I started watching Digimon around the same time as Pokemon. As a child, I didn’t really think about the two competing with each other–I liked both. Pokemon entertained me with its lighthearted antics and the catchy rhythms on Pikachu’s Jukebox. Meanwhile, Digimon kept me invested with the chemistry between the characters and their relatable struggles.
Digimon’s stories forced me to think about my life in a way that Pokemon didn’t, and I carried those lessons with me into adulthood long after I stopped watching. I’ve stayed connected to Pokemon largely thanks to its video games and the marketing madness that has solidified its international presence. But, even now, I feel Digimon beats Pokemon when it comes to storytelling.
This isn’t a particularly rare opinion. Years later, fans who watched Digimon in the late ’90s and early 2000s periodically wonder where the series went wrong and why it isn’t as popular as Pokemon, even though they still remember the stories fondly. While I mainly admire the anime series, some folks would even argue the Digimon video games also have Pokemon beat in terms of story.
For those of you who don’t know: Digimon and Pokemon have similar names but completely different vibes. Pokemon usually stars a child protagonist who leaves home to become the strongest Pokemon trainer in their region. That typically means gathering a squad of cute monsters that can fight other people’s cute monsters, collecting gym badges from each of the strongest trainers in the main cities, and eventually, challenging the strongest of them all in a tournament at the end of the journey.
Digimon is more so about children caught in a dangerous clash between the Digital World, an alternate universe where Digimon live, and reality. You don’t typically “capture” Digimon like you would the creatures in other monster-taming series. Most generations star young characters working together with their partner Digimon toward a shared goal, either by fighting against rogue monsters or something else.
While I longed to capture and train Pokemon like Ash Ketchum did in the original Pokemon animated series, I appreciated Digimon’s connection to the real world. I mainly watched Digimon Adventure growing up, but this theme is something that continues throughout the series. The DigiDestined, the “Chosen Ones” pulled into the alternate universe, still faced everyday problems like fights with parents and having to study for school. I also watched Digimon Adventure 02, a solid sequel that jumped into the future and introduced new characters; and Digimon Tamers, possibly the darkest of the Digimon anime series yet.
Pokemon could never compete with the drama. Just in Digimon Adventure alone, I recall the fist fight Tai and Matt had as they argued over whether they should try to find a way home or focus on finding their friends. Or Sora’s realization that her mother’s strictness was a sign of protection and love rather than oppression. Each character also has their own flaws and insecurities that drive the story, like when Mimi became the princess of her own Digimon kingdom and her friends needed to coax her out of her power trip.
Digimon also tackles loss and trauma in a way that not many children’s shows do. There’s at least one Digimon that “dies” in each season and they only might come back, and these instances hit the affected human partner pretty hard. TK still has nightmares about losing his partner, and it became a whole arc for Jeri in Digimon Tamers, inevitably leading to her falling into a depression that left her susceptible to the series’ villain. (Let me also just give a shout to Tamers because it produced some of the best nightmare fuel at the time for a series that was supposedly for kids.)
Meanwhile, Pokemon focuses more on pure entertainment without digging too deep into complex feelings or darker themes. The anime series starred Ash for many years before passing the torch to new characters. But, because we’re supposed to believe he was 10 years old the entire time, the character development between the seasons is all over the place. Ash sometimes even forgets basic information and skills he learned in the past as a “reset” for new audiences. This has some merit to it because of the episodic nature of the Pokemon series, but it means the show lacks the kind of depth that more mature audiences appreciate.
Pokemon also features goofy fights where everyone more or less ended up as friends afterward. I love Team Rocket as comic relief, but we expect them to fail and their reasons for trying to capture Pikachu and do “evil” never truly feel harmful. It’s a more happy-go-lucky universe where heroes don’t seem to need to worry about grades, money, relationships, or loss. Nobody has to deal with heavy real-world obligations, and conflicts are usually resolved by the end of the episode.
Of course, Pokemon is the clear winner when it comes to cultural appeal. It continues to have a worldwide presence with successful television series, video games, and the trading-card game. It was even rumored to be the highest-grossing media franchise of all time, though GamesRadar reported that might not actually be the case. In the year of our lord 2025, Digimon is now a niche series that I’ve only heard millennials talk about.
That said, and even though Digimon is losing the marketing war on this one, it’s still winning when it comes to memorable stories and interesting characters. As one of my colleagues once said, I’d rather have ambitious work that falls just a bit short of a grand vision than something critically applauded but safe and boring.
If you feel compelled to start watching Digimon at all, I personally recommend Digimon Adventure. And, for the love of god, watch it subbed.
