Of all the villains in season one, Devimon's defeat never really felt like a complete victory for the Digidestined.
shareYes. It was epic if you ask me :)
"Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron."-C.S. Lewis on LotR
Idunno. I felt like it was pretty fulfilling. Definitely more so than Etemon...
The battle with Devimon felt like the culmination of the kids embracing that they were trapped in the Digital World and needed to stand strong if they were going to survive.
We see each of the Digidestined help their Digimon achieve the Champion level, representing how the kids themselves were forced to grow out of survival. (Rookie is "Child" and "Champion" is Adult in the original anime). Only T.K., who was considered the baby of the group, had yet to do this as he was constantly protected by the others.
But, when facing Devimon (who represents ultimate darkness and despair), the kids learn that they are still not enough. And just as they were about to defeated, a new Hope came. T.K. instantly grew up and proved to be the strongest of them all. Still young and innocent but now willing to stand up and show his "Brave Heart," which is a theme throughout the series.
This same symbolism is shown again in the battle against Myotismon, but in a different Light. While Kari was as innocent as T.K. once was, her partner Gatomon was corrupted and jaded by all the harshness of life. While the other Digimon got to grow to adulthood (Champion level) safety, she was forced to do it out of the same necessity the kids were faced with back on File Island, the threat of darkness and despair.
Gatomon would have become a dark Digimon if not for her yearning for "someone she had forgotten" and love for Wizardmon. In the Digidestined final battle with Myotismon, Gatomon loses Wizardmon representing how sometimes bad things happen but we still have to be brave (a lesson most children learn but Gatomon never got the chance). Like T.K. and Patamon finally growing up, Kari does so as well while Gatomon accepts her dark past and looks to the Light.
Well, Devimon laughing maniacally and mocking the Digidestined as he dissipated made me feel like he wasn't fully defeated. He spited them about Angemon using up all his power to defeat him which scar T.K. up to the second season. Even though the latter villains were more powerful, their defeats were more brusque compared to Devimon's. Devimon having the last laugh made it seem like he was the only villain that didn't give the Digidestined any satisfaction.
shareHmm...I can definitely see that. I guess you could see his final laugh as a sort of "Sure, you defeated me. But I certainly won't be the last. Evil will keep coming at you for the rest of your lives."
That kinda fits with the theme of growing up and why T.K. was so scarred from that experience. As a little kid, you think when you get through a horrible experience, it will be the last time and you'll get to live happily ever after. But, in reality, bad things will continue to happen and you'll continue to have to Hope and be brave.
So, yeah, when you think about, Devimon's defeat did feel bittersweet....and I kind of like that. :p It sets the tone for all the other battles the Digidestined would have to face (except Etemon...that one just made no sense to me...)
It was pretty cool first time seeing it. Patamon finally digivolving. So epic.
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