Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai

As a diehard fan of the old Digimon Adventure series, I was very, very thrilled when they announced Digimon Adventure Tri. Honestly though, when I actually got to watching it, it wasn't as exciting as I thought it'd be. I felt like there were a few things that they did wrong, or things that they're missing from Tri compared to the old series.

1. Taichi was supposed to be the symbol of courage. Why does he now all of a sudden turn into a complete sissy? I mean, sure people change when they grow up but in this case, they didn't even explain why he was ... indecisive throughout the whole movie.

2. Where was the epic evolution scene for the Super Evolution and the Warp Evolution? They just completely skipped that for whatever reason, yet it was an important part of the original series which made us love it so much.

3. I know this isn't always everyone's cup of tea, but I really miss the move-name shouting. Watching the fight scenes were kind of awkward after getting used to the original where they would shout their big finishing moves at every fight.

That being said, I there are still more episodes coming to Digimon Tri, and I have hope that in the future they'll be able to do much better. The show has so much potential!

***THIS REVIEW HAS SPOILERS***
Brief Review:
Story is pretty solid. Starting off with some narrative of platonic philosophy it keeps the watcher contemplating what the main conflict of this 6 part movie series could turn out to be and in my opinion it has lots of potential. Themes handled are much darker than the original and leads to some great character development. Build up of tension is done very well with the bgm and Butterfly/Braveheart had me singing along. The animation quality is quite the disappointment, which will leave a lot of digimon fans hating and it does take away from the enjoyment. I think Saikai is ... a decent introduction into this 6 part movie series and while it may have its faults if you are a moderate digimon fan you'll enjoy it one way or another, hardcore digimon fans maybe not so much.


***SPOILER STARTS NOW***
Detailed Review:

Story: Starting off a movie/show with reference to an ancient myth or philosophy seems to be quite the common trope in the anime industry these days, for good reasons and Digimon Tri is no exception to this. In Saikai, the movie draws its reference from Plato's Theory of Form. The demiurge is the "artisan" responsible for the fashioning and maintenance of the physical world. Ideas is a non-material abstract form that is to possess the highest and most fundamental kind of reality that cannot be perceived in the material world. In Tri, the demiurge has no awareness of this Ideas and hence the basic premise of the movie series has been foreshadowed if not already set up: it'll probably boil down to something like save the world being destroyed, very digimon-esque. Very basic and cliched premise you might think. But with the appearance of Alphamon, possessor of the vacant seat in the Royal Knights, the show is most definitely throwing out subtle foreshadowing references to this idea of the creator of the material world to the watcher. While the movie has not all too much of its plot discretely revealed, if the show keeps playing on Plato's Theory of Form, I cannot help but imagine how much potential this series could have even with such a seemingly basic premise. Mind you my knowledge on platonism is quite restricted so anything I said previously might be completely wrong.

Aside from the philosophical introduction, themes and motifs of the movie are portrayed fairly well through the interaction between and development of characters. Saikai spends quite a bit of time concentrating on the interaction between the original DigiDestined as the title would suggest.

Much has changed from the fateful summer, with everyone busy with something, the crew seems to have drifted apart. However with the return of their partner digimon, they slowly start to reunite again. The small interactions between individual characters really flesh out what we loved about the DigiDestined and shows us their friendship is still going strong, all the way from Taichi and Yamato starting a big fight while Koushiro is just rambling on and on on things no one understands to Mimi's outlandishly outgoing attitude that makes everyone uncomfortable yet still content.

Nonetheless everyone has changed over the years, which therefore brings forth change in their bonds as well. Koushiro seems to care more for fashion due to the arrival of Mimi (much to Tentomon's despair) and things seem to be going to a steamy hot love triangle between Taichi, Yamato and Sora. Their digimon double the fun with their remarks on these.

Change is a very prominent theme throughout and Taichi gets the most treatment out of this. Taichi has matured a lot and sees things very differently from how he did as child: he fears the consequences of battles. He seems to have found his resolve during his fight against Alphamon but after the battle, he falls back into his internal struggle. I really hope they don't pull a Shinji Ikari with Taichi any further than this. Additionally, I do feel the reunion with their partner digimon seemed a bit short? I wouldn't have minded a bit of screentime seeing individual partners catch up, the movie isn't called Reunion for nothing. Then again it were the digimon that brought forth this reunion anyways.

Nonetheless having concentrated on characterisation of the DigiDestined by having them literally hang out for around 15 minutes does make the movie feel very slow paced at times and on many occassions feel as if nothing happened for I don't know how long. Better directing could have potentially avoided this but I can't complain too much cause the digimon had me laughing whenever they were on screen and the excellent build up of tension to battle sequences cannot be overlooked.

The music and soundtrack was a job well done. The bgm definitely did its job when it came to setting the right atmosphere, especially when the tension was building quickly or during Taichi's and Yamato's nice little bromance talk in the Ferris Wheel. With the original singers for Braveheart and Butterfly returning to sing each others song, not only was it nostalgic but very refreshing. Furthermore that orchestral version of Braveheart was just brilliant. Although, there was quite a lack of voice acting during battle sequences especially during Alphamon vs Omnimon. No grunts or anything from both digimon or humans. I was really disappointed when they didn't call out the names of their attacks... And why doesn't Alphamon speak?

The animation quality really made Saikai suffer and this is probably my single most biggest complaint as well as worry for the movie series. Toei being its studio, I wasn't all too worried about the animation quality. While their recent anime series works have been utterly disastrous (Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragon Ball Super), their movie animation quality was always top notch. (look at one piece strong world, just incredible)

I have never been more disappointment. It was probably the most choppiest of animations I have ever seen in recent years and mind you there are some horrible ones out there recently. And if you're going to use that many still frames at least make them somewhat pleasing to the eye, some of it is just plain eye cancer. For example when Taichi is running away from Kuwagamon, the long distance shot of Taichi facing Kuwagamon, Taichi looks horrendous. As a bonus I am not a big fan of big thick line drawn effects that stay still for several frames. Those are the sort of effects that goes well with kids but the intended audience for Tri is most definitely not kids as seen in ANY of the themes handled in this movie.

When I first heard that Atsuya Uki would be in charge of character design, I wasn't very happy. Don't get me wrong, his works are awesome (Cencoroll, Tsuritama) but I felt as if his artstyle just wouldn't fit well with Digimon's style. But to my surprise I quickly got used to it when I saw the movie and in fact very much appreciated the design in the end. Evolution sequences were also quite awesome having implemented some CG it did remind me of the sort of CG in Bokura no War Game. And to be honest, the battle sequences were actually pretty awesome and well choreographed. However I can't help but think I wished Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and Mamoru Hosoda would have worked on Digimon Tri. They really were a dream pair. And why the hell did they not show the ultra and mega evolutions during battle?

In conclusion, Digimon Tri's story is something worthy of being called Digimon. While not much has been revealed, if they play their cards correctly, it could shape into something pretty awesome. Character interactions and development is on point with the returning cast and their partner digimon, making long time fans go crazy with nostalgia and making us remember again why we love them so much. The music doesn't exactly help calm down the nostalgia fit, it only makes it even more intense. The movie on a whole was very enjoyable having me smiling or going crazy of excitement every second. The animation quality really missed the mark, being no where near anime movie quality or even your average anime show. In this sense I do find it very difficult to see this as a movie series but instead just a 24 episode show (assuming each movie will be 4 episodes) which will take bloody years to finish. Saikai will definitely be a mixed bag for digimon fans but nonetheless I found it very enjoyable and have high hopes for the following movies to unveil the grand epic to come.

Ugh, this was so disappointing. First of all, with eight characters and only seventeen episodes I really hated and resented introducing Mei. She's boring, pointless, and only takes away from the people I actually care about. Same for the secret agent people, they just convoluted the plot and kept important information secret for the stupidest reasons possible.

I'm also fine with a slower, more thoughtful pace. But it felt like there was so much filler nonsense that I should have skipped a few episodes. A lot of plot hangups and character development also depends on the cliche of people being to stupid to talk to ... each other for five seconds. Finishing this felt like a chore and punishment for having fond childhood memories.

There was some good however, except it's hard to describe because it was spread so thinly and intermittently. Overall I regret watching and should have just found some good fanfiction.

Nostalgia does not make the heart fonder it seems.

I am a big fan of the original Digimon series but this movie is honestly horrible.

Story:
While there are hints to something larger occasionally in the plot, every scene is needlessly dragged on. The slice of life parts that open the show only sustain itself on nostalgia and is infinitely worse than good slice of life animes out there. The latter half of the show involves the main characters staring dumbly at danger as monsters attack being nothing more than passive bystanders.

Art:
I felt as if I was watching an overly (bad) artistic movie made by some independent ... artist for the sake of making a point. Color palettes are dull and uninspiring, unlike the first episode of Digimon. The movie does attempt to show rather than tell (far too much emphasis on show) so the art is arguably the best part of this. At least the artists tried to make some sort of point with the designs of the digi world.

Sound:
Music and booms seems to be all there is. Even if the music is from the original series, it's heavily overused in scenes with little variations. Ace Attorney games have wonderful music that is kept fresh each game through remixes, variations, and character themes. Music is also adjusted based on the mood and feel of the scene. Digimon Adventure: Reunion does not.The abuse of sound in the movie is worse than my middle school attempts at adding to RPG Maker projects.

Character:
Was there supposed to be character in this movie? I couldn't notice, seeing as there were way too many scenes where nothing happens besides characters nodding and grunting at one another. Or dialog scenes that lead to nowhere, are said without any useful context, provide little to the actual plot. Or characters staring at each other stupidly while the monsters fight completely breaking up the flow of the fight scenes. The sudden giant section of exposition in the middle was awkwardly placed and didn't fit with the rest of the slow anime.

Overall:
A botched slice of life intro, passable combat scenes, and lazy usage of sounds.

How this movie might have been salvagable:
Duration: Cut by at least 50%
Slice of Life Intro: Add in humor of Wagnaria or Charm of Non Non Biyori
Art: I get that it's supposed to be very "real life" like with the gritty and clean art design but there are countless shows that get it right without feeling so...lifeless.
Sound: See sound review
Character: Getting rid of the nonchalant look on characters faces when something is trying to kill them would be good. Cause humans don't have a blank look on their face when that happens. Or I don't know...getting rid of unnecessary slowness in fight scenes, the random cut ins of the digi-destined dumbly staring at one another during the fight scenes. Really, any sort of emotion would be good.

Let me explain my score here...Although the story is a bit clunky in a way, and doesnt make much sense this is only the start of a two part series, so I cant judge the story strictly based on this because so far not much is explained. The characters and art look beautiful and also still keep that older look to it in a way. Similar to the style of the first Digimon movie. The music is good with the digivolution theme being a blast from the past. The characters are just like them old selves but you definitely see how they have matured and ... how they are more entitled to their own opinions as compared to the first series where they just went with each other's plan. Tai shines in this movie having a understandable moral conflict which gives it a much more adult tone. He sees the disaster and he isnt sure if its for the right cause or not. He worries about people getting killed a topic not often touched upon in Digimon. The nostalgia and fanservice definitely is incorporated well, such as Kari having a birthday party just like in the first movie, Kuwagamon being a callback to the first fight of the series, and plenty more if you pay close attention. I went into this not having seen a Digimon series since the 3rd series. I wasn't sure how Digimon was still holding up only to be delightfully entertained once more by the characters I enjoyed most, just as much as when I was a child. However if you are not a fan of the older digimon series you probably wont get too much enjoyment from this. This is more for the people who grew up with it not just getting started.

Finally a 1990s anime reboot done right! Move aside Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragonball Super, Digimon Adventure Tri for the most part has met my expectations.

Story: The story starts off slow but it's understandable as it's the reunion part of the overall Tri series. That being said, by the end of part 03, everything starts to make sense regarding the new evil that is appearing. It was heartwarming to see the DigiDestined and the Digimon reuniting as I reminiscence over the years gone by since the first season has ended.

Art: The backgrounds and digivices are all well detailed. The digimon has a look similar ... to the 1990s version but more fleshed out due to advancements in technology. The human characters has the typical shonen 2010s style so however.

Sound: The opening and ending songs are very good to listen to and even the BGM in the various scenes are a joy the ears. It captures every scene to the tee very nicely.

Character: Development wise, the Digidestined themselves still have their personality when they were kids for better or worse depending on your perception. Except now as late teenagers, they have responsibilities (i.e. entrance exams for Joe) and tend to do their own thing unless there's an meeting to be held regarding the story and events of the series. Thankfully the Digimon themselves are still quirky and full of fun to see. There is also a new character that appears but not as fleshed out yet. I also don't understand why there's no mention of the 02 series characters as we clearly seen them as kids doing that season while 01 characters were in high school then, like they are now.

Enjoyment: Overall I enjoyed what I have seen so far and I expect it to get better once Episode 2 is released since it was a slow start. However the questionable disapperance of the Digimon 02 main characters mystifies me. I hope they're atleast acknowledged in the next episode as there's been times where both 01 and 02 characters would help out each other when needed.

:Minor spoiler included:


I actually made an account just to express my disappointment with the series. Overall, I'd have to say it was underwhelming given the hype that built up to this. People expected more of the story and character development, and it disappointed. Oh lord did it. Perhaps it was due to overhype or just a plot line that no one was expecting in general, the story fell flat on its ass. The once joyful and cheery characters of Tai and Joe were pushed to polar opposites. Yes, people might say "Oh it's part of growing up". What people don't get that the whole point ... of this series is to give the people who watched this series growing up, a sense of nostalgia. A poor attempt of giving the movie some emotional depth ultimately backfiring into this, droll. I had high hopes, and they were gradually lowered every episode.

Story 10/10: Digimon Tri is exactly what the Digimon fandom needed. Back in Digimon Adventure 02, when they brought in a new generation of Digidestined, whenever one of the original characters showed up in an episode for a crucial plot point, we saw exactly how much they took their crest to heart and how that helped shape them as they grew up; here in Tri, we see the original Digidestined start to struggle with who they once were and who they will become. From the way part 1 and 2 came out, it seems that each part is going to feature 2 characters per part ... struggling to remember and recapture what their crest once represented about themselves. Something to know going in, they use the first part of episode one to "subtly" let you know that the new digidestined from Adventure 02 WILL NOT be featured in (and possibly not even a part of) Tri.

Art 9/10: The art will probably be the toughest thing to adjust to if you still have the animation from the original series in mind, that being said, you will probably come to love almost all of it after that brief adjustment period (even I still have problems with some of the CG art during the digivolving sequences, but that's also mostly just Ikkakumon). Once the show finds its footing after two episodes, the fights also all become amazing (look forward to the final episode of each part for epic battles). Despite how Tri shapes up in terms of art, what keeps the art score away from perfection in part one is that they keep reusing stock footage in flashbacks (trust me, you'll see what I mean).

Sound 10/10: Miyazaki Ayumi - "Brave Heart" enough said.

Character 10/10: If you thought you knew the original characters after 2 seasons of 50+episodes, you are wrong. Tri takes their character development to the next step now that they are older and have their futures to worry about, as well as how they now realize that the Digimon cause real damage to their surrounding when they fight. Like I said above in plot, Tri has a major focus on the original digidestined recapturing what their crests once meant, and so far, each is done beautifully (part two better than part one in my opinion). The relationship aspect that we couldn't explore back in the original series because of their age is also starting to be addressed in Tri, which may trigger some people who have longtime ships from when they were kids, but it had to happen eventually (and I swear, T.K. better shape up and realize he is meant to be with Kari).

Enjoyment 10/10: This was exactly the nostalgia trip I needed in my life, and seeing as I don't do drugs, that is the kind of trip I am always down for.

Overall 10/10: I'm so glad that they found a way to add on to the series that I grew up with as a child so that it can continue to have meaning in my life later on now that both the characters and I are older. If you want a repeat of the series you also once new as a child, let that feeling go for a bit so you can take in what Tri is trying to do.

My only complaint is that there is only one part (4 episodes) released every 6 months.

I honestly found myself pleased with the first movie in the Tri series, and I did not find anything I was personally disappointed in, but I could see places which would bother other people. I've decided to structure my review around this particular theme.

First, the manner in which second season canon was handled. Second, the movie has quite a bit of ship tease which occurs in the movie which many fans wished would not occur. Third, a new character was added to the team. Forth, there are a ton of unanswered questions. Fifth, the art style is something which has bothered since the posters were ... released.

I'll address the way the canon for the second season was handled. On the positive sides the makers of the movie didn't forget that the canon existed. The two younger digidestioned still have their upgraded digivices, and the uniforms that the older kids wore for season two are now being worn by the younger two. Matt's band is mentioned, and so is the fact Joe goes to a different school. The only other reference to season two material is a flashback sequence showing the main digidestioned introduced in season two being nixed. There is no telling what else will be nixed in the next movies either. For example, while season two left the impression that Matt and Sora are dating, they aren't in the movie.

A few people will argue that season two's canon trumps that of the movies, particularly when the director and the producer publicly claimed that the material in season two was canon, and some fans even credit the director and producer as the creators of the Digimon series. In reality the series started off as a series of games, and were created by a different person entirely. One of the rumors floating around at the time was that the production team split because of a major rift, and the production team for Tamers was created because of said rift. The movies may thus be seen as a way to fix the issues that occurred later on in the second season, particularly if season two didn't fit what the original creator wanted for the series.

This leads me into the second issues. The movie does not at all shy away from ship teasing. The pairing between Matt/Yamatto and Sora is no longer an official canon pairing, and the love triangle for Sora between Matt/Yamatto and Tai/Taicho is back. Contrary to what the director said, the love triangle did exist within the games of the franchise, and Sora did show an interest in Tai/Taichi. Add to this there is ship tease for a relationship between Kari/Hikari and T.K./Takeru, but this remains under the surface. The most evident ship tease though is between Izzy/Koushio and Mimi. Those rooting for Joe/Jo and Mimi together are out of luck.

Chances are there is going to be more ship tease in the later movies, something many fans were hoping could be avoided because a.) the series is meant for kids, and b.) the series fits into the shounen demographic. The first problem with this though is the fact Digimon Tri is not aimed at kids, but is instead aimed at older fans of the franchise, and as such romance will be a thing. However, in that same turn kids series aren't free from romance contrary to the popular belief. Second, the shounen demographic isn't free of romance either. That's another misunderstanding. The main problem though is people may not be pleased with the pairing choices put down by the movie.

The third issue is the new character. Meiko ends up replacing the four charters from season two, which is something that will not sit well for certain fans. She's not though a bad character at this point. Unlike the characters from season two, her introduction was a lot slower, and she didn't usurp the role of the original eight like Davis/Daisuke and company did. One downside is she may be thrown in there to solve the love triangle issue involving Sora between Matt/Yamatto and Tai/Taichi, which again will be something that may not sit well with fans. She's a lot more soft spoken then Sora, so she pretty much invokes the role of a proper Japanese lady far better. Add to this she's got a major shrine maiden vibe going on, which in turn means she could, if not handled well, turn into a Mary Sue.

Still, this is actually the part I found myself most worried about in the series, as I feared she would usurp the canon characters like Davis/Daisuke and company did, if not worse. She's in reality a very non intrusive character, whose presence did not over shadow the original eight at all, and instead she's slowly introduced as an additional cast member, much in the same way Kari/Hikari was in season one. Her personality ended up being enjoyable, and pleasant. Any character hate at this point is unwarranted.

The forth issue is that there are a ton of unanswered questions. One of these questions is what happened to the four who were nixed, but other questions pop up. Since this is an ongoing series, we'll hopefully see these questions answered. The fifth is the art work. The art work actually isn't bad, but is something that people will need to get used to. One disadvantage is the characters don't look quite the same as they used to, as the art format used for bandai's shows aimed at children are gone, but on the positive side this allows for a whole lot more detail in the art work that wouldn't be possible had they gone with the old style.

As for the plot of the story, one of the reasons they likely released as a movie instead of in episode format comes down to the fact the series plot wise works more like the movies did. While all of the Digimon telivision series are action packed, this one holds back on the action in the same way the movies do. For some people this may be a disappointment, but in the same regard a lot of built up occurred within the series allowing for a nice introduction for the new character. The characters are also in character, or at least for the season one material, and some of season two.

A little bit of context: Digimon fan since I was 7 years old. I'm 28 now. I've watched everything there is up to this point and also played a few Digimon games.

This is a good movie but there's still a few aspects that I want to mention:

1) CGI is present during digivolution sequences and in my opinion it looks bad

2) this movie has no love whatsoever for Gomamon and it's sad

3) it took me a few minutes to get used to the new character design and animation style. The only character that feels immediately as himself is Kochiro (Izzy).

4) The soundtrack is ... eargasm after eargasm of nostalgia. As far as I am aware, all the songs used are remakes of the original ones from 21 years ago (I'm counting from the time I'm making this review).

5) The final battle felt too rushed. A bunch of digivolutions without any animated sequences and apparently only the two main boys deserve the spotlight. Hated it.


Overall it's a great movie despite its flaws and it gets an 8/10 from me.

This review contains some light spoilers. Read on at your own discretion.

~~~~~

Heroes. We need them. We grow up with them. We are inspired by them. To certain kids of '99, a group of "Chosen Children/Digidestined" were the very epitome of such heroes as they spent an unforgettable year on an adventure with them.

However, now that we've grown up, things have changed. Adults need to be more 'serious' now and put childish things back where they belong. In 2015, despite the rise of Marvel's lighthearted movies, the fixation on grittiness still takes precedence over inspiring stories. We no longer look at things with hopeful hearts as ... we mock Superman and Captain America for being naive boyscouts who fail to look at the reality of our world.

The main character of Digimon Adventure, Taichi Yagami, knows this. It's more than just fear consuming him. No longer a Chosen 'Child', Taichi the Courageous addresses the one thing I've always complained about in certain superhero movies (particularly Man of Steel) - a lack of acknowledgement towards collateral damage in the aftermath of a battle. With Batman v. Superman addressing this mistake, Digimon too has caught up with the new age, imbuing the new stories with a dash of realism.

And this really excites me, more than the nostalgia of hanging out with my old buddies again. Digimon has finally evolved again. After Digimon Xros Wars, I wasn't sure that things were going to improve in the future, and I was afraid that there would be a lapse in storytelling as the studios focus more on money-making formula.

Even better, it's not just Taichi who goes through such unexpected character development, but Jyou too, as he too has moved on and deal with his life through a sense of maturity. Having struggled with his entrance exam, Jyou has shut out the childhood memories of things he believes he's not responsible for, things that are unrelated to his current life as a student. This amazing turn of event is nothing I had came to expect from Digimon, considering their recent history of repetitive and formulaic storylines in the video games that they promoted for the 15th anniversary of the Digimon franchise (Re:Digitize and Cyber Sleuth included).

Of course, being an anime (shorthand for "animation" FYI), the animation is kinda an important factor, and unfortunately, Adventure Tri. didn't do that well in this department. And I'm not just referring to the cel shading that made most of the movie look like a cheap video game cutscene. The animated movement of the characters itself feels very awkward sometimes. The characters' body language sometimes don't reflect what they are feeling, leaving some misinterpretation among certain audience members who critiqued Taichi for being emotionless towards the Digimon-caused collateral damage when that's obviously far from the truth. And naturally, the cel animation itself looks horrible and out of place, and the rest of the hand-drawn traditional stuff looks overly simplistic and amateuristic. They had better animation back in the first season of Digimon compared to this movie. That's how bad it is. At one point of the movie, Takeru looked like he was drawn by a college student studying animation.

Also, even though I know this is just the first part of a four-part movie series, it does feel a bit lacking. Aside from Taichi and Jyou, the rest of the cast seems like they were only there to crack jokes, which was one annoyance I felt towards the same group of characters during Digimon Adventure 02, the second season of the TV series. I guess that, with their development coming to a full circle during the first season, there's hardly any use for spotlighting on them any more and they have to turn our attention towards those who still have some growing up to do.

And oh god, the evolution sequence is so bad. Not only did they drag out the sequence with repetitive cel animation to fill out the screentime (they were way shorter in the TV series), they also took out the sequence of Agumon and Gabumon's evolutions from the Perfect Stage to the Ultimate Stage! We didn't get to see the nostalgic MetalGreymon transformation sequence that was so awesome! It was kinda lazy on their part.

And finally, the fight between Alphamon and Omegamon was so lackluster. It's teased so much in the trailers, and yet we only receive so little in the end. It's Alphamon - THE Alphamon. Those of us who knew him from the Digimon X-Evolution movie knows how big of a deal this is. Alpha and Omega have come together again and it's so... insignificant in the movie. Sigh. Oh well.

But truth be told, I'm rather content with how things turn out for the movie. There are little details in there that not only pander to the fan in me, but they also show that there's a good writer behind the movie. For example: Taichi didn't just magically forget about the relationship choice Sora made during season 2. You could still tell that he's struggling with the awkwardness of (not) asking Sora out, and it further shows his maturity. I also like the government aspect of the story. Even though it's an element that's been done to death already in other superhero stories, I think it's handled quite well in the movie... for now. It's no Hypnos from Digimon Tamers that's for sure, but at least it's a step-up from season 2 where the government was completely okay with children controlling monsters that destroy buildings.

Even though it's still leagues away from the quality of Tamers, this has been a good reunion for Digimon fans. We got our nostalgia fulfilled, we got our new character development, and we got an intriguing story crafted for the modern era. It's a good start, if anything.

The argument is something that we already know, very typical from Digimon (until now), but nothing against it, the most important thing here is the development of friendship, but the characters don't help very much to make it very interesting.
The old music is a great touch, from my point of view, and i like the new graphic design, that could be even better i guess, but still pretty good.
I guess the big problem of this OVAS going to be the characters, they don't resemble their old personalities even a little, i understand people grow and change, but they should have an essense, but just Mimi ... and Yamato, keep it, maybe TK too.
I dont want to explain a lot of this because there's no much to say, i really think this worth specially if you are fan of the first season, if you're not, you're not losing too much.

This Digimon series returns to beloved characters with a greater sense of maturity. It focuses on the real-world lives of the original Digimon Adventures human cast rather than showcasing Digimon transformations. The storytelling presents a strong beginning, but the story is incomplete, leaving plenty of room for Acts Two and Three. The animation is so far the greatest improvement, particularly during fight sequences. While the main stage is the human world, the presence of the Digital world is still felt in a more subtle sense, hinting at greater complexity to come. If you're a fan of Digimon Adventures 1 & 2 and enjoy a little ... slice-of-life alongside your topnotch monster fights, you should already be watching this.

Going into this with the expectation of the original show may leave you very disappointed. The focus of this project appears to be the characters. All the original Digidestined seem to have naturally progressed in the 6 years since their original adventure. Tai has developed an internal conflict that actually mirrors ones from the original series. He fears the actions of the Digidestined in their fighting may be causing more harm than good, and that they may be the reason for all of the destruction in the first place. The few fight scenes that appear in the episode are brief and don't focus on the ... flashy effects or long transformation scenes of the original, but they serve their purpose to push and develop the characters.

An "Okay" Review for Digimon tri pt.1
I leave Digimon tri feeling disappointed but relieved. At the halfway point I wanted to shut it off, play some XCOM instead because I was really unmoved by it all. It felt slow, it felt like the characters had gotten bland after years away and I was pulling it apart more. The soundtrack was bugging the shit out of me I kept picking out moments were the music would ruin moments and seemed really out of place. I wasn't amazed by the animation either, it's not by any stretch of the imagination bad but it never amazed me and ... I was just waiting for something to remind me of why I liked Digimon in the first place. Why I watched the show as a kid with eyes glued to the tv in amazement or later as a teen still finding enjoyment in it. I was geared up to really dislike Digimon tri.
Due to the sheer number of characters I feel like rating all their overall performances would pointless, especially as this movie mostly focuses on Tai and Matt. Starting with them it feels like the writers are trying to make Tai deeper by showing how Tai realises just how real the damage caused by the battles can be but I don't understand most of his actions throughout the movie. Matt's always been an emotional little shit and in this movie it shows however he does come across as the more herioc and proactive of the two. I feel like the writers are stepping on old group with the two meaning that it all feels a bit familiar, and I'm more than happy to bet $5 that in the next movies they're gonna have a punchup. Everyone else is just there for the sake of it and I hope they build on them more later because I feel like they've grown up but that haven't actually grown as characters.
As I said I very nearly disliked this movie so obviously it does some things right. Despite some bad comments on animation earlier it does have some nice moments towards the end of the movie and overall the whole thing has a nice colour pallet. The soundtrack is awful but I really liked the opening, I like how it matches the movie and is pretty catchy as well. I felt invested in the characters instantly because of my connection with the series but I feel it adds some things that could add to the series in later movies. Like the introduction of Meiko who feels important to the plot and shows the signs of being an okay character. Despite my rant about Tai and Matt the fight they have in this movie feels more adult (probably because they nearly are adults) and it seems like the two boys are beginning to realise just how far apart they're drifting. I also get the impression they're going to build certain characters and maybe get some of them together but a nerd can only hope.
I'm not entirely pleased but I'm looking forward to next movie. Most of all it feels like Digimon tri 1 suffers from being the first movie, having to get the materials for greatness together as apposed to actually buidling something.
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3/5 it's okay

ENG: see this movie brings a great nostalgia, a very good feeling watching the first few minutes to the sound of music (in a new way) Butter-fly! By the way, the sound part in general is absolutely great. In the animation part, it is also seen that Toei did a great job, with very smooth scenes and good use in scenes using animated 3D, the great highlight goes even to the digievolutions and the action scenes (some people may be shocked at the new look of the characters, it's understandable, but they did it in a very competent way). The main plot is still not ... very clear, mainly because it does not know how much of the Digimon Adventure 2 this film considered (until the emperor digimon? Malomyotismon existed, and if so, was until his defeat?), at least the story is cool and it is also developing well ( hopefully the plot looks like it's going to really explore the consequences of Digiworld on the real world, such as the existence of a security and surveillance agency for this, for example. Oh, and about time too!).

PORT: ver esse filme traz uma grande nostalgia, uma sensação muito boa vendo os primeiros minutos ao som da música ( e de forma nova) Butter-fly! Falando nisso, a parte sonora num geral está absolutamente ótima. Na parte da animação, é também visto que a Toei fez um ótimo trabalho, com cenas bem fluidas e um bom uso nas cenas usando o 3D animado, o grande destaque vai mesmo para as digievoluções e para as cenas de ação ( algumas pessoas podem estranhar o novo visual dos personagens, é compreensível, mas fizeram de forma bem competente). Sobre a trama principal, ainda não está muito clara, principalmente pelo fato de não saber até que parte do Digimon Adventures 2 esse filme considerou ( foi até o imperador digimon? Malomyotismon existiu, e se sim, foi até a derrota dele?), pelo menos a história está legal e se desenvolvendo bem em seu ritmo ( ainda bem que a trama vai explorar as consequências do Digimundo sobre o mundo real, como a existência de uma agência de segurança e fiscalização para isso,por exemplo. Já tava na hora!).

This movie leans a bit too heavily on nostalgia for its appeal, but it still mostly finds a way to make it work. Everybody's grown up just a bit more, but they're all fundamentally the same. Tai's still the star of his soccer team, Matt's the frontman for his band, Mimi's living in America, Joe's being awkward and trying to become a doctor, Izzy's an expert in computers, TK's living with his divorced mom, and Kari is nice. Every member of the second team that wasn't part of the first is ominously written out of the story during the opening ... scenes. That basically tells you the direction this movie will go in: Tai and Matt are the solution to everything. Granted, that's exactly how the original anime usually turned out, so it's not too much of a surprise. The new theme song is somehow both a bit better and at the same time not quite as good as the original. Other than the new theme song, nothing ever feels out of place, and that only feels off because you keep expecting to hear the original.

Overall, it's a pretty solid movie, but the only real reasons to watch it are either nostalgia or to get to the movies that come after it.

I'll be honest, the first OVA is just....okay. there's problems with it, but it never reaches a really low point. if this was just a thing here it would have been fine. However the problems become more and more apparent as you advance, every ova just gets worse and worse. You can tell the people behind this don't understand how the franchise works, or know much about the characters. and it's just sad. The designs are honestly really bland, while Nakatsuru's original designs were charming, there's nothing of that here. the soundtrack has some nice remixes but it's honestly nothing new. overall this is just ... medioce, and sadly it just gets worse from here.

Backstory of Digimon Adventure tri. The Digimon tri was original to be a 26ep anime, but then it got canceled and turn into a movie however it's not gonna be a movie but 6 movie with 4-5ep in it making it a 26ep anime.

Digimon Adventure tri. 1: Saikai, was a decent start of the tri series, it first gives you an nostalgia song of Butterfly as an op and shows you the original characters as teenagers. To be honest most of the character design as ok, but they look very dull and boring, it feels like the animates just copy and past the faces to ... other characters. An example will be when Taichi and Yamato were at the ferry their face looks the same, unlike the Digimon Adventure (1999) were all the character has unique faces and you can easily who the character is by their faces, but in tri every characters looks the same.

Another one is Agumon, Jesus christ they made Agumon skinny as hell and it's face is just a piece of garbage and the kin tone of Agumon is this yellow cream colour which isn't the right skin tone for Agumon, Agumon's should be orange or orange oxide colour.

The story was pretty boring nothing really drives the story in Saikai, half of the ep is just the characters talking shit and it's boring as fuck, the only thing to get some actiong is just some digimon came and fuck the city.

Lastly should you watch it? If you a digimon fan you can go watch it but you're gonna get disappointed, if you're not a digimon fan or want to get in digimon don't watch this shit, if you want to get fully involved in the digimon series and want to watch up to the tri, go watch Digimon Adventure (1999) and then digimon our war game.

Overall as much as I shit on this, it still give me some joy when watching it and the nostalgia is really but it's gonna be ass later on.

Might contain some spoilers!

Ahh digimon. This might be a but biased, because digimon adventure 1 was my favorite tv show when I was little. I was really obsessed to say the least, so I'll love it no matter what.

It's very nostalgic because they use the same voices and music, and that just makes me very happy.

As for the storyline, I can't grade it too hig because I don't really know what's happening. Everything is still very much a surpise. It seems so focus on the original chosen 8 children. Which I love, because the adventure 2 children didn't do much for me, I especially ... hated davis. So although I don't mind that, I do admit that it's weird that they are not mentioned.. At the same time, it's clear they will show up in one of the episodes.

What is so great is that adventure was a kids show, and tri seems to be written for those kids, who are now in their late teens or adulthood. The kids face some troubles growing up that we all face. There is also a bit of romance and flirting and hints that weren't there in adventure 1. Or maybe I just didn't see them. Adventure 2 & the movies did show some romance especially between takeru and hikari, and sora and taichi and yamato. It's too bad that the ending of adventure 2 eliminated the possibility of those developing, because tri shows some possibilities for them..

Jyou, koushiro, mimi and yamato seem to be perfectly in character. Taichi struggles with his courage, which is a bit out of character but can also be seen as growing up. I haven't seen much of sora, hikari and takeru yet. So far, they seem in character.

The art looks great, although it took some getting used too. The rest, especially because of the music, is just one big trip of nostalgia. The only bad thing is the time between the seperare parts...

All in all, I'm a fan, can't wait to see more, especially of hikari & tailmon. I hope I don't have to wait two years for that.