Digimon Adventure Tri Part 2: Determination Review - A Typical School Comedy... with Digimon

Written by Shiggins

Part 1 Review: CLICK HERE

After the events of Part 1, where the characters all reunited and joined forces to take on the new "Infected Digimon", we return almost immediately where we left off, with the gang going through character development and the Digimon themselves seeming to prove themselves to be more... in the way actually.

I would say "Spoiler alert" but this is the official poster for Part 2 so...

Note: This review is mostly SPOILER-FREE.

In my last review, I said I didn't want this series to become a romantic comedy with Digimon, and I am unable to deny that the anime came extremely close to reaching this point. Hell, the two major "events" for the gang are going to a hot spring inn, then planning a school festival! If they managed to slip in a beach or a "Valentine's Day" episode, we might have gotten a trio of cliché. 

Cute but... do those eyes make her cuter or demonic?

I'll quickly point out however, that we don't get what most anime would give us. Every opportunity for fanservice is ignored, and we don't have any awkward misunderstandings or failed confessions resulting in "hilarious" violence where a girl hits a guy. (Seriously, why don't guys ever get to hit the girl without being judged?) The humour is fun, but not overburdened with typical anime tropes. 

They are clearly horrified as they realise... they have literally zero impact on the story. Again.

But what about the story? Good question, me! The story is definitely picking up, that's for certain. Plot twists and surprising returns from enjoyable characters are abundant and steal the spotlight, and we get plenty of possibilities for the future as well. Is this dude evil? Is this woman evil? Is that really the guy we think it is from that season of Digimon? It's just too bad we're suffering from the Jessica Jones curse of having to drag it out. While Part 1 focused mostly on Tai and Matt, Part 2 seems to be about Joe, Mimi and new character Meiko as they deal with their problems to fit in, grow up or face their fears, and it's all surprisingly dramatic.

That character is exactly who you think he is. No really.

While Joe's intense angst starts to get grating near the end of this, we do manage to understand where he's coming from for the most part. He's scared and confused and just wants to live a normal life, while all the stress from class constantly bombards him. Gomamon wants to help him, but he's feeling cast aside by Joe's tantrums. I'm just so damn thankful that this looks like the end of Joe's frustrating arc.

As for Mimi, her arc is, for lack of a better word, random. We suddenly take a look at Mimi's overenthusiastic nature, as well as her possible selfishness and ego. Meiko plays quite a role in this arc, but even her surprisingly charming contribution to the cast doesn't hide the fact that this arc is almost minimal when compared to Joe's far more tragic and recurring story. It feels like the studio said "Oh shit, Mimi is popular? Throw in a story! And make it about... cheerleader outfits!"

You thought I was joking about the cheerleader outfit, didn't you?

Once again, the music and animation both sell you what you need to see. Although, as is the norm with Toei Animation, it's not perfect. While Part 1 almost never faltered with the animation, Part 2 has quite a few more issues. Or at least, far more glaring issues. A few faces are poorly drawn, and one or two frames just don't sit well with me. However, that's a nitpick because it still looks beautiful 96.4% of the time. I counted.

On a final note, the Digimon group are actually starting to feel more like pests. They just run around and be cute, and actually cause trouble for the Digidestined. Nothing serious of course, as they appear to be refusing to leave the safe zone known as "Romcom Anime". It's rather odd that we only see the Digimon either fight in badass action scenes, or run around and expose themselves to school children... wait, that came out wrong... but my point is, with all the development the series has, couldn't Agumon or Gabumon or any of them get some serious personal arcs?

Rating: 3.5/5

Character of the Movie: Joe for finally ending his arc and going through all that angst.

Best Part: The final battle, that I won't dare spoil here.

Worst Part: Starting to feel like the Digimon are a subplot.

Really? Really, Digimon? You just HAD to?

Shiggins:[Admin]
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Born under the stars of the Dark Gods, Shiggins owns the power of the Great Eye and is utterly magnificent in his omniscience. If you dare to discover more about someone as great as him, then go ahead. And to all my friends and family members, YOU are wrong and I should be disappointed! Not the other way round!,. You can find out about him or ask him stuff on ask.fm/shigginsishere or go to his tumblr page http://otakugajeel.tumblr.com/