Digimon Ghost Game 5f6l5o

Wow, what a trainwreck of an anime. This anime managed to disappoint me more than I thought it could, and it turned into the all time worst Digimon series. This show actually had a lot of potential, but most of it was wasted down the drain. Let's break it down.

Digimon Ghost Game starts off pretty well, introducing us to an interesting cast of main characters alongside their equally endearing partner digimon. For the first 10 or so episodes we get an episodic approach where we see the first digivolutions, i.e the Champion/Adult level digivolutions, for all 3 main digimon. We've seen other Digimon anime do ... this, like Tamers and Universe. But what those series did and this one should have as well was to move on from the episodic formula and start to develop the story, even if slowly. Instead, what we got were 64 or so episodes of continuous boring, repetitive "digimon of the week" type of thing. You probably checked the episode count for this anime - 67. That's right. The last 3 episodes of the anime are the ones where the plot actually ensues. For the first 64 episodes literally nothing happens. We get a few teases here and there but nothing more than that. This creates two big problems:

- The first one is that the vast majority of the anime is a boring episodic mess with close to no plot or character development or any meaningful moments other than the digivolutions.
- The second one is how rushed the finale was. I'm not going to get into spoilers for how the story ends, but just know it was one of the most rushed and anti-climatic endings I've seen in any anime. The most frustrating part of all this is that the pieces were all there for a good series/finale, because the last 3 episodes actually have some really interesting plot twists and developments. In the final episode alone we got tons of exposition explaining several of the things that happened throughout the show. The future was even set for a potential continuation or sequel because they introduced a major threat around 4 or 5 minutes away from the end of the final episode. But of course they didn't follow through with that. Instead we got a meaningless, cheap and nonsensical finale that not only felt super rushed but also doesn't even explain how they averted the major threat I mentioned just now.

Digimon Ghost Game does have some good moments, but that mostly amounts to the Digivolution scenes, the digivolved forms of the main 3 digimon which are mostly really well designed, and also to the 2 main insert songs, First Riders and Makuake, which are both pretty hype, especially Makuake. The animation is also generally pretty good. For both Toei and Digimon standards, I would say this is actually the best animated Digimon series, at least in of consistency. We never really got any slideshow battle which is a surprise for, like I said, Digimon standards. This makes it feel even worse that the imo worst Digimon show ever is the one that gets the best production treatment.

Like I said at the start, Digimon Ghost Game is a big wasted potential and it turned into a huge flop. It does have some good moments here and there, but the boring episodic nature and the rushed, nonsensical finale turn it into my least favourite Digimon series ever, and as a Digimon fan it really makes me feel bad.

Please bear in mind that this review will only cover the first 8 episodes of Digimon Ghost Game, but I'll probably update it once the show has concluded. This is my first ever written review on this site, but I'm a ionate Digimon fan who has been around since the '90s, I've been watching a lot of it to make proper comparisons to the shows we've had, don't worry, I'll leave it spoiler-free and try to take off my nostalgia goggles for any newcomers to the franchise of Digimon. Okay so Digimon Ghost game is a brand new Digimon title but adds a good amount ... of darker tones, not quite horror but suggestive implications of horror, but it retains the cheerful and adventurous wacky feeling of previous titles before it. Those who have been watching Digimon Tamers might feel very similar beats as it was also considered to be one of the darker seasons that have been made. But I hear you ask, Is it any good? Based on 8 episodes so far, the show is very creative, fun and the combat seems to be way more engaging which has been a good direction for the franchise. I like the heroes, but I do have two issues that I'm hoping to see addressed as the show continues, one which is the phasing of the story progression and the second being deeper character development. But if you're a fan or a newcomer, no matter if an adult or kid, there's much to enjoy here!

Digimon Ghost Game is the latest anime installment in the franchise and with the disappointment of Digimon Adventure 2020 one would understandably be hesitant to give it a watch. As such, after finishing its final episode I can safely say that... the recommendation is still up in the air depending on what you're looking for.

On the one hand, compared to its predecessors, here the cast are much more charismatic, cheerful, full of fear and all in all emotional. And I'm not only referring to the main three but the partner Digimon and some of the ing cast as well. Each of them has a way ... of approaching things that resonates with their partner and they each have their set of episodes to shine... though some more than others. Plus, the way they come to solve their conflicts isn't just to beat up the bad guy rather to come to an understanding and for the most part, even in the horrific situations they are put through, that was a welcome change.

Also, there's the digivolutions, of which there are quite a bunch and in order to not spoil them (though they have already been spoiled if you follow the products such as the VB) I'll just say that I'm really into the way the sequence are short enough to not take too much time out of the episode and they 're really well animated as well. I comment this as a frequent criticism the older series have had to do with this time loss. Plus their design is usually on point and it follows Digimon evolution logic with how one “kind of beast” transforms may transform into something completely different.

On the other hand we have to address the elephant in the room: the narrative. At first it seemed that even though the show was d to have an episodic format, it would also feature an overarching story with little to big steps throughout it depending on the Digimon in question to be the main focus of the episode. However, after one of the first glimpses we got of that, there were too many episodes in between where barely no progression at all was made, only for it to take many huge steps by the end.

It probably wouldn't have gone down as bad as it did if from the get-go the show didn't have an end goal or the progression would have been spread more seamlessly. In that way, the viewer has time to process each new development and theorize about their meaning. In reality, as the "Digimon of the week" came by with a new horror theme attached to it, the question was whether there was an endgame or not.

Furthermore, aside from the most relevant and prominent battles, and the digivolution sequences as mentioned previously, there's really not anything remarkable about the animation. Most of the time it looks bland and with some of the horror theming it would have probably benefited more by having a bit more production put into it. The soundtrack at least has a few notable tracks, mainly Faction Faction by The Wieners and Monster Disco by Suga Shikao and a few of the digivolutions tracks whose names I'll have to look up later.

With all that was mentioned above, I'd say this is a mixed bag. If you're into horror and don't mind slow to null story progression but seeing what dark themes can come up from the Digimon setting, then you may get a kick out of it. If on the flip side you've either bounced off previous Digimon series or were looking for a narrative focused one, you'll not probably not have a good time with it. At the very least, you should give the digivolution sequences a quick view.

After the fiasco in the reboot of Adventure, I thought they would get it right this time, and the story in the first few episodes was giving me the hopes for it. However, the show is again stuck in basically a slice-of-life plot and the story doesn't progress at all. Almost every episode has a plot that starts and ends in itself (which is OK for a simple kids show), and almost all of them have the same formula of all being just a misunderstanding in the end.
It's nice that they show some new Digimon and evolutions and all, but I can't avoid comparing it ... to the first 2 Digimon Adventure and Tamers shows, which I have rewatched recently, and that issue with the story really frustrates me. These old ones had an incredible story and character development, mixing fights and real-life struggles and excellent conclusions, whereas Ghost Game and the reboot of Adventure always get me sighing with every episode. One of the most exciting things that happened (no spoilers) was when a specific villain appeared and changed the usual episode formula.
I still watch it hoping to see some interesting stuff, but unfortunately I can't say I'm enjoying it... I hope it doesn't extend itself to more than 60 repeated episodes like Adventure Reboot did, or at least make the story progress.

Another entry into Digimon's anime line but this time an interesting concept to start off; with first few episodes having relatively good reception from most people but many of the show's elements soon overstayed their welcome the more episodes you're deep into

Story (3/10) : The story here is practically nonexistent so far (up to episode 18 as of writing), with crumbs of plot scattered over the first few episodes as our main protagonist slowly find out the secondary characters that will make up the trio of this series. Beyond that, the show devolves into a weekly villain structure with semi-interesting plots but very often ... gets ruined by the end of episodes. While the show was often praised for having dark/cruel-themed plot elements; these often comes with zero stakes in the story which meant that there was no suspense, tension or any care from viewers, with how often each episodes seem to be resolved by the end of it, it causes the whole premise to feel cheap & forced in some ways.
Speaking of forced, the show follows the tradition of its predecessors by having the main protagonist's partner undergo an "evil" digivolution/path but this time it was truly forced through the death of a close friend (which tbh wasn't really that impactful in hindsight). Don't get me started on GulusGammamon's personality, that whole thing is a mess.
The whole concept is great but I felt it was underutilized heavily & the lack of overarching plot isn't helping it either; I do think this series still can rebound once they have a solid plot direction.

Art (5/10) : Very average artstyle or design choices, nothing to praise nor criticize on.

Sound (6/10) : Average, nothing to write home about.

Character (6/10) : One of the better points of the show, the dynamics between the three main casts are enjoyable and all of them do share equal significance in the plot with none of them being left out. This also includes their partners which further elevate those dynamics and the interaction between them are what keeps the show watchable for me (imo).

Overall (5/10) : The most average Digimon show I've watched so far. I do love how they include more types of Digimons into the weekly plots, even obscure ones like MoriShellmon - while there are definitely worse Digimon series out there (02, Xros Hunter), this series will end up being way too mediocre if they don't do something remarkable.
The theme isn't going to carry the show if the writing is subpar. It's somewhat enjoyable if you're just want an easily digestible plot without much thinking though. I'll still praise it for keeping me engaged and invested more than Digimon Adventure (2020).

Digimon Ghost Game is like watching Gegege no Kitaro, but watered down. Do not expect this anime to return Digimon to glory: it is a set of self-contained stories, which can be entertaining and that play with a large cast of evil digimon and typical Japanese folklore stories and themes to reflect on, although without going too deep. It's disappointing to see how the opportunity to make a good story has been lost. The story is non-existent and is stupidly explained and resolved in the last three chapters, since throughout the series the story barely develops. GulusGammamon takes center stage in the series in his ... few appearances, which is when you think the central story is going to move forward but absolutely nothing happens.

In short, an anime that has little of Digimon and a lot of Gegege no Kitaro or other similar series, but also lacks the development of a central story, which is extremely superficial and simple and only develops at the end. Although I would give it a 5, I'm giving it a 6 because this is "Digimon" and we want more Digimon. I positively value the attempt to do something different, the format of self-contained stories that a certain audience may like and the diversity of digimon that appear, giving prominence to the evil versions and evil digimons.

Will we ever see a Digimon similar to Digimon 1, 2, 3 or 4 again? I see it difficult, the truth, after Digimon Ghost and the disastrous remake of Digimon Adventure, I don't see them with the talent or the desire to make an anime that returns Digimon to its glory days.

I love Digimon franchise. Every new series is different and makes it feel fresh, even if the similar formula is used (like evolving, which is crucial part of any Digimon). Ghost Game was no exception for this. But this time they took a different approach. As the title of the series implies, is kind of horror story. And maybe it's not as scary as the horror movies, but it gets some creepy moments. That kind of story is even more different than all the other series compared together.

When it started it had a very great potential. First episode was big with plot revolving around digimon ... stealing time from people. It had also great opportunity to make what Adventure 02 did wrong - the multiple side evolutions. And it actually did pretty good job with it. But there are always two sides of the coin and unfortunately I can't call Ghost Game a good series. The problem wasn't with characters or evolutions. It wasn't with the episodes itself. But with lack of plot. You quickly realize that You don't even know what direction is the anime going to. You watch new digimons that wreaks havoc and then being pacifized by the team. Every episode looks like this. New digimon. New problem. Problem resolved. But there was no significance to the plot whatsoever. Then they were giving some glimpses of something. But it was just small stuff. You couldn't get much of these scattered pieces of information. There was only one thing that was known from pretty much start - Gammamon is key to what is happening. But in what way? I've watched every single episode and impatiently waited for any plot to emerge, any villain to appear. But we actually got plot bomb at the end of 64th episode. Just like that, totally unexpected. And the last three episodes 65-67 were actual plot of the show. No, I'm not exaggerating. Even digimons that acted like they could have be involved with plot, weren't. And they even mocked us with just easily removing these bad digimons from the plot.

I won't call this show a good one, but there was many great stuff in it, nonetheless. For example trio of main characters weren't Your typical characters. Hiro wasn't 100% positive like Taichi, Daisuke or Takato. Kiyoshiro wasn't edgy as Yamato or Kouji. And Ruli weren't just a ing "female" character that is just background for the "male lead". But instead every one of them were... not what I would expect. Hiro still is very positive one, but lacks that naivety of most of flat archetype type characters like Taichi or Takato. He is more decisive in his actions and also more responsible. Kiyoshiro is scaredy cat, but has some kind of responsibility on his shoulders and Ruli is often a way to find information of what is happening, because she is kinda like Instagram star. She has her own on social media, where she posts paranormal stuff, so people often are commenting there when they see something off. And all that is also connected to their three digimons that has their own uses. Notably, Jellymon is kinda /healer of the team, but not in bad way. She is important. Obviously, Gammamon gets most of the spotlight, but I feel like both Jellymon and Angoramon got more attention that usually deuteragonists are getting. I would compare it to Yamato and Gabumon or more Takeru and Hikari. They were still important. The problem with lack of attention started when we got higher level evolutions. With Adult level it was still sufferable, but when Perfect and Ultimate happened, they were pushed to the back, so the Gammamon could shine like a star (pun intended; for those who don't know... Gammamon has connection to stars... gamma rays, his evolutions and so on). I also mentioned Gammamon's multipl evolutions. Yes. This is something that Adventure 02 already did with Armor Evolutions, bu they made it so these evolutions are only viable once and never more. This wasn't the case here, because Gammamon often used different types of his evolutions, depending on what he needed at time. That was the proper way for doing this. As much as I like Armor Evolutions, they were just redundant, because new digimon had to get new Armor Evolution, so only that digimon and that evolution of them was important in the episode. That was done better in Ghost Game. Other good sides of the show are that it could get really creepy at times. It wasn't always the case that we got happy ending. And even if we get, the episodes could make You shiver. Many of the digimons that appeared once, appeared more on later episodes. And some of the digimon characters were appearing in more important times. Something like Gennai in Digimon Adventure, that helps the kids do their mission. Many of them helped Hiro's team in their perils. They weren't one time characters. Of course, not every single digimon reapperead, but many of them did.

So, basically... there are both good and bad sides to the show. It had great potential. If plot was done properly instead of ignored till the very end, it could be even the best series of Digimon. Instead, they used great parts but totally messed the most important - plot, which made it far worse than it should be.

Don't expect it to be totally bad. Neither expect too much of it. It was still fun to watch for me, especially if I took the episodes being just single episodes and not the whole show. If I take it as a whole, the plot is just bad, especially when it was only 3 last episodes. They had to rush everything suddenly after making veeeeeeery slow progress for the 64 episodes and suddenly making everything starting and resolving in last 3. That was ridiculous. Not to mention, I didn't really like that plot that much. I expected much, especially after waiting for so long to finally see what it is all about.

So that's it. If You want to see if You'd like it or not, the first episode is actually the best and is really great. You'd get a glimpse of how creepy this show can be. But then we will get hills from that point. Some episodes were better, some were boring. But if You really want to decide, i recommend watching at least first episode and You'd understand what it is about.

This anime has great potential, and people actually expect a more mature and darker story. However, what we got is like a Scooby-Doo style anime. Sadly, if we skip a lot of episodes, only 20-30 episodes truly matter. You might wanna google which "filler" episodes to skip.
My rating for those 20-30 episodes is 6.7 out of 10.0 because the story is kinda good and some episodes like episode 13 bring the same vibe as the previous installments and make watchers realize "Yeah, I'm watching Digimon, not Pokémon"
As a whole, I might give it a rating of 5.4 out of 10.0 because it still has good ... animation, introduces a lot of new Digimon, and features good fights between the Digimon.
Without these aspects, maybe I would give it 4.2 out of 10.0. Yeah, it's too boring even for an episodic format anime.

The target audience for this anime is kind of confusing. It's not suitable (kinda boring) for veteran fans, but it's not compelling to children as well. It's like a mix of Pokémon and Scooby-Doo, and children will choose those two shows or other kid-friendly anime instead.

A TL;DR whether or not this is worth a watch for you is this:

If you expect a good storyline with character growth and actual depth to it... you probably wont enjoy this season much.
If you, however, dont mind there being next to no storyline and just wanna see some cool Digimon on screen with a few horror elements mixed into it, then you will probably enjoy this season.

This season started out at being fun and promising but ultimately, didnt lead anywhere. It brought up some good, clever ideas in certain episodes, which mostly fell flat due to the presentation of said ideas that the series ... took. It was cool to see some Digimon that were never to be seen before in an anime adaptation and the partner Digimon were all pretty unique and cool too in of design.
However... more often than not did I almost fall asleep during the fillery packed episodes that just felt contrived most of the time.

Its all a real shame too, since the show started off to give the impression that its gonna take a more dark and mature approach, but ultimately, it just ended up being rushed and confusing. One shouldnt expect too much when going into this season.

This show is mostly episodic. This means it is not driven by a big overhanging plot. Comparing it to Scooby-Doo would be accurate, e.g. it uses the same characters but each episode is different. That is the main critique people have with Ghost Game. This doesn't bug me at all, so I love Ghost Game. This show is not like any of the other Digimon series. It went for a horror vibe, but not in a scary way. What I mean is that humans die all the time in this show. It isn't a really innocent kids show like the other Digimon series. It is ... worth mentioning that the main character's Digimon is named Gammamon and he is freaking adorable. No joke, Gammamon makes this show worth watching without mentioning anything else. He is like an upgraded version of Guilmon's personality from Digimon Tamers.

It currently doesn't have an English dub, but if you are reading this in the future where an English dub (maybe) exists, I suggest you watch it in sub anyways. The voice actor for Gammamon is too good to miss. Also, hello from the past!