Translation of an interview from the April 2022 issue of V-Jump with Digimon Ghost Game director Masatoshi Chioka, with assorted questions about the series.
An up-close-and-personal interview with Director Chioka, on things we at the VJ editorial department are curious about!
The super-popular Digimon Ghost Game is broadcasting right now! We at the VJ editorial department held an up-close-and-personal interview with series director Masatoshi Chioka-san about things we’re interested in, such as the story developments, the characters in it, and what might happen next.
Q: What motivates Hiro to get involved with Digimon incidents?
A: In essence, his “spirit of curiosity”. He’s seized with a strong sense of interest in them for being unknown beings who can converse with humans, and acts accordingly.
Q: Why does Gammamon have multiple different evolutions?
A: We plan on having this be clarified within the story, so please look forward to it.
Q: Where is Hiro’s mom, and what is she doing right now?
A: She assists people who are having trouble abroad. When Hiro was in elementary school, there were discussions about having her move abroad for her work, and Hokuto encouraged her to go abroad by telling her “I’ll take care of Hiro in the meantime.”
Q: Is Mummymon getting a proper education in modern medicine?
A: I think he’s set up his base of operations in places humans won’t find him, such as an empty room in a university hospital, and would be observing human doctors, following whatever he takes an interest in, and studying medicine.
Q: What did Kiyoshiro study in university?
A: He studied a wide range of things relevant to computers, such as computer programming. But because he’s a prodigy, he’s interested in many different fields, and dabbles in them.
Q: Did the Digimon in the “Nightly Procession of Monsters” return to the Digital World safely?
A: They went through the gate completely, and returned to the Digital World in the same way they’d originally come to the real world. But because we don’t know where exactly in the Digital World the gate connected to, the location they were returned to still remains unknown.
Q: How many followers does Ruli have on her social media account?
A: A fairly reasonable amount. The account has spread beyond her personal friend circle, so I think it’d be something around a three- or four-digit number of followers. Probably with a lot of middle and high school students.
Q: Does Jellymon normally do commerce with other Digimon?
A: Not so much “commerce” as much as she’s “doing business”. She’s basically serving as an “intermediary” for different kinds of things. Whenever Jellymon takes an interest in something, she always wants to be “the best” at it, so for instance, if there’s a Digimon who says “I want to wear a kimono,” she wants to be “the best” in the eyes of the Digimon who made that request, so that forms the crux of Jellymon’s motivations.
Q: What happens if someone gets involved in a “Hologram Ghost” incident but isn’t saved by Hiro and Gammamon?
A: It’ll be considered a “mystery case” that can’t be explained by modern science, and treated as an unsolved mystery.
Q: What should we look out for in the rest of the show?
A: There’s a lot of things to look forward to, such as Hiro being targeted, a glimpse of Hiro’s mother, and some Digimon that are popular among fans of prior Digimon works. Please look forward to them!
Q: Are there “Hologram Ghost” incidents outside Japan, too?
A: They happen anywhere there’s Internet or digital technology. There may be other humans who have noticed them, but I think they’d be perceived as being akin to cryptids.
Thank you very much, Director Chioka!