A World Without Danger
Code Lyoko is an exciting exploration of virtual reality
SPOILER WARNING: Plot details for Code Lyoko will be discussed
I first saw Code Lyoko during my middle school days. The perfect time, perhaps. The French cartoon began airing on Cartoon Network in the mid-2000s amidst a trend of anime-inspired Western cartoons, like Teen Titans, TMNT, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. These shows not only captured the visual style of anime, but also its more advanced type of storytelling, which didn’t talk down to younger viewers. Code Lyoko is no exception to this, but what made it stand out from a lot of these other shows was its hybrid mix of traditional and CG animation. A balance which has never quite been perfected since.
Code Lyoko (2003–2007) was created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo, who based it off their short film, Garage Kids. The major screenwriters who also shaped much of the show included Sophie Delcroisette, Bruno Regeste, and Jerome Mouscadet. Code Lyoko is set at Kadic boarding school in France. Jeremy, a computer nerd, goes exploring through an abandoned factory, and activates a supercomputer which is connected to a virtual world known as “Lyoko.”
Lyoko has four sectors: forest, ice, desert, and mountain, and within them is trapped a virtual girl known as Aelita. Jeremy knows that he needs to keep the computer on until he can materialize Aelita into the real world. There also exists a dark force on Lyoko, an AI known as Xana, who can wreak havoc in the real world by activating towers in Lyoko. Only by entering an activated tower and typing in the code “Lyoko”, can Aelita stop Xana. However, Xana has many crab and insect-like monsters to stop her, so Jeremy realizes that he needs to enlist some new friends to fight him off. These friends can enter Lyoko through special pods where they will be virtualized into warriors.
These new warriors are Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi. Ulrich is a fan of martial arts who doesn’t do good in class, but is a reliable friend. Odd is the clown of the group who enjoys a high calorie diet and hides his dog, Kiwi, on campus. Odd and Ulrich are roommates and make a good duo, given the differences in their personalities. Yumi is a clever and tough girl who often serves as a voice of reason, but has a not-so-secret crush on Ulrich. Ulrich also shares these affections, but throughout the show, they refuse to confess to one another and pretend to be “friends.” I don’t think I’m the only viewer who found this a little frustrating.
When these characters virtualize onto Lyoko, they are dressed in a new attire which reflects their personalities or interests. Ulrich is a sword-wielding samurai, which reflects his interests in the martial arts. He can run fast with “Super-Sprint” or copy himself into three with “Triplicate.” Yumi is a fan spinning geisha, reflecting her Japanese heritage, and can also lift objects with her mind. Odd is a catboy, reflecting his quirky persona, and can fire laser arrows from his hands. Much like a video game, however, they only have a certain amount of life points on Lyoko. If they lose all of their points, they are materialized back on Earth. If the Lyoko warriors are ever in a tight situation, then Jeremy can reverse time 24 hours into the past once Aelita has deactivated a tower. The “return to the past” fail-safe is abused throughout the first season, but once they learn that these returns empower Xana, they use them more sparingly.
Code Lyoko’s best point (aside from the theme song) is the hybrid animation. The real world is animated in 2D limited animation, while Lyoko is in CG, which utilize dynamic angles and unrestricted camera movements. This contrast helps to highlight the mundane restrictions of the real world and liberating nature of the virtual one. Considering that Code Lyoko was released early in the era of CG TV shows, this was a big risk to take, but they managed to pull it off. Even though it lacks cel-shading, the CG still conveys a distinct anime style. The characters models are fantastical, but are grounded enough so as not to feel jarring or too cartoony. This is why I find the CG in the sequel series so nauseating. The characters look way too cutesy and bright, and lack the maturity of the originals.
Though the monster-of-the-week plots can be formulaic, Code Lyoko never gets boring. The fight scenes in Lyoko are always exciting and creative. It helps that the fights draw inspiration from The Matrix, but since they’re animated, they can go further than The Matrix ever did. The real world drama isn’t a drag, either. The Lyoko warriors have a fun group dynamic and watching them balance school life with Lyoko is rather entertaining. Side characters like Jim and Sissi can be hilarious, while the family troubles of Ulrich and Yumi make them feel more human. Code Lyoko finds interesting ways to make Xana materialize in the real world. Many of these manifestations draw from films like Akira, The Birds, and Alien. My favorites have to be when Xana appeared as a clone of Jeremy or when he trapped the Lyoko warriors in an endless time loop.
Starting with season two, the story starts to progress from episode to episode. We learn more about Aelita’s father, Franz Hopper, who created Lyoko and Xana during the Cold War. We also enter the maze-like fifth sector of Lyoko, ride a submarine through a cyberpunk oceanscape, and even see the Lyoko warriors sneak into labs in the real world.
We are also introduced to the character of William, who serves as a foil to Ulrich for Yumi’s affection. Though William is brash, his strength convinces the Lyoko warriors to include him in their group. It’s only that on his first day of entering Lyoko, he becomes is by Xana and remains a recurring villain for the rest of the show. I was disappointed that we didn’t get more out of William. His possession arc got old quick, and even then, he never gets to properly resolve things with the team or with Xana.
Aelita is the best character of Code Lyoko. This is because of her growth throughout the show. At the start, she’s a fearful damsel to be saved by the warriors, but over time, she learns to fight and defend herself. After being materialized into the real world, her transition into school life is difficult, but with support from her friends, she learns to be confident, even finding a passion for music.
Her relationship with Jeremy isn’t one-dimensional, either. It’s refreshing that, unlike Yumi and Ulrich, Jeremy and Aelita are clear about their feelings. They share a mutual interest in computers and watching them work together on Lyoko is adorable. Jeremy, however, has to learn to accept that she is interested in things that he is not. This creates some tension at the start, but Jeremy learns to support Aelita’s interests, even if he cannot completely understand them.
Though it leaves William’s arc unresolved, the ending of Code Lyoko is still satisfying. There’s an epic battle with a gigantic lava monster called Kolossus, and at the last moment, Franz Hopper gives his life to help Jeremy destroy Xana. If this were a lazy kids show, it would end right there, with a big hurrah, but instead, when Aelita returns, she breaks down in tears over her father’s death. The final episode is a reflective one, with the team spending the day to decide whether or not they’ll turn off the supercomputer. Their friendship has for so long been defined by Lyoko, that they fear how it will fare without it. They ultimately agree to do the mature thing and shut the computer down. It’s a bittersweet scene that left me a little empty. I felt like I wasn’t only saying farewell to old friends, but to the joys of adolescence as well.
