Story wise: Savers have 4 distinct story arcs. The first one relays too much on the comedy side, but the following 3 goes deeper into the drama side (while never fully abandoning its comedy roots) and delivers some really deep emotional moments along with satisfying story arcs and some tearjerkers moments.
First arc, DATS: From episode 1 to 11 we have an episodic format, a case of the week if you may, in which our DATS member have to face Digimon cases and handle them "quietly". Here we are introduced to our main trio, Masaru, Yoshino and Tohma, and their digimon. These 11 episodes are way too light on the drama and character background side, only foreshadowing for later, while being too heavy on the comedy; every Digimon series starts slow, so I guess the choice to rely on comedy was made in order to make it more passable, however it is because of this that the first inserts of drama feels out of place, but everything changes in episode 12 and then onwards we have an outstanding shounen anime.
Second arc, Mercurimon and the inter-dimensional conflict: here is where Savers passes from enjoyable time killer to be actually good to great. We get insight in our characters, the story plot thickens, and we feel like we finally are being told a true conceived and thought through story rather than just random cases. The drama side starts taking over the comedy and I must say, it is good drama, as it develops from what was foreshadow earlier and both story arcs and characters arc start to go along.
Third arc, Kurata and the genocide: Here Savers just shows its teeth and becomes great; if by the second arc we peaked at characters depth now we sink into their darkness, we get to see the best and the worst of our heroes, and they start to truly grow and mature by the experiences of the previous arc; we get to see them being reckless, feeling jealousy, betraying, losing faith, but we also get to see them standing right back up, facing their own flaws, and take a step forward against a seemingly hopeless situation, despite their fears, and as the character work is just right, it is incredibly satisfying.
Fourth and final arc, Yggdrasil and the crisis: Now, if we already saw darkness in the previous arc then prepare yourselves to go even deeper. Here we are in one of the worst crisis any Digimon series has faced since Tamers; if the previous crisis was seemingly hopeless, this one is even more. Our characters have already grown, they know they have to stand still, yet the doubt is there and as they work out their own issues they find the strength to move forward, and I must say that these episodes are the most moving of the series, and successfully made me cry in various episodes; I know that's just me, but I have to say it, because it aims for a great emotional impact and delivers.
Characters: Digimon Savers has great story plot and pacing, but lacks on the beginning. However, it does have something that it is almost flawless: character work.
Masaru: In the beginning he is the typical shounen hero, strong headed, stubborn, bad attitude and borderline stupid. His best quality in the beginning is that he is mostly funny to watch and be with, so I can understand some people not liking him. But don't be rash! Even the most stereotypical characters can work with the right character treatment and Masaru is proof of that. As the series goes forward he keeps his bad attitude and he always pick fights, but he grows more considerate, we are shown a background that makes sense with his personality, and successfully goes from annoying to really likeable. He feels like a different person and at the same time he's still Masaru. That is the best character treatment we can ask.
Tohma: Just like Masaru, Tohma is also stereotypical, but get the best character treatment. Of all the characters he must have the hardest background and it totally echoes with his reserved and a bit arrogant personality. He grows deeper as the show goes forward and episode surrounding him are usually the strongest. He so clearly goes from the “know it all”, arrogant, calculator guy to a reliable friend who learns to trust his friends more than his wits, once again, without ever abandoning his true self. His growth is always in place, his actions are never out of character, and he faces troubles in unexpected, yet satisfying ways. I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for the character, but I think everyone could see all this in him.
Yoshino: when your weakest character is still well developed you know you are looking at good material. Yoshino is the lazy yet responsible girl who- in the beginning- have some kind of inferiority complex, which she resolves as the series goes on and becomes an important asset to the team as well as a strong and determined person. The only thing I truly dislike about her is her background; it's not bad, but it's not fully exploited, and as such I would have liked to know a lot more about her family, but this is just a little complaint to an otherwise very well done character work.
Ikuto: if there is a character that can compete with Tohma for saddest background it's him. He is a boy raised by Digimon, and as such he is mostly conflicted about his duality as human/digimon, and the series explores this issue with no fear and he grows around it. He goes all the way from wild reckless boy to what we could say is a very mature grown man. His character work is just outstanding, as it doesn't matter how many episodes pass by we see that he is always dealing with his duality as human/digimon, even when he seems to have accepted it, and that's just gold.
The 4 main digimon: though the series is called "Digimon" the series focus way more in the human characters and their relation with their digimons. The digimons themselves are all fleshed out with their own quirks and personalities and show growth over the series, but it's mostly shadowed by the amazing character work of the human characters, but you can't stop noticing how much Agumon changed from the first arc to the last, and the same can be said about Gaomon, Lalamon and Falcomon; I won't go into details, but they all grow.
Supporting: There are several! And all of them get their screentime and their due development in their limited time. Sayuri might be the weakest link, but she still has her moments as she shows how mothers have to struggle about seeing how their children might get hurt, but acknowledging that they must get hurt in order to grow, and as such she doesn't bother much. The rest of the supporting characters all have their own functions in different themes, and they show develop through the series.
Sound: After feeling that Digimon Frontier lacked a little bit, I was glad to see that Savers came back with great tracks. "Believer" is a perfect evolution song as it fits every single character and "Hiari", the second opening, just shows us how this show came from its comedy roots embracing the darkest side of itself while never abandoning important themes as dreams and hopes. The tracks were masterfully chosen and scored.
Enjoyment: The first time I watched Savers I was 17 and I loved it, as I was thrilled to see a Digimon series that dared to be as mature as it could be, to tell us a story about teens and their conflicts, and to see them overcoming such incredibly, almost hopeless, situations. I watched again at 19 and I was still as pleased as the first time. Now I'm 21, this is my third time, and I still enjoyed as much as the first time; even if you know our heroes will make it to the end, you can get so much joy out of their journey and their growth that I think I can watch it several times and never be bored.
As I said before, I respect people who disliked Savers, but I don't understand them. I've read some of the reviewers who hated the series and they say "this is not the Digimon I grew up with!", now are they talking of Adventure, Tamers or Frontier? They are all different, and what is important is not to be similar, but to manage to exploit the storytelling and character potential that each series has: Tamers is way different from Adventure and still it triumphed because it denied its past and just wanted to create its own storytelling with the digimon elements. Savers does the same, and even surpasses Tamers (and almost reaches Adventure greatness) as it tell us a meaningful story that only lacks a bit on the first arc (with only 3 bad episodes) and delivers satisfying conclusions to each arc.
I'll respect your opinions, and so I expect you to respect mine: for me Savers is the 2nd best Digimon series ever made, just slightly edged out by Adventure.
Stray observations (funny bits of information I got while re-watching. May contain some spoilers):
-In episode 5 we see Tohma bleeding; I think this is the first time ever a human has bled in a Digimon series.
-These are the makeup exams Masaru took on episode 7: "Modern Japanese Language", "English", "Japanese history", "Physics", "Mathematics", and of course he didn't know anything about any of those subjects xD
-Apparently Masaru likes to play the drum in Rock Band as seen in episode 7.
-Every time a family matter is discussed Masaru grabbed his pendant, thinking about his father, which was a very good detail.
-Banchouleomon laugh in episode 28 is epic!
-Yoshino is so lazy that even in the short training sequence in episode 29 she didn't do anything xD.
-Episode 31, Gaomon reaction to Masaru taking credit for Tohma's plan: "It was master's plan" I also got angry at Masaru back then too.
-One great Yoshino moment: when she strikes a barrel at a Gizomon she finally shows some backbone!
-The Masaru vs Tohma thing in episode 34 felt very much like Taichi vs Yamato from Adventure, it gave me goosebumps!
-Masaru to Tohma in episode 35: "Apologize to them with tour life! DIE!" Now, that's the darkest side of Masaru. I applaud the writers for going there.
-Gaomon in the finale, bringing tea to Tohma: "It's my own blend. I call it 'my vow to meet you again'" that was so utterly cute that it got me to tears. I want a digimon like Gaomon!
-At last, I'd like to mention that, in my opinion, the finale is as perfect as Adventure's and Tamer's finales and left me with a wide open smile in my face. I didn’t want it to end!
And that's it. As always, I hope you enjoyed this review. I'll make an effort and get through Digimon Xross Wars (the only Digimon series I dislike) and make a review, so… this might be the headline:
Next time: Digimon Xross Wars tries to be every single Digimon series and manages to be none.