THE END OF DIGIMON

RAHM JETHANI - Writer

Originally published in Vol. 58 Issue 1 - Rivals

“We may not be able to change our fate, but our lives aren’t preordained!”

SPOILERS FOR DIGIMON ADVENTURE: LAST EVOLUTION KIZUNA!

The Digimon anime series’ strongest aspect is, and always has been, its strong focus on character growth and thematic evolution. This is especially the case in the many “Adventure” series, which mainly follow a constant set of characters, as opposed to the wide variety of one-off groups featured in other Digimon series. The first Digimon Adventure series was released back in 1999, and it was praised for its creative exploration of what it meant to grow up. Not only this, but ideas of true friendship, destiny, sacrifice, and other heavy subject matters were talked about in a more mature way than many localized shows of the time. This respect for the audience, the admittedly marketable and “cool” Digimon, and the simple yet charming storyline helped propel the following Digimon anime series to new heights.

However, most likely due to the other series being so self-contained, the Digimon Adventure series kept receiving new outings, such as the multiple movies and Digimon Adventure Tri series. Despite their hit-or-miss nature though, each new installment aimed to further the relationship dynamics between the characters in a meaningful way. While the sentiment of this was largely appreciated, its execution was received very poorly due to structural problems, as seen especially with the Tri series. The reception towards Tri prompted the writers to ask themselves a challenging question. Should they be content to end the Adventure series with this failed product, or would they try to redeem themselves with a risky last project that risked further alienating the entire fanbase? After much time, the team did pick the latter option, and a few years later, released Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna.

In order to understand what the Kizuna movie sought to do, we first need to take a look back at two essential “bad” moments that defined the identity of the Digimon Adventure series leading up to the movie. Firstly, there’s the famous ending of Digimon Adventure 02, which shows all of the main characters as adults. The main character Taichi ends up being a diplomat with his partner Digimon, Agumon. The rival character Yamato is seen as an astronaut on the moon with his partner Gabumon. Similar futures are shown for all the original cast which, in isolation, works as a hopeful sendoff. The problem with this is its recontextualization in the secondary “bad” moment in the Digimon Adventure series: Digimon Adventure Tri Tri struggles with many aspects, but in particular it fails to give any hints towards the characters’ futures. The series shows different sides to the cast that, while undoubtedly good in terms of evolving their characters, conflict with the future version of them. We wonder how Yamato goes from being in a rock band to studying astrophysics instead of Koushiro, we wonder how Taichi’s new sense of uncertainty leads him to becoming a diplomat, we wonder how Mimi becomes a celebrity chef when she’s better suited to Sora’s job of fashion design. At the end of Tri, these questions are no closer to being answered than in the beginning, as if the writers forgot that Digimon Adventure has always been about the characters’ lives rather than them fighting a specific dangerous Digimon. This ends up making an unsatisfying conclusion to a series that was supposed to be a thematic close to the Digimon Adventure series.

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna is the perfect end to the series. It takes what made the original series so special, and pairs it with a refined message that caters to its core audience who have now also grown up. Furthermore, one of its boldest decisions is one that I think should have been done a long time ago: the writers disregard the ending of Adventure 02. I personally don’t care about “canon” as long as the story being told is a good one, so whether or not Kizuna is now the true “canon” doesn’t matter. What does matter about this movie’s choice to stray from an already-decided future is that it not only allows for better storytelling potential, but it also lines up with Kizuna’s plot so much that this decision actually increased the enjoyment and thematic fulfillment. It embraced the new characterization the Tri films brought, and rather than only half-committing, it leaned into the personality traits that the characters had begun to exhibit. This not only created more believable character moments throughout the movie, but also continued the sense of forward momentum the series was famous for. In addition, role reversals between characters like Taichi and Yamato were displayed intentionally to highlight the uncertainty of this point in their lives.

I want to quickly touch on the relationship dynamic between Taichi and Yamato, because its growth up until this movie is indicative of their current mental states. At the start of the series, Taichi is the bold leader of the friend group. His occasional airheadedness was complemented by his desire to protect those close to him, which we learn is a result of a traumatic moment in his childhood. Meanwhile, Yamato is initially presented as a cold, closed-off loner who would frequently argue with Taichi over decisions. It is revealed later that Yamato was like this due to his own childhood, after his parents divorced and forced him away from his younger brother. In a way, these characters are similar, and their interactions together both highlight this, as well as provide them opportunities to grow from it. Their various interactions spawned their fierce rivalry, which later turned to a friendly one as they understood each other more.

Something that Tri reached for was to shift the dynamic between them, where Taichi would become more passive and unsure of himself, and Yamato would take on the leader role when no one else would. This change was done in a somewhat jarring fashion, but Kizuna’s solution to this problematic change was as simple as it was appropriate to the movie’s tone: have all the characters grow apart. In the movie, everyone is off pursuing their own paths, and Taichi’s uncertainty is something he struggles with precisely because he isn’t able to act as a strong leader anymore. Yamato, while also feeling trepidation towards the future, is more sure of his path, and would sometimes provide emotional support for Taichi. Their dynamic shifted away from childish rivalry and into an adult friendship, and this evolution is perfect for Kizuna’s message.

All this time, I’ve talked around this film’s message, but I’ve yet to discuss its impact. Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna is a film about loss, destiny, and growing up… which is very similar to everything else in the series. What sets Kizuna apart though, is its finality. Tragedy happens in this movie that can and will never be undone, and we as an audience have to live with that. The good news though is that given time, these tragedies will bloom into a beautiful hope. In this movie, the main characters’ partner Digimon (although primarily Taichi’s and Yamato’s) only have a small amount of time left to live due to the characters growing older. The more the Digimon fight, the more their remaining time left is consumed. Compounding this is a villain who threatens the lives of all the DigiDestined in the world, hence creating a high-stakes situation.

As expected for Digimon, the good guys win and the bad guy is defeated, et cetera, et cetera. The form this structure takes though, is interesting. For one, most of the original cast is absent from the movie’s action, due to having their own lives to live. Sora, Mimi, and Joe in particular have moved on in their lives, and don’t feel the need to be actively involved in this last battle. Koushiro, too, takes more of a backseat here, as his computer knowledge doesn’t act as the deus ex machina it used to. Secondly, rather than achieving new power through friendship, bravery, or any other overused trope, the “new power” of this movie is solely caused by Taichi and Yamato’s acceptance of the imminent loss of their partners, as they make one final push in the film’s climactic battle. This acceptance isn’t rewarded by arbitrary good endings either, as the final heart-wrenching moments of the film see Taichi & Agumon’s and Yamato & Gabumon’s last moments together, each Digimon asking what their human partners will do tomorrow. In that moment, after some thought, Taichi and Yamato figure out what they want to do. Taichi’s uncertainty doesn’t paralyze him anymore, and Yamato’s adrift mindset disappears. But after they each turn to tell their partner, they realize that they’ve already disappeared.

This moment reveals to us a facet of Digimon that the writers, while approaching it rapidly, have been afraid to talk about for 20 years. Being a DigiDestined and having a Digimon meant that these kids were never able to fully grow up. They were all used to facing their problems the same way, and could have never grown as people without losing their Digimon. This was necessary for the main characters, and this is reflected by their realizations of what they wanted to do coinciding exactly with their respective partner’s disappearance. This ending is the perfect conclusion to a show like Digimon, which strives to explore the consequences of its fantastical imaginings. While there are many more Digimon stories yet to be told, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna proudly stands as the definitive thematic culmination of everything the series stood for.