S01ESR01 Crest Email

Hey Going Digital podcast,


With your coverage of season one coming to an end, I thought it’d be fun to share my in-depth thoughts on the Crests and some of the traits they symbolize, as a few of them are straight forward, but some of them are a lot more vague. Nothing particularly concrete is said about the Crests so it’s fun to bounce ideas around about them with others to give them a more substantial feel.

Also I really enjoy your podcast and have a bit too much time to myself. XD


Courage, Love and Knowledge: All of these are pretty self explanatory, Bravery in the face of danger, caring about the people you are close to and the ability to show it, and an intellect to look for an answer when you don’t know it. They do need a necessary direction and reason to manifest properly, as evident with Skullgreymon.


Friendship: The most generic name given to a Crest, and the hardest to really quantify. But I think the Crest would best manifest as a desire to treat all your friends equally, and to expect the same from them. Matt/Yamato very obviously does this, but the pushback dynamic with Tai/Taichi showcases their abrasion a lot more than with any of the others, plus when Tai/Taichi doesn’t respond how he expected to in Tri, Matt/Yamato takes it very personally. Then Davis/Daisuke doesn’t hesitate to welcome Ken into the fold because he sees Ken is a kind person chosen by the Crest of Kindness and instantly goes “Cool! You learned your lesson, right? So let’s put the past behind us and move forward ‘cuz you’re our friend now!”


Reliability: I use the English name to both avoid confusion and as I think reliability is an accurate description. Both Joe and Cody/Iori are shown to understand when they are needed, and frankly, when they are not. Joe shows insight to both plan for the best, and prepare for the worst because no one plans to get hurt or lost, but it does happen, and it’s better to have first aide and not need it, than the oother way around. While Cody/Iori never says it, he does want to be the one people turn to when they need to talk about things, a trait he clearly picked up from his grandfather.


Purity: The quick answer is “being true to yourself” for this Crest. But it’s a lot more than that. It’s the ability to face any situation and come out of it with your core self intact. Changed, but uncorrupted. Neither Mimi or Yolei/Miyako wanted to fight, but by series end they both knew that there were times they had to. And the interesting difference between how Mimi and Yolei/Miyako portray the Crest actually comes from their family life. Mimi is an only child and Yolei/Miyako grew up with a number of siblings. Yolei/Miyako tried to stand out in her family, and in some ways this trait was emphasized, but in some ways it was pushed aside. For example, they both had the hasty reaction to whine and cry, but in Yolei/Miyako it does comes from the fact she is upset, but also because it garnered attention over her siblings. While Mimi also did this, she was less dramatic because she didn’t use it to compete with others.


Hope: Partially from the heavy Christian symbolism Digimon associated with this Crest have, I have always thought of it more as “Faith” but given a paper thin disguise for public television. Combined with the literal definition of faith, believing in something without evidence to support the belief, and the situation in which T.K./Takeru first makes it glow despite having no reason to believe it will work out.


Light: Another generically named Crest, but shown to manifest in a lot more consistent manner. An alternative name could be “Optimism” as Kari/Hikari is clearly an optimist, and not out of habit but rather as a core part of who she is. Inherent optimism like that is a deeply ingrained trait, and often leads to severe depression when the desired expectations from people or situations are constantly not met.


Kindness: Without any examples of it in use and only a name to go off of, we can’t say anything definite, but it safe to say that it’s a very straight forward Crest as well.


Miracles and Destiny: Much more unique as these aren’t personality traits. But rather outside forces from which power can be drawn. These also don’t seem to have physical Crests, only the Digi-mentals with a corresponding insignia that the other Digi-mentals had to connect them with the respective Crests.

Destiny is technically non-canon but I like to believe that since the lore of Digimon is glossed over so much it is possible even more Crests exist outside the spotlight of the story. Crests could exist for traits like Honesty, Strength and more.


And if you don’t mind, I have a question I’d like to hear answered on the show. Guests included if they are present! X3

If you were given a Crest, either one that exists in-show, or a brand new one, what Crest would it be and why would it best fit you?

For me, I’d have Reliability because I want to be there for people when they need me.


Danke Schön