Digimon, the popular media franchise, originated in 1997 with a line of virtual pets created by WiZ and Bandai. These Digimon (Digital Monsters) virtual pets intended to be the masculine counterpart to Tamagotchi. Then, in 1999, the first animated Digimon series aired. Since the release of the first series, eight more Digimon television series released along with one more soon to release in October of 2025. Follow along in our Digimon Series Retrospective to learn more about these epic characters and the shows that brought them to life.
These animated series follow the stories of young characters as they travel through the Digital World with their Digimon creatures to fight off evil. These Digimon evolve into more powerful forms of themselves to keep fighting off evil forces. The Digimon characters focus on friendship, responsibility, evolution, and overcoming challenges. Through these challenges, the characters learn valuable life skills and gain more power to keep fighting strong. Along with the television series, many other media continues to release for the franchise. However, many parts of the media spawned from these television shows. The animated series are the best known aspect of the Digimon universe. They even sparked the production of many games and tie-in movies. Join us in our Retrospective through the different series as we travel in multiple Digimon universes and meet many characters.
Join Us In A Digimon Series Retrospective
Continue following along with us as we jump into the adventure-packed world of Digimon through the many animated television series. Not only will we mention the 9 already released, but we will also take a glimpse into the next series to come out in the fall of 2025. Since the series began in 1999, the world of Digimon only continues to grow larger and more diverse. Join us as we now dive into the first television series released for the Digimon franchise.
Digimon Adventure (1999)
Kicking off our Digimon Series Retrospective, we have the first series from 1999, Digimon Adventure. This action-adventure animated show released on Fuji TV and now streams on Hulu as well as Hoopla. Directed by Hiroyuki Kakudo, this 54 episode series ran from March 7, 1999 – March 26, 2000.
The plot begins with a group of boys and girls chosen to go to a parallel reality titled the “DigiWorld” or “Digital World”. Since these children appear in the DigiWorld to become DigiDestined, they must now work to save the Digital World. With their Digimon partners at their side, these children not only use their Digivices to help their Digimon grow stronger but also work together with their powerful Digimon to fight off evil forces during battle. As these children begin their journey through the DigiWorld, they learn of the evil Digimon and their plan to take over the universe for themselves.
Then, as the series continues, the children begin learning valuable life lessons and gain a specific trait for each person. The children receive a “Crest” that symbolizes each specific trait. These include, Taichi “Tai” Kamiya with courage, Sora Takenouchi with love, and Mimi Tachikawa with sincerity. Along with these, Yamato “Matt” Ishida with friendship, Koushiro “Izzy” Izumi with knowledge, Joe Kido with reliability, and Takeru “T.K.” Takaishi with hope all receive their trait “crests”. As time passed, a group of evil Digimon crossed to earth through a dimensional gate. This meant the children not only needed to defeat the evil Digimon in the Digital world but also on earth. The end of the series concludes with a successful defeat and the children then returning back to the real world.
Digimon Adventure 02 (2000)
Digimon Adventure 02 takes the next spot on our Digimon Series Retrospective. This series takes place three years after the previous series, making it a direct sequel. This series also began airing directly after the previous series on April 2, 2000. The series then concluded on March 25, 2001 and lasted for 50 action-packed episodes.
The plot of this series picks up with the original characters now in high school, thinking that things in the Digital World were taken care of. However, without their knowledge, a new evil force entered into the DigiWorld, the Digimon Emperor. Surprisingly, the Digimon Emperor is human instead of a Digimon himself. He captures all Digimon in sight and somehow made Digivolution for the Digimon impossible. This leaves the Digimon creatures unable to gain the power needed to defeat the evil Digimon Emperor. With the help of three new DigiDestined chosen children, the group now works together to fight off the evil forces and leave the Digital World at peace once again.
With the help of their new D-3 Digivices and Digi-eggs, the group eventually stops the Digimon Emperor, Ken Ichijouji. After the Digimon Emperor Ken’s defeat, Ken joins the good side with the DigiDestined to take down the evil Digimon, Arukenimon and Mummymon. The series then ends with the help of all DigiDestined coming together in the DigiWorld to restore peace, break down the wall from the DigiWorld to the real world, and give every human their own Digimon friend.
Digimon Tamers (2001)
Digimon Tamers takes the next spot on our Digimon Series Retrospective, released in 2001. Directed by Yukio Kaizawa, Toei Animation aired this series on Fuji TV from April 1, 2001 – March 31, 2002. This action adventure packed series lasted 51 episodes and now appears for streaming on Hulu.
The story of Digimon Tamers begins in the real world with a group of kids, Takato, Henry, and Rita. These kids meet their Digimon through items such as the card game, computer games, etc. Their Digimon become real creatures after they start to duel “bio-emerging” Digimon who cross the network world into the kids’ real world. As time goes on with the Digimon, the kids begin to learn to care for them responsibly and Digivolve them to become more powerful.
The new tamers then take on the role of fighting a group of evil Digimon who believe that Digimon don’t belong with humans. These evil Digimon come to kidnap Calumon to use his power of Digivolution back in the Digital World. The group then travels to the Digital World to take back Calumon. There, they fight the digital god and agree to work together to destroy the D-reaper who forms a plan of deleting reality forever.
Unlike the first two series spending a lot of, if not all of their time in the Digital World, this series spends most of its time in reality with only a small portion spent in the DigiWorld. This series saw many new characters and a brand new spin on the Digimon world, adding a fresh taste to the franchise at the time of it’s release.
Digimon Frontier (2002)
The fourth series to release, Digimon Frontier, first aired from April 7, 2002 – March 30, 2003. Just like the last animated series, this one also released for Fuji TV by Yukio Kaizawa and Toei Animation. It lasted for 50 episodes of new adventures and characters for this widely loved franchise.
This series begins with five children receiving phone messages. Following these, they head to the subway station to make a trip to the Digital World. When the group arrives in the Digital World, they meet two individuals, Bokomon and Neemon, that act as their guides. These guides inform the kids they must fight the Cherubimon and his evil servants to save the Digital World before the Cherubimon destroys it completely. In order to accomplish this, the group receives the power to “Spirit Evolve” into the Legendary Warriors.
When the group arrived in the Digital World, they found themselves followed by five more Legendary evil Warriors who serve the Cherubimon. After the group defeats the Cherubimon, the DigiDestined learn that the real mind behind the evil is Lucemon. The group then works together to defeat Lucemon once and for all by combining their powers together to create Susanoomon. This epic new warrior succeeds at taking down Lucemon and saving both the Digital World and the real world.
Digimon Data Squad (Digimon Savers) (2006)
Coming up fifth on our Digimon Series Retrospective, we have Digimon Data Squad. This series released in 2006, three years after the previous series concluded. Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Naoyuki Itou, Digimon Data Squad released on Fuji TV and Disney XD as well as Kix. The awesome 48 episode series now appears for streaming on Google TV. Along with the release of the show from April 2, 2006 – March 25, 2007, a tie-in movie titled Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Model! also released on December 9, 2006.
The series begins with a fourteen-year-old boy, Marcus Damon, who meets Agumon. Agumon escaped from the DATS, a secret government organization who keeps the real world from invading Digimon. The two become friends and begin growth through the DATS. As they go through challenges, the boys meet Kurata who destroys Digimon and uses their energy to power up Belphemon. Belphemon, one of the seven deadly Digimon is used to try and take over the human world and the Digital World but Marcus and his allies stop him in time. With Kurata still developing a last plan of attack to trigger a bomb between the human and Digital Worlds, BanchoLeomon tasked Marcus to find King Drasil, the ruler of the Digital World. However, King Drasil held his own plan to save the Digital World by destroying the human world forever.
In the end, Marcus and Agumon work together to finally fight off King Drasil. The Digimon return to the Digital World to restore it again. The series concludes with a glimpse 5 years into the future where Marcus and Agumon become peacekeepers in the Digital World.
Digimon Fusion (Digimon Xros Wars) (2010)
The Digimon Fusion (Digimon Xros Wars) comes next on our Retrospective. Produced by Toei Animation and directed by Tetsuya Endo, this 79 episode series initially aired from July 6, 2010 – March 25, 2012. Digimon Fusion released on NBN, ABC, and TV Asahi. Now, the series appears on streaming services such as Crunchyroll and Pluto TV. The series splits into three seasons, with the third season appearing as a separate series to some on Crunchyroll.
Digimon Fusion begins with multiple armies fighting each other for the Digital World. Four groups search for the 108 code crowns. These include Fusion Fighters, Blue Flare, Bagra Army, and Midnight. The code crowns hold control of zones, fractured pieces of the digital world. These groups search for these crowns as they hold the ability to bend the Digital World to their will. The good Fusion Fighters take on the mission to stop the Bagra Army from their goal to use the crowns to transform the Digital World into a realm of suffering and darkness. The first two seasons of the series consist of the fight to destroy MegaDarknessBagramon, which they succeed at in the end with the help of all the Digimon of the Digital World.
Now, in season three, events jump forward a year after Mikey and his friends defeat MegaDarknessBagramon from destroying the human and Digital Worlds. In this season, Digimon from the DigiQuartz get corrupted by human hearts as they begin causing trouble in the human world. Meanwhile, a group of Digimon Hunters fuse the Digimon with their partners to create super strong Digimon characters. These characters then determine the best character to stand with heroic figures from other universes.
Digimon Universe: App Monsters (2016)
The seventh series, Digimon Universe: App Monsters, appears next on our Digimon Series Retrospective. This animated television series aired from October 1, 2016 – September 30, 2017. It included a total of 52 episodes directed by Go Koga and produced by Toei Animation as well as Dentsu. Now, the series is available for streaming on Crunchyroll.
The Digimon Universe: App Monsters begins with a junior high student, Haru Shinkai. This series takes place in the year 2045 with technology rapidly getting more and more intelligent. Haru, in the beginning of this series, discovers an artificially intelligent Appmon being named Gatchmon in his phone and takes him as Haru’s partner. The two of them run into Leviathan, an AI evil threat who creates viruses and turns Appmons evil. It is up to Haru and Gatchmon with their team of Eri Karan, Torajirou Asuka, Rei Katsura, and Yujin Ozora to fight Leviathan. They need to take him down once and for all as well as restore the human and Digital Worlds again.
Digimon Adventure (2020)
In 2020, a reboot of the original Digimon Adventure series began airing on TV Fuji 21 years after the first series. Produced by Toei Animation, this series now appears on Hulu, Crunchyroll, Hoopla, and Microsoft Movies & TV for streaming. When the series first released, it aired from April 5, 2020 – September 26, 2021 and lasted 67 episodes. This series takes place in a parallel universe to the original Digimon Adventure series.
This new reboot of the original animated series takes on a lot of the same plot, characters, and mission in a new and vibrant manner. Just like the previous series, this one also features a group of DigiDestined children transported to the DigiWorld. With the goal to save the Digital World, the children not only partner with the Digimon but also work as a team to stop the Dark Digimon Army, led by Devimon. The team of DigiDestined, Tai, Matt, Izzy, Sora, Mimi, and Joe set out on their task to save the Celestial Digimon.
Digimon Ghost Game (2021)
Coming up next on our Digimon Series Retrospective, we have Digimon Ghost Game. This series aired from October 3, 2021 – March 26, 2023. Produced by Toei Animation, Kimitoshi Chioka as well as Masato Mitsuka directed the series. These 67 episodes and one special appear for streaming on Crunchyroll. Although the other animated series held a brighter and happier tone, this one holds a darker tone as it follows the Horror genre.
This series begins with the knowledge of holograms developing in the human world. Because of this, when Digimon arrive in the human world, people count their sightings as urban legends of “hologram ghosts”. The plot now begins with the character Hiro Amanokawa receiving a message from his missing father. Hiro Amanokawa gets Gammamon and the Digivice -V- from his father, Hokuto Amanokawa. Hiro and Gammamon, with the help of Ruli Tsukiyono, Angoramon, Kiyoshiro Higashimitarai, and Jellymon, begin their investigation. As a team, they work to study the paranormal appearance by the Digimon. Eventually, the team finds Bokomon who helps them understand some of the unknown things from both worlds. However, Sealsdramon kills Bokomon which causes Gammamon to digivolve into a more powerful and more violent Digimon.
The plot thickens as the group continues discovering and solving problems. After a while, Hiro’s father upgrades the group’s Digivices, allowing them to digivolve their Digimon into much more powerful versions. Then, near the end of the series, the group discovers that the Digimon arrive into the human world from someone mysteriously sending them there.
Digimon Beatbreak (October 2025)
Coming in last on our Digimon Series Retrospective, we will mention the exciting news of the soon to release Digimon Beatbreak series. The news released during an online fan event titled Digimon Con. This series, in production, is set to begin airing in October of 2025. A visual and teaser trailer released, featuring the tagline “Emotion-devouring Digital Lifeforms”. Although the plot and cast are not released yet, the exciting news of continuing the Digimon franchise through animated television series for the next generation still stands.
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