Gomamon

Wizarmon

Takeru Takaishi

Monzaemon

Tentomon

Leomon

Yukidarumon

Gabumon

Sora Takenouchi

Koushirou Izumi

PicoDevimon

Vamdemon

Etemon

Taichi Yagami

Hikari Yagami

Agumon

Devimon

Piemon

Pinocchimon

Mimi Tachikawa

Yamato Ishida

MetalSeadramon

Jou Kido

Patamon

LadyDevimon

Seven kids are transported to the Digital World, a strange place where digital creatures called "Digimon" reside. A group of Digimon soon befriend them and keep the kids out of harm's way. The children then discover they are the Chosen Children, which protect the Digital World from evil Digimon like Devimon and Vamdemon.

I'm sure this is a nostalgia trip for a lot of people. Me? I never saw, played, or knew anything about Digimon until recently, but part of me wishes I'd discovered it a long time ago. True, it's not a fantastic show on its own merits, and I'm not going to pretend that it is... but in the world of toyetic children's series like Pokémon, Beyblade, and Yu-Gi-Oh!, the Digimon series does have a certain special quality to it, despite falling victim to the same monster of incredibly edited dubs that claims so many others.



 __Story:__ The plot, as a whole, ranges from arbitrary and childish at worst to confusing and convoluted at best. I don't know how else to describe a story in which God himself ([no joke](http://digimon.wikia.com/wiki/God)) is an involved character. You can't spin a simpler "good vs. evil" yarn than that. What's really unusual is how drastically the series changes from beginning to end, starting off in an incredibly generic and formulaic villain-of-the-week format and expanding into a rather intricate narrative. So intricate, in fact, that I don't think the writers themselves knew what they were doing. The plot jumps from one extreme to the other over the course of the series, which is a crazy move in terms of narrative. Maybe that's why I'm just a little bit drawn to it; I like things a little crazy. That said, the last thing you'll hear me call the storyline is thoughtful. As I've said, it's unique, but not much else... and it does sadly suffer from an abundance of plotholes and loose ends. While the actual plot doesn't change much from Japanese to English, the style of writing most certainly does. The English version makes damned sure to insert a bad joke or two anytime things start to get too tense so as to maintain the "cartoony" air of the localization... mind you, even with this fact, the story does approach some topics that any other toyetic series would avoid like the plague. While these scenes are more serious/powerful in the Japanese version, I have to say that it's beautiful to see this new ground covered at all in either version. Ash never got smacked upside the head by his mother for nearly killing someone in Pokémon, I can guarantee you that.

 __Art:__ Despite all the competition out there in the "monster training" subgenre (remember Monster Rancher?), Digimon actually manages to have a fairly distinct style to its artwork, and not an unattractive one at that. You won't find beautifully immersive character models, photorealistic backdrops or jaw-dropping special effects, of course; I'm just saying the art style is unique and recognizable, and with a series that boasts 50+ episodes to a season, that's not a bad feat. The animation itself ranges from subpar to average, but usually sticks closer to the latter, and isn't uncomfortable to watch.

 __Sound:__ I'll confess, the last version I watched was the English, edits and all. By acting alone, it's nothing extraordinary, but it's not particularly bad, either... unless you mind hearing the same actor play fifty roles, in what I call The Sabat Effect. Me, I find it hilarious. But I digress. The Japanese dub is fairly standard and the English passable in terms of voice acting. Despite some localization, the English dub manages to be surprisingly faithful by toyetic standards--hardly any name changes and almost no visual edits. One thing I do have to complain about, however, is the music. As cheesy as the English theme song is, it's nowhere near as bad as the goofy insert songs scattered throughout the dub. Those, sadly, sorely hurt the experience, but are thankfully not present in the Japanese version (which again, I personally recommend in this case).



To put it simply, this is one of those series that I find myself conflicted on. As much fun as I have watching it, either for abstract reasons or just because it's so bad it's good, my analysis must remain objective. Simply put, Digimon is not a good show. But it's a bad show that I can't help but have fun watching. Who knows? Maybe the same will be true for you.

It's like Pokémon, but with balls (and not the kind for catching things). Also, actual character development.

Warning: This review contains some spoilers.

First impressions: As a kid that grew up in the 90s, I’m pretty sure I speak for most people that grew up in that period when I say that if there’s one question we’ve been asked, it’s “Are you a Digimon or Pokemon fan?”. In most playgrounds that was one of the most popular debates around, and still is today. Digimon or Pokemon? To which I’m going to have to say Digimon, because as part of the generation that watched Digimon when it was first released for western audiences, I didn’t have anything else to watch.

Story: 7/10
Digimon Adventure centres around a group of kids that are transported from the real world to a digital one. It’s in this digital world that they discover the digimon, the creatures that inhabit it, each getting a digimon partner to protect them as they explore it.

When looked at with even a marginally experienced eye, it’s clear that the story of Digimon Adventure plays out like your typical JRPG. You have stuff like your chosen ones, or the call to save innocents from some impending evil. Even if you didn't grow up watching digimon, or have any knowledge of the franchise, it’s easy to label the show as simple entertainment for kids. However the series has a lot more going for it than what first meets the eye. What starts as a show about a bunch of kids with pet monsters exploring and saving a new world from evil, ends as something much more conceptually and tonally synthetic. Quite a few of the episodes deal with the idea of alternate realities. There’s even one episode where Tai gets transported back to the real world, only to conclude that he isn’t where he’s supposed to be, heeding a greater calling instead. Another aspect that elevates the story from its base premise is the level of realism that the series sporadically displays. Many of the fights are brutal and destructive, leading to consequences, not only for the story, but the characters. Now these consequences are slightly mitigated by various in-story elements, but that still doesn't take away their impact, due to the intrinsic nature of said consequences. The way it explores the psychological impact on, and issues of, the main, adolescent cast. That’s by far one of the show’s greatest merits, with a fair amount of the episodes being about dealing with some struggle, either extrinsic, intrinsic, or both that they’re going through. Finally, both the background, and foreground details to the story are very well explained. Stuff like the reason the children are in the digital world, or why they were the ones chosen to go to it in the first place. It’s in that way that the show manages to create a tangible environment, establishing a sense of internal reasoning, and therefore giving the story a lot of integrity and realness.  

Unfortunately, despite Digimon Adventure’s many virtues, even it is not without shortcomings. Grounded and significant as most of the battles are, they’re also very anticlimactic, frequently ending in one attack, thus undercutting the established and built on tension. Additionally, some of the human drama that transpires is rather questionable. While the angle is somewhat understandable, one has to question the show’s internal logic on it. Like in the aforementioned episode where Tai comes back from the real world. Once he returns, he finds out that the team disbanded in his absence and the members all went their separate ways. Now while the idea of Tai being the glue that holds the group together makes sense, it’s odd that the others would split apart, considering that by that point it’d been drilled into their heads that all their successes were because of their unity. Not only that, but it doesn't make much sense how during the separation period, the rest of the children were being tricked by an obviously evil digimon into remaining separated and mistrustinging of each other. Not to mention why they’d even trust anything that comes out of its mouth in the first place, when the digimon in question has the word devil in its name. Aside from these few issues though, Digimon Adventure has a very solid story.

Characters: 7/10
The main cast are all introduced as rather cookie-cutter archetypes, and don’t really grow beyond that over the course of the series. Tai’s the hot-headed leader, Matt’s the broody loner, Mimi’s the pure hearted brat, Joe’s the resident buzz killington voice of reason, T.K.’s the token kid, Kari’s the ray of sunshine and Izzy’s the computer wiz that just doesn’t really seem to be able to get emotions. They’re essentially a Power Rangers or Super Sentai team. However, despite how basic their personalities are, those personalities are justified fairly well through their backstories, giving them a sense of humanity past the played out nature of their exteriors. On top of that, the amount of character growth they undergo is amazing, standard as it is, more than making up for their creatively lacking personalities. Finally, the way the characters influence each other’s growth is a sight to behold. An exemplary moment of this is in one episode where Joe selflessly puts himself in harm’s way to save Matt and his little brother. Mind you, this is despite the fact that just before, Matt and Joe went so far as to spit at each other. It’s this very act of selflessness that acting as a catalyst for Joe’s growth, leading him to begin coming out of his shell and teaching him the value of friendship and camaraderie. And it’s moments like these that really showcase one of the show’s strongest points, as well as its capacity for having a heart.

Now those who’ve seen the show or have gone through the cast list may have noticed an absent character from the prior listing. This is of course Sora, a character that really exemplifies Digimon Adventure’s character writing capacity, and one that deserves being talked about in more detail. That being said, Sora’s the big sister of the group. She’s very upbeat and supportive, despite being something of a tomboy. But as the series progresses, she grows to be more nurturing, despite not really understanding what that entails. As such, she’s constantly grappling with the idea of tough love, the love one gives another when it’s what they need, even if not what they want, or what may seem the prettiest. This detail of her character interestingly echoes her relationship with her mother. As a result, her growth as a person feels all the more tangible and real when it gets to be reflected not only externally, in her relationship with the group, but also internally, with the reconciliation of a long-withstanding familial matter that’s intrinsic to her being.

The digimon partners personality wise are essentially watered down versions of their partners. There are as few traits they have that contradict this idea, which completely oppose those of they partners, but generally the prior statement holds true. One of the standout examples of this is Joe’s digimon partner, that’s more chill than Joe shows enough individuality to basically tell Joe to calm down and not get unnecessarily worked up. In ways such as this the digimon partners get the both have synergy with their partners, due to their similarities, but also function as their counter-balance, making for some nice chemistry.

Now the villains have a lot more of a presence. While they’re not that deep or thought provoking as characters, given that their motivation for acting is simply because they want too, what they represent is really intriguing. Each is twisted version of humanity in design and actions, that tries to take over the anarchic digital world and bringing order to it. Even more interestingly though, there’s one exception to this. That of course is the final villain, that takes this idea a fascinating, yet tragic degree further.

Art:7/10
The art and animation are pretty good. Despite being made in the 9Os, they manage to not only look good for that time period, but even hold up till the present today. The show just has this timeless intensely visually cartoony atmosphere and style to it, partially due to its use of both very bright, and dim colors for the color scheme. This sense of style is perhaps most expressed through the character designs, which both look cool and give off the 90s Saturday morning cartoon feel that’s just right for this kind of story. Also surprisingly, despite including the dreaded abomination that is CGI, the show manages to make very good use of it in the scenes that include it. Finally, the digimon themselves look very cool, ranging from odd to badass looking.

Sound: 6/10
The original soundtrack is pretty good overall. The OST by Takanori Arisawa of Sailor Moon fame is fine for the most part, but where the show’s soundtrack really shines is in the opening themes. Not only does it have some excellent J-pop openings, but a corresponding English version that easily manages to successfully stand beside them. Although that may just be because I grew up with the show. 

The dub & sub are both fairly good. Having said that, I prefer the dub over the sub for nostalgic reasons, despite the fact it cuts some of the more serious parts of the show. So thank you Fox Kids. Needless to say, it’s recommended that you go for the sub if you want to see the slightly more serious original version.

Enjoyment: 8/10 
So, suffice to say, I quite liked Digimon Adventure. It has cool characters, adventure, big monster fights, and a very interesting world. It was also one of the first anime I watched as a kid, so that certainly helps. As such, I still love it to this day, and it will always be one of my all time favorites. That said, even though my time with it as an adolescent has passed, I plan on showing it to my younger brother when he’s a little older, possibly even to my kids, in the unlikely scenario I ever have any.

Overall: 7/10
If you want to take a trip to the past and relive some happy childhood memories, then look no further than Digimon Adventure(unless you’re a hardcore Pokemon purist). On the other hand, if you don’t have any such memories and are slightly hesitant about watching something that's made for kids, considers looking towards the more mature Digimon Tamers, written by Chiaki J. Konaka, the writer of Serial Experiments Lain, Texhnolyze and Ghost Hound.

Special thanks to my editor, Lonecrit.


My favorite anime of all time. I'll try to review it using my head rather than my heart. Rsrs. God knows how I wanted to score this anime with a big 10. Still, it would mean putting it at the same level as Fullmetall Alchemist and above Steins, Fate, Death Parade, and other excellent adult shows. Digimon is suitable for all ages, therefore can't do certain things (and don't need to). I think it's like comparing a child to an adult, which is clearly unfair. But I must say, what an exceptional child!
I watched it as a child and loved it. A few years ago, I rewatched, fearing to destroy a good memory of my childhood, but, in the end, I got even more impressed with its quality.
Digimon revolves around eight children and their partners, the Digimons. Each of the children has a distinctive personality. You can tell who's who easily. They are not there just to add cool Digimon transformations for the group. You can relate to their personal problems. Their interaction is gold. The friendship and care for each other, the internal conflicts, and even the fights are relatable for all of us.
The villains are charismatic. They are aware of the world where they live. Most of them have their own ideal, not being just the general evil that must be destroyed. Myotismon even shows some good morals at times. I could even see a little bit of a victim in Pinocchimon (almost filling pity about his situation) rather than pure evil.
The music is powerful and reinforces the drama. It sure has caused an impact on me. The highest point is in Myotismon's saga. Every time it played caused me to tremble.
Incredible depth for a child's show. Not like the most that treat children as they were unable to feel more complex emotions, it's a show that respects its audience. Of course, don't expect the depth of an adult show. It has considerable flaws. The Etemon's saga is somewhat weak. The series has some cliché, and, most important for me, doesn't deal with death, which Tamers did. In that regard, it went deeper than the original.
If someday I have a child, I surely will watch that with him or her. It's an example, more than that, is a master class of how to make an anime for children keeping the fun and colorful and magical world with cute characters, making an easy plot to follow without calling them dumb. I'm writing that, BUT, you, grown-up, will have a lot of fun watching this as well.rsrsrs. Before being for children, Digimon is a good story and, therefore, is good for anyone, regardless of your age! I've watched Digimon at least three times at different moments in my life and in all of them it didn't disappoint me. On the opposite, I admired more and more this great show. Doing this review made me want to rewatch, and I'm sure I'll do it soon.

That's how to make an anime for children!

__Update: As of October 15th, 2023, this review was been completely rewritten.__

Hey, wait a minute! Didn't I already review this almost a decade ago? I did, actually. I've been looking back on a lot of my older reviews and found that they're not up to par with how my reviews are now. One person reached out to me in regards to an old _Digimon Adventure_ review I posted here AniList a while back, pointing out some things that I could have done better. I thought about it and was like "You know what? They make pretty fair points. Plus, I already redid my reviews for _Anohana, Madoka Magica_, and _Digimon Xros Wars_. What's stopping me from doing the same thing for _Digimon Adventure_?" Plus, now that Discotek Media re-released the series, both dub and sub, on Blu-Ray, I actually have an excuse to go back to the series and re-evaluate it! And I will admit, my original review is pretty old and rather overly fangirly, so I think it's high time I post a new review of the series. That being said, I do have a pretty sentimental connection to _Digimon Adventure_. It was one of the first anime I watched growing up, alongside Pokemon, and yes, I was a kid who loved both series equally, so I was never a part of the whole Pokemon VS Digimon debate that plagued the 90s and early 2000s.

A cursory summary of _Digimon Adventure_ consists of the following: Seven young children find themselves magically swept away from their summer camp and into another world where mysterious monsters known as Digimon rule the roost. The kids find themselves bonding with their respective Digimon partners, but with only them and devices called Digivices for protection, they have to find a way home. But the Digital World is fraught with danger, and the kids will find themselves not only facing unknown evils that threaten both the Digital World and their own, but their own personal demons as they discover more about this mysterious world they fell into. So in essence, _Digimon Adventure_ is basically an isekai before the term isekai entered the modern lexicon. Of course, back in the late 90s, isekai anime back then were much more varied than the typical stock light novel fare that saturate the anime/manga industry today, such as _Magic Knight Rayearth, The Twelve Kingdoms, Fushigi Yuugi_, and so on. But there are several things about _Digimon Adventure_ in particular that really resonated with kids on both sides of the globe, me included, and became the pop cultural phenomenon that continues to be beloved and remembered to this day.

As far as the animation goes, it's not exactly one of Toei's better animated properties, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have its own unique charm to it. The human designs for the characters manage to toe the line between cartoony and realistic without going overboard, while the Digimon creatures all have fun, unique designs that still manage to look distinct even decades later. That being said, this was a show made in 1999, complete with all the foibles and corner cutting that comes with it. Stock footage of Digimon digivolving and using their attacks is repeated ad nauseum, action scenes are drawn using as little on-screen movement as possible (Usually in the form of Digimon grappling with one another), other times the series tries to simulate movement by rotating a still image of a Digimon in a circular motion, and there are even times when the characters' eyes are drawn either really close or too far apart from one another depending on who was brought on to animate that particular episode. Often times changing in between scenes! There are even times when the characters don't even look like they're on the same layer, with several scenes showing the characters in the immediate background having thicker lines than those in the foreground, who have thinner outlines (One example being the Piximon episode, where TK and Tokomon race to clean Piximon's house). Yeah, consistent animation is not really this series' strong point at times. The series does get points in regards to its background art, which consists of nice, dreamy watercolor backgrounds for the Digital World, and Toei did a great job at really making the Digimons' home world look as distinct and otherworldly as possible, complete with its own rules, history, and lore. Seriously, modern isekai anime should really take a page out of Digimon's playbook in terms of worldbuilding and fleshing out its setting.

The soundtrack by _Sailor Moon_ veteran Takanori Arisawa is also a pretty major talking point because of just how different it is compared to the one provided by Saban. The music here, while parts of it can be heavy on the orchestras like Saban's can be, is much more subdued, and it knows when to pop off when a scene calls for it. Its also surprisingly versatile, dipping into genres such as rock, techno, pop, jazz, metal, and choral whenever a scene calls for it, with instruments such as saxophones, harmonicas, and woodwinds making the whole sound profile feel varied and whimsical without going over-the-top. And do I even need to mention all the songs by Kouji Wada, Ai Maeda, and Ayumi Miyazaki? What can I possibly say about those that haven't been said already? There are reasons why Butter-Fly and Brave Heart are beloved by the Digimon fanbase. In stark contrast, Saban's self-made soundtrack for the series, made by Udi Harpaz and sung by the late Paul Gordon, was all very heavy orchestras that were VERY firmly on the pulse of what was popular during the late nineties, and since execs decided that kids shows aren't allowed to have any moments of silence for some dumb reason, the music was EVERYWHERE, even when it would have been unnecessary and inappropriate to have it, oftentimes ruining the intended mood (Like the very peppy song Hey Digimon playing during really dramatic moments, like losing a battle or saying goodbye possibly permanently).

Most people who grew up watching Digimon as kids remember the characters, and for good reason. All of them are given the appropriate amount of development and each have their own unique strengths, weaknesses, idiosyncrasies, and quirks that make them actually feel like real kids rather than a bunch of stereotypes and caricatures. Now, in Japan, putting kids in frightening situations and having them actually face hardships and grow as people, and dealing with mature issues like adoption, divorce, abuse, illness, death, and so on is nothing new, as plenty of other children's anime such as everything in the World Masterpiece Theater have done it as far back as the seventies. Japan's lax broadcasting standards, even in that era, allowed for children's anime to tackle things that most countries, especially North America, wouldn't dare touch with a ten foot pole. Ironically, this is what would cement Digimon as a significant pop culture touchstone in North America because for all of Saban's attempts to water it down and make it more kid friendly, even removing stuff like guns and violence (Mainly because of execs not wanting to show cartoon kids engaging in "repeatable behaviors" and giving overzealous parents reason to riot, along with forcing them to adhere to strict broadcast standards), the team that adapted Digimon into English were given some free reign to keep a lot of the core themes in tact, which was extremely rare during the 90s and early 2000s, which [this video from the Cartoon Cipher](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FgmBGFhabwA) covers in more detail. Children's shows where kids were forced to own up to their own flaws and grow as people, and going through fairly realistic situations that are actually relateable, were extremely rare in North America, and while that's somewhat changed nowadays, American TV execs are still unfairly stringent when it comes to actually allowing kids' cartoons to be anything that's not sugary or saccharine because they're afraid the soccer moms will riot if they do. I'm glad Saban actually allowed the team working on Digimon's dub to keep the characters' core essence and nuances in tact, even if not every decision they made was the best, i.e. making Mimi much more of a stereotypically girly girl than she was in the Japanese version.

Rewatching it as an adult, I was surprised by how tight this series' storyline was. Mainly in that every episode progresses the plot in some way, whether it be the main narrative or giving the characters some time in the limelight and showing what they're like outside the central conflict. Yeah, the core premise itself is pretty cliche by modern standards, and the villains are all stock Saturday morning cartoon villains who want to take over the world, but hey, they're at the very least proactive and get stuff done rather than sit around in their lairs all day. But I think the main characters being as charming and well-developed as they are, along with the tight writing for the series as a whole more than make up for this...which makes the fact that the 2020 remake completely ditched all of this in favor of non-stop action and fighting all the more awful in hindsight. Good lord, I will never forgive the 2020 series for completely pissing on everything that made the original series so good. Even though I've grown up with the English dub, and even rewatched it when it aired on NickToons, my immediate memories of it are still fuzzy. But rather than just rehash a bunch of points others have made about the changes made to Digimon's English dub, I'm going to recommend that anyone interested in learning about the dub's history read Discotek's intensely detailed liner notes about it, and you can download PDFs of them [here](https://withthewill.net/threads/digimon-season-1-blu-ray-liner-notes-introduction-essay-tons-of-details-about-the-show.28694/). Discotek was originally going to put these on the Blu-Ray they put out for Digimon, as they've done for other shows they released, but for undisclosed reasons they weren't allowed to put them on BR. To make up for this, they were given permission to put them on the internet, making them accessible for anybody who has a working computer. Seriously, I highly, HIGHLY recommend you download and read those liner notes, because they go into extensive detail about EVERYTHING in regards to the series, such as its history, its production on both the Japanese and English side, the real life locations used in the series, continuity errors in the dub, voice cast changes, reasonings behind significant changes and dates in the series, call backs to the original games, the meanings behind the Digimons' names, and even pop culture references. And trust me, the real explanation behind August 1st being significant in the series is wild.

Other than the animation goofs I mentioned above, the only other issues _Digimon Adventure_ has are some things that are left unexplained (Which, ironically, do get explained in Japan-exclusive novels, which we Americans never got. Whelp) and the occasional Deus Ex Machina near the end. But even those are small potatoes compared to _Digimon Adventure_'s strengths as a whole. Say what you will about how other shows have done similar premises since Digimon's conception, and how it's not much different from other stuff Japan has made before or since, but the fact that North America mostly left the series alone when bringing it over here might have been the best thing to happen to the series. _Digimon Adventure_ as a series took its audience seriously and never talked down to them, with the staff behind the English localization realizing this and fighting to keep its core themes of friendship and overcoming hardship even within the ridiculous restrictions that American broadcasting standards tried to suffocate them with. This is why people who grew up with Digimon, myself included, still love and adore the series to this day. No, seriously, as of right now, Discotek is in the process of not only re-releasing the first three Digimon movies on blu-ray, but giving them brand new, uncut English dubs, bringing back as many of the English voice cast and staff as possible, all helmed by people who grew up with the series and want to give it the treatment it deserves. This would likely NEVER have happened if the Digimon series had been subjected to, say, the kind of treatment that 4Kids gave a lot of their shows back in the day. At this point its only a matter of time before Discotek licenses Tamers and onward. Now if only someone would give similar treatment to, say, _Tokyo Mew Mew_ or the original _Cardcaptor Sakura_ or _Ojamajo Doremi_. Those shows deserve uncut re-dubs too, dammit!!

_Digimon Adventure_ may not exactly be the most original children's anime out there, but the fact that it remained such an important, beloved series even as its audience grew up cements its place in pop culture history no matter which side of the Pacific you're on. It certainly defined a good portion of my own childhood, as it did for many others. But for the love of God, STAY AWAY FROM THE 2020 REMAKE!!!! IT SUCKS!!!

One of many anime from my childhood that taught me what anime was capable of, and one of the best kids anime ever.

**Overview**

90's anime is always very fun to watch, as it takes me back to the days of watching shows like Gundam Wing and Outlaw Star on late night TV as a kid when my parents had already gone to bed. 

The anime they knew I watched (when they were awake, anyway) were things like Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, DBZ and, of course, **Digimon Adventure**. After watching this again for the first time in decades, this show is definitely not the greatest, but as a kids show, it does its job well.

**The Main Points**

Digimon Adventure is the first ever season of the Digimon TV show, a franchise that is still publishing new content to this day. **The show follows a group of kids known as the Digi-destined**; Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi and TK, that are thrown into the Digi-world whilst at summer camp. With the help of their Digimon compatriots, the gang attempt to get back to their world, all whilst stopping all of the evil Digimon from taking over their cuddly friends' planet.

![The digidestined with their digi-mates](https://twinfinite.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/digi.jpg)

**Clocking in at 54 episodes** (a number I haven't seen often in other shows), Digimon Adventure explores a good number of different arcs, character introductions and storylines, all whilst ensuring the core characters i.e. the Digi-destined and their partners, are at the forefront of the show's climaxes. Doing this with a large cast can be quite difficult but Digimon Adventure actually does this really well. Every member of the Digi-destined have their own personalities, albeit quite basic, but enough to differentiate them in a kids show. They also have their own character arcs and fun interactions with each other without taking away from the group. Of course, there are more prominent characters than others (for example, Tai is written into the show more prominently than Joe), but generally, there's a really refreshing balance here.

A show like Digimon could have easily fallen into focusing far too much on the Digimon themselves and their evolutions (sorry, DIGI-volutions - wouldn't want to ruin the branding), but **Digimon Adventure made us care about the characters**. What I truly like about this is that they _act_ like kids at the worst of times; they squabble, they get on each other's nerves, they throw tantrums, and they fight in believable ways. Kids shows like to make their characters a little too perfect at times, but Digimon made the kids relatable, which is far more impressive.

The Digimon themselves are also a great foil to the show. Acting as both the character partners and the main villains of the show, many of the Digimon have their own personality, although it isn't as strongly written as the human characters of the show. The designs are great too - it's always cool to see the creativity of different enemies and transformations. Not only this, but the Digimon are typically the conduit of consequence - they're the ones fighting, they're the ones who get tired, they're the ones who get mind controlled, and they're the ones that die. They're also the ones improving, getting stronger, learning about relationships. This is done alongside the human characters, which makes it all the more endearing and enjoyable. I think this is where Digimon, as a kids show, was really impressive. 

![Agumon and Gabumon enjoying a little snicky-snack together](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/ea914385-70d7-476d-aa3b-37d0c449c464/de6pyos-b8484930-62eb-46d7-a76d-1d95e920e9df.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2VhOTE0Mzg1LTcwZDctNDc2ZC1hYTNiLTM3ZDBjNDQ5YzQ2NFwvZGU2cHlvcy1iODQ4NDkzMC02MmViLTQ2ZDctYTc2ZC0xZDk1ZTkyMGU5ZGYuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.NH3TmpDeLHDTq5K9oHJdUhRqXG-guLN8PCkzJQblzo0)

Digimon does touch on storylines and themes that, as a kid, you may not appreciate. But as an adult, recognising that a kids show that highlights the confusion of adoption, the complications of divorce, manipulation, dealing with death - this is heavy stuff, and Digimon write it in a very accessible and understanding way.

Unfortunately, I did watch the dub of Digimon Adventure. Hoo boy, it can certainly be an experience. The re-use of animations and weird inserts of CGI is borderline laughable, and the soundtrack is _grating_ - if I ever have to listen to "Hey Digimon, hey Digimon, monster friends to the boys and girls" again, it'll be too soon. The dubbed voice acting is too much at times - multiple Digimon having vague accents, one of them being an Elvis Presley impersonator, the generally awkward delivery of 50% of the script. It's magical, truly, but I can't judge the show too harshly on a poor dub. What I can judge it on is the fight sequences.

The villains of Digimon Adventure are great; the designs are great, the chase to the villain is great, the build-up is great. The fights are _truly_ dreadful. They're poorly animated, they have zero ramifications 90% of the time, and the majority last for maybe 2 or 3 moves post-Digivolution. It just didn't feel dynamic whatsoever, and the poor fight scenes do dampen the impact and conclusion of many of the story arcs. 

There are a few questionable parts of the story too, which I won't go into as this is intended to be as spoiler-free as possible (even though the show came out decades ago). There are certainly instances when our main cast make a decision, and you can't help but question if _anyone_ would do that, regardless of whether they're a young kid. The final third of the season also felt very rushed due to the amount of new characters that were introduced in such a short time, so the story did fall flat that side of the coin. The initial episodes of the show very much functioned as a "monster of the day" situation, similar to something like Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, with some reference to a more evil mastermind in the background. As the show progressed, the latter idea was more and more prominent, but the team didn't really give themselves enough time to explore this due to the amount of time spent on earlier "monster of the day" stuff. A frustrating situation as a writer, and one where a viewer may be wanting more.

![Greymon and Garurumon chillin](https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/ea914385-70d7-476d-aa3b-37d0c449c464/de9jh5t-ed66f96a-7389-4d87-95de-fcf42a828d7a.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOjdlMGQxODg5ODIyNjQzNzNhNWYwZDQxNWVhMGQyNmUwIiwiaXNzIjoidXJuOmFwcDo3ZTBkMTg4OTgyMjY0MzczYTVmMGQ0MTVlYTBkMjZlMCIsIm9iaiI6W1t7InBhdGgiOiJcL2ZcL2VhOTE0Mzg1LTcwZDctNDc2ZC1hYTNiLTM3ZDBjNDQ5YzQ2NFwvZGU5amg1dC1lZDY2Zjk2YS03Mzg5LTRkODctOTVkZS1mY2Y0MmE4MjhkN2EuanBnIn1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmZpbGUuZG93bmxvYWQiXX0.o-Omhz_5TdcokzoE5uOIdb5JQaB27axrQ5uXz-J_dDc)

**How to improve - 3 steps**

One thing I'd like to do in my anime reviews is to suggest three (3) improvements I would've liked to see in the show. I'm not an animator or writer, so do take this all with a pinch of salt!

- The animation: I have to acknowledge that the budget for Digimon's animation was very, very limited. That being said, it's just not very good in this department. Multiple still frames, lots of re-use, clunky fight scenes - Digimon Adventure really did not pave the way, unfortunately. It's a shame; if this had as much money thrown at it as something like Dragon Ball or Pokemon did, I feel the show would've aged considerably better. 

- The final arc: to keep as spoiler-free as possible, the final arc introduced a number of new characters that the show simply did not have enough time to write around. Had these characters been present from the start, I think the world-view of their development would've been much better, but unfortunately, it felt very rushed.

- The English dub: I mean, what is there to say here? I grew up with this so I can definitely cope, but I can only pray for those who want to watch this for the first time out of curiosity. The Saban dubbing is awkward at the best of times, and hilariously average in other instances. Sometimes it's a good thing. Sometimes... not so much.

**Final Thoughts**

Can I be honest? I think I kinda love Digimon Adventure. For all its flaws in animation and the cursed English dub, this show wrote a better story and held stronger themes than its competitors. It's a shame Digimon Adventure doesn't get the recognition it deserves, because it is truly a heartwarming watch - to the point where I'm considering watching subsequent or newer seasons of the show. I can certainly see myself watching this again in the future.

Digimon Adventure has its flaws, but as a kids show, has to be up there as one of the best 90s anime offerings

Digimon Adventure 1999 is about 7 children that get isekaied (sent to a different world) into a digital world full of digital monsters also called Digimon. Their original goal is to find a way home but soon develops to the desire to protect the world of the digital monsters instead. Each child gets a partner Digimon they befriend and together they do their best to survive in that harsh unfamiliar world.

Constantly referred to as a Pokemon rip-off because it came out later and both have mon in their names, Digimon manages to create its own identity with its setting and how the monsters have more dimensions compared to Pokemon.
Digimon differentiate themselves by having more than 4 evolution lines and have a lot of split evolution paths based on the condition they evolve. However, in this show the later only happened once. Another thing is that being digital monsters, their evolution don't always reflect the design of the creature they originally were and each evolution being more advanced sometimes even mechanical.

Despite being a low budget show and having a simple story, Digimon Adventure was pretty enjoyable. It has a good cast of characters and a good Digimon selection. Like Tamers they address some character issues but not on the same level. The group dynamic is good but not as good as Tamers because of the larger character cast.
Villains in Adventure are also the most mediocre since they are pretty one dimensional like Dragon Ball villains with Devimon being the blandest. Tho there is one exception being Puppetmon who is surprisingly deep and thoughtfully written.

The main appeal of Digimon Adventure is the use of its protagonists meaning the kids and Digimon. It can appear as impossible considering there are 7 children and 7 unique Digimon increasing the size of protagonists to at least 14.
Over the course of the series each child’s strength and weaknesses gets explored.

Taichi or Tai is considered the leader of the group and tries his best to make progress in the group even coming up with strategies to handle certain bad guys. However, not every plan is well thought out and backfires which lead to disagreements in the group, fights or even damaging his own decisions. Most often, he speaks his mind without taking others feelings into consideration.
His partner Agumon is usually always in favor of him and one of the strongest members in the group. Also in terms of evolution designs he is very appealing as in his Child form (or Rookie State) he appears like a small dinosaur who turns into a bigger one in his Adult form (Champion state). But what makes him real appealing are his later states where he becomes a Cyborg Dinosaur or a humanoid dragon with a shield and huge weapons meant to kill Digimon with dramon in their name.

Yamato or Matt is the older brother of Takeru aka. TK and can be considered second in command. He is the one who questions Tai the most often which lead them often into fights. While he isn’t much of a strategist, he always considers the the feelings of others. The biggest weakness is that he lacks self-esteem especially when he gets the feeling he isn’t needed especially by his brother.
His partner Gabumon encourages him and is his closest friend. Even when he knows what Matt does is wrong, he is willing to help him since he can’t abandon him the most. 
He and Agumon are the strongest Digimon in the group who always get the next evolution the earliest. Turning form a lizard wearing fur to a fire breathing dog and into a werewolf like form. His final form is a mechanized version of his Adult State.

Sora is considered the mother in the group who tries to keep everyone together but often feels like on of the weakest members in terms of usefulness. Especially when the bar for accomplishing a goal is too high, she loses confidence in herself.
Her partner Biyomon is a birdlike creature who really loves being with her. She often plays the motherly role for her helping her with her mental problems and regain confidence. Sometimes to see things from a different perspective. Being a birdlike creature, her evolutions reflect that.

Koushirou or Izzy is the nerd of the group and lacks the ability to socialize himself with others leading to awkward situations. However, he is the most useful member as he is skilled with tech and can uncover the secrets of the digital world they are trapped in. While his desire to know everything can be a strength, it also is his biggest weakness.
His Digimon Tentomon is a bug Digimon and can be considered more an assistant to him helping him out but also warning him when things get dire since Izzy can be too focused on what he is working on. His evolutions are also bug based.

Mimi is very selfish and self centered and often complains about everything. Her strength is her sincerity which is sadly also a weakness when hurting others feelings. Over the course of the story she becomes more understanding of the Digimon feeling her desire to protect them.
Her partner Palmon, a plant digimon, has to comfort her often but there are often situations where she helps Mimi to understand that what she is doing is wrong. Her Adult form is a cactus with boxing glows and her final state is a fairy coming from the flower that grown from the cactus.

Jou or Joey is the oldest member of the group. While he lacks commanding skills and can’t get the respect of others, he is the one that can be relied on the most. Even when he is scared or doesn’t want to feel any pain, he is willing to risk his own life to protect the ones younger than him showing. Meaning despite being coward, he is the most reliable.
His partner Gomamon is a seal-like creature with a goofy personality. Often they have a comedy routine together and helps Joe to not take things too serious. He is often helpful when travelling over water with his friends that are fishes or his first evolution Ikkakumon, a giant walrus. His final form is a mixture of a walrus, turtle and some other animals with a huge hammer.

Takeru is the youngest member at the start and Yamato’s younger brother. He is the least experienced and the show has him go through the arc of growing up and becoming more self reliant.
Patamon, his partner, which is a flying hamster-like creature often plays the role of someone who looks after him, but struggles through the lack of power and experience. However, he has the most potential in the group and his evolution are the most helpful against evil Digimon. When going by Digimon lore which honestly don’t play a role in the story, his final evolution is equivalent of that of an archangel of the Digmon World.

The show shines in developing these wildly different kids since each of them have unique character issues not mentioned in this review. In a later story arc, the relationships with their families get explored where they will also get introduced to another member to the group.
Issues like divorced families, adoption and living up to family expectation get explored in the story which by today’s standards sound an impossible task by the sheer size of characters.

As a show where monsters fight each other, Digimon fights at the start aren’t that impressive. However,  just seeing the different forms and the emotional struggles needed to archive the forms are usually worth it where the lack of good choreography can be looked past. There is a reason why many evolution, especially when they first appear, will stay with you. As the show progresses, the fights and budget improve. There will be a lot of recycled animation and the evolution to Child and Adult states seem rather lame.
But when the show goes to Perfect forms (Ultimate states) or Ultimate forms (Mega states), the transformation sequences jump in quality.
There is the use of CGI for certain evolution which normally would be a turn off, but since Digimon are digital creatures, the evolution scenes are tolerable and give the show a unique identity as many later Digimon series will use that concept for their transformation scenes.

While Digimon is a kids show, it can be off putting or flat out scare the viewer as it goes on since the enemies can be deviant and scary. The first major antagonist is the literal devil. Later there is a toy monkey. But after that there is a vampire who kills people on screen and turns into a devil too. One of the final antagonists is literally an evil clown.
While the show does have reincarnation for the Digimon in their world, that doesn’t apply to those who die outside of the Digital World or the human.

Digimon has mostly bland villains, simple story, primitive fights and lackluster animation, however, the protagonists are the heart and soul of the series. Their issues and their strength as well as their interactions with their families, friends and each other is what allowed Digimon go gain its massive following.

Plants that turn into Birds. Dogs turn into Cats or Cyborgs. Can this anime really Warp Shinka to masterpiece?

Digimon Series Watch Order

Digimon Movie 1: Digimon Adventure

Digimon Adventure (Season 1)

Digimon Movie 2: Mokura no War Game

Digimon Adventure 02 (Season 2)

Digimon Movie 3: The Golden Digimentals

Digimon Tamers (Season 3)

Digimon Movie 4: Diaboromon Strikes Back

Digimon Movie 5: The Adventurer's Battle

Digimon Movie 6: Runaway Locomon

Digimon Frontier (Season 4)

Digimon Movie 7: Revival of Ancient Digimon

Digimon Movie 8: Digimon X-Evolution

Digimon Savers (Season 5)

Digimon Movie 9: Digimon Savers- Ultimate Power! Burst Mode Invoke!!

Digimon Savers 3D: A Close Call for the Digital World

Digimon Xros Wars

Digimon Wars: Aku no Death General to Shichinin no Oukoku

Digimon Xros Wars: Toki o Kakeru Shounen Hunter-tachi

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 1: Reunion

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 2: Determination

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 3: Confession

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 4: Loss

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 5: Coexistence

Digimon Adventure Tri. Movie 6: Future