Fan:Digimon Cinematic Sagas

Digimon Cinematic Sagas (DCS) is a fanon media franchise idea created by CAJH which includes ideas for nine live-action films and one partially animated prequel series. Most of the plot points are based on real-life anime like Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Tamers and Digimon Data Squad, one way or another. But the series also has some original ideas.

Unlike in real-life shows, this series has most of the Digimon species use their original Japanese names instead of the localized ones for two reasons. The first reason is to make more clear the connections between the Digimon and things in reality or mythology they are based on. The second reason is that these films would be rated (like PG-13) as for older people than real-life shows. And unlike the most popular Digimon fan fictions, this one has been released only in Digimon Wiki. It has only a little bit of simple 2D concept art made and it lacks full scripts.

The project started in January 2015, but ended in March 2016, when the remaining installements were cut into mere lists of planned plot points in favor of a replacement franchise called Digiversum.

DigiDestined Saga
The first saga consists of five films. It is mostly based on Digimon Adventure but contains elements from Digimon Adventure 02 too. It follows the story of the first humans ever to partner themselves with the Digimon to protect the worlds from darkness. The original main characters of this saga are Troy Dawkins, Seamus Maitland, Jake Thacher, Miyuki Koharuno, Kevin Harmon and Edmund Harmon. They are later joined by Dan Linwood, Wei Xueqi, Gia Avilés, Nadia Coetzee and few minor characters.

Digimon: First Adventure
25 years after a mysterious accident, a man named Kevin Harmon is joined by his own son as well as four other children when they encounter the Digimon, a race from a realm residing on the digital network. The six humans and six Digimon must embrace their destiny to save both worlds from a common enemy who is controlling a dangerous power.

The first version of synopsis was released on January 12, 2015.

Digimon: Network Battles
Almost a year after Devimon's defeat, the DigiDestined are starting to take new steps on the path of the Digivolution as well as their battle against the new eccentric enemy. Meanwhile, a secret organization wishes to challenge the DigiDestined as the heroes of Earth with help of digital weapons and a mysterious fighter.

The first version of synopsis was released on February 18, 2015.

Digimon: The Third World
Two years after the Network Battles, the DigiDestined start search for another new member while dealing with the mysterious black obelisks appearing in the two worlds. To solve the mystery, they embark on the journey into the enemy fortress as well as the third world that shares a connection on their current journey.

The synopsis was released on April 22, 2015.

Digimon: Digitaclysm – Part 1
One year after the battle against Vamdemon, the interdimensional balance starts to weaken even more when the four Chaotic Masters launch their attack and the DigiDestined must leave their city behind to find way to turn tides on their side. But the latest events are also starting to make them fight against each other.

The synopsis was released on July 19, 2015.

Digimon: Digitaclysm – Part 2
The catastrophic war between the DigiDestined and the Digimon of Darkness is coming to its climax when the final pieces of the puzzles about the origins of them and their opponents are about to be found. But the leader of the Chaotic Masters is very close to free the apocalyptic power that is unlike any other enemy.

The synopsis was released on August 27, 2015.

Legendary Tamers Saga
The second saga was planned to consist of four films. It is mostly based on Digimon Tamers with few aspects from Digimon Data Squad. It follows a new kind of partnership between the Digimon and humans as well as the attempts to create a society where two races can peacefully coexist. The main characters are Tatsuya Munemori, Andy Conteh and Vera Neidhardt, with Harold Thompson, Mei Yashida, Jason Storm, Kyle Lambert, Susan Conteh and Riku Arhinmäki being the secondary characters.

Digimon: Age of Tamers
Three years after the Digitaclysm, Tatsuya Munemori goes as an exchange student to New York. He wishes to see a real Digimon in his own eyes one day, but his dream comes true in a way that makes his life harder. He must learn to use an entirely new power while struggling with his personal life.

The synopsis was released on October 30, 2015.

Digimon: Ordeal of Deva
Several months after the battle against the Digital Revolution, the Tamers find themselves under a new enemy that threatens the human world unless they gain back what they claim is "stolen" from them. The Tamers are contacted by a mysterious force that explains the origin of their powers.

The synopsis was released on January 1, 2016.

Digimon: Evolution Beyond
The Tamers finally travel into the Digital World for the first time in order to save Calumon and find out more about the new crisis that could threaten the existence of all Digimon species. They also discover a deeper connection to their partners as a source for a new Digivolution method.

The synopsis release was originally planned for Spring 2016.

Digimon: Judgement Code
Malevolent multi-agent program named D-Reaper has managed to Bio-Emerge into the real world, convinced that Digimon and mankind are both unworthy to exist. It is up to Tamers to stop the crisis and prove if there can be peace between the two worlds.

The synopsis release was originally planned for Summer 2016.

DigiPast Chronicles
DigiPast Chronicles is a 13 episodes long half-animated or fully animated prequel miniseries idea that is meant to connect the DigiDestined Saga and the Legendary Tamers Saga to each other as well as give the missing details about the significant events of the past. The story is set into separate timelines. The Arc 1 (episodes 1–4) takes place between 1986–1990 and includes the battle between the Guardian Knights and the Seven Great Demon Lords, as well as Robert Harmon becoming aware of the evolution among the Digimon. The Arc 2 (episodes 5–8) takes place between 1995–2000 and includes Julius Conteh, Harold Thompson and Audrey Harmon (née Clinton) becoming involved with the Digimon for the first time as well as the origins of Martin Harmon's tensions with his family. The Arc 3 (episodes 9–13) takes place between 2003 and the events of the films, and unveils the origin of the antagonists of the films as well as the final secrets behind choosing certain members of the DigiDestined and the Digimon Tamers.

The release of the Arc 1 began on November 5, 2015 and ended on November 26, 2015. The Arc 2 began on January 7, 2016 and ended on January 28, 2016. The Arc 3 was meant to start in March 10, 2016, but was cancelled, with the plot points being revealed on March 7, 2016.

Digimon Special: BlackWarGreymon
Digimon Special: BlackWarGreymon is the first one-shot special (in animated or comic book format). It takes place between The Third World and Digitaclysm. Dagomon plans revenge for the DigiDestined who took Gia Avilés away from him. He creates BlackWarGreymon, a dark Digimon who shares his appearance with WarGreymon. BlackWarGreymon, however, wishes to find another meaning for his life than serve Dagomon.

The synopsis was released on February 20, 2016.

Digimon Special: Heart of Ice
Digimon Special: Heart of Ice is the second one-shot special (in animated or comic book format). It takes place between Age of Tamers and Ordeal of Deva. Vera Neidhardt has returned to live with her mother and grandmother, but has problems of letting go of last aspects of her previous cold-hearted personality. She also faces an enemy who wants to prevent her from doing that by becoming part of her life by unwelcomed means.

The synopsis was released on March 14, 2016.

Development

 * "Development of this fan fiction started in December 2014. The idea of what of live-action film version of Digimon would look like has been on my mind for years. In my previous ideas few years ago, all Partner Digimon and the antagonists were my own creations. But I forsake the idea and decided that the first of these films would be better with Digimon species that were already familiar to the fans of the original anime. And my original reason for starting this project was to see what kind of potential the old stories have would be in modern and Western style." — CAJH

First the plan consisted only four films. First one to tell about how the DigiDestined get their powers and how their partners Digivolve to their Champion forms. Also no Mega Level Digimon was meant to appear until the third film. Then the plan was expanded to two sagas. Most of the elements in the first saga, the DigiDestined Saga, would be adapted from Digimon Adventure and Digimon Adventure 02. Each saga has different main characters, but they're linked to each other and are set into same reality. To avoid the project sounding too similar to Marvel Cinematic Universe, the film series was named Digimon Cinematic Series. Later the first saga was decided to be expanded into five films, when the final film was decided to be separated into two parts. Duration of each film would be in real life between 100 and 130 minutes.


 * "Extended base synopsis of each film was written in my mother language before I translated it to English and checked it for typographic errors before releasing it here. The film logos were simply done with Paint. It was easy to do with so simple software, since logos of the DigiDestined Saga were formed from "pixels". The Legendary Tamers Saga subtitles were not made with the same way, but the letters were approximately same size. — CAJH

The series was decided to have an important role for modern smartphones (like iOS, Android and Windows Phone devices). And the backstory of the Digimon and the Digital World will be larger than in any of the real-life anime. The project has some inspiration from Marvel, Transformers, Tron and Godzilla franchises.

On May 24, 2015, the name was reformated into Digimon Cinematic Sagas.

On May 27, 2015, the name of the second saga was announced: the Legendary Tamers Saga. It will have four films adapted from as well as differently-styled logos than the first one. And unlike the first saga, the Legendary Tamers Saga was decided to have a two-parted final film from the very beginning. At least some characters of the DigiDestined Saga might have cameo or supporting appearances. But the focus will be on the new main characters and a plot that is adapted from Digimon Tamers and Digimon Data Squad. The main setting will be New York, instead of Los Angeles. And this saga will have more recurring villain groups, excluding the villain of the final film. More important Digimon creator names will also be revealed. While the theme of the DigiDestined Saga was about fighting "the embodiments of the dark side of all living beings", the Legendary Tamers Saga will be more about "freedom fighting".

On August 23, 2015, it was decided the series won't have a third saga and that there will be a reboot as a shared universe, with one main saga, at least three spin-off sagas and the final two-parted main saga film being crossover with all spin-offs. The stories should also a little bit more original despite combining modified elements of Cinematic Sagas with elements from Digimon Frontier, Digimon Fusion, Digimon Adventure V-Tamer 01 manga, and Digimon World video game series. CAJH also expressed his wish to have other Wikia users to join him work with it. But the Legendary Tamers Saga will still be done before the reboot will start. And the Cinematic Sagas might still experience few plot changes and full transcript releases if the fans wish to so.

On October 27, 2015, there was decided to include a prequel saga in a form of miniseries. Characters only mentioned in the films have more significant guest roles in the series. But there are no more plans for the Cinematic Sagas after the two film sagas and the prequel miniseries. In November 2015, the Digimon Cinematic Sagas was confirmed to end with the final film of the Legendary Tamers Saga, which was decided to have the promised two parts renamed with new separate names. But the last film will still follow the events of its prequel right away.

On Febraury 14, 2016, two one-shot specials were decided to be added to the continuity. BlackWarGreymon appears as a titular character of one set in events of the DigiDestined Saga and with Dagomon's fate after the events of The Third World being finally explained. The second one-shot special is set in the events of the Legendary Tamers Saga with IceDevimon from Digimon Tamers adapted as the antagonist.

On March 1, 2016, the last two films of the Legendary Tamers Saga were decided to be cancelled, since the first two films didn't become as good as expected. The final episodes of DigiPast Chronicles were cancelled six days later.

On March 14, 2016, the story development of the Cinematic Sagas came to its end when the planned plot points of the final planned film idea were released. The planned reboot called Digiversum is still under development, but the release will depend of finding a worthwile story idea that can surpass even that of the Cinematic Sagas and no information won't be released before the Cinematic Sagas character articles are filled with last bit of information.

Digimon names
Some Digimon species had their names based on the Japanese or English localizations. But some of the names were changed entirely. The name changes include:

Reception
Only one user, 101Dalmatians, has been given criticism this far, with CAJH himself doing it too for his own project. The critical reception might be almost impossible to give without full transcripts to determine the whole film series. Other fans can write their reviews about the synopsis this far on talk pages.

DigiDestined Saga
CAJH's own criticism this far

I did make the main plots of the three first films were too similar: the human world, then they go into the Digital World for a short time, and then return to the human world for the final battle. The fourth film was different, since the DigiDestined weren't physically in the Digital World, except for the ending. The plot twist of new members of the DigiDestined from the second and third films have only a little difference. While finding Dan Linwood and the Digimentals were only a small sidequest besides finding the enemy who was corrupting the computer networks, finding Gia Avilés was a major quest of the third film. But since I created this project myself and have not reviewed it completely, I'm not giving scores or starts to any of these films right now. Also, each film seems to work as an episode of the whole series, but not as an individual film.

Notable other critics

101Dalmatians liked the idea, but considered that the symbolism and themes needed to be improved. He also would have wanted the Chaotic Masters to have a name that would hint their connection to Apocalymon better.

Legendary Tamers Saga
CAJH's own criticism this far

I think the two first films became a little bit childish compared to the films of the DigiDestined Saga. The good thing, however, is that the battle between good and evil has been replaced by a battle between different points of view.

Trivia

 * The two sagas are released in same order than Digimon Adventure and Digimon Tamers, but they are one and the same continuity, unlike the two real-life anime.
 * Film names The Third World and Digitaclysm are comparable with Marvel Cinematic Universe films Thor: The Dark World and Thor: Ragnarok. The differences, however, are the use of these terms as plot points and that Digitaclysm is a two-parted film.
 * The technique names are mentioned in synopsis, but very rarely in the actual dialogue of these films.