Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai

I can't express my disappointment in this. Maybe my expectations were too high coming into this, although I lowered it after hearing some bad things about the studio that produced this, but it's unbelievable how some aspects seem to be WORSE than the show from ~15 years ago.

The story is interesting so far. We start out with the re-introduction of our characters excluding the Digimon 02 characters. (What happened to them anyways? What were those scenes in the beginning supposed to mean? We still have a few more parts left so I won't comment on it for now) Anyways there's also this secret agent ... group whom we'll hopefully get to know more about. We don't have a lot of information about what's going on and I think it's okay to leave it like that since this part is probably supposed to serve as an introduction for the main plot.

In contrast to this part's title "Reunion" which is supposed to be impactful for us viewers since the characters make a return after over a decade, the reunion I saw here didn't give me personally any feels. I also disliked how they only showed the reunion between 3 pairs and left out the rest. Anyways, the kids are teenagers now and of course a change in their thinking can be expected. Taichi, who used to be the courageous one and always lead the group into new battles, falls in an inner conflict which is totally fine. But then the final scene just completely nullifies Taichi's development as a character as he seems to show little emotion about the city's partial destruction and even letting Alphamon escape. Well if there's something interesting about the characters it would probably the potential formation of love interests.

The visuals in this show is also very appalling. A lot of still frames are to be seen and the characters' faces sometimes are weird. However, what disappoints me the most is how they didn't even bother animating the digimons' evolutions beyond the champion level. Like what were they thinking when they made this decision? I don't know if it's only me, but a big part of the nostalgia comes from the EPIC evolution scenes. Nevertheless, I think the battle scenes were pretty good although the lack of sound annoyed me a little bit. (just lots of boom & crash sounds) HOWEVER, the final battle was just absolutely trash. The build up was very nice with Taichi trying to overcome his inner conflict and you'd expect a really cool battle between our villain and Omegamon, but nah Agumon and Gabumon just digivolve one stage after another (WITHOUT BEING ANIMATED) after seeing that their attacks have no effect on Alphamon. Anyways we finally come to the battle between Alphamon and Omegamon! Sword and axe crossing each other 2 or 3 times and cannons being shot around 3 times and then Alphamon makes his way out and that's it. Yeah. No comment.

As for the sound, they used a remake of the original OP and some of the OST from the original show if I remember correctly and I found it very positive. The usage of instrumental of the song as the OST was also pretty nice.

All in all, though, it was still very disappointing and I hope to see something better in the upcoming parts of the movie.

Ah Digimon. Almost anyone who grew up watching anime will heard of this from somewhere. Even if you haven’t, Digimon is a series that was well-known when it first debuted. (and still is!) The franchise was introduced to the world that focuses on entities, known as Digital Monsters. These creatures are made of data that exists in their own parallel world known as the Digital World. However, their universe also crosses over the real world where chosen humans (known as Digidestined) are partnered with certain Digimon to fight against evil.

First things out of the way, this movie takes place after the second season also ... known as Digimon Adventures Season 2. Previous knowledge of the franchise is important to gain a better experience from watching the movie. This is because the kids that we’ve known from the previous seasons are back but also grown up. Their high school years takes them with a youthful development over their characters. And while all this seems normal at first, the story quickly turns abnormal.

The story itself is consistent with the premise and overall style of Digimon Adventures. Contrary to Digimon Tamers, it retains a lighthearted mood in the real world. Thus, expect some amusing comedy coming from the cast. We meet the main characters including Taichi, Yamato, Izumi, Mimi, Joe, etc. What I find appealing about them is that although they changed physically, they still retain their personalities and are the characters that we can continue to adore. Their relationships with one another implies there’s a growing feelings between a few pairs; in other words, beyond just childhood friendships. At the same time, the characters show what they’ve learned and are open minded with one another. That same can be applied to the Digimon partners as they still remember who they are and relationships remain strong despite the time skip. And that’s another prominent aspect of Digimon I really find enjoyable – the relationship between humans and non-human characters. It emphasizes how they can co-exist despite their different nature. And it also shows why exactly friendships can be so important between them no matter how long time has passed.

Despite the fine developments of the overall movie, there’s still problems I found that should be addressed. The introduction of a new female character is something that can be controversial especially since her personality isn’t anything unique. In the role of the movie, her presence lacks anything memorable for the role she plays. Speaking of characters, there’s some other prominent characters from the second season that seems to be omitted from the movie. The presence of a secret organization can be a fragment of what some fans can remember from Digimon Tamers. Unfortunately, they don’t seem to be anything unique about them and in fact looks stereotypical. And finally, there’s a lack of coherence about the main threat of the movie. I mean, it’s hard to tell in the end what the characters are fighting for or against. Perhaps this could a better focus for the sequel.

Originally, I had some issues with the animation style after seeing the previews. However, I can say with confidence that the movie lives up to its promise to deliver action. Whether it’s in the real world or in digital style action, the performance is aesthetic and retains smooth choreography. In addition, the Digimon are also well designed with their original features. The parts with the Digi-evolution can be a mixed bag though when examined carefully but still is decent in overall terms of quality. The easiest part to notice is the different art style produced by Toei. It does have some lack of the old school feel when compared to the original series. After all, the kids have grown up and they have developed both mentally and physically. From my standpoint, the way the characters are designed can be easily attached to once you get into 10 or so minutes of the movie. It hardly is bothering as the movie itself retains the feel of what Digimon really was.

It’s more than a nostalgic trip. Digimon Adventures Tri: Saikai (Reunion) is here to remind us that the franchise is still going strong even after all those years of childhood memories. The Digidestineds are back from who they were before and their partners are here to kick some ass as well. What can be improved for the continuation (Chapter 2) should be the storytelling about the antagonists. And in addition, the new female character needs a bit more of characterization. But for now, this is definitely worth waiting for. After 15 years of Summer vacation, the kids are back.

In Summer 2014, Toei Animation surprised the Digimon Fanbase by announcing a sequel to the original Digimon TV series. Digimon Adventure, as it is officially called, aired in 1999 and became an internationally well-known anime that spawned several films and spin-offs with the latest being Digimon Xros Wars in 2010. Other than Digimon Adventure and its direct sequel, Digimon Adventure 02, all Digimon series take place in separate universes. This new film, however, plays three years after the events of 02.

Some time after its initial announcement, Digimon Adventure tri was revealed to be a six-part film series rather than a TV anime. Moreover, its release ... date was pushed from summer to November 2015. Needless to say, fans were disappointed by the fact that it would air in November and worried they might have to wait a long time until they can finally watch it due to it being a film. However, Crunchyroll unexpectedly simulcasted Digimon Adventure tri, making it available for the entire world even before it aired in Japanese cinemas.

The film starts by reintroducing the Chosen Children from Digimon Adventure. The main focus is on Taichi but all the other children receive enough focus so that the viewer knows how they have changed over the past few years. It also shows how the relationships between the characters has developed; there are, for example, several moments in which Sora's affection towards Yamato is being hinted at. Additionally, you can see how Jou does not have time to meet with the other Chosen Children due to him having to study for school. This behaviour splendidly builds upon Jou's personality from Adventure and 02 and is consequently remarkably realistic.

Digimon Adventure tri manages to stay true to its origin by perfectly recreating the feeling one has while watching the TV series. At the same time, however, it deals with themes not present in the original as the children have grown. For example, Taichi is worried about the destruction they cause by fighting against Digimon, which contrasts his rash personality from before. Romance is also often being hinted at – in the past, there have merely been some subtle moments but this time, it is present much stronger. Moreover, a secret organization reminiscent of Digimon Tamers' Hypnos and Digimon Savers' DATS has been founded in order to research Digimon and to combat the infected ones. Due to the events in the previous series which posed a threat against humanity, it is only logical that an organization such as this would be founded.

As diverse and well-developed as the children's characters are, the Digimon's personalities are, unfortunately, somewhat bland, which had already been a problem in the TV anime. They all act basically the same and while Gatomon/Tailmon used to have a strong personality, no signs of it are shown in this film. The Digimon act like catalysts which cause the children to grow but they hardly develop themselves. While this has always been the case, it would be welcome if this changed in the upcoming films.

There are also some new characters introduced. Meiko, a transfer student, is a mysterious girl, who seems to have a secret. We do not get to know much about her but it is obvious that she will play a crucial role in the future. Moreover, some important members of aforementioned secret organization are part of this new adventure but, at this point, not much is known about them either. While there is also a new antagonist, it is unknown what his motives are and where he came from and whether he is actually bad. As such, the viewer does not yet know what the children's goal is or where the plot is heading towards. However, being the first of six films, this poses no huge issue as this film's main purpose is to reintroduce the characters and to demonstrate in which manner they have developed in the past three years.

Naturally, not everything is explained in this film. We are informed about the fact that the Digital gate had been closed for over a year but we do not know why it was closed in the first place. At the end of 02, it seemed like it would be open for all time. While this might be explained in the future, there are some other aspects that pose an inconsistency regarding what we know from Adventure and 02. For example, in the film, it seems like only few people know about the Digimon's existence. However, due to the fight with Apocalymon at the end of Adventure and, more importantly, the battle with BelialVamdemon/MaloMyotismon at the end of 02, the entire world should be familiar with Digimon. Nonetheless, they are merely referred to as threats who had caused some major damage in the past. There might be some sort of explanation including memory erasing but this is unlikely and would probably not be satisfactory.

When the film's first official artworks were released, most people were upset and claimed that the characters looked completely different. However, with the release of some trailers, it was made clear that the new art style and character design were not bad at all. Nevertheless, there is another issue in a similar department: Toei Animation's recent works all suffer from bad animation, as one can see in Dragon Ball Super, Sailor Moon Crystal and the newer episodes of One Piece. With Digimon being a film, one would think this would not be the case this time and while it is not as bad as aforementioned examples, the animation looks awkward more often than bearable. It is fine during action scenes but, other than that, animation quality is regrettably disappointing. The new evolution scenes are entirely different from what the viewer is used to and, at first, it might feel slightly awkward but they actually are not bad. A major issue, however, is that not all evolution sequences were animated. These scenes were an aspect of the film a majority of the fan base was looking forward to. Hopefully, these evolutions will be animated in the future because otherwise it would be an unforgivable disappointment.

The Digimon Soundtrack's original composer, Arisawa Takanori, sadly passed away in 2005. Nonetheless, some tracks of the amazing Digimon Adventure OST were used in this film and lead to nostalgic moments. Some of his works were also remixed and while it sounds pleasing at most times, the one soundtrack that sounded infinitely better in the original is Koushiro's/Izzy's theme. There are also some new musical pieces which are nice but, unfortunately, not as breathtaking as Arisawa's. The opening is “Butter-Fly” by Wada Kouji and the ending song is “I Wish” by AiM. Both are remixes of the original series' opening/ending sung by their original performers and it is difficult to decide which version is better. In any case, both songs not only create a nostalgic atmosphere but also establish a refreshing feeling to underline the film's modernness. The same can be said about “Brave Heart”, an insert song sung by Miyazaki Ayumi, which primarily plays during the evolution sequences.

Another qualm some people initially had was the fact that the children's voice actors were different. However, the new voice actors fit the children's personality impressively well and their performance could not have been much better – in particular, Yamato's voice actor, Hosoya Yoshimasa, did a magnificent job. Of course, the same can be said about the Digimon's voice actors, who all returned to their original roles.

Ultimately, this film can be recommended to every Digimon fan out there. It might have some weaknesses but, being an introductory film, it cannot be a masterpiece. The good sites heavily outweigh the weaker ones and the enjoyment level while watching the film is over the top. Digimon Adventure tri 1 is a great start to a new adventure together with the characters and the atmosphere of the original series and I cannot wait to see the second part in Winter 2016.

If you like Digimon Adventure 01 and 02, this is not for you. It spends a large amount of time doing absolutely nothing. The first episode has maybe 5 minutes of plot, at most, and it continues along this plodding pace for most of the movie. Even the action seems slow.

This is apparent in the characters as well, where it builds artificial tension by portraying Tai as having PTSD without actually explaining why other than still shots of destroyed buildings. I think I know what they were trying to go for, but they executed this TERRIBLY.

This laziness in storytelling carries over into the ... art and animation, where half of the shots are still frames, or still frames with just the main characters running. It looks like they ran out of the animation budget 5 minutes into the movie. Speaking of which, the animation of the fights are...adequate. But they skip vital animations including some of the digivolutions (the most badass ones that we ACTUALLY WANT TO SEE).

The sound was mostly okay, until the climactic battle. The score ANNIHILATED any tension in the scene, deciding to play a victorious melody throughout the entire fight. Rather than feeding the conflict, it belies the intensity.

Even if this is meant to be an introductory movie, it was lackluster at the best of times, and unwatchable at worst.

OHHHH MYYYYY LOVEEEEEE

I must admit. When Butter-fly started playing, i really felt like crying. It's been like what, 15 years? Damn, to think that the me from that time would stop whatever he was doing just to sit in front of the TV and watch the new Digimon episode with a smile the size of this world and the next...

... well, it's certainly a tremendous trip down memory lane, in more ways than one. And one that i end up cherishing a lot since it connects me to a period of great happiness in my life. That's what childhood is or at least that's ... how it should be for any child. An overhwhelmingly sweet moment in our way too complicated lives when we are blessed with an endless avalanche of happiness and dreams and innocence. When we are the most genuine and the emotions we feel have the most authenticity to it. Where the mundane becomes extraordinary in the most ordinary ways. Truly an unmeasurably important and almost unforgivably ephemeral period in life.

Ehem. Going back to Digimon. Well, i won't talk much about the story and the plot cause to me that's the least important. Hell, i didn't even remember most of the characters names by the time i watched this, much less the story. However, i still remembered what i had to remember. The bromance between the two main guys. The glorious soundtrack. The glorious soundtrack (yes, it should be mentioned at least twice). The nostalgic digi-evolution scenes. Tai and Agumon. The other children and their digimon. Their interactions with each other.
Stuff i thought i had forgotten ages ago, but somehow managed to naturally remember once these new episodes started playing. Even if this sequel flops hard, i don't think i even care. The fact that i was able to revisit this series, listen to the opening theme and see the characters (now much older) interact with each other once again is more than enough. It made me extremely happy.

Ok, enough reminiscing, so here's some random thoughts about the actual episodes i would also like to point out (spoilers ahead, so read at your own risk):
- the animation quality started horribly with a lot of QUALITY scenes but the ending episodes were much better, and i think my eyes also started getting used to the character designs and overall animation; it must be worth noting that while this is a Toei production, i read that no Toei animators actually worked on it, i wonder if it will happen the same in the 2nd movie (and whether that is a good thing or not)
- the ost is as great and nostalgic as i remember it, truly a pleasure to listen to!
- all that bromance, fuck yeah! that's what this sh*t is all about, screw all the hetero shipping faggotry when all the other ships completely pale in comparison to the mighty Yamato x Taichi ship, the one true bros we need but do not deserve
- speaking of Yamato, was he always this likable? when i was a kid, i'm pretty sure i hated his guts, but in this sequel i find him pretty nice
- Taichi is now worried about collateral damage and killing people and i'm not sure how i should feel about this, but those moments at the riverside with Agumon hit me right in the feels
- gotta mention the unneeded love triangle, aka the elephant in the room (or should i say the elephantmon? heh :v), which is back again, and in full force, it seems...
- well, here's the thing: when i was a child i think i had a major crush on Sora (now that i think about it, it might have been because of the cute hat, and also that one Digimon Movie when she was dating(?) Taichi), so i obviously liked her and wanted her to end up with Tai; then i got kinda pissed when i later found out that she chose Yamato instead; nowadays, and after watching Tri, i find myself wondering what's so special about her and think the two guys deserve much better, to be honest :/
- there is a new girl now (probably she only exists so that Taichi doesn't end up with his left/right hand), but the bad news is that i usually end up disliking this kind of character archetype, so let's hope i don't this time but i honestly think i will
- Takeru x Hikari better happen, those two kids are super likable!

All things considered, i'm glad Digimon is back and i'll definitely be watching the next movie/batch of episodes. It was truly a pleasure reliving a bit of my childhood with these first 4 episodes!

Maybe I was expecting too much, but the truth is that I'm pretty disapointed. I think by now we all know that Toei animation has been doing a very mediocre job with their animation, but this time they managed to hit a new low. Digimon seems to be suffering from a worse fate than Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragon Ball Super.

SPOILERS AHEAD, IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCHED THE MOVIE THEN STOP READING NOW. Unless you don't care about spoilers, that's fine too.

So lets start this and see why.

Story: 7

Seems pretty average so far and I was actually disapointed with some scenes, said scenes should have made ... use of the nostalgia factor and made for some great emotional moments, like the digidestined reunion with their partner digimons, it would only be logical, right? After all, they spent so much time without seeing them, WE spent so much time without seeing both digimon and children so it should have all been an emotional reunion for us lot.

But aparently not..
The characters and digimons seemed overly casual about it and there was hardly any emotional factor there, it left me apathic and disapointed on how they wasted such a great oportunity.

Then we have Taichi and Yamato clashing, a classic indeed, it's just how we all remember them, except this time around Taichi has changed and is no longer the corageous and impulsive leader he once was. Completly fine here, room for some good character development, however it can be a bit confusing why Taichi is having second thoughts about it sometimes. Yet he manages to pull himself together and realise he needs to fight in order to protect others, something he seems to have forgoten by the end of the battle agaisnt Alphamon, considering his apathetic and unsure atitude again.
So far the best thing out of Digimon Tri has been the love insterests and such, those were actually fun to watch.

I must say though, the addition of a new character seems interesting enough, firstly because of her digimon who seems to be hiding? And also because of her Digivice, the way it looks seems to imply she's from the same time as Taichi and the others, unlike Hikari and TK who have different digivices from the rest. This is something I'm curious about and looking forward to the explanation later on.


Art: 4

Oh boy where do I start, Toei did it again guys, terrible lazy animation, a lot, and I'd like to give emphasis to the word "A LOT" here, there's a lot of stills and camera panning across the screen on Digimon Tri, really a lot of stills of characters not doing anything. Ocasionally we have a character saying "yeah" and their mouth keeps shut too. The animation is just, poor, very blocky, you could sometimes count the amount of frames they used to animate something. For a movie this sure is disapointing. Aren't movies suposed to have better quality because of the bigger budget and deadlines?
The characters also looked very weird sometimes, they looked dowright deformed on some instances as they werent drawn properly.

Another thing I that dissapointed me were the digivolutions. Yes, the most important and iconic thing about digimon and they managed to screw it up, now the normal digivolutions are fine, no where as much action and eye candy as the old ones but they're okay. Now what's beyond me is how the rest of the digivolutions weren't animated, so Garurumon and Greymon just suddenly appear digivolved again, out of nowhere, and it happens again and again, untill suddenly they digivolve into Omegamon. If this isn't being lazy, then I don't know what it is.
It was horribly anti-climatic and downright ridiculous. Not to mention it makes you think, if they they could easily get past their first digivolution in order to get stronger, then why didn't other digimon do the same? Surely it would have made their lifes easier.


Sound: 7

While it wasn't amazing, it wasn't bad either, it was just right. The new versions of the old opening and ending were very nice touches, if they wanted to give us some nostalgia, they sure nailed it there. I also noticed some of the songs used throughout the movie were from the old digimon soundtrack, so the feeling of nostalgia was there throughout the whole thing and I give them props for that.


Character: 8

This is the part I probably liked the best, some characters changed, some didn't, others not so much, but they're still the same old characters we grew to know and love, their personalities and relationships are still there, but they've also grown and we're able to see that. It's always satisfying to see your favourite characters again after some years and noticing that their personalities are still there, so you easily recognize them. For example how cheerfull Mimi is, or how Taichi and Yamato often clash due to their personalities. We know all that too well and personaly, I'm glad to see it all again, it's nostalgia all over the place in that sense.


Enjoyment: 5

Even though the movie had its good points.. they werent the right ones, so I can't say this was very enjoyable. Unfortunately good music and good characters don't make up for bad art and average story telling. If one of those two had been good, then surely my opinion would differ.

Overall: 6

It's fair, it's average. It's not too bad but it's far from being very good too.
It was a very disapointing experience in overall, this was something many of us grew up with and longed for, obviously that created a lot of hype and expectations, except that was all taken away quickly. I honestly expected a lot better considering the franchise we're dealing with.

But then again we too expected a lot better from Sailor Moon Crystal and such, and those expectations fell way short. A shame really.

However I must say I'll keep watching this, not only because of the story, but mostly out of nostalgia. Had I been new to Digimon, I'm not sure if I would stick around for the next one.
So here's to hoping the next movie will be better.

Like others, I was pretty hyped up about the new Digimon and anticipating how it would turn out. Suffice to say, although the look is different, the feel is still there.

I think there are more people familiar with Digimon than not. But for those who aren't, what's always separated Digimon from the often compared-to Pokemon is how they approach their material. Aside from the fact that Digimon has approached darker and more complex themes across its seasons, part of its appeal has also been its focus on the characters. Battles and character quirks are perhaps done better in Pokemon, but for Digimon, much of ... its best content centers around inner struggles that characters have and their growth from dealing with them. The events in the Digimon world usually parallel and reflect these struggles, providing both high stakes and visual manifestations.

The first movie did a good job in reuniting the characters, reintroducing their various quirks and relationships naturally with some sprinkles of fanservice (not nudity, but stuff for "fans"). The story moved along at a good pace, relaxed while bringing characters together and speeding up once the action started. It's also kept another facet that differentiated Digimon, which is how it embraces the impact of Digimon on the real world rather than just skirting around it with resets or isolated boundaries.

And I believe this is the reason why this sequel does well in embodying the Digimon spirit. As mentioned before, Digimon's never been too afraid of going into more mature themes and messages, so it's always been able to bring in some real stakes for tension while balancing it out with lighthearted moments. And that continues here, with good use of foreshadowing and music to transition cleanly from warm to suspenseful atmospheres.

This somewhat extends to the art and animation, which suffers quite a bit from still-frames and pans. I may have some rose-colored glasses on though as other Digimon series had many of these issues, with really well-animated segments usually being the influence of particular directors. That said, this is technically a movie series and the animation will seem stilted in comparison to some other Digimon movies. The new character designs didn't bother me too much as they are flexible enough to convey subtle emotions quite well, which is necessary for a character-driven show like this.

Overall, I can confidently say that this new addition to the franchise won't disappoint Digimon fans. It's definitely got the spirit of the show and looks to be tying up some loose ends too, for those fans that were left hanging with the end of Adventure 02. Here's to looking forward for the next one.

I am by no means a snob about any aspects of anime (evident by my average score) , and I loved Digimon as a kid. Watched every episode and movie, and had all the cards. And I am all for blinding myself with nostalgia, but this is a monstrosity of epic proportions, even going into it with zero expectations.

From the start we have Tai. Yes he looks like Tai, but apparently in the 6 year hiatus he has encountered some, as of yet unknown, tragic event that caused all aspects of his personality to shrivel into nothingness.

And this goes for all of the characters. ... Yes, they look like older versions of the characters, but maintain zero percent of their original personality, or any personality for that matter. Of course you would expect that they had matured and changed over the years, and it would have been really cool to see our favorite characters all grown up, sadly they have reduced the characters to no more than conduits for spouting digital monsters.

I am sure most Digimon fans would agree that the part I most looked forward to was seeing how the characters had matured and what their lives were like now, and how their relationships progressed. I am quite sad to report that it contains none of these aspects. The characters are just so unbelievably bad that it cannot be expressed in words. Its as if they are androids that stripped the skin off of the old characters and are trying to act like them so that their families don't realize they are facsimiles of their former loved ones. And the fashion the characters reunite in is on the same shallow level. They just sort of meet up. Here is a re-enactment "Sup dudes, Digimon right" "Yeah Digimon" No explanation of how their lives have been or how anything has changed.

In short the characters and story are shallow enough to stand in and not get wet.

Now we get to my main beef. The animation. OHHHHHHH the animation. Now I am the most lax person when it comes to animation. Sure I absolutely love gorgeous animation, but when someone on a forum or review says "the animation was bad/sub-par" I usually think "Huh? didn't even notice/looked fine to me" This is the first time I have ever been struck with a powerful sense of "jeez this is some garbo animation" I didn't even notice Twintails had bad animation. Yes you read that correctly TWINTAILS HAS FAR SUPERIOR ANIMATION THAN DIGIMON ADVENTURE TRI. Even the most basic scenes are inconsistent infantile garbage. It doesn't get better in fights either. You wait, what is it 2 episodes, for the fight just to see some frames that they apparently dug out of the dumpster out back. Now to be fair Toei has stated that " We had some issues reassembling the faulty cels from the paper shredder, but we have our best animators working on a cure" Fair enough Toei. I'll give you a chance since your most recent shows have had seriously top notch animation.

And yes I am aware that Digimon is not known for its animation quality, but seriously, I have seen better animation etched on the walls of caves.

Music. Okay. It is possible that I went temporarily lost my hearing due to the sensory overload from the animation, but no complaints.

So, in conclusion, this show is pathetic and fails to entertain in any way imaginable. This will bring you no joy, no sorrow, no love, no nostalgia, if you can make it through the gauntlet of mediocrity(at best) there will be nothing left. You will be reduced to a husk. A shell of what you once were. You will effectively become Digimon Adventure Tri, something that looks familiar and lively, but devoid of all life once you peel away the thin layer of delusion. If you wish to maintain your human form DO NOT watch this...for there is no return. I write this with my final breath, my fingers are slowly turning to ash as I type...my vision fades...and as I slip into the void a faint sound is heard...at first I think this is the angel of death calling my soul into his realm. But no. The noise intensifies. Still subtle...I cannot make out what it is saying. Suddenly my bones shake, my teeth feel as if they are forcing their way deeper into my skull, the pain is unbearable, it becomes clear what the noise is...how could i forget. Liam you damn fool... I laugh as the noise envelops me. I know that it is the last thing I will ever hear...
"DIGIMON DIGITAL MONSTERS, DIGIMON ARE THE CHAMPIONS! DIGIMON DIGITAL MONSTERS, DIGIMON ARE THE CHAMPIONS!!"

I'm going to be perfectly honest, as children television shows go, particularly anime, Digimon is one of the best examples of going well beyond just selling the audience a silly toy or other apparels. In comparison to the obvious "inspiration" that is Pokemon, it was clear Digimon's story had far more thought put into it, but there are reasons to why Pokemon is more relevant than Digimon in today's pop culture, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

In a "surprising" announcement made over a year ago, Toei animation confirmed another Digimon series in the works. The real surprise, however, was that this new ... series is to be a direct sequel to Digimon Adventure 02.


I'll be honest, after the disaster that was both Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragonball Super, my expectations were tempered to lesser extend than what my inner child wanted to be excited about. More and more teasers started to come out, the character designs were revealed, and fans became staved for more. Initially I was a bit disappointed in the new designs (Not the digimon though, they look true to the original and better than they ever did), the human cast was stricken with many called "Same face" syndrome.

It didn't help that like Sailor Moon Crystal, Digimon Tri was also pushed back and was changed into a different format, to be released as movies instead of a new tv series. More and more I started to doubt this new project, something to be a cash grab on the series' 15th anniversary.



Then it finally came out yesterday, to most countries thanks to Crunchyroll's surprise announcement of streaming it on their service.


All of my previous fears were immediately put to rest, the more I watched, the more apparent that unlike Toei's other failures, this one was indeed something for all of the "digidestined" of the world, something worth the wait and hits squarely right in the childhood with great care and attention.

Set three years after 02, Tri picks up at the cast currently going through their highschool years. (I'm going to refer to the character's original Japanese names, sorry Foxbox generation, though the names aren't too radically different) Taichi (Tai) is still playing soccer, Yamato (Matt) broke up; with his band and made a new one with one only a highschool boy would think up, Sora (Sora, see what I mean) is apparently still dating Yamato, Koushiro (Izzy, okay this one was a bit sketchy) is still the computer wiz we all still loved (Who even creates a set of goggles for Taichi that have plot relevance now), Jo (Joe) is still studying his ass off but even has a girlfriend now that we don't get to see (Don't worry, even the cast themselves are questioning this declaration), Mimi (Mimi... lol) still gallivanting in North America but manages to make it back in time for the this new series, Hikari (Kari) is more of older sister to Taichi rather than a younger one, though Taichi is still a bit immature it only makes my observation more solid, and Takeru (TK) who's more or less still the same, bit of a lady killer as Hikari points out (Why aren't they dating yet?). And there's a new digidestined, who I will not spoil though it's very obvious but isn't revealed until the last part of the movie (Or four part anime that Crunchyroll decided to it split up into).

Not one character acts completely out of character, everyone is how they have been 15 years ago and Tri goes far beyond the call to stay in continuity (There's a few retcons that seem to be brewing, but as a fan of digimon that witnessed the end of 02, I hope they do). The character banter is just like old times, Koushiro still goes into his own world when speaking tech, Mimi is still a bit bratty and over enthusiast, and Taichi and Yamato still get at each other's throats. The only thing that feels off is that Taichi kinda worries about things that we would expect coming from Yamato, it's feels so contrived. Speaking of which, Tri kinda goes out of it's way to be too nostalgic at times.

The conflict between Taichi and Yamato just feels incredibly forced, like there was some sort of nostalgia quota that needed to be filled. Sure they fought in the past, but here it seems like it's only here to fill in time. The pacing itself is a bit on the slow side compared to the original series, but I feel like it's like this to enforce the change to the cast and tone of this season of Digimon. It's got a slice of life pacing going on and even feels like one too, but when the digimon finally come in, the pacing gets only a little bit faster.


One of the things I was worried most for was the quality of the animation, Toei isn't exactly known for their stellar craftsmanship in this category, and given the state of Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragonball Super, I had all more reason to be more than concerned. While it's nothing particularly breath taking, especially as a movie release, it's still far above what the television series had reached. The Digimon designs are true to the originals, and even the previously mentioned "Same face" syndrome worry is mitigated with each character having more nuanced expressions in animated form and subtle differences. The animation does appear to be a bit more jerky in action scenes making it more apparent that the project has a television show budget and was originally produced to be one, but it's nothing worth taking points off from, it's very exciting and dynamic and that's all we want after all (And not that chicken scratch they call animation on Dragonball Super).


Digimon Adventure Tri started as something I was worried about, but the end project fills me with hope for the next 5 installments. The amount of heart warming fanservice and attention the small details will more than satisfy all old fans and old fans only, but be honest, this is story only for the digidestined of the world, just how we wanted it to be...

before i watch this digimon movie, i re watch several episode of digimon adventures because its been a year since i last watch a digimon, well digimon is my good childhood memories cause every morning i waiting for this anime.

story:

its been 15 years ( i think ) since the last episode of digimon adventures 01/02, although the story is same from digimon adventure 2, but its incomplete or lack of explanation, yah i know its movie and it will give more explanation on future episode thats why i putting it on this review, i gonna put a score as 7/10 for now cause i enjoy ... it even in few minutes.


art:

15 years later, character appearance develop, but even they introduce the character in opening, i cant even find them as mature than other character, i mean mobs/extra character is same appearance on main character. Example of joe, i didn't even know that`s joe cause i cant see her character more advance than mob characters.
digimon art:
same as digimon adventures, good and more advance now. Plus the digivolution is more original.

7/10

sound:

after hearing the opening, i can feel the old digimon after several years,
"Butter-Fly" by Kouji Wada 9/10
"I wish" by AiM 9/10
brave heart 9/10

i expecting horie, yui will sing the ending song cause they have similar voice of maeda, ai

character voice
i can only find interested on voice of yamato and taichi, hosoya, yoshimasa and hanae, natsuki, then takahiro, sakurai play as tentamon even on digimon adventure.

9/10

enjoyment:

4 parts of movie i enjoy all of them, even thought the story is lack of explanation i just ignore that part and watch this anime until the end.
opening song, digivolution ( include the song brave heart ), ending song, bring back good memories. 8/10

overall 8/10 - i looking forward on sequel

Pros:

While many people seem to disagree with me, I really enjoyed the new art style. There are a few scenes with strangely drawn faces, I'll admit that, but for the most part it's fantastic. I love how fluid it is and how the colors look. It reminds me of the animation from the previous movies (Diablomon).

The characters and voices are great. All the same actors as before, and I'm also okay with their decision to make Taichi hesitant to get involved in all of this again. Bringing back his old reservations from the first season could be fun to work with, as long as they ... don't over do it. I also loved the new renditions of the OST. The addition of instruments makes a very fun sound.

Fight scenes are great, and I LOVE that they don't have the Digimon screaming out each and every attack they use anymore. They just fight, and it makes it feel a lot smoother. As much as I love the first two seasons, it always irritated me how they would just verbally announce every single thing they were going to do.



Cons:

Why did they only show evolution animations for Adult level? That was a huge disappointment during the last fight with Alphamon... It just goes from Agumon in one scene, then suddenly he's Greymon, then he's Wargreymon out of nowhere, and finally we have Omegamon all of a sudden WITHOUT AN EVOLUTION SCENES IN BETWEEN. That just... makes no sense to me.

I also don't buy that the Adventure crew hasn't once yet thought to try and contact the 02 kids. They've all met up to discuss what's going on twice now, and in neither case did anyone even attempt to reach out to Daisuke and the others. Not even Hikari or Takeru! Considering that the 02 kids carried the Adventure kids' asses and lead the fight against many enemies during the entirety of the second season, it makes no sense for them to just... forget about them like this. It feels like bad, lazy writing to me. Maybe there will be a reason in the next movie that will help this make sense, but for right now... I just don't buy it.

Where do I even start with this, just watched the first film of this series and man do I love it!

The Story is superb in my opinion the first film is called "reunion" or Saikai in Japanese if you will, and it is just that, the reunion of friends who haven't seen each other in many years, the story takes you back to the days you were just a kid and watching Digimon Adventure on the TV. They made such an amazing job on the story and gave everyone their deserved time, and wow, have they changed growing up, I'm not a crier but some ... moments were hard to keep the tears and memories back from my childhood. So I personally think they made a superb job with the first episode! 11/10. For the purpose of the episodes(first film) they made a great job on the story re-introducing all the old beloved characters!

The Art of the series could not been better they've really worked with it and it shows, I had big expectations and after seeing what they did I'm not disappointed the least! The Art fits the series and makes it look so futuristic and awesome. We all know how the Anime creators have one style of making the series, and then often change the art style when making a film, Digimon Adventure tri, has that movie quality that beats everything I've ever seen. 10/10.

Sound was amazing also the intro music was awesome. And the rest of the soundtrack was so great really had that Digimon feeling to it, that we all grew up to! 10/10.

The Characters, Oh do I love the characters, they've changed so much these past years just as expected but they've captured the original idea and characteristics behind them all. Mimi is still Mimi and the funny loving girl she was, Sora still can't handle Taichi and Yamato but still makes everything work in the group, Hikari still the adorable little girl she used to be, Takeru the playboy we always knew he would become :D, Koushirou the computer geek that we all love and that keeps our little digimons safe in the worst of times with his skills, Jou still going hardcore with life and always thinking, Taichi still the side alpha of the group and the oldest with his own attitude, Yamato the other side alpha that keeps the group together at the hardest times.

and lets not forget our new member of the group Meiko the adorable new girl with her digimon Meicoomon.

AND DON'T FORGET! Agumon, Gabumon, Patamon, Gomamon, Palmon, Piyomon, Tailmon, Tentomon, That we all know and love 10/10.

Enjoyment, I think you already know why I love this series by now, But to clarify, how the story made me feel, it feels like the original and they made the reunion feel like the best reunion there could ever be in a Anime. 10/10. They made me fall in love again!

Overall 10/10 for these reasons, best series in 15 years!

Considering this would be the biggest thing I've been waiting for...
It feels some what a disappointment with the lack of detail on the characters and the overall art the episodes...
Even though the Art is a let down, I couldn't be more happier to see this..
From watching it as a kid and having a digivice, i was extremely happy to watch it.

Truthfully the only disappointment that I really feel besides the lack of detail in the art, is the fact that we have to wait next year for the second part...
It felt too short to be honest and needed a ... longer introduction into the continuing lives of the DigiDestined.

Warning: minor spoilers ahead

Digimon was one of my favorite TV shows when I was younger, and as huge fan of the series I was in the opposite side from my collegues, Pokemon and Dragon Ball fans. Adventure is an amazing show, with very mature themes in the plot and great characters. The sequel, Adventure 02 was not so good, with lame new characters and an awful ending. Tamers was so called Digimon 3 by TV marketing, but is a spin--off (a great one to be fair), so Digimon Adventure has ended with a bitter taste in the fans mouth.

So I received the news of ... a new Digimon Adventure with great expectation. Despite the awful ending, was a serie that I cared so much when child. And also, I was sick for a better ending as well.

This first movie/OVA was a great surprise, and made me fell in love again with these beloved characters. But wait... again or for the first time? Yes, for shure, they are no kids anymore, they are teenagers now, with brand new personalities, dreams and dilemmas. Taichi (or Tai) is no more the lighthearted and flustered leader, he's more responsable and rational now, and is terrified with the destruction that giant monsters can bring. Yes, bein heroic and fight the evil is not so easy when you are grown up, and I liked very much this new Tai. Yamato (or Matt) continue to be the heart of the group, always thinking in do good to others, a great exponent to the crest of friendship he carries. And is still the bad ass. Sora is no longer a tomboyish "need pretend to be strong" character, is more like a cartaker and it seems to be the glue that will keep the group together. Also, the movie draws a possible romantic triangle between her, Tai and Matt. Takeru (or TK) is no longer the whining brat and awful character, is more joyfull and a womanizer project. Mimi is back from a long stay in america, is not more the childish one of the group, is the extroverted happy-go-lucky that stole the spotlight. Izumi (Izzy) continues to be the great computer geek and genie of the group, but have showed a new facet when confronted with the brand new Mimi that activates his libido. Joe and Kari are overshadowed by the others, but are still great indeed. The first have a new dillema in his college aplication marathon and is seen more studiyind than doing other stuff, and the second one, well... continues to be Tai's atractive little sister. I hope she gets more screentime in the next movies, she was extremely important in the old shows .

As you can see, the story is more chacter driven and this is the great merit from this first installement, is presenting a nouveau regard over our old friends. As their bonds intesifies, their challenges seems to be greater then fight giant monsters. Speaking on that, yeah, they are back. And yes, we have also great action scenes and new misteries surrounding the Digiworld. The villaneous Digimon are stronger, and the old pet monster have a lot of work to do in the next chapters. Also, a new Digidestined is the house. What she will bring?

The animation is simply gorgeous. Toei is a studio that lost the good animation tram and keep the oldfashioned style managed to make a great job here. Also, the OST is back with the great old themes renewed and is simply outstanding.

So, Digimon Adventure Tri is a great work that is trully shot through the heart of the nostalgic fans. Presenting old friends in a new path, and putting them in a comming of age plot is an excellent ideia. The characters are the soul of a good story and Toei knows that. It's a love letter to the old fans and a great invitation to new ones. Digimon is more mature, more realistic, and a 100% awesome. Now that the adventure had evolved, I can't wait for more!

*It's recommended that you've seen at least the very first Digimon series to get yourself introduced to the characters, this review also contains some points revealed in the movie, so it's advisable to only read it after watching the movie.*

Digimon tri: Saikai (Saikai literally means reunion/meeting). Probably one of the most anticipated entry to the Digimon series ever since it was announced.
As part of my childhood I was pretty hyped about it turned out... just okay.

In this series we get the reunion of the DigiDestined (including a new one) alluring to the respective title, who gather to combat a new menace that's surging upon the ... real world : Infected Digimon (as refered to a secret agent group also introducted in these series)

Straight from the start, I started smiling listening to Butter-Fly, the nostalgia just flew into me, but I have to admit the artist voice doesn't transmit the sheer epicness that Koji Wada transmits to me. Hell, even the scene when Taichi gets the goggles was super cool!

The art looked pretty good (including CGI/new evolution sequences), but now that I grew up, there are some things that make me feel uneasy about it, the voice acting was pretty good as well, but it was a new experience for me since it was the very first time I've watched Digimon with their original japanese voice.

I also had a major issue with how Taichi acted through the series, he was suppose to be corageous and he was so different from how I remember him, I mean even his symbol was the courage symbol, he was afraid of the city destruction and his surroundings which just felt... awkward. The remaining cast remained loyal to my memories so it made up for it.
I will also note that I didn't fancy the end when Agumon/Gabumon entered boss rush mode against Alphamon using their evolutions/finishers, it was decent, but it could have been better if it wasn't so rushed at the very end, maybe save it for the second part?

All in all, I would give it a 7/10 since it was pretty decent overall, even probably an 8/10 for the nostalgia and love I had for the series a child, but nothing more than that.

Well where to begin? Firstly Digimon adventure tri movie 1 is more of a set up film in my opinion, the story wasn't clearly explained and they weren't clear on what happened prior to this film and for that reason I gave it a seven. although there is areas that need to be improved.

The Art is a drastic improvement from the classic series they look like actual teenagers and the animation for the digivolution was improved as well. the digimon art is just as good if not better then its classic counter part and really helps bring out their personalities.

The music in this film ... brought back alot of memories and made me smile several times such as when "Butter-fly the original Digimon series intro was played. the battle music and digivolution music it made it feel like an adventure and i for one can't wait to see where they go from here.

Character wise, the development was good but needs improvement, i'm glad they haven't focused on matt and sora and clearly made Tachi the main character as in some films the main character can be overshadowed by supporting characters. The character development for Taichi and Agumon was well done but could be improved and other development for supporting characters was hardly if not there at all.

enjoyment i gave a ten as, it brought back many memories and reminded me how far Digimon has come, every fan of digimon whether you have seen the original series or not should see this film as it will bring a smile to your face.

I was putting off watching this until all the films were out (which is still a long ways away), but Wal*Mart had the DVD/Blu-Ray for a price I couldn't pass up. Too bad the internet already spoiled quite a bit of the future story events for me. :(

Let's start with what I didn't like because the list is much shorter ;). I liked the opening theme as much as any of the US/English openings, but wish they would have used Butter-Fly since they used other songs (in Japanese) from the Japanese series in the English release, and it would have been a nice tribute to ... the late Kōji Wada, since he passed before the English Dub was released. This series is definitely a tribute to the long-time fans, a lot of whom (myself included) think that the Japanese had a better OST than we did. The other thing that didn't really jive with me was some of the character animations, don't get me wrong this whole thing was beautifully animated, but in some shots, certain characters, especially Tai and Agumon, seemed lanky and too angular. Lastly, want to know what happened to the 02 kids, but the internet let me know that it's still not answered.

Now for the good stuff. Like I mentioned before this series is obviously a gift for the longtime fans, it is everything that a sequel should be-a labour of love rather than a quick cash grab. I love seeing the characters from my childhood in HD, and everything especially the digivolving scenes were beautiful. I also appreciate that this series remembers that Gatomon is a champion level digimon. Adventure and Adventure 02 acted like she was a rookie digimon. I also really loved that they included Brave heart as the evolution theme, Japan definitely had a better OST than we did in the US and keeping this in there really got my blood pumping as someone who has seen both the US and Japanese versions. I also like the small things they snuck into the movie as shoutouts to long time fans, such as Izzie's "Prodigious!" and bringing back Tai's goggles.

Hated the human characters designs and story. Humans lack any real design to them, with them being the low quality standard that anime seem to favor these days. Hated the rookie digimin's voices, they all sound like squeaky school children.

The character development seems to have reversed. Some seems to have regressed in their maturity and some have progressed into adulthood. It seems that only one character will see any type of character advancement with the plot playing out as it has in these 4 episodes.

Story so far seems to be an alternate or modified version of another Digimon season's plot. It has already ... been done and these 4 episodes don't forecast any huge changes in the future.

DISCLAIMER:
Spoilers are possible in the following review
Notification:
I'll be running these reviews for animes that don't have enough substance for a big review.


I'll try to keep this review short,there isn't much to say anyway.
Story is your usual Digimon story. A group of kids, named digidestined, and their digimons,i guess that's a correct plural form, save the world from Digimon who are being controlled by some evil thingy. In this case the evil thingy is a maddening virus. Characters are as they were in the original Digimon anime albeit teenagers, which means more annoying. There's some interesting characters conflicts and a big fat stupid one between ... Tai and Yamato. Art is horrendous and somehow manages to be worse than the original anime that came out long ago. Songs are ok, especially the new rendition of the old opening, but sound overall is not that good. Explosions feel like rabbit farts and they don't yell out their special moves. I know that observation is kinda kiddish but this anime is fanservice and nothing more so it should have it. That statement is not without supporting evidence. The original cast and that opening are obviously made to be nostalgia inducing. This feeling sticks trough the whole anime,probably cause characters from the original series keep appearing, but there's one big problem. You ready? It's that this mini series is bad. Not bad in a blandy bland bland bad way. This anime is bad cause it's inferior to the original series in every way despite our futuristic alien technology. If you really want to see a Digimon anime go watch the first one.

This is my first review, and please correct me if i have write somethings wrong (_ _)

Tbh, i wacthed it with a high expectation and have to disappointed. You can say, Taichi and friends more badass when they are kids. And the bromance bait so strong with Taichi-Yamato pair (they always do, but this time they are a young adult man and that's kinda makes me giggle. Oh my brain has been infected with some bl ideas *slapped* X)) sorry, its out of topic.

The opening song, i think the original one is the best. Rest of all, i 'm agreed with some reviews said :)