Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna Movie Review

Major Spoilers are included in this movie review. Please read with caution.

On October 18, 2020, I watched Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna—on Blu-Ray and DVD—with my little brother. After seeing it had released on October 6, 2020—after months of delay due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic—I had to purchase it to see how the original Digimon Adventure story finally ends, closing the book on twenty years of stories by looking back on why Digimon Adventure was so special—nostalgia—before acknowledging that the characters and the fans can’t stay kids forever.

The opening scene was the perfect nostalgia scene—a visual callback to Digimon: The Movie’s “Prologue”—with Parrotmon wreaking havoc across Tokyo. The nostalgic Digivolution scene showing Agumon Digivolve to Greymon to MetalGreymon—with “Butter-Fly” playing by the late Kouji Wada—was the one of the few times in the movie where the nostalgia was shamelessly displayed.

I found the opening scene necessary to set the tone for the rest of the movie, where it was shown afterwards that things have quickly changed for the adult DigiDestined—especially Tai and Matt—since their sweet childhood days of saving two worlds; since our days of watching them save two worlds. The first noticeable thing is that everyone—the original eight—didn’t show up, only Tai, Matt, Kari, TK, and Izzy showed up to fight Parrotmon and send it back to the Digital World.

This movie also learned from the mistakes that happened during Digimon Adventure Tri regarding the animation, story, characters, and nostalgia. Last Evolution Kizuna even made up for snubbing the Digimon Adventure 02 kids during Tri and giving them ample screen time in this movie, showing what they’ve been up to in addition to giving them a couple fight scenes during the climax. Davis and Veemon—my favorite Digimon pair—have been greatly missed, and being reminded about Davis’ dream to open a ramen shop someday was bittersweet.

Honestly, I would compare this amazing “final” movie to Toy Story 3 for how everything ultimately wraps up for fans—like me—who grew up alongside the original DigiDestined. It’s never easy saying goodbye to your childhood, but everybody’s gotta grow up sometime.

Taking place five years after Digimon Adventure Tri and ten years after the events of the original series, the DigiDestined have actually become adults with jobs. TK is writing a novel, Kari is trying to become a teacher, Joe Kido is in medical school, Izzy is president of a successful tech company, Mimi is a social influencer, and Sora had officially retired as a DigiDestined to continue the family flower business. As a result, Sora was the only DigiDestined who didn’t participate in the final battle against the main villain Eosmon.

Last Evolution Kizuna mainly focuses on Tai and Matt and their close bonds with Agumon and Gabumon. Tai is a college student working part-time at a casino—living alone in an apartment—feeling uncertain about the future. Matt is also on the same boat as Tai—feeling uncertain about what to do next—and meets up with him on occasion to drink beer and discuss the “good old days”.

Soon after these first opening scenes, a new threat—an artificial Digimon named Eosmon—comes after DigiDestined all across the world. At the same time, Tai and Matt discover a timer on their Digivices counting down to when their close bonds will end with Agumon and Gabumon forever. The countdown casted a large shadow over the entire film—in every quiet scene involving Tai and Agumon or Matt and Gabumon—because no matter what went down, saying goodbye to Digimon Adventure was an inevitable conclusion.

Last Evolution Kizuna is a fast-paced movie after the high stakes are established—being only an hour and thirty-eight minutes—with gorgeous animation and stellar fight scenes. The plot is also more consistent—a detective type story with an intriguing plot about DigiDestined mysteriously losing their consciousness and partner Digimon—and less about the nostalgic Digivolution sequences. Last Evolution Kizuna was more balanced than Tri with character and plot without losing sight of the heavy themes—depression, death, growth, tragedy, redemption, etc.—that the original series covered.

Though the movie is also clearly going for the ending where everyone—specifically Tai and Matt—grows up and leaves the Digimon Adventure behind them, the film doesn’t make it clear what “growing up” means. I believe the movie made it ambiguous on purpose because everyone grows up differently. Although, Last Evolution Kizuna did make it clear that one cannot juggle what their life used to be like as a kid with the adult life they’re entering. This important lesson reminded me of something I had been saying in my Writers’ Group lately in regards to Fullmetal Alchemist’s “Equivalent Exchange” and how some things have to be given up to create a balance for the life we’re making.

Digimon Adventure Last Evolution Kizuna is the best—and likely final—addition to the original underrated Digimon Adventure franchise, with its organic references to the previous series, the emotional final story with heartfelt lessons, and unexpected cameos that tie up twenty years of Digimon Adventure stories. The movie is a love letter for all the fans who’ve grown up on Digimon, and how to handle the concept of growing up and saying goodbye. This was the conclusion we didn’t know we needed—and maybe a conclusion some didn’t want.

Some fans might not agree with the movie’s ending—especially with the Digimon Adventure 02 Epilogue being canon—but that honestly makes the ending stronger in my professional but also biased opinion. While saying goodbye to an old friend isn’t easy and somewhat painful when we actually part ways, there’s always the slight chance that those close bonds from childhood could sneak up on us again someday—even if it’s only for a brief moment or two.

However, there is also the Digimon Adventure 2020 Reboot series currently ongoing for those unaware. I am currently watching the episodes weekly and writing episode reviews for them. The link to all my written episode reviews—the first 20 episodes so far—for the Reboot is here if y’all are interested in checking out my thoughts on them. Otherwise, this is truly goodbye, fellow adult Digimon fans. May we meet again someday in the Digital World, even if it’s only for a brief moment or two.