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Magmar has a lot going on with its design and very little of it is coordinated or good looking. For example, it's clearly stolen Charizard's tail and Nidoking's spines, a duck bill, and Slowbro's eyes with none of them looking good together.
Its arms are either pompoms, pinatas, or covered in loose flaky pieces of skin and even more disturbing are the bondage bands that clip on to its neck and legs? Who put them there? Why? What the hell does that have to do with magma? I'd actually argue that Magmar's famous butt brows are its most endearing design quality as they at least resemble the dripping magma this Pokemon is supposed to be based on.
In summary the Pokemon design team needed one more fire type to help better balance out gen one. They couldn't come up with anything and so they threw random body parts together, colored them orange and yellow, and called it a day. The only way I'd ever accept Magmar's design is if it was touted as a failed genetic experiment.
