Long time no see! I’m Corey, the voice you hear on TheDigiKnow and the author of Dot Monster ReVolution. Here’s what went down since my last newsletter!
The Tenth Digimon Anime
On August 1st, Odaiba Day 2025, the folks at Digimon shared a Beatbreak breakdown which featured a new trailer, character details, anime staff names and more!
In my latest video, I recap the news before sharing my thoughts. I might be in the minority, but I’m not in love with the new Digimon designs. The season’s premise excites me, though!
Yu-Gi-Oh! Had A Very Early Digimon Parody
In July I made a video covering the very bizarre Digimon & Tamagotchi parody that exists within the early chapters of the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga. Somehow, Yu-Gi-Oh’s goofy parody episode beat Digimon to the punch on big ideas like a Digimon Emperor type character! Check it out:
Death Stranding 2 & DotMon
I don’t usually talk about games on here, but I’ve got a point, I swear! I’ve been enjoying Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, after having thoroughly enjoyed DS1 about five years ago. While playing DS2, it occurred to me that it was surely a subconscious influence while writing my first novel, Dot Monster ReVolution!
In the wake of a near-world-ending event, the protagonists find themselves in a disconnected Earth. They must work on reconnecting the ‘internet’ one region at a time, all while encountering mysterious entities from another plane of existence.
Huh! If you’ve read my book and played Death Stranding, you’ll no doubt agree they are entirely different things. But it’s fascinating to revisit a story you once enjoyed and realize that certain parts of it came along with you on your creative journey.
In June, Kojima blew my mind with a quote in which he responded to a question about ‘passing the baton’ to a successor.
“I am not going to pass the baton to anyone. I will rather crush the baton… [Laughs.] I don’t need to give ‘Hideo Kojima’ to anyone. Every day […] a director or an actor or a musician contacts me. They say, ‘I’m a creator because of your games.’ But they didn’t receive the baton of Hideo Kojima. They received my small fire. They’re not copying me. They’re not trying to be me. They have this fire, and they light up their own. And they’ll probably give that to someone else. There were legendary comic book artists when I was a boy. I didn’t become a comic book artist – I was inspired by them, I was influenced.”
I think about Paul McCartney. I don’t write music. I don’t want to be a musician. But McCartney’s melodies, lyrics, and love of creating inspire me. I received a small fire from him.
I hope to provide someone else a small fire!
Listen to me read the first chapter of Dot Monster ReVolution (DOTMON) here!