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Digimon Adventure:
Children's War Game
WHY'D I WATCH IT?
For the Action Movie Countdown.
I've always preferred Digimon over Pokemon for more reasons that one, but when it comes to movies, Pokemon's been far better off, at least when it comes to localizations. Digimon: The Movie, as it was localized in English, piece of crap that it was, was not actually the only Digimon movie ever made, it was a piece of crap because it's actually a cobbled together edit of three separate movies, this one being the first... er... second.
WHAT'D I THINK?
Digimon Adventure:
Children's War Game
Sci-Fi Fantasy Action / 2000
WHY'D I WATCH IT?
For the Action Movie Countdown.
I've always preferred Digimon over Pokemon for more reasons that one, but when it comes to movies, Pokemon's been far better off, at least when it comes to localizations. Digimon: The Movie, as it was localized in English, piece of crap that it was, was not actually the only Digimon movie ever made, it was a piece of crap because it's actually a cobbled together edit of three separate movies, this one being the first... er... second.
WHAT'D I THINK?
Eggs.
Running at only about 40 minutes, the plot is brief and straight to the point, it even ends rather abruptly: *missile lands harmlessly* "We win!" *credits*
It's pretty true to the source material, taking place after the first season of the show, but it really only features Agumon and Gabumon's respective digivolutions. This time around a virus digimon randomly pops up on the internet and because everything from price stickers to stoplights to apartment building power is inexplicably wired heart and soul to the internet (that's the failure of technology for you) the virus begins to spread causing chaos and even manages to launch a US missile at Japan.
Thanks, US, you just keep your nuclear missiles on an internet server do ya?
Children's War Game falls into some common Digimon trappings, but it's rushed plot also brings new problems. Early on the virus actually attacks Agumon while he's digivolving AND THAT'S JUST WRONG.
You don't interrupt transformation sequences EVER, because the second you do you ruin all previous and future transformation sequences in canon! They're supposed to be eye candy simply abstracted out for Rule of Cool's sake, but here you've actually made a point of drawing attention to the fact that NOT ONLY can this digimon interrupt your fancy "look at me, I'm leveling up" montage, but you've also drawn attention to the fact that EVERY DIGIVOLUTION EVER COULD HAVE BEEN INTERRUPTED and considering that this **** only happens in extreme scenarios where there's someone to fight you IMMEDIATELY drop the facade and raise the question "WHY DOESN'T HE JUST PUNCH HIM???"
Oh no, Agumon's digivolving. *punch* Problems solved, I can end the world now.
THIS EVEN HAPPENS LATER ON IN THE SAME FRICKEN' MOVIE! Agumon and Gabumon combine to make Omnimon and yet despite and extreme and overwhelmingly damning threat the virus doesn't attack them while they're digivolving. PLOTHOLE! You dug yourself a PLOTHOLE!
There's also some subplot about Tai and Sora being at odds as the popularly shipped love interests, but when it's eventually revealed that Tai gave her a hairclip and she took it as an insult to her hat which warranted a big enough argument to completely disassociate with the other person and insult them behind their back it's just another instance of a movie going,
"Women, huh? Bitches be crazy."
**** you.
Also what's the deal with Omnimon anyway? I mean, I like him, I think he's probably one of the cooler Digimon out there (total inspiration if you couldn't guess) what being just a straight mix of the two strongest Digimon the protagonists have, but his conception?
Tai has some stuttering emotional breakdown in front of his computer, FALLS INTO IT, hugs Greymon and magically he digivolves.
*sigh* You know, the TV show itself was pretty contrived at points too, but AT LEAST there was a strong undercurrent theme about the Digi Destined necessarily having to achieve some sort of specific personal virtue or learn a moral lesson before they could digivolve to a new level, remember any of that "Friendship", "Courage", and "Love" stuff? Sure it was feeble, but at least it was THERE, at there's was an unexplained motivating factor beyond DRAMATIC CONVENIENCE.
Finally, I got pretty sick pretty quick with the obvious setup in this movie. You got Izzy inexplicably collecting countless emails worldwide which somehow slows down their computer and Digimon- wait, I thought the Digimon were in the internet, why are they affected by computer speeds? IS IT BECAUSE YOU'RE STREAMING VIDEO!? GODAMMIT, TAI, THIS IS NO TIME FOR A FOUR-WAY CHAT.
Or I dunno, CLOSE your email application?
They drum it up for so long I'm just sitting there goin' "forward them to the virus".
Does that make any sense? No. How would they know the virus's email address? WOULD a virus have an email address? How do the millions of kids around the world know Izzy and Tai's email address? It's as contrived as anything else... okay maybe not as contrived as FALLING INTO YOUR COMPUTER AND CRYING YOUR DIGIMON INTO A TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE THAT THE ENEMY ARBITRARILY DECIDES NOT TO INTERRUPT ****, but that's all the more reason, so yeah that happens.
All in all? Kinda cruddy. Not terrible... at least by Digimon standards or what I come to expect. The animation was pretty good quality and naturally there were none of those... "Americanisms" that were dubbed into the English localizations. I'm not sure what I feel about that, the English dub could actually be really funny, but then it also came with McDonald's references and crap and I don't want nunna that.
There's also the biggest loss of course...
Final Verdict: [Meh...]
Running at only about 40 minutes, the plot is brief and straight to the point, it even ends rather abruptly: *missile lands harmlessly* "We win!" *credits*
It's pretty true to the source material, taking place after the first season of the show, but it really only features Agumon and Gabumon's respective digivolutions. This time around a virus digimon randomly pops up on the internet and because everything from price stickers to stoplights to apartment building power is inexplicably wired heart and soul to the internet (that's the failure of technology for you) the virus begins to spread causing chaos and even manages to launch a US missile at Japan.
Thanks, US, you just keep your nuclear missiles on an internet server do ya?
Children's War Game falls into some common Digimon trappings, but it's rushed plot also brings new problems. Early on the virus actually attacks Agumon while he's digivolving AND THAT'S JUST WRONG.
You don't interrupt transformation sequences EVER, because the second you do you ruin all previous and future transformation sequences in canon! They're supposed to be eye candy simply abstracted out for Rule of Cool's sake, but here you've actually made a point of drawing attention to the fact that NOT ONLY can this digimon interrupt your fancy "look at me, I'm leveling up" montage, but you've also drawn attention to the fact that EVERY DIGIVOLUTION EVER COULD HAVE BEEN INTERRUPTED and considering that this **** only happens in extreme scenarios where there's someone to fight you IMMEDIATELY drop the facade and raise the question "WHY DOESN'T HE JUST PUNCH HIM???"
Oh no, Agumon's digivolving. *punch* Problems solved, I can end the world now.
THIS EVEN HAPPENS LATER ON IN THE SAME FRICKEN' MOVIE! Agumon and Gabumon combine to make Omnimon and yet despite and extreme and overwhelmingly damning threat the virus doesn't attack them while they're digivolving. PLOTHOLE! You dug yourself a PLOTHOLE!
There's also some subplot about Tai and Sora being at odds as the popularly shipped love interests, but when it's eventually revealed that Tai gave her a hairclip and she took it as an insult to her hat which warranted a big enough argument to completely disassociate with the other person and insult them behind their back it's just another instance of a movie going,
"Women, huh? Bitches be crazy."
**** you.
Also what's the deal with Omnimon anyway? I mean, I like him, I think he's probably one of the cooler Digimon out there (total inspiration if you couldn't guess) what being just a straight mix of the two strongest Digimon the protagonists have, but his conception?
Tai has some stuttering emotional breakdown in front of his computer, FALLS INTO IT, hugs Greymon and magically he digivolves.
*sigh* You know, the TV show itself was pretty contrived at points too, but AT LEAST there was a strong undercurrent theme about the Digi Destined necessarily having to achieve some sort of specific personal virtue or learn a moral lesson before they could digivolve to a new level, remember any of that "Friendship", "Courage", and "Love" stuff? Sure it was feeble, but at least it was THERE, at there's was an unexplained motivating factor beyond DRAMATIC CONVENIENCE.
Finally, I got pretty sick pretty quick with the obvious setup in this movie. You got Izzy inexplicably collecting countless emails worldwide which somehow slows down their computer and Digimon- wait, I thought the Digimon were in the internet, why are they affected by computer speeds? IS IT BECAUSE YOU'RE STREAMING VIDEO!? GODAMMIT, TAI, THIS IS NO TIME FOR A FOUR-WAY CHAT.
Or I dunno, CLOSE your email application?
They drum it up for so long I'm just sitting there goin' "forward them to the virus".
Does that make any sense? No. How would they know the virus's email address? WOULD a virus have an email address? How do the millions of kids around the world know Izzy and Tai's email address? It's as contrived as anything else... okay maybe not as contrived as FALLING INTO YOUR COMPUTER AND CRYING YOUR DIGIMON INTO A TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE THAT THE ENEMY ARBITRARILY DECIDES NOT TO INTERRUPT ****, but that's all the more reason, so yeah that happens.
All in all? Kinda cruddy. Not terrible... at least by Digimon standards or what I come to expect. The animation was pretty good quality and naturally there were none of those... "Americanisms" that were dubbed into the English localizations. I'm not sure what I feel about that, the English dub could actually be really funny, but then it also came with McDonald's references and crap and I don't want nunna that.
There's also the biggest loss of course...
Final Verdict: [Meh...]