Digimon Season 3

I've never actually watched Digimon Tamers, and here's why.

Digimon Adventure (just called Digimon in North America at the time) came on TV in the late 90s, when I was about 8/9/10 years old. I don't remember it being really popular around school (not like Pokémon was at the time), but I remember me and my friend Meaghan being really into it.

We thought that Digimon was an awesome show and we collected the cards and the toys (action figures and Digivices, although I never had a Digivice, although my two brothers did), and we sometimes played Digimon at recess at school. Digimon was one of my favorite shows at the time, I liked it better than Pokémon.

After Digimon Adventure was over the next season, Digimon 02, started airing. Digimon 02 was a direct sequel to Adventure, and it wasn't called Digimon 02 at the time, just Digimon like the first season so it was pretty much the same show to us. Digimon 02 was a lot like Adventure in the way that the art style was the same and the characters were the same and the overall idea was the same. I loved 02 when I was a kid, but I haven't watched it recently so I don't know how well it holds up now (I've seen Adventure subs, still awesome). I actually don't have many memories of watching it as a child, but I must've been really into it because I can remember doing imaginative play with elements specific from 02.

ANYWAY, so yeah, I was really big into Digimon as a kid. Now, I remember seeing the epilogue to 02. I remember specifically watching it on the TV in the living room in the afternoon during a late summer or early fall afternoon. I think this happened in the early 2000s, putting me at about 10 or 11 years old.

Now at the time the epilogue aired, I knew that there was gonna be a third season. There were previews advertising it on the same channel that was airing 02. So 02 ended with the epilogue (that most people on the Internet are saying that they hated), and I was excited. I don't really remember my reaction to the original Chosen Children's occupations, but knowing me I probably didn't think too much about it (I was probably more interested in the way the kids looked as adults). What really caught my attention in the epilogue was the that Chosen Children now had children of their own... and all these new children had partner Digimon of their own.

I thought about all of this for probably all of two minutes and came to the conclusion that the third season was gonna be another direct sequel primarily featuring the original characters' children (along with featuring the original Children as well, of course).

So I was excited. I couldn't wait for the new season to start so I could see Tai and his friends once again but this time as parents, hopefully playing the same role that their parents played in Adventure to their own children (I still think that would've made for an awesome show).

I couldn't wait for the third season to start and, luckily, I didn't have long to wait.

I started watching Digimon Tamers (still just called Digimon) when the first episode aired on YTV. I knew from the get-go that the show was different. The art was different, the world was different (Digimon trading cards existing in the show's universe, whut?), and the action was different.

I was introduced to our new hero, Takato. He was wearing goggles so I thought that he was either Tai or Davis' son, still under the impression that this was a direct sequel to 02. I watched the show for a few more episodes and only ended up recognizing two characters: Terriermon (who I first saw in the American Digimon: The Movie, though it was a different Terriermon, of course), and a teacher at Takato's school who I'm still convinced is Kari (but I'll probably actually have to watch the show to make sure).

I eventually realized that Digimon Tamers wasn't a direct sequel to Adventure and 02, but it's own show... and I was pissed. I was so disappointed that it wasn't a direct sequel and that the original group's adventures were over for good that I stopped watching the show and refused to watch any season beyond 02.

Fast forward to sometime last year when I learned that subs for Adventure and 02 were available for download on the Internet. I got real big into Digimon again and was able to enjoy it again like I did when I first saw it. I started watching Digimon-related reviews online and even started imagining writing a Digimon fanfic (that will probably never see the light of day).

Now, the only reviews I watched (and really the only ones I could find) were for Digimon Adventure and Digimon 02. Then one of the reviewers started to do Digimon Tamers. I've only seen one part of it, but I have to admit that it looks interesting. Now that I've gotten over the disappointment from my childhood, I want to watch this show now. Maybe I'll like it, maybe i won't, but I'll be able to give it a fair shot this time where I couldn't before.