Digimon Frontier S01E17
Blizzarmon, Blow the Snow, Call the Glaciers! (JP)
Bizarre Bazaar (EN)
Dub Writer: Seth Walther
Original Airdates:
August 4, 2002 (JP)
November 21, 2002 (EN)
Hm. Seems our writer friends can’t avoid the pop culture references unless they use bad puns. Then again, I think Korikakumon Blows would probably be a lot worse… Then again, the titles usually do “suck with teeth,” don’t they?
The kids arrive at the Autumn Leaf Fair, but are unable to locate the Toucanmon or their D-Tectors. They all split up, searching various areas of the Fair for any sign of the Toucanmon, but they come up largely unsuccessful. Tommy, however, manages to locate a store owned by a Datamon who traded the D-Tectors for a video camera. Tommy beats a video game that Datamon couldn’t, and his prize is an odd disk that Datamon quickly snatches up with no explanation. Datamon is at first reluctant to give Tommy back the D-Tectors, but makes him a deal; in one hour, find something to trade him for the D-Tectors, and they would be his.
Tommy runs off in search of anything he can trade for them. Unable to locate Takuya and the others, Tommy realizes he has to find what he needs on his own this time. A chance encounter with the Toucanmon, however, points him in the right direction. When he chases them, they drop the video camera they traded as they fall through some thin ice. Unable to swim, they flap around for a while. Tommy reaches out and rescues them, only to be rewarded by them stealing the video camera away so he can’t get the D-Tectors back. Dejected, Tommy returns to the Autumn Leaf Fair.
Enter Arbormon. He captures the Toucanmon and takes the video camera, bringing it back to Datamon to try and recover the D-Tectors himself. When Datamon examines the camera to make sure it is in working order, he sees an accidentally recorded video of Tommy helping the Toucanmon only to be screwed over by them. Datamon then refuses to give the D-Tectors to Arbormon, stating he has another customer. Arbormon slide evolves to Petaldramon, and unable to Digivolve, Takuya and Koji attempt to fight him as normal humans, their efforts largely unsuccessful. It turns out that Datamon was moved by Tommy’s heroism and sense of duty, and gives him back his D-Tector with a little surprise…the contents of the disk that he’d won in the video game turns out to be his Beast Spirit!
Tommy Beast Spirit Evolves to Korikakumon, and with the help of Agunimon and Lobomon, he drives away Petaldramon. The kids are contacted by Ophanimon, and told to go to the Rose Morning Star. Zoe, having won a pie-eating contest, got seven (what a random number!) Trailmon tickets as the grand prize, so the Kids set out for their newest destination.
Arbormon: I just woke up. Always brush your teeth after you wake up.
Arbormon: Now to make whoever has those D-Tectors pay for making me work so hard.
So Arbormon is… random. His Japanese dialogue comes from out of nowhere, some kind of quirk where he just says stock phrases vaguely relating to his situation. The dub line creates a plot hole, however: Arbormon has been trapped in that cave for two episodes, since Grumblemon’s defeat. So what would even lead him to believe that anyone other than the kids had the D-Tectors?
Silence
Zoe: Well, something is coming towards us, but it doesn’t look very fair!
Izumi: So, somewhere in this Akiba Market are the Toucanmon who stole our Digivices, right?
Zoe: Even if the Toucanmon are here, it’ll be like trying to find the tiniest needle in a million haystacks!
Don’t be so pessimistic. MythBusters managed to pull it off.
During the search montage, the original does not add any voices to it, but rather just uses music to overlay the scenes. In the dub, the characters actually speak.
Steve Blum and Brian Beacock reprise their shared role as Gallantmon in that one line he has in this episode. Wasn’t hard to do, I assume, since Steve Blum plays JP and Brian Beacock plays Bokomon.
Narrator: Nanomon, the Digimon that specializes in repairing machines.
Ophanimon: Datamon is great with any sort of machine or electronic device, but he’s not so good with people.
Tom Fahn provides Datamon’s voice in the dub. He was responsible for Agumon and Digmon in Adventure and Zero-Two. His portrayal sounds more like Digmon.
Oy! While both he and Tommy are playing the video game, Datamon won’t stop babbling!
Tommy: Right! One hour!
Datamon: Actually now, it’s just 58 minutes.
Huh? Three words equals two minutes? He must be going off that Season 1 timetable.
Toucanmon 1: Hey, what gives?!
Toucanmon 2: Yeah, what’s with the giving?!
Trailmon: No ticket, no ride, no how!
I wonder why these Trailmon in particular (or more accurately, they’re the same Trailmon in the Dub, just in a different place) require tickets when that’s not been necessary to this point.
The sign in the restaurant changed:
If you can eat 30 bowls of curry rice in one hour, you’ll get a special prize. 
I can’t believe I’m saying this… again… but the dialogue in English was actually an improvement; the Japanese version is doing the exact thing I would normally slam the dub for doing…making no sense.
Apparently, Arbormon’s comments aren’t supposed to have anything to do with what’s currently going on. I’ll keep this in mind as we proceed. The dub makes his comments fit the situation better, but they still seem “out of place” as it were. It actually seems like it was handled a little better.
Nanomon’s Plug Bomb becomes Datamon’s Nano Swarm.
Petaldramon’s Leaf Cyclone is retained.
Datamon makes yet another goofball comment about Tommy not telling anyone that he’d gone soft. I think if word got out about that, it’d help his business.
Blizzarmon, the Legendary Beast Spirit of Ice, has become Korikakumon. Obviously, the Japanese name comes from blizzard, while the English name appears to be linked to Ikkakumon. Also, Koori means “Ice” and Kaku means “horn” in Japanese.
I think this season challenges the perception that names get changed to help kids pronounce them better. Blizzarmon, or even Blizzardmon, would be far easier to pronounce and remember than Korikakumon.
Blizzarmon’s Avalanche Step becomes Korkiakumon’s Avalanche Axes.
Petaldramon’s Thousand Spikes has become Thorn Jab in the dub.
Lengthened Evolution Sequences (LES) for Kouji and Takuya.
Blizzarmon’s Gletscher (Glacier) Torpedo has become Korikakumon’s Frozen Arrowheads.
The location Ophanimon sends the Chosen Children, the Venus Rose, becomes The Rose Morning Star for the DigiDestined.
[Update 25 July 2009]
Dario Speedwagon: The Japanese name, 「ばらの明星」 (“bara no myoujou”) is also appropriately translated as “Rose Morning Star”. Thanks again, Josephine!
Final Verdict
Not terrible.
Trying not to get my hopes up about Seth’s work, but this episode wasn’t bad at all.
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?
One Comment
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I like Arbormon’s Japanese dialogue, its a silly meta gimmick but this can be a silly show and he lightens the mood of otherwise tense sense. But yes I agree that its not meant to make sense, he is talking ‘directly to the audience’, in universe he can’t be understood. Great commentary and tracking as always!