Tai Kamiya Presents “Gatekeepers”

Episode Seventeen- Put It All On the Line!

 

(Everybody has taken a field trip to Tokyo Tower. The cast is making preparations for the scenes that take place there. Tai is talking to one of the local authorities.)
Tai: I’m just telling you- it’s anime. You have to expect the unexpected.

City Bigwig: Yeah- I know this is an anime. I’m expecting that you’re going to blow our national landmark to smithereens like they do in all the other animes!!

Tai: Tell you what- I promise to be careful.

City Bigwig: Look- you Digimon folk have already caused massive damage to half of Odaiba, half of Shinjuku, the Fuji TV building, and the Metropolitan Government Tower!

Tai: Hey- the last one wasn’t my fault!

(Davis walks up to Tai.)

Davis: Yo Tai! Delivery guy’s here!

Tai: All right!

(Tai runs away. The monitor turns to Davis.)

Davis: What? At least we don’t have our Digimon this time.

 

(Tai reaches the UPS guy, standing in front of the big brown truck.)
UPS Guy: Hey, got an order here from Angry Mob International for ya.

Tai: That’s me. What’s the quantity?

UPS Guy: I got 10,000 angry nuts in back of the truck.

(Tai opens the back of the truck. Indeed, there is an angry mob sedated in the back of the truck. Tai smiles.)

Tai: Wow! Did AMI say where they get these people?

UPS Guy: They’re stationed in Queens. Most of their stock are disgruntled Mets fans.

Tai: And the rest?

UPS Guy: Have you ever gone from New York to Tokyo as cargo? I hear it’s as bad as flying Coach.

Episode Twenty-Two- Beat the Jet-Black Robot!

(People are slowly beginning to fill into the rally at Tokyo Tower. Ken is standing high on the tower, watching them all gather and mingle with each other.)
Ken: Parasites… crawling around aimlessly. They’ll go to whatever’s deemed popular and swarm around it like ants. They’re so easy to control…

(On the ground floor, Isogai is trying to maintain order. She is also busy handing out literature to people. She has a loudspeaker.)

Isogai: Okay everybody- we’re trying to rally against the evils of a society that restricts everything we do! To do that, we need order people! Stay in line, and shout when you’re told to! You! Over there! You can’t stand there, move it!

(Back on top, Ken smiles evilly.)

Ken: Parasites… I can’t wait to trample them.

Machinedramon: (VO) Situation not going according to plan.

(Ken turns around. The shadows of Machinedramon and Devimon appear.)

Ken: What do you mean?

Devimon: They’re organized. They’re united against a common enemy. They all have a vision and crave leadership.

Ken: Yeah… ours. Isn’t that good?

Machinedramon: Negative.

Devimon: We strive for chaos! We want them to be divided- arguing with each other! We feed off their energy! These guys look they’re ready to go to Disneyland.

Ken: But it’s for our cause.

Machinedramon: We have no cause but chaos.

Ken: But… I stayed up all night making those flyers…

Machinedramon: It matters not. This does not match with the predictions laid forth in the Dead Sea Scrolls. This is not the path to Instrumentality.

(Devimon and Ken look at Machinedramon oddly. Ken finally turns around, angrily.)

Devimon: Ken, don’t take it personally. It’s just that when we take control of unassuming humans, we have certain… expectations.

Ken: Well then… there’s one thing that wasn’t laid out in your predictions… something you couldn’t have expected.

Devimon: What’s that?

(Ken turns around and smiles.)

Ken: I may have once been susceptible to being controlled by evil nutcases… but fortunately- I learn from my mistakes.

(Ken holds out his hands.)

Ken: GATE OPEN!!

Devimon: (confused) Whazah??

(Ken attacks Devimon and Machinedramon simultaneously, sending dark energy at them. It connects, and Devimon and Machinedramon are sent back into a tarp. The tarp falls down, unveiling a giant black robot.)

Ken: Since I’m the only one that hasn’t died yet, I think it’s high time that I earned a promotion. Namely- I’m in charge now. You two will serve very nicely as a power source to my big honkin’ robot.

(Shots of Machinedramon and Devimon, trapped inside the robot, unable to move or speak.)

Ken: (OS) Ha ha!

(The robot sparks to life, and begins charging up. Ken smiles.)

Ken: Now… let’s do things my way.

 

(Alarms blare at AEGIS Headquarters. Shot of several alarms, and the nameless foot soldiers running around. Finally- show Davis, cooking a burrito in the microwave. He turns around and raises his arms defensively.)
Davis: I didn’t do it!!

(Joe walks up and opens the microwave. It’s smoking in there.)

Joe: How many times have I told you, Davis, you have to take it out of the package first. At least there’s no fire.

(Joe shouts out.)

Joe: Cancel the alarm!

(The alarms subside. Joe pulls out the smoking mess of a burrito and hands it to Davis.)

Joe: Hope you like it crispy.

(The alarms go off again. More foot soldiers run around aimlessly. Joe stamps his foot.)

Joe: I said it was a false alarm!

(Mimi runs up to them.)

Mimi: No! We have an Invader presence at Tokyo Tower. This is bigger than anything we’ve ever seen before.

Joe: Okay, okay, just stay calm, we’ll just send everybody out according to protocol.

Mimi: I know.

Joe: I was talking to myself… c’mon!

(Joe drops the burrito and runs off with Mimi. Davis stands there.)

Joe: (OS) C’mon Davis!

(Davis looks down at the smoking burrito on the floor. He checks to make sure nobody’s looking, then bends down, picks it up, and begins scarfing it as he heads in the same direction. He joins Joe and Mimi observing the radar as the other Gatekeepers arrive on the scene. Joe turns towards the group as Davis stuffs the rest of the burrito in his mouth.)

Joe: We have a gigantic Invader presence registering on our scanners. We need to stop it before it begins relaying signals all across the country. I have a feeling this could be one of the more dangerous missions we’ve had. There is also a chance that Kari and Rika could be used as hostages, but don’t let that concern you right now. We need to move out and uh… you know… kick some tail.

TK/Yolei/Sora/Cody/Davis/Izzy: Roger… AEGIS!

(They rush off to save the day. Joe looks over at Mimi, who is on the phone.)

Joe: Mimi! What are you doing?

(Mimi, without missing a beat, looks back at Joe.)

Mimi: I’m putting all of our reserve weapons on stand-by in case things get ugly. This may be a crucial battle- we might have to pull up all the stops.

Joe: Good idea. Thanks.

(While Joe turns his attention to other matters, Mimi returns to the phone call.)

Mimi: Yeah, sorry about that. Anyway- can you spray-paint the coffin pink? Cool! If I’m going out- I’m going out in style!!

 

(The ultra-mega-bus of virtue is cruising to Tokyo Tower. Unfortunately, it is immediately forced to slam on the brakes because of the giant crowd in between the bus and the tower.)
Yolei: What’s going on?

Davis: It appears that we have a bit of a road block.

TK: I see. Can we plow through them?

Cody: I don’t think so.

Davis: Whelp… let’s start with the most obvious technique.

TK: Plowing right through them?

(Davis pulls out a bullhorn and heads up to the roof. He addresses the mob.)

Davis: Hey! Get out of the way! We gotta save the world!

(The mob turns to Davis.)

Davis: C’mon! Pretty please?

(The mob grows increasingly angry.)

Davis: Um… we’ll sign autographs? Anyone got a piece of paper?

(From the tower, Ken sees the commotion and addresses the crowd.)

Ken: Don’t listen to him!!

(His voice wasn’t heard through the loudspeaker. Ken yells down.)

Ken: Isogai! Get the speakers working!

(Brief pause. Davis and the mob wait impatiently. Finally, Ken’s voice is heard.)

Ken: (VO) Test, test. One, two. Is this coming through? Good.

(Ken raises his voice.)

Ken: (VO, booming) Don’t listen to him! He is trying to stop this rally by telling us that society is not flawed! Stand your ground against this foul parasite!!

(Shouts from the mob are mostly in agreement.)

Davis: But… but…

TK: (OS) Uh, Davis, you might want to get back in here. I think we’re being painted as the bad guys.

(Davis does so. Meanwhile, Isogai also gets on the sound system.)

Isogai: They are trying to interrupt Ken’s teachings! We must not let their violent methods interfere with our peaceful rally. You know what you must do!

Mob: Flip the bus!!

(Inside the bus, the good guys start to panic.)

TK: How is that peaceful?

(Yolei stretches in the back.)

Yolei: C’mon TK, it’s the über-bus. They can’t flip this thing.

(The bus begins to rock, sending Yolei flying out of her seat.)

Yolei: Or maybe they can…

(The riotous mob begins to push against the bus from either side, shaking it back and forth.)

 

(Meanwhile, up at the tower, Ken sets down the microphone and walks up to the robot.)
Ken: Well, that should keep those guys occupied while I play with my new toy. Speaking of which… how are my little batteries doing?

(Devimon and Machinedramon are seemingly lifeless inside the robot.)

Ken: Excellent. Now… since we have such good reception up on the tower, let’s see what kind of signals we can send.

(Ken starts to fiddle around with the robot’s external controls. A giant black beam is send out through the robot, to the tower, and up skywards. Ken smiles.)

Ken: Heh… easier than programming a VCR.

 

(At Headquarters, Mimi is monitoring the signal.)
Mimi: Joe… the Invaders’ signal is increasing. It’s spreading around the country!

Joe: What?

(On the radar, a giant black circle is engulfing the country.)

Joe: Oh no… you know what that means?

Mimi: That I should never have left New York?

Joe: Well… actually probably. It means that any Invader in the range of that signal is going to be awaken. No more localized attacks… they’re playing hardball now.

 

(In random places around the country, people suddenly put on sunglasses and start attacking anything in sight. They all join together and start raising serious hell.)

 

(Meanwhile, the bus is dangerously close to being tipped over.)
TK: Well, it’s now or never. Sora?

Sora: Right!

(A back of one of the seats in the bus flips around to reveal a portable keyboard.)

Sora: GATE OPEN!!

(Sora plays her enchanting melody, amplified through the speakers in the car. It begins to calm the mob a little. Unfortunately, Ken was well prepared for the possibility.)

Ken: You think that scares me? Isogai- pump up the jam!

(Isogai smiles. She already has a record on the turntable.)

Isogai: In the words of Dark Schneider- Megadeth!!

(Once again, the really big amps on the tower make the heavy metal music drown out Sora’s piano.)

TK: Bastard! No fair using the same trick twice!

Davis: We’ll just have to turn it up then!

Izzy: Wait! No!

(Davis turns the volume up… way up.)

Davis: Level 11, here we go!

(The speakers on the bus go boom, boom, boom. They’re blown out completely and the heavy metal is now all anybody outside can hear. The bus starts to rock some more.)

Izzy: Dammit Davis, the speakers don’t go up to eleven!!

Cody: Great. If the mob didn’t feel like rioting before, they’re sure in the mood now.

(Sora sits back as the keyboard returns to the seat.)

Sora: Well, what now?

TK: I think we’re going to have to get physical here.

Cody: But we can’t hurt innocent people!

TK: You’re right… but we can pretend that we can!! Cody- follow my lead.

(TK jumps up on the roof. Cody follows.)

TK: Whoa… some ride.

(TK pulls out his kendo stick.)

TK: Vacuum Missile!!

(He fires over the heads of the people. They begin to back off.)

TK: Cody! Aim over their heads!

Cody: Got it! Fire Armadillo!!

(Cody fires as well. They continue to do so as people give them some space.)

Cody: Please don’t make us hurt you!

TK: Yeah! Stay away and nobody gets hurt!

(They give the bus about a ten foot radius.)

TK: Good- now Yolei!

Yolei: (OS) GATE OPEN!!!

(Yolei picks up the bus and starts running with it. Now people really start to get out of the way!)

 

(Back at base, Joe and Mimi summon the faceless foot soldiers. They’re gathered and awaiting orders.)
Joe: Mimi, keep monitoring their signal. Men- we’ve got more Invaders than we do Gatekeepers. That’s bad. Now, you’re going to have to do the impossible- keep the bad guys distracted long enough for the main characters to come in and clean house.

Mimi: Joe… the signal’s increasing.

(Joe goes over to the radar.)

Joe: This is bad… at this rate, every person in Japan who has the slightest trace of Invader infiltration will turn into one.

Mimi: Every person?

Joe: Yeah.

Mimi: Then what about…

(Mimi and Joe turn around. All of the soldiers put on sunglasses and turn into Invaders. They set their sights on Mimi and Joe. The two look at each other.)

Joe/Mimi: Not… good.

 

(After the spots of “gentle persuasion,” Yolei is making good ground towards Tokyo Tower.)
Izzy: (OS) We’re close enough!

Yolei: All right! Hang on!

(Yolei throws the bus straight up and gets out of the way as it lands. As it does, the Gate Robot springs up towards the tower. With TK inside, it lands on the same platform that Ken and the robot are operating from. Ken looks at the robot and smiles.)

Ken: Hey- what’s up?

TK: (VO) Ken- you’re in danger! Get out of here!

(Ken starts to laugh.)

TK: (VO) This isn’t funny! There’s a big robot there that looks really nasty!

Ken: You honestly haven’t figured it out yet?

(For a second, TK pops out of the robot.)

TK: Figured what out?

Ken: Oh, come on TK!! Giant robot here beaming Invader signals all over the place… at a rally I’m hosting… with me on the top playing around with the giant robot??

TK: Wait… how do you know about the Invaders?

Ken: Not exactly a deductive one, are you? Maybe you need a demonstration… gate open.

(Ken swirls some dark energy in his hands, and sends it at the robot. TK finally gets it.)

TK: No… it can’t be… are you Shadow?

Ken: Hoorah and kudos my compatriot. For asking the million dollar question… your prize is to have your ass kicked.

(Ken gets in the robot.)

TK: No! Ken!! You’re being controlled!

Ken: (VO) Not anymore I’m not! I already handled that with my supervisors… or should I say my servants now?

(The dark robot starts to move.)

Ken: (VO) I’d get inside that thing if I were you.

(TK slowly does.)

TK: (VO) Why? I don’t want to fight you, Ken.

Ken: (VO) Well, that’ll make things pretty easy for me then. SHADOW EDGE!!

(The bad robot shoots some dark energy, harming the good robot.)

TK: (VO) This has to be a mistake!!

(The black robot physically reaches out and punches TK and the white robot.)

Ken: (VO) Nope! Now, do you want to have a battle or am I just going to destroy you with no resistance? Either way… it’s the same result.

(Ken continues to pound the tar out of the Gate Robot. After a thorough beating, Ken’s robot is standing above TK’s robot, which is lying on the ground.)

TK: (VO) Ken… you can’t do this… look in your heart… I know there’s a good side of you. You have to let it out…

Ken: (VO) You have no idea what I’ve went through, have you?

(Shot of Ken inside the dark robot, reflecting on his past.)

Ken: When I was a kid… I was always able to see things that weren’t there. Like I had some sort of ability to predict the…

Tai: (OS) Cut!!

(Ken looks at Tai.)

Ken: What’s wrong?

Tai: Nothing. We’re just running out of time. We’ll have to skip the pointless flashback that fleshes out your character and gives reason to why you became Shadow.

Ken: But… that’s not pointless. It has to have more point than me beating the crap out of TK for five minutes.

TK: (OS) You know, Tai, he’s got a point.

Tai: No! My show, my rules! Now get back to beating up TK!!

TK: (OS) Aw, man…

Tai: (OS) And action!!

(Ken resumes the pounding on TK’s robot.)

Ken: (OS) Do you still believe that I have a good side??

(TK is starting to feel the hurt at the controls.)

TK: Yes… I do…

(Ken stops and the robot pulls back and walks away. Ken faces the Gate Robot, allowing it to stand up.)

Ken: (VO) Really? Then maybe you should take a look at this.

(From out of nowhere, Kari and Rika appear in midair. Kari is catatonic.)

TK: (VO) KARI!!

Rika: (arrogant) I wouldn’t be too concerned about her. She’s definitely in no mood to be worried about you, Takaishi.

TK: (VO) Rika! I, uh… was worried about you too.

Rika: Yeah, right. Point is- it doesn’t matter. Her dark side has been awoken. She won’t be helping the good guys any time soon. In fact, she may be able to help Ken’s cause. After all… what’s the opposite of the Gate of Light?

(TK is growing increasingly angry.)

Ken: (VO) That’s right… get mad… let the anger flow… I know you won’t be joining the dark side anytime soon like Rika did, but at least it’ll be more satisfactory destroying you.

(TK attacks Ken at full-force. Unfortunately, Ken is able to repel him easily, and continues to lay a beating on him. Rika takes the opportunity to get herself and Kari out of there. TK is now starting to bleed inside the robot.)

TK: No… I don’t want to lose…

Ken: (VO) You don’t have much of a choice in the matter…

(All of a sudden it starts to snow. The dark robot is immediately repelled by it, and takes a few steps backward.)

Ken: (VO) What the?? What’s this?

(The snow acts as a shield, preventing any of Ken’s attacks to do any further damage. TK looks upwards, where Ryo is bringing forth a snowstorm.)

TK: Ryo! What are you doing here?

(Ryo lands.)

Ryo: Well, let’s see… you’re on top of Tokyo Tower battling against somebody whom you thought was a close friend. You refused to fight, so he proceeded to kick your ass. Unfortunately, the fate of the world rests on your winning. Right?

TK: Yeah? So?

(Ryo pulls a traditional Shinto bell out of nowhere and smiles.)

Ryo: As the most mysterious character in this series… I’m here in order to grant you a second chance…

(The bell disappears.)

Ryo: There will not be another chance again.

(The Gate Robot struggles to its feet. The snow is still acting as a barrier, but the robot is still in bad shape.)

TK: Friend or not, you don’t mess with Kari. You’re going to have to pay the price. Ready for your final judgment, Ken?

(Ken is taking his dark robot and getting out of there.)

Ken: (VO) Sorry, I don’t like how this is turning out. I have other things to attend to anyway. I’ll defeat you later!!

(TK begins to chase after it, but the robot trips on its own feet.)

TK: C’mon… I need you here.

(The robot shuts down completely.)

TK: But… Kari… I need to…

(The injuries have finally overwhelmed TK and he faints due to exhaustion.)

 

Episode Twenty-Three- Exert All Your Courage To Fight!

(A few giant black balls are rolling through the streets of Tokyo. More of the old favorites- such as the giant centipede, are also seen destroying random buildings. Essentially, things aren’t looking so good. The giant balls can be seen rolling through the subway.)
Giant Balls: Order to assemble! Order to assemble! Order to assemble!

(Some flying black demonic looking things are flying around. Pan down to a large mansion, and Ken, standing outside it, with an evil smile on his face, admiring the situation. Isogai is flanking him, in a hot little red number which is too hard to describe for a PG-13 fic.)

Ken: (cocky) I… love… controlling the world…

(Ken looks over at Isogai.)

Ken: Sidekick’s a cute girl… advocating sin…

(Ken smiles and looks forward.)

Ken: And those twins…

Isogai: Here’s to world revolution!

 

(Down in a parking garage, safe from the massive invasion, TK is starting to come to.)
TK: Kari…

(TK opens his eyes and looks straight into the eyes of Yolei.)

Yolei: You okay? Are you hurt anywhere?

(TK stands up. Cody, Sora, Izzy, and Davis are also on the bus.)

TK: I have to rescue Kari!

Yolei: (muttering) I’ll take that as a yes.

Cody: There’s going to be a slight problem with that TK.

(Cody points over to the Gate Robot, still badly damaged, and incapable of functioning.)

TK: No matter. I’ll save her with my own hands if I need to.

Izzy: Sorry, but did you have a look outside? The area is crawling with Invaders. We don’t have a chance without that robot working.

TK: But…

Sora: But nothing TK. We’re in a real fix right now.

TK: Have we contacted Headquarters?

(Yolei looks down.)

Yolei: Headquarters has been taken over by the Invaders. We have no word on where Joe and Mimi are.

Izzy: We haven’t been able to contact them since you launched the robot to attack Shadow. With the massive presence of Invaders around… we can only fear the worst.

(Izzy sighs.)

Izzy: It’s quite unprodigious.

(TK heads towards the door.)

TK: I don’t care what the odds are. Ken is Shadow, Kari’s being held captive by him, and Rika seems to be under his control. We’re going to have to stop him somehow!

(Davis steps in front of the door.)

Davis: I’m sorry, I can’t let you do this TK. I want to save Kari as much as you do, but we won’t do it by rushing out and getting killed.

(TK turns towards Yolei.)

TK: Yolei, I…

Yolei: Stop being stupid, TK. Don’t make me kick your ass.

(TK tries to dodge around Yolei. Yolei picks TK up and throws him against the side of the bus.)

TK: Ow…

Yolei: We know that Ken is Shadow. We kinda all figured it out during that rally. It made us look really stupid, but at least we didn’t need it spelled out for us. And we also know that he’s got Kari and Rika. The question is how you’re going to go about defeating Ken and rescuing Kari at the same time, Captain Takaishi.

TK: Captain… Takaishi?

Izzy: In the absence of Joe, you’re in charge…

Yolei: Yes. Therefore, Captain Takaishi, it’s up to you to figure it out.

Cody: We can’t do anything rash right now.

Sora: Yeah- even Davis knew that.

TK: Wow… the whole world can be affected by the decisions I make. It never really hit me until now that we’re really responsible for the world’s safety. Now… what to do about the Invader situation?

Izzy: Run like hell!!

TK: I thought you all said we shouldn’t be rash.

Izzy: Perhaps, but look!

(They look behind them. Three giant balls are fast approaching. Izzy pulls the bus into gear and floors it. The balls give chase.)

Yolei: We’re running out of places to hide.

Izzy: Anyplace in particular you want to visit, TK?

TK: Well… I always wanted to go to Australia.

Izzy: I mean where should we be driving??

TK: Oh. Well first we need to deal with the bowling enthusiasts. Cody- take the rear. Sora- cover our escape route.

Sora/Cody: Roger!

(Cody steps to the back.)

Cody: Fire Armadillo!!

(Cody delivers a mighty blast that takes out many of the rear giant balls. Meanwhile, Sora gets her portable keyboard from behind the seat.)

Sora: Enchanting Melody!!

(It seems that Izzy has fixed the speakers, as the tone of the piano forces the balls to envision a peaceful field. They slow down, allowing the bus easy access to pass them.)

Davis: Okay, so if we keep this up and keep moving, we don’t have a problem.

Izzy: We still have a problem, Davis. The problem is that we have to stop eventually and fix the robot.

(Izzy turns to TK.)

Izzy: Know any good mechanics that have a garage we can borrow?

(TK sighs.)

TK: Unfortunately… yes I do…

(The bus continues to speed towards the destination.)

 

(Meanwhile, over at the big mansion, Ken and Isogai are inside. Isogai is looking at all the Invaders wreaking havoc outside.)
Isogai: Look at them… they’re destroying everything. They’re foul, unstoppable monsters.

(Isogai turns to Ken.)

Isogai: It’s a good thing they sided with us!

(A reporter enters Ken’s office.)

Reporter: Mr. Ichijouji?

Ken: Who are you?

Reporter: I’m from Fuji TV. You said you wanted to address the public?

Ken: Yes. When can you be prepared??

Reporter: Well, we can have all our equipment ready, and given our timeslot… we’ll be ready tomorrow evening. Fuji TV always gets beat in the Nielsen’s that evening anyway.

Ken: Unacceptable! Make it tomorrow morning!

Reporter: Hm… that’s a Sunday. How about 9:00 in the morning? We’re not showing anything important.

Ken: Excellent. Pleasure working with you.

(The reporter walks out. Ken is alone with Isogai.)

Ken: Hm… soon I’ll be in control of the country, followed by the world… and maybe I can take Mars away from the Jovian Lizards as well. Isogai?

Isogai: Yes?

Ken: Please exit the room while I laugh evilly.

Isogai: Yes sir.

(Isogai leaves the room… Ken laughs evilly.)

 

Tai: And cut!

(Ken jumps out and heads offstage. Meanwhile, TK walks up to Tai.)

TK: Holy moly, Tai… you’re overworking us. We really need stuntmen for those battles. My back is killing me!

Tai: Sorry, but it’s all for the sake of artistic creation.

TK: Uh huh…

(TK, still a little sore, walks past Kari, who’s upbeat and cheerful.)

Kari: Hi TK! Man- that episode was pretty easy, wasn’t it? I didn’t have to say anything- just stand there and look dead. I hope the last one’s going to be like that.

(TK walks past her.)

TK: (muttering) And we’re saving you… why?

End Episode Seventeen

 

Author’s Notes
The conclusion is almost here! Yay! I can go back to working on my good stuff now! Okay, okay, one more episode. I can do this…

Massive anime references in this one, but they pretty much weren’t avoidable. Here’s a listing-
Evangelion- Machinedramon’s talk of Instrumentality similar to that of the conversations between Gendo and SEELE, the secret organization behind the secret organization NERV.
Bastard!- A new one this time, because I just recently saw it. A lot of the names of spells and locations in the anime are named after heavy metal bands, and one of Dark Schneider’s (who despite the name, is actually a “good” guy) is “Mega-Death”. Incidentally, this also accounts for TK’s interjection afterwards.
Cardcaptor Sakura- I absolutely had to do this one. The battle between Ken and TK, as well as Ryo’s intervention, is similar to the Final Judgment, which includes everything Ryo described. Ryo also acted as Kaho Mitsuki and delivered TK a second chance using the bell.
Nadesico- Ken’s talk about taking Mars back from the Jovian Lizards stems from Nadesico, where the whole plot is about taking Mars back from the Jovian Lizards… even though they aren’t really lizards. They’re human. Worse yet- they’re anime otaku.

Really, there was a deep back story behind Reiji and how he turned over to the dark side, but since I do have to squeeze three episodes into these last two, it ended up on the cutting room floor.

Digimon airs on Fuji TV at 9:00 in the morning on Sundays in Japan.

Next Episode- For Tomorrow’s Ratings!
The big series finale is upon us, and there’s still half of episode 23 to cover. So with that in mind, TK and company set out on fixing the Gate Robot, while TK learns the truth about his father. Meanwhile, Rika attempts to open Kari’s Gate of Darkness, Ken’s power increases, and the UN sits on their asses and does nothing as usual. All that- next time! Oh… and maybe a massive climactic battle if we have time.