Digimon Tamers: How Great Writers Evolve a Franchise

0:01 [Music] You know, I don't think it should be hard to create a decent story out of an existing franchise like say Sonic, Mario, or Minecraft. You are already given a strong jumping off point in terms of source material, a familiar brand, and an already established audience who could tell you exactly why they like this property. The path is already paved, and yet, for some reason, many failed to stay on track. All we had to do was follow the damn train, CJ. Hollywood's dairy farm of adaptations is still pumping, but somehow they just keep missing the others. They are milking something, just not the milk. I have milked all the goats, Peter. All those goats are males. Well, the buckets are full and the goats are happy. Of course, if people are buying what these creators are selling, what motivations do they have to make their works better?

0:46 If good writing is not needed to make money, why have it at all? Right? They weren't being stupid. They just didn't care. So, this time I want to actually show an example. When creators do care, creators who look at a property with respect and say there's something meaningful here and then build a story that actually captures that meaning. Not just captures it, but evolves it as well. Of course, I'm talking about Digimon Tamers. While Digimon Adventure can be considered the most iconic season that turned a virtual pet toy into a full-scale anime with an imaginative world, a diverse range of well-developed characters, and an engaging story. Digimon Tamers is often regarded as the best one for its much darker, grounded tone, character-driven storytelling, and pretty complicated psychological and even philosophical themes. It's a tonal

1:33 shift that alienated some of its initial audience, resulting in lower ratings and toy sales. But in terms of writing quality and its long-term impact in the franchise, it has yet to be beat. After the Digimon Adventure story line was concluded, Bandai and Towi took this opportunity to have a fresh start and take the franchise in a whole different direction. Hm. Now, who would be the perfect man to do just that? Why, none other than Chiaki J. Konaka. Yes, the writer for Serial Experiments Lane and Technolize. Konaka's writing style is intellectual, dark, and often surreal, blending psychological depth with existential love crafting and technological themes. Think of him as a fusion between David Lynch and John Carpenter. If that doesn't sound like a perfect match for Digimon, I don't know what does. But rest assured, Konaka is no stranger to Digimon. In fact, he was

2:19 actually part of the writing team for Digimon Adventure O2. Well, I say that, but it was more like he came in, grabbed the steering wheel, and made a hard left straight into the dark ocean episode. I turn now. Good luck, everybody else. And then just like that, he was gone. Yeah, he did one dark, creepy episode in the middle of the season that went nowhere and just disappeared, only to be given the keys for the entire show a few years later. [Music] Do that again. But here's the thing. You better believe you're still going to get something of artistic value. It may not exactly align with the brand, but statistically speaking, the chance of it being good are far greater with him in charge. Though, I imagine the executives had to do a bit of taming of their own to keep tamers more kid-friendly. He's got that raw bad boy edge. We just have to tame

3:06 it. Which could explain why there's some tonal inconsistencies. Nevertheless, you can't say he didn't care about the show. There's just so much thought put into it. There are so many interesting layers added to what would typically be considered just a fun kid show. And we're going to look over some of these layers and find out why Tamer stands out way above its contemporaries and how it managed to evolve the franchise beyond what's expected. Layer one, tone. Tone is the first thing a lot of Digimon fans point out about Digimon Tamers, often referring to it as darker or creepy. But I think it's important to highlight how the stone is established. What makes it darker than the previous seasons? After all, there were some pretty dark themes in Adventure and O2. Is it the slightly muted colors, the creepy character designs, or the psychological topics being explored? I think you can easily say yes to all of the above. But here's

3:52 the thing, the unsettling tone is consistent throughout most of the episodes, even if nothing dramatic is happening in the story. The shot framing, the lighting, the character placement work overtime to guide you to a certain feeling or even a certain understanding of the characters without you even noticing it. Yeah, it's easy to point at some love craftier and monstrosity and go, "Whoa, that's horrifying. How did a kid show get away with this?" Without even acknowledging all the building blocks the show has set up to put you in that unsettled state. The easiest way to describe Digimon Tamer's method would be, "Hold up, wait a minute. Something ain't right." Take episode one for example. The show mimics the chosen one trope as the Kato, one of the protagonists, receives a magical blue card which turns his card reader into a digivise and sets him up to become a Digimon tamer. In a different show, this moment would be portrayed as

4:38 something magical, perhaps even triumphant. But in Tamers, all the visuals are indicating that it's something a kid shouldn't be meddling with. The winds are rising, there's lightning, the shots are wider, as though someone is spying on Takato. All the while, this tower is looming over the city. Look at the playground itself. Doesn't it seem odd that a playground has such monstrous designs? Then you see a shot like this where you can interpret Takado climbing into a monster's mouth. Do you think that's not intentional? Everything is telling you, "Hold up. Wait a minute. Something ain't right." Heck, even when Takado is saying how excited he is about having a digivvice, he's in a dark, bleak room while rain is pouring down. The tone contradicts Takado's enthusiasm, giving us a sense that his expectations are wrong, even before he encounters Gilman. We saw how vicious these Digimon are. We saw the

5:23 government hunting them down, even referring to them as the wild ones. Everything about the atmosphere does not give us confidence that these creatures should be seen as play things or friends. That's also one of the goals Konaka set up for himself. In his early planning notes, he writes, "The past animated serieses and tropomorphized Digimon had the effect of being loved by children and gaining much popularity. However, if this double-edged trend continues, the monster-like spirit of Digimon who evolve in order to fight will be lessened, and the Cathar's gain from the battle will be harder to gain. When we first see Ruki and Renon in battle, it is shown as cold and vicious. No heroic or your typical good versus evil dynamic. There's no friendly bond and I'm not sure you can even root for Rookie at this point and it keeps trying to build this uncertainty in the viewer. So when Takado's dig finally hatches,

6:08 we're not immediately going. We are most likely thinking, "No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Think of it like the boat scene from the movie It. It's not the goofy clown in the sewer that's scary. It's everything before that setting it up. It's a seemingly harmless scene with the child following a paper boat, but the music, the dim lighting, and the caution signs are all creating a feeling of danger. There's even a barrier trying to stop Georgie from going further, but he ignores it. So, even before reaching Pennywise, we're already put in a tense state. Similarly, Takato is descending further and further down into some dark unknown construction site to find Gilman. Again, very intentionally, we start with a much more innocent first impression of the Digimon, perhaps allowing us to briefly experience Takato's point of view. But unlike Takato, we all saw the signs prior that

6:54 gave us a very different impression. The impression that Takato is stepping into the unknown danger with a naive idea that he's in control, that his Digimon will just listen to him the way Rookie's Digimon does. But Gilman simply doesn't. you power over me. Do you feel in charge? He's a wild animal driven by instinct. And now it's up to the to tame this wild one. Bam, bam, bam. Digimon tamers, we got a title. When you watch the rest of the show, pay attention to what information you, as the audience, are given and what information the characters have. Do they align? If they don't, why not? How are the creators

7:40 tweaking your brain to perceive these events? What are they trying to communicate to you? If you found something particularly unsettling or dark in the show, no doubt you can track down everything leading up to that feeling. This attention to detail isn't just used to set up the creepiness. It is used to better capture the emotions of the characters. That's because as a show, Digimon Tamers is layer two, character driven. I think we all have an understanding of what character-driven means. But how does one differentiate whether a story can truly be classed as one? After all, plot- driven stories also have character development, and many would even argue that all plots are driven by the characters to some extent. The way I see it, character-driven stories are focused more around exploring the character's internal conflict rather than the world's external conflict. Think of this topic in terms of maps. Are the characters on the map or are they the map? So, while

8:27 Digimon Adventure has a lot of character development, the external conflicts and obstacles remain the focus. Return home, defeat the bad guy, save the digital world, fulfill the destiny. This means the characters are on the map and the engagement comes from what will happen to them next. In Digimon Tamers, the external conflicts come pretty late in the show, giving us plenty of time to explore the characters. They don't even have clearly defined goals that they need to achieve. For the first part of the show, they're just kids with flaws and personal beliefs, trying to coexist with their Digimon and figure out what it truly means to be a tamer. There are battles and dangers, but they serve as a way to explore the characters internal conflicts rather than obstacles that prevent them from progressing their goals. Take Lee for example. Before he got Terrimon, Lee played a game where he pushes Digimon too hard, causing it to evolve into Gargamon, who then went on a violent rampage that Lee couldn't control. They eventured him so much that

9:13 he began to question the efficacy of Digimon battles. And when he got Terrimon, he became overly cautious, overprotective, and kept Teriamon away from battle, denying the Digimon's basic instinct in order to avoid losing control again. In a way, he swung too much to the opposite direction where he basically ended up chastising and infantilizing his Digimon. That's why it's not just a running gag that Termon has to act like a stuffed animal and be treated like a baby by Lee's younger sister. It's a literal representation of what Lee is doing to Terion, too. So, when an enemy appears and Lee has to send out Terion to fight, he does so reluctantly, even risking losing the battle just because he's too afraid of losing control again. In this scene, the true enemy is not the

9:59 wild Digimon. It's the ethical dilemma that Lee has to face and the balance he has to find within himself and his Digimon in order to win the battle. Balance H. You mean kind of like the way the two are depicted in the intro. In this case, the characters are the map we're exploring because the external threat is only there to facilitate character development rather than progress the plot. Unlike say in Digimon Adventure where the path for the digestant is constantly impeded by the villains. Of course, that also means that the story unfolds with a bit more subtlety. Progress happens in small meaningful moments rather than big external events. The downside to that is pacing. When there are no external forces driving the characters, it may feel like progress is not being made when in reality there's so much actually happening within the characters. You can see them change and you understand the reasons why they change and more importantly how they change. Because in

10:44 tamers, it's not a straightforward progression. Defeating an enemy doesn't even necessarily mean that the characters are progressing. they can just as easily become worse versions of themselves just because they unlock another flaw that they have to overcome. This makes their arcs more natural and more human. Later in the season, the tamers do go on a more standard Digimon adventure, but even then, the show still pushes their internal struggle to the next level. So, even though there are a lot more external threats, there's still a big focus on internal character growth. Speaking of growth, layer three, evolution. If I had to describe Digimon Tamers in one word, it would be evolution. While this word is a staple of many monster racing games, I'd say it's far more significant in Digimon than any other franchise. People meme about Digimon's branching evolution lines and weird progression, but you

11:29 need to remember that they are digital monsters comprised of random data. And if our current day AI models taught us anything is that stuffing AI with random data gets you some weird result. Unlike Pokémon that have a very linear evolution line based primarily on gaining battle experience, Digimon evolution is a lot more variable with many external factors determining when a Digimon will dig evolve and whether they will turn into something monstrous, humanoid, or divine. Think of it as raising a child. How you treat them and what they are exposed to will heavily influence their development and growth. So, it's surprising to absolutely no one that Konaka saw the thematic potential of evolution. In his notes, he writes, "In the previous two series, the daily dig evolution sequence became a repeatedly used ace up the sleeve. However, in this series, I would like to think deeply about what it means to evolve." He acknowledged the inherent

12:16 threat of evolutions losing their value if they're overused. The previous seasons had emotional moments that prompted evolution, but they were predominantly used to get the kids out of peril, making evolutions the go-to tool to use against external threats. The problem is not just that it becomes repetitive. It runs the risk of making your character's passive observers who let their Digimon do all the work. To solve this, tamers introduced Digimonification or the mechanic to give Digimon unique power-ups to defeat the enemy. The card slash rules were not exactly clear, and I felt that it was a missed opportunity by not letting the tamers have different decks. It would have been interesting to see what strategies each character would have and how those decks and strategies would change over time. Maybe the defeated wild Digimon could turn into cars that the tamers could use later on because right now the rules aren't clear and it just feels a little bit random.

13:01 But it did allow the kids to play a more active role in battles, enhancing the partnership angle even more. More importantly, it separated evolution from just being seen as a never power up. Evolution is something both humans and Digimon, heroes and villains try to understand and achieve. Much like Hexte in Arcane, no one exactly knows how to use it correctly and whether they should use it at all. You get a ton of different perspectives from each character. You see the consequence of it being used, misused, or obtained without owning it, which again prompts the characters to change their stance on it. For me though, the most interesting part of evolution is its connection to the human characters. The link between character development and evolution is very overt, deliberately so. When the creators put a

13:48 single word in big bold font with no music, it's telling the audience to pay attention to this word. And when you look at the scene that often precedes it, you can start to understand that evolution is meant to signify the evolution of the human rather than the Digimon. evolution. It's not a novel concept as it has been done in the previous seasons. But when 99% of evolutions have a positive outcome, it lacks the nuance and thus runs the risk of becoming predictable. Meanwhile, in Tamers, it's a lot more nuanced. Konakasa averse our expectations by establishing both its inherent dangers and the difficulty of achieving it and both are shown in the same scene. Terrimon's premature evolution results in him uncontrollably attacking everyone. And when Rookie is

14:34 placed in direct danger, Renamon is unable to evolve and save her like one typically would in previous seasons. The genius behind this scene is the fact that it reinforces Rookies and Lee's preconceived notions about evolution. For Lee, it once again proves that evolution is a danger that must be kept [Music] suppressed. And for Rookie, it plays on her fear of feeling helpless and prompts her to put extra pressure on Renamon to evolve. It's fascinating to see how the way Takato, Lee, and Rookie treat their Digimon reveals so much about their own flaws and insecurities and how they project them onto their Digimon. Rookie and Ramar are probably the most interesting because their relationship is so overtly toxic and difficult compared to the other tamers. Don't get me wrong, Takado's immaturity and Lee's

15:19 overprotectiveness are toxic in their own way, but man, you can very clearly see how Rookie's insecurities and fears are driving her decisions and how they work counterintuitively to her goals. It's her classic conflict between the characters wants and needs. Ruk's desire for strength and independence stems from her fear of allowing herself to be vulnerable and attached to others. It's not that she wants to win, she's just afraid to lose. Of course, acknowledging those flaws means accepting her weakness, which is something she's not willing to do, and thus she can't actually become stronger. In other words, Rookie can't evolve. And if Rookie can't evolve, neither can Reneon. But that doesn't stop Rookie from blaming Renomon for

16:05 that weakness, projecting those same insecurities onto her [Music] Digimon. It's a textbook case of conditional love where affection and validation are only given when certain expectations are met. Renamon, longing for Rookie's approval, continues to fulfill this role despite the emotional distance. going as far as doing something against her own desires. H I wonder if there's a similar dysfunctional relationship in Rookie's life that parallels her relationship with Renamon. Yeah, I don't think it should be a surprise why Rookie's episodes often feature her mother, too. You can clearly see how this dynamic is set up,

16:51 and you can start to get an idea of what evolution actually represents. It's not just about gaining power. It's about overcoming one's weakness, fears, or reservations. It's being willing to let go of the old self and grow into a new, better version of you. Even visually, the evolution sequences represent that. In previous seasons, evolution sequences were very straightforward. The character spins around and a new version pops in. But in Tamers, we see how the Digimon sheds their old form to embrace a new one. It even looks kind of painful and uncomfortable, but that's what growing up sometimes feels like. And that's what the characters are doing in the show. However, in Tamers, there's another layer of development to achieve further evolution, and that's layer four, bonds. The relation between a child and a Digimon partner has almost always been a distinctly unique aspect of the Digimon franchise. As much as Pokémon likes to

17:37 market itself as a franchise all about humans and Pokémon living together, its combat oriented mechanics and worldbuilding don't exactly support that image. No matter how much you hug your Pokemon, you're still effectively holding them against their will and using them for battle or labor towards your own ambition. Think what you will about Pal World. At least they're honest. Meanwhile, Digimon started off as a spin-off to Tamagotchi, a virtual pet toy. So, from the beginning, it emphasized monster raising and care over battling and capturing. You got an egg, it hatches, and the rest is up to you. And because you only get one at a time, you develop a closer bond with it than say a whole library of them. I had to explain to my girlfriend's family what I was doing playing with toys at the dinner table. But I had to tend to them because one mistake could ruin everything you've worked for. I

18:23 personally think that giving Digimon the ability to speak also makes the relationship between them and the humans far more interesting and nuanced. Digimon are allowed to have their agency and personality that can support or challenge the characters in diverse ways. They can have their own conflicts, goals, and even flaws and insecurities. They are not toys, pets, or slaves. They're partners. And like all partnerships, they're built on trust and a strong bond. In previous seasons, the Digimon were destined to be with their human partners, and their bonds were already established pretty much instantly. There were instances of disagreement, but rarely were there any miscommunications. The external threats kept everyone united, so there wasn't much cause for disagreement, but once again, Konaka choose to explore this partnership in a much more nuanced way, challenging both the humans and Digimon to think differently and to better understand one another.

19:10 [Music] Regarding this topic, he writes in his notes, "In season 3, I would like to reinvestigate the fact that Digimon are digital monsters, most unusual beings. Digimon are monsters who do not adorably pander to humanity. There is no way that a person could understand them completely. Until he moves beyond this discommunication towards true friendship, the main character cannot remain complacent. How will he actively change things? I would like to observe this point." And that's exactly what he did. Right from the beginning, you can notice that the goals of the Digimon and their humans don't align. Gilman, being a newborn, wants to explore and play, but the Kado tries to keep him hidden from the world in fear of losing his Digimon. Terrimon wants to fight and evolve, but he's held back by Lee, who denies him his Digimon nature. Rookie and Renamon both seem to want the same thing, but their philosophies of how to

19:56 approach it differ. Over time, the kids start to find compromises and alter their views on Digimon and themselves, which leads to the real partnership being established. At the same time, Digimon themselves are questioning their roles amongst humans, too. All the three Digimon are challenged by Immon, who mocks their subservience to humans, calling them weak and pathetic, even exploiting the restrictions their humans place on them. It's childish and mostly ineffective. But as someone who had a bad partnership with humans, Immon vocalized the concerns that the other Digimon might have. Later on, the Davis also see human Digimon partnership as something impure or unnatural, making the concept of partnership a greater philosophical

20:43 [Music] conundrum. The cool thing about the show is that it separates bond from connection. The tamers and the Digimon establish a connection instantly. The Dark Digivi seems to be that link. It's a tool that transfers data between the Digimon and their humans. It has that slash mechanic and shows useful information about the enemy Digimon, but also it has a greater power too. In episode one, Takado sleeps with his new Digivvice in hand. During he has a dream in which he sees Rookie and Renamon fighting a wild Digimon. I think we can infer that the events he's watching are actually happening, but he's not physically there. Now, examine the scene and the emphasis placed on eyes and glances. Why does Renon look at Tato? Does she actually see him or does she sense his presence? We are told that

21:30 Digimon are drawn to one another. But Takato isn't a Digimon. Yet look at the matching cuts between Takato and Gilman. It implies that Gilman is also watching this. And maybe that's what Renamon is sensing. Over the series, you begin to understand the true power of the Digivvice. It's a tool to power of the Digimon and achieve evolution. Like we said, more importantly, it's merging the data of the human character with their Digimon. The dearch establishes the connection, but how much data is transferred depends on the bond between the human and the Digimon. With each evolution, this connection becomes stronger. At ultimate level, the tamers cannot step aside and let the Digimon take the hits. If the Digimon takes damage, so does the human. And at Mega level, the data between the two completely merge, allowing the human and Digimon to fuse into one being. And again, look at the visual symbolism of the final evolution. The tamers absorb

22:15 the Digivis into themselves, eliminating the need for a conduit. They're stripped of their clothes, exposing themselves fully before being accepted into their Digimon. Meanwhile, I don't know what my [ __ ] attacks are, dude. You're the one who keeps track of that. I just [ __ ] take the hits for you. Of course, it's not just the bond between humans and Digimon that matters in the show. There's another more familiar bond being established, and that's the bond between the kids and their layer five, parents. There aren't many shows that give parents as much attention as Tamers does. They tend to be non-existent, caricaturesque, bland, or oblivious to things happening around them. What did you want to show me, Candace? Just go make some pie. That's understandable. Writing realistic parents would be difficult in a show where kids are involved in deadly monster battles. Just from a logistics point of view, if the

23:02 parents were realistic enough, they would never let their kids get away with this. That may interfere with the pacing of the story and add complications where they're simply not needed. Even Kanaka brings this point up. How would regular folks deal with their own children going off on a dangerous adventure? This was the question I wanted to explore. However, I proceeded very hesitantly. In the real world, a few parents would want their children to participate in a life ordeath battle. Every episode would be a struggle of wills. But while parents and Pokémon casually send their 10-year-olds off to fight dangerous creatures through wild terrain in foreign regions for fun, the parents in the Jim Adventure and Tamers are a lot more grounded and woven into the story. Adventure didn't shy away from pretty heavy subjects such as divorce and adoption, but the parents still weren't around for most of the series. And when they were, everyone was still focused on the external threats to

23:47 be given any significant character development beyond a few yet powerful emotional scenes. In Tamers, however, the family drama is more subtle, but far more present and intricate. The parents are given a lot more screen time and even some character development on their own, too. It's very apparent how much attention to detail was put into making them realistic and relatable. Even details like marital status, career, and household environment gives us a unique lens through which we can see the main characters. For example, Takaro's home is also his parents' bakery. It's a small space with strangers coming in and out, which would have conditioned him to be polite and friendly. But this environment doesn't leave much room for privacy or independence. In contrast, Rookie's home is a huge fenced off traditional Japanese-style house with large empty rooms. Seeing Rookie inside this big, soulless room gives a strong

24:32 sense of loneliness and isolation. It also creates these layers of separation and distance between her and her mother, where they could easily live their lives without seeing one another at all. Meanwhile, Lee lives in a high-rise apartment with big wide windows, giving him a big picture kind of view and a space to contemplate alongside his father, who also seems to be a big influence in Lee's life. And you get this just by looking at their homes. The parents themselves offer oodles of information, not just with their relationship with their kids, but how those relationships are changing throughout the show and how they parallel the kids' relationship with their Digimon. As the kids navigate the difficulties of growing up, represented by their struggle as tamers, the parents also struggle to figure out their place in their children's lives. Now they're becoming more independent. I think it's the most overt in Takato's house. Takado's parents are hardworking everyday people who love and care for him. They put effort into raising him to

25:18 be happy, innocent, and good-natured, but it's made very clear that they're growing detached, and it's not from a lack of trying. We get a subtle but telling moment of dialogue as the mom tries to chat with Akato when he comes back home, but he simply runs off. She explains to the dad that the school told her to have a daily conversation with her son, which implies that this may not be the first time he just runs off. You also have a scene where Takato sneaks Gilman into the house, and the dad is smart enough to notice that. While he doesn't see Gilmon, he does understand that Takato is seeking a type of companionship that neither he nor his wife can provide anymore, which prompts him to have a calm and sensible discussion with his wife. But due to their work, they can't just get Takato a pet. And what does that have to do with anything? Well, that means Takato will be seeking companionship elsewhere, which means now the parents have to deal with the possibility that he may spend less time at home. This is explored

26:04 particularly well in episode 7 as both Takato and his parents are going through the same internal conflict. In this episode, Takato's Digimon began to randomly phase out of existence, causing Takato distress. While Takato tries to find a way to stop it, he also dwells on the fact that he may not be able to. Yes, the fading is an urgent issue, but the greater question is whether he can handle that loss. At the same time, we cut back to the parents who also have concerns over Takato's absence, paralleling the fear of loss, but also trying to accept the inevitability that they're becoming a smaller part of Takato's world.

26:55 A similar parallel happens in episode 18 between Rookie and her mother. In the previous episode, Renamon leaves Rookie and goes away with one of the Davis. Renamon promised to be back, but she also said, which can be reinterpreted as you will never understand me. So, while Rookie is trying to find Renamon, we see a similar conflict happening between her and her mother. Rookie's mom tries to get her into modeling, which is something Rookie has no interest in. So, the tamer storms off. This scene implies that Rookie's mother doesn't understand her daughter either. So, the two plot lines are following the same thread. Rookie attempts to reconnect with Renamon and her mother is trying to reconnect with Rookie. As for Lee, his family situation is a lot more stable compared to Rookie

27:41 or Takato. He has both caring parents and siblings he also feels responsible for. So, it's not surprising that Lee also ends up playing the level-headed older brother to both of the tamers. And let's be honest, both could use one. After all, Takato is a single child looking for new companionship. And Rookie is a single child who lost her father figure. Speaking of father figures, I also need to mention Lee's father, Gian Yu, who takes a much more prominent role, especially later in the series. He's a lot like Randy Marsh. Still an adult, but one who gets a lot more screen time and a greater involvement in the story compared to the other parents. For that reason, the relation between him and Lee is a little harder to summarize. He was originally a member of the team that created the Digimon program, so he has much more knowledge than the other adults. However, for that same reason, Jenu sees Digimon as just software and not actual life, which creates an ideological

28:27 divide between him and Lee. This is escalated further when Yamaki hires Jan Yu to help eliminate all Digimon from the real world. Yamaki brings up Lee's safety as a motivating factor, which forces Jan Yu into an ethical dilemma. Is Lee's safety more valuable than the life of Digimon? After all, they both could be seen as his children. And when the show constantly blurs the lines between the real and the digital, it's not an easy question to answer. When it comes to parents and adults in general, Digimon Tamers does a great job depicting them in a fairly realistic and often complex way. They're not static or caricaturesque. They're allowed to change and develop just like the main characters, and their change fits neatly into the themes being explored. While some of those decisions are difficult to believe, there is a sense that they're justified. You can see that these parents are flawed and they are oblivious to how their words or actions can affect their kids, but you never

29:13 feel that they're mean or uncaring. The parents love their kids and the kids love their parents, but they are both struggling to communicate this. What they all ultimately learn is the importance of trust and communication. I think it's a great lesson for both parents and children. Sure, the kids in real life may not be hiding literal monsters, but there may be some moments when they will want to tell something to their parents, and they need to know that their parents will understand and support them. Of course, when we showcase the positive of such relationships, it's often a good idea to show the opposite, too. The failure of communication, the lack of support, or the betrayal of trust. Where do those paths lead the character to? Most likely, they will lead you to layer six, trauma. As we discussed in the previous section, tamers is a character exploration, and to explore any character, you have to push them where their true character is revealed. And

29:58 you can do this pretty effectively through suffering. That's where you get your stakes, drama, tension, and character development. It feels like we should all know this, but for some reason, many writers are too in love with their characters to give them a moment of genuine adversity. Instead, having them quip during battles or act like they read the script, and they know they'll be fine. Well, that was fun. Even when they do give their characters something traumatic or emotional, it doesn't linger too long, as though seeing someone emotionally vulnerable is cringe. I should have been the one to fill your dark soul with light. I mean, it can be if you're not careful, but that's the risk you take. It's even worse when the writers try to add some kind of trauma, but it simply ends up being said rather than experienced or explored in a meaningful way. Crippling daddy issues. Hilarious. Take that depression. Luckily, early Digimon

30:45 seasons never had this problem. They were never afraid of putting their characters through the ringer, both physically and emotionally. Of course, no wants to see child abuse, so it was usually the Digimon who got the brunt of the physical abuse, while the kids had to deal with emotional damage. And with plenty of emotional damage scenes in Adventure N2, Tamers had to keep up. But with Konaka in charge, I don't think you should be concerned about that. The dude's got a steady track record of traumatizing his characters. If a character is not left as a broken husk, they should consider themselves lucky. Fortunately, Konaka held himself back on this one mostly. While I wouldn't say that Tamers does anything particularly beyond the scope of other Digimon shows, I think the reason why the season has such

31:30 a profound effect on viewers is purely because of its setup and payoff. Just like I mentioned with Tone, the creators are adding the necessary building blocks to heighten the impact when those emotional moments happen. Essentially, they employ what I like to call the jab, jab, cross technique of dramatic storytelling, where the writers keep jabbing you with little scenes or dialogue that hints at a character's tragic past or insecurities, with each one opening you up for that powerful emotional haymaker. A great example would be Steven Spielberg's Jaws. The main protagonist, Martin Brody, has a fear of water. You don't come to like, do you? But even before the shark attack, we see a sense of fear being built up through Brody's point of view. So, when the attack does happen, the tension is already built. And even though most people would be terrified of a shark attack, we know that it hits Brody much harder and thus it hits us much harder. While there's no clear

32:17 perfect number of jabs to get the most out of your emotional moments, it's meant to make you think about how you can get the greatest reaction out of your audience by sprinkling those little details early. When it comes to trauma, subtlety is key. I know we all want those big emotional moments where a character just snaps and tells how they truly feel, but you got to work for it. From my experience, I see it as a trend line going through a state of happiness and misery. If your character is always miserable, then what's one more tragedy going to add? I'm the one who has suffered the most because of the actions of Bojack Horseman. You've suffered. I have the most. The most. At the same time, if the character's life is too good, then a sudden tragedy feels jarring, out of place, and even comedic. And as soon as we nail Mendoza, my old lady and I going to sail around the world like we always wanted. We just christened a boat.

33:04 Mendoza. In Digimon Tamers, the graph looks something like a difficult geometry dash level where even the light-hearted moments have a bit of tragedy and uncertainty to them that is amplified by later events. Let's say we want to have a tragic moment where Takato is afraid of losing Gilman. How do we start setting it up? Well, let's amplify his love for Digimon first. Takato likes Digimon a lot. How do we know that? We haven't played the card game. Yeah, but the other kids are playing the card game, too. True, but there's something else. Look at the three boxes. What's different about Takato's? The stickers. Very simple detail to establish that he might be a little bit more obsessed with the franchise than his friends. Nothing sad here, just a fanboy, right? But it does make his box stand out, doesn't it? Okay. In the next scene, Takato is late and has to stand outside the classroom. On the surface level, that's it. But if you unlock your visual storytelling

33:50 showing, you can see all the details you're bombarded with. First, Takato is separated from his classmates very intentionally. So, if you watch my previous videos, you know that barriers in visual storytelling aren't just literal. They're establishing a deeper separation. Then we see the class laughing at him. It's more light-hearted, but Takato is looked down upon by his peers, adding to the separation. Jury is the only one not laughing, meaning she's sympathetic towards Takato. We don't know why, but the creators want us to pay attention to her. Left alone, what does Takato do? He goes back to Digimon. Let's not ignore this framing, too. But you may be saying, Trend, don't you think you're reading too much into this? He was just late for class and got in trouble again. Yeah, you may be right. A single occurrence doesn't tell us enough. It takes two to make it true. Oh, wait. We transition to the end of the class where Takato is separated from his peers

34:35 again. To deal with that, he goes back to Digimon again and Jury singled out again. See what I mean? The creators are trying to tell you something about Takato and Jury. They want you to notice that Takato goes to Digimon when he feels isolated or alone. You can almost see it like it's some sort of coping mechanism or a distraction from those feelings. Hm. I wonder if Jury has something like that with her, too. H. And they keep adding and adding more scenes to highlight how important a Digimon is to him. So when he gets Gilmon, it's a state of happiness for him, but also comes with a risk of tragedy if he loses it. That's why you will get to see a lot of this. But at the same time, him going through

35:22 these traumatic moments make the ending much more satisfying. Just like the Kato, the other characters have little moments that set up the big moments, creating a steady pace and intriguing character development. I think the best out of the bunch is probably going to be Impon. Anyone who has seen the show is already aware of his character arc. It's beautiful in its simplicity and masterful in its attention to detail. While initially set up as the show's comedic villain, akin to Team Rocket, he gradually gets more well-rounded and unexplored. As someone who suffered at the hands of his partners, Imman's delinquency comes across as a cry for help more than it does genuine villain. He wants to experience what the other partnered Digimon do and becomes stronger. But because he can't, he lashes out against them, which leaves him down a darker path. So, while the other Digimon are bonding and growing, he's descending further down into his trauma. It is evolving, just backwards.

36:08 And when he does become a genuine threat, it's a lot harder to see him as a genuine villain because we saw the tragic path that led him to this state. But then, he's also given a strong redemption arc and a satisfying resolution to his tragedy. you might as well put a little bow on it because it's a masterclass of character writing and it's given to a comic relief villain. Compare that to someone like Mal Goa from the Minecraft movie whose only trauma is that she lost the semifinals of the Nether's God talent. That's it? What do you mean? That's your emotionally scarring backstory. That's your great tragedy. Speaking of Duvenish, there is one character in Tamers that could match him in terms of the absurd amount of tragedy in their lives, but I won't get into it here. Those who know, no. Those who don't, well, you're in for a treat. I'll say this. If you need an example of a character tragedy bordering between sad and comedic, you will find it there.

36:54 Whether they kept the right amount is up for interpretation. Unfortunately, while I'm up for having tragedy and trauma in a kid show, I know that a lot of people don't. It's such a bomber, man. These subjects may be difficult to digest for a younger generation. So, I'm not surprised that the creators added a bit of layer seven counterbalance. Knowing the type of shows Konaka is usually known for. I'm sure that finding the right balance for a kid show is never easy. As much as I would love to see Digimon in the style of serial experiments lane, I understand that it would be too adult and abstract for this franchise. Making a season like that would be like making a season without Digimon partners. Wait, but Digimon Tamers is a pretty good balance where it may be dark, but it's never depressing or mean-spirited. The characters are put through an emotional roller coaster, but

37:40 they're also allowed to have happy moments, take a breather, and enjoy life in between the Digimon events. Even when they do go to the digital world, the atmosphere appears to be bleak and depressing, but the characters still managed to have several classic adventure shenanigans. You can partly thank characters like Kazu and Kenta for that, as the duo tried to add a bit more childish humor and light-heartedness to the adventure. Their idiocy, while tonally jarring, does help Rookie loosen up and show a bit more of her childish and caring side. Now, is that enough to make them good characters or justify their existence in the show? um as they are in the show now, I would hesitate to say yes. We're not getting much depth out of them. And I don't know how much of their antics resonated with the audience. I think they worked

38:26 perfectly well as just Takaro's friends or perhaps symbols of his childhood friendship that he's at risk of losing due to his role as a tamer. Still though, I can't justify them tagging along to the digital world in the way they did. Why were they allowed to go? Jury, I get she's an official tamer. She has a big buff lion to protect her. And she likes Kimmon enough to take this risk. But what do they have? Nothing. No Digimon, no computer experience, no survival skills, nothing that would be of any use for the tamers or the mission. Give them something to justify their participation. It would be another matter if they stupidly stumbled into a portal or accidentally went in while chasing after Kolon. Then the tamers would have a greater reason to go into the digital world while Kazo and Kenta could use that time to meet other Digimon and perhaps do some growing of their own. So when they meet back up, they would be more competent, too. But

39:12 no, they just decide to join the tamers like it's some fun field trip. I don't think neither Lee or Rookie would permit that. Sure, some may find their childish antics endearing, and I wouldn't be so opposed to having them if they actually had an arc to go through as well, but as they are right now, you can edit them out of the show and nothing of importance would be lost. Speaking of no importance, we also have Rio. Yes, the Rio. Everyone's favorite. You know him, right? He's the protagonist for the Digimon games on the Wonders Swan, of course. Yeah, I bet you're hyped now. Between the Digivvice and the card game, I think there was plenty of product placement in the show. But no, apparently they also need a cameo from the games to be part of the story. And they do absolutely nothing interesting with him besides essentially making him a Garry's too. He's already a legendary tamer. Everyone instantly likes him.

39:58 Kazu and Kent worship him. And even Rookie goes all sundere on him. It's not like I like you or anything, Baka. He's not given an arc or any character flaws that would make him remotely interesting. Even Kanaka wanted nothing to do with him. I'm done. What? I'm bored. You're boring me. He revealed that Rio's addition was already decided before he even joined the creative team. And he handed off Rio's character writing to Motaki Yoshimura. As far as I can see, Rio was designed to be a self-insert for the audience. He's oozing with my OC do not steal vibes. And if that doesn't remind you that Tamers is a kid show, I don't know what will. Well, maybe Cullon. I get a feeling that Cullon was

40:45 designed by comedy to become the mascot Digimon, akin to Pikachu. The amount of screen time this creature was given to Burn, doing cute and funny things appears to me like a sad, desperate attempt to turn it into merch. It has catchphrases. The main characters adore it, and it literally becomes the most important thing in the show. Kommon is essentially the angel to Impon's demon. But whereas Imbon gets development in a Fantastic Redemption arc, Kullan becomes a living plot device that the villains are after. It would have been more interesting if this creature was actually guiding the tamers towards evolution, even if its methods appeared unintentional. Kon could have been like Glosseric from Star and the Forces of Evil where he acts Zan Random, but he's actually mentoring the protagonists. I can almost reach you. Come on. Yes, you are surprisingly close. Now, don't get me wrong, there are plenty of

41:30 light-hearted characters that actually get some laughs and character development, too. For example, Lee's sister, Shiao Chung, is both cute, funny, innocent, and motivates the actions on not just Lee, but her father and even one of the villains. You can also get a bit of light-hearted and meaningful moments from the teacher and other supporting cast, too. The difference between those characters and someone like Rio and Colon is that they don't actively remind me that I'm watching a kid show. Despite any shortcomings, I believe Digimon Tamers was an excellent attempt at evolving the franchise beyond its exciting start. It was like watching a franchise itself growing up from its whimsical, adventurous, and childlike story into something older, more mature, more introspective, and nuanced. Tamers wasn't just asking the

42:16 characters to grow up. It was asking the audience to do it, too. It brought a reality to the bush fulfillment of having your own digital monster without trying to make it gloomy or melancholic. The true monster these characters had to face could not simply be destroyed with a fireball or the power of friendship, but through self-reflection and growth, which is often a much bigger enemy than any Digimon. But perhaps the intended audience was not yet ready to grow up at that time. If Pokémon has proven anything, it's how long someone can remain 10 years old, doing the same thing over and over again without any need to change or evolve. As someone who recently rewatched it, I can say that it's even better now than when I was a kid. Some of its themes and storytelling techniques would have completely flown over my head before, which may have been the same for others. Much like the initial audience, I think Towi and Bandai didn't quite know what they had. Perhaps it didn't align with their goals

43:01 for Digimon. Or maybe they thought that the Tamer story had concluded and they wanted to do something new again. But I'll be honest, anything they made past season 3 felt like a step backwards as though Tamers took things too far and they needed to go back. Stop asking questions. Stop doing meta commentary. Just have fun. And when all else failed, they pulled out the old reliable. Now we're doing something we've done before. But once again, neither Digimon Try nor the reboot could recapture the soul of the original Digimon, as they relied too heavily on fan service, and nostalgia rather than telling a more mature story for a now grown-up fan base. Sure, they had stunning animation, fight scenes, and transformation sequences, but what good are they if there's little meaning behind them? I don't think going back to adventure was necessary. And despite the petitions, I don't think Tamers needs a reboot or a sequel either. What I appreciate about Digimon is its

43:48 willingness to keep redefining itself. Much like the Digimon evolutions, you aren't quite sure what you're going to get next. But that's part of the interest. Tune in to any episode of Pokémon and you still find Ash meandering around and Team Rocket still trying to steal his Pikachu. But with Digimon, one moment someone is dealing with trauma, the next someone's punching a Digimon, and the next they're ghost busting. Who knows what Beatreak is going to offer, but I'm sure it will be something we haven't seen before. Will it be better than Tamers? I doubt it. Chiaki Konaka and the creative team looked at Adventure and Digimon as a concept, found the most interesting parts to explore, and just did it as well as they could while trying to stay within the limitations of the brand. And I will always appreciate creators who can find something familiar behind the fantastic, something deeper behind the shallow, and something mature behind the childish. To me, that is evolution.

44:33 Thank you for watching. As always, if you enjoyed this video, make sure to like, comment, and subscribe. These videos take some time to make, so I won't spam your feed. If you want some more goodies, they're in the description, so check it out. Besides that, thank you again and I'll see you