Impmon

So then we've got Impmon proper, and this is honestly another design I didn't care about when it first debuted. I still feel like it's missing something and a little plain by series standards, but I've definitely come to respect Impmon's retro cartoon vibe. The pure white face and little doggy nose bring to mind Fleischer-era characters, the same feel the Warners from Animaniacs were going for, but with goofy purple devil pajamas and even a saw-toothed smiley face to let you know this thing is a little brat.

This is of course exactly why Impmon is so fondly remembered, because he IS a little brat; a digimon that was the partner to a pair of human children, but ran away when they wouldn't stop fighting over him, treating him more like a pet or an object than an independent being. Understandably, he has next to no respect for either humans or other digimon, especially not humans and digimon who team up with each other like losers, and continues to be more of an antihero than anything else.

It's always a lot of fun when a cute little battlemonster is actually a flawed, troubled character. It's what made Gatomon interesting, but Impmon runs even further with it.

I also end up saying this about a lot of anime critters, but Impmon is yet another who can clearly trace his aesthetic principle and personality back to the similarly flawed, troubled, but sometimes well-meaning Baikinman. If you never read my old article on this little bastard, now's the time to find out who actually started the Japanese trope of short, mischievous, jester-like pajama devils.

Digivolves from

 * 1) Yaamon

Digivolves to

 * 1) Wizardmon