Digimon Reviews, Episode 32: Ryudamon and Friends

Hello, it's me from the future of 2026! During my tidying up of Digimon articles, I realized that episodes 31 and 32 ran way, way, way too long. And there was just a whole mess all around. IN decided to split those articles up, moving the entire Ryudamon family and the 'prehistoric' set out of the Dorumon article, and to move GigaSeadramon and some others from the X-Antibody one to the Dorumon article. I know they're meant to tie in to the X-Antibody species, but it feels a lot cleaner to have those Digimon here, since having different names actually has them appear independent of the X-Antibody stuff. 

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Fufumon

Is that it? Hoo boy, that's a lot of Doru-nonsense, huh? It's not quite as bad as Veemon variants, I guess, but the various Doru's and Death-X's are a lot less derivative. Let's go to the Pendulum-X 2.0 virtual pet, and its star, Fufumon! Fufumon actually looks different enough from his Baby II and Child-level evolutions, while still retaining some visual cues, so points for that! He's a comma with a little horn, though, which isn't the most interesting thing, but eh. Also, Fufumon borrows his name from "Fu", the Pawn piece in the game of Shogi, and this evolution line is going to have that be kind of a running theme.

 3/10.

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Kyokyomon

Kyokyomon (representing the "lancer" piece of Shogi) is the Baby II of this line, and he's a pretty decent-looking little worm-dragon with horns and tiny vestigial fin-legs. Interestingly, Kyokyomon's bio notes that he can stretch to nine times its normal length to attack the opponent. I really don't have a lot to say about Kyokyomon -- he's not the most memorable design out there, but he gets point for at least looking somewhat unique as a design. In the Pendulum-X virtual pet, Kyokyomon can evolve into either Ryudamon below, or an X-Antibody version of Guilmon. Sadly, the entire line tended to get adapted out of most modern video games.

 3/10.

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Ryudamon

The Child-level Ryudamon doesn't borrow his name from a Shogi piece, but is apparently a reference to a dragon figurine made out of bamboo used in a rain-making ritual in Japan. Ryudamon himself is... he's basically a more lizard-like and yellow-coloured Dorumon, but with samurai armour, and they don't even do a partcularly good job at making the armour look good. I kind of like how the plates on his body sort of resemble those that armoured dinosaurs like Ankylosaurs have, but the rest of Ryudamon is kind of boring and haphazard, I think. Like Dorumon, Ryudamon is a prototype Digimon, and has the data of Eastern dragons embedded within him. Okay, then? Interestingly for Ryudamon, he apparently attacks by spitting out swords from his mouth. Ultimately, though, despite the... interesting concept, I do feel that Ryudamon is a pretty awkward design that probably could've used several revisions before it really looked good.

 4/10.

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Ginryumon

There are a couple of things that Ryudamon can evolve into, including X-Antibody versions of Growmon, Allomon and Monochromon, but its obvious, default Adult-level revolution is Ginryumon here, named after the Gin/Silver General piece in Shogi. It's a pretty awkward four-legged lizard with samurai armour, and they don't even try to make it look like it's incorporated into Ginryumon's body the way Ryudamon's back half was. Definitely not a fan of this design, and it just looks weird and awkward. Ginryumon's profile describes it as being able to glide gracefully in mid-air, a property that Fufumon and Kyokyomon notes that the entire line has. Instead of swords, Ginryumon shoots out spears from his mouth. Doesn't make him any more memorable, and it's honestly no surprise the line tended to be ignored in video games.

 2/10.

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Hisyaryumon

The default Perfect-level evolution is thankfully far more cohesive, with Hisyaryumon (Flydragomon in the English dub) clearly based on an oriental dragon. Hisyaryumon also incorporates the samurai armour plates a lot better, and having a mainly-red body ends up making the colour scheme look so much better than Ginryumon's clashing colours. I also enjoy how different Hisyaryumon looks compared to fellow oriental-dragon-inspired Digimon Qinglongmon and Majiramon. And being not quite as awesome as the Four Holy Beasts or the Devas, Hisyaryumon manages to look a bit less impressive than them while still looking pretty powerful himself. The Shogi piece this time is Hisya, the Rook. Hisyaryumon is noted to be the complete combination of the dormant "dragon" and "general" data within Ryudamon, and while normally calm, it will get really pissed off if you scratch the two magic orbs it's holding. Whereas Ryudamon and Ginryumon shoots out weapons from their mouths, Hisyaryumon instead transforms into a giant blade to whack people. Overall, a pretty pleasant design, even if one that basically all subsequent Digimon material ignore.

 7/10.

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Ouryumon

Hisyaryumon's final Ultimate evolution is Ouryumon (representing "Ou", the King piece in Shogi), and it's such a more cluttered design than Hisyaryumon. Here is a less cluttered artwork of him. It's a serpentine dragon holding blades in his arms with wings made of blades, and if you've been following this page from top to bottom, you'll realize that Ouryumon's whole point is to transform into a mighty accessory for Alphamon. There's not really much in Ouryumon's profile that really tells me a lot about him specifically, though, beyond the fact that he's a sword dragon. Not particularly interesting to me, honestly, and with the one role he was designed for -- being the weapon for Alphamon -- tended to be adapted into an ability that Alphamon simply has, it's not looking good for Ouryumon to ever see the light of day. Ultimately, though, he's a dragon that honestly looks different enough that I don't mind him being around.

 5/10.

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Tobucatmon

Interestingly, one of the things that Ryudamon can evolve into is this Adult-level kitty-cat, which just looks... really weird? It's drawn in a pretty bizarre art-style, it's got checkerboards pasted on random parts of its body, and it's got "F14" on its legs that's apparently a pun on the Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jet. I mean, I guess it's a winged cat? I feel like Tobucatmon would have been a better evolution assigned to the half-mammalian Dorumon, though. Tobucatmon's whole deal is that it's a cat that can fly, and while it's a neat enough gimmick, it's not quite enough to honestly be memorable. Like most of the Ryudamon line, Tobucatmon hasn't really been featured in anything other than trading cards outside of the Pendulum-X series. The design's all right, but I just... don't feel the art-style is fits with Digimon? I dunno. It's something I felt when reviewing Pokemon Uranium's Fakemon, where they had some neat design and monster concepts, but the sprites felt so off compared to Pokemon's aesthetic. Tobucatmon is exactly that for Digimon, even if I can't really fully put it into words.

 5/10.
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SkullBaluchimon

SkullBaluchimon borrows his name from Baluchitherium, a genus of extinct, hornless rhinoceros progenitors, which now tended to be folded into the genus of Paraceratherium. There's really not much to tie in SkullBaluchimon with extinct rhinos, though, because it honestly looks more like a skeletal sabertooth tiger with skeletal wings. It's the default Perfect-level evolution for Tobucatmon (although many of Ryudamon's Adult-stage evolutions can turn into this too) and honestly a pretty cool design -- skeletal animals are just kind of pretty cool inherently, I think, and SkullBaluchimon does enough to make it look different without making it look cluttered. I do also love the detail that SkullBaluchimon was apparently created from the data of counterfeit fossils, and it's just a mindless fighting machine due to the way it was created. SkullBaluchimon was a recurring antagonist in Digimon Story: Dusk (or Moonlight in Japanese), which is why I remember him over basically everyone else on this page. I do like him.

 8/10.
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Dinotigermon

Dinotigermon is the perhaps most natural Ultimate-level evolution from SkullBaluchimon, although he's one that hasn't shown up in as many places as SkullBaluchimon. Dinotigermon is kind of... kind of just a mismash of different animal parts. I can see sabertooth tiger, beare and wolf thrown into the mix, although I'm not quite sure where the "dino" part is? Dinotigermon is also one of those Ultimate-level Digimon that keeps surprising me that it's actually Ultimate and not an Adult or Perfect. Dinotigermon's profile notes that it is apparently a form of SaberLeomon that has survived so many battles, evolving into a slower but far more powerful form. Not the biggest fan of this design, but I can't find much to complain about it. It's a pretty neat cyborg beast.

 6/10.

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Mametyramon

Hey, a Mamemon variant! Part of the theme of the Ryudamon line is apparently ancient prehistoric beasts, and Mametyramon is apparently a tiny little fusion of Tyrannomon and mamemon, and... and I kind of like this thing! It's got such a mischievous shit-eating grin on its face, it's got stubby dinosaur feet and gangly dinosaur arms, and a fun little steel helmet that marks it as part of the Mamemon family while not just being a Mamemon-with-an-accessory. Mametyramon is also noted to be very tiny, apparently not much bigger than a fist, and it's kind of a shame that he's never really shown up in any anime series. Nope, instead let's just use Betsumon. Mametyramon is also one of the few Pendulum X Digimon to show up in a bit more video games, which is why I was somewhat familiar with him. A pretty fun concept, honestly, and one that reminds me of two old-school Digimon, which is neat.

 8/10.

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Dinorexmon

Mametyramon's default Ultimate-level evolution is another one that, like Dinotigermon, sort of makes me keep second-guessing myself if this is merely an Adult-level or a Perfect-level. Dinorexmon isn't really based on a Tyrannosaurus rex, mind you, but the super-elongated leg claw makes him more similar to the Dromaeosauridae family, famously known for its member, Velociraptor. That's pretty much where the similarities end, though, as Dinorexmon's elongated claw extends waaaaay longer than any Dromaeosaurid would, and his body is covered with hard, spiky scales. I'm not sure if I like it better than other dinosaur Digimon like Tyrannomon or Triceramon, though -- definitely feel like they could've done more to make Dinorexmon a lot more impressive than just drawing a funny-looking dinosaur. Not bad by any stretch, but not good.

 6/10.
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UltimateBrachimon

Good old forgotten Brachimon ended up getting a proper Ultimate-level evolution, although in the Pendulum-X games UltimateBrachimon just evolves from a bunch of assorted Perfect-level dinosaurs like Mametyramon, Triceramon and MegaloGrowmon. It's pretty cool looking, honestly, and such a fun, chunky-looking monster. I love the huge amount of details packed into this thing without ruining the obvious Brachiosaurus look,  like the exhaust vents above each leg, or the giant axe on his whip-tail, the artery/vein-like veins on his neck and especially the exhaust vents on his back. Apparently those vents are there to compensate UltimateBrachimon's insanely heavy body and allow it to walk around. I don't know if I'm just a sucker for these imperfect-looking techno-punk cyborgs, but I definitely like UltimateBrachimon a whole lot. Unfortunately, though, poor UltimateBrachimon has never really appeared anywhere else, despite being a pretty dang cool design.

 8/10.

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Kogamon

Another minor Digimon that was introduced in a trading card game (and one that I'm somewhat familiar with, with him showing up in Digimon Story: Dawn/Dusk), Kogamon here is a purple repaint of Igamon, representing the Koga-ryu school of ninja arts. There's... there's not much for me to say about Kogamon, honestly. He's a purple Igamon with a different looking samurai. I don't mind Igamon, so I kind of don't mind Kogamon. I am, however, indifferent to him. Very much so.

 3/10.

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Gladimon

Gladimon is a Digimon that showed up in exactly a single card in the TCG, apparently based on gladiators? It's an Adult-level, and has never shown up anywhere. It's got an... okay design, I guess, sort of like the knight/fencer version of Igamon, but honestly I don't have anything to say here. He's kinda boring.

 1/10.

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Mistymon

The Perfect-level Mistymon here is Gladimon's evolution, and he looks like he should be hanging out with Yu-Gi-Oh's magicians and wizards instead of with Digimon. This is literally just a dude in fantasy magician armour and a flaming sword! Mistymon is apparently another reference to the Magical Witches series of virtual pets like Witchmon and Wizardmon, but a lot more generically humanoid. Not a big fan of this one, he's just a dude in cosplay. Like, it's interesting -- Mistymon is a design I'd find inoffensive it it was, say, a Yu-Gi-Oh monster or a generic enemy in World of Warcraft or something, but as part of a 'mons' game, I really feel that just being a dude in fantasy armour doesn't qualify you as a monster if you don't do anything interesting with the concept.

 1/10.

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Betsumon

Yeah, this thing. For whatever reason, they decided to make a Perfect-level ugly middle-aged-dude in a body-suit of Tailmon, with a disgusting, protruding navel and a very unfortunate budge on his crotch. Betsumon is apparently the Digimon World's version of Ditto, where it is able to impersonate any other Digimon by changing his suit. Its only real abilities and ways to attack, according to his profile, is by telling horribly bad jokes. Somehow this is a Perfect-level Digimon. Even moreso than any other Digimon, Betsumon was utterly ignored, even by most of trading card games, since his introduction in the D-Scanner virtual pet. Instead of burying this abomination permanently, though, Betsumon ended up being featured as a villain-of-the-week in Xros Wars: Hunters, and he is as obnoxious and horrible as you think anyone with that face would be. Nope, they could've used, oh, Marsmon or Fangmon or Assaultmon or Hookmon or Kyukimon or any of the many abandoned Digimon on this page. But... yeah. This thing is a horrible design. He gets my vote for being the worst Digimon design ever. I feel bad even having Sukamon represent this thing.

 -5/10