Top 10 favorite Digimon!!!!

Me prior to getting Digimon Story Cyber 
Sleuth...

Alright, let's get the elephant out of the room. Digimon is not a Pokemon rip-off. Got it? Good!



I've been having a lot of fun with Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth recently and I WANT to review that game so badly. However! As a self-imposed rule on my blog, I'm only allowed to review video games once I have completed the main story (if there is one. If not, then I wait until a major milestone in the game before reviewing it). But to satisfy my thirst for Digimon-ness I'll talk about my top 10 favorite Digimon.



"But wait a minute" You ask. "What exactly IS Digimon!?". Basically it's a franchise of TV shows and video games about, well, Digimon. Digimon themselves are living computer programs (think Tron) and can only exist in cyberspace unless very specific criteria have been met. This series has been shamelessly compared to Pokemon pretty much since the two first came out (while Digimon came out before Pokemon in Japan, to the rest of the world they were released at roughly the same time). But to keep people from whining about Digimon being a rip-off out of here I would like to point out a few key differences...

1. Pokemon themselves are basically glorified pets. However, the Digimon themselves can talk and have unique personalities.
2. The end-game goal of Pokemon is to be a Pokemon Master, but aside from having bragging rights, that's pretty much it. In Digimon, the main kids and their Digimon counterparts have to save the world from the forces of evil.
3. Pokemon is quite obviously targeted at children. Digimon however, is targeted at teenagers and young adults, as evidenced by the fact that Digimon often uses dark and somewhat mature themes with it's story (i. e. major characters can actually die on screen. We're looking at you Leomon).
4. All of the Digimon's names end in "mon". Why? I dunno... :T
5. In order for Pokemon to fight, they have to have a Trainer issue commands throughout the entire fight. In Digimon, all the human characters have to do is cheer their Digimon on, and heal them if necessary (Although in some eras the human characters turned INTO the Digimon Power Rangers style).
6. While a Pokemon can evolve twice at most, a Digimon can digivolve (the term used to describe a Digimon transforming into a stronger Digimon) a maximum of FIVE TIMES. And unlike Pokemon, when A Digimon digivolves the transformation is temporary, since the Digimon will revert to his/her Rookie form after a couple hours (or, in Impmon and Gatomon's case, a few months). Even then, some Digimon, such as ShineGreymon, can transform into various "modes" to get stronger once they hit the 5-digivolution cap.

Oh, and this list is in no order at all since I love every one of these guys with all my digi-heart. Without further adieu, let's get started.

#10!

 

Warning, Unpopular Opinion Alert! I like ShineGreymon MORE than WarGreymon. *readies flame shield* Anyway, ShineGreymon is a Mega-Level Digimon that first debuted in Digimon Data Squad, ShineGreymon is the digivolved form of RizeGreymon (put their names together and you get "rise and shine"!) as well as the final form of GeoGreymon (can't remember what GeoGreymon digivolves from unfortunately). I like ShineGreymon for a number of reasons. First, it looks like a dragon version of Iron Man! And Iron Man is my second favorite super hero of all time, the first being Spider Man. And secondly, in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth, I actually have a ShineGreymon on my team. So I got a personal connection to it. And finally, it can ascend to a higher plane of existence. And by that I mean...

It has a Burst mode where it gets wings MADE OF FIRE!!!! Oh, and a flaming sword (and shield), but seriously! WINGS!!! MADE OF!!! FIRE!!!! If that is not the embodiment of "epic" I don't know what is! Oh, and for whatever reason they thought to it was perfectly balanced to give ShineGreymon Burst Mode (warning, video game mumbo jumbo) an attack that deals 200 fire damage to ALL enemies in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth when he already has 200+ Attack (video game mumbo jumbo end). It. Is. Madness.

#9!

A little note from me to you. My favorite part of the whole series was Digimon Tamers, so be prepared to see a lot of Tamers-era Digimon on this list. Anyway, next up is none other than the king of *Moumantai himself, Terriermon. Can someone explain to me why Terriermon is a bunny but is named after a breed of dog? Because I would like to know! On the plus side, Terriermon is adorable (just look at him!). And I literally squeed (is squeed a word?) when I learned that Terriermon was one of the three Starters in Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. Obviously picked Terriermon because that nostalgia though! Although I was slightly saddened to learn that Terriermon's Special Attack was changed. It used to be Bunny Blast, where he shot a little ball of energy out his mouth. Now it's Terrier Tornado, where he spins around like a Beyblade. Either way he is still adorable, and he will always be there to tell you to Moumantai.

#8!

 

If I DIDN'T put one of the original seven Digimon on this list I probably would face the wrath of a thousand angry Digimon fans. So here's my favorite of the original seven! Gabumon, the... Uh... I'm going to be honest, I have no idea what Gabumon even is. He's got a easter egg on his belly, he's got a fur coat, he's got a unicorn horn... I don't know what the creators of Digimon were thinking when they made Gabumon's design, but the sheer weirdness is one of the many reasons why I like Gabumon. Oh, and his voice in the English version of the show is adorable. Also, Gabumon's later forms are pretty cool! 

Garurumon!

 

WereGarurumon! 

 

MetalGarurumon!

Oh, and here is a little secret for you all. MetalGarurumon is living proof that if you watched the original show as a kid, your childhood automatically becomes awesome.

#7! 

 

Gatomon? Gatomon. Gatomon! What can I say about Gatomon? Well, for starters she's adorable (I'm a sucker for cute things lol). And secondly, despite the fact that Gatomon is shorter than most Rookie-level Digimon, she's somehow at Champion-level. Oh, and for people that are new to Digimon, the Digimon are divided into various levels based on overall power. The levels go (in order of weakest to strongest): Newborn, In-Training, Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, Mega, and Ultra. But because Gatomon is a Champion, she can (probably) wreck Renamon, who is the single most popular Digimon of all time. Why can Gatomon wreck Renamon?

 

What. Oh, and Gatomon is the only Digimon that's adorable even when she's angry. Sort of.

 

 Hand over the catnip and nobody gets hurt!

#6!

 

The only In-Training Digimon on this list. Why? Because Tokomon, that's why! Tokomon is the In-Training form of Patamon, which can digivolve into Angemon, which is basically required if you want to beat Jimiken on Digimon Story Cyber Sleuth. And from Angemon you get MagnaAngemon which is literally just Angemon with extra wings and a sword. And from MagnaAngemon you get Seraphimon, which is the closest thing the Digimon universe has to GOD!!!! Yes. This little pillow thing can basically become a deity! Which is fitting since it's the only creature in the multiverse that can be cute AND terrifying as all get-out. AT THE SAME TIME!!! "But Wait a minute! This thing doesn't look so sc-"

 

"OMG WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?!?!?!". That is probably the reaction everyone has when they see Tokomon open his mouth for the first time.

#5!

 

I'm going to be honest. I've actually never heard of Dorumon prior to playing Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth. But then again, Dorumon's from X-Evolution, which is just like Data Squad in the sense I've never watched it. But I love this guy because he looks like what would happen if Spyro the Dragon had a baby with a kitsune (Cynder would probably tear him apart if that actually happened lol). Which is a good thing since the Spyro games are what got me into video gaming in the first place. That's right! If I had never played Spyro the Dragon, I wouldn't be a gamer, and therefore this blog wouldn't exist. Oh, and kitsune are cool. Anyway, I also like his later forms quite a bit as well

 

This is Dorugamon. Unlike Dorumon, Dorugamon likes what would happen if Toothless from How to to Train Your Dragon had a baby with a kitsune. Which is ALSO a good thing.

 

And this is DoruGreymon. He's what happens when Little Foot has a baby with a kitsune, and then THAT baby has a baby with Blue Eyes White Dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh!. What is with me and saying "X had a baby with a kitsune"!? I did not plan that. But still. I love the entire Doru-family. If I could have a Digimon counterpart, kind of like in the show, I would love to have this guy as my counterpart.

#4! 

Truth be told, most of the Digimon here are Rookie-Level. Not this one!

 

Dear readers, meet Alphamon. Now Alphamon. S/he (I do not know Alphamon's gender at the time of this post) is one of the most powerful Digimon ever. Alphamon is also the leader of the Royal Knights, crazy powerful Digimon tasked with protecting the Digital World (the home world of the Digimon, as the name implies) from anything that threatens to destroy it. But the weird thing is Alphamon's morales are questionable at best, since sometimes s/he's fighting against the main heroes, and other times s/he's helping them. Make up your mind, Alphamon! Oh, and here's a little fun fact about Alphamon. Alphamon's white-orange-and-blue counterpart is Omnimon. What's Omnimon's name in the Japanese version of the show? Omegamon. Alphamon and Omegamon. Alpha and Omega. I thought that was some pretty neat symbolism. And you would have no idea unless you watched the Japanese version.

#3!

 

Yep. Perhaps the biggest Ensemble Dark horse of the Digimon universe. Meet Impmon. Impmon is arguably the most tragic Digimon ever. Why? Well, for a good chunk of Digimon Tamers, Impmon was basically the Team Rocket of Digimon. He was a REALLY minor antagonist. Basically a comic relief character. But later on- MASSIVE PANGAEA SIZED SPOILERS HERE- we learn that Impmon was abused by his human counterparts. So he ran away from home. He eventually became obsessed with proving he can be just as strong as say, WarGreymon or even the three main Digimon of Tamers. So one of the villains of Tamers gives Impmon exactly what he wanted...

  

Impmon was warp-digivolved into the Great Demon Lord, Beelzemon. Random fun fact! Just like the other six Great Demon Lords, Beelzemon is based off one of the Seven Deadly Sins (well, I did say Digimon was unafraid of using dark themes...). With Beelzemon being... Gluttony. No, Beelzemon doesn't have a voracious appetite. His gluttony is a symbolic one. Once transformed into Beelzemon, what used to be Impmon then goes on a killing spree in order to become even stronger. He is gluttonous... For power. But in a twist of fate, Beelzemon realizes what he's been doing is disgustingly wrong and in the end he was the only one who could defeat the final villain of Tamers. So he makes like Darth Vader and does a heroic sacrifice. And then everyone cried. Because Beelzemon is arguably the coolest villain ever. And then he came back in Digimon Fusion as, ironically enough, a Holy Knight. If I ever make a Top 10 Villains list, Beelzemon is DEFINITELY going on that list. Oh, and before you ask, you would have no idea Beelzemon is based off of one of the Seven Deadly Sins unless you go on the official wiki. Why is it like that? Because I DEFINITELY didn't know Beelzemon is based off of one of the Seven Deadly Sins until looking him up on the wiki.

EDIT: I made a whoopsies here. Earlier I said that Beelzemon defeated the main villain of Tamers. This actually isn't true. It's my bad memory making remember the D-reaper arc in the wrong order. All Beelzemon did was weaken the villain enough to give the heroes of Tamers a fighting chance, and also tried to rescue Jeri (and failed miserably). The reason I thought Beelzemon defeated the villain was because of how epic Beelzemon looked when he used the Fist of the Beast King, but I realized my mistake when I re-watched Tamers to get hyped up for Digimon World Next Order.So yeah. Sorry about that.

#2! 

 

The only Digimon on this list that debuted Digimon: Fusion/Xross Wars (this show's title changes based on region), Shoutmon is a proper rock star. His weapon of choice? A flipping microphone. Dude loves his music! Also, I like how his name sums up his entire personality. Shoutmon, the Digimon that is always yelling at the top of his lungs. Seriously he has no indoor voice whatsoever. He's also arguably the most powerful Digimon on this list. Why?

 

This is why.

Shoutmon possesses the ability to combine with any other Digimon, so of course if he combines with EVERY Digimon ever he is by default, the most powerful Digimon ever. Oh, and I fondly remember one episode where he and another Digimon (can't remember who right now) were in a cooking show (it makes sense in context, I swear!) and the rival chef told him that only the peels of a banana are used for cooking banana cream pie and that you eat the inside part of get rid of them. And Shoutmon doesn't know better since he's never seen bananas before prior to that episode! Two minutes later, Shoutmon ate ALL the bananas. So no banana cream pie for you. And I'm sitting over here laughing so hard I choked on my laughter.

NUMBER ONE!!!

 

Guilmon. First Appearing in Digimon Tamers, Guilmon is actually what would probably be my favorite Digimon had this list been in a specific order. Like, if you forced me to pick a favorite and only one, I'd pick Guilmon. Random fun fact! The other day I took a "Which Digimon Are You" personality quiz and I got Guilmon. YAY!!!!

 

But why do I like Guilmon? Well, he's adorable. In my opinion. Some people think he looks ugly, which is really harsh. Guilmon's got feelings too, guys. Also, the voice they gave him in the English version makes him even cuter. Again, in my opinion. And then Guilmon does this...

 

Yep, he digivolves into a knight.

  

Introducing Gallantmon! Gallantmon is a Royal Knight just like Alphamon, and he's also a complete boss when he curb-stomps Beelzemon into oblivion. Something that makes me a little bit sad is that Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth doesn't have Gallantmon's Crimson Mode.

 

This is Gallantmon Crimson Mode, in case 

you were wondering.

Only Gallantmon Crimson Mode can dual-wield a sword AND a staff and look cool doing it! The only downside is that rather than changing his voice to sound more awe-inspiring and intimidating like a lot of other Digimon, Gallantmon keeps the voice he had when he was Guilmon. So you see this awesome looking knight kicking tail and taking names and he sounds just like the cute little Guilmon. So some people can't take him seriously because of the lack of voice change.

So those are my Top 10 Favorite Digimon. If you haven't watched the show, go watch it please. It's really good. And if you had no idea what Digimon is prior to reading this blog post, then I hope you have been converted! ;) But if you do know what Digimon is, and like it, then who is YOUR favorite Digimon? I like knowing other peoples opinion. Even if you're one those guys who thinks that Guilmon is ugly, that's perfectly alright. I ain't that guy that be like "OMG you traitor! DIE IN A FIRE!!!" Nope! I am not that guy. Heck! If you like Pokemon more than Digimon, then that's alright. Trust me. The LAST thing I want on this blog is an all out civil war.

 

*Moumantai/Momentai. It means "take it easy" in Cantonese. It's also Terriermon's catchphrase in Digimon Tamers. It can be spelled in two different ways, but the pronunciation and meaning stays the same.

P.S. Just now realized that Dorumon eventually digivolves into Alphamon. Doesn't change the list at all. Just a small tidbit that I almost overlooked.

Sword Art Online Review!

Alright, do not let the "online" part of the title fool you. This is NOT a review of a video game. I repeat, this is NOT a video game review. This is a review of a anime series... That takes place inside a video game... Okay so it's not a video game directly but it still has something to do with video games.



For those of you who do not know what "anime" is, it is a genre of TV show originating from Japan. Sometimes very successful anime series are brought over to the good old West. Sword Art Online is one of those anime series. But let's get one thing clear. Is Sword Art Online perfect? No. Is it bad? Also no. It's a really enjoyable twenty-five episode long romp through Virtual Reality. Unless we add in Sword Art Online II, which is actually just season two of this show, but Netflix seems to consider the two completely different things. Anyway! On to the actual review.



Now the first season of Sword Art Online has two major story arcs, the Aincrad arc and the Alfheim arc. And literally everyone who loves this show (myself included) generally agree that the Aincrad arc is vastly superior to the Alfheim arc in just about every way. So to make it fair I will review each of them separately. But first, don't go to the Sword Art Online comment section on Know Your Meme. Why? There's SO much hate in those comments, that I feel like this 99.9999% of the time...



Anyway, first the Aincrad arc. Being the first of the two arcs of season one, this arc runs from Episode 1 all the way to Episode 14. Let's start at the beginning...



It's the year 2022, and the new VRMMORPG (Virtual Reality Massive Multiplayer Online Role Play Game, in case you wanted to know what it stood for) had literally just been launched. The main hero of the show, a young man named Kirito (pictured above)) is one of 10,000 people who log in to the game... Only to find they can't log out. What's worse is that if you die in the video game, you'll die in real life. And the only way to leave the game is to kill the final boss. So Kirito sets off on a mission to get back to the real world, kick some serious butt (I swear Kirito could probably take on the Avengers lol) and (hopefully) live a normal life. Along the way he meets a girl named Asuma who he falls in love with (Sword Art Online is a better love story than Twilight!). Although there's a very minor oversight I've noticed with the show (the following picture spoils the fact that Kirito and Asuma do indeed escape the game)...



Oh, and before you ask, Kirito and Asuma really were stuck in the game for two whole years. Anyway, Something I LOVE about the show is how it embraces the fact that pretty much the entire world is in a video game, with Kirito pointing out that "If your stats are high enough, you're invincible.", one supporting character proudly claiming that the "job [he] rolled is Knight." (job-rolling is kind of like a Terraria class challenge where you intentionally prohibit certain weapon types to create a more refined fighting style) and the fact the game has a friends list. Although, when I said that if you die in the game, you die in real life, I wasn't kidding. I swear, with the lone exception of the mini-series focusing on Kirito and Asuma's honeymoon (yes, they do get married in this show, unlike literally every couple in pop culture ever since their shows/movies/games end as soon as they get together but here comes Sword Art Online where the two heroes not only fall in love but also get married), at least one supporting character dies on screen. Some of those deaths are absolutely gut-wrenchingly tear-jerkingly sad.


RIP Sachi... We hardly knew ye...

But when a villain in the show dies, they die in incredibly violent but epic ways. Oh, and now's a good time to mention, Sword Art Online is rated TV-14, which is basically the same thing as a PG-13 rating. Although, it really pushes what it can get away with using that rating as the show progresses towards the Alfheim arc. Now you must be wondering, what on Earth does Sword Art Online get away with? Well, I refuse to answer that question directly, but it's rated TV-14 so kids should not watch this show anyway. But then again, kids should not watch anime in general since with a few exceptions, most anime series have teenagers and young adults as their target audience.

 
This is Klein. He's my favorite character. Klein is
the best. AROUND!!!!

Something that Sword Art Online doesn't handle as well, however, are the supporting characters. When I was watching the first couple of episodes I expected Klein (pictured above) to be the goofy, comic-relief sidekick that would follow and (try to) help Kirito on his adventures any way he can, and in a way he still is, but he shows up every five or so episodes and spends most of his time building up a guild. Similarly, I expected the big tough Agil to be the tanky lightning bruiser of the team, but he gets the same treatment as Klein. But they got the better end of the stick since Klein and Agil actually appear now and again to help Kirito and Asuma throughout the Aincrad arc. Lisbeth and Silica each had an entire episode devoted to them... And then they never show up for the rest of the show aside from the occasional cameo. One of the few things I despise about the Aincrad arc is that it focuses way too much on Kirito and Asuma, and rarely gives it's supporting characters a chance to shine.

Aside from handling it's supporting characters poorly, Sword Art Online's Aincrad arc is actually really good. It had good music, good voice acting (I watched the English dub because I do not know Japanese and I cannot stand subtitles period), and a mostly good story. When I say mostly good I am of course referring to the whole "can't handle supporting characters" thing, but also the romance aspects of the second half of the Aincrad arc. Some moments are actually kind of heartwarming, other moments are downright sappy/cheesy. But aside from cheesy romance elements, and the lack of development to the supporting characters, the Aincrad arc is pretty good... Now on to the dreaded Alfheim arc... *shudders*

Alright the Alfheim arc... Taking place shortly after Kirito and friends escape the first game, Kirito learns that not only was Asuma the only person to not reawaken in the real world, but her mind is trapped in a second game called Alfheim Online. So Kirito goes into THAT game to save Asuma. And I got to say, Alfheim Online has without a doubt...


Seriously, the game didn't bother teaching Kirito
the controls at all!

But here's problem number 1 with the Alfheim arc. The stakes are a lot lower, since not only can you logout whenever you want, but now you don't need to worry about dying in Alfheim online, since you respawn shortly afterwards. Secondly, Kirito got a massive jump-start into Alfheim Online, since Sword Art Online (the titular game Kirito was trapped in) and Alfheim Online were made using the exact same programming, Kirito's fighting skills and stats were left untouched. I actually don't like this because while Alfheim Online and Sword Art Online do share the same programming, Alfheim Online is a separate IP from Sword Art Online, which means that from a technical stand-point as well as a copy-right standpoint this should be impossible. It would be better if Kirito had to start from square one during this arc, since underdog stories are better than over-powered super-hero *cough cough* Dragon Ball Z *cough cough* stories.


Oh, and minor thing. Kirito is now a fairy during
this arc. Why? Because Alfheim Online turns every
player into a fairy. Because fairies are cool!

Problem number threesies (if you get THAT reference you must really like Disney) is while the Aincrad arc did neglect it's supporting characters, it at least gave them a cameo. Alfheim completely ignores Klein, Lisbeth, Silica, and Agil for the ENTIRE ARC save for the final episode. That's it. One of the things that the Alfheim arc did right is give some screen time to Suguha/Leafa (Leafa's her username), Kirito's sister. Speaking of Suguha, want to know a secret? Her name... Is actually "sugah" with an extra U. Now you can't unsee it! But anyway, Suguha is... Well, I got to give her bonus points for using her knowledge of kendo (a form of fencing, for those of you who don't know what kendo is) to give herself a head-start in Alfheim Online! But there is one major problem I have with Suguha. She... *scans brain for the right words* I don't know, she just doesn't do a good job being Kirito's Asuma-away-from-Asuma. At least, that's how I feel. She does redeem herself during the big finale, but still.



But the biggest gripe I have with the Alfheim arc? The way Asuma was handled. Prior to this arc, Asuma was actually even better at combat than Kirito (he literally says that she easily out-speeds him and has much more precision with her attacks). Now... She's just a damsel in distress. I might be spoiled by Hunger Games having the single most epic female protagonist ever, or maybe I'm just sick and tired of the distressed damsel trope being literally everywhere, but seriously, the least they could have done was give Asuma ONE action sequence to herself like oh, I don't know, helping Kirito take down the villain of this arc? But NOOOO, they reduced her to the grand prize at the end of the adventure.

Alright, I'm not going to lie, The Alfheim arc wasn't that good... But then again, literally EVERY Sword Art Online fan agrees on this: Watch the entire Aincrad arc (episodes 1-14) and skip the Alfheim arc (episodes 15-25), or watch the Alfheim arc for the lols. Or just to see how bad it is. But I can't deny that BOTH arcs have some really epic sounding songs in it's soundtrack. Also, literally every fight scene in this anime is phenomenal. I rate the Aincrad Arc an 8/10 but I give the Alfheim arc a 4.7/10 (I think that's the lowest I have ever rated something lol). But I recommend watching this show if A) you like anime or B) you like video game-themed TV shows.