Digimon Universe: App Monsters

Digimon Universe: App Monsters (デジモンユニバース アプリモンスターズ) is a Japanese multimedia project created by Toei Company, Dentsu and Bandai Namco Holdings, under the pseudonym Akiyoshi Hongo. The series' theme revolves around technological singularity and artificial intelligence, a theme shared with the Appmons and the dangers of technology when used unwisely.

An anime television series, the seventh overall in the Digimon franchise, was produced by Toei Animation and Dentsu, directed by Gō Koga, written by Yōichi Katō, with character designs by Kenichi Ōnuki. It was broadcast for fifty-two episodes on all TXN stations in Japan from October 2016 to September 2017.

Plot
In the year 2045, technology has finally evolved to a degree of prosperity for the world. The World Wide Web has become a world for "App Monsters" (アプリモンスターズ) or "Appmons", artificially intelligent beings born within mobile apps. The series focuses on Haru Shinkai, an everyday Junior High Student. One day, he discovers an Appmon lurking in his smartphone, which reveals himself to be Gatchmon and the two become partners. Haru also learns from Gatchmon that the artificial intelligence Leviathan is creating viruses to turn all Appmons evil, and the two join forces to stop them. As the series progresses, Haru gains the help of the rookie idol Eri Karan, the famous AppTuber Torajirou Asuka, the prodigy hacker Rei Katsura, who is in search for his younger brother that was kidnapped by Leviathan, and Haru's best friend Yūjin Ōzora, each one partnered with their own Appmon to help in the fight to defeat Leviathan and restore the balance between their two worlds.

Haru Shinkai


Haru Shinkai (新海 ハル) is the male protagonist, a 13-year-old boy who likes reading and always saw himself as a secondary character, until he finds the AppliDrive and joins Gatchmon in his fight to stop Leviathan from taking over the world. His AppliDrive's color is red, later replaced by a red and gold AppliDrive DUO. Gatchmon (ガッチモン) is Haru's Standard Grade partner Appmon, that is derived from a search app. He likes to look cool and his search function allows him to learn many things, including other people's secrets and the weak point of his enemies. He is voiced by Kokoro Kikuchi.

Eri Karan


14 year old Eri Karan (花嵐 エリ) is a member of the idol group "AppliYama 470". Cheerful and lively on the outside, she is actually very lonely. Her AppliDrive's color is blue, but is later replaced by a blue and gold AppliDrive DUO. She has a tendency to argue with Astra, due to their conflicting egos. Dokamon (ドカモン) is Eri's Standard Grade partner robot-like Appmon that was derived from an action game app. He has a strong and loyal attitude towards Eri, despite her habit of neglecting him and bossing him around. He is voiced by Motoko Kumai.

Torajirou Asuka


Torajirou Asuka (飛鳥 虎次郎) is an 11 year old free-spirited half-English, half-Japanese boy and a famous "Apptuber", who uploads videos to the site "Apptube" under the alias "Astra". He comes from a wealthy and traditional family and only spends 30 minutes per day making videos for Apptube, as he also intends to inherit his father's tea shop business. His AppliDrive's color is yellow, but is later replaced by a yellow and gold AppliDrive DUO. Musimon (ミュージモン) is Torajirou's Standard Grade partner Rabbit-like Appmon which was derived from a music app, who likes to go with the flow, just like his partner. He is voiced by Nao Tamura.

Rei Katsura


14 year old Rei Katsura (桂 レイ) is a mysterious hacker whose younger brother was kidnapped by Leviathan's followers. In spite of the fact that he is fighting Leviathan to rescue him, Rei refuses to cooperate with Haru and the others until they join forces to defeat Mienumon and he accompanies the group to the Deep Web. His AppliDrive's color is black, but is later replaced by a black and gold AppliDrive DUO. Hackmon (ハックモン) is Rei's Standard Grade partner Appmon with hacking abilities. He is voiced by Daisuke Sakaguchi.

Yujin Ozora


Yujin Ozora (大空 勇仁) is a 13-year-old boy. Yujin is Haru's childhood friend and a hot-blooded guy who is good with sports and is popular with the girls. His AppliDrive DUO's color is purple and white. It is later revealed that he is actually an android named YJ-14, that was created by Leviathan for intelligence gathering, and that the woman who appeared as his mother is actually a researcher of L Corp who created his robotic body. After Leviathan's body is destroyed, it takes over Yujin's body and gives Haru two choices: either let both Leviathan and Yujin die or let humanity be enslaved forever. Haru is about to choose stopping Leviathan, but Yujin takes back control of his body and makes that decision himself, dying in the process. Offmon (オフモン) is Yujin's Standard Grade partner Appmon, derived from an offline game app. He is voiced by Yū Shimamura.

Anime
The anime adaptation of the series began airing on all TXN stations in Japan on October 1, 2016, replacing Time Travel Girl on its original timeslot, and aired until September 30, 2017. The series's opening theme from episodes 1 to 25 is "DiVE" by Amatsuki and from episodes 26 to 52, "Gatchen!" by SymaG. The ending theme from episodes 1 to 13 is "Aoi Honoo Syndrome" (青い炎シンドローム) by Riho Iida, from episodes 14 to 25, "Ai" (アイ) by Ami Wajima, from episodes 26 to 38, "Little Pi" by Ange☆Reve and from episodes 39 to 52, "Perfect World" (パーフェクトワールド) by Traffic Light.

Manga
Two manga adaptations were released by Shueisha. The first one was illustrated by Naoki Akamine and was serialized in V Jump from September 21, 2016, to August 21, 2017. The Second manga, titled Digimon Universe Appli Monsters: Appmon Gakuen (デジモンユニバース アプリモンスターズ アプモン学園) is illustrated by Katsumi Hirose and was serialized in Saikyō Jump from October 1, 2016.

Reception
The series placed 12th on the 2018 Tokyo Anime Award Festival's Anime Fan Award.