I had kind of wanted to just skip this whole thing and just go straight into actual unique species instead of just going over what is ultimately a bunch of older Digimon redrawn in a different art style, but since I've been doing black repaints and shit, I think we can power through this. I don't have much to say about a vast majority of the X-Antibody Digimon (and don't have much of an opinion about them), so I'll try to be quick about them.My opinions about them will depend on how different they are, and how good-different they are compared to their original forms. So someone like Greymon-X, which is barely different, won't get a high mark even if Greymon is a design I enjoy. It's the same standard I took when I was reviewing mega evolutions and regional variants when doing Pokemon, so it's the same standard I'll also do here.
So... yeah, these are old classic Digimon 'mutated' by the X-Antibody that allowed them to survive Yggdrassil's purge. They tend to functionally be the same to their previous counterparts unless mentioned, so.
These guys tend to all be ignored outside of trading cards, and I honestly have had half a mind to ignore all of them entirely. Also also, these guys are all technically "Agumon [X-Antibody]" and such, but I'm going to just put X with a hyphen on the end of their names for the sake of my sanity.
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Agumon-X, Greymon-X, MetalGreymon-X, WarGreymon-X, BlackWarGreymon-X, Omegamon-X
So the whole Agumon line ended up being the obvious shoo-in to get "X-Antibody" versions, and starred as the other possible evolutionary line you could end up with if you played the 1.0 or 1.5 version of Pendulum-X, which starred Dorumon. And... and we've covered the original forms of all of these guys before, and their lore is basically the same, but infected with the X-Antibody and evolved. Basically, Agumon-X has Greymon's blue stripes on his body, because it's more draconic or some shit? It's a 'safe' enough of a chance without changing anything else about Agumon, although it's a pretty lazy change. Agumon-X's neat, I guess.
Greymon-X? Greymon-X barely looks any different, and honestly I had to double-check that I pulled out the right artwork. Honestly, Greymon-X just looks like someone with a different artstyle drew regular Greymon. This is going to be a complaint about 90% of the X-Antibody Digimon, by the way.
MetalGreymon-X's a bit cooler, but, again, it still just looks like a stylized version of his original artwork, with the wings splayed out all Gundam-funnel style. Oh, and his mechanical cyborg parts look a bit more streamlined, which is a change, at least. I'm... I'm okay with it, but again, there's nothing to talk home about because it really just looks like someone from a different art studio was commissioned to draw regular MetalGreymon. It's a neat art style, and the artwork is objectively cool, but if not for those detached 'hard-light' wings, it would barely count as an alternate form.
WarGreymon-X and BlackWarGreymon-X, again, just looks like someone got a different artist to draw the same thing and allowed them some artistic freedom to interpret how long some spikes should be and how much detail some parts of him should have, although at least this time around, we've got a difference! Instead of Wolverine claw-wrist-blades, they've got... um... upside-down swords or some shit? Crowbars? (Also, shit, these guys have very dull profiles, don't they.)
Omegamon, of course, also gets an X-Antibody version, but even moreso than WarGreymon-X and MetalGreymon-X, Omegamon-X genuinely just looks like his regular form, just with some extra digital art shading and details thrown in.
Yeah. The art style is actually cool-looking, and I'm particularly a big fan of Omegamon-X and MetalGreymon-X's art pieces here, but there's honestly a reason why all of these end up being sort of forgotten by both Bandai and the fandom collectively -- they's fucking boring. What little they change isn't enough to justify having ever-so-slightly-different-forms, and when you're going to keep most of the thing the same anyway... yeah. Again, I'm designing these in terms of how well they work as variations of the original design, not the artwork. And... it's neat artwork in a fancy art style, kudos to the artist for doing them. Not too many points for creativity, both on visual designs and on lore.
3/10.Seadramon-X & MegaSeadramon-X
Seadramon-X tries to at least be different from regular Seadramon, but not for the better. He lacks the original's more imposing fangs, and the utterly weird shape they turned his head into ends up just looking kind of bizarrely uncomfortable-looking. It's also gained a bunch of markings on his body. I kinda feel like Seadramon-X ended up looking a whole lot more... eel-like? I dunno. Might just be the pose.
MegaSeadramon-X takes an already busy and somewhat cluttered design, and throws in like around 50% more details. At least they opted for a more cohesive paint scheme this time around, using more muted colours of red and gold instead of the way they clashed on regular MegaSeadramon. The little black polkadot prints are a nice touch, too. Overall, these two at least manage to look different, but I'm not sure if it's for the better.
3/10.GigaSeadramon
These are not going to all be X-Antibody Digimon. See, Seadramon-X and MegaSeadramon-X are part of the Pendulum-X virtual pet and some of the possible evolutions of Dorumon, and their final Ultimate-level form of the Seadramon-X evolution line... isn't MetalSedramon-X, but a completely new variant, GigaSeadramon! I think this is supposed to represent the X-Antibody variants becoming their own thing, and then spawning a whole new species or something? I guess that's how dudes like Dinorexmon from last week figure into the whole story. I dunno.GigaSeadramon still kind of looks like a variation of MetalSeadramon, although it honestly looks pretty damn different. It looks a lot more mechanical, with outright jet-like wings, and a head that looks like an angry fish and a missile had a baby, and then that baby grew some mean-looking sharp teeth. I enjoy just how different MetalSeadramon and GigaSeadramon ended up looking by simply swapping out the face, and I'm hard-pressed to say that I don't prefer GigaSeadramon's gloriously ridiculous looking chompers.
GigaSeadramon even has some neat lore thrown in, noting that it was constructed from a MetalSeadramon by the 'crack team', and that GigaSeadramon is basically the be-all and end-all of all aquatic warfare. It's longer than Whamon, and carries a small contingent of destructive robot Digimon like Chaosdramon, acting like a living aircraft carrier and troop deployer. Somewhat cluttered, but his neat bio and that face won me over.
8/10.Kuwagamon-X & Okuwamon-X
Can you tell the difference between Kuwagamon and Kuwagamon-X? No? Neither can I.Okuwamon's difference is obvious -- the addition of two extra stag beetle pincers that extend even lower on his mouth. Minimal effort, honestly, and not even particularly good looking. It's such a shame, too, because original Okuwamon could've used a redesign to make his centaur-bug-monster silhouette feel more cohesive. I still love the general aesthetic of the Kuwagamon/Kabuterimon bug-kaiju aesthetic, but as supposed "variations", these are decidedly minimal effort. And since we're rating by how well-done these are as 'mutated' variations to the original, neither Kuwagamon-X nor Okuwamon-X gets any points.
0/10.GrandisKuwagamon
3/10.Guilmon-X, Growmon-X, MegaloGrowmon-X, Dukemon-X & Megidramon-X
The Guilmon line ended up being the alternate evolutions for the Pendulum-X 2.0 virtual pet that starred Ryudamon. I guess Veemon just isn't that popular? Huh. Guilmon-X is... it's basically a less cartoony and a sleeker version of Guilmon, isn't he? Worthwile is that he's actually got some lore, because the "digital hazard" tattoo has vanished as Guilmon-X has evolved to accept and contain his power. Okay, then.
Growmon-X just looks like the bad Deviantart version of Growmon that attempts to humanize monsters and give them bizarrely human torsos. One of the least favourite and most unnerving things on this page, I find. What the fuck is it with Digimon artists drawing muscly men bodies on dinosaurs and dragons? Like, the pot-bellies and weird pecs on Greymon and Growmon can be ignored, but Growmon-X just looks like someone's bad furry fan art, I'm sorry.
MegaloGrowmon-X is has swapped out his regular arm-blades for some wicked-ass three-pronged blade things, but is basically the same thing as MetalGreymon-X up above. A neat (if slightly cluttered) art piece, but not that much different from regular MegaloGrowmon.
Can't say much about Dukemon-X either. He's got a fancy new shield! And a lightsaber version of his lance. And has gotten like a couple extra details on his armour. It's objectively cool, but, again, not much different from regular Dukemon. Half of Dukemon-X's profile is just talking about the different kinds of Digizoids that comprise its armour, and that's really boring.
Megidramon-X actually looks somewhat different, even if that difference is just embracing the whole dragon of apocalypse thing, which, while hilariously ending to feel kind of super-edgy, actually works far better for Megidramon here. The small art doesn't really illustrate it well, but squinting a bit closer gives us a bunch of neat little details like the membranes of the wings being made entirely out of flame (or flame-coloured flesh), and Megidramon-X's body is basically pockmarked with a lava-like texture. Lots and lots of spikes, too. Overall, probably like Megidramon-X quite a fair bit.
2/10. Points are only for Megidramon X. MedievalDukemon (a.k.a. MedicalGallantmon)
Dukemon-X was apparently introduced in a different, later game, because in the original Pendulum X 2.0, the Guilmon-X line ended in another new Digimon without any of that 'X' nonsense, and we've got MedievalDukemon here, who is... basically still just Dukemon, but with an axe instead of a lance-and-shield combo. Yeah, you can tell me about how the armour around his feet are slightly different or whatever, but I don't give a shit -- this is still just Dukemon! At least all the Veemon and Dorugoradoradoremifasolasidomons have the decency to look different from each other. MedievalDukemon, you can't just pick up a different weapon, glue a bunch of green gemstones and call yourself a different species! At least we've got some accompanying lore here, where apparently MedievalDukemon is yet another being that arrived from Witchelny, the Magical Witches alternate-universe Bandai game that Wizarmon and company show up from. Eh.The best part of MedievalDukemon, in my opinion, is the hilarious mis-translation of his name in a PSP game into MEDICALGallantmon. Yes, he's going to do a whole lot of medicine with that big-ass halberd-axe thing of his. It's a shame. A MedicalGallantmon would actually be interesting, unlike this.
\ 1/10. Sole point is for MedicalGallantmon.Allomon-X
Allomon-X is one of the possible evolutions that Guilmon-X and Ryudamon can turn into, and it's... it's Allomon with even more kinda-racist native American accessories. This one at least looks somewhat different, with the feathers all splayed out like spine-spike things that some lizards have. I don't particularly like this variant a lot, though.
2/10.Monochromon-X
HAHAHAHAHAHA! Now this is an X-Antibody variant that looks at least different and cool! The change is honestly minimal. Monochromon's body ends up being more darker, and his armour plates are shinier and more metallic, but the single horn on Monochromon's nose has been mutated into a big-ass giant cleaver! What the utter hell? That's amazing! I actually feel like more of the X-Antibody Digimon should be like this, if they want to go for 'recognizably similar, but with differences'. Sure, maybe not everyone can rock the silliness of a gigantic cleaver on the nose the way that Monochromon-X can, but it's certainly a lot better than just swapping weapons or sticking more feathers. I also love how the profile notes that the extra-long toe on his front legs are there as an adaptation to be pierced into the ground and hold it in place while he swings the huge nose-knife horn. Probably one of my favourites among the X-Antibodies for sure, although admittedly there aren't much competition.
8/10.Triceramon-X
6/10.UlforceVeedramon-X
Somehow, while none of Veemon or Veedramon's evolutions are included in the X-Antibody series, you can have things like Grademon or Mametyramon or Triceramon-X evolve into UlforceVeedramon-X. And it's such a ridiculously dumb-name that you might as well find a way to sneak in the letters W, Y and Z into the mix .UVX here is honestly not that much different from regular UlforceVeedramon, just drawn in a 'badass comic book with lots of digital inking' style instead of a 'late 80's manga' style. I guess they turned UlforceVeedramon's wing-like cape into actual wings? That kind of robs the subtlety that original UlforceVeedramon had, though, which is a bit of a shame. Anyway, it's a cool Gundam knight-man, I guess, but while the art is undoubtedly great -- and I do think it looks cool -- as a variant of an existing super-gundam fantasy anime knight-man, UFVDX here just sort of feels generic.
2/10.Dynasmon-X
4/10. All of the spikes, though. Magnamon-X
God, I'm starting to regret my decision. Magnamon-X is another one that honestly just looks like his regular form, but with extra spikes and a different art style. It adds clutter into a design that's already not the best-looking one out there, and honestly makes Magnamon-X look quite worse once you get past how literally shiny the art style looks. And his goddamn profile is like, 95% just rambling on and on and on about chrome Digizoid and how badass it is and how much more badass the Chrome Digizoid on Magnamon-X is compared to the Chrome Digizoid on regular Magnamon and Chrome Digizoid DIGIZOID DIGIZOID PLEASE LOVE THIS TOTALLY BADASS. Like, holy shit, they really put jack-shit effort into some of these bios, huh?
0/10, no creativity.
There are a lot more X-Antibody Digimon -- in excess of 45 -- but for the sake of not eating up the entire blog, I'm going to cover all of the rest of the X-Antibody Digimon after a break. Click it if you want to see my quick, rapid-fire review of the rest of this X-Antibody glut. The ones before the break are all the X_Antibody Digimon that showed up in the Pendulum X virtual pets and are somewhat relevant to the Ryudamon/Dorumon/Funbeemon lines we're covering, while the rest of these, with the exception of two or three, are all original to TCG's and have barely appeared outside of TCG's.
