In the midst of this Pokemon frenzy, let me just say that Digimon will always have been the better version of the two (although in popularity, Pokemon still wins I suppose).

The first four seasons are the only ones I personally count as the original Digimon series, anything past that is garbage. Although some may argue that the fourth season didn’t adhere to traditional Digimon bonds since there were no Digimon partnerships, but I loved the set of characters and their chemistry as a team. The third season was by far my favorite, not to mention the darkest season out of the whole franchise. I’ve gone as far as watching all the movies associated with seasons one through four including the one that made it to theaters in the U.S. just so I can collect a Terriermon card. LOL.

Anyways, Toei Animation recently released Digimon Adventure Tri. a sequel to season 2 of the series as a special reunion segment, you can call it season 2.5 of sorts. The story continues three years after their final battle from season 2 (sans epilogue episode). Segment 1: “Reunion” and 2: “Determination” has already been released and I am beyond excited for September to come when segment 3: “Confessions” of Digimon Adventure Tri. continues it’s journey with the old school crew of rag tag kids from the original series. I’ve been a die hard fan of Digimon since its inception in the U.S. market in 1997 (I was in first grade), officially 19 years this past June. To be honest, I could be ninety fucking five and I’d still be a fan.

The first segment, “Reunion”, was really slow, I almost fell asleep watching it. It took about 3-4 episodes before the real action and problems for the old team to arise as they try to figure out why Digimons were crossing over to the real world infected by a corrupt program. I was finally getting back into the groove, even if the characters were a little older and wiser now. Albeit the first movie, honestly, was overall plain boring. It was really segment two that made me realize why I had loved Digimon far more than I did Pokemon. Digimon had always been much more realistic with its themes and tropes. It spelled out more important issues like death, choices of right and wrong, suicide, depression, anxieties of growing up, adulthood, obstacles of true friendship, divorce, and so much more. It wasn’t always a happy ending that Pokemon always seemed to conclude with its story lines. There were irreversible death in Digimon that Pokemon never wanted to talk about. Most of all Digimon characters and story moved in time continuously, while Ash Ketchum was and still is perpetually ten years old for the last 20 years.

The second part did have its fair share of kinks and random scenes that weren’t quite necessary. I still thought the best part about “Determination” was that it showcased the series’ two most underrated characters: Mimi Taichikawa and Jō Kido first. Not Taichi or Yamato. It was Mimi and Jō. I’ve always wondered why the show always placed the two main male leads with the most powerful abilities like being able to achieve mega level (and eventually DNA digivolution) status with Agumon and Gabumon (and often always achieved their crest or extra power boosts first) while everyone else were got theirs much later in the series and got stuck with only ultimate levels. As a group, Taichi was the leader and Yamato was the best friend, Sora played the like interest between the two, Koshiro was the tech guy everyone relied on (especially since Digimon was very tech based), Takeru and Hikari were the peacekeepers. Then there was Mimi and Jō.

I’ve always liked Mimi as a character the best from way back when, she was outspoken about her thoughts and never held back her feelings. She was honest to a fault that she may come off as outlandish and self-centered, but she was sincere. She wasn’t afraid to be herself. My sister always thought it was because she wore much of her outfit in pink. So I was always bummed Mimi rarely got any screen time and was often depicted as ditzy. “Determination” really focused on Mimi’s issues as she tackles her own inner demons as well as Jō’s anxiety of growing up and being part of society as a working adult.

FINALLY, after almost two decades they gave Mimi and Jō the ability to digivolve Palmon and Gomamon to their mega levels. YES. There is SO MUCH WIN and precedence in this. It shows that these two characters aren’t just there as support. That these two characters are strong and fucking badass on their own, they can clearly take care of themselves just fine. Just look at Vikemon and Rosemon, fuccck. I low key freaked out and shrieked while watching the last ten minutes of the last episode. What’s even better is that they’re the first ones to achieve it in the this series. I am so terribly fucking happy for them. It gives me even more closure to know that Lilymon did in fact evolve into Rosemon as there were rumors on the web (shortly after season one ended) that Palmon did have a mega form, but since Palmon lost her ability to evolve into Lilymon in season two when Mimi relinquished her crest powers– we never got a chance to know. NOW WE DO.

Can I also say, Takeru and Hikari ship… I so fucking support it. Lmao.

Ugh. Can you tell I am stupidly overly excited I can see my favorite show/group of characters again?