WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Episode 16 and 27 of Digimon Adventure: (2020), "The Jet-Black Shadow Invades Tokyo" and "To the New Continent," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
Despite its name, Digimon Adventure: (2020) has very little to do with either Digimon or adventure. A large part of why is the lack of personality given to its side characters and villains. Ever since Episode 16, "The Jet-Black Shadow Invades Tokyo" the show has been mostly centered around large set-pieces and fights, with hardly a break to breathe for the characters -- or the viewer. Unlike many shonen series, Digimon Adventure: (2020)'s fights are strangely disconnected from the overarching story, serving to halter its progress rather than propel it. As a result, the characters are constantly living one step away from destruction at the hands of a voiceless foe, more like a wild animal than a proper villain.
But this wasn't the case for the original series. Digimon Adventure knew how to have threatening and interesting villains, not to mention side characters. From memorable adversaries like Etemon, and sniveling messengers like DemiDevimon, to kind souls who'd help the main cast travel from place to place, like Whamon or Fridgimon, the original series knew how to give its characters... well, character.
While the reboot originally appeared to be following in its predecessor's footsteps, with a village full of friendly Tanemon, and Digimon like Neemon seeking assistance from our heroes -- but all that goes out the window once they enter Eyesmon's Tokyo replica. Aside from Leomon's appearance, sentient non-partner Digimon go out the window, with only Devimon getting any meaningful dialogue, and even that quickly devolves as he Digivolves into something that's far more monster than digital.
This trend has become ever more apparent as of Episode 27, "To the New Continent," where after being reunited, the Digidestined find themselves attacked by Tortomon and Groundramon for the simple crime of landing on their territory. They attack without provocation, or necessarily reason, meaning negotiation as a narrative device is off the table. While this makes perfect sense from the Digimon-eat-Digimon world the reboot has gone out of its way to show, it relegates what could be memorable villains with complex motives into an obstacle to be overcome by our heroes. Something to defeat, rather than another living, breathing creatures with a mind.
While this has streamlined the process of actually dealing with the problem-of-the-week, gone are Digimon Adventure's days of unique situations and problems that the characters had to think their way out of, rather than punching first and asking questions later. For example, in Episode 23, "Weregarurumon's Diner" Joe ended up stumbling into a diner and meeting an opponent, who instead of trying to kill him, tried to make him a dish-pit slave because Joe couldn't pay for the meal. Or in Episode 33, "Out on the Town," when Matt and T.K. find Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon, servants of Myotismon who are more interested in playing than evil, and almost make allies of them before Myotismon himself steps in.
The original series was full of interesting and unique characters, who rather than taking away from the main cast, added to them. Whether it was Wizardmon's sacrifice finally helping Gatomon to be free from Myotismon, or Etemon seeking revenge for his initial defeat as MetalEtemon, these unique characters created opportunities to see more facets of the main cast's personalities, weaknesses and strengths. Without these unique situations, the reboot loses out on revealing new aspects of the characters to the audience, in addition to the fun of the episodic plot.
The reboot's lack of personality also means that outside of the main cast, there's no one to look to for explanations of the world (which may be why Izzy has turned into such a lore-keeper), Digimon culture or customs, or even for entertaining cut-away scenes, where we see why the villain is both feared and deserving of the beatdown they're about to receive.
In this regard, it was the reboot's first villain that was given the most care: Ogremon. Ogremon is portrayed honorably, in a samurai-esque way, who attacks first because he was ordered to, and then because he wanted to finish his fight with Greymon to get revenge for his broken horn. Not only does his character make him a memorable adversary for the reboot, but it also allows the rest of the cast to recognize the sacrifice he makes for them when he shows them the way. In contrast, there are very few other non-main memorable characters, good or evil.
By putting only a minimum amount of effort into the inhabits of the reboot's Digital World, and leaving their personalities a barren wasteland, the show turns every fight not into a struggle between good and evil, between ideals and/or truth, but between survival, and death. There's no glory in these fights, and instead of being the goals, they are a hindrance to it.
It's no surprise then that the reboot's cast assumes that most Digimon are a threat to be defeated and are more than happy to destroy their enemies without a second thought. While this might make for quite a spectacle, it dehumanizes the main cast, who can come across as remorseless and callous as a result. When it comes to the personalities of their characters, and the narrative strung along from fight to fight, the original remains a far superior story.
