#digimon: digital monsters (1997) | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

acquired-stardust · 1 year ago

Text

Game Spotlight #3: Digimon World (1999)

Today is a special day and as such it is is only fitting that today marks the first Acquired Stardust Game Spotlight brought to you by me, Larsa. What makes today special? Well that’s because it’s August 1st, better known to many fans around the world as "Odaiba Memorial" or more simply "Odaiba Day", a day which marks the 24th anniversary of the chosen children, the “Digidestined”, who first made their way into the digital world. No matter when you became a fan of Digimon this date holds a deep meaning to all of us in the Digimon fandom for being the day that the original chosen children started their journey.

“ ! “

This is a universal day we in the fandom celebrate the world over and it is an eventful day like this that puts on full display how caring the Digimon fanbase is of the series. Whether you can visit the man made island of Odaiba in person on this day or you are browsing through your social media apps embracing the meme this is our day fellow "Digi-fans". Digimon is the franchise that kick-started my imagination and truly meant the most to me growing up as a child back in 1999 when "Digimon Adventure" first aired on Fox in North America. It is no exaggeration to say years in my childhood that Digimon was very much my life. It was what I most often thought about when I would daydream at school, or soccer practice. I would even find the spare time as a child to desecrate an innocent sheet of paper with my personal crudely drawn original Digimon. ( We all did this am I right? ) As a way to make me happy with my childhood obsession the first home console game that my older brothers bought me was Digimon World for the original Playstation. The game blew my mind with how large it felt at the time and as a result was what largely consumed my summer vacation that year. I happily say that this game has been an absolute adventure to revisit to this day~!

“ This was innovative at the time! “

Digimon, shorthand for " Digital Monsters ", started as a virtual pet toy created by WiZ and Bandai in the year 1997 as the more "masculine" companion to big sister toyline " Tamagotchi ". These new Digital Monsters weren't just adorable pets wanting for you to take care of them they were born fighters and you the player would tame these creatures from birth to battle other players of the game through connecting devices. It turns out many children did become tamers because the Digimon v-pet toy was an instant hit selling many toys right away. Immediately after the launch of the original toy-line it was clear that Bandai was very confident that they could shape Digimon into a successful multimedia franchise. The Digimon toyline was quickly followed up with a more expanded toyline, magazines, manga, trading card game, and several video game projects - the first notable home console video game release being "Digital Monster Ver. S" for the Sega Saturn in Japan. The first globally released Digimon video game would be "Digimon World" for the Playstation console and this game was developed alongside it's own sequel "Digimon World 2" in an ambitious project by Bandai to ensure in their minds global domination.

“ Digimon World “ was originally was released on January 28th in the year 1999 in Japan to a successful launch. The following year it would be first released in May to North America(NTSC) and shortly afterward in July to European(PAL) regions. Both of these version would both go onto be big selling hits on the console earning the Playstation's "Greatest Hits" label in North America and likewise "Platinum" status in Europe because quite frankly Digimon was that big of a deal already. By the year 2000, it was clear outside of Japan that Digimon would not just go down as another another contender to Pokemon’s reign. The Digimon series had become a champion in it's own right establishing itself as a rival even for Pokemon at the time. Digimon World was the first Digimon video game most of the world experienced. So the question is after all this time how does the game hold up 24 years later? Was it worth the hype in a crowded platform like the Playstation?

“ Sidenote: They were pushing the original Digimon TCG “

“Welcome to The Digital World “

The Digital World is a vast and mysterious place that exists both within our world and outside of it. You insert the Digimon World disc then go through the Playstation start up sequence where you are greeted by that haunting yet relaxing boot up sound of the console. After a brief load time you are shown in wonderfully aged FMV from a typical afternoon of the year 1999 in Japan complete with children battling virtually through the Digimon V-Pet toys. Before long the battle between the two players go from toy to imagination in our main character's head, daydreaming of the fight between two Ultimate level Digimon: the proud MetalMamemon and the imposing MetalGreymon. After the cut-scene you hit start to officially start your own journey to the digital world albeit an unintentional one for our avatar as they are forcefully whisked away into the Digital World itself through their own V-Pet toy.

“ MetalMamemon wants to fight! “

Once the scene finishes playing then you are confronted by Jijimon, an elderly wise Digimon who asks the players some background questions which determine your starter Digimon. You see depending on the answers you gave Jijimon you will receive Agumon or Gabumon as a companion both Digimon whose potential take different shapes. After being introduced to your partner you are then given reason for why you were brought here to the Digital World: it turns out maybe you really do just love Digimon so much that it made you a chosen child yourself? At any rate you the player are tasked by Jijimon with the serious task of rebuilding " File City ", a village where Digimon used to live in peace with one another until recent times where the formerly peace loving Digimon fled the city after having forgotten their own past. As you guide each new Digimon back to the city you may uncover the truth behind the current ongoing mystery of File Island. Those who re-join the new File City will offer something helpful to the city whether it to run a Bank, Item Shop, Clinic, or much more. Ideally you will help the village grow from its humble roots to a true city but it won’t be easy, tamer.

“ Becoming Garurumon is gonna be tough... “

The game truly begins now as you are set on a journey to explore File Island, a wondrous land of mystery with many different ecosystems filled with many diverse Digimon and just as many wires emerging from the soil unlike anything you may have seen before anywhere else. And now with this journey comes responsibility - while your primary goal for being here may be to help File Island at large your more immediate task is to care for and raise your Digimon properly. It is up to you the player to decide how you raise your digital partner as each day passes by in a linear manner through morning, day, dusk, and dawn cycles. It is at this point you can immediately with courage choose to venture outside the city into the unknown or spend some time building the combat stats of your Digimon partner at The Green Gym section of File City. At the gym you can put your Digimon through a variety of training tasks which is typically focused on increasing one stat at a time primarily. These stats are known in the game as HP which effects how much damage they can take before fainting. MP which determines the amount of points how many combat techniques your partner can use in a battle. Off(ense) which is the stat the game uses to figure out how hard a Digimon hits another. Def(ense) which works as the opposite, this stat determines how much damage a Digimon takes from being hit in which the higher def means less taken away from HP. SPD which determines how often a Digimon attacks with a technique (this caps at 300 SPD), how often a Digimon guards against an opponent's technique, and how fast your Digimon's Finishing Move charges through their own actions. And last but not least is Wis(dom!) which can give your Digimon the ability to listen to more commands in battle. Each training session causes an hour to pass by in the digital world but this is time well spent because these stats are the key to success in combat.

“ Yup, it really won’t be easy. “

If you raise your Rookie-rank Digimon improperly they will eventually become a rather weak Champion-level creature known as "Numemon" hardly fitting for the moniker at first glance. However if you raise them well they can become something greater through digivolution and every Digimon has multiple evolutionary branches which are driven conditionally by how you raise the Digimon whether it be through hitting stat thresholds, battles, the amount (or lack of) care mistakes, techniques learned, or even body weight. The game even has additional secret methods of reaching digivolutions that may surprise a player the first time playing and even longtime players who have yet to experience everything the game has to offer in their time with it. You may not always get what you want through Digivolution without proper planning so keep that in mind.

Outside the city you may run into hostile Digimon that can quickly become challenging for your partner had they not been prepared properly for the dangers of the wild. Once in combat you have to leave the battling to your Digimon partner as you stand on the sidelines making commands or supporting them with various healing items. It is at this early point you learn that you cannot directly control what your partner does in battle you can only offer them orders to influence their behavior in a battle system akin to something known as an "auto-battler" today. Your partner when they achieve victory can learn techniques from their foes, obtain items, and Bits (currency). On the other hand your partner can fall in battle and for each time they fall in battle they will lose a heart which will result in them passing away upon losing three hearts. Between any battles that can occur your digital partner needs food, they need to use the bathroom, and your digital partner needs rest. Every time your Digimon uses the bathroom outside of a stall or porta-potty it will result in a "Care Mistake" which the game will remember for that Digimon's lifespan through an in game counter.

“ Forget it. This dino is more cuddly than any wolf. “

I mentioned lifespan earlier, right? Well every partner Digimon generally needs to be cared for with love before unavoidably they pass away sooner or later. And when that time comes Jijimon will be there to reincarnate your partner Digimon into a Digi-Egg where they start life all over again. Due to the nature of this game you form a bond with your Digimon that you may not find yourself having with other similar monster raising video games such as Pokemon. The time you have with your Digimon in the Digital World is fleeting and it's quite sad. As a tamer it is with love inside of your heart that you must juggle that fleeting time between making your buddy stronger and spending their same limited time saving the Digimon outside the city alongside the player. There is a real somber feeling when you know your Digimon might be on your last day as you run a frozen tundra for the final time at night knowing it might be their last one with you. Everyone who has played this game enough understands that heavy feeling and it is that feeling which drives you to do better for your next partner.

“ This land is labeled correctly. “

This game world has its own logic and rules that are rewarding to learn to get past the harsh difficulty curves. And now with that being said it is this same "gameplay loop" which I laid out in detail leading up to this which would often overwhelm me as a child. Many times I would aim for my Agumon to become the mighty Greymon only to get another alternate digivolution like Monochromon instead of the one which I planned for. This would happen to younger me even with the official Brady Strategy Guide by my side because a guide can only help you through so much - this was a game you had to experience and learn yourself back in the day to get the most out of it.

“ Time flows differently here! “

The Digital World in this game is all about discovery. Often you may have no idea what to do next exactly if you are playing the game blind though with enough discovery you will figure it out. You may find that next Digimon you need to bring back to File Island in a place you never thought to check. You may even find a random item on screen you have walked by hundreds of time without ever having seen before that hundredth visit. Digimon World balances elements of a pet-simulator, and maybe more impressively a world that feels like it is really one of a kind. The environments in this game are beautiful, populated with all kinds of digital critters, and accompanied by often fitting ambient sounds which fit the atmosphere the game presents to us. There is nothing quite like walking through File City at nighttime with your Digimon partner as that lovely song plays away in the background. Composers Koji Yamada and Yuko Ishii outdid themselves with this game’s score, most songs being geared to the environment at hand and some others geared towards pulse pounding combat as your partner is locked in a fight for survival. For example the musical themes of Factorial Town feels daunting and mechanical in nature. We now live in an era full of "open world" video games everywhere and yet sometimes Digital World feels more alive to me than even some modern AAA offerings. It says a lot about a game’s quality when it can stick with someone positively years later.

“ Make the right choice. “

Speaking of the way the game looks all together it is a pretty nice looking game for the Playstation. It is the first time that the original Digimon which famed Digimon designer Kenji Watanabe created were being presented in a 3D environment within a video game. These 3D models are a huge leap in technology over the V-Pet sprites and these over several dozen designs really shined in this iteration of The Digital World. Often the monsters in this series are known for looking "cool" such as Leomon so it is worth mentioning even the cuter designs like Monzaemon look absolutely adorable in this game. The graphics, soundtrack, and presentation of this game are pretty strong in my opinion.

“ This chart helps you raise every kind of Digimon available! ”

I truly appreciate this game even more today then I did in the year 2000 when I played it for the very first time and there is so much more that I could muse over with this game. Now with all this being said there are many bugs and glitches in this game so be warned this gemstone can be rough around the edges. Overall I will cut myself short to say proudly that this game stands up to the test of time and the influence of this game is felt to this day. Worth mentioning that "Digimon World: Next Order" serves as a true sequel to this beloved PlayStation title and yet as good as it may be the new title does not replace the original game. I'm urging anybody who has not played this game yet to seek it out and give it a chance. Better yet find the Digimon World Randomizer created by the game's devout community which adds many features and fixes nearly every game bug, all things in service of making the experience even better. There is even chatter from the current producer of Digimon video games that we can expect either a remaster or remake of this beloved title someday. Which makes sense considering Digimon is even more popular globally than ever now. No matter how you experience this game it is worth playing for any Digimon fan even just one time.

Digimon World is an incredible adventure worthy of being called stardust.

-- Larsa

#Digimon #Gaming #Video Games #Retro Gaming #PSX #PSOne #PS1 #Bandai #Acquired Stardust #Game Spotlights #Bandai Namco #Odaiba Day #Digimon World #Game Recommendations #Playstation #1999 #Digimon Day

50 notes · View notes

total-cards · 2 months ago

Text

The Digimon Card Game had originated as part of the Digimon franchise, beginning in Japan in 1997. The franchise started with the release of Digital Monsters, a range of virtual pets aimed at boys in response to the popularity of Tamagotchi. Given the popularity of these virtual pets, Bandai then expanded Digimon into various media such as anime, manga, video games and a card game.

The first version of the game, named the Digital Monster Card Game, released in Japan in 1999 and lasted until 2005. The game worked similarly to the Digital Pets, where Tamers could battle each other. We've even seen elements of this in one of the more recent sets the Classic Collection, which draws inspiration for the design and mechanics of the cards from the card game's origins. We have even seen the card game featured in the anime, with Digimon Tamers focusing on the existence of the Digimon Card Game in "our world" yet the cards are more than they seem. But what is Digimon Liberator?

Digimon Liberator is a webcomic set in the future, where the Digimon Card Game has evolved into a fully immersive game allowing players to enjoy card battles in a metaverse space. Think Sword Art Online, but with Digimon. The story is entirely free to read online, and sets the stage for an intense story following Shoto Kazama and his journey through this digital world to discover the secrets from deep within.

As the Digimon Card Game in the world of Digimon Liberator is the same one we experience, of course that means we get a set! Digimon Liberator includes characters from the webcomic and their partner Digimon; Zephagamon & Shoto Kazama, Cendrillmon & Arisa Kinosaki, and HeavyMetaldramon & Yuuki. Not only that, but you will also find a new keyword <Iceclad>.

<Iceclad> is a new keyword effect that has excellent affinity with "trash a digivolution card" effects in blue decks!

Instead of DP, the Digimon with more digivolution cards will win battles with non-Security Digimon!

Use this to counter your opponent's Digimon with high DP!

There are plenty of cards to be sought after in Digimon Liberator, such as the Mega Digimon special cards, and special alternate designs. You'll also receive a random alt-art card in the Legend Pack 2024, a booster pack box-topper included inside the booster box.

Digimon Liberator adds a new and unique twist on the existing card game, incorporating it once again into engaging media and spanning an Extra Booster for players to utilise within their decks.

Releasing on Friday 13th September, you can pre-order your packs from our site for as low as £3.45 for a booster pack, and £76.95 for a booster box!

#digimon #digimon liberator #digimon card game #agumon #shoto kazama #arisa kinosaki #yuuki #heavymetaldramon #total cards #we love gaming #trading card games #tabletop games

4 notes · View notes

animemakeblog · 7 months ago

Text

Who Is the First Digimon?

The first Digimon, originating from the concept of a "Digital Monster", was introduced in 1997 as part of a virtual pet toy designed by WiZ and Bandai. This creation led to the expansive Digimon franchise, including the one-shot manga "C'mon Digimon" released in the summer of 1997, which featured the creatures in narrative form for the first time. The franchise has since grown to include various anime, manga, video games, and films, with the creatures inhabiting a parallel "Digital World".

#agumon #gabumon #gomamon #palmon #patamon #piyomon #tailmon #tentomon #yamato ishida #koushirou izumi #jou kido #mimi tachikawa #takeru takaishi #sora takenouchi #hikari yagami #taichi yagami #anime #animemakeblog

4 notes · View notes

icykyurem2224 · 2 years ago

Text

Here’s something from a lifelong and devoted Pokémon fan……

Digimon is NOT a Pokémon ripoff and is not a Pokémon killer, Digimon was originally created as a spinoff to Tamagotchi with a focus on battling monsters that eventually became its own thing, Digimon names ending with -mon is similar to how Tamagotchi names end with -tchi.

Digimon was originally created in 1997 to appeal to boys unlike how Tamagotchi was to appeal to girls.

Other than both franchise names ending with -mon and a focus on collectible and battle monsters, the similarities end there.

In Japan, Digimon on it’s own is called Digimon (デジモン) or Digimon: Digital Monsters (デジモン: デジタルモンスター) while Pokémon is called Pocket Monsters (ポケットモンスター), the abbreviation of it, Pokémon (ポケモン) is only reserved for spin-off games.

And also, please drop the term Pokémon killer, It causes nothing but problems.

TL;DR: Digimon was a spin-off to Tamagotchi with it more appealing to boys, not a Pokémon ripoff.

#digimon #pokemon #Fuck the Pokémon-Digimon fan wars

19 notes · View notes

iworshipdigitalmonsters · 2 years ago

Text

Nathan Eric’s Agenda For Anime Watching

At Age Zero = N/A

At Age One = 1905 A.D. The World’s 1st Anime Ever Made

At Age Two = 1962 A.D. Tetsuwan Atomuh

At Age Four = 1980 A.D. = Doraemon

At Age Eight = 1990 A.D. = Dragon Ball Zed

At Age Sixteen = 1997 A.D. = Digimon Season One or Digital Monsters Adventure

At Age Thirty Two = 2003 AD Digimon Frontier

“...Let’s See How Far We’ve Come...”

#favoriteanimeevermade #anime #animation #faveanime #weeaboos #reeaboos #koreaboos #letsseehowfarwevecome #howfarwevecome

2 notes · View notes

tamapalace · 2 years ago

Text

Bandai Japan Teases 25th Anniversary Digimon Vital Bracelet Bands & DIM Card

The 25th anniversary celebrations are in full swing for the Digimon brand! Bandai Japan dropped a teaser showcasing two Digimon Vital Bracelets with a Digital Monster band and case/frame which will make your Vital Bracelet look like the Digital Monster that you first started collecting back in 1997.

It also looks like there will be a 25th Anniversary DIM Card because the graphics on the screen including the pixel based characters and background image are reminiscent of the original Digital Monster. Now we’re not sure if Bandai Japan will introduce the bands and DIM card, or if it will be part of a special set, but we will soon find out!

#tamapalace #tamagotchi #tmgc #digimon #digimondigitalmonsters #digimon digital monsters #digimonvitalbracelet #digimon vial bracelet #vitalbracelet #vital bracelet #bracelet #tamatag #virtualpet #bandai #25th #25thanniversary #25th anniversary #anniversary #anniversaries

17 notes · View notes

shihalyfie · 4 years ago

Text

Adventure, 02, and the “secret double life”

Adventure’s concept of “Chosen Children” prophesized save-the-world heroes is hardly unique to it, and given that it ostensibly follows so many fantasy tropes, it’s easy to see it as having a textbook pattern of the “secret identity”/”secret double life” tropes, in which adventure-faring kids keep everything from their parents and society under the idea that if people found out about their adventures, they’d be kept from action or be experimented on.

But as much as it’s easy to see it that way, in fact, Adventure and 02 had a somewhat different view of the matter. Although 02 in particular, with its concept of “wake up, go to school, save the world,” probably gives off the strongest “double life” aura, in actuality, Adventure and 02 both had an underlying sentiment that the concept of keeping Digimon from one’s parents -- and, eventually, the public -- was practically impossible.

(Unless otherwise stated, translations for Adventure/02/Kizuna are from Ryuu-Rogue/PositronCannon/L Subs, respectively.)

The Hikarigaoka incident

The aftermath of the Hikarigaoka incident in 1995 (or, in other words, the Greymon and Parrotmon incident depicted in the first movie) was depicted in Adventure episode 29, in which, as it turned out, was passed off as a “terrorist bombing incident” -- and that kids like Takeru who attempted to explain the situation to their parents were dismissed for imagining things.

The Adventure novels add a bit of extra addition that there might have been some external finagling to make sure things were cleaned up, but even then, things weren’t all that clean-cut. For one, the Hikarigaoka incident was a rather short one that was cleaned up in quick order -- there was a minimal amount of destruction compared to what later events would bring (only a single localized area in terms of collateral damage, especially since Parrotmon wasn’t there to cause wanton destruction), the full brunt of the incident may not have even spanned so much of an hour, and both Digimon involved vanished almost as quickly as they came. It really is just enough that you could sweep it under the normalcy filter of wanting to throw out any supernatural explanations, especially since the kids themselves eventually succumbed to the adults’ explanations.

And yet, even despite that, Takaishi Natsuko still found the Hikarigaoka incident a topic of interest to the point she started doing independent research on it -- especially when a certain incident four years later pushed things far beyond the range of plausible deniability. The novels make this pretty explicit:

Among her normal jobs, a side project that she was working on involved investigating the “Hikarigaoka terrorist bombing incident” four years ago. It was an incident that occured in the very place where they had lived. Not only did it capture her interest, but as she kept investigating it, she found many aspects about it that weren’t acceptable explanations to her. It still wasn’t enough information for her to put into an article or a book, but someone, somehow, had managed to find out that she was working on it and had contacted her wanting to talk. But when the time of their appointment came, the man she was supposed to meet didn’t appear. What was that man’s name? Oikawa? I think? Well, I’m never going to set up a meeting with him again.

So in other words, the fact that she had spotted a rat was somewhat public enough for someone to figure out that she was on the case. Not to mention that said someone had also spotted a rat -- someone who was not possessed by any Digimon vampires at this point, and was merely just an enthusiast trying to reconnect with a mysterious phenomenon from his childhood and dealing with grief for his recently deceased friend. It probably would not have been long before the truth would have been fully spilled even by itself -- but later events that would confirm everyone’s suspicious pretty firmly were already on the horizon.

Menoa Bellucci and the advent of Chosen Children

In a bit of “hidden” Adventure lore, the number of Chosen Children thus started to double every year -- something cited by Two-and-a-Half Year Break (Koushirou’s track) and confirmed by directorial statement. (Kizuna’s To Sora is consistent with this principle, and the 02 epilogue being set in 2027-2028 also tracks with the global population being partnered to Digimon with that precise number.) Either way, Adventure episode 53 confirmed that the eight “Tokyo Chosen Children” from 1999 (or, in other words, the Adventure main cast and their partners) were hardly isolated singularities -- there was a group of Chosen Children before them that placed an incomplete seal on Apocalymon prior, and, according to the Adventure novels, four of their partners evolved over a long period of time to become the Holy Beasts. The fact that there had to be at least four gives only a very narrow period of time said Chosen could be from, most likely between 1997 (4 Chosen) to early 1999 (16 Chosen), with the very short real-world time in between likely correlating to enough time in the Digital World for their names to be lost to their history.

(Note that Oikawa Yukio doesn’t count here; although he and Hiroki made contact with the Digital World through video games in the 80s, there is no indication that Oikawa was fundamentally partnered to Pipimon at this time, in the same way that it was only after the Tokyo Chosen Children witnessed the Hikarigaoka incident that “the one who wishes for stability” -- Homeostasis -- came up with the idea for creating a system to tie Digimon evolution to human partners.)

Kizuna confirms it further by introducing Menoa Bellucci, who says that she met Morphomon (and, presumably, did become a Chosen Child) at the age of nine, meaning presumably 1997 -- making her one of the small handful of people who became Chosen Children before the Tokyo eight.

The little snippets we get of Menoa and Morphomon’s life are interesting, but also telling. For one, their life together is depicted through a bunch of photos with both of them there, through events such as birthdays and travel...and given that someone had to have taken all of those photos, this means that it is extremely likely Menoa’s parents were fully aware of Morphomon’s presence and existence as her partner. In other words, Morphomon was not a secret to them in the first place.

Another interesting thing here is that it’s never said that Menoa went on any incredible world-saving adventure during her time with Morphomon, so it’s ambiguous whether she did or not. It’s entirely possible that she did but doesn’t want to bring it up to Taichi and the others because of how much baggage would be associated with it compared to, well, the rest of her early childhood life with Morphomon; given the time dilation that was in play prior to 1999, it’s very likely any adventure she could have gone on would have been lost to Digital World history. (That said, given that Morphomon doesn’t seem to have any ties to Holy Beast lines, a group of 4+ Chosen distinct from her and the other Tokyo Chosen Children by necessity would have to be from 1998 or early 1999.) She does, at the very least, seem to have evolved Morphomon at least once, given that she cites “loss of the ability to evolve” as part of the process of partnership dissolution when explaining it to the others (and it’s implied very heavily she only has her own personal experience to work with). But if Menoa’s parents were sufficiently supportive, it’s possible they might have had no problem with Menoa having a large and very cute butterfly friend -- especially if Menoa didn’t go on some grand adventure and wasn’t even in danger anyway.

We also learn a bit more about the Yagami siblings in Adventure episode 21, which takes place on August 1, 1999, and that Hikari has been witnessing the increased Digimon contact with the human world (part of a long, ongoing process of the Digital World slowly coming into more concrete contact with the human world) for quite a while now, but because it isn’t very “clear” contact yet, she’s the only one who can see them. She’s been trying to tell people for a long time, but nobody believed her -- and that’s the only reason she kept quiet about it.

There’s also another interesting line in this episode, when Taichi considers never returning to the Digital World and staying home with Koromon -- it seems that he intends to be straightforward with Koromon’s presence and not hide him from his parents! At worst, he simply thinks his mom might think Koromon to be a nuisance -- but not something he has to entirely keep a secret, meaning he also trusts his parents to be open-minded about a weird pink talking creature.

The Odaiba fog incident

The “Odaiba fog” incident refers to the events of August 3, 1999, spanning Adventure episodes 35 to 54, when Vamdemon covered Odaiba in fog and launched a bunch of mass kidnappings in the search for the eighth Tokyo Chosen Child, put a large amount of adults to sleep, was defeated by the Chosen Children, and eventually was followed by a projection of the Digital World in the sky, resulting in the surrounding witnesses observing the eight Tokyo Chosen Children and their partners rising into the sky, returning to the Digital World, and defeating the Dark Masters and Apocalymon.

Unlike the Hikarigaoka incident, this was not something that could be easily ignored. People in Odaiba saw, in vivid daylight, a bunch of strange monsters kidnapping them and stuffing them in Tokyo Big Sight. The Digital World appearing in the sky, Digimon falling out of them, and freezing anything they touched happened all over the world. Ultimately, this was not the kind of thing you could just sweep under the rug!

Daisuke, Iori, and Michael recount their experiences with this in 02 episode 14, and Spring 2003 and the Adventure novels depict this as a formative experience for Daisuke wanting to become someone strong enough to protect others. The kids’ parents in Tokyo saw their kids fighting in the sky (in fact, it’s likely everyone did, but only the parents were aware of the actual identities of the kids up there, considering it wasn’t like the sky gives you much of a close-up view). And, of course, we had our “intrepid reporter” Ishida Hiroaki, who was insistent on covering these incidents in Adventure episode 35 before he even knew his sons were involved, and Takaishi Natsuko, who, as per 02 episode 38, ended up tacking this on her list of Digimon incidents to investigate.

So by the conclusion of this incident, it is pretty safe to say the populace knows that Digimon are a thing. Of course, they still haven’t made sense of all of it, and everyone (including Hiroaki and Natsuko themselves) is missing some key details, but the fact that these monsters are A Thing That Exist is hardly a secret. In fact, this is made pretty explicit in 02 episode 39:

The governments of every country most certainly did not just see that whole incident and decide “well, that’s nothing to worry about” -- they immediately went ahead and started doing military research on the Digimon! But Gennai and his fellow Agents figured out pretty quickly that very bad things would happen if the Digimon became public knowledge and government militaries started exploiting them, so they secretly wiped away data regarding Digimon in order to hide their existence.

Note that this does not mean they wiped everyone’s memories -- they’re not that all-powerful -- but merely made it so that anytime anyone tried to do organized research on Digimon, poof! -- the info would just magically vanish. Of course, that doesn’t stop pen-and-paper work, and, again, it also did not stop reporters like Takaishi Natsuko or Ishida Hiroaki from doing investigations into everything from a journalistic perspective, nor humanities scholars like Takenouchi Haruhiko or Kido Shuu from taking an interest in Digimon. And, of course, it’s not like you can just wipe human memory that saw all of that happening! But it sure does put a major slowdown on attempted organized research of Digimon to the extent of being easily able to do the kinds of things Gennai and the Agents feared, because it makes it significantly harder to exchange info or collect anything.

Which of course leads to...

The events of 02

The Tokyo Chosen Children got a “break” of sorts after the events of Adventure, and for the most part they didn’t have to think too hard about how to deal with their Digimon in regards to society, especially since they were separated from them. Then, in April 2002, Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori get their partners, and they, Takeru, and Hikari become lucky enough to be able to bring their partners back and forth between the real world and Digital World. With their partners small enough to be passed off as plushes, and no Digimon battles taking place in the real world at this time, the kids choose to keep their Digimon activities a secret from their parents.

At this point, it should be pointed out that this was not actually strictly necessary in terms of keeping the Digimon from society -- especially on the part of the Adventure kids, whose parents already know they exist and certainly have not forgotten! In fact, this is made into a prominent scene in 02 episode 18, when Koushirou’s mother is surprised Tentomon is not there (even though there’s no indication a conflict is going on at the time), in contrast to Koushirou having just been worried about opening a gate in her presence.

In fact, Kizuna adds an important detail by showing us a newspaper clip from around 2002 (when Menoa was accepted into university), indicating that apparently the concept of a “Digimon partner” was well-recognized enough that Morphomon was openly in the newspaper clipping, accompanied by a caption identifying her as Menoa’s Digimon partner. (Kizuna having so much attention to detail with background lore that it even complies with the doubling-every-year principle, it’s not something you can easily pass off as a writer mistake.) Doing the math, 16 Chosen Children in 1999 means around 128 by 2002 (which also tracks with the approximate amount we see around the world in 02 episodes 40-42 and 50). That’s still a drop in the pond in terms of how much the global population truly understands this, but considering that there were reporters like Takaishi Natsuko and Ishida Hiroaki already on the case, it’s not too much of a stretch to think that the press and informational publications would have an idea.

So why did the kids still try so hard to keep the Digimon from their parents and society? A lot of it has to do with the way the kids make their plan to infiltrate the Kaiser’s base in 02 episode 18.

Prior to this point in the series, their fight in the Digital World had been an after-school affair, one that they were capable of hiding instead of having the truth presented up-front to their parents, whether they liked it or not. Starting in April 2002, the kids voluntarily chose to enter a territory war after school. Think about how they’d have to explain this to their parents -- “oh yeah, by the way, I befriended a mysterious monster and will now be going to another world after school to fight a territory war with even bigger monsters on a near-weekly basis” -- of course, most parents would start being obstructive and immediately put an end to that, and there would be so much they’d have to explain to them. In fact, the way the kids parade their Digimon around and try to use the “plushes” excuse instead of really making any decent attempts to hide them indicates they’re not really trying that hard to maintain a facade, just enough to not get awkward questions and people intervening with their actions. After all, if even incidents like the ones in 02 episode 9 can be safely passed off as “being over late at a friend’s place,” why not use that excuse?

So when they first start a real trip into the Digital World that may span multiple days (with Miyako being visibly out of place with this, a sharp contrast to her seniors being used to the idea of being “trapped” there for days on end), Iori says very explicitly that he doesn’t want to worry his family, and the discussion immediately shifts to how they’ll keep this from their families. Interestingly, when Daisuke suggests just lying about it, Hikari scolds him for doing so -- implying that it’s not like she (or the others) is even comfortable with that kind of lie, hence why they ultimately resort to having the seniors stage a camping trip so that the lie can at least be a bit less far-fetched.

But the fact that they can do this in the first place ultimately ends up being a luxury, because they can get away with this as long as the conflict is still in the Digital World. Eventually, we arrive at...

The Christmas 2002 incident

A lot happened on Christmas 2002, especially given the timezone stretch and the number of episodes it spanned, but this effectively sparked the point of no return where Digimon incidents were unavoidable and staring everyone in the face -- especially since it spanned multiple days. Dark Towers started appearing all over the world, wandering Digimon started appearing everywhere, Chosen Children around the world mobilized to round them back into the Digital World, Demon and his army invaded Tokyo, Oikawa kidnapped a large number of children, and eventually the battle with BelialVamdemon on New Year’s Eve ended up bleeding into the real world, with Chosen Children appearing en masse to help them defeat him.

During the course of the international Chosen arc, we do see that quite a few other kids have been hiding their Digimon from their parents -- indeed, not everyone is like Menoa, and especially if they’ve been involved in dangerous incidents or are very small children! Even Mimi tries to hide her involvement from her parents in 02 episode 10, despite them already knowing about the Digimon from the Odaiba fog incident, because -- as they say in the episode -- moving to the US was partially motivated by them wanting to get away from all of this, so, naturally, they’d prefer Mimi have nothing to do with it. But Takeru is comfortable enough to call his grandfather in to help, presumably deciding that he was trustworthy enough about it.

And, indeed, the first major break we see in the facade with the core cast’s parents is with Takeru’s mother Natsuko, who correctly deduces that something is going on and confronts Takeru about it -- to which he immediately does not attempt to cover up or deny, and admits without hesitation. Natsuko, in turn, decides to accept it without grilling him too much, deciding that she’ll trust in Takeru to handle this (presumably, especially after seeing him handle quite a lot even at the young age of eight). At the end of 02 episode 45, Ken -- whose parents have seen so many horrors going on with him that the explanation of him engaging in dangerous monster battles would be more of a comfort to them, because at least they’d be aware of what’s going on -- ultimately chooses to confide in his parents, leading to them and the rest of the Adventure kids’ parents actively choosing to support their kids in their fight over the course of episodes 46-48. Naturally, as much as they’d probably rather their kids not get engaged in dangerous things, they understand what this is and that it’s important, and at the very least want to support them as much as they can -- Koushirou’s mother laments in 02 episode 48 that she wishes she could do more besides just bring food!

02 episode 46 has a moment where Oikawa and Archnemon watch a TV program with people trying (very badly) to blame the recent incidents on a mass delusion -- the TV show itself is portrayed as a sort of trash gossip kind of special -- and Oikawa provides an explanation for the impasse of acknowledgment where people seem to be increasingly aware of Digimon but also not quite aware: things are undeniably happening, but people still aren’t quite ready to accept an explanation that borders on the supernatural. The entire concept of Digimon is a massive shake to the status quo, after all, so while certain investigative and curious people like Natsuko or Haruhiko are naturally more open-minded, and many parents are likely to pay closer attention when kids are involved, only slightly over a hundred Chosen Children (many of whom are still erring on the side of keeping it a secret) and a few reporters aren’t enough to really help people understand...

...but all things considered, it seems to be enough that the Chosen are now functionally giving up on hiding it at all!

By the time of episode 50, the situation has now escalated to the point where any member of the families of the Tokyo Chosen Children who wasn’t already aware of what was going on is now definitely aware, as they await their children’s return from the Digital World. Considering that Jun was already witnessing the return of dangerous things as early as 02 episode 38, and Iori’s grandfather Chikara discovers Armadimon’s existence in episode 47, it becomes rather important to point out that Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori failed to hide their partners’ existence and involvement in Digimon battles for any longer than eight months (April to December 2002). That is how flimsy the facade was. Again, they weren’t even doing that spectacular a job keeping their partners under wraps, Chikara discovered Armadimon by sheer accident just from Armadimon being too big and being unable to control his hunger, and, ultimately, it really is pretty hard to conceal the existence of a living creature constantly accompanying you everywhere.

The aftermath of 02

Well, firstly, there were definitely other things that happened right after the events of 02 that would be pretty hard for people to deny. For instance:

The Internet being the Internet, the incident in Our War Game! could have potentially been passed off as some kind of graphics stunt. But the 2003 Diablomon/Armagemon incident? Nah. People saw that one, and even actively participated in that one! In real life!

With that, as much as Oikawa claims that people are too stubborn to accept changes to the status quo and thus accept Digimon, ultimately, Spring 2003 makes it clear that the Christmas 2002 incident made enough of a fuss that the involved parties all got put on the spot by the public and media. This got to the point where the kids had a risk of their privacy being invaded, and had to be covered by their parents.

My mother, who followed the Hikarigaoka incident as a non-fiction writer, along with Sora-san’s father, are known today as “Digimon critics.” Although the two weren’t sure whether they appreciated their new titles or not, they accepted it and went from investigators to people who were most sought after... ...Thanks to [Hiroaki], we were saved from publicity. It’s sort of like… we’d like to keep our identities and the Digimon a secret. I don’t mean forever, when I say that, but the relationship between us and our partner Digimon is unique and other people probably wouldn’t understand that. For example, we can’t have people thinking that Digimon are slightly strange pets. If they do, then they won’t take us seriously either, and of course, the Digimon wouldn’t like that perception themselves. That’s why, until we get the general public to acknowledge Digimon and the Digital World for what they really are, we’d like to lay low. But in order for that to happen, someone must go out there to explain about the Digimon to others. It was both my mother and Sora-san’s father who accepted that role wholeheartedly. We told the two everything we knew, and they spoke for us to the TV, newspapers, and magazines.

Being people directly connected to the children and understanding of their position, but also in media and publicity positions, Natsuko, Hiroaki, and Haruhiko took on the jobs of advocating for Digimon and explaining their part to the world, while also deliberately acting as go-betweens so that the kids could maintain their privacy. But nevertheless, at this point, the incident in 2002 was such a major thing that it basically was a turning point for people realizing that Digimon exist and are a major presence, and starting to grill informed parties about the details (and, technically, getting those details from the kids themselves, speaking through said media outlets). Hikari also starts working on a “surprisingly useful” informational video for new Chosen Children confused about having a partner -- encouraging them to contact them for help -- and it is also revealed that Shuu, Miyako’s sisters, and Jun had all just gotten partners, meaning that the issue was now starting to become significantly more relevant to their families.

Kizuna also drops an interesting detail about what happened right after 02, or, rather, right after 2002:

The articles describing Menoa’s Digimon research team have titles that indicate that this is one of the first major Digmon scientific research efforts in the world, indicating that, shortly after Menoa’s admission into university and establishing herself there, she began to open up the field of Digimon academic research (her declared major beforehand had been “biology”, presumably the closest she could get to studying Digimon when such a topic didn’t formally exist yet). This is significant because it means that Gennai and the Agents had finally dropped the embargo on Digimon organized research, since it presumably would have been bad for Menoa’s data to vanish without warning -- and, indeed, it makes sense that they would allow for Menoa’s research team to proceed, since Menoa is a Chosen Child herself who has a vested interest in studying Digimon for the greater good and advocating for them in the same way Haruhiko is.

It also provides potential context as to why Menoa may not have been involved much in Digimon fighting and battles in the past but was chosen as a Chosen Child anyway -- Koushirou describes the definition of a “Chosen Child” as such in Two-and-a-Half Year Break:

Having a partner Digimon isn’t really that special. Being a “Chosen Child” means… to cease the hostilities that break out and inconvenience the Digital World. In order to do so, that child gains a partner Digimon faster than another.

While it’s not necessarily in terms of aggressive fighting, a bright and intelligent child like Menoa being chosen to “fight” in the sense of using her intellect to study more about Digimon and help advocate for them seems like a fitting way to fulfill this role in her own way. But, alas, as Gennai and Homeostasis and the Holy Beasts couldn’t necessarily predict what happened to Ichijouji Ken and his fall into becoming the Kaiser, they didn’t seem to be able to predict Menoa’s unfortunate fate and downfall...

Kizuna and 2010

Again, To Sora citing the number of Digimon partners to be over 30,000 by 2010 correctly tracks with the “doubling every year” principle, so it’s probably prudent to assume it’s still been applying over the years. 30,000 is certainly a lot, but it’s not exactly a huge chunk of the global population -- especially since said 30,000 are spread out all over the world, and it’s hard to say how many of them would even live in Japan, let alone Tokyo. It’s a big enough number that Koushirou and Miyako now need to maintain a whole network of Chosen Children (Hikari’s video presumably helped with that), but there are still a lot of unknowns, like the still uncharted territory of the partnership dissolution phenomenon.

Nevertheless, what we see in Kizuna is what you’d probably expect from a society that has now had eight more years to properly digest the existence of Digimon and Digimon incidents. This is most starkly demonstrated in the opening, when a waitress comes by to berate Agumon and Gabumon for making too much noise -- and that’s it, with no weirdness or being taken aback by their presence or existence, just telling them to calm down. The characters in the movie carry around and parade their Digimon quite openly in almost all walks of life, and others interact with them in a very normal manner. One of the credits scenes even shows Daisuke’s higher-up at vocational school being more annoyed at Daisuke’s fight with V-mon than he is at the fact V-mon is there. A newspaper article from early in the movie also correctly identifies Parrotmon and Greymon as Digimon (even if not their specific species), and it is merely treated as an incident rather than paying any particular attention to the fact that Digimon exist. The drama CD also indicates that Daisuke and co. are at the point of sneaking their Digimon into a karaoke bar because said bar has enough awareness of Digimon to charge them admissions fees!

There’s another interesting minor detail in that Palmon, Tailmon, and Patamon are depicted on digital cameras without any static interference. In Adventure and 02, it was impossible to catch them on digital camera in the real world, because, as per Adventure episode 39 and 02 episode 33 (among others), trying to do so would cause nasty static interference and ruin the attempted photo/recording. (This is presumably why Menoa’s photos with Morphomon seem to be film photos.) But for a society where the presence of Digimon is becoming more and more expected, and digital cameras are naturally becoming more commonplace, it would be very bad if this continued to be a problem -- so it makes sense that, by 2010, technological research would have figured out a way around that.

Obviously, not everyone has a Digimon yet, and it’s not like everything in the world has accounted for the assumption people will be walking around with partners -- after all, Taichi’s thesis still involves having to help advocate for Digimon partners and the fact that many people are still skeptical about them. But nevertheless, people are not surprised or perturbed by them anymore, and when something does happen with them, they’re relatively accepting of them. Again, 30,000+ is not exactly a lot to the extent that the entire population has a partner, but with the doubling-every-year principle in play, it seems like society is already well on its way to adjusting to their increasing presence and the eventual point in 2027-2028 when everyone will be expected to have one.

#digimon #digimon adventure #digimon adventure 02 #digimon adventure last evolution kizuna #kizuna spoilers #shihameta

100 notes · View notes

dm-tamer2020 · 3 years ago

Text

Hey! You look like you could use a partner!

Currently, two types of Digimon V-Pet are available in English! I've seen these devices in Wal-Mart, GameStop and Target in America, however I believe only online retailers that ship to Europe would be the option for the Tamers across the pond. 😕

Digital Monster Ver. 20th

This is an anniversary release of the only American Vpet, the Digital Monster. It's a collection of the 5 original vpet rosters from 1997. So there're plenty of Digimon to raise, around 70-80. It also allows you to raise 2 partners simultaneously. There are different colors, and each color has a couple exclusive eggs you get from connecting with another device.

Digimon X English

This device is much newer to the West, with only 2 colors at the moment, blue/white and red/black. You can only raise one Digimon on this device, with around 30 Digimon to raise per, each with a different roster.

Also, these Digimon are unique as they have the X-Antibody, transforming them from their regular counterparts!

There are plenty of other V-Pets out there and if you're curious I highly recommend you check out Humulos and his website:

A pillar of the Digimon VPet community, he also has a YouTube under the same name with dozens of helpful videos for first time and experienced Tamers looking to purchase a device, or just learn something new. 😁

#digimon #digital monsters #digimon adventure #vpet #digimon tamers #digimon 20th #digimon x #digimon v20 #digimon vpet #dmx #humulos #digimon frontier #digimon adventure 02 #digitama

16 notes · View notes

recentanimenews · 4 years ago

Text

Licensing of the Monsters: How Pokémon Ignited An Anime Arms Race

"Hey, what do ya' got there? A rabbit?" Batman asks his mentor, staring at a video of Pikachu on a massive underground computer screen.

"It's a Pokémon," Bruce Wayne replies.

Five seconds later, Batman is shocked so hard by the tiny yellow creature that he ends up flying headfirst through another computer monitor (Using a clip from the "Blackout" episode of Batman Beyond, an episode that would've aired for the first time just days earlier.) It doesn't make much physical sense, but this bizarre 1999 crossover promo did establish two things: 1) Pokémon was coming to Kids' WB, and 2) Pokémon was important. So important that Batman actually took time away from obsessing over crime and vengeance to care about it.

Echoing a 1997 promo where the comedic Bugs Bunny let us in on the "secret" that the serious, dark Batman was coming to Kids' WB, it almost seems like a passing of the torch. Kids' WB, up until then, was a programming service chock full of classic Warner Bros. cartoon properties like Bugs, Daffy, Pinky, Brain, and various members of the Justice League — all animated Americana.

Pokémon wasn't a huge risk as the 4Kids Entertainment dub of the show had done well in broadcast syndication, they had plenty of episodes to work with (sometimes airing three in a row), and it was based on a game series that was already a worldwide smash hit.

But the show was ... different.

And it would end up changing cartoons as we knew them.

Part 1: Batman Jumps Ship

It's hard to think of a better scenario when it comes to appealing to kids than the one Fox Kids had with Batman: The Animated Series. Debuting in September 1992 and airing on weekdays just after school let out, it received immediate acclaim due to its moody, beautiful animation and storytelling that didn't talk down to anyone. Little kids could get into Batman throwing crooks around and adults could marvel at plots like the one where a former child actress with a medical condition that keeps her from aging takes her former co-stars hostage and ends up holding a gun, hallucinating, and sobbing into Batman's arms.

It did so well that Fox tried to air it on prime-time Sundays and though this was short-lived — turns out, Batman was no match for Ed Bradley on CBS's 60 Minutes — it solidified the show as "cool." This was a show that could hang with the big boys. You couldn't say the same of something like Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends.

And then, in 1997, it was gone. A five-year contract ran out and Batman leapt completely to Kids' WB, where a continuation of the show (the often even grimmer The New Batman Adventures) aired later that year. There, it joined Superman: The Animated Series in a one-two punch of programming called The New Batman/Superman Adventures. When it came to Kids' WB, competitors not only had to deal with the Merry Melodies crowd, they now had to face the World's Finest Heroes.

This, along with a departing Animaniacs, left Fox Kids with a gap in flagship programming. Sure it had various incarnations of the Power Rangers (which was still holding strong) and Spider-Man, but if you look back on 1998 programming, little of it would survive the year. Silver Surfer? Gone by May. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation? Out by December. Casper? Dead in October. By May of 1999, Warner Media would announce record ratings thanks to Pokémon, while its competitors, including the Disney-led ABC, Fox, and even Nickelodeon, would suffer losses in the Saturday morning area. Pokemon would have the best ever series premiere numbers for Kids' WB at the time.

A chunk of that has to do with 4Kids Entertainment's (or to be more specific, 4Kids Productions) handling of the show. Again, Pokémon was a proven concept. If you love monsters, adventure, and collecting things, you'll probably find something to enjoy in the franchise. But the dub was particularly strong. For years, dubbing was seen as an inherently laughable thing in America, full of exasperated voice actors trying desperately to convince you that they weren't portraying three different characters, and lips that didn't match the dialogue. Entire Japanese series were reduced to laughing stocks in the U.S. because why focus on the lovingly created miniatures and top-notch tokusatsu action in Godzilla if one of the actors sounds weird?

But while Pokémon wasn't the first great dub, it was a remarkably underrated one. Veronica Taylor's work as Ash Ketchum was relatable, funny, and consistent. And Racheal Lillis, Eric Stuart, and Maddie Blaustein's turns as Team Rocket's Jessie, James, and Meowth gave us villains that could've easily been the most repetitive parts of the show — you can only try to capture Pikachu so many times before you should logically find a second hobby — but instead were one of the most entertaining aspects.

Aside from some easily meme-able bits — Brock's drying pan and jelly donuts, for example — Pokemon became a seamless addition to the Kids' WB lineup and would end up giving many fans a lifelong love of anime. And it was great for 4Kids, too, as in 2000, they would be number one on Fortune's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies.

Fox Kids wanted an answer to this. And it would soon find one.

Well, two.

Part 2: Monsters Rule

Saban Entertainment was no stranger to Fox Kids. They'd been the one to adapt Toei's Super Sentai into The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers for American and international audiences, creating an unexpected sensation that combined monsters and martial arts. And in 1999, they nabbed Digimon Adventure, a series about kids that gain "digital" monster partners when transported to a "digital world," which had begun airing earlier that year in Japan. Based on a fighting virtual pet that had already been around for a few years, Digimon was a natural fit for an anime series and also a natural fit for a climate that was desperately trying to find the next Pokémon.

Renamed Digimon: Digital Monsters, it premiered in August of 1999. Of course, accusations followed that it was a Pokémon rip-off, considering that they were both about befriending terrifying laser critters, but they offered fairly different things. While Pokémon was more episodic, Digimon gave viewers a more Dragon Ball Z-esque experience (they were both Toei productions, too) with the titular monsters evolving and gaining "power-ups" due to fighting increasingly powerful villains.

Almost two months later, Monster Rancher would join the Fox Kids lineup, airing on Saturdays at 8:30 AM after Sherlock Holmes in the 22nd Century (a Fox Kids lost relic if there ever was one). Together, Monster Rancher and Digimon would cover the programming block with monster action, sometimes airing twice each. Meanwhile, Pokémon would do the same for Kids' WB, and if you look at their Saturday morning schedules from 1999 and 2000, it appears they just shoved Pikachu in whenever possible.

Looking back on Monster Rancher is always odd, though, because it's so specifically trapped in the time period where it originated. The video games used metadata from readable discs to create new monsters for the player, meaning that as soon as people gained the ability to download or stream media online without having to travel to their local Circuit City, the game would look absolutely archaic in comparison to its peers.

Monster Rancher is a very fun show based on some very fun games, and the dynamic array of personalities and their particular squabbles in the core group actually reminds me a lot of One Piece. But even the show itself deals with reviving monsters on giant stone discs — a prehistoric-looking adaptation of a video game gimmick that would, a decade later, appear prehistoric itself.

The Monster War was waged across 2000 and 2001. And though it appears Pokémon was the clear winner — in 2020, it's the most popular franchise with the widest reach, even if Digimon does produce some stellar shows and movies — the ratings tell a different story. In the May sweeps of 2000, Pokémon (and Kids' WB) took the prize among kids 6-11, but in the end, Fox Kids would score a victory of a 3.1 rating to Kids' WB's 3.0 (the first sweeps win since 1997, the year that Batman left.)

Early the following year, Fox Kids would score again, narrowly beating Pokémon on Saturday morning in the same timeslot and even coming ahead of properties like X-Men. And what would propel this February 10th victory? The first appearance of BlackWarGreymon, the Shadow the Hedgehog to WarGreymon's Sonic.

However, Pokémon would still help create ratings records for Kids' WB, even though late 2000/early 2001 saw a slide that would often cede dominance to Nickelodeon. Jed Patrick, who was president of The WB at the time said: "I didn't think Pokémon would fall off as much as it did ... every fire cools down a little, but that doesn't mean it doesn't stay hot."

Even though, in retrospect, claims that "Pokemania" had died seem a little ridiculous — the latest games, Pokémon Sword and Shield, just became the highest-selling entries in seventeen years — big changes were ahead.

Part 3: It's Time To Duel ... Or Not

In early 2001, Joel Andryc, executive VP of kids' programming and development for Fox Kids, was looking for a "Digimon companion series to create an hour-long anime block." He felt they were too reliant on Digimon, as they were airing it three times in a single morning. Likely not coincidentally, that summer Fox Kids Fridays were dubbed "anime invasion," advertising Flint The Time Detective, Dinozaurs, Escaflowne, and Digimon. In one commercial, a single quote zips across the bottom of the screen: "Anime Rocks!" Nicole, TX

That it does, Nicole from Texas.

Meanwhile, 4Kids Entertainment would provide Kids' WB with another monster show: Yu-Gi-Oh! Known as Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters in Japan, this anime adaptation absconded from retelling the stories found in the early chapters of the manga — which were mostly devoted to Yugi running into jerks, only to have his Egyptian spirit "alter ego" deal karmic retribution on them — and instead focused on the parts that involved the cool monster fights. So basically the parts that were the most like Pokémon.

But how would this be received? In 2000, Canadian studio Nelvana had licensed the anime Cardcaptor Sakura and turned it simply into Cardcaptors — an extremely edited version that removed many important relationships and plotlines and tried to streamline the show into a pseudo-Pokémon story. It's gone down in history as one of the most questionable dubs ever, and never really made a splash on Kids' WB. So they wouldn't want a repeat of that.

But would kids be into a card game? The cards did summon monsters, but in Pokémon and Digimon, the monsters are just there, moving around and not relegated to a glorified checkers board arena. It turned out, yes, kids would be REALLY into that. Yu-Gi-Oh! debuted at number one in multiple demographics in September 2001, and would remain a steady part of its lineup for years to come.

And how did Fox Kids respond? Did the "anime invasion" work out? Well, sort of, but not in the way they were hoping.

In 2001, due to diminishing ratings and audiences, Fox Kids Worldwide (along with Fox Family Worldwide) were sold to The Walt Disney Company. By November 7th, they'd canceled their weekly afternoon blocks, and the next year, they'd end up selling their entire Saturday morning block to a company that had provided their rivals with the very same TV shows that aided in sinking them: 4Kids Entertainment. The final show to premiere on the original Fox Kids was Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension, a live action series that stood beside Alienators: Evolution Continues (a cartoon sequel to the mediocre 2001 comedy Evolution) and the underrated Medabots as the block's last gasp.

Renamed FoxBox in late 2002 (and later 4KidsTV in 2005), the 4Kids run schedule would, over the years, include anime like Kirby! Right Back At Ya!, Ultimate Muscle, Fighting Foodons, Sonic X, Shaman King, and eventually, in 2004, the infamous One Piece dub. The first Saturday of the new FoxBox lineup would also outdo the previous Saturday's Fox Kids lineup. Disney would acquire the rights to Digimon and it showed up on ABC Family in late 2001 (eighteen years later, a reboot of the original series would air, which can be watched on Crunchyroll).

Eventually, in 2007, the Monster War would come full circle. 4Kids Entertainment announced they would be taking over the Kids' WB Saturday morning block entirely, renaming it the "CW4KIDS," as The CW had been born after UPN and The WB had ceased to be. Pokémon was long gone by this point, having been dropped by Kids' WB in 2006, and was now overseen by The Pokémon Company International on Cartoon Network.

"We wish Pokémon USA much success going forward," the CEO of 4Kids Entertainment said. Later sued over "illegal agreements" regarding the Yu-Gi-Oh! franchise, the company would eventually file for bankruptcy in 2016. Pokémon Journeys, the latest installment in the franchise, launches on Netflix on June 12th.

Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features!

By: [email protected]

#Anime #News #Latest in Anime News by Crunchyroll!

4 notes · View notes

holly-natnicole · 5 months ago

Text

Sora's Heart Hotel as DigiDestineds:

Sora Caelum has the Crests of Hope (coz he's good at giving people hope &, before Xehanort finally succeeds in shattering Sora, the enbe's good at hoping for a nice future) and Wrath (he loses themself in rage many times, but learns to channel it constructively). Her Digimon partner's nickname is Sky (in honour of Sora's biological mum Skye Caelum née Rangi). Sky's digivolution line consists of: Botamon; Wanyamon; Liollmon; Leomon or Rukamon/Dolphmon; ViciousMeicrackmon (when digivolving from Leomon) or Mermaimon (when digivolving from Rukamon/Dolphmon); ClavisAngemon (when matrix digivolving with Sora). Whenever Sky digivolves, the Crest of Hope or the Crest of Wrath (depending on which trait the duo emotionally connected over at the time) appears on the screen of Sora's digivice; whenever a digivolution fails due to the partners not being in sync with each other or having issues they haven't even tried to resolve, nothing happens.

Naminé Caelum has the Crests of Knowledge (coz they is good at using their knowledge of others to their advantage and gladly shares their information on various things with other people) and Envy (coz their jealousy over others' friendships, fuelled by loneliness & being abused, prompts them to make some cruel decisions before they redeems themself). Naminé's Digimon partner's nickname is Kioku. Kioku's digivolution line consists of: Dokimon; Budmon; Diarimon; Sorcerimon/Sorcermon; Fantomon/Phantomon; Gokumon/Reapermon.

Roxas Takirua has the Crests of Knowledge (coz he always wants to learn things, to understand both how stuff works and why other people make the decisions they do) and Wrath (coz he has a hot temper that bursts out whenever he's confused and especially when someone is being cruel to him or his friends). His Digimon partners' nicknames are Hikari & Yami. Hikari's digivolution line consists of: YukimiBotamon; Nyaromon; Plotmon/Salamon; Tailmon/Gatomon; Angewomon; Mastemon. Yami's consists of: Botamon; Nyaromon; Shalamon (which doesn't exist in canon); BlackTailmon/BlackGatomon; LadyDevimon; Mastemon. Hikari & Yami are twins who jogress digivolve (a.k.a. fusion of two Digimon, in this case done as Angewomon & LadyDevimon respectively) to reach their Mega form, neither of them matrix digivolving with Roxas; whereas all of the others' Digimon partners reach Mega by fusing with their respective human partners. Mastemon is the strongest of the six Mega Level Digimon, due to being the result of two Ultimates combining their power.

Shion Takirua (formerly Xion, originally No.i) has the Crests of Courage (coz she does what she believes is right despite feeling scared) and Pride (her tendency to make a decision on other people's behalf, although well-intentioned, is arrogant as she – before eventually growing out of it – believes her solution is best for everyone instead of asking others what they want to do). Her Digimon partner's nickname is Pūmahara. Pūmahara's digivolution line consists of: Botamon; Tsumemon; Copipemon; NoirSistermon (called Sistermon Noir in canon); ChoHakkaimon (called Cho-Hakkaimon in canon); Ofanimon/Ophanimon.

Vanitas Ducimus has the Crests of Sincerity (coz ze's always honest, though ze does sometimes say genuine things whilst knowing other people will accidentally misinterpret zir words as zir choice of words was specifically done to manipulate them) and Greed (ze wants a lot of things, willing to steal and even kill to get them). Zir Digimon partner's nickname is Dusk. Dusk's digivolution line consists of: Cocomon/Conomon; Chocomon/Kokomon; Lopmon; Wendimon; Baalmon; Murmukusmon. Dusk is Dawn's twin.

Ventus "Ven" Aurora has the Crests of Kindness (coz he's a nice person who wants to help other people – random strangers included – and is loyal to his friends along with learning eventually to be reliable) and Sloth (one of the things Ven learns during his adventures is that trying to avoid thinking 'bout bad things by slacking off with new acquintances & leaving responsibilities for other people to take care of is selfish). Ven's Digimon partner's nickname is Dawn. Dawn's digivolution line consists of: Zerimon; Gummymon; Terriermon; Darcmon; PriestHolyAngemon (called HolyAngemon Priest/MagnaAngemon Priest in canon); FatedDestinyRapidmon (called Golden Rapidmon X in canon). Dawn is Dusk's twin.

(This is all in a Digimon-Kingdom Hearts Crossover version of my Digimon Alternate Multiverse timelines and my Kingdom Hearts Alternate Multiverse timeline [Yes, Digimon has many timelines whereas K.H. only has one].)

14 notes · View notes

digi-lov · 1 year ago

Text

Digimon & Tamagotchi

Bandai V-Pet Crossovers Part 1 (Part 2)

In 1996 Bandai and WiZ inc. released the original Tamagotchi. To their surprise, the toy proved to be popular among boys as well, despite it being mostly marketed for girls. And in 1997, as a more targeted approach to this demographic, Digital Monsters was born!

A huge virtual pet boom followed and not only did Bandai and Wiz release new versions of Tamagotchi and Digital Monsters, and try multiple v-pets with a variety of styles within the next couple of years, but other companies also tried to bandwagon on the success of these virtual pets!

(Such as Nintendo in 1998 with the Pocket Pikachu-)

While the Tamagotchi was shaped like an egg (jap. tamago) with a crack in its shell where the screen is, the Digital Monster was shaped like a brick cage with bust-open bars! It also featured the ability to connect and battle! Otherwise they both use the same three button layout and similar menu icons. On the Tamagotchi, the toilet icon is portrayed by a duck themed potty, which is also used as the look for the Portable Potty items in many Digimon games.

Now with how closely these two franchises were developed, there's bound to be more that connects the two, right?

One such thing is Tamagotchimoji and Digimoji/DigiCode!

You can see that the two scripts are basically identical, just stylized differently. While Tamagotchimoji got used sparsely until they stopped using it in 2004 (But had a surprising comeback in one social media post on April 10, 2023?!), Digimoji has been used, and still is being used everywhere in the Digimon franchise! There is also a separate set of characters for the Latin Alphabet.

[Tamagotchimoji on the left, Digimoji on the right, respective Hiragana above the character]

Just like we know it from the Digimon Franchise, the Tamagotchi also grow through evolutionary stages along a branching path, depending on how well you take care of them! The original line of Tamagotchi as well as Digimon owe their designs to Kenji Watanabe! Generally all Tamagotchi's names end in "-tchi" or "-chi", similar to how Digimon names end in "-mon".

In these evolution charts, the Tamagotchi and Digimon are arranged by how well they've been taken care of / how good they are, with the top line being the best, and the bottom being the worst.

But that Tamagotchi chart is actually just the international version, which had "Bill" (aka Gaijintchi/Ketotchi) as secret character past the adult stage. Instead the Japanese version featured "Oyajitchi" (jap. oyaji means "old man").

But wait, doesn't that face look familiar...?

According to the Digimon Reference Book, Nanimon's true identity is unknown and it in fact came from another dimension, where it was known under the title OYAJI. In order to survive in the new environment of the Digital World, Nanimon had to go through a lot of training and battling.

Nanimon's name is also a play on its bizarre nature. In Japanese, "nanimon" is a casual abbreviation of "nanimono" which means "what (thing)". So, with intonation indicating a question, "nanimonda" can mean both "What are you?" or "I am Nanimon".

This joke is even included directly in Digimon World when the player encounters Nanimon.

「ん？なにもんだ？！」 "N? Nanimon da?!" “Huh? What are you?!” 「ナニモンだァ！」 "Nanimon da!" “I’m Nanimon!”

Nanimon's nature as an alien to this World is also reflected in his trait in the Card Game being "Invader".

Nanimon BT6-058 by Kenji Watanabe from BT-06 Booster Double Diamond

So yeah, Nanimon is supposed to be Oyajitchi who came from the Tamagotchi World to the Digital World.

Stay tuned for next friday when we talk about another World connected to the Digital World!

Special thanks to: tamagotchi wiki, gotchi-garden and tamatalk for being great resources!

If you're interested in more Tamagotchi stuff, go check out @tamapalace !

#digimon #digimon tcg #digimon card game #digisafe #digica #デジカ #tamagotchi #Nanimon #Oyajitchi #digimon lore #lov rambles #digimon card #Lv4 #Kenji Watanabe #BT6 #color: black #type: virus #trait: invader

210 notes · View notes

o-w-quinlan · 4 years ago

Text

Favorite Digimon from each V-Pet, part 1

Inspired by the recent V-Pet popularity poll, I thought of going through each iteration of the Digimon V-Pets and determining which are my favorite digimon introduced by them.

For today: The original Digital Monster (1997-1998), and the answer is very easy for me:

I’ve liked Andromon ever since I rewatched Digimon Adventure. His first appearence is wonderfully atmospheric, foregoing the fantasy elements of the previous episodes for pure “sci-fi” (soft sci-fi, but still), clearly aping “Terminator” for the tension and succeeding. Andromon was then mostly forgotten... until the Dark Masters arc, where suddenly we learn that he’s been fighting Mugendramon on his own for years, and he’s even become badass enough to trade blows with Piedmon himself (for a few seconds, but this is a minor character going up against the main villain of the arc). His later role in Digimon Tamers was also good, though admittedly he was only Andromon for a short time there. The Next manga has him as the leader of the resistance against Barbamon, helping Yuu overcome his trauma, fearlessly fighting a hopeless battle against Chaosdramon and his forces. Personally, he’s also been my ace in several Digimon games, and carried my team through a lot of the later portions of Digimon Story: Moonlight.

Design-wise, he’s my favorite example of how crude these first cyborg designs were. Later on, they’d become more polished and complete, clearly showing that the Crack Team had gotten better at this, but the half-finished look of this first batch remains my favorite. It gives the impression of being a process that is being perfected, the very start of a new type of creature. It also highlights how horrible it might be, as the uncovered parts of his body hint at what exactly might have been done to create him. It feels more “real” than later, cleaner designs.

His profile indicates he was one of the first “artificial” digimon to be created by the Crack Team, alongside Boltmon, and that he lacks any will or emotion. I picture a silent Andromon, unmoving inside the Crack Team’s base as the emotional Boltmon is "consigned to oblivion in the darkness”, uncaring for his fellow creation’s suffering. I picture the same Andromon, years later, being upgraded to HiAndromon and suddenly becoming self-aware, being able to feel, remembering how he stood by and did nothing as someone who might as well be his brother was banished. It’s a shame no digimon product (barring a Heroes card) has ever done anything with the backstory hinted at in these profiles, because its fascinating to think of the possibilities.

My favorite line for this digimon is: Choromon -> Caprimon -> Kokuwamon -> Guardromon -> Andromon -> HiAndromon. HiAndromon was explained above, and the reasoning for the pre-evolutions will come at a later date.

Honorary Mentions: MetalGreymon (virus), MetalMamemon, Coelamon, Raremon.

#digimon #Digital Monster #Andromon

2 notes · View notes

zonee-digimon · 4 years ago

Text

26 de junio, 1997. Fecha de lanzamiento de "El Primer Digital Monster"❗

En otras palabras, hoy es ㊗️ el aniversario n°23 de "El Primer Digital Monster" (#デジタルモンスター23周年)🎊🎂🎉

🎈Los globos vuelan 😊 juguetes, cartas, juegos, anime y mucha celebración continúa 💪

¡¡¡FELIZ CUMPLEAÑOS, DIGIMON!!!

#デジタルモンスター23周年 #digimon #digimon 23anniversary #digimon digital monsters #digital monsters #digimon anniversary #digimon adventure #digimon 02 #digimon tamers #digimon frontier #digimon savers #digimln xros wars #digimon appmon #digimon adventure 2020 #v-pet #tamagotchi

1 note · View note

alisonmanic · 7 years ago

Photo

So I was at Kitacon this weekend 18th to 20th August. I was happy to find out that an article I’d written for the con book made it in! (as pictured above). Now that the con is over and I’m home. Here is exactly what I wrote: It feels like only yesterday I would sit and watch the first Digimon (Digimon Adventure (Season 1) on CITV. But Digimon did not start with the Animation. It started on the 26th June 1997 with the release of the Digimon V-Pet in Japan. Yup that's right, Digimon is now officialy 20 years old. Feeling old yet? I am lol as I was 14 at the time! You could raise Digimon like Agumon or even Devimon in the very first V-Pet. Ah if only I had been able to keep my original V-Pets and Digivices. Still, I have been very fortunate to get some of my collection back over the years and have recently ordered the 20th Anniversary from Japan. Digimon Adventure first started in Japan on the 6th of March 1999 and ran for 54 episodes into March 2000. The English dub started to air in America in August 99 to June 2000. We were introduced to the 'original' Chosen Children (Digidestined dub). I have keen memories of writing down the evolution lines while I was watching the dub and this drove me to start my own Digimon website (Digital Starlight) in 2001. Although it is no longer updated, the site still lives. Most of my favourite Digimon and cosplay have come from Adventure. I have cosplayed Vamdemon/Myotismon, Tailmon/Gatomon and Hikari Yagami/Kari Kamiya. I would one day like to cosplay Wizarmon/Wizardmon and PicoDevimon/DemiDevimon. Digimon Adventure Zero Two (02) first started in Japan on the 2nd April 2000 and ran for 50 episodes into March 2001. The dub started in America in August 2000 and ran to May 2001. The Chosen Children expanded a lot, we got new types of evolution (Jogress/DNA and Armour). I would like to cosplay the Digimon Kaiser at some point and was rather disappointed when there were no United Kingdom Chosen in the Digimon World Tour. Also it marked the return of my favourite Digimon villan – Vamdemon/Myotismon. It was towards the end of Season 2 that I was introduced into Real Media clips from Japan that took ages to download on 56k dial up! Digimon Tamers first started in Japan on the 1st April 2001 and ran for 51 episodes into March 2002. The dub started in America in September 2001 and ran to June 2002. We met new Digimon Tamers and their partners and this series was darker than the previous two. Digimon died and were not reborn like previous seasons. This was not expected and depression was tackled in youngsters. Afterall Juri/Jeri's Digimon Leomon died and sent her spiralling. For some, Tamers wasn't popular and for some they loved it. I'm more in the middle ground. Digimon Frontier first started in Japan on the 7th April 2002 and ran for 50 episodes into March 2003. The dub started in America in September 2002 and ran to March 2003. Digimon Frontier never aired in the UK and a friend in Australia ended up taping me the episodes from TV and sending me the VHS'! Digimon Frontier was very different. There were no Digimon partners, the children Spirit Evolved into their Digimon forms. Frontier was considered as 'the end' at one point. People did not like it didn't have partners or the drawn out Royal Knights story line. By the time Frontier ended in Japan. There was no new Digimon show ready to take it's place. There was a hiatus, only broken by a Japanese Movie Digital Monster X-Evolution in January 2005. No humans, just a pure story about Digimon that got rather confusing at times. Then it was back to waiting until... Digimon Savers/Digimon Data Squad. Diginon Savers first started in Japan on the 2nd April 2006 and ran for 48 Episodes until March 2007. The dub, Digimon Data Squad, started in October 2007 and ran to November 2008. Data Squad was aired on an obscure channel called Kix at the time. Digimon Savers followed another new route with 'DATS – Digital Accident Tactics Squad' and the Humans partnered with Digimon were for the most part teenagers (Minus Ikuto/Keenan who was younger). Once again, this season was a little darker as it was shown how Digimon can be 'corrupted' with huamn thoughts' and even went so far to have a Nazi-esq evil human called Kurata who wanted to destroy all Digimon! We were also introduced to Yggdrasil (King Drasil) the god of the Digital World...and once again at set of Royal Knights. Some good..some not so good. Once again, we had another hiatus and paved the way to... Digimon Xros Wars/Digimon Fusion. Digimon Xros ran for 79 episodes in total and was in three different parts. It ran in Japan from 6th July 2010 to March 2012. The dub has only covered the first 54 episodes, Part 3 having not been dubbed. The dub Digimon Fusion started in America in September 2013 and ran to August 2015. Part 1 is just known as Digimon Xros Wars and was 30 Episodes long. Digimon did not evolve as normal at first as they had to Xros using multiple Digimon to create Xrossed up Digimon (I.e Shoutmon X2, X3 X4 etc). Digimon levels as we knew them were thrown out of the window and things were somewhat war like. Part 2 is known as Digimon Xros Wars The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdom and covered Episodes 31 to 54. Bagramon had won and turned the Digital World into his own image and placed several of his Death Generals into the seven single zones. The Chosen having to fight each to re-take back over the Digital World. Part 3 originally wasn't meant to happen and was more of an off shoot of Digimon Xros. It is known as The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. While it had Taiki/Mikey and Yuu from Parts 1 and 2 it also featured a new set of Characters. Episodes 55 to 79 were covered and are generally considered 'they don't exist' by some fans. Hunters went so far as crossing over with the other Digimon series and bringing in the 'Goggle boys and several other chosen/Tamers cast members' fan service like...which honestly...didn't do it for me. Once again, we had another hiatus and paved the way to something that many Digimon fans were very excited for... Digimon Adventure tri. This is currently still ongoing, with Part 5 Symbiosis of Part 6 airing on 30th September 2017! Tri Part 1: Reunion was released on the 21st November 2015. Part 2: Determination on 12th March 2016, Part 3 Confession on 24th September 2016 and Part 4 Loss on 25th February 2017. Each Episode was released the same day, subbed, in America and other places (sadly not UK) on Crunchyroll. The original eight chosen are back...with a new addition of Meiko and her partner Meicoomon! The Zero Two children (Minus Hikari and Takeru) are 'currently unknown' status. Digimon are getting infected, the infection is making them very strong and attacking the human world. The Chosen, 3 years older after the events of Zero Two, start to take the burden and responsibility of still being Chosen with the attacks happening in the real world. Part 1: Reunion Dub (Japanese Audio and Subs available as well) was released in the UK on DVD and Blu-Ray on 22nd May 2017. Part 2 Determination dub is due out in America on 15th August 2017. At the same time, we currently have... Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters. It started to air in Japan on 1st October 2016 and is still airing. There is currently no dub. It introduces another new casting characters and Digimon are known as Appmon. So far as writing this, there are no 'old school' Digimon. A being known as Leviathan is wanting to turn all Appmon evil and our heroes must stop him! I actually need to catch up on Applimon! It does feel strange that Digimon has, pardon the expression, evolved so much over the years. Not only does it have animation, it has several manga. My favourte of these manga being Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01. A different Taichi Yagami and his partner Zeromaru the V-Dramon must save the Digital World from Demon and his 'child' Arkadimon. There were also English Adaptations of Season 1 to 3 of the anime with Tokyopop. Digimon is still going strong over 20 years. I hope you have enjoyed the little overview of Digimon and here is to another 20 years! Now the Adventure Evolves. ~Vande~

#Digimon

7 notes · View notes