Digimon Universe: App Monsters is a spin-off of the Digimon franchise. Rather than the specific Digital Monsters of series past, App Monsters focuses on the titular creatures, who are referred to as "Appmon" for short, which are based on the data of smartphone applications.
As part of the new push, Applimonsters is being released in multiple formats. In addition to toys, cards, and more, its entries include the following:
- Digimon Universe: App Monsters: A new television show, beginning in October of 2016. This series focuses on the adventures of Haru Shinkai, his Buddy Appmon Gatchmon, and their friends, as they face the artificial intelligence program, Leviathan.
- Digimon Universe: Applimonsters (Manga): An adaptation of the above anime series, running in Shueisha's V-Jump magazine. It premiered ahead of the anime in September, 2016.
- Applimonster Appmon Gakuen!!: A second manga series, running in Saikyo Jump beginning in October 2016. This tells a different story from the above series, focusing on a school Appmon go to together, where Gatchmon is the school's morals committee leader.
- Digimon Universe: Applimonsters (Video Game): A game for the 3DS bearing the same title as the anime and first manga series, telling a different story with focus on a different protagonist. The main character of the anime, Haru, and Gatchmon both make an appearance, however.
- Ahead of the game's release in December of 2016, Bandai also released a smaller digital game under the title of Digimon Universe: Applimonsters: Cyber Arena.
This franchise provides examples of:
- Arm Cannon: Gatchmon and Onmon have these between their claw-like fingers.
- Cyberpunk: Not as egregious as Digimon Tamers, but it's the central theme after all. Applications and softwares turned into living AIs and fighting each other, with hackers intervening the fiasco.
- Expy: Several of the Appmons are this to existing Digimon:
- Dokamon, one of the main Appmon in the anime series, is blue with a large "V" insignia on his head, reminding one of Veemon.
- A trash-themed Appmon named Gomimon highly resembles the Digimon Garbamon, with the only notable difference being Gomimon lacking Garbamon's hair and bazooka.
- Hackmon is this to the non-App version of Hackmon, adding more demonic aspects rather than Dragon-like ones and playing up the Playful Hacker and In the Hood elements. It's a similar case to the differences between the Adventure and Xros Wars versions of Greymon and MetalGreymon.
- The Appmon Cameramon looks like a super deformed version of Beelzebumon, with a similar mask and its pistols replaced with Finger Guns. His Super grade App Fusion, Scopemon, combines this with a Cold Sniper motif.
- Watchmon looks like a small Clockmon with more clocks on its arms, and no legs.
- Gashamon looks like a combination of Nanomon and a gashapon machine.
- Dougamon, being based on a video player app and having a video screen for a head, is this to Monitamon.
- Rebootmon is a fairly obvious Omegamon expy, being formed by the Jogress of a dragon-man and a wolf, and having a sword and a cannon as arms.
- Finger Gun: Utilized by an Appmon called Cameramon.
- Fusion Dance: Appmons reach new forms through a process called App Combine, similar to the Jogress Evolution used in various series, as well DigiXros in Digimon Fusion. A notable example is Gatchmon's fusion with Navimon to become DoGatchmon.
- Evolutionary Levels: Applimonsters has these, but they're different from the ones used for Digimon. Appmon instead have "Grades", which are referred to as "Standard", "Super", "Ultimate", and "God".
- Mythology Gag
- Calendarmon is, of course, based on a calendar app, with the date presented on its body being August 1st. Longtime Digimon fans would most likely recognize "August 1st" as the in-fiction date the events of Digimon Adventure began.
- Palette Swap: Numerous Appmon, like various Digimon before them, are either straight "recolors" of other Appmon, or modifications of the same base model.
- A running gag is when the characters note how an Appmon that is a variant of an Appmon they met before looks familiar with both Appmons standing together and saying "No, we just look alike" even if they had a tearful reunion like they were long lost relatives or friends.
- Powers as Programs: Appmon can share powers with each other through a process called "App Link".
- One-Steve Limit:
- Averted with the Appmon called Raidramon, as a previous one had existed in Adventure 02, at least as far as the Japanese version. In Japan, the Digimon is called Lighdramon, for "lightning", whereas in America, he was referred to as Raidramon, based on a different translitteration. However, it gets more complicated, as the Appmon's name is actually derived from computer storage
called Redundant Array of Independent Disks. Amusingly enough, the dub incorrectly pronounced the Digimon's name so it'd sound just like how the Appmon would be. - Averted with Tsubumon. The original Tsubumon was Armadillomon's earliest stage, with "tsubu" for "grain" or "drop". The new one is the not-Twitter Appmon, based on "tsubuyaki", the Japanese term for tweets.
- Averted with the Appmon called Raidramon, as a previous one had existed in Adventure 02, at least as far as the Japanese version. In Japan, the Digimon is called Lighdramon, for "lightning", whereas in America, he was referred to as Raidramon, based on a different translitteration. However, it gets more complicated, as the Appmon's name is actually derived from computer storage
- Spell My Name With An S: Digimon's always had problems with this, and Applimonsters is no different. In at least one source, Navimon's name is spelled "Nabimon" by some official sources. Even the mascot, Gatchmon, is called several different names, including Gatchimon, Gacchimon, and Gashmon.
- Tactical Rock–Paper–Scissors: Appmon types form a variant into a 7-typed wheel of Social → Navi → Tool → System → Game → Life → Social.
