Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie Review

Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version continues the beloved anime franchise with more adventures. The second season of the series is a continuation of the first season and brings the series forward with more ambitious storytelling and epic action. Digimon is one of the most beloved anime classics of all time and with good reason. The series remains a classic due to its charming and lovable characters alongside the incredible animation.

Featuring robust animation produced by Toei Animation (Sailor Moon, Dragon Ball Z), Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version provides the original language option to fans. Distributor Discotek Media did a separate Season 2 box- set for the English dubbed version. Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version provides the most authentic original presentation of the series created by Akiyoshi Hongo. Digimon: Season 2 brings a new cast of core characters alongside returning favorites.

Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is produced by Daisuke Kawakami (RahXephon, Hunter X Hunter), Hiromi Seki (Beet the Vandel Buster, Ghost Sweeper Mikami), and Kyōtarō Kimura (Yu Yu Hakusho). The second season of Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is in some respects even more epic and sprawling than the first season. The second season Japanese language voice cast includes Junko Noda, Miwa Matsumoto, Yuka Tokumitsu, Kōichi Tōchika, Megumi Urawa, Naozumi Takahashi, Yagami Taichi, Ishida Yamato, Takenouchi Sora, Izumi Koushiro, Tachikawa Mimi, and Kido Jō. The second season expands on the journey of the core DigiDestined while providing an emphasis on the new characters and their journeys.

The digital world is once again open. New obstacles and foes await. The DigiDestined have a new mission to face when a villainous threat appears before them – years following the events of the first season adventure. The DigiDestined are determined to save the world – united with their Digimon. The stakes are high. The Digital World is in disarray and peace is needed to restore the digital world.

With ominous dark towers, the Digimon face more threats. Can the Digimon defeat the villainous Digimon Kaiser? Bringing together the original DigiDestined and the new DigiDestined, the groups find a lot of adventure in store for themselves. The Digimon Kaiser wants to control the entire world and it is up to the heroes of the Digimon world to save the day and set things right.

Expanding on the first season, the cast of characters in Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version includes the new DigiDestined heroes – Daisuke Motomiya (Junko Noda), Takeru Takaishi (Miwa Matsumoto), Hikari Yagami (Yuka Tokumitsu), Miyako Inoue (Kōichi Tōchika), Iori Hida (Megumi Urawa), and Ken ichijoji (Naozumi Takahashi). The returning heroes from the first DigiDestined group include Taichi "Tai" Kamiya (Yagami Taichi), Yamato "Matt" Ishida (Ishida Yamato), Sora Takenouchi  (Takenouchi Sora), Koushiro "Izzy" Izumi (Izumi Koushiro), Mimi Tachikawa (Tachikawa Mimi), and Joe Kido (Kido Jō).

The great cast of characters on Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is one of the essential elements of the production. The Japanese voice cast does great work with the anime series. The ensemble cast is excellent and the original language version compares favorably to the English dubbed version. The voice work is excellent and there is a sense of dedication to the roles. The voice cast provides nuance and a sense of wonder to the performances. The second season certainly expands on the voice-work with the new cast of characters. The voice actors for the new characters are notably excellent at expanding the core cast of the original DigiDestined.

The characters make up the heart of the anime. It is more than the voice-work, too – it is the wonderful characterizations. The characters are beloved for a reason. The core characters comprised of both the original DigiDestined and new DigiDestined make the anime all the more special. The duality of these groups of characters makes the anime all the more special as a gem.

The character designs by Akiyoshi Hongo (Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier) and Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru (Digimon Frontier, Dragon Ball Z) are top-notch and add a lot to the production. The character design artwork is wonderful and provides a lot of charm to the production. The character art is a joy and is beautiful to behold. The designs are impressive for both the human characters and the Digimon themselves. The Digimon artwork is all the better with the evolution scenes, too – the designs emphasized in these moments of evolution.

The animation is one of the most wonderful qualities of the anime. The chief animation is overseen by animation director Setsuko Nobuzane (Digimon Ghost Game, Digimon Tamers). The animation is so beautiful and serene throughout the series.

The art on Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is a vital element of the production. The animation is sublime. The series also features art direction by Yukiko Iijima (Lupin III: Seven Days Rhapsody, Lovely Complex). The art director did great work on the production. The series features superb efforts by the animation team. The animation team highlighted wonderful aesthetic qualities for the series. The end result is an anime that has withstood the test of time as something worth cherishing.

Directed by Hiroyuki Kakudō (Digimon Fusion, Digimon Frontier), Digimon: Season 2 is one of the best anime series of all time. The series became a legendary classic due to its fantastic filmmaking. With enormous production merit, the second season is full of thrills.

The season brings even more epic adventure to the table and audiences will be pleased with the end results – the DigiDestined are back. The second season provides plenty of excitement and the scope of the season is even more compelling. The writing is top-notch and the scripts are brought to life by the filmmaking team. The second season is one of the most compelling seasons of all.

Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is a must-see classic gem in the anime franchise for devotees. Having grown up on Digimon as one of my must-see appointment television series, it is nice to see distributor Discotek Media provide so much love and care to preserving the series on physical media. A classic and well-preserved in the original language version.

Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Released on Blu-ray by Discotek, Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high-definition in the original television aspect ratio of 1.:33:1 full frame. The high-definition video is excellent and showcases the beauty of the animation. The animation shows robust detail in the upscaling process. The upscaling is well-done – the vibrancy of the upscaling being wonderful at highlighting the original animation.

Alas, there are some drawbacks to the high-definition presentation quality. The resolution is somewhat limited in quality and there are obvious imperfections to the presentation. The transfer looks a bit dated because of a myriad of factors. First and foremost, Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version features a somewhat soft source quality due to the manner in which is animation was done.

Traditional film-based animation was transitioning to computer-based and during the years from production changes, there were some anime series with a softer image. Ideally, the original source animation could be returned to and a new master could be completed from a 4K scan or film-based video presentation but alas such a remastering process is not possible. This is a drawback to the animation process of the time period.

On a positive note, Discotek Media provides quality upscaling with their own upscaling methods to create a more robust and colorful presentation. The end result is impressive and adds to the video quality. The result is better than standard upscaling and provides a more pleasing high-definition transfer.

It is a bit unfortunate that the transfer resolution quality is inherently limited. A complete overhaul would be preferred. There are some source issues that cannot be overcome. Even so, Discotek is a wonderful anime label and one that puts a lot of effort into preserving classic anime. Discotek is a treasure for anime fans and it is great to see their work in preserving a classic like Digimon.

Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese uncompressed PCM 2.0 (with English subtitles). The release features wonderful sounding lossless audio quality. The clarity of the audio is well-done. English subtitles are excellent and are also free from egregious spelling or grammatical errors. The audio is engaging with good fidelity and depth.

The release only presents the original Japanese language version as there is a separate set available by Discotek with the English language dubbed version. The original Japanese language version is a joy to have on disc. There are subtle differences in the video which is difficult to bypass even with seamless branching so as a result of these subtle differences and issues, Discotek offers separate editions instead.

It is nice to see the lossless audio encoding provided for the original Japanese language version. It is always worth celebrating the fact that physical media provides lossless audio – whereas streaming video services are limited to lossy (non-lossless) encoding. Especially with catalog titles, streaming usually opts for a lossy MP3 quality presentation whereas there is a higher bit-rate for the physical media option.

Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release includes a beautifully designed o-card slipcover. The slipcover artwork is gorgeous and the art underneath the slipcover is unique and adds more vibrancy to the packaging design. The individual discs in the box-set are fantastic, too. The individual discs have wonderful disc art and there is much to appreciate about the artwork.

Clean Openings (HD, 3:02)

Clean Endings (HD, 2:52)

Episode Ending Cards (HD, 00:23)

Promo (HD, 00:30)

Art Galleries:

Chosen Children & Partner Digimon includes 95 click-through slides of illustrations and sketches.

Friends & Villains includes 49 click-through slides of character art illustrations and sketches.

Items includes 15 click-through illustrations and sketches.

Unfortunately, the set could have had an even more extensive supplemental package. It would have been nice to see the set provide making-of documentaries, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and cast interviews. Alas, the set is less jam-packed with extras as on some Discotek releases but the art galleries help to make up for it with plenty of colorful illustrations and sketches.

Digimon Adventure - Season 2 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Digimon Adventure Season 2 – Japanese Language Version continues the classic adventure. Digimon is one of the greatest of all anime series. Fans of classic anime will appreciate this gem – one of my personal favorites from childhood. The anime has great storytelling, action, and adventure. An incredible series with beautiful animation. The Blu-ray release provides a solid high-definition presentation featuring upscaling provided by Discotek Media, lossless audio encoding, and an assortment of bonus features. Highly recommended.