Kaoru giving her a donut simply because she hadn't had one before. Lucky and Takeshi playing with Setsuna. Miyuki helping support Setsuna when she was feeling pressured to dance. Of course the whole town does this for everyone.

The Cures go and support a little girl in the hospital, both as themselves and as their cure selves. Kaoru looks after the girls and tries to get them to eat when they're overworking themselves. Miyuki helping the girls balance their lives. This is the first iteration where Cure's are truly celebrities rather than their occasional public appearance in Fresh and the public cheers them on accordingly, and even helps in more tangible ways (like offering an expensive training facility).

This is contrasted against Labyrinth who erases individuality in the name of the collective, but where the collective is suffering. Who has no art, no family, no socialization. Where no one offers help unless ordered to. Where everything is for Moebius. And so, the smallest acts of kindness (a donut) have far reaching effects. Because the people of Labyrinth believe they're doing right. That this is the best for everyone. They don't know what happiness is, so when faced against actual it for the first time, as well as actual community for the first time, it crumbles.

But even the individuals in Labyrinth aren't always heartless. Westar has even more of a sense of community than Eas. A desire to give back. However, is loyalty to Labyrinth is stronger. Westar takes Eas leaving personally. He's often cast aside, underestimated. Westar's a goofy sort of villain, but more than that he's a victim just like Eas and Soular. He thrives once he gets to leave. He thrives in a community that gives him the support he gives others.

I think it's no coincidence that this season has the first cure with divorced parents. We never see her father, but we know he's not completely absent from her life. She still has a close relationship with her brother. This nontraditional family dynamic I think sets the stage for Setsuna later on, who is welcomed into the Momozono family. She's family even without blood.