In the early 2000s, the internet was still untouched by capitalist elements. Back then, major gaming companies were still penetrating the internet world, and the concept of microtransactions and fake Russian gaming ads was almost non-existent.
During those times, flash games were kings of internet gaming, with thousands of them being released by hopeful developers. Neopets and Adventure Quests were the go-to games that kids played, including me.
These flash games made Newgrounds the place they call home. I have spent hundreds of hours exploring thousands for free, together with my friends. But alas, all good things must come to an end. The advent of Triple-A games, despite their microtransactions and overpriced DLCs, made flash games all but forgotten.
But despite all of this, my nostalgia for Newgrounds dragged me back to it. I happened to click on the game called; Friday Night Funkin’, thinking it was simply a cheap rip-off of the more popular Five Nights at Freddy’s. To my surprise, it was a completely different game and fun to play.
Friday Night Funkin’ is a rhythmic game that tells the story of Boyfriend trying to pursue Girlfriend while challenging anyone who stands in his way through rap battles. One of those obstacles is a demon with a lemon for a head who wants to eat Girlfriend (literally).
Lemon Demon is by far the creepiest opponent that Boyfriend must fight. His disturbing smile and a crazy look in his eyes fit well with his sadistic personality.
In this article, I will discuss this demonic lemon and why he is a terrifying force within the game.
Bottom Line Up Front
Lemon Demon is one of the antagonists that debuted on Friday Night Funkin’. He is a demonic entity with a lemon for a head hence his nickname. He is a vile villain who loves to torture, mutilate, and maim his victims.
He appears in weeks 2 and 5 as the antagonist who wants to abduct Girlfriend and Boyfriend. His featured tracks are Monster and Winter Horrorland.
Monster: His Personality, Appearance, Abilities, and Relationships
Personality
Lemon Demon is an enigmatic and sadistic individual with a taste for human and demon flesh. Throughout the game, he has no intention of hiding his desire to kill and eat people – including children. He loves to detail how gruesome his method of devouring them is. All these attributes make Lemon Demon the most dangerous character in the game.
He is also known for using manipulation to get what he wants. He can be very deceiving and manipulative. He hatched a plan to manipulate literal kids, Skid, and Pump, to bring Girlfriend so that he could eat her by promising them candy.
Lemon Demon can become frustrated when his plans fail, forcing him to take matters into his own hands.
Lemon Demon also had a morbid sense of humor. During Christmas Season, Lemon Demon dons a Santa Claus hat that he most likely looted from his victims and designed the Christmas Tree with blood and entrails.
The game hinted that he has no inner peace because his mind is filled with discord and darkness. Many described Lemon Demon as insane due to his penchant for violence and sadism.
Appearance
Monster is a demon with a lemon for a head. His body is covered in black scribbles, except for his neck, which is pink instead. He also has only two fingers for his hands and two toes on his feet which made it a little bit cute, at least for me.
His bloodshot eyes are wide open, giving him a crazed look with bloodstains that can be seen at the bottom of his eyes. Boyfriend manages not to be intimidated despite the demon’s appearance. If I ever saw his eyes, I would have frozen and likely become his next dinner.
Lemon Demon’s crazed smile is probably his most defining feature. He is always seen with his smile revealing large teeth that protrude in his mouth. His gums are bloody, making him unsettling to look at.
He is spotted with a torn Santa hat during Week 5, very fitting for a winter-themed level.
Lemon Demon’s beta appearance is a scribbled shadow sprouting from a jack-o-lantern. The scribbled shadow has wide crazed eyes and a gaping mouth lined up with teeth. His jack-o-lantern has a blood-like substance dripping from its mouth and eyes.
Abilities
Lemon Demon is a fully sentient being that is capable of human speech. He is the only character within the game that can sing with English words aside from Girlfriend during the tutorial. His intelligence allowed him to manipulate some characters to do his bidding but was constantly thwarted by Boyfriend.
He is proficient in killing his victims in spectacular ways, showing his sadism by designing a Christmas tree with entrails and blood. He is also skilled in torturing his victims, openly boasting that he will peel their skin and gouge their eyes—what a charming fellow.
Lemon Demon also can change the perception of others; with this in mind, it is unknown whether or not the gory background in the mall is actual reality or merely an illusion.
During his showdown with Boyfriend, Lemon Demon showcased his unique singing skill. His deep and menacing voice really made him an intimidating opponent for the players. He would have a chance to win American Idol if he didn’t sing about eating his opponents.
He has some knowledge in cooking, but I think we all know what kind of ingredients he likes to add to his dish. (Hint: He really wants to capture Girlfriend.)
Relationship:
Girlfriend
Lemon Demon’s main goal in the game is to abduct Girlfriend and kill her. His songs are filled with gruesome details about his plans for Girlfriend. Girlfriend does not seem to be afraid of Lemon Demon despite his constant threat to her life.
Boyfriend
Lemon Demon and Boyfriend seem to constantly butt heads over Girlfriend. Boyfriend wanted to date Girlfriend while Lemon Demon tried to eat her literally.
The two engaged in rap battles for Girlfriend’s fate, and Boyfriend always defeated him every time thanks to his rapping skills. Although initially wanting to eat Girlfriend only, Lemon Demon wanted to eat him as well.
Skid and Pump
Skid and Pump are two cheeky kids in Halloween costumes. Lemon Demon manipulated the duo by offering them candy in exchange for Girlfriend. Unfortunately for him, Boyfriend defeated the duo twice in a rap battle.
Lemon Demon’s songs in Friday Night Funkin’
Lemon Demon has two feature songs in Friday Night Funkin’. The two songs are titled ‘Monster’ and ‘Winter Horrorland.’
Monster
Monster was originally the third song of Week 2 and the seventh track of Friday Night Funkin’. The song was scrapped because the developers felt it was too difficult, but there are plans for its release in future updates.
It is one of the few songs in the game with full English lyrics. Lemon Demon is singing about his intention of eating Girlfriend and Boyfriend. He wanted to flay and gouge their eyes, turning them into soup, and stuff them in his meat box.
The song can only be accessed in a debug menu, but it became officially playable following the Week 7 update on April 18, 2021. The music is available on Spotify and can be found in their official album, entitled ‘Monster.’
The song was composed by Bassetfilms.
Winter Horrorland
Winter Horrorland is the third and final song for Week 5 and the sixteenth song of Friday Night Funkin’. The song has a Christmas feel because Week 5 is set during Christmas Season. Of course, the lyrics are not for kids considering that it is a Lemon Demon song.
In this song, he is singing about his intention of eating Girlfriend and Boyfriend (again). He said he wanted to cut them into a thousand pieces, stuff them with spices, and cook their flesh until their flesh are golden brown.
The song is also unique because it opens with an image of a Christmas Tree covered in blood with Girlfriend’s head on top. It is their fate if Boyfriend loses the fight against Lemon Demon.
It is one of the few songs within the game with English lyrics. You can download and listen to this song on Spotify in their official album with the same name, Monster. The song was composed by Bassetfilms.
Fun Facts about Lemon Demon
Bassetfilms provided the voice of Lemon Demon
Lemon Demon is unique because he is one of the only characters that can speak. He is voiced by one of the game developers called Bassetfilms or Basset.
Bassetfilms is also the games’ artist, storyboard director, songwriter, and singer. PhantomArcade and Basset also designed Lemon Demon.
Lemon Demon’s head is not a lemon
Despite the design of the character’s head looking like a lemon, the developers told the fans that it was actually not.
According to the developers, his head was not designed to be a lemon, and its similarities to the fruit are purely coincidental.
Ninjamuffin99 further said that the shape of his head is supposedly designed to be similar to the head shape of Arnold Shortman from Hey, Arnold! and Stewie Griffin from Family Guy.
The yellow color was supposedly due to Lemon Demon being designed on a yellow canvas and included in the final design.
Lemon Demon has a surprising cameo in Roblox
Lemon Demon’s head made an appearance in Roblox as a hat accessory. Unfortunately, the hat was banned due to copyright issues.
The hat accessory would later return to the game after it was authorized by one of the game’s developers, evilsk8r.
Frequently Asked Questions about Lemon Demon
Question: What is Lemon Demon’s real name?
Answer: The character’s official name is actually not Lemon Demon—it is Monster, which can be found within the game’s code. Lemon Demon is a popular nickname made by fans due to his head shape.
His nickname came from a famous Newgrounds artist named Niel Cicierega, who goes by Lemon Demon. One of Neil’s songs is The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, released in Newgrounds and gained a whopping 13 million views.
Needlejuice Production had to explain to Cicierega that he has no idea why their character is called Lemon Demon by fans. Cicierega finds it very neat that the character is paying homage to Flash culture.
Ninja_muffin99 tweeted that Lemon Demon does not have any name for now, implying that Monster is just a placeholder name while they are coding.
Question: What does Lemon Demon do during his free time?
Answer: According to ninja_muffin99 in one of his Reddit posts, Lemon Demon simply exists in the world, in the shadows. Weirdly, Lemon Demon seems to be a citizen of an unknown country because ninja_muffin99 said that he does not vote, implying citizenship. Lemon Demon is also not fond of watching the news.
Question: What are the songs that served as an inspiration to Lemon Demon’s songs?
Answer: There are plenty of songs referenced in ‘Monster’ and ‘Winter Horrorland’.
The melody and Winter Horrorland’s first line bear similarities with Santa Dog ’88 by the Residents.
The tune during Winter Horrorland’s lyrics, “Snowman smiling with your teeth, fallen angels created with your meat.” is similar to another song called “Its Gonna Snow (Right Here in Dixie)” from the animated series “The Year Without Santa Claus.”
The melody used during the lyrics “Cut, in a thousand slices. Bake you ’til golden brown,” “Stuff you with spices” has similarities with “Let there be Snow” from “Frosty Returns.”
Lemon Demon: Maniacally Horrific and Hilarious
A demon with a lemon for a head made his design rather silly and cute. However, don’t make his appearance fool you because he is a terrifying being that makes your skin crawl. He is manipulative and violent, with a penchant for human flesh.
His disturbing appetite and sadistic nature are very effective, making the stakes of Friday Night Funkin’ higher for Boyfriend. He truly shines every time he appears in the game. He added the much-needed horror and challenge to the quirky adventure of Boyfriend’s pursuit of Girlfriend’s hand.
I do admit that his horrific personality does not stop me from liking the character. His songs “Monster” and “Winter Horrorland” are very catchy to listen to despite their disturbing lyrics. I also love his deep and soothing voice, thanks to Basset, because it added an air of mystery and creepiness to the game.
