this post was submitted on 16 Feb 2025
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Digimon

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For fans of the Digimon franchise from Bandai.

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What is the broad strokes story of Digimon? (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 6 days ago by [email protected] to c/digimon
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I remember having the toy, but I don't know what the broad plot is for Digimon.

like for Pokémon, there's a kid who wants to be the best and collect them all.

what's the Digimon story?

should I be reading the manga or watching the anime or what's like the canon storyline?

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Well, I can really only speak to a few of the anime shows. The main theme is usually:

Bad Digimon are doing bad things. A rag tag group of kids, along with their Digimon partners, must put an end to the shenanigans with the power of friendship.

There is continuity between Digimon Adventure 01 and 02. There have been a plethora of movies around this particular group of kids. It's great.

The third series does a reset and everything is mostly stand alone from there. Some play a bit more fast and loose with things like digivolution tracks and whatnot, but the main themes are still there. Mostly they just want to bring peace to both the "real" and Digital worlds.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

So in Pokémon, The animals are all naturally occurring monsters that live in the world, but wasn't Digimon like a digital animal where you had to raise it? are Digimon also naturally occurring creatures that live in the Digimon worlds, or are they virtual like computer programs?

[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 days ago (1 children)

The original Digimon Tamagotchi toys weren't super cannon to the lore that got built up in the animes. They were more akin to the Pocket Pikachu in that you were just raising a lil guy.

In the shows, the digital world is a consequence of technology. Kinda. It's accessible via computers and stuff. It is, like, "housed" on the internet, but it's a fully parallel universes (basically). This can change a bit per series (or maybe I'm misremembering).

Digimon live there naturally and have their own wants and dreams. Some are more animalistic in nature and intelligence, but most are sapient and can speak. Some Digimon are a direct result of humanity's thoughts and feelings and are based on real world myths. Others seem to be wholly unique creatures.

In "the wild" Digimon can Digivolve naturally based on their age. This type of Digivolution is seemingly permanent. If the Digimon is paired with a human partner, and there is a Digivice involved, they can attain higher levels without needing to age up, and they can return to their previous state after a time.

The Digivolution track is not linear. What branch they go down depends on a few factors, but is mainly an emotional thing. An angry Digimon will Digivolve into a different form than the same type of Digimon that is happy. In Digimon Adventure 01 for example, Greymon will normally Digivolve into MetalGreymon. One episode he is forced to Digivolve by his partner though, and becomes a much more evil SkullGreymon. When Digimon Digivolve they mostly maintain their memories, but the new forms can sometimes come with drastic personality changes. Kinda like how Ash's Charizard was obstinate compared to the much more agreeable Charmander it started out as.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago

okay, that's very cool. thanks. this is all getting me more interested in the world.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)
  • Kids get transported to the Digital World.
  • They meet and bond with Digimon, digital creatures that can evolve into stronger forms.
  • There's usually an evil force threatening the Digital or Real World.
  • The kids work with their Digimon partners to save the world(s).
[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago

ah, thanks, I was wondering about the digital nature of the creatures.

[–] Pissman2020 2 points 6 days ago (1 children)

In the digimon adventure 1 and 2 storyline, digimon are digital lifeforms created by a team of researchers and grew on their own from there.

Outside of that, at least as far as I've seen, kids get partnered up with a single digimon who through their bond can make their partner digivolve into different forms with distict levels, but their normal state is generally the rookie level, so after a fight they'll de-digivolve back to rookie regardless of what level they went up to.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

oh, that's interesting. so a key difference between this in Pokémon is that instead of a team they just have one Digimon who's like their best virtual pet pal.

huh cool.

very interesting about the researchers creating the Digimon also, thanks. That's the stuff I'm looking for!

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Just to clarify a bit: Digimon are not pets. They're always treated as friends. Well, in Digimon Ghost Game the main Digimon Gammamon (best boi) is more treated as a little brother. He is very young though, and has the mind and mannerisms of a young child. When he Digivolves he gets more mature, but after fights he's back to young little Gammamon.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

huh, okay. what do you mean he's back to Young gammamon after he fights.

he matures into an adult but only for the fights?

are all Digimon like that?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (1 children)

He Digivolves into the next stage, like BetelGammamon, and gets more mature and intelligent. After the fight he reverts back to Gammamon and is like a child again.

Digivolution happens on a set scale:
Fresh -> In-Training -> Rookie -> Champion -> Ultimate -> Mega

Most partner Digimon are Rookies. Their bond with their human partner allows them to climb that ladder.

Edit:

Not all Digimon are as child-like as Gammamon. He is especially young for a partner Digimon. Like, Agumon is also a Rookie, but he's more like a teen or young adult. Gammamon is like a 5 year old. As Digimon age they naturally Digivolve, but most of their cognitive development seems to happen during their In-Training and Rookie stages. Fresh are just babies so they don't really do much.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 days ago (1 children)

so as Digimon age they evolve, but whenever they fight they revert back to their base form?

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Only partner Digimon can revert. The natural Digivolution is seemingly permanent. I've never seen an episode where a Digimon reverted without a Digivice involved.

A Digivice is a tool that the human partner has. It's what allows the partner Digimon to access higher forms earlier.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

okay, thanks.

I wonder what the real world correlation is for that plot device of only having the partner Digimon revert.