So we reach the famous brawl between Gallantmon and Beelzemon, which spans about two thirds of the running length. There are several things that really stand out about it. Aside from the uncommon duration, it's very personal, with both combatants knowing exactly why they are fighting. It's also quite kinetic and well-animated, especially concerning Gallantmon's attacks. It's surely one of the best fights of the season, but not my favorite.
There are two things that prevent it from reaching its potential. First, there's the obvious power gap between the combatants. Beelzemon's attacks look so puny compared to Gallantmon's that it makes the fight seem one-sided at points; even with another power boost his bullets didn't even faze the exalted knight. Some of the best moments are when Beelzemon has to rely on agility and brute force, which makes me wish there was more focus on skill rather than crude tackling and projectiles. Second, the too frequent punctuations by the bystanders are distracting, especially Henry's protective older sibling stuff, which frankly is just a sad attempt to capitalize on one of Matt's primary characteristics in season 1. Compare "A World Apart" where the main fight was intercut with matters that were equally, if not more, interesting. Chatsuramon suffers the most perfunctory, embarrassing defeat of any of the Devas, further affirming that at this point the writers no longer cared about this group. Even in his final moments he let out a characteristic affirmation of unwavering loyalty, reminding us that much more could have been done with this guy. Nonetheless, this whole battle still gets credit for obvious ambition.
Jeri's reaction towards the end is very notable, and easily her strongest moment in the whole series. To deliberately spare the life of someone like that while obviously enduring grief took great personal strength. From this, the writers seemed to be on track in providing further insights on the grieving process and allowing Jeri to properly grow from this experience, but sadly that was not to be. Beelzemon's comprehensive flashback towards the end is long-winded (no doubt to save on the animation budget) and would have been far more appropriate later, during his wanderings. Overall, this is a satisfying and energetic conclusion to a solid 3-part story.
There are two things that prevent it from reaching its potential. First, there's the obvious power gap between the combatants. Beelzemon's attacks look so puny compared to Gallantmon's that it makes the fight seem one-sided at points; even with another power boost his bullets didn't even faze the exalted knight. Some of the best moments are when Beelzemon has to rely on agility and brute force, which makes me wish there was more focus on skill rather than crude tackling and projectiles. Second, the too frequent punctuations by the bystanders are distracting, especially Henry's protective older sibling stuff, which frankly is just a sad attempt to capitalize on one of Matt's primary characteristics in season 1. Compare "A World Apart" where the main fight was intercut with matters that were equally, if not more, interesting. Chatsuramon suffers the most perfunctory, embarrassing defeat of any of the Devas, further affirming that at this point the writers no longer cared about this group. Even in his final moments he let out a characteristic affirmation of unwavering loyalty, reminding us that much more could have been done with this guy. Nonetheless, this whole battle still gets credit for obvious ambition.
Jeri's reaction towards the end is very notable, and easily her strongest moment in the whole series. To deliberately spare the life of someone like that while obviously enduring grief took great personal strength. From this, the writers seemed to be on track in providing further insights on the grieving process and allowing Jeri to properly grow from this experience, but sadly that was not to be. Beelzemon's comprehensive flashback towards the end is long-winded (no doubt to save on the animation budget) and would have been far more appropriate later, during his wanderings. Overall, this is a satisfying and energetic conclusion to a solid 3-part story.
