If my last post was any indication, it is difficult to pick a franchise back up years after it ended. Franchises are tricky things after all because different people have different kinds of attachments to them. For things like Star Wars and Digimon, you're dealing with people's childhoods. Its a matter of managing everybody's expectations, all while trying to preserve the nostalgic images that remain in the head of the viewer. Digimon Adventure Tri is no exception to this, airing 14 years after the Adventure series concluded in 2001. For those who watched it back then, we're all grown up now and in comes Toei Animation looking to capitalize on our feels from back in the day.
Digimon Adventure Tri is the third season of the original incarnation of the Digimon TV show. However, rather than air like a traditional TV show, the series is playing out in movie form, with six installments that are about four episodes apiece. This structure results in some of the problems that the series has in terms of how to judge it. Can we really judge something that clearly needs to have all of its pieces together to make sense? Well, I suppose I will have to decide that myself in the next few passages. Without any further ado, lets dive into it.
Digimon Adventure Tri picks up where Digmon Adventure 02 left off and I'm not talking about the big timeskip ending of 02. It picks up three years after the defeat of BelialVamdemon (Malomyotismon for dub watchers) and focuses on the characters from the original Adventure series. So immediately one of the big questions people had about this series is answered, yes Digimon Adventure 02 happened, deal with it. Anyways, Tri puts the focus back on the original cast as all of them have gone on to simply live their lives in the absence of their Digmon partners. The cast has begun to drift apart as each of them are now older and getting to that point where their lives are beginning to less and less involve each other. Our protagonist, Tai, is lamenting that fact as none of his friends will be able to attend his soccer match due to other obligations. As for the cast of 02, they seem to meet an unknown fate at the hands of a powerful Digimon, more on this later. This montonous life this interrupted by the emergence of a rogue Kuwagamon from out of nowhere which attacks Tai at his soccer game. This leads to our cast all reuniting with their Digimon partners, trying to figure out just what the hell is happening. It turns out that "Infected Digimon" are making their way into the real world. There's a mysterious organization that has been tracking this phenomenon and a mysterious and powerful Digimon that is interested in a new member of the DigiDestined. The DigiDestined are reunited with their partners and they defeat the threat but are aware that their battle is only beginning.
The biggest problem with the plot of the film is that we get very little in the way of explanation. The characters themselves don't even seem that interested in figuring out what's going on themselves. What is this mysterious organization? Why did our partners mysteriously return to us? What actually happened to the 02 characters? Nobody seems intent on finding out what is going on, which means as an audience, we're in the dark as well. This is not a bad thing necessarily as its clear that these things will be answered later on and no story that consists of multiple pieces should answer everything in the first film. However, it is a little frustrating to see the characters just roll along with these unexpected events and not question what is going on around them. Like, if the the 02 characters have gone missing, then why do the main cast not even mention them. It is particularly confusing for Takeru and Kari to not even mention the teammates they fought alongside with for a whole season. This also brings up the potential for events that happened during the 3-years between 02 and this series. If this turns out to be the case, these events better be explained in the next few movies, though some fans may prefer the 02 group to be kept out. Regardless, things just happen and the characters barely seem to comment on the irregularity or the seriousness of the events that are happening.
However, there is a lot of good about the plot as well. Since all the characters are older, they have more mature problems to deal with. The central character dilemma falls with Tai who is the first to realize the collateral damage that their battles cause. While the rest of his teammates are willingly to get back into the fight and accept their duty, Tai is more apprehensive. What seemed so easy as a child: beat the monsters and save the world, is now more complicated as an adult. It is not the most original of plotlines but its executed rather well in the short time that we have. Its fitting for the the more mature feeling that the show has. The character arcs we see introduced are also fitting for the series itself, problems that come with growing up. As a result of this, some characters realize that they can see other members of the group are members of the opposite sex and they are attracted to them. Such a concept threatens to change the entire dynamic of the DigiDestined as they begin to transition from childhood friends into adults. It carries with it a sense that these characters are growing up and maturing with their lives changing to match that. There is a sense of these characters looking upon the past fondly but many of them are unsure about what the future has in store for them, not rare for people their age.
This brings us to the characters themselves. The focus is primarily on Yamato (Matt) and Tachi (Tai), which is fitting for anyone who has seen the first season. Tai and Matt are always opposed and in this one its no different. Tai is wrestling with what the DigiDestined are doing and whether it is right for them to fight because of the collateral damage. Matt thinks that the DigiDestined have a responsibility to fight. It continues the character arcs that the two were on from the first season. Sora provides some of the comedy here as she seems unconsciously troubled by which friend she should favor between Tai and Matt. Sora does her best to support both while trying to remain ignorant of the romantic feelings both may have for her, as if she is clinging to their childhood friendship. Izumi (Izzy) is also present and is there to explain all the techno-babble and serves as the explicator for the little exposition that we're given. He's also there to indicate the general theme of growing up and moving on. A potential pairing of him and Mimi seems predestined which makes Digimon shippers everywhere squee with joy. Mimi is the provider of most of the show's comedy as expected. Takeru and Kari seem to be the most joyful of the main cast and are nearly unchanged from the series. However, it is clear that their dynamic as friends is going to undergo some changes as the series moves on as well. Joe gets a smaller amount of screentime than the other characters but his scenes speak volumes. He feels the strain of trying to succeed in his own life but also the need to help his friends and is clearly split between the two. We also see him potentially reach his limits with his grades and he seems torn between what he perceives himself to be and what he should be. While he's onscreen for a relatively short period of time, we definitely know where Joe is. The important thing is that these characters look and feel like the ones we got to know in the first season and they've managed to keep those traits while maturing. If the movie seems shallow in terms of character development, its probably because there are so many characters and only so much screentime to go around.
The characters who get the biggest shaft are the Digimon themselves. While the original show went through great lengths to show you the important bond between the DigiDestined and their partners, the partner Digimon here seem almost surplus to requirements and only show up when something needs to be beat up. Even Agumon seems to get it with a "we'll be here when you need us" quote that feels like even the character himself recognizes their reduced role in the film. We also get a new member of the Digi-Destined, Meiru but she's kind of just...there. Sure, we figure out that her partner Digimon is pretty important to the supposed villain but aside from that...nothing else.
The animation seems to be the most divisive and negative thing about Tri so far. The goofy animation style of the first two seasons has been replaced by a more mature look here. The characters themselves look great and the mature look suits the series. However, this isn't what has people angry. The Digivolution sequences and the use of CGI have some people up in arms and it is certainly jarring to an extent. When the Digimon evolve it looks like they belong in a video game, the CGI really sticks out. The action scenes suffer as well from some poor animation as well. We don't get digivolution sequences for Ultimate or Mega forms of Agumon or Gabumon. In the sound. department the show should be lauded for excellent opening and ending songs. For extra nostalgia factor Tri also recycles the digivolution background music from the original series. The soundtrack, unfortunately, is not anything to write home about.
It is hard for me to truly pinpoint the quality of the first installment of Digimon Adventure Tri because it is clear that: 1.) this film is meant primarily for Digimon fans and is not really accessible for anyone else and 2.) its the first in what will eventually be a series of six-films. As of right now it is really hard to give a true rating. However, I will say this. If you were a fan of the first two seasons of Digimon, you should be satisfied with the first installment of Tri. It is a good, not perfect, check in to where the characters you remember are and a gateway for a new plot. It is a good bridge to bring the series to a more mature setting. If you never watched Digimon, then it is too hard to overlook this film's shortcomings. All this being said, Seikai is a good enough base for the new series to start from, shortcomings and all. It provides enough new questions to spurn us on to a new series while making us remember what we loved about the original. If you're a Digimon fan, this is a love letter to you.
My Score: 3/5
(Dislcaimer: these photos are taken from Richard Eisenbeis' review on Kotaku. There was a lack of quality images on Google Images so I used these instead.)
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