marisol117 Reviews

Code Lyoko (2003–2007)

Code Lyoko...a new type of cartoon

[13 March 2006]

I really like "Code Lyoko." It has things that young kids like (judging from the Y7 rating and the large amount of younger kids on the "Code Lyoko" official forum, which I'm a part of) but has a depth to its storyline that gives the older crowd--like me--something to enjoy.

The animation is great. Yes, it is in the style, in a way, of Japanese anime, but it's not a carbon copy of Japanese animation that I've seen (and as an anime fan, I've seen some). No huge dinner-plate eyes or unnatural hair colors.

The character development is awesome in this show. Aelita sees the most change, going from a mere face on a screen and maiden in distress on Lyoko (who sometimes could take care of herself, but not a lot) to a real fleshed-out character. Coming to Earth long-term in season 2 really changes her. We discover that she actually has feelings, and we see our world anew through her eyes, eyes which are used to the pre-programmed digital regions of Lyoko and not to the variety of things that we have on Earth. We also feel for her as she suffers from strange visions, cheer her on as she kicks butt in Lyoko all by herself (the "surfing scene" in "A Bad Turn," where Aelita battles a whole herd of Hornets by herself on the Overboard, is the best example of this), and go through shock with her in the season's last 2 episodes as facts about her past become clear.

Speaking of that, plot...wow. The plot is so good in this series. Granted, season 1 was done in an episodic format, where each episode was self-contained, and while they might refer to one another, any particular X.A.N.A. attack was limited to a single episode. The episodes thus ran in a formula: exposition, X.A.N.A. attack on Earth, Aelita reports an activated tower, group goes to the factory (with usually one member unable to make it right away or not at all due to unforeseen circumstances), fights X.A.N.A.'s monsters so Aelita can get to the tower, Aelita gets to the tower, she types in the code, Jeremie says "Return to the past now" and the group goes back in time, and then a dénouement (resolution).

The plot has gotten better with season 2, though. Season 2 is done in a more story arc kind of format, so episodes flow together more smoothly. Plus, with fewer returns to the past, there is less of a need of the formulaic "back to the beginning as though nothing ever happened" sort of ending.

Now, all one can do is wait for seasons 3 and 4, which are coming soon, and also the rumored prequel movie which will tell how the group found out about Lyoko and Aelita.

Kim Possible (2002–2007)

This show rocks!

[13 March 2006]

"Kim Possible" rocks! Not only is it funny and exciting, but it's on 7 days a week. You can't hate that.

What I like is that the good girl is a cheerleader, which breaks the usual "cheerleaders are the bad guys" motif of a lot of teen sitcoms, including Disney's own "Lizzie McGuire." And Ron, in the classic clumsy sidekick role, is awesome.

The Middleton High sign is pretty hilarious too, with its ever changing text.

The villains are hilarious. Draaken in particular. He's a power-crazed megalomaniac who always thinks he's smarter than he really is. In fact, his henchwoman, Shego, is actually smarter than him, and is always wondering why she left a life of heroism (with Team Go) to work for this guy. (Maybe this is why she chooses to rule the world in "Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time"). Plus Draaken can never remember Ron's name (until Ron forces him to say it in "Kim Possible: So the Drama").

The greatest thing about this show is the little nuances: Wade never leaving his room (which gives the show a bit of a "Charlie's Angels" touch), the Spanish guitar riff that always plays to introduce a scene at Bueno Nacho, Ron always ordering a Chimerito combo Grande size, Wade's omnipresent cup of soda, the cool gadgets (the grappling hook hairdryer, the stealth suit, the communicator, the battle suit from "So the Drama," etc)...all those little things that make a show like this enjoyable.

Kim Possible: Team Impossible (2005) Season 3, Episode 10

Team Impossible

[8 March 2006]

This was a fun episode with lots of references to things. First, Team Impossible comes to Kim and Ron out of a movie screen, most likely an homage to the beginning of the video game "Viewtiful Joe" (where a villain escapes from the movie screen and steals Joe's girlfriend) and the movie "The Purple Rose of Cairo" (where a movie character steps out into the real world). Also when Ron is suggesting theme song ideas, he says they should have a shot of his pants falling down--and there is a shot of this very thing in the show's intro.

The big reference though is from one TV show to another. This episode is very similar to a Totally Spies episode called "S.P.I." where a group called S.P.I. starts to become a rival for WOOHP by finishing all their missions before the girls get to the scene. The main difference is obviously in characters; Kim, Ron, and Rufus fill the roles of the three spies (Sam, Alex, and Clover) while Wade fills the role of Jerry. Another similarity between the eps is that the bad guys had some association with the good guys' early career--Genevieve from S.P.I. trained for WOOHP in the pre-show era, but was passed over for a spy job cause she wasn't "goody-goody" enough; Team Impossible were who that guy was trying to get when he accidentially visited Kim's website, a hit that resulted in her first mission.

Metropolis (2001)

Not Quite as Good as I Expected

[5 November 2003]

I just saw "Metropolis" today. My friends had told me it was really good, so I rented it at the video store. I mean, I like anime, and it's an anime film. Plus, the guy who did "Astro Boy" is involved, and "Astro Boy" is the one that started it all in the anime world.

Frankly, I have to admit "Metropolis" wasn't as good as I expected. The story was good, with destruction enough for a serious film (the destruction is also what basically earned "Metropolis" a PG-13 rating, which anime feature films rarely get). But it just wasn't as good as other anime feature films I've seen. The emphasis was on the destruction, with all the explosions, etc. As a result, the plot was compromised. Even the subplot of Atlas's revolution is basically a carbon copy of revolution plots in other films.

I haven't really seen many anime feature films, but I've seen enough to judge this one by. "Metropolis" just doesn't have the high stakes plots of the three "Tenchi Muyo" feature films, which I've seen, or of "Beautiful Dreamer," the second "Urusei Yatsura" film, which I also saw.

Neither does it have the exquisite animation and riveting plot of the film masterpieces of famous Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki, known for his films "Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind," "Princess Mononoke," "Spirited Away," "My Neighbor Totoro," and "Kiki's Delivery Service," to name a few. His plots really bring you into the story, and you feel as if you are with the characters when you see his animation. It's wonderful.

"Metropolis," while its animation is decent for anime, cannot compare to Miyazaki's, or that of many other animators either. The plot seems like another rendition of something that's been done over and over again. It's just not as good as I expected.