Digimon Adventure tri. (Ketsui) Review

 Continuing from where Saikai left off, Digimon Adventure tri. Ketsui brings progression and a different take on the plot than one might expect. The previous film was more focused on the story and its progression, while this film is more centered around the characters and their inner struggle. If you fancy story more than anything else, then this film might not be for you, but if you like characters and seeing them grow, then you will find an appreciation for Ketsui.

As for the story, there is enough progression to foreshadow what is to come during the next film. Despite that, the story feels weaker in Ketsui than in Saikai due to the spontaneity of events. When an infected Digimon attack happens, it feels sudden and out of place. Whereas in the last film, we had more anticipation of what was coming to us. Another gripe I have is with Leomon joining the other Digimon halfway through the film. We do get to see him save people from Ogremon’s destruction, but seeing Leomon just walk in with Tai felt sudden and underwhelming, since Tai just states that he happened to meet up with him. With all the issues within the story of this film, it does give the spotlight to the characters. As a matter of fact, I feel as if the plot was just there to give some development to the characters and that’s not a bad thing at all, since this film did that well.

The characters get to shine this time and their development is the meat of this film. Filled with slice of life moments, such as taking a breather at a bath house and living it up at a school festival, Digimon Adventure tri. Ketsui showcases the Digidestined when they are not fighting Digimon and worrying about life.

Out of all the characters, I feel the spotlight was more on Mimi and Joe than on anyone else. With Mimi you get to see her inner struggle of egocentric personality, which is misunderstood. She wants everybody to be happy like she is, but is too caught up in her own excitement to notice how the people around her are feeling, which causes her to doubt her self.

For Joe, he has it rough trying to focus on his studies so that his future can be secured, but to add to that, he also is afraid of being a Digidestined again. His fear leads him to question why he was chosen to fight again; “Why me and not anyone else”, he asks. Seeing Mimi and Joe struggle and showcasing how they resolve their issues may look cliché to some viewers, but given Digimon has been using the theme of friendship for years, it’s understandable to a fault and has impact. Ketsui does not fail to leave out the Digimon, as we see them have fun and get into little misadventures as well; Leomon’s reaction to Meicoomon making a moe facial expression made me chuckle. With cute moments to moments of struggle, the time for our Digidestined to shine as characters is the highlight of this film and witnessing that gave Digimon Adventure tri. the kick it needed.

In all honesty, not much has changed in terms of art and animation quality. I did notice, however, that the animation took a slight dip from the previous film. Since Ketsui is filled with character moments, minimal amount of animation is required that involves facial gestures and such, but for the battle scene towards the end, it did stay fluid enough to deliver impact. For the art, it stayed eye-catching throughout the film with very few problems; the scene with the new ultimate evolutions looked marvelous.

For the music, there were a few new tracks that were played for this film, but the majority of it consisted of slice of life themes that fit the mood of the atmosphere. Of course, “Brave Heart” playing during the final battle scenes, which was invigorating and it set the mood for the action. Although the same amount of thrilling music was not present in Ketsui, it had the right amount of soothing music to fit what this film was about, which is satisfactory.