Digimon: THE REAL WORLD Exhibition [Photo Report]

Late 90s’ and mid 2000s’ children anime kept us watching Sunday morning cartoons long into our middle school and highschool years. Digimon and so many more popular anime threw us into worlds where we could duel, capture, and have unforgettable adventures with our friends.

“Digimon: Digital Monsters”, known as “Digimon Adventure” in Japan, began in Mar. 1999 and followed the adventures of eight children and their digimon friends in the Digital World. We heard that Toei Animation and GG7 were holding an exhibition titled “Digimon Adventure: THE REAL WORLD” in Harajuku, so we couldn’t pass it up!

The exhibition places you in the Digital World by recreating the most iconic set pieces from the original series. Our ears immediately caught “Butter-Fly” and other iconic music from the series playing in the background. Combined with the pure nostalgia, as well as Agumon casually walking around, it really made us tear up!

Joe, Mimi, Tk, Matt, Sora, and Ty along with their rookie Digimon, also greeted us before we moved onto the second section. It definitely brings you back to the moment they first met on the island and had to escape from Kuwagamon.

DigiDestined crests are hidden throughout the exhibition - do your best to spot them!

The second portion brought us to our favorite Elvis impersonator, Etemon, along with Ogremon and Gazimon. We’ll always have a soft spot in our hearts for Ogremon. The exhibition has a few mini games for children to enjoy, like the ball toss in Etemon’s area.

The third area was a little short, featuring Matt and Gabumon during their time away from the group. We had only walked through half of the exhibition, but the sheer amount of memories triggered from nostalgia was truly a full-on impact.

Next, we moved onto Puppetmon’s house, which required us to find TK. The exhibition organizers did a great job capturing the eerie, playful atmosphere within Puppetmon’s abode.

Finally free from Puppetmon, we walked into the main showcase area and were treated to more than 200 pieces of reference art and material from the anime as well as the history of the Digivice. Let’s be honest, we all wanted a Digivice to take us to the Digital World...

This is the first Digimon event to have so much original material and other items on display. While there were the standard monster and character designs which were amazing enough, we also took notice of the more subtle designs like Matt’s harmonica and even Ty’s binoculars.

Gennai bid us farewell before we headed to the fifth area, Myotismon’s castle. The lights dimmed to set the mood, leaving an almost red wine tint to the bricks.

Having arrived at the last area, it was time to say goodbye to the Digital World.

For more Digmon memories and the merchandise that followed, see below for our full album!

(C) Akiyoshi Hongo・Toei Animation

This is a Tokyo Otaku Mode original article written by Adrian Morris with photography by Takemori S.