On March 6, 1999, the franchise was given an anime as the first of the Digimon m

ovies aired in theaters in Japan. Originally, the Digimon Adventure movie was su
pposed to be a short film, but after the storyboard was finished, a request for
Digimon becoming a children's television show was made. On March 7, 1999, they b
egan airing a television sequel titled Digimon Adventure.
Five more series would follow, most of them with their own tie-in movies, and th
e series was dubbed for release in western markets in the fall of the same year.
The show spawned card games, with Hyper Colosseum in Japan and later Digi-Battl
e in America, and more video games. The animated series is easily the best-known
segment of the Digimon universe and responsible for the majority of its popular
ity.
"Digimon" are "Digital Monsters". According to the stories, they are inhabitants
of the "DigiWorld", a manifestation of Earth's communication network. The stori
es tell of a group of mostly pre-teens, who accompany special Digimon born to de
fend their world (and ours) from various evil forces. To help them surmount the
most difficult obstacles found within both realms, the Digimon have the ability
to evolve (Digivolve)[3][4] In this process, the Digimon change appearance and b
ecome much stronger,[5] often changing in personality as well. The group of chil
dren who come in contact with the Digital World changes from series to series.