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The tri. stage play is notable not only for the fact it has a "side story" largely irrelevant to the tri. anime timeline, but also in that its writing style and characterization choices are so sharply different from the tri. anime that it's honestly kind of jarring...because said stage play actually is very compliant with Adventure/02, and, in fact, so very true to the original characterizations to the point it's significantly easier to fit into Adventure/02 timeline than the actual tri. anime series is (in fact, its dedication to staying more relevant to the original series actually causes it to be non-compliant with tri. itself, despite technically being branded with the latter!).

My main reason for including a bonus page here is because I consider this stage play to be the ultimate rebuttal against the argument that "it's not fair to expect tri. (the anime) to be more consistent with the original because it's made by different staff." The stage play is technically supposed to be tri.-branded and technically covers similar territory of portraying the Adventure cast (and not the 02 cast) in ways that would reflect the issues of a late teenager, yet it manages to do almost everything the actual anime fails to do because it bothers to actually pay attention to maintaining consistency with the original two series. The fact that it can pull this off despite being a medium shift, let alone a limited ten-run play that probably wasn't intended to be a significant work going down in franchise history, makes it even more concerning that the actual anime series — ostensibly supposed to be a sequel to Adventure and 02 — could not even remotely accomplish this.

The director and writer himself professed to having seen both series in preparation and being emotionally touched by it, that he appreciated how Digimon fans seem to truly love the series, and that he was surprised that they caught all the tiny little references he put in. Even though he hadn't been involved with the Digimon franchise beforehand, he clearly cared enough about the job he was given to do a thorough job with it. Given both the tri. staff's attitude of stringing the fanbase along in interviews with vague half-truths, and the content of the actual anime series that makes it incredibly unclear whether enough key members of staff had actually seen the original series to begin with, it's a very sharp contrast.

Because this page is meant to be written for the sake of contrast, I'll be writing extra comments (no color markings) to point out parts that indicate the kind of attention to detail in terms of paying respect to the original series. There will also be some colored marks to indicate parts that could be nitpicked if you squint, but can't be classified as anything nearing character assassination or canon non-compliance.

Agumon wakes up in Koushirou's cyberspace, and finds himself having a hard time moving and constantly falling over, as if his body can't control itself. (Actually, it's mostly to show off the abilities of the puppeteers.)

Gabumon comes in and confirms his body's also been weird in the morning. The other Digimon come in and Tentomon says that he's probably some huge program. Feeling antsy, they all decide to leave to go see their partners.

As they emerge out of the server room, Mimi and Koushirou are in an argument, with Sora trying to moderate. The two of them are arguing about what kinds of things to put at a camp, with Mimi ranting about all sorts of things that make up an ideal camp. Koushirou objects to the "raw unfettered lifestyle" Mimi's advocating, and Sora says that they're just going to Okutama, but Mimi insists. Koushirou's still too worried, looking up statistics about technical details on the computer, as Mimi insists on having the trip "like cavemen".

Finally, frustrated at Koushirou's stubbornness about looking up things on the computer, Mimi snatches it out of his hands to get him to stop, saying the cavemen didn't use computers, and picks up the guidebooks. Koushirou protests that the guidebooks wouldn't have been used by cavemen either, but she just responds with "did you say something~?"

Piyomon approaches Sora and asks about the camp, and Sora says that the Digimon are all coming too. Sora says that the camp is to commemorate August 1 — the day they all met the Digimon, and the day they all met each other at the school summer camp. Sora says that she and Taichi were in the same school, but the camp was how they all met the others, like Mimi and Koushirou.

The camp got cancelled midway, but it was where the adventure began, and although they were all kids back then, "nothing has changed". Thus, the trip is so that they can finish that unfinished camping trip, and effectively "recreate" the original day — their ordeal in the Digital World made everything seem like a camp, but this time will be meant to simply be a fun camping trip. Piyomon says that there were a lot of fun times in the Digital World, and Sora responds that there were a lot of sad times, too...but it's all behind them now.

After school, during the evening, Taichi practices soccer and is caught off-guard by Hikari, who wants to pick him up for dinner. Taichi seems oddly high-strung, telling her to go home without him because he needs to practice. Hikari asks if he still thinks she's the little kid who'd wait around to go home with him, which of course sends Taichi up the wall asking if anything's wrong and telling her to confide in him if anything goes wrong.

Hikari asks about the summer camp, and tells him it's been decided for August 1, for three days and two nights. Sora was the one who planned it and Mimi's excited about it, although they're still not sure if everyone will be going. Taichi asks if Jou won't be going, and, as if right on schedule, Jou calls Hikari's phone.

Taichi picks up and gets to hear Jou immediately assuming Taichi would decline and bragging that he'd thought Hikari would get to him first, but that he'll take care of convincing that blockhead now!!...before Taichi interrupts and Jou realizes he's just insulted Taichi to his face and yells.

Jou asks Taichi if he's going to camp, bragging that he's just gotten a B grade in his last test, and says that August 1 is supposed to be "the most important day of their lives, a day of beginnings". He continues to prod Taichi to go with them, asking if he's fought with Yamato again, and reminding him that Hikari is going, especially since she had a fever and wasn't there at the original camping trip. He then taunts Taichi, saying that soon he's going to be the one studying for exams next year, and so Taichi is in danger, because he's never seen him at a desk before...so, even though things are awkward between him and Yamato "as always", now is the time for Taichi to be an adult.