Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution – Kizuna (Japanese: デジモンアドベンチャー LAST EVOLUTION 絆, Hepburn: Dejimon Adobenchā LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna) is a Japanese anime adventure film produced by Toei Animation and animated by Yumeta Company.[3] The film was released in Japanese theaters on February 21, 2020.[4] Set in the same continuity of the first two Digimon television anime series, the film serves as the finale to the original Digimon Adventure story.

Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution – Kizuna
Japanese Theatrical release poster
デジモンアドベンチャー LAST EVOLUTION 絆
Directed byTomohisa Taguchi
Produced byYosuke Kinoshita
Written byAkatsuki Yamatoya
Music byHarumi Fuuki[1]
Production
company
Distributed byToei Company
Release date
  • February 21, 2020 (2020-02-21) (Japan)
Running time
94 minutes[2]
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese

Plot

Five years after the events of Digimon Adventure: tri., Tai and the other DigiDestined are now grown-up, but are still dealing with ongoing attacks from the Digital World. When Parrotmon arrives in Nakano, Japan, and starts to wreak havoc, Tai, Kari, T.K., Izzy (at his office computer), and Matt, alongside MetalGreymon, WereGarurumon, Angemon, and Angewomon work together to send Parrotmon back to the Digital World.

After the battle, everyone goes back to their normal lives: Tai is currently attending college but has yet to decide what he truly wants to do with his life; Matt is thinking about attending Grad. school; Izzy is currently running his own computer company assisting other Digidestined around the world and informing non-DigiDestined about what Digimon are; Joe is attending Med. school; Mimi is still traveling abroad, but now has a successful website selling clothes; Sora is working to become an expert on Ikebana (flower arrangement); Kari and T.K. are now attending college, with T.K. becoming a novelist.

When Tai and Matt meet at the local pub discussing their life goals, they overhear a couple of girls nearby discussing how they 'never want to grow up'. Suddenly, one of the girls collapse and falls unconscious, prompting Matt and Tai to call for an ambulance. As the two are about to discuss what had just occurred, they are approached by a girl from the pub named Menoa Bellucci and her assistant, Kyotaro Imura, who claim to have an idea on what is transpiring.

The DigiDestined are then called to Izzy's office, where Menoa begins to explain that a Digimon named Eosmon has begun sending messages to Digidestined all around the world, and robbing them and their Digimon partners of their consciousness. Menoa then asks that the DigiDestined help destroy Eosmon in order to undo what has been done, offering to lead them to it.

They jump through the gate and arrive to combat Eosmon. Just as they were about to gain the upper hand, it changes form and becomes stronger and faster. Tai and Matt have their Digimon become Omnimon, but the fusion unexpectedly failed right before the finishing blow, allowing Eosmon to escapes, and Tai and Matt suddenly find small clocks in their Digivices. Menoa, upon seeing this, then begins to explain that due to the damage done by Eosmon, should Tai and Matt continue using their Digivices enough times, their connection to their partners will die out, and Agumon and Gabumon will, too.

Later that day, Izzy attempts to examine the broken pieces of Eosmon he had found. Meanwhile, Matt suspects that Menoa and her assistant are somehow linked to all of this and begin to tail them. He later gets into contact with Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken, who have fully recovered since their previous disappearence, to perform a background check on the two. Tai and Agumon go back to Tai's dorm room to rest for the night. An awkward moment between the two leads Tai to become saddened upon knowing his time with Agumon is slowly running out, as he is becoming an adult. Gennai appears before Tai and Agumon, only to confirm Menoa's statement to reign true before leaving.

Mimi, while going over her e-shop inventory, receives a message from an anonymous source. Kari and T.K. are also implied to be tracked. Izzy, Tai, and Matt, having received a distress call from Joe head over to the hospital Mimi is in, finding out that her consciousness was stolen by Eosmon. Shortly after, Izzy, Tai and Matt share what each of them have found so far. Matt suspects that they are being watched then gives Tai and Izzy burner phones in order to avoid being tracked.

Meanwhile, Biyomon asks Sora if they should join the others, but Sora insists on her decision to no longer fight and stay with Biyomon before she loses her. This refers to her digivice with the clock was shown in the opening.

Matt continues to tail Kyotaro, eventually leading to his apartment, where he is staying. Matt sees Kyotaro arming himself with a handgun, before leaving. Upon further investigation in the apartment, Matt finds many pictures of multiple DigiDestined littered throughout the room. He then receives a call from the others, further confirming his suspicions; Menoa was once DigiDestined, who had lost her partner, Morphomon, after she had matured, and that her partner, Kyotaro, is a fraud.

Suddenly, Izzy receives a notification of a live stream of Kari and T.K. being kidnapped, prompting Tai and Matt to rescue their respective siblings. Joe can't be contacted, prompting Izzy that Eosmon had taken him. Matt and Tai had arrived too late and Kari and T.K. have already been taken by Eosmon long before. Kyotaro is there, and before Matt has Gabumon attack him, Kyotaro explains his story: he is an FBI agent investigating the Eosmon incidents, and believed Menoa was behind it all, which she was. After the loss of her partner, Morphomon, Menoa began to descend a downward spiral of psychological tendencies. She created Eosmon to rob DigiDestined of their consciousness, and force them to never grow up, so they, too, would not share her pain of loss. She then set up T.K. and Kari's kidnapping to target Izzy.

Back at Izzy's office during this time, Izzy learns that Eosmon was artificial, which explained why Omnimon had little to no effect on it during their battle. After tracing it back to Menoa, she suddenly appears before Izzy, revealing her plan. After having Eosmon take Izzy's conscienceness, she then gets ahold of the list of any and all remaining awake DigiDestined. However, before he was knocked out, Izzy sends the coordinates of Eosmon's prime location to Matt and Tai. With the location sent, the two head to Eosmon's hideout.

Upon arriving, they find Eosmon had gotten a lot bigger and stronger than before, and that copies of the DigiDestined's sub conscience were created to appear as their younger selves. Menoa then goes on to proclaim herself as the savior of the DigiDestined, having created a sort of "Neverland" where they never have to grow up, and that if they choose, Tai and Matt can stay there with her so that they never have to part with their Digimon, as well.

Though hesitant with the proposal, Tai and Matt refuse and have their Digimon attack Eosmon. However, the other kids' eyes began to glow red and proceed to intervene with their attack using their Digimon. Menoa explains that she has no control over them, and that they're all doing this of their own volition. Despite this prevention, the sub conscience Digimon cannot Digivolve, but are great in numbers.

Menoa, wanting to save everyone for good, creates an army of cloned Eosmon. Outnumbered and without a backup plan, Tai and Matt quickly retreat to a nearby floating island. Menoa sees this as an opportunity and sends her Eosmon clones out into the real world. Thanks to the locations she received from Izzy, Eosmon clones appear and attack the located DigiDestined, including Davis and the others.

After some motivation to keep fighting, even with the knowledge that this could be the last time they fight together, Tai and Matt, and Agumon and Gabumon come face to face with Menoa and her remaining Eosmon army. Omnimon is formed once again and begins to destroy the Eosmon one-by-one. Menoa screams in despair, and fuses herself with Eosmon, prompting it to take on a much stronger, final form.

Within seconds, Eosmon cuts Omnimon into pieces, reverting it back into Agumon and Gabumon. Before Tai and Matt could reach their partners, they are suddenly assaulted by the sub conscience Digimon and are beginning to lose. However, not wanting to give up after coming this far, Tai sees and reaches for Kari's whistle, blowing loudly enough for the others to turn back to normal.

Meanwhile, in the real world, Sora, in her home, somehow has also heard the whistle. She is supporting the other chosen holding her own "greyed" out Digivice. Implying she had lost Biyomon somewhere off screen in the movie - hence her not being present in the final battle. The remaining, and now awake, DigiDestined begin to regroup and take on the remaining Eosmon army, buying Tai and Matt some time to rejoin. Knowing that this is officially the last time that they will Digivolve, Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon stand strong together and achieve their final, ultimate evolution.

Together, with their newly obtained humanoid forms of Agumon -Bond of Courage- and Gabumon -Bond of Friendship-, they proceed to take down Eosmon and hear Menoa's pleas of help. As it turns out, all she wanted was closure from her loss and forgiveness from Morphomon. Wanting to rescue her, they finally destroy Eosmon once and for all, and in turn destroy the Eosmon clones. As Eosmon is destroyed, Menoa sees a brief image of Morphomon. Morphomon shows Menoa that it was saying "We will always be together", as it disappears, finally giving her closure.

Upon returning to the real world, Menoa is arrested by Kyotaro. The other DigiDestined wake up and return to their original tasks, and Agumon and Gabumon spend their last moment with Tai and Matt before disappearing for good.

Come Spring, Tai and Matt continue to live their lives to the fullest, but will always keep the memories they shared with their Digimon partners in their hearts hoping one day they will be able to meet them again.

Voice cast
See also: List of Digimon Adventure characters

The Japanese cast of Digimon Adventure tri. returned to reprise their roles. As was the case with that series of films, the DigiDestined characters from Digimon Adventure 02 were recast with new actors while their Digimon retained their original actors.

The English cast from Digimon Adventure tri. reprised their roles with a few recast roles. As for the Digidestined and their Digimon from Digimon Adventure 02, all characters were recast to new actors with the exception of Ken, Veemon, and Wormmon who retained their original actors.

Character Japanese[5] English
Taichi "Tai" Kamiya Natsuki Hanae Joshua Seth[6]
Sora Takenouchi Suzuko Mimori Colleen O'Shaughnessey[6]
Yamato "Matt" Ishida Yoshimasa Hosoya Nicolas Roye[6]
Koshiro "Izzy" Izumi Mutsumi Tamura Mona Marshall[6]
Mimi Tachikawa Hitomi Yoshida Kate Higgins[6]
Takeru "T.K." Takaishi Junya Enoki Johnny Yong Bosch[6]
Joe Kido Junya Ikeda Robbie Daymond[6]
Kari Kamiya Mao Ichimichi Tara Sands[6]
Agumon Chika Sakamoto Tom Fahn[6]
Biyomon Atori Shigematsu Cherami Leigh[6]
Gabumon Mayumi Yamaguchi Kirk Thornton[6]
Tentomon Takahiro Sakurai Jeff Nimoy[6]
Palmon Kinoko Yamada Anna Garduno[6]
Patamon Miwa Matsumoto Laura Summer[6]
Gomamon Junko Takeuchi R. Martin Klein[6]
Gatomon Yuka Tokumitsu Kate Higgins[6]
Davis Motomiya Fukujūrō Katayama[5] Griffin Burns[6]
Yolei Inoue Ayaka Asai[5] Jeannie Tirado[6]
Cody Hida Yoshitaka Yamaya[5] Bryce Papenbrook[6]
Ken Ichijouji Arthur Lounsbery[5] Derek Stephen Prince[6]
Veemon Junko Noda[5] Derek Stephen Prince[6]
Hawkmon Kōichi Tōchika[5] Christopher Swindle[6]
Armadillomon Megumi Urawa[5] Robbie Daymond[6]
Wormmon Naozumi Takahashi[5] Paul St. Peter[6]
Menoa Bellucci Mayu Matsuoka[7] Erika Harlacher[6]
Kyotaro Yamada Daisuke Ono[7] Kaiji Tang[6]
Morphomon Yuna Taniguchi[8] TBA
Gennai TBA Jeff Nimoy[9]

Development
Logo of Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna

A new film project was announced on July 29, 2018 as part of the series' 20th anniversary.[10] The film, titled Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, is directed by Tomohisa Taguchi and written by Akatsuki Yamatoya, and animated by Yumeta Company.[11] It was then teased on Toei's YouTube movie account that Toei Animation is producing the film, and the rest of the staff and cast are returning to reprise their roles.[12] It premiered on February 21, 2020.[13]

Release

The film was released in Japanese theaters on February 21, 2020.[4] Set in the same continuity of the first two Digimon television anime series, the film serves as the finale to the original Digimon Adventure story.

The film was also scheduled to be released in its original Japanese format with English subtitles through Fathom Events in the United States on March 25, 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[14][15][16] The film was set to be released direct-to-video in the United States on July 7, 2020[17] but production was delayed indefinitely on May 9, 2020.[18] On July 20, 2020, it was announced it will be released digitally on September 29, 2020, and on DVD/Blu-Ray on October 6, 2020.[6]

The Japanese release of the DVD and Blu-ray is set to be released on September 2, 2020 along with an audio drama to come with it on CD.[19]

Reception

Daryl Harding of Crunchyroll gave the film a positive review, considering the film to be on par with Mamoru Hosoda's short films, "It’s safe to say, at least for me, this has been the best Digimon anime creation since the Mamoru Hosoda directed films. Each emotional beat was meticulously well crafted to not just be a great Digimon film, but a great film in general that helps re-introduce the characters to an audience who may have skipped over Digimon Adventure tri." He also considered the film to be a satisfactory conclusion to the Digimon franchise, stating, "From the opening scene to the final frame, this anime film was a love letter to the Digimon Adventure franchise, and the perfect, yet depressing as hell, send off to the DigiDestined we’ve known for 20 years. It was nice to say goodbye."[20]

Digimon Adventure 20th Memorial Story

Digimon Adventure 20th Memorial Story (Japanese: デジモンアドベンチャー20th メモリアルストーリー, Hepburn: Dejimon Adobenchā 20th Memoriaru Sutōrī) is a series of Japanese Anime shorts related to Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, the first of which, To Sora, being a prequel set a day before the movie. The rest feature side stories about the DigiDestined and their Partner Digimon going about their every day lives that were unable to make it into the movie itself.[21][22]

Episodes
No.[nb 1] Title Japanese release English airdate (subbed)
1"To Sora"
Transcription: "Sora e" (Japanese: 空へ)		November 22, 2019 (2019-11-22)[nb 2]January 31, 2020 (2020-01-31)
2"Hole in the Heart"
Transcription: "Kokoro no ana" (Japanese: 心の穴)		February 21, 2020 (2020-02-21)[nb 3]TBA
3"Medical Student Joe Kido"
Transcription: "Igaku-sei Kido Jō" (Japanese: 医学生・城戸丈)		July 10, 2020 (2020-07-10)[nb 4]TBA
4"The Desired Jogress Evolution"
Transcription: "Akogare no Jogress Shinka" (Japanese: あこがれのジョグレス進化)		TBATBA
5"The Shibuya-ish Heroic Saga of Pump and Gotsu"
Transcription: "Panpu to Gotsu no Shibuya-kei buyū-den" (Japanese: パンプとゴツの渋谷系武勇伝)		TBATBA

Notes
  1. On August 20, 2019 Toei Animation announced that they planned to create five anime shorts to help celebrate the 20th anniversary of Digimon Adventure, and decided to fund them through Crowdfunding, opening a page on the crowdfunding website, Campfire. Starting on August 22, Japanese fans would have until October 2 to raise ¥10,000,000 for the shorts to funded, though stated that even if the funding project failed, the shorts would still be made using an alternate method.The crowdfunding was a success, finishing at 383% funded with a total of ¥38,336,588 raised.[23]
  2. The first episode, To Sora played between November 22, 2019 and January 9, 2020 as part of a Digimon Limited Base Pop-Up Theatre in Shibuya Parco. On January 31, 2020 Toei uploaded To Sora with both English and Japanese subtitles to their official Youtube page.
  3. The second episode, Hole in the Heart, aired as part of another Pop-Up Theatre between February 21, 2020 and April 16, 2020.
  4. The third episode, Medical Student Joe Kido, aired as part of another Pop-Up Theatre between July 10, 2020 and Septepmber 2, 2020.

References
  1. Loo, Egan (December 17, 2019). "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Film's Trailer Highlights Nostalgic 'Butter-Fly' Song". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  2. "Digimon". toei-animation-usa.com. Toei Animation. 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  3. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 28, 2019). "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Film Reveals Cast, Designs for Adult Digimon Adventure 02 Characters". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  4. Peters, Megan (October 30, 2019). "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Trailer Reintroduces 02 DigiDestined". comicbook.com. CBS Interactive. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  5. "Digimon Adventure CAST & STAFF". digimon-adventure.net (in Japanese). Toei Animation. August 2, 2019. Retrieved August 2, 2019.
  6. Animenewsnetwork: "Shout! Factory Releases Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Anime Film on BD/DVD in October"
  7. Pineda, Rafael Antonio (December 3, 2019). "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Film Casts Mayu Matsuoka, Daisuke Ono". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  8. Twitter: "モルフォモン役させてもらったっていうのもあるけど…ほんとに全体的なあの感動をもう一度…"
  10. Loo, Egan (July 29, 2018). "Digimon Gets New Film Project With Original Anime's Staff, Aged Characters". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  11. Sherman, Jennifer (July 6, 2019). "Persona 3's Tomohisa Taguchi Directs Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Anime Film". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  12. Sawyer, Jonathan (July 9, 2019). "New 'Digimon Adventure' Movie Gets Its First Trailer". Highsnobiety. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  13. Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 7, 2019). "Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna Anime Film's Promo Video Reveals Debut on February 21, 2020". Anime News Network. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  14. ""Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna" Hits Theaters On March 25th For The 20th Anniversary Theatrical Event" (PDF). toei-animation-usa.com. Toei Animation. January 8, 2020. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  15. Trumbore, Dave (February 12, 2020). "'Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna' Trailer Teases the DigiDestined's Big Finale". Collider. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  16. https://twitter.com/ToeiAnimation/status/1239990090060820480?s=20
  17. Anime News Network: "Celebrating 20th Anniv. of Digimon, Shout! Factory to Release Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna on Blu-ray and DVD July 7, 2020"
  18. Animenewsnetwork: "Shout! Factory Delays Release of Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna Anime Film"
  19. https://www.crunchyroll.com/anime-news/2020/06/05-1/digimon-adventure-last-evolution-kizuna-dvdblu-ray-to-come-with-newly-recorded-drama-cd
  20. Harding, Daryl (February 24, 2020). "REVIEW: Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna Is the Perfect DigiDestined Send Off". Crunchyroll. Retrieved February 28, 2020.
  21. "Digimon Developing Special New Anime Series". Anime. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  22. Dennison, Kara. "Digimon Crowdfunding Project to Animate Daily Lives of DigiDestined". Crunchyroll. Retrieved March 3, 2020.
  23. https://camp-fire.jp/projects/view/119439
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