While most of the casts of characters for the Digimon franchise are large in just their main characters, with Adventure alone having 16 main characters, each series also has great supporting characters. These characters can range from humans to Digimon, but in the end, they all impact the Digidestined in a big way.

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Across 9 seasons of Digimon, including Tri, there have been hundreds of side characters that have been crucial to the success of the Digidestined. Whether they be a parent, an assisting Digimon, or a tool, they all matter. However, friends of the heroes who become Digidestined within the series do not count, so Kazu and Kenta won’t be on this list.

10 Elecmon

A constant for the Digital World, Elecmon is the guardian of the Primary Village and all Digi-eggs. His main role was to help TK find his own footing as a hero of the Digital World. When Elecmon was introduced in “DigiBaby Boom,” ranked the worst episode of Digimon Adventure, he was just a monster of the week.

After being defeated in a tug-of-war match, he cools down and becomes a helpful creature to the group. When he returns in Tri, he helps TK again, even though he doesn’t remember him. Elecmon stands out from most of the other monsters of the week by just being good.

9 Grani

Grani is a special case Digimon, seen clearly as his name doesn’t end in -mon. Rather than being a Digimon, Grani is a merging of human technology and the Digital World. Created by Yamaki and Hypnos, Grani was just a way for the Tamers to return from the Digital World.

Grani developed a personality and grew bonded to Guilmon and Takato. Since Grani was something different, he was able to aid in a different way, originally acting as a steed for Gallantmon to ride until he learned how to fuse to create Gallantmon Crimson Mode.

8 Tai’s Mom and Matt’s Dad

It would be a stretch to say that all of the Adventure parents were helpful, but Tai’s mom and Matt’s dad absolutely were. Tai’s mom is the only parent to appear in Digimon: The Movie and her character is so pure and sweet. While Tai is saving the world, she is making him disgusting food, adding some relief to the tension.

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Matt’s dad, on the other hand, has the most hands-on experience with the kids, and, thanks to a dubbing error, was believed to be one of the original Digidestined until Tri. His connection to the kids and the Digimon themselves makes him a great supporting character.

7 Yamaki

Introduced as a typical G-Man who is against the young Tamers, Yamaki turns out to be a good guy by the midway point of Digimon: Tamers. Both he and Hypnos were trying to save the world in their own way, but by doing so, they ended up putting the world in more danger.

When he realizes his role in almost destroying the world, he goes out of his way to help, and sometimes save, the Tamers. He ends up being a mostly realized character with a story outside of the main plot, which isn’t often shown in Digimon. The switch from villain to hero was arduous but worth the transition.

6 Gennai

Another special case since he isn’t a human, but also isn’t a Digimon, Gennai is a being of Data that was created to maintain the balance of the Digital World. As such, his involvement with the Digidestined is crucial While a version of him does break bad in Tri, Gennai is a hero for the first two seasons of Digimon.

His original design is an old man and his later design looks a lot like Obi-Wan from Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Looks aside, Gennai helps to explain the events and prophecies, albeit cryptically, to the Digidestined. Since he is data, parts of him split off for the “World Tour Arc,” giving some genuinely funny moments.

5 Impmon

This one might be stretching since Impmon is as much of a main character as Calumon is, but he does stay a secondary character all the way to the end of Digimon: Tamers. Impmon toed the line between antagonist and protagonist through his whole subplot. Even when he ends up killing one of the Tamer’s Digimon, Leomon, he still isn’t fully evil.

Impmon growing into a hero by the end of the series and his connection with Jerri makes the character worth it. He just doesn’t want to be weak, but he also doesn’t understand what weakness is until he has to change. That’s character growth we want to see.

4 Leomon

Speaking of Leomon, his role in the series is often to be cannon fodder and die. Each time he appears in the show, he does some good for the world(s) and then is killed, typically by a Digimon who is set to be redeemed afterward, such as Meicoomon and Impmon, even if that redemption doesn’t actually come.

While he does die often, so much so that he has become a meme, Leomon is a source of inspiration for the Digidestined. He helped Tai learn to harness the power of the Digivice and helped Joe and Gomamon Digivolve to Zudomon. His many sacrifices are needed for the Digidestined to save the world.

3 Daigo Nishijima

Arguably the only character that gets a full story in Tri, Daigo Nishijima is a fully realized tragic hero who made it so the Digidestined could survive. Introduced as just a substitute teacher who Tai steals food from, Daigo turns out to be a government agent working to stop infected Digimon from entering the world.

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As the story progresses, we find out that both Daigo and Maki were part of the original Digidestined, Daigo being the googlehead with his partner being Bearmon. At the end of Tri, Daigo gives his life to save Tai, tricking him into an escape pod. As Daigo dies, his story is complete and it is satisfying.

2 Bokomon and Neemon

These two are paired together because you truly can’t have one without the other. As the guides to the Digital World for the Digidestined of Digimon: Frontier, Bokomon and Neemon are the perfect blend of educational, lackadaisical and comedic. Bokomon was the brains and Neemon was there too.

The two are interesting characters for their place on the team. Outside of expositional needs, the two acted as a sort of conscience for the group, defining right and wrong. Additionally, the two were queer coded without being written trashy, even “adopting” a Patamon as their joint child. For a series that showed a lot of darkness, these two were welcome additions.

1 Wizardmon

There is no better side character than Wizardmon, the true hero of the Myotismon arc. Wizardmon was a pure of heart Digimon who stepped in to stop Gatomon from being just another bad Digimon. Instead, Wizardmon became her best friend and guided her into the arms of Kari.

When Gatomon and Kari are attacked by Myotismon, Wizardmon steps in the way of the attack and perishes, knowing he did the right thing. It is an emotional, heart-wrenching scene but it locked Wizardmon in as the best ally to the group. His sacrifice allows Gatomon to digivolve and for good to triumph. It also made a lot of children cry from the emotional whiplash, but that further cemented his place.

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