WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Season 1, Episode 12 of Digimon Adventure 2020, "Lilimon Blooms," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Episode 12 of the Digimon reboot is far and away the series' best so far. Filled with tremendous action, a formidable new enemy and plenty of touching moments centered around Mimi, "Lilimon Blooms" is thoroughly satisfying in every way... Well, almost. As much as we hate to nitpick such a solid return to form for the franchise, there's just no getting around the fact that Lilimon, the Ultimate form of Mimi's Digimon, just can't measure up to the technically inferior Togemon. Between the dancing fairy and the punching cactus, there's just no beating the absurd delight that is Togemon.
Togemon's evolution comes, as every Digimon upgrade does, during considerably raised stakes. As Tai, Izzy and Mimi continue to explore the ruins of an ancient temple, they find themselves in the middle of a struggle between two rusting automatons: one, Andromon, comes from the murderous Terminator school of A.I., and the other, Guardromon, is more of a child-friendly Iron Giant type. When the former tries to "terminate" a frightened Mimi, the latter, its former comrade in arms, comes to her rescue after the two establish an emotional connection. Togemon is quickly overwhelmed by Andromon, whose metallic exterior is difficult to penetrate with cactus spikes alone. Greymon and Kabuterimon also fail to put a dent in the cyborg.
It isn't long before Greymon is forced to Digivolve into MetalGreymon, which is usually enough to make mincemeat of other foes at the Ultimate level, as Andromon is. Unfortunately, this time, the rogue 'bot is just too stubborn to be put down for good. As a severely injured Guardromon crawls back onto the battlefield for one last-ditch attempt to stop the robot's rampage, Andromon cruelly puts it out of its misery. A devastated Mimi is enough to spur Togemon to reach her Ultimate form, Lilimon, for the first time. Lilimon, a radical departure in design and fighting style from Togemon, eases Andromon's cybernetic rage with petal-powered love. In the end, all that's left of the cyborg is its still form, coated in greenery.
Though it's a far more interesting -- and beautiful -- end to a fight than what we've seen before, Lilimon just doesn't have as unique a personality as the clownish Togemon. (The way Togemon's entire body shivers when it connects a punch with Andromon? It's Looney Tunes perfection.) The Ultimate-level Digimon functions well as a magical girl stand-in, and there are more than a few similarities to the fan-favorite Pokémon, Gardevoir, a fellow Green Knight. Lilimon kills with kindness, which perfectly matches Mimi's tear-shaped Crest of Sincerity. But honestly, design-wise, it's a subpar substitute for a ghost-faced, giant cactus yelling "PRICKLY BANG-BANG" and punching enemies in the face with comically-sized boxing gloves. So, thanks but no thanks, Digimon Adventure; give us Togemon or give us nothing.