Digimon has always been slow to succeed in the global market, as its competitors have typically overshadowed the so-called Pokémon wannabe. So it comes to no surprise that news traveled slowly about the sequel and its choice in animation style. After nearly a year since the original teaser for the third season of Digimon Adventure, two petitions on Change.org have been opened that seek to make major changes to the art design and plot of the new sequel.
What are the changes they want?
A Japanese member of Change.org under the username “ãã³ã 代表” has filed a petition named “ãã¸ã¢ã³ã¢ããã³ãã£ã¼tri.ãã£ã©ã¯ã¿ã¼ãã¶ã¤ã³ã®æ¹åãææ¡” which roughly translates to “Proposed Improvement of Digimon Adventure tri. Character Design”.
Petitioners want to see characters reflect their original designs more, illustrated in an example given by the petitioner.
According to the petition, the petitioner wants to see major changes to the character designs, as they have deviated too far from the original Digimon Adventure art style - to the point that fans are uncomfortable. The key design failure in question is the size of the eyes, as it supposedly makes the characters both unrecognizable and not differentiated from one another (apart from slight differences in attire). As such, they wish to see the current art director removed. They have received over 1,900 signatures as of this article’s publication.
Petitions from English speakers have been much less subtle, with petitioners cussing at the directors. An example of one of the English petitions can be found here; however, be warned that the petition’s description does contain strong language unsuitable for some users. The petition is much more harsh than the Japanese equivalent, calling for the outright closing of the release if demands are not met.
These demands not only include the art style mentioned earlier, but also changes to the plot, as they claim the suggested older audience themes deviate too far from the original premise of the series. Surprisingly, this petition successfully gained over 9,000 signatures. However, the petition was closed. The creator blamed the sequel’s “undeserved hype” and fans’ lack of desire to do anything more than “giving a clear message to Toei animation that this half-***** team who are producing bad art and an un-digimon like storystyle [that] is unwanted and insulting [sic].”
What does this mean for Digimon Adventure Tri?
Nothing really. Digimon Adventure Tri has been officially scheduled to release its first episode on November 21, 2015. No changes have been made to the art style since its original teaser, and from the looks of it, there won’t be any further changes made since they have already teased at battle scenes between Greymon, Omnimon, and an unknown shadowy digital monster. As such, fans will have to bottle in their own feelings about the art design, or simply not watch at all.
As for me, I will be inviting in Digimon Adventure Tri with open arms. It will be great to see Chosen Children headed out to adventure once again.
