Matt Ishida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Matt Ishida |
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| Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02 and Digimon Adventure tri. character | |
Promotional image of Matt Ishida for Digimon Adventure
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| First appearance | Digimon Adventure (1999 film) |
| Created by |
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| Portrayed by | Shohei Hashimoto (stage play) |
| Voiced by |
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| Information | |
| Relatives |
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| Partner Digimon | Gabumon |
| Crest | Friendship |
Yamato "Matt" Ishida, known as Yamato Ishida (石田 ヤマト, Ishida Yamato) in Japan, is a fictional character from the Digimon multimedia franchise, appearing in Digimon Adventure, Digimon Adventure 02, Digimon Adventure tri., and Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna. First appearing in the 1999 film Digimon Adventure, Matt is one of the DigiDestined, a group of children chosen to save the Digital World, and is partnered with Gabumon.
Matt has consistently ranked as top favorite DigiDestined character by Japanese voters, and critics cite his relationships with T.K. Takaishi and Tai Kamiya as one of the strongest and most memorable parts of the series. Outside of the series, several CD singles have been released under Matt's bands, Teen-age Wolves and Knife of Day.
Appearances
Anime
Matt first made a brief appearance in the 1999 film Digimon Adventure. He becomes part of the main cast of Digimon Adventure, where he, along with six other children, are transported to the Digital World, later learning that they are "DigiDestined" and were chosen to save both worlds. Matt is partnered with Gabumon and later receives the Crest of Friendship (友情の紋章, Yūjō no monshō). Another distinctive trait of Matt is that he carries a harmonica with him at all times, which he sometimes plays.
In his daily life, Matt is a 5th grade student who attends the same elementary school as the other DigiDestined. He lives in Odaiba with his father, Hiroaki Ishida, after his parents divorced three years prior. Because of this, he develops an awkward relationship with his mother, Nancy Takaishi, as he feels they treat each other as strangers, and he is protective of his younger brother, T.K. Takaishi. Throughout the series, Matt's caution in the Digital World, especially in regards to T.K.'s safety, leads him to clash with Tai often, due to the latter's recklessness. While fighting the Dark Masters, Matt begins fearing T.K. will grow apart from him, which culminates into a violent altercation with Tai, and he withdraws from the DigiDestined after doubting his importance. He later rejoins them after realizing he values his friendships with them, particularly Tai.
In Digimon Adventure 02, Matt is a second-year middle school student who becomes a mentor to the younger generation of DigiDestined. He forms a band with his classmates called the Teen-age Wolves and provides lead vocals and bass.
In Digimon Adventure tri., Matt is a second-year high school student at Tsukishima High School. He provides lead vocals and bass to Knife of Day after the Teen-age Wolves disbands. Throughout the series, he acts as Tai's foil and questions his reluctance to fight. When the DigiDestined believe Tai to be dead in Coexistence, Matt takes on his responsibility as a leader and rallies the DigiDestined until Tai returns.
After the events of the series, Digimon Adventure 02's epilogue depicts Matt and Gabumon becoming astronauts. He marries Sora Takenouchi and they have two children: a daughter with a Yokomon and a son with a Tsunomon.
In other media
Matt has also appeared in several video games from the Digimon franchise, including Digimon Adventure: Anode/Cathode Tamer. He is a playable character in video game adaptation of Digimon Adventure.
In Japan, several image songs were released under Matt's name. "Walk on the Edge" was performed by Yūto Kazama and released on March 24, 2000 on the compilation CD album Digimon Adventure: Best Hit Parade. For Digimon Adventure 02, a character CD single was released on June 21, 2000 under Matt's name and contained his theme song, "Negai Kanaeru Kagi" (願いかなえるカギ) and a duet with Gabumon titled "Ore-tachi no Melody" (俺たちのメロディー). Kazama had also provided the bass instrumental for "Negai Kanaeru Kagi." In addition to Matt's character songs, "Tobira Door" (扉 DOOR) was released as a single under Matt's band, Teen-age Wolves, on April 4, 2001. The CD also contained an audio drama focusing on Matt, where he receives a letter from a fan who is about to undergo eye surgery.
For Digimon Adventure tri., Yoshimasa Hosoya performed the song "Boku ni Totte" (僕にとって) as Matt, which served as the ending theme song to the third movie, Confession. The single was released under Matt's band, Knife of Day, on September 21, 2016, and contained the song "Which" as a B-side. Hosoya had described that, while the lyrics were kept general, "Boku ni Totte" is Yamato's message to Gabumon, while "Which" was about finding oneself. To promote "Boku ni Totte", a music video was released on August 12, 2016. The single peaked at #46 on Oricon's Weekly Singles Chart. The song was later re-released and rearranged as Matt's theme song on the compilation album Digimon Adventure tri. Character Songs: DigiDestined version on April 10, 2017, which peaked at #74 on the Oricon Weekly Charts.
Matt is portrayed by Shohei Hashimoto in the 2.5D musical stage play, Digimon Adventure tri.: The Adventure on August 1st. Hashimoto, who had watched Digimon Adventure when he was young, cited Matt as his favorite character and stated that his "cool" personality had not changed when he had grown up. To prepare for the role, Hashimoto had to learn how to play the harmonica.
