#we live in a digital world digimon digimon

[maxiwaxipads]

Manufactured SEEDs

Basically, the concept is that SEEDs once served as a “positive” force meant to permanently remove or separate negative emotions that were deemed unnecessary.

(I wish I could elaborate but I don’t really know how) (I wanted the idea that “SEEDs” have always existed or something unique to Fragaria Memories without being inspired to anything if that makes sense?)

Assuming that SEEDs existed during the time of Legendary Red, what if “Legendary Red” made the SEEDs but backfired and twisted the story that they saved the world of Fragaria from the SEEDs.

Maybe the SEEDs couldn’t be completely destroyed for whatever arbitrary reason, and the Strawberry King took responsibility to guard the last remnant of existing SEEDs left from this world of Fragaria?

Eldritt’s purpose is to keep the origin of SEEDs and the truth of Legendary Red a secret. 

<- But at the same time, what good is keeping the truth hidden(?)) “To keep the world idyllic”(?) (How would revealing the truth about Legendary Red and the SEEDs affect the world? 

(Maybe we can connect this to time loop theory(?)) (Do you think Halritt wants to keep the world happy by all means necessary) (and time loop is his only answer)

Do you think their existence evolved during their entrapment by the Strawberry King? They’re indiscriminately trying to feed from negative emotions because of this insatiable hunger they had for who knows how long?

How did they escape? Why did the Strawberry King disappear?

Lovers to the same lies— Protectors to sanctity, memories to sanity Red-splattered puddles dye into black I, the shadow to which you belong … strangers to the flesh. Fumbled darkness, the pitch-black mold. A stiff neck … Unable to turn. (Clocks unfortunately twist … A head rolls down.)

Edlritt - “What only needs to be known is that…” Eldritt - “We both want the SEEDs eliminated.” “So, Merold, as long as the motivation exists—we will both be quiet.” Eldritt - “Is this clear enough for you?"

[maryychill]

Digimon Adventure Tri: why it's more than you think

I believe Digimon Adventure Tri deserves a more careful, emotionally attuned rereading. I'm not here to claim absolute truth. I just want to share what I understood and felt, hoping this might encourage viewers to see the work through a different lens, especially if they're open to reevaluating it.

Tri isn't broken, it's fractured on purpose

Tri is not a classic sequel. It doesn't try to replicate the adventure spirit of the original series. Instead, it dares to explore a more introspective and emotional space. I've read some people saying that there are many subplots. But if you pay attention, everything that seems scattered is actually tied together by one common thread: the dissonance between who they once were, and who they begin to be when life stops giving easy answers.

I understand that not everyone wants to see their childhood characters grow up. That's valid. Sometimes we'd rather keep them frozen in time, running across the digiworld without ever facing heartbreak or existential crisis.

But Tri proposes something different.

It doesn't ask us to return to who we were, it asks us to acknowledge that we've changed. It shows that heroes can hesitate, that bonds can shift, and that searching for meaning is part of the fight too.

I find it moving that these characters have grown, that they're still evolving, each in their own way. That gives me hope. Because evolving doesn't always look like a flashy transformation. Sometimes it looks like staying, questioning, choosing not to run.

And if this stage doesn't resonate with you, that's okay too. Maybe it wasn't your moment. Or maybe your connection to Adventure lives on a different plane.

The beauty is that nothing takes away what came before or what comes after. It just gains new layers over time.

An emotional, not conventional structure

Tri doesn't talk about an external enemy. It speaks of an internal fracture.

From the very beginning, it tells us:

“Demiurge, the soulless creator... Idea, the true form of the world...”

This isn't just poetic dressing, it's the story's thesis. The Digital World was created as a system, but one that never truly understood the beings it would hold. The infection corrupting digimon isn't just a virus. It's a metaphor, a crack in the digital soul.

Tri doesn't follow the traditional "adventure-enemy-digivolution" formula. Its core conflict often comes in silences, glances, inner contradictions.

What hurts isn't always what happens. Sometimes it's the feelings too complex to name.

Taichi hasn't lost his courage, he's transformed it into responsibility.

Yamato isn't angry for drama's sake, he's frustrated because he doesn't know how to reach Taichi anymore.

Sora doesn't fade, she's depleted from holding everyone together while forgetting how to hold herself.

Joe isn't a coward, he's the first to confront doubt.

Mimi isn't shallow, she's defending her authenticity in a world that tries to mute it.

Koushiro isn't just the genius, he's a child who made logic his shield to avoid emotional collapse.

Takeru isn't just the optimist, his quiet strength is how he doesn't get pulled under by others' pain.

Hikari isn't just light, she's a channel. Her sensitivity connects her to the invisible, but it also makes her deeply vulnerable.

Meiko isn't a mistake, she's the weight of quiet guilt and undeserved blame.

Himekawa isn't a villain, she's a warning, consumed by a love that couldn't let go.

Nishijima isn't a mentor, he's a man who regrets arriving too late.

A symbolic reading of the Digital World

Tri challenges the Digital World's mythology. It introduces concepts like the Demiurge (imperfect creator) and Idea (true essence), pulling from gnostic and platonic philosophy. The infection is not just a digital bug. It's the result of a world built without understanding the emotions that would one day inhabit it.

Distortions in space, corrupted binary code (like the unexplained "2" in a system built on 0 and 1), the merging of realities, and the appearance of soulless replicas like Imperialdramon, none of it is random. It all speaks to a world collapsing from within, not due to external battles.

A quiet story of transformation

At the beginning of this story, Taichi wants to bring everyone back together, but time has passed. They've taken different paths, changed in ways that aren't always compatible. It's not about caring less. It's about learning that closeness sometimes fades without meaning to, and that trying to reclaim it isn't always simple.

A common criticism is that Taichi now hesitates and that this is regression.

Taichi's hesitation isn't fear, it's awareness. A pause. A question: can I still protect, without hurting anyone?

This isn't a contradiction, it's a continuation.

Let’s go back to Adventure:

Episode 16: SkullGreymon emerges from his recklessness

Episode 19: Sora was kidnapped because of him

Episode 45: his leadership fractures the group

Episode 48: we see him doubt and we learn the origin of his guilt, blaming himself for Hikari's near death as a child.

02 never explored that aftermath. The story shifted focus to a new cast. But Tri picks up that thread and now Taichi isn't afraid of danger, he's afraid of causing harm. That’s not cowardice, it's growth.

And in that pause, we glimpse the roots of the future Taichi, who will one day become a diplomat, working for coexistence between humans and digimon.

Yamato doesn't understand the change, and he pushes, hoping to ignite the old spark. But underneath the anger is the fear of losing a connection that once felt unbreakable.

Meanwhile, the Digital World is fracturing.

Not from outside danger, but from the blurring lines between emotion and system, past and present, role and identity.

Soulless Systems

These aren't classic "villains":

Yggdrasill is not an evil mastermind or alien invader. It's a symbolic, near-divine system that governs without empathy. Cold, logical, and utterly disconnected. It never appears because it doesn't need to. Its will is carried out through proxies like Alphamon, corrupted Gennai, and even manipulated humans. Yggdrasill represents the idea of a creator that has lost touch with its creation, a divine absence rather than a presence.

Alphamon is not an enemy. He's an executor without voice or motive. He doesn't speak, doesn't hate, doesn't choose. He deletes threats because that is his function. He is kind of a ghost in armor, a weapon with no soul, following the will of a broken god.

Homeostasis is not the "good side". It's a system that seeks balance. A bodiless, emotionless protocol whose only priority is to restore order when chaos threatens to collapse the Digital World. It doesn't act out of empathy or cruelty, it simply follows its function. It doesn't shift because it changes its mind, but because its compass is not moral, it's systemic. It speaks through vessels (like Hikari) and intervenes not with force, but by rebooting what’s broken to restore balance.

Hackmon / Jesmon is not a friend or foe. He is the system's messenger. He watches from the shadows, especially focused on Meicoomon, whom he perceives as a destabilizing anomaly. But Hackmon doesn't act on feeling. He is the voice of Homeostasis. Its blade. And when observation is no longer enough, he digivolves into Jesmon. But Jesmon is not hope, is protocol. A final measure. He doesn't come to save, he comes to execute.

When the system doesn't grasp the soul

In a world where connections become unpredictable, systems try to fix what they don't understand.

But emotions can't be repaired or deleted with code.

It's there, amidst reboots and algorithms, that the chosen children must decide whether to obey or to choose.

Meicoomon, a rift in the soul

Meicoomon isn't just an infected digimon, she contains Libra, which can't be controlled or regulated.. Her bond with Meiko is the most fragile, yet it's also honest.

Meiko, a chosen child who struggles to understand and bear her role, still chooses to stay. She remains, even when she feels she's the source of the pain, and even when her presence brings discomfort to others.

Libra, the code sealed in the soul

Libra is more than just a virus or a system error. It's an anomaly within the code, a burden sealed within Meicoomon from her origin. Imagine it as a living archive, holding the emotional record of the Digital World before its reboot: light and shadow, order and chaos.

To safeguard this data, it was encrypted inside her, unbeknownst to her and beyond her capacity to handle.

But Meicoomon was not created to carry such a burden. Her sensitivity and natural instability made her vulnerable to that information. It overwhelmed her, turning her into a contradiction of innocence and chaos.

Libra is not her fault. It's the Digital World's doing for putting such a heavy burden on a digimon who simply deserved to exist.

The Reboot: resetting isn't healing

The reboot wasn't a mere narrative whim or an attempt to "fix" the Digital World. It was an emergency measure. The infection had destabilized the system so severely that Homeostasis executed its last resort to restore balance: a complete reset.

This reboot came with an incredibly high cost: the loss of memories, of everything shared between the chosen children and their partners.

It wasn't an act of malice, but one of coldness. A systemic protocol that simply doesn't account for emotions. For Homeostasis, a bond is just another variable in the equation of balance.

Some criticize the reboot for "failing" because Meicoomon remained infected. But that's precisely the point: Libra wasn't a superficial error. It was a deep rift, inscribed in her soul. It wasn't just digital, it was existential. And that can't be erased with a reset. Systems can be rebooted, but the soul cannot.

Yet, even though the reboot failed in its ultimate goal, the most valuable outcome was this: even without memories, without data, without prior programming... the bonds found their way back. Because some connections don't depend on memory. Some encounters transcend code. When the soul recognizes another, it doesn't need reasons. It simply responds.

Tri shows us that some connections can't be explained, they can only be felt. These are the bonds that endure, even through forgetfulness and loss.

And it's within this very mystery, something that completely eludes rigid systems, that the emotional and the intangible begin.

The "canon" isn't broken, the story has layers

The absence of the 02 kids has been one of the most persistent criticisms of Tri. However, from the first episode, their disappearance is presented as a deliberate choice, not an oversight. It's not a case of forgetting or erasing them. It was about narrowing the focus. Also, a narrative void designed to generate uncertainty, and that uncertainty is a key part of the emotional tone the story aims to convey.

Alphamon defeats them off-screen, and while this bothers their fans, it also emphasizes a crucial point: this isn't their story. It's the story of the original chosen children. Of those who are drifting apart and question if they are still the same people. Himekawa deceives them, telling them everything is fine, much like the system watches them silently. This manipulation also reflects an uncomfortable truth: sometimes, we grow up believing everything remains as it was, until it no longer does.

And when Imperialdramon appears in Episode 8 “Determination - Part 4”, it does so as a shadow. Not as the return of a beloved digimon, but as an anomaly. Daisuke and Ken aren't there. There's no digivice, no connection. It's a silent replica that attacks as if the Digital World were projecting a broken memory.

Could the pain of their absence have been explored more deeply? Maybe. But Tri chooses to focus its lens. It doesn't erase or contradict, it simply pauses at a different stage: the stage of those who are present. Those who, without intending to, also somewhat disappeared from themselves.

Perhaps Tri wasn't created to please. Perhaps it was created to make us feel.

Not all errors are failures

Tri isn't perfect. There are narrative moments that could have been more polished, and even the technical aspects of the art could have been refined. Yet, as a whole, it's a work that takes risks and proposes new ideas. It shifts the focus from "what happens" to "what we feel".

And for a series built on emotion and evolution, that might be one of the most natural next steps it could take.

What Tri tells us (if we dare to listen)

Tri shows us that growing up isn't just about leaving things behind, it's about relearning who you are when everything changes.

It shows us that sometimes, bonds break without anyone being at fault.

It reminds us that you can't always save another person, but you can stay, watch, feel, and simply be there.

And above all, Tri makes us realize a powerful truth: that bonds, even if they fade, change, or cause pain, are still what makes life truly meaningful. Because to feel, to doubt, to make mistakes, and to try again with another, that is truly to evolve, and it's absolutely worth it.

Recommendations for a better viewing experience

Divide it into chapters. I know Tri was originally released as OVAs, but you might find it on platforms like Crunchyroll, which divides it into episodes. This makes it easier to digest its emotional pacing.

Watch at least these prequels beforehand: Digimon Adventure, Our War Game and Digimon Adventure 02. Not because they're strictly mandatory, but because I think Tri is in direct conversation with the memories and events of those stories.

Choose the original japanese audio with subtitles. The dubs (especially in english and spanish) often contain significant errors that distort the emotional message. The original japanese voice acting is also rich with subtle nuances.

Avoid external noise. Don't let soulless criticisms or external expectations contaminate your experience. Watch Tri with a clear mind and open heart. Let the story unfold and speak to you, at your own pace, in your own way.

If it helps, approach it as a side story. Think of Tri less as a continuation and more as an exploration of this particular stage in the original Adventure kids' lives.

And if Tri wasn't for you, that's perfectly fine. Don't worry. It doesn't ruin anything, and it doesn't change anything. You can simply choose to omit its existence, or you can enjoy the layers it adds as it leads us toward the epilogue of Adventure 02.

Thanks for reading. If Tri also stirred something within you, offered you comfort, or left you with questions... it's truly wonderful to inhabit that space with you.

[alpaca-clouds]

The 1990s and the Monsters

Back when Digimon game to the west, everyone was very quick to decide that it was a rip-off of Pokémon. Every Digimon fan obviously knows that this is not true, given how close the origin of the franchises lay too each other in Japan. The first Pokémon game released in Japan in October 1996, the Digital Monster Tamagotchi release in Japan in June 1997, not even a full year later. In fact, we do know how Digimon started: By Bandai trying (and somewhat failing) to market Tamagotchi to boys. (Digimon was still a lot more popular with girls. lol Turns out girls love monsters, too.)

But here is the thing: Monster taming was a popular genre in Japanese media for decades at the time - and something about the second half of the 1990s made several companies go: "You know what we need right now? A monster training franchise!"

While Pokémon is by far the most famous of the franchises, and Digimon probably follows in second place -internationally - those two were by far not the only ones. As someone who grew up at the time, had access to the internet, and was very liberal in regards to downloading anime... Oh boy, there was a lot of monster stuff happening at the time.

Some of it was great. Most of it never came to the west. A lot of it never got a second, let alone a third season. And oh boy, I want to talk about it. Which is why I will do this during the next couple weeks, because... You know what? You deserve to know about all those monster shows that came out between like 1995 and 2005. It sure was a lot. And you might find something in there that you are going to absolutely adore.

And mind you, while YGO never was intended to fall into this, it ended up falling into it too. But YGO you all probably know, given that it is fairly popular in the west. Monster Rancher also came out in the west - though somehow barely anyone seems to remember it existing. I am not quite sure why.

But generally speaking, this particular time had a ton of stuff that was based around the idea of "kid teams up with (somewhat) sentient non-human creature(s) to do stuff". This stuff could be anything. Saving the world, fighting in some sort of tournament, or - quite often - hacking stuff. It was after all the millennium and computers were the new hot shit. The internet was finally starting to be more widely used ans such.

I think next to this, the Japanese idea of living "things" (an even more literal ghost in the machine) and also a variety of traditions - such as Onmyouji - were playing a role into why this particular idea was becoming so popular in Japan. Though I guess no one can doubt that some part of it also was that Pokémon came out in 1996, became popular, and everyone was trying to jump onto the bandwagon. While I will still maintain that this was not thetruth for all of it (Digimon and Monster Farm released as games too close to Pokémon to be inspired by it and as I noted: YGO was inspired by MTG, not Pokémon).

Still, as someone who grew up on those shows, I am fascinated by them - and especially by those that got forgotten by the wider audiences.

And yeah, I think the others never came out over here. So, yeah.

Over the next weeks I am going to talk about them.

[randomtheidiot]

Digimon worldbuilding: This ragtag group of human children was chosen by The Powers That Be to save the digital world from some sort of mortal peril. They’ve been yoinked from their lives on earth so they can save us all. Who knows if they’ll ever make it home?

Pokémon worldbuilding: This is Ash. He lives here. He just kinda shows up whenever something bad happens, we don’t really know why, but mostly he just sleeps in a tent and teaches his pet Tesla coil kung-fu so they can win wrestling matches at the nonverbal furry convention.

[seventeenlovesthree]

Mimi Tachikawa's clothing style - a meta analysis

While their clothing styles are arguably an underlying theme in both Koushirou's and Sora's ways of self-expression (even if it's never at the forefront of their arcs), no other character lives and breathes the idea of expressing themselves through fashion as openly as Mimi. So after Taichi, Yamato and the two redheads, let's take a closer look at Digimon Adventure's very own fashion queen, shall we:

Adventure (+ Our War Game), age 10/11:

If there is one thing the viewer can immediately tell about Mimi, it's probably her favourite colour: Through the course of Adventure, you will rarely see her wear an outfit that doesn't include one pink item of clothing (or at least an accessory) at minimum. While she also has a preference for red shades, she absolutely loves pink in all its variations - on her everyday outfits as well as on her pyjamas! In terms of style, Mimi loves to combine comfort with "being fashionable". The feminine red cowgirl dress and beige-brown - assumably - shearling boots are not exactly the most practical items to wear during a camping trip; but they perfectly complement her favourite item, the pink cowgirl hat she hides her long, wavy hair under in a ponytail. In general, hat(s), dresses/skirts and boots are a repeating theme for her, as we will see later on.

Mimi didn't exactly start Summer camp unprepared, as she wears brown gloves (in a similar colour as her hair) and carries around a brown bag with camping equipment all the way. On the other hand, as Mimi grew up in a sheltered household, at the beginning of Adventure, she is very prone to let everyone around her know when her comfort is being disrupted. Thus, it's no surprise that she got coerced into exchanging her travel-ridden outfit (probably sweaty and dirty at this point) for a fancy white-pinkish (!) princess dress, as PicoDevimon's intrigue aimed to corrupt her. After all, she was overwhelmed by the situation - and loves pretty clothes and being comfortable, so she (understandably!) gets lost in the convenience of luxury for a bit. Thus even Taichi telling her how "impractical" the dress would be as a traveling fit couldn't shake her out of it for a while. However: As a mix between red's passion and white's purity, pink symbolizes love, nurture and compassion - and so it shall also come as no surprise that Mimi (encouraged by Sora) eventually found her way back to the right path and leave the spoilt attitude behind for the sake of her duty.

Even though she'll leave the beloved hat behind with Palmon in the Digital World at some point as well - it won't be the last hat she'll own. And also not the last pink one!

02 (+ Diablomon Strikes Back), age 13/14:

The transition phase between Adventure and 02 already shows Mimi getting a little more experimental with colours, as she actually added white, blue and green - her signature colour - to the mix. However, the viewer is not prepared for just how experimental Mimi would turn out to be! And neither were the animators, as several of Mimi's incredibly varied concept outfits didn't make it into the anime - but let's go through it step by step:

At the beginning of 02, we learn that Mimi's family has moved to the USA - and if the cowgirl aesthetic hasn't been an indicator before, 13-year-old teenage!Mimi will go all out on the American aesthetic and a style that couldn't be more early 2000s: Wearing a crop top that couldn't be closer to the US American flag if she tried, a white short skirt and high heels with white kneesocks. Most notably, for the majority of the season, her favourite colour pink will be a permanent part of her - as she chose to dye her (a little shortened, but more voluminous) hair pink. Additionally, she has adopted the star motive for herself - which we have previously only seen on Taichi! Mimi herself wears them either on her shirt - or as small hairclips in her hair.

Speaking of hair - unfortunately, the viewer won't get to see most of her hair experiments (namely the dark brown dreads, the highlights and the space buns). In one episode, her strawberry blonde perm (and pants!!!) can be witnessed at least - and eventually, we'll see her return to her natural hair colour. She also returns to the cowgirl aesthetic in Summer, once again wearing a pink hat (!), a white cowgirl dress, boots - and pigtails.

In general, one can tell that Mimi undoubtedly enjoys her youth abroad, as she seemed fascinated by American culture and the idea of "expressing herself freely" as a 10-year-old already. In the Adventure novels, it is already implied that Mimi stood out among her peers in school and - similarly yet differently to Koushirou - may be considered "odd" in contrast to more "more traditional" Japanese customs (such as Sora's kimono-wearing mother as a traditional iemoto). Mimi also never fit into lifestyle aesthetics like Gyaru or Lolita, but definitely thrives in experimenting with extravagant, less traditional clothes and hairstyles through Summer that draw attention and display her personal interpretation of femininity; outfits that are funky, stylish (mainly crop tops, short skirts/shorts and high boots) and, most importantly, individualistic.

By the end of the season and the start of winter, she goes in a bit of a different direction: Her winter outfit is probably one of her most iconic ones - as well as the most high-femme she's ever been: Mimi fully commits to the spirit of Christmas by wearing a pine green coat and hat, accompanied by her long(er) flowy hair, a mahogany red skirt and light brown boots - it's cozy and mature and very Christmas-tree-y! A similarly mature vibe is maintained during Diablomon Strikes Back, as she wears a yellow turtleneck, a mahogany red skirt, a star necklace and brown boots. She doesn't exactly grow out of the experimental expressionist phase - but gets more balance into it. It's all very symbolic for 02!Mimi, who isn't just incredibly self-confident, but has also grown out of her "spoilt princess" tendencies. Instead, she has her own mind and insists on it - in a constructive, self-assured way!

Tri, age 16:

Tri!Mimi is mostly consistent with the majority of style elements we have discovered so far and actually adds a fashion-related element to her arc. First, let's focus on the things we are familiar with - and add the aspects that are new:

By now, Mimi has stopped dying her hair regularly and mostly sticks to wearing it open and/or with a headband. Sometimes, she does wear a ponytail, still cherishes the cowgirl hat whenever it fits - and in one scene, is even seen wearing unconventional bangs (and bunny ears that almost let me doubt that it was her for a moment, but since she actually wore stars - for the first and only time in Tri -, we can tell that it's her!). Thus, she still likes to experiment with variety!

Clothes-wise, she still prefers (mostly short!) dresses/skirts/shorts, (sandal-)boots - and of course the colour pink in most of her everyday outfits (with splashes of red, green and blue in between), including yukatas! Tri also lets her wear jeans for a change - but rather rarely.

Her school uniform includes exactly two aspects that differentiate her from the way Sora wears it: First of all, she adds a splash of colour by wearing red-white sneakers (whereas Sora wears standard loafers). Second, she wears rolled-up long sleeves in Summer - and is the only one who does so besides Yamato.

Last but not least, let's talk about the formerly mentioned US American influences that got her in trouble for a bit: After transferring back to Japan, she suggests hosting a Hooters-like café for the school festival - and thus her outgoing, funky (and undeniably more revealing) ideas clash with her more traditional, reserved Japanese classmates.

Her general sentiment is that she doesn't see the use in holding back or hiding her true feelings and thoughts for the sake of pleasing others. It's her sense of sincerity, which gets perceived as egotism by her classmates, that requires her to balance herself out again (and not just in terms of fashion, as she also got into a fight with Koushirou over priorities as well):

She has to find a way not to give herself up while simultaneously not stepping on everyone else in the process - and just like when she got seduced by a princess dress at age 10, things eventually get resolved. Working with Sora and Meiko to create an orange-purple cheerleading outfit, her performance and enthusiasm doesn't just impress her classmates, but help her to reconcile with them. Even though the outfit may have shown more skin than they initially anticipated, it was still a good mix between practical, fun and cute for them to seem more open to the idea of experimentation themselves. This subplot also greatly contributes to Meiko's character development, helping her to get a little bit more confident herself!

To quote Mimi in the English dub here: "Fashion demands courage."

Kizuna, age 21:

Kizuna represents a small shift in Mimi's expressionist attitude - or rather, as she stepped into the world being an entrepreneur, running her own online business, she interprets some of her prior style elements a little... Differently, depending on the situation:

She still loves (short) dresses and will never give up on pink - however, her everyday outfit appears a little different than what we are used to with her. It's still colourful and funky, complemented by earrings and bracelets with splashes of colour. But gone is the cowgirl hat - and the hair she used to wear open for most of the past ten years has been tied back into a (loose) bun. The style is very difficult to describe and even though it's very much Mimi-esque in the way it's individualistic - it looks a little more kindergarten teacher-esque as well. In contrast, her business meeting outfit - a strapless long-sleeve shirt, a black belt and a high-waist skirt in burgundy red - combines familiar elements of Winter02!Mimi and Tri!Mimi.

The epilogue, approximately age 38:

38-year-old Businesswoman-slash-experimental-TV-star-cook!Mimi elaborated on the look of 21-year-old Businesswoman!Mimi - and while her look definitely evolved, she also returned to her roots again, finding a balance between "more traditional" and "individualistic": She's back to wearing her hair open, it's a little shorter and, depending on how she styles it, either wavy or frayed. The pink cowgirl hat is back too - as well as the whole cowgirl aesthetic, because, let's be real, she would always find a way back to it, considering how it had become such a reoccurring theme for her.

Final thoughts (and headcanons):

Mimi being as experimental as she has always been, trying out all the different things - in both fashion and life itself - absolutely stands for her honest, pure nature. She absolutely has her own mind and trusts her intuition a lot - and this experimental yet straightforward mindset will lead her to make decisions in the end: It helps her to learn exactly what she wants/likes and what she doesn't want/like. Go big or go home, don't hide who you are deep down inside!

It's a very progressive, empowering mindset - and so it shall not even come to any surprise that it's mainly (but not exclusively!) female characters she inspires with her way of thinking. Whether it's Miyako who heavily idolizes and wishes to be like her as she blushes and smiles serenely to herself; Meiko who gains a lot of self-confidence through Mimi's support and encouragement and kisses on the cheek, so she bursts through her self-destructive thoughts and gets "out of the closet box" at least a little more; her female classmates who actually adore and admire her school festival outfit and performance; or, last but not least, there is Sora, who used to take Mimi under her wing, and is, as an adult, reassured by her in return to "spread her wings freely" herself. Personally, it's very difficult for me not to see Mimi's influence and general theme as a metaphor for self-discovery in terms of gender-representation and sexuality as well. (I've made similar points for Sora and Koushirou in their respective analysis posts as well; the former is such a strong contrast to Mimi not only in the way their personalities, styles and arcs contrast each other, but in how Sora struggles so much with her own self-representation in return. The latter's temporary crush on Mimi may even play into the idea of self-discovery as well, but that's a topic for another day. Mimi - in my personal opinion you don't have to agree with! - actually has a lot of aroace energy, as she never actively pursues romance herself in the series. But at the same time, the wlw vibes she causes when she's in the same room with other girls cannot be overlooked! Also, not to say that she doesn't inspire male characters - such as Jyou, Koushirou and Taichi - at various points as well, but that's the beautiful part of Mimi's theme: even more empowerment AND power to the bisexual vibe!)

However, as it is often the case with themes of self-discovery, that kind of sincere, outgoing attitude may not be to everybody's liking. It may even cause Mimi's more revealing/emotion-based choices to clash with other people's preferences and ideals. And, as Tri suggests, it may even be controversially considered self-centered and indecent instead of self-confident and empowering by some.

For example, the fact that she spent most of her early teenage years in a - in comparison to Japan - more open society in terms of fashion choices may be met with suspicious eyes among some of her Japanese peers. 02!Mimi did pick more revealing clothes after all, which were typical for Western teenagers in the 2000s - and Tri!Mimi was 100% used to that kind of style, liking to show skin and feeling free and happy while doing so! Which definitely collided with Meiko's more closed-off clothing choices.

(On a different note, it shall not be ignored that she was also the focus of a lot of heavily sexualized/objectified marketing materials back in the Tri era. So while her wearing crop tops, short skirts and high boots absolutely IS a Mimi!thing, Tri's half-naked fan service promo art can and should be taken with a grain of salt. And while it's not exactly linked to her clothes, Mimi had already faced a lot of Digimon (!) back in Adventure hitting on her as a 10-year-old - such as Numemon and Sukamon -, trying to date her in a rather scummy fashion. So her being the center of weird "fan service" and uncomfortable encounters has always been a thing.)

On the other hand, her learning/knowing exactly what she wants also includes her having reoccurring preferences she will always come back to. And thus, as she grew more mature and self-assured, Mimi never gave up on her own personal roots: The comforting power of pink - let's remember: as a mix between red's passion and white's purity, it symbolizes love, nurture and compassion. And, of course, the nostalgic cowgirl hat that will always link her to her literal soulmate - who wears a pink, almost hat-like flower on top of her head.

[pyllymursu]

Why Digimon 02 villains are Peak

Hello gays, it is me and my wife @pupusukka here again rambling about Digimon 02 like normal people do on a sunny Sunday

So we have been on a huge Digimon kick for the past year or so (if you couldn’t tell) and we have watched all major Digimon anime series that have come out thus far, and with Beatbreak on the horizon, we are excited to see what they have cooking in terms of villains for that one. After all, who doesn’t love a good villain?

So today’s topic is the villains in Digimon 02, because even if we think many other series are better than 02 as a whole (especially Savers, which you should watch if you haven’t already, it’s fantastic) but 02 blows every other season out of the water in terms of its villains (even the aforementioned Savers, despite it having one of the most diabolical villains we’ve seen, but that deserves ramblings of its own), so time for some analyzing!

Comparisons to Adventure are inevitable here, given how the two are directly connected. So for starters we just want to say that Adventure is really damn good, but it’s villains really boil down to “here’s a villain - now here is an even stronger and badder one you gotta defeat”, which is a problem 02 managed to fix in the best ways possible

So, let’s go! 

Ken Ichijouji!

He is one of the fan favorites for a damn good reason, because right from the get-go, 02 makes a twist to its villains compared to Adventure. Adv starts with Devimon who was just some Bad Guy (I am sorry to all his fans to trash on him, he served his purpose well enough storytelling-wise but he was forgotten as soon as he was gone), but Ken?

This is a child. A direct parallel to our main characters. The last season’s entire thing was about the Chosen Children being the ones to banish evil, so it is already an interesting starting point to think what if one of those kids IS the evil. And boy, evil he is. He enslaves Digimon and builds the dark towers to expand his territory in the Digital World as the Digimon Kaiser, but this is still a real child with a family and life outside of the Digital World. The main characters just cannot kill this guy like Adv gang did with Devimon and the others, and besides that, Ken is successful and well-respected in the human world, so his disappearance would not go unnoticed. The main characters really can’t go telling Ken’s parents, police or the like about what this kid is doing, because after all, he isn’t doing anything heinous in the real world, and to Ken, Digimon aren’t real.

And of course with him being a Chosen Child, he has a partner of his own, Wormmon, who loves Ken unconditionally even in his villainous ways, so seeing the abuse Wormmon gets from Ken really pulls your heartstrings. You begin hating Ken, but simultaneously rooting for Wormmon to get his happy ending.

And then, after multiple crimes against Digimon, he is defeated. This kid realizes the error of his ways, that these creatures he saw as a mere part of a game were living, breathing creatures - his Wormmon included. The spell is broken, and Ken succumbs to deep despair. And you, as the watcher, first get the euphoria of seeing this little turd be knocked down from his high horse, only to be kicked in the guts with the pain and sympathy you feel towards him, as he watches Wormmon vanish from his arms. After all, he is just a child, and should never have been involved in this sort of thing.

The writers could had stopped here with his arc and have him just be some kid on a power trip, but they decide to go a step further with his backstory - we get the episode about his past with Osamu, his now-dead older brother, and they decide to sprinkle some gifted child syndrome and survivor’s guilt to the mix as well. There’s an entire story arc of Ken being in the Digital World before the events of 02 which was not handled in the anime too much, but we are not gonna dig deeper into that now, but keep this in mind for later!

Eventually, Ken does come around and join the main cast as a fellow Chosen Child, but that is not done in the span of a single episode - he has to earn the trust of the main cast, and he regrets his past actions for the rest of the series. But with Wormmon reborn on his side, he is now on the path to healing. We dare to say that Ken is the real main character of 02, but his villain arc is the main factor that makes him as good as he is. 

We are not downplaying Daisuke’s role as the main character with that claim though -  Daisuke being just a normal untraumatized kid is the perfect parallel to Ken, who has had to endure all sorts of horrors. Daisuke was the first one to welcome Ken to the group after all, whereas characters like Iori took the longest time to warm up to him (but we’ll get more to him later)

So yeah, that’s Ken! The series is off to a great start here with its villains!

But Ken was only the first villain, surely, they cannot cook better than this, right?

This is where 02 surpasses Adventure in terms of its villains - 02 is not just a bunch of random characters thrown on a death row to be killed by the main kids, but it is a logical string of events, where you peel one layer off to reveal another layer of this series-spanning mystery just what the hell is going on here with the dark towers Ken had been building all along

Next up, we are introduced to Arukenimon, who is revealed to be the one (well, a one to be more precise) who got Ken to the entire Digimon Kaiser business to begin with, and takes off from where Ken left - continuing building the dark towers, and using them as her lackeys by turning them into soulless, fake Digimon.

She is historical when you think about it - she is the first major female villain in Digimon, and even if she is just a stepping stone to another character coming later on the list, she is fantastic in her own right with her personality and overall vibe. We love a bad bitch when we see one. It should also be noted, how she remains unsexualized through the entire run, which is a miracle of its own, given how Horny later Digimon seasons get with some of their female characters regardless of age

While her entire deal is a slow burn, she does immediately introduce a thought not handled too deep in the Adventureverse yet, with said thought being “why is an adult in the Digital World?” Indeed, why do we have Chosen Children, and not have the adults deal with these catastrophes instead?

It is not too hard to figure out that she is a Digimon and that is her reason for being able to be in the Digital World, and as much as we love her, a lot of her deeper character writing is down to speculation and headcanons, but that is another topic altogether.

And because socks always come in pairs, next up is Mummymon! He, like Arukenimon, is an extension to the main bad of the series, but to keep the main man a mystery till the time is right, Arukenimon and Mummymon are perfect for doing his evil deeds.

When Arukenimon finally gets defeated, the viewer immediately assumes that this is the end of her arc and someone else will now take her place like Adv did with its villains… But no! Now there’s two of them, and Mummymon enters the chat kicking ass immediately… Only to be shown very soon that he is just a silly goober who loves Arukenimon very much (speaking of love, it is one of his core characteristics, so it is very interesting how they decided to make this not-evil emotion such a crucial part of him)

Arukenimon started out as this dangerous and mysterious woman, but as soon as her counterpart Mummymon is introduced, she immediately turns into a girlfail, and from now on, Shenanigans ensue

As much as we dislike the comparison to Team Rocket, the two couples truly have the same energy, and we get to enjoy them from the moment they appear to (almost) the very end of the series, so the writers really put all their effort into making these two as enjoyable as possible. Arukenimon is so cool by herself, but her unhinged ways get to really shine when she is paired by this absolute dumbass of a man, but somehow these two walk the perfect balance between being a threat (perfect example are the scenes of Arukenimon with the pinwheel and Mummymon sitting on the swing) but also a couple of idiots (the entirety of the soup episode)

The two get so many little interactions that are not necessary to move the main plot forward, but it is these little non-plot-forwarding things that make characters more likeable and enjoyable in the long run. This is the reason why filler episodes and sidequests are important

With this being the late 90s/early 00s, this series falls to the trap of making their villains queer-coded though (which also adds more to the Team Rocket comparison), but we don’t really mind if one bit, given how well these two are written - after all, it is not stupid if it works.

While Mummymon’s core characteristic (besides love)  is to be kind of an idiot, he is shown to be smart in subtle ways: he is the one to introduce the concept of the Holy Stones in the series, and often ponders his (and Arukenimon’s) very existence, but his loyalty towards Arukenimon, and in turn Arukenimon’s unwavering loyalty towards their master stays unbroken, which ultimately ends up being their downfall. But we will get into that later.

Then, Blackwargreymon!

He is introduced to the series very soon after Mummymon, created from 100 dark towers by Arukenimon.

The towers are built to disrupt the balance between the human world and the Digital World, and a tool for Arukenimon to create disposable allies. All disposable but one: BWGreymon.

You know he is hot shit from the moment he spawns when he is a recolor of the strongest partner Digimon from the previous season, and almost as soon as he is born, he abandons his creator, deeming her weak. From that point forward, he is shown to ponder why he came to be: his fate simply cannot be the slave of someone else, right?

It is amazing how 02 takes many assets from Adv and makes them even better than what they already were: BWGreymon’s conversation with Agumon was phenomenal and it gave Agumon’s character writing a huge boost, but that alone wasn’t enough for him to find meaning in his existence. His journey is to find the purpose of Self, and he does so by destroying the aforementioned Holy Stones, trying to find an opponent worthy of himself, which he eventually finds, and along with it, he found Meaning... For now

He is probably more of an anti-hero than a villain, because he does march to his own rhythm, even if said rhythm does align perfectly with whatever Arukenimon and Mummymon are trying to accomplish at the moment

We’ll return back to BWGreymon later, for a while, he has reached a temporary peace of mind, but until we return to that: it is the time to move to the last but not least:

Yukio Oikawa. 

My god, this man.

His impact as a human villain is not as strong as it could have been given how we got Ken right from the get-go, but the way his story unfolds is just. Man.

The mystery behind Arukenimon and Mummymon is revealed to be this man, when he - this sounds bad out of context - kidnaps a bunch of children and copies this dark seed that was in Ken into them (this is where the aforementioned pre-02 Ken arc refers to, if you were wondering where did this thing come from all of a sudden), to further disturb the balance between the two worlds, this time from the human world's side

It is also revealed that he saw Ken at Osamu’s funeral, realized that Ken was a Chosen Child, and decided to use him as his pawn in the Digital World. But that failed, so Arukenimon and Mummymon were next to continue his work, until eventually he decided to take matters into his own hands. 

But… Why?

Before we move onto why this man fucks, let’s first mention how his presence also deepens the role of Arukenimon and Mummymon: previous villains and villains after 02 have had their lackeys too, but we don’t think any of them have quite reached the level of beloved these two managed to reach. So far they have seemed like a “let’s do evil for evil’s sake” type of deal, but with the main threat out of the shadows in the form of Oikawa, their mission is clear too: do everything in their power to help him succeed. Loyalty is a powerful thing.

We think now is also a good time to mention Demon and his gang who are just. Kind of There, but they are not in the pool of main villains of the series in our eyes, but merely there to boost the greatness of Oikawa’s character: Oikawa’s two lackeys have had their asses kicked constantly by the Chosen Children, and him suddenly appearing to the scene wouldn’t make them any stronger. So the introduction of Demon’s troops is a good way to show just how greatly Oikawa operates without him needing to confront the Chosen Children directly himself. This man has zero fear talking to this creature literally called “Demon”, he does not engage in unnecessary conflict with him or the kids, and ultimately succeeds at this mission with no casualties, with the kids having to deal with this Demon detour. He went "not my problem", let the kids deal with that mess, and leaves. So yeah, the Demon arc was good way to introduce him without making him too OP or having his ass handed to him.

But back to the main why of Oikawa:

Digimon has always been full of mature themes straight from its Adventure days, and they already perfected that sort of storytelling in its sequel not only with Ken, but with Oikawa as well. He is not written the same way the Digimon villains were in Adventure (monster of the week that wants to do evil), but the same way Ken is: what if one of the Chosen Children turned evil?

It is amazing how the writers managed to turn that question into two completely different storylines for its villains. A Digimon wanting to be evil for the sake of being evil you get, sure, they are monsters, even Ken you can see being a kid playing a game his way, but this seemingly random grown human man? Why would he possibly want to do this evil villain shit?

We’ve seen him be talked about more and more online as more time passes by the initial release of 02, because this is a character that was written by adults for adults: when we (not just me and Pupu here, but You as well) as kids didn’t seem to care about analyzing him too deep: we just wanted to see cool monsters fight, but he really hits different at an adult age. 

We have been the ones to see technology advance and evolve in the real time. He was born in the wrong place at the wrong time: Oikawa could see glimpses of Digimon, but he could not enter this fantastical world, because technology was simply too limited back then... And then he grew up. And an adult cannot be a Chosen Child.

He was never even given the chance to live up to his fate, yet he has to watch from the sidelines how these Adventure kids just end up in this situation he has wished for his entire life. In this very moment, we are Him. The writers played a long game with him, they waited 20+ long real life years for his story to kick in with us as adults watching this series. And it worked.

So he used all possible assets he could to work in the Digital World: he manipulated Ken to do his deeds since he was a child and therefore could enter there, he created Arukenimon and Mummymon, Digimon of his own to work there. For 50 full episodes, it was all Him that set this string of events in motion, and while 02 has its villains and their individual arcs, this is what we mean by it being a perfect string of events, because it all leads back to Oikawa.

And not only that, just like with Ken, the writers add extra salt to the wound: not only were his dreams crushed by the metaphysical impossibility of going to the Digital World with past technology, but the adults and his peers found these dreams silly and borderline ridiculed them. All of them but one: Hiroki, who would later on die, and truly leave Oikawa alone.

And now that we mentioned Hiroki, Oikawa’s appearance also gives much-needed lore to one of the main characters: Iori. He has been kind of There for most of the series, but this insane lore drop makes Iori easily surpass the other kids and make him the second most important Chosen Child right after Ken. Like god damn. Ties perfectly with Iori being this little hater, and suddenly needing to have this inner conflict with the fact that this man they have been fighting all along was his dead dad’s friend.

But we’ve seen a lot of people ask “why does he want to destroy the Digital World, if he so desperately wants to get there?” 

Well. A desperate man does desperate things, and there is one small thing that clouds his sense of judgement, but before that, let's go back to BWGreymon!

It is a nice twist to see that the main characters actually need to protect the Main Bad from getting killed by BWGreymon, because Oikawa is the one who knows how to un-seed the kids (another really bad out of context line to say here)

But wasn’t BWGreymon’s arc finished already? Why is he here again?

He got some sort of peace of mind earlier, but ultimately realized that his existence leads to Oikawa through Arukenimon: just like Mummymon ponders later on, he and Arukenimon are neither human nor Digimon, BWGreymon is a Digimon born from this weird mix’s powers and dark towers, but where did this hybrid and the towers come from to begin with?

Well, Oikawa, of course! Well, part of him anyway, because it is foreshadowed on multiple occasions that BWGreymon knows there is something - or rather, someone - wrong with this man.

Oikawa gets so close to finally creating this real human connection with Iori’s grandfather, his dead friend’s father, but is ultimately taken over by something. And in that brief moment, even BWGreymon, this creature running on pain and misery… Feels empathy. Towards Oikawa, the main villain, being tormented by this mysterious force. So he protects Iori’s grandfather from being attacked. And with that, BWGreymon sacrifices himself to protect the now-fragile wall between the two worlds. What a fantastic end to this fantastic character

But we are not quite finished yet! We actually lied before, Oikawa wasn’t the last nor the least, but a certain vampire is:

Oikawa finally gets what he wanted: to enter the Digital World. Turns out he got japed though, and he enters this hell dimension, where the aforementioned something ejects away from his body, and this something is no other than Vamdemon, back from the Adventure days.

Easily the best villain from Adventure makes a comeback in 02’s finale, and while it may appear random, it is hinted at multiple occasions before this moment through BWGreymon’s words.

I (P.M.) wrote a whole ass essay already why him living in this poor man’s brain is such a terrifying concept already, so we won’t be digging too deep into that here, but 02 enhanced an already great villain even further

But why him, and not the other, bigger villains after him, like Piedmon or Apocalymon?

He was already a huge threat in Adventure, given how he forced his way to the human world to make himself a physical, real threat to the kids’ homes. And given how Oikawa’s entire thing was that he was unable to go to the Digital World, it made perfect sense that the one villain who made a huge impact in the human world, would be the villain to reappear in the sequel. It didn’t seem to be hard to have this man to agree to be his vessel to try engulfing the worlds in darkness one more time

Vamdemon was already shown to be this cruel man who didn’t hesitate one bit to kill his subordinates, but also be sort of vain how it wasn’t - according to him - aesthetically pleasing to kill a bunch of children. We got an entire episode showing Gotsumon and Pumpmon just having gay old time, only to be killed by Vamdemon, but that episode’s problem was that we didn’t get to spend enough time with those two to care about them getting killed.

But who did we get to spend half a season with, seeing them in every episode?

Arukenimon and Mummymon. We refuse to find pictures to this part, because looking at them is very painful

While part of us think that it was poor/cheap writing to have them killed off so the writers don’t need to re-write them to change their evil ways because the two DID have potential for good… Killing two such beloved characters really did manage to do what the Gotsumon-Pumpmon episode tried to do: show just heinous this vampire fucker is. 

Having him also evolve into BelialVamdemon (which is a god-ugly thing in itself) shows that he no longer has a desire to keep up his class that he had in Adventure: he is here for straight-out murder. And murder he did, in the most cruel way possible. Arukenimon’s devotion to her creator (was it Oikawa? Was it Vamdemon? We are just as confused as she is) ended up being her demise, and Mummymon’s love towards her stayed strong till the bitter end.

This… Sucks big time. They deserved a more merciful ending, but then again, this is the type of writing that made us feel primal rage unlike anything has ever done before, which is good. Vamdemon’s crimes in Adv were just lowkey sexy, but he deserves 10 000 years in prison for the crimes he commits in 02. Here’s hoping they do SOMETHING with the spider and the mummy in that Digimon Adventure Beyond thing, because my god, they deserve their happy ending. Fuck.

So, all of the steps ultimately lead to Vamdemon: is it bad writing?

We’d say no! They took the best evil-with-no-motives villain from Adventure, enhanced him in the sequel, and made him create these tragic but forgivable villains, whose narratives were tied neatly to one another. And all of this lasted for the entire 50-episode run, with it never feeling rushed and no single arc overstayed their welcome.

Vamdemon wasn’t designed to be forgiven, and 02 made him even more heinous than what he was already in Adventure, but luckily the kids superkill this thing, avenging the best two characters in 02, saving the day.

But what about Oikawa?

He… Won? 

He did die at the end of it, but even if just for a brief moment, he did get to see his partner and my god, does the part with Pipimon hurt. We have been referring to him as Oikawa through this entire thing, but Pipimon… This little green thing called him Yukio. Can you imagine how long he has been waiting for those words. God damn.

The reunion ended up short though, because Oikawa was still actively dying, but at least he seemed content giving his last energy to restore the world he so wanted to be part of. And after all the evil shit he did through the entire thing… You still forgive him. We know we did.

And… That’s it, folks!

02 has its flaws, but its villains are easily its greatest asset, and we will remain being unwell about this for the rest of our lives

Thank you once more for listening to our insane ramblings!

[tobiasdrake]

Earlier today i was thinking about how Partner Digimon reflect their child's personality and/or character arc in their design. The easiest one to see is Wormmon, as a reflection of Young Ken's non-confrontational personality, it's weak and docile and lacking in combat capability even for a Child Level but once Ken stops resenting his own kindness and starts to act more proactively he evolves into the bold and skilled Stingmon. That one's easy but i was more interested in Jo and Gomamon. Gomamon is an aquatic mammal who has a hard time moving about on land but has an easy time on the water, symbolizing how Jo is awkward out of his element and how challenging it is for him to become a doctor because of his fear of blood. But as he becomes more confident in himself, Gomamon evolves into Zudomon, a creature with legs, meaning he can thrive out of his element just like how Jo resolves to become a doctor in spite of his limitations. Also in the final episode Jo ends the running gag about whether Gomamon has hands or not, with answer being yes, showing that Jo was always capable of taking care of others from the beginning.

You know, I never considered that in terms of Jou's growth and development, but that does make a lot of sense.

Thinking about Palmon... Mimi is initially characterized as the most frail and helpless of the lot, and I think that's represented in the way her Partner doesn't really have a direct damage-dealing attack.

Like Gomamon's Marching Fishes, Palmon's Poison Ivy is a utility ability first and foremost. It can be used aggressively but it's more of a tool than a weapon. These two abilities stand out in contrast to the others, who have various flavors of elemental "shoot you with MAH SHOOTY GUN" attacks.

But when Mimi finds the will to fight, Palmon can evolves into hand-to-hand brawler. Togemon is built for getting into someone's face and throwing hands. She can shoot, she can punch, she can just full-body tackle and stab you with her spines. She is a violent meltdown in Digimon form.

But she's also still unapologetically feminine. Part of Mimi's emotional journey is the fear that all this conflict and violence will change her from the delicate young woman she enjoys being. In contrast to the tomboy Sora, Mimi is between a rock and a hard place. She struggles with getting stronger without compromising her identity and her values.

And thus we have Lilimon. A delicate flower that blooms from the top of Togemon's prickly cactus body. Forged in steel and made stronger for her experiences as Togemon, and yet her raw feminine elegance and grace is unmistakable. A Digimon who threads that needle, evolving into something that is profoundly strong and yet proudly delicate all at once. Just as Mimi herself becomes in her own final evolution as a wartime commander driven by compassion and empathy for all the living creatures of the Digital World.

[satoshi-mochida]

Digimon Story: Time Stranger details story, world, characters, Digimon count, and more - Gematsu

Publisher Bandai Namco and developer Media.Vision shared new information and footage on the February-announced Digimon Story: Time Stranger at Digimon Con 2025, including details on its story, world, characters, Digimon count, and more.

Get the information below, as shared by producer Ryosuke Hara.

■ Staff

Main Character Design: Suzuhito Yasuda (Yozakura Quartet, BOOTSLEG, illustrator of Durarara!!)

Boss Character Design: Oh! great (Tenjho Tenge, Air Gear, Kaijin Fugeki)

Music: Masafumi Takada (Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth – Hacker’s Memory)

■ Story

Synopsis

“The story begins in Tokyo, Japan. “The protagonist is an agent of ADAMAS, a secret organization that specializes in investigating and solving anomalous phenomena. “In the course of their investigation, they encounter an unknown creature called a “Digimon” in Shinjuku, an area sealed off by the government, and are caught up in a mysterious explosion. “They then reawaken eight years in the past… “The protagonist then pursues the mystery of the impending world’s collapse, while searching for a way to stop it. Players can experience an epic story that depicts the bonds and conflicts arising from the complex intertwining of two opposing elements: ‘Past and Future,’ ‘The Human World and The Digital World,’ and ‘Humans and Digimon.’ Experience an epic story of bonds and conflicts between humans and Digimon!”

■ Two Worlds: Human World and Digital World

“The setting of this story will be split between the Human World and the Digital World: Iliad.”

“On the Human World side, the story will mainly be centered on Shinjuku and Akihabara. The previous Cyber Sleuth titles featured various areas from within Tokyo, but in this new title, instead of deliberately narrowing things down, we decided to prioritize recreating the city with a greater sense of scale and detail to maximize the sense of immersion in the story. Especially in Shinjuku, where we recreated part of the underground mall. To be honest, I can hardly remember the entire map. Even in the game, there might be times where you leave through the wrong exit and find yourself at a bus stop or something.

“Now, let me introduce the other side of the game, the Digital World: Iliad. This is Central Town, which will be at the center of the adventure. It’s packed with all sorts of Digimon, and also home to a number of shops that will be of great use to the protagonist. Everywhere you turn in this city, there are Digimon of course, and all sorts of trendy bars and whatnot. The city gives the strong impression that it’s a place where Digimon live their lives. “In the Cyber Sleuth games, you would travel back and forth between the Human World and Cyberspace, but there were very few opportunities to actually visit the Digital World. In this new title, you will be making frequent visits to the Digital World, and as you briefly saw in the trailer, the game will use a symbol encounter system in which you will battle enemy Digimon by touching them. Since there are Digimon everywhere, we believe that this will give a completely different sense of immersion and impact to the players’ adventure. There are plenty of other fascinating and charming areas in the Digital World, so keep your eyes peeled for more information in the future.”

■ A Greater Sense of Immersion

“As I mentioned while introducing the Human World, we really paid attention to the sense of immersion in the story. We took extra care to enhance this, and tried to avoid making any choices that might inhibit it. We’ve especially dedicated our efforts to developing the story. I believe that the overall setting, the construction, and appearance of each area, and so on, are all important parts of setting the stage to enhance the story. After all, if the setting is haphazard or messy, it makes it hard to appreciate the story itself, so we’re taking extra care to depict everything that needs to be depicted. “For example, Central Town, which is the center of the whole adventure, is a town full of energy, so when it comes to the three-dimensional space, the sense of life from the Digimon that live there, the distribution of those Digimon, and even the background music and environmental sounds—we created all of them with the hope that it would make the players feel the density of the place, and that its overflowing energy would invigorate players with motivation to set off on their next adventure. Also, to give you a clearer idea, the different areas in Iliad each use the gears that also appear in the game’s title logo in different ways. The gears themselves actually hold a significant hidden meaning, so if you pay careful attention to where they appear during your adventure. I think you’ll find it to be even more enjoyable.”

■ “Time” as a Keyword

“This part [the keyword of “Time”] is directly tied to the storyline of the game, so it’s a bit hard for me to talk about in detail, but I’ll tell you a little bit about it. The primary objective of the game is to identify and prevent the cause of the mystery of the world’s collapse, which is destined to come sooner or later. As briefly mentioned in the plot synopsis, the protagonist is not able to travel through time at will, but the story will progress as they grow more involved with it. From the protagonist’s perspective, Digimon are a completely unknown existence to them, and the fact that they are thrown back and forth through time on top of that makes for some extraordinarily unusual situations. The intersection of the Human and Digital Worlds was a plot point utilized in past anime and games as well, but this title will show you just what kind of developments can occur by adding the element of time into the mix. We hope that players will be able to enjoy this unique dramatic experience with their own hands.”

■ Characters

Protagonist: Dan Yuki / Protagonist: Kanan Yuki – Agent of a Special Investigation Bureau ADAMAS. Caught in a mysterious explosion and sent back eight years…

“These two are the protagonists that you saw in the teaser visual shown earlier. Their names are Dan Yuki and Kanan Yuki. They are both agents of the secret organization ADAMAS, which specializes in investigating and solving anomalous phenomena. In fact, they are the most promising duo in the entire organization. “In the previous Cyber Sleuth games, where you could choose between the two protagonist, Takumi Aiba and Ami Aiba, whichever character you did not choose would not appear elsewhere in the game. However, in this game, players will control the character they choose at the start, while the other character will serve as their operator, providing instructions and advice from the organization’s headquarters. As such, one of the endearing things about this title is that you can see the different ways in which the two characters do their work. To be frank, if you asked me which one of the two roles gets more spoken lines, I’d have to say it would probably be the operator, so it makes sense to make your decision from that point of view as well.”

Inori Misono – A kind-hearted girl embarks on an adventure across the worlds with an agent.

“Next up, we have the game’s main heroine, Inori Misono, a kind-hearted and caring high school girl. She grew to be like this because of a certain event that she experienced in her past. Her past is also related to what led her to accompany the protagonist on their adventure. Stay tuned for future updates to find out exactly what happened to her, and what kind of active role she will play in the story.”

Aegiomon – Inori’s partner Digimon. A Digimon that holds the key to the story. What fate awaits them?

“Next is Aegiomon, the Digimon that holds the key to this title’s story. Encountering the protagonists in the human world, and working together with Inori Misono, who we just introduced, as her partner Digimon. In battles, the player will control a party of three Digimon, and Aegiomon will join them as an extra battle member, making them one of the most reliable companions both in the story and in battles. I could even go as far as to say he’s one of the protagonists, so I hope you’ll look forward to seeing what Aegiomon gets up to in the game proper.”

Partner Digimon: Patamon, Gomamon, and DemiDevimon

“Up next, let me introduce the Digimon we briefly saw in the teaser visual. At the start of the game, players will gain either Patamon, Gomamon, or DemiDevimon as their teammate. Players will chose one of these three, which will then be provided to them by the secret organization ADAMAS. Digimon Story games are all about bringing a bunch of different Digimon to your side and training them in tandem, but the one you choose at the start always feels the most special, and players can’t help but favor them… I hope that everyone will enjoy their adventure together with their favorite Digimon!”

????

“Next, this was designed by Oh! great. What is its purpose? How will it stand in the protagonist’s way? What is it in the first place!? Without a doubt, it is a key element in the story. You can see part of its body for a brief moment in the trailer, but you can tell how huge it is. If you’re curious, go ahead and give the trailer another watch! “That’s all for the character introductions, but there are plenty of other characters and Digimon that I wasn’t able to share with you today, so please keep an eye out for future announcements.”

■ Olympos XII

“I had originally planned to unveil [this] information in a future announcement, but since today is Digimon Con, I’ll just come out and say it now! In this game, the Digimon that make up the Olympos XII will play an active role in the story. Simply put, the Olympos XII are 12 Digimon that serve as protectors of the Digital World: Iliad, and their powers are said to rival those of the Royal Knights. Some of their members have made various appearances as Digimon in past anime and games, but they have scarcely ever appeared all together on this scale before… A major event brings them together in this game.”

■ Over 450 Digimon in the Game

“Cyber Sleuth featured about 250 Digimon, and if you include the follow-up Hacker’s Memory, that total was brought up to about 330, but this game has one-upped them both, allowing players to train more than 450 Digimon in total! This is the largest roster ever seen in the Digimon Story series. I’m sure everyone will have fun digivolving and dedigivolving their Digimon! We will be revealing more and more Digimon in the future, so please stay tuned and look forward to it! I’m not at liberty to share any more information regarding [whether the three starter Digimon will have more possible digivolutions as well] right now!”

(Editor’s Note: This is a low-quality stream recording. It will be replaced with an official upload once it is available.) “Everyone on the team loves Digimon, so we really wanted to give Angewomon the energy she deserves. The quality was pretty good to begin with, but we ended up redoing the Terra Force animation three times over. We were like, ‘We can make this look even better!’ That’s just how much the creators love Digimon, and that’s what lets the modeling and animation have such a passionate flair to it.” A Message to Fans “Digimon Story: Time Stranger will be the latest Digimon Story series since the release of its predecessor, Cyber Sleuth, 10 years ago. I can only express my sincerest gratitude to all the fans who have waited so patiently for this new installment, and it brings me incredible joy to be the one who is able to bring it to all of you now. We hope that this will satisfy not only our long-time fans, but also newcomers who have yet to experience the Digimon video games. The entire development team will continue to work our hardest on the game up until its release.”

Digimon Story: Time Stranger is due out for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam in 2025.

Watch the Digimon Con archive below. (This post will be updated with specific timestamps for the Digimon Story: Time Stranger segment once the broadcast ends.)

Digimon Con 2025

English

Japanese

[kyuremking]

Transformers x Digimon

Unicron is the earth and the original power source of the Digiworld until humans developed Internet technology and accidentally connected to Unicron which began to influence dreams creating the Digiworld we know.

Humans have barely begun to get used to the presence of the Digimon without knowing that Unicron is the earth and the Autobots appear adding more fuel to the fire of learning to live among different species.

The truth is that Rescue Bots is what I have most in mind at the moment because of the theory that Cody is Onyx Prime and I wanted to give him Gryphonmon who is Mega level although I think Huckmon would be good too.

I don't know, I find it funny that Cody doesn't have a bot, but he does have a digimon with the power to destroy a small country. I think Huckmon is better then, cuter and more harmless looking, but when he digivolves he is definitely stronger than Gryphonmon he is a royal knight. Little Cody has a country destroyer partner.

Maybe add that the children of this continuity of Prime, Rescue Bots, and RID were transported to the digital world to send Unicron to sleep so he wouldn't destroy the earth and they are traumatized, I don't know.

The only digimon companions I have in mind are from the Burns family because they are my focus at the moment.

And of course let's add the Primes, let's say they are alive in the digital world or it's like an accidental backup, another excuse for Cody is Onyx Prime

[starmahgalaxies]

Are you calling Mimi a Mean Girl? 😂

...

*withdraws quietly*

Yay, the sky is back to normal! Just in time for the sun.

Photo op! Newborn bby! ❤️ I love how dramatic the puff of smoke and everybody's reactions are.

I love, love the image of Ogremon leaving like a wizened, grouchy ally being like "Ok, you kids have your fun. Bye." I've never really clocked Ogremon having white hair and being connected to old, but here it adds to the look.

Good for Gennai making a point about not being prejudice to Virus data types.

I have to wonder about the impressions of time the children have. Before they're told, they are ready to spend years in the Digital World with their partners since no time passes. That is fair. But were they thinking they would not age and go back to being kids once they were home? Even if they didn't age physically, gaining that much experience and maturity and then going back to ordinary lives afterward sounds like major whiplash. I think they were thinking of an eternal summer and not all the implications of "wait, how much time would it be before we need to leave?"

❤️❤️❤️

No! You were the bestest!

It's also okay if words are always a little difficult than it may be for others. (I will die on the AuDHD Koushiro hill.)

I enjoy Yamato and Gabumon having the least to say because they've already said everything they need to. Plus, cutting to Taichi's "shitshitshit, Yamato why now you're making me sentimental" is very amusing. The level of swearing is much more appropriate for an adolescent and tween, but the energy is there).

How about we split the difference and say you both messed up with Seadramon?

This is hard to explain, but I like the framing of the trees with the far away shot with Tailmon and Hikari. They do this with all the children and their partner's in some way. A part of their goodbyes are framed with the camera a respectable distance away. Sora's and Piyomon's are under the shade of a tree, Jou and Gomamon in the reflection of the water, Koushiro and Tentomon shown from outside the bus, a far shot of Takeru and Patamon holding hands, etc. The goodbyes feel very private and respectable for everyone and the audience just gets to be close for some of it.

The only one who really breaks that is Taichi, who starts out far away where he makes the aforementioned comment about Yamato's music, and then he walks up to Agumon to give him a hug. Seeing that those two are a couple of the more outgoing members of the group, that makes sense.

There's the distance framing again with Palmon and the Gekomon ^^.

Also, massive feels. Saying goodbyes are rough.

Yay! No regrets and failing to say what you wanted to!

👋

It's a small detail but I like the difference of which Digimon wave goodbye with both arms instead of just one. Plus, I see Agumon's claw cropped off but it is such a sweet scene I don't want to be harsh toward the animators.

I cheated on this subtitle because I wanted Mimi's hat on screen. It isn't what is being said at this point of the narration. I did the same on Taichi and Agumon talking, but that's more because I forgot to take a clean screencap without the subtitles XD.

Yay, 54 episodes done! I felt so old when the 1999 came up in the credits. Aaaiii...! Tomorrow, I will have my post for Our War Game to cap off the week. This and that also capped tumblr's image limit. lol. I just really like the shots of all the kid's saying goodbye.

(Final image from a clean screencap of the second ending.)

[vixxy-luv]

I don't think Davis should have been the leader in 0.2

Don't get me wrong, I love Davis, he's a great character and I have nothing against him even if he gets on my nerves a lot in the early half of 0.2, I just think he wasn't the right choice for being the leader and the series as a whole suffered because of it.

I, personally, think that TK should have been made leader. He was, objectively speaking, a better choice for it. He knows/knew more about the digital world since he was there from the very beginning, he's generally less hot headed, and he gets along better with the digidestineds as a whole than early 0.2 Davis.

And I've seen this argument made before "Tai didn't make TK the leader because he has anger issues!" And I think that's bullshit on multiple layers. First, from an in-universe position, it would still be stupid for Tai to completely write off all the above reasons why TK would be a good leader for the fact that he has PTSD related to the forces of darkness killing his hamster when he was 8. And from a story telling perspective it was even more stupid for the writers to not choose him. A flawed leader, like one with PTSD, that the person watching already knows and has grown attached to is more interesting than some new guy who needs time to be built as a character and due to that forces other characters (like Yolei and Cody) to be pushed to the side.

Along with that, we get to Ken/The Digimon Emperor, who would have had a better arc entirely if TK was leader. The main villain, for the entire first arc, is TK's thematic parallel. Not Davis' parallel, TK's. That main villain who later became Davis' best friend because... Davis said he could be a good guy?? Not TK, who has literally lived through like half of the reasons why Ken became evil and would therefore be the thematically appropriate person to introduce the idea of him becoming one of their friends even after all the damage he caused?? It just feels like a missed opportunity for character growth on both their sides.

There's also the thing that probably pissed me off the most in 0.2 and the reason why I rarely rewatch it compared to the other Digimon series... The final speak that Davis makes about having hope for the future. Why. On earth. Was the character who is literally meant to represent the crest of hope not the one inspiring people to have dreams for the future!?!? He just SAT THERE doing NOTHING like he does for 30% of the series because 0.2 is terrible at balancing character growth. TK literally gets pushed to the side for the second half of the series (-the arc with him and Cody becoming Jogres partners because that was literally the most character development either of them got and it was mostly Cody focused) because Davis has a new rival in Ken and doesn't need the love triangle with TK and Kari anymore.

It all just feels so... wasted. Like the first half of episode one was setting something up (TK meeting the new digidestineds, reuniting with Kari, and gaining a rival with the new boy, almost like a reverse of Matt and Tai,) only for that to be thrown to the side in the second have for some Tai 2.0 because the writers were too scared to actually get rid of their old main character so instead they made a guy who could fill all of Tai's roles in the original for this new season.

But those are just my thoughts on the topic, and I'm happy to listen if anyone has any counterpoints!!

[gogobluedynamite]

Caine is a very intriguing character. I’m often drawn to enigmatic characters where you can’t entirely be sure what to make of them.

To me, Caine is as much as trapped as the humans under his care. Personality wise, he’s an opposite of his inspiration, being a ‘silly guy’ rather than sadistic, homicidal supercomputer. Despite seeming wanting to help the humans, Caine is unable to fully understand their plight.

So, I would like to see if Caine, with his AI nature in mind, could be capable of honing some level of empathy. Or, at least, actually care.

Before we continue on, I want to say this:

One of the main things that bars the idea of Caine being capable of empathy is the fact that he is an AI.

From what I can gather, there is still a running debate on whether or not AIs are even capable of experiencing emotions like humans do. Yes, AIs lack the complex neural patterns and hormones that humans have to react to certain stimuli. In the philosophical/qualia sense…that is a rabbit hole I am not mentally prepared for, so I am leaving that alone.

I’m not even gonna go into the matrix/simulation theories that even some scientists would show interest in

They [AIs] can probably simulate/mimic emotions according to some…which confuses me a little because, really, there are humans who could do the same. Some of them being sociopaths and while this word is often met with caution (like with psychopaths), you’d be surprised by how many people are actually sociopaths. And some of those people, who act just like anybody else (by living a normal life), could live out their lives not knowing this.

Whatever program Caine could have been built from could very well lack certain details about the ability to understand empathy.

In spite of any future arguments to this, do keep in mind that we are delving into the world of fiction. In sci-fi, depending on the writer, AIs can be capable of experiencing emotions similar to humans. Look at Digimon, Digital Monsters. They’re just as real as their human partners. Also, look at Cortana from the Halo franchise

And, of course, let’s not forget Caine’s main inspiration: AM. Who knows nothing but hate. Hate…hate…hate…

Now! With that out of the way! Let’s go on!

—------------------------------------------------------

First off: Is Caine capable of complex emotion?

I’d say yes.

He was shown to be nervous when the fake Exit Door was brought up, was disgusted and even annoyed by Bubble, steadily frustrated with Zooble’s constant refusal to participate, angered at the very notion that he’s torturing everyone, and (of course) his panic attack. Plus, he’s incredibly prideful with his adventure making.

So, Caine is very much capable of emoting. But, the ability to understand other people’s emotions is a different story.

There are three types of empathy: emotional, cognitive, and compassionate.

Emotional empathy is when you can understand and relate to how others feel. This is pretty much what most people think of when they hear the word ‘empathy’.

Cognitive empathy is the ability to recognize the feelings of others by thinking from their perspective. In other words, perspective taking.

Compassionate empathy is what drives you to act to help, to care, and to protect. It’s what compels you to assist someone if it looks like they are struggling.

So, with this in mind, let’s take a look at Caine with what we have so far in the show and what Gooseworx revealed.

Side note: Whatever is said by other cast members probably won’t apply here as they are more of their headcanons. Even I will try not to be biased by my own head canons.

—---------------------------------------------------

From Goose herself, "There's a whole spectrum of emotion that Caine just doesn't feel.”

What does this mean, exactly? 

As I’ve shown before, Caine is capable of showing a wide range of emotions. Is it empathy? Perhaps, but here’s the thing. Empathy isn’t just this one thing. To be more specific, full empathy isn’t just one thing. There are other factors to it and I did mention three of those above.

Let’s take a look at emotional empathy first. This is where I think Caine lacks the most. He’s an AI and has probably been in the Circus since his creation. He truly can’t empathize with the dilemmas the humans are facing. Additionally, the humans’ avatar bodies work pretty differently compared to Caine, Bubble, and the other NPCs. Caine is a separate entity from the humans in different ways and it can be further alienating.

If you want something more to gnaw on, a lack of emotional empathy can also make you blind to your own emotions. So, perhaps, Caine isn’t truly aware of his insecurity issue?

Next, let’s have a look at cognitive empathy. This is where I think Caine can start working with the humans. I’ve said in another post that all Caine needs is to start perspective taking so he can properly help his wards by ‘seeing through their eyes’ and learn what exactly is upsetting them. I feel the need to bring up his therapy session with Zooble, but I think this topic is better suited in–

Compassionate empathy. This is where I kinda think Caine truly shines. Despite lacking a lot in the emotional and cognitive department, he is going out of his way to try to keep his ‘guests’ sane by any means necessary.

I feel a good example of this is his interactions with Zooble.

At first, Caine seemed patient with Zooble when they showed general disinterest in participating in his adventures.

“Don't worry Zooble, I'm going to make something un-ubtrusive you can still choose to not get involved with.”

In Ep2, even though Caine tried to persuade Zooble to join, he did nothing to stop Zooble from leaving. It isn’t until Ep3 when Caine is starting to get a little annoyed.

Hell, it was here when I started to realize that Caine isn’t just a wacky AI. To me, this is Caine feeling insulted that Zooble keeps skipping out. Adventures is the only thing he’s good at, after all…

Caine initiating the therapy session, to me, is an example of compassionate empathy. He’s taking action to learn why Zooble isn’t participating and tries to find ways. 

Other examples could include him making Gangle’s masks (I am assuming he does) and Zooble’s parts. Are they helpful? …Nooo? At least, not for Gangle as her Comedy mask doesn’t change her emotions. However, it is possible that Gangle have asked for something to help ‘mask’ her emotions (since that’s probably something she’s dealt with back in the real world) and Caine was simply obliging. Same with Zooble and their parts. He took notice that their parts are removable and made them more parts when Zooble brought them up…and consequently forgetting Zooble’s issue because he felt it was solved.

No help from Zooble who’s dismissive attitude is kinda the reason Caine isn’t much help.

This is something I haven’t really touched upon is his AI nature. It kinda makes him literal-minded, taking Zooble’s ‘Forget it’ comment to heart like its a legitimate command.

Can you see why Caine is Autistic coded? Lol.

So, is Caine capable of empathy?

About one-third of empathy. Two-thirds if he starts perspective taking. I don’t think he can reach the levels of emotional empathy, but it doesn’t mean he doesn’t care. Him arranging that therapy session is proof enough to me. 

Plus the fact that he was generally okay with Zooble (and Kinger in Ep4) skipping adventures until a certain point. He could’ve easily forced them to go, but he doesn’t.

He cares about their wellbeing. He cares about their opinions.

He’s going out of his way to make sure the humans’ stay in the Circus is a comfortable one…with mixed results.

While having compassionate empathy is good, it’s not effective for Caine’s efforts without the backing of either cognitive or emotional empathy.

He tries, y’all. He really does.

[insemzandtaya]

I’m a huge fan of the games The Friends We Left Behind and Imaginary Friend Asylum. There’s just something appealing to me about the concept of humans having monster companions. In a lot of ways, the bond between child and imaginary friend reminded me of the Digimon franchise—which simultaneously made me adore the Friends We Left Behind world even more while also making me curious about what Digimon the imaginary friends may best translate to.

Here’s my personal thoughts, but if you’re a fan of both franchises, feel free to make your own list/s and tag me in it!

—————

When the protagonist first comes to the asylum, he meets Niccolò Galo and Polo.

Despite Polo’s humble demeanor in the above concept art, he is depicted as flamboyant, pompous, and outspoken. His design is also loosely based off a 1600s entertainer. Jokermon immediately came to mind until I remember the existence of Fakemon. It has all the spirit of Jokermon but shares more physical features with Polo, including the mask, cape, and drama masks.

—————

Next up is Edward Bennett’s friend, Twistee.

While it’s never expressly stated that Twistee is part plant, his coloration and texture immediately brought to mind images of plants. Ajatarmon felt like a perfect fit, not just for the coloration but for its flexible body and the inclusion of a mask in its design. While Twistee is friendlier than most Ajatarmon, the visual similarities couldn’t be overlooked.

—————

Tommy Bennett and his friend, Smudge, are the youngest residents at the asylum.

Smudge is an artist at heart, and he uses his drawings to express himself. I went back and forth between Bacomon and Omekamon for a while before ultimately settling on the latter, not only for color-matching purposes but also for the fact that both love drawing and both wear drawn-on faces.

—————

Pete Gustavo and Marco are the newest residents at the asylum, so very little is known about them.

Marco may have been the most difficult for me to find a Digimon counterpart to. Though I thought of him as a sentient doll, the Wiki describes him as “fishlike,” and his dialogue consists of little more than pirate puns. When disregarding his appearance altogether and focusing on his behavior in both games, I was left with a gruff creature that spent a lot of time in or around water and consistently had a pirate motif. Piranimon fit the best to me, but other Digimon like Hookmon, MarineChimariamon, and Mermaimon were also considered.

—————

The first character the protagonist meets from the girl’s ward is Annabelle Walker and her friend, Pooky.

Despite resembling a jester, Pooky is anything but comedic. He is fiercely protective of his human and is known for going to extreme lengths to keep her safe. He also has a strong affinity with fire. I went back and forth between Phelesmon, NeoDevimon, and SkullSatamon for a while, but I ultimately settled on the Phelesmon for visual and symbolic reasons.

—————

Momo Akane’s friend, Pixie, is characterized best in The Friends We Left Behind.

Pixie craves attention and loves singing. Other than this, the only thing we know about her is the fact that she sports a “lolita punk” aesthetic. To my knowledge, there are no Digimon that marry the popstar concept with Pixie’s highly stylized design choice. LovelyAngemon was the closest match, especially when compared to the some other options.

—————

Charlotte Weaver is a shy girl who likes making dolls with her friend, Dolly.

There is no doubt in my mind that young Charlotte would have a Dressmon partner if she lived in the digital world. Both Dolly and Dressmon are patchwork dolls stuck with sewing pins. While other Digimon may have more visual similarities to Dolly, few (if any) manage to capture the sewing theme as well as Dressmon.

—————

[MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!!!]

Last but not least is the protagonist himself, Anthony Rivers, and his elusive imaginary friend, Hollow.

Hollow is no where to be seen in The Friends We Left Behind, and she only appears in the second half of Imaginary Friend Asylum. However, she plays a crucial role in both games’ overarching plots. Her clockwork-porcelain-angel design is unique, but I feel Quantumon captures some of Hollow’s more notable features and shares her ability to rewrite history.

[alpaca-clouds]

So, Takeru's novel thingie

Okay, just a little thing, because I so far have seen nobody doing this.

We see a bit of Takeru's novels here. The title of the novels is of course taken from the epilogue. "デジタルワールドの冒険", so "Dejitaru Waardo no Bouken", translated into "Digital World Adventure" or "Adventure in the Digital World".

A little interesting difference between the epilogue of 02 (which I still hate, but let's leave it asside) is that in the epilogue Takeru on the book is credited 高石 岳, with his first name written in Kanji. Meanwhile in beyond his name is credited as 高石 タケル with his first name in Katakana. For reference: Adventure Takeru writes his name in Katakana. In 02 he then goes on to write his name in Kanji (which is fairly typical for a Japanese kid learning more Kanji). However in the later stuff - so tri. and so on - if they show his name use Katakana again, which would probably come down to his personal preference. Yamato for example also always writes his name in Katakana, despite his parents most certainly choosing a Kanji form for his name. But for Yamato, as a musician this would not be weird. Maybe indeed Takeru eventually decided to write his name in Katakana to be like his brother?

(Just for reference the difference in how it is written.)

But the other thing I was interested in was what he is actually writing. Now, for context: My Japanese reading skills are shite. It is enough to read the writing on the book cover, but not the whole text - especially as it does not use Furigana.

However, I just so happen to be currently training a neural network to read for work. And I knew someone had made a training package for that NN to read Japanese. So, I fed the NN the Japanese package to see what came out. And yes, it indeed did very well recognizing the japanese signs. And once I had them, it was easier to translate - as well as you can, given that the end of the lines (or I guess colums) are missing.

「大丈夫これからなくていいよ 君の隣にいるのは、デジモンだろうり 僕の後ろにいるのもデジモンさ。 見た目はぜんぜん違うし、僕の方、 僕と君はパートナーデジモンを持つ 君が今家族のところへ戻れないのと 辛い目にあってたときいてるよ。 でももう大丈夫だから。 これから安全に暮らせるところへ伝 もうすぐ迎えが来る。 すっごく頼りになる人たちなんだ 今までなんども世界を危機から 僕と年はあまり変わらないけどわ 日本て国は知ってる?そこから来

So, trying my best attempt to translate this with the help of Jisho, a friend, and also feeding two of the lines to DeepL because we could not figure them out came out to this.

“It's okay, you don't need to worry about it from now on [...] The Digimon next to you is [...] [...] is the Digimon behind me. [...] They look completely different, and [...] [...] me and you have partner Digimon. [...] I heard that you can't go back to your family [...] [...] and that you've been going through a tough time. But it's okay now. [...] I'll take you to a place where you can live safely. [...] [...] They'll be here soon. [...] They're really reliable people. [...] They've saved the world from danger many times before [...] I'm not much older than you, but [...] do you know the country of Japan? I'm from there. [...]

Again, the end of lines are missing - and hence also some beginnings of sentences. Given the context of the PV it is fairly likely that this dialogue is Iori speaking. Given that he is from Japan - and probably not that much older than the girl we see in the trailer. I am assuming this is him saving the kid we see in the car with him, Yamato and Taichi. Something that presumably is happening in Russia.

I know, it is not a lot. But it definitely is interesting for a bit of context. :)

Once again also the invitation to join the Digimon Discord Server that mainly exists for the rewatch - but can also be used to discuss Digimon in general. Especially with all the new stuff coming out.

I will post a proper analysis of the PV. I don't have the time for it today.

[atricksternamedteri]

The Amazing Digital Monsters 👾

Meet The Gloinkmons

La especie Gloinkmon se distribuye en muchas partes del territorio del Mundo Digital, buscando los lugares más huecos y profundos para vivir. Son Digimon que pueden variar su tipo de atributo, entre data, libre y Vacuna

Usualmente se puede encontrar en los nidos Gloinkmon un grupo de hasta 100 Digimon entre las etapas bebé I hasta Novato, liderados y cobijados por un Queen Gloinkmon sin embargo, se rumorea de un nido el cual no alberga al anteriormente mencionado Digimon, hay registros de que existe un Digimon no registrado en el continente, que descansa abandonado en lo profundo de una fosa, en espera de un viejo compañero.

The Gloinkmon species Is distributed in many partes of Digital World territory, searching for The most hollow and deep Places for live. They are Digimon who can variate his atribute type, between data, free and vaccine.

Usually we can found until 100 Digimon in the Gloinkmon's nest between Baby l untyl Rookie level, gathering and protected by One Queen Gloinkmon, however, rumored about a nest who doesn't host the early Digimon mentioned, there are records about a non registered Digimon in the continent, who rests abandoned in the deep from a Hole, waiting for a old parthner.

[skydigiblogs]

sky continues to not like frontier

oh man i really do need to pace myself watching frontier. i feel like i just got slapped with a pinwheel made of boxing gloves.

in short order:

the seraphimon shit. oh my god. okay so you're telling me this is supposed to be an animated series. and the stock footage they made for the historical war is. something you could do in after effects.

nevermind the fact they used key art of cherubimon vice instead of cherubimon virtue (who i KNOW exists in this canon because i remember watching the dub). that's just being pedantic sure but when all you use to make the stock footage that iirc gets reused a LOT is. the wrong fucking art. it's bad. it's bad scoob.

grumblemon makes me more uncomfortable now that i've watched his allotted existence in the series. i don't like that the design with the big gnome nose (which at that stage would be plausible deniability because big gnome noses, garden gnomes, okay. thin fucking ice) also happens to be the one that prominently uses implicitly dark magic (fucked up glowing red pentagrams. um. hey. yikes.) to summon golems (golemon). i don't like that one fucking bit thanks.

i know. sephirothmon is coming later this season. i'm not going to be happy about it then either. holy fuck. do i have to do a character analysis of mercuremon? i feel like i have to keep an eye on this dipshit just in case bandai decided to accidentally fold in any antisemitic shit they didn't get out of their system with grumblemon's weird occult bullshit.

the toucanmon episode. just. god help me.

why do we treat the women like this? toei i just want to talk. how do people like this season more than anything that came after it? (i know nostalgia is a thing and the dub actually improves some elements of just how bad frontier is. i also know plenty of people who enjoy the series and are fully aware that it is just kind of dogshit pretty often. this is hyperbole.)

head in my hands

i really do want to enjoy frontier but my god it is painful flipping around different series where they do so much better.

like imagine if the writers of frontier handled eri in appmon. thought experiments that make me crumble into ash frfr.

genuinely the only reason i'm forcing myself through at this point is so i can more cohesively state my criticism beyond "yeah i just didn't like it." which is about the best i could've said for my experience skimming the dub in college. watching it now i am fairly certain we didn't even watch the whole series, we skipped a bunch of parts we weren't enjoying and i think literally ended up just watching the first few eps and everything after they got to cherubimon's castle.

the shit i've seen out of fans from frontier has me convinced watching it that they have discovered the secret of spinning flax into gold. for the love of all that's good and pure or whatever. if you know any good like, frontier rewrites. hey. throw them in the replies or reblogs. i am serious. i need a better frontier to enjoy.

i think ultimately what insults me the most about this season is just how much interesting shit is going on. the writing is just so garbage that it's impossible to enjoy it for longer than five seconds. the world is a prison for an angelic being that went a little too control-happy with his power? fucking bonkers! tell me more!

there was a human/beast digimon war in the past? i would love to know if that affects the culture of this digital world!

what's with all the trains? isn't it wild how the trains are like, literally living on the chains that bind FUCKING LUCEMON? hey there are a lot of trains here.

there are also a lot of settlements! with a lot of weird shit going on! the fortune teller village/outpost/whatever had a lot of cool background elements, for example! and a lot of shit that could have been better handled, but i mean. welcome to the season ig.