#m62259

[shihalyfie]

From a Watsonian perspective, what exactly do you think of the theory that the entire Digimon multiverse (including the real worlds of each entry) is a computer simulation? Could you explore the plausibility of it, and how likely it would be to be confirmed one day, similar to the reveal in Anonymous;Code from the Science Adventure series?

Well, when we think about what the Digimon multiverse really is, it's basically just a way to implement meta logistics: they wanted to make a bunch of different Digimon stories set in different universes, and then they wanted to do fun things like crossovers or characters like Mikagura Mirei travel through them, so it became a multiverse. If it were to be revealed that the entire thing is a simulation, I think it would have to be a crossover work or some other thing where that kind of lore would actually matter. But I also don't think they'd go too much into it, since it'd end up making it complicated when in actuality it's a device to maintain franchise logistics.

[jinjojess]

Do you think it was possible for the hopes peak staff to EVER prevent the tragedy? or do you think it inevitable, given junkos analyst talent. (Dr3 made it REALLY easy thanks to despairs idiot plot)

I think it’s inevitable more because the Incident is deeply linked to Kibougamine’s flaws and worldview. 

Honestly, it really does kind of seem like if it hadn’t been Junko, it’d have been someone else. (Probably would be sloppier without the analysis talent, and probably would have not been so emotionally charged in certain ways, but yeah. Tragedy was coming.)

[shihalyfie]

What are your thoughts on whether or not the Digimon franchise should delve into more overt sci-fi concepts, such as, for example: “the real world being a simulation existing alongside the Digital World” (in the vein of works like Sci;Adv’s Anonymous;Code or Zegapain)? While such ideas like that haven’t been explicitly explored in Digimon, they are hinted at in the background of the series, with inspirations like Permutation City influencing early entries. Do you think the franchise would benefit from or is likely to make such a revelation central to its narrative, particularly considering past creators like Kazumasa Habu showed interest in similar themes but are no longer part of the creative direction?

Basically, since Digimon is a canonical multiverse and anything goes in any world, I think pretty much any potential new work could do well with exploring a new theme. I don't think there's any genre theme I would feel like discouraging the theme from exploring, aside from "hopefully they do a good job with it!"

[shihalyfie]

https://x.com/ravelmonte/status/1805606299465294073?s=46

Can you give more context and you opinion to the idea that toei wants to “unify” the digimon brand? (See replies)

I still have a huge backlog of asks to get through (and unfortunately I don't have time to answer all of them at this moment), and I'm sorry about that!...but this one is a bit timing-sensitive, so I'll get it out of the way right now. In short, I think people are taking this way out of proportion; it's a blanket statement about their marketing strategy, and not much more than that.

The reason I say this is timing-sensitive is because they said this at around the same time they're becoming a lot more diligent about acknowledging non-Adventure series for the anime 25th anniversary and even properly integrating Appmon on the Digimon site for once. It's easy to have a strong impression of what the Digimon brand is made up of when you're a fan who's been neck deep in everything since 2002, but for most average people -- from the most mainstream of mainstream casuals to people who like Digimon but are somewhat on the fringe of the franchise rather than knowing everything -- there's kind of a sense of poor awareness of what this franchise is made up of or how they're supposed to be tied together rather than just "they work off the same encyclopedia" or something.

This is something that I'll let others who are bigger fans of the relevant franchises chip in with, but compared to other kids' franchises with a history as varied and extensive as Digimon (Kamen Rider, PreCure, etc.), Digimon has been really bad about presenting itself with cohesiveness. For frame of comparison, if you look at stuff the Kamen Rider franchise regularly puts out, like this anniversary logo they used a few years ago:

Every Kamen Rider series is as unique and individualized as a given Digimon series (perhaps even more?), but on a marketing and branding level, Toei and Bandai are much better at selling each series and work as a part of a greater "Kamen Rider" whole rather than just keeping them as disconnected fragmented parts that just happen to be part of the same franchise.

So most likely, what "brand unity" means is that they're planning on addressing this problem by being more clear in their marketing and categorization and presenting Digimon as a "brand" rather than a bunch of loosely connected individual works, so that if people get into one thing they'll be more inclined to check out the others or will be more conscious of the brand's history. For us who are already hardcore fans, this isn't really that relevant; at most, it means there's a good likelihood they'll be more diligent about acknowledging non-Adventure series and less popular entries, since they'll be allowed to tag along with the core unit, which is most certainly a good thing!

[jinjojess]

Do you think anybody who was/ born with the SHSL Analyst talent is naturally doomed to become someone like kamakura and junko? It would be interesting and tragic to think that a human just CANNOT be smart enough without feeling extreme ennui (to the point of having to feel the emotion of despair just to feel alive in the case of enoshima).

I don’t know if it’s not being able to be smart enough, or if it’s the fact that to a human it’s boring knowing exactly how everything will play out, always. 

Related link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wufYHJkbl7k

[jinjojess]

Can you explain your reasoning on why do you think a new game is going to be announced for the 10th anniversary in 2021? Do you think kodaka will work on it, considering he left spike chunsoft for Tookyo games? (Unless the dark fantasy SC IS the new title... which is a possibility.)

My reasoning kind of boils down to: it would make sense to release a new game for the 10th anniversary.

DISCLAIMER: This is all just speculation, not fact.

As I've mentioned before, SpikeChun is a company, and not using a decently popular IP that's penetrated mainstream consciousness would be a puzzling business move, especially in light of all the effort they're doing to keep the series relevant via the 10th year celebration.

Second, if we were still on schedule and 2020 had not pulled out the stops on ridiculousness, it would be about 4ish years between V3 and hypothetical new game. That's a pretty decent chunk of time to develop a VN with some action elements, if previous DR dev cycles are any indication (though many of them tended to overlap, SDR2 was released 2 years after the first game, and according to a bajillion interviews I've read over the years, was not originally planned while they were working on DR1).

Third, @blackflirtlarping let me know that in an interview about Death Come True earlier this year, an interviewer said to Kodaka something about ending the DR series on his own terms with V3, to which Kodaka responded that he wouldn't be so quick to say DR is over.

As for why I think we haven't heard anything yet, well, if you aren't going to announce a new game at E3, or TGS, or GDC, or on the anniversary itself (which I suspect would be the original announcement date), it makes the most sense to announce it last. Fans who are hyped up for a new game announcement are at a fever pitch, and fans who assume this is a merch run only deal get a nice surprise. Plus this hypothetical game would presumably be affected by Covid circumstances, and might be behind schedule.

I dunno if Kodaka will be involved or not. I hope he isn't, personally, or his involvement is minimal, for two reasons: 1) he doesn't seem to want to make DR anymore, and 2) I'm dying for a different perspective.

Finally, a new DR game may not be the exact same formula we're used to. There are plenty of ways to have death game narratives besides the murder-solving six act structure, though again, business wisdom would probably be to avoid shaking too much up. Maybe it's an offshoot series or something, like how Persona is a SMT spinoff.

I could be way off of course, and we're building up to two hand towels, but this is what makes sense to me.

Here's some things I think are probable events we'll see in 2021:

V3 stage play

Namja Town event

DR:AE inspired laser tag style event (we had one of these in...2014, I wanna say?)

More cafés

Cast reunion fan event

[jinjojess]

Do you think it’s possible for junko to be redeemed? (As EXTREMELY unlikely it is..) or do you think the only way was for her to stay as ryoko otoniashi? (Because I don’t see anyone succeeding without removing her talent by the time she enters hopes peak. At a earlier age? Perhaps...)

I think it’s possible in the way that I think technically anything is possible, but I don’t find it super likely. It would involve a lot of restructuring of Junko’s entire worldview, which wouldn’t be easy...

And even with her as Ryouko, she’s so unstable that it seems less like a redemption and more like a punishment. 

[jinjojess]

Do you think it was a OBJECTIVELY good idea to let junko be executed at the end of the first game (both in universe and out.)

Man, this is a hard question to answer because I don’t think there’s any choice that could be made that would be objectively better in-universe, given Junko’s talent and dedication to detail.

I think that from a narrative perspective it was a good decision since it opened the door to turning a normally cathartic villain comeuppance scene into an instrument of hubris, but I ALSO think that ending on the note of refusing the mastermind what she begs for (death) and instead forcing her to also address the reality of the outside world could be a satisfying ending/sequel hook too.