Digimon Data Squad S01E08

A poorly-disguised Yoshi is fleeing from the Paparazzi. Just when she thinks she’s safe, a photographer grabs her image, identifying her. It’s revealed that she’s dating Neon, the latest craze in pop singers. After being grilled by the other female members of DATS, Commander Sampson reveals that Yoshi is on assignment; she is spying on Neon to determine whether or not he’s harboring a rogue Keramon. She was chosen for the job because she and Neon were friends in Elementary school.

As her mission continues, the other Data Squad members begin to worry about her objectivity. When one of Neon’s commercials hijacks every distribution platform in the country, Thomas is put in charge of an operation to search Neon’s apartment, and he subsequently benches Yoshi, as he believes she is too emotionally involved. As the operation is about to begin, however, Yoshi sneaks inside, intending to solve the mystery herself. Thomas foresaw this, however, and planted a microphone on her earlier, allowing them to get the proof they need.

When Keramon is revealed, it attacks Yoshi and Lalamon. Thomas and Marcus rush in and bring the battle to the roof. Gaogamon is defeated, but GeoGreymon is able to defy physics and destroy Keramon, reverting him back to a Digi-Egg. Neon’s memories of Keramon and Yoshi are erased, and a photographer gets away with a photo of several Digimon. No one acknowledges this.

While I’m not backing down from the claim that Data Squad’s music beats out every other dub’s by a mile, it tends to lean more towards the dramatic or intense than the original’s. Sometimes this is fine, sometimes it changes the mood of a scene. Most of it comes from the fact that it’s essentially dance music.

In the opening scene, a poorly-disguised Yoshino is fleeing from paparazzi. In the original, it’s a quiet scene. The dub’s is a mix of intensity and comic relief. It isn’t a bad change, like how some of the music in Adventure just didn’t fit, but it’s a change nonetheless.

Here’s the music, courtesy of SeannyBravo. It consists of multiple tracks, but the track in question starts at the 1 minute mark.

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Man, that was an intense chopstick maneuver. Created enough wind to blow Masaru’s hair!

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Yoshino’s new “boyfriend” is the singer Neon Hanamura. In the dub, he’s referred to as just “The Singer Neon.”

Megumi: What’s the meaning of this?!
Miki: How did you, the meekest of us all among DATS’ members…
Megumi: …manage to snag Hanamura Neon?!
Megumi: You’re dating Neon?!
Miki: That ring a bell, Miss Keeps-Secrets-From-Her-Friends?! Don’t deny it!
Megumi: We read all about it in the newspaper!

Wait, Yoshino is the meekest of all DATS’ members? Why is she a field agent agugkjslviejagefjaiwojeivwa

The phones at DATS have been ringing off the hook all morning after Yoshino’s identity got out, and they’ve had tons of fanmail sent in. And since the story apparently ran that day, all those notes had to be hand-delivered. So much for a secret government organization nobody knows about.

Get to it, Thomas. You’ve got a lot of memories to “erase” today.

Tohma: Your name, your birthday, the address where you work, even your blood type.
Thomas: All your information has been posted on the Internet. Your name, your phone number, even your favorite music. …hm, showtunes.

And I just learned that a large number of people in Japan believe that a person’s blood type is an indicator of their personality, like a Zodiac sign or something. Neat.

Satsuma: DATS’ second division scouted the area…

DATS has a second division?! If Yoshi and Marcus are part of the first division, how bad are these people?!

Agumon: What’s an undercover investigation?
Agumon: Under what cover?

Under the cover of being a competent DATS member.

In both versions, the RPG Building (the place Neon lives that’s harboring a Keramon) has very high-tech security that can even keep DATS out. In the dub, they change it slightly, saying that the system would notify Keramon, giving him the chance to flee. Nothing like that is said in the original. But… Yoshino flashed a badge to the police and they stood aside for her. Why can’t they just lock down the building with their authority and call it another gas leak?

In the original, when Yoshino reveals that she and Neon were in elementary school together, she says he’s so different now, because he used to be short and fat. In the dub, this is changed to his being quiet and shy. I guess the dub got tired of all the fat jokes after JP’s treatment in Frontier.

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Neon’s real name in the Japanese version is Hitoshi. No reference to a real name is made in the dub. As a result, the scene changes slightly. Hitoshi drives by just to say hi to Yoshino, and their exchange is entirely about her using his real name. In the dub, he drove by to try and tempt her into ditching work and going on a date.

Neon is voiced by Yuri Lowenthal, well known for voicing the older Ben Tennyson in the Ben 10 franchise, and Spider-Man in the eponymous PS4 video game.

In the original, Chika calls Masaru stingy for not getting Neon’s autograph for her. Interestingly, his dialogue was more reasonable than usual (Yoshi’s private life is her own, you shouldn’t demand things from people, etc.) but it still upset Chika. In the dub, Marcus says all the same things, but adds on that Neon is probably sick of signing autographs for “annoying fans.” That’s the part that upsets Kristy.

Narrator: Keramon. A Child-level Digimon that consumes a massive amount of data with his large mouth. Its special attack is Crazy Giggle. It can shoot a destructive ball of light from its mouth.
Miki: Keramon. A Rookie-level Digimon that consumes massive amounts of data. It attacks with its Crazy Giggle, an incredibly destructive ball of light.

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As is the custom in Digimon dubs, Keramon’s voice is much deeper than his Japanese counterpart, which sounds more childish.

In the original, Neon’s promo is played without sound on every TV and computer screen (including phones) in the city. In the dub, a woman speaks over it in an overly enthusiastic voice.

Enthusiastic woman: Hey, everybody! Have you heard the new song by Pop Sensation Neon?! Download it today and tell all your friends, too! Hey, everybody! Have you heard the new song by Pop Sensation Neon?! Download it today and tell all your friends, too! Hey, everybody! Have you heard the new song by Pop Sensation Neon?! Download it today and tell all your friends, too! Hey, everybody! Have you heard the new song by Pop Sensation Neon?! Download it today and tell all your friends, too!

Agumon has a weird reaction to seeing the video that isn’t explained in the original. In the dub, they add in a line where Agumon tells Marcus to turn the TV off before Neon starts singing, which is apparently unpleasant to him.

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Satsuma: Where’s Yoshino?
Miki: I’ve been trying to contact her, but I’m getting no answer!
Satsuma: Keep trying!
Sampson: Contact Yoshino immediately.
Miki: I’ve been trying to contact her sir, but I’m not getting any answer!
Sampson: TRY HARDER!

Clearly the problem is that you’re not pushing the buttons hard enough, Miki. That’s why you weren’t picked for the Neon mission! Get it together!

…I bet the Second Division could contact her.

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Even when their lines are the same, Dub Lalamon’s lines are always worse. Ugh.

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Lalamon: I don’t feel any signs of life coming from this room. It might have a special screen around it that nullifies all data.
Lalamon: It’s strange! I can’t read any life signs from behind this door! Something’s jamming my sensors!

Don’t pretend you have “sensors,” Lalamon. Just admit you have no idea what’s behind the door.

Masaru is banging on the door while simultaneously fighting a security guard. He dispatches the guard with a judo throw and proceeds to speak with Yoshino. In the dub, all 10 seconds of their fight is cut, as if the guard was never there. No idea why, their fight was far less violent than a lot of others that were kept. It also raises the question of what the RPG Building’s “impenetrable security” is, since Marcus just strolls up to the door like it was nothing.

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Granted, a single security guard that was dispatched by a 13 year old isn’t what I’d call the pinnacle of high-tech security, but whatever.

The footage is replaced by repeating the shots of Yoshino’s reaction and Marcus beating on the door.

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Trying to keep her cover, Yoshino comes out and slaps Masaru in the face while he’s wrestling with Neon. The slap is cut out, and the impact mark on Marcus’ face is painted over.

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TO BE ADDED

In the original, Masaru demands to know what Neon is planning with the Digimon. In the dub, his dialogue doesn’t include anything about a Digimon at all. In response, Yoshino apologizes for Masaru’s behavior on his behalf as a coworker. In the dub, she acts like she doesn’t know him and reprimands him for being so pushy about getting an autograph.

The security guard reappears at the end of the scene, but the dub kept it, presumably because it wasn’t part of a fight. Masaru just flees from him.

Into the doors of a closed elevator. Smart.

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Satsuma says that Yoshino will stay at headquarters. “Everyone else follow Tohma!”

And they bring along Miki and Megumi in place of her.

I don’t think the good Captain understands who should and shouldn’t be benched on missions. Specifically, that Yoshino needs to always be benched, and that Miki and Megumi should be on permanent field duty.

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Neon: Is that your Digimon? She’s pretty cute.

No she’s not.

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Yes, Yoshino. Cower in terror from the other Rookie Digimon when yours can Digivolve.

Brilliant.

We lost about a second of footage when Keramon grabs Yoshino by the throat. The event still happens in the dub, however, as we see her later being held over Keramon’s head.

Tohma protests when Masaru speeds past him to help Yoshino. Honestly, he should be glad Masaru stuck with the plan for this long. It’s a big improvement.

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At first I thought the dub had cut the moment Masaru punched Neon, but it turns out they never animated it in the first place.

In the original, Neon simply says to leave Keramon alone because he made Neon popular. In the dub, Neon says he won’t betray Keramon any more than any of them (DATS) would betray their partners.

Narrator: Chrysalimon. An Adult-level Digimon who is protected by a tough shell. Its special attack is Data Crusher. With the tentacles on his back, he can destroy his opponent’s data!
Miki: Kurisarimon! Champion-level Digimon with an armored body! It can attack with its devastating Data Crusher or use its tentacles to disintegrate another Digimon’s data!

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Kurisarimon pulls the natural gas lines from the ground and sprays GeoGreymon with them. He retaliates by pushing the gas back with his Mega Burst.

I’m no physicist, but natural gas + massive fire = a citywide disaster with casualties in the thousands?

#InvestigateDATSNow

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So the entire fight takes place on the roof. Gaomon attacks, Digivolves, then gets knocked back to Rookie. Agumon Digivolves, defeats Kurisarimon, reverts him to an egg. And then we cut to the photographer and Yoshi, who are still standing in front of Neon’s door, where they were when it all began.

What were they doing this whole time? Why is the photographer just now trying to run away?

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The entire point of Yoshino going after the photographer was to stop him from publishing the photo he took of Keramon and the other Digimon. Then she erases his memories… and lets him walk away. With the camera.

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