It is important to keep the goals of media in mind when reviewing it, but despite its context I would defend Digimon TRI as an excellent watch and the best and most loving reboot of any franchise I have seen to date.
Most people tend to forget that Digimon TRI occurs after Digimon 02. As a reboot of a franchise it surprisingly accepts the canon, material and content of related material including the Digimon Movies directed by Mamoru Hosoda, Adventures, 02 and weaves them together in order in order to transition elegantly into and make sense of the bizarre time-skip epilogue of Digimon 02. I think audiences who grew up with the American release of the show may find the tone abrupt as TRI builds upon its Japanese release.
Remember that Digimon in the US played up its campiness and comedy, whilst the tone for the Japanese release was edgier, and more serious. Try comparing even the Japanese and American versions of [Our War Games].
Our 8 heroes are back, harkening not only the character development they acquired through both Adventures and 02, but even the characterizations from Mamoru Hosoda's take on the beloved series.
Digimon TRI builds opts for a more mature show to match its aging audience building on the somewhat darker tone Digimon has adopted over the years while excelling at more polished and nuanced character interactions inspired by [Our War Games] at the fore-front of the series. TRI is nuanced most of the reasonings for interactions are never explained, as it should be. This emphasizes the naturalness of our cast’s group dynamic
If it's one thing that Digimon always expelled in, it is/was character interaction while juggling 8 (if not more) unique characters. Unheard of and deemed a relic of the past in today’s animation market.
Digimon is a show not only about the evolution of monsters, but of its heroes as they are becoming adults. The responsibilities of maturity is the central theme of Digimon TRI. This is illustrated gorgeously by the ED to ‘I Wish’.
However despite the shounen-esque fights Digimon has always been a series who's heart lies in the relationship between it's main characters. The great thing about TRI is that by accepting the cannon from previous installments, it has the brilliant (but difficult) opportunity to retain those relationships vital to the success of the show and build upon them.
From building up Izzy's brilliance and social ineptitude (that he slowly is growing out of), TK and Kari's now romantically distanced relationship, Joe’s struggle as he battles against the realities of the everyday, Mimi’s idiosyncratic personality that brightens and binds the group, Sora’s growth into a more feminine and motherly role while struggling stop an already breaking relationship between Matt and Tai.
Like the original digimon, Matt and Tai foiled relationship is the focus. Following the theme of the responsibilities of maturity, Tai is paralyzed by his inability to revert to the fearless child leader he once was. Entering adulthood TRI goes to great lengths to show Tai’s insecurities as he begins to notice the consequences of heroics in the world around him. This is further enhanced Matt, who once again foils Tai reminding him of the brash yet passionate leader he was - a complete role reversal from Adventures.
I have seen some criticism for TRI regarding it’s art style and design, and while I disagree that it's bad, I can agree that it is the weakest part of Digimon TRI. There are times that TRI’s small budget shows, and honestly it's not as high as one may think, but I want to remind viewers that Digimon has ALWAYS been a dirt cheap show.
In response to criticisms with the studio’s art-style I want to remind viewers, though die-hard fans will need no reminder, (even after considering the quality inflation over the last few years) that Digimon was never appealing because of it’s art style, designs or even its products. It was a series that, despite its young demographic, challenged its audience seriously. Approached them with darker themes. Focused on group dynamic and the nuances of friendships, not the quality of its fight scenes or monster designs all the while creating characters that grew to love and tuned in week after week to root for.
I stand by my word that in terms of accenting the franchise’s strengths, which is clearly one of TRI’s goals, it exceeds. We were treated to a more contemporary Digimon, a graphic aesthetic that has been cultivated by previous installments of the franchise, wonderful reimaginings of [Brave Hearts], [Butterfly] and [I Wish] and gorgeous Digivolution scenes that are just plain better versions of their older counterparts. Take your nostalgia googles off, and I think it will be clear that there is NO facet of the original Adventures or 02 series that could match what was offered in these four episodes.
