8 Reasons Digimon Was A Better Show Than Pokemon

2. It Had A Great Balance Between Serialized And Episodic Storytelling

Their refusal to quickly wrap up a storyline in order to achieve a cheery conclusion by the end of an episode leads me to my next point; 'Digimon' was, for most kids, their first foray into serialized television and story arcs. They provided numerous cliffhangers over the course of the show's run, even if an episode wasn't billed as a two-parter. Things weren't always neatly wrapped up by episode's end. The DigiDestined would be separated for multiple episodes and you would be left wondering for weeks at a time how they would be able to find their way back to each other again. This not only kept things interesting but also upped the danger factor. After all, the only thing worse than being trapped in a vast new world you're unfamiliar with is being trapped there alone. And therein lies the beauty of 'Digimon'. It challenged you as a kid. Not only did episodes end with cliffhangers but each of the first season's 54 episodes is divided into four distinct story arcs. This, in turn, made you want to watch the next episode right away to see what would happen. It's a simple but effective trick to retain viewers but it had seldom been done on children's television before. Most shows, like 'Pokemon', had short stories that could quickly be resolved in under 22 minutes. 'Digimon' had episodic chapters that told one complete story, while still being accessible enough for the average child. And each one built on the other to lead up to their grand finale. Which brings me to my final point...