So there’s some good news and some bad news about Digimon Adventure tri., the follow-up to the phenomenally popular Digimon Adventure anime that’s set 15 years after the events of the original. The bad news is, contrary to early speculation, Digimon Adventure tri., isn’t going to be airing on Japanese TV during either the spring or the summer.
The good news is, the latest installment in the franchise is a theatrical feature, just the first of six parts of the new series, and we now know when we get to see it!
As part of the celebration for the 15th anniversary of the Digimon Adventure TV series, all 54 episodes of the show were recently streamed on Nico Nico Douga, with the producers of tri. promising more information on the new anime following the marathon of the old one. They delivered a doozy, with a new Digimon Adventure tri. trailer that finally gives a release date, and also the big reveal that it’s coming to theaters instead of TV.
While it was previously announced that the original voice actors for principal digital monsters Agumon, Piyomon, Tentamon, Palmon, Patamon, Gomamon, Tailmon, and Gabumon will be reprising their roles, their human handlers will be voiced by new performers.
▼ Clockwise from upper left: Hikari Yagami (voiced by MAO), Takeru Takaishi (Junya Enoki), Jo Kido (Junya Ikeda), and Mimi Tachikawa (Hitomi Yoshida)
▼ And Koshiro Izumi (Mutsumi Tamura), Sora Takenouchi (Suzuko Mimori), Yamato Ishida (Yoshimasa Hosoya), and Taichi Yagami (Natsuki Hanae)
Getting down to the nitty gritty of the terminology used, the trailer announces the upcoming film, subtitled Reunion, is the first of six “chapters” of Digimon Adventure tri.. While that doesn’t necessarily confirm that parts two through six will also be films, the remaining five chapters would be far too few for a TV series, and while Japan used to have a booming direct-to-video anime market, that format has dried up to the extent that it’s now almost exclusively used for promotional extras to series with a far more otaku-centric aim than the relatively mainstream Digimon. As such, it seems like a safe bet that chapters two through six will also be shown in theaters.
Digimon Adventure tri. – Reunion is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on November 21 of this year, so go ahead and pencil that in on your calendar right now.
▼ Or write it in ink, if you’re a truly dedicated Digimon fan.
Source: Jin
Top image: YouTube
Insert images: YouTube, Digimon Adventure official website (edited by RocketNews24)