#デジモンアドベンチャー

Soundbirdmon 

2020 Twin Angels

Finally got a chance to watch Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna. It’s been a long time since I’ve draw Digimon. And any long time followers know how much I love the Ange- evolution line. So I had to do a piece for old time’s sake. I kept closer to the original design than I used to in my younger days, but still added my own touches (°◡°♡)

My thoughts about the Kizuna/Adventure 01: 

Over 20 years later and I still find Digimon to be one of those series that I never quite grow out of. That’s a good thing, of course. Digimon Adventure 01 was, like many others my age, a foundational experience with a non-episodic show. It was my introduction into characters with internal struggles and real growth and change. Even as a kid I had that sense that these characters were different from the rest of the characters that populated those old later 90s tube TVs.

Looking back in retrospect, there’s a lot of powerful ideas in Digimon- from the characters to the (criminally underutilized) lore. Somewhere along the way I ended up conceptualizing Digimon as my generation’s The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. As ridiculous as that sounds on premise, there’s a lot to be said about a coming of age story featuring kids living on the precipice of a new era. Being thrown into another world, forced to survive and sacrifice. And in the end gain the essential virtues they need to return back into their world and prosper in this new (Digital) age.

The kids struggled with real problems that required virtue, not power, to overcome. Taichi had to learn the balance between courage and foolhardiness, Yamato had to deal with the anger of his parents’ divorce, Koushiro had to allow himself to be vulnerable and accept his adopted parent’s love as genuine love, etc. Each kid had their personal challenges and they grew in spite of them

And that’s the rub, really. The cast of Digimon not only grew older, they grew up. Which is why I’m so glad this final movie was made. I largely ignored Tri due to its poor story and animation, but this movie more than made up for it in my mind. It was the goodbye I wanted to see- the closure I needed for these childhood heroes.

It’s not a perfect movie- but neither was the original series. Yet it has heart and it hit me in all the right places. I was thankful for the emotional value it gave me. Emotional value that enhances the foundation Adventure 01 gave me. While I wish we got more time with the other kids, or at least got some shorts afterwards about Koushiro, Sora, Jou, Mimi, Takeru & Hikari’s final goodbye- I’m thankful we got to be there for Taichi and Yamato’s.

In the end, I can’t say ‘goodbye’ to Digimon. Instead, it’s better to just say…

“Thank you, Digimon”