Summary

• Digimon has been releasing anime and movies since 1999 with a variety of standalone and interconnected storylines.
• Each new installment introduces powerful Digital Monsters and unique storytelling approaches, catering to different age groups.
• Despite various formats and narratives, Digimon's success as a multimedia franchise is evident through its evolving characters and themes.

Digimon, much like its most notable contemporary, Pokémon, started as a gaming franchise before spinning off into other forms of media, most notably an animated adaptation. While both series have children as their target audience, Digimon is known to have more instances of trying to appeal to an older audience through its themes and imagery, and it's also notable for having a new cast and story with every new installment.

Digimon has been releasing anime and movies since 1999, and as such, there are a lot of different stories to watch. While most of the anime are standalone stories, some of them do exist within the same continuity, so some anime do end up with more development than others.

Every installment varies in length and quality, but regardless, Digimon having so many anime and movies to keep track of is a major testament to its success as a multimedia franchise.

Digimon Adventure is the Series' First Anime, & Still One of its Best

Directed by Hiroyuki Kakudo

The first Digimon anime to be released was 1999's Digimon Adventure. Digimon Adventure follows seven children, later eight, known as the DigiDestined, or "Chosen Children," in Japan, who were called to the Digital World to protect it from evil with help from their Digimon partners, and things naturally escalate into a conflict that puts both of their worlds in danger.

As the first Digimon anime, Digimon Adventure is the most iconic of all the Digimon anime both in and out of Japan. Not only has it been expanded on more than any other series through sequels, reboots, and general merchandising in and out of Japan, but its basic plot has also been the basis for many Digimon anime to follow. That level of fame has drawn a bit of contention from fans, but Adventure's impact on the franchise cannot be denied.

Digimon Adventure 02 is a Trend-Setting Sequel

Directed by Hiroyuki Kakudo

Following Digimon Adventure was Digimon Adventure 02 which, as the name implied, was an immediate sequel to Digimon Adventure. Released in 2000, 02 took place three years after Adventure and followed a new cast of children, in addition to two of the younger characters from Adventure, being tasked with protecting both Earth and the Digital World from the Digimon Kaiser and other threats.

Digimon Adventure 02 made changes to the original formula that other Digimon anime would also utilize such as splitting time between the two worlds and giving characters other than the main characters Digimon partners. The series is also a continuation of the story started in a line of video games exclusive to the WonderSwan; those games were never released outside of Japan, but the story can still be understood without playing them.

Digimon Tamers is Still the Series' Darkest Entry, & It's Not Close

Written by Chiaki J. Konaka

Digimon Tamers was released in 2001 and was the first anime to exist outside the Adventure continuity. In a major contrast to its predecessors, Tamers took place in a world similar to the real world where Digimon exists as a multimedia franchise, series protagonist Takato even creating his own Digimon, and much of the conflict is centered around the kids dealing with Digimon being real.

As strange as it may seem, Tamers' head writer, Chiaki J Konaka, was also responsible for writing the dark anime Serial Experiments Lain.

Digimon Tamers is noted for being much darker than other Digimon anime series through its use of Lovecraftian horror themes and how it deconstructs the series in various ways, such as the government getting involved in the story and death being permanent for Digimon. Tamers also further continues the story of the WonderSwan games with the appearance of Ryo Akiyama, but just like with 02, the games aren't necessary for understanding the story.

Digimon Frontier is a Return to Basics With a Slight Twist

Directed by Yukio Kaizawa

After Digimon Tamers deconstructed the series, 2002’s Digimon Frontier went back to basics by being another show about children being brought to the Digital World to protect it from evil. In a major departure from the norm, however, the children didn’t have Digimon partners, instead drawing on the power of ancient Digimon to transform into Digimon, themselves.

Digimon Frontier's premise draws similarities to the Power Rangers franchise and the Super Sentai genre, in general, and that, among other reasons, has made it a rather divisive entry into the franchise. Other notable elements of the series are how it brought back the concept of Digimon reincarnating after they die after Digimon Tamers did away with it and how it was the first proper introduction of the iconic team of Mega level Digimon known as the Royal Knights.

Digimon Data Squad Was an Attempt At Aging the Franchise Up

Directed by Naoyuki Ito

Following Digimon Frontier, there wouldn’t be another Digimon anime until 2006’s Digimon Data Squad. Similar to Digimon Tamers, Data Squad features a government organization tasked with keeping Digimon at bay, but rather than be at odds with them, the main characters in Data Squad are part of said organization.

With Digimon being about ten years old at that point, Digimon Data Squad was meant to appeal to an older audience by making the main characters teenagers and adults, having more instances of physical violence and character-driven drama, and bringing back Agumon as a major character for the first time in years; overall, it was the franchise’s biggest attempt at creating a typical shōnen anime. Digimon Data Squad was also the first major appearance of Yggdrasil, the god of the Digital World and a frequent antagonist in various Digimon stories.

Digimon Fusion is the Longest Digimon Anime to Date

Written by Riku Sanjo

The series would go on another hiatus following Digimon Data Squad until 2010's Digimon Fusion. Fusion returned to the basic premise of children being brought to the Digital World to protect it from evil, but with the addition of the DigiFuse gimmick used to combine Digimon into different forms. Digimon Fusion was one of the first Digimon anime to not draw focus to Digimon levels and had fights revolve more around what made sense for the narrative, but there was always a clear hierarchy of power, regardless.

After the first two seasons of Digimon Fusion, the anime was rebranded as Digimon Fusion: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time. The series doubled as a celebration of the Digimon anime as a whole and even brought characters from the previous anime into the plot, and with 79 episodes, Digimon Fusion stands out as the longest Digimon anime, to date.

Digimon Adventure tri. Ages Up the Original Cast

Directed by Keitaro Motonaga

In celebration of Digimon Adventure’s fifteenth anniversary, a six-part movie sequel ran from 2015 to 2018 called Digimon Adventure tri. The series took place three years after the defeat of MaloMyotismon in Digimon Adventure 02 and followed the original cast of Adventure as teenagers going through the pains of adolescence coupled with another adventure with their Digimon, this one revolving around a new DigiDestined Mei and her partner Meicoomon.

Digimon Adventure tri. was notably the first Digimon project simulcast in territories outside of Japan, although most places split each movie into multiple parts. The series is also controversial for how often it goes into melodrama and for how much focus is on the new character Mei and Meicoomon as opposed to the original cast, and after the final film, the Adventure series quickly pivoted in a new direction.

Digimon Universe: App Monsters Moves the Series Away From Digimon

Directed by Go Koga

While Digimon Adventure tri. didn’t finish until 2018, a new anime premiered in 2016 called Digimon Universe: App Monsters. App Monsters was a major departure from the series for focusing not on Digimon, but Appmon, digital lifeforms from the Net Ocean derived from phone apps.

This is because Digimon Universe: App Monsters technically wasn’t based on Digimon, but on the App Monsters spinoff franchise, which has long since been defunct, but even with that, the writing and character dynamics do a great job of capturing the basic aesthetic of the Digimon franchise.

Digimon Adventure: Reboots the Original Series

Directed by Masato Mitsuka

The next Digimon anime was 2020’s Digimon Adventure:, a full reboot of the original Digimon Adventure anime. Adventure: followed the basic premise of the original series, with the major differences being that Adventure: took place in 2020 instead of 1999 and that there was a larger focus on some of the lore elements of the franchise such as the Network and Holy Digimon.

While it started largely following the same story beats as the original anime, Adventure: soon pivoted into a new direction with new villains, some from other parts of the franchise, some created for the anime, and giving every Digimon Mega forms as opposed to just Agumon and Gabumon. Digimon Adventure: ended in a way that could set up a potential sequel, but as of now, it’s unknown if that will ever be followed up on.

Digimon Ghost Game is the Newest Series (and a Strong Entry)

Directed by Kimitoshi Chioka & Masato Mitsuka

The newest Digimon anime is 2021's Digimon Ghost Game. Ghost Game is another series where the main characters have to deal with Digimon causing trouble in their world, but the hook in Ghost Game is that the Digimon are causing incidents labeled as supernatural phenomena.

Digimon Ghost Game leaned far more into the monster-of-the-week format than its predecessors and left much of its overarching plot unexplained until the end of the series, and this has caused it to be a rather contentious entry among fans.