Alright, I've seen the sub, and I have to agree with most folks here - it's actually not bad, now that I know what they are saying.
Initially, it just seemed like another brawl fest, another homage-paying season like Frontier... which still kinda is, as of now. I mean, Taiki being a more innocent leader is just Takato's style, but I digress. The other stuff is still quite admirable.
Well, like I initially stated, it looks like a fun, innocent ride, and now that I've learned the lyrics of the OP, I could say that my statement is emphasized even more so. The lyrics totally brought the whole carefree nature of old anime series to our modern day world, which is a really cool and rare thing. Not trying to out-compete other more cool-looking, badass anime series like Bleach or Naruto or whatever, the season keeps to a more wholesome, good-natured theme filled with hope and confidence in becoming better, stronger, etc.
In the end, sure, it's more suitable for a younger audience, but so are most Pixar and (classic) Disney movies.
Some other things to note is that there's a scene bearing resemblances with Gurren Lagann, with the whole paint streaking the screen kind of thing when the Cross-Wars evolution sequence was initiated, signifying the other aspect of the season, warfare and battle. Warfare has always been a big aspect of Japan, affiliated with honor, and the heated spirit to battle for justice and liberation (the latter more emphasized in Gurren Lagann). So the paint here is quite significant in showcasing that aspect of Japan, and I'd say it probably represents war-painting found on war-flags, etc.
All of these brings me to my other point, which is the symbolism of the show. Many stories and movies would often take pop-culture references that relate to the events in the real world (financial crisis, global warming, modern warfare, etc.) and make them a major part of the story. In this case, it's warfare in the face of innocent beings (or adult ideas being introduced to the carefree lives of children), which has been kinda done before, but hey, this is just the first episode, so hopefully, the season would bring new aspects to this theme. We'll see.
Of course, I couldn't end this review without commenting on the new aspect of evolution, about how Child Stage Digimon are now capable of combining with other Child Stage Digimon (sort of like Jogress Evolution amongst Child Stage Digimon) (yes, I'm still using the original terms, thank you very much), or I guess, in this case, it looks like Pickmon and Starmon look like Baby II Stage Digimon. It looks cool, and most importantly - it's DIFFERENT. Variety is very important when introducing a sequel or a new season. We, the audience, needs to be surprised by new things. That should be the whole point of making a sequel or a new season, to make it bolder and better, not just for the sheer sake of lengthening the story.
And of course, I'm not going to go on my creativity-is-dead rant so much so that I forget to mention how cool it is that a whole variety of evolution is possible here. Shoutmon could combine with so many other Digimon, making infinite possibilities. The same is with Mad Leomon/Armed Mad Leomon. Its evolution brought the data technology in the Digimon world to the one we had all yearned for - unlimited evolution. The result of its combination with the Mammon and its other comrades almost makes no sense, not showing any similarities between the combined and the combination, but still, quite cool. Any two (or multiple, in this case) Digimon, regardless of their appearance and Type (Dragon, Insect, Flower, etc.), could combine into any form and any Type of Digimon. The only thing that could've made it better is if the combination still bears resemblances with the Digimon that combined to form it, setting the logic/rule that any Digimon could form into infinite combination (instead of forming a random, illogical combination.
Shoutmon X2 achieved that, as it bears resemblances with Ballistamon (and Shoutmon, of course), so we know we will see a different Shoutmon X2 if there's a next time when Shoutmon combines with another Digimon other than Ballistamon. Kinda complicated to understand, my explanation, but still, it's a very cool aspect of evolution that Gurren Lagann (along with thousands of anime series that follow the 'sandbox evolution') failed to achieve. Savers kinda pulled that off, but only at the last episode when Agumon used his Burst Mode, saying, "Our evolution is infinite!" So, hopefully, Xros Wars will push that boundary.
I could go on and on (and I probably would, too, 'coz Xros Wars is the first anime series I've seen to take Sandbox Evolution into perspective in the FIRST episode), but I'll leave that to the General Digimon Discussion forum or something.
And need I say how cool the evolution theme song was? Oh, wait, I didn't get to listen to much of Wada Kouji's singing voice because the SFX blocked out most of the song. xD Ah well. Still, it sounded like something that came out of old anime series, like Dragonball (the old, season one version, not DBZ) and B-Daman; again, vintage but cool.
Okay, okay, I know the review is already very long, but I've got to say it - Taiki's backstory looks awesome and I can't wait to know about it. It's kinda like Taichi's dark backstory where he has a shadow and guilt that drives his actions, but, well, who knows, again, maybe it will be darker and more, erm, profound?
Ominous Flare rates
DIGIMON XROS WARS:
-
Worthy: Worthy of small-screen viewing
-
Subbed: Watch it subbed, 'coz the action and evolution sequences (without the explanation) are quite similar (or, for the evolution sequences, seemingly similar) to previous Digimon seasons and are nothing to be surprised about - it's the story that's a strong point here.
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Homage Package: It's basically homage after homage after homage. Still, quite cool homages. That's why it's...
-
Not That Different: It's not that different from previous seasons.
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You Know What You're Getting: You know what to expect for most of the times; evolution, Digimon fights, warfare amongst innocent kids.
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Pre-Existing Fanbase Guarantees High Viewership: The creators are relying on the pre-existing Digimon fans to support this, although they know the new generation of audiences would very much enjoy this as well.
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Seiyuu Factor: You'll watch it for the Seiyuu, in my case, Takayama Minami (KUDOU SHINICHI... I mean, CONAN). Funny how she plays Conan who is Kudou Shinichi in actuality and now she plays Kudou Taiki... lol
-
Singer Factor: You'll watch it for singers involved with this show, specifically Wada Kouji.
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Studio Factor: You'll watch it because it's released by Toei.
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Obsessive-Compulsive Franchise Disorder: You feel at peace only after seeing every installment.
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Digimon Hope: Nevertheless, it brings hope for a good run of a season for future episodes.
In terms of
DIGIMON XROS WARS' Place in Digimon History:
It would probably not be better than
Digimon Tamers,
Digimon Adventure, or the
Digimon X-Evolution movie, but it should be better than
Digimon Adventure 02,
Digimon Frontier, and
Digimon Savers.
Until next time, choose your anime wisely, 'coz Toei gives you more of what you watch. Till the next episode of Xros Wars...
LONG LIVE DIGITAL MONSTERS
