Childhood Heroes Return to Protect Two Worlds

Anime fans flocked to movie theaters that hosted the special premiere of the English-dubbed “Digimon Adventure tri.- Chapter 1: Reunion” on Sept. 15th. Fathom Events gave many a chance to see the full film version of the latest installment of “Digimon.”

Life seem normal for the original DigiDestined who settled after the last major battle three years ago. The adventures from six years ago are in the past and the team is not the same The now teenage Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, T.K. and Kari fight through school drama instead of malicious digimon. However, a strange plague of power outages in Japan becomes more than an inconvenience to everyone. As each of the kids go on their own paths, they take little notice to the looming trouble that brings them all back together, including their beloved digital companions.

“Digimon Adventure tri. – Chapter One: Reunion” is the first stop of the ultimate Digimon fan nostalgia trip. As shown in the title, it is merely the introduction of the film series with six parts that brings the spotlight back to the first set of DigiDestined. While some English fans already viewed the subtitled and episodic version of “tri.” on streaming services like Crunchyroll, it is worth seeing the full dubbed movie. Hearing Joshua Seth as Tai Kamiya once again sends fans back to those childhood days watching “Digimon” on Fox Kids. However, the bit of realism with the new art style hints that this new adventure is going to be more down to Earth. Some of the scenes appear not as polished as others along with some choppy visual effect, but they are tiny blips that do not take away from the overall story.

Seeing the team on their own and without their digimon for long period seem such an unfamiliar thing, but their confrontations with daily life struggles forges a closer bond between them and the audience. The film shows the DigiDestined no longer as the kids who had constant support, but as independent teens with different responsibilities and aspirations for the future. Nevertheless, they are still the protects of both the digital and human worlds and their reunion definitely can bring a fan to tears and make their heart swell with emotions. New enemies may threaten them but this old team still have the power to fight and prevail.

Funimation treated attendees at the TCL Chinese Theater in Hollywood, CA with a post-film interview with voice actors Philece Sampler (Mimi,) Tara Sands (Kari,) Robbie Daymond (Joe) and Doug Erholtz (Mr. Nishijima.) Head of Social Media Justin Rojas moderated the panels as he asked fan questions from the Toei Animation Facebook page alongside some of his own. Each of the VA’s told the audience their experiences working on the film and the franchise. Sampler and Sands reprised their roles while Erholtz ended up voicing a new character since he “aged out” of his previous one as “Digimon Adventure 02” T.K. Daymond on the other hand replaced Michael Lindsay, mentioning a quick turn over from hearing about the opening to recording. He also pointed out he wore a fanmade version of Joe’s Crest of Reliability which the fan gifted him at one of his convention appearances. Both Sampler and Sands spoke how it was to return to a role after some time, especially one where the character grew up. Sampler also mentioned that Mimi was the first anime character she ever dubbed. It was a special moment for them to see the teen and adult fans that packed the theater. The movie premiere did what a reunion should, bring both people and memories together in celebration of the past and the future.

For more information on “Reunion” and the other parts of “Digimon Adventure tri.” visit Toei Animation USA’s site or their Facebook page. Rojas mentioned possible future limited runs of the film in selected theaters that Toei will announce. U.S. distributor Eleven Arts also has a list of some planned showings. Don’t miss another opportunity to see this movie!