Monsters, Humans, and the End of the World: The Non-Human used to Understand the Human; We All Live in a Monster-filled World
For twenty some years the Japanese monster themed franchise of Pokémon has held dominance in pop culture relevancy, and other Japanese monster franchise Digimon follows closely in it shadow. These two franchises hold major significance in modern popular culture, both in and out of Japan, and currently has raised and or played a huge role in the lives of at least two generations of modern society. The two are often compared to the other despite having only a few similarities; monsters/mons, evolution, the relationship of human and non-humans, and the anthropocene. Fans will argue that neither are truly comparable due to them being so uniquely different in their eyes, and whereas the respected stories and concepts are different, they work in similar ways to understanding our world through the non-human.
Pokémon World; Pokémon Adventure in the Orange Islands' theme song. Song by Youngstown ft. Nobody's Angel released in 2000.
“We all live in a Pokémon World”, the old English Pokémon Orange Island theme song would describe, decades before the franchise has truly taken over the world. Created by Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori, Pokémon is truly a force to be reckoned with, not even Disney can keep up. Truly, the likelihood of someone not knowing what Pokémon is, or what Pikachu, is near impossible to find in most parts of the world. According to a chart created by Carly Hallman of titlemax.com with the help of Wikipedia, as of 2019, Pokémon has been known as the world’s highest grossing media franchise, with being estimated to be worth $92.1 Billion USD in 2019. Now according to Wikipedia, Pokémon’s current estimated revenue is around $105 Billion USD, beating out Hello Kitty by $20.5 Billion, Winnie the Pooh and Mickey Mouse by $24.7 Billion. Pokémon took the world by storm when it first released, and has gone through many years of going back and forth on its relevance in western society, but is currently in the height of its 25 year career. Pokémon is currently banking on nostalgia, but also a new generation of fans that stem from the older fans, and Pokémon has mastered the ability to be a staple piece of popular culture. Pokémon has had many forms of media, and products, but in 2001 was also on the currency of the small country of Niue, and in 1998 had its jet line debut on Japanese Airline, All Nippon Airways. Pokémon is truly a powerful force in popular culture, and as Pokémon holds a special place in many people’s lives, the franchise holds a lot of understanding of our relationship to our planet, and the relationship of human and the non-human.
Niue's currency featuring Pokémon. Image from Awol.junkee.com
Carly Hallman of TitleMax chart of 'The 25 Highest-Grossing Media Franchises of All Time'
Albeit Digimon may hold less of a significance in the west, and overall when you look at it versus Pokémon, but a franchise lasting twenty-two years is no laughing matter. Digimon’s relevance is considered less than Pokémon, but the franchise holds a strong power over those it has influenced, and is often brought up in comparison to Pokémon due to it being the first Japanese monster franchise brought into the world post Pokémania (a term used to describe the height of Pokémon's early popularity). Some western Pokémon fans (who refuse to consume the Digimon media) will yell to the heavens that it is a lesser copycat of Pokémon, and use it as an insult to any other monster franchise. This is such a common occurrence in Western society that Season 21 episode 18 of the Simpsons (a long running show that commentates on western culture) uses this trope. There is a scene when Bart learns about Battle Balls (a play on another Japanese multimedia monster related franchise; Bakugan) and a kid says that “Battle Balls makes Digimon look like Pokémon”. I am not entirely sure what that's suppose to mean, but it showcases this trope very well.
Outside of the west, Digimon plays an even bigger role in a lot of Japanese media. Digimon originally was not intended to be what it became, as it was originally a way for Japanese toy company, Bandai to create a boy version of the popular Tamagotchi. Later, Bandai would hire director Mamoru Hosoda, and writer Reiko Yoshida to produce the first ever Digimon animation, Digimon Adventure originally as a way to market the toy. This 20 minute short film defined Digimon’s future, and later became the Digimon Adventure 1999 anime series that became a part of so many people’s childhoods. Not only that, but Hosoda, and Yoshida would become the people behind many famous, and beloved anime series and movies. Yoshida would work on widely popular works from K-On! to D. Grayman, and so forth. Whereas Hosoda would become even more influential as he used the second Digimon film the two worked on, Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! as a catalyst to build off of for his movies like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, and Summer Wars. Both are hugely popular and influential anime films that exist outside of the Studio Ghibli movie universe that many people hold dear. If it wasn’t for Digimon Adventure most of these big anime moments would not exist or be the same level of quality that they are now. Digimon may be seen as less than Pokémon to others, but it has a strong hold on a lot of the media world, and once again its fans.
Fans who have consumed Digimon media will most notably say that the two are not comparable, but then go on to say Digimon’s story is way better, and that is due to Digimon taking a more serious tone with its stories and characters than Pokémon. Digimon focuses a lot on childhood trauma, and ways to overcome and push through that with the help of a world of escapism, whereas Pokémon is mostly nothing but escapism. However, both tell stories of our natural world, the human world, and the toll humans have on the natural world. Whereas one fanbase would rather not compare them, it is important to note that a lot of their similarities fall under this idea.
Clip from Season 21 episode 18 of the Simpsons; “Chief of Hearts”, Aired on April 18, 2010. Posted by @Wikimon_news on Twitter. Characters created by Matt Groening, owned by FOX and Disney.
In order to understand these subjects I will be taking my own experiences with the two franchises, and utilizing information I have gained through my Art After Nature course at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago to analyze and discuss these ideas. My experience with the monster franchises is a unique one that not many on this planet might possess; I am only 24 years old (at the time of writing this), and I was born February 11th, 1997. Pokémon itself was brought into the world almost exactly one year before I existed in this world, on February 27th, 1996. Pokémon existed in Japan for a couple of years before being brought over to the west in August of 1998, when I was a little over a year old, and I was in love the moment I laid my tiny baby eyes on it. I’m told I knew Pokémon before knowing anything else, and honestly all I wanted from a young age was to be a Pokémon trainer; Pokémon was my entire life. I do not remember a life without Pokémon, but I also grew up along with the franchise so I was not born into a world with any pre-established information of the franchise, and grew with the franchise.
Baby me consuming my dog, Libby's dog treat in my sick Pokémon fit and tragic bowl cut (would kill for those shoes in adult sizing to be honest)
As for Digimon; at this point in my life, Digimon is my favorite franchise ever. Like Pokémon, Digimon came into the world when I was still fresh in the world myself; however I distinctly remember having nightmares over it when I was around two to three years old. Digimon is vastly darker, and often more serious or adult at times than Pokémon, but that fear of the franchise did not last long. I fell in love with it a few years later when I obsessively checked out the Digimon Movie from my local library every other week, and when we finally had internet in the house, it was a done deal. I spent all my time binging the dub of the multi-series anime on YouTube. I’ve been watching most of what the franchise has to offer, and what I can find online for at least a decade now. Unlike Pokémon, I’m still finding things I did not know about years later, and I love every minute of it. That being said, I have not played many of the games since they’re scattered through many different consoles, and a lot harder/longer than Pokémon, so I will not be focusing on the games and rather the anime series for both to make my analysis more consistent.
My right arm with the Crest of Courage from Digimon Adventure 1999 tattooed on it.
My experience with both franchises are vastly unique, as I’ve been interacting and consuming both for the majority of my life. Along with my love, passion, and knowledge for both franchises I will also be looking at both through the lens of ideas learned in my Art After Nature graduate course at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and reflecting on how they show understandings of our world and relations with the non-human.
As I end this post, I would like to leave you off with links to some of my most favorite pieces from each respected media franchise celebrating their 20th-25th anniversaries, as well as their original late 90s english and Japanese anime openings for fun (and nostalgia for some). Also to show the start of an era, and the current state of the franchises reign.
Digimon Adventure 1999 English OP
Digimon Adventure 1999 Japanese OP
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