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Digimon Fusion

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Digimon Fusion
Promotional poster
デジモンクロスウォーズ
(Dejimon Kurosu Wōzu)
GenreAdventure, fantasy[1]
Manga
Written byYuki Nakashima
Published byShueisha
MagazineV Jump
DemographicShōnen
Original runJune 21, 2010 – March 21, 2012
Volumes4
Anime television series
Directed by
Written byRiku Sanjo
Music by
StudioToei Animation
Licensed by
Original networkANN (TV Asahi)
English network
Original run July 6, 2010 – March 25, 2012
Episodes79 (List of episodes)
Digimon franchise

Digimon Fusion,[2] known in Japan as Digimon Xros Wars (デジモンクロスウォーズ, Dejimon Kurosu Wōzu, pronounced "Cross Wars"), is the sixth anime television series in the Digimon franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series was broadcast on TV Asahi between July 2010 and March 2012.

Its storyline follows the adventures of Mikey Kudo, who utilizes the power to fuse any of his Digimon partners. The series is divided into three arcs, with the latter two given the subtitles of The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdoms (悪のデスジェネラルと七つの王国, Aku no Desu Jeneraru to Nanatsu no Ōkoku), and The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time (時を駆ける少年ハンターたち, Toki o Kakeru Shōnen Hantā-tachi) respectively.

The series was licensed outside of Asia by Saban Brands for an English-language adaptation, which was produced by Studiopolis; the third and final arc did not receive an English localization. The series was also adapted into a manga series and multiple video games.

Plot

[edit]
Main article: List of Digimon Fusion episodes

Season 1

[edit]
Main article: Digimon Fusion (season 1)

Mikey Kudo receives the Fusion Loader, creates his own team (Fusion Fighters) and recruits some Digimon partners in the Digital World. There, he learns that Lord Bagramon is attempting to conquer the world by collecting 108 Code Crown fragments and wields the Darkness Loader. Mikey collects some fragments from each zones, but Bagramon steals them and recruits AxeKnightmon. Mikey, Angie Hinomoto and Jeremy Tsurugi are sent back to the human world, but Mikey returns to the Digital World, leaving his friends behind.

Season 2

[edit]
Main article: Digimon Fusion (season 2)

When Bagramon creates an empire divided into seven kingdoms, Mikey, Christopher Aonuma and Nene Amano defeat each generals. They learn that Bagramon is using Ewan to oppose them, while they gathered negative energy from those which transformed fragments into a Dark Stone (D5). After Mikey saves Ewan and retrieves all fragments, Shoutmon defeats Bagramon and plans to bring peace to both worlds.

Season 3

[edit]
Main article: Digimon Fusion (season 3)

One year later, Mikey discovers an unstable realm between both worlds and learns that Quartzmon is absorbing data. The DigiQuartz is where Digimon Hunters capture Digimon for leaving any world and feeding negative emotions on anyone. The Clock Store Owner unites all heroic characters from different parallel universes. Tagiru and Gumdramon wield Bagramon's lost arm "Brave Snatcher", in order to defeat Quartzmon. With both worlds restored, all humans and their partners are separately return to their own universe. The series ends with Mikey, Tagiru and their friends planning their future.

Production

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Digimon Xros Wars was first publicly revealed in the June 2010 issue of Shueisha's V Jump magazine, including the name of the series and brief descriptions of the series and several main characters.[3] It was directed by Tetsuya Endo and written by Riku Sanjo.[4] A number of staffs and voice actors for the anime were selected from those from Gegege no Kitarō (2007) and Hakaba Kitarō (2008) including Riku Sanjo and Minami Takayama.[5] A third season was decided suddenly, with Yukio Kaizawa as the main writer for the first episode. In order to retain the series' popularity, Mikey Kudo remained as a returning character, while Christopher and Nene were removed from the main cast. Instead, Ewan remained as a protagonist due to his character still needing growth.[6] The series was the first to be broadcast in widescreen 16:9 and in HD 1080i and aired on TV Asahi between July 6, 2010, and March 25, 2012. Crunchyroll began streaming the original Japanese version of the series outside of Japan, with English subtitles, in November 2011.[7] Disney XD in Malaysia aired a William Winckler-produced English version along with original Malay and Taiwanese Mandarin dubs based on the original Japanese version from December 8, 2012, titled Digimon Fusion Battles.[8]

The series was licensed by Saban Brands for an English language release to air in North America, contracting Studiopolis to dub the series into English and hiring Noam Kaniel (Noam) (who worked on X-Men, Code Lyoko, and Power Rangers) to compose the music for the series. The series began airing on Nickelodeon on September 7, 2013, was moved to Nicktoons after three episodes, and later began airing on The CW's Vortexx programming block from January 25, 2014, to September 27, 2014.[9][10][11][12][13][14] The first season became available for streaming on Netflix starting September 13, 2014, while the second season became available on March 8, 2016. Beginning on February 24, 2014, Fusion began airing in the United Kingdom on CITV, the same channel that aired the first three seasons.[1][15] In Canada, YTV, which aired previous installments of the franchise (barring Digimon Data Squad), began airing the series on February 28, 2014, with thirty episodes. In the Philippines, it began airing on Yey! after the end of Digimon Frontier, but it ended on July 1, 2020 (due to ABS-CBN's franchise renewal controversy).

Home media

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The series was released on DVD with nineteen volumes by Bandai Visual in Japan from April 22, 2011, to August 24, 2012.[16][17] A DVD box was released on November 22, 2016.[18] Part I was released in the US on February 10, 2015, via Cinedigm;[19] Part II was released on March 1, 2016.[20] In Australia, the first season was released by Roadshow Entertainment on June 11, 2014.[21]

Theme songs

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Kousuke Yamashita composed the music for the series. A total of three CD soundtracks under the label of Music Code were released in Japan on September 29, 2010, March 23, 2011, and January 18, 2012.[22][23][24]

Opening theme songs (Japan)
  • "Never Give Up!" (ネバギバ!, Neba Giba!) by Sonar Pocket (1-30)
  • "New World" by Twill (31-54)
  • "STAND UP" by Twill (55-79)
Insert songs (Japan)
  • "WE ARE Xros Heart!" (WE ARE クロスハート!, WE ARE Kurosu Hāto!) by Kōji Wada
  • "Blazing Blue Flare" by Hideaki Takatori
  • "X4B The Guardian!" by Kōji Wada
  • "Sora Mau Yūsha! X5" (空舞う勇者!×5, Sora Mau Yūsha! Kurosu Faibu, "Whirl Through the Sky! X5") by Kōji Wada
  • "Dark Knight ~Fujimi no Ōja~" (DARK KNIGHT～不死身の王者～, "Dark Knight (The Immortal Ruler)") by Takayoshi Tanimoto
  • "Evolution &Digixros ver.TAIKI" by Kōji Wada and Takayoshi Tanimoto
  • "Evolution &Digixros ver.KIRIHA" by Kōji Wada and Takayoshi Tanimoto
  • "WE ARE Xros Heart! ver. X7" (WE ARE クロスハート! ver. X7, WE ARE Kurosu Hāto! ver. X7) by Kōji Wada, Takayoshi Tanimoto and Ayumi Miyazaki
  • "Tagiru Chikara!" (タギルチカラ!, "Overflowing Power!") by Psychic Lover
  • "Shining Dreamers" by Takafumi Iwasaki
  • "Legend Xros Wars" (レジェンド・クロスウォーズ, Rejendo Kurosu Wōzu) by YOFFY and Takafumi Iwasaki
Theme song (US / International - Outside Asia)
[edit]

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Yuki Nakashima, was serialized in Shueisha's V Jump magazine from June 21, 2010,[25] to March 21, 2012.[26] Its twenty-one chapters were collected in four tankōbon volumes, released from December 29, 2010,[27] to May 2, 2012.[28]

Two arcade machines, Digimon X Arena (デジモンクロスアリーナ, Dejimon Kurosu Arīna) and Super Digicard Battle (超デジカ大戦, Sūpā Dejika Taisen), have been released, which utilise special cards.[29][30] A video game based on the series, Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars (デジモンストーリー超クロスウォーズ, Dejimon Sutōrī Sūpā Kurosu Wōzu), was released in Red and Blue versions for the Nintendo DS on March 3, 2011. Together, Super Xros Wars serves as the fourth game in the Digimon Story series.[31][32] Bandai released a series of card games in North America.[33]

Reception

[edit]

On its Japanese premiere, Digimon Fusion had a rating of 4.1 viewers.[34] Digimon Xros Wars: The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time was nominated for the 2012 International Emmy Kids Awards for Kids: Animation.[35] Famicom Tsūshin scored Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars 32 out of 40.[36] Early responses by Anime News Network praised the pilot, stating nostalgic Digimon fans would enjoy it based on its new approach to power-ups within the main cast and compared it to the highly acclaimed mecha series Gurren Lagann despite suffering from cliches often seen in other anime.[37][38][39] Voice actor Kyle Hebert said he enjoyed working in the English dub of the series as his two characters, Dorulumon and Balistamon, offered diverse characterization.[40] Fellow actor Ben Diskin shared similar feelings, commenting he had been a fan of Fusion ever since its Japanese premiere and thus was glad to be voicing both Shoutmon and Cutemon, another pair of characters whose personalities differ greatly.[41]

General critical reception has also been positive. Mediaverum enjoyed the early episodes from Fusion and recommended it to fans of both the first two Digimon Adventure series.[42] While noting the series was aimed at a young audience, DVDCorner wrote that the series still had deep themes which might attract older viewers despite its flaws.[43] ICv2 recommended the series for a young audience when checking the English DVDs.[44][45] CulturedVultures left it up to the viewers to watch it or not, also recommending it to an audience that has knowledge of the franchise,[46] while Metro stated it retained the appeal of its predecessors which overshadowed the famous Pokémon back in the 1990s.[47] DVDTalk found mixed feelings when reviewing Fusion. While he lamented the series' focus on Digimons rather than humans, he still praised the show for its animation and recommended it to fans of the series.[48] Capsule Monster commented that despite the apparent attempts of the series to expand marketing, Fusion offers an appealing story, as rather than focusing on friendship, it also contains dark themes rarely seen in children's shows which might attract other audiences.[49]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Clancy, Michelle (October 17, 2013). "ITV to broadcast Digimon Fusion anime in 2014". Rapid TV News. Archived from the original on December 30, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2018.
  2. ^ "Digimon Fusion". New Video. Archived from the original on February 15, 2015. Retrieved February 2, 2022.
  3. ^ "Digimon's New Anime Titled & Dated: Digimon Xros Wars in July". Anime News Network. April 17, 2010. Archived from the original on April 21, 2010. Retrieved April 19, 2010.
  4. ^ "Staff" (in Japanese). TV Asahi. Archived from the original on 2013-01-11. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  5. ^ Hiroyuki Kakudō, 2012, あとはヤマトパパの部下が当時のアシスタントプロデューサー、現クロスウォーズのプロデューサの桜田と当時演出助手の地岡君で、バンダナ頭は前に上げた写真でもわかるかも。彼は劇中の2002年クリスマスより早く演出デビューして後に墓場鬼太郎の監督となったのでした。 Archived 2021-10-28 at the Wayback Machine on Twitter, Retrieved on October 28th, 2021
  6. ^ "Otona Magazine Interview with Sanjo-Riku". Bokutachi no Digital World. October 8, 2011. Archived from the original on April 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "Crunchyroll to Stream Digimon Xros Wars Anime". Anime News Network. November 2, 2011. Archived from the original on June 20, 2017.
  8. ^ "Digimon Fusion Battles premiere in Malaysia". Youtube.com. Archived from the original on 2014-05-23. Retrieved 2014-02-21.
  9. ^ "Nickelodeon dives into Digimon | News". C21Media. 2013-09-20. Archived from the original on 2013-04-16. Retrieved 2014-01-28.
  10. ^ Dorich, Alan. "Saban Brands". Archived from the original on June 22, 2013. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
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  14. ^ "Saturday Morning Cartoons Are Gone, A Nation Weeps". Refinery 29. Archived from the original on 12 October 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
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  17. ^ "デジモンクロスウォーズ 19" (in Japanese). Bandai Visual. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  18. ^ "デジモンクロスウォーズ DVD-BOX 全79話" (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 13, 2023. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  19. ^ None (Actor, Director) (10 February 2015). "Digimon Fusion: None: Movies & TV". Amazon. Archived from the original on 2019-12-08. Retrieved 2015-05-24.
  20. ^ "Digimon Fusion: Season 2". Amazon. March 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  21. ^ "Digimon Fusion: Forest and Island Zone". Roadshow Entertainment. Archived from the original on March 24, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2022.
  22. ^ "Anime "Digimon Xros Wars" Music Code". CDJapan. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  23. ^ "Anime "Digimon Xros Wars" Music Code 2". CDJapan. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  24. ^ ""Digimon Xros Wars (TV anime)" Music Code 3". CDJapan. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  25. ^ Vジャンプ 2010年8月号. Neowing (in Japanese). June 21, 2010. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  26. ^ V Jump [@V_Jump] (March 21, 2012). Ｖジャンプ5月特大号、特別定価530円（税込）で本日発売！ というわけでこれでも伝えきれませんので、お買い求めいただけますと幸いです！ 漫画「デジモンクロスウォーズ」最終回はアッツイ!! /K (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved December 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  27. ^ 【12月29日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 29, 2010. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  28. ^ 【5月12日付】本日発売の単行本リスト. Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. May 2, 2012. Archived from the original on December 8, 2021. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  29. ^ "テレビに接続 デジモンクロスアリーナ". Bandai. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  30. ^ "デジモンクロスウォーズ 超デジカ大戦 オフィシャルバインダー". Bandai. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  31. ^ "Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars Blue". GameRankings. Archived from the original on December 9, 2019. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  32. ^ "Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars Red". GameRankings. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  33. ^ "Digimon Fusion CCG". ICv2. October 24, 2013. Archived from the original on December 9, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  34. ^ "Japan's Animation TV Ranking, March 7–13". Anime News Network. June 23, 2011. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  35. ^ "Latest Digimon Anime Nominated for International Kids Emmy". Anime News Network. January 5, 2013. Archived from the original on February 22, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  36. ^ "デジモンストーリー 超クロスウォーズ ブルー / レッド まとめ [DS] / ファミ通.com". Archived from the original on 2017-10-09. Retrieved 2017-10-08. Weekly Famicom Tsūshin. No.1160 2011
  37. ^ "The Summer 2010 Anime Preview Guide Carlo Santos". Anime News Network. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on April 13, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  38. ^ "The Summer 2010 Anime Preview Guide Hope Chapman". Anime News Network. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  39. ^ "The Summer 2010 Anime Preview Guide Gia Manry". Anime News Network. July 6, 2010. Archived from the original on July 24, 2017. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  40. ^ "Narrating Your Life with Kyle Hebert". Otaku USA. November 13, 2013. Archived from the original on May 14, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  41. ^ "Monday Memos: Interview with voice actor Ben Diskin". Celindareyesblog. 23 March 2015. Archived from the original on December 26, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  42. ^ "Digimon, Old and New: A Review of Childhood". Mediaverum. November 13, 2013. Archived from the original on April 23, 2014. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  43. ^ "Digimon Fusion Season 2 DVD Review". DVDCorner. April 28, 2016. Archived from the original on May 21, 2018. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  44. ^ "DVD Round-Up: 'Nightcrawler,' 'Predestination,' 'Captain Scarlet,' & 'Sailor Moon'". ICv2. February 8, 2015. Archived from the original on May 17, 2015. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  45. ^ "DVD Round-Up: 'Gotham,' 'Homeland,' 'Haven,' & 'Over the Garden Wall'". ICv2. September 6, 2015. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
  46. ^ "New On Netflix: Flaked, Captain America, Digimon". CulturedVultures. 9 March 2016. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  47. ^ "Anime Chat: Why you should watch Digimon on Netflix this weekend". Metro. June 9, 2017. Archived from the original on May 23, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2018.
  48. ^ "Digimon Fusion: Season 1". DVDTalk.com. June 12, 2015. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved May 20, 2018.
  49. ^ "Monsters in the Closet – Have we left them there?". Casule Monsters. April 2013. Archived from the original on May 22, 2018. Retrieved May 21, 2018.
[edit]
Official Japanese websites
Official English websites
Others
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