Digimon Beatbreak - Episode 16 discussion

This has got to be one of the most fucked up backstories in all of Digimon. Like holy shit poor Granit! No wonder he's suicidal, survivor's guilt is a bitch.

But man this was a fantastic episode from start to finish. We got Granit and Reina's backstory and it was great seeing them work together. Even if this was more Granit focused then Reina, she still showed off how much of a positive force she can be despite the dire circumstances which really highlighted the strengths of her character.

This episode also did a really good job showing how strong Reina's will to live is in contrast to Granit which makes them great foils to each other. Even their backstories parallel each other, Granit had his loved ones taken away by force while Reina's loved ones purposefully abandoned her. Both ended up alone but they have very different perspectives on life because of their circumstances. The writing in Beatbreak continues to be very strong!

Also that fight scene at the end was well animated. Loved the part where Wolvermon kept punching the shit out of that moose.

Also more importantly **WOLVERMON BEAT THE JOBBER ALLIGATIONS!** Im so glad Tenma didnt somehow save them at the last minute. They really needed a w for a while now.

Overall this has been one of my favorite episodes so far. Looking forward to seeing how the Hotaruko and Makoto focused episode plays out next week.

I know Digimon can get dark at times but wtf

Very sure Granit’s backstory is the darkest character backstory in the entire Digimon franchise history.

Don’t get me wrong, Reina’s story is very dark as well, but I guess if your childhood life is in a refugee camp which got illegally attacked and you lost your friend, it’s the worst thing imaginable.

But when you’ve experienced the worst of the worst, you know there’s nothing to lose, and this is why they can find the way out of that world

Well that was pretty damn dark. Kid gets to watch his refugee camp best friend killed in front of him, his digimon partner is basically a walking memory of the incident, his current role is effectively being a child soldier, and he's kind of suicidal.

Good episode for Reina at least.

My God this show is exceptional and far better than I thought modern digimon could be. Going back to what really makes the franchise work... Good character work... and leaning on that as much as they can. And the series is better for it.

Granit's backstory was harrowing. And suddenly you go from thinking he's heartless and emotionless in his previous episodes to suddenly... Well my word there's a real depth to the character. And you want the best for them.

Reina's found family obsession makes perfect sense with her backstory basically being the kid of two "dissapeared" parents and being thrown around the system. Worth mentioning also that her parents vanished mysteriously and Tomoro's parents were obviously mysteriously arrested... There's going to be connection somewhere down the line that those two have to deal with. I'm fully expecting them to be the product of some expriments with E-Pulse or something down the line.

And the tactics leader... He's a bit of a dick ain't he? Kind of feel like the other two of the tactics team will join the main cast and the leader will become a major villain of this arc, though not THE major villain. I know it's early but I feel the only way he'll actually reflect and grow is by losing his digimon and having to start from scratch.

I expect this episode and the next are to set up the idea that there's depth to the tactics members that we haven't seen. That they are actually good people. Then the third will subvert it, show the leader is an arse, and maybe have his partner go ultimate to really set him up as the threat of arc/mini-arc. I mean if he's willing to let a child get killed, he's not exactly going to be hero in his next heavily featured episode after all.

They've managed to make a really interesting world. Really interesting characters and really interesting concepts for a digimon series and you could see this going almost anywhere from here, and frankly I love it in a way I haven't loved the franchise since I was a kid with the first 3 series (with a little repirsal for savers)

This episode was really great and has a lot more to unpack than I previously expected.

Starting with the star, Granit, who once went by Luka. The refugee camp scene was neither short nor too long, just enough to show as that they have some severe survivor's guilt, which is probably what holds Ludomon from digivolving (they are only 13 what the hell).

Still, Reina had the spotlight, she's just that cool, clawing her way and making her own place to belong when people didn't do it, and that was crucial in this episode, she isn't someone that would give up at such small setbacks.

Since next episode will be between Makoto and Hotaruko, I guess they will do one for each pair so that their rivalry is well cemented, and then the perfects will come in the final stretch of the arc, or they could slow down and let this arc be entirely character focused, with the adult stages remaining on the table.

This is my first entry to Digimon, and it looks like some comments about what I've seen of it weren't lying about its tone. Digimon can get pretty dark.

Granit's (or Luka's) backstory was just worse than I expected from a series like this. It was pretty obvious he went through some stuff (being made into a child soldier), but it was even more fucked up than I thought. Luka saw his only friend being killed during a refugee camp bombing, and he developed survivor's guilt and became suicidal because of it. He survived because his Sapotama spawned Ludomon – a shield to protect him, but it couldn't protect his friend. He lives with that regret, and that regret is probably what holds back Ludomon from evolving. The poor kid is just 13 too.

We also a learn little more about Reina's past. Her parents disappeared when she was 8, but none of her relatives wanted her and set her up for adoption, because she's the daughter of those two they have serious problems with. It just makes me wonder what her parents did, but that's a story for a future episode. I wonder, could her parents be connected to Tomoro's parents?

Reina and Granit working together was awesome, nothing else to say about it.

For a moment, I thought that they went deeper than the Mirror World to the Digital World, but it looks like the Digimon (or atleast the ones we've been shown so far) can't do that. I do wonder what kind of place the Digital World is.

Beatbreak continues to deliver. This was for sure one of my favourite episodes so far.

My only gripe with the episode is the setting (or more accurately, the clothing). I mean, come on, how does Reina handle that cold like a champ with just shorts and a crop top. Just what is she made of? It would be so nice if my body was built like hers and handle the cold that easily, but oh well.

This episode was stellar! In the Top 3 Beatbreak episodes so far!
The story was so touching and the direction and art was splendid!
Didn't expect that backstory from Granit, damn, that was so dark and got me chills!

Glad they also give focus on Reina, but this was totally a Granit episode, love how every characters are not flat and have their story and space and is not just a Tomoro show; i appreciate that and they have certainly learned from the mistakes of the past (cof cof Adventure 2020 cof cof).

That said, Beatbreak has been fabolous so far, this anime has totally the potential to be a game changer of the Digimon franchise (and also a game changer for kids/teen anime in general).

I wasn’t sure at first how Granit and Reina could play off of each other, but this is a genuinely amazing contrast.

Granit lived in a refugee camp (presumably after losing his parents), and found someone that cared about him, only to lose her as well and be left alone. He looks for a place to die because his loss has left him despondent.

Reina’s parents vanished, the everyone who should have cared about her left her behind, with other cleaner teams presumably doing the same. She looks for a place to belong because her loss has left her with no one who wants her.

I really hope these two get more episodes together because the setup for their dynamic is incredible

What a brutal backstory damn, a shame the show is losing steam here, the quality is still really good

Luka 😭😭😭😭

The fact that you can open portals and throw people and digimon anywhere else in the world changes everything that's quite a powerful ability, as long as your opponent doesn't has access to an ultimate lvl mon they are done for

Wait actual war on my Digimon, we are doing geopolitics!? based, and they are keeping it straight too not dancing around the issue, Digimon an anime with a stance actually

That was the harshest backstory in the entire history of the franchise, they ain't fucking around anymore, that was Gundam level grim, and even modern Gundam is trying to step away from refugee camps getting bombed

Calling it now the Earth Star is a weapon dealer and he was the one that supplied the missiles that were used to kill Stella

So Reina was abandoned by her parents who ran away on her, that's its own flavor of rough

Seems like so far all of Glowing Dawn are orphaned

Tomoro's parents are in jail, his brother is in a coma, Kyo doesn't seems to have any other family, and Makoto well his parents are probably still around but after spawning Chiropmon he was kicked from Shrangli La so he may as well be an orphan too

Really glad to see Reina show her leadership role around Granit, while Granit also got a lot of character exposition from his survival guilt, to also explains how he has managed to keep living and his bond with Ludomon

They even managed to defeat Moosemon and survive their situation by themselves, without bruteforcing an evolution to just overpower their opponent, instead we have Reina take the lead and show Granit that he should just give up and croak (even if we understand why he believes he should be alive after all that has happened to him)

Hope Granit manages to find a better place than Team 7

This is quite quickly becoming my favorite Digimon series, it may even pass Tamers, and the fact that they are not rushing it is one of the best parts, despite people wanting evolution every episode, go read the cardgame webcomics for that, their whole gig is literally to showcase a new evolution every week in order to sell new cards

You know the life of a franchise is quite interesting a decade ago we got Xroswars, and then that was followed by Tri, the art for the card game was being lead by gooner designers that literally went out of their way to put giant tits one everything harpymon was out there with breast implants, and the world of Digimon felt like a bunch of uninspired cash-grab garbage as if they have chosen that by sex and nostalgia they would go out in flames and milk the name for all that was left

Talking about Digimon in public, implied always having to wash your ass by clarifying how watching it didn't mean you actually agreed with what they were offering, fast forward to now, and the anime is covering topics you would have never imagined they would, we have war, a corrupt system, the abuse of authority, discrimination and classism, environmentalism, family abuse, etc, and for the first time in years it is even paired with a widely acclaimed video game with Time Stranger, wonder what the story behind the production of this anime is, why this change now, when the world and Japan are becoming more conservative, why are they no longer playing it safe?

Of course not everything is perfect the card game and the webcomics are still dragging behind being sketchy, but this is the best form the franchise has been since forever, and this makes me really happy for having continuing being a fan, i am glad we are getting some highs after all those damn lows, and you know Ghost Game and the Adventure remake weren't that bad, at least the first half... and Last Evolution never happened...

Wow, that's some dark backstory! Because of that loudmouth, most people would dismiss Team 7 as shallow, but this episode added a lot of character to Granit. Reina too, she always rubbed me a bit wrong but she is starting to warm up to me too. I think this was one of the best episodes so far!