ima83 - 2016-07-17 01:51:00

I've watched this anime when I was like.. a kid.. probably 8 or 9 (Look, Idc if you prove that I'm probably 69 years old if I watched this).. So, I don't remember a lot but I remember watching this everyday on an anime channel when I was still in Asia (Animax to be exact). So, the story is.. I don't remember, but I'm pretty sure they wanted to get out of the Digiworld and maybe save the Digimons on some kind of danger. IMO, Digimons are way more cooler than Pokemon (Yes, I've watched the original Pokemon recently) . Digimons can talk and evolve into some gundam thingy. Pokemon, on the other hand, cannot talk and cannot devolve. Now, the animation is something you don't need to complain about. Digimon has like the same style as the original Pokemon so... yeah whatever. The character development... Look, I don't remember much on this anime but I remember shipping Joe and Mimi (so cringy af). And yeah, I enjoyed this anime. I'm glad I watched this. Thank you, Digimon.

phowell - 2015-03-16 17:32:42

pokemon but with a storyline and character progression. what more could you want

elouise.reichel - 2015-01-07 22:10:00

Note: This is a review of the English language version of the series. As such, any discrepancies between it and the original Japanese script will not be taken into account unless I feel it is necessary.

          Normally, when I review an anime series or movie, I judge each series by the same general merits, as any story should be able to provide an excellent level of entertainment regardless of length, genre, or intended audience. However, there is one demographic that this rule changes for, and that would be for shows aimed at a child audience. Of course it would be ridiculous to rate the quality of a kids' show the same way I would rate Cowboy Bebop or The Wind Rises, so, rather than rate it solely on its storytelling and animation, I've instead approached it from a different angle: if I were to have a kid in the future, is this something that I would want him or her to grow up watching?

          As I brainstormed what I thought were the most important elements of a preferred TV show for my possible future child, the first thing that came to my mind was some sort of lesson or message that he or she can take away from the series, and in that regard, Digimon Adventure is almost always on the ball. The show is practically built upon lessons regarding friendship, hard work, kindness, and learning to see the perspectives of others, all of which are invaluable lessons for a growing child to learn. That being said, there were certain times where it felt like it was laying it on too thick, such as a line early in the series where an evil Digimon says "I can't believe they've already learned the power of teamwork," though this may just be the fact that I'm viewing this as an adult and I'm fully aware of the lessons that it's teaching. In the end, the lesson itself is still powerful despite its extremely direct method of conveying it.

          While Digimon could have simply stopped there, it also goes on to tackle a lot of problems that children might have in their daily lives, some of which end up going a lot deeper than you would expect. Topics like divorce, parent-child relationships, and much more are explored just enough to be able to relate to children in similar circumstances, but not so much that it beats you over the head with it and burdens the actual story; in fact, it often becomes an integral part of the story and pulls it off rather well, and for a series whose primary purpose was to serve as a marketing platform for merchandise, that's an astounding feat.

          Apart from the lessons it teaches, I feel that it's also important to understand what my future child would want from this series, and the answer for that is quite clear: a vast, open world to explore and discover that's filled with a variety of colorful characters and creatures to interact with, and Digimon has that in droves. From the expansive Digital World to the hundreds of different Digimon to meet, this series is a child's proverbial dreamland. Additionally, another, more subtle element that adds to a child's viewing experience is the sense of independence. Alongside other kids' anime like Pokémon, Digimon places its characters in a position where they are living and fighting independently of their parents, and this sense of freedom is highly valued by its target audience. However, that isn't to say that the parents are shunned altogether. In fact, the main children's parents seem to serve as an emotional core and drive for them; they want to grow strong enough to be able to protect the ones they love, which also ends up serving as yet another underlying message to be taught. Finally, of course, when designing a show for kids, you can't forget the action as well, and there's a heavy load of the stuff throughout the series to keep the kids entertained when the story elements die down a bit.

          All of that aside, I do need to address the writing quality of this series. Yes, I am aware that the target audience for this show probably wouldn't notice it, but there are a ton of facepalm-worthy moments throughout the English script. This series has a tendency to make a lot of really bad jokes, some that even a kid probably wouldn't laugh at, and it also has moments where the writing doesn't make any sense at all. However, there were also some moments that actually had me laughing a bit, so the writing level does tend to fluctuate by a huge margin. As for the ending, I honestly felt like the last two episodes weren't necessary at all, and it was a bit obvious that they had been told to pad the series out a bit more, but the final scenes of the series still had an acceptable resolution to them.

          The characters in this series comprise a gathering of several different stereotypes: Tai is the bold and brash leader, Matt is the exact opposite and gets into fights with Tai a lot and also has a little brother to look after, Sora is the tomboy who still cares a lot for everyone, Izzy is the computer whiz, Joe is the klutzy one, Mimi is the pampered one, and TK is the "little kid" type and is Matt's younger brother; additionally, we later get introduced to the "perfect little sister" character in the form of Tai's sister, Kari. While most of these characters were inoffensive and likable, some to the point of me getting excited just by them being on-screen, there were a few that I had problems with. Matt was probably the source of the most irritation throughout the series (though perhaps that's because I grew up inspired by Tai's personality the most), and he often ended up lashing out at others for no reason other than being upset by something, though they do usually show him owning up to his mistakes later and finding new resolve inside himself. In fact, practically every time a character makes a big mistake and hurts one of their friends, we get to see them go through the process of understanding what they did wrong, and this is something that I love seeing in children's shows, as it gives them a chance to fully understand concepts of right and wrong and why certain things help or hurt other people. 

          As for antagonists, the majority of them are your standard Saturday morning cartoon villains with no redeeming qualities to them, though there was one character towards the end of the series called Cherrymon that ended up being surprisingly devious and psychological, though it's a shame that he was only in the series for about two episodes.

          The animation was produced by Toei Animation, and, as I've said before, Toei isn't exactly known for its stellar animation quality. Toei's always been much more about style over quality, and the fact that this is a kids' show with a limited budget makes this even more apparent. While the designs for both the Digimon and the main children characters are both memorable and appealing, especially to a younger audience, the actual quality of animation is extremely low. This is especially apparent any time a character or object moves across a frame, as it has a tendency to drift in a straight line like the object has been lazily layered onto the background. There's also the matter of the "Digivolving" sequences, where Digimon grow more powerful and change form, and while most of the latter stage Digivolutions looked fine, those for Greymon and Garurumon were done completely in CG, and I think most of us would like to forget what low-budget CG in 1999 looked like. All of that aside, the show does look "cool," and I'm sure that a kid would have no problem getting into its design.

          Normally I would take this moment to talk about the dub, but since that's the only feasible option for a young child to view it in, then there's not much point. I will say though that some of the voice acting in this series was surprisingly good, while other parts were not-so surprisingly bad.

          The soundtrack was composed by Takanori Arisawa, also known for his work on the Sailor Moon soundtrack, and the music in this series is perfect for a young audience: exciting and thrilling enough for them to get pumped up, but not too extreme or complicated so they can hum along to it. And, of course, we have the iconic Digimon theme song, which is more than catchy enough to get the kids running towards the TV. However, I should also point out that the English version also includes the insert song "Hey Digimon," an American alt-rock track by Paul Gordon that was very obviously used to cover certain places where they couldn't get the license to the original J-rock tracks and felt incredibly out of place sometimes.

          Overall, I feel that Digimon Adventures is an excellent source of entertainment for children, and even adults who grew up with the show. Heck, I actually found myself on the edge of my seat at times for episodes I didn't remember seeing while I was growing up with the show, and I think that speaks volumes about how even a show created for marketing toys can still be transformed into an exciting viewing experience that can capture the heart of young children from all backgrounds.

hermiston.trent - 2014-11-07 11:28:47

This is the first anime I saw and re-watching this several years later and all other Digimons brought me into Anime world.

kristopher.stracke - 2014-03-16 23:32:26

When it comes to 'childhood shows' you grew up watching, there comes a certain kind of dissonance between the experience you had as a kid and the experience you would have as an adult. Rewatching Digimon Adventure recently, I realized that it's the kind of show that wouldn't sit well with you if you think too much, especially when compared to other better anime. Objectively speaking, it's not a classic, and one would certainly have to retain some sense of nostalgia to really enjoy having this adventure. For an anime created to promote the virtual pets merchandise, however, it is a well-produced series that offers a few surprises, even for the more cynical audiences.

While it's definitely better than the other popular 'mons' anime franchise in terms of its overarching plot, the story is not the strongest aspect of the anime. The series is split into four major arcs, and like any monster-battling shounen shows, the storyline can get a bit episodic, with the children fighting a new set of villains with the beginning of each arc. Predictable cliches are commonly found without looking closely, and there are even a number of plot-holes and deus ex machinas that attack your common sense and logic. That said, viewers going in expecting a typical beat'em up will be pleasantly surprised by some of the darker plot-twists during mid-series. For a show seemingly targeted towards a younger audience, its angst and drama can become a bit mature for the little ones. This is where the strongest suit of the series comes into play - the character writing.

For the entirety of the show, it's as if the writers had set out to place their focus solely on 'evolving' the seven children (and to a lesser extent, the eighth child) in the show. Most of the side characters in the show, even the protagonist Digimon characters, have little to no personality. Their morality and motivations are pretty clear, and it's definitely a good versus evil story at play. There's little intelligence to be found among the villains' cliche 'take over the (digital) world' scheme, and even the good guys don't give a satisfying explanation of why these particular children, and not any others, were chosen to be sent to the Digital World and fight the battles. Nevertheless, this leaves plenty of room for a singular focus - the Chosen Children characters.

As the story goes on, each of the eight children are given a proper development scenario where they have to conquer their flaws and become a better person. Nearly all of them has an inner demon to fight with, and this can range from casual angst to realistically unpleasant situations. After doing some research on the show, I found out that the writers had decided to name each of the characters based on symbolical words that are related to good luck and fortune. This had me thinking that the writers really cared about the characters as they would care about a bunch of real children, and the writing really shows. While the manner in which the characters overcome their fears and anxieties can be overly convenient and even awkwardly forced at times, 'character development' is at its most literal sense here as we see the children evolve past their immature selves and be freed as a butterfly would.

For an anime produced in the '90s, the art department did quite a decent job. However, the first thing I noticed rewatching the show is how blend the water-color backgrounds can be. While it's a common, traditional style among many anime of that era, the art of both the Digital World and the real world in this anime would be the least memorable thing in your mind. This can be effective in the sense that your focus is entirely placed on the characters instead of a picturesque backdrop, and considering that the characters are well-animated, this is hardly a problem. Given the angst the protagonists would face, the color tones at these grimmer moments do give the show the appropriate atmosphere, being cheery, thrilling, and emotional at the right times.

However, viewers would be annoyed at the repetitive transformation sequences the Digimon would go through very often. While this may be fun for the kids, and it's certainly an effective business technique to promote the toys, they get old and tired for the more impatient viewers. Moreover, while the traditional animation transformations were decent to look at, viewers may find the CG animations to be cheesy and even cheap. The accompanying music, however, helps the audience through the ordeal without leaving things too awkward.

Some of the scores you hear in the anime might feel familiar for you older audiences out there. That's because composer Arisawa Takanori had decided to recycle and remix a few of his old tracks from Sailor Moon Sailor Stars. Cheap productions aside, I noticed that many of the scenes in the anime have awkward silences where no track is played, and this can be sometimes anti-climatic. That said, there are more than a handful of enjoyable scores, character themes, and battle themes inserted in every episode to keep one entertained, not to mention the ever memorable "Butter-Fly" theme song by Wada Kouji. In addition, the theme song for the Digimon evolution sequences, Miyazaki Ayumi's "Brave Heart", would certainly fire up the spirits in your heart as you root for the heroes to win.

One particular aspect I would like to mention about the songs in the original Japanese series is that the lyrics are definitely a lot more mature, symbolic, and memorable than those second-rated pop songs used in the dub series. In exchange for an opening about becoming a fluttering butterfly, the dub chose to use an over-the-top cheese-fest that repeats the word, "Digimon" over and over again.

The overall enjoyment of the series is a difficult aspect to evaluate. As stated above, what one might enjoy as a child is vastly different than as an adult. Being a kid, I really loved this season of Digimon to death, more so when I discovered the original Japanese version. The values this show brings to children about courage, friendship, and love are more entertaining than preachy, and they really help the younger audiences relate to them as they journey on this fun adventure with these lovable characters. But as you grow older and become more cynical, you would start noticing the chinks in the plot-armor, the randomness even in the original Japanese dialogues, and you would wonder to yourself how the heck you had managed to sit through this show.

Nostalgic factors aside, the anime series is pretty tame compared to better-written shounen shows out there, even with its above average character writing. However, for a carefree experience revisiting your childhood again, the show will serve up as more than decent entertainment as you travel with the Chosen Children on this Digimon Adventure.

zspinka - 2013-12-29 06:03:44

Now I could waste half of this review arguing why Digimon isn't a Pokemon rip-off, but instead, I'm going to treat this review (Poke-what?) like I would any other anime review. Mainly because I have so much to cover, having seen both versions of this series.

I have had the fortunate opportunity to view both the American dub and the original Japanese, and I have favorable opinions of both of them. Sure, the dub "Digimon--Digital Monsters, Digimon are the CHAMPIONS!" is VERY VERY grating and nearly unbearable to sit through. Thank God nothing of great importance happens during those moments. (It's so easy to fast-forward the American theme song and the "Digi-volving" scenes. No big deal.) The Japanese background music is, to no surprise, far better than the Saban dub-overs, but what makes the dub so redeeming that the background music is forgivable is, actually, the voice acting.

What starts out as rusty voice work quickly develops into phenomenal acting as the voice actors (especially Michael Lindsay (Joe) and Joshua Seth (Tai)) gain a better feel and appreciation for their characters.

Very little was changed in the actual plot of Digimon, so I will speak on it as though they are one and the same. What makes Digimon such a great series, in my opinion, is the variety and poignancy of the issues that these children deal with. We don't have the angst that comes with teenagers in love, nor do we have the violence of adult drama. Each child has a unique personality, and realistic ways of coping with problems at home. Some of the problems the children are facing are shocking to begin with, but then we realize that it is those troubles that have shaped their character and their irrational behavior upon their arrival into the Digital World.

The struggles we find are older brothers' senses of responsibility to their younger siblings (rivals Taichi and Yamato are both older brothers with chosen younger siblings...and how they handle their sister and brother is characteristically different--yet still similar), struggles with parents (Sora and her mother fight often, thus leaving Sora feeling superficially loving, when she harbors such bitterness), feeling of belonging (Koushirou, the boy genius, has a strong, loving relationship with his parents, only to realize that they stress over the fact that he was adopted after his parents were killed in a car accident), and acceptance.

There is such a wide range of characters in Digimon, I find it hard to believe that anyone who watches the series wouldn't be able to sympathize or relate to at least one of the children. Additionally, what makes Digimon so profound is that the Digimon that befriend the children have as distinctive personalities as their children counterparts. For someone who has never had an appreciation for anime mascots, my infatuation with the seal-like Gomamon brinks on the rim of being unhealthy.

What begins as a story of survival and adventure gradually turns into one of coming-of-age and self-discovery. Digimon is a heartwarming anime that introduces characters and relationships that are, as I see it, timeless and nostalgic. It sparks the imagination, and makes you appreciate the value of friendship and teamwork ... like any good Japanese program should.

watsica.makenzie - 2013-08-17 23:55:55

Story: Digital monsters in a digital world. A bunch of kids get caught in the digital world and all end up with their own digital monster. The kids venture forth and solve various problems of this digital world. I watched this when I was young and loved this over pokemon.

Animation: Remember it being better than it actually was, but its still good.

Sound: Digimon digital monsters champion. Nuff said to me this is classic childhood nostalgic.

Characters: This show was all about the various digital monsters. The human characters were kind of just there. My favorite when I was a kid was Augumon, who basically is a t-rex.

Enjoyment: The digital monsters were always fun and couldn't wait for the next one. And they all had there own unique transformation. The fights between the monsters was always fun and the villains were always fun in there own way.

Overall: I would suggest anyone recommend this to any kid under the age of 12. A great entry into anime for a kid. Digimon digital monsters champion. I thought this was better than Pokémon. 7/10

ernser.aryanna - 2013-07-31 08:36:34

First of all, have in mind I just finished re-watching this series in a Latin Spanish dub, so some details may differ from the English or even the Japanese version. I'm writing this review based on what I watched.
Now then;

Digimon is one of those series that hold a really big emotional meaning to me, and make me incredibly nostalgic. I've always loved it, since I was a little kid, and I recently set myself to re-watch every season all over again, starting with Adventures.
Sure, it was a fest for my need for nostalgia, and I got to revive some really good moments of my childhood; but that didn't stop me from appreciating this anime for what it really is.

Most people think of Digimon and many other similar anime as kind of a really long and well produced commercial for the products the producers wanted to sell; in this case, toys. You can notice that in similar enterprises, like Pokemon, Bayblade, Medabots, etc. Certainly, at first, Digimon Adventures feels exactly like that.
But, contrary to what I expected, this series ended up diving into deep conflicts, and explored a lot more than most people give it credit for.

We could start by analyzing the story, but that isn't what really matters here.
The world is going through a time of bizarre cilmate changes; it's summer in Japan, and a group of kids enjoying a summer camp suddenly find themselves transported into another world entirely: the Digiworld. There, they meet strange creatures that call themselves Digimons. Each kid is assigned with a different digimon, and they take off to survive in the strange land, and find out where the hell are they.
Afterwards, the story starts working like any adventure/fighting anime: several lesser enemies are defeated, they grow stronger, then up to the boss. Oh but wait, that wasn't the strongest really, so they repeat the cycle all over again. You know how it is.
The story is flawed and full of plot-holes. But because it is so simple, they are easily fixed or overlooked.

Personally, I believe the chosen story is only an excuse for the anime to focus on the part where it really shines: characterization.
The kids' ages vary from 7 to 12. And, you know what? They all act accordingly.
Every character has a distinct personality, that keeps developing during the whole anime. The best part about these characters, is that they don't properly fit any definite stereotypes for these kinds of anime -you could say that this series is pretty old, and was thought-out before the mass-production of cloned characters; but I think this is a characteristic to the anime's credit.
The characters really grow during the series, and it's not something you only notice at the end. As the story advances, the children need to adapt and grow in self-confidence, and they do so gradually, but noticeably enough for us, the viewers. We UNDERSTAND what made the character grow, doubt himself, cry, laugh, scream. We get to understand each and every one of the kids, because they all resemble us in some aspect, even though they are also very different from ourselves.

I say this is the aspect where the anime shines, because this series, as simple as you may think it is, managed to create real, human children, through such a silly storyline.

Why, you ask? Well, most of us will get to different conclusions, but my hypothesis is that this is achieved through the digimons.
Ask yourself, when do the digimons digievolve, grow stronger, or weaker? Whenever the correspondent kid goes through emotional changes.
What I'm saying is that this anime was smart enough to use what should have been the protagonist (the monsters) as mere tools to develop its characters' personalities and potential. This way, we as viewers can appreciate the paulatine change, not only through the dialog, but through the state of the digimons.

That's not its' only tool, though. The dialog is also surprisingly good and subtle -you know, for a show that's supposed to be for kids.
Not everything is thrown at us through obnoxious dialog, just hints. We need to figure out what's going on with the kids by ourselves, and to do that we have to compare their experiences to our own. This is the way we end up relating to them, even without realizing.
This is what smart anime do.

Another thing I'd like to highlight, is that, yes, most enemies are silly and all over the place. But Apocalimon (...gosh, fire whoever named these things), the last and most powerful enemy, presented a real reason for his hatred and seek of vengeance. The kind of reason that made the kids admit that they didn't have a real answer to his problems; he was not the kind of enemy you could preach to, because the source of his darkness was legit. It was a really abstract concept and, even though it couldn't be explored further, the short time it lasted it managed to seriously surprise me.

There are many details worth of mentioning: the realistic way the children's relationship with their families were portrayed, the human reactions to the desperate situations they were thrown at, the level of maturity they end up accomplishing, and also, I need to say they had one of the best portrayals of how a depression feels like that I've seen lately in anime.

Seriously, it is that good.

It feels like I'm only praising Digimon, so I have to clarify. This anime is seriously flawed. The dialog, though great at times, can also turn confusing and silly very easily. The animation is old, so it's not easy to digest sometimes, and most of the things discussed in the series are sugarcoated and not too honest with the viewer. Not to mention it still has to sell toys, so the unnecessary focus on the separate evolutions and super-awesome-dude-designs can be tiring sometimes.
But, if I have to take it for what it is, I take it for its clever characterization and its surprising humanity. For how challenging and interesting it ended up being. And for the courage it had to explore the things we weren't asking it to explore.

All in all, Digimon Adventures is a good anime, and I recommend it to whoever wants to go on a trip of fun and self-discovery.