Anime DIGIMON: A Quick Clarification

[DinoRexMax]

So, some chode at a (presumably) Digimon TCG event posted a vid that ended up in a mutuals feed about meeting the "creator" of DIgimon and asking him a question ("Which Digimon would you have as a personal assistant?", he picked Angewomon and LadyDevimon, because he wanted to make Mastemon, I guess). It's a weird question to say the least, not even a simple as "Who's Your favourite?" but "Who'd be your personal assitant?", but the point is in the video he claims he is speaking to the creator of Digimon.

Call me a filthy nitpicker or a hair splitter, but I don't like this kind of dishonest content. It reminds of me of a click bait article decrying the supposed "death" or Goku's voice actor, which could've meant anything in the world but you know what they were implying (either Sean Schemmel or Masko Nozawa). However, they were referring to Canadian actor, Kirby Morrow, who tragically passed away in 2020 (just 8 days after his dad, now that's sad). Kirby is actually best known for the voice of Trowa Barton on Gundam Wing or Miroku on InuYasha, but did voice Goku during the Ocean dub of the Majin Buu Saga (which was only aired on YTV in Canada, and I think some parts of Europe via Cartoon Network).

So, who the hell is this guy? Well, I'll tell you who he's NOT, and that's Akiyoshi Hongo.

Who's Akiyoshi Hongo? Well, they're not one, but a pseudonym for 3 seperate people who are atributed to the creation of the Digimon franchise (any Digimon game you'll play will have: "copyright Akiyoshi Hongo" on the title screen somewhere). They are (from left to right) Aki Maita (leftmost, one of the creators of the Tamagotchi, Digimon's big sister, alongside Akihiro Yokoi), Hiroshi Izawa (centermost, artist and author, responsible for the original Digimon comics such as V-Tamer and C'mon Digimon that established the basic lore of the franchise, he also created Veedramon and Arkadimon) and Takeichi Hongo (rightmost, then acting marketing director of Bandai).

These were the guys that first pitched the idea to the heads at Bandai and are forever credited as the original concept and character designs for the Digimon franchise.

So who the fuck is this guy talking to?

Well, given his age and goofy ass hat, I'd hazard a guess and say that this is none other than Kenji Watanabe. Now, Kenji Watanabe is not the creator of Digimon, however, he is far from a stranger to the franchies and the series at large. Kenji is an illustrator and character designer working at both Bandai and Wiz.Inc, with distincitve artstyle using harsh shadows, heavy outlines, and sharp details, all of which takes its inspiration from American comic books and Horror movies.

Now, this is where your going to get on my case for being a nitpicker, since Kenji Watanabe's art is hugely vital for establishing the aethetic of Digimon and has created and designed hundreds of Digimon (including his own personal waifu, Beelstarmon, who I am surprised he didn't pick as his personal assistant).

BUT HE DID NOT CREATE THE SERIES AS A WHOLE.

I don't do this to diminish Watanabe's contributions to the series, and Digimon only look like they do because of his art (which I absolutely adore). But I just don't like half-assed content grifters saying hypebole as if it's fact.

 

[Snorlaxbelly]

Damn Jeffery, take a chill pill.
I get you though, these videos are kinda brain rotty, I stay away from YouTube shorts, TikTok. Short form content is usually poo poo caca

 

[Jayonnaise6105 Jayonnaise6105]

Not as strongly, but I'm kinda with you on this one. This kind of stuff is partly why I don't keep up with mainstream news or pro wrestling stuff anymore. A lot of wrestling news websites and YT channels do that sort of disingenuous thing, hoping you'll click on their video or article. But again, I ignore it nowadays. I tend to enjoy my hobbies a lot more when I'm not following ANY form of news about them.

 

[bjork]

It's a nice time in life when this is a problem that merits this level of close examination.

 

[otogirisou]

Out of these three i only know Aki, and i didn't know she's one of the creator of digimon.

 

[Evaccaneer Doom]

I don’t know anything here other than Beelstarmon being a waifu (true)

 

[Janunba88]

I tend to enjoy my hobbies a lot more when I'm not following ANY form of news about them.

In my opinion, this is the definition of how to enjoy a franchise nowadays. We live in a society so hungry for news that only 10% or less of it is truly worthwhile. The rest? Junk data, which you forget you read 5 seconds later.

Post automatically merged: Yesterday at 12:21 PM

I’m not an avid Digimon fan, but I understand your point. I feel similarly about YouTube channels that ‘criticize movies’; they seem to want to—and often do—benefit more from misinformation and deception than from sincerity. Besides, to be honest, most franchises nowadays tend to have at least one guy like that, which really discourages me from wanting to engage with their communities (that is, if the community itself doesn’t already ruin the franchise in some other way).

 

[BrawlMan]

Other than the first five shows, I have not touched anything else Digimon in years. I never played the games, though I know they are great Sucks people like this are all over social media. The best thing to do is always just avoid them, ignore them, but rightfully call him out when you know, they're spreading misinformation.