When I was really little, I fell in love with the show but I didn't know how chopped up the English dub was. Now that I'm older and know more anime, have watched shows that come straight from Japan, and have actually noticed when the voices are re-scripted, I can tell I actually missed a lot of the story line because of the re-script. This show was not created for young kids in the American idea. They pretty much did a '4 kids' on it though luckily, they didn't do it to much. The whole idea of 'children should be left clueless' makes me feel a little stupid. If children are clueless about the world, with things like pain or dying, then the will be shocked when it happens around them in the real world. It's strange that they did this because even as a small child, I knew what was happening to the characters without anyone saying anything, so the change that they did was unneeded.The story was originally going to be 12 episodes and then because of how well it was received, they added more episodes. Now, I am still on the edge about if this was a good thing or not. I liked that they put more depth into the characters and the story lines made sure you could see the characters grow. Unfortunately, as with all shows that have way too many characters in the spotlight, we end up seeing more of one character then the others. Also some grow to a certain point and don't really grow beyond that. This annoys me because it means that they really don't seem that important. (Although if you watch Digimon Adventures 02, this one seems better in character development.) I would have loved to see more of the characters backgrounds rather then little bits of three or four characters.Out of all the characters, I have to say my favorite is Matt. I'm not sure exactly why I fell in love with him but maybe it's because I have a little brother as well. I found it interesting that his name was changed when they took it to English dubs, but I learned after that it is pretty normal.The bad guys are very one dimensional. They are only against the others just because they are programmed too; at least, that's how it sounds. I wish they could have added a bit more to them but at least they each have a type of personality.The English voices are pretty good and bounce off each other nicely. I really don't like one or two of the characters though. If I have to listen to Mimi crying again though, someone will end up being hurt. She is so annoying in her voice that I really wish they had changed it a bit.
... View MoreDigimon is such an interesting TV show, in my opinion. I know it is usually quite similar to Pokemon in terms of animal partners fighting alongside them, but unlike Pokemon, the Digimon can turn into one level higher and go back to the way they were before, and in Pokemon they don't do that. Also the Digimon talk in human language while Pokemon just say their name. The kids are sent to the Digital World in every season for one mission: to save the Digital World from evil forces. I have said about the Pokemon similarities but it is not a rip-off of Pokemon, it is an original anime show because of some of the things I explained. Although I lost interest in Pokemon, I still think Digimon is cool.Season reviews:Season 1: Rating: 10/10. Probably the best of the Digimon Seasons as it usually is with TV shows. This is where 7 kids get Digivices and go into a Digital World and meet their partners and later gain crests for their partners to go into the Ultimate level.Season 2: Rating: 9/10. "Season 1, Part 2" is what I think of this season, as it is a continuation of the first one, but set 3 years later. Kari and T.K. are the only two from the original Digi-Destined team to be full-time Digi-Destined members. Digimon now get the power to Armor-Digivolve.Season 3: Rating: 7/10. This is where a new Digimon story begins. Digi-Destined use game cards to help their Digimon partners win battles, and bio-merge with their Digimon to make their partners go into their Mega levels. Not as exciting as the first two seasons, but still good.Season 4: Rating: 4/10. "Digimon mimicing Power Rangers" is what I think of this season. This season reminded me a bit more of Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers than the previous three seasons, because of the way the Digi-Destined become Digimon than have partners and some of the events that go through this season. Was it this that caused the downfall of the Digimon franchise? Season 5: Rating: 5/10. Returning to how Digimon should be, but the characters are teens rather than pre-teens and work at an organization. Not as good as most previous seasons, but better than Season 4 Total show rating: 10/10. Good TV show and highly recommended to watch.
... View MoreBack 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.
... View MoreRight 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 ^ ^.
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