After watching the train-wreck that was Adventure 02, it becomes painfully obvious that what made Digimon so great to begin with wasn't the monster battles or the kids shouting random words to make monsters bigger, it was the characters and their development.
The writers seemed to realize that and decided to go back on track with Tamers. Needless to say, this is where the writing of the Digimon franchise peaks. Nearly every character feels real, including the Digimon themselves, which used to be nothing more than pets in previous and later iterations.
The first batch of episodes start great, albeit a little slow, but still interesting enough to keep you watching. We get a great deal of character development from our three main heroes before they can start evolving and kicking ass, which really pays off in the end.
Sadly, after these initial episodes, we enter the Devas' Arc, which I feel was the lowest point of the whole season. Don't get me wrong, most of the episodes were okay, but they mostly consisted of very formulaic, plot-progression-lacking Focus Episode's that really only existed to give the kids an excuse to evolve. In other words, they were pure Filler. It doesn't get more blatantly obvious than the episode where Hirokazu gets his partner, or the fact Beelzebumon keeps delaying that moment.
The writing also feels like a letdown most of the time. I loved the episode when Leomon debuts for its hilarity, but it left so many questions on my head. Where the hell did Leomon come from? What criteria exactly made Jeri his partner? The same questions arise when Hirokazu, Kenta and Xiǎochūn all get their own partners for seemingly no reason. Speaking of them, what was the point of making those last three tamers if they are completely useless in battle and in plot?
Also, we get introduced to one of the worst characters in the franchise: Ryo. I understand wanting to give fans some connection to previous entries, but every time he shows up on screen, he feels like a badly written fanfic character being shoehorned into a story he doesn't belong to. And if the Executive Meddling entries on the Trivia page are to be believed, he is.
Thankfully, things finally start to get traction again from Episode 34 in which Leomon dies. To be completely honest, his death was a bit dull and he wasn't developed enough for me to care (his memetic status as the Kenny of the franchise might've helped). Still, what really pays off is what happens next: the season drops all pretense of being a kids' show and starts exploring some really serious subjects like death, depression, existential themes and such.
The ending was fantastic and solidified Tamers' status as one of the best seasons in the whole franchise, perhaps even better than Adventure 01. While Adventure 01 started slow, peaked mid-season, then went slow again in the ending, Tamers does the opposite; Tamers starts really good, slows down mid-season, then delivers a great climactic ending.
Nearly Perfect
After watching the train-wreck that was Adventure 02, it becomes painfully obvious that what made Digimon so great to begin with wasn't the monster battles or the kids shouting random words to make monsters bigger, it was the characters and their development.
The writers seemed to realize that and decided to go back on track with Tamers. Needless to say, this is where the writing of the Digimon franchise peaks. Nearly every character feels real, including the Digimon themselves, which used to be nothing more than pets in previous and later iterations.
The first batch of episodes start great, albeit a little slow, but still interesting enough to keep you watching. We get a great deal of character development from our three main heroes before they can start evolving and kicking ass, which really pays off in the end.
Sadly, after these initial episodes, we enter the Devas' Arc, which I feel was the lowest point of the whole season. Don't get me wrong, most of the episodes were okay, but they mostly consisted of very formulaic, plot-progression-lacking Focus Episode's that really only existed to give the kids an excuse to evolve. In other words, they were pure Filler. It doesn't get more blatantly obvious than the episode where Hirokazu gets his partner, or the fact Beelzebumon keeps delaying that moment.
The writing also feels like a letdown most of the time. I loved the episode when Leomon debuts for its hilarity, but it left so many questions on my head. Where the hell did Leomon come from? What criteria exactly made Jeri his partner? The same questions arise when Hirokazu, Kenta and Xiǎochūn all get their own partners for seemingly no reason. Speaking of them, what was the point of making those last three tamers if they are completely useless in battle and in plot?
Also, we get introduced to one of the worst characters in the franchise: Ryo. I understand wanting to give fans some connection to previous entries, but every time he shows up on screen, he feels like a badly written fanfic character being shoehorned into a story he doesn't belong to. And if the Executive Meddling entries on the Trivia page are to be believed, he is.
Thankfully, things finally start to get traction again from Episode 34 in which Leomon dies. To be completely honest, his death was a bit dull and he wasn't developed enough for me to care (his memetic status as the Kenny of the franchise might've helped). Still, what really pays off is what happens next: the season drops all pretense of being a kids' show and starts exploring some really serious subjects like death, depression, existential themes and such.
The ending was fantastic and solidified Tamers' status as one of the best seasons in the whole franchise, perhaps even better than Adventure 01. While Adventure 01 started slow, peaked mid-season, then went slow again in the ending, Tamers does the opposite; Tamers starts really good, slows down mid-season, then delivers a great climactic ending.
In short, this is THE best season.