Digimon Adventure (デジモンアドベンチャー, Dejimon Adobenchā?) (1999) is the first series of the Digimon anime metaseries. Its premise involves a group of boys and girls being whisked to a parallel reality called the Digital World while at summer camp. They were taken there because they were chosen to become DigiDestined, the children that would save the Digital World (along with Earth near the end of the series) from the evil forces that threatened to destroy it. Each of the children received a Digimon partner who was preprogrammed to be bonded to them, as well as miniature devices called Digivices. With the power of the Digivices, their Digimon partners could become stronger forms to battle enemies or save their partners from danger.
The series is continued with the same characters in Digimon Adventure 02.
Digimon Adventure was originally planned to have 13 episodes, as Toei Animation was not sure how popular it would become. As the ratings and popularity grew, it was extended to 54 episodes.
Plot
Traveling to the Digital World was an experience that left the children bewildered. Their Digimon partners were suddenly thrust upon them, as well as the concept of having the Digimon
Digivolve, a process by which they transform into stronger creatures to fend off enemy Digimon. But they also Digivolve when they run low on strength. Thus, the children had to learn how to be DigiDestined as they went along.
Soon they learned of the Digital World's plight, that evil Digimon intended to rule the Digital World for themselves. They vowed to save it in spite of missing the life they had left behind. The DigiDestined promised to save Digital World because they saw that Digimon, though made of
data, were as intelligent as humans. They did not want them to suffer; furthermore, it was demonstrated to them that no one else could defeat the Digital World's enemies.
Their first enemy was Devimon who ruled File Island. The kids Digimon digivolved to face him and his Black Gear controlled minions which cumulated in a final confrontation on the island. The kids Digimon were no match for him and were easily defeated, but at the last moment, the smallest Digimon, Patamon, digivolved to Angemon, an angel Digimon to face him. Angemon destroyed Devimon, but used up all of his power and died as a result although he was reborn soon afterwards.
As the plot evolved, the children dealt with various aspects of maturity: making friends, being courageous, standing for one's morals, etc. Each child was given an object called a "Crest" that embodied a particular
personality trait that they had to demonstrate to get their partners to Digivolve to a higher level.
Tai Kamiya possessed the trait of
Courage,
Matt Ishida:
Friendship,
Sora Takenouchi:
Love,
Mimi Tachikawa:
Sincerity,
Izzy Izumi:
Knowledge,
Joe Kido:
Reliability and
T.K. Takaishi:
Hope. It is later revealed that at the time they were chosen to become the DigiDestined (during the Greymon versus Parrotmon fight when they were only at least 7-8 (except T.K. and Kari who were at least 4-5)) that these traits were the strongest good trait within their personality. Tai was always courageous when he had to be. Matt was always a good friend. Izzy was even then very knowledgeable. Joe was highly reliable. Sora was genuinely loving and caring towards everyone (to say that her crest of love is love at the level of compassion (the ability to care for others)). Mimi was sincere about what she thought (positive and/or negative). T.K was one who always was hopeful and never willing to give up and Kari was just genuinely good and always wanted to do what was right (standing for the light which represents all that is good and right).
Eventually, evil Digimon began crossing a
dimensional gate from the Digital World to enter Earth. The DigiDestined and their partners followed. Specifically, they landed in
Odaiba,
Japan, the children's home town. As the DigiDestined battled on Earth, they were joined by an eighth member,
Kari Kamiya, Tai's sister and carrier of the trait of
Light. While this was happening, a group of four Mega level Digimon called the
Dark Masters besieged the Digital World. Once things were taken care of on Earth, the eight DigiDestined returned to the Digital World once again in order to defeat the Dark Masters one by one, and eventually their ultimate enemy,
Apocalymon, the Digimon who was made of all the evil Digimon the DigiDestined had previously destroyed. When Apocalymon was defeated, the children went back to the Real World, leaving their Digimon partners behind. (They were reunited with their Digimon in the movie "
Our War Game!".)
The series was highly regarded and garnered millions of viewers. It became one of the largest anime
exported out of Japan, along with
Sailor Moon,
Pokémon and
Dragon Ball Z.
[citation needed]
Characters
The main characters from Digimon Adventure
The
English version of Digimon Adventure was somewhat unique at the time it was
dubbed. Most anime dubbed in the 1990s changed the names of characters and locales for the sake of
localization. In Digimon, however, most names of the DigiDestined remained unchanged or were shortened to
Americanized nicknames. Some Digimon names were modified into English equivalents, and in rare cases to
Japanese equivalents.
The eight DigiDestined children are listed first, followed by their Digimon partners.
Main characters
| Character | Voice actor | Digimon | Voice actor |
|
Tai Kamiya
Yagami Taichi (八神 太一) | Joshua Seth (EN)
Toshiko Fujita (JP) | Agumon | Tom Fahn (EN)
Chika Sakamoto (JP) |
| The adventurous leader of the DigiDestined and the older brother of Kari Kamiya. He is characterized as being stubborn and thick-headed, but also cheerful and brave. |
|
Matt Ishida
Ishida Yamato (石田 ヤマト) | Michael Reisz (EN)
Yuuto Kazama (JP) | Gabumon | Kirk Thornton (EN)
Mayumi Yamaguchi (JP) |
| Though a caring person and a secondary leader to the group, he is often seen as the "lone wolf" of the group. He is the older brother of T.K. Takaishi. |
|
Sora Takenouchi
Takenouchi Sora (武之内 空) | Colleen O'Shaughnessey (EN)
Yuko Mizutani (JP) | Biyomon
Piyomon | Tifanie Christun (EN)
Atori Shigematsu (JP) |
| While somewhat a tomboy, Sora is a very reliable person and tries to take care of the other kids. Thus, her role is often to be a motherly figure for various characters. |
|
Izzy Izumi
Izumi Kōshirō (泉 光子郎) | Mona Marshall (EN)
Umi Tenjin (JP) | Tentomon | Jeff Nimoy (EN)
Takahiro Sakurai (JP) |
| A very intelligent and logical thinker, despite being amongst the youngest of the group. He is also a computer expert and constantly uses his laptop. |
|
Mimi Tachikawa
Tachikawa Mimi (太刀川 ミミ) | Philece Sampler (EN)
Ai Maeda (JP) | Palmon | Anna Garduno (EN)
Shihomi Mizowaki (JP) |
| Although initially seen as being the selfish valley girl of the group, Mimi is loving and greatly loyal to her friends. |
|
Joe Kido
Kido Jō (城戸 丈) | Michael Lindsay (EN)
Masami Kikuchi (JP) | Gomamon | R. Martin Klein (EN)
Junko Takeuchi (JP) |
| The oldest of the group. He is dependable and thoughtful, although he is always a worrywart. He tries to act as the voice of reason within the group. |
|
T. K. Takaishi
Takaishi Takeru (高石 タケル) | Wendee Lee (EN)
Hiroko Konishi (JP) | Patamon | Laura Summer (EN)
Miwa Matsumoto (JP) |
| The youngest of the group and the younger brother of Matt. A bright child, he grows from being reliant on others to being as much of a fighter as they are. Along with Kari, he becomes part of the DigiDestined team of Digimon Adventure 02. |
|
Kari Kamiya
Yagami Hikari (八神 ヒカリ) | Lara Jill Miller (EN)
Araki Kae (JP) | Gatomon
Tailmon | Edie Mirman (EN)
Yuka Tokumitsu (JP) |
| Gentle but frail, Kari joins the group after the other DigiDestined and is the younger sister of Tai. She joins the Digimon Adventure 02 DigiDestined along with T.K. |
|
Villains
- Parrotmon (1st Movie): Defeated by a Greymon four years prior to the events of the series.
- Devimon (8-13): The first villain the DigiDestined faced. Destroyed by Angemon. Resurfaces in Episodes 19-21 in Digimon Adventure 02, where the Digimon Emperor uses his remains to complete Kimeramon, and consequently he manipulates the latter's actions, unbeknownst to the DigiDestined (except possibly TK).
- Etemon (15-20, 46-47): The second villain the DigiDestined faced. First destroyed by MetalGreymon, but later returned as MetalEtemon. Permanently destroyed by Zudomon and SaberLeomon.
- Gazimon (15-20): Etemon's minions.
- Kokatorimon (17): Another minion that served Etemon. Got killed by his own exploding ship.
- Tyrannomon (18-20): The first one killed by Greymon. The other Tyrannomon were sucked into the Dark Network.
- Datamon (19-20): An long-time enemy of Etemon. He was killed trying to pull Etemon into the Dark Network.
- Myotismon (Vamdemon) (22-39): The third villain the DigiDestined faced. First destroyed by Angewomon and the other Digimons, but returned as VenomMyotismon (VenomVamdemon). Destroyed again by WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon. Appears in Digimon Adventure 02 as MaloMyotismon (BelialVamdemon). Destroyed for good by Imperialdramon Fighter Mode.
- DemiDevimon (PicoDevimon) (22-38): Myotismon's flunky. He orchestrated a series of traps and lies to prevent the Chosen Children from reuniting after they tried to find Tai after his battle with Etemon. He tried to bog them down in selfishness and despair, quashing their best qualities, and thereby preventing their crests from ever glowing. Though loyal to Myotismon to the bitter end, his master consumed him to gain the energy needed to evolve into his final form.
- Dokugumon (28): Killed by WereGarurumon.
- Mammothmon (29): Killed by Garudamon.
- Gesomon (30): Status unknown. Battled with Ikkakumon.
- Raremon (31): Killed by Kabuterimon.
- SkullMeramon (32): Killed by MetalGreymon.
- Phantomon (35-37): Myotismon's other flunky. Killed by Angemon when he attacked Myotismon with his Hand Of Fate attack.
- DarkTyrannonmon (35): Tamed by Lillymon but later killed by Myotismon.
- MegaSeadramon (36): Killed by Zudomon.
- Apocalymon (Apokarimon) (53-54): The villain that originally put the Digital World in danger. The creator of the Dark Masters and the one who gave the DigiDestined's three original enemies (Devimon, Etemon and Myotismon) their powers. Permanently destroyed by the combined efforts of WarGreymon, MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, Lillymon, Zudomon, MagnaAngemon and Angewomon.
- Dark Masters (40-52): The creations of Apocalymon; subjugated the Digital World while the DigiDestined fought Myotismon on Earth.
- MetalSeadramon [40-42 (and 43 in the English dub)][2]: The first of the Dark Masters to attack the DigiDestined. Destroyed by WarGreymon.
- Scorpiomon (41): MetalSeadramon's minion. Killed by MetalSeadramon after failing him to kill the Digidestined.
- Divermons (42): Killed by Zudomon.
- Puppetmon (Pinocchimon) [40, 43-47 (also 42 in the Japanese version)]: The second Dark Master to attack the DigiDestined. Destroyed by MetalGarurumon.
- Cherrymon (44-45): Killed by Puppetmon.
- Garbagemons (44): Killed by Lillymon, MetalGreymon and MetalGarurumon.
- Machinedramon (Mugendramon) (40, 48-49): The third Dark Master to attack and the only one not to face all eight DigiDestined (Mimi, Joe and Matt having temporarily left). Destroyed by WarGreymon.
- WaruMonzaemon (49): Machinedramon's minion. Killed by Machinedramon after he failed him.
- Piedmon (Piemon) (40, 41 & 50-52): The leader of the Dark Masters. Destroyed by MagnaAngemon with the help of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon.
- LadyDevimon: (50): One of Piedmon's Nightmare Soldiers. Killed by Angewomon.
- Diaboromon (Diablomon) (2nd Movie): Materialized inside the Internet. First appeared as Kuramon but later Digivolved into Tsumemon and Keramon. Digivolved into Infermon while fighting Greymon and Kabuterimon and defeated them while they were Digivolving into their Ultimate forms. Digivolved into Diaboromon while fighting WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon; nearly defeated them but was destroyed when they DNA Digivolved (combined) into Omnimon for the first time.
Other Digital World characters
- Gennai (13-54): An old man created from data who acts as a guide to the DigiDestined.
- Andromon (5, 48-52, 54): An android-like Digimon that was freed in Episode 5 by Sora, Tai, and Joe, but attacked due to the presence of one of Devimon's Black Gears. Defeated and freed by Kabuterimon, he reappeared in Episodes 48 and 49 to hunt down and destroy Machinedramon, and stayed with them until the final battle with Piedmon, going so far as to hold him off while they attempted to escape all being turned into keychains and defeated. Once revived by MagnaAngemon, he participated in the final battle against Piedmon and the Vilemon swarm, and returned with their other allies to congratulate the Chosen Children on defeating Apocalymon.
- Centarumon (Kentarumon) (10-14, 52-54): Guardian of an ancient temple on File Island, the place in the Digital World the children were first transported to. Returned to help the kids build a raft, and met Gennai at the Wall of Fire. He congratulated them on defeating Apocalymon, and was on to point out the eclipse and informs the children that it was time to say good-bye.
- Leomon (8-14, 46-47): Protector of File Island. Constantly enslaved, freed and reenslaved by the Black Gears, until right before the final battle with Devimon. He surprised the partner Digimon when he attacked them with Ogremon, as his reputation was that of a just Digimon and was well-known to be Ogremon's mortal enemy. Presumably, it was he who organized the party of Digimon who built the Chosen Children a raft to travel to Server Continent. Was given the ability to Warp Digivolve into SaberLeomon after intense exposure to Tai, Matt, Mimi and Izzy's Digivices. He is killed by MetalEtemon, taking an attack intended to kill Mimi.
- Ogremon (8-13, 46-54): Leomon's rival. Was the only Digimon willing to help Devimon not under the influence of the Black Gears. After Devimon was destroyed, Leomon scared him off. He reappears in episode 46, wounded badly after a fight with Woodmon and the earthquake caused by MetalEtemon. Mimi and Joe tend his wounds, and he is incredibly touched that they would help him after he tried to kill them. He allies himself with Mimi and Joe after Leomon's death, realizing he was more than just a rival, and agrees to help the Chosen Children fight the Dark Masters. He is present for the final battle with Piedmon, and appears after the final battle with Apocalymon to thank and congratulate the children, but leaves after they take a commemorative photograph in Primary Village
- Whamon [14-15, 41-42]: The second to last Digimon with a Black Gear, encountered en route to Server Continent. Once the Gear is destroyed, he apologizes for destroying their raft and offers to ferry the Chosen Children to Server himself. Reappeared in episode 41 to save and protect the children from MetalSeadramon, but is killed in the ensuing battle.
- Piximon (Piccolomon) [18, 40]: Well-known in the Digital World as a trainer, Piximon takes on the Chosen Children, particularly Tai and Agumon. Returns in episode 40, sacrificing himself to the Dark Masters to ensure the escape and safety of the Chosen Children.
- Wizardmon (Wizarmon) (30-37): Gatomon's old friend. She saved him from death, and told him she was looking for someone. Out of gratitude and affection, Wizardmon allied himself with Myotismon to keep an eye on Gatomon, and ultimately repaid her by solving the mystery of who she was waiting for and why. He briefly united her with Chosen Child partner, before they took on Myotismon together, in an effort to retrieve the Crest of Light. Ultimately, he died to protect Gatomon and Kari. He returns briefly on Earth during the second season as a ghost to warn Gatomon of danger ahead.
Digital World
The
Digital World is a parallel reality made from data inside Earth's
communications networks. It is the place where all Digimon live, and where the DigiDestined fight the majority of their battles.
Digital World's data manifested into a material form via the wishes of human children. The data reformed inside another parallel universe, a "
dream dimension" that has the power to turn mental desires into reality. The Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western ends of the Digital World are individually guarded by one of the four
Harmonious Ones, benevolent Digimon who ensure the Digital World's well-being.
When an evil being emerged from beyond the Digital World's Wall of Fire (curiously similar to a
firewall[citation needed]), the Digital World's chronology was warped, throwing it out of sync with Earth, making it much older than it would be under normal circumstances - one Earth minute was equal to one Digital World day. Prophecy foretells that any time the Digital World is threatened by evil, a new group of children from each generation, called the
DigiDestined, will come to the Digital World and save it. The DigiDestined for each generation were selected by a mysterious group, charged with the Digital World's protection. When the eight children of this generation witnessed a battle between a
Greymon and a
Parrotmon, the group chose them, and constructed their Digivices, Tags and Crests. A brutal attack by the Dark Masters left the whole group dead, save for
Gennai, who was able to escape and hide the DigiDestined’s' Digivices and seven DigiEggs until their time came. When
Devimon began to take over File Island with his Black Gears, the time for the DigiDestined to be summoned came, and the Digivices were dispatched, transporting seven chosen children into the Digital World, where they battled with the evil Digimon there.
Myotismon attempted to conquer both the Digital World and Earth by killing the Eighth Child - the predestined eighth member of the DigiDestined. He opened a portal to Earth and led his army on an assault on Central
Odaiba in the search for the child, who was eventually revealed to be
Kari, little sister of
Tai, leader of the DigiDestined. When Myotismon was finally stopped, a rift opened to the Digital World - but it had been horrifically changed. In the few days that the DigiDestined had been back on Earth, years had passed in the Digital World, and the
Dark Masters had risen again, and conquered the entire world, reformatting it into the massive Spiral Mountain. When the kids defeated the Dark Masters, they were confronted with the Digimon that had made the four monstrosities -
Apocalymon. Apocalymon was bent on sharing his sorrow with the rest of reality, and didn't care if he lived or died in doing so. Thankfully, the kids defeated him. With his defeat, the Digital World began to reformat itself into its original form, free of evil, also putting it back in synch with Earth-time, meaning time would move to the same pace in both worlds. After the battle with
Diaboromon, Gennai called the DigiDestined back to the Digital World, where they released the powers of their Crests, forming a shield which restored peace to the Digital World, expelling all evil, but at the cost that the Digidestined's Digimon can no longer Digivolve beyond the Champion level.
Media
Anime
Digimon Adventure aired 54 episodes on
Fuji TV in
Japan from March 7, 1999 to March 26, 2000. In the
United States it aired on
Fox Kids from August 14, 1999 to June 24, 2000.
Canada cable carried Fox, therefore Fox Kids, but independent network
NTV aired reruns in
Newfoundland & Labrador.
Theme songs
- Opening theme
- Ending themes
- "I wish" (Episodes 1-26)
- Lyrics: Tokuko Miura
- Composition: Yoshihisa Shirakawa
- Arrangement: Katsumi Horī
- Artist: Ai Maeda
- "Keep on" (Episodes 27-54)
- Lyrics: NK
- Composition: Naoto Kine
- Arrangement: Naoto Kite & Kōichi Yuasa
- Artist: Ai Maeda
- Insert song
- "brave heart"
- "Seven"
- Lyrics & Composition: Kōhei Koyama
- Arrangement: Cher Watanabe
- Artist: Kōji Wada
- "Yūki o Tsubasa ni Shite" (勇気を翼にして?)
- Lyrics: Hiroshi Yamada
- Composition & Arrangement: Michihiko Ohta
- Artist: Toshiko Fujita
Films
Digimon Adventure (Movie)
Digimon Adventure (デジモンアドベンチャー, Dejimon Adobenchā?) is the first
Digimon film. It was released in Japan on March 6, 1999. It was released in the United States on October 6, 2000 as the first part of
Digimon: The Movie.
This film acts like a pilot episode for Digimon Adventure. The first story focused on Tai and Kari Kamiya four years before their adventure in the Digital World. It shows their first encounter with Digimon and what happened to them (as well as the other children that saw it became the other DigiDestined) when they participated in their first Digimon battle after raising a quickly growing
Botamon. In the story, that Digimon hatches from a Digi-egg and eventually evolved into
Greymon to fight a
Parrotmon who appeared in the city. The movie was used in episodes of Digimon Adventure to explain why Tai and company became DigiDestined.
Our War Game!
Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (デジモンアドベンチャー ぼくらのウォーゲーム, Dejimon Adobenchā: Bokura no Wō Gēmu!?) is the second
Digimon film. It was released in Japan on March 4, 2000. It was released in the United States on October 6, 2000 as the second part of
Digimon: The Movie.
The second story occurs a few months after the battle against Apocalymon. It shows many of the DigiDestined, but primarily focuses on Tai, Matt, Izzy, and T.K., as they end up saving the day when a computer virus Digimon raises havoc all over the world through the Internet. The kids must stop the evil Digimon quickly before he provokes the launching of a nuclear
ICBM aimed at Japan (where the kids live). Tai and Matt end up getting so worried about their Digimon (in the form of WarGreymon and
MetalGarurumon) badly losing to the evil Digimon
Diaboromon that they actually phase into the Internet and miraculously give them the power to destroy him in time. Both Digimon merge, evolving into the powerful
Omnimon. However, Diaboromon is still too fast, until Izzy comes up with the idea to redirect e-mails that they are receiving from children watching the battle all over the world via the internet to slow Diaboromon down, allowing Omnimon to finish him off just before the missiles hit. In the end, the deactivated ICBM lands harmlessly in Tokyo Bay. Our War Game! appears to be inspired by the 1983 film,
WarGames. This movie is considered canon due to Izzy's analysis of ExVeemon and Stingmon's DNA Digivolution in Adventure 02, because Izzy compares it to WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon's own DNA Digivolution and how 02 character
Yolei Inoue became a Digidestined.
Digimon: The Movie
Digimon: The Movie, released in the U.S. and Canada territory by Fox Kids on October 6, 2000, consists of the union of the first three Japanese movies. Those stories are based in the universe introduced in the first two seasons of the T.V. series.
C.D. Dramas
Digimon Adventure - Character Song - Mini Drama 1
This C.D. drama
[3] is a random compilation that focuses on Tai, Sora, and Joe.
In
SOS! Fifth Year Class A, Tai and Sora have a Digimon encounter during Home Ec.
In
Sora Takenouchi's Heart-Thumping Yellow Card, Sora hosts a small radio program with questions asked by the other DigiDestined.
In
Jou's Debut as a Singer?!, Joe entertains the idea of what his image song would be.
Digimon Adventure - Character Song - Min
