Code: LYOKO

The Core The Anime Forum
1

OK, this is a early review of one of the new toons in Cartoon Network. I’ve looked for more info in the Net but haven’t found much, so this review is strictly based in what I’ve seen so far (a couple of episodes).

Code: LYOKO was apparently made in France. That may sound odd, but actually the French have made some good cartoons in the past (thought some have been rather odd.) It is obviously inspired by Anime, but then so are most cartoons today.

The story is about a bunch of kids (they look preteen to me, but they could be in high school) who discover a “parallel universe” called Lyoko. (Actually, Lyoko seems to be just another of those Cyberspace worlds ala The Matrix). They find a way to enter it (in body, not just in mind) via a machine that transforms them into video game characters- complete with Life Points! There they befriend a girl named Aelita. As you can imagine, there’s some evil force in Lyoko (which remains unseen so far- it might be a computer virus) that seeks to destroy Lyoko AND the kids’ city in the real world. (Why, I don’t know yet.) In every episode, some of the kids must handle a crisis caused by this evil on the real world (by manipulating electronic devices) while the others go to Lyoko to battle video game monsters so Aelita can reach “towers” that she can interface with and stop the interference. Somehow, at the end of each episode, the kids can “reboot” reality, returning all events of that day to the start- and conveniently, erasing all evidence that something happened!

I’m not very impressed with C:L so far. For starters, I just plain do NOT like the character’s designs- ALL the kids have big foreheads- is that an attempt to look “super-deformed?” Also, the style used is so similar I often confuse some of the kids. Note: the show uses TWO styles of animation: hand-drawn animation for the scenes set on the real world, and 3D CGI graphics for the segments in Lyoko. Nice idea, in principle, but the styles clash TOO much.

I forgot to mention above that, in every episode, the kids must deal with some personal problem as well, which is to be expected of this type of toon. Often these problems are caused either by the most popular girl in school, who hates (yet secretly envies) the heroes, or the bullying Gym Class teacher. They’re both VERY annoying characters.

Which brings me to another point: the characters are just not very interesting. Their individual personalities don’t come across very well. Worse, these kids act TOO smart for their age- they’re like miniature adults, ready to deal matter-of-factly with all the bizarre things that Lyoko throws at them, or even with serious consequences like when they found out the local Nuclear Power Plant was going to explode! There seems to be some subplots about the boys being sweet on the girls and vice versa, but being too shy to voice it. Cute, but hardly carries the story. Better dialogue would have helped.

I would also like to know HOW they got the machine that allows them to enter Lyoko. I hope the smart kid didn’t just invent it!! Also, note that when the kids are “killed” in Lyoko they don’t really die, which takes some of the thrill away from their adventures; they’re in no real danger there.

But what REALLY bothers me is the rebooting of reality at the end. Not only it doesn’t make sense (unless the real world IS part of Lyoko, ala The Matrix)- worse, it solves ALL the problems in one fell swoop- the kids don’t have to explain what was going on to people, and even their personal problems are solved because now they know what’s going to happen and how to prevent it. Too Deus Ex Machina.

As you can see, my understanding of the show is still too limited for a completely fair review. Still, I think I can judge the show’s intentions and style, and while the premise isn’t bad, it is not handled well- at least to my tastes. Hopefully the rest of the new CN shows will be better.

For a much better show based on a similar idea, see DIGIMON.

If anyone else has an opinion- or better yet, more info- on the show, please post it here.

2

I thought of trying to watch this show - just in case it might surprise me, like Teen Titans did - but now, I don’t think I will… the animation just looks really weird to me… and the whole plot also sounds kinda strange…

3

The saving the world problem while dealing with ones social problems sounds like Totally Spies, and lots of others like it.
I wasn’t sure about watching at any point in time. The animation didn’t look that great. ^^

4

Totally Spies is not, I repeat, NOT anime.

5

I really don’t know what your porblem is with the show. The animation seems fine to me. This is probably one of the best shows on CN right now (atleast in my opinion).

6

I thought that went without saying.

7

What’s Totally Spies? No, seriously.

8

Cartoon series about three teenage girls employed by a secret spy organization- don’t ask me why. Despite their Valley Girl attitudes, they are competent enough. It’s on in Cartoon Network as well. Not really to my taste, thought. The animation has a slight Anime look to it, but it’s certainly no Anime.

9

Sounds like that awful Mary Kate and Askley series we have on CBBC. Same premise, basically. With pets.

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I think that the character design is very neat, but that is only my opinion. If you would have watched and kept up with the series, you would have found out that these characters in fact DO have interesting personalities. Odd is very unigue, showing that people don’t need to follow what other people think. Such as breaking rules and bring a dog into the boarding school, wear pink and purple clothing even while being a guy, and has his hair is very original. He is also a sort of goofball. Yumi is more goth-like. I really have nothing to say about her, because I think she can be pretty boring. Jeremie is a very intellegent guy. His goal in life is to materialize Aelita (Computer-gal). He knows how to work the computer and is one of those people who breaks up fights. Ulrich is a quiet and mysterious guy, He and Yumi both like each other and they know it, too. Although he doesn’t talk much, he is very interesting. Viewers cant help but wonder what this guy is thinking.

About finding out what is happening, like the Nuclear Power plant thing. Aelita can tall when something is up, so she tells Jeremie and he then understands. If not, he can hack into the whole system and see whats happening around the city. No, they did not make Lyoko, it was just there and they found it. Jeremie, who is naturally obsessed with computers, finds Aelita and falls in love with her. But because she is computerized, he needs to matirialize her before he shuts the whole thing down permenantly. He would never shut it down unless Aelita was materialized or deleted.

Of course there is danger! What the computer Virus, X.A.N.A., cooks up, like: Sinking buildings, taking over nanoviruses, controlling anything it can. It could destroy the world. Aelita cannot defend herself, so they need to protect her so that she can get into the tower and go back in time where everything is okay. They need to, or she could lose all of her life points and be lost forever.

Of course it solves everything, If people new about the happenings going on, they would shut down the super computer and Aelita would be lost. Jeremie wouldn’t allow it, though.

If you have any questions, e-mail me at phoenixemerald@yahoo.com. Sorry if I sounded mean, It’s just I am a big fan. I am even working on a dollmaker for it.

Thanks,
Holly (AKA Nix)

11

Thanks for the info, Nix. Sorry if I came across a little mean. As I explained, that was an incomplete review, and it was from my personal POV. I realize that all series have their fans, and I respect that.

Still, after watching more episodes, (mainly because there’s NOTHING better to watch during its time slot here) I’m still convinced my initial impression was mostly correct.

Yes, the kids have their individual personalities. And yes, events happen on each episode that play on those feelings, like Yuri and Ulrich’s relationship. But (and this a problem with MANY cartoons) the status quo NEVER changes. There was an episode where Ulrich found out that the prissy girl (I forget her name) wasn’t really that bad- and it seemed he was going to treat her better from then on. But in the next episode, he was back to being rude to her. And there was the episode where he and Yuri found out about their feelings for each other, and they freaked out about it (Ok, THAT was more likely behavior for kids their age!) but again, in later episodes, they act as if they still don’t know. (Maybe they’re in denial?)

Oh, btw, I DID know how the kids find out about XANA’s attacks; and, I didn’t say they were never in danger, I mean that they were never in real danger IN LYOKO, since being killed in virtual form does not hurt their real bodies.

Maybe I would have liked the show better if it had an introductory episode, one where the whole situation is explained. We are dumped right into the action, with no explanations as to what is going on- we have to figure it out by ourselves.

BTW, how come Aelita has no powers to defend herself? Yes, I know the point is for the kids to protect her, but if I were Jeremy, the FIRST thing I would do is modify her so she wouldn’t be so defenseless- that should not be as difficult as materializing her. (And don’t you think materializing her should be easier than virtualizing REAL PEOPLE?)

And my biggest pick is STILL the whole “Return to the Past!” thing. Not only is it illogical (unless the “real” world they live is secretly part of Lyoko) but it solves ALL THEIR PROBLEMS, not just Xana’s attacks. They should by now have a ‘Don’t worry, everything will be wiped away at the end’ attitude by now.

Maybe I’m spoiled because I’m used to watching shows with better characterization, graphics, and plots. When compared to many other shows on the air, however, Lyoko certainly is better than the average.

12

my little brother loves that show and since we only have one tv with cable i end up watching it.

will if im correct aelita isent completly defessless she is able to change the landscape around her so that she has a little atvantage.

also maybe they did’ent give a intro episode cause it was some movie. you know one of those movies that they make after the show has ended so they can make a few quick buck. :moogle:

13

Sounds like “Reboot” or “the new adventures of Johny Quest”

14

this is one of my favorite shows
for info on the characters
go to www.codelyoko.com

15

Thanks for the link, Nightfalcon, but for some reason, the site doesn’t load properly. Maybe the page is down today?

Hey, Reboot! Anybody else here remember it? Now THAT was a high-quality show based on the whole “computer-universe” idea!

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Yeah i remember Reboot when they used to give it over here,they gave lots of reruns but at least they finished it over here.

17

Hey I’m new to these forums, saw this thread about Code: Lyoko, which happens to be currently my new obsession. I’m not sure what draws me to the show, I agree with some of the points made. Such as, no origin episode. The only thing that I dislike about the show is the fact that they seem to forget all previous interactions in the next episode. Yumi and Ulrich had a little love scene and confessed their true feelings for eachother but next Episode they had seen to forgotten about it. Today Aelita was materialized, I wonder if it’s the last episode, I hope not. I really hope tomorrow they don’t forget that she was materialized and go back to X.A.N.A attacks, that’d just be silly. This show could be so much better if only it kept up with the character interactions had made references to past episodes in current ones. Other then that, I absolutely love the show, great premise, decent characters, and I really like the art style. Not exactly anime, but it’s new and interesting.

Just my two cents,
-Ninwa
(www.ninwa.net)

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Actually the reason things like that happen is because Miguzi dousn’t put the shows in order, and your right it is annoying.

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I saw Code: Earth today ^____________^ I’m with Ninwa, it’s my current (almost) obsession. Code: Lyoko rules!!! :yipee: :hahaha; :victoly:

20

They don’t do that with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, why would they with Code: Lyoko, especially when putting them out of order really ruins the show.

Also, as a side note does anybody know where I can download some episodes? I know it’s hot off of the press, so it’s unlikely they’re going to be easy to find. I wish I had a video capture card, I’d definitely post them on the net. :’(