Pokemon vs. Digimon – An In-Depth Comparison

I’m lucky to be born in the era I was in. Pokemon took the world by storm when I was just a child. Being as impressionable as I was at that age, you could say I was heavily influenced by all of the cool new products that came from its explosive popularity. The Pokemon TCG was in its budding phase but nearly all the kids at school had them and brought them to show off to their friends. And of course, they would bring in the OG video game itself to play and show off their Level 100 Mewtwo. Reflecting back on my childhood, because of moments like that, I can honestly say that growing up was fun.

Whenever Pokemon is compared to Digimon, it’s easy to consider them as similar series targeted towards children. The truth is, they couldn’t be more different from each other. Pokemon is a series that is heavily reliant on exploration and the sense of discovery, finding hidden secrets on the map and testing out new techniques that your Pokemon learned. Digimon on the other hand, from its humble roots as a Tamagotchi clone, tells coming-of-age stories that showcase the qualities of friendship, growth, and trust.

Both are geared towards children, both have immense value, and both are absolutely worth your time even as an adult.

The evolution of and state of both series today is not the main focus of this article (though I will briefly mention what is on the horizon for both at the end). What I want to focus on is which media franchise I believe is superior.

Anime

Pokemon

What goals does Ash have throughout the original Pokemon series? To become the Pokemon Master. Does he ever achieve that goal? No. How lame.

Jokes aside, considering the fact that being a Pokemon Master was something that he wanted the most in the world, worked so hard to achieve, and yet still lost in the end, teaches a valuable lesson to children. You may not achieve your goal that you worked so hard toward, but that’s okay. Stand up and try again. Incoming cliché: It’s about the journey, not the destination.

But I think Ash is still trying to be the Pokemon Master after 20+ years. Wow, so determination, very impress.

Moments that serve to create character development, such as when Ash loses the final match in his first Tournament, are few and far between. The episodic nature of the series works well for children and makes it easy for anyone to tune in and know exactly what to expect from it. However, this makes the Pokemon anime feel shallow and mundane.

Digimon

As for the Digimon anime, it steered away from the episodic format commonly used in children’s shows and chose to tell a serialized story. Thinking about it now, Digimon was my first, OG isekai story. Tai and his friends were at summer camp when were suddenly whisked away to this mysterious world and greeted by these strange creatures. After the initial shock, they took the time to learn about each other and work together as partners.

As the story progressed, the deepened bonds and emotions they shared with each other allowed their Digimon to Digivolve and become stronger versions of themselves. Conversely, if negative emotions clouded the person’s thoughts, their Digimon became weak and unable to fight. In the most drastic cases, Digimon can change into a monstrous form. Remember SkullGreymon? That was some nightmare fuel as a kid.

Each Digidestined also represents a personality quality/trait, known and reflected as “Crests”.

This added depth to each character and made them unique, memorable, and relateable. It’s also not as if they always reflected those character traits; some of the best episodes of the series were when they acted in contrast with those traits and doubted if they were truly able to live up to their destiny. Overcoming trials and achieving personal growth are invaluable lessons for children, and I’m glad Digimon Adventure chose to tell a unique, mature tale.

The most valuable lesson I believe the Digimon anime taught me was how to say goodbye. Nothing in life lasts forever, and memories become the most treasured possession a person can have. Separating from a partner you’ve learned to understand and love is heartbreaking. However, that is just a fact of life and there is always something to look forward to on the horizon.

Games

Pokemon

Pokemon is the clear winner here, no contest. All of the best qualities of Pokemon I mentioned earlier are attributed to the game: the exploration and sense of discovery. Can you remember a time when you didn’t know a single Pokemon? Where each and every encounter you had on your journey was totally new information? When your main source of information was playground talk if you didn’t have a guide? Pokemon urban legends and myths spread like wildfire. Everybody had their own method to catch a Mew (none of which worked), and knew about a supposed secret island if you Surf past the boulders on the S.S. Anne dock.

For any of you who don’t remember, unless you were living under a rock, you know about the Pokemon Go craze back in 2016. Those first few days after launch were such a surreal experience and a blast from the past. Total strangers, regardless of age, race, or gender, were striking up conversations and sharing tips and knowledge. And just like the past, people were telling tall tales of how they almost caught a Mew one town away. Those few days are burned into my memory of what I believe world peace would be like. Of all things, Pokemon had the power to bring the world together.

Digimon

Digimon on the other hand, started as a virtual pet raising game similar to Tamagotchi. Pretty basic stuff. The “Digimon World” game for the PS1 had the same base concept, but suffered from poor execution. A lot of the game’s systems are obtuse and unintuitive, and the stat raising portion is tedious. There wasn’t any clear direction on what to do, except for exploring and gathering residents for your town which would then unlock other regions of the island as the population increased. It had its moments and still has charm, but it did not age well at all.

However, I did have a lot of fun with Digimon World: Next Order, which I’d say is the most accessible “Digimon World” game to get a taste for the series. Pretty much all of the core gameplay elements remain from the original and have been refined for a better user experience. Overall it wasn’t anything too memorable, but a nice chill game with cool Digimon. Solid 7/10.

Future

Pokemon

Pokemon isn’t going anywhere anytime soon and the entire world is it’s audience. Each new incarnation of the mainline series is always well-received and guaranteed worldwide bestsellers. For example, Pokemon Sword and Shield sold over 6 million units in its launch weekend! That number is astounding. I’ve read somewhere that games developers consider 100,000 units sold as a sign of success. This just serves as a testament to the strength of the Pokemon brand and the appeal it has to children as well as adults.

The newest games are coming out in just few months – just in time for the holidays – on November 18, 2022. While I’m not personally too invested in the Pokemon series anymore, I have no doubt in my mind that these games are going to once again break records. There’s still about 3 months left until release so I might change my mind and decide to hop on the bandwagon before release.

Digimon

Digimon remains a pretty niche video games series and I have yet to see a really great entry. Besides the raising sim type of game, there is also the “Digimon Story” RPG series which I believe is actually the most popular one, but still average on most counts. The recent VN/SRPG “Digimon Survive” absolutely hit the right notes for me in terms of storytelling, but feels uninspired in terms of actual gameplay.

News has pretty silent regarding any Digimon projects currently in the works, however there is a new “Digimon Story” game in development that will be focused on the “Twelve Olympian” Digimon (link to interview here). I don’t expect a drastic increase in quality from the previous “Digimon Story” titles, but I am absolutely going to get it Day One to support the devs and the series. This is my guilty pleasure game series.

In the meantime, check out Cyber Sleuth if you’re curious about the Digimon RPG experience.

Conclusion

Both of these series are very dear to me and probably my first steps into becoming a huge video game/anime nerd. However, my bias goes to Digimon as the superior franchise simply because of its timeless and I do dare say, legendary original anime.

For starters, “Butter-Fly” by Koji Wada (RIP) is one of the best opening songs for an anime series, period. It was used for all 54 episodes and I never once had the urge to skip it. The insert song “Brave Heart” by Ayumi Miyazaki is just as iconic and representative of the series since it was played every time a Digimon digivolved. As important as the central themes, dialogue, and plot progression for any story are, the limiting factor for visual media is its usage of music. Luckily, the music choice served to propel Digimon Adventure to greatness.

Digimon Adventure had no reason to be as good as it was. I mean, it’s a series that was based off of a Tamagotchi clone, how much more cash-grabby can you get? Is what you’d think, but somehow the storyboarders and writers crafted a truly touching story that is still relevant today. Themes of personal growth and camaraderie, closing with a bittersweet farewell.

I hope people who haven’t watched the original series will seek it out and experience it for the first time. I also hope that others who have fond memories of the series like myself will remember the feelings they had when they were younger and enthralled by the series. Reminiscing about the good days/feelings = free therapy.

As always, let me know your thoughts below. See you next time.

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Featured Image: Pixiv