Digimon Ghost Game

Episodes 1-2

What's this? I think somebody got a little Yōkai Watch mixed in with my Digimon! That was the first immediate thought when I saw promotion material and read the general synopsis for the newest Digimon series Digimon Ghost Game. I love Digimon and have been a fan of the franchise my entire life. I grew up on the original Adventure series all the way through Tamers and I even watched a few of the latter seasons with my brother with his favorite in particular being Data Squad. I was brought back into the franchise for the past couple of years thanks to the new initiative to milk the original Adventure series for all it's worth and while there were some fairly interesting ideas presented from time to time, to say everything fell short in the grand scheme of things would be an understatement. This was the most prevalent with the last Digimon series that we got which was just a reboot of the original except this time focusing more on the action/adventure aspect of the franchise rather than the relatable character stuff. There was very little new or interesting present and it was becoming progressively clear that things needed a fresh start.

Digimon Ghost Game doesn't necessarily seem to reinvent the wheel (please refer to my Yōkai Watch comparison at the beginning). However, it definitely exudes a lot of that fresh creativity that I was craving, taking many of the core concepts that longtime fans might recognize from the franchise as a whole and taking it in a direction that honestly feels like it hadn't been leaned into for quite some time. The idea that these digital creatures live among us through an integrated network of data and technology is really scary when you think about it. If Digimon started slowly crossing over into our world it makes sense that they would take on the form of rumors and street myths. The rumors that would spread on forums while people would go on their own to investigate makes sense. It's all fairly modern and yet all works surprisingly well. Given the fact that the franchise might be going through a monster of the week type format based off of these two episodes, I'm very curious to see how much mileage the show will get out of the unsettling fear factor of these digital creatures.

The overall presentation is pretty standard across the board but it earns a lot of respect from me in just how much it's willing to show on the screen. There is no blood and no one seems to die but I was genuinely off put by some of the imagery shown on screen in a show that is still primarily being marketed towards children whether it's watching children nearly die of old age after having their time stolen or having a camera pan across a field of living bodies that are whimpering in fear after being mummified. All this is accompanied by a score that doesn't seem to stand out that much aside from an awesome insert song during our first digivolution sequence but at least it seems to appropriately match the different tones the series is attempting to juggle.

All of this is carried by a lead who seems to have a really solid head on his shoulders. The inciting incident feels a little too convenient even for a show like this, but I like that Hiro is a character with a lot of initiative. He seems a little atypical to a standard shonen protagonist in that he doesn't seem to be really led by his emotions or any moments of stubborn pride but rather he is a lot more patient and resourceful. He's proactive in the sense that all of these incidents aren't just happening to him but rather he's actually trying to figure things out with episode two in particular being resolved in an already subversive way. His relationship with Gammamon is already endearing right out the gate and I look forward to seeing the relationship grow as time goes on.

Overall these two episodes gave me exactly what I think I was looking for in a new Digimon series. The franchise finally looks like it's being updated for an actual modern audience while taking advantage of some of the creative conventions that come with telling this type of story in this specific day and age. The characters are already giving off some fun quirky dynamics, the format is tried and true while the overall direction feels surprisingly fresh. I can't wait to investigate the rest of these episodes while our cast investigates these ghosts along the way!

Rating: Digimon Ghost Game is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.