Getting 'Digi' with it: Differences between Digimon and Pokemon movies

"Digimon: Digital Monsters" is an anime tale of two worlds, the world we live in and the Digital World. These two places are closely linked, and what affects one affects the other. When something threatens the balance of light and dark in these two places, a group of kids known as the DigiDestinied is called upon. They are expected to defeat whatever evil beings threaten reality and set the scales right.

The show begins by introducing the children who are going to be called upon to save the world. One day, seven kids at summer camp, Tai, Matt, TK, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, and Sora, are surprised to find that a snowstorm has struck in the middle of summer. Through a series of events in which the kids acquire things called "Digivices," the seven are warped to a strange island in the Digital World and meet friendly little creatures name Digimon.

The children have their own digimon companion. The digimon are sworn to protect the children at all costs, and when an obstacle or villain arises that they can't handle, the digimon "digivolve" into a more powerful form. However, after the problem is solved, the digimon always revert into their weaker states.

The enemies that the DigiDestinied must face are numerous. The first villain is Devimon, a demon-like creature who controls other digimon with Black Gears. Other bad guys include Etemon, a monkey digimon who thinks he's Elvis incarnate; Myotismon, a vampire who seeks to rule both worlds; and Piedmon, a clown who manages to nearly kill all the major characters of the show. Unlike some anime where villains will be converted to good after some kind of emotional plea on the part of the hero, the villains in "Digimon" remain evil up until the point at which they are destroyed. The heroes don't try to make the bad guys see the error of their ways; they try to blow them up with as much digi-fire power they can muster. This usually leads to a much clearer resolution to the problem.

"Digimon" may seem to be a cheap Pokemon rip-off. However, this is not the case. "Digimon" differs from "Pokemon" in several respects. The plot for "Digimon" is more tightly woven than Pokemon's, and it follows a saga-like approach. While "Pokemon" focuses on cramming as many elements of the game as possible, resulting in a loosely put together scheme, each episode of "Digimon" leads down a predetermined path. Characters and story elements from previous episodes that don't seem important wind up playing key roles in later shows.

The animation style for "Digimon" is also different from "Pokemon." "Pokemon" uses the technique from the early nineties, with sweat drops and such. "Digimon" uses a newer, crisper drawing technique, along with several well-placed CG effects. The colors in "Digimon" also tend to be more vibrant, giving the scenery a little more life than "Pokemon." The main reason why "Digimon" is not a copy of "Pokemon" is that the "Digimon" franchise predates "Pokemon" by several years. "Digimon" is based on Tamagotchi and a couple of video games that were never released in the United States. Only the latest game, "Digimon World" for the Playstation, has been imported to the states. While the "Pokemon" cartoon was made earlier than "Digimon," the latter's series began not to tap into Pokemon's market, but based on the success the franchise was enjoying.

"Digimon" stands on its own, and can legitimately call itself original.