For anyone who won’t be able to see Kizuna soon, here’s a reminder that the lovely onkei-kun has just posted an English translation of the novelization!
Is it really a spoiler if you read the book version before watching the film? You decide! Anyway, it may be a good consolation for fans who won’t be able to see Kizuna any time soon. And Digimon novelizations tend to be pretty good!
Reminder: here on AH all book and film spoilers will continued to be tagged as #kizunaspoilers for the foreseeable future.
some thoughts after reading the Kizuna novelisation...
[ Obviously, spoilers below. ]
Please do not repost my text elsewhere! This is a review, not a translation.
After a considerable amount of trying — geez, stop making it hard for international fans to give you money by all that geoblocking! —, I managed to buy the Kindle version of the Kizuna novelisation, which is available on Amazon JP at a very cheap price. I don’t speak a word of Japanese, but it’s a very short and simple book and Google Translator and the translation feature of the Kindle app are remarkably easy and effective — resulting in a readable, if surely not completely accurate, translation. I’d recommend it, even if you don’t have the language skills to read it without help! I went through it in a few hours and now I’m slowly re-reading some key scenes and comparing it to the summary made by someone who’s actually linguistically competent, to figure out what I missed or misunderstood.
(onkei-kun is currently summarizing the novel on Twitter, so I’d recommend following her for more concrete information. I don’t feel confident enough to post any dialogue or concrete details lest I misunderstood something. The last thing I want is to spread misinformation!)
The novel is pretty good. I don’t know to what extent it will deviate from the film in terms of structure / dialogue, but I didn’t identify many “cut scenes” (except two that seem to come directly from the short films). The most interesting and “novelty” part is that you get some insight into the characters thoughts / feelings at any given time, and that’s it.
As for spoilers: they were all true, folks! Moreover, the plot setting / premise that was officially revealed in trailers and synopsis released before the film holds until you’re 40% into the book. Only then do you start to get some actual development / surprises. I wasn’t wrong when I thought this movie wouldn’t have a very complicated plot… but boy, was I wrong about the ending! Now that I know more context I’m still digesting things...
Some thoughts:
It’s very action-oriented. There are at least three big battles in this.
This is Taichi and Yamato’s story. The real surprise to me was that Yamato seemed to have an independent storyline, that is, he wasn’t just reacting to things Taichi was doing. I loved seeing him investigating stuff on his own (foreshadowing for a future career?). We really get to see how Taichi and Yamato are doing and feeling before, during, and after. And they don’t really have a fight! The other kids, however, barely register — everyone has a few lines and they participate in the battles and are involved in the plot, but they are clearly secondary characters. Sora is absent from virtually the entire book, except for the scene based the first short film. She’s the only one who isn’t taken to Menoa’s Neverland. She loses her partner in the end, as well, but we don’t get see their reactions. Gennai also has a brief cameo, and Meiko is mentioned by name.
They make up for the absence of 02 kids in tri. Not only are they very active and involved in the plot, but they arguably get more screen time than some of the Adventure cast. I loved them in this. Although (and this is not explained) it seems implied that Takeru and Hikari are not considered part of this close-knit team anymore? Something tri. suggested and that us 02 fans have to make sense of.
The ending felt really weird. On the one hand, it’s very emotional because it’s the most definitive goodbye we’ve seen so far. Agumon and Gabumon essentially die, the digivices turn to stone, and they find no cure for the inevitability that, as chosen children grow, the bond with their partners is dissolved and they die. So it doesn’t really feel like a victory. But, at the same time, everyone is full of hope things will change in the future… and since the Epilogue exists and all, we know it will change. So, it’s an unsatisfying ending — we’re in this strange place where this necessitates a sequel to make things right and, more than ever, we now do need to know how and why things are they way they are in 2028! If this is indeed The End, then they’re leaving with a bittersweet cliffhanger that creates more questions about the Epilogue than the previous sequels ever did. And it doesn’t even really go deep into developing the aspects of the Epilogue we really know about, except through what feels more like winks and Easter eggs. Would it kill them to verbalize Yamato’s decision to be an astronaut? Or acknowledge / develop the end game couples in any way, even if you don’t show them as being together at this stage? Meh.
(I should stay that the exact details aren’t very clear to me, regarding who actually lost the partners, besides Taichi, Yamato, and Sora.)
I think my favorite scene was just Taichi and Yamato having dinner and commiserating about their uncertain future and how lonely they feel as young adults, when all their friends are so busy and so sure about their careers. That’s what I’d like to see more of — actually show us all the kids’ lives and feelings, their relationships with each other, as they navigate adulthood.
Also, am I the only one who feels this was a bit of a rehash of some of tri.’s plot points, but with less time and ambition to develop the same ideas? The antagonist is an older Chosen Child dealing with the loss of her partner. Dumb chosen children trust the wrong person. Some of the older kids are over the fighting and want to lead normal lives. There’s a “permanent” separation with the Digimon. Taichi and Yamato are still figuring out their future jobs. The kids struggle because they are growing up while the Digimon stay kids and have trouble relating to them. Digimon cause problems in the real world. The only big difference is that now the Digimon are well-known in society and people know the Chosen Children are famous... I couldn’t help but feel this was a bit “been there, done that”.
So yeah, excited for the film! I’m sure this story will work better visually. But I’d like to see more. This felt… incomplete.
(Oh, and case you’re wondering: yes, the scene when Agumon finds Taichi's "adult magazines" is real.)
After reading the translation of the novel, I think it’s now safe to confirm that in Kizuna, the powers at be continue to play dumb regarding Sora and Yamato’s relationship status. As expected, absolutely nothing is acknowledged or hinted.
Except that my 20/20 shipping goggles took note how, during Taichi and Yamato’s conversation over dinner, Taichi duly tells Yamato about of everyone else’s career plans... but it’s Yamato who informs Taichi about Takeru and Sora’s current status. Take that as you will, shippers!
However, there is a microscopic Kenyako moment that will be a delight for many fans.
Now that we’ve settled this important question, I hope everyone enjoys the rest of the story!
Since you’ve read the novel and the movie is coming out soon are you going to post a review/thoughts/analysis os it? I’d really love to read what you think! (im going to read the novel, can’t wait!)
I already did (kinda), but I still need some time to organize my thoughts and write something worthwhile.
I assure you I have many opinions about this book.
