Digimon

This article is about the media franchise. For the anime, see Digimon: Digital Monsters.

Digimon (デジモン, dejimon, short for dejitaru monsutā, "Digital Monster") is a popular Japanese series of children's media and merchandise, including anime, manga, toys, video games, trading card games and other media. Digimon are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital World," a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.

Overview

Digimon started out as a digital pet called "Digital Monster," similar in style and concept to the Tamagotchi. It was released by Bandai on June 26, 1997. The Digital Monster toy was enormously popular, and four additional varieties were released in November of the same year. In December the second generation of Digital Monster was released, followed by a third edition in 1998.^[1]

Digimon first appeared in narrative form in the one-shot manga C'mon Digimon, released in the summer of 1997. C'mon Digimon spawned the popular Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga, which began serialization on November 21, 1998. The first Digimon video game, Digital Monster Ver. S: Digimon Tamers, was released September 23, 1998 for the Sega Saturn game console.

TV series

Digimon Adventure (season one)

The first Digimon television series, which began airing on March 7, 1999. Its premise is a group of young pre-teens while at summer camp, become the "DigiDestined" and are unwillingly forced to save both the Digital and real world from evil. Each child was given a "Digivice" which selected them to be "transported" to the Digital World and were destined a selected Digimon partner. The Digivices help their Digimon allies to "Digivolve" into stronger creatures in times of peril. The Digimon usually reach higher forms after they see their human partners in a dangerous situation.

Digimon Adventure 02 (season two)

The second Digimon series is a direct continuation of the first one, which began airing on April 2, 2000. Three years later. With most of the original characters now in junior high school, the Digital World was supposedly secure and peaceful. However, a new evil has appeared in the form of the Digimon Emperor (Digimon Kaiser) who as opposed to previous enemies is a human just like the Digi-Destined. The Digimon Emperor has been enslaving all Digimon in sight with Black Rings and towers and, to make things worse, has somehow made regular Digivolution impossible. But with that being said, five set digi-eggs with engraved emblems had been appointed to three new digi-destined along with T.K and Kari, two of the Digi-Destined from the previous season. This new evolutionary process, dubbed armor digivolution, help the new digi-destined conquer over evil luring in the Digital World.

Digimon Tamers (season three)

The third Digimon series, which began airing on April 1, 2001, is set largely in a "real world" where the Adventure and Adventure 02 series are television shows, and where Digimon game merchandise (based on actual items) become key to provide power boosts to real Digimon which appeared in that world. (Tamers' only human connection to the Adventure series is Ryo Akiyama, a character featured in some of the Digimon video games and who made an appearance in some occasions of the Adventure storyline).

Digimon Frontier (season four)

The fouth Digimon series, which began airing on April 7, 2002. This series severs definitly any ties with the storyline of the previous installments. After prompted to do so by unusual phone messages, the five main characters go to a subway station and take a train to the Digital World, to fight the antagonist, Cherubimon and his Legendary Warrior servants before they succeed in dominating the world. Later facing a greater ordeal and threat from Lucemon and the two Royal Knights: Crusadermon and Dynasmon. Contrary to the other Digimon series, the characters do not have Digimon partners and use their Digivices to transform themselves into powerful Digimon to fight their enemies.

Digimon Savers (Japan only)

After a three year hiatus, a fifth Digimon series began airing on April 2, 2006. Like Frontier, Savers has no connection with the previous installments, and also marks a new start for the Digimon franchise, with a drastic change in character designs and storyline, in order to reach a broader audience. The story focus on the challenges faced by the members of the "Digital Accident Tactics Squad" (DATS), an organization created to conceal the existence of the Digital World and Digimons from the rest of mankind, and solve any Digimon related incidents occured in the Human World in secret.

Movies

There have been eight Digimon movies released in Japan. The first seven were directly connected to their respective anime series; Digital Monster X-Evolution originated from the Digimon Chronicle merchandise line. All movies except X-Evolution have been released and distributed internationally. A ninth movie, one relating to Digimon Savers, was released in Japan on December, 2006.

Manga

C'mon Digimon

Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01

Digimon Next

Digimon Chronicle

D-Cyber

Dark Horse

Dark Horse Comics published American-style Digimon comic books, adapting the first thirteen episodes of the English dub of Digimon Adventure in 2001. The story was written by Daniel Horn and Ryan Hill, and illustrated by Daniel Horn and Cara L. Niece. ^[2]

Panini

The European publishing company, Panini, approached Digimon in different ways in different countries. While Germany created their own adaptations of episodes, the United Kingdom (UK) reprinted the Dark Horse titles, then translated some of the German adaptations of Adventure 02 episodes. Eventually the UK comics were given their own original stories, which appeared in both the UK's Official Digimon Magazine and the official Fox Kids companion magazine, Wickid. These original stories only roughly followed the continuity of Adventure 02. When the comic switched to the Tamers series the storylines adhered to continuity more strictly; sometimes it would expand on subject matter not covered by the original Japanese anime (such as Mitsuo Yamaki's past) or the English adaptations of the television shows and movies (such as Ryo's story or the movies that remained un-dubbed until 2005). In a money saving venture, the original stories were later removed from Digimon Magazine, which returned to printing translated German adaptations of Tamers episodes. Eventually, both magazines were cancelled.

Yuen Wong Yu (TOKYOPOP/Chuang Yi) manhua

A Chinese manhua was released by TOKYOPOP in North America and by Chuang Yi in Singapore. It was written and drawn by Yuen Wong Yu, who based its storyline on the television series. Covering Digimon Adventure in five volumes, Digimon Adventure 02 in two and Digimon Tamers in four, the original stories are heavily abridged, though on rare occasions events play out differently than the anime. Three volumes for Digimon Frontier exist, but these have not been released in English.

Video Games (America)

In America, there are eleven digimon games. The earliest ones are for the Sony PlayStation console. (See Digimon World, Digimon World 2, Digimon World 3, Digimon World 4, Digimon Digital Card Battle, Digimon Rumble Arena, Digimon Rumble Arena 2, Digimon Battle Spirit, Digimon Battle Spirit 2, Digimon Racing and Digimon World DS.

Reception

The Digimon franchise has been criticized as being a clone of the more popular Pokémon title, as both properties are aimed at children and feature interaction between humans and imaginary monsters. Although their basic concepts are similar, their respective media thematically bear little in common.

While most of the events that transpire in Pokémon rarely affect a large number of people, the events in Digimon usually affect millions of people. In addition, Pokémon battles are almost always done for sport, while Digimon battles involve life and death.

Notable people

Akiyoshi Hongo - Creator of the original Digimon concept.
Hiroyuki Kakudo - Director of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02.
Yukio Kaizawa - Director of Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
Naozumi Itō - Director of Digimon Savers.
Chiaki J. Konaka - Head writer of Digimon Tamers.
Takanori Arisawa - Composer of the Japanese versions of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
Shuki Levy - Composer for the English language releases of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon Tamers.
Deddy Tzur - Composer for the English language release of Digimon Frontier
Jeff Nimoy - US Director of Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02.
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn - US Director of Digimon Tamers and Digimon Frontier.
Yuen Wong Wu - Writer and illustrator for the Digimon manhua series.
Hiroshi Izawa - Author of the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga.
Tenya Yabuno - Illustrator of the Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga.
Kouji Wada - Performer of the opening themes of Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers, Digimon Frontier and the second opening theme of Digimon Savers.

External links

German

Digimons World

English

Bandai of America's Digimon Site
JETIX U.S. Digimon Tamers website
The Digi-Zone.com
Megchan's Digimon Encyclopedia, archived at The Shining Evolution
Digimon Encyclopedia
Patamon's World
TheDigiPort
Wikimon, the Digimon Wiki
Digimon Himitsu (via web.archive.org)
With the Will Forums

Japanese

Notes

^ "What Is Digimon?". Retrieved September 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
^ Horn, Daniel (2001). Digimon: Digital Monsters. illustrated by Daniel Horn, Cara L. Niece. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 1-56971-516-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[1] "What Is Digimon?". Retrieved September 5. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

[2] Horn, Daniel (2001). Digimon: Digital Monsters. illustrated by Daniel Horn, Cara L. Niece. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 1-56971-516-5. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

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