(no subject)
Ai and Makoto: Because Apparently Toddlers Need to be Defended.
Who are they?
They are Impmon's Tamers, though we don't find it out for a hefty chunk of the show. Their age varies at the start depending on the dub you're watching, but generally canon agrees they were somewhere between 2 and 4 when they got Impmon. Fraternal twins, they are the youngest Tamers in the show and possibly the most overlooked. The only time anyone notices them is to bash them into the ground. Even though they're only 5 or 6 when the series ends. That's right: six year old children are being bashed for being immature when when they were four.
Brace yourselves. This is going to be a doozy.
The Break Up
Being roughly about three and a half when they got Impmon, Ai and Makoto were in what I refer to as the 'mine!' phase. Every child goes through it. Essentially, the logic is 'this is mine, and that's mine, and that's mine too!'. Being twins sharing the same room, their mine phase was a bit intense, as it usually is with young kids sharing the same room. They fought over teddy bears, toys, and Impmon. After a particularly bad fight, Impmon decided he'd had enough and left his toddler Tamers.
This is where most of the objections towards the two are based.
If they hadn't fought, Impmon would've been a good guy from the start! They made him a villain!
Well, I suppose there's a grain of truth there, but do you think they had ANY idea any of that could or would happen? They had no scope of what the Digital World was. None. The other Tamers knew what Digimon were, what the Digital World was, and got digivices. Ai and Makoto only knew they had a friend who looked weird and they wanted him to be theirs. That's it. Don't blame them for his villainy tendencies. They couldn't have known what was going to happen.
And excuse me, but since when does Impmon not have free will? He chose to do what he did without their influence. While they may have sparked a distrust in humans, it was Impmon alone who chose to cause trouble, chaos and play pranks on people. You can't blame someone's choices in the present on what happened in the past.
They're so STUPID when they get him back! "Ooh, grape juice and sandwiches, now all is forgiven?!"
Remember the age of the children we're talking about, here? Five years old. At five, you don't make eloquent stereotypical anime speeches filled with emotion and angst. Once they told him they'd learned to share and were truly sorry for what they did - with way more seriousness than most kids can muster - and he forgives them, their immeadiate reaction was to do anything they could to keep him there. At five, that means juice. And food. And more food. And more juice. And TV. Look, they're FIVE. Think about how most 5 year old kids would treat a best friend coming home. That's how they're treating Impmon in that scene. It may not be the most emotional, dramatic homecoming ever, but it's realistic for their age.
They don't feel sorry for what they did!
Bullshit.
Think of the young children you know. How many of them ever do an about face in personality? How many stop being spoiled brats and becoming sharing, kind young children? Very few kids can maintain that kind of behavior. It's just not in their nature. But when Impmon left, Ai and Makoto changed. They began to share toys. They stopped fighting. They're friends with each other now instead of enemies. Why? Because they feel awful. They made Impmon leave with their fighting, and they know it. So they grew up, changing from squabbling, bratty toddlers to sharing, loving children.
And they feel so terrible for what they did that their personality change has lasted years. It happened forever ago from a child's perspective, but they still apologize. They tell him they've changed. They give him any food he wants. They want him to stay because they want a scond chance because they feel bad about the whole thing.
Why did Makoto give Impmon a toy gun? What a moron!
Yeah, hi. Circa kindergarten, what would YOU give your superhero-ish digital monster best friend? Yes, a toy gun isn't the greatest choice, but at five it's easy to believe it'll come in handy against the bad guys. At five, the lines between reality and pretend are kind of fuzzy, especially given the whole monsters running around fighting each other thing. Makoto wasn't being a moron. He was being five. Which he IS.
Ewwww, Ai kissed Impmon on the cheek eww bestality eww!
Hate to break it to you, but five year olds don't think of kisses like that. I know a lot of twelve year old bashers are in that 'all kisses are magical and reveal your innermost feelings' stage, but in reality that's just a post-pubescent idea. In kindergarten, kisses are something mommies and daddies give each other at different times - like when one of them is leaving, which is where Ai almost certainly picked up the idea from. There was nothing romantic about it. She was a little girl. Her best friend was leaving to go be a super hero. Her mommy kissed her daddy when he left for work, so she reached over and kissed Impmon on the cheek before he left.
Yes, she said "We love you" to him. But as a five year old, you don't think of love as romantic love. Especially with a best friend. It wasn't romantic love, it was that blissfully innocent, whole hearted childish love only small children understand. Given that the last time he left, Impmon didn't come back for a LONG time, it's only natural for Ai to say something like that in case he leaves for a long time again. She wants him to know he's loved.
And ultimately, this is why I love Ai and Makoto.
They are loving, kind, sharing children whose best friend left them, and was welcomed back with open arms. If they were older, it could've been an awkward reunion, but they weren't. They're five years old. That's what makes them so wonderful. Realistically written, lovable, and happy five year olds are rare in fiction today. Yeah, they've done things that would be stupid or immature if they were older. But fandom needs to remember their age before bashing the shit out of them. I'm willing to bet you people were not beacons of maturity either at that age.
Especially at three years old, I doubt you were much better than three year old!Ai and Makoto.
I can't believe I have to defend toddlers.
This is just low.
Who are they?
They are Impmon's Tamers, though we don't find it out for a hefty chunk of the show. Their age varies at the start depending on the dub you're watching, but generally canon agrees they were somewhere between 2 and 4 when they got Impmon. Fraternal twins, they are the youngest Tamers in the show and possibly the most overlooked. The only time anyone notices them is to bash them into the ground. Even though they're only 5 or 6 when the series ends. That's right: six year old children are being bashed for being immature when when they were four.
Brace yourselves. This is going to be a doozy.
The Break Up
Being roughly about three and a half when they got Impmon, Ai and Makoto were in what I refer to as the 'mine!' phase. Every child goes through it. Essentially, the logic is 'this is mine, and that's mine, and that's mine too!'. Being twins sharing the same room, their mine phase was a bit intense, as it usually is with young kids sharing the same room. They fought over teddy bears, toys, and Impmon. After a particularly bad fight, Impmon decided he'd had enough and left his toddler Tamers.
This is where most of the objections towards the two are based.
If they hadn't fought, Impmon would've been a good guy from the start! They made him a villain!
Well, I suppose there's a grain of truth there, but do you think they had ANY idea any of that could or would happen? They had no scope of what the Digital World was. None. The other Tamers knew what Digimon were, what the Digital World was, and got digivices. Ai and Makoto only knew they had a friend who looked weird and they wanted him to be theirs. That's it. Don't blame them for his villainy tendencies. They couldn't have known what was going to happen.
And excuse me, but since when does Impmon not have free will? He chose to do what he did without their influence. While they may have sparked a distrust in humans, it was Impmon alone who chose to cause trouble, chaos and play pranks on people. You can't blame someone's choices in the present on what happened in the past.
They're so STUPID when they get him back! "Ooh, grape juice and sandwiches, now all is forgiven?!"
Remember the age of the children we're talking about, here? Five years old. At five, you don't make eloquent stereotypical anime speeches filled with emotion and angst. Once they told him they'd learned to share and were truly sorry for what they did - with way more seriousness than most kids can muster - and he forgives them, their immeadiate reaction was to do anything they could to keep him there. At five, that means juice. And food. And more food. And more juice. And TV. Look, they're FIVE. Think about how most 5 year old kids would treat a best friend coming home. That's how they're treating Impmon in that scene. It may not be the most emotional, dramatic homecoming ever, but it's realistic for their age.
They don't feel sorry for what they did!
Bullshit.
Think of the young children you know. How many of them ever do an about face in personality? How many stop being spoiled brats and becoming sharing, kind young children? Very few kids can maintain that kind of behavior. It's just not in their nature. But when Impmon left, Ai and Makoto changed. They began to share toys. They stopped fighting. They're friends with each other now instead of enemies. Why? Because they feel awful. They made Impmon leave with their fighting, and they know it. So they grew up, changing from squabbling, bratty toddlers to sharing, loving children.
And they feel so terrible for what they did that their personality change has lasted years. It happened forever ago from a child's perspective, but they still apologize. They tell him they've changed. They give him any food he wants. They want him to stay because they want a scond chance because they feel bad about the whole thing.
Why did Makoto give Impmon a toy gun? What a moron!
Yeah, hi. Circa kindergarten, what would YOU give your superhero-ish digital monster best friend? Yes, a toy gun isn't the greatest choice, but at five it's easy to believe it'll come in handy against the bad guys. At five, the lines between reality and pretend are kind of fuzzy, especially given the whole monsters running around fighting each other thing. Makoto wasn't being a moron. He was being five. Which he IS.
Ewwww, Ai kissed Impmon on the cheek eww bestality eww!
Hate to break it to you, but five year olds don't think of kisses like that. I know a lot of twelve year old bashers are in that 'all kisses are magical and reveal your innermost feelings' stage, but in reality that's just a post-pubescent idea. In kindergarten, kisses are something mommies and daddies give each other at different times - like when one of them is leaving, which is where Ai almost certainly picked up the idea from. There was nothing romantic about it. She was a little girl. Her best friend was leaving to go be a super hero. Her mommy kissed her daddy when he left for work, so she reached over and kissed Impmon on the cheek before he left.
Yes, she said "We love you" to him. But as a five year old, you don't think of love as romantic love. Especially with a best friend. It wasn't romantic love, it was that blissfully innocent, whole hearted childish love only small children understand. Given that the last time he left, Impmon didn't come back for a LONG time, it's only natural for Ai to say something like that in case he leaves for a long time again. She wants him to know he's loved.
And ultimately, this is why I love Ai and Makoto.
They are loving, kind, sharing children whose best friend left them, and was welcomed back with open arms. If they were older, it could've been an awkward reunion, but they weren't. They're five years old. That's what makes them so wonderful. Realistically written, lovable, and happy five year olds are rare in fiction today. Yeah, they've done things that would be stupid or immature if they were older. But fandom needs to remember their age before bashing the shit out of them. I'm willing to bet you people were not beacons of maturity either at that age.
Especially at three years old, I doubt you were much better than three year old!Ai and Makoto.
I can't believe I have to defend toddlers.
This is just low.