Digimon（デジモン Dejimon, branded as Digimon: Digital Monsters), short for "Digital Monsters"（デジタルモンスター Dejitaru Monsutā), is a Japanese media franchise encompassing digital toys, anime, manga, video games and videos. The franchise's eponymous creatures are monsters of various forms living in a "Digital Universe", a parallel universe that originated from Earth's various communication networks.