Digimon Data Squad S01E02

Agumon is about to be sent back to the Digital World, but Marcus manages to escape with his partner in tow. They return to his house and try to hide out, but Yoshino finds him and prepares to erase his memory and take Agumon back to DATS. At the last minute, however, Commander Sampson reverses the order and has Yoshino keep an eye on the two.

The rabbits at Kristy’s school are all found dead missing, and Yoshino suspects Digimon involvement. She and Marcus stake out the site and find that the boy who was in charge of feeding the animals was being possessed by a Kunemon. It Digivolves into Flymon and takes down Yoshi and Sunflowmon, forcing Marcus to Digivolve Agumon to Greymon. After realizing the kinds of battles he’d get to fight, Marcus agrees to join DATS, calling off the search for Agumon.

As the two celebrate, a mysterious figure and his partner Gaomon return to Japan from abroad.

The dialogue in the episode is almost word-for-word for the first three minutes. I feel like I’m nitpicking just mentioning this, but Sampson’s reaction to finding the orange Digivice is slightly different.

Satsuma: I see. That man must’ve…
Sampson: That kid… full of surprises.

The original references the fisherman, while the reference is left out of the dub.

Gotta love that callback to Tamers.

Agumon: Hey Aniki, how far are we going?
Agumon: Good idea, Boss! No one will think there’s aaaaanything suspicious about a walking cardboard box!

I can’t tell if Agumon was actually being sarcastic or not, but despite the fact they added a joke… I’ll give it to ’em. It was actually kinda funny.

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Agumon: Aniki, this stuff is pretty good!
Agumon: If this is junk food, I’m happy to be a garbage truck!

…that one wasn’t so funny.

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Masaru’s mother, who has a softer voice in the original, was worried that Masaru was in “trouble with the police again.” In the dub, she was up all night “worried sick” when Marcus didn’t come home.

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Masaru: Not at all! My friends and I just started talking about life, and before I knew it, it was morning!
Marcus: What trouble? I don’t even know the meaning of the word! You should really buy me a dictionary!

The joke is bad, but Marcus’ nervous laughter after and his mom’s suspicious look make it work a little better. Kinda implies Marcus can’t think on his feet verbally as well as he can physically.

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The dialogue is largely spot-on, though small changes to the way Marcus’ mom speaks makes her more of a strict mom than her original counterpart.

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Agumon: Whydya keep shoving me into small spaces?!

The delivery was everything here. XD

In both versions, Masaru/Marcus says he has to keep Agumon hidden or DATS will drag him away. Brilliant, since DATS will never think to look at his house.

Then again, they are pretty inept, so anything is possible…

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Melissa Fahn, who played Rika in Digimon Tamers voices Marcus’ sister. She’s absolutely great in the role, though her portrayal is a bit more sassy.

Chika Daimon, Masaru’s sister, becomes Kristy Damon in the dub.

Translation.

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6:30 in and the intro finally plays in the original.

Masaru: How can you be so carefree eating like that?!
Agumon: Because Sayuri said I could!
Masaru: Don’t call my mom by her first name!
Marcus: How can you just sit here eating with all that’s going on?!
Agumon: <to Sara> Thanks! <to Marcus> Because if I eat standing up, I don’t feel good.
Marcus: That isn’t what I meant you Digital Dimwit!

Watching this season makes me think that even though the jokes are lame, if you have a good voice actor deliver them, they can be salvageable. Everyone’s performance in this scene is great.

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Yoshino: Ma’am, this kushikatsu is incredible!
Yoshi: You know, this is the best corndog I’ve ever had!

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Yoshino has started referring to Marcus’ partner as Agumon. Yoshi still calls him Raptor-1.

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Chika: But when he came to give them breakfast today, all of the chickens and rabbits were dead!
Kristy: When he came in to feed the chicken and rabbits this morning, they were all gone, and nobody knows where they went!

Digimon: softening the blow of death since the Megalithic Mainframe days.

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In the dub, Agumon references all the many cramped places Marcus has stuffed him into as justification for leaving the Digivice. So at least the joke had a lasting consequence.

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Yoshino refers to Agumon as a “rare species” of Digimon. Yoshi just complains that there should be a rule against leaving a Digivice without permission.

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Masaru: Chika! We’ll beat the crap out of the bastards who messed up those cages, okay?!
Marcus: Kristy! Don’t! Worry! We’ll! Get! Whoever! Did! This!

Masaru’s lip flap didn’t match what he was saying, so the dub made a gag out of it.

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Agumon: Wait, what are you doing, Aniki?!
Agumon: What is it with you and these cramped spaces, Boss?

I love recurring jokes, so this is great. XD

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Agumon: I hate you, Aniki. You even locked the door!
Agumon: I hate being locked up. Like a criminal. Or a chicken. Or a criminal chicken.

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The original version frequently refers to the boy as Takashi. He goes unnamed in the dub, usually called “kid” or “Kristy’s friend.”

Per usual, kids don’t sound so great in the English version. Not the worst I’ve heard (looking at Kazu and Kenta back in Tamers), but it’s definitely forced-sounding.

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Yoshino tells Masaru/Marcus to stay back and let DATS (i.e. her) handle the situation. She proceeds to call out Lalamon who launches one attack, then gets taken down instantly by Kunemon. She Digivolves Lalamon to Sunflowmon. She launches a single attack, causing Kunemon to Digivolve to Flymon. Flymon uses Stun Spore and both Yoshi and Sunflowmon are knocked out.

DATS seriously needs to switch her out with Miki or Megumi. How has she made it this far as a field agent?

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Yoshino: I told you to stay back! It’s dangerous, so run away and leave the fighting to us!

…Yoshino, you’re lying prone on the ground shaking. I think your bravado act is falling a little flat.

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Funny how the Stun Spore doesn’t affect GeoGreymon…

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The evolution music bleeds over into the fight in both versions and it creates a fantastic sense of energy.

Masaru: Plenty of formidable opponents…
Marcus: Then I’ll be… the ultimate!

I’m getting flashbacks to Power Rangers Ninja Steel. Much like the word ninja, “ultimate” isn’t a word you can just throw wherever you want and have it mean something. I don’t mind the change, but its use is a bit frustrating.

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Masaru: Please let us join DATS!
Marcus: We’re gonna do you a favor and join DATS!

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The scene with Tohma on the plane has him saying he’s finally going to his mother’s homeland, Japan. In the dub, he simply says he’s finally going home.

Tohma H. Norstein is localized as Thomas H. Norstein. He’s voiced by Crispin Freeman, who is possibly my favorite voice actor. His partner Gaomon is voiced by Skip Stellrecht.

Gaomon’s demeanor is very subservient in Japanese, and he calls Tohma “master.” In the dub, he refers to him as “sir” and Stellrecht creates a very convincing “military sergeant” voice that gives the two a unique dynamic.