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.
Gabumon-X, Garurumon-X, WereGarurumon-X & MetalGarurumon-X
Time for the other half of the original Adventure duo to have X-Antibody variations... and Gabumon-X certainly looks different! Half of his pelt-cape has been ripped off to reveal the normal arm below it, and he looks a lot fiercer and less shy compared to his original form. Apparently that's because he's grown more confident in punching people after absorbing the data of the fur pelt or something? It's not a particularly nice-looking update, though, and I'm not a big fan of Gabumon-X.
Garurumon-X, on the other hand... he really looks like a different species, and you know what? I like this form. I don't think I prefer it over original Garurumon, but I really like how they went all in with the snowy-furred Arctic creature vibe, while still keeping details the original Garurumon has but exaggerating them. The spines on his shoulder are now metallic and far longer, and his spiral-shaped tail is extremely long now. I highly prefer the original Garurumon to this design, but that's certainly preferable as an alternate form compared to half of the things above him on this page.
WereGarurumon-X, I think, loses a lot of the charm that the original WereGarurumon had. The original WereGarurumon, as much as I complained about how it's so weird that the evolution went from wolf to werewolf to cyborg wolf, at least looked pretty unique. Here, WereGarurumon-X ends up being just a cyborg with some really long Freddy Krueger claws, but also loses what made him unique, I think. A decent variant, but not my favourite.
MetalGarurumon-X, on the other hand, adopts a bipedal structure, and you think I'd bitch about that... but no! It honestly kind of made a fair bit more sense for MetalGarurumon to be bipedal considering how the form directly preceding it, WereGarurumon, is also a bipedal monster. And while two decades of having regular MetalGarurumon ingrained in my head will mean that MetalGarurumon-X will always feel 'wrong', it's not a bad design, not at all! It's also clearly such a superior-looking and so much more badass than the embarrassment that was MagnaGarurumon from Frontier. Whoever wrote MetalGarurumon-X's bio clearly shares my disdain for MagnaGarurumon, because MetalGarurumon-X is noted to be hands-down superior to him. Perhaps not the biggest fan of his weird, split-in-half face, but definitely am a big fan of the ginormous missile pods and gatling guns and accessories he has. Overall, it's perhaps the line that they tried to be the most different with. Can't say I agree with all the choices, but eh, they're kinda there?
5/10.Tokomon-X
Tokomon-X here only shows up in the X-Evolution movie as the dude that our hero, Dorumon, has to protect. He's basically a Tokomon with the antennae criscrossed in an 'X' shape. Not particularly clever, no, so much that Bandai forgot Tokomon-X existed for a while until only giving him an official artwork relatively recently, almost a decade after his original debut.
2/10.Betamon-X
Good old Betamon ended up getting an X-Antibody version, and I enjoy the pretty refreshing, tropical fruit paint scheme he has. He looks like a mutant watermelon! Not sure if I like the random angles he's gotten on his upper jaw or the extra red fins, but I definitely do like this colour scheme a fair bit. Betamon-X's profile notes that it's apparently "overhunted" by collectors? Noooo, poor Betamon-X! Anyway, not super-creative, but he's neat-o.
6/10.Starmon-X
This isn't going to be in any particular order, by the way. Anyway, this is Starmon-X, which is him trying to cosplay Starmie or something, but ended up falling face-first in a pile of superfluous accessories, and looks like a horrid mess. SuperStarmon did "cooler Starmon" a couple of years earlier, and is a superior effort than this embarrassment. Apparently Starmon-X can actually manipulate meteors now? Eh.
1/10.Goddramon-X
"The fact that it was hardly affected by the X-Antibody meant that it had already manifested its latent abilities", according to Goddramon's profile. Accodring to me, the fact that it was hardly affected by the X-Antibody meant that the design team was being pretty dang lazy. Yeah, sure, Goddramon-X's got a bunch of slightly-different armour and wings, but they kinda look like ass.
2/10.Gazimon-X
Oh, hey, Gazimon-X here is actually kind of cool! He's still recognizably a Gazimon, but the far longer claws, and sabertooth fangs have caused this dude to genuinely look like the horrifying jackass bully whose bite can now match his bark! The change in the silhouette to look genuinely more imposing, and the always welcome addition of Devimon-brand leather straps is also a neat little thing that helps it to look a bit more distinct. This is what I kinda wished most of the X-Antibody Digimon look like -- mutated versions of familiar faces, not just "Guilmon, but after a diet".
6/10.Ganimon-X & Gesomon-X
Oh hey, this is actually kinda cool! I remembered complaining that the original Ganimon was kinda boring because it's essentailly just a cartoon crab, but Ganimon-X takes that design and reinvents Ganimon-X with the mentality of emulating fiddler crabs and their one oversized arm... but look at that giant arm! I'm not sure what jackass wrote '69' there with chalk, but that huge arm is cracking under presumably the strain of its size, and Ganimon-X clearly looks like he's hurting. Or really angry. Either way, Ganimon-X is noted by his bio to "regain the ability to repair any cracks done on his body" after absorbing so much data from the vicious dog-eat-dog (crab-eat-crab?) world of the Net Ocean... so why isn't that crack fixed?
I'll lump Gesomon in here because they are kinda related in most games, and boy, what a great take on Gesomon, huh? Changing the longer squid tentacles into snake mouths is pretty interesting, but what's most striking about Gesomon-X is the transformation of Gesomon's monster maw into this insane set of rows upon rows upon rows of teeth sticking out of flesh, ending in a very disturbingly human-like set of teeth that's in stark contrast of the bestial tooth outside. That mouth is such a horrifying and disgusting look, and really manages to sell Gesomon-X's difference from regular Gesomon while keeping what's basically the same silhouette. Definitely one of the more memorable X-Antibody variants for sure.
8/10.Kokuwamon-X
Kokuwamon-X is just regular Kokuwamon folding his arms up to emulate a Transformer and fly around like a jet. It's something regular Kokuwamon can do, and calling this an alternate form is just kinda dumb. You don't have a version of Shellmon hiding in his shell and call it "Shellmon-X", do you? I really don't know if this particular variation is kind of a genius, self-aware gag at a Digimon that can already transform, or if it's just another lazy creative team.
2/10.Plotmon-X, Tailmon-X, Nefertimon-X & Holydramon-X
Plotmon-X just looks awkward. Plotmon's always been kind of a weird-looking dog, but making the holy ring collar suddenly so big that it probably trips up the poor dog any time it tries to walk forward doesn't make her look any better.
Tailmon-X looks like a horrid, horrid mess. I just... I just can't. Look at the completely unnecessary head tattoo, claws that looked tacked on, an extra tail that gets extra spikes that look redundant, and the holy ring is across her shoulders? Yeah, this is pretty damn messy, and easily one of the uglier things on this page.
Nefertimon-X (there's no Angewomon-X, for some reason) is basically the same as regular Nefertimon, only instead of a giant sphinx cat with armour, she's now a giant sphinx cat with vaguely-robotic armour, which it apparently pillaged from SaberLeomon of all things? Neat artstyle, but insert an obligatory "just a different art style" rant here.
Holydramon-X gets a different head that kind of looks like an angry bat with goat horns! She also gets a darker shade of pink. Not a huge fan of this one either, they don't do quite enough to make her look different -- something lampshaded by the profile as well, noting that Holydramon and Goddramon are "already expressing parts of the X-Antibody gene". Looks pretty boring. This entire line is easily one of the worse ones here, and is basically either shitty versions of the original ones, or just slightly-redrawn-in-a-more-complex style.
0/10.Anomalocarimon-X
7/10.Shakomon-X
I mean, I kinda get what they're going for, turning Shakomon-X into some sort of vehicle-inspired monster with tiny machineguns jutting out of its side and having... jet vents or whatever those things are on his lower shell, but Shakomon also loses a lot of what made his original version -- the little eyeholes on the top half of his shell -- so gosh-danged charming. I don't really know. I sorta like the end design, but that might just be because I liked the original Shakomon. This sort of threads the line between being a charming alternate form to "they really missed the mark".
4/10.Leomon-X & Panjyamon-X
Leomon-X is basically regular Leomon, drawn in a more proportionate body art, and cosplaying Guts from Berserk. That's not a bad look, mind you, and I kinda wished that this design wasn't reduced to an X-Antibody form, and instead replaces one of the shittier evolutions like GrappuLeomon or whatever. That cape's what makes him look extra different, I think. I like this! Hey, just because I prefer my Digimon to be bug monsters and robots doesn't mean I can't appreciate a buff lion swordsman!
Panjyamon-X does what the original Panjyamon couldn't, and manages to look significantly different while still being a white repaint. Changing the sword into a giant snowflake-axe/club thing goes a long way in making Panjyamon-X look like its own thing. Neither of these are the most creative variations, but they're definitely nice-looking.
4/10.MetalTyranomon-X & Chaosdramon-X
That's a pretty dang cool style of artwork, but it's basically the same thing as regular MetalTyranomon, isn't it? I'll give points for effort, though, because this style of artwork really highlights just how much of a clusterfuck the half-assed upgrades on MetalTyranomon is, really selling the whole "Frankenstein robot" deal that I don't think original MetalTyranomon did particularly well.
Chaosdramon-X is the upgraded version of Chaosdramon, and... and that art is kind of super-messy and it's hard to tell what's going on without zooming in, I won't lie. It goes for straight-up monstrous and really exaggerates the size of Chaosdramon's twin shoulder cannons, and has gotten kind of a cooler-looking right cannon arm. But the design is basically kind of just Chaosdramon embellished. Really wished the artwork for a lot of these didn't go overboard with adding artificial photoshopped sheen, which just makes it kinda hard to tell what's going on without squinting or enlarging the photos.
3/10.Dobermon-X & Cerberumon-X
Huh, this is definitely kind of interesting. Dobermon-X doesn't really do anything particularly novel, but adding a fuck-ton of spikes (instead of enhancing what's already there like Dynasmon-X) is kinda cool, and giving that crescent-like stag beetle clamp jutting out of his shoulders is certainly an interesting visual look. Not the neatest design on this page, but an okay one.
Cerberumon-X, meanwhile, has abandoned the original Cerberumon's quadrupedal stance and ends up being a humanoid Wolverine-esque robot warrior, taking advantage of the Wolverine claws the original Cerberumon possessed. Kind of a neat design, I think, but the insanely cluttered art piece he got certainly doesn't do him any favours. A Wolverine-werewolf monster is kinda cool, and it looks different enough to make me like him.
6/10.Otamamon-X
Hee hee, Otamamon-X, for whatever reason, ends up being a huge, fat ball with the chubbiest baby arms and a random tiny crown on his head. No, we don't get any Gekomon-X or TonosamaGekomon-X. Just Otamamon-X, being a fat chubby baby. The lore behind Otamamon-X's new form is apparently him being transformed by PrinceMamemon-X below, which is... okay? It's not my thing, but it's funny.
6/10.Vademon-X & Ebemon-X
Vademon-X is kinda cool! He's gotten a fun little elephant trunk-face, and he's learned to wear this swanky Star Trek suit that's cut off at the shoulders, as well as these lab gloves that don't quite fit properly to his fingers. The story here (which the profile didn't make particularly clear) is the fact that Vademon-X has apparently became somewhat of a punk, and has gone off to really hang out with humans and adopted some vein of delinquent persona, which explains his cut-off-at-the-shoulders shirt, those wacky gloves and the impractical sunglasses (the bio even notes that it makes Vademon hard to see!) But best of all is that apparently it's gotten its new, stylized brain pierced and tattooed, which is just hilarious.
Ebemon-X... I just don't like this thing as much, especially comparing it to the far-cooler looking regular Ebemon. I think it's the weird head that splays out that sort of makes me scratch my head. There's also like two or three accessories too many that clutter up the design, but I kind of get the gist of what they're going for, making him be less of a cyborg octopus and more like a machine that just happens to have octopus-like features. Either way, cool stuff.
6/10.Hagurumon-X
Hagurumon-X compensates heavily with so many gears, but I can't say that I don't like this thing. The extra gears serving as arms with little drills, and the two tiny random "KoHagurumon" acting as Mickey Mouse ears are pretty neat. Having spinning gears help the drills to spin is also a neat little touch. It's otherwise kinda m'eh, though.
5/10.Mammon-X & SkullMammon-X
Hoo, we're on the home stretch. Hoo! Mammon-X is... I'm genuinely not sure what's different. He's got kind of a darker shade of fur? It's noted to have reverted to its "original" prehistoric form before it was frozen and... and... it's the same thing?
SkullMammon-X is just SkullMammon, but prominently standing up, with a bunch of bull horns from god knows where, and with clawed hands. A skeletal elephant-man is kind of a lot less interesting than just a skeletal elephant.
1/10.Gomamon-X & Plesiomon-X
Gomamon-X is so proud it's manage to grow hair on his chest! D'aww, that's adorable, but he kinda needs to get a visit to a barber. That hair doesn't suit him at all. Not sure why his flippers and claws are so tiny, either. Apparently, Gomamon-X hangs out with Daipenmon, and thinks that the Ultimate-level Daipenmon is his... follower? Eh. I prefer regular Gomamon.
Plesiomon-X is another one that doesn't really differ enough from regular Plesiomon. Sure, it moves the weird long tendrils from its shoulders to its face to become whiskers? Yeah, hardly a basis for an entirely different form. Again, I want to reiterate, I don't hate most of the designs that I give like 1/10 or 2/10, it's just that they so often add so little from the original designs that I wonder why they even bothered.
1/10.Pteranomon-X, Tylomon-X, Mantaraymon-X & Rhinomon-X
For some reason, while a vast majority of the classic protagonist partner Digimon are ignored for the X-Antibody series, four of the previously all-but-ignored Armour Evolutions got X-Antibody ones! And... and they're all the more mechanical and robotic ones, and since some of the artstyle for the X-Antibody Digimon are all already pretty Gundam/Power Rangers-inspired, it's definitely a neat fit for these cyborg Digimon.
There's really not much for me to say here... all of these art pieces are pretty damn cool, particularly Mantaraymon-X's newfound electric ball cannon and Rhinomon-X's better-proportioned armour, but they're basically, again, more of the same "old Digimon drawn in a new artstyle". Neat artwork, though.
2/10.Garudamon-X
1/10 for the totem pole. Gotsumon-X
Gotsumon-X is just Gotsumon, but fat and a sumo wrestler! Not the biggest fan of this one personally, but it's definitely a fun, different-looking take on a rock boy. Not much to say about this one, it's neatly different, but also sort of obvious. Like, kudos for not just being Gotsumon in another art style, but I really wished there was something more other than "what do with do with the rock boy" and just go "let's make him a sumo rock boy!" Y'know what I mean?
4/10.Palmon-X, Togemon-X, Lilimon-X & Rosemon-X
Another one where most of these look like drafts of what the X-Antibody Digimon should look like, honestly. Palmon-X is noted to have "fully bloomed", but god damn, that art style makes Palmon-X look like it's anemic and sick, the flower cape and neckpiece look out of place, and the flower on her head looks like it's crushing her head. Definitely a huge step down from original Palmon.
Togemon-X is kinda hilarious, but we've already had Ponchomon, so it's nothing special. Interestingly, Togemon-X is noted to be part of an experimental "biological plant weapon" that was used by the Vademon? That's an interesting connection between the two species, and one that is never elaborated on. No, let's explore the fifteen hundred different variations of Chrome Digizoid instead.
Lilimon-X is just Lilimon after a visit to a boutique, and picks out her current outfit in a bit of a rush.
Rosemon-X is just Rosemon, from the same boutique Lilimon-X goes to, and she's just got a bunch of vines wrapped around her limbs. No effort on any of these, honestly, so I won't put effort in making any long sentences for it.
1/10.Beelzebumon-X
Beelzebumon-X is just regular Beelzebumon, but his wings are blue and he's got a bunch of random red bits on his mask and guns. A significantly less cool-looking demon biker antihero than regular Beelzebumon. Again, not much to say here.
0/10.HerakleKabuterimon-X
Kinda cool, I guess, but HerakleKabuterimon-X is just regular HerakleKabuterimon with different, more human-like proportions, is missing one pair of arms, and has... bat wings for some reason? Never mind, this is kind of dumb. God, we're almost done! WE ARE ALMOST DONE
0/10.Thunderballmon-X, Mamemon-X, MetalMamemon-X & PrinceMamemon-X
Okay, after spending so much time looking at the hyper-detailed artwork with copious usage of 'shiny metal', it's actually jarring to get to these guys and they're drawn in such... nice, stylized chibi-eyed artwork! Thunderballmon-X and Mamemon-X are pretty pleasant looking even if they don't deviate much from their original looks (their arms look less grotesquely big, but their eyes now are reular anime-size) but the latter two really end up being improved!
MetalMamemon-X ends up getting a visor over his face, his clawed arm ends up looking curved and weird and his cannon arm is so grotesquely huge and looks so different that it's a genuinely interesting and funky design, really selling the sleek, futuristic look that contrasts a lot from the original MetalMamemon's grungy style.
And while I rolled my eyes on the original PrinceMamemon, PrinceMamemon-X is so much expressive, with the ridiculously longer legs and arms, plus the huge amount of regalia, making him look so much more expressive and so much memorable than "Mamemon, but gold". Definitely didn't expect the fucking Mamemons to be such a pleasant note to end this gigantic review segment at. Look at those two. They're so expressive and happy to be here.
7/10.
Hi! Just wanted to let you know that I think that "69" is meant to be the symbol of Cancer, the crab Constellation.
ReplyDeleteHuh, I never actually knew that! That's actually a pretty awesome little reference, even if, of course, the other meaning of 69 ends up coming up first. You learn something new every day!
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