Since Erased might be attempting to adapt the entire completed manga series its based on, I guess I will talk about a different anime. This is rather late considering that the subs came out a week ago but bear with me reader, I have been marathoning Planescape: Torment again (plus I do have to study).
Digimon Adventure tri. 2: Ketsui is the second instalment of the Digimon Adventure tri movie series. Will this instalment fare better than the first instalment or will it be as underwhelming as the first? Just remember if you do not agree with my opinion, no problem. Our opinions differ and there is no problem with that.
(I'll be using a mix of the Japanese and English names in my post)
What makes it
More Digimon. That is all I need to say. The first film took a while to get to showing the Digimon in order to showcase the Digidestined as teenagers. While this is usually essential to showcase the current situations of the characters and their current status quo, it can be a dangerous sequence to do in a show if the viewer winds up feeling like the sequence dragged on for too long. Here, the Digimon are already present so the show is able to show more of their interactions in the human world with the people and objects in it. While there are segments dedicated solely to the human characters, the Digimon do have more screen time this time and the balance struck here does feel like an improvement over the previous film. Plus their presence from the start of the film did not make the first twenty minutes (approximately) without action feel like a drag unlike the first film that went on for too long.
The conflicts focused on. While I still feel that Tai is being overly angsty in this film, I do feel more invested in seeing how the conflicts focused in this episode would be resolved. The focus lies on Jo and Mimi who are having their own problems and issues. Mimi's problems are related to her self-centered ways that are often ignorant of other views. This comes to a head in this film as her own opinions on how to handle the Digimon intrusions winds up having more harm in the long run for the Digidestined. While her personal conflict does get explored and resolved in a decent manner, it was Jo's conflict that I did get more invested in. Like the first film, Jo has been less inclined to meet up with the Digidestined to focus on his studies to get into college. As a result, he ends up missing a number of important battles as the film goes on due to shifting priorities. Maturity is the main element in the conflicts arising here as Mimi is not mature enough (initially) while Jo is being too mature resulting in shifting priorities. For me, I felt that Jo's conflict was the more interesting as Joe has to focus on two increasingly important priorities. Due to his rather poor grades and his own difficult dream to be a doctor, Jo is left stressed from his studies and the expectations around him (the two banners in front of his desk do not help). At the same time, he has his responsibilities to the Digidestined and his partner, Gomamon which he does care about. This inability to balance these priorities wind up being the main crux of Jo's problems as he attempts to place his future as a priority but still fully aware that he has a responsibility to his close friends. This conflict of interests do reach a head at some parts and personally, I do understand why Joe would prioritise his future over fighting battles with his comrades. Both have long term consequences but the difficulty of planning for a future can feel more important. That said, I do disagree with how Jo approaches his problem as he unconsciously alienates himself from the group and from Gomamon in particular. While he does has some priorities straight, it should not have come at the cost of his obligations to his partner and friend. The only downside to the conflicts explored here is the method used to resolve the conflicts as they do seem rushed. (Here's a hint how they solve it: The power of...)
A decent onsen sequence. No, seriously. After all the cliched onsen (hot spring) scenes I have seen pop up in sub-par anime shows, it is gratifying to see even some variation. In here, it is the girls going in the male side of the baths and for the most part, it is done with more taste than I have seen in a long while. That is all I can say about it really.
Ship-teasing. This is an odd thing to say here but it does draw in some viewers so I will consider this as an element that makes the show. Old favourites like Takeru and Hikari are brought up again while Koushiro and Mimi are teased as strongly as the previous film. Meiko's other main purpose in the story, aside from MacGuffin and brand new character, seems to be for teasing ship-sinking.
What breaks it
Rushed mega-evolutions. In this film (as indicated by the poster), there are new mega-evolutions introduced for the Digimon belonging to the two characters focused on. The good news is that they do show up. The bad news about this is how short it felt. At the final fight for this film (not the last one though), Mimi and Jo's Digimon are able to achieve their Mega forms for the fight (Rosemon for Mimi and Vikemon for Jo) which evens out the difficulty of said fight. The problem is how long it took for the evolution (no Warp Evolution) and how quickly the battle ends up being resolved. Others may find it to be of a decent length but for me, it was too short as it seemed focussed on flashy effects and explosions (as a basic Digimon battle should) that only lasted for a couple of minutes against an opponent that did not put up much of a fight (the opponent in question will not disclosed to avoid spoilers but I will say that the opponent was a particularly powerful Digimon). [Extra note: This is not a criticism or a flaw but merely an added note. There are jiggle physics on Rosemon. That is all I will say about it.]
Too much angst still present especially with Taichi. One part of the previous film I disliked about it is Tai's angst that is being used to present his 'maturity'. Since he is now 'mature', it means that he broods and gets worried about the consequences. While I am still aware that people do worry about consequences (I worry on a regular basis), I do not like the excessive emphasis on how this is the trait that shows how he is 'mature'. While there is a better ratio between cheerfulness and angst, the angst is still just as annoying as ever with even Hikari calling him out on his bullshit in one scene I did enjoy. Angst can be used to show maturity in some cases but it has to be tempered with human traits or must have valid reasons for the angst to even be there lest it induces apathy. Destruction caused by forces beyond his control does not justify all of Taichi's angst for me. It has lessened slightly here so I can give them credit for that. Also the whole Taichi vs Yamato conflict feels rather drawn out like it did in the original show.
Animation quality drops. While not as noticeable as the first film, there are instances where the animation does drop. I especially noticed the drop during the final fight in the film where the Digimon models seemed off. It was not as bad as the first film though as I only noticed the drops during the end whereas the first film already laid its cards on the table after the show started.
Overall thoughts:
I liked it a bit more than the first film. It made some improvements over the first and one of the conflicts explored in the film was able to keep me invested in the film. It has a long way to go though before it could hope to match the original series nor could it match Our War Game. It would seem that Hikari and Takeru will be the focus of the next film which will shed some light on what happened to the second generation team of Digidestined.
[SPOILER ALERT]
Brief notes taken while watching:
(I'll be using a mix of the Japanese and English names in my post)
What makes it
More Digimon. That is all I need to say. The first film took a while to get to showing the Digimon in order to showcase the Digidestined as teenagers. While this is usually essential to showcase the current situations of the characters and their current status quo, it can be a dangerous sequence to do in a show if the viewer winds up feeling like the sequence dragged on for too long. Here, the Digimon are already present so the show is able to show more of their interactions in the human world with the people and objects in it. While there are segments dedicated solely to the human characters, the Digimon do have more screen time this time and the balance struck here does feel like an improvement over the previous film. Plus their presence from the start of the film did not make the first twenty minutes (approximately) without action feel like a drag unlike the first film that went on for too long.
The conflicts focused on. While I still feel that Tai is being overly angsty in this film, I do feel more invested in seeing how the conflicts focused in this episode would be resolved. The focus lies on Jo and Mimi who are having their own problems and issues. Mimi's problems are related to her self-centered ways that are often ignorant of other views. This comes to a head in this film as her own opinions on how to handle the Digimon intrusions winds up having more harm in the long run for the Digidestined. While her personal conflict does get explored and resolved in a decent manner, it was Jo's conflict that I did get more invested in. Like the first film, Jo has been less inclined to meet up with the Digidestined to focus on his studies to get into college. As a result, he ends up missing a number of important battles as the film goes on due to shifting priorities. Maturity is the main element in the conflicts arising here as Mimi is not mature enough (initially) while Jo is being too mature resulting in shifting priorities. For me, I felt that Jo's conflict was the more interesting as Joe has to focus on two increasingly important priorities. Due to his rather poor grades and his own difficult dream to be a doctor, Jo is left stressed from his studies and the expectations around him (the two banners in front of his desk do not help). At the same time, he has his responsibilities to the Digidestined and his partner, Gomamon which he does care about. This inability to balance these priorities wind up being the main crux of Jo's problems as he attempts to place his future as a priority but still fully aware that he has a responsibility to his close friends. This conflict of interests do reach a head at some parts and personally, I do understand why Joe would prioritise his future over fighting battles with his comrades. Both have long term consequences but the difficulty of planning for a future can feel more important. That said, I do disagree with how Jo approaches his problem as he unconsciously alienates himself from the group and from Gomamon in particular. While he does has some priorities straight, it should not have come at the cost of his obligations to his partner and friend. The only downside to the conflicts explored here is the method used to resolve the conflicts as they do seem rushed. (Here's a hint how they solve it: The power of...)
A decent onsen sequence. No, seriously. After all the cliched onsen (hot spring) scenes I have seen pop up in sub-par anime shows, it is gratifying to see even some variation. In here, it is the girls going in the male side of the baths and for the most part, it is done with more taste than I have seen in a long while. That is all I can say about it really.
Ship-teasing. This is an odd thing to say here but it does draw in some viewers so I will consider this as an element that makes the show. Old favourites like Takeru and Hikari are brought up again while Koushiro and Mimi are teased as strongly as the previous film. Meiko's other main purpose in the story, aside from MacGuffin and brand new character, seems to be for teasing ship-sinking.
What breaks it
Rushed mega-evolutions. In this film (as indicated by the poster), there are new mega-evolutions introduced for the Digimon belonging to the two characters focused on. The good news is that they do show up. The bad news about this is how short it felt. At the final fight for this film (not the last one though), Mimi and Jo's Digimon are able to achieve their Mega forms for the fight (Rosemon for Mimi and Vikemon for Jo) which evens out the difficulty of said fight. The problem is how long it took for the evolution (no Warp Evolution) and how quickly the battle ends up being resolved. Others may find it to be of a decent length but for me, it was too short as it seemed focussed on flashy effects and explosions (as a basic Digimon battle should) that only lasted for a couple of minutes against an opponent that did not put up much of a fight (the opponent in question will not disclosed to avoid spoilers but I will say that the opponent was a particularly powerful Digimon). [Extra note: This is not a criticism or a flaw but merely an added note. There are jiggle physics on Rosemon. That is all I will say about it.]
Too much angst still present especially with Taichi. One part of the previous film I disliked about it is Tai's angst that is being used to present his 'maturity'. Since he is now 'mature', it means that he broods and gets worried about the consequences. While I am still aware that people do worry about consequences (I worry on a regular basis), I do not like the excessive emphasis on how this is the trait that shows how he is 'mature'. While there is a better ratio between cheerfulness and angst, the angst is still just as annoying as ever with even Hikari calling him out on his bullshit in one scene I did enjoy. Angst can be used to show maturity in some cases but it has to be tempered with human traits or must have valid reasons for the angst to even be there lest it induces apathy. Destruction caused by forces beyond his control does not justify all of Taichi's angst for me. It has lessened slightly here so I can give them credit for that. Also the whole Taichi vs Yamato conflict feels rather drawn out like it did in the original show.
Animation quality drops. While not as noticeable as the first film, there are instances where the animation does drop. I especially noticed the drop during the final fight in the film where the Digimon models seemed off. It was not as bad as the first film though as I only noticed the drops during the end whereas the first film already laid its cards on the table after the show started.
Overall thoughts:
I liked it a bit more than the first film. It made some improvements over the first and one of the conflicts explored in the film was able to keep me invested in the film. It has a long way to go though before it could hope to match the original series nor could it match Our War Game. It would seem that Hikari and Takeru will be the focus of the next film which will shed some light on what happened to the second generation team of Digidestined.
[SPOILER ALERT]
Brief notes taken while watching:
- The Digimon Emperor is back?
- More Digimon in the show. Nice.
- The ships are being teased (and Mei's presence in the group could be for ship-sinking)
- A reverse onsen situation where its the girls invading rather than the guys. Nice...
- Ogremon and Leomon, eh? Looks like Leomon's gonna die again...
- Mimi critics may finally get something out of this episode
- Focussed on Joe and Mimi (one matured too quickly, the other is not maturing enough)
- Ah Joe... I feel some of your pain (I did make it into pre-U after all)
- Mimi learned a valuable lesson: Selfishness can be tempered with sincere compassion so that it does not override the views of others.
- Dang it, Ken! Must we deal with those Dark Spores again? Or is it someone else? The hair is really throwing me off.
- Shippers are everywhere in this show. Like in the previous episode.
- Leomon-senpai... I have a bad feeling that Meicoomon will be the one killing Leomon here. Good thing he likes em small.
- Yamato has horrible taste in names. Why not the Moody Loners instead?
- Oh Koshiro... I fear for your heart when the obligatory beach episode arrives and Mimi shows up in her swimsuit.
- Tai is still suffering his angst issues to make him seem 'mature'. It just seems retarded to focus on that for so long.
- Looks like the Digimon Emperor is back again.
- A dark Imperialdramon?! What happened to the second gen Digi-Destined?
- The power of friendship solves Joe's problems.
- Well the mega-evolutions came rushing in but it is nice to see them getting their mega forms. Kinda rushed though.
- Also, jiggle physics because anime!
- Perhaps the weird Digi-Code prophecy refers to suffering adult problems that induce apathy and depression before overcoming it with the power of friendship.
- I was right?! And looks like Himekawa is in on Meicoomon's virus behaviour. (Perhaps Meicoomon is an artificial digimon created by humans to destroy the Digimon world)
- Cliffhanger... And something tells me that the Digimon Emperor is not Ichijouji since Himekawa was the one who suggested that he was and she's obviously in on the events going on. Or it is Ken but there is some corrupt government conspiracy focussed on the Digimon World?
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