Reviews WesternAnimation / Code Lyoko

Code Lyoko,

Code Lyoko is a really weird show. But I mean that in a good way. It's easy to get hooked to it, too; I went in there when season one was still new, determined not to like it (based primarily on the unusual character design), but not a minute had gone by before it had charmed the heck out of me. It's mainly plot-driven, but the characters are a highlight; their behavior is very realistic for a clique of animated children, for one thing, even in the midst of the decidely fantastic dilemmas they're habitually faced with, and the adults in their world aren't all idiots or monsters, they're properly fleshed out, and have their own agendas and motivations that may or may not interfere with our kid heroes' adventures. Code Lyoko also proves not only that animation just as good a vehicle as anything else for quality storytelling, but that swearing and gore do not weighty issues make. I recommend it, at the very least because it's a nice change of pace from the American and Japanese styles of animated storytelling. But that's selling it far short of its merits.