The official DigiFes 2022 event (held at the Tachikawa Stage Garden on July 30, 2022) had a pamphlet sold on-site, containing comments from various members of Digimon Frontier and Digimon Adventure 02 THE BEGINNING cast and staff:
- Comments from the Digimon Frontier voice actors
- Junko Takeuchi (Takuya Kanbara)
- Hiroshi Kamiya (Kouji Minamoto)
- Michael Shitanda (Junpei Shibayama)
- Sawa Ishige (Izumi Orimoto)
- Kumiko Watanabe (Tomoki Himi)
- Kenichi Suzumura (Kouichi Kimura)
- Comments from the Digimon Adventure 02 THE BEGINNING voice actors
- Fukujuurou Katayama (Daisuke Motomiya)
- Junko Noda (V-mon)
- Megumi Ogata (Rui Owada)
- Rie Kugimiya (Ukkomon)
- Comments from other event attendees
- Hiromi Seki (Digimon Frontier producer)
- Ayumi Miyazaki (musician)
- AiM (musician)
- Junko Takeuchi (voice of Takuya Kanbara)
- Hiroshi Kamiya (voice of Kouji Minamoto)
- Michael Shitanda (voice of Junpei Shibayama)
- Sawa Ishige (voice of Izumi Orimoto)
- Kumiko Watanabe (voice of Tomoki Himi)
- Kenichi Suzumura (voice of Kouichi Kimura)
- Fukujuurou Katayama (voice of Daisuke Motomiya)
- Junko Noda (voice of V-mon)
- Megumi Ogata (voice of Rui Owada)
- Rie Kugimiya (voice of Ukkomon)
- Hiromi Seki (Digimon Frontier producer)
- Ayumi Miyazaki (musician)
- AiM (musician)
Junko Takeuchi (voice of Takuya Kanbara)
From Theatre Company BQMAP and Ogipro THE NEXT. Major roles include Gomamon in Digimon Adventure and Naruto Uzumaki in Naruto.
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
It’s a series where Takuya met new friends and matured, and where I also met new friends and matured. I accept no objections. We’re all in it together! We matured together!
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
Tomoki was so, so cute. Takuya’s lines already had him fussing over Tomoki, but that was nothing in comparison to how much I was worried about him, so after a certain point my eyes just ended up following him all the time to the point it was concerning. But it was very healing for my eyes.
Also, another one. I think it was around the time Susanoomon first evolved? And he was combining with Kouji-kun. Or in other words, Kamiya-kun. I thought Kamiya-kun should voice Susanoomon instead. But when I said this to Kamiya-kun, he smiled and didn’t even give me the time of day. But come on! I wanted to see him moving around on the screen with Kamiya-kun’s voice! I thought it’d be really cool!
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
“Takuya’s very bright and lively, wow, he’s really energetic.” That was my first impression.
Afterwards, when he returned to the real world by himself, and I saw him trying to reverse his original choice, I realized he was more than just bright, and I could really sense his feelings of weakness. I couldn’t help having even more affection for him after that.
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
It’s Frontier‘s 20th anniversary! Thank you for leaving another page in my memories! This year, let’s have fun together and make some new and improved “Spirit” for that page!
Hiroshi Kamiya (voice of Kouji Minamoto)
From Aoni Production. Major roles include Levi in Attack on Titan and Trafalgar Law in One Piece.
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
Obtaining the power of a Chosen Child, transforming and helping those in trouble, beating up bad guys…the experience of adventuring through the Digital World that anyone would find irreplaceable. It was as if everything I’d admired as a kid had been condensed into a single year. It’s been 20 years since then, and I’m still working as a voice actor, and I think that was possible because working on Digimon Frontier helped me get used to performing.
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
One time, I saw this mysterious symbol in my script, like some kind of hieroglyphic character. Prior to the post-recording, when the script was being corrected, Kaizawa-san, the director for that episode, told me “I think I know why that weird symbol’s in the script. When I write words in the storyboard, people tell me that my handwriting is messy and they can’t read it, so…I think the scriptwriter’s trying to be cute with me by writing it exactly the same way in the script.” I remember that very well. At the time, our scripts were still handwritten, so it seems like the scriptwriter couldn’t figure out what was in the storyboard and reproduced it exactly as it was in the script, and that led to things like that happening.
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
The fact he had an older twin brother was actually written clearly in the notes as early as my audition. Each of the kids had their own problems to deal with as they were wandering around the Digital World, but I feel Kouji Minamoto had some particularly dramatic ones out of all of them.
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I got to have a lot of firsthand experiences back when we were working on Digimon Frontier. Through that one year, I got to form a relationship with the characters, I did character songs and live shows, and also showed up at the stage show for the theatricle movie…and now, after 20 years, I get to be Kouji in front of everyone again…so I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’m sure Digimon will let everyone, including myself, experience a lot more new things from here on out. Let’s enjoy today’s event together!
Michael Shitanda (voice of Junpei Shibayama)
A freelance voice actor. Major roles include Daisuke Hagiwara in Dragon Drive and Jirou Oriza in Crush Gear Turbo.
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
I played the same young boy through that long period of 50 episodes, and they had me challenge myself by expressing all sorts of things, so I have a very deep attachment to it.
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
We’d all go out to eat together almost every week, and sometimes we’d even meet up at night. Even when we first started recording, I feel like we’d already had a perfect sense of teamwork. We had more experienced people, and a group of younger people, and it kind of felt like being in school again.
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
He looked a little like I did when I was a kid, so I immediately connected with him.
I was improving myself as an actor, and Junpei was growing as a person, so we were synchronized with each other, and now…I’m not sure if I was playing a role or if I actually went to the Digital World myself, I might not be able to tell the difference anymore (sweats)…
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
A whole 20 years! So many feelings! I’m sure Junpei, Izumi-chan, Takuya, Kouji, Kouichi, and Tomoki’s Spirits are still living and breathing in our hearts as cast members! I’m looking forward to meeting up with the others again! And I’m looking forward to meeting everyone who watched us on TV!
Sawa Ishige (voice of Izumi Orimoto)
A freelance voice actress. Major roles include Pop in Magical DoReMi and Haruna Saotome in Negima! Magister Negi Magi.
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
It’s a series that’s very important to me. Back then, I’d only been playing very young little girls, so playing Fairimon and Shutumon was a new challenge for me. I got to expand my range of roles, so it was a turning point for me.
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
After post-recording, we’d go out to eat every week. It was a lot of fun~.
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
I loooooooooove Izumi-chan! When I was auditioning for her, I was already attached to her from her appearance and notes. I could already tell, she wasn’t just cute and sweet, she’s a strong girl at her core.
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
Thank you to everyone who’s been loving Digimon Frontier and the entire Digimon series all this time. I’ll be on stage with all of the gratitude I have. Let’s have fun together~!
Kumiko Watanabe (voice of Tomoki Himi)
From Sigma Seven. Major roles include Keroro in Sgt. Frog, Shippo in Inuyasha, and Regina in DokiDoki! PreCure.
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
Digimon Frontier‘s the series where, instead of having partners, the kids themselves turn into Digimon and fight. It really was a new frontier. They grew by their own will, through their feelings, their strength, all of it. I was cheering them on during the post-recording.
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
Probably a certain “very Frontier incident in a sense”. That’s the one that comes to mind right away (laughs).
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
Tomoki started off without any self-confidence, but he became a Digimon, fought off enemies, fought with himself, and grew into someone truly admirable. And Chackmon is so cute!
Also, I really like the song “Say, yes! ~Tomoki’s Theme~”, which I recorded before I’d even started playing him.
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’m super-excited thinking about seeing everyone share what we all love about Digimon Frontier! Let’s have fun!!! (Tomoki Himi)
Kenichi Suzumura (voice of Kouichi Kimura)
From Intention. Major roles include Iyami in Mr. Osomatsu, Yang Wenli in Legend of the Galactic Heroes: The New Thesis, and Youjirou Mutsu in Backflip!!
Q1. Now that it’s Digimon Frontier‘s 20th anniversary, what kind of series is it to you?
It’s a series that supported me when I still wasn’t getting steady work. The other cast members close to my age and I supported each other, and the veteran voice actors taught me how to personalize my own performance better.
Q2. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of the post-recording back then?
When I was doing my first Spirit Evolution, I strained my back…I was hoping I could suppress the pain and keep going without letting anyone know, but…then I couldn’t stand up anymore, and had to be taken to the hospital. Very nostalgic to think about (laughs).
Q3. What was your first impression of your character? Were you attached to anything in particular about them?
He started off as an enemy and became an ally, so I thought that was a very attractive role to have (laughs). Duskmon’s design was also really cool, so I was excited. At the time, I still hadn’t done a lot of roles that required me to use deep voices, so I was nervous, but I definitely remember being very passionate about getting this done.
4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
Everyone who watched the series has a lot of important memories, and so do I. I hope we can have a wonderful time reliving and stacking up all the feelings and sensations we had back then!
Fukujuurou Katayama (voice of Daisuke Motomiya)
From Flash Up, Inc. Also an accredited master of traditional Japanese music performance. Major roles include Yutaka Hoshino in Ping Pong.
Q1. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of DigiFes?
I particularly remember how we all sang “Butter-Fly” together as a chorus on stage during last year’s DigiFes. Everyone’s love for the series from the entire assembly hall was clustered into one ball of passion, and it was super exciting!
Q2. Do you have any particular anecdotes about Junko Noda-san, who played your partner, from events such as recording for Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna, or participating in events related to it?
During recording, we wanted to make that relationship come off smoothly, so I remember going out to have ramen with Noda-san beforehand. During the live events, we were both excited together, and when I had my hands full she helped keep me going and supported me, so she was both the best senior voice actor and partner ever.
Q3. Did you have any particularly interesting discussions with the director or producer when recording for the new movie’s special preview?
Prior to the recording, the director and producer told us that we should do it with a natural feeling. One of the 02 group’s particular standout charms is this very characteristic atmosphere that comes from the trust and bonds between the partner pairs. We wanted to maintain that as much as possible, so we took on the challenge of recording by approaching it “naturally”.
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
Thank you for coming this year! Let’s make this an unforgettable summer and have as much fun as we can together!!
Junko Noda (voice of V-mon)
A freelance voice actress and singer. Major roles include Nagi Yoshino in Jujutsu Kaisen, Hariham Harry in HUGtto! PreCure, and Tashigi in One Piece.
Q1. Do you have any significant anecdotes or particular memories of DigiFes?
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the passionate cheers from all the Digimon fans at DigiFes 2019 when the new 02 Chosen Children first appeared. I have a particularly strong memory of that day of Digimon Adventure‘s 20th anniversary. It was such a celebratory event, with the 02 group finally all gathered on stage.
Q2. Do you have any particular anecdotes about Fukujuurou Katayama-san, who played your partner, from events such as recording for Digimon Adventure LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna, or participating in events related to it?
Katayama-kun must have been so nervous when he was introducing himself, but prior to the recording, he invited me out in a gambit to establish communciation with me, and he came up with ways to have Daisuke and V-mon’s “bond” come across properly to all of the fans, and I remember how proactive he was with his obvious passion of “I want to make something good!” I’m his senior, but Katayama-kun was carrying me on his back (laughs).
Q3. Did you have any particularly interesting discussions with the director or producer when recording for the new movie’s special preview?
I was instructed “V-mon at least needs to be lively and energetic!”, so I didn’t even bother trying to read the room (laughs) and played him fierce and passionately ♪
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’d like to spend a a wonderful time with the Frontier cast, and for Daisuke and I to represent the 02 group and have everything go wild in their honor, so we’ll return all the support everyone’s giving us!
Let’s all make DigiFes 2022 exciting!!
Megumi Ogata (voice of Rui Owada)
From BREATHE ARTS. Major roles include Kurama/Shuuichi Minamo in YuYu Hakusho and Shinji Ikari in Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Q1. How did you feel when you were picked for your role in the new movie?
I was very happy. I really love seeing the footage that Director Tomohisa Taguchi makes, so even the idea of getting to be in another one of his worlds is a joy.
Q2. What was your first impression of your character?
He has a cool appearance in the “present”, but the gap between that and his past as a more straightforward child really intrigued my imagination, so I went along with that idea when I took on the audition, but when I received the notice that I’d passed, they told me “Ogata-san, please make the adult voice sound a little younger, and the child voice a little older”…so I realized I probably overdid it, and my heart was pounding all the way to the studio (laughs).
Q3. What’s your impression of the Digimon anime series?
It’s a series with a long history, and everyone’s come into contact with it at some point. I was surprised to hear they’d started making a movie with older versions of its characters. It’s an honor to be involved with it.
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’m participating in this series for the first time, but since Rui is “the first boy to come into contact with a Digimon”, I’m taking on this challenge feeling the same way he is. It’s about a “first”, but at the same time, I’d like this to be a movie that’s distinctly something that was made in the 2022 era. I hope you enjoy it.
Rie Kugimiya (voice of Ukkomon)
Q1. How did you feel when you were picked for your role in the new movie?
I was really happy! I was told I’d be playing the featured guest Digimon in a theatrical movie, so I was really looking forward to learning what kind of character and what sort of Digimon this was.
Q2. What was your first impression of your character?
Well, firstly, the name…(laughs).1 It kind of smacks you in the face, but I was also really excited thinking about how I should play such a cute angel-like Digimon.
Q3. What’s your impression of the Digimon anime series?
It’s a series that’s been going on for such a long time, and so many people love it, and I really feel how amazing that is. Even back when I was playing a major character or guest character for it2, I was always deeply impressed by how everyone on the production was putting so much love into their work.
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’m looking forward to spending time with everyone at DigiFes 2022! See you there!!
Hiromi Seki (Digimon Frontier producer)
Serves as a producer, including Digimon Adventure and its three successor series. Major works also include the Magical DoReMi series.
–Please tell us the details about how planning for Digimon Frontier started.
When we started thinking about the fourth Digimon series (around early summer 2001), the series was dealing with a lot of problems such as viewer ratings and merchandising. During the broadcast, surveys into audience ratings revealed massive changes in family structures and a declining number of children per household, and I remember it being my first time feeling such a “brrrrr” kind of chilly atmosphere when it came to anime shows (including those from other companies). Taking current social conditions into account, we decided to balance out the main cast of characters and go with a conventional “squadron-style story”3. The lead writer4 for the series, Sukehiro Tomita-san, didn’t know anything about the older Digimon series, so we wanted to make it easy for him to write.
–Was there anything difficult about the worldbuilding or storywriting?
The part we were most worried about was definitely “having humans evolve into Digimon”.
I’m not a boy, so I was really worried, “would boys want to evolve/transform into monsters?” I’m still not really sure about that.
–Yukio Kaizawa-san served as the series director again, following Digimon Tamers. What was your reason for continuing to appoint him to this position?
Kaizawa-san has a very carefree kind of sensitivity that I found to be very promising. After working on Tamers for a year, I heard him say “I feel like I, too, was also able to become a Tamer,” and that told me that picking him was the right decision.
–How did you decide on the cast members, such as Junko Takeuchi-san and Hiroshi Kamiya-san? Also, what were your deciding factors in picking them during their auditions?
We picked them based on how well they matched each character’s appearance. We imagined each character’s voice coming from their jawline, from their neckline, from their chest, and picked voices that basically matched how they looked.
–Do you have any particularly striking memories about the cast members?
Kouichi and Kouji. They’re twins, but they have different personalities and were raised differently, so we wanted that to come across.
I was also involved on Magical DoReMi at the time, so I got to hear a lot of people with interesting voices.
–Please tell us if you have any interesting about the production or characters that you’re particularly attached to.
Kouichi and Kouji were based on Cain and Abel from Greek mythology5, which meant that one of them was going to have to die in some way, but since it would be the last Digimon series, we left some hope for them at the very end.
–The ending song “an Endless tale” is a duet with Wada-san6 and AiM-san. It’s a song that leaves a very deep impression, but can you tell us about what led to the creation of the song, and what you intended with it?
We already knew by this point that this would be the last series, so we requested that the song be filled with tons of thoughts and emotions.
–What kind of series is Digimon Frontier to you?
Despite all of their worries, the series was propped up by so many members of staff, and…I remember being grateful that we could cut through the goal tape with this series.
Ayumi Miyazaki (musician)
A singer-songwriter. He has been involved in many songs for the Digimon series. He is also active as a lyricist, composer, and arranger.
Q1. What kinds of feelings or memories do you have for the songs you’ll be performing at DigiFes?
I wasn’t involved with Digimon for a year after Digimon Adventure 02, but when Digimon Frontier started, I went up to Producer Matsui7 and talked to him. “I want to sing an insert song again!!” Considering I’d gone up to him directly about this, he could sense my passion, and the resulting song became a new “element” for me!
Q2. If you could be a Digimon Frontier character, which would you want to be?
I’d like to be a Trailmon and run around! “Taking you along!”
Q3. Do you have any memories or memorable anecdotes from DigiFes?
Last year, I had no choice but to pull out of the show8, so it was the first DigiFes I saw at home.9 I made everyone who was looking forward to my performance worry about me, and I imposed a burden on the staff and performers, and I’m really full of apologies and regret about that.
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’m gonna make up for last year and play hard!
I’m looking forward to going “yes!!” with everyone!
AiM (musician)
A voice actress and singer from Aoni Production. Uses the name “Ai Maeda” as a voice actress. She served as the voice actress for Mimi Tachikawa in Digimon Adventure, and has sung a number of ending songs for the Digimon series.
Q1. What kinds of feelings or memories do you have for the songs you’ll be performing at DigiFes?
As of this writing, we still haven’t firmly decided, but I think there’s a lot of songs on here that are going to surprise everyone.
These songs are important to everyone, and they’re important to me too, and I hope all of these feelings will be able to reach everyone.
Q2. If you could be a Digimon Frontier character, which would you want to be?
Neemon. I don’t want to be rubber-snapped (laughs), but I’d like to live my life leisurely and slowly (* ´ ω`*)
Q3. Do you have any memories or memorable anecdotes from DigiFes?
For “an Endless tale”, they put up a mic for Wada-san, and I sang it with everyone who came, and I don’t think I can forget the sight of everyone crying.10
Q4. Please leave a message for the fans looking forward to DigiFes 2022!
I’m so happy that I’ll get to see everyone so excited as I sing again this year, and I hope all of my feelings will reach you.
Let’s enjoy it together, both in the assembly hall and through the broadcast ♪
Translator's notes
- The “Ukko” in Ukkomon’s name is similar to the word “unko“, meaning “poop”, and the similarity is even stronger when the name is said aloud. [↩]
- Kugimiya’s previous Digimon roles were Ikuto in Savers, FunBeemon in Adventure:, and Digitamamon in Ghost Game. [↩]
- “Squadron-style story” = The word “squadron” (戦隊, “sentai“) is commonly understood to be shorthand for the popular tokusatsu series Super Sentai, a Toei-produced yearly superhero series of transforming hero teams that has been ongoing since 1975. The series is known for centering around groups of transforming heroes, each assigned a role in the group and corresponding color. The franchise was localized in the West as Power Rangers. [↩]
- In literal terms, the role referred to here is series kousei (シリーズ構成, lit. “series composition”. [↩]
- Cain and Abel are from the Hebrew Book of Genesis, not Greek mythology. Producer Seki may have actually meant Castor and Pollux (also known as the Dioscuri or Gemini), a pair of warrior twins from Greek mythology famous for an incident in which the younger immortal twin Pollux gave up half of his immortality to his mortal older twin Castor in order to stay with him after his death. Either way, I’ve left the error as-is for the sake of transparency. [↩]
- “Wada-san” = Referring to the late Kouji Wada, who served as a vocalist for a large number of songs in the Digimon franchise. [↩]
- “Producer Matsui” = Refers to music producer Shintarou Matsui from FEEL MEE (formerly NEC Interchannel), who was responsible for music related to all Digimon anime series between Adventure and Savers, and for Adventure tri. and LAST EVOLUTION Kizuna. [↩]
- Just prior to DigiFes 2021, Miyazaki ended up with a fever and having to withdraw. [↩]
- The DigiFes 2021 event prominently had a limited-time stream version available for those who could not attend the live event due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Thanks to this precedent, the 2022 event also followed suit. [↩]
- AiM refers to the Digimon Adventure Fes. 2016 event (prior to the event’s formal rebranding to “DigiFes”), which was the first DigiFes held after Wada’s passing in April 2016. [↩]