No, Tamers isn’t anymore “dark” than other entries in the franchise - and why we need to drop this “rivalry” people have built up between Tamers and the rest of the franchise (Starting with other Tamers fans, as well)
I guess I felt emboldened to write this, since I always see this discourse floating to built an “animosity” betweens fans of the different entries in the franchises. (And I do admit some Tamers fans (even me) have been obnoxious in trying to bring up a sense of rivalry, of trying to dictamine which season is the “best”- of trying to compete to see their fave season “win” in a popularity contest- but hardcore stans are obnoxious in every fandom)
So, we all have our preferences on which season is our favorite. Some can’t even choose. But I know there’s been this tendency in fandom for years claiming that Tamers was the “best” because it was “the darkest”, therefore leads to “best writing”. But I do not want to think some of us Tamer fans could be akin to typical edgelords that you see in American fandoms, that like brainless stuff with unneeded gore and sex just because in their small brains think it means it’s “better”. (And I do proclaim, I have a tendency to sometimes think like that in my preference of media, but I think we can make an exception for this meta- and after all, “dark” or “light” aren’t synonyms with “smart writing”. Every film with unneeded edge and gore can be just as dumb as any “Flintstones babies”-type spinoff).
Forgive me if this meta is unpolished- I improvised it on the fly with little stuff to back up and I'm tired with million other things floating in my head- next time I'll try to make my meta more polished.
Anyways, I digress.
A lot of fan perception grown up in the Western fanbase (And even by casual viewers, so people that aren’t even in the fandom) like to point that Tamers is the “best” series because it is the “darkest” of the franchise, that they feel “embarrassment”
People like to dumb down the other entries in the franchise as being “light and fluffy”, but I do not feel it can be akin. Since the first season, we see the show tackling themes that could be seen rather complicated for children- isolation, death, expectations set upon you by a demanding family, and divorce are featured prominently in the main children’s backstories, and them coming to terms with these ideas is what allows for their development to flourish.
People love to crap on 02, calling it “the kiddy season”, but it also tackles a lot of themes that would sit comfortably amongst Adventure’s expectations and Tamer’s themes of giving humanity to machines. We see many sympathetic characters die on-screen (Wormmon, BlackWarGreymon, Arukenimon and Mummymon (the last one is doubly cruel- it’d be like killing Jessie and James from Pokemon- those type of characters dying in children’s media is pretty much a no-no)), and the narrative showcases how the loss of a loved one has shaped Ken’s and Iori’s personalities, for the better or for the worst. Grief sometimes pushes out the worst of us, rather than the best of us; and we don’t turn into villains or “reformed heroes”; sometimes we just turn into quiet, forlorn people. (We saw something similar in Juri’s narrative later on) That’s sad, but very realistic. Media sometimes doesn’t really like to acknowledge this aspect of humanity, since it’s even more of a downer (unless it’s a villain origin story/character turning evil), but it’s certainly a reality. There’s also the element of self-sacrifice in BlackWarGreymon and Oikawa’s narrative, and framed in a way that you could read into a suicide reading of it. Again, if this is the “kiddy” season, according to the competitive stans, why do we have such heavy themes in it?
Come to mind, aside from the villainous characters, only one sympathetic character dies in Tamers. (Leomon) (Juri’s mother dies as well but that’s backstory) His death leads to a lot of events that occur later on, sure, but it’s only one death. Compared to Piximon, Wizardmon, Adventure!Leomon, and the deaths from 02, it feels rather small.
And when I’m talking about death, I mean the death has to affect us because it has to be the death of a sympathetic character, or a character we got to know and like. Villains die in all types of media so unless you’re a villain stan, the narrative, for the most part, doesn’t want us to shed tears when the Myotismon-type villains die. This goes the same for nameless, faceless extras. Many shows try to attempt showing massive manslaughter as a reason for us to “care” the story is mature, but our caring only goes so far. We care when a character we like dies. We don’t really shed tears when a bunch of nameless extras die (And this is a problem I also see with adult media like Invincible or Watchmen, but people don’t usually praise those stories with a “people die, therefore it’s good” excuse- like the incorrect praise some people give Tamers).
Alright, so Adventure and 02 had heavy themes, yes, that cannot be denied. Tamers also had it, questioning morality, redemption and humanity. The people probably had the perception of Tamers being “darker” because of the new setting and the marketing surrounding it (those ads that were “not your grandma’s digimon”); that probably lead to it. It’s serious, yes, and the pacing is different from Adv02, but I wouldn’t say it is nihilistic after all. The narrative displays that the hope and illusions of children is what ends up saving the day over the cynicism of adults, after all; the Digi-gnomes are there to wish away, like magic, any element that the techno-babble can’t solve; and Ruki’s narrative is about how opening up to others leads to her strength flourishing. I wouldn’t see those are nihilistic messages. The series also has the first 12 episodes being pretty light on themes, and we have lots of silly filler moments/episodes that wouldn’t be out of place in Adv02 canon.
Still, it’s not like Tamers isn’t dark, since the second arc fully delves into it, but I also feel it’s pretty much an extension of what we saw with Ken’s backstory and Oikawa’s. What the series is that it’s a little more “aloof”, since Adv02 often didn’t mind engulfing itself in the joys of the fantasy genre. The genre they’re based on also affects our perception of the story, since Adv02 is more traditional fantasy ala Narnia, and Tamers grabs from sci-fi like the Matrix. Often fantasy has often been the realm of escapist, whimsical narratives, and often have a more lightweight tone; whereas sci-fi, by taking elements from real life science and technology, and attempting to portray it in a manner that’s plausible, has to be serious for us to be invested in it and say “yeah, I could see that happening”.
Alright, so what lead to the idea is probably the marketing, wanting to point out that this universe was different from the Adv02 canon. Okay, we can buy that. But what also lead the fandom to think this was as dark as they could imagine? Again, I have to reiterate, yes, the series is dark, I'm not denying the impact of Juri’s trauma and how that aided in the narrative, but what I'm saying is that it’s not new to Digimon; since we saw elements of that in previous seasons as well.
What I also think affected was probably the changes made by the dub for the English audiences (which meant the audiences who watched Digimon in the USA...But also Canada, the UK, New Zealand...wherever they spoke English and the Digimon anime was exported to; unless they made a new English dub for that specific region (in which case correct me if I'm wrong)). The Eng dub is...infamous for killing a lot of serious moments with corny or misplaced humor, which probably lead to a lot of Eng. speaking fans to think the show was just another cheesy brainless kid’s cartoon, and therefore wouldn’t tackle mature subjects seriously. I heard Adv and 02 had a really bad case of Stupid Jokes Dub, and that by the time of Tamers the crew got to dubbing the third season the practice had diminished. So, the season that had a dark second part coincided with less jokes in the dub. The coincidence is what probably lead to most fans think of it that way “less jokes = more serious”, never mind that in the original JP dub, the element of seriousness was there from the start in the first season. It doesn’t mean the show was a funeral, either, but it knew better to balance its comedy from its drama (you wouldn’t hear about pizza jokes coming from the final villain named after the Apolapyse, is all I’m saying)
Is it dark? Is all of Digimon dark (or at least, the first four seasons, whom had some of the same crew members during most of their productions, therefore would share elements in common like character designers and composers)? Yes....Compared to other kid’s media we were subjected to at the time. I think I’m safe to say that most Digimon fans probably eschew older, and I'm probably correct when writing this that most of us are from the Western Hemisphere. If so, we probably watched the same cartoons/kid’s shows growing up. And, barring a few exceptions (and barring anime as a whole, since that’s a whole other thing), most media aimed at children didn’t try to be either dark, or deep, or realistic in the 80s/90s. At the time Digimon came out and we were exposed to it, most other shows we watched at our age were probably zany comedies about kids or anthro animals getting into shenanigans. The occasionally Disney movie probably as well, but they also barely if ever dipped their toes into genuinely dark or complex things. Unless your only exposure to media was other anime, super specific niche stuff or action/adventure shows like the DCAU or X-Men, chances are most cartoons we viewed were very light on themes and cheesy (and don’t get me wrong, I love most of the media I grew up with, but we gotta state the facts as they are; I also would think I’d be a sad, pathetic person If I only stood watching on a loop the same stuff I watched as an 8 year old well into my adulthood and never watching newer more age-appropriate things). Serious topics like death or depression or religious imagery (unless it was religious media) just didn’t feature in kid’s shows. Remember, this was the time before ATLA came over, and anime just started to gain mainstream recognition. So Digimon coming over and being open about death, trauma, divorce, exitentialism, etc, at the same target audience who would be watching Pokemon or Rugrats afterwards...Yeah, total cognitive dissonance. So you have millennials growing up, recalling the series for nostalgia’s sake (since they go on and watch different things as they grow up), and then going “omg yeah, totes dark”
And that’s the beauty of Digimon, isn’t it? That it wasn’t dumbed down? If it was just a simple brainless comedy mush with the most basic one-note characters, we wouldn’t be fans of it still talking about it to this day (unless we’re just nostalgia stans and manchildren unable to move on, but uuuh, that’s a subject for another day).
So that’s why I think Tamers is as dark as most seasons, probably just a little bit more because of the pacing and its focus at sci-fi elements (which often are more “serious” than fantasy elements, but that’s an aspect of most media I think), but It’s perception of it being the ‘’goth season’’ feels very overblown by non-fans I feel (and tans making it a competition, but eh, fandom wouldn’t be fandom if you didn’t have ‘’stans’’ making everything a competition).
{Pretends to be Shocked TM at how close it sounds.}
From the official (U.S. dub based/produced)
{NOT written by Jeff Nimoy, FYI, And Yet} [still-official] guidebook:
[Note: It’s written from “Tai”’s point of view!]:
“Izzy might be the smartest kid I know. And there’s really only one way to describe him - Izzy’s a computer nerd. One of the first questions I ever heard him ask about {the} DigiWorld was, {Dub version}: “Do you have Internet access?” He carries his laptop computer with him everywhere he goes.”
{Digimon P.S.P Game}:
{Sub version[s]}:
(Huh, what a strange coincidence):
“{Dub version-implied} CDs make him think about information storage, not his favorite rock band. But I have to give the little runt a hand - he’s pretty brave, and his understanding of computers sure has come in handy in this digital world.”
{Sub version} [+02 Epilogue!]:
[from the Digimon Adventure official novels]
(written by Adventure+02 head director/writer
Hiroyuki Kakudou; Hiro Masaki, Koushiro’s main writer,
also contributed about 1/3rd due to having experience
in writing screenplays, thus, Kakudou asked him for help on it):
(Pictured Above: the one part of my diagnosis I’m actually comfortable sharing.
That’s because other parts of it are private medical info y’know.):
[Pictured below: my original Digi-T.C.G. collection. [Most still on hand]
Still in original folder from childhood at time were my V.H.S. tape
Bonus cards with the 1st 7 Chosen, as Kari was not included]:
(Do you see some of the wear on the folder?)
“{Name} spent the entire time closed up in {their} room on the computer. Digimon and P.O.K.E.M.O.N are {their} passion. {They} spend countless hours on the computer writing stories about the Digimon characters. {They} have encyclopedia knowledge regarding these characters,”
[2020 reboot!Koushiro {even} knowing completely Unnecessary TM
encyclopedia-like knowledge about WALTZING!!! of all things]
(Multiple times, even in the 2020 version;
Koushiro acting possessive over computers/tech and/or tablet):
“...has collected all the cards, and could talk incessantly about Digimon if a listener allowed. {Blanked out for private medical info reasons} most children are...”
{See: Posts relevant to formal speech patterns} [x] [x] [x]
[Koushiro in the original version is also implied to speak
using ‘formal’-esque Japanese speech.]
(Sora: “What about you, Koushiro-kun?”
Koushiro: “Y-Yes!” [“H-Hai!”]
{only light stammer being suddenly addressed, then firm):
“I’ve always believed in Taichi-san before this, in any case.”)
“...over, never talks on the phone and is difficult to even take to the shopping mall unless {they} are going to purchase a Digimon item. If {they} are allowed to, {they} would spend the whole weekend watching taped Digimon and {PKMN} shows, and writing stories on the computer.”
“{Name} is perfectly content not having to interact
with the outside world.”
SO YEAH. IF IZZY - or (Sub version TOO) Koushiro - was ever a character you HEAVILY (in any series!!) RELATED to - you might want to look into (if wanted!) an Autism diagnosis, because they sure thought I WAS.
(The above was my middle school ‘evaluation’ that led to my eventual re-confirmed/re-evaluated diagnosis.)
Thank you for your time!!
Hope this can help someone / any Digimon fans!!!!
(You’re welcome)
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[I. WILL. KNOW]
{PLEASE ASK TO USE, I spent some 5~+ years compiling them all!}
Digimon Adventure 02 ~ JPN Version [Episode 27]
featuring Characters:
Koushiro[u] Izumi and 02 Chosen
~ Koushiro Helping / Guiding The Team
{while they regard Koushiro with utmost respect}
+ Distortions [“Yugami”] {as seen in 02 Lore}
BONUS:
“D-Don’t you get the creeps?” - Daisuke, nervously,
as everyone else holds their shoulders, shivering-like
“This feeling...” - Takeru, voice wavering
“I remember!” - Patamon, insistent
“It’s like when we were close to THAT whirlpool!”
Hikari (above) responding, softly but firmly:
“I know it too.” {as Hikari flashes back to the Dark Ocean}
Ken, in direct response to Hikari bringing it up:
“That opening {OF the Distortion} is connected to the Dark World.”
{“Yami no Sekai” = “the Dark World” = “Dark Ocean” in U.S. localization;
it is instead referred to as “The Dark World” in the Japanese original version.}
(As in, not just an ‘ocean’, but a ‘world’)
“I set up a program on the D-Terminal to “Detect” the Distortion.”
- Koushiro, immediately pre Miyako returning from Kyoto, after Tailmon explains to them about the concept of “Parallel worlds” in 02 Lore {02 Ep 34}
gifs by @izzyizumi / @koushirouizumi
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Further references + Lore Comparisons:
{x} on Distortions (and possible ones) in the wider series
(contains spoilers for end of Tri, “Adventure:” [2020] & GhostGame)
{These posts are meant for Comparisons purposes!}
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mainly intended SPECIFIC CHARACTER{s} SUPPORT-FOCUSED
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