History YMMV / DigimonAdventure02

* FanPreferredCouple: While Sora/Yamato is canon (and personally favored by the original director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''), many fans still prefer [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi/Sora]], and you'll be more likely to find fan work and doujinshi for that pairing. Even a few of the Japanese voice actors have stated their preference for Taichi/Sora and expressed surprise that Sora ended up with Yamato instead.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' also being a ContestedSequel despite, or because of, PanderingToTheBase (including a TakeThatScrappy treatment of ''02'' that many think went too far) has caused ''02'', which did [[TheyChangedItSoItSucks the opposite]], to be viewed more favorably. Nowadays, it can be said ''02'' [[ContestedSequel is more divisive than outright disliked]]. Even the widely reviled DistantFinale epilogue of the series has found more acceptance in the wake of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and how polarizing its ending was.

Back to YMMV/{{Digimon}}

* AntiClimaxBoss: [[spoiler:[=BelialVamdemon=]]]. He makes one hell of a first impression by [[spoiler:horrifically torturing Archnemon]], on top of being [[spoiler:a fan favorite villain from the original ''Anime/DigimonAdventure'']]. Problem is, he is put at a severe disadvantage the two times he is confronted by the kids. Firstly, he decides to fight them [[spoiler:in a dimension where their Digimon produce copies of themselves upon evolving, leaving him to face an army of every single evolved form the children had access to at the same time]]. Then, when he decides to take the fight to the Digital World, the Digidestined find out that he has a WeaksauceWeakness in the form of [[spoiler:giving hopes and dreams to the children that had been infected by his dark spores. The final battle can best be summed up like this: Random corrupted child proclaims, "I want to be (profession)!" or related, followed by one of [=BelialVamdemon=]'s limbs exploding. One could say that Imperialdramon Fighter Mode's Giga Death finishing off what remained of the villain was just overkill at that point]].

** The TriangRelations between Davis, Kari, and TK weren't deeply explored outside of Davis' jealousy and envy of TK and his giant crush on Kari. While Hikari and Takeru were established to be close, their specific feelings were left untouched, leaving the whole LoveTriangle as an AmbiguousSituation. The DubText played up the romantic flavors of these relationships, with Kari making quips in ''Anime/DigimonTheMovie'' about deliberately making Davis jealous and about how much he misses her.

* OneTrueThreesome: After the shipping wars cooled down (which took at least half a decade), there sprung up a few sub-genres exploring the TriangRelations between Taichi, Sora, and Yamato on the one hand and Takeru, Hikari, and Daisuke on the other.

* UnpopularPopularCharacter: The dubbed version had a lot of funny moments that poked fun at Davis' arrogant personality. [[MisBlamed Despite what you might think]], he was still as much of a ButtMonkey in the original, though.

** While the series does have its' fair share of detractors, due to the various writing issues (as this page will tell you), there are still many who enjoy the series, largely due to maintaining the entertaining dialogue, fun plots, cool digivolutions, and deep moments the first series was known for.

** In the expanded universe, there are eleven [[TransformationTrinket Armor Digimentals]] for the Digidestined to use (out of a technical total of ''fifteen''), making for ''[[ExaggeratedTrope over sixty]]'' Armor Digivolutions accessible[[note]]Each of the main six "ancient species" Digimon -- V-mon, Hawkmon, Armadimon, Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon -- can use the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity/Sincerity, Knowledge, Faith/Reliability, Hope, Light, Kindness, and Miracles to evolve into a unique Armor Digimon, while V-mon and Terriermon can also use the Digimental of Fate to evolve[[/note]]. ''Michi e no Armor Shinka'' established that the children could, in fact, swap Digimentals (when they do so on accident), and the unique forms can be used in the D-3 toy that was released at the time. In the actual series, the Chosen only ever use their specific -mentals, highly likely to slim down the amount of ensuing {{Transformation Sequence}}s. (Later shows take advantage of the extra fifty-something Digimon by having them show up as their own Digimon (that Lynxmon Rika fights in the first episode? Give Tailmon the Digimental of Courage). The MerchandiseDriven elements also likely played a part--Armor Digimon were in part a toy gimmick (the Digimentals were a pile of armor parts that could peg onto a toy of the Digimon) and they only bothered to make toys of the ones that appeared in the show ([[ToylessToylineCharacter bar Nefertimon]]), which also seem to have been the ones designed as toys first. Add to this is the fact the armors faded into irrelevance once natural digivolution was possible, which many feel was a waste.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** ''Digimon Adventure 02'' uses a lot of its merchandise to "correct" presumed flaws in the anime's storytelling, primarily regarding a lack of Matt-Sora development. Look at the jacket art for ImageSong and other music releases and they'll be in their own little world. This even involves a blatant {{Retcon}} in one instance: the final image of ''Diablomon Strikes Back'' is a cast shot of the gang [[CallBack around the trolley car that took the original team home]] at the end of ''Adventure'', where Taichi and Sora are sitting together atop the trolley, but jacket art for the release of the movie's ending song [[OrwellianRetcon put Hikari in Sora's place next to Taichi]].
** There was a bit of kerfluffle over Miyako ending up a housewife with children in the finale. The ''Girls' Festival'' CD released right during the ''[[Anime/DigimonTamers Tamers]]'' era gave Miyako an ImageSong about how she wanted to become a YamatoNadeshiko, and a bit of Japanese merchandise featuring the ''02'' kids as grown-ups mentions that Miyako is actually only on maternity leave.

* {{Misblamed}}: English dub writers and voice directors Jeff Nimoy and Bob Bucholtz were blamed by several for the added jokes and tone killing dub changes. However, many of these changes were the result of ExecutiveMeddling by Creator/FoxKids and Nimoy and Bucholtz actually left the show near the final arc due to being fed up with the meddling.

** In the expanded universe, there are eleven [[TransformationTrinket Armor Digimentals]] for the Digidestined to use (out of a technical total of ''fifteen''), making for ''[[ExaggeratedTrope over sixty]]'' Armor Digivolutions accessible[[note]]Each of the main six "ancient species" Digimon -- V-mon, Hawkmon, Armadimon, Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon -- can use the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity/Sincerity, Knowledge, Faith/Reliability, Hope, Light, Kindness, and Miracles to evolve into a unique Armor Digimon, while V-mon and Terriermon can also use the Digimental of Fate to evolve[[/note]]. ''Michi e no Armor Shinka'' established that the children could, in fact, swap Digimentals (when they do so on accident), and the unique forms can be used in the D-3 toy that was released at the time. In the actual series, the Chosen only ever use their specific -mentals, highly likely to slim down the amount of ensuing {{Transformation Sequence}}s. (Later shows take advantage of the extra fifty-something Digimon by having them show up as their own Digimon (that Lynxmon Rika fights in the first episode? Give Tailmon the Digimental of Courage). The MerchandiseDriven elements also likely played a part--Armor Digimon were in part a toy gimmick (the Digimentals were a pile of armor parts that could peg onto a toy of the Digimon) and they only bothered to make toys of the ones that appeared in the show ([[ToylessToylineCharacter bar Nefertimon]]), which also seem to have been the ones designed as toys first.

** The TriangRelations between Davis, Kari, and TK weren't deeply explored outside of Davis' jealousy and envy of TK and his giant crush on Kari. While Hikari and Takeru were established to be close, their specific feelings were left untouched, leaving the whole LoveTriangle as an AmbiguousSituation. The DubText played up the romantic flavors of these relationships, with Kari making quips in TheMovie about deliberately making Davis jealous and about how much he misses her.

** Magnamon. When he first appears in TheMovie he and his associate Rapidmon can go toe-to-toe with a [[OlympusMons very powerful Mega]]. Seraphimon and Magnadramon (two legendary and very powerful Mega Digimon in their own right) appeared [[DemotedToExtra just so]] Davis and Willis could have the Golden Digimentals to golden armor digivolve their Digimon. However, when Magnamon appears in the series he struggles to defeat Chimeramon (who was originally meant to be Mega-level, but later material insists on treating him as only an Ultimate).

* RelationshipWritingFumble:
** An episode had Yolei and Mimi [[HoYay growing really close]]. The implication was supposed to be that Yolei saw Mimi as a CoolBigSis, but the BigLippedAlligatorMoment ImagineSpot of them drawn in a flowery [[ShoujoDemographic shoujo]] style hugging each other is rather... Yeah.
** A rather famous example with the ''Adventure'' "LoveTriangle", a combination of this trope and DependingOnTheWriter. Hiroyuki Kakudou always intended for Taichi and Sora to be JustFriends, and for Sora to fall in love with Yamato as a way of subverting the cliché that the main boy and girl had to end up with each other, so there was never any LoveTriangle originally. This was also the plan for ''02'' until ''[[Recap/DigimonAdventureMovieOurWarGame Our War Game!]]'' complicated things. Basically, Mamoru Hosoda was unaware of the intended OfficialCouple and made a fight hinging on BelligerentSexualTension a major plot point in the ''Our War Game!'' movie. When Sora began dating Yamato in ''02'', many people were confused at the sudden change in love interest, even the voice actors. In the English dub, the RelationshipUpgrade between Sora and Yamato looked totally random and StrangledByTheRedString.

** The infamous LoveTriangle between Tai, Matt, and Sora, which continues to [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/matt-x-sorasorato-threads enrage to this day]]. Head writer Hiroyuki Kakudou had always intended for Sora and Matt to be the OfficialCouple, as he hated cliche pairings of the main male and female characters, but his efforts to add {{Foreshadowing}} for the couple became a huge RelationshipWritingFumble (especially when he forced the issue with the ChristmasEpisode) because he apparently failed to share his plans with ''anyone else'':

* TheScrappy: You won't find many people who'll defend Shakkoumon. They mainly cite his strange design[[note]]He's based off of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogū Dogu]] statue[[/note]] as their reason for not liking him, often calling him a "teapot", among other things.

* SeasonalRot: Apart from the controversy surrounding the DistantFinale, the series seemed to change plots as often as someone changes clothes. This is especially poignant in the small (yet important) Holy Stones arc. These [[CosmicKeystone world-shattering sacred rocks]] were never mentioned until Mummymon casually talked about it in a 10-second conversation. There was little foreshadowing, and once they were all eliminated, they never came up again. Additionally, most revelations about TheManBehindTheMan seemed to come out of nowhere, and Creator/ChiakiKonaka's Cthulhutastic guest-writing episode -- originally intended to set up another subplot -- went completely unexplained, was almost never referred to again (except in the episode featuring the Daemon Corps, which Konaka also wrote), and comes off as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment. It generally reeks of a series where they had plenty of ideas, but perhaps had ''too'' many and were very careless and haphazard about how they applied them.

* BizarroEpisode: The episode "His Master's Voice" -- a Lovecraftian episode in a otherwise non-CosmicHorror setting.

** Gomamon's mega being Vikemon or Plesiomon, made worse given that Armadillomon's mega is also Vikemon

* CommonKnowledge: Dagomon is widely regarded by the fandom as being responsible for Kari's kidnapping to the Dark Ocean, but it was actually the Deep Ones that summoned her and tried to mate with her. LIkewise, the idea that he had an AbortedArc at all.

** If you'd listen to the fans talk, you'd believe Dagomon is a PhysicalGod EldritchAbomination that could give Apocalymon and Armaggemon a run for their money; there's a certain desire to ignore that ol' Squidface is just an Ultimate/Perfect-level Digimon. The ominous way it was introduced in the already unsettling "His Master's Voice" episode doesn't help and its relationship to the posmodernly popular Franchise/CthulhuMythos don't help.

** The "Digi-Bowl" segment again, if you don't take it too seriously, it has a certain goofy charm to it. It's not everyday you see Terry Bradshaw interacting with Digimon.

* BizarroEpisode: The episode "His Master's Voice" -- a Lovecraftian episode in a otherwise non-CosmicHorror setting. It should be noted it was ''not'' meant to be a Bizarro Episode, though, as it would have served as the entry to a similarly-themed arc [[AbortedArc that got axed off before it could start]].

* CommonKnowledge: Dagomon is widely regarded by the fandom as being responsible for Kari's kidnapping to the Dark Ocean, but it was actually the Deep Ones that summoned her and tried to mate with her.

* FanficFuel: Dagomon's AbortedArc and Hikari's significance therein.

** Dagomon, and later Demon/Daemon. They were both meant to be much more important villains, but the TroubledProduction of the series means both of them were wasted big time.

** Dagomon's Dark Ocean and the Daemon Corps are the most infamous examples.

** In the show's writing, Davis' infamous crush on Kari and envy of TK were mostly just {{Running Gag}}s that fell by the wayside once Davis had Ken to pal around with, but did he actually move on, or did he continue to harbor unstated feelings? (The CD Drama ''Natsu e no Tobira'' confirms that Daisuke is carrying some angst over Hikari turning him down for a date and thus still has some interest in her).

** The Digimon Kaiser arc takes 21 episodes to actually conclude, because of a huge number of episodes that simply provide {{Character Focus}} without moving forward with the plot. It takes three episodes to assemble the FiveManBand, Matt, Joe, and Mimi each get focus episodes, there's an episode about the [=TK-Kari-Davis=] LoveTriangle, there's an episode for the Kaiser and Davis, there's a three part mini-arc involving Agumon's enslavement that concludes with Raidramon's appearance, an episode that might have been meant to demonstrate that V-mon could use both armors interchangeably, the episode where the staff got bored with the arc and had Kari get kidnapped by a pack of {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, two independent Shurimon episodes, a Submarimon episode, and FINALLY a five part mini-arc conclusion. (Ironically, it's generally considered the best arc in the series, so it could count as a rare example of Administrivia/TropesAreTools in this field.)

** While the Dark Towers served as a handy excuse to prevent the original team from evolving naturally and allowed the show to focus on the new kids and their shiny new Armor evolutions, the HandWave keeping them on the sidelines post-Emperor was a blatant VoodooShark. To wit, 02 insisted the older kids had somehow surrendered the power of the crests to protect the digital world barrier after the Diablomon incident, which ignores the original ''Adventure'' indicating that the power of the crests was actually created by the children themselves and gives no reason as to how the kids could stop generating that power -- not to mention the bigger question of "Wasn't the portal to the digital world supposed to be closed forever?" This also raises a lot of questions regarding Ken's Crest of Kindness. Why did he get a crest when none of the others got to keep theirs? Why didn't he ever do anything with it? Since it had already been established that the armor digi-eggs don't have to line up with the crests, wouldn't it have been better for him to get a Digi-Egg of Kindness?

** ''Digimon Adventure 02'' uses a lot of its merchandise to "correct" presumed flaws in the anime's storytelling, primarily regarding a lack of Matt-Sora development. Look at the jacket art for ImageSong and other music releases and they'll be in their own little world. This even involves a blatant {{Retcon}} in one instance: the final image of ''Diablomon Strikes Back'' is a cast shot of the gang [[CallBack around the trolley car that took the original team home]] at the end of ''Adventure'', where Taichi and Sora are sitting together atop the trolley, but jacket art for the release of the movie's ending song [[CanonDiscontinuity put Hikari in Sora's place next to Taichi]].
** There was a bit of kerfluffle over Miyako ending up a housewife with children in the finale. The ''Girls' Festival'' CD released right during the ''Tamers'' era gave Miyako an ImageSong about how she wanted to become a YamatoNadeshiko, and a bit of Japanese merchandise featuring the ''02'' kids as grown-ups mentions that Miyako is actually only on maternity leave.

** Remember Angemon, who was so powerful in the first season that he didn't start making regular appearances until everyone else had reached the Ultimate level? Well now he exists to get Worfed and DNA Digivolve with Ankylomon, and even when they fight against Digimon he should have a clear-cut advantage over (the Daemon corps) he doesn't fare any better. [=MagnaAngemon=] initially avoids this trope at first. He actually puts up a good fight against [=BlackWarGreymon=] when no other Digimon up to that point could scratch him, and only lost because BWG managed to cut off his power source. He then gets hit with this trope when he only appears to give his power to Imperialdramon to help fight [=SkullSatamon=] even though [=SkullSatamon=] is a Digimon that [=MagnaAngemon=] should have had no trouble walking all over.

** Omnimon, who wiped out an army of Diaboromon in his first apperance, can't handle a swarm of Kuramon during his appearance in ''Diaboromon Strikes Back''. Not only is Kuramon Diaboromon's weaker, [[EvolutionPowerup unevolved form]], there were fewer Kuramon than there were Diaboromon, the entire scene makes no sense unless you look at it as the writers fumbling to bring out [[MerchandiseDriven a brand new form.]] On the other hand, Omnimon made a beeline for Diablomon and succeeded in the goal of dispatching the main threat... only to belatedly realize how Diablomon's new plan actually revolved around the Kuramon.

** Arukenimon herself got hit with this. She spends several episodes being built up as the new big threat, is shown having the power to create extremely powerful fake digimon out of control spires and when she first reveals herself as an Ultimate level digimon she puts up a good fight (which you'd expect from an Ultimate level fighting mostly a group of Champion strength opponents). And then the kids get their second wind and Arukenimon immediately becomes comic relief and stays that way.

** Sora's GirlinessUpgrade. Either you see it as a sign of maturity and acceptance with her mother or you dislike it as she becomes flanderized into a generic girly girl and loses her unique Tomboy personality. [[AmericansHateTingle This applies more to the Western fandom.]]

** [=BlackWarGreymon=] is either a badass and a compelling tragic antagonist, or an overly emo Mewtwo knock-off whose presence [[SpotlightStealingSquad wore out its welcome]] and who needed to dial back on the {{Wangst}}.
* BizarroEpisode: The episode "His Master's Voice" - a Lovecraftian episode in a otherwise non-CosmicHorror setting. It should be noted it was ''not'' meant to be a Bizarro Episode, though, as it would have served as the entry to a similarly-themed arc [[AbortedArc that got axed off before it could start]].

** Angewomon, whose classic Mega form is [[DragonsUpTheYinYang Holydramon]] (seen in ''[[NonSerialMovie Hurricane Touchdown]]'' and ''VideoGame/DigimonRumbleArena''), evolves into [[Anime/DigimonFrontier Ophanimon]] in ''VideoGame/DigimonBattleSpirit 1.5'' and in the ''Digimon Adventure'' PSP game. Fans are split as to whether this change makes Gatomon's evo-line [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks boring]], or even how consistent it is. The Ophanimon fans refer to the fact that she and Angewomon are both Angel digimon, while the Holydramon fans mention how the Holy Dragon is [[RuleOfSymbolism coming full-circle]] (Salamon and Gatomon are both ''Holy Beast'' Digimon), and that traditionally, high-ranking angels (Seraphs, Ophans and Cherubs) were strange-looking to human eyes, making it counter-intuitive to exclude Holydramon on that basis.[[note]]It should be noted that the video games are Bandai products, not Toei, so despite the fact they're technically official products their canonicity is suspect.[[/note]]

* ContestedSequel: Probably the best way to describe the series. On the one hand, the [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot writing]] [[SeasonalRot issues]] and [[BaseBreakingCharacter character issues]] receive a large amount of flak within the fanbase. On the other hand, it does still have its' fair share of fans. If ranking site statistics are to be believed, this series usually places about third or fourth in series' popularity, making it relatively CriticProof. As stated in BrokenBase, it largely depends on who you ask.

** If you didn't ship Yolei with Ken, you were expected to hate her. [[spoiler: Even worse when she ''did'' get him.]]
** In their heyday, the Dakari vs Takari fights were the worst. Generally in fanfics, the character the author didn't prefer would get RonTheDeathEater Treatment.

-->''Get Crest of Friendship. [[MemeticMutation Steal best friend's childhood sweetheart years later]].''

** Black War Greymon as well, for those who didn't find him overly emo.

** Daemon and his TerribleTrio, not only did they prove to be an effective KnightOfCerebus in contrast to Arukenimon and Mummymon's IneffectualSympatheticVillain status and Oikawa's NonActionBigBad, with his Corps causing near causalities and Daemon being powerful enough to be needed to be sealed away in order to have him not interfere with the plot due to how powerful he turned out to be. It's to the point that he was seen as a much preferable FinalBoss candidate than [[spoiler: [=MaloMyotismon=]]] turned out to be.

** If you'd listen to the fans talk, you'd believe Dagomon is a PhysicalGod EldritchAbomination that could give Apocalymon and Armaggemon a run for their money; there's a certain desire to ignore that ol' Squidface is just an [=Ultimate/Perfect=] level Digimon. The ominous way it was introduced in the already unsettling "His Master's Voice" episode doesn't help and its relationship to the posmodernly popular Franchise/CthulhuMythos don't help.

** As noted above on BrokenBase, this mostly applies to the final battle and the epilogue. But mostly the epilogue. Just TRY to find a fanfic that takes place after season 2 that doesn't ignore it and the part about everyone getting a Digimon.

* FanPreferredCouple: While Sora/Yamato is canon (and personally favored by the original director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''), many fans still prefer [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi/Sora]], and you'll be more likely to find fanwork and doujinshi for that pairing. Even a few of the Japanese voice actors have stated their preference for Taichi/Sora and expressed surprise that Sora ended up with Yamato instead.
* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: While ''02'' is far from being everybody's favourite season in Spain, there is very little of the global BrokenBase about the series in that country, with most people there regarding it relatively well. (Though there are reasons to explains this: ''02'' was brought in the tail of ''Adventure'' and benefitted a lot from the latter's original promotional campaign, to the point that most Spaniards who grew up with ''Adventure'' and ''02'' consider them one and the same by default.) However, this can be more noted in EvilIsCool field: while Arukenimon and Mummymon are usually seen as rather mediocre baddies, in Spain they are counted among the most memorable villains of the entire franchise.

** The D-Terminal, the kids' messaging item that comes with their Digivice, looks ''a lot'' like the Nintendo DS.

* ItsTheSameNowItSucks: [[ContestedSequel While other series are quite controversial in their own terms]], ''02'' is (mostly) disliked for being too reliant on ''Adventure'' unlike other sequels in the future (though EarlyInstallmentWeirdness might be in effect here) and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot many wasted and/or badly written plots]]. The fact that ''Tamers'' came right [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel after it]] didn't help.

** The Big Bad's dub name. [[spoiler:"Malo" is the Spanish word for bad. "Myotis" is a genus of bat. The Big Bad's final form is "[=BadBatmon=]". It's slightly less Narmy if you look at Malo's original Latin root, Malus, which means wicked or evil when used in context]].
** [[spoiler: The fact that he was essentially defeated by having his physical form literally [[TalkingTheMonsterToDeath disappearing by the Dark Spore children talking about their hopes and dreams]] didn't do him any favors.]]

** Fox Kids had a "Digi-Bowl" segment in 2001 in an attempt to crossover with the Super Bowl and had Terry Bradshaw commenting on the show's clips and interacting with Hikari in dubbed-over clips. To say it was cringy is vastly an understatement, and it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwX2GPfIibY has to be seen to be believed]]. Fox Kids would do another Digi-Bowl segment the following year with ''Anime/DigimonTamers'', embarrassingly enough.

** The "Digi-bowl" segment again, if you don't take it too seriously, it has a certain goofy charm to it. It's not everyday you see Terry Bradshaw interacting with Digimon.

** Arukenimon's true form is as terrifying as one would expect from a queen of spiders, and she makes a good first impression. However, the reveal also marks the start of her [[VillainDecay decay into a comic relief villain paired with the goofier Mummymon,]] which takes away a lot of the menace that she had when she was disguised as a mysterious silver haired lady.

* PopularityPolynomial: Perception of this series' quality has zigzagged radically. Initially, it was seen as a strong continuation of the beloved original, only to later be seen as a painful example of {{Sequelitis}} and mismanagement of the franchise, and then eventually was seen as [[SoOkayItsAverage an alright sequel]] you could like openly without earning weird looks. The later state of the franchise and productions that followed had a big role in ''02'''s fluctuating popularity.

** A rather famous example with the Adventure "LoveTriangle", a combination of this trope and DependingOnTheWriter. Hiroyuki Kakudou always intended for Taichi and Sora to be JustFriends, and for Sora to fall in love with Yamato as a way of subverting the cliché that the main boy and girl had to end up with each other, so there was never any LoveTriangle originally. This was also the plan for 02 until ''Our War Game!'' complicated things. Basically, Mamoru Hosoda was unaware of the intended OfficialCouple and made a fight hinging on BelligerentSexualTension a major plot point in the ''Our War Game!'' movie. When Sora began dating Yamato in 02, many people were confused at the sudden change in love interest, even the voice actors. In the English dub, the RelationshipUpgrade between Sora and Yamato looked totally random and StrangledByTheRedString.

** ''Davis freakin' Motomiya.'' Back in the day when the Ship Wars were in full swing, you couldn't turn around without seeing some Takari fanfic where he was written either as a jealous psychopath or so stupid it's a wonder he could tie his shoes, never mind be a Digi-Destined.

* SacredCow: It is ''very'' rare to find a negative opinion of "His Master's Voice" (or, frankly, anything involving Konaka) [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff in the West]] mostly due to that conversation being dominated by Lovecraft enthusiasts, ''Tamers'' fans, and Takari shippers.

* SeasonalRot: Apart from the controversy surrounding the DistantFinale, the series seemed to change plots as often as someone changes clothes. This is especially poignant in the small (yet important) Holy Stones arc. These [[CosmicKeystone world-shattering sacred rocks]] were never mentioned until Mummymon casually talked about it in a 10-second conversation. There was little foreshadowing, and once they were all eliminated, they never came up again. Additionally, most revelations about TheManBehindTheMan seemed to come out of nowhere, and Chiaki Konaka's Cthulhutastic guest-writing episode - originally intended to set up another subplot - went completely unexplained, was almost never referred to again (except in the episode featuring the Daemon Corps, which Konaka also wrote), and comes off as a BigLippedAlligatorMoment. It generally reeks of a series where they had plenty of ideas, but perhaps had ''too'' many and were very careless and haphazard about how they applied them.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Despite the show's LoveTriangle elements, the {{Official Couple}}s of this season were really more production accidents then intentionally written.

*** Mamoru Hosoda, who directed the ''Our War Game'' movie, had absolutely no idea and wrote a subplot of light BelligerentSexualTension between Tai and Sora.

--->'''Mayumi Yamaguchi (Gabumon)''': Honestly, Sora! If you’d spent just a few minutes to ask [Gabumon] for advice, I would have said, "Sora, don't do this to yourself. [[FanPreferredCouple It's Taichi you should go for]]."
--->'''Yuuto Kazama (Yamato)''': It's tough work taking care of Yamato, you're saying?
** [[spoiler: Ken and Miyako don't fare much better. Yes, she'd expressed a shallow interest in his aesthetic looks earlier, but for the rest of the season until the DistantFinale (where the two are married with kids) they seem to at most develop into a respectful-friend basis, with no hints of romance at all]]. [[http://digitalscratch.pmsinfirm.org/?p=822#08 The actual reason they were married in the show was because their voice actors got along so well with each other.]]

** Dagomon, and later Demon/Daemon. They were both meant to be much more important villains, but the TroubledProduction of the series got both of them wasted big time.

** In the expanded universe, there are eleven [[TransformationTrinket Armor Digimentals]] for the Digidestined to use (out of a technical total of ''fifteen''), making for ''[[UpToEleven over sixty]]'' armor-digivolutions accessible[[note]]Each of the main six "ancient species" Digimon -- V-mon, Hawkmon, Armadimon, Patamon, Tailmon, and Wormmon -- can use the Digimentals of Courage, Friendship, Love, Purity[=/=]Sincerity, Knowledge, Faith[=/=]Reliability, Hope, Light, Kindness, and Miracles to evolve into a unique Armor Digimon, while V-mon and Terriermon can also use the Digimental of Fate to evolve[[/note]]. ''Michi e no Armor Shinka'' established that the children could, in fact, swap Digimentals (when they do so on accident), and the unique forms can be used in the D-3 toy that was released at the time. In the actual series, the Chosen only ever use their specific -mentals, highly likely to slim down the amount of ensuing Transformation Sequences. (Later shows take advantage of the extra fifty-something Digimon by having them show up as their own Digimon (that Lynxmon Rika fights in the first episode? Give Tailmon the Digimental of Courage). The MerchandiseDriven elements also likely played a part--Armor Digimon were in part a toy gimmick (the Digimentals were a pile of armor parts that could peg onto a toy of the Digimon) and they only bothered to make toys of the ones that appeared in the show ([[ToylessToylineCharacter bar Nefertimon]]), which also seem to have been the ones designed as toys first.
** Ryo, of Wonderswan and Digimon Tamers fame, technically has three (3) games in between Digimon Adventure and Adventure 02, one of which involves Ken and two of which have him partnered with V-mon, but none of which have any serious lasting impact on the world of 02[[note]]With apologies to the Digimon Kaiser, who is, frankly, incidental to the impact Milleniummon should've had[[/note]]. For some more specific ideas, how does V-mon feel about Daisuke being his ''second'' partner after two campaigns with Ryo, and vice-versa? What are Wormmon's thoughts on the scenario (only Ken has amnesia, after all)? And even if we know about V-mon and Wormmon, how about Hawkmon and Armadimon? They were sealed in Digimentals like V-mon was; do they have any history with him?[[note]]In Tag Tamers, Ryo receives eggs that hatch and grow into Hawkmon and Armadimon, respectively. Are these the same Digimon?[[/note]] [[note]] In Brave Tamer, Hawkmon comments that Ryo feels vaguely familiar, though he's not sure why. Of course, considering the array of different Timey-Wimey Balls that were ongoing over the course of that game on- and off-screen, this doesn't necessarily mean anything by itself. [[/note]]
* UnfortunateCharacterDesign: Endigomon's face makes him look like something from a [[{{Blackface}} Minstrel Show]].
* UnpopularPopularCharacter: The dubbed version had a lot of funny moments that poked fun at Davis' arrogant personality. [[MisBlamed Despite what you might think]], he was still as much of a ButtMonkey in the original though.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' also being a ContestedSequel despite, or because of, PanderingToTheBase (including a TakeThatScrappy treatment of ''02'' that many think went too far) has caused ''02'', which did [[TheyChangedItSoItSucks the opposite]], to be viewed more favorably. Nowadays, it can be said ''02'' is more divisive than outright disliked. Even the widely reviled DistantFinale epilogue of the series has found more acceptance in the wake of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and how polarizing it's ending was.

* ContestedSequel: Probably the best way to describe the series. On the one hand, the [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot writing]] [[SeasonalRot issues]] and [[BaseBreakingCharacter character issues]] receive a large amount of flak wihtin the fanbase. On the other hand, it does still have its' fair share of fans. If ranking site statistics are to be believed, this series usually places about third or fourth in series' popularity, making it relatively CriticProof. As stated in BrokenBase, it largely depends on who you ask.
* DieForOurShip: And the intense [[ShipToShipCombat ship wars]] continue on to this day.

* FanPreferredCouple: While Sora/Yamato is canon (and personally favored by the original director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''), many fans still prefer [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi/Sora]], and you'll be more likely to find fanwork and doujinshi for that pairing. Even a few of the Japanese voice actors have stated their preference for Taichi/Sora and expressed surprise that Sora ended up with Yamato instead. In a Japanese poll from [[http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/dejimon/ranking/result07.html Toei's website]], the top-ten favorite {{duo|Tropes}}s are, in order, [[ToyShip Takeru & Hikari]], [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi & Sora]], [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Koushirou & Mimi]], [[HoYay Taichi & Yamato]], [[HopelessSuitor Daisuke & Hikari]], Jou & Gomamon, Yamato & Gabumon, Yamato & Takeru, Yamato & Mimi, and Angemon & Angewomon. The canon couple didn't even make Runner-Up; that was Koushirou & Tentomon.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' also being a ContestedSequel despite, or because of, PanderingToTheBase (including a TakeThatScrappy treatment of ''02'' that many think went too far) has caused ''02'', which did [[TheyChangedItSoItSucks the opposite]], be viewed more favorably. Nowadays, it can be said ''02'' is more divisive than outright disliked. Even the widely reviled DistantFinale epilogue of the series has found more acceptance in the wake of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and how polarizing it's ending was.

* VindicatedByHistory: ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' also being a ContestedSequel despite, or because of, PanderingToTheBase (including a TakeThatScrappy treatment of ''02'' that many think went too far) has caused ''02'', which did [[TheyChangedItSoItSucks the opposite]], be be viewed more favorably. Nowadays, it can be said ''02'' is more divisive than outright disliked. Even the widely reviled DistantFinale epilogue of the series has found more acceptance in the wake of ''Anime/DigimonAdventureLastEvolutionKizuna'' and how polarizing it's ending was.

* FanPreferredPairing: While Sora/Yamato is canon (and personally favored by the original director of ''Anime/DigimonAdventure''), many fans still prefer [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi/Sora]], and you'll be more likely to find fanwork and doujinshi for that pairing. Even a few of the Japanese voice actors have stated their preference for Taichi/Sora and expressed surprise that Sora ended up with Yamato instead. In a Japanese poll from [[http://www.toei-anim.co.jp/tv/dejimon/ranking/result07.html Toei's website]], the top-ten favorite {{duo|Tropes}}s are, in order, [[ToyShip Takeru & Hikari]], [[ChildhoodFriendRomance Taichi & Sora]], [[SavvyGuyEnergeticGirl Koushirou & Mimi]], [[HoYay Taichi & Yamato]], [[HopelessSuitor Daisuke & Hikari]], Jou & Gomamon, Yamato & Gabumon, Yamato & Takeru, Yamato & Mimi, and Angemon & Angewomon. The canon couple didn't even make Runner-Up; that was Koushirou & Tentomon.

** Oikawa bears an uncanny resemblance to [[Film/TheRoom Tommy Wiseau]]. Fans noted this, and was even referenced by WebVideo/JesuOtaku.
** Poromon looks like an [[VideoGame/AngryBirds Angry Bird]].
** With her purple hair and glasses, Yolei could pass as a gender-flipped [[Anime/MobileSuitGundam00 Tieria Erde]].

** In the Japanese version, one of ninja-themed Shurimon's attack names includes "Konoha." Creator/NeilKaplan, who voiced the character in the dub, later voiced the BigBad of [[Manga/{{Naruto}} a far more well-known ninja-themed series]], in the Japanese version of which [[Creator/KoichiTochika his original VA]] also had a voice role.
** Throughout Episode 23, Ken reflects how he's lost his heart and needs to find it. Years later, his voice actor would go on to play [[Franchise/KingdomHearts another guy who lost his heart.]]
** Similarly, this wouldn't be the last time Creator/DerekStephenPrince voiced [[VisualNovel/DanganronpaV3KillingHarmony a purple-haired teenage evil genius]].

** In the English dub, Ken and Wormmon are respectively voiced by Creator/DerekStephenPrince and Creator/PaulStPeter. Ken's status as former Digimon Emperor becomes all the more amusing when you discover that the two respectively voice Frieza and Sorbet in ''Anime/DragonBallSuper's'' Bang Zoom! dub, who have a similar dynamic except Frieza's actually evil. Guess Ken really ''was'' reenacting ''Literature/TheEmperorsNewClothes'' after all.
** After the release of ''Our Future'' in ''Anime/DigimonAdventureTri'' over a decade later, one viewer [[https://www.reddit.com/r/digimon/comments/8a7ngm/digimon_adventure_tri_part_6_preview_screenings/dx24sym/ lampshades that]] it's entire main plot has all its major points covered or is similar to ''[[NonSerialMovie Hurricane Touchdown]]''. Both {{Canon Immigrant}}s are the main focus of the plot, their Digimon eventually succumbs to the virus and dies at the end. In addition, both feature a portion of the cast vanish due to the main antagonist(s), and are rarely if at all brought up for the duration of the plot.

** The finale as a whole, especially the DistantFinale epilogue.
** Expanding Digimon family trees getting RetConned into the ''Adventure 02'' universe.

** Dagomon is an EnsembleDarkhorse among the [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter Wasted Characters]], but has no actual role as a character, leading to much speculation. In fanfic, he frequently figures as a BigBad waiting for his chance to strike and desires to use Kari for his own purposes (which grew so common that many people forgot that Kari's kidnapping [[MisBlamed was in reality the plot of his rebellious minions]]).

* {{Misblamed}}:
** Dagomon is widely regarded by the fandom as being responsible for Kari's kidnapping to the Dark Ocean, but it was actually the Deep Ones that summoned her and tried to mate with her.
** English dub writers and voice directors Jeff Nimoy and Bob Bucholtz were blamed by several for the added jokes and tone killing dub changes. However, many of these changes were the result of ExecutiveMeddling by Creator/FoxKids and Nimoy and Bucholtz actually left the show near the final arc due to being fed up with the meddling.

** Even the villains aren't safe. Depending on who you ask, Arukenimon and Mummymon are either a pair of hilarious sympathetic villains, or they're two of the most annoying, useless villains this side of [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Team Rocket]].