IzzyDraws

On that note, Yamato's interactions with Taichi specifically are also important to understanding him as a character. The two are often butting heads and disagreeing on the right course of action, with Taichi seeking the straightforward and sometimes reckless route while Yamato usually prefers the more thoughtful and sometimes overly cautious approach. While Taichi does become the natural leader of the group, Yamato's input is still taken seriously, to the point where when he has split off from the group, Taichi actively tries to think about how Yamato would handle the given situation if he were there. Yamato, for his part, largely comes to acknowledge and defer to Taichi's leadership, always offering his opinion when he feels it is necessary.

The last character I need to touch on is Gabumon whose biggest impact on Yamato is through his loyalty. Gabumon is often shown simply enjoying being in Yamato's presence, a quiet but firm rock for him to lean on, but will also actively put Yamato's needs and desires above his own. While trying to be a voice of reason, he will still go along with whatever Yamato wants to do so long as Yamato himself feels it's the right thing to be doing, even if Gabumon himself disagrees.

This is important to Yamato since he has trouble viewing himself as someone worthy of such loyalty due to the issues with his family touched on earlier. While everyone is changing around him in a way that makes Yamato unsure of himself, Gabumon remains a constant. The only character Yamato really talks about his issues with is Gabumon, hiding them from Takeru, Taichi, and the rest of the group. And when he cuts himself off from everyone else, it's Gabumon who finally convinces him that his view of himself is skewed as he refuses to see his own positive qualities.

All of these interactions (and more) shape who Yamato grows into by the end of Adventure. Gabumon's loyalty gets Yamato to be more open with his feelings—at least to Gabumon himself—helping him work through his issues with his family and Taichi. He comes to accept that just because Takeru doesn't need him to protect him all the time doesn't mean that he's a bad or useless brother and that Takeru loves him for who he is, not what he is capable of.

As for Taichi, Yamato turns his jealousy into respect. While initially feeling threatened by Taichi's growing maturity, Taichi is, in a way, a bit of an ideal for Yamato by the end—he's decisive, friendly, caring, and strong-willed while always desiring to do what's right, qualities Yamato wishes to possess himself.

The series ends with him embodying all of these things as well. He is shown to be supportive of Takeru, have utmost faith in Gabumon, and work in perfect sync with Taichi.

These all carry over into 02. While he doesn't appear often, we can still see his growth in what is shown to us. He is more open and friendly, both to the original Digidestined and the new, though he will still snap if he thinks the situation calls for it or he is pushed too far. And when he is around, he leads by example, being the first willing to do what's needed. His relationship with Takeru is on more equal terms, he and Taichi are friends that can both support and mess with each other, and he is clearly always happy to see Gabumon when he is able, the two still shown to have complete faith in each other.

To Me, You're Someone Irreplaceable

By Tri, though, things have shifted ever so slightly. While Yamato is more open than he used to be, we see that the only one he genuinely talks about his worries to is Gabumon. He and Takeru still have a close relationship, but it almost feels like Yamato purposefully doesn't want to tell him things about himself that might upset him—perhaps his new way to "protect" Takeru without smothering him. And as for Taichi…

By the end of Adventure, Taichi and Yamato had managed to become similar in a way, each taking on traits of the other that they had come to admire. Taichi grew to be more conscientious of those around him while Yamato learned to be more decisive. We see them in sync come 02, the two of them barely even needing words to understand each other. But this, too, has shifted, though in this case it's more than slightly.

By the start of Tri, Yamato and Taichi almost feel like the inverse of how they started. I mentioned that Taichi at the end of Adventure felt like a bit of an ideal for Yamato, someone with traits he aspired to have. Over the years, Yamato worked to change himself, to fashion how he handled tough situations after his ideal: Taichi as he was in Adventure. But meanwhile, Taichi was also changing, taking to heart the lessons he learned from Yamato and paying more attention to the people around him.

So when Yamato sees Taichi struggling against the Kuwagamon, he instantly knows something is wrong.

It takes a little while, but eventually he realizes that the ideal Taichi he's been admiring isn't the current Taichi. It leaves him at a loss for how to handle the situation, trying initially to confront Taichi head on before he realizes that way just isn't working anymore. Taichi isn't reacting the same way he used to. Yamato has to relearn how to approach his best friend, the person he thought he'd been in sync with for years now, in a completely new way.

This one difference is the catalyst for Yamato to finally stop idealizing the Taichi of the past and come to terms with how he truly wants to live his life.

We see Yamato take a gentler approach with Taichi, offering him relief instead of applying pressure. We see him taking active steps to look further into the situation with the 02 Digidestined, seeking answers from Nishijima and Himekawa in an attempt to ease the group's worries. He is stepping up and out of the shadow he had inadvertently been walking in, doing what he can without relying on Taichi.

We also see him actively approaching Takeru when he can tell something is wrong, but their encounter solidifies that it's not just Yamato who doesn't want to open up—Takeru is also no longer confiding in Yamato. The two are still close, but there's something keeping them both from truly trusting each other. And Yamato knows he's hiding something—Takeru, like Taichi, is changing.

And who does he talk to about all of this? Gabumon, his one remaining constant.

In the first three Tri movies, we see Yamato open up to Gabumon on several occasions, sometimes on his own and sometimes with merely a single question. But it's clear that their bond has grown over the years—Yamato trusts Gabumon more than anyone else, enough to talk about things he'd never admit otherwise. He shares about his struggles with Taichi, he admits that he's afraid of things changing, worrying that even his fond memories might change over time. And Gabumon listens, saying exactly what Yamato needs to hear if he can.

But then Yamato loses that too.

I think it's important to note that of all the kids, Yamato is the only one never shown by himself after the reboot. Right after it happens, he goes to Takeru and holds him while letting him cry. We later see him visit Taichi and riding on his moped with Takeru, and when they are all coming together at last, he's shown arriving with Sora.

These are the people that mean the most to him. All of them are changing, and that's clearly been hard on him, but they—unlike Gabumon who won't even recognize him even if they meet—are still here. Making sure to show him spending time with each of them instead of alone feels very deliberate, a clear indication that Yamato is both seeking and giving comfort.

It's at this point we see a few things start to shift again. Yamato seems to take notice of Taichi sliding back into the role of taking charge and finds relief in it. Upon meeting Tsunomon/Gabumon, the easiness they had is clearly gone. And now he finds Sora as the latest person around him that's suffering.

We have seen Yamato deal with trying to help people in two ways: 1.) getting aggressive as a means to force a solution into existence and 2.) quietly being there for them and hoping they open up to him. He chooses the latter with Sora, though trying to tackle the issue with Taichi winds up landing it somewhere in between the two instead, and it fails pretty spectacularly. It does at least show that he cares and wants to help.

The changes in Taichi, however, actually have an effect on Yamato. Taichi has taken his time to think, and when confronted with a hard choice, he chooses to kill Meicoomon on their own terms. This is different from anything they've dealt with in the past. In 02, when MetalGreymon was under the Digimon Emperor's control, they vowed to fight as hard as would be necessary, but the intent was to free him. And back in Reunion, Taichi was wavering because of potential deaths the collateral damage could cause. This is directly attacking a friend with the intent to kill.

And finally things with Yamato come to a head. He, too, has been growing and changing, taking charge when he felt he needed to, but this was not an answer he had ever come to, or one, I think, he ever expected Taichi to come to.

But he did. Yamato gave him room to figure out whatever was going on in his head, and this is the answer he came up with.

Now Yamato is the one left wavering. For all his growth, the one thing that has stayed the same is his desire to protect and help the people he cares about most. This decision feels like the antithesis of that. And yet Taichi, the person he most looked up to, the person he was at one point most in sync with, the person Yamato knows does feel the same way as him about the ones he cares about, has decided it's the best course of action.

He defaults back to aggression in retaliation, but ultimately he trusts Taichi. He hates it, he doesn't want to, but he trusts that Taichi isn't making this decision on a whim, and he can't do it without Omegamon—without Yamato.

But the battle abruptly ends, and Taichi disappears.

Yamato's development throughout Tri has been leading to this point—what is he capable of when the one he so often compares himself to isn't there as a guidepost?

Luckily, he does not have to answer that question alone.

Yamato does initially take charge, trying to keep everyone from falling apart under the loss, putting off dealing with his own feelings until they are in a safe space to think and rest. But even then he attempts to deal with them on his own, because the one that used to help him has been erased.

Accept, he hasn't—not exactly. Throughout all of Loss and Coexistence, Yamato's relationship with Gabumon felt far more surface level than it had in a very long time. I mentioned that Yamato has two ways of trying to help people, and with Gabumon he clearly decided that he would give him space to come to terms with a partnership he can't remember. This means that while Yamato still genuinely seemed to enjoy his company and cared about him deeply, he was choosing to not go to Gabumon with his worries like he used to.

So Gabumon comes to him.

While everyone around him was changing—while Yamato himself was changing—the core of who Gabumon was remained the same. It didn't matter that he didn't have his memories; he still wanted to be that listening ear he'd always been.

We can see Yamato hesitating to go along with it at first, simply giving Gabumon the friendly smile he'd been directing at him the past two movies when Gabumon tells him that he should rely on his digimon partner for advice. But Gabumon doesn't give up until Yamato is finally able to recognize that his friend is still in there. He may not remember everything that happened between them, but Yamato can recognize that despite it all Gabumon is still Gabumon.

This is what Yamato needed in this moment. He is not only allowed to process his emotions, but he is given the confidence he needs to do what he knows he has to.

Admittedly, though, Future doesn't actually give him a lot to do—Huckmon and Koushiro largely coordinate things. He does do his best to keep them together and focused and lead the attack charge, which are still important, but soon enough Taichi comes back, and the role of leader goes back to him, this time with Yamato backing him up completely, holding his ground despite how awful the situation is.

The last piece of insight we get into Yamato is him hearing that Taichi has finally decided to really aim for his future, and this inspires Yamato, claiming that maybe he'll aim even higher.

Virtual Reality Resistance

By the time Kizuna rolls around, Yamato is working hard in college, though feeling like he's in a bit of a rut, uncertain about his future. Instead, though, he gets pulled into a digimon related plot, one that includes a timer indicating that when it's up, Gabumon will vanish.

Yamato is shown working tirelessly trying to save the comatose people, the leadership traits he gained in Tri on full display as he investigates on his own as well as seeking the help of the 02 kids. He even goes so far as to purchase burner phones for Taichi and Koushiro, fearing they're being tracked. And when he and Taichi are confronted with Menoa's plan to "save" all of the Digidestined by trapping them in happy memories with their digimon from their childhood, everything finally comes to a head.

Yamato can have more time with Gabumon before he disappears, or he can put his all into the fight to save everyone and reduce the amount of time they have left.

There's a lot to note about all of this. For starters, Kizuna begins with them fighting off a digimon. But as soon as it's over, Yamato leaves Gabumon behind. Based on the reactions from Takeru, Gabumon, and everyone else left behind, this is not unusual. We later see Yamato and Taichi at a restaurant drinking beer, and when they talk about Gabumon and Agumon, they mention that they never change, making a joke about being unable to bring them with them to class. Taichi practically flat out says he's too busy for him, and Yamato doesn't dispute this. Later we learn that Agumon has never even been to Taichi's apartment, and Taichi freaks out when he sees stuff that's "only for adults".

Kizuna seems to be telling us that their digimon are holding them back from moving forward, that as long as they're around, Yamato will always have his attention divided.

This is where the timer comes in. They have, apparently, been neglecting their digimon long enough that it is somehow decided that it's time for their role as a Digidestined to come to an end. This would allow them to move forward with their lives without clinging to the past, the idea that maybe, someday they can reunite if they have "limitless potential".

Whether Yamato and Taichi realize all of this or not, they make the choice to save everyone, vastly reducing the time they have left together with their digimon.

In the end, Yamato has to let Gabumon go. But in doing so he finds a renewed purpose, running toward his future with the hopes of seeing him again someday.

If You Don't Believe I've been Here All Along Just Turn Around

As stated at the beginning, I have a lot of thoughts on all of this, some good, some not so good. As my biggest issues come at the end, we might as well start with Kizuna.

The big elephant in the room is the idea that Yamato has grown beyond Gabumon. I can see what the writers were trying to do with this, but I admit it doesn't work for me for many reasons, the first being Gabumon himself. While I understand the idea is that everyone has changed except the digimon, the Adventure-verse as a whole doesn't fully support that.

In my analysis of Tri, I mentioned that even after the reboot, Gabumon was still the same, but I only said it that way because it's how Tri wanted you to view the scene. In truth, however, Gabumon post-reboot is the same as Gabumon from earlier in Tri, but not the same as Gabumon from Adventure/02. The Gabumon from Tri feels older, as if he's been around Yamato long enough that he's taken on some of his traits and mannerisms, like his sarcasm and side-eyes. In a similar vein, the Gabumon in Kizuna has a moment where he feels younger than the other versions—in the restaurant when he and Agumon both get shushed by the waitress for being too loud. The Tri version of Gabumon would have been annoyed at Agumon causing a ruckus, while Adventure/02 likely would have just sat there quietly. So as much as Tri/Kizuna want you to believe Gabumon hasn't changed, the writing is so inconsistent that it feels like he has, with Gabumon being written in a way to support each different story.

But even if you ignore that, Gabumon is shown to be one of the more mature digimon even back in Adventure, and not only that, for a long time he was Yamato's only true confidant. This is not just a childish toy or game—this was his closest ally and friend. Am I really being expected to believe that Yamato, the one given the Crest of Friendship, was ignoring not just one of his best friends but the one who had always been there for him in his darkest, most vulnerable moments? The only one he felt he could tell anything to? All because, what, Gabumon wasn't "adult" enough?

So, to summarize, Kizuna is about the Bearer of the Crest of Friendship actively ignoring one of his closest friends because he was now too immature and that being the catalyst for Gabumon's death in all but name. If someone has a better take, I would love to hear it, but this is how Kizuna read to me, and I am honestly SO not ok with it.

Which is a darned shame as if you completely ignore this incredibly unignorable aspect of the movie, I actually like it quite a lot and think Yamato is handled pretty well. How he acts for most of the movie builds really well on the potential we saw from him in Tri.

Which is nice as Tri itself kinda failed a bit in that regard.

I unabashedly adore Yamato in almost the entirety of Tri. Even the parts I'm less fond of, it is largely in a "it's still ok" kind of way rather than an outright "oh, no, that doesn't work" kind of way. I think there are only two exceptions. One is when he and Taichi are trying to get Sora to talk to them and he (and Taichi) says, "What a pain." The whole scene just feels mildly off (though amusing), but this line specifically feels pretty out of left field for Yamato.

Which is a real shame as Yamato only really has important scenes with three characters—Taichi, Takeru, and Gabumon—and it would have been nice to add Sora—the only other character we know he's supposed to have a close connection with—to that group. It really feels like Sora's conversation with Meiko should have been had with Yamato (and maybe Taichi). A more awkward version, sure, but it would have helped their chemistry which was pretty lacking.

The only other part I don't really like is a bit more subjective, though. In Future, when Sora says she wonders what Taichi would say if he were there, Yamato states that Taichi would "go with the option that causes the least damage". The line is not what I have a problem with—it's the implication behind it. This is one I admit I can't say for sure what the intention was, but to me, the scene reads like Yamato is implying that allowing Homeostasis to reboot the real world would cause the least damage, which is honestly an insane take.

Perhaps I'm reading the scene the wrong way (I did watch the same scene dubbed and it leans far closer to the "we don't know what side that is exactly, but it can't be the reboot, right?" which feels like a fair take), but the way everyone just kind of starts listening to Huckmon, the way Koushiro gets angry and runs off with Yamato yelling after him… it really feels like the implication is supposed to be to allow the reboot to happen. I would love to be wrong on this one, though, because I can't believe that Yamato (and the others, frankly) wouldn't be able to grasp just how badly that would effect the world as a whole.

Other than these two very small details, I do think the way Yamato is handled in Tri not only works really well but builds off of his development in Adventure/02. He still feels like the same character despite the fact that everything from the art style to his voice is different.

The biggest letdown is that the payoff is kind of weak. If the scene I mentioned in the paragraph above had been tweaked just a tad, having Yamato actually make a definitive, hard decision instead of adding his two cents and letting Koushiro and Huckmon handle it, it could have really felt like a proper payoff to all the build up of Yamato learning to handle things his own way. Instead it feels a bit like he really is just holding onto the goggles until Taichi gets back. Thankfully Kizuna does give us the proper payoff to this, but it not being in Tri itself feels like a missed opportunity.

Overall I think Yamato's development is handled shockingly well considering it's spread out over two decades with different writers at the helm. There are characters written by just one guy in a much shorter span of time that don't have the kind of consistency that Yamato has. And each iteration really does build on the last, even if I don't personally agree with all the choices made. I may have other issues with various iterations of the Adventure-verse, but going back through everything has made me realize just how lucky I am to have a favorite character that I've been able to actively enjoy new material for for so long.

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