Mix Master: King of Cards is a cartoon aired in 2006 as an USA-South Korean work.
The series takes place in the town of Gamebridge where, through the accidental opening of a portal from the fictional Mix Master video game world of Atreia, the peaceful little town is invaded by the funny and sometimes dangerous game creatures, known as "hench", as well as the game world's evil Prince Brad. The main protagonist, 11-year-old Ditt Lee, is given a card shuffler by the eccentric Dr. Joeb, and now must "mix" those hench (as learned from the fictional video game) to achieve peace and safety, while he grows into his destiny to become the one true "Mix Master".
The series presented over two hundred henches from different species. They can be fused or 'mixed' together to form a new, stronger hench. Henches are ranked from 1 (low) to 7 (high) depending on their power. Animals and plants are present. To be mixed, henches must be of the same rank and species. Henches are shown to be like humans, as they can sleep, eat, talk and tire out if they are overused. They bond with humans who show honesty and friendship. They have to obey the orders of the person who owns their card shuffler, even against their will. They seem to grow old and die.
Although Henches are ranked as high as 7, above level 7 one hench is known as the Ultimate Hench and is the most powerful. Ultimate Hench exists when all the 8 Henches of Rank 7 are fused with the help of the Mix Master and The Master Hench. According to legend, the Master Hench has to find one human friend whom it trusts above all else, and that human becomes the Mix Master. It appears that the Master Henches are somehow related, as Pachi's brother was the previous Master Hench. The Master Hench can be mixed to become the ultimate Hench that can defeat Giara.
The series was followed by a sequel season, Final Force.
The series contains examples of:
- Arc Villain: Prince Brad in the first season. Giara takes over in the second one as his Dragon-in-Chief before becoming The Starscream.
- Ax-Crazy: Giara. It's pretty clear that underneath her affable persona, she's a dangerously unstable psycho.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Dark Elves can do this with their magic. Giara's magic helmet combines this with More than Mind Control.
- EccentricProfessor: The professor is a quite eccentric (and maybe slighly crazy) Cloudcuckoolander scientist with an array of wacky inventions and scientific theories (such as the Theory Of Quantum Eccentricity). His Establishing Character Moment has him opting not to put doors on his lab, instead using a cubic elevator.
- Idiot Hero: Dib, who (being a Stock Shōnen Hero) clearly isn't The Smart Guy of the group.
- Quirky Miniboss Squad: The Dark Elf Terrible Trio, who provide both Antagonism and quirk filled comic relief.
