User reviews

Digimon: Digital Monsters is an English translated version of Digimon: Adventure, it's your typical imported Japanese anime from the late 90's about monsters and children. Critics have criticized it as being a pseudo version of Pokemon, Digimon however is far from being a rip-off it shares common aspects with more popular Pokemon such as children befriending the monsters, the monster evolve, the monsters battle etc. Unlike the lighthearted Pokemon however, Digimon is more of a classic tale of good and evil it's plot is completely different from that of Pokemon. I have seen other anime that follow what I call the Pokemon formula, Digimon is not one of them.

The Pokemon formula: A character aims to be great at something, goes on a quest, wins things, monsters come out of stuff to battle (cards, toys, balls, etc), usually involves some kind of monster tournament. Beyblade, Yu-Gi-Oh, Bakugan, and others follow this formula more than Digimon. If anything Digimon has more in common with science fiction anime's or Saturday morning American cartoons about action and adventure, than it does with the other monster anime.

The characters are not your typical one dimensional anime characters, all of the characters seem to have very distinctive personality's with interesting back stories that keep the viewer interested. Even some of the villains and Digimon themselves. The anime is a lighthearted tale of good and evil, with some mature themes mixed in such as losing your parents and death, the anime also teaches kids about teamwork, friendship, and the importance of working together. The anime has great plots and sub plots that are not to complex for children to follow, but are very well written and interesting.

The English version of Digimon is filled with cheesy puns and comedy to keep kids laughing, and a score composed of cheesy 90's early 00's pop rock to catch their ear. The English version also has some of the more intense scenes removed from the original Japanese version making it more appropriate for kids, without parents having to worry about Digimon being a bad influence on children or to dodge controversial Japanese anime stereotypes. For the older audience who may enjoy anime, the original Japanese version of Digimon Adventure, features a much more serious script (the dialog at times is usually completely different), a beautifully composed score made up of orchestra, electric synths, J- Rock and J-Pop, and features much more as a lot was cut out of the English dub to make it more suitable for western children and western audiences.

I remember before I starting watching the show I thought this was similar to Pokemon but when I watched one episode of Pokemon and then one episode of Digimon I started comparing the two and they were both different. I really liked all the action! All the monsters and creatures were interesting. My most favorite Digimon is Veemon because he is funny, cheerful and an adventurous seeking little Digimon. Plus he has my favorite color blue and I like his forms like Flamedramon was my most favorite form. I also liked some of the other Digimon. My favorite digidestineds were Tai, Matt and (especially) Davis! Davis reminded me a whole lot of me. I never missed a single episode of this show. Well, I saw most of the episodes in Season 1 and I have seen all the episodes in Seasons 2 and 3. As for Season 4, after seeing one episode of it I didn't even bother to watch anymore! I didn't like Season 4 because it changed the story that was left off on Season 3 and plus it was stupid were the kids turned into Digimon instead of having the Digimon be right next to you like in Seasons 1-3! I like the old way they did it in the Seasons 1-3. But I am glad they now show some reruns of the all the episodes from all four seasons but I only catch the Seasons 1, 2 & 3 reruns, I didn't really care about Season 4. I also like the fact that they use some computer animation on some of the digi-volving parts! It's a pretty cool show! This show premiered back in August 1999 on Fox Kids Network and lasted 3 seasons on Fox Kids till 2002 and then they did a 4th season that was on ABC Family, I think? But what the heck I didn't care about Season 4! Again, only watch Seasons 1, 2 and 3 and don't watch Season 4!

I'll admit, when I first saw the commercials for "Digimon" a year ago, I automatically thought it was some sort of "Pokemon" spinoff. Sure, the two share some common ground - spunky kids hooking up with cute little monsters that evolve into big, less-cute monsters - but the similarities end there.

I won't insult anyone's intelligence, most of all my own, by trying to compare the two series point by point - I'm not at all familiar with "Pokemon", though I get the feeling that if you've seen one episode of this series, you've seen 'em all. But "Digimon" simply seems to be a more thoughtful and engaging series than its predecessor: the character designs are inventive, mixing nature with technology; the colour palette is varied, contrasting the brightly-hued Digimon and human kids with comparatively subdued backgrounds; the digital world into which the children stumble is a place full of mystery and wonder, evoking an atmosphere reminiscent of CS Lewis' "Chronicles of Narnia".

The characters themselves are well-rounded and fully realised, not the cookie-cutter stereotypes one would initially take them for. Not one of the children who leaves the digital world is the same person they were upon arriving there; throughout the numerous cataclysmic battles and far-reaching story arcs, the characters undergo intense changes, becoming stronger, braver, and more mature as they call upon the powers that lie within them. The relationships - among the children themselves and between each child and his digital counterpart - are by turns humorous, intriguing, and heartfelt.

Of course the show is not without its flaws - the animation is occasionally lacklustre; seeing the same transformation scenes over and over again can grow tiresome; and several episodes suffer from poor writing. But, in my opinion, these problems are outweighed by the tightly-woven plotline and spot-on characterisations.

Say what you will about "Digimon", but it truly is in a class by itself.

It's really funny because a lot of people think that Digimon is a rip off of Pokémon which is totally wrong and as they say "ignorance is bliss". Just because of the word "Digimon" especially the 'mon' bit, people think that it is immediately a Pokémon rip-off. I happened to have had been one of those people. I refused to watch Digimon when it started because it sounded like a rip off of Pokémon and there was a cactus with boxing gloves on! %( I mean come on, a cactus with boxing gloves thats as stupid as an electric rodent. Anyway I gave it a chance when there was a gap after Pokémon finished (and my nephew loved Digimon so I reluctantly gave it a chance). I ended up loving Digimon as it was alarmingly more adult than Pokémon and they had what many people craved... continuity.

The Comparisions Digimon follows the story of eight children with their respective Digimon, each with distinctive personalities and traits, working together in heroic situations (many viewers form emotional attachment to the character - I love Gabumon and my girlfriend loves Gatomon) whereas Pokémon centres around three kids who catch and train Pokémon (no matter what I still love Onix & Vulpix). Digimon can speak English whereas Pokémon can only say their name (excluding Meowth & Slowking - also Lapras can mind link with humans as can Lugia & Mewtwo) And finally Digimon follows a storyline where the heroes battle evil continuously, learn about themselves and each other. We also learn about their families, hopes, fears and watch them fight for what is right while Pokémon goes along the same line as Digimon but to a lesser extent and rarely does Pokémon follow up stories from previous episodes.

So all in all, why can't a person still love Pokémon but also watch Digimon. You may be pleasantly surprised at how different Pokémon and Digimon really are. After all I watch them both (their on rival channels but Pokémon is on half an hour before Digimon... but Digimon is opposite Dragonball Z (what a dilemma!) ;-)

I started watching this show fearing it was going to be awful. I had heard that it ripped off Pokemon and was inferior to it. I have to say I disagree, I think it is better than Pokemon(and Beyblade and Yu-Gi-Oh) and it is not a rip-off I feel. It does have a great concept, so did Pokemon but it jumped the shark far too early, apart from one or two uneven seasons Digimon was surprisingly good. And on a side note, even the movie was better than I expected it to be, even if the final third was rushed and not as focused it was better than any of the Pokemon movies combined.

So what were the good things? The animation is mystical and enchanting with well drawn characters and surprisingly good attention to detail. The music I am not a huge fan of but I can tolerate it. There are some original story lines, funny and touching dialogue and endearing characters(heroes and villains). Even the voice work was good, not outstanding but it was dynamic and expressive enough.

I do agree the quality of each series is variable. The first and last are brilliant, and the second is very good. The third is okay and the fourth falls short, this was when some of the stories became a little unoriginal and repetitive and the characters less appealing. Thank goodness it redeemed itself though. So overall, a good show, uneven but I do agree it is misjudged and mis-interpreted. 7/10 Bethany Cox

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 ^ ^.

Back in the day, I was a huge fan of Pokemon and I, like many others, thought Digimon was just a ripoff of Pokemon. Well, I saw one episode and I was hooked. Unlike in Pokemon, the characters in Digimon had real problems and they actually had character development which is what won me over.

The storyline was compelling and it went from dark to light and cutesy. It was fun to see the bond between the Digimon and their partners and the show was action-packed and humorous. The series started to go downhill after Tamers but I still would consider myself a huge fan of the series. Basically, the best part about Digimon would be the character development, storyline, action, drama, and the fact that I didn't feel lost as I did in Pokemon with the 250 Pokemon. Digimon did not seem to have as many.

The original Digimon anime is very good, probably the best of its kind. The English dub of the series on the other side, ruins almost everything good about the original: The plot is dumbed down, a lot of bad jokes and one-liners are added, most of the voices are awful.

But the worst part definately is the soundtrack: The original anime had a lot of beautiful music and a great opening. This version has a horrid "rap" instead.

The original intro was motivating, the atrocious digi"rap" make my ears bleed.

This dub is actually worse than anything done by 4kids.

Back when this came out, everyone accused it of copying Pokemon. Yet this one has better characters, there is a proper storyline, the monsters actually speak, there is a whole other world, the battles are more intense, and so on. This series is far superior and is full of great characters and moments. I was sad when it ended.

I remember seeing bits and pieces of this show back in the late 1990s when I was still watching Saturday morning TV. When I first saw it, I thought to myself, "Big deal. It's a Pokemon ripoff." But then I sat down to watch it at one point and it captivated me. No more endless competition a la Pokemon. Just one big story. Not only that, I liked the more detailed creature designs of the show and the human characters were a lot more relatable to us humans in real life. One of the human characters from the first season even looks and acts like me when I was his age! For those bored by Pokemon and want an engaging story that isn't defined by endless duels and characters that seem two-dimensional and not-so-creative elements, this might be the perfect remedy. It might get a little intense at parts but it's pretty good.

digimon is really a appalling 100% blatant rip-off of pokemon. i mean come on! look, if you're really going to watch some anime, go watch dragonball Z or something! it's better than this 100% piece of garbage. for my reviews, i gave out an award called "malaria's swamp" trophy for the worst TV show for an anime fans whether they like it or not. i mean, cartoons and anime now-a-days make rip-offs of TV shows. digimon is supposed to be a decent parody of pokemon, but i am not mean or nothing. some characters can be parodies of others, some of them are good, and sometimes the characters by negative reception reviews can be bad, or rip-offs. animation: 10/10. characters: 4/10. overall: 5/10.

5 years ago, I'm watching a commercial break during the original Pokemon. All of a sudden, I see an interesting commercial: a new anime show named "Digimon." "Hmmm.." I think to myself. "Probably some half-baked rip-off of Pokemon. Oh well. I guess I might as well watch it anyway." To my surprise and utter delight, what I watched a week later was by no means some Pokemon clone as I had anticipated. I had found myself wrapped up in an original masterpiece that had me immediately hooked. That first season of Digimon had me engaged from the opening segment of the first episode to the last scene of the final episode in a complex web of character building, good and evil and an occasional hinted romance. Though the next 3 installments were also great, they have not surpassed the glory of season 1. Though the series is indefinitely canceled, you can still catch re-runs on Jetix or through tapes. But I must warn you: You WILL Be hooked.

Animation Score (10/10) Overall Score (10/10) Recommended

I still remember first time watching digimon when i was a kid.. it was such an amazing journey. I loved the characters, the digimon and the villains and also the storyline.

Digimon 1 was by far the best. But digimon 2 wasnt bad either and loved that aswell. I loved the new way difimons were envolving. It was a good way to move away from the previous group we had and bringing in new characters and keeping some of the old ones. But for me digimon ended here. Digimon 3 i stopped watching after two episodes. I dont even remember why but i didnt like it all.

Digimon 1 and 2 is the best for me! 9/10.

Wow, you must have an IQ of lower than 58 to enjoy this show. RUPERT was always on at 2:30 and this show caused mass seizures. Sorry I hope you enjoy your career as a construction worker

I'm giving the rating of 4 since this page is for the English versions of the whole series, the original versions have their own IMDB pages and i gave them good ratings those are the versions i grew up with in Portugal, the rest of the world grew up with the Japanese version only dubbed, USA of course have to mess everything up, not just dubbing you have garbage like Digirap and all those cringe worthy soundtracks, also censorship considering it's "the land of the free" yet they censor things they don't like. Honestly watch the original versions with subtitules or if you can you might have a better opinion of Digimon after.

Don't get me wrong, this stuff is still quite cheesey, but I found it to be more entertaining than Pokemon. Here are the reasons why:

1. Not only did I find Digimon to be much more humorous than Pokemon, but overall it seemed more colorful in nature.

2. The soundtrack contained fun rock songs that fit well with the movie.

3. Which brings me to the point that Digimon is aimed at a slightly older audience than Pokemon, which is probably why I enjoyed it more.

4. I found there to be more character development. Each character's personality grew apparent and the fact that they were all in a closely knit group called the Digi-Destined helped the character development greatly.

5. The action seemed a bit more violent at times and the concept of Digivolving was great. Really helped peak the interest and intensity.

That's about it. It's still goofy stuff, but pretty fun nonetheless.

I grew up watching pokemon and digimon quite a bit, however pokemon dominated most of my childhood when it comes to cartoons, along with dragon ball Z. I remembered really liking digimon though, so a few years ago when the show was still on Netflix I decided to rewatch it, at least the first two seasons, and it was better than I remembered! I personally like it way more than the Pokemon anime, even though the theme song is pretty bad in comparison to the original pokemon theme song.

Some things that I love about digimon is that the who is not afraid to tackle more mature issues, like divorce, self-esteem issues, and depression. The best part of all of this is that it tackles these issues Ina way that is relatable and doesn't insult the viewer. , Plus the digimon are just super fun. The amount of wacky designs the show has come up with will never cease to make me giggle cause the show doesn't take itself too seriously, but it does treat the villains as what they are, a threat to the characters.

My only real gripe with the show is that things move a little too fast sometimes. In the first 54 episode season seaso, they move through 4 different storylines that easily could have fit into their own 20 episode sagas and been let breathe a little bit more, or even 15 episodes, and it would have benefitted the show because they wouldn't have rushed things so much. On the upside though, this means you there is usually something always happening with the story (there is filler here and there) and it won't get bogged down with taking too long tondo something simple (looking at you pokemon! Why does it take ash an entire episode to catch a pokemon every single time!? It should be more commonplace since it's so easy on the games!)