Digimon Data Squad S01E07
Tohma’s Day Off – Explosion, BomberNanimon (JP)
A Birthday Kristy Will Never Forget! (EN)
Original Writer: Yamatoya Akatsuki
Dub Writer: Jeff Nimoy
Original Airdates:
May 14, 2006 (JP)
November 5, 2007 (EN)
Gear’s Notes: Oh, I have been waiting for this episode since I started these comparisons. This is the most notorious dub change in this series, and probably the most notorious change in the entire franchise to date. This is the Citramon Debacle, and I should probably explain in-depth.
All of this info is second-hand (and if you know more, and especially if you’re Jeff Nimoy, please comment as such), but from what I’ve gathered, Jeff Nimoy was kinda pushed to do this episode this way, or Disney would have cut it altogether. In the original, BomberNanimon is the primary antagonist, a massive walking bomb that threw smaller bombs and blew up an amusement park. However, at least in the US… bombings, shootings, and other mass violent crimes are on the rise, and Disney was like hell no, if you don’t censor the crap out of this episode, we’re cutting it altogether. But this episode does a lot for Thomas’ character, so I assume Jeff thought it was important to keep. So to save it, he… well, you’ll see.
Part of me likes to think that the change was kind of sarcastic. The dialogue is over the top, the paint job is amazing, and it just sounds like, to me, like he was begrudgingly making the change, and decided, Screw it, you want censorship?! I’ll show you censorship!* And thus we have this episode. Please, enjoy.
*This is just my interpretation and in no way represents any factual information or psychoanalysis. Also, if I was going to psychoanalyze someone, it would just be assigning Oedipus and Electra complexes at random*.
*That’s not really an accurate representation of psychoanalysis as a discipline, it’s just a fun joke to make. Please don’t haunt me from the grave, Freud*.
*I don’t actually believe in ghosts.
It’s Kristy’s birthday, and Marcus promised to spend the day with her. But the school required him to take a makeup test that day or flunk out, meaning he has to break his promise. Instead, he manages to coax Thomas into spending the day with Kristy.
Thomas comes up with a very intricate plan involving cafes, fancy restaurants, hotel gift shops… and Kristy ends up taking control of the entire affair, throwing all his plans out the window. When she requests to see fireworks, he takes them to an amusement park and reminisces about his mother, her face shrouded in shadow.
As the fireworks are set to begin, a massive Digimon attacks, forcing the park to evacuate. Thomas, ignoring orders from DATS to await backup, takes down the attacking Digimon single-handedly as revenge for ruining Kristy’s birthday.
In both versions, while sucking up to Tohma, Masaru and Agumon refer to him as “Sir.” In the original, it’s just a show of respect. In the dub, it kinda comes off like they’re mimicking Gaomon, which I love. Marcus doesn’t know how to be respectful, so he has to mimic Gaomon to put on an appropriate performance.
Tohma: What pretense is this, Masaru?
Agumon: Can’t you tell? We’re pretending to be maids.
Thomas: I just have one small question: what’s the catch, Marcus?
Agumon: You don’t have to catch anything! We’re doing all the throwing!
Dub Agumon, that makes no kind of sense.
Tohma: Why is it necessary to act like that towards me?
Thomas: Why are you being so nice to me, Marcus? Because you never do anything without an ulterior motive.
I don’t know that you’re right, Thomas. Marcus never does anything with a motive in mind. He just rushes in.
Tohma’s skepticism is more intense, focusing on his character’s more uppity qualities. Thomas, on the other hand, seems a lot more polite and affable, like he doesn’t want to start a fight, but he knows something is very wrong.
Masaru refers to Tohma as Tohma-kun, which is affectionate. Marcus calls him “Tommy-Buddy,” which matches Thomas’ facial reaction better afterwards. XD
In the original, if Masaru skips or fails the make-up exam, he’ll have to repeat the 8th grade (for what I assume, based on his appearance, the fifth time). In the dub, it’s just “you better not.” In either case, the teacher is creepy and I kinda feel like CPS should be involved…
In the original, Masaru wants Tohma because he needs someone who can act like a father to Chika. In the dub, Marcus wants Thomas to be a big brother to her.
Sayuri asks Tohma if spending the day with Chika would be a bother. She leans in close, and Tohma blushes before making his dramatic proclamation. In the dub, she asks the same thing, but adds “Son,” to the beginning, as her way of addressing him. I think the scene was supposed to come off looking like Tohma had a crush on Sayuri, but the “Son” bit was added to push the idea it was a mother-son kind of concept, since the idea of a 30 year old flirting with a 14 year old is squicky.
In any case, the dub’s foreshadowing of Thomas’ family issues is a bit more pronounced than the original’s as a result.
Gaomon: I’m not a dog…
Gaomon: Would a dog wear boxing gloves?
He would if he were… a boxer… KAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Dub Gaomon is more sarcastic and fun than the original.
Agumon: Possession is nine-tenths of the meal!
What’s the other 10th?
Tohma: …stroll through the Japanese garden and have afternoon tea.
Thomas: (same thing, but with more words)
Tohma, you’re in Japan. What other kind of garden did you expect to find? Or do you visit Disney World and say, “Wow, look at this Disney World Mickey Mouse!”?
I see the dub isn’t entirely sure how it feels about military time these days.
Masaru: I don’t really get it, but it looks like you’re highly motivated.
Marcus: If you give me flowers, you’re toast. Boy, when you do something, you do it.
I’d repost that image of the Masaru x Tohma search results, but that image is cursed and I don’t want to risk the consequences.
Sayuri very quietly reminds Masaru that it’s time to leave for school or he’ll be late. Sarah shouts “mArCuS!!!” out of the blue and it made me jump in my seat a little. XD
Masaru and Tohma fist-bump when Masaru says he’s counting on Tohma. In the dub, it’s treated as a sign of encouragement when Marcus says he plans to ace the makeup exam.
We hit a commercial break here in the dub, and it adds an establishing shot of Marcus’ street when we get back from break.
Man, that must’ve been a tough turn to make in a limo. Kudos to that driver.
I’ve heard that sound effect they use to punctuate the dead-end before. It’s the “are-you-kidding-me” sound effect from the Ace Attorney series.
Holy crap.
The sound effect. Uppity attitude. Unusual manner of dress. Keeping data safely hidden in his pockets. Vaguely European.
Tohma is Miles Edgeworth!
Driver: The roads are rather narrow here…
Driver: We’re temporarily out of road, sir.
He said “temporary” because he’s about to get out and take a sledgehammer to those barrier poles. Badass.
Well, that’s a convenient exam, at least. Since it’s technically an English exam, all the dub had to do was censor the test name, test questions, and Masaru’s name. Though I don’t know why they didn’t replace them.
Marcus: I’m gonna fail bad.
Marcus, it’s literally asking if you were busy yesterday. How hard is that to answer?
Then again, if it is an English exam, you’re not likely to do well if you can’t use adverbs.
And then again again, if it’s an English exam and the chalkboard says it’s an all-day math test, I think your teacher is just out to get you.
Maybe they used up the entire episode’s digital paint budget on the upcoming battle?
Tohma: I’m sorry, please cancel my reservations.
Thomas: I’m terribly sorry, but I have to cancel my reservations! Please forgive me, this stop was not on my schedule!
Dude on the other end of the line: …yeah, I don’t care about your personal problems. Reservation canceled, bye. *click*
Gaomon: She’s completely different from Masaru the Machine-Breaker, isn’t she, Master?
Gaomon: She hasn’t teased you once about your seventeen losses!
Damn, do all teachers in Japan throw chalk at their students?
Marcus: An older brother leaves home to go to school which is two kilometers away from his house. Ten minutes later, his younger sister chases after him while using the same road. The older brother walk 80 meters per minute while the younger sister runs 200 meters per minute. How many minutes will it take for the sister to reach her brother?!
Damn, no wonder Marcus is failing math. How the hell did he manage to extract all that information when almost none of it is actually on the paper?! And he still has to solve it? What is the pass rate at this school?!
In the restaurant, they eat monjayaki, which is like pancake batter with other ingredients mixed in that’s eaten at the built-in table grill. The dub doesn’t name it, but at least they didn’t try to call it some kind of waffle. Sarah calls it “fried slop” and says she can’t stand it.
The patrons in the restaurant are staring at Tohma, presumably because of how he’s dressed. They make confused noises in the original. In the dub, they don’t make any sound, and it’s kind of passed over, like they didn’t want you to notice it or something.
The restaurant’s owner/chef/waiter/whatever he is tells Tohma that the meal is ¥ 1,740. In the dub, he tells Thomas he can pay at the register, which Thomas ignores and tries to hand him a credit card.
The carnival montage is a great example of just how much Data Squad’s music is a huge step up from the previous dubs’. Can you imagine this scene with the Masked Rider music? It would have lost so much resonance.
Oh and it finally begins. Up to now, the dub has used almost every sound effect ripped directly from the Japanese version. But now, the “fireworks” they’re hearing seem accompanied by the sound of splashing.
Citramon: I’m gonna squeeze ya! Like an orange!
Ohhhhh yissssssss…
Narrator: BomberNanimon. An Adult-Level Digimon whose entire body is a bomb. His special attack is Freethrow Bomb. It can explode anything around him.
Thomas: Citramon. He’s a Champion-Level Digimon whose Fruit Punch Nova sends his enemies to the showers. Not exactly part of a balanced breakfast, believe me.
Yes, every single scene with BomberNanimon is painted over into Citramon. The dub invented its own Digimon and it is glorious.
His attack is censored, obviously, to make it fruit-flavored.
Another scene was cut, presumably to cut down on the amount of painting they’d have to do.
BomberNanimon: You’re gonna get hurt, you bastard!
Citramon: Prepare to get juiced!
My body is ready.
Gaomon: Master, what are your orders?
Gaomon: He’s tart! Careful.
And all the puns! So many juice puns!
I could post screencaps of this episode all day.
To make up for some of the lost time, the conversation between Thomas and DATS is extended, and some scenes of DATS from other episodes are spliced in, along with splicing some of this episode together with older scenes. It’s pretty seamless.
Smoke and fire replaced by fluorescent fruit juice with astounding explosive impact.
Another cut of a technically unnecessary shot of BomberNanimon.
Tohma: Take him down with one attack!
Thomas: Great, now squeeze the juice out of him!
Ew XD
BomberNanimon: Everyone will be blown to bits along with me, you bastard!
Citramon: Fine! Just be warned: you squeeze me… and everyone goes for a swim!
The world’s first juice-themed water park!
There was a dramatic delay before he revealed the bombs that was supposed to have a ton of impact, but he reveals some kind of green fruit in the dub so it’s just hilarious. XD
Then they cut some more footage.
Tohma: <If that load of bombs detonated, it wouldn’t just be fireworks, but a sea of fire!>
Thomas: <There’s enough juice there to fill up the entire park!>
And that’s a bad thing?! DO IT.
BomberNanimon: I’ll let you off easy this time, you bastard!
Citramon: I’ll be back… and even juicer than before!
I… can’t… breathe… XD
I feel quenched.
Extra shots of Megumi and Commander Sampson were added in.
Scene didn’t exist in the original version.
Kudamon: He disobeyed your orders. What will you do?
Sampson: I’m gonna sit here and enjoy the fireworks.
It’s only fair, Marcus never listens to orders.
Holy crap, I forgot about Marcus. He was taking that one test this whole time?!
The original version seems to indicate Tohma didn’t realize launching BomberNanimon into the air created the fireworks Chika wanted to see until Sayuri told him. In the dub, he apologizes for Kristy’s birthday not being perfect, and Sarah tells him everything went just fine.
Happy Birthday!
Final Verdict
Total Footage Lost: I have no idea.
This episode was hilarious because of all the changes, but it’s also a very important episode for more than one reason. It hints at Thomas’ story down the road, about his mother and his own sister, and the strained relationships he’s used to. It was a critical episode, and as much as I laughed at the paint job, it really is nice that the dub went out of its way to adapt it. There was nothing saying they had to do it. They very easily could have just skipped it, but they recognized that it was important to the plot and put a lot of work into making it an episode Disney would approve of. Outside of the Citramon stuff and the constant removal of signage, very little was changed in terms of plot or dialogue. Now I just want Citramon to be in the upcoming card game.
The guy with nothing but free time, and yet still never gets anything done. Former Frontier contributor, current owner of Digimon Uncensored. Actively comparing Zero-Two, Frontier, and Data Squad. Buy me a coffee?
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I’m not 100% sure if this is correct, but I remember reading or hearing somewhere that the reason Disney wanted this episode to be censored heavily had less to do with the fact that BomberNanimon was a literal walking bomb, and more to do with the fact that he was a literal walking bomb attacking an amusement park. I think Disney was concerned about how this could affect their Disney Land/World parks. Episode 3’s dub kept the part that the DemiMeramon might blow up gas tanks if they weren’t defeated, and the Digimon Army episode doesn’t really shy away from Digimon leveling buildings/causing destruction with missiles, so this decision doesn’t seem too consistent given the lack of other major changes they make unless it had to do with their amusement park brand. Like your opening paragraph though, I can’t verify this for sure, so in the end, it’s mainly my interpretation. I like to think Jeff thought the same way you proposed though haha.
Oh, and as an aside, a friend of mine had the idea to do some editing of his own and redo the battle sequence with the original footage mixed with the dub audio, along with new dialogue that’s less punny. It’s linked here on my friend’s channel if you’re curious. https://youtu.be/-s_SHPoqXy0
And you could very well be right! But then again, a lot isn’t consistent when it comes to censorship in this series. Sometimes punches go through, sometimes they don’t… the only consistent thing is that fists must *never* get too close to the camera, or the children will have heart attacks!
And RizeGreymon, with his gun arm of doom, must never fire directly at the viewer either. Think of the children!
Why they gave Gaomon a drill sergeant voice in the dub baffles me. He is clearly dressed like some kind of fighter, how does that translate to “army”?
In the original, he’s made out to be a butler, which is equally confusing. I think the Drill Sergeant idea works, though, since the anime pushes this idea that Thomas and Gaomon are the most coordinated, disciplined team at DATS. Master-and-servant relationships aren’t as well received in the West, so going Commander-and-Soldier with it is, in my opinion, a positive change, particularly because Skip Stellrecht does such a good job with the role.
Yet we’ve had a master-and-servant relationship in Digimon before without issues. Remember Demidevimon and Myotismon? Exactly that. So I do not know why they would suddenly exclude it from the show. It honestly baffles me. It could be Disney’s doing but we may never know. Don’t get me wrong, I still love how they’re portrayed in the dub. It just revolves around why they changed the portrayal. Also, side note, I wouldn’t call Thomas and Gaomon’s relationship as commander-and-soldier. I’d describe it more like an owner-and-butler type of relationship, as we see later on that he will do tasks for Thomas that aren’t related to fighting or their job.
But remember, DemiDevimon and Myotismon are eeeevil. But I like this interpretation. Digimon has spent a lot of time pushing the idea that humans and Digimon are equals, both beings capable of making their own decisions to be treated with respect, and I think the butler/master dynamic kinda undermines that.