98 Fun Facts About Digimon

Digimon began in 1997 as a virtual pet intended as the masculine counterpart to what?

Tamagotchi, Bandai's 1996 virtual pet, was seen mainly as a toy for girls; WiZ and Bandai created Digimon in 1997 as a tougher version for boys whose pets could battle when two units were linked.

In Digimon Adventure, which Digimon is Tai Kamiya's partner?

Agumon. The little dinosaur is older than the show that made him famous: he was one of the first monsters drawn for the 1997 virtual pet, two years before the anime gave him to Tai.

In Digimon Tamers, which Digimon is Takato Matsuki's partner?

Guilmon is Takato's partner in Digimon Tamers, a Digimon he invented himself: the creature comes to life when Takato's new D-Power scans his drawings of it.

In Digimon Tamers, which Digimon kills Jeri's partner Leomon?

Beelzemon, the form Impmon gained by accepting a Deva's offer of power. Jeri's despair over Leomon is what later draws the D-Reaper to her.

In Digimon Adventure, which Digimon is Joe Kido's partner?

Gomamon. He first digivolves into Ikkakumon to rescue Joe, who, feeling responsible for the others as the eldest, had gone off to scout a mountain on his own and been attacked.

In the English dub, partner Digimon such as Tentomon and Patamon are at which level?

Rookie. The dub renamed every stage: in Japan this one is Child, and the Japanese 'Ultimate' is the top level that the dub calls Mega, one step above the dub's own Ultimate.

In Digimon Adventure, who first reaches the DigiDestined as a hologram and sends them across the sea to the Server Continent?

Gennai looks like an old man but is neither human nor Digimon: he is made of data, the last survivor of the group that built the children's Digivices before Piedmon's army wiped the rest out.

Which studio made the original Digimon Adventure series in 1999?

Toei Animation. It launched the series on Fuji TV the day after its own Digimon short film opened in cinemas; the film is a prequel, set four years before the children's adventure.

What are the seven children doing when Digimon Adventure sweeps them into the Digital World?

Attending summer camp. A Digivice appears in front of each child, and the moment they take hold of one they are pulled into another world; the series dates the day to August 1, 1999.

From which Tokyo district do the original DigiDestined come?

Odaiba, the artificial island in Tokyo Bay. Four years earlier the children had all lived in Highton View Terrace, where each of them watched two Digimon fight in the street: the thing they have in common.

In Digimon Adventure, which villain hunts the DigiDestined early on, using black gears to corrupt other Digimon?

Devimon is the first major villain of Digimon Adventure, splitting File Island to scatter the children and using Black Gears to turn peaceful Digimon hostile.

In Digimon Adventure, what artifacts do the children collect so their partners can reach the Ultimate level?

Crests. The last enemy of the series destroys them, only for the children to learn that the power had been inside them all along.

Who is revealed to be the eighth DigiDestined child?

Kari, Tai's sister, is the eighth DigiDestined; her partner Gatomon had been serving Myotismon before finding her in Tokyo.

What are the Dark Masters?

Four Megas who carved up the Digital World: MetalSeadramon, Puppetmon, Machinedramon and Piedmon. They struck while the children were home in Tokyo, twisting the whole world into a single peak, Spiral Mountain.

Which Digimon is the final enemy the children defeat in the original Digimon Adventure?

Apocalymon, who shows up only once every other villain has fallen. He deletes the children and their partners outright, and they have to fight their way back as data to win the series' 54th and last episode.

Who sang 'Butter-Fly', the opening theme of Digimon Adventure?

Kōji Wada. It was his debut single, and he recorded it afresh for the tri. films in 2015 while living with the cancer that killed him the following April, at 42.

Which song by Ayumi Miyazaki plays during Digivolutions in Digimon Adventure?

'Brave Heart' strikes up each time a partner digivolves in the Japanese original. Viewers of the English dub never heard it: the whole soundtrack was replaced with a new score.

Which company produced the English dub of Digimon Adventure that premiered on Fox Kids in 1999?

Saban Entertainment produced the English dub, which premiered on Fox Kids in August 1999; Disney's 2001 purchase of Saban later moved the show onto Disney-owned channels.

In Digimon Adventure 02, which Digimon is the Digimon Emperor's partner?

Wormmon stays loyal through all the Emperor's cruelty, and in the end gives up his own life force so that the Emperor's runaway monster, Kimeramon, can be destroyed: the shock that ends the tyrant's reign.

In Digimon Adventure 02, what is the name of Matt Ishida's rock band?

The Teenage Wolves, formed with his classmates, with Matt on vocals and bass. Rock stardom is not where he ends up, though: in the series' epilogue he has become an astronaut.

Which future Oscar-nominated director made the 1999 Digimon Adventure short film?

Mamoru Hosoda, later Oscar-nominated for Mirai. His Digimon films made his name: Studio Ghibli hired him to direct Howl's Moving Castle, a job he walked away from before Miyazaki took it over.

In Digimon Adventure 02, who is the Digimon Emperor revealed to be?

Ken Ichijoji, a child prodigy, is unmasked as the Digimon Emperor; after his partner's sacrifice and rebirth he is redeemed and joins the DigiDestined.

In Digimon Adventure 02, what new type of device lets the children enter the Digital World through any computer?

The D-3, named by Izzy for three words in its data: Digital, Detect and Discover. The older Digivices cannot open a gate, so the original team has to be let in by one of the new children.

Which Digimon does Arukenimon create from Control Spires in Adventure 02?

BlackWarGreymon is the artificial Mega that Arukenimon builds from 100 Control Spires; unable to find a purpose, he roams the Digital World destroying the Destiny Stones.

In Digimon Tamers, what does Takato find that turns his reader into a D-Power?

A Blue Card. It did not come out of any booster pack: the DigiGnomes, strange beings from the Digital World, had secretly slipped it into Takato's deck.

Which writer of Serial Experiments Lain was head writer of Digimon Tamers?

Chiaki J. Konaka set Tamers in a world where Digimon is only a card game and a cartoon that the heroes are fans of, until real ones start breaking through into their city.

In Digimon Tamers, what is Hypnos?

An intelligence agency: Hypnos is a secret Japanese government unit, run by Mitsuo Yamaki, that watches the network for Digimon. Yamaki begins as the Tamers' enemy and ends up fighting on their side.

What makes Digimon Frontier different from the earlier series?

The kids become the monsters themselves. Strange phone messages send them onto a train to the Digital World, where their mobiles turn into D-Tectors and ancient Spirits let them transform.

In Digimon Frontier, which angel Digimon did the ten Legendary Warriors seal away long before the series begins?

Lucemon. Only after Cherubimon falls do the children learn who the true mastermind is, as two Royal Knights strip the Digital World of its data to break the ancient seal.

In Digimon: The Movie, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon DNA Digivolve into which Mega to stop Diaboromon?

Omnimon is the Mega formed when WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon fuse inside the internet; it stops Diaboromon, who had hacked the Pentagon and launched nuclear missiles, with seconds to spare.

The six-part film series Digimon Adventure tri. opens with which chapter?

Reunion. The eight original DigiDestined, grown older and finding it hard to gather as a whole group, are brought back to their partners when a virus begins turning Digimon hostile.

Where is Tai studying in Digimon Adventure tri.?

High school. Tai, once the group's leader in every charge, now holds back: the battles are tearing up the city, and he begins to fear that people will get hurt because of what he does.

In Last Evolution Kizuna, what ends a DigiDestined's partnership?

Becoming an adult. A ring of light on the Digivice counts down as childhood's open future narrows, and every digivolution makes it run faster, so each fight costs Tai and Matt time with their partners.

In Last Evolution Kizuna, which Digimon was Menoa Bellucci's lost partner?

Morphomon, whose ears and hands are butterfly wings. That loss is what drives Menoa to send Eosmon after other DigiDestined and capture their minds, so that none of them will lose a partner as she did.

What appears above Tokyo Tower in Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning?

A giant Digi-Egg, while people around the world receive a message wishing that everyone had a Digimon partner. The man who climbs the tower to reach it, Lui Ohwada, says he was the very first child to get one.

What halted the Digimon Adventure reboot after three episodes?

The pandemic. New episodes stopped in April 2020; Fuji TV restarted the series from episode one in June, and the reboot went on to run for 67 episodes.

In Digimon Ghost Game, what is Hiro's partner Digimon called?

Gammamon, a mischievous young Digimon sent to Hiro by his father, Hokuto. The father also left behind the Digivice that lets Hiro see the 'Hologram Ghosts' that other people cannot.

On which console was the first Digimon World game released in 1999?

PlayStation hosted the first Digimon World, released by Bandai in Japan in January 1999; raise your partner badly and it turns into the pathetic Numemon.

In Digimon World, the player is brought to File City on File Island by which Digimon?

Jijimon, the elderly leader of File City, summons the player to File Island; the goal is to help amnesiac Digimon recover their memories and return to the city.

In Digimon Adventure, what is Gatomon's Ultimate form?

Angewomon is Gatomon's Ultimate form in Digimon Adventure, an angel Digimon whose Celestial Arrow brings down Myotismon in his first defeat.

C'mon Digimon, the first Digimon manga, debuted in the same 1997 magazine issue as the pilot of which hit series?

Naruto. Both ran as one-off try-outs in the summer 1997 issue of Akamaru Jump, when Digimon was still only a virtual pet and Naruto's weekly series was two years away.

Which Digimon manga, launched a few months before the anime, first gave its hero the name Taichi Yagami?

V-Tamer 01 began in V Jump in November 1998. Its Taichi is a virtual-pet fanatic pulled into the Digital World to join his own Digimon, Zeromaru; the anime borrowed his name for its hero the following spring.

Which NFL on Fox commentator hosted the 'Digi-Bowl' specials of 2001 and 2002?

Terry Bradshaw fronted the Digi-Bowl, cutting in between Digimon episodes as if he were calling a football game. The 2002 special was the last, because the Fox Kids block closed that year.

Under what title did the 2013 English dub of Xros Wars air on Nickelodeon?

Digimon Fusion. Nickelodeon soon shunted it to its sister channel Nicktoons, and it ended up on The CW's Saturday-morning Vortexx block.

In Digimon Tamers, which playful little Digimon turns out to be the power of digivolution itself in living form?

Calumon, who can neither fight nor digivolve himself. He is the 'Catalyst', the force behind all digivolution, given a body by the Digimon Sovereigns in the hope of stopping the D-Reaper.

Digimon World 4 was released on which Nintendo console?

GameCube, as well as Sony's and Microsoft's machines of the day. It dropped the series' monster-raising for a hack-and-slash dungeon crawl that up to four people could play together, loosely based on the film Digital Monster X-Evolution.

Which 2015 game was the first Digimon Story title released in North America under its original name?

Earlier Story games had been marketed in the West as Digimon World entries; Cyber Sleuth reached America on February 2, 2016.

Which web novel did Bandai launch in 2023 to mark the Digimon franchise's 25th anniversary?

Digimon Seekers, which ran online for about a year in Japanese, English and Chinese at once. Its hero, Eiji, is a 19-year-old hacker for hire who is handed an experimental device and a wolf Digimon, Loogamon.

In the English dub of Digimon Adventure, the monkey villain Etemon impersonates which singer?

Elvis Presley was the English dub's own touch: in the original, Etemon is simply a vain pop singer. His Love Serenade attack saps opponents' fighting spirit with a song.

In Digimon Adventure, Palmon digivolves into Togemon, a giant boxing-gloved version of which plant?

A cactus that can survive long spells in barren desert, Togemon looks blank until provoked, then hardens the needles on its fists and throws a flurry of punches.

Critics kept comparing the simple brawling of Digimon Rumble Arena to which rival fighting series?

Super Smash Bros. was the clear model, right down to its single-button attacks. The roster draws its characters from Digimon Adventure, Adventure 02 and Tamers.

Rika Nonaka of Digimon Tamers was first modelled by her designers on which figure from The Matrix?

Trinity was the template in early designs, and Rika was also written without a father figure to reflect how many Japanese children grow up without one.

In the Digimon Adventure 02 epilogue, set 25 years on, rock musician Matt Ishida has which career?

An astronaut is what Matt becomes, flying with Gabumon, while his brother T.K. turns novelist and writes up the group's adventures.

Unlike earlier virtual pets, two original Digimon toys could be docked together to do what?

Linked toys could battle each other, an innovation at the time, and some Asian schools banned the pets as too noisy and violent.

Which Hollywood studio distributed Digimon: The Movie, a moderate success in American cinemas?

20th Century Fox released the film, which grossed over $16 million worldwide on a $5 million budget. Reviewers still single out its ska-punk soundtrack.

Which 1999 hit song features in the American release Digimon: The Movie?

All Star, by Smash Mouth, reached Digimon: The Movie the year before Shrek made it inescapable; it also turns up in Mystery Men, Rat Race and Inspector Gadget.

Despite its coat of fur, Gabumon of Digimon Adventure is officially which type of Digimon?

Reptile is the official type: the timid Gabumon gathers data that Garurumon leaves behind and wears it like a pelt, and its personality reverses completely while the pelt is on.

Monzaemon, the Digimon rumoured to hide someone behind a back zipper, looks like which toy?

A stuffed bear with a cute body and scary eyes is all anyone sees. When the virtual pet reached the US, Monzaemon was renamed Teddymon, a name never used again.

Which vampire villain of Digimon Adventure, hunter of the eighth child, is at half strength by day?

Myotismon, king of the undead Digimon, can make full use of his powers only at night. His Night Raid attack sends a swarm of bats to ambush his foes.

Which slug-like Digimon, the fate of any badly raised partner, fights by flinging its own poop?

Numemon loves damp, dark places and is neither strong nor clever, though Digimon lore hints it may have hidden depths.

In Digimon Tamers, Takato Matsuki's parents co-own which kind of shop named after the family?

A bakery suits a partner with a taste for bread: Takato's dinosaur is often distracted by the thought of food.

Barbamon, the long-bearded old man among Digimon's Seven Great Demon Lords, is consumed by which vice?

Greed drives Barbamon, who would kill a Digimon for even a scrap of treasure and is called the most cunning tactician of the Seven Great Demon Lords.

Which streaming service simulcast the 2020 reboot of Digimon Adventure worldwide as it aired?

Crunchyroll began streaming the reboot in April 2020, and one of its own senior writers later acknowledged viewers' disappointment at the heavy focus on Tai.

In Digimon Adventure 02, Mimi Tachikawa has left Japan and now lives in which American city?

New York is Mimi's new home, though she still reaches the Digital World on occasion and has moved back to Japan by the time of Digimon Adventure tri.

In the English Digimon dub, Greymon, Garurumon and Togemon all stand at which level of digivolution?

Champion sits two steps above the In-Training stage; Garurumon, for one, is a giant wolf-like Digimon with incredible agility.

The Digimon short Our War Game! became the prototype for which 2009 feature about a virtual world?

Summer Wars became, in its director's words, the feature-length version of the idea, exploring material that a 40-minute runtime had no room for.

Digimon Tamers is set in which real Tokyo district, where Takato hides his partner in a park shed?

Shinjuku is where wild Digimon start to roam, so the Tamers begin by defending their own neighbourhood instead of travelling to another world.

Shoutmon, Mikey Kudo's partner in Digimon Xros Wars, wastes away if he ever loses which object?

A microphone is so central to Shoutmon's identity that losing it drains his power; his throat turns passion into energy for the Soul Crusher attack.

In Digimon Adventure, Tai risks his life to force a digivolution, creating which mindless skeleton?

SkullGreymon has no reason left to restrain its fighting instinct, which makes it a threat to every Digimon around it; its Oblivion Bird is a missile fired from its spine.

Which Digimon Adventure child, the team's computer expert, discovers that his parents adopted him?

Izzy Izumi buries himself in his laptop and grades after finding out, until his foster parents tell him the truth and they accept one another as family.

In Digimon Adventure, which friend of Gatomon from the villain's army is killed protecting her?

Wizardmon was Gatomon's only companion in those years, and it was he who persuaded her to defect by helping her realise whose partner she was.

Where does Gatomon of Digimon Adventure wear the Holy Ring that marks her as a sacred Digimon?

On her tail, and the ring matters: Gatomon loses some of her power without it, and her clawed gloves are copied from the data of SaberLeomon.

A malicious hacker is widely believed to have built Puppetmon from the data of which other Digimon?

Cherrymon supplied the body, and in Digimon Adventure the same Digimon serves as one of Puppetmon's minions; the puppet himself was inspired by Pinocchio.

Which clown-like villain of Digimon Adventure rules from a funhouse observatory on Spiral Mountain?

Piedmon's Trump Sword teleports the four blades stuck through the magic box on his back so that they reappear inside his target, an attack described as inescapable.

On File Island in Digimon Adventure, Elecmon looks after which nursery where all Digimon are born?

Primary Village is where every Digimon hatches, and where fallen friends such as Leomon are revived once the final enemy is beaten.

Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Tails in the Sonic films, got her first big voice role as which Digimon heroine?

Sora Takenouchi was her first major voiceover role, in the first two seasons of Digimon, and she returned to the part years later for Digimon Adventure tri.

Digimon Survive strands teenagers in another world and mixes tactical battles with which genre?

Visual novel storytelling means choices steer the plot: refusing one character's plea for help leads to an early ending back in the human world.

In Digimon Adventure tri., the infected partner behind the Digital World's outbreak is themed on which breed of cat?

Maine Coon is the breed behind the name, and Meicoomon turns feral whenever she is kept apart from her partner Meiko for too long.

The twelve Devas serving the Sovereigns in Digimon Tamers are each modelled on a creature from what?

The Chinese zodiac supplies the animals, from an enormous pig to a dog, while the Devas' names come from the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

In Digimon Tamers, the final threat is no Digimon at all but which rogue clean-up program?

D-Reaper has been destroying the Digital World, which is why the Digimon were guarding themselves; it then abducts Jeri and feeds on her despair to grow.

In Digimon Tamers, Takato Matsuki merges with his own partner to become which lance-wielding Mega?

Gallantmon carries the holy lance Gram and the shield Aegis, yet is a Virus type, so his role as a protector of the Net conflicts with his own nature.

Marcus Damon, the delinquent hero of Digimon Data Squad, sets out to become the strongest what?

Street fighter is his ambition before he ever joins DATS, the government squad that sends stray Digimon back to their own world.

In Digimon Universe: App Monsters, which rogue AI creates viruses to turn the Appmon evil?

Leviathan also has the younger brother of hacker Rei Katsura kidnapped, which is what drags Rei into the fight alongside Haru and Gatchmon.

Alphamon and Magnamon belong to which order of holy Digimon, the top-ranked guardians of the Net?

The Royal Knights number thirteen and rank highest in network security; Alphamon holds the so-called Empty Seat and acts as a deterrent to the others.

Bandai's Digimon Pendulum virtual pets of 1998 used their built-in pendulum to count what?

Shakes of the toy were what it counted, and the Pendulum line was also the first to let certain Digimon combine through the Jogress function.

Which cutout-animated series about a daydreaming girl supplied the short before Digimon: The Movie?

Angela Anaconda and her friends queue to see the Digimon film in the short, which later aired as the TV episode Good Seats with every mention of Digimon removed.

In Digimon World 2, players explore dungeons called Domains inside the Digi-Beetle, which is what?

A tank with a limited inventory, the Digi-Beetle forces careful item management, a sharp change from the pet-raising of the first Digimon World.

In Digimon World 3, hero Junior and his friends are trapped inside what after terrorists attack?

An online game called Digimon Online is the trap, and Junior must fight his way out with his partners; Europe and Australia knew the title as Digimon World 2003.

Digimon Masters, a multiplayer title starring the Data Squad cast, first launched in which country?

South Korea got the free-to-play game first, in October 2009, and players control an avatar of one of the main Tamers from Digimon Data Squad.

Which 2025 Digimon Story game casts the player as an agent of ADAMAS, a covert group probing anomalies in Tokyo?

Time Stranger hurls its agent eight years into the past after a war between Digimon devastates part of Tokyo, to find the cause before both worlds collapse.

Which Japanese network aired the first five Digimon anime series, starting with Digimon Adventure?

Fuji TV carried every series up to Data Squad; Xros Wars then moved to TV Asahi and App Monsters to TV Tokyo, before the 2020 reboot came home.

Which actor, later a touring mentalist, voiced Tai in the English dub of Digimon Adventure?

Joshua Seth toured as a mentalist from 2006 to 2020, yet came out of voice-acting retirement to play Tai again in the Digimon Adventure tri. films.

Which composer, best known for Sailor Moon, also scored the first four Digimon anime series?

Takanori Arisawa first wrote pop-flavoured music for Sailor Moon before turning classical, and he went on scoring Digimon until his death in 2005.

Which crimson dinosaur was one of the first two monsters Kenji Watanabe designed for Digimon?

Tyrannomon is docile and easy to tame, which makes it a favourite of beginner Tamers, and it breathes flames the same colour as its own body.

Which US publisher released the English edition of Yuen Wong Yu's Hong Kong manhua based on Digimon?

Tokyopop's edition, adapted by Lianne Sentar, retells the anime in heavily abridged form, with events occasionally playing out differently; Singapore got its own English version.

Which action cartoon block premiered the English dub of Digimon Data Squad for US viewers in 2007?

Jetix, then a block on Toon Disney, ran the Studiopolis-produced dub for thirteen months, finishing on November 1, 2008.

Which Digimon film debuted on Japanese television, not in cinemas, and ties to none of the anime series?

X-Evolution follows Digimon who survive a purge by gaining the X-Antibody, a kind of vaccine that also upgrades their abilities and appearance.

In Digimon Ghost Game, Ruli Tsukiyono's piano-loving partner Angoramon is modelled on which animal?

A rabbit of the Angora kind inspired him, and Angoramon is a pacifist whose later forms include a rabbit-and-owl hybrid called Lamortmon.