Digimon Return in a Rumble of a Reboot in 2020.

Digimon has been around almost as long as Pokémon and have always been seen as a rival franchises, given that both utilise characters using fantastical beasts and monster in battle. Unlike Pokémon, Digimon has always followed a format of reinventing itself and bringing audiences new ideas and aspects to the Digital Monster based series. Some of these series have been received well by fans, others not so much (we are talking about you Applimon).

However, the newest series of Digimon is going down like a digital storm by fans. The new series has rebooted the original cast into a new series. Now, you may be rolling your eyes and saying, "reboots are always terrible." Well, this is the series that could be breaking that rule. But why?

Why is it being so well received?

When you consider the concept of Digimon, it starts becoming clear why this reboot is claiming victory, while so many other reboots fall in defeat of fan reactions. When the original series aired back in the 1990s, technology was nowhere near the levels it is today. Mobile phones and the internet were around, but not many household would actually have them. However, we fast forward to 2020 and we see an explosion of technology. Smart devices, fast speed internet, more advanced satellites in orbit, microprocessors and just the level of technological advances open up what the series can now do.

This has opened up what the Digital World actually is. Early on into the series it has been made clear their are different layers of the Digital World. One of these layers is very reminiscent of the original, being a physical world with mountains, trees, oceans, the works. But another layer that has been revealed is a layer where actions have a physical effect in the real world. For example, attack the wrong area and you could cause a blackout. This has added a new dimension effectively for the characters to explore and a new way for the evil Digimon to attack, along with a Digital World fans would recognise.

The story is vastly different.

They have even been extremely smart in showcasing these characters in a new story, one completely different from the original. Without giving too much away, the beginning of their journey plays out differently. Rather than the initial 7 children being at summer camp before being pulled into the digital world together, the 2020 has had them debut for the first time in separate episodes.

So far, a dozen episodes have aired and we only have 6 of the 8 children actually on screen. The youngest two, Takeru (T.K) and Hikari (Kari), have yet to join the older children or meet their Digimon partners. But it is expected for them to arrive soon enough, as the series has set out some interesting mythology and is making references to the "Holy Digimon". Given Takeru (T.K) and Hikari's (Kari's) Digimon Partners evolve into angels, it seems this series holds some new secret yet to be revealed behind the pair.

Adding the old with the new.

The art style for the Digimon's evolutions has even been stepped up, with it being more advanced than them simply spinning on the spot before evolving. Even more surprising, the Digimon are reaching their Ultimate Level's earlier than in the original series. It would also appear that all of the Digimon will reach their Mega Level before the series conclusion.

But do not fear. Along with all the new story and new style, plenty of old faces have appeared to add to the nostalgia. Ogremon and Devimon have both made an appearance in the series and Leomon has been mentioned, so it can be expected he will appear soon enough. These aspects are adding to its success, let's just hope they for once do not kill Leomon. But there is one other factor that is likely to be why fans are praising the series. Rather than considering it blasphemy on their childhood memories (maybe Micheal Bay could learn a thing or two from the writers).

We got to say goodbye.

With the original team having returned several times, firstly in the sequel series Digimon 02 and then 15 years later for the Digimon Adventure Tri movie series, fans had watched the kids grow into young adults. But, before the rebooted series started to air a final film for the original batch hit cinemas, Digimon: Last Evolution. The film included the original eight Digidestined and the four newer Digidestined introduced in Digimon 02 (who were absent from the Digimon Tri movie series).

Again, avoiding spoilers, this movie did indeed end the story Tai and Agumon started 0ver 20 years ago with their friends. We see the older Digidestined taking on adult life, with Tai and Yamato (Matt) attending college, Sora training in flower arrangement, Mimi as an ecommerce entrepreneur, Izumi (Izzy) as president of a company and Joe attending medical school. But be warned, while this movie is one to see, ensure you have the tissues at the ready. The writers did not hold back and really made it clear this was the end of these characters and their story.

While it seems brutal to literally ensure these characters can not return with how it was finished. Many reboots come from shows or movies that had unfinished endings, and the fans of those shows and movies long for an ending regardless of how much time has passed. Giving the originals their final hurrah meant fans could move on from them and embrace them now in a new rebooted format.

Hopes are high with fans, can the reboot keep it up?

With the series making it's mark within just a couple of episodes as a highly tense and perilous mission for the chosen children, fans seem to think it can hold onto the praise it is earning. While the original series had a lot of character and story progression, this new reboot has added a faster story pace for the heroes to endure. The stakes are higher and the world was nearly destroyed just a couple of episodes into the reboot. With the high approval of the fans, it is highly likely this new reboot will receive an english dub and could even revive Digimon for western audiences, bringing new fans to the franchise. For a change, a reboot has actually gotten it right. So let the adventure continue!

Have you seen the new reboot of the series? What are you thoughts on it so far?