"Digimon: Digital Monsters" (1999) TV series 1999-2003

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Directors:

Wendee Lee
Jeff Nimoy

Writer:

Michael McConnohie (writer) (episode)

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Release Date:

14 August 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Family | Fantasy | Thriller

Tagline:

Champions of the Digital World.

Plot:

Seven kids attending a summer camp in Japan are transported to an alternate world linked to ours by the Information Superhighway...

Plot Keywords:

Adopted Son | Friendship | Sadism | Courage | Techno Organic

Cast

Laura Summer	...	Patamon / ... (93 episodes, 1999-2003)
Mona Marshall	...	Izzy Izumi / ... (85 episodes, 1999-2003)
Derek Stephen Prince	...	DemiDevimon / ... (83 episodes, 1999-2003)
R. Martin Klein	...	Gomamon / ... (76 episodes, 1999-2003)
Joshua Seth	...	Tai Kamiya / ... (70 episodes, 1999-2003)
Michael Reisz	...	Matt Ishida / ... (62 episodes, 1999-2003)
Philece Sampler	...	Mimi Tachikawa / ... (61 episodes, 1999-2003)
Colleen O'Shaughnessey	...	Sora Takenouchi / ... (59 episodes, 1999-2001)
Tifanie Christun	...	Biyomon / ... (58 episodes, 1999-2003)
Dave Mallow	...	Angemon / ... (57 episodes, 1999-2003)
Michael Lindsay	...	Joe Kido / ... (55 episodes, 1999-2001)
Anna Garduno	...	Palmon / ... (52 episodes, 1999-2001)
Tom Fahn	...	Agumon / ... (50 episodes, 1999-2003)
Lara Jill Miller	...	Kari Kamiya / ... (50 episodes, 1999-2002)
Steve Blum	...	Flamedramon / ... (50 episodes, 1999-2003)
Wendee Lee	...	TK Takaishi / ... (48 episodes, 1999-2003)
Edie Mirman	...	Gatomon / ... (48 episodes, 1999-2003)
Jeff Nimoy	...	Tentomon / ... (46 episodes, 1999-2002)
Michael Sorich	...	Zudomon / ... (44 episodes, 1999-2003)
Jane Alan	...	Togemon / ... (43 episodes, 1999-2003)
Kirk Thornton	...	Gabumon / ... (42 episodes, 1999-2003)
Paul St. Peter	...	Wormmon / ... (42 episodes, 1999-2003)

Also Known As:

"Digimon 02" (USA) (second season title)
"Digimon 03" (USA) (third season title)
"Digimon: Season 3" (USA) (promotional title)

Runtime:

USA:30 min (205 episodes)

Country:

France | Japan | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:G (TV rating) | Australia:PG (VHS rating) | Netherlands:MG6 | USA:TV-Y7 | Brazil:Livre

Company:

ABC Family

Trivia:

DEBUT: Submarimon (episode 2.16 "20,000 Digi-Leagues Under the Sea")

Quotes:

Takeru "T.K." Takashi: When you can't think of anything to say, do you always resort to fighting?
Ken: I guess...
Takeru "T.K." Takashi: That's your problem. You don't know when to talk and when to fight. Now's a good time to talk... on the other hand... it's also a good time to fight.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Welcome to Eltingville (2002) (TV)

Unfairly judged

Right to start off with the usual, "Digimon ain't no Pokemon" rant. I saw the first episodes of Pokemon and thought it was an interesting idea but that was all, there is not plot minus the "Ash wants to be PokeMaster!" which I don't think they are going to resolve anytime soon. Decent enough for kids but not something you would call brilliant. Digimon sucked me in from the first episode; its plot is pretty clear from the off and has to be resolved- seven kids get sucked into another world and meet Digimon but really all they want to do is go home so thats what they try and do. I grant you the dub especially can be annoying- there are lines where you think, "they did not just say that, was that meant to be funny?" but some of it is a big laugh. For example when Tai tries to draw a map of the Island and its terrible, then they get attacked and Agumon accidentally sets it on fire and apoligises to which Tai replies, "thats OK, at least it didn't land into the hands of the enemy!". Still corny but quite funny. Also the digivolving sequences get annoying after the first few times until they get to the point of ridiculousness where it literally spends 5 minutes of the episode showing all the Digimon digivolving. Really annoying but we can bypass. If you look beneath all the corny jokes and pointless digivolving there is something really special there. The characters are really quite realistic. Tai makes mistakes but admits it and tries to fix them. Izzy is obsessed with his computer due to knowing secretly that he is adopted and its the only way he can deal with it. Even the comedic Joe has issues with his parents wanting him to be a Doctor when he doesn't really want to be one. Thats what is good about the show, the digidestined shine beyond most cartoon characters. The plot line is pretty good, especially the Myotismon arc but its pretty much, "defeat bad guy,". Season 2 has a better plot line in my opinion but the digidestined are handled really badly. Davis and Yolei appear to have no issues whatsoever, Cody's only become important near the end, Kari and T.K are just there and Ken remains the only one who comes up to par with the Season 1 cast. Season 3 is great; if you really couldn't stand the jokes in the last 2 then this one will be more your style. The digidestined are up to par again but the Digimon are as well (where before only Gatomon had any interesting development)it's a class season, but does get a bit slow at times where Season 1 is always pretty well paced. Season 4 is best left alone, I didn't enjoy it and wouldn't recommend it. So yes- don't judge Digimon off its name because you are missing out if you do. It might be childish and corny at times but at other times it matures way beyond the maturity of other children programs and into the realm of wondering who it was really aimed at. In my opinion its something I would show my children, it teaches great lessons about friendship and is colourful and fun for them- plus I don't think I'd get bored watching it if they were ^ ^.