Yagami Taichi, the honest and kind-hearted child everybody has always relied on without giving it a second thought, despite his young age and naive nature. A natural born leader, he’s the kid who, however, had to grow up quicker than he should.
Taichi’s carefree facade is misleading. He’s the one with the heaviest responsibilities; he lived first hand the pressure of being a living sun his comrades could orbit around. He’s the member whose mistakes had the harsher consequences, after all. People in general expect so much from him, Taichi developed a natural tendency to not forgive himself for his own mistakes… (SkullGreymon, Nanomon, Hikari…)
Thanks to Agumon, Taichi managed to find his inner strength and learn how to overcome the fear of failure. He will try again, and again, and again… heading towards his goals no matter what surprises await him.
Ishida Yamato, the cool looking guy who is too often mistaken for the antisocial lone wolf but who, in fact, has always been extremely shy, caring and considerate of others. This young man used to have a hard time knowing how to convey his worries and voice his feelings without hurting others. Too often, we find him too aware of the complexity of people’s emotions and the delicate situations they’re living (the CD Drama “Tegami†being the most eloquent example of this trait of his).
Gabumon helped him overcome the trauma of his parents divorce and relieved Yamato’s shoulders of the burden it was to stand on his own and act strong for Takeru. Yamato realized opening his heart and sharing painful experiences were what truly allowed him to understand other people and create rock solid bonds.
Takenouchi Sora, the young woman who used to act tomboyish and strong to hide her sensitive and caring nature out of embarrassment. Piyomon taught her there was nothing wrong with caring about other people and allowing her motherly instincts to blossom. Slowly but steadily, Sora found herself in the shoes of the ‘big sis’ and ‘mother’ of the group.
Sora wouldn’t allow herself to cry or look weak… not before Yamato taught her it was alright to be selfish once in a while; that nobody can truly support others without being on terms with their own hearts. The girl who learnt it’s alright to be affectionate when she wanted to, harsh when she must, selfish when she cared and supportive when she was ready.
Izumi Koushirou, the very polite child who’s always been too considerate and intelligent for his age. Finding out he was adopted at a very young age, Koushirou took refuge in the internet where name and origins don’t matter and his curiosity could run wild with no boundaries.
He lived the paradox of wanting to unveil the secrets of the world around him, although he didn’t know who he was. Thanks to Tentomon and the Digital World, Koushirou found answers to questions he never thought he would find. “Do you have interest in who you are, Koushirou-han?â€. When it comes to people, their origins don’t define them as much as their actions and choices.
Tachikawa Mimi, the young girl who used to cry all the time, begging to go home, but it was really hard to blame her for this. Every time she cried for a comfortable bed to sleep on and delicious food to eat, nobody had the nerve to call her off, because deep in their hearts the whole group shared the same wishes. In fact, Mimi might have helped the group endure their situation because she was right there to voice everybody’s deepest wishes and not-so-secret feelings. Although Mimi can be quite exasperating, she means no harm.
This is the girl who didn’t want Palmon to fight and get injured. It took Leomon to die on her for Mimi to finally realize sometimes life puts people in harsh situations they can not avoid no matter what. There’s fights we can’t run from, but Mimi isn’t like Taichi. She decided to take the challenge her own way, by gathering as many friends she could - an army of digimon she befriended - to help her fight.
Kido Jou, the reliable young man nobody would rely on due to his methodical and strict nature. Jou was the kind of child who wouldn’t question any of the rules adults spoon fed him.
Meeting Gomamon was probably the best that could have happened to Jou. This is the guy who gradually learnt to crack jokes and stopped being so strict about rules. Being the youngest child of a long line of medical practitioners Jou started questioning why should he abide to his father’s will and become a doctor. He knows his father won’t be happy about it, but wants to take a path of his own…
Jou surprisingly took medicine later, but looks can be deceiving. Although the result is practically the same, Jou didn’t fulfill his father’s wishes. He became a doctor for the sake of all digimon he saw suffering during his adventure. It’s a path he decided to walk on his own.
Jou never hesitated when taking care of the children lost in the Digital World. Even though his methods weren’t the most popular, Jou bravely tried his best and there’s many times he put his own life at risk.
Takeru Takaishi, the youngest of the children. The innocent kid who befriended a cute magic creature in a magic world of wonder, only to see that cute magic friend of his die and sacrifice his own life to save him. Takeru had to grow up the hard way and was never truly the same ever since. He got the crest of Hope after going through one of the most disturbing and despairing situations of their Adventure…
Takeru was glad he could meet Patamon again, obviously, but I think the fact the Digital World needed him two and a half years later was far from putting his mind at rest. This is the kid known for clashing with Daisuke, but deep in his heart it’s his own fears Takeru wants to fight. He clearly wanted to use his previous experiences in the DW to make sure the same would never happen again.
It’s no wonder Takeru has such a strong mysterious aura in 02. We see him smiling in times he clearly doesn’t really want to. It’s sad to find out in the CD Dramas he still has a hard time knowing how to deal with that trauma of his…
Yagami Hikari, the light of the eight. Althought she was the last to join the group, her charisma has been strong from the very start. I reckon her crest is also the most mysterious and the hardest to understand.
When she realized not only the children of Odaiba but her parents, brother, and friends were suffering at the hands of Vamdemon, Hikari turned herself in to put a stop to it. She gladly took Tailmon by her side, although Tailmon was one of Vamdemon’s henchman and tried to kill her. This altruistic and carefree side of Hikari is what makes her light shine brightly.
But Light and Darkness are two sides of a coin. The strongest the light, the darker the shadow becomes. One day the servants of Dagomon took her to the Dark Ocean and insinuated they want to rape her. Despite Takeru’s efforts to help her, Hikari started panicking and screaming in despair in the presence of darkness ever since.
It’s Miyako who manages to make her snap out of it and overcome the trauma. Hikari won’t go back to the Dark Ocean as long as she doesn’t give up on those who fight for that Light to stay strong.