Where can I catch it? Sky One
Longevity - Pokémon began after Digimon and the
tamagotchi craze, but is now the biggest in global popularity. Its success
continues to be overwhelming. 9
Movie monsters - The first Pokémon movie was released in
Britain in April. Its worldwide success means a sequel was also released. A
fourth feature has already been released in Japan. 9
Story and characters - Ash Ketchum journeys the world and
encounters many Pokémon (which he catches in little red and white
balls). He has many adventures along the way. Main character Ash is joined
by gym leaders Misty and Brock and electric mouse Pikachu. Bad guys come
in the shape of Jesse and James, inept members of Team Rocket, and their
cat pokémon Meowth. Apart from Meowth, who speaks in full
sentences, Pokémon communicate by repeating their names in
different ways. eg Pikachu might say “Pika, pikka, pika-chu?
Pikapika, Chuuu.” 8
How many monsters? There were 150. With the introduction of
MewTwo in the movie, and 100 new pocket monsters appearing on the gold and
silver versions of the GameBoy game the poké-count has risen to
251. New movies could see the introduction of even more.10
TV animation style - cute and cuddly. Pokémon don’t
die in battle, they faint. Ash, Misty and most of the other human
characters have huge, round eyes. The exception is Brock who has lines
instead of eyes (but how does he see?) 8
Marketing - many Pokémon-based mags (eg Pojo’s Pokémon),
comics, graphic novels, a card game, Gameboy and console games (including
the newly released Pokémon stadium on the Playstation) cuddly toys,
talking toys, confectionery, you name it there’s bound to be a Poké-version
of it. Even bigger than the Spice Girls were a few years back. 10
Internet fanbase- Biggest internet following of all. There are
more than 950 email lists on the egroups site alone. 10
Total score - 64
Where can I catch it? Fox Kids
Longevity - Digimon was created before Pokémon but after
Dragonball. It’s popularity has only just begun to grow in Britain.
9
Movie monsters - The first Digimon movie was released in America
in August 2000. The second was out in Japan at the same time. 9
Story and characters- seven kids are transported from summer
camp into Digimon World. A similar concept to the American cartoon serial
Dungeons and Dragons. The cartoon was sparked off by the tamagotchi craze.
The Digimon talk rather than repeat their names. Like Pokémon they
evolve into more powerful creatures, but they can also choose to turn into
huge, scary monsters for short periods of time while they battle. 8
TV Animation style - The human characters are even cuter than
their Pokémon-trainer rivals. They have colourful hair and are
smaller. The voices are high pitches and translations play up the humour.
7
How many monsters? Each of the seven humans has a digimon protector. As they continue on the quest they come into contact with many more digimon creatures. So the number could grow and grow. 8
Marketing - Lots of Digimon products and more on the way. Fox
Kids has already given more than 45 companies the franchise rights for
toys and products. 10
Internet fanbase - as big as Dragonball, not quite as big as Pokémon.
Many fanfiction and ‘yaoi’ stories about the human characters.
9
Total score - 60
Where can I catch it? Cartoon Network
Longevity - the grand-daddy of them all, Dragonball has actually
been around since 1985, although the UK has only just caught up with the
phenomenon. The cartoon of Dragonball-GT, sequel to Z, ceased production
in 1997, but the comic books are still going strong. 10
Movie monsters - a Dragonball Z movie was released in 1997. 8
Story and characters- Based on the ancient Chinese legend of the
Monkey King (also the inspiration for Monkey, the classic live action
Japanese serial from the 1980s). The main character comes to Earth as a
baby in an egg-shaped craft, so there are also comparisons to be made with
Superman and Mork from Mork and Mindy. In Dragonball the characters are
all children. They grow up and journey the world in Dragonball Z, and in
Dragonball GT they even get to explore the rest of the universe. 10
TV animation style - More traditionally animé. The
characters are cute but they have a darker side. 10
How many monsters? In DragonBall there were seven dragon balls,
containing helpful monster spirits. There were seven more in Dragonball Z
and a further seven in GT. 6
Marketing - Comics, graphic novels, games. You can also buy
dragon balls. A Dragonball game was released on the Super Nintendo way
back. More games are reputed to be in production. 7
Internet fanbase - very big,. There are sites to tell you all
about the series and many fan fiction sites for all ages and tastes. 9
Total score - 60