Digimon Adventure tri. The Characterization of Taichi Yagami

Digimon Adventure tri.

(Anime 2015, Ep. 1-4: “Reunion”)

Directed By: Keitaro Motonaga

If you watched Digimon Adventure when you were younger, you’d know that Taichi Yagami and Yamato Ishida were always at each other throats. Hence when watching Digimon Adventure tri. “Reunion“ we get the same interactions between the two. It brings total nostalgia within fans.

In high school, you can tell that they have matured from their childish antics. In addition, it seems that both, Taichi and Yamato, have switched personalities. Yamato appears more brave and fearless; in which he is willing to attack Kuwagamon head-on. In contrast, Taichi seemed “at a lost” when Kuwagamon attacked the city. One obvious reason is while fighting Kuawagamon alone, Taichi saw all the destruction that this Digimon made. In addition, people began labeling all Digimon as dangerous even though there are some that help humanity.

However, I think this vulnerableness occurred much earlier. While trapped in the Digiworld during Digimon Adventure, there is an episode, where Taichi forcefully made Agumon eat a lot of food in order to transform from Greymon to MetalGreymon because Agumon, at the time, got the crest of courage and he was the only one powerful enough to stop Etemon. By overworking Agumon, Agumon transformed into SkullGreymon. Taichi’s aggressive and selfish nature led to him being unable to control his Digimon and also put all his friends in danger.

I think this life experience has led Taichi to become more cautious when it comes to battles. Subconsciously, I think he still has the head-on attitude, but now he is more reserved in how he approaches an opponent. An easy way to put it is that Taichi uses his head more now as oppose to just his fists. From this lesson in Digimon Adventure, I think it made Taichi realize that he shouldn’t be so selfish and headstrong. Nowadays, Taichi seems to try to find the safest way to protect the lives of everyone without any costs. If we apply his mindset from the SkullGreymon experience to his reluctance to fight Kuwagamon, it further shows his vulnerableness. This doesn’t necessarily mean he is weak. Taichi is taking a pacifistic approach to the situation. He wants to stop Alphamon, but he doesn’t want to destroy the city or see innocent lives getting hurt by either good or bad Digimon.

I could see why some people dislike Taichi’s character development in this new series because he isn’t the same old headstrong Taichi, but I think this just shows how much he has grown and matured. His vulnerableness reminds the audience that he is just a high school boy, trying to figure out himself and the world around him.