I believe Digimon as a brand can be enjoyed by both Adults and Children. As of this post the reality is more Adults from previous generations of fans like Digimon than newer younger audiences. The Truth however is that if Digimon as a brand can't bring in a new demographic of younger fans the franchise is doomed to slowly fade away. The GOOD news is this can be solved if Bandai focuses on delivering quality and stops trying to sell Digimon with new gimmicks. Digimon has stumbled through the years because with each new installment Bandai trys and radically reinvent what Digimon are. Take Digimon back to it's roots as " Ai viruses that people can train and raise through portable LCD toys " and focus on making quality stories, games, manga and LCD toys based on that premise.
I'm going to be a bit cruel, but please don't think that I don't love Digimon, my love for Digimon is immense, immense, but my ideology is that if you love something you must have the courage to criticize it.
-But forget about having a global impact like the original Adventure if you have created such unremarkable characters-
But remember, please don't think that I don't love Digimon, my love for Digimon is immense, immense, but my ideology is that if you love something you must have the courage to criticize it.
I think its a mixed bag, although the toylines were invented for children the major consumer nowadays are collectors and people with nostalgia for the franchise, I cant imagine children asking their parents for the digivice ver.complete unless they are young hobbyists.
It seems most Digimon things are aimed at adults now, I certainly would not give my csa digivice to my little sister! the collectables and games are aimed at adults, but the anime and vpets are aimed at kids (at least in the US, the ver 20th vpets are only $20, or around 2000 yen, way cheaper than in Japan)
I personally like this divide, I can enjoy the lighthearted anime and have my deeper stories told in the games