Yeah overall, I was kinda disappointed in this one. Obviously not bad but I found it kind of weak. But it really was mostly just used to set up a lot of things so kinda like Star Wars 7, how part 5 handles all this stuff that was established will retroactively make this one better or worse.
What I liked:
- Sovereigns showing up in some strange silent film intro (complete with intertitles? are we about to find out Daigo and Maki were DigiDestined in the 1920s). Like I said last year, I like when they're not afraid to reference the canon introduced in 02.
BlackWarGreymon flashback cameo PLEASE
- I liked that we got to see Maki and Daigo's past, and finally get some explanation/motivation for Maki's actions.
- Fight scenes were cool and well-animated.
Matthew mentioned not getting a cool warp-digivolve sequence for WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon but personally I found the surprise shot more powerful.
- Hackmon getting a cool role, finally stepping into the spotlight after sneaking around for three movies. We never find out what happened between him and Alphamon at the end of part 3 though...
- I liked that they switched up the partner Digimon like they did with Gomamon and Koushiro in part 2, that was kinda nice. Didn't do much with it though or stick with it too long but what they had was nice.
- I liked how they handled the whole lost memory thing without making it too tedious (besides Sora and Biyomon). Having the Digimon ask the obvious questions to the kids was a nice way to get them to reflect on things.
- I like that Yggdrasil is now part of the continuity and I hope they can fit him and the Royal Knights with the Dark Masters and Sovereigns well, because only so many conspiracies can be happening in the Digital World, especially those we never hear of in 01 and 02. Also I like that there was no Alphamon in this one, I gotta say the usage of Alphamon in this series has been nothing short of genius. Having him appear in the climax of part 1 for an epic what the fuck moment that sets the scale for this story, and then having him disappear completely aside from a small (and even more mysterious) cameo in part 3. Really smart.
What I didn't like:
- Kinda love/hate with the Dark Masters. Like I said before, at this point they're not really the top tier threat anymore, and they were definitely very beatable in this. But on the other hand I don't know how I feel about just using them as throwaway mooks either. But Puppetmon and Piedmon were always the ones who had most to say and were most fascinating, so as long as they're still alive I hope something cool is done with them.
- It was kind of dumb how they just left Meiko on the boat like that lol. And they made Gennai (or whoever he really is) such a creep. Got quite a bit rapey with Sora and Meiko (did he really have to lick Sora, lmfao, it's like Terminator 2), seemed a little unnecessarily edgy. But not a big deal.
- Main concern with this episode: Kinda sad/confused they keep putting off the whole thing with Sora and Yamato, especially as we know they end up married with children as adults and she admitted she had feelings for him in 02. Seems like with a lot of YA series people can't ever get together until the end. But it would be nice to explore that relationship
during the series, without constantly throwing Taichi in the middle of it for some reason (dude seriously needs to learn how to not be a cockblock). Wouldn't mind it if it was done right either, because Taichi is her closest childhood friend. But Sora seems to be by far the most underdeveloped character so far and personally I would have found this episode more interesting if they explored her human relationships rather than her relationship with Biyomon (which we already know is going to be okay in the end, so there isn't much suspense or ride to it, just tedium). There are subtle hints that Sora and Yamato have feelings for each other, but I think it may be a bit
too subtle when everything else about this series is more shown at face value.
- The evolution sequences were just mad overkill, must have taken up like 5 entire minutes of the final segment. MegaKabuterimon was a bit pointless because we had already seen it, Seraphimon was a wasted opportunity and out of nowhere. Like Matthew said, it would be way better for him to come out later instead of being tacked on as an afterthought. Especially because in this continuity Seraphimon has gotta be at least in the top 10 strongest Digimon. I think it should have just focused on Ho-ohmon cleaning up house and have maybe some of the other kids just have champion forms supporting.
Aside from that, like I said it will depend on how well part 5 and 6 deal with all this set up. But I'm still excited. These cliffhangers for months cause me so much anxiety though lol, and when the next part comes out it creates yet another cliffhanger.
I'm kinda glad most of my theories were right too, about Hackmon being on the side of Gennai, and being a "bad guy" (I won't say evil now since it seems more like a clash of ideologies now with Homeostasis). That means Alphamon is likely a good guy. I was right about Maki too, since this episode definitely served to make her sympathetic. Totally wrong about the Milleniummon thing though, but I think what they're doing now is better.
Integer Mova I'm not sure if Homeostasis and Yggdrasil are supposed to be the same entity or not though? That was kind of confusing but maybe it'll be clearer when I rewatch.
For part 5, I'm predicting that the 02 kids will finally make their return, since I don't think it would be a good idea for them to return too close to the climax in part 6. If this episode focuses on Hikari (which would fit because she hasn't had a feature yet) it would be even more fitting since she was an 02 kid herself. This is the first part that ended in a very direct cliffhanger though; the other ones kinda wrapped up the scenario well, but for the next one we know for sure we'll have to start with them fighting Meicoomon and with Gennai still on the boat. After all the Digimon are tired and turned back into in-training, no less.
So it'll be interesting to see where that goes and to see how part 5 and 6 deal with all this set up. Only two more parts to tie up all the threads and by next year we'll have the whole picture.