#ultimate level

Back to form, this was in my drafts unfinished, plus I forgot I hadn't done it yet. So a Top 10 Mega's (Ultimate, yes I work in dub terms, they just make more sense to me.)

Miragegaogamon/(Burst Mode)

Shinegreymon/(Burst Mode)

Sleiphmon/Kentaurusmon I told you Savers was going to steal the Mega's list. These three and completely interchangeable, you could ask me again tomorrow and it could look different, next week, different again. Bottom line, Savers Mega levels were off the charts in cool, powerful designs but these three are just in a league of their own. (add burst mode and it is even harder, it was just so cool >.< I have loved them since! The three of them actually made up my Hackers Memory team XD)

Noble Pumpkinmon Be honest, this was the Digimon that made you pay attention to Re:Arise... (until you learned that Herrismon and the Fractcals was actually a really good story). I hope we see a lot more of him at some point.

Diarbbitmon My fave Mega from GG, it just suits the whole Ruli and Angoramon dynamic so freaking well.

Machinedramon Solely for that 01 ep where Kari falls ill in the digiworld. To this day, it is probably still one of my all time fave eps and that is partly down to this guy being an actual villain with a brain engaged.

Apocylamon Did they butcher its dialogue and change its meaning, yes, do I care, no. No bad will be said about the dub of Apocylamon, it is rememberable, it is iconic and it gave a mon with such limited screen time so much personality!

Medieval Gallantmon They have opened a door with this one and it is one I am super excited to see where it goes and what they do with it... but considering how long it took to get all the Royal Knights, never mind the Olympus 12... I may just be dead before they get around to completing it -.-''

Beelzemon Do I care about the Demon Lord side, no. Is this solely because Tamers Impmon has one of the series best character arcs and redemption stories in all of Digimon, yes.

Because one was simply not enough and this one was just so much easier to put together.

Yes I prefer to use the dub titles but that can make things tricky when looking stuff up, so Ultimate = Perfect, just in case you get them muddled still like I do.

Thetismon - What can be said, Jellymon's line is just solid (untill you get to her mega but it makes sense in other ways). Thetismon is just a gorgeous design, she was super useful in Ghost Game, while her TCG alt is still one of my all time faves.

2. Lillymon - Dethroned at the last minute, another rent free first appearance scene. Loved Lillymon from the get go and has remained as one of my all time faves!

3. Phantomon - ^^" Take a guess at one of my fave scenes from 01. Another less is more snazzy design and an awesome dub voice whose entrance scene still lives rent free in my head due to it!

4. Rizegreymon - Savers start to take over... the show is full of incredible designs and this one is barely scratching the surface.

5. Lamortmon - Who would have ever guessed that quiet Angoramon would end up like that... but seriously what even is it? Were-moth- rabbit thing?

6. Kimeramon - The very idea of it, is just creepy, while the mon itself was actually quite scary.

7. SuperStarmon - The potential mega saddens me but I just love their designs! Really is no other reason.

8. WereGarurumon -Once more, it's a design thing, over any particular reason but the tag team with Angemon against Myotismon was a good ep!

9. Chrinmon - (๑˃ᴗ˂)ﻭ The first scene it appears in, just so snazzy! Commader Break-In and Kudamon are in charge for a reason!

Oooh, Black War Greymon!!! The “Jet-Black Dragon Warrior”!

So with Digimon, there’s occasionally variant species whose only difference is their colour. Most commonly, these are Virus-attribute black recolours, and we’ve gone over a couple of them already in their base species reviews. I could save a Black War Greymon review for a footnote in a War Greymon review, but that’d be a disservice to Black War Greymon given it’s pretty much the black recolour, and far more notable than any other because of its anime appearance and popularity.

As a recolour, much of what I could say about War Greymon applies to Black War Greymon as well: they’re both draconic humanoid figures with some armour and a helmet concealing what seems to be their least-humanoid quality, their dragon-y head. Unlike War Greymon, who bears the Crest of Courage on the Brave Shield on its back (split into a wing-like shell), Black War Greymon’s shield is crestless. As with War Greymon though, its apparent weapon of choice is the massive clawed gauntlets it wears, known as Dramon Killers (because they’re good at killing dramons: dragon digimon). War Greymon was the start of the trend of humanoid Ultimate-level digimon, and Black War Greymon reflects that, but taken on its own merits it’s still a pretty great design. And as with many black recolours, it looks even cooler than the base form.

Unlike many Virus-attribute digimon, and appropriate for something based on War Greymon, Black War Greymon notably upholds a system of “justice”. It abhors cowardice and foul play, and seemingly regards other Virus-attribute digimon with some level of disdain. This is some neat flavour for an evil counterpart, which are normally portrayed with a more villainous slant. In terms of special abilities, Black War Greymon has an attack similar to War Greymon’s Gaia Force. Where War Greymon’s Gaia Force concentrates atmospheric energy into a giant fireball, Black War Greymon’s Dark Gaia Force instead concentrates all the world’s negative emotions into a ball of dark energy. This may sound cheesy, but these are creatures that basically exist in the internet, so think of it as weaponising trolls, discourse, and Youtube apology videos.

Black War Greymon’s backstory in Adventure 02 is that he was created by Archnemon (Arukenimon, in the dub) using one hundred “Control Spires”, black towers filled with dark power capable of being transformed into evil digimon. As a result of so many spires used in his creation, Black War Greymon developed consciousness and self-awareness, which led to a general sense of confusion and lack of purpose. Deeming them inferior, Black War Greymon rebelled against his creators and began indiscriminately destroying Control Spires, other digimon, and important plot things known as Destiny Stones. Aside from being an immensely powerful opponent, Black War Greymon also engaged in philosophical discussions with Agumon, befitting the aforementioned sense of “justice”. Eventually, he would find purpose in heroism, saving a human’s life and later sacrificing himself to seal away the main villain, Vamdemon (Myotismon, in the dub). Nice!

It’s also got an X-Antibody form, which takes the mechanical aspects of Black War Greymon’s armour and emphasises them even further. It imparted the toughness of its Brave Shield to its Dramon Killers, its back now equipped with vernier thrusters that allow it to fly at high speeds for extended periods. This provides its primary offence: instantly plunging through opponents’ hearts using its claws and thrusters together. It’s also capable of rapid-firing the aforementioned Dark Gaia Force, a technique now known as Hades Force. Overall, it’s much blockier and less streamlined than the original, and I can’t say I’m a huge fan. Not atypical for an X-Antibody, though. One last thing to note is that this wasn’t Black War Greymon’s original X-Antibody: a different digimon, Gaioumon, was designed for the role. I’ll review that later!

Anyways, Black War Greymon is one cool fellow. I knew it’d be a bad idea to leave reviewing it til the end of War Greymon’s review, but I didn’t think I’d have this much to say! With its unique antihero angle and prettier colour scheme, I solidly prefer it over its orange counterpart.

Beelzebumon!!!!! Or Beelzemon, in the dub!!!!

Beelzebumon is a rather intense three-eyed biker digimon. He’s notably the Ultimate-level evolution most associated with my personal favourite Child-level digimon, Impmon. He’s also one of the “Seven Great Demon Lords”, a collection of especially powerful Satans that each represent one of the seven deadly sins. Beelzebumon represents gluttony, despite having virtually nothing gluttonous about him aside from maybe symbolic gluttony for power. Unlike most Great Demon Lords who preside over legions of minions, Beelzebumon notably operates totally independently.

Well, almost independently. He rides a motorcycle named Behemoth, a cursed vehicle with its own will that takes over the rider’s consciousness. Though Beelzebumon is seemingly immune to this for some reason. The concept of a cursed vehicle that takes over your mind is pretty rad, and it’s got a sleek design that meshes with Beelzebumon’s aesthetic wonderfully.

Also in Beelzebumon’s inventory are a pair of shotguns known as Berenjena, which is….apparently Spanish for eggplant? Lmao alright, that’s neat I guess. Guns in fiction are typically hella cool, and they fit a character like Beelzebumon who’s been crafted specifically to be as badass as possible. Beelzebumon is said to be cruel and merciless, so those guns likely get a lot of use, but he’s also so prideful that he’d never attack the weak. That’s….nice, I guess! Maybe the reasoning’s a bit off but it’s good to have standards.

Anyways, the best-known instance of Beelzebumon is the one that appears in Digimon Tamers, as the Ultimate form of that series’ Impmon. Impmon spends much of the series resenting the human protagonists and their digimon partners because of their ability to evolve, loathing his own weakness. This resentment is later taken advantage of by the villainous Caturamon, who promises Impmon power in exchange for his services, and then Caturamon’s boss Zhuqiaomon gives Impmon the power to evolve into Beelzebumon. Beelzebumon kinda goes on a power-hungry rampage, kills Leomon, gets everyone to hate him, then is nearly killed by Gallantmon before Jeri – Leomon’s human partner – stops them and has Beelzebumon spared.

Beelzebumon then starts wandering around in a depressed stupor over Jeri’s sparing his life, but then ultimately decides to help the humans during the series’ climax. As Impmon again, he is given a toy gun by his two young human partners whom he had originally abandoned at the beginning of the series. When he evolves to Beelzebumon next, the gun allows him to transform into Beelzebumon Blast Mode. This is basically just Beelzebumon with a giant blaster known as the Corona Blaster (well, just Blaster in Japan), along with feathery black wings. Edgy as hell, but in a good way!

Also notable is that his once-resentful red eyes have turned green, apparently symbolic of a newfound calmness. Beelzebumon now seeks to atone for his past transgressions, with a particular passion for protecting Jeri, and he ends up being pretty heroic! As a design, I’m overall less into Blast Mode, but I love what it symbolises and I love how it gives a subtle heroic spin on Beelzebumon’s design without sacrificing his darker vibes.

Beelzebumon also has an X-Antibody form, which gives him feathery blue wings along with an additional pair of leathery blue-and-red wings. He also gains the ability to summon El Evangelio (Spanish for “The Gospel”): sentient flames said to impose judgment and offer salvation to souls of sinners that fall into the Dark Area. Normally they’d incinerate demons like Beelzebumon, but the X-Antibody protects it, and Beelzebumon is able to control them freely (and shoot them from Berenjena as magic bullets). Overall, I’m really not into this design though. Adding so much colour really messes with Beelzebumon’s style.

Anyways, Beelzebumon’s pretty rad overall, and as an extension of the ever-splendid Impmon I do have a special fondness for him. In a vacuum, he’s just a biker guy with a metal tail wearing a mask with three eyes, which doesn’t SOUND all that appealing, but the lore surrounding him makes it work quite well. And his fashion sense is impeccable.