#kizunaspoilers

[f1rugbylove]

Taichi trabalha meio período(part time job) em um pachinko(cassino japonês)

[rurulaura]

Inspired by those saying the movie retcons tri. I genuinely don’t know why people say that and curious what argument they have. But as far as I’m concerned, the fact meiko appears in the movie and how kizuna continues Taichi struggle what to do with his future. I don’t see how it retcons.

Also the epilogue isn’t retconned either because back in February when the movie was in theaters in Japan, producers confirmed kizuna leads to the epilogue.

[adventure-hearts]

LAST EVOLUTION: Kizuna — Thoughts and first impression.

So, I watched the thing and wrote down some quick thoughts.

OBVIOUSLY, MASSIVE SPOILERS BELOW.

So..........

I'm glad to say I liked it very much and it's a lot better than the novel! 

(In fact, there were a few lines I thought were slightly different.)

Overall this is a very well-made movie, and a great addition to the Adventure canon. The animation, the music, and the voice acting were great. This must look fantastic on the big screen (Thanks TOEI, for making me watch it first via a crap version, and for forcing me to read the novelization in advance).

Story-wise, the first half is amazing. I loved the procedural / thriller aspect of it (“Is this a spy movie?” I WISH. Yamato is by far the best character in it, once again. The 02 kids were on point and USEFUL! The battle scenes were spectacularl-looking but, in my view, maybe a little excessive? The last big battle in particular seemed to drag a little, and the second half of the movie suffers a little because of that. But it’s an entertaining film throughout.

The implications of the "new twist" about the broken bonds are super interesting, and I can think of a million plot ideas and analyses this could inspire. I can understand why the idea didn’t please Kakudou, but I think it’s a cool addition to the mythos. 

I haven’t had time to think about “Plot holes” or “inconsistencies” at this point, but I thought Kizuna was pretty respectful of previous canon. I’m going to have a fun time overanalyzing every frame of this eventually (International Chosen Cameos!!!)

Now for the not-so-good parts. Honestly, when I read the novel I was a bit disappointed for three main reasons, which the film kinda cemented:

1) The plot is unimaginative and even repetitive. It felt like threading old ground, most of the time. Sure, they’re not trying to reinvent the wheel here and, in some ways, this film seems like a course correction — a film that is meant to be as uncontroversial and safe as possible. In fact, in some parts Kizuna feels very warm and cuddly, and I can see this becoming a comfort film in the future.

Not getting into the discussion about who did it better, but the profile of the antagonist, the theme/emotional conflict of the film, and even the “loosing the digimon, possibly permanently” scenario were extremely reminiscing of the most recent installment. There’s a few too many references to the Hosoda films. This isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, and in getting a more conventional / familiar plot IS FINE, but I do think some new-ish elements could have made it a tiny bit fresher.

2) The majority of the characters are treated very poorly. Mimi, Jou, and especially Sora are completely pushed aside and ignored in a way that is almost infuriating. And yes, even the 02 kids felt like "not enough", precisely because they were so good and what we get is little and a bit superficial. Iori and Ken in particular also barely had lines! 

Also — you drop a bomb like “the Digimon will essentially die on the kids” and yet, except for Menoa (who reacts badly) Taichi and Yamato (who react healthily), you don’t really show how it happens, how the other characters react, or even what they feel about it?

This universe has a “12 protagonists" issue, and absolutely no sequel so far has been able to address satisfactorily. But I can't help but to feel that the first short film, and possibly subsequent ones, should have fitted in the movie (it wasn’t even 90 minutes long!) and made it more balanced. Hopefully these next short films will mitigate this complaint to some extent.

3) The ending of the movie ends up feeling emotionally unsatisfying. Yeah, I understood what they were trying to do ("We gotta keep moving forward!" "Let the past die, kill it if you have to!” “isn't exactly subtle). But even the emotional punch of the final scenes doesn't land that well because we already know it's not definitive. Toy Story 3 this isn't! At the end of the film, more than commiserate with Taichi and Yamato (that scene was heartbreaking), I really wanted to know how they’re going to turn this around.

I'm just saying you can't finish a story on such an obvious cliffhanger and then not follow up on that. Hopefully, the message of the movie is also subliminally telling us "yeah, it's the end... for now. Don't lose hope, because we'll be back sometime before 2028". Kizuna doesn't really feel like a self-contained story: it feels like the first part of something, and it’s unsatisfying because it leaves a question that might never get answered. It begs for resolution — for a sequel! 

These last few paragraphs run a risk of making this review sound negative, but trust me: I REALLY enjoyed this movie a lot. It's got everything you expect from an Adventure story: fun gags, throwbacks to the past, mythological/philosophical references, high stake fights and a very strong emotional core. It was a wonderful gift at this moment in time.

I'm going to enjoy rewatching it, and I would like nothing more than a sequel produced by the same team — if not LAST EVOLUTION 2, then maybe just tiny stories/shorts/drama CDs. Narrator!Takeru was right — this could be the story evolving in a new, fantastic direction. The people who made this movie had their heart in the right place.

But unlike most fans' expectations, this film is definitely not portrayed as THE END. That may be the worst, and simultaneously the best part of it.

PS: WHY IS YAMATO’S DIGIVICE PURPLE???

[fizzingwizard]

I fell asleep as soon as I got home and didn’t get to write about Kizuna. xP So belatedly, here are my thoughts.

Warning: Spoilers for Digimon: Kizuna Last Evolution

So to start with, some context: I had a bad day at work. Not gonna go into details, but it was the sort of thing to put you out of the mood for seeing a movie, even one that’s a childhood treasure. I almost didn’t go.

In addition, because of what happened at work, I had to stay an extra hour, which meant I missed the first 25 minutes of the movie. I’m not sure how much story I actually missed - probably there was 10 min or so of trailers - but it’s possible I missed some framing. Usually the cute, fun, get-to-know-the-character moments happen in those beginning scenes, and I didn’t get to see those. When I walked in, Taichi and Yamato were having a meal together and talking about how their lives were all changing, but the Digimon stayed the same. So that’s where I’m starting from.

One more thing - I haven’t read the Kizuna novel. It sounds like if you did, you already know everything that happens. (Possibly reading the novel is more interesting than seeing the movie.) Sorry if I’m surprised by things y’all already knew!

For those who don’t like reading my long-winded posts:

Kizuna is what I would have expected from a Digimon sequel before Tri came out. That is, it’s predictable.

The art is quite good, except when it’s not.

There’s not enough of characters who aren’t named Taichi or Yamato.

Yamato is extremely COOL.

Koushirou has some good moments.

Tri is actually still canon, which I didn’t know - Meiko appears briefly in Kizuna.

It was fun to see the 02 kids, but they didn’t do anything special, although they did more than some Adventure kids.

It ends with the partner Digimon disappearing ‘forever,’ but also with Taichi putting in I think his thesis in politics specifically between the human world and the digital world. So everything seems geared to reach the 02 ending, where we know they were with their partners. So I guess at least we can headcanon that they find a way to reunite :/

OK so.

The art is really nice in this movie. Very smooth, very anime movie-like. I preferred Uki Atsuya’s designs and it did feel a little weird to go back to a more wide-eyed, innocent style now that the kids are older, but it was so lovely that I didn’t mind. Tri really lacked smoothness in the animation, so this was refreshing.

There are some times where the animations falters or some error happens - at least twice I noticed characters’ mouths moving without them saying anything, and there’s a scene where Taichi gets blown back by Eosmon’s attack and when he sits up his, um, backside is quite pronounced, like on-the-cover-of-Playboy-pronounced x’D Who knew Taichi was so thicc?

I liked in the beginning when they fly through cyberspace to take on Eosmon and it’s just like the cyberspace in Our War Game and Diablomon Strikes Back. The beginning was a bit promising. Omegamon is called on to help but his evolution breaks down, and fortunately Menoa knows all about why. There were some strong emotional moments when Taichi seizes the chance to help with a Digimon situation, and even stronger when they find out their partner Digimon are going to leave when they become adults and commit to a path (since apparently becoming an adult means you no longer have the endless possibilities of childhood). Digivolving speeds up the process.

Taichi and Yamato react very strongly. Other Chosen don’t seem in danger yet, but it’s only a matter of time. Takeru breathes a sigh of relief when he checks his digivice and realizes there’s no countdown, but Yamato’s and Taichi’s digivices are glowing with a countdown clock. Yamato screams and runs off to do anything he can to stop this. Taichi tries to deny it, but then Gennai appears in his apartment (which I think he cannot afford because we never see him turn on the lights :P) and tells him it’s all true and there’s nothing we can do about it. Then it’s bye-bye Gennai.

Oh, but before Gennai shows up Taichi is showing Agumon his apartment, and Agumon immediately finds his porn stash. I mean, that’s what you get for having magazines and DVDs instead of just using the Internet, Taichi, you moron. Teehee.

So Menoa and Imura convince the Adventure kids to “help” them, saying they’re trying to save the Chosen’s trapped consciousness. Yamato immediately figured out something’s not right, but pegs Imura as the likely suspect. However, he’s suspicious of Menoa too. Remember in Tri, when he sneaks after Nishijima and Himkawa, and gets them to talk? This is that only More. He lurks in stairwells, he goes without sleep, he researches online databases, he gets the 02 kids looking up details on Menoa, he follows Imura to some secret hideout covered in the typical secret agent decor of Papers Pinned To Walls With Illegible Writing.

As fun as it is to watch Yamato be all Men In Black, shouldn’t it... be... Ken? X’D Or are there many secret agents in space?

When Imura confronts Yamato, Hikari and Takeru have been taken prisoner. Somehow. They’re tied to chairs and Koushirou gets sent a message from Hikari’s phone saying in many different languages “Which one will be next?” So Taichi and Yamato hurry to the scene. At this point, Mimi has already had her consciousness abducted, and we now find out Jou’s KO’d too off screen.

Yamato sees Imura sitting on the stairs holding a gun. He lifts the gun and says “Takeru is already -” and I as like OMG THEY KILLED TAKERU!? but the gun is just... for show x’D Takeru has had his consciousness trapped. So has Hikari. Yamato makes good with Imura and they realize they need to go after Menoa, that she’s the one behind it all. Uh, too late though, because Menoa’s already moved against Koushirou, I think because she wants his information on Chosen Children around the world, and traps his consciousness as well. But not before Koushirou is able to track the location of Eosmon and leave the coordinates in a message for Taichi.

I don’t like Menoa. First of all, she’s a foreigner who likes to insert random English words where they’re not needed, and her accent is one of the worst I’ve ever heard x’D If you’re gonna cast someone who can’t speak a language as a speaker of that language, how about not have them actually speak it? But also, she’s not interesting. She had a Digimon partner - surprise! - who was a butterfly - surprise! - and who disappeared when she entered the path to adulthood - surprise! - and who she’s been grieving for ever since, so her big master plan is to somehow trap the consciousness of all Chosen Children around the world in another dimension where they can live inside their memories and never have to grow up. (The Digimon too.) She refers to it as her “Neverland.” None of this interests me. Yawn.

She is able to trap all the Adventure kids except Taichi, Yamato, and Sora. But don’t get excited about Sora not being trapped - Sora has decided not to fight anymore, and she sticks her decision the whole movie long. Sora is almost completely absent.

So now almost all the Adventure Chosen have been abducted and most of them didn’t even get to do anything, unless they were all being super awesome in those first ten-fifteen minutes that I missed. The 02 kids do not get trapped and when Eosmon copies start raining down around the world, they run around trying to stop them. Daisuke is adorable. Pretty much just what you’d expect. Iori is Iori. Miyako is her exuberant self. Ken is forgettable X’D I’m so sorry, Ken. Someone give him a hairstyle. My problem with the 02 kids is because, as much as it sucked that they never turned up after their inauspicious start in Tri, having them around isn’t really improving anything. Nostalgia, sure. But they’re too busy doing research and fighting to have those nice character moments we’d like to see. They do the shonen anime thing of Stating the Obvious and Promising to Unite As One and that’s it for their dialogue. They’re polite and take turns letting each other say the predictable line. At least we know Stingmon still calls his partner “Ken-chan.” <3

Taichi and Yamato use Koushirou’s coordinates to go after Menoa in her world. But not before Yamato reacts with irrational strength when Taichi suggests they save their trapped friends. Because saving them means digivolving, which means the process of losing their partners forever will speed up. “Taichi!! Are you okay with that??” Taichi’s like, “Um... no, but people are trapped and need to be rescued.” And Yamato’s like “Oh right.”

So they go and are attacked by Adventure-age versions of their trapped friends and also random Digimon. There’s quite a lot of blood?? Someone, I think Yamato, has a freaking Drimogemeon attacking him. He doesn’t get gored though lmao. Eosmon has a billion copies and they’re around the world going for Chosen Children. They bring out Omegamon and he gets his leg chopped off, whee. But both Digimon are physically intact when the evolution is broken.

Menoa is completely mentally unstable and fuses with Eosmon to become their “goddess.” Taichi sticks his hand out zombie-like under the pile of Digimon attacking him and yells at his Adventure-age friends “We must move on!” (ie, grow up). He is able to crawl to Hikari and blow her whistle with a huge breath.

This snaps everyone out of it. At this point I think “Okay! Big battle all together!” But nope. It’s still just Taichi and Yamato, who get new evolutions that look like Thundercats, and go after Menoa. While some song plays making it difficult to hear dialogue, they defeat Eosmon which makes the copies around the world disappear, and then they find Menoa trapped within her own memories of her partner, Morphomon, and rescue her as well. Menoa’s last scene is being handcuffed by Imura.

Then Taichi and Yamato go out separately with their partners and have a last conversation with them as the countdown clock is about to expire. Yamato plays his harmonica. Agumon tries to ply Taichi for food. We get Agumon’s vantage point looking up at Taichi and it’s like “wow you’re huge now.” Agumon and Gabumon both ask their partners what they’ll do tomorrow. Just as Taichi and Yamato think of an answer, they look and their partners are gone. Taichi and Yamato do some pretty impressive sobbing. Then we see them some time later hurrying on with their lives under symbolic cherry blossoms. The end!

The credits show scenes of the Chosen living their adult lives, the younger ones still with their partners, the older without. It ends with a peek at Taichi’s thesis, representing step one towards becoming a diplomat between the human and digital worlds. Like I said before, since we know they still have their partners in the 02 epilogue, it’s strange to me that they kept everything the same except that. So let’s headcanon that they’ll meet again o.O I guess

So if you read this far, you probably got the vibe that I wasn’t super impressed by Kizuna. But it’s not a bad movie. Tri pretty much spoiled me. I get that there are people who really don’t like Tri for various reasons, but to be honest, I think that even if you dislike it, you have to acknowledge what a gift it was. Six movies that gave every character something to do and mostly avoided the predictable stuff, not entirely, but much better than would be expected from an anime movie. Tri did so many interesting things. It’s got its flaws, a couple big ones, but I can never get past how it built everything up and what it resulted in.

But Tri’s number one strength comes from having six movies to tell the story. Kizuna has just one. If Tri had been condensed into a single movie - say we meet Meiko, the infection happens, she’s the origin, before the partners lose their memories Meiko asks the kids to kill Meicoomon, Daigo dies saving Taichi and then Taichi kills Meicoomon, the end - Idk if I would have liked that. It wouldn’t have gotten the build up it needed. I wouldn’t have learned to love Meiko. Stories need pacing, they need development, and more of each the more characters there are. Tri had the time to give us that.

I wasn’t expecting Kizuna to be like Tri - both the art style and all the info about it said otherwise - so I have to say that all in all, Kizuna is the movie I originally would have expected a Digimon sequel to be. It’s got That Plot that every fan read or wrote on fanfiction.net back in the day, where the kids lose their partners as a result of becoming an adult. I always hated that plotline because it was so predictable. If everyone can think of it, how can you call it creative?

But it is quite Japanese in a way, the appreciation for “the transience of things,” what they call 物の哀れ. Sora’s final ikebana display includes what I assume were cherry blossoms rising above a field of colorful flowers. Cherry blossoms represent this ephemerality in Japanese culture because of their short flowering time and how their appearance marks the beginning of spring. So in that way it’s all very striking and real. But I just personally don’t like it and never have. Also I think that for me, because I was so moved by Kokuhaku, there wasn’t much chance for this plot to have the same effect: Kokuhaku simply did it better.

I do think Kizuna is appreciable on its own and that if Tri weren’t a thing I’d have liked it better. I am not sure if I’m gonna go see it again. I might! I got a Koushirou clear file for going this week. (... The postcards we got for going to Tri were way better, though xP) So could at least go and collect more maybe.

But Kizuna has a big downside, which is that it’s just as obsessed with Taichi and Yamato as Tri was, but it’s even more felt due to the time constraints. At least with Tri, we got to see everyone do something at some point. In Kizuna, they don’t even try. Mimi, Jou, and Hikari are barely around and get their consciousness trapped early on. Takeru at least gets to join the initial fight with Eosmon, but I think that’s due to wanting to give a nod to Our War Game and maybe just because fans like Angemon. Then Takeru’s gone. Koushirou gets to be his brainiac self, I don’t really have a complaint about his treatment, except in the final battle where he’s just there. And Sora simply isn’t around period. Tri didn’t have the 02 kids, ok, that’s too bad... Kizuna has them but they’re boring and most of the Adventure cast doesn’t get to do much either. Is this really better, guys?

When you’ve got a cast this big, I don’t think you can do things the typical way. I’m an X-men fan, I should know. Lol.

That’s it for Kizuna! I’m still happy it exists, and have to admit that I might have had a slightly more positive take if I hadn’t been in such a bad mood from my day, so I hope that on a second viewing, whether I go to the theaters or wait to find it online, I will find more bits to appreciate.

[ahiddenpath]

Ability to change, potential, and agency

I’ve been thinking more about the ideas in Kizuna that I brought up in my (spoiler heavy) Kizuna novel thoughts post, and how they relate to the (this link is also spoilery) fic I am considering.  

Read on for more, but here be Kizuna novel spoilers.

To recap: in the Kizuna novel, it’s put forward that, as humans age and make the choices that will shape their lives (mostly career choices in the novel), they lose potential.  Basically, as you map the course of your life, you lock yourself in, and your potential diminishes.  Partner digimon are apparently fueled by this potential, so growing up ultimately destroys a partner digimon.  Whomp whomp.

I am throwing around the idea of writing a fic where the Chosen try to figure out what “infinite potential” is (Digimon Kizuna: Infinite Potential).  Likely, Koushiro and the older kids would be researching and exploring while the 02 kids handle digimon crises, since the older kids have lost their partners.  Trouble is...  Geez, what the heck is infinite potential?!

Eventually, it hit me...

“Taichi, Yamato, you’ve changed.”

“Agumon, Gabumon, you never change.”

Variants of this exchange popped up a few times in the Kizuna novel.  It’s reasonable, since change is inherent to possibility.  If nothing changes, no new possibilities can exist.

The older Chosen are on the horizon of the biggest changes of their lives thus far.  Moving out, college, planning their careers...  In contrast, partner digimon cannot change.  Even when they evolve, they’re fueled by the growth and potential of their human partners.

I’m wondering...  Ultimately, does the human/digimon bond dissolve because digimon can’t change?

I should back up here and mention that I think humans represent infinite potential, especially as adults, when they have agency and control over their lives.  However, as children, their lack of agency restricts them to a relatively unchanging lifestyle.  Their parents provide for them and make choices for them, and they spend their time at school for years.  It’s true that children learn, develop, and grow, but they’re not independent, and they lack agency.

But as the Chosen become adults, we see their lives expanding beyond the digimon.  They can’t be with their partners all the time; they have work, classes, a network of relationships, responsibilities.  Although they love the digimon, the relationship has changed.  Instead of playing with them and interacting with them on their level, they are taking care of them, keeping them out of trouble, and trying to figure out what to do with them when they go to work, class, or meet up with non-Chosen friends.  Even in Tri, the Chosen commented that, “It’s like we’re taking care of the digimon now.”

Menoa’s solution is to capture Chosen children in a childhood state, so they stay developmentally on par with their partners.  Taichi and Yamato know that the Chosen must continue to grow, no matter the cost.

So maybe, infinite possibilities means giving the digimon the ability to grow and change, so they can remain on level footing with their humans. 

Okay, so...  My next step is to figure out how the Chosen can give their partners the gift of agency/ability to change/potential.  How can the digimon learn to have their own lives, where they grow and enjoy things outside of their human partners?

Relationships absolutely can span the years, and even lifetimes.  But in order to survive, they have to adapt as the individuals involved change.  I’m positing that it’s time for the digimon partners to develop alongside their humans.  It will change the nature of their bond, and maybe they won’t be Chosen/digimon pairs anymore.  Now, instead of evolving further as their humans mature, the digimon will be able to grow, develop, and change on their own. 

Maybe there isn’t a way to reclaim active Chosen status after a certain point in the Chosen/digimon relationship.  But that doesn’t mean that the Chosen and their digimon can’t be together.  In fact, this partnership may be more equal, based on mutual trust and respect, no duty or fighting involved. 

I think I’ve found my story, but I need to figure out how the ability to change/agency can be given to digimon.  Do the 02 kids try to find Homeostasis or Yggdrasil in the Digital World while Koushiro tries to program the “spark of life in data” that Menoa couldn’t find?  I have no idea.

Okay so that was a LOT of talking!  Did it even make sense?  One second, I feel all, “AHA!”  The next I’m all, “Wait uh what?”  XD XD XD  

Edit:  To be clear, I dunno if I’d call this a theory- at this moment, there is no Kizuna sequel announcement, and there may never be.  This is just an idea I want to explore in a fic.

[izzyizumi]

#KizunaSpoilers ?

#KIZUNASPOILERS #KIZUNA SPOILERS #DIGIMONSPOILERS #DIGIMON SPOILERS #KIZUNA MOVIE SPOILERS ? ( NOT REALLY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT WE ALREADY KNEW B U T ) me earlier, when “Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution - KIZUNA” is “ACCIDENTALLY” leaked by Toei Europe:

me nOW:

#NO THIS IS NOT A NEGATIVE REACTION #BUT IT IS ME GOING “ AA ---------------------------- ”

[gossipchii]

Kizuna Spoilers

So, it’s been two days since I read the novel and I believe I’ve had enough time to think it through. I’m obviously gonna focus on Sora because duh, she’s my favorite and I’ve been thinking about her non-stop. Let’s begin.

She was the only one of the OG8, besides Taichi and Yamato who didn’t go to Neverland and it keeps me thinkig. Why? Was it because she was the only one who didn’t want to fight? Well, Meiko was there and her Digimon, well, RIP, so no. 

Then something Menoa said stuck my mind. I don’t remember the specific words but it was something like “they wanted to be here, none of them wanted to grow up”. This means Sora was, most most likely, the only one not to wish to stay young for who knows how long.

Of course she loves Piyomon as much as anyone else loved their partner, but she had one step forward, she didn’t wish to go back to being a child. So she wasn’t summoned to Neverland, she stayed in the Real World, Bellucci couldn’t get to her.

Which obviously takes me back to the whole Sora losing her partnership first, because it has nothing to do with age, apparently, but a mindset. Jou didn’t lose Gomamon, not that the novel mentions it at all, so, even if he knew exactly what he wanted to do when he was older since he was idk 12? He wasn’t in the mindset of actually growing up.

Sora was ready to be faithful to who she was the moment she decided not to fight anymore, not to the the daughter of the Ikebana Grand Master. She decided it was her destiny to be both those things, but not her faith. So, it’s starting to make so much sense to me that she was the first one to break the Digi-Destined partnership, no matter how much it hurts.

And deep down I want to believe she somehow knew about it, or at least Piyomon could sense it and she got to warn Sora about it when the moment was close. Still, thinking about her being by herself when it happened breaks me aha aha aha I’m not Okay. 

[skuag]

The difference in Kizuna

I think the reason why Sora/Yamato/Taichi lost their partners vs Jyou/Mimi/Koushirou is that the first three are “on their way” to the epilogue... 

Sora has decided that she won’t do ikebana and that she’ll choose her own way and do whatever she wants... the epilogue slips that her designs are a mix between tradition and fashion (if I remember correctly... I haven’t rewatched it), which is kind of “choose your path because the sky is vast and made for you to fly blabla”.

In Yamato and Taichi’s case it may have been made faster because of the fight, but regardless we see that Taichi is writing a thesis about coexistance and that he’ll be a diplomat, and Yamato apparently will accept the position with the military and try to become an astronaut.

And I guess in Menoa’s case it wasn’t so much “being accepted into college” but mostly something like deciding that she’ll be a resarcher etc. 

But then on the other hand:

Apparently Jyou still wants to be a human doctor when he’ll actually be a DIGIMON doctor

Koushirou is rocking it with his enterprise blabla but he still needs to BECOME a researcher

Mimi is not cooking. At least not on tv.

It’s kind of sloppy writing to say that growing up is “deciding what you want to work of”, as it removes humans of their ability to CHANGE and to keep growing but whatever. It’s not as if Kizuna has Digimon Adventure’s level of writing after all... 

I hope that if we get those other short videos that apparently will be released (at this point I don’t even know if this is real or not) we’ll see Jyou Koushirou and Mimi changing their current path to the one they are shown to have chosen in the epilogue... but just because I love those! And not because I agree that growing up = knowing what you’ll work of.

[koushirouizumi]

Sometime not long post-Kizuna, after waking up, and eventually getting back home, Steve asks of Steve's partner, Frigimon, genuinely surprised for once: You tackled Taichi?! Frigimon, genuinely attempting to explain: I didn't want to, but... Frigimon, only a bit bemused seeming: Well, Tentomon was worried, too... Steve, raising eyebrows, grinning a little: Tentomon, you say? You knew? Frigimon, nodding: It's a bit fuzzy. But... Tentomon was very worried about Koushiro and Taichi both, so Tentomon also definitely moved. Because Tentomon had to help Koushiro's friend. ... Like how I had to help you. Frigimon, adding: But I'm not sure if we were actually being "controlled" by Bellucci. Steve: You weren't. Frigimon: ... ? Steve, grinning: What you just said was all I need to know. Steve: Bellucci never stood a chance once she directly involved Koushiro, anyway. I'm just glad it's over now. Frigimon: You and me both. Steve, standing up to stretch: So, anyhow... Steve: ... We need to light the candles. Frigimon: You're right. Let's do it. Steve, in mind: (If only they knew what "potential" could mean to US.)

[ahiddenpath]

HELLO YES I AM IN LOVE. Is Ken... running with Wormmom, like... in a baby carrier? 😢😢😢

Time with your partner…

[rurulaura]

Digimon Adventure last evolution kizuna thoughts

THIS IS A SPOILER POST. I READ THE NOVEL AND WILL BE TALKING ABOUT IT. 

When I read the novel, I only read some spots. Things pertaining to the 02 kids and other spots here and there. I only read some because I’ve seen many say it’s an emotional movie. So I’d rather watch it in person to experience those moments for the first time. Sadly that may be a while since I won’t be going to the US screening on March 25th. The only theater screening it is in a part of the city I’m unfamiliar with and since the movie will let out when it’s dark out, I won’t feel safe traveling by bus back home. So, I’ve chosen to just read the main gist of the movie and wait for the DVD in hopefully earlier than August. 

aNYWAY, my thoughts on the movie.

I would have liked to see more of the 02 kids interacting with the 8 and it sounds like Takeru and HIkari barely get much screentime. But I hope this is because we get a sequel from this movie.

That’s my main thought so far. Is I hope we get a sequel.

Taichi, Sora, and Yamato are out of the picture DIgimon wise, leaving the door for the 02 kids to get focus more.

I hope we get a deeper explanation to what makes an adult, seeing how Jou knew what he wanted to do way before Kizuna. So Menoa losing hers at 14 seems really contradictory in that case.

It may seem like a trivial detail, but why does Taichi have Daisuke’s goggles? I hope this leads to be an arc for Daisuke as development. That I can understand. Because in 02 Taichi’s and Daisuke’s image songs are very important. Taichi’s is about Daisuke and being the new leader. Daisuke’s is about the importance of the goggles. So for the Kizuna staff, which has 02 staff on it, to ignore that is very frustrating.

I can see the goggles being a fantastic point of development for Daisuke mainly because Daisuke, Iori, and Miyako need their own power source. They can’t jogress it would seem. Daisuke and Ken didn’t in Kizuna. It’d be pointless for Hikari/Miiyako and Iori/Takeru to jogress when they have their own ultimate levels unlocked. SO a sequel focusing on this would be ideal. With Omegamon would of the picture now, this would be that much easier to need more power.

Kizuna set up a good reason why the adventure kids won’t be able to handle threats anymore on their own. I remmeber thinking after tri. if the 02 kids had their own movie, how would they explain away the 8 not being there to take care of the threat? Losing their partners to being an adult is a good reason why! Might be the most nonsensical, but adventure really never has been so...

I’m glad we got to see a glimpse of Meiko. It was all I wanted and i got at least that much. I am still wondering if it’s drawn in the og adventure style or if they just slapped on a tri. screenshot. Wallace being there makes it all the funnier. Because that makes movie 3′s canon even more confusing.

But from the sound of it, it was a manifestation of their dreams. So Meicoomon and Chocomon are probably not back. It pains me but I’m also relieved because that would lessen the impact of tri., imo.

Menoa being a Chosen is all right I guess. Little frustrating it’s basically another Maki rehash. But the chosen running around being detectives may just make up for it. It adds fuel to me murder/mystery interests.

Morphomon is freaking adorable. 

That’s all i have for now. I still hope we get to see the movie a shorter time span than 6 months. But we’ll see.

[adventure-hearts]

want to know your thoughts on sora's decision to not take part in battles/fighting anymore. do you agree with her decision? based on the spoilers, it's said that she is the only one not to lose her consciousness & taken to menoa's neverland. the spoilers also said that sora & piyomon do nothing at all. for me, i'm ok if sora & piyomon are excluded since it is her decision & i respect that.

It took me a while to answer this question, because I wanted to know the actual contents of the movie and the novel, rather than form an opinion based on spoilers alone.

I think now I have enough data to answer!

First, of course I’m disappointed that Sora does nothing in the actual film. By nothing, I mean fuck all. In the novel, except for the sequence that is directly taken from the short film and not part of the film, Sora has basically a cameo. She doesn’t appear in the Neverland sequence, and although she is the first to lose her partner, her reaction is not shown or addressed. I’m not surprised by this (it’s inevitable that some characters will be ignored when you have a 12-member cast), but it’s still a sad development for the character.

Than being said, the short was lovely and it did make up for the crappy treatment Sora got in Kizuna! Of course Sora’s exclusion was made to serve the format of the movie and the reality of now having 14 main characters, but I’m really grateful that they managed to find a thoughtful, organic explanation for why she isn’t there. (Unlike the previous films.)

I think the most important thing to take from Sora’s decision is that it’s a massive step for the character. Sora is someone who has lived her entire life under other people’s expectations, doing what was supposed to do rather than what she really wanted. (Supressing her will until it comes out as anger or rebellion). She didn’t chose to be born as iemoto Crown Princess. She sure as hell didn’t decide to become a Chosen Child. But, nevertheless, until now, she accepted those roles and fulfilled them to the best of her ability.

It’s clear that Sora was under pressure from both sides, and that neither activity would be necessarily her first choice. 

Being a Chosen and fighting was clearly hard on Sora. Already in Adventure, you start to see that she crumbles under the pressure to do well and to fulfill her role in the group. She isn’t like Taichi and Yamato, who get energized by being in the centre of battle, or like Koushirou, who thrives from finding solutions to these problems.

Let’s not underestimate the amount of emotional labor Sora had to perform as a Chosen Child all the freaking time, meaning she basically had to deal with everyone else’s emotional troubles in addition to her own. Moreover, apart from the general traumatic experience that was the whole 1999 experience and other battles since then, Sora had some terrible shit happening to her during their adventures, the type of things than can probably cause long-term trauma and fear:

being kidnapped (and almost cloned) by an evil Digimon;

watching her best friend die in front of her eyes not once but twice;

being assaulted by Mystery Man (a teenage girl being pinned down and licked by a grown ass man… how else are you supposed to read that???)

being separated from Piyomon a bunch of times;

literally falling into a dark cave;

constantly having to suppress her negative feelings because her job is to keep everyone safe and motivated plus a constant sense that her friends don’t really do the same for her;

etc etc etc

Can anyone blame Sora for wanting to be a normal girl after 10 years of being some kind of child soldier?

As for Ikebana, it isn’t that Sora doesn’t like it. In fact, it was shown that initially she was only rejecting it because of troubles in her relationship with her mother, and she actually came to enjoy it. 

The problem is the pressure that comes along with it. The short illustrates this beautifully — Sora has to dedicate all her time to Ikebana, because she doesn’t want to produce anything unworthy of a Grand Master’s daughter, and she still feels she isn’t good enough. Trying to succeed in something while being under he constant shadow of a parent who’s excellent at it is never easy. 

Over all, the feeling I got from the short is that Sora is approaching it out of a sense of duty and it is not longer fun, or even rewarding, for her. Especially if it means that, after graduating from college, she was supposed to go straight into the Ikebana business, which won’t let pursue her own dreams, the things she truly wanted to do and won’t even reveal to Piyomon...

So: Sora’s reasoning was perfectly understandable and it shows both self-awareness and courage. It’s literally Sora doing something she never does: putting herself first. Choosing do to things her way, rather than out of a sense of responsibility or obligation for others.

It doesn’t even come across as “Sora sitting out while her friends suffer”, because before she can try to help, the consequence of her decision is that Piyomon disappears (another cruelty resulting from being a Chosen Child, which Sora will have to deal with later…). 

Sora retiring is unfortunate for us fans, since it means that she will probably never get centre stage again if any future installments ever happen. But, on the other hand, it’s the start of her building a great, independent future and why the Epilogue shows her as happy and fulfilled woman.

[fizzingwizard]

My browser froze up and ate this post so I had to make it again -_-; I wanted to post something more about Kizuna, since I was somewhat disgruntled when I made my first post. There were things about it I enjoyed a lot.

Under the cut because spoilers

The way Taichi and Yamato are so very Taichi and Yamato. That is, Yamato yells a lot, then storms off to take care of things by himself. And Taichi puts up with the yelling, then deals with things in his own way. Then they meet in the middle and Yamato leans on Taichi a bit for leadership to get them to the final big battle. It’s very Them. Honestly Idk why I never noticed how much Yamato yelled in Adventure as a kid, maybe it was because 11-year-old Taichi was more likely to yell back? lol

Miyako’s first scene is hilarious, and her dynamic with Hawkmon is PERFECT. She’s energetic and impassioned, and he’s exasperated with his hopeless partner while also hopelessly indulgent of her. I want a whole movie of just the two of them.

Spy!Yamato is both awesome and hilarious

Takeru is adorbs throughout.

Taichi’s apartment. He lives in a shoebox like me X’D It’s the fate of single city dwellers, especially if you live in Tokyo. But according to the novel, he can turn the light on, so there goes my theory that he’s too poor for his electric bill xD I guess the reason he keeps the lights off through most of the movie, even when it’s dark, is because he wants to save money lol

Also his porn stash and his classic Looney Tunes expression when Agumon discovers it. When the movie hits the net we must dissect the images to discern Taichi’s type

Scenes between Yamato and Gabumon are as sweet and heartwarming as always.

Scenes between Taichi and Agumon are... as ridiculous as always. Yamato got a twin brother who understands hm and his moods in his partner Digimon; Taichi got a gluttonous baby brother who in spite of being immensely powerful would die if Taichi looked away from him for a second

Taichi’s reaction to Yamato giving him and Koushirou pre-paid phones for spoofing is priceless. The fact that Yamato thought to do this tickles the hell out of Taichi. And the fact that he’s tickled by it tickles me.

I might be misremembering this, but I think Tentomon serves hamburgers to Koromon and Tsunomon by throwing the burgesr at Patamon and having him bat them into their mouths with his wings X’D sorry but I’ll either need to watch it again or have someone corroborate to be sure I didn’t dream this. They definitely eat lots of hamburgers though

Stingmon’s “Ken-chan” <3

I did enjoy the whistle. Especially that it even reached as far as Sora.

Taichi and Yamato sobbing at the end T^T

One last thing: The novelization and the movie aren’t exactly the same. Story-wise, they are, but there are conversations and insights that happen in the novel that aren’t in the movie. And as you might expect, there are a couple new things in the movie too, but they’re not as significant. It’s definitely worth it to read the novelization. Overall my opinion of Kizuna hasn’t changed, but I wanted to post something more positive in tone as well.

[ahiddenpath]

I read the Kizuna novel

Okay, so I went ahead and read the dang thing (spoilers, obviously)- I didn’t realize it was a light novel, you can knock it out in under an hour.  I was having a little waffle fest over here, so now I can speak more plainly.  Big thanks to everyone who nudged me to rip off the band-aid XD

Big ‘ol spoily spoilers beneath the cut as I react.

Okay, seriously, one more time: spoilers!

So.  So.  SO.

Bluntly, this was exactly what I hoped Toei wouldn’t do, and had a sneaking suspicion they would.  From a subjective standpoint, I don’t like this ending for the Adventure series (everyone is fated to lose their partners as they become adults).  More objectively, it raises a lot of interesting questions (What is adulthood?  Is adulthood flipping a switch, a single event, or is it a process?  Does one truly have to sever from childhood things to become an adult?  What is potential?  When does potential end?).  Although, while the Kizuna novel raises these questions, I don’t think it does much with them, other than to assert that facing reality and being willing to grow (or, rather, having the courage to push yourself to grow) is preferable to deluding yourself and avoiding difficult truths.

My emotions are basically thus:

Mixed with a bit of:

But it’s not my story, it’s Toei’s.  I’m not going to say much more about my raw FEELS.  And again, thanks to everyone who pushed me to just read the book.  Processing was much easier when I knew for sure what goes down.

I’m also not going to touch on how most of the characters are in the background, because...  It’s one movie, I get it, they did what they had to.

There were some adorable little moments in the novel.  Shoutout for Miyako 100% of the time, shoutout to Iori for destroying property “with a blank face,” shout out for “Ken-chan” and ramen and describing Daisuke as “suspicious-looking.”  I had to read that several times; DID THEY JUST CALL HIM SUSPICIOUS, so much shade from a narration!  Is that you, Takeru?!  It’s totally Takeru.

I think my favorite part was Koushiro telling Tentomon the story about the candles, utilizing a narrative to discuss an emotional topic with him.  No, for real, that’s communication progress right there.  And Tentomon was described as “cleaning the office like a fussy house-husband,” which equates to Happy Hidden.

Also, I think when Agumon and Gabumon are talking alone is probably the most emotional part to me?  I love hearing the digimon talk about their team without the humans around.  They’re so... so sweet.  I love them.  (This is actually my favorite bit, the Koushiro thing was more my favorite non-super-important part).

Of course, Taichi and Yamato’s resolve is the most admirable part.  I also loved proactive Yamato, but I died at how he suspected the wrong person the whole time!  That’s so...  You guys...

But this just isn’t how I wanted the adventure to end, especially since they’re calling this “the last evolution.”  I’m not sure, though...  Gennai mentioned something about “infinite possibilities,” and there were definitely “we’ll meet again” vibes at the end.  (Also, uh, I guess Gennai... is... okay?  After the events of Tri?  Cool, cool).

To me, what makes Yamato and Taichi “adult” here is their resolve in the face of enormous personal loss, not their life choices.  And I kind of think...  That’s a big part of my disconnect from this narrative?  I just don’t think that someone’s personal “possibilities” equates to their age or career choices.  I also hate the concept that “potential” seems to be... tied to “career”?  Your livelihood is important!  But it’s not where your “value” or “potential” or “possibilities” lie.   

The Kizuna novel is vague about “potential.”  On the one hand, as someone who does a ton of narrative writing for fun...  You sometimes have to be vague when you write an installment that’s “in between” existing content.  If Kizuna is too specific about what it means to “lose possibilities” such that you “become an adult,” then there will inevitably be spots where fans can say, “Wait, but what about here?  And there?” in the pre-existing material.  On the other hand...  That’s a core concept to this book, and I’m left not... really... knowing... what it means?

Possibilities...  I’m 31.  I could choose to have a kid.  I could move to another country, start a new career, go back to school, learn a new language, join a new religion.  There are certain things no one can do- change the past, become younger again, bring back the dead.  But, um...  Your potential doesn’t end until your life does.  True, some choices “lock you in,” mostly having children.  But, um...  If Mimi decides to stop being a business owner and, I dunno, have her own cooking show...  She can do that.  (She does do that.  That’s what I’m saying).

Basically, I think the concept is bigger than a single movie could hope to handle (at least, a single movie packed with characters and battles and evolutions).  I think the ideas are interesting, but I’m just not sold on the delivery.  But hey, fanfic writers could really flex with these ideas!

This is really long, so to sign off on it for now...  Well, even though I was counting on this being the Final Evolution to prepare us for a reboot in Psi/2020, now I am kind of hoping for/lowkey expecting a Final Evolution 2 to restore us to Epilogue status somehow.  Who knows, though.

If you wanna see my pre-Kizuna novel reading thoughts/hopes, check it out here. 

EDIT:  I keep saying “movie” when I actually read the novel.  That’s because the novel length is constrained to something that fits within the air time of the movie.

[izzyizumi]

#DIGIMONSPOILERS #DIGIMON SPOILERS #KIZUNASPOILERS #KIZUNA SPOILERS HIKARI IS THERE TOO HIKARI IS THERE TOO HIKARI IS THERE TOO HIKARI IS THERE TOO ------------

[ New spoiler-y screencaps of Taichi Yagami, Hikari Yagami, & Koushiro Izumi from Digimon Adventure Last Evolution “Kizuna” (“Bonds”) short TV commercial! ( the video is region-locked to Japan only; I grabbed 2nd screencap ! )

{ TO PREVENT SPOILING OTHERS PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE FURTHER KIZUNA SPOILERS THAT HAVEN’T BEEN OFFICIALLY RELEASED / OR FROM THE TIE-IN NOVELS, ON THIS POST IN COMMENTS, THE TAGS, ETC. I.E. PLEASE DO NOT MENTION SPOILERS FROM “LEAKS” OR THE LIKE, THANK YOU }

[ note: commenting/tagging respectfully/positively is ok ! ] ( IF NOT POSITIVE COMMENTS, please make YOUR OWN POSTS, please do not so so by commenting/tagging on mine !!! )

[gossipchii]

Kizuna Spoilers

Me: Takes as Taiorato evidence that only Taichi, Sora and Yamato lose their partners.

Ugh, my OT3, I never lose even when I lose.