As Digimon prepares to finish celebrating its 20th year, it is time to look back at all it has given us, as far as television shows go. To date, there have been a total of 10 seasons of Digimon, including X-Evolution, which will be explained.
Each season follows a different goggle head and their team as they come to terms with the world around them, their friendships, and face many struggles. Like most shows, these seasons are not made equal. Just because a show is in the last place doesn’t make it a bad season. They all have their own quirks, but some are just more loved than others.
X-Evolution
The reason X-Evolution is included is that it was originally set to be produced as its own series, then was released as a film exclusively on television. That is why it feels episodic and some scenes have time jumps. This is the only season that features no human characters and, therefore, no goggle head.
The story follows a Dorumon trying to survive being hunted for his genetic abnormality, the X-Antibody. Dorumon makes many friends and loses a lot along the journey to becoming Alphamon and saving the Digital World. X-Evolution is the only season to be completely CGI, which has plenty of faults. Past that, the story has a lot more heart than many give it credit for.
Tri
Tri was the culmination of 15 years of waiting and fan expectations, yet it fell short on the latter. It was supposed to be a love letter to the series and the fans who had been missing the characters they grew up with.
Featuring the main cast from Adventure a few years later, the season was supposed to bridge the gap between the last time we saw the kids and the Adventure 02 Epilogue. Visually the story is solid and there are some amazing moments, but overall the season was a let down for what fans expected. The sequel movie Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna has a lot of hopes going forward from Tri.
Data Squad
While not a bad season, Data Squad tried to relive what made the first few seasons so well-loved. It used the same main Digimon partner for the goggle head, an Agumon, and introduced plenty of variations on the Digimon formula, but it didn’t click with the newer audiences it needed to.
Following Marcus, Yoshi, and Thomas, the season felt like an homage to the originals while adding in new content, and that’s where it fell behind. There was too much of a focus on the past and not enough on itself. It was a fair season, but some lackluster ideas as overall arcs and see-through storylines made it fall behind.
Fusion
The sixth season of Digimon, Fusion was a look at Digimon through a new lens. Instead of basic Digivolution, which did still exist, the show hinged on multiple fusions. While the idea was used in Digimon: The Movie and Adventure 02, this season kicked it up a notch by presenting the idea as the main concept.
In addition to an overhaul of the Digivolution method, the season introduced war as a main plot point. Rather than being an exploration of new land, this season was about being true heroes to the Digital World. It felt like there were real risks and the characters were mostly well developed.
Appmon
Introducing an entirely new world and set of Digmon, Appmon was a shocking and welcome change to the formula of Digimon. Rather than being an adventure to a foreign land where monsters roam, this season examines one of the most important inventions of today, the cell phone. In this season, the Digimon are based on phone applications like music, camera, navigation and more.
Not only was it a change of pace in terms of the Digimon themselves, but the human characters also get a lot more story than most seasons. There are some actual heart-tugging moments and hints throughout of impending story beats that make rewatching a lot of fun.
Xros Wars: The Young Hunters Who Leapt Through Time
Noting that Appmon, X-Evolution, and this entry only released in Japan, this season took what made Fusion (Xros Wars in Japan) great and expanded on it. Set a bit after, this season follows Tagiru Akashi and Gumdramon as they help the Fusion Fighters from the previous season. Though the war was over, the group become hunters in a new quest.
This season edges out the previous due to its finale and plot-twist. The entire plot is revealed to be the basis for a grand team-up. In the final episode, the team aids in a battle against evil forces alongside every main character from the five main seasons before. It fulfilled the ultimate dream of having Tai, Davis, Takato, Takuya, Marcus, Mickey and Tagiru all on one screen in canon.
Frontier
The biggest detractor from the settled story beats of Digimon, Frontier examined a lot of plot elements that were unexpected, but they worked well. Instead of having a partner Digimon, the heroes of this team become the Digimon through Spirit Evolution. This season also included a lot of shifting between the history of the Digital World and the present day.
While the use of many Trailmon, aka trains that are sentient, was a bit tedious, the world and the story being told was interesting on top of the new method of Digivolution. The season made a lot of solid strides to ferry the line between dark content and children exploring a new world.
Adventure 02
The direct follow up from the original season, Adventure 02 had some big shoes to fill when it first started airing. Rather than being a clone of the original, this season changed the formula. Instead of straight Digivolution, they introduced Digi-Egg Evolutions, which increased the variety of what could happen.
While the latter half of the season focused on regular Digivolution and Fusions, the introduction of so many different methods and power-ups was refreshing. It also brought two of the original Digidestined, T.K., and Kari, as main characters of this season, along with guest appearances from the Adventure crew.
Adventure
The season that kicked off the craze, Adventure began a spanning piece of entertainment that has lasted 20 years so far. Children going to camp and being transported to a magical world where monsters are around every corner is a dream that many people have had.
There were some convoluted story elements and a lot of poor decisions, but the reasoning is that kids would behave that way. The show goes out of its way to make it known that friendship and love are just as important as being smart or courageous. The eight chosen children all had personalities and were relatable to someone, and that is what made it work. Also, the monster fights that sometimes included missiles.
Tamers
Most likely the least shocking choice for number one, Tamers was a much darker and more realistic look at the idea of Digimon. Featuring characters that showed real emotions and a solid overall story progression, this season took what made the first two good and made them better.
It tackled real issues like loss and depression, adding an exaggerated Digital World influence, but made it known that the world doesn’t have to be dark. The main characters, Takato, Rika, and Henry are not heroes because they save the day. They are heroes because they know what it takes and made the sacrifices necessary to save the day. Tamers made a story that relates so well to what people live through but does it while making a Digimon story as well.