Believe it or not, the Digimon franchise is almost 20 years old, and just like the franchise’s diehard fans, its characters have grown up, too. We’re speaking, of course, of Digimon Adventure tri.—the new series of films that were first released in Japan in 2015 and dropped in the US the following year.
At the start of the first film (of a total six), Digimon Adventure tri.: Reunion, three years have passed since the events in Season 2 of Digimon: Digital Monsters (which aired on Fox Kids between August 2000 and May 2001). The original eight DigiDestined are not children anymore and are reunited with their partner Digimon to face a major disruptive glitch threatening the Real and Digital Worlds. It’s not just one more adventure for nostalgia’s sake. The films provide a serious study of the DigiDestined human characters, their partner Digimon, the Japan that they live in, the government they must answer to, and how the times, they are a-changin’.
There are six films in the series, the first three of which have been dubbed in English and are available to rent or stream now. All but the very last film are available on Crunchyroll in their original Japanese audio (with English subtitles):
There is plenty to wax poetic about for the most hardcore Digimon fans. No spoilers here, just some a few prodigious details teased for you to get excited about Digimon Adventure tri.
The new animation and character design look great
The most noticeable difference between Digimon: Digital Monsters and Digimon Adventure tri. is the animation style and character design. While Toei Animation produces the series with creator Akiyoshi Hongo’s blessing just as before, Atsuya Uki (best known as the writer, director, producer, and animator of Cencoroll) is the lead character designer this time around, a change that’s immediately apparent in the marketing around these films.
The old voice cast is back! Or at least most of them are….
This is great news for fans of the original show as it aired in the United States. Joshua Seth (Tai Kamiya), Mona Marshall (Izzy Izumi), Colleen O’Shaughnessey (Sora Takenouchi), Philece Sampler (Mimi Tachikawa), Tom Fahn (Agumon), Kirk Thornton (Gabumon), Jeff Nimoy (Tentomon), and more reprise their roles from the English dub of Digimon: Digital Monsters. Their familiar voices will have you reminiscing to the weekday afternoons and Saturday mornings of watching the series on Fox Kids and Jetix.
All your favorite characters go through existential crises
As a kid, you’re not entirely self-aware of how things affect the world around you, but as you inch closer to adulthood, that consciousness becomes stronger. These new Digimon films position the DigiDestined as older, wiser, and more aware of the real-life implications of the disorder between the Digital World and their own. Terrorism, property damage, and personal and social responsibility all play a much larger role in these films than the original series was ever able to. Without getting into plot details, it causes some serious rifts between the DigiDestined and their partner Digimon.
It’s pretty easy to track the films down
The English dubs of Reunion, Determination, and Confession are currently available on DVD, Blu-Ray, and digital download or rental in the US.
Loss hit select theaters on February 1, 2018 with a home video release to come later in the year. The last two films in the series, Coexistence and Future, will get theatrical releases first and then become available DVD, Blu-Ray, digital download or rental by the end of 2018, thanks to a distribution deal from Shout! Factory.
For the purists, the original Japanese version is also available with subtitles. The first five films in the series are available to stream on Crunchyroll now but are divided into 4–5 episodes each. Future will be released in May 2018.
OK, one last thing—a tiny, tiny spoiler…
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You ready for this?
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You sure?
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OK, here goes…
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We finally see everyone’s Mega-level Digimon. Everyone’s.
In the original anime, partner Digimon reaching new levels (Champion, Ultimate, Mega, etc.) was a major plot device for our protagonists, but not everyone got to experience them evenly. The favorites for new levels of “Digivolution” were often Tai’s Agumon and Matt’s Gabumon. In tri., all of the DigiDestined’s partner Digimon will reach their Mega level at some point throughout the series.
If you’re a Digimon fan, it’s absolutely worth returning to this film series to see our heroes all grown up. The character development, beautiful art direction, and plot complexity make the tri. films a fantastic experience for anime lovers everywhere. Each one of them is a cinematic wonder; Toei really outdid themselves in producing this series for fans 20 years deep. It’s far more than any of us could ask for. Prodigious!
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