Freakin' awesome as always! I love all the in-depth analysis you're doing for this sweet show, JO. Keep it up! (I can't wait until you get to Rika. Easily the most interesting female protagonist of any Digimon series to date.)

Bah, Rika's an annoying bitch, even more so than Mimi and Yolei combined. The only character worse than her is Renamon.

I don't know. Renamon's the only digimon that appeared from the digital world. Despite her being a cold, hard ass for the first couple of episodes, you have to see that that's all Renamon has known since she (I'm calling it a female) was created.
She's just a very serious character. She was never shown affection or caring by her tamer. So, if there's anyone to blame for Renamon's cold heart, I think it rests with Rika.

Funny, I always found that she got obnoxious once the D-Reaper came into play. >_>

Honestly, I think Jeri deserves that title more. Given how JO actually plans to dedicate an entire video to her, I think it's safe to say that there's a lot to say on her...

I was looking forward to the character analysis, and I have to say you did a fine job JO :D

It's nice that you pointed out that Takato's tendency to cry and be overprotective of Guilmon is not due to him being a wimp but because he is extremely sensitive and extremely caring. If I was in his shoes and suddenly had a digimon, I would be just as overprotective as he was. He is simply a young boy who had his greatest wish come true in the form of Guilmon, and therefore doesn't want to lose him.

It's really easy to pick out who the "Red Oni" and "Blue Oni" are in most of the Digimon seasons. Matt and Tai, Davis and Ken, Takuya and Kouji, etc. But as you pointed out, Henry never seemed like a rival. He didn't try to go against Takato and we never see them attempt to beat each other up.

Honestly, I think Takato is the only Digimon gogglehead who does not have a rival who also happens to be a "lone wolf" or a "rebel", unless you consider Rika (though their relationship does not have hints of rivalry.) Though I haven't watched any of the Digimon seasons that came after Frontier yet, so maybe I'm wrong.

Nice interpretation of Henry and Terriermon's relationship as "brothers." I honestly never thought of it that way, but now it does make sense.

Looking forward to more in the future :D

My personality is a lot like Henry's. I guess I'm as interesting as a doorknob. But that's another story.

Also I've always identified best with Henry(and the others too to an extent). I think it's because I'm a lot like him. But I've never had interest in being a control freak like he is. As far as my relationships with my friends I feel like being a control freak is an easy way to get rid of all your friends.

Exelent character analysis. I can't wait for Rika one.

It was more subtle than the others, the characters were realistic and the story was suitably dark.

Henry is my favorite Digimon character besides TK in 02. I identify with a lot of his traits, although I was just a touch older when I was as mature as him

Seriously, how is redlettermedia still holding the record for longest review? Someone has to phone Guiness.

Yay new episodes!

I actually watched Tamers in its entirety in preparation for this review and as i've never seen it before: I really liked it! Much darker, more realistic tone-wise and the characterizations were really nice and subtle. The plot was also more focused than earlier seasons, yet it still suffers from A LOT of filler. Some of the secondary characters were also pretty grating and seemed only there to appeal to little kids while the rest of the season is pretty bleak and not really kid-friendly! Henry's sister and the two geeks in particular got on my nerves... But hey now you can simply skip those characters!

I'm guessing Rika will be a long one. Rika is awesome, though I liked her better when she was just being a lone bad ass.

I'm longing for a sequel season or a movie which would start up some years later where the characters are older and more mature. Kinda like what Adventure 02 did! It's so sad that never happened... I'd love to see that some day!

Takato video: That was cool.

They certainly succeded in making Takato a character that was alot like the average viewer, my friend and I constantly drew pictures of "our" digimon, but because I wasn't exactly that creative the first digimon I made was a GreyZardmon (I actually called it Gargurmon..) ,an obvious mix of Charizard and Greymon.

I'm the most anti-cutesy guy you'll ever meet, but oh my god... Terriermon is probably the most adorable creation in the history of bad ass creations! When he digivolves he get's freaking machine guns for hands: It's like a Digimon made for me! :D

EDIT: Terriermon is also voiced by Mona Marshall (Izzy) so that's pretty cool!

I like female leads that have a strong sense of initiative and aren't afraid to show assertiveness, they tend to be rare in most anime. With Rika however, it's hit and miss but I mostly blame the dub for that.

I watched the Japanese original of Tamers side by side with the English dub and while they keep the basic plot the same, the dialogue they give Rika towards the end of the series differs A LOT. Rika starts out cold and bitter in both series but in the Japanese original she begins to lighten up and connect to the others a little (even to her semi-aloof mother) while still keeping her "tough girl" attitude. In the dub Rika does lighten up a little but the tone her VA uses when addressing most of the lines by the end still makes her out to be a unsympathetic b*tch. It's kinda sad really.

Jesu Otaku! It is I, Karutomaru! The king of cards and Viewtiful Joe's #1 fan. I tried to send this message to your e-mail account, but it bounced back, so I have waited for your next video to come up to deliver it through the comments section.

I love shonen. And, being a shonen otaku and gamer, owning god knows how many shonen-based games, shonen collectibles, and shonen on DVD, I want to know if you are considering to review more of it in the future. It seems as though for the most part you've chosen a lot of slice of life anime, and while I know you're doing your Digimon Retrospective and your review on Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, I feel there's still some more than can be covered and may interest you.

First, in celebration of the recent digitally remastered box sets (one of which I own), I think it would be a good time to review your old favorite Yu Yu Hakusho. I know I liked it. By the way, I recently got my own copy of Yu Yu Hakusho: The Dark Tournament, beat it, and returned it. Steep learning curve? No. That game is busted. Take it from someone who has played a number of fighting games, half of which are anime-based. At least you are a stronger woman than I. I turned on the invincibility cheat at Gama.

The second shonen series I suggest taking a look at is one more recently released and you may have heard of: Kenichi: The Mightiest Disciple. I think there'd be a lot to talk about, and I've been watching it along with Shaman King. I think it's pretty good.

Third, Viewtifuljoeviewtifuljoev iewtifuljoeviewtifuljoe

And, after your let's play of The Dark Tournament, I think it'd be interesting to see you take on other heavily Japanese-influenced games, like King of Fighters or Sengoku Basara...... Okay, King of Fighters might heinously beat you like Toguro beats tournament committees, but I strongly believe you will like Sengoku Basara, should you play it.

But no matter which of my suggestions you choose, expect badassery.

High Internet five, fellow Troper!

Thanks for the videos. when I saw the time on Henry's Character video was like 5 min i was like ...WHAT?! but I know your work will make it an awesome video as always, then I realized the video was 21 min. Either if its a 5 or 21 min video does not matter because we all know you put heart and soul into into it and thats always something to look forward too.

Thank you for the video and I look forward to the rest. :D

Note: That time issue is maybe a site glitch.

I thought the reason that Guilmon snapped and went into a fighting frenzy easier then the other two was because he was a Virus type. That is what i always thought at least.

Really, would you react any differently in that situation?

Takato and Guilmon are my favorite human/digimon characters in the series (Series's?), period. I love characters like Takato who seem to be very ordinary at first, but when challenged, go above and beyond the call of duty to become truly great and admirable. It's an inspiring thought that a hero can be anyone with the right heart for it. Guilmon fits that description too, in the way he starts as an innocent and goofy bumbler (albeit physically powerful) with anger problems, but ends up a noble character in his own right. Also, as Gallantmon they get a sweet glider so they can fly around like a heroic version of the Green Goblin, which is friggin' cool.

k, so this digimon series, although it took a while for you to get to it, is turning out awesome! Rika and Henry are my favourites, along with their digimon. when i was a kid I loved Rika and Renamon, and I wanted to be like them, but I also liked Henry because he was a great character and his voice actor is one of my favourites. now than i'm older though, i love Terriermon. Renamons still a good character, but when tamers came out i was going through hard times and saw those two as powerful and if i was like them my problems wouldn't get to me. anyway, long story short, i'm really liking your digimon series ^_^

Nice episode... Though I still think the US dub is just... Well... Bad, as I grew up with the japanese version of the show.

What I wanted to correct: Jenrya has only ONE smaller sibling and that is Shuichon. Rinchei and Jaarin are 17 and 15 years old.
I think that it is actually therefore that he is so very overprotective about Shuichon. Because she is the youngest member of the family and - more important - the only one younger then himself.

I knew they were older than Henri, but I thought they were 14 and 12. It seems like such a huge gap, especially when you factor in Janyu's stint as Monster Maker taking place in 1984. It'd seem a little early to have his first child then, no?

Janyuu is 40 according to Konaka.
So he was like 23 when Jaarin was born. And his wife is even 2 years older then him.

But I'm still not convinced. Not that you're wrong, you're probably right, but given that Rinchei and Jaarin don't look too much older than Henry, it'd seem strange for them to be in their late-teens. Rinchei and Jaarin's profiles on the Digimon Database even suggest close to 14 and 13 years old, and the few conversations the two kids have with their father in show wouldn't contradict that either (well, one of them. I'm pretty sure Henry's brother never opens his mouth once.)

Regardless, we can agree that JO boobed on Henry's ranking amongst his siblings...

Yeah.

My ages are based on what Konaka himself said. On the japanese version of the website (that part was never translated in englisch) he gives ages for all the family members of the main Tamers and some additional cast (as Hypnos and such).

The art style of Tamers is quite... It is like the characters do have a big change from their outer appearance when they are like 18 or something. I mean, most people actually think Ryo is the same age as Takato, Jenrya and the others, though he is 4 years older then them.

I really can't wait for Rika and Jerrys vids, they were my fav characters~

... silly blip you can't work fine one minute and then not the next... other people are obviously able to watch both... and if I can watch one it isn't on my end.

all that Aside Part 1 of part 2 was Great JO, ah there it is... wow 5 minutes of loading O_o 5 stars in advance.

this analysis has become loooooong...but it shows just how much love the creators put on it and just how much enjoyable this show is. it's hard to try to cut things from the analysis because, to say the truth, nearly every episode of the show is very important in the overall plot. you could say the closer thing to filler was gallantmon's first battle, and even then, as you say, it had many impacts on the plot and was arguably one of the best parts of tamers.
this videos were great, and Takato is a great main character. As you said, he was a well written average kid.
i can't wait for the next part(and i'm wondering if you are going to joke about the rika x renamon shippers xD)

1. If you spend this much time discussing the lessons Henri's learning throughout, chances are he's changed. Just like a real kid, character development takes form in different ways.

2. Is it that the censors were asleep, or is it that Saban didn't feel a need to go beyond the call of duty to meet censor regulations? Considering how 4Kids and DiC frequently edited to the point where their dubs no longer resembled their source, I'd say the former. Besides, standards became stricter just after 9/11, and Digimon Tamers was aired initially before it even began. So the show could get away with a lot more than it would now, going by that train of thought...

They weren't asleep. If you'll notice, they don't ever actually show the slap. Heck, when I first saw it, I thought Henry raised his hand to slap her, and she just cowered away. Everyone was just upset that he would even think about doing that.

I really meant to say "latter". I still hold that censoring standards aren't nearly as strict as you'd think, and that Saban knows that. Besides, how many edits could you even make to this season before you gave up from exhaustion? Digimon Tamers was written by an obsessive Cthulhu-lover, it'll be disturbing and dark regardless of what you do to botch it up...

Just checked back in the Japanese version on Crunchyroll. The scene wasn't edited, he doesn't slap her in that version either.

You are correct, they are upset and surprised because it is so out of character for him.

That's interesting. I had a different take on Henry's "smile and headshake" at the end. I took it more as "No dad, my best friend is gone, and I may never see him again. This is tragic, and while you say things will get better, I'll always still have that hole in my heart from Terriermon's absence. Still, I understand that you did what you had to do for the good of the world, and didn't have any better options, and I forgive you." Hence both the shaking of the head, and the smile.

This is arguably just as mature a reaction as in the original Japanese, as it shows that Henry is being a realist towards the occasional cruelties of the world, but that he hasn't become embittered because of it, and is still able to be compassionate to those around him

The take on the dub you described is the exact same thing I described except for that last sentence. I just don't get much of any compassion from Henry out of that scene in English. I know it's hard to get anything too complicated out of one gesture like that, but that blank-looking smile and him shaking his head no, followed by not addressing his father at all (he turns his back on him, actually,) doesn't communicate the forgiveness part to me, in the dub. It's just super-tragic and disturbing, and one of those rare cases where something comes off darker and uglier in an "Americanized" kids' anime than more sanitized, which is at least interesting.

It's also interesting how much a change of dialogue can flip-flop the meaning of a scene like that. The Japanese has a COMPLETELY different feel to it, you don't doubt for half a second that Henry is forgiving his dad. Weird. XD

As I never thought of it that way. Given the circumstances of the finale, I always saw it as:

Janyu: Don't worry Henry, you'll get over losing Terriermon eventually.

Henry: No dad, he's as much a part of me as I am of you.

Janyu: *Reality sinks in and cries*

I never found that to be anything problematic, but I guess what you said makes sense too. It's a strange change as well, what with how inoffensive the original line really is...and someone else already said this. Damn, I'm slow... >_>>_>

I couldn't stand Tamers, but I am really enjoying these videos.

Nicely done JesuOtaku. If I were a teenager, I would put posters of you up all over my room.

This Tamers retrospective has finally convinced me to make an account here. I first saw the full series as reruns on at about 6 am when I was in high school. I thought it was probably one of the best written children's shows ever made, certainly that I've ever seen. Perhaps even good enough to make a six hour video review of it. Certainly good enough to at least watch such a long review, spread out over several months. And considering I'm even writing this, it's obvious my opinion hasn't changed.

One thing I wanted to say, though, is that I recently watched a few episodes of the show in Japanese with a sub. It was quite... different. It didn't really have the same tone as the dub. The music was just so cheesy, and it played constantly. And I know the voices are pretty much what you would expect from these characters in Japan, but the English voice acting just seemed so much better, for lack of a smarter term, than the Japanese. The show as a whole just felt so much more childish, and it was hard to take any of it seriously. It's really amazing how much the audio in the English version changed the show.

To be more specific in the sub/dub thing, I just watched the last episode in Japanese. The technobabble explanation of the events was just beyond ridiculous (though that may be in part attributable to the sub). Something about creating a miniature big bang to generate a black hole and suck the D-Reaper in. I don't know. But I don't remember the explanation in the English version, so I can't compare them. Also, one thing that really confused me was the whole Henry shaking his head thing. The exact way it played out was Henry's dad saying "I'm really sorry. I've done something unforgivable. However, this was the only way to protect the world!" Then, Henry looks angry. Then he turns around and they all say goodbye to the Digimon. Then, about a minute after Henry's dad said that, Henry turned back to him, smiled, and shook his head. All while a pop song about primary colors plays.

Of course, the song completely ruins the gravity of the moment, as the entirely uninspired ballad did to the first half of the episode. But on top of that, I don't think I would have even made a connection between Henry's dad calling himself unforgivable and Henry shaking his head. Now that you've mention it, yeah, it makes sense, but it kind of flowed strangely.

And that marks the end of my babbling for the night. Your videos have been awesome so far, and I look forward to seeing the rest of your tamers review, and your reviews of seasons beyond.

The background music in the original japanese dub, is jazz music made specifically for the series, instead of being reused BGM from the previous two seasons (which was just generic music anyway), which wouldn't fit in with Tamers anyway.

Tamers is a shounen series made for kids, the main characters are all 10 years old (except Ryo who is 14). Guilmon's stage in the Japanese version is what is known as "CHILD level". So of course they sound young, because they are young.

Also why shouldn't Henry be angry? He lost his partner that he had fought long and hard to forge a relationship with, after his father lied to him. Its more poignant that Henry considers what his father is saying and then forgives him. Henry at that point had every right to hate him, but what made the scene powerful is that he didn't he understood.

Finally Primary Colors isn't a cheesy pop song. It would help if you look up the lyrics for that song-- http:// www.animelyrics.com/ anime/digitame/ 3primarycolors.htm. However, the song Primary Colors is sung by the Takato, Ruki/Rika and Jen/Henry are summing up their experiences throughout the series. Then again the song was made specifically for the tv series so its no surprise it fits.

To JO good review, though as pointed out by Nela, Henry has two older siblings, who do appear in the dub version. The only one younger than him is Suzy, which speaks a lot about his control issues.

I really hated how the English version cut out so much information about the characters by adding in so many jokes.

I actually think that Takato is a good leader, not only because he brought his crew together and had them stay together, but also because of his ability to admit that he when he was wrong. Also a point you missed about Takato he's very proactive and is the one to make the decisions, which the others follow and/or work towards. Basically Takato moves the story along by being a leader (while never once referring to himself as such). Though if Takato was like Taichi or worse Davis then I don't think that he would have been able to lead the team, as they wouldn't follow him if he had a big ego, and couldn't compromise. Heck, the series would have ended by episode 3.

For Ruki's character arc, in the drama CD written by Konaka (the same one you claimed wasn't) she outright calls Renamon her older sister. Also Renamon's voice actor in the Japanese version voices both Ruki's mother and her grandmother.

First off want to say I love the retrospective on this series more so then any other. Before this series aired I was very much like Takato I had a digimon idea and I even used to play with my d3 toy with digimon cards doing the card slash before I knew that was even going to be a thing. Which of course got me screaming 'They stole my idea!' but I was a kid.. I was stupid.

I disagree with your view on the end scene with Henry. It is unrealistic to have a kid who is 10-12 at the oldest suddenly lose someone they care about so very much and then be ok with it. I agree with Henry being able to understand the choice his father had to make and might forgive him later. But that to Henry would be the same as his father telling him his brother died but don't worry he will get over it. Yes logically it will be something he can get by but its more realistic in the American version because while he cuts him off with the shake of his head he is cutting off his apology but he is not shooting him down. He understands but he wants to be angry he is allowed to be hurt and hate his father for awhile its part of the coping process.

People seem to think and falsely I might add that just because the Japanese version is the original makes it the better version. That scene always seemed better in the Dub version just by having it played more real. The Japanese version would have me searching Henry's head for brain injury because of the lack of real emotion there. As you said Terriermon was family and to be told you will get over that lose immediately after it happens would make anyone look at you like your a moron.

Just imagine one of you family dies and a few minutes later someone says 'you'll get over it' which is basically what he was told how would you feel. You wouldn't, or I wouldn't say "Yeah your right I'm over it" you would be hurting especially if the person telling you that was the CAUSE of that loss.

Like JO, Henry was my favorite character from Tamers, but something about his backstory always confused me. Around the time I was watching Tamers, I was taking lessons classes in Tai-Chi at the local Y. Eventually, my ten-year-old understanding became that while it has disciplines and forms like any martial art, in practice it's more designed to practice balance, inner focus, and stamina, and would/should only be used privately or in elf defense.I don't remember the details, but I do remember wondering how Henry could have beaten up a kid with Tai-Chi Unless he REALLY tried.Does anyone have any answers for me?

I was under the impression he started Tai-Chi after he beat up the kid. Or at least really put effort into Tai-Chi afterwards.

And its been awhile but I don't remember if it said he used Tai-Chi during that I mean a good basic punch can do some damage.

Great analysis, especially of the subtleties of Henry's character. Takato's character growth always really impressed me, especially for a shonen anime. He really does feel like a real kid and I really reminds me of myself as child. His character growth to become Gallantmon is awesome (wish they had given Gallantmon himself a better voice in the dub, imagine if Steve Blum had done in his non-Guilmon voice).