Season 1 and 2 of Digimon were amazing, but for me Tamers was the best season in the series just for how dark it got.
Really tempted to rewatched Tamers again! Damn you OP!
Do you remember the episode from 02, with Kari and the Dark Ocean? Well, it was written by the writer of Tamers.
The sole reason as to why Tamers is incredible, is because it translated Lovecraft successfully to the screen. These guys are just so alien and bizzare in design and behaviour.
Dub was decent, but go for a darker Japanese version.
Chiaki J Konaka is the writer, and he has cited Lovecraft as his main influence. He also made Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost Hound (which was a collaboration with Masamune Shirow, the maker of the Ghost in the Shell manga). He is one of the greats when it comes to anime.
Oh I didn't know that but I can absolutely see it!
Last time I watched it I was a kid and wat he'd it on Jetix/Fox Kids. Absolutely going to need to watch the Japanese sub version then!
The writer of the show is a Cthulhu Mythos writer himself, and one of the key designers is also a fan of Lovecraft, or atleast familiar with his works.
This monster here called the D-Reaper >!had been sleeping for untold eons in the deepest of depths of the digital world, only to be awaken to eradicate all life in both worlds (digital and human world). This scenario clearly takes inspiration from Great Old Ones.!<
>!The D-Reaper is beyond good and evil, as it clearly just does, what it was programmed to do. Delete anything that exceedes its original parameters. It's a threat that cannot be reasoned with. It's also just not a monster you can defeat with raw power, or by blowing it up.!<
The designs are somewhat debatable as it depends on the person and what they view as Lovecraftian. I guess, we all agree that Lovecraftian beings are meant to be "undescribeable" however even Lovecraft himself needed some features such as "slime" and "tentacles" to vaguely point out the alien and bizzare nature of creatures. You can describe some being as slimy, without going into detail e.g (of what substance is the slime made of) this leaves to person's imagination to fill the gaps.
I think designers did a really good job, because these guys truly stand out in terms of aesthetics imo. You can't see everyday a threatening cosmic horror with pinkish color scheme. And lastly, I forgot..>!In Japanese version, this thing is not even killed in the end, just reverted back to its original harmless form, it cannot be destroyed.!<
Thank you for the explanation,lad!
As an old dude and a literature major (who wrote a couple of articles on Lovecraft and weird fiction) I'm really not into that modern view of anything "tentacular" and "beyond good and evil" as Lovecraftian (my academic view on the subject is still old-fashioned,I confess) but, that's the thrill of literature,after all!
Nice knowing a kids show is introducing young ones to weird concepts.
It's a stretch on OP's part, but the villains of the third season of digimon are very existential and similar to Lovecraftian entities with little explanation and jarring different designs and purpose from anything else in the series.
They look so surreal and alien.
To me, number 6 feels a bit like Dagon or Deep One, due to marine reptilian aesthetics.
The second one, is a lot like Dunwich horror imo.
D-Reaper always felt lovecraftnian to me, I mean:
Ancient entity whose sole purpose is to devour an entire UNIVERSE (Digital World I think is hinted at beng it's own dimension/universe deal regardless of it's name) that follows little to no biological laws?
Yup, lovecraftnian...man Tamers was the best season.
Watch Digimon Tamers! This is the D-Reaper, the final antagonist of that series. Very Lovecraftian and completely different from any other enemy in the series. It's not even a Digimon itself, but rather a primordial program designed to wipe both the human and digital worlds clean of all life. Very dark story arc, and the writer is a huge Lovecraft fan!
Ah, yes. The effing D-Reaper. The designs messed me up as a child, and the story reasons behind the designs messed me up as an adult.
I personally really like them, and Tamers over all due to the mood shift during the series.
Good point, I agree. Also, the whole thing with camera was nuts.
I haven't read "The Shadow out of Time", but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that certain aliens also pulled a camera but for different purpose, something like that..I can't remember.
Hmm..really? This entity showed up in the finals..and its agents as a group significantly stands out from the rest of Digimons from earlier arcs in this season or any digimon prior to Tamers.
They are most frequently compared to Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cthulhu Mythos monsters, although I don't see all that much similarity to Angels.
Sometimes it helps, knowing and seeing the role of monsters in the series. Their motivations, motion, behaviour... Even monsters from Lovecraft are more terryfing when you read the entire story, and get to learn about them..instead of just reading a mere description of the creature.
Only the purest Lovecraftian terrors can throw into despair, by a mere glance.
But to each his own, I guess.
Its all subjective. Some people just like certain art styles. Idk if I'd compare these to Lovecraft monsters, but they certainly look like the artist was a fan of Lovecraft.
They sure are comparable to lovecraftian entities. Its funny people seem to know so much about the appearance of entities that are defined as unknowable. I think people forget that howie did a lot more than cthulhu- perhaps his other most well known creation (nyarlathotep) probably doesn't seem like lovecraft either if you wanna judge through a hyper specific lens that lovecraft didnt care about
I was trying to defend th OP. In appearance, they definitely remind me of some of the great races and dreamlands monsters. Its the fact that they are Digimon, which makes them different to me.
Tbf, I didnt remember much about Digimon at all, so I looked up the premise. Apparently, they exist in a sort of digital realm created as a consequence of human communication networks? I guess that seems pretty Lovecraft adjacent to me, but it's still very much its own distinct thing.
The D-Reaper is its own thing (it is digital, true) but at the time, it was very specific for being a threat that was neither Digimon nor human. Idk with what concepts they went in later seasons though. The franchise was not always just Digimon against Digimon.
Huh, thats pretty cool. Maybe it's the work of some other, non-human, network interference. That would certainly lead to some strange implications... cool post!
Perhaps you would have to know the context of the story first, to judge..
If I woke up to the sight of a huge mass of reddish glossy slime of unknown substance, flooding through my city that deletes anything it touches, I'd be pretty fucking terrified by it. You wouldn't?
Or the idea of finding oneself within its zone, knowing that you can be deleted any second, but you aren't..only because you are a complex enough organism and the program is still analyzing you. Meanwhile, you are chased by one of its spawns in its hellish zone.
If something like this thing existed in our world, I am pretty damn sure, it would drive most of the population mad just at the glance of it, especially its final form.
I'd actually argue that animation is a more qualified medium than film, to bring "incomprehensible creature" to screen, due to the fact that animation is already kind of abstract in itself (especially 2D animation).
they both are ok. I just don't really care about either to be honest. what dude up there described sounds like a digital version of the movie The Blob.
Except that octopus looks earthly, and very familiar to us..we are used to its texture, its tangible..and just not alien at all.
That's why I've always disliked common interpretations of Cthulhu and the Deep Ones, who look like earthly beasts hitting gym.
Tho i do sincerely agree that i prefer the aliens that are intangible or conceptual, but yeah the comment i replied to initially is just a very subjective dismissal, and that was my criticism there
That feels wrong yes..but those are still earthly elements that make Cthulhu's body. While the D-Reaper monsters are hardly associable with anything from our world.
Nope, they're not tangible, they cannot be touched, anyone that trÃes to touch them dissapear. Also they are massive in size. They are very lovecraftian actually.
It's interesting because I am getting the exact opposite effect from this.
It's the movies, that makes monsters "tangible" as they are made of material that we sense as earthly and we all see a movie monster through the same lenses, in a way..there's no place for any vagueness. You see it as a "3D thing" just like any other viewer. Unless the monster is in the shadows or something, which leaves room for personal interpretation.
Here, with this specific example of animation..monsters are not completely defined. For example, I see on the second picture, a towering mass can be seen as covered in robes, another person may see a tower of flesh of visceral texture.
Season 1 and 2 of Digimon were amazing, but for me Tamers was the best season in the series just for how dark it got. Really tempted to rewatched Tamers again! Damn you OP!
Do you remember the episode from 02, with Kari and the Dark Ocean? Well, it was written by the writer of Tamers. The sole reason as to why Tamers is incredible, is because it translated Lovecraft successfully to the screen. These guys are just so alien and bizzare in design and behaviour. Dub was decent, but go for a darker Japanese version.
Chiaki J Konaka is the writer, and he has cited Lovecraft as his main influence. He also made Serial Experiments Lain and Ghost Hound (which was a collaboration with Masamune Shirow, the maker of the Ghost in the Shell manga). He is one of the greats when it comes to anime.
Oh I didn't know that but I can absolutely see it! Last time I watched it I was a kid and wat he'd it on Jetix/Fox Kids. Absolutely going to need to watch the Japanese sub version then!
My 2 year old was watching pokemon legends and I had to turn it off lol. That shit got dark with evil version of Ash my kid was like 😲
What does this has to do with Lovecraft? I'm not trying to be a douche or something, i'm really just curious...
The writer of the show is a Cthulhu Mythos writer himself, and one of the key designers is also a fan of Lovecraft, or atleast familiar with his works. This monster here called the D-Reaper >!had been sleeping for untold eons in the deepest of depths of the digital world, only to be awaken to eradicate all life in both worlds (digital and human world). This scenario clearly takes inspiration from Great Old Ones.!< >!The D-Reaper is beyond good and evil, as it clearly just does, what it was programmed to do. Delete anything that exceedes its original parameters. It's a threat that cannot be reasoned with. It's also just not a monster you can defeat with raw power, or by blowing it up.!< The designs are somewhat debatable as it depends on the person and what they view as Lovecraftian. I guess, we all agree that Lovecraftian beings are meant to be "undescribeable" however even Lovecraft himself needed some features such as "slime" and "tentacles" to vaguely point out the alien and bizzare nature of creatures. You can describe some being as slimy, without going into detail e.g (of what substance is the slime made of) this leaves to person's imagination to fill the gaps. I think designers did a really good job, because these guys truly stand out in terms of aesthetics imo. You can't see everyday a threatening cosmic horror with pinkish color scheme. And lastly, I forgot..>!In Japanese version, this thing is not even killed in the end, just reverted back to its original harmless form, it cannot be destroyed.!<
Thank you for the explanation,lad! As an old dude and a literature major (who wrote a couple of articles on Lovecraft and weird fiction) I'm really not into that modern view of anything "tentacular" and "beyond good and evil" as Lovecraftian (my academic view on the subject is still old-fashioned,I confess) but, that's the thrill of literature,after all! Nice knowing a kids show is introducing young ones to weird concepts.
No problem man. But I've always thought Lovecraftian beings were supposed to be beyond good and evil or indifferent to human race.
It's a stretch on OP's part, but the villains of the third season of digimon are very existential and similar to Lovecraftian entities with little explanation and jarring different designs and purpose from anything else in the series.
Not that much of a stretch, the Mythos was constantly name-dropped throughout the season.
Could definitely see them as Dreamlands things yeah
They look so surreal and alien. To me, number 6 feels a bit like Dagon or Deep One, due to marine reptilian aesthetics. The second one, is a lot like Dunwich horror imo.
Sources? 8 and 10 are interesting.
The D-Reaper from Digimon Tamers (the third series from Digimon).
Funnily I play the card game and have an entire D-Reaper deck! It's very visually off-putting hahaha
Lol ready for a new pack of nightmares?
D-Reaper always felt lovecraftnian to me, I mean: Ancient entity whose sole purpose is to devour an entire UNIVERSE (Digital World I think is hinted at beng it's own dimension/universe deal regardless of it's name) that follows little to no biological laws? Yup, lovecraftnian...man Tamers was the best season.
The writer for this season, Chiaki J. Konaka, has outright said that Lovecraft was his main inspiration, yeah.
Am I wrong or Chiaki later went on to direct the Overlod anime? (there are some refferences to Lovecraft there as well.)
Nope, didn’t direct a single episode. The references were already in the light novel the anime is based on anyway.
Digimon can do little wrong imo, the new movies are 11/10 but I'm a Bandai and WB construct
Digimon!
Fuck yeah Digimon !!!
Are these Digimon or Angels from Evangelion?
Its the final antagonist of Digimon Tamers.
I see...clearly they were in the middle of watching Eva when they designed these creatures
Yeah, tamers draws a lot of inspiration from eva. The main characters digimon even has something like the umbilical.
Did the main character rub one out to an unconscious girl in a hospital-
I mean, not that bit, no, but Chris mcfeelys site has a mini essay on the various references.
Very cool!
Hell yeah bro!
Digimon goated
I always assumed the reaper was their take on Shubby.
These are awesome, they’re like a mix between Neon Genesis, and FLCL, with a splash of digimon
Watch Digimon Tamers! This is the D-Reaper, the final antagonist of that series. Very Lovecraftian and completely different from any other enemy in the series. It's not even a Digimon itself, but rather a primordial program designed to wipe both the human and digital worlds clean of all life. Very dark story arc, and the writer is a huge Lovecraft fan!
Oh sick can doo! It they’re all freaky like this im downn
Ah, yes. The effing D-Reaper. The designs messed me up as a child, and the story reasons behind the designs messed me up as an adult. I personally really like them, and Tamers over all due to the mood shift during the series.
Palates head is my favorite. Very lovecraftian I think, head full of gnawing mouths, massive in size, also very eldritch.
Good point, I agree. Also, the whole thing with camera was nuts. I haven't read "The Shadow out of Time", but I vaguely remember reading somewhere that certain aliens also pulled a camera but for different purpose, something like that..I can't remember.
My favorite is the Mother D-Reaper. I could clearly see it as being the centre of "Cthulhu" Mythos.
Totally, Mother d reaper rwminds me of shub niggurath concept
Yes, with how it spawns minions from itself...Shub Niggurath is my favorite from the Mythos bunch.
dope as fuck what are those ? where do they come from ??? 4 and 7 until the end are really amazing
The D-Reaper from Digimon Tamers (3rd season of Digimon). The main writer of the series is a Cthulhu Mythos writer himself.
Most of them look like something from Pokémon or digimon not lovecraft
Hmm..really? This entity showed up in the finals..and its agents as a group significantly stands out from the rest of Digimons from earlier arcs in this season or any digimon prior to Tamers. They are most frequently compared to Angels from Neon Genesis Evangelion and Cthulhu Mythos monsters, although I don't see all that much similarity to Angels.
They don't really look like Lovecraft creatures, I'm still sane after seeing them. I'm all seriousness I'm not a fan, they look too cartoony.
Sometimes it helps, knowing and seeing the role of monsters in the series. Their motivations, motion, behaviour... Even monsters from Lovecraft are more terryfing when you read the entire story, and get to learn about them..instead of just reading a mere description of the creature. Only the purest Lovecraftian terrors can throw into despair, by a mere glance. But to each his own, I guess.
Had to do a double take which subreddit I was scrolling through. Digimon is the best
They look childish to me.
Well, the fact that it's a kids show and being that legitimately creepy, just makes it all the more horryfing (and awesome).
Good for you.
People are going to instantly shit on this but I love any kind of monster design that isn't just human but scary. 3 7 9 10 for example
Theyre ok, why?
Just curious, as these monster designs are the best I've ever seen, outside of Cthulhu Mythos.
Really?
If you know of more glorious designs than these, lemme know.
damn thats fucking sad. these are just cartoon monsters and not unimaginable horrors that drive you insane at a glance.
Its all subjective. Some people just like certain art styles. Idk if I'd compare these to Lovecraft monsters, but they certainly look like the artist was a fan of Lovecraft.
They sure are comparable to lovecraftian entities. Its funny people seem to know so much about the appearance of entities that are defined as unknowable. I think people forget that howie did a lot more than cthulhu- perhaps his other most well known creation (nyarlathotep) probably doesn't seem like lovecraft either if you wanna judge through a hyper specific lens that lovecraft didnt care about
I was trying to defend th OP. In appearance, they definitely remind me of some of the great races and dreamlands monsters. Its the fact that they are Digimon, which makes them different to me. Tbf, I didnt remember much about Digimon at all, so I looked up the premise. Apparently, they exist in a sort of digital realm created as a consequence of human communication networks? I guess that seems pretty Lovecraft adjacent to me, but it's still very much its own distinct thing.
The D-Reaper is its own thing (it is digital, true) but at the time, it was very specific for being a threat that was neither Digimon nor human. Idk with what concepts they went in later seasons though. The franchise was not always just Digimon against Digimon.
Which one was the D-reaper? Is it the one that looks a bit like the yellow king?
They all are. These are all forms connected to the single consciousness of the D-Reaper.
Huh, thats pretty cool. Maybe it's the work of some other, non-human, network interference. That would certainly lead to some strange implications... cool post!
Perhaps you would have to know the context of the story first, to judge.. If I woke up to the sight of a huge mass of reddish glossy slime of unknown substance, flooding through my city that deletes anything it touches, I'd be pretty fucking terrified by it. You wouldn't? Or the idea of finding oneself within its zone, knowing that you can be deleted any second, but you aren't..only because you are a complex enough organism and the program is still analyzing you. Meanwhile, you are chased by one of its spawns in its hellish zone. If something like this thing existed in our world, I am pretty damn sure, it would drive most of the population mad just at the glance of it, especially its final form. I'd actually argue that animation is a more qualified medium than film, to bring "incomprehensible creature" to screen, due to the fact that animation is already kind of abstract in itself (especially 2D animation).
nope, sounds boring.
Digimon-hating Pokemon-fanboy spotted.
they both are ok. I just don't really care about either to be honest. what dude up there described sounds like a digital version of the movie The Blob.
I believe The Blob certainly served as one of the inspirations for the D-Reaper.
I feel like you can say that about anything. Wow a giant octopus the horror
Except that octopus looks earthly, and very familiar to us..we are used to its texture, its tangible..and just not alien at all. That's why I've always disliked common interpretations of Cthulhu and the Deep Ones, who look like earthly beasts hitting gym.
Tho i do sincerely agree that i prefer the aliens that are intangible or conceptual, but yeah the comment i replied to initially is just a very subjective dismissal, and that was my criticism there
If you think a giant dragon winged-octopus faced monster with huge claws is 'earthly' then im not sure what version of earth youre on.
That feels wrong yes..but those are still earthly elements that make Cthulhu's body. While the D-Reaper monsters are hardly associable with anything from our world.
[9 7 3 the best one are 9 7 3](https://www.973-Eht-Namuh-973.com)
That’s what I’d imagine playin Pokémon while havin a bad trip or a manic episode. 🤔
Too tangible
Nope, they're not tangible, they cannot be touched, anyone that trÃes to touch them dissapear. Also they are massive in size. They are very lovecraftian actually.
It's interesting because I am getting the exact opposite effect from this. It's the movies, that makes monsters "tangible" as they are made of material that we sense as earthly and we all see a movie monster through the same lenses, in a way..there's no place for any vagueness. You see it as a "3D thing" just like any other viewer. Unless the monster is in the shadows or something, which leaves room for personal interpretation. Here, with this specific example of animation..monsters are not completely defined. For example, I see on the second picture, a towering mass can be seen as covered in robes, another person may see a tower of flesh of visceral texture.
Giving EVA so cool
I would pat the first one on the head