Beginning its digital life as Tamagotchi-esque toys in the late ‘90s, the Digimon brand has grown to echo its closest ‘catch ‘em all’ competitor, Pokémon. Today, it encompasses more than just needy virtual pets. comics, video games, trading cards, and anime have expanded its reach, profitability, and world-building.
The digital monsters abbreviated in its title live in an alternate digital dimension, accessed via the digital technologies of our real world. Digimon stories usually involve a group of human kids, ‘DigiDestined,’ travelling to the Digital World and acquiring Digimon partners to evolve and battle against threats to both the Digital and real world. With over 20 years of lore to dive into, here’s how to watch every Digimon show and movie in order.
Digimon Adventure (1999-2000)
The first Digimon anime series is a signature piece of Y2K media. As the world prepared for a potential digital disaster at the stroke of midnight on December 31, 1999, cartoon-watching kids were given a more fantastical escape into the burgeoning digital frontier.
In Digimon Adventure, the first cohort of DigiDestined, led by Tai in what would become signature Digimon protagonist goggles, are brought into the Digital World from summer camp. They meet and raise Digimon companions and journey across their wild new habitat until they’re able to find a way home. With its quirky creature designs, CG-enhanced evolution sequences, and surprisingly grounded characterisations, Digimon Adventure set the bar for every future iteration. It was later remade under the same name in 2020.
Digimon Adventure 02 (2000-2001)
Whether because of or despite frequent Pokémon comparisons, Digimon Adventure was enough of a ratings success to warrant a direct sequel series titled Digimon Adventure 02. This time, the youngest members of the original DigiDestined, Kari and T.K., are joined by three new characters to stop the self-proclaimed Digimon Emperor from ruling the Digital World.
Digimon Adventure 02 cements the anime’s inventiveness against its competitors, featuring great plot twists and character sacrifices that carry real emotional weight. Though the series has a conclusive, time-spanning ending, many more followed due to its popularity.
Digimon Adventure Movies (1999-2005)
Five Adventure-era films were released between 1999 and 2005, but the one Western audiences will be most familiar with is Digimon: The Movie, an American production that cuts together some of the separately released Japanese ones: Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game!, and Digimon Adventure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!!.
In the first portion of Digimon: The Movie, a younger Tai and his sister Kari witness a Digimon battle in the real world before the events of the Adventure series. The second is a sequel to the series, reuniting the original DigiDestined against the Internet-based Diaboramon, and the final part brings in the 02 gang to stop him for good. Directed by the now-acclaimed Mamoru Hosoda (Belle, Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time), it’s beloved for its humour, animation, and soundtrack.
Digimon Tamers (2001-2002)
A soft reboot for the anime, Digimon Tamers introduces a new setting and mechanic for its batch of DigiDestined. No doubt jumping on the card game craze from Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, the characters combine collectable cards with their Digivices, devices connecting them to their Digimon partners.
A malevolent program known as D-Reaper serves as the show’s villain, with its actions inevitably spilling out into the real world. Tamers might not be as revered as Adventure, but its willingness to delve into darker, psychological themes has stood the test of time.
Digimon Tamers Movies (2001-2002)
Tamers yielded two spinoff movies, Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers and Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon, both released around a year apart at production studio Toei’s Summer Animation Fairs. In the first film, the satanic-themed Mephistomon unleashes a ‘V-Pet’ virus into the real world; in the second, the real world is under threat again, this time by a locomotive Digimon infected by a parasitic one.
Though the films conclude the Tamers anime era, head writer Chiaki J. Konaka, who previously wrote for the darker, experimental Serial Experiments Lain, has continued producing additional stories in other formats, including a 20th anniversary audio drama in 2021.
Digimon Frontier (2002-2003)
Mirroring the spirit of its title, Digimon: Frontier once again takes Digimon in a bold new direction. This time, the human heroes don’t just fight alongside their Digimon—they can become them. The process is made possible by a metaphysical merging with ‘Legendary Warriors,’ human and monster spirits who represent various elements.
With a story centred around Celestial and Shaman Digimon, the series uses a rich fusion of Eastern mysticism and Western biblical elements to expand the franchise’s mystical elements and the mythology of the Digital World’s creation to epic proportions. A short spin-off film, Island of Lost Digimon, was released in 2002.
Digimon Monster X-Evolution (2005)
Broadcast on TV rather than being theatrically released, Digimon Monster X-Evolution is the first original film with no serialised source material. Instead, it was entirely based on the Digimon Chronicle toyline.
The CG film also has an especially grim premise, even by Digimon’s risque standards: the mysterious, all-powerful computer Yggdrasil (also known as King Drasil), preempting the MCU’s Thanos, begins a genocidal campaign based on an overpopulation problem in the Digital World. Franchise favourites like Omnimon, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon are sucked in, with the plucky Dorumon, a Digimon ‘Prototype,’ leading the charge against Yggdrasil.
Digimon Data Squad (2006-2007)
In Digimon Data Squad, tensions have escalated enough between the Digital and real worlds to warrant government intervention. Consequently, the show’s plot revolves around a teenager, Marcus, who joins the Digital Accident Tactics Squad (DATS) to help preserve an equilibrium between the two.
Revelations about past mistakes and leaders on both sides claiming their opposition represents an existential threat escalates the drama to a cosmic level. The Data Squad era includes two short films under the ‘Savers’ banner: Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger! and Digimon Savers: Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!!, both released in 2009. The latter stars a re-skinned version of Tai’s partner, Agumon, the Digimon equivalent of Ash’s Pikachu in Pokémon.
Digimon Fusion (2010-2012)
Another reinvention of Digimon’s initial premise, Digimon Fusion, as you might guess, gives its human characters the ability to fuse multiple Digimon using a Fusion Loader. They form the Fusion Fighters and fight against one of the franchise’s many Satan stand-ins, Bagramon, who has an evil version of the Loader and can rend digital souls from their bodies.
Fusion is divided into three seasons, though the third was never released in English. It’s considered one of the better entries in the series, particularly for longtime fans who can appreciate both its similarities and differences to previous iterations.
Digimon Adventure tri (2015-2018)
To mark the 15th anniversary of the franchise, the anime returned to the now high school-aged original DigiDestined for a six-part OVA series. Set in 2005, a nostalgia-baiting period for millennials who grew up with the show, the eight teenagers are paired up with their Digimon again to investigate a virus turning Digital Monsters violent.
Most affecting for its original ageing fanbase isn’t Digimon Adventure tri’s plot, but its overarching theme of growing up and the bittersweetness that comes with it. The childhood friends, no longer bound by their digital adventures, are drifting apart; the re-emergence of Digimon in their lives allows them to recapture the magic of their youth before they become full-grown adults.
Digimon Universe: App Monsters (2016-2017)
By its nature, Digimon always taps into technological trends for story ideas, so making the leap to apps in the mid-2010s was a no-brainer. Digimon Universe: App Monsters imagines a future, in the year 2045, in which the Web is the birthplace of the new Digimon in the show’s title, Appmon, for short.
Appmon are AI-based creatures linked to their human partners’ smartphones. This makes them vulnerable to the show’s villain, Leviathan, eerily represented by a single ‘L’ letter, which uses the interconnected nature of the Internet to infect and corrupt them. AI has always been depicted warily in media, but its prevalence in our lives now makes this premise all the more prescient.
Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna
What tri lacked in the execution of its coming-of-age story, Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna makes up for in spades. Serving as the official end to the first Adventure era, it retreads the premise of tri—the older, original DigiDestined embarking on one last huzzah with their Digimon to stop a virus—and takes it to greater cinematic heights.
With a literal timer ticking down on how long the group has left with their childhood friends from the Digital World, the film doesn’t shy away from a melancholic ending, allowing fans to experience the catharsis of saying goodbye and the satisfaction of moving on. Digimon Adventure: Memorial Story and Digimon Adventure - BEYOND, comprising side stories that didn’t make the final cut, were released between 2019 and 2025.
Digimon Ghost Game (2021-2023)
Touted as Digimon ‘doing horror,’ Digimon Ghost Game takes inspiration from Japanese folklore and modern cyber horror, with Digimon now characterised as ‘Hologram Ghosts’ that can only be seen with help from the Digivice-V-.
The premise led to the creation of some unique Digimon specially for the show, and similar to horror-themed shows aimed at teen audiences, it has a much more episodic format than previous series. The producers attribute this to the perception that Digmon’s target demographic has shorter attention spans than previous generations and is therefore less likely to follow an overarching plot, which has been traditional in the franchise thus far.
Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (2023)
Due to the commercial and mostly critical success of Last Evolution Kizuna, a sequel movie was released three years later. Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning gives the Adventure 02 kids the same cathartic conclusion that their predecessors received: taking place three years after the original show’s ending, the film transports the DigiDestined to 1996 to witness an abused child receiving a wish-granting Digimon, becoming the previously unknown first DigiDestined.
At face value, The Beginning sounds like a strange title for an end-capper; its actual intention is to tease the fact that this film is a slight retcon of the franchise’s origins and a typically heartbreaking one, at that.
Detailed Digimon Watch Order
- Digimon Adventure (1999-2000)
- Digimon Adventure (1999)
- Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000)
- Digimon Adventure 02 (2000-2001)
- Digimon Adventure 02: Digimon Hurricane Touchdown!! Part One / Supreme Evolution!! The Golden Digimentals Part 2 (2000)
- Digimon Adventure 3D: Digimon Grand Prix! (2000)
- Digimon Adventure: The Movie (2000)
- Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon (2001)
- Digimon Tamers (2001-2002)
- Digimon Tamers: Battle of Adventurers (2001)
- Digimon Tamers: Runaway Locomon (2002)
- Digimon Frontier (2002-2003)
- Digimon Frontier: Island of Lost Digimon (2002)
- Digital Monster X-Evolution (2005)
- Digimon Data Squad (2006-2007)
- Digimon Savers 3D: The Digital World in Imminent Danger! / Digimon Savers Ultimate Power! Activate Burst Mode!! (2009)
- Digimon Fusion (2010-2012)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter One: Reunion (2015)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter Two: Determination (2016)
- Digimon Universe: App Monsters (2016-2017)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter Three: Confession (2017)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter Four: Loss (2017)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter Five: Coexistence (2017)
- Digimon Adventure tri. Chapter Six: Future (2018)
- Digimon Adventure: Memorial Story (2019)
- Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna (2020)
- Digimon Adventure (2020-2021)
- Digimon Ghost Game (2021-2023)
- Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning (2023)
- Digimon Adventure-BEYOND- (2025)
- Digimon Beatbreak (2025-)
Where To Watch 'Digimon' Movies And Shows In Order Online
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