‘Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna’ Is a Bittersweet Farewell

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For us millennials, there has been a constant debate of which was the better critter capturing animated series: Pokémon or Digimon. Both have been foundations of our childhood fantasies and a play-by-play on developing healthy friendships.  Although I am an avid Pokémon Card Collector, Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna was probably one of the best animated movies from a “vintage” series.

WARNING: There may be spoilers within this review so please watch it before reading as you should… because it was fantastic!

The previous new entry of the Digimon franchise was the film series Digimon Adventure tri., which I must say was quite underwhelming. Although it was fantastic to see the old Digidestined, the tri. series featured a dragged out storyline that lost a lot of its momentum with an unnecessary plot. Although, I will hand it to them that there was a scene with Patamon and T.K. that got me choked up. This recent film, Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna, which I was planning to watch in theaters prior to the pandemic, made me really wish I watched it on the big screen rather than streaming it from my laptop.

The film revolves around Matt and Tai figuring out what they want to do for the rest of their lives while fighting an evil Digimon from the internet, while simultaneously dealing with a bombshell of a truth that they will inevitably lose their Digimon because of a natural thing called… GROWING UP. Holy !@#$, did this movie tug at our heart strings.

To be honest, it felt out of the blue that as the Digidestined grew older they would lose their relationship with their Digimon, but man did it elevate the intensity. This really provided a relatable aspect of a world where digital creatures existed because we are seeing these characters that we grew up with going through the challenges that we are currently facing. As a manchild of an adult, I must admit, the struggle of figuring out what to do for the rest of your life is terrifying but to also add that you will lose your best friend as well?!

DIGIMON YOU HAVE NO RIGHT BEING ATTACKING ALL OF US MILLENNIALS DURING A TIME  LIKE THIS.

I wanted to watch a fun Digimon movie to escape the cruelty of reality. But all jokes aside, the themes of maturing and growing up, really transformed this film to a completely satisfying ending for these characters. If you have not gotten it by now, they were unable to preserve their relationships with their Digimon and had to move forward. The ending scene was absolutely beautiful and by not utilizing any music, the silence made it that much more powerful.

Throughout the film, there were many scenes that made me step back and appreciate the beautiful artistry that they put into it. Each major scene of the movie felt like it could have been one fantastic desktop background.

Another positive aspect was that viewers didn’t need to know the mythos of Digimon very well. Personally, I watched and remembered up until Digimon Data Squad but there was not much fan service or easter eggs in this film. We do get to see the gang of Digidestined from Adventure 02 and that was spectacular. Their cameo roles were big but not too much that it took away from the attention of the original group.

Now this movie was not absolutely perfect, as I did dislike that Joe, Mimi, and definitely Sora took a backseat from this movie. And it was definitely centered around Tai and Matt but I understand why. It would have been too much to integrate all of these characters and their development in one movie. Tai and Matt have always been the captains so this is their story.

Overall, this movie was such a satisfying conclusion to the original Digidestined’s storylines and I really hope this won’t be the last time I see Agumon and Gabumon since Omnimon is such a dope Digimon design. In addition, these were characters we grew up with and it should never be a farewell but more of a see you later.

Regardless, If you are a fan of Digimon and you want to get your fix on, please watch Digimon: Last Evolution Kizuna and give a proper send off to our last bits of childhood as well as a welcome to adulthood. No matter what, I will always be a Digidestined. Now, if you don’t mind, I will now go over my financial budget to see how I can balance my newfound addiction to Digimon cards and Pokémon cards.