REVIEW: ‘Digimon Beatbreak’ Episode 3 – “Facing Mirrors”

Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3, “Facing Mirrors,” sees Tomoro (Miyu Irino, Unicorn Overlord) confront one of the Hyemon who attacked Hitomi, in the hopes of recovering her e-pulse and curing her. Along the way, he learns more about the world of Digimon he’s stumbled into, as well as himself. 

As the episode opens, we learn that there is some serious friction developing between Tomoro and his new hosts. Gekkomon (Megumi Han, Oshi No Ko) is eating all the Glowing Dawn’s food, and Tomoro has little interest in helping alleviate the situation. He is eventually forced to help out by Reina (Tomoyo Kurosawa, Clevatess), whose powers of persuasion prove too much for him. 

As the duo tries to catch them some breakfast, we see Tomoro actively ignore Gekkomon’s attempts to help him. When questioned about it, the protagonist explains that, due to his incompatibility with sapotamas, he doesn’t trust them, or AIs. And, since Gekkomon comes from his sapotama, that distrust organically extends to him as well. 

Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 dives into the awkward situation between Tomoro and Gekkomon.

While Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 frames the moment in a fairly unflattering light for Tomoro, it doesn’t feel as straightforward as the episode presents it. If you get betrayed by something over and over again, you will instinctively come to distrust it. Expecting someone to turn that off like a light switch is unrealistic. 

Not helping the fact any is the nature of Gekkomon. While he may be intrinsically linked to Tomoro, he was never asked for. Expecting trust to be built through necessity is equally unreasonable. Plus, Gekkomon doesn’t really seem like the reliable type. Well-intentioned, sure, but he looks like the kind of character that will fumble due to overeagerness more often than not. 

Tomoro’s struggle to accept Gekkomon comes to rest at the heart of Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3. His distrust comes to extend outwards, even to the other Glowing Dawn members. As they pursue the Hyemon that attacked Hitomi, Tomoro is forced to come to terms with some of his issues and learns a bit about himself along the way.

We learn just a little bit more about Glowing Dawn, but it’s no deep dive.

For a series clearly aimed at a younger audience, Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 manages to deliver its lessons well, showing Tomoro grow, while not getting him all the way there, so there is still room for further exploration in future episodes. 

Beyond the personal exploration, Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 also dives deeper into the world of Digimon and Cleaners. We meet who the Glowing Dawn goes to when they need work, as well as what the strange digital landscape that first appeared in the pilot episode is. 

Turns out, it is the Mirror World. This digital space is a world on the net that Digimon can travel to via rifts from our world. Beyond providing an alternate setting for fights, there doesn’t seem to be any real purpose to the area at the moment. It just looks kind of cool. 

Hyemon undergoes a Digivolution, offering new avenues to explore in the battle scene.

The battle that takes place within the Mirror World is also the best one so far. Hyemon’s Digivolution into Fangmon gives the villain some new tricks that turn the encounter into more than just a couple of digital monsters trading named attacks. This is especially good, since the episode allows Tomoro and the others to outfox the Digimon, showing that viewers can expect clever tricks from the Glowing Dawn members when required. 

Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 is a solid entry for the series. It lays out more groundwork for its world, while also allowing its central figures to grow in a meaningful way. If the series can keep building up momentum, it could yet become a quality show. 

Digimon Beatbreak Episode 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.

Previous Episode | Next Episode