Digimon Tamers

Digimon Tamers (デジモンテイマーズ) is the third animated series based on the Digimon franchise, first broadcast in 2001. The story takes place initially in the "real world", a world much like ours where Digimon is just a franchise, composed of, a , and a series. A group of 12-year-olds (10-year olds in the Japanese version), Takato, Henry and Rika (fans of the Digimon card game) meet their own Digimon friends and start to duel "bio-emerging" Digimon who cross the barrier between the information network and their world, synthesizing proteins and becoming real. Most of it set in the modern Tokyo ward of Shinjuku and only changes scenario to the Digital World for a short time.

The tone of this season has many elements from head writer Chiaki J. Konaka's other works, especially, including a few aspects from. Thus, the series had a very dark tone in nature, much more so than its predecessors. The show's English dub had little editing compared to previous seasons.

Plot summary
Takato Matsuki creates his partner  when he slips a mysterious blue card he found in his deck through his hand-held card reading device, changing it into a D-Arc that scans his  Digimon to create his new friend. Guilmon bio-emerges from the Digital World and is found later by Takato. Henry Wong met his Digimon when he rose from the screen of a computer game, while Rika Nonaka's Digimon  approached her to ask to be made stronger, since Rika was famous for her skills on the Digimon card game. Kazu Shioda, Kenta Kitagawa and Jeri Katou, Takato's friends from school, and Suzie Wong, Henry's little sister, become Tamers later on in the adventure, and the team eventually runs into Ryo Akiyama, Rika's rival and fellow Digimon Tamer. The children also have repeated encounters with, a mysterious Digimon that has the power to make other Digimon digivolve but dislikes fighting and only wants to play and eat junk food, and , a Digimon that left his Tamers and Mako because he felt neglected, and has come to hate Digimon who work with humans.

Along the way, the kids learn to be responsible for those creatures as a mysterious man known as Mitsuo Yamaki tries to stop Digimon, known to the government as "Wild Ones", from coming to the real world. Running the black ops agency Hypnos, Yamaki is in charge of monitoring all Digimon activity around the globe. Later, the new Tamers are forced to fight a group of evil Digimon calling themselves the Deva, who serve the Digimon Sovereigns and believe that Digimon shouldn't partner with humans. Their true purpose to come into the human world was to capture Calumon and take him back to the Digital World so they could use his power of Digivolution. The Tamers and friends then decide to leave for the Digital World to rescue Calumon. They destroy all of the Devas but, who became Suzie's partner, then confront and defeat Impmon, who has become after making a deal with  to assassinate the Tamers. After traveling to the Digital World to rescue Calumon the Tamers fight the digital god, but finally agree to work together in order to destroy the D-Reaper, a maintenance program that has run out of control and is threatening to delete reality.

Several new elements are introduced in this season, including the use of game cards to perform Digi-Modify and give different powers to the Digimon, the presence of Calumon, a lone Digimon responsible for the Digimon evolutions, and the use of "biomerging" to bring the Digimon to their final Mega levels by merging their bodies with their human partners. The season also continued the progression from Digimon Adventure, which was set in the Digital World with only a temporary return to the real world, through Digimon Adventure 02, where the characters returned from the Digital World to rest after most episodes: in Digimon Tamers the action is entirely within the real world, with a journey to the Digital World in midseason.

Episodes
Digimon Tamers aired 51 episodes on in  from April 1, 2001 to March 31, 2002, and on  in the  from September 1, 2001 to June 8, 2002. It was aired in Fox Kids in the, as well as on , but on CITV, they only aired the first four episodes in slots which should have been filled by the last four episodes of Digimon Adventure 02. Vol 1 of a VHS copy was sold there with those four episodes. A Vol 2 was also made, but they missed nine episodes off and went straight to episodes fourteen, fifteen and sixteen.

Digital World
The Digital World (or DigiWorld for short) is a parallel, shadow world that coexists with Earth, created as it was by it. This is where all Digimon live.

The Digital World that runs parallel to the Earth inhabited by Takato and the other Tamers originally started out as a barren desert, which became home to the digital life forms created by the Monster Makers in the 1980s – the Digimon. Some organisms even evolved on their own in the Digital World, the DigiGnomes. But in the early days of life in the Digital World, it was attacked by the deadly D-Reaper deletion program, which had been created to destroy all artificial intelligence that moved beyond its limits. However, as it deleted many Digimon, it absorbed their data, and was mutated by it, gaining sentience and more power. It entered a period of inactivity, and buried itself away, deep beneath the Digital World.

Time passed, and four Digimon evolved into their highest stages, becoming the "gods" of the Digital World – the four Digimon Sovereigns, Azulongmon, Baihumon, Ebonwumon and Zhuqiaomon. The Digital World eventually grew to be composed of six planes – the earliest was the desert, while the sixth is the highest plane where the Sovereigns dwelled, along with the Shining Digivolution—the power source that provided the energy to allow Digimon to Digivolve. On the four planes in between are "miniverses"—specialized environments created by the Digimon that inhabit them. There are a great many of them, but ones seen included: an area of clouds and clockwork where Clockmon and Hagurumon lived, a warped, black-and-white town where the Nohemon dwell and a Knightmon patrolled its castle at night, an area of forests, lakes and rivers where Orochimon is a dictator over the Gekomon's village, a 'world' entirely composed of water and underground caverns within them where a Divermon lived and protected the Otamamon there, and a region of ice. Huge Data Streams connect the regions of the Digital World to Earth, as digital matter from the Digital World is manipulated and utilized by computers on Earth. In the void between the Digital World and the real world, there is a warped area where reality is in flux, and is defined only by the perceptions of those within it.

Japanese
Opening Theme: The Biggest Dreamer Artist: Kōji Wada Songwriter: Hiroshi Yamada Composer/Arranger: Michihiko Ohta

Ending Theme #1: My Tomorrow (ep. 1-23) Artist: Ai Maeda (as AiM) Songwriter: Yu Matsuki Composer/Arranger: Okubo Kaoru

Ending Theme #2: Days ~Aijou to Nichijou~ (ep. 24-51) Artist: Ai Maeda (as AiM) Songwriter: Uran Composer/Arranger: Okubo Kaoru

Insert Song: SLASH!! (Card Slash Theme) Artist: Michihiko Ohta Songwriter: Hiroshi Yamada Composer/Arranger: Michihiko Ohta

Insert Song: EVO (Evolution Theme) Artist: Wild Child Bound Songwriter: Omori Shouko Composer/Arranger: Watanabe Cheru

Insert Song: One Vision (Matrix Evolution Theme) Artist: Takayoshi Tanimoto Songwriter: Hiroshi Yamada Composer/Arranger: Michihiko Ohta

Insert Song: 3 Primary Colors (ep. 9, 51) Artist: Tamers Songwriter: Hiroshi Yamada Composer/Arranger: Michihiko Ohta

English
Opening Theme: Digimon Theme Artist: Paul Gordon

Credits

 * Director: Yukio Kaizawa
 * Series Composition: Chiaki J. Konaka
 * Character Design: Katsuyoshi Nakatsuru

Cast
Sources compiled at Digimon Tamers/Appendices/Cast.
 * -|Japanese=


 * -|American English=

<!--All voices here are sourced to DDigimon Encyclopedia: Voice Actors: Adventure Cast List. <!-- VERIFY AND ADD TO TABLE


 * —Takato Matsuki, Gallantmon (shared)
 * —Hagurumon, Musyamon
 * —Guilmon/Growlmon/WarGrowlmon/Gallantmon (shared), Megidramon Kenta Kitagawa, Yamaki
 * —Guardromon/Andromon
 * —Riley, Mrs. Kitagawa
 * —Chuchidarumon Elder
 * —Renamon/Kyubimon/Taomon/Sakuyamon (shared)
 * —Davis Motomiya (as Narrator), Kai Urazoe (TV)
 * Michael Earl—Mr. Akiyama
 * —Sinduramon, Cherrymon, Policeman
 * —Babamon, Curly, Harpymon
 * —Rika Nonaka, Sakuyamon (shared)
 * —Jijimon, Dolphin
 * Rebecca Forstadt—Ai
 * —Shibumi
 * —Seiko Hata, DarkLizardmon
 * —Jeri Katou, Mrs. Katou, D-Reaper & Agents
 * —Indramon, Babel, Divermon
 * —Clockmon, Man In Black, Mr. Mori
 * —Baihumon
 * —Monodramon, Cyberdramon/Justimon (shared), Sandiramon, Orochimon, Tsugai
 * —MarineAngemon, Daisy, Mako
 * —Mr. Kitagawa
 * —Kazu Shioda
 * —Gekomon, Allomon, Chief Cabinet Secretary, Grani, Vilemon
 * —/MegaGargomon
 * —Nami Asaji
 * —Azulongmon, Henry's Sensei
 * —Pajiramon, Rumiko Makino !---Rika's mother is referred to as Makino is episode 16: Digital Beauty, not as Nonaka---, Digivolution voice, Pajiramon
 * —Jagamon Leader, Makuramon
 * —Suzie Wong, Tally
 * —Mr. Iwamoto, Mr. Katou, Majiramon, Mihiramon
 * —Leomon, Gorillamon
 * —Zhuqiaomon
 * —Janyu Wong
 * —Impmon/Beelzemon
 * —IceDevimon
 * —Lopmon/Antylamon
 * —Alice McCoy, Mrs. Matsuki
 * —Kumbhiramon
 * —Calumon
 * —Dobermon, Dogmon, Vikaralamon
 * —Meramon
 * —Dokugumon, MetalKoromon
 * —Ryo Akiyama, Justimon (shared)
 * —Mr. Matsuki
 * —Coco
 * —Henry Wong, MegaGargomon (shared), Ebonwumon, Johnny Beckenstein
 * —Principal Seiji Kurosawa, Devidramon, Chatsuramon

English Movie Cast

 * —Rika's father (Movie 6)
 * —Labramon (Movie 5)
 * —Ryuuji Tamashiro/Mephistomon/Gulfmon (Movie 5)
 * —Omnimon (Movie 5), Locomon (Movie 6)
 * —Wataru Urazoe (Movie 5), Parasimon (Movie 6)
 * —Kai Urazoe (Movie 5)
 * —MarineAngemon (Movie 6)
 * —Lopmon (Movie 6)
 * —Baromon (Movie 5)
 * —Mr. Uehara (Movie 5)
 * —Jeri Katou, Riley (Movie 6)
 * —Minami Uehara (Movie 5)
 * —Omnimon (Movie 5)
 * —Seasarmon (Movie 5)-->

General

 * Hypnos
 * List of Digimon Tamers episodes
 * Digimon

Locations

 * Digimon Tamers: Resources—Locations

Trivia

 * The story-line of Digimon Tamers was based on "Konaka Gamera", one of the original scripts prepared for ' by Konaka brothers (Chiaki and Kazuya), prior to the script by Kazunori Itō, and the idea was later adopted for Digimon Tamers and '.
 * The Spanish and Latin American versions of this series are a sequel to Digimon Adventure 02.
 * The Latin American version of Digimon Frontier is a sequel to this series.