Digital Monster X-Evolution, or Digimon X-Evolution, is a stand alone film, completely unrelated to any Digimon anime, instead being loosely inspired by the Digimon Chronicle storyline. It is notable for being the first Digimon anything without any humans (the later Digimon World 4 also didn't have any humans, and it used sequences from this movie for its intro).
This movie further differs from the rest of Digimon in that it was done completely in CGI (done by Imagi Animation Studios of TMNT) and has never been dubbed into English, possibly relating to either how it was produced at a point when the franchise was in limbo in the western world, or for its heightened level of violence.
The Digital World has become overpopulated and Yggdrasil, the super computer in charge of overseeing the Digital World, has essentially run out of bandwidth. He thus takes his Royal Knights and a select few of the Digimon to a new, more easily processable Digital World, and then unleashes the X-virus to destroy all life on the original Digital World. However, several Digimon that were left behind develop the X-Antibody, an immunity against the virus. This antibody not only makes them immune to the virus, but also changed the Digimon who possessed it into more powerful forms, becoming X-Antibody Digimon.
After the virus runs its course, the X-Antibody Digimon manage to find their way to the new Digital World, kicking off a racial divide between them and the original Digimon chosen by Yggdrasil, who soon orders his Royal Knights to destroy them. The movie then focuses around Omegamon, Dukemon and Magnamon, three of the thirteen Royal Knights, as they try and come to terms with the orders given to them by Yggdrasil.
As these events occur, the plot follows a young X-Antibody Digimon named DORUmon as he wanders the new Digital World, stumbling into conflicts between the X-Antibody resistance and the Royal Knights. In doing so, he comes to care for and protect a young Tokomon, and also embark on a quest to discover his true heritage.
Tropes present in Digimon X-Evolution:
- Adapted Out: Alphamon's Ouryuken blade is normally formed from Ouryumon, but the latter isn't mentioned at all in the film.
- All There in the Manual: If you didn't know a Mushmon was a Mushmon or a Tyranomon was a Tyranomon, you'd need to look those up yourself - unlike any other Digimon movie or show, names are almost never called out, nor are there handy subtitles or cue cards telling you who's who. Hell, it's difficult to find the name of the main character!*
- Apocalypse How: Twice. Once in the backstory, when Yggdrasil created a new world, brought one percent of living Digimon over to it, and then unleashed a virus into the old world in order to solve overpopulation. Then once again at the climax, when Yggdrasil's attempt to destroy the world is co-opted by the heroes.
- Art Shift: Unlike all the other Digimon series, this movie uses CGI animation instead of the normal hand drawn style.
- Back from the Dead: Several characters come back from the dead, usually getting a new X-Antibody. And usually coming back unexplained.
- Badass Arm-Fold: Dukemon is usually in this pose when outside of combat.
- Badass Cape: Omegamon, Dukemon, and Alphamon all have these.
- Bash Brothers: WarGreymon X and MetalGarurumon X
- BFS:
- Alphamon, full stop. Almost crosses into Improbable Weapon User as his sword looks more like an ax... that's as tall as he is.
- Dukemon X gets one, as well. It doubles over with Laser Blade.
- Big Damn Heroes: Several of them.
- MetalGarurumon X came back from the dead for his moment. This movie is filled with badasses.
- Special points to Dukemon X's one from nowhere, vaporising a swarm of Death-X-DORUGreymon with his Final Elysium.
- Calling Your Attacks: As with any self-respecting Digimon series.
- Came Back Strong: Dukemon zig-zags this trope. Technically, he didn't die, since his body disappeared, but the X-Antibody that he obtained gave him a massive power boost upon his return.
- Central Theme: Living creatures' will to survive. Not even Yggdrasil is immune.
- Children Are Innocent: Pretty much the entire point of Tokomon.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: When Omegamon and Alphamon go to confront Yggdrasil, they get attacked by one of his monsters. Omegamon attacks head on, and gets his ass handed to him for awhile. Cue Alphamon jumping in and defeating the thing in less then ten seconds.
- Omegamon versus everything else is one.
- One battle with Omegamon consists of DORUmon and Tokomon repeatedly getting smacked back into a tree.
- Depopulation Bomb: The X-Program, which killed every digimon who didn't either develop an antibody or preemptively evacuate into the new world.
- Down in the Dumps: DORUmon ends up unconscious in a trash dump after Yggdrasil finishes copying his code. Luckily, a group of refugees who have been getting by via scavenging from the dump chance across and rescue him.
- The Dreaded: Omegamon's mere appearance is enough to kick off panicked stampedes. Not that running helps.
- Earn Your Happy Ending: Alphamon had to kill himself and allow Omegamon to delete everything in order to achieve the happy ending.
- 11th-Hour Superpower:
- Dorumon doesn't digivolve to Alphamon until the last ten minutes.
- Also, Omegamon gets the X-Antibody and becomes Omegamon X, becoming much stronger.
- The End of the World as We Know It: Brought to you courtesy of Yggdrasil.
- Enemy Without: Alphamon realizes during his fight with Death-X-mon, that they are connected. So what does he do? He impales Yggdrasil and himself on his sword, effectively killing them both.
- Everything Fades: Aversion. Here the dead leave their bodies behind. This is really important.
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: ALL DELETE.
- Good Samaritan: Wizarmon finds an unconscious DORUgamon, fittingly enough, among trash after he was thrown out of Yggdrasil's room like trash. Despite the Mummymon warning him against this and despite never meeting DORUgamon before, Wizarmon takes him in to recover and helps him escape when their hideout is jeopardized.
- Heroic Sacrifice:
- Alphamon performs one in order to defeat Death-X-mon. This is also how Omegamon gets his X-Antibody.
- MetalGarurumon X pulls this off to save Tokomon, giving him his X-Antibody.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: Magnamon states that Yggdrasil created Dorumon for experimentation purposes. Guess who ends up screwing Yggdrasil's plans over?
- The Juggernaut: Omegamon spends most of the movie being a completely unstoppable force, executing Yggdrasil's will. Even while working together Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X, the strongest fighters on the "rebel" side, are severely outmatched against him.
- Just Following Orders: The Royal Knights only act as Yggdrasil tells them to. Metalgarurumon X tries to defend them with this argument at first, but Wargreymon X points out that the choice to follow those orders is still their own.
- Karma Houdini: Omegamon not only never faces any consequences for exterminating thousands of Digimon under the orders of Yggdrasil, but he also gets stronger with the help of the X-Antibody. Sure he was just following orders, he actually believed that X-Digimon were dangerous, he makes a Heel–Face Turn and contributes to defeating Yggdrasil at the end, but his complicity with Yggdrasil's genocidal plan is evident.
- Killed Off for Real: Anyone infected with the X-Program who doesn't develop an X-Antibody and accordingly evolve to their X variant. Also, Leomon. Again.
- Kudzu Plot: Can get pretty confusing due to a lot of things never being fully explained, if at all.
- La Résistance: Led by Wargreymon X and Metalgarurumon X.
- Light Is Not Good: The Royal Knights are light themed antagonists (with Dukemon being an exception and later Omegamon).
- Macross Missile Massacre: Metalgarurumon X as his namesake would imply. Specifically his Garuru Burst attack.
- Moral Event Horizon: In-Universe, Metalgarurumon X considers Omegamon's beatdown of DORUmon and Tokomon to be this for the Royal Knights. Before that, he thought it was possible for the refugees to reason with the Knights, who historically have been the Digital World's protectors.
- My Master, Right or Wrong:
- Omegamon is devoted to Yggdrasil and thus carries out its orders, despite feeling heavily conflicted on some of his actions. His loyalty comes from his belief that all of Yggdrasil's decisions, no matter how arcane or inscrutable in the moment, always contribute to the Digital World's prosperity in the long run. Hence his defection when he learns that Yggdrasil intends to destroy the world.
- Magnamon, the only Royal Knight to not defect after learning the full scope of Project Ark.
- No Flow in CGI: Though they did give Omegamon and Dukemon their signature badass capes, they're awkwardly animated to a fairly visible extent. Similarly, DORUmon's fur.
- Omnicidal Maniac: Yggdrasil pulls out all the stops in the climax.
- One-Man Army:
- Omegamon wiping out literally hundreds of Triceramon.
- Also Wargreymon X, Dukemon X, and Metalgarurumon X all manage to take down dozens of Death-X-DoruGreymon by themselves. Dukemon X all but straight up calls themselves this, telling everyone else to evacuate because they alone will be enough to hold the line against the entire enemy force.
- Overpopulation Crisis: The impetus behind Project Ark.
- The Plague: The X-Program, designed to delete 99% of all Digimon in the Digital World.
- Rage Against the Reflection: DORUmon has a little of this after he's evolved to DORUGreymon; shockingly similar, and with good reason, to the Death-X-DORUGreymon attacking the rebel Digimon.
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: Wargreymon X is much more aggressive towards the Royal Knights and is more willing to fight them. Metalgarurumon X on the other hand still isn't sure that the Royal Knights are really their enemies, and is usually more calm.
- Red Shirt Army: The Tyranomon and Triceramon X that Omegamon annihilates, and the Mushmon during the battle with the Death-X-DORUGreymon.
- Reset Button: Yggdrasil's plans involve hitting the entire Digital World's reset button. Omegamon X ultimately hits the button himself during his final assault on Yggdrasil.
- Rewarded as a Traitor Deserves: The Andromon who ratted out the gathering of Digimon to the Royal Knights is killed by Omnimon. Omnimon later attempts to do the same for Dukemon, but Dukemon was expecting it and already had unspecified countermeasures in place.
- Running Gag: X-Evolution sets an internal record for the fastest Leomon death in any Digimon continuity - it offs a Leomon in the first three minutes. This one doesn't even get physically hurt to cause the death.
- Sacrificial Lamb: Leomon dies, again. His death in the very first scene makes him a Lamb instead of his usual Sacrificial Lion.
- Send in the Clones: Yggdrasil's army of Death-X-DORUGreymons.
- Shout-Out: Well, some are pretty obvious, others not so much, and there are plenty of internal Digimon ones.
- That the two rebel leaders happen to be the two Digimon who traditionally comprise Omegamon can't be a coincidence.
- Any Digimon who previously appeared in the anime had their original voice actor.
- Wargreymon X's Poseidon Force looks suspiciously similar to the Spirit Bomb.
- Taking You with Me: The only way Alphamon was able to defeat Death-X-mon/Dexmon.
- Thanatos Gambit: Dukemon, who fights Omegamon and purposely allows himself to be killed. This achieves three goals: making Omegamon doubt his master openly for the first time and giving Dukemon the opportunity to investigate Yggdrasil's actions and get himself an upgrade (the X-antibody) in order to be revived. "There's something I wanted to check" indeed, since its gambit was so awesome it included coming back from the dead in a way which wasn't predicted by the overseers of the Digital World (Yggdrasil and the Royal Knights).
- Third-Person Person: I, Dukemon, spoke like this. Just like he did in the original Digimon Tamers, making it a Shout-Out, too.
- Took a Level in Badass: Literally. Compare and contrast Dorumon: Child Level and
The Woobie — and his evolution, Alphamon: Ultimate Level and badass. - Well-Intentioned Extremist: Magnamon. All he wants to do is her/his job; unfortunately, that means siding with Yggdrasil in destroying/resetting the world. Same could go for Omegamon, since he believes that Digimon with an X-Antibody are corrupted monsters bent on destroying everything (maybe). Guess who destroys the most: Omegamon in his final action in the movie, hitting the Reset Button with his All Delete attack and accordingly wiping out everyone still alive, himself included...
- What the Hell, Hero?: Metalgarurumon X to Omegamon upon seeing his handiwork with DORUmon and Tokomon.Metalgarurumon X: Is this the justice of the Royal Knights?!
- What Happened to the Mouse?: It's never explained what happened with Wargreymon X, Metalgarurumon X, or Magnamon after Yggdrasil's defeat.
- The Worf Effect:
- It appears to be set up twice for Alphamon but it turns out his greater success in battle compared to the established Digimon may not have anything to do with his strength, nor that of the enemy's.
- Omegamon gets hit by this hard towards the end, mainly to show off how badass Alphamon is. But again, it is possible that this is a Subverted Trope as well for the same reason as the above.
- Would Hurt a Child:
- In their second encounter, Omegamon spends a good amount of time clubbing Tokomon to death.
- Magnamon is not above threatening Tokomon's life in order to draw DORUmon out.
- You Shall Not Pass!: MetalGarurumon X holds the line against the army of Death-X-DORUGreymons after his return.
