Great (?) Basis For a Friendship

It's been a while since I last looked at Digimon Xros Wars, mainly because most of what I've watched of it was random late episodes posted on YouTube. Having since discovered that the series is available legally on Crunchyroll, I've been rewatching it from the beginning.

One of my favorite scenes thus far requires a little explanation: The cast has been repeatedly encountering an extremely tough drifter, Dorulumon (who happens to be a giant wolf with drills sticking out of his forehead and the end of his tail*, because Digimon is awesome), who has helped them each time but refused to join their fledgeling army**.

Part of the reason he's reluctant to join SPOILER WARNING is because he was formerly a high-ranking officer in the very army they're fighting, and left it when he betrayed a battle plan that involved bombing out their own troops to wipe out an enemy unit. Despite his betraying the battle plan, he only managed to rescue one of the troops, who in the very same episode that reveals this backstory is killed when he protects Dorulumon. Anyway, obviously Dorulumon has trust issues because he won't follow a certain kind of order, and doesn't want to join a force if he might receive such an order.

So he's being helped against a powerful enemy that he's no match for by Taiki, major protagonist and general of the army that's been trying to recruit him, when the following exchange happens (with subtitles typed out by me under each image):

(Dorulumon: I don't need your help.)

(Taiki: Even if it puts our lives on the line,...)

(Taiki: ...we'll risk everything to protect each other.)

(Taiki: That's the kind of friendship I want with you!)

(Dorulumon: If we do become friends, I might betray you.)

(Taiki: If it's to save a friend, you can betray me anytime.)

(Dorulumon: *pauses*)

(Dorulumon: I've never heard anyone say that before.)

Perhaps I'm a bit sappy for liking this as much as I do, but whatever.

*This arguably makes Dorulumon an expy of both Tiger of the Wind***, a wolf-like character with weather-based powers from the mon series Monster Rancher (Dorulumon can make a whirlwind with his tail drill), and Hayato Jin, one of the core Getter Robo characters (whose robots always have drills).

**There's a reason it's called Xros Wars, after all.

***Yeah, he's a wolf-like creature named "Tiger." Don't look at me, I didn't name him.

-Signing off.