Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna

Five years after the events of Digimon Adventure: tri., Tai and the other DigiDestined are approaching adulthood; however, Tai and Matt still remain undecided about their future goals. The DigiDestined later meet Menoa Bellucci, a professor from the United States, and Kyotaro Imura, her bodyguard. Menoa claims that Eosmon is targeting DigiDestined around the world by robbing both them and their Digimon partners of their consciousness. With Menoa's help, Tai, Matt, Izzy, T.K., and their Digimon fight Eosmon on the Internet.

When Tai and Matt fuse their Digimon into Omnimon, Omnimon's form falls apart, allowing Eosmon to escape. In the real world, Tai and Matt find countdown rings on their Digivices. Menoa explains the Digivices are powered by the infinite potential of children, and because Tai and Matt are growing up with their potential fulfilled, they have a time limit before they are separated from their Digimon forever. She also warns them that Digivolving will accelerate the countdown. While Izzy examines Eosmon's gems, Matt suspects Imura is involved with Eosmon and asks Davis, Yolei, Cody, and Ken to perform a background check in New York. Meanwhile, Gennai visits Tai and Agumon, corroborating Menoa's statement.

After Eosmon leaves Mimi unconscious, Matt gives Tai and Izzy prepaid mobile phones out of suspicion they are being tracked and also shows them a news article revealing that Menoa used to have a Digimon partner. As Matt continues to investigate Imura, he learns from Davis' group that Imura's identity is fake and Eosmon's data was found on his hard drive, concluding that he is the culprit. Izzy is sent a link to a live stream video of T.K. and Kari held hostage, prompting Tai and Matt to rescue them, while Joe goes missing. By the time they arrive, T.K. and Kari are already unconscious from Eosmon. On the way, Matt confronts Imura, who reveals he is an FBI agent investigating Menoa, and he realizes that Menoa orchestrated the kidnappings and Eosmon as a distraction to target Izzy for the list of DigiDestined. Realizing this as well, Izzy texts Tai with the coordinates to Menoa's location in the Digital World before she renders him unconscious.

In the Digital World, Menoa confirms that she lost her Digimon partner, Morphomon, prematurely from growing up, and discovered Eosmon's digi-egg during the recent aurora. To prevent the other DigiDestined from experiencing loss, she has captured their consciousness to allow them to be with their Digimon partners as children forever. Menoa sends a swarm of Eosmon clones to the real world to kidnap more DigiDestined, sparking battles worldwide. Tai, Matt, and their Digimon resolve to stop Menoa even if it quickens their separation, and Agumon and Gabumon DNA Digivolve into Omnimon to fight her and the Eosmon clones. After Menoa biomerges with Eosmon, Eosmon cuts Omnimon into pieces, causing it to split again. Tai and Matt are assaulted by the DigiDestined and their Digimon partners, but Tai grabs Kari's whistle and blows into it, awakening and turning them back to normal. While the DigiDestined and their Digimon partners join the battle, Tai, Matt, and their Digimon make one final Digivolution, forming Agumon (Bond of Courage) and Gabumon (Bond of Friendship). The two Digimon defeat Eosmon, with Menoa finding closure with Morphomon.

After the battle, Imura arrests Menoa. Tai and Matt spend their remaining time with Agumon and Gabumon respectively until they vanish and their Digivices turn into stone. In the following spring, the two move on with their lives and pursue their dream careers, under the belief that they may see their Digimon partners again in the future.

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 two 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.

Japanese Logo of Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna

A new film project was announced on July 29, 2018 as part of the series' 20th anniversary.[23] The film, titled Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna, is directed by Tomohisa Taguchi and written by Akatsuki Yamatoya, and animated by Yumeta Company.[24] 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.[25] It premiered on February 21, 2020.[26]

Development for Last Evolution Kizuna started in 2017, whilst Digimon Adventure tri. was in the middle of airing. It was made as the staff realized the Digimon Adventure series was the most popular part of the Digimon franchise as a whole after the positive reception to Adventure tri., so they decided to make another Adventure movie for its 20th anniversary.[27]

Before the film's release in the U.S., Comic Book Resources held an interview with Executive Producer Yosuke Kinoshita regarding the franchise itself and what he wanted the fans to take away from the film. During the interview, Yosuke stated, "As we go through life, I believe that it is not only success and joy that makes you grow as a person but also overcoming failure. Hard and sad realities are what keeps us alive. I'm sure there will be a lot of obstacles in the future, but let’s go live our lives forward strongly! This is the message that we are trying to convey."[28]

The film was released in Japanese theaters on February 21, 2020.[6] 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 cancelled because of movie theater closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[11][10][29] The film was set to be released direct-to-video in the United States on July 7, 2020[9] but production was delayed indefinitely on May 9, 2020.[30] 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.[18]

The Japanese release of the DVD and Blu-ray was released on September 2, 2020 along with an audio drama to come with it on CD.[31]

Critical Reception of the film was very positive. Kambole Cambell from IGN gave the film a 9/10, stating, "An impressively bold and mature final installment, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna realizes the full potential of its cast and the power of a definitive ending, driven by an inventive visual sensibility, exciting set-pieces, and heart-wrenching emotional stakes."[16] Common Sense Media gave the film a 4/5, stating, "This is a bittersweet coming-of-age story that manages to transcend the expected anime battles and action. For those coming into the movie without knowing all of the ins and outs of this particular anime universe, the movie's heady themes of life and death, growing up and moving on, and making your own way in the world are poignant, universal, and relatable."[15]

Polygon gave the film a positive review, stating, "It’s a love letter not only to the entire franchise, but to those who have grown up watching these characters throughout the years. This is the conclusion fans have been waiting for."[14]Comic Book Resources also gave the film a positive review, stating, "Last Evolution isn't a cinematic masterpiece (no surprise there) but what it is is a masterclass on how to age a long-running, commercial property with grace and bring it to a conclusion with dignity. The original DigiDestined's journey, as we once knew it, is over, but this isn't a story about putting away childish things."[13]

Critics praised the film for its themes of adulthood and, "letting things go."[14][15][16] Daryl Harding of Crunchyroll states that, "it is about growing up and letting go. For the characters, it’s hard to be a DigiDestined and still have a job – apparently saving the world doesn’t pay well. It’s not about them choosing what to focus on, it’s about them learning how to juggle both responsibilities without cracking."[12] Regarding the themes, IGN also felt that the film handled them very well, "It’s ultimately bittersweet, but the film’s embrace of change is tackled with inspiring optimism, positing that moving forward shouldn’t be treated as a loss, but as a new direction, definitively closing this chapter of Digimon Adventure while looking forward to what new things might spring from it." Regarding the themes, Polygon also stated "for those who are on board with the way the film handles the transition out of childhood, Last Evolution will be like saying goodbye to a childhood friend you don’t often speak to, but still hold close to your heart."

The film drew comparisons to Mamoru Hosoda's previous works on Digimon, as well as drawing comparisons to Toy Story 3.[13][14][15][16][12] Polygon stated, "Like Toy Story 3, Kizuna goes for a bittersweet conclusion that waves goodbye to childhood while suggesting that eventually, we all learn to find a balance between our responsibilities and our desires...Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna manages to be the best addition to the Digimon franchise since Mamoru Hosoda was at the helm. Its references to previous franchise installments, its surprising cameos, and its emotional story all help put a bow on 20 years of adventures, while providing a nice returning point for fans who may have skipped the underwhelming Tri series of films." IGN stated, "The hallmarks of Mamoru Hosoda (who directed the first Digimon movie along with a number of short films) are still in play, with simple yet creative visual distinctions between the digital world and in the real world, clean red lines used to draw characters while moving about the former, sometimes flattening their coloring as the space around them changes. The conclusion recalls the likes of Toy Story 3 and How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, as a film that trusts its audience to be able to let go, though here with a more definitive and perhaps even more heart-wrenching finality."

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.[32][33]

• Official website (in Japanese)
• Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna at IMDb