The conclusion to the Belphemon 3-parter is pretty thrilling once the fighting truly kicks off around the half-way mark. Everything before that feels repetitious. Everyone blasts away at Belphemon, and he just gets right back up; it has grown stale and makes it apparent that this fight has dragged on long enough. All the banal declarations on the power of teamwork don't help.
There is an attempt to shake things up by having Kurata regain control, which is an obvious nod to VenomMyotismon. It looks creepy, but even this opportunity to turn Kurata into a frightening monster falls flat, due to his incessant whining about how the Damon family keeps thwarting him. Every subsequent attempt to power up Belphemon feels like a desperate attempt to draw things out further. He drains electricity from the city (because apparently he can do that) and for some reason Kurata thought that swallowing the space oscillation devices would be a good idea.
However, the episode manages to sprint to the finish. Marcus' clarifying of the situation, following Thomas' elaboration, is a good moment, and the best one so far of Marcus demonstrating any capacity for leadership. The scene where the other partner digimon defend him from Belphemon is corny, but it looks cool, and that's more important here. Likewise, having the burst mode activated due to the epiphany of his friendship with Agumon being the source of their power is undeniably perfunctory, but I've come to expect that from "Data Squad". I was more impressed by ShineGreymon Burst Mode, who has an awesome red-hued look and exquisitely animated fiery aura; it's a thoroughly spectacular introduction.
Since this is his last stand, I'll give some final thoughts on Kurata. In a nutshell, he's the guy you love to hate. He's smug, self-righteous and prejudiced, but he's not one of the great villains in this franchise. For all his scheming and despicable outlook, he's not very interesting as a person, more arrogant and whiny than vicious and frightening. After several seasons that provided villains with colorful personalities and unique schemes, simply wanting to destroy and subdue digimon out of cowardice doesn't fully cut it. I don't think I'm alone in wishing that he actually had more encounters with Marcus. The established grudge between him and the Damon family could have yielded an interesting hero/villain dynamic, but it was largely ignored following the 25th episode only to be thrown back in our faces here. To be honest, Kurata's hatred of Thomas felt more real. Oh well, he's dead anyway, but as the next story arc will demonstrate that may not be for the best.
There is an attempt to shake things up by having Kurata regain control, which is an obvious nod to VenomMyotismon. It looks creepy, but even this opportunity to turn Kurata into a frightening monster falls flat, due to his incessant whining about how the Damon family keeps thwarting him. Every subsequent attempt to power up Belphemon feels like a desperate attempt to draw things out further. He drains electricity from the city (because apparently he can do that) and for some reason Kurata thought that swallowing the space oscillation devices would be a good idea.
However, the episode manages to sprint to the finish. Marcus' clarifying of the situation, following Thomas' elaboration, is a good moment, and the best one so far of Marcus demonstrating any capacity for leadership. The scene where the other partner digimon defend him from Belphemon is corny, but it looks cool, and that's more important here. Likewise, having the burst mode activated due to the epiphany of his friendship with Agumon being the source of their power is undeniably perfunctory, but I've come to expect that from "Data Squad". I was more impressed by ShineGreymon Burst Mode, who has an awesome red-hued look and exquisitely animated fiery aura; it's a thoroughly spectacular introduction.
Since this is his last stand, I'll give some final thoughts on Kurata. In a nutshell, he's the guy you love to hate. He's smug, self-righteous and prejudiced, but he's not one of the great villains in this franchise. For all his scheming and despicable outlook, he's not very interesting as a person, more arrogant and whiny than vicious and frightening. After several seasons that provided villains with colorful personalities and unique schemes, simply wanting to destroy and subdue digimon out of cowardice doesn't fully cut it. I don't think I'm alone in wishing that he actually had more encounters with Marcus. The established grudge between him and the Damon family could have yielded an interesting hero/villain dynamic, but it was largely ignored following the 25th episode only to be thrown back in our faces here. To be honest, Kurata's hatred of Thomas felt more real. Oh well, he's dead anyway, but as the next story arc will demonstrate that may not be for the best.
