At its beginning, the film expands on concepts of the TV series and becomes very emotional while explaining the motives for the actions of a certain character. It manages to build onto loose ends without disturbing the continuity of previous instalments. As great as these few scenes may be, this high quality introduction unfortunately is the climax of the film and the following story lacks in comparison.
However, in no way is this supposed to imply the film becomes weak right away. Especially in the first quarter, there are numerous enjoyable character interactions which not only are nostalgic but also funny and charming. In general, the comedy in this film is superior to the others’ and even though the situation the children are in is much more dangerous than it was before, the humour does not feel off at any time. Sadly, the story progresses unfavourably as some events are unnecessary. They seem to only exist for the sake of fan service and while this is not inevitably a bad trait for a film, it does not contribute to anything in this case. Not much else can be said about the story this time as not much happens. Soushitsu’s first half is primarily for character interactions while the second has a few fights and relatively many evolution sequences.
There is a lack of action scenes but the few that do exist are animated massively better than those in the previous films. Due to what occurred in Kokuhaku, we are able to see some child level Digimon action and even though the power levels seem a bit unbelievable and odd at times, the enjoyment makes it absolutely excusable. Moreover, the children are actually fighting as well, but not in an unrealistic manner such as Masaru from Digimon Savers.
Soushitsu is supposed to focus on Sora and Piyomon. However, it does so unsatisfactorily. While it is commendable that the development of other characters is not neglected, Sora’s and Piyomon’s feels forced and out of place. Piyomon does not act like it was before and while it is obvious that it is confused due to the events in the previous film, it does not explain the behaviour towards its partner. Their story concludes tolerably but, at the same time, predictably and generic. Luckily, the other children and Digimon do not suffer from the same issue and are relatable as ever.
Compared to the other tri films, this is the weakest. It was not inherently awful but many events would have been much more satisfactory had they been handled differently – this especially applies to the end. That being said, I did enjoy Soushitsu a lot and even though it did have weaknesses, I do believe that the last two films are able to be of the same quality as the other three again.
