Back in the late 90s/early 2000s when Pokemon was at the height of its popularity, many similar “monster collection” anime and game series were brought over from Japan in the hopes of cashing in on this current fad. While the majority of these franchises simply came and went, arguably the most successful one was Digimon…
I got my first look at Digimon in 1999 through the English dub on local channels. I was well into Pokemon at the time, and after hearing rumors that Digimon was just a rip-off, I was surprised that I liked it and found it quite different from Pokemon. I watched Digimon dubbed on TV until it stopped airing on local channels after season 4 in 2003. I continued to watch season 5 and the currently airing 6 via fansubs.
Although the first four seasons aired back to back in Japan over the span of four years, only seasons 1 and 2 have any connection to each other. Unlike Pokemon and other long-running kids anime, seasons 3 to 6 of Digimon start the story anew each time, with different characters and different twists on the premise.
So how has the franchise that is fated to forever linger in Pokemon’s shadow evolved over these past twelve years, in terms of its anime at least? Let’s take a look…
Digimon Adventure
(season 1, 54 episodes, aired 3/1999-3/2000)
The original series that centers around seven elementary school kids (an eighth comes later) who are pulled into a digital world and partnered up with their own digimon in order to save the world from the evil digimon who are trying to take over. I don’t believe the original of anything is necessarily the best, but in Digimon’s case, I think Adventure is the best of the six series. Despite appearing very childish, it touches on many relatively mature themes such as death, self sacrifice, and family struggles. All of the main sixteen characters (eight kids plus their eight digimon) are given ample starring episodes to develop; just about all of the kids are given backstories and believable struggles they have to overcome, whether it’s problems with their families, bonding with their digimon, or their own personal flaws. The plot itself is broken into a few different arcs before the “final battle” at the end, none of which seem dragged on or out of place. It’s just an overall well written family series.
Digimon Adventure 02
(season 2, 50 episodes, aired 4/2000-3/2001)
The sequel to Digimon Adventure that takes place three years later, with the original kids being in high school and new kids with new digimon being summoned to once again save the digital world. Although I didn’t find the first half of 02 as engaging as its prequel, it still maintains excellent character development, particularly in the transition its villains (the Digimon Emperor, BlackWarGreymon, and Oikawa) from “bad guy” to “good guy.” The original main characters from season 1 play a part in this sequel as well. It’s been many years since I watched the later episodes of 02, but I remember that the ending was quite epic.
Digimon Tamers
(season 3, 51 episodes, aired 4/2001-3/2002)
The first series that starts the trend of Digimon series not being connected to each other. Tamers starts the story anew, with new characters and a new premise of the digimon appearing in the real world first before they must go to the digital world with their human partners later on. With only three main kids and digimon in this series, lots of effort is put into developing their relationships and personalities. Since the plot of Tamers isn’t as complex as the previous seasons, the growth and struggles of the characters is focused on, which I thought was well executed.
Digimon Frontier
(season 4, 50 episodes, aired 4/2002-3/2003)
Once again, this season of Digimon has no connection to the previous ones. Unfortunately Frontier didn’t stick in my head very well. I do remember that it revolved around another new premise of the kids themselves becoming digimon instead of having digimon partners, which I didn’t like. Much of the great characterization in previous seasons came from the kids and digimon bonding and overcoming their struggles together, so lack of this was disappointing. But regardless, I remember Frontier still being a decent show with decent characters and an emotional ending.
Digimon Savers
(season 5, 48 episodes, aired 4/2006-3/2007)
After four seasons of Digimon aired continuously for four years from 1999 to 2003, the series went on a three year hiatus until 2006. At that time, Toei decided to revive the franchise and reach out to a broader audience (like the older kids who like Naruto and Bleach) by making Digimon Savers (Digimon Data Squad in the dub) which again featured new characters and a different story. In order to reach this broader audience, they made the main kids older, the character designs less childish, and the overall tone of the series more shonen-ish. Unfortunately, as many fans will agree, it ended up being the worst of all the Digimon seasons. I personally found the main characters cold and unlikable, particularly the obnoxious, aggressive main protagonist, Masaru. Compared to the other seasons, nothing about Savers was memorable to me except for how disappointing it was.
Digimon Xros Wars
(season 6, 30 episodes, aired 7/2010-3/2011)
After another three year hiatus, Toei once again decided to revive the franchise last summer with Digimon Xros Wars (Cross Wars). It seems they learned from their mistake with Savers and made Xros Wars more like the original four series, with more kid-friendly characters and a lighter tone. Unfortunately, I felt they went overboard with the kid-friendliness in this first part of the series. Compared to the originals, any drama in Xros Wars is noticeably mild and the characters are way under developed; most of them are nothing but one-shot gags or “characters of the day.” And I waited thirty episodes to see backstories and relationship development between the three main kids, Taiki, Akari, and Zenjirou, but they were ultimately left very one-dimensional. The villains were forgettable as well and the plot was pretty repetitive until the end…
Digimon Xros Wars: Aku no Death General to Shichinin no Oukoku
(currently airing)
…which brings us to the second part of Xros Wars that started airing a month after the cliffhanger ending of the first. While I was expecting more of the unengaging and obviously child-aimed antics of the first Xros Wars, I’m currently six episodes into this second part and its actually…getting good! Right from the get go, Xros Wars part 2 seems much more like the original four series – the atmosphere is still light but not as childish and the characters are becoming less one-dimensional. I believe a lot of it has to do with the more interesting former side characters, Nene and Kiriha, replacing the insufferably bland Akari and Zenjirou as the main kids. The new characters introduced, such as Mervamon and the foreshadowing of Nene’s little brother, look promising too. Also, the Death Generals are kind of reminiscent of the Dark Masters from season 1.
So yes, after being disappointed with Digimon since 2006, now I can finally say “Good job Toei, you’re finally getting it right with Xros Wars part 2! I hope you can keep it up~”
———
My interest in Digimon can’t even touch my love for Pokemon, but I still continue to enjoy the anime despite its fluctuating in quality these past few years. For anyone who still thinks Digimon is just a Pokemon rip-off, the two are as different from each other as any series that happens to have a similar theme. There are some obvious things – digimon talk and (most) pokemon can’t, digimon can be nearly human in terms of actions and design while pokemon are very animal-like, digimon evolve but can go back to their basic forms while pokemon can’t, and the villains in digimon are often digimon themselves while there are no “evil” pokemon. But honestly, you wouldn’t call Lucky Star an Azumanga Daioh rip-off just because they’re both based on 4-koma manga about the daily lives of high school girls, or call Bleach a Naruto rip-off just because they’re both long-running Shonen Jump series? It’s the same with Pokemon and Digimon – they’re similar in being children-aimed series about magical monsters, but that’s where the similarities end.
And for a bonus point of interest, I’m always surprised at how many “sexy” digimon there are, despite the franchise being aimed at young kids. While the majority of digimon do look like monsters, there are a handful that are very…well-endowed…
Angewomon
LadyDevimon
Rosemon
Mervamon (seriously, whose idea was it to give her that bust size?)
I prefer the more “moe” Lillymon myself
These lovely lady digimon must be Toei’s way of subtly reaching out to that broader audience without making it too obvious ;) Just some final food for thought.
I still have fond memories of the first two seasons, and I think the movies for each season helped to increase the love in my case.
I occasionally re-watch some of the movies and episodes from the first season, since I loved them so much. I hate feeling nostalgic sometimes :(
My childhood was too awesome >_<
The only Digimon movie I’ve seen is the single English dub one that was released in theaters, which I believed was a combination of three of the original movies.
Yes, the first season is the best, though I’ve been meaning to rewatch 02 and Tamers to see if that’s still true for me, since I remember those two being very good as well.
I loved that movie, watched it just a few days ago before jumping on Summer Wars. It’s one of the rare cases where I prefer the dub over the sub, since I grew up with the voices.
Season 2 and 3 are still good, although I watched the dubs for all 3 seasons. I actually prefer the dubs for those too.
Xros Wars until now absolutely the worst of all series, lack of interacting with digimon, bland character, There is no clear Level Ranking, and Many Xros Digimon looks ugly, toei should bring back jogress. And Xros Wars party litte remind me of Monster Rancher especially Dorulumon similar to wolf, balistamon to golem, etc
My Favorite Series is Adventure & Tamers, hikss I still not satisfied with Tamers Ending
I feel that Xros Wars is the second weakest of all the Digimon series after Savers. However, this currently airing second part of Xros Wars is getting better. I hope it stays that way!
I remember crying at the Tamers ending…but it’s been a long time since I’ve seen it so I’d have to watch it again to see if I’m still satisfied with it.
I actually enjoyed Savers, a lot. I found it more violent, and mature, which was a good change for me. xros wars was bad. The characters SUCKED. The series reminds me of a poorly made version of Gurren Lagann. The whole DigiXros Digimon are like the robots in Gurren Lagann. I sometimes call it Gurren Lagann Digimon.
anyway, I think Savers was made to rope in older people who had grown up with Digimon, like I did, and I loved it.
and DON’T get me started on The Hunter Boys series…. DX That raped my brain. It made NO sense, and I just wanted to punch Tagiru in the face lol. He was annoying, but Gumdramon was pretty sweet :)
Thanks for the wonderful rundown of each series. I haven’t watch any of the later three, though the first series will always have a special place in my heart.
Adventure will always have a special place in my heart too, not just because it was the second anime I got into after Pokemon, but because of all its good qualities that I described in this post. I rewatched Adventure last year so it’s still fresh in my mind, but I want to rewatch Tamers too since it’s also special to me ^_^
I know even less about Digimon than Pokemon (i.e. all I know is that it exists!), but those last few pics of the “sexy” Digimon are kind of weird. Mervamon looks like an extra-busty, over-caffeinated version of Ryoko from Tenchi Muyo, don’t you think?
I don’t mind if they make digimon look “sexy” since it adds variety to the characters and many of their designs are creative and pretty. But I agree that they went overboard with Mervamon. She’s actually a brand new character just introduced a few episodes ago in Xros Wars part 2. She seems decent character-wise…but god, that design!
I’d have to disagree about Savers being disappointing. For a bit of backstory, I absolutely loved Digimon as a kid, and watched the series endlessly. (Tamers still being my favorite, and one of my top favorite anime.) I didn’t really like Frontier that much, so I wasn’t paying much attention when Savers came out. That was my freshman year of college, and I actually became best friends with a girl in my class who had a picture of Ken on her notebook! She convinced me to watch Savers with her, and I was hooked.
You really can’t compare Savers on the same level with the earlier series. It’s a very different show, but I think that’s why I liked it so much. Masaru is a great lead, and I really liked the side stories, especially with Ikuto. Sure, it isn’t the best of the Digimon series, but I still thought it was really good (and definitely better than Frontier.)
As for Xross Wars… I lasted about three episodes before I gave up. After Savers, I couldn’t really go back to the earlier formula. My friend also gave up on Xross Wars, but she’s giving it a try again since the new season is supposed to be really good so far. I may give it a shot yet. ^^;
I didn’t dislike Savers completely, but it was mostly the human characters that bothered me. I hardly remember any backstory or development given to any of the main three kids. I found Yoshino and Touma kind of distant and uninteresting, and Masaru just way too obnoxious, arrogant, and quick to violence. It’s just a matter of taste of course, as most yakuza-ish characters like Masaru tend to be distasteful to me. I think Ikuto is the only one I liked.
I almost dropped Xros Wars during part 1, but I’m glad I didn’t since this currently airing part is indeed getting good. If you can put up with the kiddy antics of the first 30 episodes, the rest will start feeling reminiscent of old-school Digimon goodness =)
Now I know what I’m putting in Zoids New Century Zero’s show slot whenever I get around to finishing it. I should watch some Digimon!
Glad I inspired you =D
I really enjoyed this piece. I’ve never felt that Digimon (all seasons considered) ever really got its due during the peak of its popularity here in the West, so I’m glad to see more bloggers revisiting it as of late. There was always more happening in it than anyone gave it credit for, instead writing it off as a 2nd-rate Pokemon (or just ignoring it altogether). I know it sounds ridiculous, but it really warms my heart to know that there are people out there who haven’t forgotten about it.
I think most fans will inevitably feel most nostalgic for the first season. I probably feel the same way, but as time has gone on, I’ve come to appreciate the second and third seasons more, with 02 being an excellent refinement of the first season (I, for one, really enjoyed the new characters), and Tamers being a surprisingly smart (and heartfelt) reboot of the franchise. I’ve yet to truly revisit any of the seasons since they last aired in America during the 00’s. 02 and Tamers are now on Hulu (subbed!), but I feel sort of wary about going back to them now. How will they stand up for me with so much time passed, and with so much great anime watched in the meantime? Only one way to find out, I guess.
I rewatched the first season subbed last year and fully enjoyed it more than when I watched the dub all those years ago. So for that season at least, the passage of time and many good anime didn’t hinder my opinion of it =D I started rewatching 02 subbed but never finished. I would like to try again, and rewatch Tamers as well, and see if my feelings about them have changed at all (and experience the better Japanese version over the dub).
You say subbed Digimon is available on Hulu? I shall have to check it out~
Love the first 2 seasons. for me i watched it in chinese dubs, probably taiwan dubs.
but i enjoyed it a lot. digimon when i was young, was the manly pokemon. We had digivices! in fact i still have them.. hmm maybe i should go dig them out but orz , no one playing with it.. T__T pity there isn’t a DS version or iPhone of digimon.
This post gives me really fond memories too. I loved Digimon I and II, and I would really, REALLY like to watch Digimon III again. I didn’t watched much of it, but I remember that it had a dark tone and an enemy that tries to erase the real world at the end (D-Reaper I think).
Thanks for sharing this awesome post on Digimon! :D
i to enjoy the show but i somtimes wonder why not pick up were two left off? lets see how there doing as adults the kids and the originals? i grew so fond of them and wen i started season three i kinda felt betrayed but started to enjoy it. still i wonder how they are doing i refuse to leave them behind and i hope they come back
i cant wait for xros wars to be in english the second season anyway as i know that in the end they bring all the other main characters into it so having all six main characters will be awesome and i actually liked this one the only one i didnt like was the 4th season as i saw a human turn into a digimon and was just like thats too much haha
Digimon came b4 pokemon.