Code Lyoko

Shouldn't the protagonists of Code Lyoko all need therapy? I mean, think about the stress of having to save the world every day. Imagine having all your friends constantly almost die. It's amazing how resilient cartoon children are.

But the first thing I'd like to point out, in response to a lot of the comments here, that all animation does not have to look like Japanese anime. Really, it doesn't. It's not like all anime series look that great. Sure, Paranoia Agent or Cowboy Bebop are swell, but Pokemon is nothing to write home about. The French have made some very nice looking cartoons, like Fantastic Planet and Kaena. There are a lot of animators in France, in fact, and they have a perfect right to follow the French tradition of animation rather than the Japanese one. Of course, Code Lyoko is influenced by the Japanese, like most animation, but it is also in keeping with its countries products.

Personally, I really like the show's character design. It's one of the reasons I decided to check it out after seeing a commercial. A lot of cartoons look like a lot of other cartoons, and the distinctive faces attracted me to Lyoko and made me think it might be more than just another cookie cutter cartoon.

Lyoko is a rather odd show, because each episode is structured in almost exactly the same way. The evil computer virus accesses the real world, the heroes go into the virtual world and kill some monsters, and everything is fixed and time is reset to before the disaster (I haven't seen the early episodes so I don't know if they explain why or how time is reset; this show doesn't seem that interested in details).

Lyoko is definitely a kid's cartoon, even though I enjoy it. It's not as sophisticated as Batman or Trigun, but characters are distinct, there are some interesting ideas, and it does have a nice look to it. It's not a great cartoon series, but it's a good one.

Code Lyoko has both good and detrimental points. For a cartoon, it actually requires some effort to follow. Episodes are serial, but usually contain enough individually packaged information to give you a sense of what is going on.

Some of the positive points are: For a cartoon, Code Lyoko has an interesting amount of writing and character development. The set up for the show is also very interesting, adding a sci-fi element. The Characters are broad based, and while they play set roles, they can occasionally do something developmental. The action in the show is interesting, and although small scale, seems to have the appropriate tension associated with it. The computer graphics portion of the art is quite well done, reminiscent of shows like Reboot.

Some negative things about the show: The dub is of rather poor quality. Characters lines are often rushed to match existing footage. There are a distracting amount of stock scenes in any given episode. Also there are many goofs, but most of those are related to the stock scenes. Some people may not like the ultra-angular hand drawn portion of the art, especially noted are that people's heads are drawn very large.

With all that said, I still recommend this show. You'll get enough enjoyment out of just following the plot and characters to make up for the poorer features.

There is something wrong with each and every aspect of this show.

• Reuse of footage
• Bad superimposition
• Unnecessary and cheesy dialogue
• Bad dubbing
• Stilted acting
• Awkward 2D and 3D animation
• A billion things that don't make any sense
• An anti-climactic ending
• A villain that does not reach its full potential

But this show really goes to show you how much influence character can have. Every single one of the characters is likeable, memorable, interesting, defined, and fun to watch. And the voice actors can bring a lot of life to them. You care about them and you want to see them win. And even the characters who are bullies you end up really liking because the show takes the time to introduce you to different sides of them in stressful situations.

And to the show's credit, it increases in quality as it goes along.

The creature designs are really cool.

There are scenes that are surprisingly violent.

There are some legitimately tense moments, a result of the strong characterization.

This show is also a nostalgia fest for me. It's one of my favorites of all time and I will never be sick of it no matter how many times I binge watch it.

I heard about this about the time it came out, and got hooked a few weeks before Season Two began its US run. Though, as all cartoons do, it began a bit confusing for me (The first time I saw it (about the middle of the first ep) I thought Sissi was Yumi...), I caught on quickly.

Code: Lyoko is unique among cartoons. It is shown in both an anime style for the real world (which results in many-including some well-known sites- mistaking it for a Japanese cartoon, it is not, it is French) and a computer style for the Lyoko world. It has probably the longest distance between two seasons recordable (a year and four months for the US). And, it has-almost-no backstory. They don't tell us how Lyoko came to be, how Ulrich and co. found it, and why the computer has a virus. This is left to the fans-and Season Two, as we hope...

The show has realistic characters, an amazing plot, and a good eye for suspense. It does, however, have flaws over all this greatness.

First, bad dubbing. Like most inter-language imports, the dialogue does not match the mouth movements of the characters. The dialogue is often rushed, and flawed in some cases. One drastic example is Jeremie. Near the beginning of the series run, his voice was very high, but around the fourth or sixth episode, it changes, and it now sounds like he's trying very hard to sound older. (Puberty? Decision of the dubbers? Or perhaps he's just trying to impress Aelita, eh? Well, keep trying, man. The new voice sounds horrible.)

Second, scene reuse. This is abused heavily in season one. It's like the made scenes of everyone going into the sewers beforehand, and just used them where they were needed. This, for the most part, is discarded in Season Two, which is good. Although they STILL use that shot of Odd getting hit in the chest...

But don't get me wrong. Even with its flaws, this is a GREAT show. Not an EXCELLENT show, but a GREAT show. If you see it on, watch it.

But very carefully...

What do you think the coolest cartoon these days? I think Avatar on Nick and Code Lyoko on Cartoon Network are the best. Even though the style of two shows is different, both of them have strong game aspect and interestingly show the fusion Asian martial art. Their fighting scenes are really cool! Especially, I got hooked by CL season 3 when Aelita was finding out whether her father is still alive. This show is getting better season after season. I am so exited CN started airing season 4. Also, I am noticing a Website has the episodes from the first season. http://www.kabillion.com/codelyoko/?refuser=kamki. Seems like they are putting some eps. on Comcast VOD, too.