The new TV anime " Digimon BEATBREAK," part of the popular " Digimon " series, which includes anime and games, is being broadcast every Sunday at 9:00 AM on Fuji TV and other channels. Digimon is a long-loved and popular series, with a mobile game released in 1997, the first TV anime "Digimon Adventure" airing from 1999 to 2000, and nine TV series and 13 theatrical releases. The series has a history of "evolving" with the times, and "DIGIMON BEATBREAK" is peppered with modern concepts like AI. We spoke to Toei Animation's series director, Hiroaki Miyamoto, and producer, Shinji Takada, about the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of "DIGIMON BEATBREAK" and the thoughts behind it.
◇ Targeting people in their teens and twenties
--How did the project come about?
Takada: This is your first TV anime series in about two years, since "Digimon Ghost Game."Digimon has a long history and has always been a place where we've taken on new challenges. This is a Sunday morning show that follows on from "Digimon Adventure," and we thought about what we should do in 2025. We decided to create a show from scratch that targets a slightly higher audience than previous Digimon shows. While previous shows were aimed at kids, this one targets people in their teens and twenties. Looking at popular anime these days, kids are enjoying shows with slightly more violent depictions, such as "Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba: Kimetsu no Yaiba," that aren't aimed at kids. Children also enjoy adult content. We believed that even if we raised the target audience, kids would still watch.
Miyamoto-san : From the beginning, you said that you wanted the current younger generation to watch it. Digimon is a long-running series, but you said, "I want you to do it without worrying too much about the image that's been created up until now," so I thought that maybe there was something I could do in my own way.
-Did you also take into consideration the current times in which AI is becoming more widespread?
Miyamoto: When Digimon was launched, digital technology hadn't yet taken hold, and I think there was something exciting about the word "digital." More than 25 years have passed since then, and digital has become so commonplace that I really struggled with the question, "What is Digimon?" I wanted to tell a story set in the present day, and I was thinking about what AI will become in the future, so I tried to incorporate that as the main theme.
--In the story, there was a scene that suggested that Digimon might be a bug in the AI.
Miyamoto: Digimon exist on the internet, and I've always thought of them as similar to AI. Perhaps as AI becomes more like Digimon, reality is becoming closer to "Digimon."Digimon are also partners to humans, and the question of how humans and AI will interact today is similar. This is where the theme began to emerge. Some people fear AI, while others treat it as a friend... There are various opinions on how to approach AI. It requires literacy on the part of those who use it, and it could be terrifying, or it could help humans evolve. It's not a question with an easy answer, so rather than making assumptions, I wanted to make an anime that explores the issues. I also think that making assumptions can lead to a loss of humanity.
I think Takada and Miyamoto's troubled personalities are also reflected in the personality of the main character, Tenma Tomorrow.
Miyamoto: There is no single answer, and having room for thought allows you to think. One of the main themes was to think without making assumptions. I also tried to clearly show the connection between Digimon and humans. They may clash at times, but they understand each other, deepen their bonds, and evolve. If we can do that well, I'm sure we can do something different from what we've done before.
◇Emotions rise and destroy the world
--The title "Beat Break" evokes the image of music.
Takada: But it's not about music.
Miyamoto : When Digimon fight, humans often leave it up to the Digimon and watch the whole time, so I wanted to change that. In "DIGIMON BEATBREAK," human thoughts and emotions become an energy called e-pulse, which affects Digimon. I wanted to create a format in which humans and Digimon fight together. These human emotions are key. In the future, it may become convenient for everyone to fit into a set mold. This is where the essential human senses and emotions become important, and I believe that these are the depths of humanity. When emotional upsurges affect Digimon, they lead to unexpected results. Series composer Ryota Yamaguchi suggested this, but I wanted to use the beat and rising emotions as the image of the work. It doesn't have much to do with music, but rather the beat and rising emotions destroy the set world...
--By raising the target audience, the visual impression has also changed. The main visual clearly conveys that this is a new "Digimon."
Takada's main visual depicts members of Growing Dawn (a team that makes a living as bounty hunters) standing in front of their hideout, and when I saw Miyamoto's rough sketch, I felt it was going to be something new! It's listless, flashy, and cool.
Miyamoto: The first rough draft was proposed by Takada. Growing Dawn is a group of heretics in this world, and they see the world as something that is wrong. However, they cannot be convinced that they are absolutely right. They are trying to act tough, so they have glaring expressions. I will depict how characters from various circumstances interact with this world. I tried to show that visually.
Takada's character designs by Takahiro Kojima are also great. They're friendly and cool.
Miyamoto-san and Kojima-san's characters are very attractive, and although they have tall heads, they're not too realistic, and the deformation is effective, so they still have a bit of kid-friendly appeal. The lines are simple, so turning them into animation requires a sense of style, which can be a bit difficult, but when you get the hang of it, they look cool. The movements are also fun to play with.
◇ Digimon communicate with themselves through their alter egos
--Like the main character Tomorrow, characters who feel they may not be able to interact well with society are also appealing.
Miyamoto: He's not a character who blends in in a world where "this is correct." He can't fit in with the majority. Even Digimon are feared as monsters and are treated as unnecessary, but would a world without that be fun? Looking at the current state of AI, I'm not excited about a future where everything is done exactly as AI tells it to. Wasn't the AI we imagined back in the day exciting? I think so, but I feel like we're heading in a different direction.
Takada: In this work, Digimon are partners, and in a sense they are alter egos, and through self-dialogue they grow together.
Miyamoto: Imperfection is what makes humans so appealing, and as AI gets closer to humans and becomes more human-like, it may become increasingly flawed and lovable. Gekkomon embodies this in some ways. This Digimon is born from a gadget called a Sapotama, and is influenced by the e-pulse it receives. As such, it is influenced by human thoughts and emotions, and is like a mirror image. It is like an alter ego, but Gekkomon doesn't listen. This is because it is releasing feelings that have been suppressed by the world. Tomorrow is confused by this alter ego. It's a story about coming to terms with oneself.
-What are the future developments?
As Takada-san and Miyamoto-san said, we are trying new things, but it's important that it's a "Digimon," and the big themes are depicting the bonds and relationships between partners and how to present the future. I want to make a work that stirs the emotions of those who watch it.
Miyamoto: We 're not just focusing on battles, we're also focusing on human drama. The number of characters will continue to increase, so please look forward to it.
Anima Mitsuru/MANTANWEB
