#data attribute

DigiMonday - YANMAMON

(Adult Level/Data Attribute/Insect Type)

Following in Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon's freaky little footsteps in being an insect-themed Digimon with a horrifying vertebrate-style toothy maw, Yamnmamon also follows their example in being named after a specific real insect taxon; ヤンマ("yanma") translates roughly to "dragonfly", but is often used more specifically to refer to large dragonfly species while トンボ ("tonbo") refers to dragonflies generally. Its official description gets even more specific, explaining that it was born from data on a specific dragonfly species, the Jumbo Dragonfly:

(A Jumbo Dragonfly pictured in Inotani, Japan, image source here.)

Also known as the Golden-Ringed Dragonfly, the Jumbo Dragonfly (Anotogaster sieboldii) is a large species of dragonfly found across much of China, Japan and the Korean peninsula. Primarily inhabiting forest habitats, adults of this species are often found near slow-moving rivers with rocky substrates which provide them both with an environment in which to lay eggs (with young Jumbo Dragonflies being aquatic predators of smaller freshwater invertebrates) and a source of prey in the form of other water-associated insects such as mayflies. At up to 10cm long mature Jumbo Dragonflies are among eastern Asia's largest odonates (the collective term for dragonflies and their relatives the damselflies,) and their impressive size combined with their flashy yellow-and-black stipes and gorgeous green eyes has earned them some seriously cool common names in the languages of their native range; in Korean they're known as 장수잠자리 ("Jang-su-Jamjari", translating to chief, general or elder dragonfly) while in Japan they're called オニヤンマ ("oniyanma", literally meaning oni dragonfly.)

(Unfortunately, none of my entomological or etymological trivia can explain Yanmamon's apparent ability to spew lightning from its abdomen.)

Yanmamon debuted as an unobtainable enemy Digimon in the 1999 game Digimon World, and hasn't made much in the way of major appearances since. That being said, one did get something of a spotlight in the 2006 anime Digimon Savers/Digimon Data Squad as the recurring mount of choice for a Gottsumon who served as a major early antagonist. A highly respectable means of transportation, if you ask me.

[ID: two cards from the digimon playing card game, they are both the same card but the first is in english and the second in japanese. The image on the card is of Coelamon emerging from the water. Coelamon is a fish like digimon with pink skin, a white exoskeleton, and legs, its front legs are covered in the exoskeleton and have large claws while its hind legs are not covered and are much smaller.

Lilimon!!!! Lillymon in the dub!!!

Lilimon’s a Perfect-level digimon originally slotted as the final form of Palmon in the first Adventure series, for which it’s probably best known. It was one of the earliest examples of digimon getting more humanoid as they evolve, though the trend hadn’t yet gotten ubiquitous enough to be annoying, and ending on a fairy creature felt cool and appropriate for a plant-themed evolution line. And it’s a pretty novel fairy, too!

Usually, fairies in modern media tend to basically be humans with some insect-inspired features – most commonly insectoid wings. What Lilimon does though is take that premise and make it 100% plant oriented, with a set of dragonfly-esque wings made out of leaves, along with a slew of other botanical features. A flower-shaped dress, flower and leaf accessories, and a flower for “hair” along with a bunch of thorny vines for even more hair. The color scheme is also really pleasant, too! Very evocative of spring. Lilimon also has a slight monstrousness to it as well, with sharp claw-like nails and the dark animalistic eyes.

By far the weirdest aspect of Lilimon, though, is its primary means of offense: turning its hands into a gun. Called Flow Cannon or Flower Cannon, this ability kinda thematically clashes with Lilimon’s whole nature motif, but it’s also conceptually hilarious enough that it wraps back around to being cool. Characterization-wise, its profile explains that it has a whimsical and “tomboyish” personality and is prone to “crying like a crybaby”. Okay.

Lilimon also has an X-Antibody form, which is….very forgettable honestly. The art style changes far more than the design itself does, with Lilimon more or less getting just a slightly different outfit. The main additions are the giant bow on its back and the small tiara, which it apparently wears because “it knows it can be the best of itself”. I’m glad at least you’re feeling good about your new design, Lilimon. It’s also said to lightly dismiss even the most horrible of enemy digimon, though its crybaby tendencies have given way to full-blown tantrums. They’re really trying hard to make Lilimon sound unappealing to interact with :v

Regardless, Lilimon’s a classic. Although its vibes aren’t something I’m especially into, it’s a concept I definitely appreciate. Thankfully, there is a Lilimon form that does do something dramatically different, in addition to totally abandoning the other two forms’ crybaby tendencies: Bancho Lilimon. I’ll save it for its own review, though, since it is an evolution.

Gabumon!!!!!

Gabumon is a Child stage digimon like Agumon, and is kinda the second-most-notable digimon of the Adventure series – and as a result is possibly the second-most-iconic digimon in existence! It’s got a super distinct design concept, too; it’s a reptile digimon that wears a pelt made of the gathered data of a wolf-like mammal digimon, Garurumon. This is rooted in Gabumon’s intense timidness, with Garurumon’s pelt helping it to overcome its shy nature, its personality exhibiting a complete shift when the pelt is worn.

Without the pelt, though, Gabumon’s kinda just a dumpy yellow lizard thing not too unlike Agumon, albeit much less charismatic. This is an OUTSTANDING concept for a design, and it’s not even the sole thing going on here! Gabumon also has its prominent horn with an ornate almost circuitboard-like pattern, in addition to a mysterious marking on its belly. Where Agumon strived for simplicity and straightforwardness in its design, Gabumon commits to aesthetic and conceptual complexity.

Although its usual evolutionary line is associated with ice, and you would likely expect it to use ice to thematically contrast Agumon’s fire, Gabumon actually fights with fire as well! Albeit usually blue fire, so not totally indistinct from Agumon. Also, when I say “usual evolutionary line”, I mean the various digimon related to Garurumon; see, digimon don’t have set evolutionary paths, but they do have paths they tend to go on more often than not as determined by the virtual pets, games, and most influentially, the anime.

Which brings us to anime Gabumon! The Gabumon of Adventure is fiercely loyal to his partner, Yamato (Matt in the dub), exemplifying the digimon ideal of friendship and promoting their mutual growth. Gabumon in particular is willing to defy even allies in his devotion to Yamato. He’s also kind of a dweeb, which provides a neat contrast to Yamato’s stereotypical coolness, and it’s neatly reflective of his design effectively being a dorky lizard pretending to be a cool wolf.

In terms of colour variants, Gabumon has a Black version like Agumon, but we’ve already been over that concept a couple times now so let’s instead focus on the variegated cutie that is Psychemon, pictured. Psychemon is said to have a bright and showy personality that gives way to the shy timidness of Gabumon with the pelt removed, and its abilities all focus on the use of bright colours, such as colourful electric shocks and a dance that apparently spawns a wall of coloured blocks like a Tetris-style puzzle game. I can’t help wonder if that last bit is the result of a translation error or something, since it’s mentioned in the attack description but not the overall Digimon Reference Book description, but I hope it’s legit because that sounds amazing. But yeah, Psychemon’s superb!!!

Gabumon also has an X-Antibody form, with the concept being that it absorbed data from the pelt and transitioned from a Reptile-type to a proper Beast-type digimon. It’s said to favour rough, beastlike fighting styles, and it leaves one hand uncovered by the pelt so it can cloak it in flame for punching attacks. Neat concept overall I guess, like as a progression from base Gabumon, but it kinda ruins part of Gabumon’s whole cosplaying lizard appeal too. Hm.

Anyways, I adore Gabumon, and consider it one of the best-designed Child digimon in the franchise. It’s got such a unique concept and such a great execution of that concept, with a memorable and unique design that fits together seamlessly despite its very premise implying it wouldn’t.

Tentomon!!!!!!

Tentomon’s a neat robot-like ladybug digimon, and one of the core Child-level digimon of the first season of the anime, Digimon Adventure. It’s also one of my favourites of the bunch! Usually, ladybugs are played for cuteness – and I’m not saying Tentomon isn’t cute – but it definitely goes about ladybug representation differently from what’s typical. To such a degree I never even realised it was a ladybug as a child! I just regarded it as some cool bug thing.

Perhaps one of its most distinctive traits is its variance in limbs, with its forelegs each having a single claw, whereas its middle and hindlegs each have four. It’s reductive to call the digits on the middle legs “claws”, however, as they’re individually segmented like complex fingers: its description stating that they’re able to grasp as effectively as a human hand. This style of segmentation also appears on the connecting bits of its limbs, and is actually quite common amongst other insectoid digimon as well. Tentomon’s also got a very distinctive face with large, green compound eyes and interlocking mandibles. The shell on its back can also open up and reveal wings, with the shell closing around the central spot on its back. My favourite part of its design, though, is probably its antenna – they’re so wavy, they have an almost fire-like quality to them. Rather than fire, though, Tentomon is associated with electricity! In fact, many bugs in this franchise are electric-oriented in general.

Personality-wise, Tentomon is said to be quite peaceful, enjoying sniffing flowers and napping in the shade of trees. This makes it a prime candidate for partnering up with a human, which is exactly what happens. Tentomon is the partner of Izumi Koushiro (dub name: Izzy), who nurtures Izumi’s stereotypical nerd interests whilst also helping to encourage him to open up past his relatively unsociable nature and be there for his friends. Digimon Adventure has a significant focus on character growth, with digimon partners commonly being crucial to that growth, and Tentomon is a great example of that.

Digimon unfortunately has far less bug representation than Pokemon does, but at least it has Tentomon. I adore this dweeby little ladybug, and it’s a shame that the Digimon aesthetic has seemingly deviated so far from this that we’ll never get anything similar to Tentomon ever again. We don’t even have any recolours to go over!

ToyAgumon!!!!

ToyAgumon’s one of several Agumon variants that I didn’t cover in my Agumon review, since I feel it’s distinct enough to be its own digimon independent of Agumon. Also a Child-stage like Agumon, it’s basically an Agumon made of Legos! Its concept is that it was created by a child on the internet in an imitation of it, so like, internet Legos I guess? Isn’t that Mined Craft????

Anyways, it’s got a very cute look, and it does the block aesthetic quite well. The Digimon eyes coincidentally already resemble the eyes that appear on some older Lego and Duplo blocks, which makes the aesthetic work even better, though it’d maybe be even more ideal if the eyes were represented with stickers. The “flame-shaped toy missile” it fires rounds out the look nicely, keeping the concept consistent across all facets of the monster. My only real criticism of the design is the light grey colour of the hands, which feel off with how bright everything else is.

Unlike its organic counterpart, ToyAgumon is said to be cowardly and fearful, with its blocks falling to pieces when it’s surprised. Nonetheless, it’s righteous and just, and appropriate for its design it gets along particularly well with children. It apparently communicates with children over “the Net”, though I question how much unsupervised communication young children should actually be doing with digital monsters. I trust ToyAgumon, but it sets a troubling precedent with all the digital Satans running around too.

ToyAgumon also has a couple of colour variants: ClearAgumon and Black ToyAgumon. ClearAgumon looks the same but with transparent blocks, and is otherwise pretty indistinguishable from the base form. Black ToyAgumon, meanwhile, has monotone black transparent blocks, indicating its Virus attribute. Its concept is that it was infected with a computer virus and now actively bullies children, which I guess a virus-infected toy would probably do.

Anyways, I like ToyAgumon well enough, and it’s a lot more interesting than regular ol’ Agumon. The worst thing about it is the lack of a whole toy-themed evolutionary chain, with increasingly complex Lego-based digimon designs being a really appealing concept that we just didn’t get and probably never will. At least they can apparently combine into different things, according to the anime, but that’s a great premise for evolution in itself!