As one of the most successful anime franchises of all time, Digimon is often shadowed by its similar-sounding competitor, Pokémon, but Digimon fans are an extremely dedicated group. With an animated series that began way back in the '90s to a remake of that original season, Digimon and all its installments show no signs of stopping.
One of the hardest things about having such a long-running anime is definitely keeping all the new Digivolutions and introductions exciting. This is something Pokémon has also struggled to do. Understandably, some Digivolutions or introductions are quite underwhelming.
10 Togemon Is Just A Giant Cactus (Digimon Adventure 1999)
The original Digimon Adventure was a near-flawless anime for its time that will hold a permanent spot in the hearts of all Digimon lovers. As the original that catapulted the show into global popularity, the Digidestined and their Digimon partners were a perfect introduction to the world.
That being said, there was one Digivolution throughout the original run that felt uninspired compared to their Champion counterparts. Togemon, when placed next to Champion-level Digimon like Greymon, Garurumon, Ikakumon, and Angemon, is just a giant anthropomorphized cactus with some boxing gloves.
9 Kimeramon Is A Mash-up Of Existing Digimon (Digimon Adventure 02)
Digimon Adventure 02 is the sequel to the original series and was boosted in popularity thanks to the cameos of the original Digidestined members Kari and T.K. remaining as main characters. This season began dabbling in more serious storylines and was a sequel that lived up to expectations.
That is, apart from when they attempted to introduce their version of a Frankenstein Digimon. Never has the saying "too much of a good thing" been truer than the introduction of Kimeramon. The proportions were off and the clashing of picking different body parts of memorable Digimon just felt lazy.
8 Zephyrmon Looks Far More Human Than Beast (Digimon Frontier)
The fourth installment, Digimon Frontier, features a group of kids who are tasked with saving the world by using "Spirit Evolution" to transform into legendary warriors with two spirits each, a "Human Spirit" and a "Beast Spirit." This was the first time the main group didn't have partner Digimon and rather transformed themselves.
Zephyrmon was supposed to be the Beast Spirit Digivolution of Zoe Orimoto, but despite some seriously out-of-place horns, her design looked far more human than "beast." What makes the design worse is remembering that an 11-year old is inside that body.
7 Justimon Was Introduced Off-Screen (Digimon Tamers)
Digimon Tamers had the hardest job of all the seasons as it introduced a brand new group of heroes without any significant references to previous seasons. Set in an alternate universe where Digimon is just a popular franchise for children, the tone of this season is far darker and battles some extremely complex issues.
Justimon looks like any other masked superhero out of a comic book and his design is very uninspired. His introduction also happened off-screen, making it this Digivolution all the more underwhelming.
6 Sunflowmon Is Just An Overgrown Sunflower (Digimon Data Squad)
Considered one of the worst installments of the entire series, Digimon Data Squad seemed like the showrunners were losing ideas. In a desperate attempt to maintain relevancy, they tried to bring back fan-favorite Agumon and the age of the heroes was increased to try and appeal to an aging audience.
One of Digimon Data Squad's worst Digivolutions is Sunflowmon, which is exactly what it sounds like: an anthropomorphized sunflower with ridiculous body proportions. In a show that tried to be dark and appeal to an older audience, having a fighting sunflower missed the mark.
5 Ankylomon Received A Lackluster Introduction (Digimon Adventure 02)
One of the first examples of Digivolution that didn't follow the standard was Armor Digivolution in Digimon Adventure 02. All the Armor Digivolutions were incredibly well-thought out and designed, and most fans forgot about the typical Digivolution process for the first part of the season.
This all changed when the second arc of the story began and the normal process returned, and fans were able to compare two different Champion forms for the first time. Ankylomon, while having a decent-looking design, was side-lined by Stingmon in his introduction episode and wasn't even able to defeat the enemy.
4 ExVeemon's Digivolution Was Essentially Forced (Digimon Adventure 02)
There always seems to be a burden upon the protagonist of each season to have the coolest partner Digimon. This expectation was satisfied during the Armor Digivolution arc where Veemon transformed into Flamedramon, and Veemon's personality was one of the standouts of the season.
But Veemon's Digivolution episode seems more like a filler episode. Having Veemon Digivolve as a result running into Tortomon urinating was a bit much. Davis also successfully putting himself in danger to force a Digivolution left a bitter taste in the mouth of fans who remembered Tai getting punished for the same thing.
3 BlitzGreymon Is Introduced Once & Not Seen Again (Digimon Adventure 2020)
Fans have been torn by the recent reboot of the original series, Digimon Adventure 2020. The show is a reimagining of the first Digimon Adventure with a similar storyline, but some major changes haven't been well received. While the animation is much better, some other "improvements" felt unnecessary.
The biggest example of this is when they decided to introduce BlitzGreymon. The creators seem to constantly fall for the notion that adding a bunch of armor and guns to your design immediately makes them better. This was made all the worse by the fact he was shown only once and never mentioned again.
2 Fairymon Is A Bog-Standard Damsel In Distress (Digimon Frontier)
Digimon Frontier fails again with Zoe Orimoto's other Digivolution. As the only female protagonist of the season, she had big boots to fill and the writers only used her as a punching bag for the entire arc, constantly needing rescuing from the boys.
Fairymon was a perfect example of this. In her introduction episode, she struggled against weak Digimon and gets crushed by a Woodmon, needing saving yet again. Fairymon's design is also far too promiscuous for what's supposed to be a young girl.
1 Shakkoumon Doesn't Look Anything Like Angemon Or Ankylomon (Digimon Adventure 02)
Dubbed by many fans as the worst episode of Digimon ever, Shakkoumon's introduction revolved around a nonsensical plotline about a magical soup spring. The episode is also filled with redundant Digivolution sequences because the writers were struggling with making the episode a two-parter.
Shakkoumon was a strange choice of design considering it looked nothing like the two Digimon that spawned it. When compared to Silphymon and Palindramon, Shakkoumon paled in comparison. If that wasn't bad enough, Shakkoumon also lost his first battle to BlackWarGreymon off-screen.