Recap / Digimon Tamers E1 "Guilmon Comes Alive"

Japanese Title: Guilmon is Born! The Digimon That I Created

Or the best day of Takato’s life.

"A Digimon Tamer!"

— Takato Matsuda

In another realm, a small white creature flees from an attacker, but when another monster starts a fight with the attacker, a large explosion ensues...and the white creature is sent flying, somehow thrown into the human world.

We then meet our protagonist, Takato Matsuda, an ordinary elementary school student^note middle school student from Shinjuku who happens to be a very big fan of the Digimon franchise - in fact, it’s very popular among kids his age. Before school, he plays a Digimon card game battle against his friend Hirokazu Shioda^note Kazu, using a card reader to calculate points. As time for school approaches and Takato rushes to gather his cards, only to find a mysterious blue card that he doesn’t recognize among them. He decides to try sliding the card through his reader, but to his dismay, it only causes the reader to go crazy. Thinking that it’s broken, Takato realizes that he’ll be Late for School and hastily gathers his stuff, storing his reader and box of cards in his and Hirokazu’s playground hideout.

Takato’s forced to stand outside class for being late, and while he’s waiting, he decides to take some time to design his own fan Digimon, Guilmon. His teacher, Miss Asanuma^note Miss Asaji, catches him, who sentences him to writing an essay after class. During detention, while he gets distracted by the idea of Guilmon again, he’s approached by his Hand Puppet-wielding classmate Juri Katou^note Jeri, who picks up a flute she’d forgotten and runs off, having her puppet tell Takato to finish his essay or the teacher will get mad.

Meanwhile, at a mysterious Government Agency of Fiction, two Bridge Bunnies report to their boss that they’ve detected an “irregular packet”, and the boss asks if it’s a “Wild One”.

Takato returns to his playground hideout only to find electrical sparks everywhere. He finds the box holding his cards and reader sparking, and when it opens, his card reader transforms into a small portable device. Takato looks through the functions on the device, but it only reads “no data”.

Takato returns home, where he lives over the bakery his family owns and works in. When he goes to his room and empties the box, he finds that the blue card has disappeared. As lightning strikes outside, he realizes that the blue card was what had transformed his card reader into this new device, which he recognizes through his knowledge of the franchise as a “Digivice”. He takes his notebook with his notes on Guilmon and tries to slide it through the Digivice, but the notebook gets stuck in the scanner portion...but as Takato is about to go down for dinner, he sees the Digivice glowing and scanning the notebook by pulling it page by page through the reader. After scanning all of the pages, the Digivice’s screen shows a DigiEgg...

Takato is so excited at the thought of something big and Digimon-related happening that he goes to bed that night with his Digivice in hand. In his dream, he sees a girl, Ruki Makino^note Rika Nonaka, facing a Lynxmon and sending a Renamon to fight it, helping Renamon by using Card Slash^note Digi-Modify and giving Renamon enhancements by slashing a Digimon playing card through her Digivice. As Renamon defeats the Lynxmon, Takato recognizes the girl as a “Digimon Tamer”, and all the while Guilmon gets closer and closer to hatching...

Takato wakes up early in the morning, and his dad greets him. Takato asks his dad if Digimon existed when his father was younger, to which his father replies that it didn’t; Takato then goes on to ask what if Digimon were real, but quickly retracts his question, realizing that it’s silly. He then looks back at his Digivice and resolves that Digimon are indeed real.

The small white Digimon from the beginning of the episode, Culumon^note Calumon, looks around curiously at humans, wondering various things about them and why they’re not fighting. Takato tries to tell Hirokazu and their other friend Kenta Kitagawa about his dream, but they shrug it off as a dream even though Takato insists that he could feel it was more than that and tease him before running off. Takato, however, is resolute that the girl was a real Tamer and that the Digivice is proof that he’s now one too. Takato checks the Digivice only to find that the DigiEgg has hatched, and the Digivice shows him a compass that leads him somewhere.

At the government agency, the Bridge Bunnies report that “the biggest Wild One they’ve ever seen” is coming in, and their boss tells them to allow it to “Realize”^note bio-emerge before they do anything. As Takato runs where the compass is taking him, the Digimon he created, Guilmon, runs through a digital realm towards the real world…and back in the real world, in another family’s house, a little girl tells her older brother, Jianliang ("Jian") Lee^note Henry, to look out the window, while on the street the Ruki senses that “another one” is coming.

Takato follows the Digivice compass to a construction site and sees a hole in the floor with waves rippling from it. As the government agency Bridge Bunnies report that the Wild One has Realized, Takato sees none other than his original Digimon come out of the ripples. Takato is overjoyed as he watches Guilmon curiously inspect his surroundings, and Takato approaches him, telling him that he’s his creator.

Guilmon, however, begins spitting fire and turns towards Takato curiously, and as Takato pleads him to stop, he realizes that he might end up being killed by his own creation...

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Tropes

• Action Prologue: Digimon Tamers kicks off in the Wild Zone with a not yet introduced Culumon fleeing from an unknown enemy.
• Big Damn Heroes: Not on purpose, but a rampaging Dark Tyrannonmon tackles Culumon’s pursuer and engages it until it evolves and smashes its prey into data.
• Calling Your Attacks: Renamon does not leave its Signature Move to your imagination.
  Renamon: Koyousetsu!
• Cassandra Truth: After waking up, Takato attempts to convince Hirokazu and Kenta that Digimon are real. They don’t buy it.
• Collectible Card Game: Protagonist Takato and his friend Hirokazu are fans of a Digimon Card game and are introduced playing one.
• Contrasting Sequel Main Character: Takato Matsuda immediately sets himself apart from his predecessors Taichi Yagami and Daisuke Motomiya. Both were brash, hot-headed idiot heroes who had no idea what Digimon was before their first trip to the Digital World. Takato is more calm and introverted. He is a Digimon fanboy prior to the series and its the Digimon that comes to “him”. He also doesn’t wear his goggles until later.
• Cool Shades: In Takato’s dream Ruki wears a pair along with a Badass Longcoat.
• Darker and Edgier: Compared to the first two series, things start off already rather dark. It starts with the very first scene of two Digimon fighting to the death and ends with Takato afraid his own Digimon is going to attack him after brutally incinerating some vermin.
• Dreaming of Things to Come: Though it's unclear exactly at what point in time it was taking place, Takato sees Ruki and Renamon battling in his dreams.
• Early-Bird Cameo: Tritagonist Jian is in his apartment tinkering with a computer before he is informed by his little sister (who is playing with Terriermon) of the commotion outside.
• Ending Theme: “My Tomorrow”. Composed and arranged by Kaoru Dokubo, lyrics by Yuu Matsuki and vocals by Ai Maeda aka AiM who previously sung the first and second endings of Digimon Adventure and 02.
• Establishing Character Moment: We meet The Protagonist and our hero Takato Matsuda defeating his friend Hirokazu in the Digimon card game (which is identical to the Action Prologue) before admitting he just came up with it
• Eyecatch The first consists of Guilmon, Terriermon and Renamon as these blocky-toy things before Culumom zooms past them causing them to spin and to all evolve into their Adult levels.The second Impmon whacking Culumon on the head (to its displeasure) before Growmon, Gargomon and Kyubimon spin again to become their Perfect levels
• Hand Puppet: Juri uses one in the beginning of the episode to spook a daydreaming Takato for her amusement.
• Helpless Observer Protagonist: Due to being in a dream Takato can only watch Renamon vs Lynxmon. Guilmon’s excuse is that it was not born yet.
• Late for School: Due to playing a Digimon Card Game Takato misses the first bell and is forced to stand in the hall. Hirokazu, who played with him, did not wait up and thus escaped punishment.
• Law of Chromatic Superiority: This was why Takato made Guilmon red.
  Takato: He’s gotta be red! That’s a color given for the strongest fighter!
• Lightning Can Do Anything: With turn-a-card-reader-into-a-Digivice under the very big umbrella of “anything”.
• Lock-and-Load Montage: Takato puts a string through his Digivice before wearing it around his neck and filling his backpack. He then heads out to find where Guilmon will Realize.
• Magic Compass: Takato’s Digivice becomes one when Guilmon’s DigiEgg catches.
• Oh, Crap!: Takato when he realizes that the teacher was in front of him and he insulted her.
• On the Next: Takato complains that Guilmon is wreaking havoc at his school before Jian states that a Tamer who can’t control his Digimon does deserve to be a Tamer then introduces himself when asked.
• On The Next Episode Of Catchphrase: Takato and Jian introduce the preview’s catchphrase for the first time.
  Jian and Takato:You, too, should aim to be a Tamer!
• Spoiler Opening: The theme song does not hide the main characters future Digimon partners nor all three of their evolutions. It also spoils Juri becoming Leomon’s Tamer and Impmon evolving into Beezelbubmon both of which do not happen until much later into the series.
• Standing in the Hall: Takato’s teacher makes him do this due to his tardiness.
• Stat-O-Vision: Takato owns a card reader that tells the strength of a Digimon Card. His Metal DarkTyrannonmon has a level of 17,000. The mysterious Blue Card he finds destroys the card reader.
• Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: While Takato is ecstatic to see his creation come to life, he completely loses his nerve when Guilmon makes a decent sized crater with a Fireball and tells Guilmon to stop.
• Title Drop: When Takato sees Ruki performe a Card Slash all he can say is…
  Takato: A Digimon Tamer!
• Theme Tune: “The Biggest Dreamer.” Composed and arranged by Michihiko Oota, lyrics by Hiroshi Yamada and vocals by Kouji Wada who previously sung Butterfly and Target ~Akai Shōgeki~.
• Trapped in Another World: Culumon is thrown into Present Day Japan after an explosion sends him flying into a portal

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