Despite some of my complaints regarding the story of "Digimon Tamers", there are accomplishments that I am willing to acknowledge and the finale is one of them. Though there are still some notable missteps, the final episode of the third season manages to get enough right to earn it a secure place as the best finale in the franchise thus far, or at least the first five seasons; I haven't seen the others. To make things easier to follow this time, I'm going to divide this review into two parts: one for the stuff that works and one for that which doesn't.
Obviously, the grim scenery of the last episode still looks good, and there are various interesting bits of animation. Sakuyamon giving her energy to Justimon actually has some visual complexity, when it could have simply been conveyed by a light beam, as in the previous seasons. MegaGargomon's spinning is done convincingly, and the vortex that surrounds him is animated smoothly, much better than the embarrassing CGI cables from the previous episode. None of the digimon season finales excel in action, but this one at least has the benefit of trying to involve everyone in one way or another. Gallantmon rescues Jeri, MegaGargomon activates the Juggernaut program, the Monster Makers provide the needed calculations and the Sovereign remove the Cable Reaper from the battle. Sakuyamon and Justimon combining forces like that just for it to be in vain is pretty lame though, because it only diminishes their importance here. The work of the Monster Makers sees real pay-off, perhaps the most in the whole season, and it's very appropriate that they develop the weapon that defeats the D-Reaper because, ultimately, they were responsible for it. Yamaki's comments as the program disappears are a solemn way to close this crisis.
On paper, the epilogue sounds forced, but is executed well enough to appeal to the viewer's emotions like it should. You can really feel Janyu's remorse that the digimon had to return to their own world, and the fact that he withheld that information kind of reflects how the kids have withheld stuff since the beginning. It would have been nice to hear them relate on that level. The scene of all the in-training level digimon slowly floating through the portal, with their overly cute high pitched voices, is unquestionably manipulative. Frankly, there's no reason that these guys couldn't have remained in their current forms and still delivered a heart-wrenching farewell. But, seeing the kids have to let go of them, I almost flashed back to all that these guys had been through together. Not only is this a testament that the series did a good job of conveying the bond between the kids and digimon, but in getting us to briefly reflect on the rest of the story this finale succeeds where the previous one failed. The final montage is also well done, though the English version is stronger. It actually gives us an idea of how one of the characters feels about his life after this big adventure, rather than tossing a forced happy feeling at us with a chorus of children. The musical score sets the right atmosphere; there should be a hint of sadness given that these kids lost the only good things that they got from this. Even with this, we still get a final scene that gives hope for the future.
Now, as for what didn't work so well. Like I said before, none of the season finales excel in action; I would argue that "A Million Points of Light" succeeded more on the visceral level. After giving Gallantmon a new form and upgrading the most intriguing of the D-Reaper's agents, the whole thing degenerates to a measly fist fight. Not to mention, for an upgrade this form for the agent looks like it was cobbled together at the last minute. Going back to the whole Jeri matter for a minute, I believe the Jeri-Type agent's claims on humans' desire for destruction due to the reasons they used digimon are FAR more convincing than all that borderline gobbledygook based on Jeri, and would have provided the tamers with an opportunity for real introspection. It's yet another indicator that this final arc would have been stronger without her subplot. Also, I never liked how Impmon just appears at the park and Jeri straight up says that she forgives him. It's a dramatically flat, patently unsatisfying conclusion to his story that could have been avoided if Impmon had not been cast aside during these last two episodes. Shibumi overlooking certain things while creating the red card doesn't add any tension or bring any serious consequences; it's entirely extraneous. Finally, and this is a fairly minor thing, but that head shake from Henry to Janyu is just plain confusing. It's a LITTLE clearer in the original, but even then I had to read up on it. The intention behind it, however, is very good, as Henry conveys that there is no reason for Janyu to ask for forgiveness, since he has already been given it. With that, we get Henry's best moment in the series, and the sole meaningful interaction with his dad.
All in all, an exceptional ending to the third digimon series, and also the closer to what I consider the golden age of the franchise.
Obviously, the grim scenery of the last episode still looks good, and there are various interesting bits of animation. Sakuyamon giving her energy to Justimon actually has some visual complexity, when it could have simply been conveyed by a light beam, as in the previous seasons. MegaGargomon's spinning is done convincingly, and the vortex that surrounds him is animated smoothly, much better than the embarrassing CGI cables from the previous episode. None of the digimon season finales excel in action, but this one at least has the benefit of trying to involve everyone in one way or another. Gallantmon rescues Jeri, MegaGargomon activates the Juggernaut program, the Monster Makers provide the needed calculations and the Sovereign remove the Cable Reaper from the battle. Sakuyamon and Justimon combining forces like that just for it to be in vain is pretty lame though, because it only diminishes their importance here. The work of the Monster Makers sees real pay-off, perhaps the most in the whole season, and it's very appropriate that they develop the weapon that defeats the D-Reaper because, ultimately, they were responsible for it. Yamaki's comments as the program disappears are a solemn way to close this crisis.
On paper, the epilogue sounds forced, but is executed well enough to appeal to the viewer's emotions like it should. You can really feel Janyu's remorse that the digimon had to return to their own world, and the fact that he withheld that information kind of reflects how the kids have withheld stuff since the beginning. It would have been nice to hear them relate on that level. The scene of all the in-training level digimon slowly floating through the portal, with their overly cute high pitched voices, is unquestionably manipulative. Frankly, there's no reason that these guys couldn't have remained in their current forms and still delivered a heart-wrenching farewell. But, seeing the kids have to let go of them, I almost flashed back to all that these guys had been through together. Not only is this a testament that the series did a good job of conveying the bond between the kids and digimon, but in getting us to briefly reflect on the rest of the story this finale succeeds where the previous one failed. The final montage is also well done, though the English version is stronger. It actually gives us an idea of how one of the characters feels about his life after this big adventure, rather than tossing a forced happy feeling at us with a chorus of children. The musical score sets the right atmosphere; there should be a hint of sadness given that these kids lost the only good things that they got from this. Even with this, we still get a final scene that gives hope for the future.
Now, as for what didn't work so well. Like I said before, none of the season finales excel in action; I would argue that "A Million Points of Light" succeeded more on the visceral level. After giving Gallantmon a new form and upgrading the most intriguing of the D-Reaper's agents, the whole thing degenerates to a measly fist fight. Not to mention, for an upgrade this form for the agent looks like it was cobbled together at the last minute. Going back to the whole Jeri matter for a minute, I believe the Jeri-Type agent's claims on humans' desire for destruction due to the reasons they used digimon are FAR more convincing than all that borderline gobbledygook based on Jeri, and would have provided the tamers with an opportunity for real introspection. It's yet another indicator that this final arc would have been stronger without her subplot. Also, I never liked how Impmon just appears at the park and Jeri straight up says that she forgives him. It's a dramatically flat, patently unsatisfying conclusion to his story that could have been avoided if Impmon had not been cast aside during these last two episodes. Shibumi overlooking certain things while creating the red card doesn't add any tension or bring any serious consequences; it's entirely extraneous. Finally, and this is a fairly minor thing, but that head shake from Henry to Janyu is just plain confusing. It's a LITTLE clearer in the original, but even then I had to read up on it. The intention behind it, however, is very good, as Henry conveys that there is no reason for Janyu to ask for forgiveness, since he has already been given it. With that, we get Henry's best moment in the series, and the sole meaningful interaction with his dad.
All in all, an exceptional ending to the third digimon series, and also the closer to what I consider the golden age of the franchise.
