(Work in Progress, This is my first entry so bear with me, and any help would be appreciated)
About
Digimon (デジモン Dejimon), short for (デジタルモンスター Dejitaru Monsutā, “Digital Monster”) is a popular Japanese series of media and merchandise created by Akiyoshi Hongo, which is comprised of anime, manga, toys, video games, trading card games and other media. Digimon, the lifeforms the series revolves around, are monsters of various forms living in a “Digital World,” a parallel universe that originated from Earth’s various communication networks. [1]
Origin
The franchise was first created as a series of virtual pets, similar to Tamagotchi toys, released on on June 26, 1997. The creatures were first designed to look cute and iconic even on the devices’ small screens; later developments had them created with a harder-edged style influenced by American comics. A second generation of virtual pets was released in December of the same year. The franchise had its first anime released on March 6, 1999, in the form of a movie in Japan. A television series, Digimon Adventures, was released a day later, on March 7th, 1999.
Spread and Popularity
References
[1]Digimon – http://digimon.wikia.com/wiki/Digimon