Provided here are compendiums of my thoughts on the individual Digimon seasons, which I felt would be appropriate given that this page regards them as one whole. For more thorough evaluations, feel free to refer to my season or episode reviews.
Digimon Adventure: A successful beginning volume, originally a mini-series that garnered enough attention to merit an extension. Admittedly, not all aspects of the production have aged well. The art style works, but the animation suffers from the same hindrances as most children's anime, and the storyline is not as cohesive as it should be. The diverse, endearing cast of kids is the greatest aspect, a quality in which the series has remained unsurpassed in its own line. Much imagination is evident in this one, especially with the partner digimon, who collectively are the most appealing main monsters in the franchise.
Digimon Adventure 02: A curious companion piece to the original. Rarely boring and brings the franchise some of its most influential elements. Strong themes of redemption and forgiveness, more substantial villains, some great monster designs and an emphasis on character relationships show potential for excellence. Unfortunately, evident poor planning during production derails much of this. A viable candidate for a re-imagining, though that is a long-shot if there ever was one.
Digimon Tamers: The first reboot of the franchise, and also the grimmest of the seasons. Discards the fantasy elements of its predecessors, opting for the style of a sci-fi drama, complemented by higher quality animation. Sporadically poignant, but tends to get bogged down in watered down sci-fi themes. The storyline is more coherent than the first season, despite suffering from a meandering, unwieldly first half. An excellent final act is the main asset, boasting some of the dramatic and technical highlights of the franchise. The kids are mostly a chore to watch, with the exception of Rika, but the supporting cast of partner digimon and the adults pick up the slack when they can. Overall, a well-made and bold new direction for the franchise, even if it demands a bit of patience.
Digimon Frontier: A fairly out of place second reboot that has the kids become digimon instead of partnered with them, a concept that would work better in a conventional superhero show. Suffers from a derivative storyline and underutilizes the more unique characteristics of its cast. Mostly non-menacing villains don't help, though the action sequences and animation are of fair to good quality, especially the last clash with Cherubimon.
Digimon Data Squad: Continues the trend of reboots. Clearly emulates the more serious approach of the third season, but with much less intrigue and poignancy, and a less than welcome dose of melodrama. Derivative characters are not helped by uninspired partner digimon(although the updated Greymon subspecies is pretty cool), while the central villain is removed prematurely, hampering the final act. The technical aspects are above par for its own line, and the English dub demonstrates how effective director Jeff Nimoy can be when given more creative control. In summary: has good ideas that aren't fully capitalized on, great moments diminished by context, and not enough heart.
Digimon Fusion: I decided to pass on this one, on the grounds that it just looks like the same old stuff, repackaged and drawn out. The "xros" idea also doesn't appeal to me, as it pretty much turns digimon into living lego pieces instead of creatures with evolutionary lines that can be followed. Maybe I'm wrong but nonetheless, I don't see myself bothering with this one.
As for the future of this franchise, news has been steadily poured out regarding a new project continuing the original story. The reboot trend has been stretched to its limits, and it's encouraging for the producers to recognize this, opting to build upon what is arguably the franchise's biggest success. Personally, I'm a LITTLE skeptical about a couple of things, but at the same time REALLY excited to see Digimon get the update that so many other old franchises have received (e.g. Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, even Alvin and the Chipmunks for crying out loud). By covering the high school years of these guys, there is much opportunity to liberate this series from the usual kid-related tropes and delve into new territory. Let's hope they get it right.
Digimon Adventure: A successful beginning volume, originally a mini-series that garnered enough attention to merit an extension. Admittedly, not all aspects of the production have aged well. The art style works, but the animation suffers from the same hindrances as most children's anime, and the storyline is not as cohesive as it should be. The diverse, endearing cast of kids is the greatest aspect, a quality in which the series has remained unsurpassed in its own line. Much imagination is evident in this one, especially with the partner digimon, who collectively are the most appealing main monsters in the franchise.
Digimon Adventure 02: A curious companion piece to the original. Rarely boring and brings the franchise some of its most influential elements. Strong themes of redemption and forgiveness, more substantial villains, some great monster designs and an emphasis on character relationships show potential for excellence. Unfortunately, evident poor planning during production derails much of this. A viable candidate for a re-imagining, though that is a long-shot if there ever was one.
Digimon Tamers: The first reboot of the franchise, and also the grimmest of the seasons. Discards the fantasy elements of its predecessors, opting for the style of a sci-fi drama, complemented by higher quality animation. Sporadically poignant, but tends to get bogged down in watered down sci-fi themes. The storyline is more coherent than the first season, despite suffering from a meandering, unwieldly first half. An excellent final act is the main asset, boasting some of the dramatic and technical highlights of the franchise. The kids are mostly a chore to watch, with the exception of Rika, but the supporting cast of partner digimon and the adults pick up the slack when they can. Overall, a well-made and bold new direction for the franchise, even if it demands a bit of patience.
Digimon Frontier: A fairly out of place second reboot that has the kids become digimon instead of partnered with them, a concept that would work better in a conventional superhero show. Suffers from a derivative storyline and underutilizes the more unique characteristics of its cast. Mostly non-menacing villains don't help, though the action sequences and animation are of fair to good quality, especially the last clash with Cherubimon.
Digimon Data Squad: Continues the trend of reboots. Clearly emulates the more serious approach of the third season, but with much less intrigue and poignancy, and a less than welcome dose of melodrama. Derivative characters are not helped by uninspired partner digimon(although the updated Greymon subspecies is pretty cool), while the central villain is removed prematurely, hampering the final act. The technical aspects are above par for its own line, and the English dub demonstrates how effective director Jeff Nimoy can be when given more creative control. In summary: has good ideas that aren't fully capitalized on, great moments diminished by context, and not enough heart.
Digimon Fusion: I decided to pass on this one, on the grounds that it just looks like the same old stuff, repackaged and drawn out. The "xros" idea also doesn't appeal to me, as it pretty much turns digimon into living lego pieces instead of creatures with evolutionary lines that can be followed. Maybe I'm wrong but nonetheless, I don't see myself bothering with this one.
As for the future of this franchise, news has been steadily poured out regarding a new project continuing the original story. The reboot trend has been stretched to its limits, and it's encouraging for the producers to recognize this, opting to build upon what is arguably the franchise's biggest success. Personally, I'm a LITTLE skeptical about a couple of things, but at the same time REALLY excited to see Digimon get the update that so many other old franchises have received (e.g. Transformers, G.I. Joe, Ninja Turtles, even Alvin and the Chipmunks for crying out loud). By covering the high school years of these guys, there is much opportunity to liberate this series from the usual kid-related tropes and delve into new territory. Let's hope they get it right.