I consider myself a Digimon fan as much as the next young boy who woke up that fateful day and found this....strange Pokemon clone on Fox Kids. At the beginning, I didn't like it but it grew and became my favorite toyetic franchise ever. Now, here I am years later having watched nearly all of Digimon's media and rewatched the previous five series in original japanese to make sure my memories of it are not belittled by a nostalgia filter. They've all had ups and downs but I have always found Digimon's approach of approaching each series with a new perspective and universe after the first two seasons refreshing and a unique take on the mons franchise. So here we are in 2010 with the sixth series finally on our hands. Digimon Xros Wars (Because poor literacy is KEWL!)
Never in the franchise's 10+ years will there ever be a fanbase as broken and divided as there will be on Digimon Xros Wars. The loosely-defined rulebook that remained has been completely thrown out the window as well as any semblance of any rules that can remind any nostalgic fan of the past series, outside of previous Digimon returning and many many homages to the past. This series is almost a complete re-invention of the concept of Digimon and the Digital World to the point that it becomes the most unique and bafflingly different compared to the previous five series (officially removing Frontier as most unique concept for Digimon). No, this series is completely intended for the newer children to become fans with a few elements for the older kids. No levels are introduced for Digimon (removing any doubt about whether one type can beat another), Evolution is removed to make way for DigiXros (an ability to unite one Digimon with another, similar to Jogress, so that it compensates for the main Digimon's weaknesses) and multiple battles with more than one participant (unlike previous seasons where it would be one on one or two on two. Here it's like army on army) But enough of the franchise itself. What makes Xros Wars tick
STORY-8/10: The story is as straight-forward as the older ones as they develop into more. Kudou Taiki, our goggle-head of the season is pulled into the Digital World by the voice of the season's Digivice, the D-Xrosloader, as well as his two friends Akari and Zenjirou accidentally. They form the army Xros Heart and together seek to stop the evil Bagura Empire from ruling the shattered Digital World with their Digimon friends (Shoutmon, Ballistamon, Dorulumon and more) and the power of DigiXros. However other humans lie in wait with ulterior motives than Xros Heart It's completely a good vs. evil setup akin to the first series of Adventure and it is not the most original out there, but it gets the preliminary setup down. And that's really all Digimon needs to grow into a flower of eventual greatness.
ART-8/10: I am no animation buff so it could be that I am completely wrong, but Xros Wars' art is quite beautiful. The landscapes are no longer single ugly stills like the Adventure days. They are fully rendered areas of the world each location giving off a unique digital vibe in some way, such as the ash in a "Magma Zone" being clearly made of digital matter. Plus, the art style itself no longer uses the generic teen look in Savers and has them look more like children (even though they're 13 or so). Sometimes the animation can be inconsistent but it is rare and never in a heavy action scene.
SOUND-7/10: The opening song "Never Give Up" is not great like the typical opening by Wada Kouji but it grows as a catchy addictive tune. The real winner of the series however, is the insert evolution (or Xros) song "We Are Xros Heart" sung by the actual Wada Kouji. It's hot-blooded, it's pumping, it gets your heart ready to see some action and Bagura ass-kicking. The instrumental and quiet pieces are quite well done as well but they tend not to be noticeable too much thus, the 7 score. However, personally, I find the music for the Bagura Army quite chilling and is a memorable listen.
CHARACTER-7/10: Here is most likely where the most debate will occur. In previous seasons (except for maybe Tamers), the Digimon had little personality. Oh, they definitely had their own quirks to make them lovable, but they were never their own characters or they never had a chance to grow. They mainly served as the human's surrogate. In Xros Wars however, this is reversed. The Digimon are the ones that have the most character. Each one of the Digimon have unique characters and goals regarding the Digital World. For example, Shoutmon truly wants to become King of the Digital World so he can protect hsi villaige from harm, Dorulumon has a backstory that may not be expected, and even the cute mascot, Cutemon, has a tragic past and a goal all his own. The humans, on the other hand, still have room for development past their primary characterization. On a personal note, the mysterious beauty, Amano Nene is quite the unique character for Digimon as she seems to have no one side and has the most mysterious goals of all the humans. It'll stand to see if the humans, at the end of the show's run, can have a full development cycle like Adventure, Tamers and Frontier before.
ENJOYMENT-9/10: Just as subjective as Character is the enjoyment factor. The show prides itself at being completely different from the previous seasons and rides that all the way. And to tell the truth, I really like it. As a longtime fan, I cannot say that I don't miss natural evolution but the production head, Riku Sanjou has really pulled the show out. The main draw of the show, besides the battles themselves is the fact that many Digimon from long before that haven't been animated are finally being animated (notably Lilithmon and Leviamon, two of the fan-favorite Demon Lords). The battles are always at a high pace and the battles regarding the armies only add to that. It really awakens the kid in me who loved seeing these kinds of shows on Saturday morning. However, if you still focus on the past, seeing this show only as "too different" then you won't have a good time. The production clearly shows how much fun they are having with the show and how much enjoyment is being dealt to the Japanese children. One won't be impressed if they go into this with the mindset that this will be like their own childhood memories.
OVERALL-7.5/10: At the current time of episode 9, Digimon Xros Wars is not a fantastic series like Tamers or a great one like Adventure. It is, however, a good series that should be watched by the fans and children alike. It gives that feeling of childhood happiness when you wanted to see monsters go at it but still learn about who these characters are. It offers much to the viewers but whether it can hold it's own to the future episodes will remain to be seen.
As for me, I'm rather enjoying it.
