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Digimon: Digital Monsters
Fox // Unrated // December 5, 2000
List Price: $24.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Pop-culture phenomena are almost always imitated -- sometimes as spoofs, like "The Bogus Witch Project", and other times as flat-out rip-offs, created solely to capitalize on the popularity of another product. "Digimon" at first glance seems like the latter. The protagonists are kids who pal around with battling, constantly evolving little monsters, and virtually everything in the show begins with "digi-" or ends with "-mon". After constant prodding from a friend of mine, I relented and started watching "Digimon", and it didn't take long to realize that there's quite a bit more to Digimon than a simple Pokémon knockoff. (Actually, I'm told that Digimon predates Pokémon, although I don't think Digimon made its way stateside until after the Pokévasion.)
I've only seen a handful of Pokémon episodes, but it seems really formulaic. Ash and his friends meet a new creature, the competing Team Rocket show up, there's a brief battle, and Ash ends up with either a new monster and/or some sort of badge. Digimon features a larger main cast of characters that aren't one-dimensional like those in Pokémon, and they change as the series progresses. The digital setting is also much more mysterious and fantastic.
I don't want to build "Digimon" up too much -- this isn't some spectacularly animated, sophisticated anime geared towards adults. Some of the dubbed dialogue is a little silly, and seeing the same transformation stock footage repeatedly (think 'Voltron') gets old. Still, I don't always want to watch a series and feel challenged. Sometimes I like to sit back and be entertained, and "Digimon" does that very well, still managing to be fairly smart and tell a nicely-weaved story.
There are an impressive 13 episodes (as much as could be crammed onto a single-sided disc), presented in their original airing order. Divided by volume, they are:
Volume 1
Video: With over four hours of material on a single RSDL disc, I was expecting the video to appear at least a little overcompressed. I guess I should have a little more faith in the DVCC -- "Digimon" looks identical to the version I'm used to seeing on cable. I didn't notice the semi-remarkable sort of difference seen in Warner's "Powerpuff Girls" discs, but maybe if I'd watched "Digimon" on television more, the improvement in video quality would be a little easier to spot. Very pleased.
Audio: I can't comment about the audio without mentioning how catchy the theme song is, and the music played throughout the show itself is also well above average. It sounds like a small orchestra playing rather than the goofy keyboard attack heard in all-too-many animated series. Anyway, onto the Dolby Surround track -- nice stuff! Surrounds are used frequently, particularly for the score but occassionally to add a little kick to other effects. The dialogue is nicely balanced, and the score and assorted effects have a fair, though not considerable, amount of a low-end punch to them. Closed captioning and subtitles for the episodes are also available.
Supplements: Extremely brief promos called "Digimon Tune-In" are included with volumes I and IV. Each volume is also accompanied by a pair of Digibloopers, similar to the (better done) "blooper reel" on "A Bug's Life". None of these supplements are particularly interesting or worth more than a single viewing, but it's always nice to see something included.
Conclusion: That there are 13 episodes on one disc is pretty remarkable, especially considering that the "Pokémon" DVD collections run the same price and only have 3 episodes per disc. "Digimon", despite the name and surface similarities, isn't a Pokémon knock-off. It's a much more involved series, and the number of episodes on this very reasonably priced disc make this a great holiday purchase. This collection is very highly recommended as a gift for the younger set, and if you're thinking about buying it for yourself, watch a couple of episodes on television to gauge your interest before plunking down any cash.
Poking around some Digimon fan sites, it looks like some of the best episodes would be on the next volume. Here's hoping this first release sells well enough that Fox doesn't wait until next Christmas for volume 2, and maybe they'll bring in enough cash that other Fox Kids properties, such as Big Wolf On Campus, will also make their way to DVD...
I've only seen a handful of Pokémon episodes, but it seems really formulaic. Ash and his friends meet a new creature, the competing Team Rocket show up, there's a brief battle, and Ash ends up with either a new monster and/or some sort of badge. Digimon features a larger main cast of characters that aren't one-dimensional like those in Pokémon, and they change as the series progresses. The digital setting is also much more mysterious and fantastic.
I don't want to build "Digimon" up too much -- this isn't some spectacularly animated, sophisticated anime geared towards adults. Some of the dubbed dialogue is a little silly, and seeing the same transformation stock footage repeatedly (think 'Voltron') gets old. Still, I don't always want to watch a series and feel challenged. Sometimes I like to sit back and be entertained, and "Digimon" does that very well, still managing to be fairly smart and tell a nicely-weaved story.
There are an impressive 13 episodes (as much as could be crammed onto a single-sided disc), presented in their original airing order. Divided by volume, they are:
Volume 1
- So It Begins
- The Birth Of Greymon
- Garurumon
- Blyomon Gets Firepower
- Kabuterimon's Electro Shocker
- Togemon In Toy Town
- Ikkakumon's Harpoon Torpedo
- Evil Shows His Face
- Subzero Ice Punch
- A Clue From The Digipast
- The Dancing Digimon
- Digibaby Boom
- The Legend Of The Digidestined
Video: With over four hours of material on a single RSDL disc, I was expecting the video to appear at least a little overcompressed. I guess I should have a little more faith in the DVCC -- "Digimon" looks identical to the version I'm used to seeing on cable. I didn't notice the semi-remarkable sort of difference seen in Warner's "Powerpuff Girls" discs, but maybe if I'd watched "Digimon" on television more, the improvement in video quality would be a little easier to spot. Very pleased.
Audio: I can't comment about the audio without mentioning how catchy the theme song is, and the music played throughout the show itself is also well above average. It sounds like a small orchestra playing rather than the goofy keyboard attack heard in all-too-many animated series. Anyway, onto the Dolby Surround track -- nice stuff! Surrounds are used frequently, particularly for the score but occassionally to add a little kick to other effects. The dialogue is nicely balanced, and the score and assorted effects have a fair, though not considerable, amount of a low-end punch to them. Closed captioning and subtitles for the episodes are also available.
Supplements: Extremely brief promos called "Digimon Tune-In" are included with volumes I and IV. Each volume is also accompanied by a pair of Digibloopers, similar to the (better done) "blooper reel" on "A Bug's Life". None of these supplements are particularly interesting or worth more than a single viewing, but it's always nice to see something included.
Conclusion: That there are 13 episodes on one disc is pretty remarkable, especially considering that the "Pokémon" DVD collections run the same price and only have 3 episodes per disc. "Digimon", despite the name and surface similarities, isn't a Pokémon knock-off. It's a much more involved series, and the number of episodes on this very reasonably priced disc make this a great holiday purchase. This collection is very highly recommended as a gift for the younger set, and if you're thinking about buying it for yourself, watch a couple of episodes on television to gauge your interest before plunking down any cash.
Poking around some Digimon fan sites, it looks like some of the best episodes would be on the next volume. Here's hoping this first release sells well enough that Fox doesn't wait until next Christmas for volume 2, and maybe they'll bring in enough cash that other Fox Kids properties, such as Big Wolf On Campus, will also make their way to DVD...
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