The second major Digimon manga to be produced in V-Jump, Digimon Next is a 26 chapter series that ran from 2006 to 2008. Its run coincided with the airing of Digimon Data Squad and both series shared concepts like DigiSouls, similar partner Digimon, and the same Digivices. However, Next adhered closer to the original youthful art style and themes of the first four anime series.
Doting V-Pet owner Tsurugi Tatsuno has just been introduced to the Virtual Digimon Battle Tournament by his soccer teammates. He is delighted to be interacting with his Greymon and enjoys participating in the battles. Then strange things begin to happen. Did a Kuwagamon attack Tsurugi in the Real World only for Greymon to save him or was it just a dream? Why is his former childhood friend Shou Kahara so cold and aloof? And who is the Hacker Tamer that nearly killed Greymon in the tournament?
Tsurugi and his friends soon find all these answers on a Trailmon that leads to a Digital World under siege by a Demon Lord...
See also: Digimon V-Tamer 01, its predecessor as "the" Digimon manga, and Digimon Xros Wars, its successor.
Digimon Next contains examples of:
- And You Thought It Was a Game: Tsurugi introspects how he realized this when Greymon defended him in the Real World.
- Artistic License: Many of the Digimon under the ownership of Tamers, including Yuu's Gaomon and Shuu's Peckmon are not actually obtainable in any versions of the Digimon Mini. Though admittedly the Net Game World would look rather dull with only around forty different kinds of Digimon running around.
- Art Shift: Occasionally during gags, which the captions note at one point. Agumon shifts to the design used in Data Squad/Savers after his first battle in the digital world.
- Ascended Fanboy: Tsurugi reacts with glee at being able to interact with his partner in the Digital World. He is ecstatic when he's informed he's actually in the Digital World.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Tsurugi is nice, if a bit absentminded. Harm people around him though...
- Big Bad: Demon Lord Barbamon.
- The host computer Yggdrasil turns out to be this in the end.
- Canon Character All Along: Norn Mikihara seems to be a character unique to this continuity, a childhood friend of the protagonists who's been kidnapped by Barbamon. Actually, she's an avatar of the Digital World's Master Computer Yggdrasil, and is more heroic here than in other continuities (like Digimon Data Squad or the X Antibody storyline).
- The Chosen One: Anyone with the Illegal mark.
- Cyborg: Chaosdramon is a Machinedramon who was modified with organic parts, among other things, in the wider franchise and his fleshy bits are on display here.
- Cyberspace: Tsurugi gets to spend the first three chapters in this until being pulled into the Digital World.
- Demon Lords and Archdevils: Barbamon is one of the Seven Great Demon Lords, representing the sin of greed.
- The Ditz: Tsurugi is pretty ignorant of technology and finds school difficult. He also commits many social flubs.
- Don't Try This at Home: When Tsurugi does something dumb enough, it's captioned in this way.
- Doting Parent: Tsurugi is this to Greymon. Likewise, Ami's actions towards Pichimon.
- Dumb Jock: The opinion of our hero's peers.
- Elvis Impersonator: Saitou's avatar resembles Elvis for some reason.
- Evil Old Folks: Barbamon.
- Evil Sorceror: Barbamon, again.
- Extreme Omnivore: Agumon would eat anything, including the fake food in one chapter, without repurcussions.
- Goggles Do Nothing: Tsurugi chooses to wear some as part of his avatar. He wears them for the rest of the series when he enters the Digital World.
- Gondor Calls for Aid: To a frankly ridiculous extent. Literally everyone our heroes have met shows up for the final battle against NEO, no matter how minor, including all the villains still alive. It's almost immediately subverted, however; NEO borders on omnipotent, so he simply annihilates all assembled with a single thought.
- Hell: The Dark Area
- Hopeless with Tech: Tsurugi, it is a wonder he got his V-pet working.
- Internal Reveal: The reader learns that the Hacker Tamer is Shou at the end of chapter 3. The heroes, who are also Shou's estranged childhood friends, don't learn of this fact until the end of chapter 14.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Agumon is uncouth, prideful, and a bit of a glutton but like Tsurugi he would stand up for what's right.
- Knight Templar: Barbamon, as a result of fusing with Yggdrasil, is trying to fulfill its will but his methods leave a lot to be desired.
- Meaningful Name: An obvious one, but: "Tsurugi" means "sword". Guess what the weapon used by VictoryGreymon is.
- Merchandise-Driven: Aside from both the Digimon Mini and Digivice iC receiving plenty of pagetime, the Digimon Twin playing a crucial role in the story's climax is a fairly obvious plug for the (at the time) newest v-pet model.
- Missing Mom: Ami's mother is dead.
- My Kung-Fu Is Stronger Than Yours
- My Master, Right or Wrong: Peckmon to Hacker Tamer aka Shou
- Mysterious Watcher: The cloaked figure revealed to be Piccolomon.
- Mythology Gag: During the flashback to when the protagonists met Norn three years ago, they're seen carrying Pendulum X v-pets. The Pendulum X series came out three years before the Digimon Mini, the manga's most prominent v-pet, did.
- Ninja Log: Peckmon
- Not Disabled in VR: Yuu has a heart condition in the real world, but he's completely fine in the Digital World. It leads to him not wanting to go back, partly because he's afraid of the surgery that could heal him. He grows out of his fear eventually.
- Power Levels: Measured in DP
- Real Men Eat Meat: Agumon seems to love his bone meat.
- Reincarnation: Used to be the case in the Digital World but it stopped happening before the events of the series
- Snarky Non-Human Sidekick: Agumon's first action upon waking up in the Digital World is to kick Tsurugi in the face for losing against Peckmon and verbally take him down. Then he poops on his face..
- Soap Opera Disease: Yuu has a heart condition and it isn't any more specified.
- Space Whale Aesop: "Don't mistreat your virtual companions or they will destroy your world and everyone in it", apparently.
- The Speechless: Most Digimon in the first few chapters. This includes Tsurugi's partner until he regains consciousness in the Digital World after being defeated. Pichimon remains speechless though.
- Synchronization:Yggdrasil's Avatar and Barbamon, since its creation is what allowed him to get inside the host computer.
- Tsundere: Ami.
- Unusual Eyebrows: Gaomon's headband blocks them
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Shou and Peckmon. Murmuxmon as well.
- Wizard Beard: Barbamon has one, though he's the Big Bad.
