Everything You Wanted to Know About Digimon but Didn't Know to Ask.

Wanted to do up a big, basic list of explainable things about the franchise to try and help alleviate the confusion about it. Or at the least, to ramble for a bit then answer some questions thrown at this thread after the fact. So, let's get to it.

What is Digimon?!

Digimon is a multimedia franchise from Japan; originally starting as a tamagotchi-like digital pet, but spanning out into an Anime, a few Manga and some games scattered across various consoles. Of all these, the Anime is the most fondly remembered, as it is far better than one would expect from a cartoon based off of a virtual pet aimed towards children, and it is likely what we will base this RP off of.
Unlike the comparable pokemon series, digimon's story was finite, with each series being it's own self-contained story, with little-to-no ties to previous series' continuity.... With the notable exception of Digimon 02, which is a direct sequel to the first series, Digimon Adventure.


Whoa, wait, nothing remains the same?

Well, not everything changes. There are a few things that generally remain consistent from series' to series'
- Digimon are made from Data in much the same way as we are made from bits of carbon and other elements and chemicals. Yes, computer data, they are essentially living programs. Some series say that they are also given form through the power of dreams/wishes as well, or via some other mysticism popping in to help things, but at their foundation they are a bunch of 1s and 0s.
- Digimon reside in a world called the Digital World, which is a parallel world to ours, often fantastical in appearance. The Digital World is a sort-of visual representation of human digital technology. It typically looks not unlike earth; and is covered in many sorts of biomes from lush forests, to desert wastelands, to sprawling urban cities. Only difference is that, rather than humans, you have various mosters.
- Digimon are able to partner up with a human. These chosen humans go by a different name each series, but the common theme is that human and digimon are linked together by a strong bond. The human is given a device called a "digivice" to represent this bond, and they can use this to track their partner or, in some cases, boost their powers.
- Each human can only have one partner digimon. Unlike pokemon, a digimon and their human are far more intimately connected, forming a strong partnership and bond. You can only ever have one digivice and one digimon tied into it.
- Digimon are able to grow into stronger forms. This process is called "digivolution" (sensing a theme here yet?). Digimon can naturally digivolve over time as they grow stronger. However, digimon paired up with a human are able to digivolve sooner with the aid of their partner. Such acts of digivolution are not permanent, and once a crisis is over, they will revert back to a weaker form.
In order to digivolve, a digimon needs to have enough energy to do so. This can come from their partner in the form of strong emotions transferred through their digivice (for better or for worse), or from more natural sources, such as being healthy and well fed. Trying to force a digimon to evolve can result in... rather unfortunate results. Usually a rampaging monster that is wildly out of control.
- Digimon have six forms. Seven if you include the digiegg they hatch from. They are, in order:
Baby, the weakest of the forms, just hatched from their egg.
In-Training, a relatively weak state with limited power, but are able to at least fight for themselves.
Rookie, the "default" for most partner digimon. Able to handle a lot more than it's previous forms and can hold it's own in a fight.
Champion, a much stronger form, able to take care of a variety of threats with little issue.
Ultimate, a very powerful form, but much harder to achieve than the states before it.
Mega, a near legendary form that only a handful are ever able to achieve.
- When killed, a digimon will revert back into data and back into an egg Well, the last part isn't completely true. Some series don't have the “turn into an egg” clause, instead having a digimon's data just fizzle away back into the digital world. There are some where a digimon's data is able to be absorbed by another digimon, enhancing that digimon's abilities and making it stronger. But in general, having them revert back to eggs if defeated works for an RP I feel.
It should also be noted that digimon who die in the real world don't turn back into eggs. They die for realsies.
- Each digimon form usually has one big, super awesome attack. These are the attacks you see them shout out in the anime, such as Gabumon's Blue Blaster, or Renamon's Diamond Storm. Some do have more than one ability, with three being the general max. But other than that, they mostly attack with claws, teeth and other, not-so-super-special moves.


So, I hear of other digivolutions, such as armour digivolution, warp digivolution and burst mode. What are they? How do they fit in with the six you pointed out?

Each Digimon series' has it's own gimmicks, and usually they have their own super special alternate digivolution. Since we're playing with a few newcomers to the series, I personally suggest ignoring these for the moment. Just know that they are alternate ways of reaching a certain power level without needing to digivolve normally.
Warp digivolution is another matter, it's used as a way to skip from one stage of digivolution to a far more advanced one instantaneously, usually from the Rookie stage to Ultimate or Mega. The show manly uses it as a way to quickly cut through the digimon animation sequences, or to quickly bump up a digimon to his most powerful form in order to attack some big baddie.


I see each digimon is labelled as either a Virus, Vaccine or Data, what does that mean?

That basically refers to your digimon's basic disposition, or what their basic coding is made from. A Virus-based digimon is more prone to violence and general evilness, a Vaccine is more kindhearted and good, while Data-types are more neutral and just stick out for themselves. It's only a basic guideline though, and there have been many aberrations from them. Guilmon, for example, is a virus-type.


I looked up some info on a Digimon on a website and it says that they can digivolve into more than one form! What does that mean?

Well, a lot of that info is collected from a variety of sources, such as the games. In those, digimon are a bit more able to freely evolve into different forms. In the anime, however, each digimon has one line of digivolutions (along with alternate digivolutions if that's the gimmick for the series) and that's probably less confusing for all if we stick with that logic.
If you're thinking about what form your digimon characters will assume, go with the one you like the most.


I'm interested in watching the Anime Series, but I'm not sure where to start! There's just so much, and each one is different!

In my mind, there are two really good points with which to start.
The first is, well, the start. Digimon Adventure, as it's called in Japan, is the first anime series and is beloved by many. It's a very light hearted fantastical adventure, with a heavy “down the rabbit-hole” feel to it. Our cast of characters, each one memorable in their own right, is sucked up from earth and dumped into an unknown world. As the adventure goes on, they grow and develop and learn about this new, mysterious place... and they're forced to deal with various evil beings along the way. It's a fun romp above all else, with some memorable characters and poignant moments.

The other is the third series, Digimon Tamers. Tamers is.... special, and it's hard to say why without spoiling it. It was written by an acclaimed Japanese director who specialises in some particuarly dark and thoughtful pieces, and Tamers heavily shows this. It is by far the darkest of all the series, with some genuine nightmare fuel in the later half. But it's also the most character-driven and thoughtful, with some real philosophical questions thrown at you. There's no real good or evil. Just when everything looks like it's right before you, something new pops up to change your way of thinking. It is wonderful and horrifying and I cannot recommend it enough.

Coming up at a distant third, I'd suggest the fifth series, Digimon Data Squad. It's far more Shounen than the other two series', and a bit more what you'd see with your standard action anime, but still an enjoyable watch. If you can, watch the fansub version rather than the official dub. A lot of the subtle interactions between a few of the characters were cut in translation... and the voice cast in the English one is not very good. <_<


Whoa, that's a lot of episodes to go through. Is there any other way I can learn about this universe without having to slog through a Wiki?

As a matter of fact, yes! JesuOtaku has done a wonderful retrospective on the first three series' of the show, going into just enough detail to hopefully give you an idea not only on what the show is about, but also how the universe works and a few theories and ideas to that effect. She's a little harsh on 02, but that's arguably justified. It's also still a bit long, easily taking a few hours of your time, but well worth it.
I... do suggest watching Tamers though, rather than her retrospective of it. Not that she doesn't do a good job, far from it. It's just such an awesome series, and it's best viewed with a fresh, unknowing eye.
Will post proper links once the site stops thinking I'm a spambot. Just copy and paste these into your web address, shouldn't have any issues getting there. If you do, throw up a http thing before it.

Digimon Adventure: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/27539-digimon-adventure-part-one
Digimon Zero Two Part One: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/28484-digimon-zero-two-part-one
Digimon Zero Two Parts Two and Three: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/28702-digimon-zero-two-parts-2-a-3
Digimon Tamers Part One: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/33340-digimon-tamers-part-one
Digimon Tamers Part Two: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/33426-digimon-tamers-part-one-cont
Digimon Tamers Part Three: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/33619-tamers-part-one-things-get-ugly
Digimon Tamers Part Four: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/33768-tamers-part-one-and-so-it-ends
Digimon Tamers Lead Guys: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/34082-tamers-part-two-lead-guys
Digimon Tamers Lead Girls: thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/ir/jo/jar/34289-tamers-part-two-lead-girls

YOU DIDN'T ANSWER MY QUESTION!

Ask it below, and one of us diginerds will attempt to quell your confusion. :>

This isn't a question, this is just a THANKYOUTHANKYOUTHANKYOU because this was extremely helpful. Senna did a good job of explaining a few things to Azu and I last night, but this cleared up lots of stuff we didn't ask. Gave me a much better grasp of the world. And bah, I really should watch Tamers...

You're welcome. :>

Also, because I am obsessed with getting things to work, managed to find a way to get you links to each of the episodes of that retrospective with only a little copy+pasting required. Hooray!
But really, they're pretty awesome if you want to get to know the series without having to slog through the entire anime... Or to just have a thoughtful nostalgiagasm if you're familiar with it. XD

Thanks a bunch for this, Moon! This is fantastically helpful--I felt bad for ambushing Senna with alllll of my questions. That said, these links also seemed kind of important as well for Diginoobs (Read Lupis and I). This is also assuming we're sticking to Tamers canon, as that's the most familiar to the Veterans and I've been focusing and reading up the semantics in that world.

Digivices (Although in Tamers, they're called D-Arcs apparently, and work a tad bit differently than most Digivices, as far as I can tell.)
More in depth explanation of Digivolution, and I think it covers how it works in Tamers sort of. Not that Moon's explanation was bad or anything.)
Stuff about Tamers
Digital World

Hehe, all good Azu. This was only really meant as a really basic introduction into a lot of the Digimon concepts rather than a detailed explanation. Some way to make those huge wiki entries a little less daunting. XD

Uh, another website that I just found today is actually rather good for just browsing through digimon and what they can potentially digivolve into. It's far less detailed than the digimon wiki there when it comes to actual descriptions, and it doesn't go into various appearances, and whatnot, but I've been finding it handy. (Or at least I've been jumping about it trying to settle on a partner for my character. <_> )

www(dot)dma.wtw-x(dot)net/