March to the beat of your own drum with a brand new Digimon series!
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Digimon—an abbreviated title for “Digital Monsters”—is a brilliant franchise that has existed under the radar for far too long. Many have never heard of it, and some who have seem to think that it is a copycat franchise of the significantly more popular Pokemon franchise. First of all, this is incorrect; the Digimon franchise is based off of the brand Tamagotchi, not the Pokemon franchise. Moreover, Digimon has always had a darker theme with regularly higher stakes than the other franchise, which tends to focus more on friendly combat with their monster friends. They are different franchises, yet people cannot seem to help but compare them, and Digimon has found itself coming up short in a popularity contest it never signed up for.
Nevertheless, October of 2025 has proved itself an exciting time to be a Digimon fan! First, we got the release of a brand new game known as Digimon Story: Time Stranger on Oct. 3, which was very well received. Then, just a few days later on Oct. 5, Digimon released a brand new show called Digimon Beatbreak (2025)!
A new show is always an exciting experience, each one introducing new characters and new world building. This includes brand new ways for a human to meet their Digimon, along with new ways for them to interact. It is always interesting to see the new piece of world-building, which typically gives each additional show a distinctive and fresh feeling driving it.
Digimon Beatbreak (2025) offers something particularly unique to the franchise. Just about every past Digimon show is set in present time in a standard world, identical to our own until the Digimon appears. However, Digimon Beatbreak (2025) is a first of its kind, starting out in an already futuristic, almost dystopian setting. Each person in this society owns an Artificial Intelligence (AI) device known as a “Sapotama,” which seems to have worked its way into nearly every aspect of their life, used to help guide workouts, order food, control bank accounts, and enables the user to check in to school or work.
It is advertised as helping the user create their ideal self, which implies some sort of control, or at least conformity. The Sapotama is able to automatically cater to its user needs by reading their “e-pulse,” some sort of energy created from human thoughts and emotions. The Sapotama is likely going to turn into a commentary on cellphones in future episodes, considering how similar the two are.
The main character of this brand new show is named Tomoro, played by Miyu Irino. He is a teenager being raised by his older brother, Asuka, played by Kazuya Nakai, after the presumed death of his parents. Although he has a Sapotama of his own, the devices tend to glitch around him. When Tomoro becomes upset with his own Sapotama, it glitches, and from his own e-pulse, a Digimon appears, known as Gekkomon, played by Megumi Han.
This means that Digimon in Digimon Beatbreak (2025) are formed by their human’s e-pulse, and are literally a physical manifestation of their thoughts and emotions. This is a really interesting and unique way to introduce Digimon into the world that perfectly ties in with the main theme of the series, which thus far seems to be the idea of marching to the beat of your own drum and being true to yourself. This idea is also manifested in Tomoro’s interest in music, which he got from his brother. Unfortunately, some Digimon born from the Sapotama have less than good intentions, and seek to feed on the e-pulse of humans. If this happens, then the human develops an illness known as “Cold Heart,” and they become a husk of their former selves.
To prevent these more dangerous Digimon from being released, there are also characters known as “Cleaners,” who cause their Sapotama to release a Digimon, but volunteer to help get rid of the more dangerous ones. After releasing Gekkomon, Tomoro finds himself a begrudged part of a group of Cleaners known as the “Glowing Dawn,” whom his brother apparently knew.
While this allows him to keep Gekkomon, along with continuing to find information about how to cure his brother with Cold Heart, the system of Cleaners may turn out to be inherently hypocritical, hunting down Digimon who sometimes are simply born from their human’s Sapotamo, same as the Cleaners. The Cleaners are also occasionally compared to Bounty Hunters, as different groups compete for the reward of catching a Digimon. Anyone with a Digimon who does not become a Cleaner is hunted, which may be a point of contention later in the series.
As of now, three episodes of Digimon Beatbreak (2025) have been released, and each one has been an absolute joy to watch, containing some beautiful character design and animation, and some truly wonderful world-building. And the best part? New fans are welcome (and highly encouraged) to jump in, even if they have never even heard of Digimon before. New episodes are released every Saturday. Currently, 12 episodes are confirmed to be released, but it is expected there will be more than that, as Digimon series tend to be quite long. Episodes can be found on Crunchyroll and Hulu.