Digimon Adventure tri. The Characterization of Joe Kido and Mimi Tachikawa

Digimon Adventure tri.

(Anime 2016, Ep. 5-8: “Determination”)

Directed By: Keitaro Motonaga

Joe Kido and Mimi Tachikawa could be considered the oddballs of the original DigiDestined group because they didn’t really serve a fruitful purpose in comparison to the other members. Most of the time, Joe was afraid to do anything and all Mimi did was complain most of the time. Even in Digimon Adventure 02, those two weren’t really present and didn’t have much of an influence on the lives of the new DigiDestined. Also in the first movie, “Reunion,” Joe and Mimi didn’t have much of a big part. This all changes when the second movie came out, “Determination,” where Joe and Mimi became the main focus.

In the second movie, Joe continues to put his student priorities over his duties as a friend and DigiDestined; as a result, it causes a rift in his relationship with Gomamon in which Gomamon feels as if he’s the one holding Joe back and that Joe doesn’t want him around anymore. In contrast, Mimi and Palmon are stronger than ever, and they develop a close friendship with the new members, Meiko Mochizuki, and Meicoomon. Mei admires Mimi’s straightforward and honest personality; in which Mimi states, “It’s better to be assertive than passive because if you don’t say anything you are just gonna complain about it later on.” However, Mimi’s hard-headedness got her in trouble when fighting Ogremon. In the eyes of others, she did more harm than good.

One of my favorite scenes in “Determination” is when Mimi and Joe comfort each other over their personal issues. Joe confirms that Mimi does tend to be the center of attention all the time, but her personality is something great as oppose to being a coward like himself. Their personalities complement each other—one could say that they are polar opposites. Joe could be considered overly passive while Mimi has a bit of an aggressive personality. It’s interesting to note the reversed gender roles in this scene, though. Usually, it is men who seem a bit vigorous and forceful, and women tend to have a meek and obedient nature. During their personal struggles, it seems that society is forcing them to act in these typical gender roles. Joe should act like a man by making decisions that would benefit his future, and Mimi should have acted as a damsel-in-distress as oppose to putting herself in danger by getting involved with Ogremon, resulting in gossip and ridicule among her peers.

However, Mimi and Joe find the courage to be themselves as they battle against Imperialdramon. Their determination to defeat the enemy and rescue Meicoomon is shown when they forget the social expectations they have of themselves and focus on what they most care about it. Despite being warned about her irrational actions and assertive personality, Mimi trusts Palmon to rescue Meicoomon, and Joe is reminded how much his pal, Gomamon, really matters to him and finally makes the decision to help his fellow DigiDestined friends out.