Spoiler warning: this review discusses specific plot events from Digimon Ghost Game episode 12, as well as the preview to episode 13.
Last night we got the best possible Christmas present there is: a new Digimon episode. Sadly it wasn’t actually holiday themed, but as a consolation we did get to see the ever silly Zassoumon on screen. Was it a jolly good time?
So what’s it about?
Courtesy of Toei Animation, here’s the official preview for Digimon Ghost Game episode 12 – “Chain Letter”:
Courtesy of Crunchyroll, here’s a plot synopsis:
Digimon are using a chain letter to multiply in great numbers. Kiyoshiro receives the same chain letter and deletes it, but it ends up spreading to many others. Hiro and the gang must stop the Digimon before they overrun the city.
You can catch up on our coverage of the series thus far with our reviews of past episodes.
You’ve Got Spam
Toei Animation
The most notable aspect of this episode may be its chain letter conceit. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen in Ghost Game thus far, and frankly the amount of spam messages that pile up in e-mail inboxes is terrifying. The Zassoumon’s strategy for entering the real world is basically identical to that of the Kuramon in Revenge of Diaboromon, which is always a great moment in Digi-history to be reminded of.
Regardless of their method of arrival, the Zassoumon are also unique among Ghost Game’s monsters of the week for the sheer amount of havoc they wreck on innocent people. Thus far the most damage we’ve seen has come from Digimon who, though terrifying, only harmed small numbers of people (i.e. Mummymon, Clockmon) or stuck to specific locations (i.e. Sirenmon). By contrast, the Zassoumon’s rampage feels like the first time this season we’ve seen a large-scale Digimon attack that’s going to leave the general public with questions that can’t be handwaved away as urban legends. Here’s hoping we see some actual fallout in the coming weeks.
All I want for Christmas is a dinosaur made of guns
This week marks the debut of Gammamon’s third primary Champion form: WezenGammamon. To that I can only say: it’s like f***ing Christmas up in here.
Bandai
But seriously, what a beauty of a design. He’s garnered great reactions from the fandom ever since being unveiled in promotional material and it’s obvious why. He’s a triceratops whose horns (and everything else for that matter) are guns! (Or lasers, cannons, etc.) Suffice to say he’s the absolute epitome of what the show’s target demographic would find cool. Not only that, but his coolness taps into something so primal that the affection is shared by adults because hey, it’s a dinosaur made of f***ing guns.
On the other hand he’s the literal embodiment of those memes about Digimon evolutions just adding more and more guns to the base form, which undersell the amount of range and creativity in the franchise. Nonetheless, his aesthetic is entirely rooted in that concept and I love him for it. WezenGammamon is so cool largely because he doesn’t try too hard to be cool. There’s nothing overly gritty, edgy, or realistic about his design; he’s just a big green dinosaur with big ridiculous guns. He manages to tow the lines of cool and camp, enhancing the feeling of both.
Thus, I don’t think it’s a controversial opinion on my part to say that WezenGammamon has the best design of any partner Digimon in this series to date. With that said, the quality of his actual showdown with the Zassoumon isn’t all that. It’s not a bad fight by any means, but nothing about its execution is noteworthy. The animation is at least solid this week, but I’m still waiting for a battle that’s as pleasing to look at as the one against Mummymon way back in episode 2.
The wrap-up and looking forward
Toei Animation
All in all, this is a fun episode. Is it actually scary? No, but the basic concepts are fun, Zassoumon provides a blast of nostalgia, and WezenGammamon is the series’ breakout star. With that said there’s nothing of note contributed in terms of character development, which calls into question why Hiro and Gammamon aren’t getting more fleshing out despite having so many more new evolution episodes than the other characters. As far as the preview to episode 13 goes it looks like we’re going to be seeing a more outright malicious villain, which I’m excited for. While the relatively peaceful conflict resolutions thus far have been nice, it’s about time we got a just plain villainous antagonist.
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