Its All About The Games
As we previously mentioned, various members of these two fandoms only ever engage in one particular aspect of each of them. Of those different aspects, the video games have the most amount of people who participate in those and only those, making a very real case for the video game branches of Pokémon and Digimon being the primary part of those franchises.
To that end, theres little arguing that Pokémon has that part of this battle well in hand, especially in the West where Digimon games often dont even get localized outside of Japan. Meanwhile, there is a new Pokémon game just about every year, sometimes multiple per year, and it continues to be one of Nintendos top-selling franchises.
When the next core installment hits the Switch, the first time a mainline Pokémon game will come to a console, this part of the debate will more or less be settled for good.
Taken From Digimon: Variants
There have always been Pokémon with variations, just not on the scale of the Alolan variants that came out of Sun and Moon. Originally, variant Pokémon were limited to some alternate coloring depending on gender or area, but nothing major like the Alolan variants.
If we don’t count the alternate colors as true variants, then one could very well claim that the idea of variant Pokémon was taken from Digimon, which provided the same concept in the DataSquad series. DataSqaud gave us alternate and upgraded versions of familiar Digimon a good ten years before Sun and Moon gave us Alolan variants.
Best Digimon Starting Characters
It was all about getting special characters like Teddymon, the famous puppeteer, Darkmon the Evil Digimon, Devimon clad in the jet-black cloth, Meramon the Flame Digimon, and Monzaemon which is an Ultimate Level Digimon. The higher up in the ranking, the more vital the Digimon will be. You can get these unique Digimon entities by growing or evolving. The more often you play, the better your chances to become a more sought-after Digimon.
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Who Owns Digimon And Pokemon
Theres a major misconception that both Pokemon and Digimon are owned by the same company. Its time to put that misconception to rest. They are both owned by completely different creators and companies.
As mentioned above, Pokemon was commenced as a gaming company and was initially owned only by Nintendo. Later, Nintendo formed a joint venture between two other companies called Creatures, Inc and Gamefreaks to expand the Pokemon franchise. Currently, the franchise is referred to as The Pokemon Company.
Meanwhile, Digimon is created and owned by three other companies. The first creator of Digimon is Akiyoshi Hongo and later the franchise was controlled by Toei Animation which is responsible for the production of Digimon anime and Bandai which mostly controls the game and merchandise.
Another misconception regarding both the anime franchises is if one or the other is a ripoff. This is a false claim or theory that was speculated without a basis. Just because Pokemon and Digimon end with mon it doesnt necessarily make them ripoffs of each other.
Pokemon is focused on the protagonist acquiring Pocket Monsters to become a Pokemon Master whereas Digimon is solely based on a group of kids using the Digital Monsters to save the world.
No Monsters Were Harmed In The Making Of This Meme
When you really stop to think about it, the monsters in Pokémon are being held captive by their trainers, forced to fight other monsters mostly just for the entertainment of and prizes for their masters. Even the way they are rounded up is cruel, going about their business, grazing on grass and drinking from a stream, when some human comes up behind them and whips a ball at them, trapping them inside and bringing them out when its time to make them fight.
In Digimon, the monsters actually feel a bit more like pets, and the way the monsters are caught feels much less cruel.
Sure, they still fight, but it is usually for a more noble reason than just becoming the best at a gym or whatever more on that particular difference later.
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Is Digimon A Rip
This is a touchy one. There are definitely quite a few comparisons to Pokémon, but its not considered a complete rip-off. Nintendo and Bandai were in a battle to reach the top of the marketing world. Bandai focused on creating a handheld for boys with similar superficial elements that reference Pokémon, but the resemblance was never enough for a lawsuit.
Manga Anime And Films
This is probably the real reason for the popularity and success of both titles. Pokemon’s first season premiered in 1997 and Digimon’s in 1998 and became a must-have on television around the world.
Digimon had the advantage that it had already developed its history and universe through the Japanese manga or comics, and that made its history a little more mature in its beginnings, deepening the link between human and Digimon that Pokemon had not dealt with in their video games.
With the series something similar happened to what was seen in video games. Pokemon has lasted longer and has maintained a standard model throughout its seasons, but has presented a repetitive scheme and few profound changes throughout history.
Digimon, on the other hand, has changed its world and protagonists with each season and that has made the quality have spikes and falls. Digimon’s season one, a direct continuation of the manga, was a huge success and continues to be remembered with affection by its followers.
The films, with a loose script in general and a clear objective of taking advantage of the fame of the main products, deserve little mention.
Image: Toei Animation.
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Morality And Religious Beliefs
Pokémon has been criticized by some fundamentalist Christians over perceived occult and violent themes and the concept of “Pokémon evolution”, which they feel goes against the Biblical creation account in Genesis.Sat2000, a satellite television station based in Vatican City, has countered that the Pokémon Trading Card Game and video games are “full of inventive imagination” and have no “harmful moral side effects”. In the United Kingdom, the “Christian Power Cards” game was introduced in 1999 by David Tate who stated, “Some people aren’t happy with Pokémon and want an alternative, others just want Christian games.” The game was similar to the Pokémon Trading Card Game but used Biblical figures.
In 1999, Nintendo stopped manufacturing the Japanese version of the “Koga’s Ninja Trick” trading card because it depicted a manji, a traditionally Buddhist symbol with no negative connotations. The Jewish civil rights group Anti-Defamation League complained because the symbol is the reverse of a swastika, a Nazi symbol. The cards were intended for sale in Japan only, but the popularity of Pokémon led to import into the United States with approval from Nintendo. The Anti-Defamation League understood that the portrayed symbol was not intended to offend and acknowledged the sensitivity that Nintendo showed by removing the product.
In 1999, two nine-year-old boys from Merrick, New York, sued Nintendo because they claimed the Pokémon Trading Card Game caused their problematic gambling.
Taken From Digimon: Tree Turtles
Another example of shared creature concepts that may or may not be a coincidence comes in the form of Pokémon‘s Torterra, which looks like, and is similar in concept to, two different turtle Digimon: ElDradimon and Ebonwumon. Again, this one could easily be a coincidence, since the three creatures don’t look identical, but it’s still interesting to point out.
The two turtle Digimon predate Torterra’s debut in Generation Four of Pokémon, so if the concept was inspired by these two Digimon, then one might call the creature a ripoff, however, the idea of a Turtle supporting some form of life on its backwhich can be seen in all three creaturesis present in various mythologies, so this is likely a coincidence.
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Taken From Digimon: Partner Monsters
Let’s take a look at the major difference between the very first Pokémon game and Digimon‘s original digital pet toy: the number of monsters. By this we are referring to the fact that, in Pokémon games, a trainer is allowed to to catch and train as many Pokémon as they want, wherein Digimon, a player had one Digimon to take care of and battle with.
These concepts carried over into multiple media outlets, with Digimon focusing on the relationship between a person and their Digital Monster and Pokémon‘s motto being “Gotta catch ’em all.” However, the latest Pokémon games Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go Eevee! have introduced the concept of partner Pokémon, which feels awfully similar to the relationship between humans and Digimon.
Taken From Pokmon: Anime Adaptation
Pokémon quickly saw success after its first game came out, thus the franchise was quick to expand into different mediums, an anime adaptation coming out about a year after the first game’s release. The show was just as popular as the games and it soon took off in both Japan and the US, still going strong today with it’s adaptation of the Alolan region games.
Digimon was just as eager to break into other mediums, as two years after the original toy came out, an anime adaptation was released in the form of Digimon Adventure. The anime helped bump up the franchise’s popularity, so it’s easy to say that copying Pokémon worked in Digimon‘s favor.
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I Dont Know What Were Yelling About
Lets take a little break here for some perspective. Much of the ammo that the two sides of the Pokémon/Digimon debate come up with is pretty arbitrary, and a lot of the time, they are saying the same basic things only in different ways.
Were presenting a meme that pokes fun at the futility of this whole debate, and shows how silly it must look to an outsider who probably couldnt tell a Pokémon from a Digimon from a Bakugan from a Chinpokomon and certainly wouldnt know which one of those is just a parody of the other three.
Having in-depth discussions about pop culture isnt necessarily a waste of time, but that doesnt mean we shouldnt all have a sense of humor about ourselves and how worked up we get about ultimately trivial things.
What Is The Digimon Franchise
Digimon, which is short for Digital Monsters, is likewise a Japanese media franchise created by Akiyoshi Hongo in 1997. Digimon started off as a series of virtual pets, akin toand influenced in style bythe contemporary Tamagotchi, which was a global hit.
The Digimon franchise focused on Digimon, creatures that were created and evolved as sentient beings thanks to the development of human digital networks. They inhabit the Digital World, where human children usually come to save it, and along with it, their own world.
The Digimon franchise started off quite small, but once the anime series became a global hit, it slowly expanded into other video games, trading cards and other merchandise. The franchise is quite possibly one of the earliest globally popular examples of the isekai genre, which revolves around a normal person from Earth being transported to, reborn or otherwise trapped in a parallel universe or fantasy world, which also speaks of its historical importance.
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Find Out What Came First Pokemon Or Digimon
It could be because they started making Pokemon and then decided to make another anime series based on it. Another reason why this could be true is that many people believe that Digimon is just pokemon with more evolved forms or digivolved forms.
I think that both Pokémon and Digimon are the results of two separate creative minds who had somewhat similar ideas at roughly the same time. It is an eyewitness account from someone there: One day, and I were talking on a bench.
He said, Im thinking of a video game that kids with no friends could play and never run out of things to do. We then started kicking this idea around, and we came up with the basic formula:
Nintendo makes Pokemon, and Bandai makes Digimon. It means they couldnt copy the other as a sort of copyright protection. So one is the prototype, and the other is a copy because one was made before the other? No, no. Lets say both came out at the same time. Wouldnt it be strange to have two characters that are exact copies of each other? It would look like an imitation.
Both Pikachu and Agumon are electric-type monster characters.
Neither has a family or friends, and they kind of go on an adventure on their own to meet new people and become stronger.
They even wear a similar orange-and-white hat! I dont think theres anyone whod say that Pikachu came first because it looks like Agumon. Also, Pikachu wears a different type of hat.
A Digimon otaku who likes Digimon more than Pokémon.
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Taken From Digimon: Eggs
Starting off, we have a concept that Pokémon surprisingly lifted from Digimon eggs. Now, creatures coming from mysterious eggs is a pretty common idea in fantasy-like settings, but as the two franchises were so similar to begin with, this particular similarity is still worth pointing out.
Eggs were not present in the first Pokémon game. They were, however, present in the second generation of the series, which came out after the original Tamagotchi-like Digimon toys were released, which gave kids digital eggs to hatch into monsters to battle with. This concept itself was taken from Tamagotchi, but in the case of which “Mon” series did it first, this one goes to Digimon.
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Taken From Digimon: Tamagotchi Toy
By now, you all know that Digimon began as a series of Tamagotchi-like games that allowed kids to take care of a monster and raise it into a strong fighter that battled against others with the toy. The concept was later used by Pokémon, which released a Pikachu digital pet toy about a year after Digimon toys became popular.
Obviously, the main inspiration for this toy was Tamagotchi, but the fact that it came after Digimon did the same concept definitely raises some eyebrows. We can’t claim it was a ripoff, however, since Digimon is itself a battle-themed revamping of Tamagotchi.
How Do You Like Your Stakes
Obviously, reducing the whole of Pokémon lore to being a battle with the bumbling Team Rocket leaves out a lot of significant events with genuine, terrifying danger. That has still been one of the main through-lines of the anime series, and Team Rocket is generally seen as Ashs primary rivals, so its not entirely unfair to suggest that Pokémon is very often a rather low-stakes affair.
Then again, Digimon saving the internet doesnt seem like all that much more significant of a reason to fight, either. What the meme is really getting at the heart of is why Pokémon is so beloved, while Digimon is largely forgotten, especially in North America.
Could it be stronger marketing? Better video game quality? Characters that make for cuter plushies? Pokémons presence in Super Smash Bros? Who knows. Just enjoy whichever one you enjoy, and dont sweat public perception.
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Taken From Pokmon: Monster Rpg Concept
We’ve been skirting around the major issue of Pokémon versus Digimon, but it’s time to get down to the big topic, the fact that Digimon lifted most of its major elements from Pokémon. The first Pokémon game came out in 1996, while the first Digimon toy was released in 1997.
Though Digimon takes ideas from Tamagotchi’s digital pet concept, the idea of raising a magical monster creature’s stats and battling them with other similar creatures is straight out of Pokémon. It’s a little difficult to see since both franchise’s started in different mediums, but as the two converged, it’s not hard to see that the basic concept of Digimon borrowed a lot from Pokémon.
List Of Pokmon Main Series Video Games
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Pokémon, also known as Pokémon the Series to Western audiences since the year 2013, is an anime television series based on the Pokémon video game series. It was originally broadcast on TV Tokyo in 1997. More than 1,000 episodes of the anime has been produced and aired, divided into 7 series in Japan and 22 seasons internationally. It is one of the longest currently running anime series.
The anime follows the quest of the main character, Ash Ketchum , a Pokémon Master in training, as he and a small group of friends travel around the world of Pokémon along with their Pokémon partners.
Various children’s books, collectively known as Pokémon Junior, are also based on the anime.
An eight part anime series called Pokémon: Twilight Wings aired on YouTube in 2020. The series was animated by Studio Colorido.
In July 2021, it was announced that a live action Pokemon series is in early development at Netflix with Joe Henderson attached to write and executive produce.
An eight part anime series in celebration of the Pokemon 25th anniversary called Pokémon Evolutions will air on YouTube in 2021.
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Taken From Pokmon: Mon Abbreviation
Perhaps one of the most obvious similarities between Pokémon and Digimon is the shared “Mon” suffix. In both instances, this is short for “monsters,” Pokémon meaning “Pocket Monsters” and Digimon expanding to “Digital Monsters.” Abbreviations like this are not uncommon with Japanese properties, but which of these two did it first?
Well, contrary to popular belief, Digimon actually didn’t come first many believe that the Tamagotchi-like toys that launched the Digimon came first, but they actually hit stores about a year after the first Pokémon games, Red and Green, came out. This is to say that, since Pokémon came first, Digimon was the one that “copied” the “Mon” suffix.
Digimon And Pokemon Whats The Difference
Many people think that Digimon and Pokemon are the same or that one is just another version of the other. Well, this is not surprising! Even some of the fan groups of both series accuse each other of imitation. The thing is they are very very different! They may have similar sounding names, but they are not the same.
Before we talk about why and how they are different. Lets have a look at their similarities, which may be the reason why non-fans confuse one from the other. The first is their names both have mon as a suffix, which practically means the same. Digimon is short for Digital Monster, while Pokemon stands for Pocket Monster. Second is that they are present in many platforms of entertainment: long running anime shows, manga, trading cards, video games, toys and merchandise, and animated movies . Lastly, both Digimon and Pokemon are Japanese franchises albeit from different companies.
So to give light to those who are confused on how and why Digimon is very much different from Pokemon, please scroll down and read…
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