Plot: Jyou and Gomamon meet up with Sora and Piyomon. Gomamon recruits Sora and Piyomon to pretend that they need Jyou as leader after he has a crisis of confidence. They come upon what looks like a church filled with people until they realize that they’re actually the ghost Digimon, Bakemon, in disguise. Jyou and Sora are set to be sacrifices to Lord Bakemon, and Gomamon and Piyomon have to find some way to save them.
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Title Change: The Dancing Ghosts! Bakemon is changed to The Dancing Digimon.
Title Card: 
Another awesome title card. Love the colors.
I usually don’t bring up dialogue where there is none, but Devimon monologuing to himself with not only a recap of what he did and what’s happened so far, but also prefacing the entire thing with ‘I, Devimon!’ and ending it with an evil laugh. That couldn’t be more super villain-y if he had a death ray nearby.
Jyou originally says this is why he didn’t want to go to camp. In the dub, he says if there’s one thing he’s learned in Digi-World it’s that beds don’t make good boats. I get that they’re implying he’s sea sick, but even if the bed made a good boat, which considering how well it’s floating right now, it does, he would still be getting sea sick.
Here’s a situation where the Japanese version confuses me more than the dub. Joe yells at Gomamon for eating all of the emergency food when he told him to conserve it for later since they don’t know when they’ll reach land. Gomamon says he did wait until later since Joe told him that 20 minutes ago. Joe shakes Gomamon and tells him 20 minutes is not long enough to wait, then he asks if there’s any food left whatsoever. Gomamon says there isn’t since Joe said he was sea sick and he needs the food to Digivolve if they encounter trouble. Joe yells that Gomamon will have no one to protect if he starves to death and then he suddenly vomits over the back of the bed.
In the original, Jyou looks at the empty bag and yells that this is why he didn’t want to go to camp, again. He tells Gomamon that he was supposed to be spending this time studying for entrance exams, and Gomamon asks why he’s telling him that since there’s nothing he can do about it. Jyou shakes him and asks who he’s supposed to tell. Gomamon responds by saying if they just sit there with hope in their hearts, Jyou might not get sea sick. He tries to ask what hope and sea sickness have to do with each other before vomiting over the back of the bed.
I understand that Jyou’s just venting, but why would he take the situation of losing all of their food to vent about not being able to study for the entrance exams? Likewise, while dub Gomamon is actually making a lot of logical sense in why he ate the food, original Gomamon not only doesn’t apologize for it, but he brushes off Jyou’s rant with a literal ‘what do you want me to do about it?’ instead of any empathy. And Jyou has a point, what does hope have to do with getting sea sick?
The only things Jyou believes are in the box are bottles of water and sterilized packages of food. Joe thinks there might be fruit, vegetables (oddly emphasized as ‘vegetibles) bread, milk, cereal, hot dogs, cookies, candy and soda. I’m not surprised by the dub change because there’s a lot of syllables to fill, but why does Joe feel so comfortable listing off so much junk food and dairy products when he literally just threw up a minute ago?
Gomamon originally tells Jyou there’s no way that stuff is in that box. Jyou then shakes Gomamon and harasses him for having hope when he just told him to have hope. In the dub, Gomamon says he wishes that stuff is in the there. Then Joe shakes Gomamon telling him they wouldn’t need food if he didn’t eat it all.
I don’t know why he’s so excited in either version. You have a big wooden box, sure, but how was he expecting to open it? I know Jyou is always prepared, but I doubt he has a crowbar….or upper body strength. Surprisingly, dub!Joe actually does address this by bringing it up in a dialogue-where-there-was-none moment, but he never gives an answer.
Ogremon originally says ‘Too bad I’m not food!’ In the dub he says ‘That’s right digi-Pest! (in response to Gomamon saying his name) Pummel Whack!’ Again, the original’s line actually seems kinda worse, even including the ‘digi-pest’ thing because…is that some witty one-liner? ‘Too bad I’m not food!’ Yes, Ogremon. Getting you instead of food is indeed a disappointment to say the least.
And now for the flip-side. Originally, Gomamon says the reason Ogremon’s being defeated by his Marching Fishes is because his kind come from the mountains, meaning the smell of fish makes them sick. In the dub, they get preachy and kinda foreshadowy by saying when the forces of the small and weak join together, they can cause the downfall of the big and powerful. Both result in the same revelation (the fishes being punched away and Gomamon saying ‘Guess I was wrong.’)
The dub doesn’t include Ogremon’s line about not being able to swim. Makes you wonder why he won’t follow them. Also, why the hell would you seal yourself in a box, float yourself out in the ocean just hoping you approach one of the Chosen Children’s beds just to ambush them for really no reason? Actually, why would you do most of that at all? And to the one person in the group who has an aquatic Digimon of all things.
Once again, Jyou says he knew it was a bad idea to come to camp (dude, get over it.) Joe says he doesn’t like adventure and that he’s a stay at home and read kind of guy.
Originally, Ikkakumon just says he’s tired from the battle. In the dub, he says he’s hungry too, which he shouldn’t be because he just ate all of that food.
Also, the dub’s music during Ikkakumon’s de-digivolving scene is way too heroic.
Piyomon is originally going ‘piyo, piyo’ as she hops (someone’s turning into a Pokemon) In the dub, she sing-songing ‘Sora is fishing, Sora is fishing!’
Sora says she’s using a twig for bait and hopes one of the fish thinks it’s a worm. She then asks Piyomon if she saw anything while she was searching around. Piyomon says it’s too foggy to see anything. Sora then states that she believes they’re on an island. In the dub, Sora says if she caught something big, Biyomon would be right there with her eating it. Biyomon says ‘since you put it that way’ which doesn’t make much sense to me. Then Sora believes she’s caught something.
Despite the fishing rod being a stick and not having a reel, the dub includes a sound effect like a fishing reel being let out.
Sora expresses amazement that there’s a big fish out there dumb enough to believe the twig is a worm. In the dub, she just says she’s grabbed a big one.
I would say they screwed up this line for the sake of lip syncing, but the dub syncing here is appalling. Sora originally just says ‘Jyou-senpai!’ which is three syllables. In the dub, Sora goes ‘Oh my! It’s a person! Jooooeeeeeeee!!!’ Obviously, this doesn’t fit. She really could’ve just said “Oh my! Joe!” and it would’ve fit much better.
There’s no way Jyou and Gomamon drifted that close to Sora and Piyomon’s island while they were sinking without either of them dying.
Now that I look at him, it’s pretty dumb for the aquatic Digimon to have such stubby back legs. When he’s carrying something underwater, he can barely move at all.
Sora’s manner of speech kinda bugs me. She says stuff like ‘Oh my!’ and ‘Goodness!’ Seems a bit too proper for someone who’s a tomboy is all.
Originally, Jyou doesn’t ask where Ogremon is because he was knocked out after they had already escaped him.
Piyomon originally says she doesn’t know where the others are. In the dub, she responds to Joe asking where Ogremon is by saying ‘he’s gone’ but again it seems like the lip syncing falls short because even that short line is too much and the line basically fades off before Sora cuts her off in the dub.
Jyou originally bursts with somewhat forced confidence and says that he’ll be the leader. In the dub, he agrees that he’s brave and says he’s the greatest one there.
Jyou originally hears bells and asks if the bells are to commemorate him becoming leader. (What is wrong with Jyou today? He’s either being obnoxious, making no sense or being stupid) Sora says that’s impossible. The bell sounds are not present in the dub until after this exchange. Instead, Joe asks if he fails, who will save them all. Sora responds that her fishing line will help them again.
Gomamon originally says that Jyou’s become quite the leader and Sora laughs at his statement. In the dub, he asks if a black gear got Joe and Sora laughs at his joke.
Originally, they stop because they hear music. In the dub, they just stop because they’ve arrived at the church.
Original!Sora is definitely acting poorly when it comes to treating Jyou as a leader. But dub!Sora is basically mocking him straight out over his title….the one they forced upon him. I know this is a ‘they created a monster’ thing, they even said it in the dub, but don’t act like he appointed himself leader. Doing that isn’t going to improve his confidence. It might actually make it worse if you prod him into something he legitimately feels like he can’t do.
Besides light background music, there is no music that the ‘people’ are dancing to in the dub. Makes the scene seem weird.
Originally, Sora believes these ‘people’ are putting on a festival. In the dub, because of the masks, Sora believes they’re celebrating Halloween.
Again, they bring up Halloween where there is none in the original.
‘Priest’: “We’d love to have you join us. We don’t have a lot of young people around. And no holiday is complete without them. You arrived just in time for some…..fun.”
Another Halloween reference.
Gomamon originally states that the Bakemon live in Overdell Graveyard. Also, I know we haven’t reached this part of the story yet, but how does the Digital World have a graveyard when Digimon never really die? And on the rare occasions that they do seemingly ‘die’ they never leave a body behind.
Gomamon and Piyomon don’t originally call the Bakemon losers. They just state that it’s weird for such a Digimon to be given the honorable suffix of ‘-sama’.
The ‘priest’ originally says God does not forgive those who speak rudely of the Bakemon. Both Gomamon and Piyomon apologize for their comments. In the dub, he tells them to not tell them who they should and should not honor. Gomamon then says ‘now now’ while Biyomon tells him to back off.
Sora asks where the ‘priest’’s offering is and he tells them that it’s them. In the dub, Sora asks when the trick-or-treating starts……
Oddly, the dub has Gomamon actually calling Bakemon by a somewhat translated honorific, Lord Bakemon. I think Saban was confused when the honorifics came up in the original and they had Gomamon adopt the title.
Saban gets confused again. In the original, the narrator says Bakemon is a Digimon who wears a white sheet as a disguise and that no one has ever seen the form underneath. In the dub, Gomamon says the guy was Lord Bakemon in disguise, stating that no one has ever seen his true form, implying that this is his true form. It’s not only wrong, it’s weird. They show a depiction of Bakemon when Gomamon’s asking about why they honor them, so why is this seen as a big reveal?
Also, am I alone in thinking Bakemon’s more interesting if you believe that is his real form? Instead of ‘here’s a dorky Digimon who wears a sheet.’
Jyou and Sora yell out that they’re in Overdell Graveyard. In the dub, they point out the dancers and bet that they’re Bakemon too.
Jyou says as he’s crying, again, that he should’ve stayed home studying instead of going to camp. Joe yells that he can’t be someone’s appetizer because he’s supposed to be going to med school.
Sora tells the Bakemon to go easy on the salt. Bakemon agrees, saying too much salt is bad for the body. In the dub, she asks if they’re really going to eat them. Bakemon responds that they’d taste very good with the right seasonings.
Gomamon originally justifies his claims that the guard Bakemon is dumb by saying Digimon who sleep with a mucus bubble coming out of their noses are stupid. Piyomon asks if it’s a good idea to judge his intelligence based on that and Gomamon says it is. In the dub, they skip straight to talking about the plan without justifying why they think he’s stupid. I actually prefer the dub because, yeah, sleeping on guard duty is enough of a reason to believe the guard isn’t too bright. We don’t need some convoluted justification for it.
The scene about the torture is basically the same, but Gomamon claims the graveyard must be too poor to have food and the Bakemon is offended. In the dub, they’re teaching him how to taunt them and tell him to go get food to eat in front of them and he agrees to go get some bananas.
Eugh, Digi World bananas look disgusting.
Jyou says his soul tastes bad. Joe says he’s mostly gristle.
Jyou says that Sora’s soul probably tastes better than his. Joe says it doesn’t matter because they’re both done for.
This next part’s a mess because of the commercial break in the dub. Before the break, they cut out a very short exchange between Jyou and Sora where she says the Bakemon is stronger than she thought and Jyou says it’s because he’s a ghost. After the break, they replay the shot of Bakemon tossing away the Harpoon Torpedo and skip over Jyou’s speech about sutras and prayers to have Sora’s responding animation say that Bakemon is tough. They replay the shot of Birdramon doing her Meteor Wing and Bakemon deflecting it then finally show the shot of Jyou’s speech.
Bakemon’s Hell Hand is not given a name in the dub so far.
Joe says ‘Bakemin’ It was once, but it bugged me.
Jyou’s solution is completely butchered and it always bothered me in the dub. I finally know why this seemed so awkward. Originally, Jyou said Bakemon is a spirit and spirits can be repelled with sutras and prayer. Sora asks if he knows any sutras and he responds that his grandmother from the country once taught him a prayer to do better on exams. Sora’s dubious, but is willing to give it a shot.
In the dub, Joe says good always prevails over evil and they have to weaken Lord Bakemon. Sora tells him he has to do it because he’s the leader and Joe tells her to not be a quitter. He then explains that he once saw a TV show where a Roman physicist talked about the power of mind over matter and how chanting one phrase over and over can be powerful. He believes if they focus their minds on Bakemon losing his power, he will. Again, Sora’s uncertain, but gives it a shot.
I absolutely never understood the dub. Never. Mind over matter, whatever. But it’s like those times where the character find a deus ex machina and just never use it. “Hey Devimon! Devimon lose your power….Devimon lose your power……Devimon lose your power!” *Poof* “Wow that was easy…..Hey, you don’t think…..There’s no place like home….there’s no place like home….there’s no place like home!” *Poof* Wow! It worked we’re back in the real world!” *series end*
At least the original explains that this is working because he’s a ghost Digimon and that Jyou is using a sutra prayer to deter a spirit. It’s still a little silly, but it’s within believable bounds for this show. The dub is just nonsense. His logic isn’t even based on what Bakemon is. They would’ve been better off even saying he’s a ghost and they can be rid of him if they convince themselves that ghosts don’t exist. Bakemon loses his power because they’re rooted in belief, like Santa or fairies or something. Stupid still? Yes. Makes more sense? Yes.
Another thing about this scene that always confused me….since when is Sora’s hat a helmet? Why is it suddenly hard enough to act as a drum? She doesn’t take it off very often, but in the second OVA (second part of the first movie) they clearly show it as a regular floppy hat.
They insert the same shot of Jyou talking before he commands an attack right before Bakemon gets hit….for some reason.
The music in the final scene of the original is really great and suspenseful.
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I don’t much like this episode. Jyou and Joe are both insufferable. Jyou’s annoyingly sputtering off ‘I knew I shouldn’t have come to camp!’ every five minutes, Joe’s being an ego-driven aggressive ass and both of them are just being overall annoying. I can get that, if anyone’s having a crisis of confidence, it’s Jyou, but he flips his switch between confident and weak-kneed so much and so drastically that it’s really irritating.
Jyou’s big moment of confidence as leader was a complete and utter fluke, and the revelation in the dub was just ridiculous. Not to mention that it’s almost as annoying seeing Sora and the others pretend so poorly that they desperately need Jyou/Joe as leader. Jyou should’ve been smart enough to at least question their behavior, especially considering how independent and confident Sora usually is.
I like the setting and the Bakemon, but I feel it was wasted for the most part.
(This would’ve been posted months from now given my upload schedule since I recently updated the SDC for Digimon Adventure 01 earlier this month, but considering the subject matter is ghosts and the dub references Halloween so much, I though it’d be a nice Animating Halloween bonus to put out two updates. Happy Halloween!)
Next episode, we check in with Takeru and Patamon. Can they find it within them to be annoying too?
The Anime Madhouse 