Film

Digimon Adventure tri. Part 1: Reunion

A nostalgia-driven reunion film for the original Digimon Adventure crew, now older and more complicated. It trades the pure adventure of the TV series for something messier—friendships strained, trauma unprocessed, growing up as its own kind of monster. Genuinely moving for people who grew up with these characters, but works as a meditation on how we change.

TMDb rating3.4

Should you watch it?

Watch it if you remember the original Digimon kids fondly and want to see grown-up characters wrestle with who they've become, more than monster fights.

Skip it if you came for the monster battles and bright adventure, because this is a slow, talky setup that spends much of its runtime on emotional tension rather than action.

What it asks of you: A long, deliberate watch that lingers in awkward silences and half-finished conversations before the story picks up, and it stops short of feeling complete.

Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.

If you liked this

Your Name.2016

A stunningly animated romance across time and space that, like tri., earns its emotional beats through character and specificity rather than exposition. Beautiful proof that anime film can make you feel things deeply.

But The premise sounds slight on paper, and the middle section is very dialogue-heavy. Some find the resolution too neat after the tension built up.

Your Name. poster

A Silent Voice: The Movie2016

Handles childhood trauma, bullying, and redemption with extraordinary tenderness. Shares tri.'s interest in how people carry their damage into adulthood and whether they can heal together.

But The opening depicts serious bullying in graphic detail. Emotionally exhausting by design, and the length feels every minute of it.

A Silent Voice: The Movie poster

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story2020

A show that looks like magical-girl fluff but deconstructs it into something raw about the cost of growing up. Tri. has similar DNA—familiar comfort stripped away to reveal real stakes.

But The animation is deliberately stiff and awkward in places. Only 12 episodes, so it moves fast; some find it emotionally manipulative rather than earned.

Magia Record: Puella Magi Madoka Magica Side Story poster

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Digimon Adventure tri. Part 1: Reunion

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl2017

Both are about young people finding each other again across time, but where tri. asks 'how have we changed?', this film asks 'what if we're still exactly the same?' One is melancholic; the other is euphoric.

A fever dream of a film that follows two college students through one magical night. Like tri., it's about reconnection and the strange electricity of being around someone who mattered—but it's baroque, surreal, and bursting with energy where tri. is restrained.

But Aggressively style-over-substance. The narrative is deliberately plotless and dreamlike, which means no payoff in the conventional sense. Visual inventiveness substitutes for character depth.

Night Is Short, Walk On Girl poster
More like this (7)

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch2006

Teenage protagonists carrying impossible responsibility, trying to save the world while wrestling with their own moral erosion. High-energy, plot-driven, but genuinely about how power corrupts.

But The later seasons lose focus and get convoluted. Some character decisions feel contrived, and it can veer into melodrama without earning it.

Code Geass: Hangyaku no Lelouch poster

Natsume's Book of Friends2008

A quieter show about a lonely boy helping supernatural creatures, reconnecting him to his past and teaching him how to live with others. Emotionally sophisticated in ways that reward attention.

But Very slow and episodic. If you need plot momentum, this will feel like meandering. Some episodes are deliberately melancholy.

Natsume's Book of Friends poster

Sword Art Online2012

A two-person survival story wrapped in sci-fi. Like tri., it's about protagonists who've been through trauma trying to move forward together, with real consequences baked into the world.

But The romance can feel rushed, and the world-building has logical holes. Second arc loses steam; fans debate when it stops being good.

Sword Art Online poster

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood2009

Epic, propulsive, and genuinely funny—but also about the weight of mistakes and what you owe the people you've hurt. Proves anime can be big and emotionally complex at once.

But 64 episodes is a serious commitment. The early episodes are slower, and some exposition scenes drag. Tonal whiplash between comedy and tragedy sometimes jars.

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood poster

The Garden of Words2013

A short, exquisite film about two strangers meeting in a rainy garden. Wordless for long stretches, it trusts you to feel the connection tri. is trying to rebuild between old friends.

But Almost nothing happens plot-wise. If you need conflict or resolution, you'll be frustrated. Relies entirely on mood and visual storytelling.

The Garden of Words poster

BoJack Horseman2014

Both are animated stories about how growing up doesn't fix you, and reaching out to old friends doesn't magically solve anything. But Bojack is cynical where tri. is hopeful—it's what tri.'s world looks like if reconnection fails.

An animated series about damaged people trying (and often failing) to connect with each other. Uses comedy as a shield for genuine pain, balancing humor and heartbreak in ways tri. reaches for but never quite nails.

But The protagonist is deeply unlikeable for long stretches. Relentlessly bleak about human nature. Later seasons get philosophical rather than plot-driven, which loses some viewers.

BoJack Horseman poster

Wolf Children2012

Like tri., it's about people growing up and the grief that comes with that, even when it's good. But where tri. looks backward with longing, Wolf Children looks forward with acceptance. It's the emotional endpoint tri. is circling toward.

A deeply human film about a mother raising two children who can transform into wolves. No spectacle or high stakes—just the ordinary miracle of watching people you love grow into themselves and away from you.

But Slow, domestic, and focused on small moments. Some find it too precious or sentimental. No conflict in the conventional sense; it's about accepting change, not fighting it.

Wolf Children poster

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