CrystalMizuka

No spoilers, just my honest thoughts on the movie as someone who has plenty of nostalgia for the classic Japanese Kaiju films because Godzilla has been a household name for me since I was a small child.  I've grown up with a lot of love for these monsters and I've even done myself the service of watching as many of their respective movies as I could in both English localization format and in the original Japanese to really get a deeper appreciation of where these stories came from.  Godzilla: King of the Monsters, like it's predecessor in 2014 is first and foremost a genuine Kaiju film.  It might not appeal to the critics based on the criteria they rank movies by and it's narrative style might not appeal to everyone, but at its heart it's a faithful expansion and recreation of what came before and the new lease on life these monsters can be given thanks to the amazing potential of CG.  They aren't restricted to clumsily rampaging through scale models of Tokyo, they are now able to exist on a global scale as they were always meant to.

The movie is also excellent in being accessible and understandable even if you've never seen the classic films, but for anyone familiar with the classics like I am there are plenty of subtle references to the lore established in those films to give it even greater nuance.  They've done their homework and it clearly shows.

I was very excited for this movie and I wasn't disappointed.  As someone who grew up loving these monsters, I'm very happy with what they've accomplished.

As some of you know, I'm a pretty huge fan of Digimon.  I was real excited when I found out that Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth was going to be coming out in English.  I mean, the last new Digimon game that was released in America was Digimon All-Star Rumble and, let's face it, it was an extremely unbalanced fighting game with a very underwhelming roster of playable digimon.  Prior to that it was Digimon World Dawn & Dusk (Digimon Story Sunburst and Moonlight), Digimon World DS (Digimon Story), and Digimon World Data Squad (Digimon Savers: Another Mission).  While I waited, hoping to see an English release of Digimon Story Lost Evolution and Digimon Story Super Xros Wars Red & Blue, there was Digimon World Championship (simply titled Digimon Championship in Japan).  I honestly couldn't get behind that game.  All I really know about it is that it isn't an RPG and while it apparently emulates the play style of the original virtual pets to a certain extent it's really more of a simulator that gives the player very little control of the action.  As someone who enjoys traditional turn-based combat and a more hands-on approach to raising my monsters that simply wasn't going to cut it for me.  If I want to raise a digimon the old fashioned way I'll get replacement batteries for one of my old key chain pets.  When I'm playing something on a handheld gaming device I prefer for it to be something that isn't a totally passive gameplay experience.

And that brings me to Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth.  The first thing you should know about the game is that it looks amazing, with incredible attention to detail for the real world locations that act as set pieces for the progression of the story.  Back when the game was originally announced for release in Japan I happened to glance a side-by-side comparison of the in-game locations to the actual physical locations in Tokyo they are based on.  There are notable differences, but the amount of detail put into the city scenery is on a level all its own.  The cyberspace environment of EDEN is a little bland compared to the vibrant city landscapes, having clearly drawn its inspiration from the internet environment of Digimon the Movie (Digimon Adventure: Our War Game) and the virtual reality world of OZ from Summer Wars.  What that amounts to is a lot of futuristic looking white structures with an almost pixelated texture to them comprising much of the environment.  Certain areas, such as Kowloon, swap out the sterile white backdrop for a slightly more interesting blue color scheme with a somewhat more haphazard environment to provide the necessary terrain puzzles for the player to solve.  The digital world, when it finally appears as an actual location in the game, looks about how you might expect it should from watching the anime.  That is to say that the digital world is clearly recognizable when you see it, but you really don't get to explore a whole lot of it.  Partway through the game portions of the real world become digitized and digimon also appear in the real world.  It's subtle, but the way the digimon interact with the city environments has a certain charm to it.

Another aspect of the game that impressed me is that there really isn't any wasted dialogue.  The NPC's dotted throughout the city have some very meta dialogue about popular and otaku culture.  There are NPC's who are troubled about their line of work or about finding and maintaining relationships.  In fact, much of the dialogue in the game comes across as very authentic bits of conversation you might encounter in everyday life.  And, as the title implies, your role in the story is that of a cyber sleuth, a detective who investigates cyber crimes involving digimon.  Sometimes that means helping out the police, sometimes that means helping a digimon to find a lost item, sometimes that means playing matchmaker, and sometimes that means patching up relations between people and digimon.  For the most part even the digimon have pretty mundane problems.  Sure, there's a deeper plot involving the mysterious network entities called Eaters that have appeared and mounting tensions between humans and digimon as the Royal Knights assemble threatening to wipe out humanity for the sake of the digital world as is the will of King Drasil (Yggdrasil), but it's not like this is the first time that's happened in this franchise.

In a real first for the franchise, several of the self-asserted strongest digimon are actually paired with strong female characters, including the quintessential powerhouse himself, Omnimon (Omegamon).  If you've ever watched the anime, then you know that by and large the strongest digimon in a given series will be partnered with the leading boys of the team.  There are some exceptions such as Sakuyamon in Tamers and Rosemon Burst Mode in Savers, but the boy wearing the goggles is usually the one who comes out on top.  Now, there's a very simple reason why that has been the case and that's because the Digimon franchise was originally targeted at young boys.  It started out as a counterpart to the popular Tamagotchi virtual pets and grew from there.  But that isn't really the case anymore.  The more recent installments are targeted at the audience that grew up with digimon who are now adults.  On the one hand, that means there has been a significant increase in the amount of blatant fan service and the character designs in Cyber Sleuth are certainly no exception, but at the same time it means having the creative freedom to break away from the old formula.  Some of the girls might be showing a little too much skin for certain tastes, but it's of absolutely no consequence to the plot.  They are strong, well-written, and sympathetic characters who have risen beyond the old standard of the girls being delegated to the supporting cast with inferior fighting power and I think that's great.  It shows that you don't have to be a Tai or a Matt to bring out the badass potential in your partner digimon.  Girls are just as capable of extraordinary feats of bravery.  Sure, it's been done in fanfiction and role-playing circles for years, but being done in an official capacity really drives it home.

My only real complaint with the game, and it's a pet peeve remnant from the grand debate of my younger years as a fan of anime when subtitled versus dubbed was all the rage, is that the name changes inserted into the English text seriously stand out when you can clearly hear the Japanese audio addressing that digimon with a different name.  Gallantmon (Dukemon), Crusadermon (Rhodo Knightmon), and Leopardmon (Duftmon) were definitely the biggest offenders on that front.  Otherwise, there were only a handful of times when a portion of text seemed to have slipped through the cracks during the proof reading process.  And, of course, the text really doesn't make any effort to differentiate between the player character being male or female, meaning you probably won't notice anything when playing as the male protagonist, but it's noticeable when playing as the female protagonist that there are times when NPC's refer to your character as a "he".  My guess is that there was only one script for the game and that the original Japanese probably used a gender neutral pronoun to refer to the protagonist that probably got lost in translation.  Really, it's a pretty minor complaint that didn't detract at all from my enjoyment of the game.

So, with 90 hours on the clock with normal battle difficulty and a roster of Alphamon, Jesmon, Ulforce Veedramon, Magnamon, Imperialdramon Paladin Mode, Omnimon Zwart, Mastemon, Bancho Leomon, Gaiomon, Sakuyamon, and Rust Tyranomon all at level 99 I just hope that we'll be seeing an English release of the Seven Great Demon Lords bonus DLC to extend the adventure.

Well then, now that the first film in the six-part Digimon Adventure Tri series has been officially released and a four-part OVA version is available for streaming on Crunchyroll, there's a whole lot more to speculate about.  Naturally, this entry will contain spoilers for Digimon Adventure Tri - Reunion.  So, if you're a fan of Digimon and you haven't checked it out already, you should definitely take the time to watch it.  Be warned, however, as this is no longer the fun filled adventure you might remember from 1999.  Things have taken a very dark turn right off the bat.

Fact: In the introduction sequence we are shown brief flashes of the silhouettes of the characters from Zero Two collapsing one after another, apparently locked in battle with a powerful adversary.  Only Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken are shown indicating that Takeru and Hikari are both absent from this particular battle.  As the second generation of digidestined falls we are also treated to our first glimpse of Alphamon, presumably the antagonist who has defeated them.  The cast of Zero Two won't be seen or mentioned for the remainder of the film.

Fact: Later on, during some exposition from Koushiro, we learn that approximately one year prior the gate to the digital world closed suddenly and the digidestined have been completely cut-off from their partners.  The events of the film are being made possible by spacial distortions that have allowed "infected digimon" to crossover into the real world without the need for a gate.

Speculation: So, clearly the boundary between the real world and the digital world has become even more unstable than it ever was before.  But, that part about the gate having been closed for a year with even the D3's held by Takeru and Hikari being unable to re-open it is what's really important here.  At a glance, we see the original digidestined going about their lives and blatantly unaware of what has happened to Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken.  No one remarks on their obvious absence from school.  In fact, no one mentions them at all.  Why?  Because when the gate suddenly closed one year ago, the second generation of digidestined were already on the other side.  Daisuke, Miyako, Iori, and Ken are trapped in an extremely hostile digital world.  In all likelihood they've been out of contact ever since.

Fact: Hackmon and Gankoomon are shown to be roaming freely between the distorted space and the real world.

Speculation: Since they aren't rampaging like the "infected" Kuwagamon swarm or Alphamon, they probably aren't infected.  On the other hand, with them silently observing as events are unfolding, Hackmon and Gankoomon clearly aren't terribly eager to be discovered either.  The real question, though, is what are they even doing in Odaiba in 2005?  In my previous entry I mentioned how Hackmon and Gankoomon appeared in a bonus episode in Digimon Adventure PSP that ties-in with the events of the Young Hunters arc of Digimon Xros Wars.  However, during that sequence of the game it was 11-year-old Taichi who participated in the events, not his 17-year-old counterpart from Tri.

This is also true for the Young Hunters arc as a whole.  The Taichi who participates in the final battle in Young Hunters is most definitely the Taichi from Adventure, as is the Yamato who appears with Metal Garurumon to allow for the appearance of Omegamon during the battle.  Taichi's age is even commented on by Daisuke, who remarks that even though Taichi is his sempai from the same universe, right now the two are actually the same age because Taichi was pulled from a different point in time.

Of course, those incidents were all made possible by Bagramon when he effectively shattered the boundary between dimensions prior to his final showdown with Shoutmon.  Is it possible that Bagramon's actions in Xros Wars are responsible for what is now happening in Digimon Adventure Tri?  Damn right it is.  We won't really know for sure until someone confronts Hackmon and Gankoomon, but them being present at all seems like a pretty clear confirmation of there being some sort of connection between the two incidents.  At the moment we're going to have to wait and see if the original digidestined have any recollection of encountering Hackmon and Gankoomon before.

Fact: Prior to these events, there have been no fewer than three major instances of digimon having appeared in the real world.  Hikarigaoka (Heightenview Terrace), which was widely regarded as a terrorist bombing and lacked proper media coverage because entities such as Gennai were still working tirelessly to keep the digital world a secret.  Odaiba 1999, when Vamdemon invaded the real world with his army and the subsequent battle with the Dark Masters which was visible across the entire world as the digital world hung suspended in the distorted sky.  And finally, the World Tour, when digimon were released in large numbers throughout the real world.

However, in spite of these incidents, no one really talks about the existence of digimon.  The news reports still cast them as "unidentified" monsters.

The government, though, is very much aware of the existence of digimon and has apparently had direct contact from Gennai.  They state that they've been handling the "infected digimon" themselves for the most part, but lately the digimon emerging from the spacial distortions have become too powerful for them to deal with and so they've taken it upon themselves to reunite the original digidestined now that their partner digimon are also able to return to the real world to fight for them.

Speculation: Um... how exactly has the government been dealing with the "infected digimon"?  So far, none of the government agents that have been shown appear to have a digimon of their own.  Maybe they've been working with Hackmon and Gankoomon?  I really just don't know.

Speaking of which, what exactly are these "infected digimon" infected with?  I mean, I suppose it could be the X Program minus the X Antibody, but that seems like a bit of a stretch.

Fact: Digimon Adventure Tri is going to be set in the year 2005/2006.  This is based on Zero Two literally being set in 2002, with the final battle being staged sometime during the early new year of 2003.  Technically, however, these dates are only applicable for the Japanese version of the series.  In the dub of the second season the time skip was changed from 3 years to 4 years so that would mean, assuming Digimon: Digital Monsters Season 1 is still set during 1999 that it would instead be 2003/2004 during Season 2.  This shouldn't have too much of an impact on the new series, but just keep in mind that if and when the dub rolls around everyone should be a year older than they would be in the Japanese run of the series if they intend to keep it consistent and assuming that the time skip itself remains unaltered.

Fact: Daemon is still alive.

Speculation: Daemon was merely sealed away in the Dark Ocean, not destroyed.  Whatever has gone on with him and Dagomon (Dragomon) during the three year gap could become relevant in Digimon Adventure Tri.  Daemon could escape and, with him, Dagomon could also be let loose upon the real and/or digital worlds.  The Dark Ocean is a very cryptic unresolved plot in Zero Two and if it were to be revisited in Tri it might serve as an excellent opportunity for a character development arc surrounding Hikari (Kari) as she was central to the events surrounding the mysterious Dark Ocean.

Note that this wouldn't necessitate Daemon becoming a major antagonist in the new series.  If you delve into the lore of the digital world, then you will find that the existence of the Seven Great Demon Lords, of whom Daemon is a member, is essential to the stability of the digital world as they uphold the balance of the Dark Area.  Lucemon, Belphemon, and Lilithmon have all been antagonists in Frontier, Savers, and Xros Wars respectively, but keep in mind that Beelzebumon is also a member and Leviamon was one of the legendary heroic digimon that became a Digi Memory in Xros Wars.  Daemon really isn't under any obligation to serve as a villain, not to mention he already served that role in the V-Tamer manga.  Of course, there is still Barbamon who has yet to have any official anime appearances so he's probably about due for one.  Again, not necessarily as a major antagonist as he already served as such for the Digimon Next manga.

Fact: The existence of the digital world can no longer be denied after the events of Zero Two.  It was indicated when Gennai and his allies appeared during the World Tour arc that the reason for Gennai's absence up to that point was that he and his allies had been working tirelessly to erase all evidence of the digital world from the real world's government computers because they didn't want the digital world to become exploited for military purposes.  However, as a result of the World Tour and the growing distribution of international chosen children, keeping the existence of the digital world a secret is now entirely impossible.

Speculation: This will probably be the major driving force behind Digimon Adventure Tri.  The chosen children (digidestined) love their digimon and they would enjoy nothing more than to be able to have their partners always by their side.  However, with the growing awareness of the digital world and an ever growing population of humans becoming partnered with their own digimon, it's only a matter of time until those who aren't so well-intentioned as the chosen children start abusing the power they've been given.  Let's face it, the same power that the chosen digimon have used time and again to save both worlds from destruction could just as easily be used for purposes of terrorism.  It really wouldn't surprise me if in the three years that have passed leading up to the start of the new series an agency similar to DATS has been established to regulate digimon activity in the real world.  The distant finale of Zero Two did cite Taichi and Agumon as having become digital world ambassadors.  It certainly stands to reason that the original chosen children will be at the forefront of any political turmoil that arises involving humans and digimon.  Of course, the original chosen children can't be everywhere at once and that means the responsibility will fall on those who also desire to uphold a peaceful coexistence between the two worlds.

Fact: Koushiro (Izzy) is already the top authority regarding any and all information pertaining to the digital world.  The distant finale of Zero Two cited him and Tentomon as being official government researchers in studying the digital world.

Speculation: Even if Digimon Adventure Tri will only be three years after the final battle in Zero Two, Koushiro is already the most knowledgeable person on the planet with regards to the digital world.  His surveillance will have most likely expanded and he has very likely commissioned many of the international chosen children he is correspondence with into exploring the previously uncharted regions of the digital world in constant search of new information.  Of course, Koushiro will never fill up all the pages of the Digimon Analyzer as new digimon are constantly coming into existence and/or being created.  But that doesn't mean he hasn't been trying.

Fact: Early sketches during the initial announcements for Digimon Adventure Tri showcased storyboards for warp evolution sequences for the other main digimon besides just Agumon and Gabumon.  In Digimon Adventure PSP all of the partner digimon were able to evolve to the Ultimate (Mega) stage and it was noted in an interview that the concept had originally been considered for the original anime, although it couldn't be realized at the time for budget and deadline reasons.

Speculation: We can probably expect to see Herakle (Hercules) Kabuterimon, Phoenixmon, Vikemon, Rosemon, Seraphimon, and Ophanimon making an appearance in Digimon Adventure Tri.

Fact: Recent news regarding Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth has confirmed that Omegamon (Omnimon) has been officially reclassified as a Super Ultimate.  This is a designation previously held only by Daemon Super Ultimate, Arkadimon Super Ultimate, Ulforce V-dramon Super Ultimate (Future Mode), and Chronomon (with the designation of Ultra digimon in the North American Digimon World DS series).

Speculation: This probably won't have too much of an impact on Digimon Adventure Tri, but nevertheless it's still worth mentioning that Omegamon is finally getting the official recognition he deserves.  We always knew he was more than a mere Ultimate (Mega) class digimon.

Fact: Digimon Adventure PSP included a bonus episode related to the Young Hunters arc of Digimon Xros Wars featuring Hackmon and Gankoomon.

Speculation: Even if the crossover itself is considered as canon, the fact remains that it was the original Adventure incarnations of the chosen children that made the journey so it probably won't have any impact on Digimon Adventure Tri.

So, with more and more word getting out about how a new Digimon Adventure series is about to be released featuring the original cast (both in terms of characters and vocals) from the first Digimon Adventure anime, I figured it's about time for me to get on board with my own thoughts on the matter.  To start, let me just say that since this new series hasn't actually been released quite yet, I'm still cautiously optimistic about what this could mean for the franchise.  In my opinion, more Digimon anime is always welcome along with any games and related merchandise that might bring.  I have no complaints about the new art style.  It's different, but as with everything else about the franchise, different isn't necessarily a bad thing.  I've generally been open minded toward the new possibilities that each installment has brought to the fold and I won't be treating this new one any differently.

That being said, I do have my usual concerns regarding the fandom as a whole.  Digimon is a hugely divisive fandom among its own fans, let alone the fans that have carried on the argument legacy over its similarities to Pokemon.  As this new series is a direct sequel to the Digimon Adventure continuity it has already served as a reminder of the disdain many fans felt during the epilogue of Digimon Adventure Zero Two.  And that's not even getting into the other continuities that also have their own devoted followings.  As such, I plan to remain firmly on the sidelines regarding Digimon Adventure Tri until it has run its course.  I don't know what to expect from this new series and I'm looking forward to seeing it unfold at its own pace.  I've always loved Digimon, from the tiny pixel pet I raised on a key chain during the summer of 1997 and through each new series that has been released.  Each has brought something new to the table and taken together has created a vast and wonderful multiverse with an exciting history rich with its own unique mythology.  Digimon has been a fascinating ride thus far and I can't wait to see what will happen next.