I’ve returned to Digimon, again! I’m currently on Spring Break, so I figured I’d try and finish the remaining media in the Adventure / Tamers continuities. First on the chopping block is Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning, the direct sequel to Kizuna. That film hardly spent any time with the Adventure 02 kids, so I was curious to see what direction The Beginning would take them in.
Starting off with the animation like usual, it’s really good! I don’t want to retread old ground as it’s essentially the same as Kizuna, with the great designs and choreography smoothly carrying over. Outside of that though, the film hardly has anything to do with its predecessor, only mentioning the original Adventure crew a few times and not having them be involved in the story at all. Instead, the main focus is on a new character named “Lui”, who’s introduced after he tries to reach a giant Digiegg that’s appeared above Tokyo Tower, accidently falling off and having to be rescued by the 02 kids (Davis, TK, Yolei, Cody, Ken and Kari). He claims to be the first Digidestined, and takes a very cynical attitude towards the bond between Digimon and people, stating that they just take advantage of each other. Shortly after this, we learn about his tragic backstory.
Turns out he was abused by his mother before a Digimon named “Ukkomon” came to him and started granting his wishes, things go well for a while before he realizes that Ukkomon had been controlling people around him for his happiness, even having kids receive Digimon partners because he wished for friends. The scene where he comes to this realization is genuinely haunting, with the frame going red and Lui smashing his Digivice, causing Ukkomon to disappear. After this, the giant Digiegg starts hatching and we find out that Ukkomon’s planning on having everyone in the world receive a Digimon partner. This causes the 02 kids to freak out, and it leads into the final act where Lui goes into the Digiegg and reconciles with Ukkomon, with the 02 gang defeating its outer form in a short battle afterwards (guess it went out of control idk). Ultimately, all the Digivices disappear, though the kids still retain their Digimon since they already had strong bonds with them without it. Overall, I had a good time while watching, Lui is a compelling character and I enjoyed the drama between him and Ukkomon, but the 02 kids feel kinda sidelined in their own movie (like half the runtime is spent in flashbacks with Lui) and I just don’t have much to say about the film. It’s an entertaining drama about a new character that also shows us what the 02 kids have been up to, nothing more and nothing less.