First Impressions / Series Introduction / Snapshots

OP Sequence

Episode 01

Episode 02

Episode 03

Episode 04

Digimon, digital monsters, Digimon are the champions! ~
Your childhood was not complete if you didn’t live for Saturday morning cartoons and Digimon. Digimon was one of the first anime I ever watched without ever knowing what anime was (along with Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z). I’ve said it over and over again (because d*mn, I seem to be the only one reliving their childhood in RC posts) but the amount of nostalgia I get just seeing the same characters come back to life is indescribable. And this isn’t a remake folks, this is a sequel to the original Digimon Adventure series which brings back all your favorite people – just older and more relatable. I promise that this post isn’t going to be filled with fluffy, sappy stuff past this point but I just wanted everyone to acknowledge that it’s okay to still love cartoons and get all emotional with me. And if you also rewatched the entire first 2 seasons recently – I will not judge you (and hope you do the same for me) \o/

Contrary to popular belief as a kid, Digimon is a series unlike the very popular and similarly named series, Pokemon. It’s about a group of kids (way back when they were… 10? 12?) whom all met during “summer camp” when it started to mysteriously snow. They were transported to a mysterious world called the Digital World and as the “Digidestined”, they were assigned Digimon of their own that have the abilities to “digivolve” to become stronger and defeat evil. I would definitely recommend that you watch the first two seasons to get a good taste of what the anime has to offer – it’s fun, definitely aimed towards juvenile audiences but isn’t your typical kiddy show with lots of repetitiveness for no reason. There’s history and a lot of triumph stories thrown in with character development that’s real. The twist with this new season is that even though all the characters return as more mature individuals, the story isn’t in the Digital World anymore – it’s in our world (or just Japan for now). The first two seasons were primarily based on the terror inside the Digital World and how it impacts “our” world as it becomes imbalanced. Now, it seems like most of the issues are in the real world with the Digimon being the only forces that can go into the “virtual” world and out. I’m not sure how that will play out later on, but from the first four episodes, most of our problems seem to be how the Digimon are terrifying Japan. Plus we have a new girl named Mochizuki Meiko (Arakawa Miho), who is holding an old digivice…? Don’t tell me she’s another long-lost Digidestined.

As it’s been stated before, Digimon Adventure tri. brings back all the first generation characters with new seiyuus but has the Digimon seiyuus reprising their old roles. It’s refreshing to hear new voices and at the same time reminiscent of what the original series was. One of the reasons I loved the original series was because even though it started off very stereotypical, focusing on each character individual every episode, it became something much more. By the end of the seasons, the group of characters acted as a group in order to win and save the Digital World and you really see that growth and progression. They all still have their quirks, but it feels like a true adventure, action series when you see just how far they’ve come with their Digimon friends. I’m hoping to get that same triumphant feeling at the end of Digimon Adventure tri.

I can already feel that this version of Digimon is different from the rest – not because it’s returning after a long time and there’s new cast/staff members, but just the artwork, animation and flow of the series is different. It might be because the Digidestined are now older too, so the issues they experience should correlate to their age… for example having high school crushes and dating and exams! It’s evident in these past few episodes that rather than sending the more juvenile messages of friendship and love conquering all, Digimon Adventure tri. will focus more on the realism of what’s happening to Tokyo as these Digimon attack. The friendship strains on the team are all too familiar, but the fact that everyone is not always together is just real life. Digimon’s audience has grown up a lot in the past 15 years and so has the show in order to bring us something that we find more interesting and relatable. I’ve also noticed that the show has lost a lot of spark by taking place in everyday Tokyo compared to the Digital World that gave the series a larger sense of adventure. With more involvement from adults and “outsiders”, it shifts the focus from the children to the general public in Tokyo which isn’t what I’m used to.

As a whole, I’d say that I’m enjoying the anime so far. I was promised a full series, but these batch-releases of “movies” is fine by me because I’ll just end up marathoning the four episodes at once. The next “movie” will be released in 2016 for everyone wondering so don’t hold your breath. Digimon Adventure tri. definitely hits all the right buttons when it comes to bringing back all the childhood feels. However, there are a few things here and there that gives the show a different vibe. For instance, did anyone else notice that the only sound played during the fights was the background music? There’s no yelling or screaming on the streets, no disgruntled Tai noises (however awkward that may sound)… just a solid musical track played. I thought this was very odd since I was expecting more epic music or more of a build-up but I didn’t get that. The fights were therefore, more lackluster compared to the older Digimon seasons. Also, what’s up with the ultimate/mega digivoles not being animated? Did anyone else get really excited and then super disappointed with Omegamon showed up?

So before this post gets too long (and hence why it’s so late), I’ll end off with a generic overview. It’s great if you’ve seen Digimon Adventure and it reminds me a great deal of my childhood; similar to all the other posts I’ve done this year. It’s a joy to see all the characters and Digimon returning together and seeing just how far they’ve grown and developed in the past few years; like a long-lost best friend! With older characters comes more mature issues though and everyone is going through different stages in their lives. The overall feel and tone of the series is very different – the soundtrack, music and even artwork varies from what I’ve come to know and love. Whether or not it really picks up or dies down will have to wait until next year though. Having seen the show after being delayed for over half a year, I’d say that it probably didn’t meet up to the hype I initially had, but it’s still decent and worth waiting for.

Bottom Line – @RCCherrie: Watching #DigimonTri brings back so many memories! It’s just so weird hearing their Japanese seiyuus again =X Some things I missed… the shipping! SO MUCH SHIPPING <3 Secretly hoping TK and Hikari get together… #DigimonTri

ED Sequence

61 Comments

    2. I will never stop shipping Kari and TK! I have been shipping them since I was 12 years old (which was half my life ago @_@) and I won’t lose faith! I remember all my anticipation during the final episode of 02, only to feel those hopes dashed by never revealing if they were together. They kind of just made most of the digidestined look like single parents lol. Show Spoiler ▼

      Kira526
      Reply

  2. The amount of Nostalgia is unbelievable!! Love the old songs, missed them so much, and all those characters and their best friends digimon. Goosebumps as memories keep coming back when I went through each episode.

    tsukiyo
    Reply

  3. Enjoyed the episodes so far. Brings back memories.

    I was a bit disappointed by the fact that they EXTREMELY rushed the Ultimate/Mega/Omni form evolutions though. Was looking forward to seeing those animated. 😛 But other than that, great start. Looking forward to the rest.

    Ryudo
    Reply

  5. Overall great start, I have a hard time to remember the whole cast though, the last time I watched the original Digimon was more than a decade ago on the TV xD
    Taichi turned into a Japanese modern day protagonist, overthinking things, worrywart, lack of confidence… If my memory is right back then Taichi was the energetic boy who always run forward and become the key for the group to go adventuring, seeing him moping around like this made me disappointed a little bit… I hope he quickly grow from this mellodramatic phase.

    cryarc
    Reply

  8. It started off really well I like how Taichi is being portrayed as a kid he wanted to see giant monsters fighting in the city because he thought it was cool now that hes much older he sees the damage they can cause and the potental of lives being lost and that it might end up being his fault its a really adult realization that I don’t think many shows have really tried to do.

    I’m really wondering whats going on with the 02 situation though. Hikari and Takeru have the newer Digivice and the newer kids from the 02 series were shown fighting something in the very begining but no mention of those kids AT ALL so far. It seems like 02 happened but the stupid ass ending it had was completely removed (thank god).

    Heres just hoping they give it a proper good ending this time, one reason I was so happy as a kid for Tamers was because it didn’t attempt to continue where 02 ended (which was in a god awful place).

    Anza
    Reply

    1. It felt like a better balance between the earlier Taichi and the complete “no killing” pacifist phase the Digimon 02 kids went through during the last leg of the series that was influenced from their fighting Ken as the Digimon Emperor; basically not wanting their Digimon to destroy any enemy Digimon they faced, even almost risking the lives of themselves (the kids AND their Digimon) and other civilians, forcing the Digimon to take it upon themselves to destroy the enemies in order to save lives.

      Taichi has become a more mature person in that he realizes the damage, the consequences of such actions, and not liking destroying other Digimon, but still realizes that it’s something that will inevitably have to be done if push comes to shove.

      HalfDemonInuyasha
      Reply

    2. A lot of people bring up the concerns from the second generation and that’s why I had to include the shot of TK’s digivice… it’s evidence that it happened and these events are post-02. I think the second generation will show up in some form or another but just not sure when…

      Cherrie
      Reply

  9. “Plus we have a new girl named Mochizuki Meiko (Arakawa Miho), who is holding an old digivice…? Don’t tell me she’s another long-lost Digidestined.”

    The last arc of Adventure 02 introduced like 30 more digidestined from around the world, so it’s not inconceivable that there were even more.

    Kim Pine
    Reply

    1. I remember that… but it’s just odd to me that they would introduce a new character for this sequel unless she’s SUPER important. And if she was, where has she been all this time and why isn’t she doing anything? >_> I dunno… I just hope it’s not a crop out answer like “Oh she was supposed to join you for summer camp too but couldn’t because she was sick!” lol

      Cherrie
      Reply

  10. My childhood! Can you believe I didn’t know this series existed until I checked the anime news last week?

    I like it so far. By the way, am I the only one who is getting a Digimon Tamers vibe? The adventures in the real world with more real worries, digimon travelling to cause havoc or to help our heroes, a shady government agency keeping an eye on digimon…

    Mistic
    Reply

    2. Sora and Taichi were my first ship like EVER! And then Sora ended up with Yamato in the epilogue and strangely… I was okay with that (but that’s because I was on the Takeru x Hikari ship so hard). If they finally animate how and why they’re a more suitable couple than Taichi x Sora, I think I would be accepting of it. Now, pairing Taichi up with a NEW girl? I would need a lot more convincing of that than if he ended up alone >_>

      Cherrie
      Reply

      1. I agree with you right there. While I’m ok if they go canon with Yamato and Sora. I need solid and concrete reason on how and why Taichi has a new love interest. I mean I don’t like rush jobs. And part of me wished this was a series than a collection films. I mean they would have to rush the story than take it slow and let it build like a TV series

        Gundamvid
        Reply

  12. I am so here for this omfg.
    It was perfect, all so perfect.
    Honestly I loved every waking moment of it, the fights, the character growth, the reality, that cute ass cat digimon thingy.
    I’m all for it omfg.

    Yall, this my childhood right here!!!! I’m sitting my 22 year old ass screeching over this digimon sequel and idc how foolish I look.

    Shit I might even make a pillow fort to match.

    Kabble
    Reply

    3. I thought the animation on the action/battle set pieces was very disappointing, any other Digimon series have had better action animation. The standard animation and character design was good in my opinion.

      Ragefat
      Reply

    4. Honestly – I think it could’ve been better for sure. I’ve seen a few Toei films this year and actually watched the Dragon Ball Z Resurrection F in theatres in America and it was amazing! I was incredibly mind-blown with their budget on that film and how it really brought me back to the days of Dragon Ball Z. No comparison to the evil Sailor Moon Crystal which I probably complained about every week…

      I think Digimon Adventure tri. is in-between that somewhere. Toei clearly didn’t have a great budget or their planning and project coordinator was terrible. So I think their animation suffered because they wanted to release something this year (not even knowing if it was going to be a full-out series or movie) and they were rushed. So I’m disappointed. For a series release on TV, it would’ve been okay, but for a MOVIE, this isn’t up to par. Like I said before, I think the animations would’ve been nice to see rather than the 30 sec push at the end for Omnimon. They could’ve also cleaned up some of the darker scenes and the scenes when Greymon was fighting in the Digital realm… Literally just looked like a blur of colors to me >_< I went frame by frame to get a clear screenshot.

      Cherrie
      Reply

  17. I was so excited for this to finally come out! I’ve been waiting six extra months for this so I couldn’t wait to binge watch the episodes. If I hadn’t been so busy with work over the Summer I would’ve loved to marathon the first two seasons before this came out. Maybe I’ll end up doing that before the next movie in March (I’m gonna go crazy waiting for that one now, haha). No shame, Cherrie!!! I’m right there with you! This was my absolute favorite show as a kid and I would get up early on weekends just to watch it. I even enjoyed the third and fourth seasons for what it was worth. The show was one of my first “transition” shows into the anime world and I’ve never looked back. It’s so nice having the show back again even in a more grown-up format. It’s kind of nice to feel like they’ve grown up alongside us but at the same time it’s nice to feel like a kid again. The one thing I do hope they change is the “ending” they supplied in the final episode of season two. I would like to see some more ships sailing 😀

    Kira526
    Reply

  21. “Digimon was one of the first anime I ever watched without ever knowing what anime was (along with Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z).”

    I guess, under that condition, mine was “G-Force:Battle of the Planets”.

    Yes. I am *THAT* old.

    Kailord
    Reply

  22. I had a grin from ear to ear throughout these 4 episodes, the keeping with nostalgia alone won me over from the start. Izzy is still intelligently awkward, Mimi lovably blonde, and Matt and Tai continue to be good foils for one another. Quite surprised at the mature Joe though, didn’t expect him to be portrayed as a student close to failure.

    The story is strange right now too, supposedly season 2 was retconned, yet TK and Kari have the season 2 Digivices. Really curious how they will explain that as it appears the divergence point is the aftermath of the Dark Masters defeat. Considering the focus on the real world and the foreshadowing of the antagonist too, I wonder if the plot will be similar to the first Digimon movie.

    Without a doubt though Toei succeeded here, at least for part 1. Any fears of a complete and utter disaster have so far been assuaged 😛

    Pancakes
    Reply

    2. This sequel takes place 3 years after the end of 02… I’m ilke 90% positive >_>
      And I think the 02 generation will show up eventually. Which also probably means that the epilogue we saw at the end of 02 is also canon. I’m just wondering how they’ll bridge us there without pissing people off =X

      But they also must give us the best couple pairings. Which means Hikaru x Takeru OTP PLEASE >=(

      Cherrie
      Reply

  26. I’m sooooo glad you are covering this Cherrie! I’ve been camping on here the last few days hoping someone would be posting!

    Don’t worry I totally lost my cool when Brave Heart started to play for Agumon’s digivolution when he arrived just on time! I was also a disappointed when they didn’t show the full animation of Agumon and Gabumon to Omegamon.

    Kimboslice
    Reply

  27. Digimon! I was so emotional wat felt I was 8 years old again sitting under our old analogue tv and humming that opening music!

    I am glad to see the original 7 again , oh 8, I never appreciated Hikari back then xD For some reason I still don’t!

    I was so happy to see Taichi, Yamato and Sora (they were my 3 fave), and Joe, Mimi, Izzy and Takeru! (I watched Digimon in a diff language with diff names but somehow I always had those memorized lol), anyway!

    Ty for your review! M, the nostalgic ship is currently boarding T__T..

    Mi-Chan
    Reply

  29. Digimon fights in the city reminds me of the kaiju films, Evangelion and Tamers.

    Why is only Taichi held back by this dilemma over fighting and the destruction?
    Perhaps he is just slow to make up his mind? Like how he still hasn’t make up his mind on that career progress report thing. Its like the others made up their mind right away (except Joe who is too caught up with exams).

    That giant hand, don’t think its Alphamon, right?

    The other mysterious Digimon that has been wandering all around, another Digidistined?
    http://wikimon.net/Hackmon
    It evolves up to a Royal Knight class Digimon.

    How does Meicoomon fit in all this, Maki was looking at its photos.
    Couldn’t be the mastermind, right?
    (Red weird eyes)

    Wonder will the 02 characters appear later on as well.

    Seems like problem is pretty serious this time that Gennai had to come forth to tell the government(?) all about the Digimon and Digidestined etc.

    Venus Fort!

    iron2000
    Reply

  31. The real romance I saw in these episodes was the bromance between Tai and Yamato. Mimi even took a picture when they were forced to go on the Ferris Wheel cart together.

    Also I liked the fight if only because we got to see Alphamon steamroll everyone and then when he went up against a legitimate opponent choose to retreat after a brief skirmish.

    TheVoid
    Reply

  32. Well I’m a person driven by nostalgia so this is not good for my health. I miss my old friends and city. I’m 30 years old and I usually tend to think that all past time was better.

    Alphonse
    Reply

  33. Tai isn’t Tai anymore, I don’t know who the fuck that guy is, but it’s not Tai. Way to ruin my favorite character and no I still don’t like Matt/Yamato, he still a weak asshole trying to be cool.

    T.K. was always awesome and I’m glad he’s not putting up with Kairi’s wishy washy bullshit and actually has a girlfriend or at least friends with benefits.

    Jo acting like Jo, still cool to see him and Gomamon be together in that one scene, he has a girlfriend too, which shocked me. Go Jo!

    Mimi still awesome

    Kairi gonna be Kairi, wishy washy just like Sora, i wonder if Sora gonna choose Matt again, I hope she does, lame people deserve each other.

    Izzy/Koushiro still awesome too

    I’m glad they kept the digimon the same personality wise, even though I only saw the dubbed versions of Digimon season 1 and 2, they were still just as I remembered them.

    Did they just kill the cast of Season 2 in the beginning of the first episode lol? I’m like nooooooo!

    magoiichi
    Reply

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