Digimon Data Squad S01E16

Falcomon’s With Us?! Rage, Blossomon (JP)
Falcomon: Friend or Foe? (EN)

Original Writer: Yokote Michiko
Dub Writer: Jeff Nimoy

Original Airdates:
July 30, 2006 (JP)
January 28, 2008 (EN)


Gear’s Notes: I’ve made joke after joke about Yoshino being pretty useless, but this and the next episode are the beginning and the end of her series-wide character development respectively, and she’s unconscious for most of this episode. I honestly would like to know why Yoshino was so poorly developed and utilized in this series.

Section: Summary

Yoshino is taken to a cave to rest and Thomas examines her. He determines she collapsed from stress and overworking herself. But when Keenan and Falcomon attack, Yoshi wakes up and grabs his arm, transferring data over to him. He collapses, experiencing the same fever and lethargy she has. Falcomon escapes with Keenan and recalls a time long ago when Keenan was still an infant. Their guardian Frigimon traveled to a place called Wanderer’s Cape, a place said to be corrupted by the presence of humans, to find a vaccine for the illness.

Falcomon returns to DATS with Keenan on his back, explaining that they have to travel to Wanderer’s Cape to find the vaccine. The group forms a temporary alliance, and with Lalamon watching over the two patients, they travel to Wanderer’s Cape to find an upside down mansion hanging from the edge of a cliff.

Gotsumon informs Merukimon that the humans were travelling to the cape, but Merukimon tells him to stand down and leave the humans alone. Annoyed and confused, Gotsumon accepts the help of Blossomon, who offers to destroy the humans and their “traitor” Digimon partners.

Gaomon spots an old computer, which belonged to the previous DATS team. He attempts to break into it while Marcus, Agumon, and Falcomon search for the vaccine. They find one remaining vial in a refrigerator, but it is taken by Blossomon. Falcomon gets it back and is ordered by Marcus to go cure Yoshino and Keenan while they keep Blossomon busy. The attack destroys the computer, alerting Thomas to the fight. MachGaogamon attacks Blossomon, freeing Agumon and Marcus from her clutches. GeoGreymon destroys Blossomon, and the group returns to find Yoshino recovering.

On a cliff, Keenan wakes up on Falcomon’s back. Falcomon explains that the humans cured him, but Keenan doesn’t care; he wants revenge for what the humans did to Frigimon. Falcomon reluctantly agrees.

Side Note

Seriously, do not miss an episode of this series. The recaps are no help at all in either language. The recap for last episode, narrated by Gaomon in English and by the standard narrator in Japanese, mentions nothing about Thomas’ mother or the dreams they all had. It basically says they encountered MetalPhantomon, and MachGaogamon beat him.

Dialogue Deviation

Yoshino’s temperature according to Lalamon is 38.8°C, which is just under 102°F. Yoshi’s temperature is 104°F, which is a huge difference. Yoshino has a moderate fever; Yoshi’s brain is literally cooking inside her skull.


Gaomon: Master has a medical license.
Masaru: A medical license? How the hell did he get that when he’s the same age as me?
Gaomon: He was a special exception.
Masaru: Damn, he pisses me off, that superhuman!
Gaomon: Master Norstein happens to have a medical license.
Marcus: Medical license! How does he have that when he’s the same age as me?
Gaomon: He’s smarter than you.
Marcus: RRRRGH, I am… SO MUCH SMARTER!

Love Skip’s Gaomon. He made that scene so much funnier.


In the original, Tohma says Yoshino is too stressed out, with Lalamon saying she puts too much pressure on herself. In the dub, Thomas says the last battle was too much for her, with Lalamon adding that MetalPhantomon gave her such a horrible dream.


Tohma: Watch over Yoshino-san for us.
Lalamon: Got it.
Thomas: We’re leaving Yoshino in your hands.
Lalamon: But I don’t have hands!

Riiiight.
Side Note

Meanwhile, Lalamon’s one job was to guard Yoshino, and Keenan just pushes her aside like she’s nothing. She even cries out for Yoshino to help her even though she’s unconscious and her brain is cooking.


The virus must have done something to fix Keenan’s brain. When Yoshi gives him the virus, his first words are, “What did you do?!” which is the only complete sentence he’s spoken to this point.

Dialogue Deviation

In the original, Masaru asks what Falcomon meant by “eerus.” Tohma corrects him, as Falcomon said “virus” (pronounced “VEE-rus” in Japanese). The misunderstanding is dropped in the dub.


Yoshino’s temperature reaches 39.5°C (roughly 103°F) in the original. In the dub she’s up to 105°F, leading me to wonder how she’s even able to form sentences at this point.

Side Note

In both versions, Thomas says he needs to craft a vaccine to fight Yoshino’s virus. Except that’s not how vaccines work.

Unless he means a Vaccine-attribute Digimon, in which case getting punched by Angemon would work. Or blown up by RizeGreymon.

Dialogue Deviation

Another misunderstanding: Masaru asks about a “BUN-cheen” when he meant to say “vaccine.” (Again, pronunciation is different.) In the dub, he says “disease” and Thomas corrects him to “virus,” even though that’s pedantic at best and meaningless at worst.


Masaru: If you don’t make a vaccine, what will happen?
Tohma: Uh… well…
Lalamon: The worst-case scenario is… we won’t be able to save Yoshino. Right?
Masaru: Damn it! Don’t even dare to think like that!
Marcus: If we don’t make [the vaccine], what will happen? Will she get worse?
Thomas: It’s… hard to say.
Lalamon: She has to get better! She just has to! Please, Thomas, save her!
Marcus: That’s not a request, that’s a demand!

You’d think Disney would be less likely to shy away from death as a theme.

Section: Digimon Analyzer

Consistent with previous media, Yukidarumon becomes Frigimon in the dub. She’s voiced by Mona Marshall, like young Thomas.


Wanderer’s Cape is retained.

Side Note

The scene with Falcomon complaining to Frigimon about Keenan is a perfect example of why Falcomon’s VA was a bad casting decision. Again, Steve Blum is a fantastic actor and he brings that to this role, but the whiny, childlike petulance of Falcomon complaining about how useless Keenan is just gets lost in that deep, British-sounding voice he has in the dub.

Dialogue Deviation

Most of Agumon and Gaomon’s ridiculous conversation is retained, except for Gaomon’s response to Agumon’s asking what “sick” means, and if it’s like being hungry.

Gaomon: It’s something that threatens the life of a living thing.
Gaomon: No, and sometimes when one is sick, they actually lose their appetite.


This is weird. When Tohma is examining Ikuto, he speaks, and Falcomon interrupts him. But his lips continue moving, even though the actor isn’t speaking. This is corrected in the dub by having Thomas babble on about the various symptoms he sees in Keenan while Falcomon talks over him.


Yukidarumon and later Falcomon both refer to Wanderer’s Cape as being desecrated because humans used to live there. The general gist is kept, but they use the word “contaminated” in the dub instead, and I can only assume it’s because of the more religious connotations of the former.


Marcus calls Falcomon “Falcodude.” I don’t know why, but that makes me giggle a little.

Side Note

Blossomon sounds male in the original and female in the dub. Specifically, she sounds like she’s voiced by Birdramon’s actress.


Tohma: Why does this thing have such high security?
Thomas: Why did the DATS team need such high security?!

It’s a late 90s-era PC and you’re trying to brute force a password screen that doesn’t even lock after a set number of tries. That is not what I’d call “high security.”

Section: Digimon Analyzer

Narrator: Blossomon! A Perfect-level Digimon! His special attack is Spiral Flower! He uses his flowers like shuriken to extend and cut anything, no matter how hard it is.
Blossomon: I am Blossomon, an Ultimate-level Digimon! Let me introduce you to my Ninja Flowers! They may not have thorns, but they can pierce you to the bone!

Despite it seeming like the name was localized, the dub actually keeps “Spiral Flower” as Blossomon’s attack.

Dialogue Deviation

Marcus is a bit more dickish to Falcomon than Masaru is. While the latter is all about “being a man” and “honor” and stuff, Marcus is a bit more “don’t be stupid, birdbrain” when talking to him.

When discussing why he trusts Falcomon to share the vaccine, Masaru says that his Falcomon’s courage makes him a man, and that men don’t betray their friends. Marcus says that Falcomon had plenty of chances to betray them to this point, and he hasn’t, so that makes him okay in Marcus’ book.

Side Note

I gotta say, it amuses me that even though Ikuto/Keenan is in the same cave as Yoshino, no one suggests that Lalamon would stop Falcomon from betraying them and only giving the vaccine to Keenan. Everyone knows she wouldn’t stand a chance.

The dub adds a slash impact screen when MachGaogamon punches Blossomon, but nothing is lost to it. It’s like it was just added for effect, not to actually censor anything.

Dialogue Deviation

Masaru: Didn’t I say so? That guy’s a man!
Marcus: Didn’t I tell you? That guy’s a man’s man!

No… you never said anything like that, Marcus.


Tohma: Jeez… you’re quite the character.
Thomas: He’s a bird… but I get what you mean.

Final Verdict

Total Footage Kept: 100%

Spot-on with very few deviations.

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