Mimi is possibly the most controversial pick, as you either completely adore her or hate her. She’s that character that definitely walks a fine line between child-like innocence and judgmental ignorance. These two versions of her stem from two important aspects of her. One she has been pampered her entire life so she doesn’t really understand the concept of getting your hands dirty. Two, she simply says whatever is on her mind without thinking about how it might make others feel. Sincerity is her crest after all, and learning how to better express herself is one of her main challenges. Nonetheless, in general, her expressions and mannerisms shed a sense of lightheartedness to the show and her sense of fashion is on point.

Leomon is the guardian we all hope to have in our lives. He is strong, capable, reliable, and nurturing. When you’re first introduced to him, you will immediately understand just how righteous and caring he is. Essentially, he’s chasing down the Black Gears, which transform friendly Digimon into fiends, in order to end this nightmare. From beginning to end he’s fighting the good fight to ensure the safety of all kindhearted Digimon. On top of that, he quite frequently acts as a guide and safeguard for our band of heroes in their earlier stages. In fact, he pays the ultimate price when he decides put himself in front of Devimon in order to give the Digidestined time to escape.

Gomamon is Joe’s companion Digimon and to deal with Joe’s constant worrying, he plays the role of the fool. To clarify, he’s plays the role of the jokester to take people’s mind off of what is troubling them at that moment. As such, Gomamon is consistently trying to crack jokes, spin puns, and act as adorable as possible in order to lighten the mood and get Joe to stop freaking out. Even when he fails in his attempts, people would be hard pressed to say that they didn’t actually enjoy it, because he’s such a perfect mix of goofy and delightful. As a result, his carefree nature is simply so pure that whenever he’s on screen it’s hard not to watch him closely as you never know what he will do next.

Despite being the most angsty of our young heroes, Matt was still able to win over the hearts of many. No, it’s not just because he’s quote on quote the “cool one” nor that he has one of the most highly regarded, fan favorite Digimon: Gabumon. Matt is extremely relatable in his struggle to forge friendships. He has his own ideas of what is right and this leads him into several conflicts with Tai. Thus, his character profoundly accentuates the pain of constantly comparing yourself to another. Who hasn’t dealt with such emotions? However, when not getting into a debate with Tai, he’s able to demonstrate a lot of patience and care. We see this most poignantly with how protective he is towards his younger brother, TK. Nonetheless, we also see extraordinary kindness and loyalty when dealing with the accident prone Joe and the troublesome Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon. On top of it all, the guy can play the harmonica like a pro and is able to express his feelings through music powerfully in the end

Tai, as the face of the entire first season, obviously captured the heart of practically every person who watched the show. His fashion sense and hair are probably the first two things that come to mind for most viewers when thinking back upon the series. However, it wasn’t just his style that earned him a lot of fans. He is bold, courageous, sensitive, and caring. Though he stumbles once or twice, he learns quickly from his mistakes and does his best to take into consideration the concerns, fears, and abilities of each member in his party. It is this trait of his that allows him to be the leader and makes him worthy of the trust, respect, and adoration of teammates and fans alike.

As Matt’s partner, Gabumon portrays exactly how a true friend should always act. He listens and sticks with Matt no matter what the situation is. Always the voice of reason, Gabumon is Matt’s personal guide to better understanding others and becoming a true team player. His words alone are able to pull Matt out of his self-pity, because Gabumon intimately understands Matt’s inner fear of not being able to compare to Tai, especially in the eyes of his younger brother, TK. It’s this type of insight that makes Gabumon such a beloved character in the eyes of anyone who has seen the series. Plus, he has one of the coolest character designs in the entire show.

These two come as a pair because they were essentially one and the same. Despite, working for Myotismon these two earned themselves a ton of fans. If you haven’t watched the show and are wondering how antagonists became so lovable, then let’s just sum it up with hilarity. Pumpkinmon and Gotsumon decide that they are more interested in exploring the human world and having a good time instead of trying to destroy our heroes. Yeah, they pull some pranks, but they are harmless and simply want to have a night on the town. They even befriend Matt and TK, and they end up turning on Myotismon in order to protect their new friends. In the end, these two within the span of an episode were able to defy expectations and become fan favorites.

If you watched the first season, then Wizardmon’s name shouldn’t come as any surprise on such a list. Besides his disheveled, scamp-like appearance that makes you want to bring him home and nurture him, he has one of the most heartbreaking storylines. His narrative first runs parallel to that of Gatomon’s: worked for Myotismon and acted as an antagonist for our heroes. However, we soon find out that the only reason why he’s working for Myotismon is because Gatomon’s there, and he will do anything to stay by her side as she was his first friend. That’s a loyal friend. Then he takes it further in one of the most dramatic moments in the entire season. When Myotismon directs a fatal attack at Kari and Gatomon, Wizardmon jumps in front of it, sacrificing himself to protect them. This act was one of those moments that simply put Digimon to another level.

The girl held the crest of “Love.” How could she not be included on this list? Sora really is the mother of the group. She is extremely protective towards everyone, especially little TK, and knows exactly what everyone needs to hear and when they need to hear it. She just has that maternal instinct about her, and it’s really hard not to like her. It’s these qualities that have her protecting and taking care of the group even when she has technically left them in order to properly assess her inner conflicts. Each time she secretly pulls some strings to help a fellow member out, it’s reminiscent of how moms see everything like they have eyes in the back of their heads.

These two were kept as a pairing, because instead of acting as foils to one another with slightly differing personalities, they are essentially one entity. They are the babies of the group and as such can’t help but be absolutely lovable. They are kindhearted, trusting, caring, protective, and innocent to a fault. They also have the cutest expressions that will make just about anyone go ‘awww.’ If your heart doesn’t sigh when you see their eyes water up in tears, then, apologies, you must be heartless.

Despite their relative weakness compared to the other members of the group, both also have the courage to take a stand when they need to. This inner resolve of theirs in addition to every other little thing about them, just pushes them far beyond the rest when it comes to lovability. They are the supreme underdog duo of the show and it’s glorious to watch them grow together.