Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters PV2 English Subbed

On July 31st, the Appmon joint project published its region-locked second preview video for the upcoming anime Digimon Universe: Appli Monsters. The latest entry in the Digimon franchise will begin airing weekly on TV Tokyo October 1st, 2016, at 7:00 AM every Saturday. It will be the earliest half-hour anime in TV Tokyo's children's block, accompanied by the biggest toyline and game series Digimon has seen since its Frontier days.

Rather than being "tamers," "Chosen Children," or "generals," the new generation of Digimon protagonists are called Applidrivers. The second video introduces the anime's core four human characters and their Buddy Appmon, using text messages between the Applidrivers and their Appmon as a framing device. In order we meet Shinkai Haru and Gatchmon, Karan Eri and Dokamon, Asuka "Astra" Torajirou and Musimon, and finally Katsura Rei and Hackmon. Tamer Union's subtitled version of the video is provided via an independent host above.

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Preorders have been open for Appmon's toylines since early July, with the Appli Drive getting special attention. Taiwanese seller matrix-king is still taking preorders for the Appli Drive SP Set--comprising the Appli Drive, Appmon Band, three R-rarity chips and a Premium Rare Scopemon--for $83.98. The overall markup on this listing is around $20 from base price.

The same seller is also selling a set of three Appli Drive Pair Ring covers together for $44.98. These include the blue Dokamon ring, orange Musimon ring, and black Hackmon ring. Introduced in lieu of alternate Digivice designs, the covers allow tamers to add a degree of personalization to their Drives, and come with additional Appmon Chips. Japanese seller okinawam1978 currently has the Pair Ring Cover Special Set listed at a total $47.

Appmon Plush Toys on Sale in October

The text reads 監修中 kanshuuchu "under revision." Images not final.

July 5th, 2016. Import store AmiAmi added eight new Appmon-themed products to its preorder list, with a release date of October 2016. First up is a line of four small plush toys featuring Gatchmon, Dokamon, Musimon, and Hackmon. Each of these is listed at 1620 yen, but a 20% discount during the preorder period puts them down to 1290 yen. (About $12.68 at the current exchange rate.)

Keychain mockup.

Gatchmon will also be available as a mid-sized plush for 3240 yen. (2590 after the discount) Finally, three keychains featuring Gatchmon, Dokamon, and Hackmon are also available at a list price of 972 yen, 770 after the discount.

Bandai Introduces Newest Digivice: the Appli Drive

07/02/16 Update: Some of the specs for the Appli Drive were found in Bandai's press release.

To coincide with their introductory video to the Appmon TV anime, Bandai uploaded a movie detailing several upcoming products that will accompany the series. Among these are the newest Digivice, the Appli Drive, and the complementary Appmon Chips that allow Digimon tamers to Appliarise their Appmon, link them to share powers, and fuse them into a higher-level Appmon.

According to a simultaneous press release by Bandai, Appmon products are being distributed nation-wide in "toy stores, department stores, consumer electronics stores [...] among others." This is the first time that Digimon will be available in traditional brick-and-mortar shops since the Xros Wars era toys ended in late 2011-early 2012. While not stated outright, one of the most obvious points in the trailer is how clearly Appmon's merchandising takes after that of Yo-kai Watch. Bandai produces the entire line of Yo-kai Watch DX watches and accompanying medal sets in Japan, and appears to be implementing the same model they used in Yo-Kai Watch; the retail prices and set sizes for medals are very close, and the company has good reason for wanting to reuse its past strategies. Back in 2014 Bandai's production lines were unable to keep up with the demand for Yo-kai Watch DX toys.

The Appli Drive will retail for 4500 yen, comparable to their previous Yo-kai Watch Dream toy. (4400 yen.) Appmon Chips will go for 240 yen per pack, which is exactly the same as Yo-kai Watch's latest medal sets. We don't yet know what bulk prices will look like for Appmon, but boxes of 20 Yo-kai Watch packs retail for 4200 yen before tax, so expect something similar.

Whether or not the Appli Drive and its accompanying products will see a western release is unclear. In the past, Bandai has usually produced watered-down versions of their Digivice toys for foreign markets. (See the Xros Loader versus the Asian Fusion Loader and the American Fusion Loader.) In the United States their Yo-kai Watch toys are licensed out to Hasbro, and seeing as a proper 1-to-1 localization of a Digimon toy hasn't taken place since the Digital Monster pets 1997, we may never see the Appli Drive overseas without outside intervention.

The links given below are eBay affiliate links. These are hyperlinks which redirect the reader to products on eBay; if a reader accesses one of these listings through one of the links below, and/or purchases the item listed, the editor is provided a referral fee and/or commission fee.
 

Already, the first international web listings for the toys have gone up on eBay. Taiwanese seller matrix-king is taking preorders for the Appli Drive SP Set--comprising the Appli Drive, Appmon Band, three R-rarity chips and a Premium Rare Scopemon--for $83.98. This is approximately a $25 markup from the base value of the set (6000 yen = ~$58.52) but accounting for Japan's staggering 8% sales tax and the increased cost of EMS shipping beginning June 1st, this increase is closer to $20. That's par for the course for a proxy purchase service; the only way to get lower prices is to buy from a Japanese toy shop that can do international orders, as they order straight from wholesale distributors to get their stock for less.

The same seller is also selling a set of three Appli Drive Pair Ring covers together for $44.98, another $20 markup. (2400 yen = ~$23.41) These include the blue Dokamon ring, orange Musimon ring, and black Hackmon ring. Introduced in lieu of alternate Digivice designs, the covers allow tamers to add a degree of personalization to their Drives, and come with additional Appmon Chips.

The first booster set, Appmon Chip ver.1.0: Awaken! Application Lifeform! will contain 28 Appmon Chips, comprising a total of 15 Commons, 6 Rares, 3 Super Rares, 2 Premium Rares, and 7codes. Note that while all of the other rarities have a star rating denoting their rarity, 7code chips have no associated stars. A full list of set 1 chips gleaned from the 2016 Tokyo Toy Show is given below.


Commons: 15
Callmon
Mailmon
Dougamon
Dougamon (Virus)
Watchmon
Weathermon
Roleplaymon
Reviewmon
Perorimon
Shotmon
Messemon
Messemon (Virus)
Dressmon
Sukashimon
Viramon

Rares: 6
Gatchimon
Navimon
Cameramon
Hackmon
Musimon
Dokamon

Super Rares: 3
Dogatchimon
Doscomon
Scopemon

Premium Rare: 2
Dogatchimon
Doscomon

7codes: 2
Mailmon
Roleplaymon (B01-016)

“A Story That’s Digimon, Yet Not Digimon:” Staff Commentary on Digimon Universe Appli Monsters

The official Appli Monsters portal site currently hosts a small collection of Japanese-language commentary from those working on the TV anime. Featuring remarks by the director, series composer, character designer and producer, these comments drop several hints as to the themes and key idea of Appmon. Their statements are translated below.

Series Director, Koga Gou:
"It's been 17 years since Digimon Adventure! Right now digital technology is indispensable to our daily lives, and perhaps artificial intelligence will exceed humanity's abilities. Is that a good thing? A scary thing?

To the children living in the "now," I want to convey an exciting adventure story of a new "current" Digimon = Appmon. Please look forward to it!"

Series Composer, Katou Yoichi:
"Artifical Intelligence is a key point to this work, it's a very hot subject that's jumping into the news every day. I want to look at it freely, laugh, and while a hot story's there, give meaning to this current era, to see the meaning there. The protagonist Haru and his friends obtain Appli Drives and meet Appmon, and in each of their lives take important steps forward. Kindness is the key to everything. We gathered the perfect staff for this work beginning with supervisor Koga and producer Nagatomi, and the screenplay team. I'm very much looking forward to it!"

Character Designer, Onuki Kenichi:
"When I first saw Haru's rough draft, I said "It's good!" and felt relieved right away.

This is my first time working for Toei, but it's not just the scenery, it's the various duties and discussions that make me look forward to working on this. There's still a little time until the broadcast, so I'm going to do my best."

Producer, Nagatomi Daichi:
"'A story that's Digimon, yet not Digimon.'

That's Appli Monsters. I want both people that already love Digimon, and those that are seeing it for the first time, to please get swallowed up in Haru and Gatchmon's story. (Laughs)

The keywords are "Digimon," "Smartphones," "AI," and "Appli Monster." Look forward to it going on air!"

Appmon's First Female Character Introduced, Cast Commentary

June 29th, 2016. The Digimon Universe portal site updated today with two new character profiles, featuring the series' first female character Karan Eri and her Appmon partner, Dokamon. Like the previous trio of profiles, these contain commentary by the voice cast, which is translated below. A recurring theme among the cast members thus far is a sense of unreality--most of them have doubted that they've been cast in the long-running Digimon series, expressing both excitement and anxiety at the roles.

Note that while Eri is listed as a second-year middle school student, the Japanese second year of middle school is equivalent to the first year of high school in the United States. (There are only three years of high school in Japan, not four.) Eri is in 9th grade.

Karan Eri
Voice: Shouji Umeka
"Dokkan Punch to your HEART! I am the center of space, the supreme Karan Eri!"
A fourteen-year-old second-year middle school student, she's an active member of an idol group with great reflexes and a lively personality. She plays a strong character, but in reality is docile and kind. She also has a side to her that easily succumbs to loneliness. Her Buddy Appmon is Dokamon.

Cast comments
Karan Eri's voice, Shouji Umeka:
"Writing commentary like this right now, it doesn't feel real, it still feels like a dream. The Digimon series beloved by so many people. I'm really happy to take this chance. Ever since I was a kid I got this feeling of excitement, and a "dream" from animation. I want to do my best along with Eri-chan to impart that "dream" packed full of heart-pounding excitement to the kids of today."

Shouji Umeka's Profile
Born August 20th. Part of Aoni Productions. Major works include One Piece (Ran/Inazuma) World Trigger (Kumagai Yukou) Bihada Ichizoku (Bihada Sara) among others.

Dokamon
Voice: Kumai Motoko
"Dokkan Punch to your BODY!"
Eri's Buddy Appmon. A powerful person with a kind personality, they're an action game application Appmon. Loves everything about Eri, and respects Gatchmon as his aniki. (A kind of big-brother figure found in yakuza gang culture. The Agumon of Digimon Savers also referred to protagonist Daimon Masaru as his aniki.)

Cast comments
Dokamon's voice, Kumai Motoko:
"It's a great honor to be part of the latest work in the long-loved Digimon series! I'm looking forward to recording. Taking this opportunity, I'll do my best to digitally evolve my analog self. (Laughs) I want to perform with all my soul, so please cheer for me!"

Kumai Motoko's Profile
Born September 8th. Part of 81 Produce. Major works include HeartCatch PreCure! (Coffret) Negibouzo no Asatarou (Asatarou) Tanken Driland - Sennen no Mahou (Sword of Intense Flame Kibamaru) among others.