Ajora's Chaos Theory Session 1: Romance in Digimon Fandom

Hrm, these seem to be the en vogue thing to do, so why not. It's 5 p.m. and I'm bored to death. I'll just say right now that I don't actively hate any pairing in Digimon, though I tend to avoid some as much as possible. These are my opinions only, and any attempts to flame will be shared with like-minded demonesses and laughed at. Or fed to the evil Patamon.

First a quick run-through of the characters, in no particular order:

From Season 1-

Yagami Taichi (Tai): Despite all the needling I give him in my fics and rants, I do honestly like this guy. He's impulsive, looks like a porcupine died on his head, hot-headed, but his heart is in the right place and he does genuinely care about the members of his team. He's really highly entertaining, though his impulsiveness has leveled off a bit by season 2. Pity he felt he had to turn his goggles over to Daisuke.

Yagami Hikari (Kari): She was the sickly one in season 1, and the kid Vamdemon wanted for some fiendish plan or another that I can't quite remember. An interesting character, although by season 2 she seems to have lost touch with whatever made freakish psychic incidents happen to her. Season 2 Hikari either can't seem to decide on whether to go for Daisuke or Takeru, or she's as clueless as I am when it comes to figuring out that someone actually likes her romantically. I'll put my money on the indecision.

Ishida Yamato (Matt): Also known as Fangirl Magnet. Yes, he's very pretty, very angsty, and very much the lone wolf. I know he's the most sought-after bishiboy in the series, but he just doesn't incite raving fangirl loyalties in me, as I find it rather hard to be attracted to someone I identify with so much. He also plays instruments, which makes him a prime target for Fangirlism Personified, a.k.a. Motomiya Jun. I feel his pain.

Takaishi Takeru (TK): I'll admit, I never gave the kid a second glance in season 1 until I saw the entire show in Japanese and realized that he actually did have character. He was cute, easily hurt, cried a lot, yet had to remain relatively happy and stable so the others wouldn't lose hope. Or something. Very much the stereotypical little boy. Then came season 2, and by then I was too busy focusing on Ken until the dogfight in the Kaiser's base. Takeru grew up, and man he grew up well. With a spine, at that. Shakkoumon's first appearance had me melted on the floor admiring just how damn good Takeru was drawn in those eps. Hail the squealer, who grew up to be a damn cool knight. Fortunately, his bizarre childhood habit of burying his face in someone's crotch for comfort in season 1 seems to have either been dropped or reserved for... *cough* yaoi fics. It should be obvious by now that I simply adore Takeru.

Izumi Koushiro (Izzy): Apparently the smartest character in season 1, though his intelligence was vastly overemphasized in the dub. He's more of a logical thinker than a genius, really, with his skills in figuring things out. Seems to have problems dealing with people and emotions too, mostly due to the adoption issue. I simply adore his Japanese voice, and Tenjin Umi is damn hot. I wonder if she's available and swings my way.

Kido Jyou (Joe): The boy scout of the group. A lot of fans don't seem to like him, but if it wasn't for Jyou, Taichi would lead everyone to a really bad fate. Jyou is really nowhere near as annoying in Japanese as he is in the dub, and has a rather nice voice at that. He's also on the medical career track, which means he spends most of his time studying just to get into the right schools that would lead to the desired degree. And by season 2 he's grown up to be really, really droolworthy. Pity about his hair in ep 50, however.

Takenouchi Sora: Dull, unimpressive, but I don't hate her. It's hard to hate a character that dull. Started off as a bit of a tomboy, but by the time season 2 comes around she makes peace with her mother and dresses in girly clothes. Damn.

Tachikawa Mimi: Very much a standard Japanese ko-gal (a girl that dresses, behaves, and paints herself to look older than she is). More frivolous in the dub than in Japanese, but she's still a fluffbrain. I don't like her, really, but I don't hate her either. Fortunately she matured a bit in season 2, and hopefully with enough exposure to New York she might actually become tolerable for me.

From Season 2-

Motomiya Daisuke (Davis): By the final arc of the series, Toei had managed to turn the goggle boy into Sailor Daisuke, champion of justice and ramen noodles. And in the name of the Deus Ex Machina, he will punish you. I don't actively hate Daisuke, despite everything I say on this site, it's just that he's much like Usagi and does everything in his power not to gain the type of respect he could have. I'm pretty sure this is unconscious, though. Far, far more tolerable in Japanese than the dub.

Inoue Miyako (Yolei): Some fans love her, most Kensuke fans hate her (but less than they do Hikari). She has the fashion sense of a born-again hippy, starts out as whiny and brattish, especially in the dub. She does however accept her fate and ends up being rather enthusiastic about the whole Digital World thing. And while she can come on like a sledgehammer most of the time and is rather annoying in the dub, I find her quite likeable in Japanese, though I do have to wonder about her whole 'sisters' thing with Mimi in one of her earlier episodes.

Hida Iori (Cody): Another token cute kid of the series, though quieter, less emotional, and more serious than Takeru ever was. This is probably due to Iori having lost his father at an early age (Mr. Hida was a policeman and died while on duty) and being brought up in a very traditional Japanese household by his mother and grandfather. And Iori is apparently quite strong, as he practices kendo and can actually carry Armadimon/Armadillomon around short distances (come on, look at that thing and tell me it can't possibly be heavy). Gives Ken a lot of shit until the Christmas ep. I think he's secretly Koushiro's and Jyou's love child, since he acts so much like both of them.

Ichijouji Ken (Ken/Kenneth): Season 2 starts out introducing the Digimon Kaiser: a cruel, malicious dictator that carries around a whip he handles unusually well. The Kaiser was a sadist who kicked around puppies and his own digimon partner, considered himself a perfect being, and turned out (surprise surprise) to be a normal kid. Well, if you can call being a judo master, minor celebrity, child genius, soccer star, and a megalomaniac 'normal'. I'm sure that if he remained on the evil villian path, he'd end up making Hitler look like a saint. But he ended up realizing that what he was doing was very, very real, and for the rest of the series wandered around in suicidal depression. Toei seems to like to abuse the poor kid for the sake of plot... though it's really too bad that plot got thrown into the wind in the final couple of episodes.

Noteworthy minor characters-

Michael & Wallace: The two kids from the US, Michael is a good friend of Mimi's, and Wallace showed up in the 02 movie. Not much to say about them really.

Akiyama Ryo/Ryou: Despite having starred with Ken as Ken's Jogress partner in the game Tag Tamers, and Taichi in another game which name I can't quite recall, Ryo is nearly unknown in the fan communities outside of Japan. Which is a pity, he deserves much more than that. For some reason I've become rather attached to the Lone Digidestined.

Motomiya Jun: Fangirlism Personified. Man, if I could only list all the fangirls I know who act just like her I'd probably end up taking up another few pages. I don't hate her, really, though I don't see why some people like her either. People confound me this way.

Shuu & Shin: Jyou's two older brothers, Shin appeared in Season 1, Shuu in Season 2 (and, thankfully, Jun abandons all thought of chasing Yamato completely and runs for Shuu's tail). Somehow or another Saban managed to merge them both into one brother: Jim. gg Saban.

Ichijouji Osamu: Ken's brother whose death is probably one of the many reasons Ken turned Kaiser. Adorable boy with a Japanese voice that makes me melt. He's often seen as a jerk by many fans, though I honestly think that was just due to stress and he's not really all that bad.

Common straight pairings -

Takari (Takeru/Hikari): Undoubtedly the most common straight pairing in Digimon, and pushed even more in the dub than in Japanese (the dub writers are apparently really big fans of Takari, although I have issues with them adding dialogue that isn't there originally). While yes, I can see this happening, it doesn't mean I have to like it. The fandom is not only overdone, but the fans usually ignore or flame all other pairings concerning either Takeru or Hikari. And the market for this is so oversaturated that I avoid all takari fics

Taiora (Taichi/Sora): Another pairing overly emphasized in the dubs (both in the Bokura no War Game section of the Digimon Movie and the Christmas ep of 02), almost as popular as Takari but not quite. Fandom's just as obnoxious and oversaturated, although it was quite entertaining watching the Taiora fans throw a shitfit after hearing about episode 50 of D02.

Sorato/Yamara (Yamato/Sora): What do you know, it's actually canon now. Big friggin' deal. The sorato fans are cheering, of course, although you'd think they'd be offended by Yamato's choice of career. Given that ep 50 is an acid trip worthy of Gainax, you'd think people wouldn't take it as law.

Kenyako/Miyaken (Ken/Miyako): I love Ken, I love Miyako... but I do NOT love them together. I'm sorry, my gaydar is really accurate, and Ken shows up on it with a ping so strong he outranks Hanagata of Saber Marionettes J. (Okay, he's not that fruity, but still...) And Miyako would probably end up driving him to suicide. Wait, that's probably why he ended up being a cop... Anyhoo, I'm sure the kenyako fans are too busy celebrating to realize that Miyako's choice of career is really really out of character for her. And yes I dislike the fact that it's canon. But the entire ep was on drugs anyway so I don't give a damn.

Daikari (Daisuke/Hikari): I'm pretty sure this exists only because the fans felt sorry for Daisuke, because I really cannot see this happening. It would be only a matter of time before Hikari got pissed at him, because their personalities really don't mesh well together.

Daiyako (Daisuke/Miyako): Come on, they act like a married couple. And I really find it highly entertaining. Miyako's also one of the few people that is actually friendly to Daisuke without being condescending, and Daisuke's actually one of the few people she hasn't formed a doomed temporary crush on yet. So yes, I do rather like this pairing.

Common yaoi pairings -

Taito/Yamachi (Taichi/Yamato): Very common yaoi pairing, as it takes into account the classic formula of taking the leader and the pack challenger that frequently fights with the leaderboy and mix them. But unlike other pairings of that formula I can actually see this happen. And they look so good together too, especially in 02.

Daikeru/Takesuke (Daisuke/Takeru): Why people ship this, I will never understand. It is not new Taito, since Daisuke and Takeru have different personalities than Taichi and Yamato and never really got around to being on a friendly basis anyway. And personally I rather like consensuality in pairings, which tends to be a rarity in the Japanese side concerning this pairing.

Kensuke/Daiken (Ken/Daisuke): As common as taito, and nowhere near as interesting. Has quite the S&M following due to the Kaiser's little thing for his whip, and that whole submission episode the fangirls just love drooling over. The fact that fans use the Jogress thing as shipping evidence annoys me, as Ryo was Ken's Jogress partner too and you don't see any Ryoken. Much. This pairing is just so overdone that I tend to avoid it and its fans as much as possible. Consensuality also seems to be an issue here, and what annoys me about the S&M writers is that they only focus on the punishment aspect of that particular kink. People, there's a lot more to sadomasochism than just punishment.

Jyoushiro (Jyou/Koushiro): Rather common in the US, but a rarity in Japan for some unknown reason. I like this and can see it happening (not during season 1, but definitely in the latter parts of season 2). Birds of a feather, after all. And it keeps Mimi out of the pairing.

Taishiro (Taichi/Koushiro): Apparently triggered by Bokura no War Game, and while I can see this happening I'd figure it would only last for a few weeks at most. Or until Koushiro finally got miffed at Taichi's standard behavior. Much more common on the Japanese side than Jyoushiro.

Jyouto/Yamajyou (Jyou/Yamato): One of those I approve of if only for the aesthetic quality. Hey, season 2 Yamato and Jyou are both very pretty and the fan-art for this coupling is rather cute.

Takori (Takeru/Iori): Another fandom that confounds me. Iori is nine years old, why are people pairing him off with anyone?

Kenkeru/Taken (Ken/Takeru): Nowhere near as common as Kensuke/Daiken, but it has its own little foothold in fandom, which is a bit larger on the Japanese side than the English side. This is my favorite pairing, since Takeru and Ken are actually somewhat alike in their experiences with the Digital World and click very well personality-wise. That and I adore both of them. Also, Takeru has the strength and stability Ken needs to get his life back to normal, and he's sweet and patient enough to understand what Ken's going through.

Common yuri pairings -

Somi/Mira (Sora/Mimi): I assume people ship this to either get the girls out of the way for the yaoi pairings or because they have a secret desire to see two girls get it on. I'm one of the former.

Hiyako/Miyakari (Hikari/Miyako): Fans of this tend to point out the Jogress unision as evidence. I just think they look cute together, and while Miyako has the tact of a sledgehammer, sometimes that's just what Hikari needs. And by the end of the series Miyako's personality matured quite a bit since the begining.

Miyami (Miyako/Mimi): Miyako wants Mimi to be her 'beautiful sister'. View the shoujo scene in episode 6 of Season 2. I rest my case.

Honorable mentions -

Ryosamu/OsaRyo (Ryo/Osamu): There is some perverse part of me that wants to think Ryo and Osamu knew each other, maybe more than was let on in Tag Tamers, and that really likes the fan-art I've seen on the RyoOsa Doumei. Shoot me now.

Kenkari (Ken/Hikari): I can understand the appeal of this, since they're both characters that have been touched by darkness (and in Hikari's case, well... stronger the light, stronger the darkness), but I'm honestly of the opinion that they''re both so unstable that they'd end up going insane together. And in turn suiciding together.

Wallasuke (Wallace/Daisuke): I'll be frank, I only really ship this to get Daisuke out of the way and hooked up with a cute blond that isn't Takeru. And come on, Daisuke was practically strutting around Wallace in that movie.

Conclusion -

Romance in Digimon fandom is very much a mix and match process, and in all cases except sorato and kenyako (both of which have ep 50 to back them up, and Daisuke's crush on Hikari never gets anywhere) there is no substantial evidence to prove that such relationships exist. Anyone claiming otherwise is either misguided, lying through their teeth, or looking for something that isn't there. And yes, I will laugh at you for trying to cite evidence to me or flame me.

~Ajora Fravashi, April 5, 2001 (updated 4/25/2001)