The biggest disappointment about Digimon Tri: Reunion is that the next installment won’t be until March, 2016.

Other than that though this was a fantastic sequel and it really hit all the right notes well and hard.  There are a few things I have some issue with but they’re kind of minor in all honesty.  There’s so much I want to talk about so let’s dive right in.

First, the bad.  I think the primary thing that annoyed me (and certainly Mary) was Tai’s constant flashbacks to the collateral damage in the Kuwagamon fight.  It’s fine to have some arc development for our lead character and it’s also fine for Tai to finally realize how destructive Digimon can be but this was a bit too much.    The flashbacks were overdone and Tai’s weariness seemed out of character.  Fortunately, many of the other digidestined were trying to snap him out of his funk especially Matt.  Reunion has taken a more mature look at Matt/Tai’s relationship and had them actually resolve their fights without throwing a single punch which was nice.  The two struggled to understand the other’s position and this culminated nicely into the triumphant return of Omegamon/Omnimon.

Although the animation is many times over superior to the original season of Digimon, I still have a couple of issues with it. The first one is that some of the Digimon, particularly Agumon, look kind of weird in this style but thankfully, I’ve gotten somewhat over that.  The second issue I had was the several longer-than-need-to-be shots of people that are just standing there doing nothing.  There’s a great shot of a girl looking at her bike for several seconds like, “Yep!  I have a nice bike!” and doing nothing else, haha.  Hopefully, this will be toned down in the following sequel.

Finally, I’m kind of disturbed why none of the main cast has talked about the season 2 characters yet; Davis, Yolei, Ken, and Cody.  In the beginning of Reunion we see them being…taken down I guess…by some unforeseen force.  I was even super ecstatic when I saw them because this confirmed season 2 being canon.  However, we don’t see them again (except for a brief screenshot with their names on a computer) for the rest of the episode and nobody mentions them at all which made me more and more uneasy.  Like, geez guys, aren’t you wondering where the hell they are?  Nobody even attempted to contact them when Digimon started to appear again.  Hm, it’s probably not a big deal but I wish at least somebody mentioned them…

That’s really it for my complaints, let’s take a look at what made me happy!

First off, I like how it’s implied how the group was slowly drifting apart, like they’re still good friends but they don’t hang out as much as they used to.  Podigious first pointed that out to me how season 2 made it seem like the original Digidestined weren’t as together as they were back in season 1.  But now with the culminated events in Reunion, the gang has an excuse to come back together again.  You also get the feeling that the Digigdestined, and in particular, Tai, seem somewhat lost without the influence of Digimon like they don’t really know what to do with their life after going on a great adventure seven years ago or so.  But now that the Digimon threat is back they find new meaning in their life and jump right into it.

I think Joe needs a special mention for this as it’s becoming obvious he really doesn’t like his life.  He’s struggling on his exams and he just seems depressed in general.  Mary pointed out to me that Joe, as well as Mimi, had the most natural reaction to seeing their partners again as they were so happy to be reunited with them.  I think Gomamon will have a very positive effect on Joe’s life and possibly force him to reevaluate his life’s decisions.

Character interactions are spot on and great.  The characters are more fleshed out and are given a variety of opportunities to bounce off each other.  A lot of them seem like a natural progression from what we saw back in season 1.  I should also talk about Mimi cause god damn was she the best character in Reunion.  I think one of the reasons why I like her so much is that she’s very different from her English-dub personality of a selfish ditz.  Her annoying attitude is gone and it’s replaced by a confident and very funny attitude.  I like how Mimi knows she loves girly things and is proud of it.  Her and Palmon were really the highlight of Reunion.

One of the most hilarious scenes in Reunion was when the gang gets back together and Izzy lectures about the recent, weird events.  After awhile, the kids get bored and start talking to each other while Izzy is still prattling on, oblivious that they are no longer listening to him.  That was great.  In fact, a lot of the humor on this show was well written and executed.  Gabumon lighten the tenser moments when he made fun of Matt’s brooding nature.

And in no particular order, here’s a general list of the things I liked

-A lot of the animation was gorgeous despite my previous complaints.  The fights were great, the facial expressions were lively and the digital distortion effects on Kuwagamon were well done.

-Mimi/Izzy supposed blossoming of a relationship?  I approve

-Izzy’s wardrobe program

-The secret government agency

-Matt’s new band name, Knife of Day and Tai making fun of it

-Gatomon kicking ass!  I love it!  She got so nerfed after she became good in season 1 but after that fight with Kuwagamon I was like DAMN!  Also, her voice actress is just perfect.

-KABUTERIMON’S SPIRIT BOMB/ELECTRO SHOCKER!!

-The characters had an actual wardrobe and changed their clothes every day.  Also, Mimi’s outfit in episode 4 was adorable.

Now, I am really looking forward to the future of Digimon Tri.  I have to wonder what will happen and if the show will actually address where the season 2 kids are at.  On a different note, one theory that I have seen going around is that the other Digidestined will get their Mega evolutions which would be AMAZING and I would love the crap out of that.  Some people have even gone as far as to suggest that Joe will come through in the end and realize that his friends really need him.  Thus, his Crest of Reliability will activate once again and Gomamon will be the first to digivolve into Mega.  If that was true then I would be all over that.  It also begs the question if the other kids would also DNA Digivolve as well.  Perhaps Kari and TK will DNA Digivolve as well as Izzy and Mimi.  Or maybe, there’s a brand new evolution sequence that the show will introduce which I can also believe.

Regardless, Digimon Tri is off to a great start and I can’t wait to see the next five parts!