Digimon Xros Wars
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''Digimon Fusion'', known in Japan as , is the sixth
anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...
television series in the ''
Digimon , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a "Di ...
'' franchise, produced by
Toei Animation () is a Japanese animation studio primarily controlled by its namesake Toei Company. It has produced numerous series, including ''Sally the Witch,'' ''GeGeGe no Kitarō,'' ''Mazinger Z'', ''Galaxy Express 999'', ''Cutie Honey'', ''Dr. Slump'', ' ...
. The series was broadcast on
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
and
Asahi Broadcasting Corporation is a certified broadcasting holding company headquartered in Osaka, Japan. Until March 31, 2018, it was a unified radio and television broadcaster serving in the Kansai region. On April 1, 2018, its radio and television broadcasting divisions ...
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 , and respectively. The series was licensed outside of Asia by
Saban Brands Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commun ...
for an English-language
adaptation In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...
, which was produced by
Studiopolis Studiopolis, Inc. is an American post-production studio located in Studio City, Los Angeles. It specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for cartoon, anime, and video game projects. They were formerly known as Screenmusic Studios and then ...
; the third and final arc did not receive an English localization. The series was also adapted into a
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
series and multiple
video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...
s.


Plot


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

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

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

''Digimon Xros Wars'' was first publicly revealed in the June 2010 issue of
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
V Jump is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine, focusing on new manga as well as video games based on popular manga. The magazine's debut was in 1993 by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. History A prototype magazine called '' Hobby's Jump ...
'' magazine, including the name of the series and brief descriptions of the series and several main characters. It was directed by Tetsuya Endo and written by
Riku Sanjo is a Japanese manga writer and screenwriter. He works as a story writer for manga, anime and live-action film. Sanjo graduated from Meiji University. '' Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai'' (1989–1996), which he created with illustrator ...
. A number of staffs and voice actors for the anime were selected from those from ''
Gegege no Kitarō , originally known as , is a Japanese manga series created in 1960 by Shigeru Mizuki. It is best known for its popularization of the folklore creatures known as ''yōkai'', a class of spirit-monster which all of the main characters ...
'' (2007) and '' Hakaba Kitarō'' (2008) including
Riku Sanjo is a Japanese manga writer and screenwriter. He works as a story writer for manga, anime and live-action film. Sanjo graduated from Meiji University. '' Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai'' (1989–1996), which he created with illustrator ...
and
Minami Takayama is a Japanese voice actress, narrator and singer who is currently affiliated with 81 Produce. She is also the main vocalist of Two-Mix and ES CONNEXION when it was active. Her uncle is a former New Japan Pro-Wrestling managing director Hisashi Sh ...
. 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. The series was the first to be broadcast in
widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than t ...
16:9 and in HD
1080i 1080i (also known as Full HD or BT.709) is a combination of frame resolution and scan type. 1080i is used in high-definition television (HDTV) and high-definition video. The number "1080" refers to the number of horizontal lines on the screen. ...
and aired on
TV Asahi JOEX-DTV (channel 5), branded as (also known as EX and and stylized as TV asahi), is a television station that is owned and operated by the subsidiary of certified broadcasting holding company , itself controlled by The Asahi Shimbun Compan ...
between July 6, 2010, and March 25, 2012.
Crunchyroll Crunchyroll is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Sony through a joint venture between Sony Pictures and Sony Music Entertainment Japan's Aniplex. The service primarily distributes films and tel ...
began streaming the original Japanese version of the series outside of Japan, with English subtitles, in November 2011.
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven years ...
in Malaysia aired a
William Winckler William Winckler (born October 3, 1964 in California) is an American actor and independent filmmaker best known for writing, producing and directing cult movies, horror films and English dubbed animation. He is the son of child actor Robert Win ...
-produced English version along with original Chinese and Malay dubs based on the original Japanese version from December 8, 2012, titled ''Digimon Fusion Battles''. The series was licensed by
Saban Brands Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commun ...
for an English language release to air in North America, contracting
Studiopolis Studiopolis, Inc. is an American post-production studio located in Studio City, Los Angeles. It specializes in voiceover recording and dubbing for cartoon, anime, and video game projects. They were formerly known as Screenmusic Studios and then ...
to dub the series into English and hiring Noam Kaniel (Noam) (who worked on ''
X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...
'', ''
Code Lyoko ''Code Lyoko'' () is a French animated series, animated television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo and produced by Antefilms Production (season 1) and MoonScoop Group (seasons 2-4) for France 3 and Canal J, with the participatio ...
'', & ''
Power Rangers ''Power Rangers'' is an entertainment and merchandising franchise built around a live-action superhero television series, based on the Japanese tokusatsu franchise ''Super Sentai''. Produced first by Saban Entertainment, second by BVS Entert ...
'',) to compose the music for the series. The series began airing on
Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...
on September 7, 2013, was moved to
Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
after three episodes, and later began airing on
The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
's
Vortexx Vortexx was a short-lived American Saturday morning children's television programming block that aired on The CW from August 25, 2012 to September 27, 2014. Programmed by Saban Brands, it replaced Toonzai, a block that was programmed by 4Kids Ent ...
programming block from January 25, 2014 to September 27, 2014. The first season became available for streaming on
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
starting September 13, 2014, while the second season became available on March 8, 2016. In Latin America, the series began being broadcast on
Cartoon Network Cartoon Network (often abbreviated as CN) is an American cable television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is a part of The Cartoon Network, Inc., a division that also has the broadcasting and production activities of Boomerang, Car ...
on May 1, 2014. Beginning on February 24, 2014, ''Fusion'' began airing in the United Kingdom on
CITV CITV (short for Children's ITV, also known as the CITV Channel) is a British free-to-air children's television channel owned by ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive and acquisitions, every day from 6 am to 9 pm which ...
, the same channel that aired the first three seasons. In Canada, YTV, which aired previous installments of the franchise (barring ''
Digimon Data Squad ''Digimon Data Squad'', known in Japan as , is the fifth anime television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. The series aired in Japan on Fuji TV from April 2, 2006 to March 25, 2007. A standalone film based on ...
''), began airing the series on February 28, 2014, with thirty episodes. In the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
, it began airing on Yey! after the end of
Digimon Frontier , is the fourth anime television series in the ''Digimon'' franchise, produced by Toei Animation. Unlike the previous series, the main characters can merge with ancient spirits known as "Legendary Warriors" to become Digimon themselves. The ...
but it ended on July 1, 2020 due to ABS-CBN's franchise renewal controversy.


Home media

The series was released on DVD with nineteen volumes by
Bandai Visual was a Japanese anime, film production, and distribution enterprise, established by Bandai and a subsidiary of Bandai Namco Holdings. They focused mainly in international distribution of anime properties in North America. Most of the anime and ...
in Japan from April 22, 2011 to August 24, 2012. A DVD box was released on November 22, 2016. ''Part I'' was released in the US on February 10, 2015 via
Cinedigm Cinedigm Corp. is an American entertainment company headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Cinedigm's businesses encompass digital cinema, streaming channels, content marketing, and distribution. History Early years Cinedigm Corp was founded ...
, in Germany on June 15, 2015, and in the UK in via ITV Studios Home Entertainment. In Australia, ''Part I'' was released in several volumes from June 11, 2014.''Part II'' was released in the US on March 1, 2016 via Cinedigm.


Theme songs

Kousuke Yamashita is a Japanese composer and arranger from Hamamatsu, Shizuoka. Yamashita is best known for his work on ''Digimon Xros Wars'', '' Xenosaga: The Animation'', and the tokusatsu television series ''Mahou Sentai Magiranger'', ''Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger' ...
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. ;Opening theme songs (Japan) * by Sonar Pocket (1-30) *"New World" by
Twill Twill is a type of textile weave with a pattern of diagonal parallel ribs. It is one of three fundamental types of textile weaves along with plain weave and satin. It is made by passing the weft thread over one or more warp threads then under ...
(31-54) *"STAND UP" by Twill (55-79) ;Insert songs (Japan) * by
Kōji Wada was a Japanese pop singer. He was best known for performing theme songs for several installments of the ''Digimon'' anime television series, including his recording debut in 1999 with his first and most famous single, "Butter-Fly", the theme so ...
*"Blazing Blue Flare" by
Hideaki Takatori Hideaki (ひであき) is a masculine Japanese given name. Possible writings Hideaki can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: *秀秋, "excellent", "autumn" *英秋, "outstanding", "autumn" *秀明, "excellent", "bright" ...
*"X4B The Guardian!" by Kōji Wada * by Kōji Wada * by
Takayoshi Tanimoto , is a Japanese vocalist known for his theme song performances in '' Digimon'', ''Zatch Bell!'' and ''Dragon Ball Kai'', the last of which he sang " Dragon Soul" and " Yeah! Break! Care! Break!" as one-half of a special unit, Dragon Soul. Overview ...
*"Evolution &Digixros ver.TAIKI" by Kōji Wada and Takayoshi Tanimoto *"Evolution &Digixros ver.KIRIHA" by Kōji Wada and Takayoshi Tanimoto * by Kōji Wada, Takayoshi Tanimoto and
Ayumi Miyazaki or Ayumi for short, is a Japanese singer and composer. Miyazaki has sung several songs in the Digimon series. He sang the evolution theme song for ''Digimon Adventure'' called "Brave Heart" and its '' Digimon Adventure Tri'' remix. He also sang ...
* by
Psychic Lover are a rock duo consisting of vocalist and guitarist . Originally consisting of six members, YOFFY and IMAJO are the only two who remained for their rise to fame. Much of their work has been featured as opening and closing themes of Japanese tel ...
*"Shining Dreamers" by
Takafumi Iwasaki is a Japanese guitarist, lyricist, music arranger, and musical artist from Kumamoto Prefecture. He is signed to Columbia Music Entertainment, for which he is known for writing and performing various anime and tokusatsu theme songs. He is known fo ...
* by YOFFY and
Takafumi Iwasaki is a Japanese guitarist, lyricist, music arranger, and musical artist from Kumamoto Prefecture. He is signed to Columbia Music Entertainment, for which he is known for writing and performing various anime and tokusatsu theme songs. He is known fo ...
; ;Theme song (US / International - Outside Asia) *"Act as One (Digimon Fusion Theme)" by Noam Kaniel (Noam) and Frederic Jaffre (1-54)


Related media

A
manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...
adaptation, illustrated by Yuki Nakashima, was serialized in
Shueisha (lit. "Gathering of Intellect Publishing Co., Ltd.") is a Japanese company headquartered in Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company was established in 1925 as the entertainment-related publishing division of Japanese publisher Shogakukan. The foll ...
's ''
V Jump is a Japanese shōnen manga magazine, focusing on new manga as well as video games based on popular manga. The magazine's debut was in 1993 by Shueisha under the ''Jump'' line of magazines. History A prototype magazine called '' Hobby's Jump ...
'' magazine from June 21, 2010, to March 21, 2012. Its twenty-one chapters were collected in four ''
tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...
'' volumes, released from December 29, 2010, to May 2, 2012. Two
arcade machines An arcade cabinet, also known as an arcade machine or a coin-op cabinet or coin-op machine, is the housing within which an arcade game's electronic hardware resides. Most cabinets designed since the mid-1980s conform to the Japanese Amusement Ma ...
, and , have been released, which utilise special cards. A video game based on the series, , was released in Red and Blue versions for the
Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...
on March 3, 2011. Together, ''Super Xros Wars'' serves as the fourth game in the ''
Digimon Story , short for "Digital Monsters" ( ''Dejitaru Monsutā''), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing virtual pet toys, anime, manga, video games, films and a trading card game. The franchise focuses on the eponymous creatures, who inhabit a " Dig ...
'' series. Bandai released a series of card games in North America.


Reception

On its Japanese premiere, ''Digimon Fusion'' had a rating of 4.1 viewers. ''Digimon Xros Wars: The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time'' was nominated for the 2012
International Emmy Kids Awards The International Emmy Kids Awards, founded in New York City in 2013, recognize excellence in international children's programming produced initially outside the United States, and are presented annually by International Academy of Television Art ...
for "Best Animation". ''
Famicom Tsūshin formerly ''Famicom Tsūshin'', is a line of Japanese video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly formats as well as in the fo ...
'' scored ''Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars'' 32 out of 40. Early responses by
Anime News Network Anime News Network (ANN) is a news website that reports on the status of anime, manga, video games, Japanese popular music and other related cultures within North America, Australia, Southeast Asia and Japan. The website offers reviews and oth ...
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 ''Gurren Lagann'', known in Japan as , is a Japanese mecha anime, mecha anime television series animated by Gainax and co-produced by Aniplex and Konami. It ran for 27 episodes on TV Tokyo between April and September 2007. It was directe ...
'' despite suffering from cliches often seen in other anime. Voice actor
Kyle Hebert Kyle Henry Hebert ( ) is an American voice actor and DJ who works for anime and video game series, such as the teenage/adult Gohan and the narrator in the Funimation dub of the ''Dragon Ball series'', Sōsuke Aizen in '' Bleach'', Ryu in the ...
said he enjoyed working in the English dub of the series as his two characters, Dorulumon and Balistamon, offered diverse characterization. Fellow actor
Ben Diskin Benjamin Isaac Diskin (born August 25, 1982) is an American actor who was affiliated in Studiopolis, Bang Zoom!, SDI Media, Funimation, VSI Los Angeles, and NYAV Post. Early life Diskin was born in Los Angeles County, California to a Jewish fami ...
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. 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. 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. ICv2 recommended the series for a young audience when checking the English DVDs. CulturedVultures left it up to the viewers to watch it or not, also recommending it to an audience that has knowledge of the franchise, while Metro stated it retained the appeal of its predecessors which overshadowed the famous ''Pokémon'' back in the 1990s. 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. 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.


References


External links

;Official English Websites
''Digimon Fusion'' Nicktoons website''Digimon Fusion'' at SabanBrands.com
;Official Japanese Websites
TV Asahi's official ''Digimon Xros Wars'' website

''The Evil Death Generals and the Seven Kingdoms''

''The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time''Toei Animation's official ''Digimon Xros Wars'' website

''The Boy Hunters Who Leapt Through Time''''Digimon'' website''Data Carddass: Super Digica Taisen''''Digimon Story: Super Xros Wars, Blue and Red''
;Others * * {{Series in V Jump 2006 video games Japanese children's animated action television series Japanese children's animated adventure television series Japanese children's animated science fantasy television series Adventure anime and manga Anime and manga about parallel universes Crossover anime and manga Digimon anime and manga Fantasy anime and manga Animated television series about children Television series about parallel universes Shōnen manga Toei Animation television TV Asahi original programming Video games with alternative versions