Digimon Tamers

    (Tokyopop, 2004)
™ and © 2004 2001 Akiyoshi Hongo, Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
Graphic novel, Reads right to left, B&W

If you’ve ever wondered, there really is a difference between Pokémon and Digimon. Sure, both series are based on card games that focus on kids and their constantly evolving super-animal pals, but Digimon has more on its mind than selling a card game.

It’s a complex fantasy that focuses on complicated characters and their relationships with each other and their creatures (who, unlike those in Pokémon, are characters in their own right). The kids grow, change, learn important life lessons a bit more sophisticated than “respect nature,” and find out that “good” and “evil” aren’t always set in stone.

And, while readers will never mistake it for The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, it’s a fine kids’ fantasy with a moral core. This volume is an able adaptation of portions of the ongoing saga in which Digimon intrudes on our world (when it’s usually the other way around). For those who are seriously behind the curve, in the front of the book there’s a handy two-page “Digimon Tamers Characters” cheat sheet.

— S.A. Bennett
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