Digimon Adventure tri. 2: Ketsui

After months of waiting, part 2 is finally out! Though I still think they should have revamped the show like they did with Sailor Moon at least this is something. Watching part 2 seriously kept me anticipating for more though. It definitely brought back a factor that allowed me to reminiscence this nostalgic series. Story: The last episode had me bawling, I'm not going to lie. I didn't even expect it but it caught me by the feels! Lots of mysteries are left unsolved due to how the Ketsui opened up and finished, especially with all the enigma towards the end which will hopefully piece together. Art: Much like the previous part, I'm not a fan of the art. I feel like they should have modernized the style of the original series instead of going with a totally different concept that gave them all small pupils and similar faces. The "fashion taste" the Digidestines individually developed is somewhat odd/interesting but I'm not a fashion expert so who knows. Personally, this part is just me being bitter and too hung up on the old series. But to be fair, the art itself flows very smoothly and depicts what is supposed to happen so all is well. Sound: The producers did the terrific job tying in the old and the new sounds which gave me the chills and made me oh so emotional. Probably why I also cried. Ahem, anyways, the build up of the audio, in addition to the sound effects, and the action scenes or even sad scenes were enough to have me on edge. I'd probably buy the OST and jog to the soundtrack, it's that epic. Character: I don't know if it's just me (I watched the original series in English and Japanese) but the Digimons seem to have regressed to a very childlike state, which can be seen in the first part of the Tri series. They are very immature and get swayed by the idea of food and games ... The DigiDestined, too, on the other hand are dealing with way too much internal conflict which should have been resolved in the original saga when they earned their crests ... To me, it's completely unnecessary and creates pointless conflict and drama instead of more action. Overall, I'm enjoying it so far and there was even some fanservice for the ladies which I found pretty awkward. I mean we watched these kids growing up and now they're ... You'll see. Anyways, it's something for new and veteran fans, so enjoy it since it's probably the only thing we'll see again from the original series ... So once this ends, I'll probably go back to moping over how my childhood has ended.

One year ago, the Digimon fan base believed that Digimon Adventure tri would become a TV anime rather than six-part film series. It seems to have managed to accept this fact now and a lot of fans are looking forward to whenever a new part of tri is airing. While the first film, Saikai, served as a re-introduction and focused on Taichi and his relationship with Yamato, this one was advertised as being about Mimi and Jou. However, at the beginning of the film, we first see how the new character from Saikai, Meiko, is integrated into the Chosen Children's group. We do not hear much about her past but we find out what kind of character she is: a great addition to the Chosen Children. She is not a character you have never seen before but she certainly is a charming fresh breath of air. Meiko is introduced during some truly entertaining slice of life scenes. However, these scenes not only serve as her introduction, but also as a great method of hinting at romantic feelings between several characters. Moreover, due to the nature of slice of life scenes, there are quite some funny bits you do not want to miss. There are also some cleverly disguised references to events that took place in the past and it is a nice feeling when you are able to understand them. Ultimately, this light-hearted start is a great beginning to the film, especially since the previous one ended quite dramatically. After that, the film does start to focus on Mimi and Jou. In the TV anime, the children were sometimes separated into pairs so that two characters who have not interacted with one another could do so. Mimi and Jou have been in a pair before, so it is understandable why the creators have chosen to use this combination. Both of them experience great character development throughout the film and despite their huge differences in character traits, the issues they have to face are quite similar. Fortunately, they do so in an amazingly realistic and adult manner without being cheesy. Their issues are quite relatable – even though probably none of us has ever had to deal with being a Chosen Child and having a Digimon partner, there certainly are a lot of people who cannot accept their life for what it is. The moral that it is important to accept one's own life is conveyed properly in this film and Mimi and Jou were the perfect individuals for this kind of story. Luckily, the two of them are not the only characters who experience development. Of course, there is Meiko who – as stated above – is integrated into the Chosen Children and consequently loses some of her shyness. But also Gomamon has some issues he has to face: Due to Jou not wanting to fight, he has to question their relationship. It is often criticised that in Digimon Adventure, the Digimon do not mature and simply serve as triggers which help the children's development. This may even be the case, but in this film, it is different. Gomamon's character does develop through Jou's changes and due to the doubts his partner has, Gomamon manages to become more independent. Next to the children, there are also the members of the organization who deals with the Infected Digimon. Both Himekawa and Nishijima have enough screen time to establish their characters and to hint at their past. They reflect the problems the children have to face regarding growing up with their own personality, which shows that becoming older is not easy for anyone. It is also shown how the organization deals with Infected Digimon, which once again shows how much more mature this show is than its TV anime prequel. Weapons and tanks have not been used before in any of Digimon Adventure's versions and thanks to this being different in this film, we not only see a more realistic approach but also how powerful and terrifying Digimon can be. Additionally, the viewer learns more about Infected Digimon and how they turn evil but, of course, not all questions are answered. However, this is not the only aspect of tri's world that is explained more thoroughly. Thanks to some excellent world building, we are able to understand what the new threat is and what methods can be used to overcome them. Moreover, the fear the general public has is justified by some events that happen in the film. However, this leads to a problem the first film already had. Normally, the public should be aware of Digimon due to the events in the TV anime. Nevertheless, they do not seem to remember what had happened back then, which is quite unbelievable. Sadly, this is not the only continuation error and it is improbable that they will be fixed. In comparison to the first film, the animation has slightly improved. It still is nothing outstanding, especially considering the fact that this is supposed to be a film, but an improvement nonetheless. However, the actions scenes are an exception. The battle scenes are choreographed in a superior way than in the TV anime but the animation lacks a certain impact. Fortunately, the evolution sequences' animation has improved slightly but the TV anime's way of handling it nonetheless was much nicer to look at. Not too much can be said about the soundtrack as it is great as ever. However, there is one change: The ending theme was changed to Wada Kouji's Seven, which had only been an insert song in Digimon Adventure before. There was no reason to do this, but it was a nice change and a new version of Seven exists now, which definitely is not a bad thing. In the end, Ketsui is an improvement over Saikai. While the first film was good as well, the story could have progressed in a much worse direction. I am more than happy that the film managed to exceed my expectations and I am honestly looking forward to the third film, which is supposed to focus on Takeru and Patamon. The cliffhanger at the end only causes my desire to become stronger and thanks to this film, I am confident in Toei Animation's ability to deliver great content.

Today was aired the second part of Digimon Tri and I have some bad things to say about it. While I didn't make a review about the first part, I can say I was left unsatisfied and afraid of what could become this sequel. To our bad luck, my fears came true. The story is easily the weakest point of this show. It focuses more on banal situations as the typical visit to the thermal baths or the thousand times seen school festival rather than developing the plot itself turning out what should be action and adventure in a generic slice of life. The pace is still anticlimactic and crucial moments as the appearance of Rosemon and Vikemon end up as forgettable. And even though it makes interesting approaches through the characters, instead of deepening on them in an analytical way, they end up more dramatized than a Mexican novel. To all this, at least was good to see again to the charming Lillymon even for a few seconds. The characters aren’t much better than the story. While is interesting to see the different ways of thinking of the now grown 'Chosen Child' most of these are too dramatized (As I stated before) and makes it annoying to watch. The group lacks the chemistry of the original series and Meiko is just a shy girl that fails to add something new. Until now none of them has had an important development or a revealing backstory and the entire repertoire falls flat. I consider that there has been an improvement in the visuals, with a much more vivid colors and more defined design of characters. Unfortunately, the animation is still deficient and tends to look slow and forced which makes the action scenes unexciting and dull. The sound section is worse with generic instrumental tracks and only being saved by the nostalgic OP. The voice actors are average at best with nothing remarkable. Toei is ruining our childhood which is really irritating, but most of us will continue to see what's next by pure nostalgia. However, if you're not an early fan of the series, I recommend you not to waste your precious time on this hot mess.

SPOILERS! Just saying. This time around, the focus shifts from Taichi and Yamato to Joe and Mimi (Mei as well I guess). And I have to say, I always find myself surprised on how on point the character development is in Digimon. ~Characters~ Joe got the most out of Ketsui. Being older than the rest of the crew, he finds himself in a lot more of a difficult situation than the others; he has university entrance exams right around the corner, so he never really goes out to help. What Joe goes through in Ketsui is something I believe many highschoolers especially in Asia have to go through: becoming an adult. In Joe's case, rather than being forced to become an adult, it seems more like he feels the responsibility to become an adult. Clashing with this responsibility is his responsibility as a DigiDestined and his friends. To continue studying to become an adult or be a reliable pillar of support like he used to be for his friends. His self-felt responsibility to become an adult roots him in place, making him unable to support his friends and digimon (as pointed out by Taichi), he needs (well more like he wants) a reason to fight again. Ultimately, he is using this responsiblity as an excuse for running away even if his true desires lie somewhere completely else. On the other hand, Mimi has quite the opposite problem. Being an overly bright person, people label her as Jikochu or something meaning self-centered and annoying. This is portrayed in the overly stereotypical and much too overused cultural festival in highschool. Of course both Joe and Mimi get over their problems in one way or another. Seeing their conflicts directly clash when they met and how the other Digidestined still had complete trust in them (example Taichi in Joe) or gave them slight pushes to confront their conflicts and solve them was very welcome in my opinion. So the Digidestined are growing up, that's all nice and dandy but what about their digimon? I feel like they regressed back in time? They are absolute babies in Ketsui. Considering what they went through in Adventure and just how much time has passed since then, you'd reckon they would have also matured mentally. It's obvious they were trying to make them all cutesy and stuff but it was a bit of a turn off. ~Setting~ Additionally the setting of Ketsui wasn't too great in my opinion. Cultural festival? Bathhouse? The things that happened there, felt just so absolutely unnecessary. If it was to build up the connection between Mei and Meikoomon with the other Digidestined, I am sure they didn't need 80% of the movie's time to do that, or it could've at least been done better rather than in such a stereotypical way. And the cultural festival was purely there to portray Mimi's conflict, which isn't bad but so much of it could have been cut out cause it was just absolutely nonsense. ~Animation~ Talking about things that could've been cut out of the movie, all those still frames and motion tweeks in the movie could've also been taken out. Heck I was surprised at how blatantly they are using still frames and motion tweeks. This isn't using technology to make things better, this is being lazy. And the animation, what the hell. In Saikai, it was still somewhat passable but man, Toei really outdid themselves for shitty animations this time around. If they are using so many still frames it means they must be saving up for SOMETHING right? Well I for sure didn't see WHAT they were saving up for in Ketsui. Was the animation smooth during fighting sequences? Absolutely NOT. In fact, the animation quality was so shitty I couldn't even ENJOY the fight sequences, not like the cinematography and choreography was any good anyways during these sequences. Now to the drawings/character designs. Last time I said it is something you get used to if you give it a chance but I take that back now. MAN it just looks HORRIBLE sometimes. Leomon makes an appearance and I swear he doesn't look majestic AT ALL in some frames, he looks stupid if anything. During the evolution sequences, Ikkakumon's pose was just plain stupid and Rosemon just looked soooo awkward at times. At least, this time around they showed the evolution sequences from champion to ultra and to mega unlike Saikai. Buuuut the evolution from ultra to mega wasn't that exciting although I guess if the evolution sequence is too long, it would take away from the fighting sequence. Did I already mention that their reuse of particle effects is made painfully obvious in Ketsui? The particle effects are pretty shitty/childish to begin with but now the reuse them? Big blow in the animation department. Furthermore, due to the poor animation quality and drawing, facial expressions were SEVERELY lackinng, no impact at all, the Digidestined are horrified? Well not even a close up to their faces really convey that very strongly. Get it right Toei, first you say you'd make an anime series, then you suddenly change it to a 6 part movie series, then you delay it etc. They must be having some reaaally heavy budget and planning problems if they need half a year to make this sort of crap animation. And the next one is coming out in november! Well I am no expert in the animation industry so I wouldn't know but man... the future for tri isn't looking very good production wise. ~The End...~ Story wise, there wasn't progress other than the first and last 5 minutes of the movie, it was more concentrated on the Digidestined, which is fair enough I guess, it's Digimon, character development was always a big thing. Reference to Plato's theory of form was present, albeit little and very vague but at least they are sticking through with it. Music was ok, nothing STELLAR compared to Saikai. I think I heard some of the bgm from Adventure but I may be just confusing it with the music from Saikai. In conclusion... the movie itself felt very lackluster this time around, very slow and the fighting sequences didn't make up for it. But the character development was on point such as you'd expect from Digimon and that part was quite welcome.

Micro review: This movie is a shift from fighting to character stories, do not expect fighting to be its main draw. If you hate character driven anime, you will find this disappointing. The story is all there (kinda) and the characters are just fine. This is digimon all grown up, not another kids adventure anime. So don't complain that it isn't all battles, because it's not meant to be. Story: 6 Art:6 Music: 7 Character: 8 Enjoyment: 7 Full review: Ketsui is not classic Digimon at all, so don't expect lots of fights. It is a separate anime and is more character driven than before. In other words this movie is not a hour long fight, it's about the characters development in their lives after the first two seasons. Story: This is about developing two characters and showing how their lives have been altered since we last saw them at the end of adventure 2 (not the very end though). There is clearly development to the over arching story of the movies as a whole, but the vast majority of it is focused on character development and their dealing with living double lives as digidestined. It does feel a touch underdeveloped though, and left me feeling like I may not feel anything in the next movie. Nothing has happened really in the two movies as a whole so either we will get a lot of story next time or there really will not be one worth remembering. Art: It has moments where you are completely taken out by how terrible it is. Luckily I either did not notice many or there were not many. Either way it's not great but it is still not the worst I have seen. Again it all comes down to demembering that this is made almost 16 years after the original anime so it looks different. Its a new animation style and I don't mind. Sound: It has it. It is nothing special. Character: This is the entire point of this series of movies really. "What happened to the original digidestined". This movie helps to answer that. If you want to see Agumon battle tooth and nail against an enemy, too bad. This is about the characters living their lives dealing with digimon attacking the human world and the fallout that comes with it. Be it media misinterpreting the fights or rumors around school, this is about them dealing with having real responsibilities and not just being able to battle without thinking. Gone are the days of leaving summer camp and having their adventure; only to return seconds later. If they have to battle people can get hurt, they will have to drop everything to get there and the digimon are not waiting for them. Enjoyment: Watch this for what it is, realistic. They still need to go to school and live their lives. They can't just drop everything anymore to go on an adventure for weeks. Their actions have very real and immediate consequences and they are dealing with all this for the first time really. That is the point of the movies, not another cookie cutter adventure where another digivolution occurs to defeat the super ultimate evil. This is a grown up digimon story, so treat it like one and don't complain that it is.

Animated Series Review No.15 Digimon Adventure tri 1: Saikai and Digimon Adventure tri 2: Ketsui I do remember watching a certain novel adaptation called Kara no Kyoukai: The Garden of Sinners, whose source material was written by Kinoko Nasu (Its series of novels is also in my "Planned to Read" list in Manga List at the time of this review) several years ago and overall it is a challenging series to watch as everything requires full attention in order to understand the real story of the series. After all, the series was played out in a non-chronological order and should be watched on that order, which resulted to the show being too complex or too confusing, which is understandable as the show is not for everyone, just like everything else in the world of anime. Overall, it is a well-worth series to watch as it played its story quite good enough specifically on the relationship between Mikiya Kokuto and Shiki Ryogi (or more accurately, Mikiya's influence towards Shiki's development). That relationship is one of the core points of the entire storyline of Kara no Kyoukai. This series of movies can be evaluated either as per individual movie or as a whole, resulting in different opinions from just about anyone when one will evaluate this series. This is quite the same thing as giving different opinions about each season of a certain animated series (even if some of them acted as an immediate continuation of the previous show of the same title rather than as a second season of that certain series, like how Ufotable worked for the anime adaptations of Gen Urobuchi's Fate/Zero in 2011-2012 and Kinoko Nasu's Fate/stay night in 2014-2015), which is especially true here on this site unless a certain reviewer would say that the series is evaluated/reviewed according to the entirety of the storyline of that series. As for me, I had different opinions on certain shows for that certain series even if they had the same titles and rated them differently (like the three Shakugan no Shana animated series), but my overall evaluation about that certain series should be taken as a whole for as long as the main character/s of that one season are the same as the main character/s of another season of that series (in Shakugan no Shana's case, it has Yuji Sakai and Shana as its main characters [and like Kara no Kyoukai's Shiki and Mikiya, it revolves pretty much on their relationship at its core]). Although there are some few exceptions to this rule... like Baka to Test to Shokanjuu, where it is quite difficult to do an anime adaptation for its potential third season (while KonoSuba anime immediately announces its second season right after the tenth episode ended... with EXPLOSIONS!) due to the entire series being independent on its timeline in related to that of its source material. But that's for another story though. For now, I will be dealing with another series in the Digimon franchise called Digimon Adventure tri, which is a series of movies that is considered a sequel to Digimon Adventure and to Digimon Adventure 02. I am aware that this is not yet finished, so everything that I will be dealing here will be focused on the first two of the six movies. For that matter though, I will be re-evaluating the series again after the fourth movie came out, and followed by another re-evaluation after the last movie came out (which is a long time considering the third movie will be released in September this year). I will start with the obvious... This series is created to be a sequel for the first two Digimon Adventure series in terms of its characters and timeline, set three years after the events of Digimon Adventure 02. This means the knowledge from the two Digimon Adventure series is required in order to understand its characters but not necessarily its story though. This series however made a strange plot twist (Digimon Adventure series really loved plot twists) that is not going to reveal for now right in the beginning of the first movie which create possibilities about the abnormal events that happened in this series. Also, there is also the fact that there are some characters exclusive to this series added to the story like a new Chosen Child named Meiko Mochizuke and her Digimon, Meicoomon (Digimon Tamers' Culumon's negative counterpart), Maki Himekawa, Daigo Nakajima, Alphamon Ouryuken, Huckmon (soon-to-be Jesmon?), as well as an organization that seemingly functioned like Digimon Tamers' HYPNOS or Digimon Savers' DATS, where the Maki and Daigo belonged, investigating the actions of the Digital World in relation to the real world. The organization even created weapons that would possibly weaken Digimon, although not as dangerous as the Juggernaut Program of Digimon Tamers. This made the show had grown mature enough in comparison to its prequels (but in my opinion, not as much as Digimon Tamers does). Whether these characters compliment a lot to the storyline, the focus will still be on the eight Chosen Children. Another thing to be noticed here is that this series puts quite a lot of references from the previous Digimon storylines, such as the already mentioned organization being similar to HYPNOS and DATS, the focused pairing per each of possibly first four movies (Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida, and Mimi Tachikawa and Jo Kido in related to their interactions in the Dark Masters arc in Digimon Adventure as well as Takeru Takaishi and Koshiro Izumi, and Hikari Yagami and Sora Takenouchi as reference to Takeru and Iori Hida's partnership and Hikari and Miyako Inoue's partnership in Digimon Adventure 02), the Royal Knights traidition (currently have Omegamon, Alphamon and possibly, Jesmon), the Leomon tradition, etc. Lastly, this series now had the eight Chosen Children will now undergo in dealing with their certain angst towards a certain situation they are currently facing while also facing the fact that they are young adults already (and teenagers, in the case of the two youngest original CC), which can be related somehow to the growth of its target audience (especially the fans of Digimon Adventure series). Add the fact that the real world faced a lot of crisis in dealing with the monsters called Digimon, as they had been considered a threat into the society, which made Taichi had been delved himself into thinking about this situation deeply almost allthroughout these first two movies. In short, as far as the first two movies go, Digimon Adventure tri delved itself into more of being a character-driven storyline like Digimon Tamers than of being a plot-driven storyline where its predecessors belonged, as the series generally made the characters to be responsible with what they are dealing with right now (or, possibly, so it seemed to be). After all, our main characters happened to be the Chosen Ones of the Digital World. This is especially true since the fights are less often to happen than its prequels do. I admit most of their angst is pretty quite relatable to teenagers and young adults, really. There should be no problems about this series, right? Well... If I don't count its possible plotholes, the entire series can get problematic even if the series is just two movies in. As such, Digimon Adventure tri is still following the episodic approach of character development that its prequels always do, and that will be going to work on for the first four of its six movies. Because this series is set into movie format, the overall storytelling is quite too slow not because of the plot being too slow (there is the plot but it is still vague for us to know what it is. Is this series trying hard to be Digimon Tamers really?), but because the series is still going to utilize this approach in addition to the fact that some other events such as the two of the four episodes of the second movie are unnecessary to be that long just because it tried to expand the characters of Meiko Mochizuke and Meicoomon, which is, for now, quite lacking especially considering t…

There are diffrent things you might have enjoyed while watching the Digimon series. Depending on what aspects you liked, you will like this film, or dislike it. It you liked the adventures in the digial world, you will be totally disappointed - there's not much DigiWorld to be seen... Nearly nothing. Like the first film it concentrates more on happenings in the real world. If you liked the cool evolutions and monster battles, you might be mixed about it, because you will find it and it's executed pretty well, but it's just a very small part of the running time. If you liked the character interactions and character growth, you will find what you have been looking for. Since I'm on this end of the table, I was pretty happy how it turned out. Story: Sincey you can see the synopsis above, I won't summerize it again. The story enfolds pretty slow, but despite being a lover of fast past drama, it did not feel dragged at all. You see the teenagers living their life with their Digimon while trying to grow up, all while once again dark forces try to break the peaceful balance. You will have some nice, sometimes surprising throwbacks to aspects that made the show great despite it's flaws, from time to time even spiral you into nostalgia. You have some comedy and slice of life elements, that are well done even if you're not a fan of those kind of things (like me). Do you need a hot spring scene? No. Was it funny as hell and above the average? Yes. So, why not. In my opinion, there could be a bit more "dimensional world disturbance" plot development things going on, but it wasn't balanced too bad, it IS there. Pretty decent in general. 7/10 Art: Like the first film, it's a calm drawing style resembling the old series while updating it. The monsters look cutesy as hell but the budget is not exactly skyrocketed. The fights and evolution looked good, but it was terribly lazy regarding the backround there. If you liked the first one, it's the same here. If you didn't, nothing changed that much. 07/10 Sound: It's there. The old intro and battle themes are there. The rest didn't leave any impression, neither good, nor bad. 06/10 Character: Here is a shining point of this film in my opinion. Finally, two of the characters who never got much spotlight in the series got some attention here. This was the very first time that Mimi, imho, was not totally annoying, but acting rational - while still managing to stay in character. For the first time I could understand her. Both, Mimi and Joe, face more mature inner problems than before - and that's awesome, because the two just grew up or try to do so. I think Joe especially might have needed one or two more scenes to make it more complete, but that would be a bit nitpicky, so it's fine enough. Also the other characters are not totally shoved aside and still have some things going on making them interesting or foreshadow later conflicts, so the whole cast feels pretty alive. Even the digimon get some character spotlight. Awesome! 08/10 Overall Enjoyment: I got what I asked for, my whishes are pleased. While being nostalgic for the original series, I still see it has never been the best thing on earth looking at it objectively. From the material it works with, the film tries to please the fans in all regards, with the exception of the adventury Digiworld aspect. I look forward on what there is to come and can't wait for the next movie, espacially with that interesting ending. 07/10 **On a sidenote, for me personally the film gets bonus points for surprinsingly bringing back a beloved chara I did not even hope to see here, and on top has more manservice than fanservice. Whooza. But since this is pretty subjective, I won't include it in any rating.^^ **

The first Digimon Tri movie was overall interesting and was a promising beginning for this series of movies with a more introspective, subdued and adult tone, but had a few issues that kept it from being truly great, mainly the sloppy construction of the Taichi dilemma and the conflict between him and Matt (not to mention the stupid cell phone flashback being repeated ad nauseaum). This second movie has a problem which the first didn't, in that it starts off much more slowly. The first movie had the advantage of novelty and being an introduction to the older kids and their day-to-day lives, meaning it was automatically interesting. The build-up to them meeting their Digimon was very well done and it had a great payoff. However, we don't have that in this movie because obviously everything's already been introduced. The first 20 or so minutes are mostly slice-of-life shenanigans with the kids and Digimon; it almost feels like a filler episode in some ways, there are some funny bits and small glimmers of characterization present but it isn't THAT engaging. Fortunately, the film eventually gets on track, by starting to focus on the interpersonal drama and conflicts, with the stars this time being Jou and Mimi. Their drama is much more cleanly written and constructed than the stuff with Taichi in the first movie, which made sense on some level but was a bit silly when you thought about it and focused on the wrong things. This means that it is possible to be truly invested in it without being distracted by glaring flaws. I will also say that the comedy and character interactions was spot-on for the most part. A few things like Leomon's disguise had me laughing out loud. I will also say that despite what feels a bit like shilling, this movie made me alright with Mei and Meicoomon who I was a bit iffy on in the first movie. I don't love them or anything, but Mei in particular grew on me a bit after this film, so I'm ok with her now. Without spoiling much, the final fight scene is pretty nostalgic and finally provides fans with what they've been wanting for years (you can guess from the poster what happens). It ends with a dark cliffhanger that makes me eager to see what other things they have planned. As far as the film's production/technical aspects go, I don't have much to say. The animation didn't really impress me at all, but I certainly didn't find it bad. I actually noticed that they used a BGM from the first two series in the final fight scene, which was a small detail that I appreciated. I will say that the final "plot twist" scene has a problem in that it was easy to see coming, but was executed and staged reasonably well which means I'm alright with it. Overall, while not having the same novelty as the first movie and having a slow beginning, I would have to say that in some ways this film is better-constructed. I'm not sure which one is better atm, but I do feel comfortable saying it's a worthwhile follow-up.

Well well. After 3 months, here come the second part of the movie series. It's pretty much a great movie for me. As the title implies, it's more or less about teenagers must have their determination in life. Also, as you can see from the key visual, movie 2 centered within Mimi & Joe. So, let me go into detail one by one. This will be spoiler free review. Story - 6/10 It's more or less goes with the same formula used in part 1 of the movie, which most of the time was just slice of life with nothing happened at all. However, these slice of life actually helps in rebuilding the characters and refresh the audience to know them again. So, slice of life is actually necessary. For the story, in this part, it's about Joe having determination and awareness of himself, same goes to Mimi. And well, the movie continued where part 1 stopped, with pretty much of plot twists. I am so sad again. Premise - 6/10 Determination, angst, adolescence, awareness, teenage issues, all of these are the theme of the movie. This reminds me of 01 when Yamato was edgy of courage and during 02 when Ken was having a huge conflicts for being replacement. The premise for this part is pretty good. Everyone must have awareness of what they really want. Characters - 7/10 Well presentation in delivering refreshment onto every single character in this sequel movie series. Everyone grows up, so does the characters in Digimon. They won't be the same as past (01 & 02), that's why character development is necessary. This part there are more character development for Mimi & Joe. At the same time, more details were given onto the other characters. At the same time, reintroduction of old casts is a well-done too. For now, the audience is able to on track with every single characters, as they know them well now. Animation - 8/10 Best animation Toei could deliver. The battle scenes are amazing, with every single blow of movement well-drawn. Reminds me of how beautiful Kyousougiga is. Sound - 7/10 Matched every single perfectly, especially for FEEL moments. Also, few insert tracks gave me nostalgia of the original. Enjoyment - 8/10 It's freaking enjoyable. Watching your favourite female character (Mimi) grow up is a rare opportunity, as she is just a fictional character. Also, old casts return no doubt is a great thing for fans like me. At the same time, new girl MeiMei is so damn adorable! The slice of life absolutely wasn't for nothing. 1 hour 20 minutes of the movie are freaking worthy for the day! Overall - 7/10 This part of the movie series is really great. Perhaps, it just for Digimon fans. However, it really great, compare with the first of the movie series. I am so anticipated for the third part of series now, as it freaking ended with a cliffhanger. Oh damn!

Warning: much spoilers, much don't care, much proceed at your own risk. But honestly, it's a good thing the Digimon franchise has a bunch of long-term enthusiastic fans; otherwise these movies wouldn't make nearly enough to be a good investment. Needless to say, as a avid fan, I enjoyed the movie. ONLY because it was a continuation of the Digidestined story. But I just can't help but be UTTERLY ANNOYED about the lack of explanation about the 02 cast. Or, at least explain why the Digidestined aren't even the least bit curious as to where the 02 cast are. Even a lame explanation like a out-of-the-blue, totally-not-skipping-weeks-of-school camping trip would've been better than pretending they don't exist. Even if this was an alternative universe instead of a sequel (which can't be true b/c the Digidestined knew Ken by name and said "him again"), the least Toei could do was hint us in on that. And now, when the Digimon Emperor Ken Ichijouji himself appears OUT OF THE BLUE and kidnaps A PARTNER DIGIMON (shush I said spoilers), NO ONE even wonders for more than a few moments about the situation (a situation in which I can't even pinpoint a question the Digidestined would be wondering because WE DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON WITH THE 02 CAST) And, yes, I understand that it was the end of the movie and "there wasn't enough time to get in-depth about Ken". But, considering that he was this movie's only villain (other than the contrived melodrama) and totally acted like it (by which I mean not acknowledging any of the Digidestined and standing aloof like the mysterious, sneering, mute asshole he never was), I'd think the Ken situation would be more addressed than a simple "Him again...? Why?" Like, legit, that was the most confusion over Ken the Digidestined showed the whole movie. Hello? Koushiro the genius? Taichi the tactician? Are y'all awake?? Yeah, this has turned into quite the rant. But, seriously Toei, please fire all your writing staff. And your directing staff. And possibly your whole Digimon staff. About the whole "surpassing darkness will bring greater power" or whatever leading to a Mega form, that's ridiculous. Back in season 1, Taichi and Yamato didn't have any "surpassing darkness" moments when they were about to warp-digivolve; it was thanks to Angemon and Angewomon piercing them with special arrows. Oh, and, as a nitpick, please bring back those warp-evolution animations, Toei. That's the least you can do in improving the evolution sequences. Otherwise you're cutting out half the hype. I don't know if I should be happy about the one consistency in the show or sad about Leomon dying yet again. And yeah there's so much more I could rant about (like, Joe's 5-second change-of-heart (thus "solving" half the "character development" in the entire movie), killing Imperialdramon, Imperialdramon being there in the first place, the low production values, etc. etc. etc.), but I'll just leave the rest to the other non-nostalgia-blinded, discontent Digimon fans. ;)

Digimon Tri 2 Review Okay I'm just gonna get stuck in. The character focus is a lot stronger in Digimon tri 2, with Joe and Mimi carrying the heavy weight. Their characters grow throughout the story reinforcing various parts of their personalities while also showing new dimensions of themselves. Joe was never my favourite digidestined and that still remains after this movie but seeing his struggles as he approaches adulthood makes him very relatable to me. Mimi on the other hand has a more positive role during the movie but when shit goes down it seems really real. It does a good job of showing her in a real emotional funk, causing her to lash out at those she loves and question who she is as a person. In both cases it's really affective and works to build the characters. I hope each movie keeps building on the other digidestined and that we'll continue to see more evolution in these characters. The plot grows steadily the more I watch through Digimon tri which I find impressive. At the end of Digimon tri 2 there are plenty of questions left unanswered and a wide range of places the story can go so I'm definitely looking forward to Digimon tri 3. The cliffhanger at the end in particular should keep you guessing. For the first time during my Digimon experience I'm actually asking questions about what's going to happen and the stakes feel a bit higher than usual. My only critisisms are nitpicks. The 3D cars bug me, some characters still feel like tag alongs, the wacky digimon sequences kinda break the movie up but honestly none of that ruins it. This is a noticeable improvement from Digimon tri 1 and feels like a platform for some potentially great stories to come. 4/5 -he (I think I know who the villain is, maybe I'm right maybe I'm wrong)

It's flawed but that doesn't mean it's bad. With a franchise like this that has been around for about 15 years now, of course there'll be a lot of emotions involved concerning this new approach on Digimon. Nonetheless, I don't quite understand the extremely harsh judgement of those "movies". With some even going as far as to say it was "ruining everyone's childhood". The story still unfolds; yes, there are only four tri parts with 4 episodes each but we're only halfway there with episodes 5-8; you can't expect them going full gear every single episode. The original "Adventure" had more time and thus was forgiven when there were episodes that didn't handle intense fighting. Admittedly, it gets confusing seeing Ken popping up everywhere, acting shady but you don't know what's going on. The plot to this point leaves a lot of questions unanswered - which doesn't neccessarily have to be bad. I've read (more than once) that the characters have little development and the story falls flat because of topics like "the school festival" and such. Can't agree with that. Everything about Mimi and Joe hit so close to home I had to pause and take a breath because those were topics that concerned me so much. Most kids that grew up with Digimon (like me) would be in their early to mid twenties by now and you have to face the thoughts about growing up and deciding what you're going to do and who you want to be. I loved the fact that they included this into the story. Talking about plot line flaws, I'd rather list the kinda obvious thing about Meicoomon bringing some kind of dark side to everything with its appearance. Or the fact that Taichi and Yamato still have issues with each other and you don't really know the complete reason behind it. And how most of the kids didn't have their time to shine, yet. That's what was bothering me. Man, the sound. THE MUSIC. If the feeling of being at home returns as soon as the first few seconds of the opening play, that's when you know they did it right. How they intertwined some moments with the music, goodness gracious, beautifully done. Can't wait to watch the other parts.

I know that Taichi and Yamato are deserved each other (and love each other), but.... story: 3 MEH! 10% battle, 20% story while the rest is about fanservice art: 6 truth to be told the art is good but we can't compare it yet with this era's art, huh? sound: 5 not bad, and not good. I still prefer the original one character: 1 (I would have given -1 if I could) for god sake, I don't even recognize them in tri, as if the staffs were just borrowed 01 casts and made new characters using their names. sorry but sorry, but meiko is just the worst character that ever existed, given how bad they are putting meiko into the group, and how they tried to 'shine' her and repeated the same mistake like they did to daisuke before. enjoyment: 3 tho the fanservices made me laugh in disappointment, tho everything almost made me pissed off, but i did enjoy the taiyama especially the kabedon lmao overall: 3 i think this is the highest rank i could ever give for ketsui. i was doubt if i should continue kokuhaku or not, remember that takeru will take a roll but i don't want them to explore 'takeru in tri' more (takeru is my favourite character but i don't recognize him in tri, and got so pissed off with his tri version) good job toei you made me disappointed. you had successfully ruined up my childhood. thank you so much i can't wait to see more! i want to know how far would you amuse me, and make me pissed off. but tri taught me two important things: that i should really ship gay instead of straight couple, and fanfiction story is existed

This Digimon series is for mature fans of the original Digimon Adventures. Rather than showcase digimon transformations each episode, this series focuses on the real-world characters of the original DigiDestined. While Part 1: Saikai focused on Tai and Yamato, Part 2: Ketsui turns its attention to Mimi and Jo, with realistic and satisfying character development. The story leaves many questions unanswered, but provides entertaining human interactions and digimon fights, The villainous Digimon Emperor Ken Ichijouji makes a mysterious appearance, partially filling in the gap between Digimon Adventure 1 and 2. Fans should prepare for slice-of-life comedy, tempered with deeper and darker character development, high quality action animation, and two long-awaited digivolutions.

Just to be clear: I'm a Digimon fan since I was 7 years old. I'm 28 now. I've watched every piece of Digimon media and also played a few Digimon games. This is a good movie but it still has a few flaws. I'll post spoilers further down but I'll warn beforehand. The first thing I want to mention is sound quality. Like the previous movie, this one is also a sea of nostalgia induced eargasms and I'm more than happy with that. However, for whatever reason, the sound department in charge of this movie did a terrible job because the volume levels are all over the place. What I mean by this is that certain sound effects and sequences (ex: punches, helicopters, ...) are way louder than anything else. For those that, like me, wanted more Gomamon action in the previous film, you're in for a treat on this one. SPOILERS: 1) This movie made me hate Joe with a fiery passion. Gomamon deserves someone so much better. Mimi got a lot of unfair comments about her selfishness but NOT ONCE did she ever disregard other people's opinions or feelings. In fact, she's always ready to jump in and fight for someone in danger. This movie we see her taking the lead in the rescue of Piyomon and Meicoonmon, none of which are hers by the way. How is this the attitude of a selfish person???? You wanna know who's selfish???? That scumbag name Joe. The world is in danger, every other Digikid is out there studying and fighting at the same time (as they should) and he's the only one who thinks of nothing but himself. And another thing: Yamato tells it EXACTLY like it is and everyone else keeps giving him a hard time over it just because Taichi is supposed to be the perfect leader Digi-Goggles-Boy. Cry me a river. Yes, I'm pissed off. 2) I can't accurately describe how thrilled I am at the fact that Gomamon and Palmon got their own Super-Digivolutions. I'm absolutely in love with Rosemon. 3) Didn't like Maicoon's evil design at all. All things considered, this movie is an 8/10 for me.

Assisti na estréia da Crunchyroll, mas venho escrever o review só agora. No último OVA disse que ele era o Pior filme de Digimon, ok, temos um vencedor! Com um Slice-Of-Life de Digimon!! Depois de uma luta contra a Alphamon, ter destruído um helicóptero acidentalmente, e ter um programa malicioso infectando os Digimons, ao invés de pensar em como agir, ELES VÃO PARA UMA ESPÉCIE DE SPA! Claro o melhor a se fazer é ter metade do filme só para relaxar, e esfriar a cabeça, sem se preocupar com o que pode acontecer. Para piorar temos todas aquelas cenas desnecessárias onde eles ao menos comentavam sobre o ocorrido, nenhum deles demonstrou preocupação com o que poderia acontecer. Realmente eles esqueceram como foi viver com os Digimons por tanto tempo, esqueceram do que viveram no Zero Two. E ao menos se importaram com os seus aprendizes... Uma decepção... Pelo menos a Qualidade Artística se manteve, mas não se aguentando.. Desta vez a Trilha Sonora apesar de manter as mesmas musicas do filme anterior, tenho de abrir uma observação ao estrago que fizeram na Seven tri.version Seria de melhor agrado algo como fora feito na Versão Memorial. Foi lamentável... Dormi no filme duas vezes, então tive de assistir três vezes de tão chato que foi.

While for most of the fans, the 2nd installment too might have been a let down (if they had the same opinion of 1st installment) but for me, it was quite exciting to watch it. They are not your regular Digimon Adventures kids anymore. We fans know that the DigiDestined are growing and the creators want to show the hardships one faces while growing considering the fact that being DigiDestined itself is tough. So my review's here: Story - 8/10 The Story was really good but slow paced for like the half part and really quick in the end. Couldn't enjoy the moments of Ultimate Evolution. It didn't feel so exciting as it used to in the original series. I was so excited to see the Ultimate Evolutions, even got to see those but then it got over in just 5 mins or so. Felt sad.. ;_; A lot of questions have been arising in both movies and I hope that we get answers to all of them but what really makes me mad is 'Why don't they try to contact the 02 kids'. Character Development - 7/10 Saikai was about Taichi and Yamato, Ketsui about Joe and Mimi. This time, the character development seemed better (at least to me) as these 2 considerably got over their doubts and fears. I liked how they once again regained their true personalities (from the original series) and were able to form determination to fight (which the movie was all about). Art - 6/10 It isn't bad but not good either, but well, it should be expected since the Studio is low on budget (I wish a lot of money for them to be able to improve upon this aspect). Since this is a review, which is why I include this else I don't care much. Music/Sound - 7/10 Most of the points go to the Opening and Ending song. That's all. Enjoyment - 7/10 A Digimon Fan so enjoyed a lot actually but the points don't consider this fact. They represent the actual enjoyment level that is to be expected when watching the movie as 3/4 of the movie lacks any form of action. And the fact that the Evolutions were short-lived leaves me unhappy. Overall, I enjoyed the movie as a whole and eagerly waiting for Kokuhaku (Confession), the 3rd installment.

ENG: this second film in general is a little weak compared to what was seen in the first film, but it is still fun to watch (especially in its last 10 minutes). The main plot develops very slowly, adding little news (makes you think that by the end of the movie nothing relevant will happen!), But the subplots among some characters are improving (although some other characters barely had notable appearances). At least in this movie, it gives a better idea of the timeline between the Digimon Adventures 2. The quality of the animation of this film at certain times is the same as the first movie, however it is notable to see a greater use of "static animations" (besides being static, they are not beautiful for a movie either). PORT: esse segundo filme num geral é meio fraco se comparado ao que se foi visto no primeiro filme, mas ainda assim é divertido de se assistir (principalmente nos últimos 10 minutos!). A trama principal se desenvolve de maneira bem lenta, adicionando poucas novidades ( faz pensar que até o final do filme nada de relevante vai acontecer!), porém as subtramas entre alguns personagens estão melhorando ( apesar que alguns outros personagens mal tiveram participações notáveis). Pelo menos nesse filme já dá uma noção maior sobre a linha de tempo entre o Digimon Adventures 2. A qualidade da animação desse filme em certos momentos está igual ao primeiro filme, entretanto é notável ver um uso maior de "animações estáticas" (que além de estarem estatísticas, elas também não estão bonitas para um padrão de filme)

I'm gonna preface this and say that I'm fiercely protective of my "perfect" OT8 Digidestined. If this was supposed to be stress-inducing, then Toei nailed it. We can sympathize with what our protagonists are struggling with (doing what we think is for the best for others vs. being selfish for ourselves): a refreshing way to see the Digidestined mature. While I remain indifferent about Meiko, I thought her efforts to get closer and support the OT8 was sweet. Overall, as I continue to watch this Digi-series, my anxiousness over the kids and their partners continue to rise, but in a way of suffering that I enjoyed. :')

Mimi's Genius Idea For School, Hooters!!! Digimon Adventure Tri: Chapter 2 - Determination Is a good chapter 2 story wise and character wise, but the animation budget died. Chapter 2 builds really well on the characters, We saw in chapter 1. their friendship Dynamics are believable, It's nice to see them together being at spa talking to each other, they have believable friendships. the character conflict that are inside them are delivered well, and feel like good extensions of the original TV show. We still have the great concept that they have to tackle with themselves, for the Digimons to evolve. and the Digimon designs are still helicute. The biggest minus with the movie was the animation or the lack of it. There were so many times when me and my friend was just looking at the screen, cheering on when they finally move. it was so funny buttdistracting. When watching an animated movie I expect more out of the animation. On paper, it's a seven but the animation brings it down to a six. would still recommend.