WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 60 of Digimon Adventure 2020, "Vikemon Ventures the Glaciers," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Chosen Ones of Digimon Adventure 2020 are all finally standing on equal evolutionary footing. In Episode 60 of the reboot series, "Vikemon Ventures the Glaciers," Joe and Gomamon officially join the Mega evolution club alongside the rest of the gang -- leaving just Tai and Agumon and their perpetually-spinning Digivice left to solve the riddle of their Crest.
Though Tai is essentially the poster boy for Adventure and much of the Digimon franchise as a whole, both as himself and the design template from which most spikey-haired Digimon protagonists are lifted, it would stand to reason that he would also be the group's de facto boss. But, as a previous installment of Adventure 2020 clarified, that's not the case. Instead, meek and anxiety-ridden Joe is officially the DigiDestined's "leader," mostly because of his slightly older age (hence the senpai suffix). Though Joe may seem like an odd choice -- virtually any other member of the group would be a clearer pick before him -- the latest episode of the anime really (Thor's) hammers home just how much Joe has grown since the series began. In fact, Joe might be deserving of the 'Most Improved' medal.
When we first met Joe on the Digital World's beaches, he was almost pathologically glued to his school books, in total denial about his isekai circumstances. The ever-supportive Gomamon, his newly-assigned Digimon BFF, gently tried and failed repeatedly to get the nervous kid some perspective on his situation. After all, exams don't really matter anymore when you're trapped in another dimension. Joe's reaction, though as caricature as a Woody Allen rom-com lead, was perhaps the most human of all the kid's, gripping onto the last vestiges of what he knew to maintain some semblance of sanity amid fantastical absurdity.
Though Joe and Gomamon did physically unlatch themselves from the comfort of the beach eventually, the pair were somewhat sidelined as comedic write-offs for a while in the series' first half; quite literally sitting on them, in fact, in a hot spring for several episodes surrounded by a docile but peculiar herd of bathing Nanimon.
Steadily, however, Joe began to embrace his foreign surroundings more and more, as well as his place among the other stranded kids, culminating in a spectacular -- and totally unique -- show of real power in the diner episode. Together with a little help from Angewomon, Joe actually wielded Zudomon's hammer himself to win a Digimon battle, doing so perhaps because his intent was to calm a rampaging ally rather than destroy your average villain-of-the-week. It was after this moment that the rest of the group officially bestowed the responsibility of leadership on him. Even then, however, he seemed unsure if the title quite fit him.
When Adventure 2020 more recently passed Joe and Gomamon over for a Mega evolution episode during the creepy marriage proposal incident at the hot springs, it appeared his growth was being stunted again at the expense of others'. But, once again, with Episode 60, the series doubles down on its intent to actually save the best 'til last for Joe.
Continuing directly on from the hot springs shenanigans, Joe and Gomamon lead their new friends away from the now dried-up bathing spots to greener pastures. On their way, their hitch a lift with Mimi and Palmon in an airship themed-Digimon, only to come under siege from pirates from the sea -- also displaced from their once fertile home.
Though initially paralyzed by indecision as usual, once Joe discovers the tragic truth behind this new enemies' aggression -- and with a friend's life on the line -- he truly embodies the Crest of Responsibility, challenging the pirate captain, or "shogun," as it prefers, Olegmon (whom Digimon Fusion/Xros Wars will recognize) to a duel to determine who will bow to who. In doing so, Joe stakes much more than a simple 'win or lose' edict on the battle: He puts his reputation and pride as a leader on the line. This provides the ideal conditions for Zudomon to evolve into Vikemon for the first time to beat Olegmon, and it also defines and ties off Joe's arc -- from zero to hero -- as the series' most dramatic.
While other members of the Adventure 2020 gang have undergone varying levels of growth -- Yamato's lone wolf to trusting team player being the second most well-defined personal journey -- few have really changed in the way that Joe has. And that's perfectly fine in some cases. Lead protagonists like Tai, in the shonen tradition, don't tend to undergo radical arcs of change; rather, they just become more themselves as time goes on. As per their Crests, Tai started off courageous and became more courageous, Koshiro started off intelligent and became more intelligent, and so on. Joe, on the other hand, had to thoroughly earn his role as the 'responsible' one and find the self-belief to carry it, as such a quality usually demands. Now, Joe isn't just a senpai, he's a certified shogun. And he wears the title as well as that off-arm, flappy coat.
