[Matrixbeast]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Galvantula

Digimon, I think suffers from not being consistent in evolutions. From one form to another, it's hard to really keep track of it all. Throw in stupid crap like Emperor and Magna in Frothier, and it's easy to see that Digimon is a show that needs a steady hand.

But then again, you gotta keep things fresh, right?

Actually, that's one of the better things about it.
Agumon becomes Greymon becomes MetalGreymon becomes WarGreymon.
I don't think you realize just how soul crushingly boring that is when you factor in the Digital Pets, Card Games, and Video Games.
The original point of Digimon was that raising and growing them in different ways yielded different results.

If the anime just stuck with "All Agumons MUST become Greymon", then characters would get stale (Just remember about Tai forcing Greymon to Evolve, resulting in SkullGreymon, showing that even the main Digimon have split evolution paths). And Frontier isn't even the first. Adventure 02's DigiArmors/DigiMentals, Meggidramon and Gallantmon/Dukemon in Tamers, etc.
Even the entire concept of the Royal Knights wouldn't exist without this (They were created by ImperialDramon: Paladin Mode, and two members are UlForceVeedramon and Magnamon. All three of these characters are possible evolutions of Veemon.)

Greymon, MetalGreymon (Virus and Xros versions), WarGreymon, SkullGreymon, BlackWarGreymon, ChaosBlackWarGreymon, GeoGreymon, RizeGreymon, ShineGreymon (Burst and Ruin), VictoryGreymon, BlackGreymon, EmperorGreymon, AncientGreymon, RampageGreymon, ZekeGreymon, DeckerGreymon, MegaDeckerGreymon...

Digimon isn't a series about consistency and uniformity. This is visible in the Wonderland esque Digital World itself, which is a chaotic mess. Once you pin the line down and say "Agumon MUST evolve into Greymon who MUST evolve into MetalGreymon" is the moment you kill all the creativity. Yes, the main kids' Digimon follow a specific path, but usually it's something new (Saver's Agumon's GeoGreymon line, for example), and the background/side Digimon grow or change in a different manner too (For example, if we didn't have the multiple lines, Ophanimon wouldn't come into existence, since Magnadramon would have set in stone AngeWoman's Mega form).

Thinking Digimon needs a steady hand to "Guide it" shows that you don't quite 'get' it (And please don't take this as being condescending or rude). Digimon as a franchise shows that you don't need a consistent form of storytelling. You can approach it from all angles and all attitudes without shifting the overall feel away from the base. Be it the "Alice in Wonderland" story of Adventure to the more dark and serious Tamers, Digimon is a series that sticks around without becoming the same shonen dreck just by virtue of how different each series has the possibility to be, because of the freedom it has, because of it's chaos.

In my opinion, there are 3 quintessential Digimon series to watch.
1. Digimon Adventure, not only to see where it began, but to see just how strange the Digimon World really is (Which is sadly not expanded upon much in 02)
2. Digimon Tamers. A very different series, but keeping with the general tone of Digimon. Much more serious that, while on first glance may just seem shallow, you really have to look into some of what you're given, rather than explicitly stated, to truly understand.
3. Digital Monster X-Evolution. Not a series, but a standalone movie. It's told from the perspective of a Digimon (No humans, whatsoever), and how the mess that is the Digital World truly shines.