Premise: Seven of the characters are given Digivices and transported to the Digital World while at camp, where they discover they have Digimon and are Digidestined. They learn Kari is the eighth child later. They get crests that help their Digimon digivolve to defeat evil Digimon.
Tai Kamiya: the 'cheerful, naive determined leader'; wears goggles and carries a pocket telescope; plays soccer. Crest: Courage. Digimon: Agumon (rookie level). Mytake: I liked Tai; he was very empathic and his character only grew when he had to take care of Kari. ***
Matt Ishida: the 'angsty, second-command loner'; carries a harmonica; seldom sees TK since their parents divorced. Crest: Friendship. Digimon: Gabumon. Mytake: He really annoyed me because all he did was complain about Tai and whine about his role in life and then disappear; but he comes back to help Tai, and that's good. *
Sora Takenouchi: the 'moody tomboy mother figure'; wears an odd helmet; plays soccer and has issues with her mom.
Crest: Love. Digimon: Biyomon. My take: Sora ended up taking on most of the responsibility and being the voice of reason of the group, causing her to break down near the end. Unfortunately, she comes off as kinda bland. **
Izzy Izumi: the 'computer genius who isn't social'; carries a Pineapple laptop; recently found out he's adopted.
Crest: Knowledge. Digimon: Tentomon. My take: He's just there to explain why things happen in the Digital World and learn to empathize better, but it's so cute when he makes breakthroughs. **
TK Takashi: the 'hopeful, innocent little boy'; wears a funky baseball cap and backpack; acts like a typical kid.
Crest: Hope. Digimon: Patamon. My take: He cries a lot, which is annoying, but whines the least, which is good. His developing relationship with Matt is fun to watch. ***
Kari Kamiya: the 'hopeful, innocent little girl'; wears a camp whistle; is sick a lot and has power to energize Digimon.
Crest: Light. Digimon: Gatomon. My take: She was cool as a normal kid, and the introduction to Gatomon was sweet, but she was introduced too late for me to appreciate her character, and the self-sacrificing got to be too much. *
Joe Kido: the 'stressed-out chronic worrier'; wears glasses and carries camp ration bag; pressured by parents to doctor like his brother. Crest: Reliability. Digimon: Gommamon. My take: Good ol' Joe's my favorite, since beneath his neurotic tendencies is a responsible, protecting guy who got a chance to shine late in the season. Go, Joe! *****
Mimi Tachikawa: the 'spazzy airhead girly-girl'; wears big pink cowboy hat and carries a big bag; spoiled only child.
Crest: Sincerity. Digimon: Palmon. My take: She was incredibly annoying initially, but her character develops a lot as the show progresses. ***
Digimon Season 2 (Digimon 02)
Premise: Three or four years after the first season, the terrible Digimon Emperor threatens the Digital World. The older members are inactive, so three new recruits are found. Ken joins the team later. Their Digimon armor-Digivolve with special eggs.
Tai Kamiya: a lot more mature and level-headed; still plays soccer and acts as leader sometimes.
Matt Ishida: more good-natured, less angsty; sings and plays bass guitar in a band, runs from fangirls like Davis' sister but dates Sora later in the show.
Sora Takenouchi: plays tennis, a more girly sport, and dresses more girly; dates Matt later in show.
Izzy Izumi: helps the new team out a lot with technical stuff; Yolei reveres him from his computer club days.
Joe Kido: a lot calmer and a much better dresser; not seen much since he's studying for entrance exams...
Mimi Tachikawa: less spazzy, but still nice and cheerful; not seen much since her parents moved to America...
Davis Motomiya: the 'cheerful, naive determined leader'; wears Tai's goggles; plays soccer, has an older sister. Digi-Eggs: Courage and Friendship. Digimon: Veemon. My take: A more abrasive, slightly denser version of first season Tai - still, unlike the other Digidestined, he's issue-free and his initial crush on Kari is cute... ***
Ken Ichijouji: the 'angsty, second-command loner'; formerly the evil genius Digimon Emperor; older brother died in accident. Crest: Kindness. Digimon: Wormmon. My take: Unlike first season Matt, Ken suffers in silence, which makes him rather endearing, as does his awkward attempts to socialize. ****
TK Takashi: the 'cheerful, good-natured one'; wears a fishing hat; is much taller and plays basketball. Digi-Egg: Hope. Digimon: Patamon. My take: Rather dull, until he shows he has a dark side by whaling on the Digimon Emperor! **
Kari Kamiya: the 'cute, empathic unattainable one'; wears a digital camera; has issues revolving around inferiority. Digi-Egg: Light. Digimon: Gatomon. My take: Her 'issues' episodes didn't translate too well into the US version and like TK suffered from being dull the rest of the time. *
Yolei Inoue: the 'computer genius who is a spazzy girly-girl'; wears glasses; has a big family that runs a convenience store. Digi-Eggs: Love, Sincerity. Digimon: Hawkmon. My take: Her character was lots of fun - like a first season Mimi without the ditzinessand a more boisterous demeanor. *****
Cody Hida: the 'chronic worrier who isn't social'; practices kendo and had an officer father that died in the line of duty. Digi-Eggs: Knowledge, Reliability. Digimon: Armadillomon. My take: Very serious and mature, a nice departure from first season TK; unfortunately, it made him a killjoy for several episodes but he gets interesting near the end. **
Digimon Season 3 (Digimon Tamers)
Premise: In an alternate universe, Digimon travel to the real world and befriend certain children, called Tamers, who receive D-Powers. The children protect their town from wild Digimon, but must eventually travel to the Digital World when the stakes rise.
Takato Matsuki: the not-so-cheerful, naive determined leader; wears goggles; has bakers for parents. Digimon: Guilmon. My take: This is like, a complete 180 from the traditional leader motif - Takato's a lot more timid in his actions, and there's this aura of despair that hangs around him, as well as strong emotions toward those he cares most about. I think he feels the weight of responsibility of taking care of a Digimon most, except maybe Ryou. ****
Henry Wong: the empathic and level-headed computer genius; practices martial arts and has a father involved in the original Digimon creation. Digimon: Terriermon My take: Henry's my favorite character - he's level-headed but not above getting emotional about people he cares about. And the bond between him and Terriermon is so sweet! *****
Rika Tanaka: the angsty tomboy loner; is the reigning Digimon card champion and lives with supermodel mom and grandmother. Digimon: Renamon My take: What I liked most was that Rika's character evolved over the series so that she was more caring of her friends and family, while not losing too much of her original personality - I think it's best symbolized by the heart on her shirt, which is no longer broken - subtle, but significant. ****
Jeri Katou: the naive empathic mother figure; wears a sock puppet; mother died when she was young. Digimon: Leomon My take: Wow, her cheerful, bubbly, if slightly daffy persona hid a world of pain. And then seeing Leomon die just broke her, leaving her open to capture. Hopefully she'll be able to move on. *****
Kazu: comic relief; wears a visor; plays cards with Takato. Digimon: Gaurdromon My take: He was good with the sarcasm and joke-cracking, but you can also tell he really likes his Digimon, which is about all the character development he gets. ***
Kenta: comic relief's straight man; wears glasses; plays cards with Takato. Digimon: Marineangemon My take: I barely remember anything about him - mostly he cuts up with Kazu and keeps an eye on Suzie. **
Suzie Wong: the cute little girly-girl; Henry's youngest sister, plays with dolls. Digimon: Lopmon My take: Her voice grated, but I loved how she treated the Digimon like stuffed toys - so cute! ****
Ryou Akiyama: the good-natured, level-headed card genius loner; wears weird arm thingy and scarf; has been living in Digital World for months because of his Digimon's uncontrollable nature. Digimon: Cyberdramon My take: I was all prepared to hate Ryou since he was supposed to be so perfect, but I actually ended up liking him - his decision to leave home, his cheerful demeanor, his confidence, his chemistry with Rika. Cool guy. ****
Ai and Mako: um, little kids; one boy, one girl; were originally selfish and couldn't share Impmon, so he ran away. Digimon: Impmon My take: Eh? They weren't on the show that much. But they learned to share Impmon at the end, so I guess that's good. **
Misc. Digimon: Calumon
Digimon Season 4 (Digimon Frontier)
Premise: In still another reality, many children are recruited to save the Digital World from being gradually deleted. Five receive D-Tectors, which enable them to turn into Legendary Warrior digimon. Koichi joins the team later and together they try to prevent the resurrection of a tyrannical Digimon.
+ character opinions
