*CRACKS KNUCKLE*
AH. DIGIMON.... Probably my absolute favourite among the "monster" subgenre in hobbyani
And yes for reference "hobby anime" aka hobbyani is what JP fandom calls these younger male-targeted anime; they're usually split by three categories that is 1) monsters 2) TCG 3) toys, with certain of them being overlapped....that said. I've said the preface so lets go.
- How did you get into the series?
Back when I was like 5 years old, its one of the animes that's aired on local TV that I eventually got into it since I watch nothing but cartoons hahah. Later my late dad bought some CDs of its episodes (oh boy remember when CDs with cartoons was still relevant) from like? the first until the 10th episode? and it was all in Indonesian dub ahah. I mean I actually prefer it over the Malaysian dub At some point my parents only bought Pokemon and Digimon CDs for us to watch that I was known in the family for being the one thats obsessed with both of them ahah so thats literally how I got into it, I guess
- Your favourite memories about it?
Uhhh
- Did I mention that my parents remembers me as the one thats obsessed with Digimon (and Pokemon) the most? Yes I did.
- And to continue my obsession with Digimon when I was 5, I even had Digimon 02 and Tamers CDs in CHINESE dub despite I don't understand a single word but. It's hard to catch up with every episodes on TV. So.
- EVERY Malaysians had this childhood at some point and its collecting these Digimon 02 sticker books. Except, my situation is quite funny because my mom owns 87623725637 copies of the books?? And finished quite a number of them?? We sent a few copies as you could win cool prizes such as a vacation trip, bicycle or Digivices. I did won two Digivices! One was the green one that belonged to Takeru and another was this one. I really want to find these treasures again...
- (The same company also made Digimon Tamers and Bakuten Shoot Beyblade sticker books and we had collected a few stickers at some point but its quite rarer to find the sticker packs compared to the 02 ones-)
- I sometimes go to my cousin's house to play this certain Digimon game on PS2. I think it was Digimon Rumble Arena.
- Ah yes my Digimon walkie-talkies...Not only its one of my treasured toys but I remember actually using (playing) these with my twin sis and we basically hide in different rooms and communicate like secret agents ajhdghadgdha good times (Also during last week, my mom actually asked about giving them away to our cousins and obviously I didn't let her but I'm surprised she still remember the toys lol)
- When I was in the 4th grade, I also brought Digimon comics to school and that was the only time where my (male) classmates would interact with me because they wanted to read it ahdhadfhaf
- Around 2014 or 2015 I once binged Digimon Adventures in two weeks. The few times I had that much energy to finish a 50+ episodes anime.
- EDIT: Uhhhhhh I cried multiple times watching Adventures and the War Game movie
- Favourite anime/games?
Okay I'm not the kind that sticks to one particular season but the first one is very popular for obvious reason.....It made me cry and the writing?? Super good. But 02 wasn't bad either and I frankly liked the concept a lot despite I know 02 had some flaws hahah
Digimon Tamers though, while I don't remember the first half of the series I did have the CDs for the finale so I remember those the most and it was. Pure depression.
In short; mostly the first three seasons since I haven't gone that far in the other ones though I did watch the first few episodes of Savers, Xross War and App Monsters. Will anything make me cry harder than Adventures and Tamers though :')
- Favourite digimons?
Gabumon is my son and I will protect him from EVIL. Okay also Guilmon is the best protag Digimon and Angemon?? Very beautiful.
- Did the series influence your art/character creation/characters in any way?
Well- My style/designs are very hobbyani influenced; it does serves a lot of inspiration, not only back then, but even today. 8') It's one of the best things I liked since childhood that it plays a lot of roles in my creativity in general haha
Also considering the premise of my story is mostly Kids Dealing with Depression(tm), I find Digimon as the biggest and best example of kids/general-audience anime (or media) writing that touch on even the most darkest aspect but still make it realistic and relatable despite their main cast are all kids hahah so thats also the biggest influence/inspiration it plays? Maybe?
- Do you remember the early 00s when Digimon was a big mainstream thing? Any particular memories about that time if this applies to you?
Uhh its definitely one of the most popular anime here back then that even people who grew up as someone who isn't into anime had watched Digimon at some point. The popularity of Digimon did died for a while because our place only aired up until Tamers, but then?? Around 2009 or 2010 a subscription-only channel aired Digimon Adventures, 02 and (for the first time) Savers so its popularity kinda lived again for a moment 8'D It's definitely not as popular now when back then you could find even the tiniest Digimon bootleg merch on a local supermarket but its legacy still live until today
Particular memories are pretty much the fact I didn't think much about the writings or dynamics when I was younger and only see it as another hobbyani, but then when I rewatched it as it re-aired in 2009/2010...oh boy, things sure changed a lot that I fully became a Digimon person since then :'D
Okay this went longer than I thought LOL I love oversharing on my fav things?? Okay. Okay.