DigiFest 2019 event report arrives with the announcement of the appearance of "02" characters in the Digimon Adventure movie!

On July 28, 2019, "Digi Fest 2019," featuring a total of 26 cast members and artists, was held at the Maihama Amphitheater in Chiba, Japan, with two performances, one day and one night.

The first "Digimon Adventure" anime was released on March 6, 1999, followed by the TV series on March 7, the next day, and various "Digimon" series have been developed since then.
The series has since been expanded into various other "Digimon" series.
It was announced that March 6 would be the start of the series, and that events, campaigns, and goods would be developed to commemorate the 20th anniversary, and that a new project, "Digimon Adventure the Movie (tentative title)," would be launched.
⇒March 6, "Digimon Adventure" 20th anniversary will start. 49 newly-drawn 20th anniversary visuals and information on commemorative events were unveiled!

On July 28, 2019, "Digi Fest 2019" was held at Maihama Amphitheater in Chiba, featuring a total of 26 cast members and artists in two performances, day and night. Here is the official report from the event.

Official Report] *Honorific titles are omitted.

On July 28, "Digi Fest 2019" was held at Maihama Amphitheater in Chiba, with a total of 26 cast members and artists performing in two performances, one in the daytime and one at night. Here is a report on the daytime performance, in which the decision to introduce the character "02" in "Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION: Kizuna" was announced.

The event began with opening remarks by Natsuki Hanae, who played Taichi Yagami, and Chinatsu Sakamoto, who played Agumon, and was followed by a speech by Hanae and Sakamoto, Yoshimasa Hosoya, who played Yamato Ishida, Suzuko Mimori, who played Sora Takenouchi, Mutsushin Tamura, who played Mitsuro Izumi, Hitomi Yoshida, who played Mimi Tachikawa, Junya Ikeda, who played Take Kido, Junya Enoki, who played Takeru Takaishi, M. A. O, Mayumi Yamaguchi as Gabumon, Katori Shigematsu as Pyomon, Takahiro Sakurai as Tentomon, Kinoko Yamada as Palmon, Junko Takeuchi as Gomamon, Miwa Matsumoto as Patamon, and Yoshihiro Tokumitsu as Tailmon from "Digimon Adventure 02," Junko Noda as Buimon, Naozumi Takahashi as Wormmon, and two other cast members from In addition to Junko Noda as Buimon and Naozumi Takahashi as Wormmon from "Digimon Adventure 02," four surprise guests, Koichi Tonochi as Hawkmon and Megumi Urawa as Armajimon, and two artists, Ayumi Miyazaki, who has sung many songs for "Digimon" series and AiM, who sings ED themes, took the stage to begin the event.

The first corner of "Digifest 2019" was the "Digimon AWARD," a talk corner using the results of questionnaires collected from fans and cast members.
The first theme was "The hottest battle scene" from "Digimon" fans, and the winner was "Omegamon" from "Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! The winner was "Omegamon vs Diabolomon" from "Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! Hanae presented Sakamoto with a trophy to commemorate the award.
Sakamoto, who received the award, said, "It was a time when not everyone had cell phones like now, so I was really thrilled when I created this work. When I thought that if I worked hard, people would choose my work, I felt motivated to work even harder," he said joyfully.

The second theme was "the character I would like to be if I could only be him for one day," and the winner was "Mitsuro Izumi.
The third theme was "The coolest Digimon" by the cast, and the Digimon that received the most votes was "Angelmon.
The final theme was "the song I would like to use as my theme song" as voted by the fans, and the winner was "brave heart" sung by Miyazaki.
Miyazaki, who won the award, said, "I thought it would be 'butterfly fly,' so I feel happy, embarrassed, and indescribable. When my song was played during the climax scene when the show was airing, I was bothered by how badly I sucked at it, but only recently have I finally been able to watch it. I would be happy if I could continue to be there for you as your theme song," he commented.

The next corner was "Digimon FUTURE" which gave new information about the movie "Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION: Kizuna" which will be released on February 21, 2020.
The latest announcement video released on July 8 was projected on the screen, and at the end of it, "Digimon Adventure 02" characters will appear! Fans were delighted when a visual of the chosen children of "02" who have grown up was projected on the screen along with "Digimon Adventure 02" characters are going to appear in the film.

Noda, Takahashi, Toukon, and Urawa will once again be playing Digimon and their friends after a lapse of 18 years. Noda commented on behalf of his feelings when the cast of "02" gathered together again, saying, "It has been a really long time since we all gathered here. Information about the new cast of grown-up chosen children was also announced, and Fukujuro Katayama as Daisuke Motomiya, Lansbury Arthur as Ken Ichijoji, Ayaka Asai as Kyo Inoue, and Shosei Yamatani as Iori Hita made a surprise appearance on stage.

When the four new cast members took the stage and were asked how they felt about being cast, Katayama first said, "I was familiar with Daisuke Motomiya because of his silly, energetic, and cheerful nature. I was told of the decision over the phone, but when I got the news, I was a little flustered," he said.
Arthur, who plays the role of Ken Ichijoji, commented, "I was watching the movie when I got the call, but the synopsis up to that point jumped out at me, and I was so shocked that I couldn't get into the rest of the synopsis at all.
Asai, who played the role of Kyo Inoue, said, "I was so surprised that I experienced for the first time collapsing to my knees. I had to check the next day to make sure it wasn't a dream.
Yamatani, who played the role of Iori Hita, said, "When I got the call, I wondered if I had the right voice? Was I acting right? I wondered if I had the right voice or the right acting, but for a moment I thought it might be my appearance or my hair. I thought for a moment that it might have been my hair," he said, drawing laughter from the audience.

When asked about the atmosphere of the recording sessions, which had already been completed, Noda commented, "We went out for dinner after the first meeting and the atmosphere is very friendly. Yamatani also revealed that Urawa told him "Iori was there" during the post-recording dinner, which relieved his previous uneasiness. Urawa said to Yamatani, "I'm licensed to do this.

Regarding the contents of the movie version, Hanae said, "It is a story that leads up to the final episode of '02. Also, I was deeply moved by the scene where Taichi and Yamato became university students and had a real talk at a pub drinking together. Sakamoto added, "I'm not just saying that Agumon is hungry. He's really active! Sakamoto added, "I'm not just saying that Agumon is hungry, he's active!

Following the information on the "Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna" movie, information on the crowdfunding project "Digimon Adventure 20th Anniversary Memorial Story Project" and the collaboration project with Hatsune Miku, "Butter-Fly" song was announced and part of the song and a part of the song was also revealed.

After the "Digimon Future" corner full of new information, a reading play "Another August 1st" was performed by a total of 24 cast members including Katayama, Arthur, Asai and Yamatani who were announced on the day. August 1st is the anniversary of the first time they visited the digital world and met Digimon. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of August 1, the Digimon held a strategy meeting to present their partners with surprise gifts, and the Digimon presented each partner with his or her own "XXX Award.

After the reading, Miyazaki and AiM performed live. The special medley of songs performed only on this day included a rousing rendition of "Butter-Fly" sung by everyone, including the fans who had visited the event.

The 26 cast members and artists who took the stage that day took the stage again. Hanae, Sakamoto, Katayama, and Noda gave closing remarks on behalf of their respective works.
First, Noda said, "As it was the 20th anniversary, we were also able to participate in "02. I had a great time," and Katayama, who was chosen to perform on the day, said, "I was able to join "02. I am so happy to be able to be a part of such a work that is overflowing with love. I will do my best to be energetic, silly, and cheerful, so please support me.
Sakamoto, who plays the role of Agumon, said, "Twenty years is an amazing amount of time. I feel like summer has arrived with new friends. I look forward to working with you on the movie as well," he commented, deeply moved by the passage of time. Finally, Hanae commented, "I am very grateful that I have been able to participate in "Digimon Adventure" again and again, as I am of the generation that watched it in real time 20 years ago. Hopefully, we can meet like this again next year." The event concluded with a "Thank you very much" from all 26 cast members.

Film Information
Digimon Adventure: LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna
Release date: February 21, 2020 (Friday)
Release date: February 21, 2020 (Friday)

＜Release Date: February 21, 2020 (Friday) ・Distributor: Toei
Director: Tomohisa Taguchi Screenplay: Satoru Yamatoya Chief Animation Director: Seiji Tachikawa Super Visor: Hiromi Seki Character Design: Katsusho Nakatsuru Digimon Character Design: Kenji Watanabe
Animation Production: Yumeta Company Production: Toei Animation

＜Cast
Natsuki Hanae, Yoshimasa Hosoya, Suzuko Mimori, Mutsuki Tamura, Hitomi Yoshida, Junya Ikeda, Junya Enoki, M・A・O
Chinatsu Sakamoto, Mayumi Yamaguchi, Katori Shigematsu, Takahiro Sakurai, Kinoko Yamada, Junko Takeuchi, Miwa Matsumoto, Yoshihiro Tokumitsu
Fukujuro Katayama, Lansbury Arthur, Ayaka Asai, Shosei Yamatani
Junko Noda, Naozumi Takahashi, Koichi Tochika, Megumi Urawa

(c) Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation