A while ago I made a review on Digimon Adventure, explaining why I found it to be one of the best kids shows out there, one that had smartly developed plot and characters, great soundtrack, good animation, and overall superb enjoyment not just for kids, but for young adults as well. I also said that a 7.78 score was way too low for a series that achieved something as great as developing each character propperly, have the characters arc influence in the main story arcs and present mature themes to little children without being too dark for them. And so the expectations for Adventure 02
...
were far too high; I wish I could say as well that the score (currently 7.34) is also low, that the series is the great sequel Adventure so much deserved. Sadly, it is not, 7.34 is the score this sequel deserves, if not lower (even into the 6s zone). Why is that? Let's see:
Storywise: The storytelling is not bad, but much has changed, including the pace; Digimon Adventure had 5 story arcs, each 10 to 14 episodes long, which allowed it to move at a pace that never felt too quickly or too slow, each arc started and ended properly. Here... not su much; we have 3 story arcs, one of 21 episodes, then one of 17 and the last one of 12 episodes. We find some filler episodes in the first one, some ongoing character problems on the second (I'll fill that in the next section) and a rushed and convulted final arc that tries to make up for what is kind of a lagging season by bombing us with too much material that never gets developed (Demon, for instance).
Now, don't be fooled; despite all its flaws the storytelling is still enjoyable, there are still mature themes around and the air of greatness of Digimon Adventure, however the flaws are too notorious and the characters also dragg it down, but I have to admit that they are all thought through, none of them comes out of thin air (give or take the final arc) and they all get somewhat their propper ending.
The plot is not as good as the first Digimon series, but the potential is there. Now, why wasn't it fully used? Mainly, characters problems.
Character: Here is where Adventure 02 just outright failed. Remember how amazingly outlined the characters from the first Digimon series were? Remember how they were just broadstrokes that got developed into fully fleshed out character and how amazing was that the crest of each character represented the very scent of how they were? Well, Digimon 02 mainly hopes you forgot about all that.
We still have our main 8 characters from the first series, but 6 are downgraded to supporting roles, while 2 remain and 3 new character join (one more joins lare on). Now these 3 characters are the main trouble of Digimon 02.
Daisuke (aka Davis): he is arrogant, he is reckless, and he is a good guy deep down, we have our most stereotypical hero! Of course, that wouldn't be a trouble with the propper character work, but here there is... none. There is no background to explain Daisuke's personality, whereas in Adventure we had backgrounds for each character. We know he has issues with her sister, but that never gets developed (not to mention we never get to know his parents). As the series goes forward Daisuke changes and matures, for no apparent reason; granted, being in the digital world fighting monsters does change people, but Daisuke's change really came without propper building up. He passed from annoying to tollerable, but mainly he was just plot fodder. But he is not nearly the worst character.
Miyako (aka Joley): now here is a character that mostly everyone will hate! Why is that? Miyako is all talk and no action. She is energetic and sometimes you picture her as the optimistic one, but as soon as she get into the real danger she freaks out and it takes her about 5 minutes of screen time to realize she has to fight. As the series progress her character is mostly ignored and she is left with her characteristic energetic self and food lover life personality, with no development whatsoever or any background at all.
Iori (aka Kodi): Want someone as annoying as Miyako? Iori might be the one. He is rigid and barely makes an expression, if any. Unlike the previous two, this character does have a background which is not only in sync with his personality, but actually linked with the final arc and despite being kind of interesting, the character himself remains the same for about the whole show, with no actual changes and nothing more than his usual poker face.
Takeru (TK) and Hikari (Kari): They came from the previous series, so everything should be ok, right? Sadly no; both Takeru and Hikari are mainly ignored in this series. Takeru has about 3 good character moments in the show in the first arc, and then acts as plot fodder later on. Hikari is... well, I wouldn't know, she really doesn't fullfil any function here, give or take going to the dark sea world or supporting the rest on battle.
Ken: Here is a character that actually got good treatment; he is given a nice background which is consistent with his personality, he is conflicted, and while shy he is mainly likeable for showing the brave to move forward and attone for his wrongs. He is the only one that actually gets good character moments and a character arc that is mainly involved in the plot. Sadly 1 out of 6 doesn't make the cut for good character treatment.
Music: Gladly, the OST from the previous series remains here with the addition of some more tracks made just for this one, which are good. The opening theme, while not as amazing as the one seen in Digimon Adventure, is actually pretty good, both endings are also good, and the tracks that plays in the new evolutions moments are quite nice (specially the one when jogress evolution is made). So, yeah, still a 10 if you ask me.
Enjoyment: For all its faults and failures in the character department, I still think I like this Digimon series. It has some very bad moments that made me ask myself "why am I watching this crap?" Followed by some very glorious moments that kept me on the edge of my seat and reply "Oh, yeah. That's why". Sure, if I had to grade each episodes, most of them would be on the range of C to B-, but there would surely be straigh As in the ways, but sadly some Ds or Fs too. As a whole, the enjoyment is fair: you get some very clunky, cheesy and boring moments, but you also get profounds and exciting ones (thank you BlackWarGreymon! And Taichi and the rest too for that matter), and as such the enjoyement is in thin line between fair and good.
Stray observations (funny facts and bits of information I got while watching the series):
-Did you know that originally Adventure 02 had 64 episodes, but the order got cut to 50 somewhere around the way because of low rating? Now we may understand why the finale felt so rushed.
-There was supposed to be a rivalry between Daisuke and Takeru, but that gets forgotten at some point and then Daisuke just ignores Takeru; and they want to make us believe they are friends...
-Daisuke and Ken, Miyako and Hikari, all got some good character moments and emotional pep talks previous to achieving jogress evolution. Takeru and Iori got it by having Takeru tell Iori "have faith: well, that escalated pretty quickly
-Demon (being sent to the dark world in episode 45): "you'll regret this". Apperantly this was set up for Digimon Adventure 03, which you know ended up being tamer so... no, they never regreted it. Besides, what was his purpose in the first place? We'll never know.
-Ken (in episode 42): "por favor déjeme entrar" Ken, tu español no es malo, de hecho mejor que el de mucho japoneses, pero no deja de ser raro escucharlo.
-Best character: BlackWarGreymon, surely, as he is a sympatetic villian at first and then a tragic hero. His arc is also the high point of the series, as he wonders for the meaning of life; he surely got the best character treatment, closely followed by Ken.
-Worst character: Miyako, surely, clossely followed by Iori.
-Daisuke (in the finale) "I want to have a ramen shop!" Ken: "I never knew about this". Nobody did Ken, and nobody even cared.
-Award for most forgotten character from Adventure: Mimi, somehow the writers though sending one of their most developed characters into USA would make the cut. They were wrong. Also, I think Sora was pretty much forgotten too.
That's it for now! I hope you liked this review
Next up: How Digimon Tamers triumphed by denying it had a past!
Alternative Titles
Synonyms: Digimon Adventure Zero Two, Digimon: Digital Monsters 02
Japanese: デジモンアドベンチャー02
More titlesInformation
Type:
TV
Episodes:
50
Status:
Finished Airing
Aired:
Apr 2, 2000 to Mar 25, 2001
Premiered:
Spring 2000
Broadcast:
Sundays at 09:00 (JST)
Studios:
Toei Animation
Source:
Original
Theme:
Isekai
Demographic:
Kids
Duration:
25 min. per ep.
Rating:
PG - Children
Statistics
Ranked:
#30972
2
based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded.
Popularity:
#1082
Members:
222,529
Favorites:
783
Available AtResourcesStreaming Platforms | Reviews
Filtered Results: 26 / 26
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Your Feelings Categories May 27, 2013
A while ago I made a review on Digimon Adventure, explaining why I found it to be one of the best kids shows out there, one that had smartly developed plot and characters, great soundtrack, good animation, and overall superb enjoyment not just for kids, but for young adults as well. I also said that a 7.78 score was way too low for a series that achieved something as great as developing each character propperly, have the characters arc influence in the main story arcs and present mature themes to little children without being too dark for them. And so the expectations for Adventure 02
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Mar 22, 2011
Digimon Adventure 02 is the secound edition to the Digimon series..
as the series takes place with some of the same characters from the previous season.. While only two of those now remaining the main characters.. As time goes by and after alot of research the Digidestined have managed to find a way back into the digital world Through using the School computer.. but as yet another couple of years has passed the Digiworld now has yet another huge enemy and a big threat. A Normal human being has managed to get into the digital world and is causing a ruckus.. This boy is the Digimon Emperor ... Aug 27, 2011
I've watched both Adventure and Adventure 02 back when I was a kid (I believe both were the English versions). Less than a week ago, I've started re-watching. All 104 episodes. Here are my findings, hope you find them helpful:
Characters: No matter how you look at it - you'll compare it to the first season. Where the first season had 8 original characters, all with an amazing background, unique in every way, this series simply does not have the same amount of effort put into it. Daisuke is even bolder than Taichi was, to the extent of you wanting to smack him in the face. Big ... Feb 20, 2014
Compared to the first season, this second season of Digimon Adventures is a step down in quality quite heavily. With exception to Ken, the new characters lacked the depth and problems that the first season kids experienced. This is especially a problem with new kid Davis, who is portrayed as a hot-blooded act-before-thinking boy who doesn't get much fleshing out nor any problems that he must overcome thus making him feel quite shallow as a character compared to much of the main Digidestined. The sad part is that Davis is made the leader of this generation's Digidestined, for better or for worst. The older members
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Jul 25, 2014
what can i say about digimon season 2.... um in the words of bill and ted, EXCELLENT! its one of the few time where the squeal was better than the original and let me tell you why. first you have a recurring cast of the old digidestined this allows the die hard fan to ease into the new group of kids. plus the experts can help out the rookies.
digimon season 2 did have its faults and i say it comes down to series length. digimon has this problem that they must go from rookie to mega in less than 40 episodes this rushes the ... Jun 20, 2013
I.m so damn glad i´ve continued to watch the digimon serie´s on t.v after season 1 ended. The only minor complaint for me of season 2 was that some of the kids of se1 has been replaced, though i had no idea what the story was about this time, except that digimons wil be used alright. It really had a more darker, less kidfriendly tone the further the plot revealed itself , slight psychological mindfucks, digimon enslavement, what the real purpose was of the digiworld ect ect. for the animation and the music it stayed and kept the things that se1 had thanks to its
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Sep 21, 2012
STORY: 9/10
Digimon Adventures 02 contiues 3 years after Taichi, Yamato, Sora, Mimi, Jyou, Koshiro, Takeru, and Hikari travelled to the digital world for the very first time. The series starts with 3 new chosen children, Daisuke, Yolei, and Iori, who get a new digivice model which was sent flying from the computer after Taichi touches the digimental with the crest of courage on it. These new digivices allow the new children to not only open the gate to the digital world anytime they please, but they also allow for a new type of digivolution, the armor digivolve. But these three are not the only ones ... Oct 4, 2022
Digimon Adventure 2002 or 02 is a sequel to Digimon Adventure 1999 and continues with a new generation of chosen children to protect the digital world from sudden disaster. The digital world is inhabited by digital monsters called Digimon. Unlike Pokemon, they have more than 3 stages: Infant (In Training), Baby (In Training II), Child (Rookie), Adult (Champion), Perfect (Ultimate) and Ultimate (Mega) with the first being the names of the Japanese dub and the latter in English.
This series introduces a new ways of evolution and one additional new stage that in this series can be considered somewhere between Child and Perfect called Armor. Basically ... Aug 29, 2021
When I was a kid, I didn't get the chance to watch the whole first season because I discovered it late, so you can say that this part is the first I watched and I liked it a lot. I remember getting excited,enthousiastic; jumping and screaming like them when their digimon devolpe . this show was one of my best
i enjoyed every episode in both the first and second season but there were a LOOOT of bad moments and points Well the most fortunate characters to have a good development were ken and dark wargreymon the others were ignored , i kinda understand why cause ... Jul 10, 2012
Well, there back but not the main characters. At least, only two of the main characters from the old show are actually main characters in this one. Unfortunately, they have the same problems from before as well.
TK, although grown up a little too much, acts young a lot and Kari again is little miss Jesus with how perfect she is. Really, she seems to do nothing wrong with how caring she was. The other characters pretty much ether don’t grow, don’t change, or something around that until they hit a certain point and by then, I had lost interest in them. I think part ... Dec 19, 2019
Probably no other title better represents the common belief “sequels are never as good as the originals” in anime more than Digimon Adventure 02: with respect to the first one, the second installment of the Digimon series is unfortunately a steep decline. Suffering from one of the worst reputations in the franchise, it is infamous for removing many of the elements that made its predecessor a hit, for having an erratic second half as a result of creative differences in the writing team, for ruining one of the fan-favorite ships, for ruining the appeal and respect of one of the fan-favorite digimons, and for a
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Mar 23, 2014
I watched digimon adventure 02 when I was still a kid, I did enjoy it very much. After I grow up, and rewatching it, I can't believe that it had a bunch of flaws in it. Let's go into it...
Story: 5/10 Being connected with 1st adventure series, the story involves about digimon kaiser, who make rampage on digital world, torturing digimon becoming his servants. New chosen children had to stop him for what he did. The story of kaiser become connected with the next villain and more. My problem is, the story had a LOT of annoying plotholes, especially on the dark ocean episodes. It's cliche, ... Dec 12, 2014
(This review contains some negative thinks, if you wouldn't want to know, then don't read this)
Truth to be honest, I've never watched 02 before last May 2013, but I knew all of the character since I've ever seen all of them once. Dare if I say that I give 5 to characters? Yes, I did. Gosh! The characters were so so soooo bad! I even can't understand how could this show turn to be like that! From a very good quality, to be a bad one. Although I still can't understand how could Daisuke turn to be the leader meanwhile Takeru and Hikari were having more ... May 18, 2010
I'll just say it right now, I was a pokemon fan when I was young. I wasn't that big of a digimon fan. I though the people always looked weird with there big hands on there small arms. And I always liked how the monsters looked in pokemon rather then digimon.
But this season wasn't THAT bad. It's definitely is better then season two of pokemon. Pretty much because they seemed to really try and put some effert into character development. I enjoyed the digimon monsters and there masters way more then I did in the first season. And I kinda liked the out come ... Jan 13, 2013
This series is one of the first few animes i ever watched so i decided to watch it again.
The story was good with some rememberal story arc's but alot of episodes with a short and sometimes stupid way of ending the arc. The art was good with some great character designs, backgrounds and some great 3-d effects near the end that could be used more. For the sound, The theme song is to me one of the most memorable oppenings in anime (for the english oppening). the characters are memerable with some great storylines (which sadly only last an episode or 2) I enjoyed the series but ... Feb 5, 2013
Digimon Adventures 2, the sequel to my favorite anime series Digimon adventures 1. Before watching this, I knew it could never be as good as the original one. I was right, and I decided to write a review hoping to benefit you all.
Story: Well, the series is four years after Adventures 1, and three new digidestined are introduced. I was excited to see the previous eight children at the beginning, but the series seemed to revolve around the new digidestined. It would have been great if Adventures 2 was all about the grown up digidestined ready for another mission to save the world. However, even ... Jun 10, 2010
---Dcm18's quick reviews---
Story: 7 (Not that great, I was expecting much more) Art: 7 (Mediocre animation, good designs) Sound: 8 (Solid, good OP) Character: 6 (Major flaw - the new chars sucked) Enjoyment: 7 (Meh not bad) Overall: 7.0 (Worse than it's great prequel, still good though) Jan 15, 2016
The rating system on here is trying to tell me that by ranking something a 4, it means I think it's 'Bad' and that's not really the case, but I like 02 less than Adventure and, critically speaking, Adventure is only a 5, so... you do the math.
When it comes to the sound and the animation, 02 has pretty much the exact same flaws as its predecessor. Add to that that season two's characters weren't nearly as likable, and the story gets a bit sloppy after the halfway mark. That said, this is another crucial part of my childhood, and I did still really ... Jul 27, 2018
ENG: Digimon is an anime with great potential and deserved to have a second season. Well, not this specific. Comparing this sequence with the first anime is seen that the production team did not give a deserved attention, creating a lazy story! First of all, as a sequence, then all the events occurred in the first anime must be respected, correct? Well, some of them, but others do not, for example: part of Japan has seen the digidestined and the whole world has seen that digiworld exists, and no one cares to know about the digiworld and what can affect in the real world.
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Apr 10, 2014
(This review is for the English dubbed version of the series)
Having watched the first series of digimon and loved it, I'm afraid to admit that this second series doesn't live up to expectations. This series doesn't have the same depth of plot, storyline or character as the first series, so it feels unfinished or rushed. This is because the head executives meddled too much in the making of this series and hired two writers who had different ideas as what to do with the series. As they couldn't agree on anything, the result was quite a lot of filler episodes to reach that target of 50 ... |