>>40109474I recognize how apart Digimon is from the other clones, but it is still a clone. I know Digimon came earlier as some toys or something like that, but the absolute success of Pokémon worldwide opened the doors for Digimon and many others. People who were already familiarized with the idea of Pokémon would be much more receptive to similar anime like Digimon and thus a part of it's success IS in fact thanks to being so similar to Pokémon.
That being said, Digimon really is a distinct clone, specially the Digimon Adventures anime. Apart from other stupid souless clones like Monster Rancher or even Beyblade (anything that had kids figthing with a toy with some monsters being part of it), the kids in Digimon are surprisingly human characters. The kids in Digimon cry. They miss their families. They act like actual kids. They aren't souless beings like Ash just go adventuring though the world at the age of 10 like it's nothing. They are fragile and unstable beings. Digimon Adventure has also an amazing quite melancholic soundtrack that helps a lot to set it's tone apart from the others. Also, the Digimon Adventure movie is directed by nothing more than Mamoru Hosoda, Oscar-nominated director that later would work in beautiful movies like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Wolf Children. So yes, Digimon REALLY sets itself apart from the clones, being arguably the best one, but it's still a clone.
