Favorite Digimon #22 - Andromon

Robocop's unemployed, shiftless, alcoholic brother

The great thing about Andromon is that he looks like he's breaking down. One leg is practically bare, exposing his gross alien monster flesh. Mis-matched shoulder plates. Panels have clearly cracked or fallen off in other areas, wires dangle like limb veins. There's the whole off-kilter slouch - dude has the height of Shaq, but the posture of an unbalanced stack of laundry. There's a very Frankenstein vibe to it.

Asymmetry is a big part of the Digimon aesthetic, and Andromon delivers that in spades. He just wouldn't be the same if he was repaired to look all nice and even. Being a piece of junk is his charm point!

Favorite Digimon #23 - Gatomon

Did she steal those gloves from Katt, from Breath of Fire?

Look, Gatomon is my sister's favorite Digimon, so I'm including her here as a favor, but also Gatomon is pretty well-designed. In fact, it's a better cat-monster than most of Gamefreak's attempts.

The fringe (feathers?) on the ears and tail are a fun touch that keeps it from just being a literal cat, and that ring has some significance in the show if I remember my lore correctly. But the real star here are those gloves.

Why would a cat need cat gloves? Well obviously if you've got cute little kitten paws, but still want to deal some Wolverine-level damage, you're gonna need extra claws. Makes sense to me. Like how if you want your gun to shoot better, you can stick another gun on the front. Yes, I'm sure that's how it works, be quiet. Plus, it's just cute.

Favorite Digimon #24 - Frigimon

There's a brown version called MudFrigimon, and I think we can all just be glad there's no yellow snow version.

Here's another Digimon who could be a Pokemon in a pinch. Not that they need to look like Pokemon, mind you, it's just unusual to see a Digimon this simple in design. So I appreciate him for that.

He's a snowman bear, he doesn't need to look as busy as the rest of them! I like his gumdrop buttons, and his big punchy mitten hands. Astute readers will notice a trend - I like guys who punch. I make no effort to hide this, Fighting is my favorite type after Bug and Ghost, after all. (and Snimon was far from the last Digi-bug you'll see on this list...)

Favorite Digimon #25 - BanchoLeomon

oh shit is that a JOJO REFERENCE!?!?

No, not really. JJBA didn't invent delinquents. the Bancho has been a staple of Japanese media since the 70's, appearing in a lot of other TV shows, anime, and manga before Jotaro wore a blue school uniform and punched a lot of things in Egypt.

But that's not to say he didn't look awesome doing it. See, adding a Bancho coat-worn-as-a-cape to anything instantly makes it better, as proven by Kongoh Bancho, Kill la Kill, and Pangoro. So take a regular garden variety Leomon, fated to die in every series as some sort of tragic warrior-Christ figure (as if Aslan and Mufasa didn't die for our sins enough!), and get that boy in a Japanese school uniform, rough it up, and let him chew on some grass. You end up with awesome.

For an added bonus, there are other Bancho-version Digimon - BanchoMamemon, BanchoGolemon, BanchoStingmon, and BanchoLilymon. I hope they're all in the new game.

Favorite Digimon #26 - MetalMamemon

Isn't it nice when you don't have to come up with new, creative names for evolved forms?

In Pokemon, this guy would have to use something entirely different from Mamemon. But in the wonderful world of Digimon, you can just slap "metal" in front of it, to signify he's now a cyborg or some shit idk and you're good to go!

But I do like this guy. Wolverine claws are sick, and I won't ever say no to a giant arm cannon that's as big as your own actual body.


For comparison's sake, there's regular Mamemon - who I actually dig on his own. You can see the basic similarity with Mushroomon - studded gloves, with belt-rope things on them. Hey, I love my punch-em-ups. But MetalMamemon edges out by virtue of those aforementioned cybernetic weapons. Also possibly a V8 Engine in his back? Look, he's just a head with limbs, but he's rocking out as best he can.

Favorite Digimon #27 - Gigasmon

oh gimme dem grumblecakes~

One of my few picks from beyond Season 3 (Tamers), Gigasmon stands out in my memory because he was a major thorn in the side of the good guys. Despite being just one of a group of elemental-themed baddies, he seemed to get a disproportional amount of screentime. he wiped the floor with the heroes on several occasions, stole their powers, and generally was the most dangerous enemy they faced for a long time. Even subsequent baddies went down easier than this guy. I hated him in the same way you hate a heel wrestler - I came close to getting legitimately upset that they couldn't beat him, I just wanted someone to shut his stupid face up.

Also, for some reason, I used him as my mental image of what the trolls in the Artemis Fowl series looked like - just add razor-sharp elephant tusks. I'm not sure why I drew this connection, as the trolls are explicitly stated as being hairy, in addition to a number of other differences, but oh well.


I don't think his design is actually that special, it's decent enough, but he makes the list because he's one of the few characters from the show that made a lasting impact on me. I couldn't tell you what the names of any of the other Season 4 (Frontier) villains were.

Favorite Digimon #28 - Snimon

imagine a being made entirely out of sharp edges

He only exists to cause pain, his many spikes and blades self-sharpen as they inevitably scrape against each other every time he moves, he doesn't even have eyes to help direct his careening fury, he is a nightmare given form and his name is Snimon.

Some may note a similarity to another of my favorite things, Scyther. I admit they share a core concept, but the difference is that Snimon is completely freaking insane about it.

Favorite Digimon #29 - Tsumemon

Our War Game was really just a rough draft of Summer Wars, wasn't it?

Most of the Digimon in this list are gonna be the bigger, badder types. Champions and Ultimates. It's not that I dislike the baby forms, it's just that most of them bore me, being essentially a ball with some eyes and a flair. Will this one have a spike? a leaf? a tail? the mind boggles.

That's where Tsumemon comes in. Right off the bat, he's got a big ol' cycloptic eye, on some Millennium Item shit. But I have to say, it's a dang cute eye. Which makes the creepy finger-claw-tentacles that much weirder. Because they're totally fingers, right? It's only got 5 for a reason. Just walkin' around inside your computer, eating your files and sending everyone on your address book spam mail or whatever.

Plus, I think he'd look neat sitting on top of my head, as long as he didn't squeeze too tight.

Favorite Digimon #30 - Mushroomon

Is it "Mushroo-mon", or "Mushroom-on"?

I'll be honest - I never had this guy in the game, or as a toy, or saw him in the show. I only know him from a trading card. But damn if I don't love this design. He's a punk mushroom brawler, what more can you ask for? Probably the most badass mushroom I've ever seen.

and hey, if you just remove the belts, and redundant skull symbol, you'd have a pretty neat Poison/Fighting Pokemon! Funny how elements that I'd rake this guy over the coals for if he came out of Gamefreak's workshop are just fine in another context. But it really wouldn't be Digimon without superfluous gloves, belts, symbols, and studs.

...still not sure what that other lil' guy is about, though. Maybe he's just photobombing?

Favorite Digimon #31 - Digitamamon

Ah, Digimon. The age-old rival of Pokemon, I've always been a low-key fan. I watched the show off-and-on with my sister, but got frustrated with my TV station frequently starting over airing the episodes from the beginning with no warning. But I had a lot of the toys, which honestly played an over-sized role in which ones became my favorites. Also I had the starter set of cards, but never met anyone else who collected them, so I never got into that like I did Pokemon.

The biggest difference, of course, is that I hadn't played any of the games until last year, when I picked up Cyber Sleuth. I quite enjoyed it, and put some of them in a new perspective for me - Digimon I'd only seen static pictures of, since I never saw their episode, came to life with cool attacks. There's a sequel coming out next year I've heard, so I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, without further ado, let's meet #31, Mr. Just-Made-The-Cut, Digitamamon!



Or, as my sister and I always called him, LeggoMyEggoMon. I know he's not a waffle, but he's an egg, and they showed that commercial all the time back in the day, okay? I honestly had to google search "dumb egg digimon troll feet" in order to find this guy, because apparently nobody else has come up with that brilliant nickname.

So he sneaks into the list mainly on nostalgia, we always had fun roasting him. But I do think he design is actually kinda neat - an rotten little egg, with a cute simplistic face, but those funky-ass feet should let you know that there's probably something evil lurking inside. I can't remember if you ever see his face in the show or not. Another google search will find the answer WHOA SHIT



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