Digimon Adventure tri. 3: Kokuhaku

The Chosen Children are in shock after the betrayal of Meicoomon, the digital monster who had recently joined their group alongside her human partner, Meiko Mochizuki. Koushirou Izumi is determined to diagnose the infection that took control of Meicoomon. Meanwhile, Takeru Takaishi realizes that his own partner, Patamon, is starting to exhibit alarming symptoms similar to those of other infected Digimon, like Meicoomon.

Just then, the Chosen Children receive a message from the mysterious entity Homeostasis, who informs them that their world is in danger of total destruction—and the Digital World, the home of the Digimon, is too. Homeostasis plans to enact a "Reboot," which will reset all the data that makes up the Digital World and eradicate the infection. However, the Reboot will also erase the memories of all Digimon, including the Children's partners. Can the Chosen Children stop Meicoomon before the Reboot becomes necessary, or is this the end of their time together with their Digimon?

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Yagami, Taichi Main

Hanae, Natsuki Japanese

Ishida, Yamato Main

Hosoya, Yoshimasa Japanese

Yagami, Hikari Main

Ichimichi, Mao Japanese

Takaishi, Takeru Main

Enoki, Junya Japanese

Agumon Main

Sakamoto, Chika Japanese

Izumi, Koushirou Main

Tamura, Mutsumi Japanese

Tachikawa, Mimi Main

Yoshida, Hitomi Japanese

Tailmon Main

Tokumitsu, Yuka Japanese

Takenouchi, Sora Main

Mimori, Suzuko Japanese

Patamon Main

Matsumoto, Miwa Japanese

Arai, Shuuhei Producer

Motokawa, Kouhei Producer

Motonaga, Keitarou Director

Iwahata, Gouichi Storyboard

Reviews

Sep 23, 2016

Tacas

Recommended

When producing continuations of popular anime, the creators are often accused of milking the franchise. While this might be true in some cases, there is a large number of counter-examples. One of them is the sequel to the Digimon Adventure franchise, Digimon Adventure tri. The first two films have already been no disappointment and the third one, Kokuhaku, is another case of a successful sequel.

Kokuhaku’s atmosphere is much darker than that of tri’s previous instalments and it manages to convey a dull, melancholic feeling from the very beginning. This is supported by the absence of an opening in the first part of the film whose ... presence would have cheered the viewer up. Of course, this film is not entirely dark as there is a good amount of comic relief to see. However, one cannot deny that the events of the previous films have affected the cast’s – and, therefore, the film’s – mood immensely. Nevertheless, Kokuhaku feels natural as the tone shift is not unexpected, even though the story could also have progressed in a different direction which, thankfully, it did not.

Another difference from Saikai and Ketsui, the films which preceded this one, is the length: Kokuhaku is approximately 20 minutes longer. While one could be thankful for this, it also comes with a number of problems since, for example, the film’s pacing suffers greatly from this. Toei Animation could have compressed the story into a shorter film and not much would have been lost. The way it is now, some scenes feel a bit too long, even though they are important. Additionally, the animation quality and the consistency of the character designs have decreased in quality, albeit not having been extraordinarily great in the other two films either. Had the film been shorter, aforementioned aspects would probably not have suffered as much as they have now.

That being said, this film is in no way boring. The viewer experiences amazing and surprisingly complex world building which does not contradict anything that has already been established. One might argue that it is a bit too complex for its own good but even then, it does not disrupt the film’s flow.

As different as Kokuhaku might be, it still stays true to the franchise to which it belongs. It communicates important themes such as departure or loss in true Digimon fashion and does not disappoint when it comes to nostalgic moments either. It shows how a story can continue without conveying a feeling of a franchise being milked.

Other than the other two films, Kokuhaku does not focus on two characters. While Koushirou and Takeru are a bit more important than the rest of the cast, the plot does not revolve around them as it did with Mimi and Jou in Ketsui. Thanks to this, one is able to see how the events in the previous films helped developing the personality of certain characters, especially Jou. Moreover, this film revolves more around the Digimon than the other two did. While before, they were shown side-to-side with their partners, this time we can see them interact with one another without the children being nearby. These scenes show how much personality the Digimon have, which is a fact that is often forgotten.

Action scenes are, on the one hand, handled rather well. The battles’ choreographies are more complex than in the TV series, where fights usually ended with Digimon using their respective special move. Here, much more thought has been put into the action and the result is undeniably satisfactory. On the other hand, aforementioned animation issues dull the experience a bit and, moreover, it feels as though the camera is zoomed in during important clashes, making it hard to find out what exactly happens on screen.

Kokuhaku is unexpectedly emotional. Digimon has always been a bit cheesy and this film is no exception. However, the execution is on point and underlined by a beautiful soundtrack. Moreover, due to the aforementioned atmosphere, emotional scenes are much more believable and relatable. In this aspect, Kokuhaku surpasses the two other films and to a certain extent also the TV series.

In my opinion, this film is the best tri-film so far. It has less weaknesses than the other two and manages to surprise its audience with compelling twists, even though it is basically targeted at children. It might not be entirely perfect and the usual production quality of Toei Animation is not its only fault. However, Kokuhaku is a must-watch for Digimon fans and I personally cannot wait for the next film to air.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Nov 2, 2016

nurfee

Mixed Feelings

Digimon Adventure, the anime of my childhood - rewatched the entire two seasons just to watch the movies.

When I heard, that there will be a Movie, continuing the ORGINIAL(!!!) Digimon series, I really looked forward to it. The first movie was okay the second not so well and this... this movie disappointed me so much, I can't describe my anger.

First, the stupid animation I can't stand. It is like every other "kawaii" anime (eg Kyoto animation animes), it losts his charmness.
When I think back to the old season, the adults looked like adults and not like kids. You can see, that they are low ... in budget and this is fine, but an anime lost his seriousness, when adults looking like childrens.

Second, the new character doesn't make me angry, but the fact that she has the same name as her digimon, makes me cringe. Evertime Mimi calls her makes me cringe.

Third, Mimi isn't the same anymore. She was charming and friendly, but in this movie Mimi just want to pick up a fight with Izzy for no reason. I know that the author wants Love drama, but you can't just put drama in a scene where it doesn't belong.

Fourth, there isn't a real plot now. It takes to long. This and the last movie dropped the niveau of Digimon completly.

Fifth, whats up with Sora and Yamato? In the last Digimon Adventure episodes Sora told Yamato that she loves her, and when the Digimon attacked the human world, you can see, how Yamato protects Sora. In the movie you can not tell if they are a pair, or if Sora has feelings for Tai.

The only thing I enjoyed is, that they keep their old soundtracks and opening theme.

All in all the characters aren't as charming as they where in the first movie and in the old seasons, but I am looking forward and I hope that it will be better.



Story: 5
Art: 3
Sound: 5
Character: 4
Enjoyment: 5
Overall: 5

*excuse my mistakes, I am from germany.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Sep 25, 2016

TsukineHime

Not Recommended

Honestly, as much as I enjoy digimon, I can't write any decent reviews about digimon tri. The only reason I keep watching this is because I wanna know what the hell is the plot, because it has been 3 movies already an I still don't know whats going on.

Literally 3 movies to show that Ken is up to no good and that digimon are infected, that is literally what happened so far, no more no less, plot-wise.
They focus too much on normal day to day scenes like going for baths or school festivals, which would be fine if they had decent character development going ... on, which for the most part they didn't, just trivial quarrels and whatnot, some seemed to come out of the blue with no apparent reason.

The only good thing I have to say about this one is that it was pretty emotional, and on that I do agree they did a good job, brought me some tears to my eyes.
But the rest? Especially the plot, they advanced next to nothing, so there's really not much to spoil even if I wanted to do so, the show is just moving that slow, if their pacing is terrible or if they're just bad at story telling.. well I really dont know, but so far this has been quite mediocre at best.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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	Poll: Digimon Adventure tri. 3: Kokuhaku Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Sep 23, 2016	132 replies	by nando3d1 »» Nov 12, 5:47 AM
	Digimon Adventure tri. "Shoshitsu" Poster GigaDestroyer - Oct 7, 2016	13 replies	by KingArti »» Oct 23, 2016 1:55 PM
	Post-movie question Chanaynay - Sep 27, 2016	4 replies	by Raydnt »» Oct 1, 2016 9:17 PM
	Digimon Tri 4 ibraheem234 - Sep 24, 2016	9 replies	by voidepression »» Sep 25, 2016 11:03 AM
	Ending Ost Caramellochi - Sep 23, 2016	1 replies	by Malphas_ »» Sep 23, 2016 6:49 PM