Digimon Reviews, Episode 30.5: Bearmon and Friends

This article contains a bunch of Digimon initially reviewed in different articles throughout episodes 28-30 of my Digimon Review series! None of the content has been changed at the moment, just formatting. 

My original review series really rushed through trying and get Frontier and its associated games done before episode 30, which was a mistake that led to really bloated articles. I've moved three 'evolutionary lines' that debuted in Digimon World 3 -- the paired Kotemon, Bearmon and Koemon lines -- here. 

I really don't like to use the point-five numbering system, but the Lucemon article was super long, and three full evolution lines felt appropriate to migrate to their own article. But I also didn't want to push all the numbers in the future forwards by one... so this is the nice alternative. 

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Bearmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Child
• Type: Beast
• Attribute: Vaccine

The first of the three Child-level Digimon original to World 3, Bearmon here is the opposite number of Kotemon in that Frontier movie, presenting the side of the 'beast' Digimon. It's a pretty basic-looking cartoon creature, I guess, although I'm not the biggest fan of it and its silly-looking baseball cap. Definitely could see Bearmon here not looking out of place with the first-season Child-levels, though. I think its his crapton of belts that gives that effect. Bearmon's profile is pretty generic, noting that it's friendly, and very protective of its allies. I think Daigo's partner in that flashback in Tri is a Bearmon? Overall, though, I kinda find this dude just... just m'eh. I guess it's the poor incorporation of the random bear cap? It's going to be a problem that I have with the likes of Gaomon in the future, where humanoid accessories are just stapled onto random designs without any real care on whether it fits or not.

 4/10.

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Gryzmon

• Alternate Names: Grizzlymon (EN dub), Grizzmon (alt. romanization)
• Stage: Adult
• Type: Beast
• Attribute: Vaccine

Bearmon's default Adult-stage evolution is an expected giant bear-beast, and Gryzmon here more than delivers... although apparently that mass of belts have evolved into gigantic metal claws that kind of clash with the rest of Gryzmon's design. Gryzmon is noted to have the 'spirit of a honed martial artist' that basically means that it can do kung fu style dodging despite being a bear. That's the theme of Bearmon's line, then? Unarmed physical combat? I do like the little nod to an older Digimon by noting that Gryzmon's claws are apparently the inspiration of WaruMonzaemon's artificial bear claws. I'm not the biggest fan of a four-legged animal that just wears gauntlets for no reason, though, an aesthetic that I will also dislike with Gaogamon when we get to him. Gryzmon shows up in that Frontier movie as Bearmon's brother, as well as generic enemies in Xros Wars. He's an okay,  inoffensive design.

 4/10.

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GrappuLeomon

• Alternate Names: GrapLeomon (EN dub)
• Stage: Perfect
• Type: Beast Man
• Attribute: Vaccine

With his whole existence owing to the GRAPPLEomon pun, GrapLeomon here is easily one of my least favourite designs out there. With SlashAngemon, I did note that I'm praising the designers for thinking out of the box when designing an Angemon variant. Gryzmon's Perfect-level evolution here is a Leomon variant, but by god, this thing is just ugly, isn't it? It honestly feels like it comes in from a different franchise, with just how bland that facial expression looks, and his whole deal is that he has a suit with... spinning... pieces of cylinders that allows it to 'grapple' other people? The hell? I guess if you get clotheslined by this dude while his armour is spinning it'll rip your skin off? I dunno. The design of GrapLeomon here is pretty much a mess, but for whatever reason he shows up in so much video games as Leomon's default Perfect-level evolution. I'm not sure why this dude really offends me all that much, but it's one of the ones that I see the picture of and I go, "right, this dumb thing." Leomon has a lot of variants. Some of them are lazy, some of them are unnecessary, some of them are cool. GrapLeomon is none of them. He's just dumb.

 0/10.
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Marsmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Ultimate
• Type: God Man
• Attribute / Subgroup: Vaccine / Olympos XII

GrapLeomon's final evolution is the Ultimate-level Marsmon, supposedly based on the Roman God of War, Mars. And this will start off another recurring 'set' of Digimon like the Seven Demon Gods and Royal Knights -- the Olympos XII. Supposedly, the Olympos dudes are the "neutral" to the Royal Knights being "good"and the Seven Demons being "evil". Okay, then, only Mercurymon really ended up mattering anywhere. And Marsmon is... he's a dude in puffy pants, with oversized biceps, a weird Ikkakumon-style hoodie over a very human face? Even though the rest of his skin is red? I dunno. This design is all over the place, honestly. And Marsmon's profile just notes that he's a wrestler specializing in underhanded techniques with hidden weapons? Stop trying to be a poser, Marsmon!

Marsmon ends up getting used as a minion of the evil Apollomon in Xros Wars, and is treated as kind of this dude that defects back and forth between the good guys and the bad guys. I genuinely don't remember him. All of the Olympos XII also show up in some Japanese-only phone trading card game as the main NPC's? Eh, whatever. I was genuinely underwhelmed when I saw Marsmon for the first time, and when I found out that he's supposed to be part of this huge set of super-powerful beings, Marsmon just ends up getting sillier. The likes of Duftmon, Lucemon and Lilithmon may not do anything particularly spectacular and might just be humans-in-suits, but at least they look good and colour-coordinate their appearance. Marsmon's just messy.

 3/10.

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Kotemon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Child
• Type: Reptile
• Attribute: Data

Next up is Kotemon, one of the game-original Child-level characters in Digimon World 3. Kotemon is, at a first glance, just a generic kendo practitioner wearing a kendogu and wielding a wooden sword. But then you take more of a look and he's apparently some sort of reptilian creature with legs similar to the likes of Veemon. It's not the most interesting concept, mind you, but Kotemon's pleasing enough of a design with lots of fun little touches -- like the long sleeves and the glowing eyes inside the barred face-mask -- that make him fairly more charming than he otherwise would be.

Kotemon's profile notes that he is a hardworking but quiet individual that likes to train behind the scenes, being both timid while having a strong sense of justice. Kotemon would make his anime debut in the Frontier non-serial movie, being a member of the 'humanoid' Digimon that befriends our heroes. He's also made brief cameos in Savers and Xros Wars, before getting a spotlight episode-of-the-week in Hunters. Overall, a pretty pleasant design.

 7/10.

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Dinohumon

• Alternate Names: Dinohyumon (EN dub)
• Stage: Adult
• Type: Dragon Man
• Attribute: Data

Um... okay? This dude sort of looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle found himself without a shell, in a fantasy setting, and then trained so hard he got really ripped. He's also got like two sickle-blades on either side of his wrists, a big-ass knife on his back and another butcher knife? I guess Dinohumon is meant to be some sort of a Lizardman-style monster, and I suppose that this is a somewhat appropriate Adult-level evolution of Kotemon... but Dinohumon drops all of the kendo/martial arts stuff that Kotemon has, and becomes a whole bit... messier. I'm genuinely not the biggest fan of this design, although I also admit that they at least tried to make him a wee bit more interesting by giving him a lot of exaggerated accessories. He's shown up in bit roles in both Frontier and Xros Wars, although never in any significant role. As it is, though, I find Dinohumon pretty forgettable, and genuinely associate Kotemon with the likes of Musyamon and Igamon instead.

 2/10.

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Kyukimon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Perfect
• Type: Bewitching Beast
• Attribute: Virus

Bizarrely, despite both Kotemon and Dinohumon being reptile-people with swords, their default Perfect-level evolution is Kyukimon. Kyukimon is based on the Japanese yokai Kyuki, a bladed weasel similar to the far more popular Kamaitachi. And... and, well, Kyukimon is basically a scary bladed monster, with actual sickles as his beard and arms. I'm not sure if he still counts as a weasel? I guess a huge, mutated one. Kyukimon's profile is disappointingly bland, noting that it's, oh, just a mysterious beast with sickles that can manipulate the wind. Kyukimon's all right, I guess, when removed from the fact that it has nothing in common with its pre-evolutions other than 'blades somewhere'.

 2/10.

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SlashAngemon

• Alternate Names: GuardiAngemon, SlushAngemon (EN dubs)
• Stage: Ultimate
• Type: Power
• Attribute: Vaccine

Speaking of 'blades somewhere', the default final evolution of the Kotemon line in Digimon World 3 is SlashAngemon, perhaps best described as 'blades everywhere. I actually like this one! SlashAngemon would be retconned to evolve from more angelic Digimon like Piccolomon, Shakkoumon or HolyAngemon, but I do think the idea of using blades for wings is a pretty cool concept, and then designing an Angemon with gigantic blades for arms and feet?Look at this artwork. Isn't he just badass? More importantly, this dude exactly addresses my problem that I have with Lucemon and a huge chunk of end-level angel-type Digimon by still being an angel, but also doing something creative with the concept. This dude is clearly a warrior angel, and I'm definitely a big fan of him.

For whatever case, in some of his earlier appearances, SlashAngemon is hilariously mistranslated as SlushAngemon. SlashAngemon has appeared in a fair bit of video games, as well as virtual pets. He's also shown up as a police captain or something in Xros Wars' Heaven Zone. Overall, a Digimon that I unabashedly like despite being introduced relatively later without any significant anime roles.

 6/10.
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Koemon

• Alternate Names: Monmon (EN dub)
• Stage: Child
• Type: Beast
• Attribute: Virus

The second of the Digimon World 3 original Child-levels is Koemon (or Monmon in the English version)... who genuinely is just a green, "jungle boy" version of Makuramon. Yet there is no way for Koemon to evolve into Makuramon in any video game. Boo, Bandai! Koemon is a pretty decent Tarzan-monkey, in any case, with a big-ass slingshot on his back. That's about all there is to say about him -- his bio notes that he's a careless monkey that often falls from the trees. Oh, Koemon. Tarzan you ain't.

Not the biggest fan of this one, to be honest, but it gets points for having Makuramon's gloriously emotionless face.

 4/10.

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Hookmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Adult
• Type: Mutation
• Attribute: Virus

Bizarrely, Koemon's default evolution in Digimon World 3 is... Hookmon, a god damned pirate! Not Hanumon, not Gorimon, but a god damned pirate. Hookmon's got a pretty fun set of exaggerated body proportions that brings to mind Revolmon from way back when, with an almost inhuman head that juts out of his chest, no mouth, an eyepatch and a single eye under that hat. He has one giant hook arm and one giant arm that's just a chibi cannon. I guess that's what the theme in this evolution line is? Ranged weapons? The Kotemon line all use swords, while the Koemon line all uses some sort of ranged weaponry? Hookmon's all right. I like the little allusion to Moby Dick in his official profile, where he apparently goes hunting for a "white Whamon". Not much else to say here.

 4/10.
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Assaultmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Perfect
• Type: Cyborg
• Attribute: Virus

Hookmon, instead of evolving to a bigger pirate-themed Digimon, evolves instead into the kickass-looking Perfect-level Assaultmon, who tragically ends up being one of the few to never appear outside of World 3 other than some trading card games. Why? Just look at this badass motherfucker! This dude is a cyborg centaur with green organic skin beneath all that armour, two arms that are just gigantic gatling guns with ammo ribbons jutting out proudly, a great, inhuman-looking robot-combat-mask deal going on, and two more guns strapped onto his back. And crotch-turrets, just because. Yet all we know about Assaultmon is a simple one-line bio. I'm genuinely not sure why this Digimon never gets any love when nonsense shits like Bokomon get to star in every episode of an entire cartoon.

 6/10.
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Cannondramon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Ultimate
• Type: Cyborg
• Attribute: Data

Cannondramon is the final evolution of this line, and is a pretty cool looking cyborg brontosaur. For a while, Cannondramon also ends up being the most sensible Ultimate-level evolution for Brachimon. It's not the best-looking cyborg dinosaur out there, but by virtue of being a cyborg dinosaur with two long space cannons and a pretty cool robot head, I've always liked Cannondramon a fair bit. And while Assaultmon never saw the light of day outside of World 3, at least Cannondramon managed to show up as bit roles in a couple of subsequent video games, usually acting as the evolution of various abandoned Perfect-level Digimon like Triceramon or Brachimon or Vermillimon. Not much else to say here. Pretty cool cannon dinosaur. Both Assaultmon and Cannondramon are pretty cool designs on their own, but they don't really do much, y'know?

 6/10.

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BlackKingNumemon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Perfect
• Type: Mollusk
• Attribute: Virus

HAHAHA what? Only appearing in Digimon World 3 as a secret boss and only showing up in some trading card games and the recent Cyber Sleuth games, BlackKingNumemon is  Perfect-level evolution of Numemon, with its face and general shape leaning more towards the KaratsukiNumemon variant. It's got a fun mustache and a neat little crown for a shell. I kind of don't quite like him, I think. Nowhere as exaggerated or charming as regular Numemon.

 3/10.
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Fangmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Adult
• Type: Demon Beast
• Attribute: Data

I'm ticking off a bunch of miscellaneous Digimon introduced in Frontier's tie-in virtual pet, the D-Scanner, and we'll start off with the Adult-level Fangmon... who has never appeared in anything outside of trading cards and that one virtual pet, which is a bit of a shame. Apparently based on the data of the "Big Bad Wolf" archetype from fairy tales, Fangmon isn't just a wolf, he's a slender, mean-looking cartoon wolf with a pretty fancy huge maw full of teeth, an insanely lean body and his legs are wrapped in leather for some reason. Apparently, just like the Big Bad Wolf from the story of Little Red Riding Hood, Fangmon also likes to disguise himeslf to fool his prey? We never really get to see that in fiction. Fangmon isn't the most intricate or original design, but he's a pretty pleasant one, honestly. I guess I just like howweird he looks with how streamlined and slender that body is. 

Fangmon would appear in Adventure: 2020 as a pack of antagonists, and more hilariously would be referenced in the bio of Chaperomon, a Digimon based on Little Red Riding Hood herself. In a neat twist, the Perfect-level  Chaperomon actually actively hunts down Fangmons!

 6/10.

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Jewelbeemon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Perfect
• Type: Insect
• Attribute: Vaccine

One of the new Digimon introduced in the D-Scanner virtual pet, Jewelbeemon is a Perfect-level Digimon that nominally evolves from Stingmon without any of that Jogress/Fusion stuff. He's sort of been ignored, which is... yeah, I'm not the biggest fan of Jewelbeemon, honestly. It's kinda interesting, I suppose, this humanoid insect dude with bulbous jewels all over its body, apparently based on the jewel beetles (family Buprestidae) something that eluded me for a fair bit because I don't think any "jewel bee" exists. While it's hard to show off the jewel beetle's lustrous carapace in this art style, apparently Jewelbeemon can unleash a spectrum of light that dazzles the enemy? It's not the most interesting Digimon design, honestly, although it's not horrible. He's got cool gauntlets, if nothing else, but doesn't do anything particularly novel.

 4/10.

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Blimpmon

• Alternate Names: N/A
• Stage: Adult
• Type: Machine
• Attribute: Data

Blimpmon over here is an Adult-level Digimon, and it honestly seems to be a bit too intricate to be a mere Adult! Another D-Scanner Virtual Pet debut (which was quite random in what it gave us) and an obscure dude for quite a while, Blimpmon is a vehicle Digimon similar to Mekanorimon that flies through the air. 

Interestingly, I kind of get some Guardromon or Trailmon vibes from that face. Blimpmon is perhaps not the most well-realized design, although he's apparently still unfinished with the metal plating on the exposed left side uncompleted. I do like the sheer awkwardness of this design, where they took a blimp and just tried to stick robotic features on this. Definitely a fun-looking design... that ultimately made its first proper appearance in Digimon Adventure: 2020, as a nice bit of world-building background Digimon!

 6/10.

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