Hiroyuki Kakudo, the acclaimed anime director behind the "Digimon Adventure" series, recently dropped a bombshell on his personal blog. He not only reflected on his near-fatal emergency surgery for a myocardial infarction last year but also, for the first time, revealed the previously unseen "background story" behind the short film "Digimon Adventure BEYOND." Plus, he dove deep into his take on the series' world-building, naturally sending fans into a frenzy.
Kakudo spilled the tea, explaining that "BEYOND" initially began as a brief project aimed at fans who weren't exactly thrilled with the two recent theatrical sequels. He admitted those films didn't quite hit the mark for him, sparking the idea to craft a supplementary story.
The short film itself dropped in March 2025, clocking in at around four minutes. However, the full-length text he'd already completed couldn't get an official release due to a shift in operational policy.
But a sudden, serious illness totally changed his game plan. Kakudo candidly stated he "might have passed away without ever releasing the article," so he decided to ditch the original plan of waiting for an official announcement. Instead, he's now releasing it in segments on his personal platform, ensuring that fans genuinely eager for this story finally get to read it.
When it comes to world-building, he's floated a concept that fans are interpreting as a "parallel world theory." While Kakudo isn't outright negating the existence of other works, he's heavily emphasizing the independence of "BEYOND" and its text. This strongly suggests the story isn't built on the timeline extended by recent films but rather harks back to the original spirit, developing an alternate possible future.
This approach positions "BEYOND" as something that connects directly to the main "Digimon Adventure" series, yet simultaneously branches off from "Digimon Adventure tri.," "Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna," and "Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning."
What's more, he touched on the "13+" in the title, revealing the main story takes place in 2013 and hinting that the "plus" has another meaning, which he'll explain later. This design is seen as a nod to the series' tradition of using years in its titles, while also leaving plenty of room for the new story to expand.
While Kakudo's statements don't directly bash recent works, his creative motivations and world-building split clearly showcase a different vision for the series' direction. As more of the background story unfolds, it'll be interesting to see if this "alternate timeline" Digimon narrative truly resonates with fans.
via： 錆びた館分館2