Now this is the type of filler I can get behind. When I first saw the preview, not gonna lie, I was kind of dreading this episode. Considering what happened with Mimi’s filler episode, a filler episode starring Joe just felt painful considering how different he is in this adaptation (and not in a good way). However, this episode proved me wrong as I actually ended up enjoying it a lot more than I expected. Not to mention that Joe didn’t annoy me as much as he usually does. So that was also a plus.
The kids thankfully get another break at this oasis where they serve burger and fries. I remember seeing this type of burger Digimon and those brown chicken things in Digimon Frontier which was also VERY filler. But they somehow made it work here, despite it being outrageous and silly. I appreciate they showed the kids taking time to rest again like they did in the underwater city. Even Tailmon said that resting is important… stares at the first 30 episodes of literally no rest Anyways, Joe seems to have a strong affinity to french fries as he gets incredibly offended when he sees that none of the Digimon are taking the them. Not gonna lie, the bit about fries being difficult for a lot of Digimon to eat because they lack fingers was a hilarious bit of world building. It makes a lot of sense when Gomamon explained it.
However, he is able to find a french fry buddy in Potamon, who I’m not gonna lie, but is very cute despite the very strange design lol. Joe’s friendship with Potamon was very cute and seeing the little guy gobble down fries reminded me of my brother, who also loves fries. When the burger Digimon said they were going to stop the production of fries, my literal reaction was: I swear if this Digimon turns evil because of them discontinuing fries- Only for it to happen and I just laughed. The concept was so silly but it was charming in a fun way. Especially when Joe was able to quite literally knock some sense into his french fry friend by hitting him with Zudomon’s hammer. Seeing Joe actually use Zudomon’s hammer was something I didn’t realize I needed in my life lol.
I honestly love seeing the kids befriend other Digimon and actually take care into not destroying this one because they wanted to save it. It felt like a change in the formula for this series and it made it much more enjoyable than just beating up a random “evil” Digimon that was attacking just for the heck of it. Potamon went on a rampage because it was upset, giving it a more emotional reason to its attack and evolution. However, it was cute that they started using potatoes to broaden the menu by making potato salad burgers. And it looks like that Jyagamon will be paid in french fries for the use of his potatoes. So alls well that ends well.
That was a cute little detour. While outrageous at times, it still did well to capture a little bit of the charm the original series had with making Digimon friends along the way. I just wish this was done more beforehand. But it kind of raises some questions as to how this little oasis can exist peacefully when this continent is literally a “eat or be eaten” kind of rule. But unlike the Mimi episode, I felt like we got a little more insight on Joe’s home life. While his attachment to french fries was portrayed a bit silly, the fact that he sneaks out and finds solace in eating them gave it more meaning. It shows how little freedom Joe has to just be a kid and do what he actually wants to do. Which is pretty sad and I’m glad that we got a bit more to his character like this. And it makes his brother helping him get out of the house all the more meaningful as his brother probably just wants him to be able to be a kid and not just study 24/7.
Looks like next episode will be about Sora and I do hope they expand on her character a bit more because she is severely lacking in development and depth right now. Hopefully we can go a little more into her home life since it teased it several episodes back. Not to mention that it explains a lot as to why she is the way that she is.
Also, every ending after the Yamato ending is just super cute seeing all the kids interact with their Digimon~
NOTICE: Digimon is taking a break this week so Episode 40 will be next week!