Last
Updated: 9/5/07
Written by Chris McFeely
CHANGES SINCE LAST VERSION:
- A little tidy to the Nimoy and Savers sections.
1.
THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. Is
there
a level above Mega?
2. Who
were
the original five DigiDestined children?
3. What
would ExVeemon, Ankylomon and Aquilamon Digivolve into
if they didn't DNA Digivolve? What about Stingmon?
4. What
is
Gomamon's Mega?
5. Do Digimon have sexes?
6. Where
can I find a Digi-Dex?
2.
THE DUB
1. Where
can I find an episode guide and/or screenshots?
2. Where
can I find out who did a character's voice?
3. Who
is Jeff Nimoy?
4. What
was
changed from the Japanese version?
5. What
the
heck was going on with the movie?
6. What's
the story about Joe's brother(s)?
7. What's the story behind Disney getting the show?
3.
DIGIVOLVING
1. Baby
or
Fresh?
2. I've
heard people using the names "Adult" and
"Perfect." What are they?
3. What
level is an Armour Digimon? Where
does Nefertimon fit in?
4. What's
all this Jogress/Fusion
stuff? Is it DNA Digivolving?
4.
GENNAI
1. Is
Gennai a human or a Digimon?
2. What
was
the black ball that Piedmon put in Gennai?
3. How
did
Gennai become young again?
5.
CONFUSING PLOT POINTS
1. What
on
Earth was "His Master's Voice" all about?
2. In "Fusion Confusion," it said
they released their Crests - but I thought the Crests were destroyed by Apocalymon! What's
going
on?
3. Where
did the Dark Spores come from, and why did Daemon want
them?
4. Why
weren't Magnamon, Seraphimon and Magnadramon in the last
two episodes?
5. Who
is
Ryo?
6.
TAMERS QUESTIONS
1. How
long
after season two does Tamers take place?
2. What
does "Moumantai" mean?
3. Why
is
the Digimon Sovereign called Zhuqiaomon when the D-Terminal
says he's Ebonwumon?
4. Jenrya
or Lee?
5. Who
are Jianalang
and Shaochung?
7.
DIGIMON FRONTIER
1. Wasn't
it called "Scanners"?
2. Who
are
the ten warriors?
3. Do
the
other kids have Advance Hybrids?
4. Who
or
what is the "Puppet Master"?
8. SEASON FIVE
1. Is
there going to be a fifth season of
the anime?
2. What's
"Digimon Chronicle"?
3. What's
"Digimon: Force Three"?
4. What's "Digimon Next"?
1. THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1.1: IS THERE A LEVEL ABOVE
MEGA?
There is not, as yet, a Digivolutionary level above Mega. The reason
people
tend to believe there is is
due to the number of
Digimon who have appeared to progress beyond the normal Mega stage,
when in
actuality, all they have done is get stronger, but remained Megas.
Those who
have appeared in the cartoon are:
Omnimon - Digivolves from WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, who only
managed to do
so the first time due to an influx of energy from e-mails being sent to
them.
If there WAS a level above Mega, Omnimon would be it, as he Digivolves
from two
normal Mega Digimon, but there ISN'T. He is just a very strong Mega.
Imperialdramon Fighter Mode - not an actual Digivolution, but a Mode
Change,
enabled when Imperialdramon had his power boosted by the eight original
Digimon. In the card game, DinoBeemon
can Digivolve
straight into Imperialdramon Fighter Mode.
MaloMyotismon - Myotismon's spirit took the form of Oikawa, and then
absorbed
the Dark Spore energy, transforming himself into MaloMyotismon. As
Myotismon
was not actually himself when he did it, it was technically not a real
Digivolution. Also, MaloMyotismon is simply an alternate Mega form for
the
Myotismon line, who, in terms of strength, is more powerful that
VenomMyotismon. In the card game, Myotismon can Digivolve straight into
MaloMyotismon.
Armagemon
- A colossal "Warp-DNA Digivolve"
of sorts, Armagemon
was created when a huge number of
Kuramon merged. As with MaloMyotismon, Armagemon
is
merely an alternate Mega for the Diaboromon line, who, in terms of
strength, is
more powerful than Diaboromon. In the card game, Infermon can Digivolve
straight into Armagemon.
Imperialdramon Paladin Mode - Again, not a Digivolve, but another Mode
Change,
made possible when Imperialdramon Fighter Mode was given an energy
boost from
Omnimon (they did *not* DNA Digivolve, as some sources say). Paladin
Mode is
possibly the most powerful known Digimon at the current moment.
All these Digimon, no matter how they attained their forms,
irrespective of
whatever forms they were in before they transformed, are Mega level
Digimon.
Of course, I think I speak for everyone when I say that I wish there
WAS a
level above Mega, because it would be much more simple to explain.
1.2: WHO WERE THE ORIGINAL
FIVE DIGIDESTINED CHILDREN?
We don't know. The only time they have ever been mentioned was in
episode
number 1.53, "Now Apocalymon." In the very brief scene in which they
appeared, the animators recycled the model sheets of Tai, T.K., Sora,
Izzy and
Matt, using their silhouettes, rather than drawing new character
designs. They
did the same thing for their Digimon, who remained Agumon, Patamon,
Biyomon,
Tentomon and Gabumon.
On the other hand, however, we know who they were NOT, and they were
NOT Matt's
father, Hiroki Hida, or Yukio Oikawa.
1.3: WHAT WOULD EXVEEMON,
ANKYLOMON AND AQUILAMON DIGIVOLVE INTO IF
THEY DIDN'T DNA DIGIVOLVE? WHAT ABOUT STINGMON?
The most commonly held belief is that they would still become
Paildramon,
Shakkoumon and Silphymon.
In the anime, Stingmon, Gatomon and Angemon act as an additional power
source,
giving the other Digimon the power to reach it's own natural Ultimate
level. In
season one, the Crests provided the additional power, but in season
two, there
were no Crests to do this, so the other Digimon were used.
There is, of course, no special reason that Stingmon could not have
used the
Crest of Kindness to Digivolve on his own, beyond the fact that the
writers did
not want to use this idea, and maybe because Ken might have needed a
Tag. Had
he done this - or had he used ExVeemon as a power source - he would
have become
his own Ultimate, DinoBeemon.
In one of the Digimon handheld Japanese games, you can DNA Digivolve
ExVeemon
and Stingmon into either Paildramon or DinoBeemon
-
and you can also DNA Digivolve Ankylomon and Angemon into either
Shakkoumon OR
MagnaAngemon, and can also DNA Digivolve Aquilamon and Gatomon into
either
Silphymon OR Angewomon - and MagnaAngemon and Angewomon, as everyone
knows, are
Angemon and Gatomon's
natural Ultimates.
And to be blunt, no other Ultimate forms were ever designed for these
three
Digimon, as they were never going to do anything BUT DNA Digivolve. The
D-Terminal states that ExVeemon becomes Paildramon, Stingmon becomes DinoBeemon,
Aquilamon becomes Silphymon and Ankylomon
becomes Shakkoumon - therefore the lines have been officially appointed
by
Bandai, and if you don't like it, it doesn't really matter.
As to Megas - Paildramon's
is still Imperialdramon,
while Shakkoumon's
is Vikemon,
and Silphymon's is Valkyrimon.
DinoBeemon's
is GranKuwagamon.
1.4: WHAT IS GOMAMON'S
MEGA?
Plesiomon
(named Preciomon by Bandai, but called Plesiomon
in
1.5: DO DIGIMON HAVE SEXES?
For all intents and purposes, Silphymon is a male.
The issue of debate is whether or not Digimon actually HAVE physical
sexes.
Some will say they do, some will say they do not, and are merely
"Digimon," and have a sex only in respect to their personalities.
If you believe that Digimon have physical sexes, then Silphymon is a
male, due
to the fact that he is Hawkmon's natural Ultimate form, regardless of
having Gatomon's
mind within him.
If you are a subscriber to the "no sex" belief, then you really can't
peg a sex on Silphymon, because 'it' has two minds inside of 'it,' and
hence is
both male and female, but by the same token, is neither. However, if
Hawkmon
became Silphymon on his own, without Gatomon, then he would have a male
mind.
Confusing, isn't it?
In episode 3.49, "D-Reaper's Feast," Renamon notes that "Digimon
aren't divided into genders"
- the line in the original version
directly translates as: "By nature, distinctions of gender do not exist
among digimon."
Also, in describing Renamon,
Tamers writer Chiaki Konaka states that "officially,
Digimon do
not have gender." But he
himself notes that "If
anything, gender seems fairly easy to identify in digimon,"
and says that Sakuyamon was
clearly feminine.
To clarify some word misuse - Digimon ARE classified into gender, because gender is a cultural classification, where one is considered "he" or "she." Digimon quite blatantly and undeniably have that. It is being professed here that Digimon do not have SEXES, the physical classification of being male and female - which holds true for MOST Digimon, but characters such as Angewomon, LadyDevimon, Lillymon and, as Konaka notes, Sakuyamon, are quite blatantly female. So, the fact of the matter is that even the officials do not adhere to the official statement on the matter.
We do not know if Digimon reproduce -
however, in the Japanese
version of 1.13, "His Master's Voice," the "Scubamon"
wanted Kari to be their queen so they could procreate with her (see question
5.1).
But then again, these creatures were apparently
not really Digimon. As this is a kid's show, I hardly think we should
hold our
breaths waiting, anyway.
1.6: WHERE CAN I FIND A
DIGI-DEX?
Most sites will offer some form of "Digi-Dex,"
but they all tend to vary in quality. For information on the cards and
raw data
on the Digimon themselves, the first, and definitely the best place you
could
possibly go used Megchan's
Digimon Sekai,
but it had to shut down. For a
brief period, the encyclopedia lived again by Megchan’s
hand on Yahoo groups, but no more. Many sites now have the encyc
available to view as a result of this - highly recommended is the Shining
Evolution, a site that has continued to add to the encyclopedia and
reworked some of its elements.
If it's information on the anime that you're wanting, check out this
writer's
site, The
Digimon
Encyclopedia, which, rather than
list all Digimon, instead focuses in more
detail on the show itself.
2. THE DUB
2.1: WHERE CAN I FIND AN
EPISODE GUIDE
AND/OR SCREENSHOTS?
There are few sites that can be recommended outright for these any
more. The
Prodigious Network and The Digimon Experience were both the best sites
for
summaries and screen caps, respectively, but as seems to be the current
trend
in the online fandom, have closed down. The best you can do is search
and hope.
2.2: WHERE CAN I FIND OUT
WHO DID A CHARACTER'S VOICE?
The credits of the Digimon show are basic at best - a result of them
being
burned at the beginning of each season, and rarely changed thereafter.
Collaboration between fans and various actors from the show over time
has led
to the creation of the Digimon
Voice
List. It remains the best, most
official listing of actors anywhere on the
Internet.
2.3:
WHO IS JEFF NIMOY?
Jeff Nimoy is, for most Digimon fans, the name that is synonymous with
the
American version of the show, prior to season three. Nimoy is known
best as the
voice actor behind Tentomon. The first script he wrote was the script
for
episode 1.14, "Departure for a New Continent," along with his
business partner, Bob Buchholz. Nimoy and Buchholz continued to write
scripts
for the first season, along with all the other writers. Around episode
30, show
producer Terri-Lei O'Malley (replacing former producer Rita M. Majkut)
graduated them to voice director status. The beginning of season two
saw Nimoy and Buchholz appointed voice directors, story editors and
head writers - virtually every script up to "Digimon World Tour" was
written by them to some degree.
In the earlier years of the fandom, Nimoy was subject to massive criticism and personal insults by fans seeking a target to blame for the large amount of jokes injected into the English dub of the second season. There was, in truth, no particular reason that Nimoy was singled out for this treatment, beyond the fact that his name was easier to spell that "Buchholz" - many fans, however, misattributed comments made in an interview by Terri-Lei O'Malley to him, and believed that, in particular, he disliked the character of Davis, this being the reason for the large amount of humour directed against the character.
The true culprit in all of this was
micro-management. The popularity of the first season made the producers
take a specific interest in the production of the second, with a large
number of edicts handed down to Nimoy and Buchholz, most prominently,
to make the show "funnier." This is the reason that their names appear
on virtually every episode - one writer would produce the script, the
producers demanded more humour, and Nimoy and Buchholz would then have
to re-write parts of the script to accomodate that demand. As much as
fans were frustated by the end result of this whole affair, however,
they were not alone - Nimoy eventually came to the conclusion that
there was too much producer interference for him to do his job
properly, and he and Buchholz departed the series following "Digimon
World Tour." It is ironic, of course, that the final episodes of season
2, and the two following seasons, were dubbed with a distinctly lower
proportion of humour - presumably, the result of producers realising
what their "meddling" had wrought and dialling it back, but taken at
face value by fans, it did nothing to diminish Nimoy and Buchholz's
reputation.
In October of 2001, Nimoy, tired of the endless fan complaints - and,
in particular, mock "death threats" issued against him by certain
indiviuals - reached out to the fandom via
Megchan and
some other sites, attempting to set straight the misconceptions about
him. During this period, he was interviewed by the Digipedia - you can
read that correspondance HERE.
Many were surprised, however, when Nimoy returned to Digimon four years later for the belated dub of "Revenge of Diaboromon." Having sold his share in their joint company, Spliced Bread, to Bob Buchholz and parted ways with him, Nimoy was now under exclusive contract by Studiopolis Inc. Working as the movie's writer and director, Nimoy's ability to do the project the way he wanted to without interference resulted in something that shocked many fans - the movie was considered to be one of, if not THE best dubbed Digimon products. Following the airing of the movie, Nimoy gave a retrospective interview.
Nimoy is currently writing and directing the English dub of Digimon Savers.
2.4: WHAT WAS CHANGED FROM
THE JAPANESE VERSION?
Despite what a lot of detractors would have you believe - not that
much. Primarily, the most obvious changes are, of course, the names of
many
characters, and the soundtrack for the show. Also, large amounts of
dialogue
were altered (mainly just because the direct translation does not fit
the
lip-flap, but also, particularly in 02, for the purpose of inserting
jokes, see
question
2.3)
- too much to even begin to list. For a list
of the best-known edits, check out Lelola.Net
2.5:
WHAT THE HECK WAS GOING ON WITH THE MOVIE?
"Digimon: The Movie" is a combination of the first three Digimon
movies from
So heavily was "Digimon: The Movie" altered from it's original format
that the Screen Actor's Guild viewed it as an original work, rather
than an
out-and-out dub. Dub voice actors are paid substantially less than
actors who
work on original animation, but for "Digimon: The Movie," the Guild
instructed Saban
to pay the actors full rates.
2.6: WHAT'S THE STORY
ABOUT JOE'S BROTHER(S)?
In season one, we were introduced to Joe's elder brother, Shin. His
American
name was Jim.
In season two, we were introduced to Joe's OTHER brother, Shuu.
For some inexplicable reason, the dub altered this, so that the brother
we met
in season two was the SAME brother as we met in season one. Shin and Shuu
- two compeltely
different
people - became one single person in
Shin is actually the eldest brother, regardless of the fact that Shuu
appears older than him. The only time that both
brothers appear together is in 2.50, "A Million Points of Light,"
where they, and all the other kids' families, converge at the summer
camp to
witness the final battle with MaloMyotismon (curiously, Shin looks no
older
than he did in season one). The
It's not clear if turning Shuu
and Shin into the same
person was a mistake, or if it was an intentional act.
2.7: WHAT'S THE STORY BEHIND DISNEY GETTING THE SHOW?
Haim Saban,
owner of Saban Entertainment, sold his share in the company to Disney/ABC Family, who
now own
the rights to all of Saban'sshows
(similarly ending the existence of the Fox Kids TV block, which was the
result of a merger between Saban and Fox). While a large
amount of layoffs occurred within the company, for the most part, the
fourth
season of Digimon was still dubbed by the same crew as was working on
it before
the Disney takeover – now, instead of Saban,
they were named “Sensation Animation.”
In compliance with a contract Disney had with UPN - which stated that
Disney
would supply them with a certain amount of programming each year -
season four,
"Digimon Frontier" (see Section
7), aired on UPN for
the 2002-2003 season. This contract expired at the end of this
programming
year, and was not renewed. Re-runs of Digimon then began airing on ABC
Family in
Fall
2003.
3. DIGIVOLVING
3.1: BABY OR FRESH?
"Baby" and "Fresh" are both terms used to describe the very
first Digivolutionary level (the form a Digimon is in after emerging
from it's
Digi-Egg). The term "Baby" is the term used in the
3.2: I'VE HEARD PEOPLE
USING THE NAMES "ADULT" AND
"PERFECT." WHAT ARE THEY?
Those are Japanese terms. In
Japanese Name (US Name)
Baby 1 (Baby/Fresh)
Baby 2 (In-Training)
Child (Rookie)
Adult (Champion)
Perfect (Ultimate)
Ultimate (Mega)
One usually tends to find that only the most die-hard of fans uses
these
Japanese levels. It especially tends to cause confusion when talking
about
"Ultimates," because no one is ever sure if you mean the
In the dub, some usage of these Japanese terms crept through. For
example, the
Digimon Emperor called Greymon an "Adult" Digimon in 2.10, "The
Captive Digimon."
3.3a: WHAT LEVEL IS AN
ARMOUR DIGIMON?
Armour Digimon are at the "Armour" level. They are NOT at the
"Co-Champion" level, which is a term created by fans. Armour is a
different level, which is outside of the natural Digivolution line of:
Baby -
In-Training - Rookie - Champion - Ultimate - Mega.
A normal Armour Digimon is roughly as strong as a Champion Digimon. A
Golden
Armour Digimon is roughly as strong as an Ultimate. Note that
"Armour" and "Golden Armour" are NOT separate levels, they
are BOTH "Armour" level. Golden Armoured Digimon are simply stronger.
3.3b: WHERE DOES
NEFERTIMON FIT IN?
Nefertimon is STILL an Armour Digimon, and STILL only has the strength
of a
Champion, *regardless* of the fact that she Digivolves from Gatomon,
who is
already a Champion. Gatomon had been reduced to the strength of a
Rookie due to
the loss of her Tail Ring (though she was still at the Champion level,
she just
got weaker), and as such, when she Armour Digivolves to Nefertimon, she
jumps
back up to Champion level power. It was later revealed that she would
not have
been able to Armour Digivolve with her Tail Ring.
3.4: WHAT'S ALL THIS
JOGRESS/FUSION STUFF? IS IT DNA DIGIVOLVING?
It's an endless debate, that's what it is.
When Omnimon was introduced, he
was described as a "Fusion"
evolution in
"Jogress"
stands for "Join and
Progress," and is combining two Digimon and progessing
up a level.
"Fusion" is combining two Digimon. It is not described as an
"evolution" per se, as there is no evolution involved - ie:
Omnimon does not go up a level, because there is no
level above Mega for him to progess
TO (see Question
1.1).
They're the same principle, except one results in the Digimon attaining
a new
level, and the other results in a Digimon of the same level, with
greatly
enhanced strength. So, the argument continues to rage between fans over
whether
they are the same thing, or if they are different.
In the
4. GENNAI
4.1: IS GENNAI A HUMAN OR A
DIGIMON?
Gennai is definitely *not* a human, but he's not *quite* a Digimon,
either. He
is made up of digital information, so yes, he is a Digimon in that
respect. However,
he has no attributes - no group, level, type, attack techniques, etc.
Also,
while other Digimon appear to be physically ageless, Gennai has been
shown in
both old and young forms (see Question
4.3).
4.2: WHAT WAS THE BLACK
BALL PIEDMON PUT IN GENNAI?
It's function is unknown. Izzy states as much in a Japanese audio drama
CD
released two years after the end of season two. His statement is
something of a
non-sequiter
within the context of the track on the
CD, which gives it the impression of being a self-parodic
wink to the audience, as if the writer is saying, "We don't know what
it
is either, folks..."
4.3: HOW DID GENNAI BECOME
YOUNG AGAIN?
Initially, the black ball was looked upon as the reason for Gennai's
fluctuate age, but that theory did not stand up under scrutiny, and the
fact
that it's function has been clearly stated as being unknown is pretty
much just
stating that it's got nothing to do with it.
And so, the prevailing theory is that the old Gennai split himself up
into
various younger versions of himself. This belief is supported by a
statement
made by Benjamin, Gennai's
American counterpart, in
episode 2.40, "Digimon World Tour, Pt. 1," when he says: "Gennai
and I were once one and the same."
5. CONFUSING PLOT POINTS
5.1: WHAT ON EARTH WAS "HIS
MASTER'S VOICE" ALL ABOUT?
Dub flubs and omissions make the
The dominant question about this ep is the identity of the "undersea
master" who appears in silhouette form at the episode's conclusion.
Based
on later episodes, some believe it was MarineDevimon, but in actuality,
it is Dragomon.
Dragomon's
Japanese
name is Dagomon,
and the episode is titled "Dagomon's
Call" in
The other big question is about the "Scubamon"
in this episode, who mysteriously change forms when the Dark Spirals
are
removed from them. Firstly, it should be known that these creatures
were
actually supposed to be called Divermon - in the Japanese episode, they
were Hangyomon,
which is the Japanese name for the Divermon.
There is no Digimon called a "Scubamon."
However, these creatures were not actually real Digimon. They are Dragomon's
servants. Dragomon
is
based on Dagon, a Phoenician fertility deity who features in the tales
of Cthulu,
as written by H. P. Lovecraft.
In these tales, Dagon had servants known as the "Deep Ones" -
therefore it is considerably reasonable to assume that these creatures
that
attempt to take Kari are Dragomon's
equivalent of the
Deep Ones, which has lead to some fans dubbing them the "Digital Deep
Ones."
These "Digital Deep Ones" assumed the forms of Divermon, and equipped
themselves with Dark Spirals in an attempt to lure Kari into their
trap.
Whether or not the Control Spire in the
In the original version of the episode, the "Digital Deep Ones" did
not wish Kari to be their queen to lead them against Dragomon
- in actuality, they wanted her to be their queen and procreate with
them. As
to why is not clear; translated scripts differ on the topic. One says
that they
wanted to produce more of their number to fight their "new god," (the
Digimon Emperor), while another says they wanted more to worship him.
It's
peculiar that inhabits of the powerful Dark Ocean would even concern
themselves
with the Emperor - plus this dialogue makes it seem as if the Dark
Spirals on
the "Scubamon"
are real, attached to them
by the Emperor, when they appear to be anything but, given that they do
not supress
the "Scubamon"'s
free will (and the recap for this episode in the following episode,
"Samurai of Sincerity," identifies the Dark Spirals as fakes).
Incidentally, this writer continues to use the term "Scubamon"
in reference to the "Digital Deep Ones," rather than calling them
"Divermon," because it creates a distinction between REAL Divermon,
and the fake forms taken on by Dragomon's
servants.
The other question on this episode is how Gatomon Digivolved. Simply,
the
answer is that the pink light gave her the energy. Added dub lines make
it
sound like she knows she will able to Digivolve once the Control Spire
is
destroyed, when there is no reason for her to think this, as she has
lost the
power to Digivolve to Ultimate.
This brings up the question of what the pink light is and where it came
from -
and we don't really know. All we can say is that it is connected to
Kari
somehow - it appears again in her presence in 2.30, "Opposites
Attract," after another encounter with the World of Darkness.
5.2: IN "FUSION
CONFUSION," IT SAID THEY RELEASED THEIR
CRESTS - BUT I THOUGHT THE CRESTS WERE DESTROYED BY APOCALYMON! WHAT'S
GOING
ON?
The Crests WERE destroyed by Apocalymon - but, as was very clearly
explained in
1.53, "Now Apocalymon," the power of the Crests was inside the kids,
and had been there all along. It was THIS POWER that was released in
the
flashback in "Fusion Confusion." The apparent appearance of the
physical Crest objects was merely an "animated aside," to let the
viewing audience know what was happening.
5.3 WHERE DID THE DARK
SPORES COME FROM, AND WHY DID DAEMON WANT THEM?
The Dark Spores emerged from Milleniumon
after he was
defeated by Ken and Ryo. In 2.43, "Invasion of the Daemon Corps," Ken
dreams of his time in the DigiWorld, and Milleniumon
is seen collapsing and deleting in front of him and Ryo (see Question
5.5). Then, from the spot where Milleniumon
lay,
four small glowing purple spheres become visible - they are hard to
spot,
because there is dust, sand and dirt filling up the screen, but if you
look
closely, you will see them.
Some have theorised that Ken may have created Kimeramon as result of
subconscious urgings from the Spore, as Millenniummon is formed from a
combination of a Kimeramon and a Machinedramon. This is purely
conjecture.
Confusion over this issue mainly tends to arise because of some things
said by
Oikawa in the dub, which make it sound as if he created the Dark
Spores, though
he never actually SAYS it.
As for Daemon, it seems logical that he simply wanted the Spores for
the same
reason Myotismon did - to make himself more powerful.
5.4. WHY WEREN'T MAGNAMON,
SERAPHIMON AND MAGNADRAMON IN THE LAST TWO
EPISODES?
For Magnamon:
Because the Digi-Egg of Miracles no longer exists. It was created from
the
Crest of Kindness by Azulongmon and the other Harmonious Ones, and then
reverted back into the Crest of Kindness after Magnamon De-Digivolved
in 2.21,
"The Crest of Kindness."
For Seraphimon and Magnadramon:
Because they were introduced in the third movie (Japanese title:
"Digimon
Hurricane Touchdown/Supreme Evolution: The Golden Digi-Eggs"), which is
out of continuity with the rest of the series. Everything that happens
in this
movie has no bearing on the events in the series, which is why
Seraphimon and
Magnadramon don't appear - Gatomon and Patamon are unable to Digivolve
to Mega
in the series. Similarly, this is why Willis also does not appear
during the
series.
However, the American version of the movie was heavily altered (see Question
2.5),
and connected to the second movie (Japanese
title: "Our Wargame"),
which IS in
continuity. The references to Willis in it, and the references to
Willis in the
series were not in the original versions, and only serve to complicate
the
issue further.
5.5: WHO IS RYO?
Ryo is the star of the Digimon video games for the Wonderswan
system in
Ryo first appears in "Digimon: The Movie." He can be seen on a
laptop, on a hillside, when "Here We Go" plays.
He next appears in 2.23, "Genesis of Evil," in Ken's flashback to his
time in the DigiWorld. Ryo is the boy wearing purple in the flashback.
His other appearance is in 2.43, "Invasion of the Daemon Corps," in
another of Ken's flashbacks. In this flashback, we see the evil
Digimon,
Millenniummon, collapse and delete, as Ryo and Ken watch. Then, the
Dark Spores
appear and Ken pushes Ryo out of their way.
Ryo then appears in season three as the "legendary Tamer," but no
questions are raised about him, because he's not enigmatic like he is
in his
Ken-flashback appearances.
As far as the anime goes, that it's for Ryo - no explanation is offered as to how he got from one reality to the next, or even if they're the same guy, and not other-dimensional versions of each other. But the video games expand greatly upon his story. There are a few continuity glitches between the games and the anime that may or may not mean they are not strictly in continuity with each other, but they cannot be ignored as being part of Ryo's greater story.
Ryo first appears in "Cathode/Anode Tamer" ("Cathode" and "Anode" were differet incarnations of the same game - think Pokemon Red and Blue). In that game, he teams up with Tai's Agumon to rescue the original DigiDestined from the clutches of Millenniummon, an evil Digimon created through the fusion of a Machinedramon and a Kimeramon, who has created a time warp that has rebirthed serveral of the original DD's old enemies.
The next game was "Tag
Tamers,"
the most important game as far as season two is concerned. It sees Ryo
team up
with
Next came "D-1 Tamers,"
where Ryo fought in a
tournament against many other DigiDestined, and defeated them all. It
was
revealed that that tournament had been orchestrated by the Harmonious
Ones (or
the Digimon Sovereign, if you prefer) to train Ryo, in preparation for
the
return of Millenniummon. Millenniummon did indeed return, now in the
form of
Moon=Millenniummon, and, after a battle with Ryo, tore open a portal in
time,
and hurled himself and Ryo across history.
In the next game, "Brave
Tamer," Ryo awakens in the
Digital World's ancient past, having lost his memories. There, he meets
Monodramon, who takes him to ENIAC, the world's first computer. ENIAC
reveals
that there are many Digital World realities, which all grew out of him,
and that
Millenniummon - now in the form of ZeedMillenniummon
- has conquered the future, and is setting his sights on the past.
ENIAC gives
Ryo the power to hop through space and time, in an effort to stop ZeedMillenniummon's
plans, and, after several adventures in
the different continuites,
Ryo confronts ZeedMillenniummon,
only for the villain to reveal that he
is actually Ryo's true partner - but their partnership is now
impossible with
Monodramon in the way. Monodramon forces a DNA Digivolution between
himself and
Millenniummon, and they merge together into a Digi-Egg. Ryo decides to
stay in
the Tamers world. The continuity glitch here is that Ryo is shown to
have
parents in the Tamers world - but it's not beyond the realm of
possibility to
just assume he brought them there later on.
An issue of V-Jump magazine had a question posed by a reader, asking if
the Ryo
in D1-Tamers and the Ryo in Tamers are the same person. The answer was
a
positive one, citing "Brave Tamer"'s
story
as an explanation, sidestepping the continuity problems posed.
For more precise information on Ryo's adventures in the video games,
check out
the Ryo (and Sam) shrine, To
Bring Back Yesterday.
6. TAMERS QUESTIONS
6.1: HOW LONG AFTER SEASON TWO DOES
"Tamers" is set in a completely different dimension, which has no
physical connections to seasons one and two - except maybe Ryo, see Question
5.5.
In the Tamers world, Digimon are the result of a
project conducted by a group of college friends known as "The Monster
Makers." Digimon was subsequently turned into a franchise - there are
card
games, video games, and a cartoon show - and seasons one and two, which
we all
know and love, are that cartoon show in the Tamers world.
Tamers is set in the year 200X, meaning an unidentified year between
2000 and
2009.
6.2: WHAT DOES "MOUMANTAI"
MEAN?
Literally, Terriermon's catchphrase, "moumantai" means "take it
easy." Terriermon himself says this in 3.03, "To Fight or Not to
Fight.
6.3: WHY IS THE DIGIMON
SOVEREIGN CALLED ZHUQIAOMON WHEN THE D-TERMINAL
SAYS HE'S EBWONUMON?
Ah. Thereby hangs a tale.
The Japanese name of the bird Holy Beast is Zhuqiaomon.
However, a programming error in the Japanese D-Terminal resulted in the
names
for the bird and the turtle being switched around - the bird was given
the name
Xuanwumon,
while the turtle was now Zhuqiaomon.
Bandai of Japan apologised for this mistake on their website and in
V-Jump
magazine, but still, the error carried over to the US D-Terminal, where
Xuanwumon
was dubbed as Ebonwumon - making the bird
Ebonwumon, while the turtle was Zhuqiaomon.
Thankfully, due to the alertness of the
6.4: JENRYA OR LEE?
Henry's Japanese name is "Jenrya."
His
surname is "Lee." When this name is written out in the Japanese
fashion, it becomes: "Lee Jenrya,"
in the
same manner as you would write "Matsuda Takato" or "Makino Ruki."
However, Takato called him "Lee-kun"
a lot in the Japanese version, and this also made it into the
promotional
material, which led a lot of people to believe that his name was
actually
"Lee."
Whenever new Bandai toy packaging revealed that his dub name was to be
Henry,
the majority of fans were apalled,
wondering how they
got "Henry" from "Lee." It was then - mostly due to other,
more informed fans quite rightly telling them to shut their traps,
because they
were WRONG - that the spread of correct information began, as people
realised
that his name was, in fact, "Jenrya."
However, even today, you still find fans who continue to call him Lee.
6.5: WHO ARE JIANLIANG AND
SHAOCHUNG?
"Jianliang"
and "Shaochung"
are Henry and Suzie. Their Japanese names are "Jenrya"
and "Suichon,"
but, as characters, they are
half-Chinese, and "Jianliang"
and "Shaochung"
are the Chinese way of writing "Jenrya"
and "Suichon."
7.1: WASN'T IT CALLED "SCANNERS"?
"Digimon Scanners" was the name that first appeared in conjunction
with the fourth season, but it was only ever a tentative title, which
was
subject to change. And that change has happened - the season is now
titled
"Digimon Frontier."
7.2. WHO ARE THE TEN
WARRIORS?
The ancient Digimon, and the spirits they represent, are:
AncientGreymon - The Spirit of Flame
AncientGarurumon - The Spirit of Light
AncientMegatheriumon
- The Spirit of Ice
AncientIrismon
- The Spirit of Wind
AncientBeetmon
- The Spirit of Thunder
AncientSphinxmon - The Spirit of Darkness
AncientTrojamon
- The Spirit of Wood
AncientVolcamon
- The Spirit of Earth
AncientMermaimon
- The Spirit of Water
AncientWisemon
- The Spirit of Steel
7.3.
DO THE OTHER KIDS HAVE ADVANCE HYBRIDS?
Indeed they do. While they do
not appear in the show, Japanese cards exist
for A-Hybrids of Wind, Thunder, Ice and Darkness. Respectively, they
are: JetSilphymon,
RhinoKabuterimon,
DaiPenmon
and Reichmon.
The KaiserLeomon and Loweemon toys can also form Reichmon (and
AncientSphinxmon) - they are unique in being the only non-show
characters to
have Digivolving toy likenesses.
7.4:
WHO OR WHAT IS THE "PUPPET MASTER"?
You may
have heard in some places of
the “Puppet Master” – a plot point
apparently cut from the
Frontier series when it’s length was reduced, who was to have
been behind
Lucemon. Rumour suggested that an extended ending for the final
Frontier
episode existed that would reveal the existence, but not identity, of
this master
villain. Well, there’s a story behind all this.
The
existence of the “Puppet
Master” is a belief that was kicked off by a fan named
Omnitor. Now,
Omnitor was usually the go-to-guy for new Japanese information on the
series
and cards, which he claimed he got through some sources in
However, people had noticed
that as Frontier
progressed, information
given by Omnitor in the past was proving incorrect. When this happened,
he’d back-pedal and dub it "tentative" or a “last
minute change”
when it happened. Finally, an argument ensued between Omnitor and
several other
fans, including Nightstallion, over the names of the X Digimon from
“Chronicle” (see Question
8.2).
Omnitor insisted
that the name “X Digimon” was wrong, and that the
correct term was
"Neo Breed." Assorted official examples were presented, all using the
“X” term, with no official use of the
“Neo Breed” name
ever being seen. So, Omnitor was forced to admit he was wrong.
Or
rather,
that’s what you’d
THINK would have happened.
Instead, he basically threw a temper tantrum and decided that for daring to disagree with him (never once admitting he was at fault, of course), we didn't "deserve" his wrap up, vanished from the fandom, and hasn't been heard from since. There's been no further evidence to ever suggest that the “Puppet Master" was ever real, and suggestion that the "Japanese sources" he professed to have were just issues of the Japanese magazine, V-Jump. On the face of it, it looks simply like he used the argument to weasel out of having to back up lies.
8. SEASON FIVE
8.1: IS THERE GOING TO BE A FIFTH SEASON OF THE ANIME?
For the past three years, the answer you would have got if you asked this question was a resounding "no." But that's all different now - a fifth series, Digimon Savers, was broadcast in Japan from 2006-2007, and is to be dubbed into English as Digimon Data Squad, to air in American in Fall 2007.
The following are a list of things that the fifth season is NOT:
8.2:
WHAT IS "DIGIMON CHRONICLE"?
"Digimon Chronicle" was originally
believed to be a new manga that would replace "V-Tamer" in the pages of
V-Jump, but turned out to simply be the supporting fiction of the 2003
merchandise, told through prose text passages and short, six-page
non-sequiter mangas included with the Pendulum (digital pet) toys. The
Chronicle scenario was adapted into the 2004 CGI movie, "Digimon
X-Evolution."
8.3:
WHAT IS "DIGIMON: FORCE THREE"?
"Digimon: Force Three" is/was an American-produced Toyline, premiered by Bandai of America at Toy Fair 2003. Intended to be released after Frontier, it was described as follows:
"Over 100 years after Season 4, a small conflict occurred in the three areas of the Digital World. Over time, the struggles grew and persisted until now. All that is left is chaos and disorder. But there is a glimmer of hope. The leaders of the 3 areas have come from the real world and they've been given all the powers of the Digivice to help them restore peace. They've been given the awesome responsibility of defeating the evil Hydemon before he completely destroys the Digital World."
The toyline’s three new Digivices - the Hyper Digivice, the Armour Digivice and the Fusion Digivice, which could all connect together – were the only piece of merchandise ever seen for the line. See a picture of them as they appeared at Toy Fair HERE.
As far as can be discerned, however,“Force Three” was abandoned before it could truly begin.
"Digimon
Next" is what "Digimon Chronicle" was mistakenly believed to be - a new
Digimon manga which began running in V-Jump in December 2005. The main character, Tsurugi Tatsuno, is partnered with a Greymon, and makes contact with the
Digital World through his Digimon Mini virtual pet device and a "Battle
Terminal", a virtual reality interface. Digimon can use the technology to
materialise in the human world as well.
