Translations for the text found in the booklets for the “Digimon Original Story” drama CD series released on April 23, 2003, consisting of the following:
- Digimon Adventure Original Story: Two-and-a-Half Year Break
- Digimon Adventure 02 Original Story: 2003 -Spring-
- Digimon Tamers Original Story: Message in the Packet
- Digimon Frontier Original Story: Things I Want to Tell You
The CD booklets for Adventure and Adventure 02 contain commentary from series director Hiroyuki Kakudou, the booklet for Tamers includes excerpts from the CD’s respective tracks, and the booklet for Frontier contains comments from the characters’ voice actors.
Note that this translation only includes the content of the booklets and not the drama CD audio itself; for a translation of the audio, please refer to onkeikun’s translation here.
Digimon Adventure Original Story: Two-and-a-Half Year Break
These eight children first met their Digimon partners on August 1999.
It was an incident that spanned only three days.
And at the end of it, the children and their Digimon had to part ways for the time being.
This is a story of their two-and-a-half break before their next adventure.
It’s a story of their days free of any fighting, of ordinary days in their everyday lives.
Hiroyuki Kakudou
November 1999, Taichi Yagami: “Whistle”
After the kids parted ways with their Digimon and left the Digital World for the real world, they couldn’t just go back to their normal lives as if nothing happened.
A number of buildings in Odaiba were still destroyed, and the world was still in a huge panic over the strange phenomena that had occurred on August 3.
Everyone around the world had witnessed the children fighting Apocalymon via the images in the sky, but fortunately, they weren’t clearly visible enough for anyone to recognize them.
As a result, the eight children’s accomplishments remained unknown to anyone besides their families, but they themselves still couldn’t truly feel like they’d accomplished anything that big, and on top of that, they’d had to leave their partners behind, so they had to deal with a persistent feeling of a huge hole left in their hearts.
They’d need some more time to get back on their feet.
October 2000, Sora Takenouchi: “A Letter to My Father”
Sora was lashing out against her mother, but there was more to it than simply her mother being strict.
Her father was rarely at home, and Sora had the impression that her mother’s flower arrangement students looked down on him.
But as she gradually came to understand what her mother was actually thinking, she eventually stopped rebelling against her.
In Kyoto, there is a place called Rokkakudou, where Japanese flower arrangement was invented.
That was where Sora’s father, who was still a student at the time, and her mother, who was still only the heir to the flower arrangement school, first met each other.
April 2001, Koushirou Izumi: “Chat”
In 1999, a mysterious old man named Gennai helped the kids while they were in the Digital World.
Gennai was neither a Digimon nor a human.
Even his appearance as an old man was only a temporary one, and (after some time had passed) he went back to his original form as a young man.
Although he couldn’t go out into the real world, it was possible to converse with him through the computer, so he used communication lines such as mail and chat to get in contact with the children, mainly Koushirou, and give them information.
Around this time, they were able to make use of a chat client that used not only normal text, but also characters that could convey simple facial expressions1.
September 2001, Mimi Tachikawa: “Video Mail”
Video mail is a very useful thing, especially when you’re in another country.
At this point, Mimi had moved to America, so among the eight children, Koushirou and Hikari were now the only ones attending elementary school in Odaiba.
March 2002, Yamato Ishida: “As I Play the Bass Guitar”
The TV station Yamato’s father worked at was destroyed in 1999, thanks to VenomVamdemon.
They rebuilt it in two years, but that was a rather fast job, wasn’t it?
The buildings in the surrounding area were almost completely rebuilt, and they also set up a wireless communication network, so the kids in Odaiba were given wireless email terminals that were distributed as part of an experimental measure.
Later that year in spring, the next set of kids would start their own adventure, and those terminals would end up playing a very important role, but nobody could have anticipated that at the time.
I Was a Teenage Werewolf is a horror B-movie from 1957 by AIP, an American company.
They seem to have released some pretty amazing movies in Japan.
The leading actor is Michael Landon, who’d go on to play an idealized father figure in Little House on the Prairie.
Digimon Adventure 02 Original Story: 2003 -Spring-
As the title suggests, Digimon Adventure 02 is a story that primarily takes place in 2002.
Here is a little story of what happened shortly after that.
Daisuke Motomiya: “Goggles”
Three new children were chosen in 2002.
Among them was Daisuke, but why was he chosen to begin with?
After he was chosen, the answer became clear through his actions in the story.
But perhaps Daisuke himself had already wanted to be chosen.
With the feeling that, no matter what hardships came his way, he’d be fully prepared and willing to take it all in.
Takeru Takaishi: “As I Type on the Keyboard”
This story takes place in the spring of 2003, and the person most suited to report on the world’s affairs should naturally be Takeru.
Takeru is the kind of person who always tries very hard to observe his surroundings in an objective manner.
Perhaps it’s because he’s actually the one with the most passionate heart.
But he doesn’t let much of that show on the outside.
Iori Hida: “A Visit to the Grave”
Telling your Digimon partner something means telling it to yourself.
It means reconsidering and re-examining yourself.
Because your Digimon partner is another version of yourself.
Miyako Inoue: “I’ve Become a Middle Schooler”
In truth, having Digimon partners meant that the children were caught up in things that didn’t make their lives very easy.
But right now, they do still have some space to enjoy their daily lives.
Ken Ichijouji: “Spring Sunlight”
There’s nothing wrong with looking back at your past and having regrets.
But you can’t get stuck on that, and you have to move on…At some point, Ken started thinking this way and heading forward, but when?
It wasn’t one specific moment, and it was a gradual process, but it’s easy to imagine that he must have realized this over the time period between November and December 2002.
Hikari Yagami: “Hikari’s Introductory Course to Partners”
Even now, there are many videos passed around for educational purposes at school, styled like TV shows.
Naturally, Hikari, who was now a sixth-year, had set herself on the idea of making this kind of video for future children who would become partners.
But there was one problem: how was she going to get children all over the country to watch it…?
Afterwards, the world would end up facing more and more troubles ahead.
Although you saw these children, including the other Chosen Children from 1999, doing well in a future 25 years later, that didn’t mean everything was calm and peaceful up until then.
It was just as those words from 02‘s final episode had said: “the road to get to this point was not easy.”
The video Hikari had started making ended up being more necessary than she’d expected, and on the other hand, the notes Takeru had started writing couldn’t be published until the situation had calmed down to some extent.
But despite that, they were able to persist and live through all of it, overcoming everything in their way.
Without ever forgetting anything they’d gotten from their adventure, and from the Digimon.
Their courage and friendship.
Their sincerity and love.
Their knowledge and integrity.
Their hope.
Their kindness.
And all of their light.
For these twelve children (*the other six can be heard on Digimon Adventure Original Story: Two-and-a-Half Year Break), this story that spanned between 1999 and 2002 comes to an end here.
But they continued to live on, into 2003 and beyond.
Please be sure to remember that, even if only once in a while.
Hiroyuki Kakudou
Digimon Tamers Original Story: Message in the Packet
This particular story is meant to take place around a year after the final episode of Digimon Tamers.
Takato and his friends have all moved up one school year.
The time of year is somewhere around April or May.
Jianliang
— Terriermon —
— Terriermon, can you hear me?
It’s me, Jianliang —
Yamaki-san is sending this packet on our behalf, and you’re the only one who can receive it.
If it doesn’t reach you, it’ll turn into a Dust Packet and disappear.
I really, really wish from the bottom of my heart that won’t happen, and that it’ll reach you.
— Terriermon —
Wait for me.
We’ll be sure to meet again —
— Moumantai.
Takato
I still think of you every day.
We played together, we ate together, we slept together —
We went on an adventure together — we fought together —
I definitely believe we’ll meet again.
You feel the same, don’t you, Guilmon?
You want to see me again, don’t you?
After all, you’re the Digimon I created.
Hirokazu
Hey! How’re ya doin’. Guardrmon?!
It’s me, Hirokazu! I hope you’re not still trying to copy me.
Uh, are you Guardromon right now?
Or maybe you’ve evolved into Andromon?
You’re not still stuck as Caprimon, right?
Let’s meet up and be an awesome duo again.
Next time, you can be Andromon!
Or hey, we could even go with HiAndromon, oh, man, that’d be incredible!!
Kenta
Greetings, MarineAngemon.
It is I, Kenta Kitagawa.
Have you been spending your days well?
I myself have been doing well.
Yeah, I really miss you…
I-I can’t go see you, and I hate it…
Hey, we’ll meet again — right…?
Shaochung
— Helloooo?
Oh, this isn’t a phone, right.
Uh, ummmm — uhhhhhhhh…
Lopmooooon! Terriermooooon!
Can you heeeear meeeeee~?
It’s meeeeeeee, Shaochung~!
Lopmon’s Tamer, Shaochung~!
I’m Shaochung and I don’t cry — even when I’m lonely…
So — Lopmon, Terriermon — hang tight, and let’s meet again!
Ryou
Cyberdramon, it’s me, Ryou Akiyama.
It’s been a while.
Jian sent me an email, and luckily, I happened to be on my way from Kitakyushu anyway.
Yeah. I’m still fighting at card tournaments.
Hey, Cyberdramon.
If you really want to get stronger the right way, then you’ll have to defeat your real enemy — the enemy lurking within you.
And once you’ve defeated it — that’s when you’ll really have reached Ultimate-level, in the true sense of the word…
Even if you don’t have a Tamer —
Ah — but I want to tell you this in person, with my own words.
So, Cyberdramon — do me a favor and live!
Juri
— Culumon — do you still remember my voice?
It’s me, Juri…
Culumon — thank you. Truly, truly, thank you.
For everything you’ve given me — I’ll never forget it for the rest of my life.
You’re very important to me, just as important as Leomon —
— Impmon —
You, too — are you doing well?
Hey, um, you understood everything in the end, didn’t you?
I heard you say it — “can you forgive me?”
Don’t bully Culumon, okay? Be sure to get along with everyone.
I truly believe we’ll meet again. And you’ll get to see Ai-chan and Mako-chan.
See you then!
Ruki
— Thank you, Renamon —
For coming to my side…
I’m gonna keep trying tomorrow —
I don’t know what I’m gonna be trying, but I’ll keep trying until I find something I want to try.
— So today, I won’t be ending this wiht a “goodbye”.
Because — I’ve decided to believe.
I’ll really believe that we’ll meet again —
Digimon Frontier Original Story: Things I Want to Tell You
Hey, guys! How are you all doing~?!
Thanks for always giving your support for Digimon Frontier!
Anyway, today, we’ve all decided that we’ll use this time to write some letters to people we’ve wanted to tell our deepest feelings to but normally couldn’t!
So be sure to listen to the end, okay?
Takuya Kanbara
Junko Takeuchi (voice of Takuya Kanbara)
My very first impression of Takuya-kun was that he was…pretty normal, a completely normal young boy.
Well, right off the bat, he evolved into a Digimon, so at that point he wasn’t a normal boy anymore.
To be honest, during the first half of the series, there were times when I thought, ugh, I hate this kid!
I mean, he started trying to act like he was their leader from the very beginning.
And on top of that, he was totally reckless about how he fought.
If it weren’t for the fact he was nice to Tomoki, I think I’d have had a very hard time feeling that much affection for him.
But in the second half, although he didn’t change drastically, somehow, he started coming off as kind of cool.
He really grew up a lot, didn’t he?
I’m like his proud older sister.
But the truth is, I actually had an easier time playing Takuya when he was so easy to hate than I did when he got cooler.
So that’s how it went.
Ahaha.
I love Takuya-kun.
Sawa Ishige (voice of Izumi Orimoto)
Dear Izumi-chan,
At first, I had a hard time bringing proper life into you.
All of your emotions, your girlish cuteness, your more older sister-like aspects, the fact you had a very clear personal policy…I kept wondering to myself if I could somehow express all of your charm points, and I paid close attention to all the little details as I played your role.
But right now, I understand everything about you.
You went to the Digital World and became aware of so many things, you’ve grown so much, and I’m proud of you.
You were able to make friends you could truly speak your heart to.
And now that you’re back to your original world, you’ll be able to make even more friends.
You’ve gotten so strong, Izumi-chan.
So if you ever have any more troubles, always remember the Digital World and everyone who was there.
I’m sure it’ll be fine.
Because they’ll give you courage, and they’ll believe in you.
Masato Amada (voice of Junpei Shibayama)
Hey, Junpei!
You went through a lot this past year.
When I first met you, you were selfish, stubborn, and a total show-off…
You really were a useless brat. But that was fine. Because everyone else was, too.
Takuya, Kouji, Tomoki, Izumi-chan, all of them went to the Digital World like it was some kind of amusement park.
Even if you had problems making friends in the real world, I still loved you for being so honest after going to the Digital World.
But you’ve changed a lot.
At first, you kept concerning yourself only with Izumi-chan, but at some point you realized you were on a journey with the others, too.
And you probably were able to gain the courage to face all sorts of dangers because you stopped hiding your true self from the others.
And from that, I myself was able to draw a lot of courage from you. Thanks, Junpei.
Someday, I’ll need to come get some more courage from you. Until then, maybe both of us will have lost some weight?
Well then, see you again, bye-bye!
Kumiko Watanabe (voice of Tomoki Himi)
Tomoki is such a good kid.
I’m the one who played him, so maybe I don’t have the right to say it, but he’s reeeeeeeeeeally cute!
The Frontier cast knows what I’m actually like, so they may have projected some of my “evil” onto him, but he doesn’t have any of that at all.
You see, I took the pure and gentle part of my heart (it exists, I swear!) and “filtered” the rest out, put a pair of angel wings on them, and gave that to him.
See, when I’m in front of the mic, you should see the angel wings behind me ♡
Hiroshi Kamiya (voice of Kouji Minamoto)
Dear Kouji Minamoto,
It’s been a year since I first met you.
So much has happened in this last year, hasn’t it?
You certainly gave me my fair share of trouble in front of the mic.
But somehow, for some reason, I can only remember the fun things.
In this last year, you’ve really grown a lot.
You managed to find people who can truly understand you, and you’ve also started opening yourself little by little so that other people can understand you more easily…
I’m honestly kind of relieved.
But of all the people who understand and support you, you shouldn’t forget me.
Because I’m definitely not going to forget you.
Oh, and also, to the Spirit of Light and all of the others who gave Kouji strength…truly, thank you for everything.
I hope we can meet again somewhere.
Be sure to get along with the others, okay?
All right, see you again, Kouji!
Kenichi Suzumura (voice of Kouichi Kimura)
Kouichi, you’ve gotten really strong.
You’ve gone through so much, but you used those experiences to really grow as a person.
I’m sure you’ll keep pushing on and heading forward.
I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of adult you’ll become.
If I could play you as an adult, ten or twenty years older, I wonder how I’d play you.
I hope I can keep on pushing forward like you do!
I’m glad I met you!!
Translator's notes
- At the time Koushirou’s track takes place in 2001, and in real life when this drama CD was released in 2003, emoji had only just started to gain in popularity and were mostly limited to mobile phones. [↩]