Everyone knows about “Pokémon” and Ash Ketchum’s 25-year journey to becoming a true Pokémon Master. But just two short years after “Pokémon” began airing and sparked a global cultural phenomenon known as Pokémania, along came another anime about kids befriending small pocked-sized monsters that could evolve and fight other monsters. That anime is “Digimon,” and for many ’90s kids, it was the far superior show.

The reason is simple: when it comes to anime shows for kids, few seemed as profound or had a story as relatable and meaningful as that of “Digimon Adventure.” Released in 1999, at a time when the computer era was reaching new heights and internet use was becoming increasingly common, “Digimon” taught kids important life lessons. It treated them as being mature enough to handle complex and dark subjects, like saying goodbye to friends and childhood itself, as well as many a traumatic character death scene. Agumon is no Pikachu, but he did herald the arrival of a big competitor to the “Pokémon” dominance, a franchise that endures to this day with sequel shows and movies, horror-inspired games, comics, and much more.

Part of the appeal was also that “Digimon” was much more of a serialized show than kids in the West were used to at the time. Unlike “Pokémon” and its perpetually young leads, the kids of “Digimon” actually changed drastically, grew up, and eventually grew old. But “Digimon” is also a franchise with a variety of shows and movies, most of them unconnected. Because of this, it can be confusing to know how to approach watching the property’s various movies and series, what to skip, and what order to watch them all in. Whether you’re new to the franchise, a longtime fan wanting to do a deeper dive, or a more casual fan who may’ve skipped some titles along the way, this guide is for you.

The “Digimon” franchise can be separated in two parts. There’s “Digimon Adventure,” which started the franchise back in 1999, and there’s everything else. That’s because “Digimon Adventure” specifically told a serialized story across several shows and movies, creating a single continuity that has lasted 25 years. The best viewing order for “Digimon Adventure” is to just follow the release order:

• “Digimon Adventure” (the 1999 short film or the first segment of 2000’s “Digimon: The Movie”)
• “Digimon Adventure” (The full TV 1999 series)
• “Digimon Adventure: Our War Games” (the 2000 short film or the middle section of “Digimon: The Movie”)
• “Digimon Adventure 02” (the full TV 2000 series)
• “Digimon: The Movie” (the last segment of the movie)
• “Digimon Adventure 02: Revenge of Diaboromon” (2001 short film)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 1: Reunion” (2015)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 2: Determination” (2016)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 3: Confession” (2016)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 4: Loss” (2017)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 5: Coexistence” (2017)
• “Digimon Adventure Tri. Chapter 6: Future” (2017)
• “Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna” (2020)
• “Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning” (2023)

The one tricky part of this is in regard to the movie. In the U.S., what we know as “Digimon: The Movie” is actually a compilation of three different films stitched together, all taking place at different times in the continuity. Though the shorts are now available on home media, if you don’t have access to them, you can just watch the movie in chunks depending on where you are in the viewing order.

While the “Digimon” franchise has many series, the face of the entire property is undoubtedly “Digimon Adventure.” Not only is this the title that kickstarted the franchise, but it’s also the only one to be continuously revisited even after so many years — even if there are other anime that deserve the same treatment.

This is what makes “Digimon Adventure” stand out from other anime for kids — it was allowed to evolve and grow up alongside its audience. From the original “Digimon Adventure” short film directed by Oscar-nominee Mamoru Hosoda, to the interconnected follow-up series “Digimon Adventure 02” to the sequel series “Digimon Tri” and then “Last Evolution Kizuna,” this is a unique story where the main characters don’t remain static. They don’t just physically grow up either; case in point, “Digimon Adventure 02” takes place four years after its predecessor, whose leads return as older mentor characters that are clearly more mature after their time in the Digital World.

It’s “Digimon Tri” and “Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna,” in particular, that truly highlights the franchise’s unique approach. While the original “Digimon Adventure” series is very much a story about growing up and the last summer adventure of childhood, the sequel series and then the movie truly bring the story to a close, with the characters now young adults attending a university and preparing to face the challenges of grown-up life. “Last Evolution Kizuna,” specifically, is basically the “Digimon” equivalent of “Toy Story 3,” complete with a heartbreaking goodbye that acknowledges the passage of time. They are much darker, grown up, and worth watching if you quit the franchise after the 2000s. Even the more recent “Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning” offers some compelling drama.

Outside of the “Digimon Adventure” series, the rest of the franchise varies a lot in quality. Because none of the other shows are connected, you can very much just pick and choose whichever one you want to watch. Most of them had short films released toward the very end of their seasons, but for the most part, these are harder to find than the “Digimon Adventure” shorts.

Still, if you want to watch every “Digimon” series in order, you can go by release order:

• “Digimon Adventure” (1999)
• “Digimon Adventure 02” (2000)
• “Digimon Tamers” (2001)
• “Digimon Frontier” (2002)
• “Digimon Data Squad” (2006)
• “Digimon Fusion” (2010)
• “Digimon Universe: App Monsters” (2016)
• “Digimon Ghost Game” (2021)

Out of these, “Digimon Tamers” is particularly worth watching. Though completely separate from the “Digimon Adventure” series, this is a fantastic addition to the franchise. Written by “Serial Experiments Lain” head writer Chiaki J. Konaka, it takes a much darker approach to the franchise, like making death permanent and introducing some seriously creepy imagery (see above). The Digimon here are instinctively violent and primitive, learning about morals from their relationship with their human partners. This allows the series to properly explore, among other things, what a kid with a velociraptor armed with guns as a pet would look like.