Racism?

[MY85 offline]

CL doesn't have much of a strong following anywhere- never did, I think. I blame racism. It would get far more merit if it was American or Japanese...even if it was exactly the same show, flaws and all.

Racism? Really?

Offer me a legitimate reason as to why racism is the reason why CL has never been succesful. Because I don't think racism is the main reason why CL has failed at growing or staying alive on tv. Matter of fact, I find it hard to think of racism as a great reason as to why CL wasn't that successful.

[Asantewaalrus offline]

Maybe racism was too strong of a word…?

I think she was refering to general popularity, if the show had been made in America or Japan it might've gained a bigger audience. : /

Personally, when I was younger I was content with Code: Lyoko being made in America, it wasn't until I did some diggin' 'round the internet and took the time to read the opening credits, did I finally find out, “Oh, it's French, lawl.â€

[MY85 offline]

I'd blame the age target and the scripting for Season 3 and Season 4. Race didn't made me like Code Lyoko at first, it was their characters that got me hooked to the show. The writers on Season 3, who might have been the whales from Sea World, dropped the ball big time with the characters and made a rushed season for the most part. By Season 4, my interest and love for the show was down, but kept watching due to the part of me wanting to see how it ends.

Also, their fans grew up, but the show's characters didn't. Didn't helped either the wait between one season and the other. 1 year?

And for not finishing the tv airing in the States... I'd blame the schedule switch and poor ratings.

And you can change Season 3 and 4 into anime-esque looks, those seasons would still feel bad/average to me at best. It's not about style to me, it's substance.

[Asantewaalrus offline]

You know, you have an incredible point, yo.

I could barely finish watching the third and fourh seasons, they just weren't as enjoyable as the earlier ones. But isn't the progressing age of the older viewers sort of… invalid? I mean, even if you grow-up, the shows targeting age won't follow you. Since, you picked up liking the show and from the start it was targeted towards a certain age group.

It looked like things were getting sugar-coated in the last two seasons, though. : /

Ah, America and their attempts at morals.

Ha-ha, I wonder how different CL would be if it was directed towards a more mature audience, it'd probably lose a good chunk of what made it… adorable… but I bet the plot would branch out into something far more interesting. D:

Then again, screenwriters… A good screenwriter can make just about anything targeted towards a certain age group fun for everyone. </3

To each his own, but if the style was more attractive, there would still be a slightly bigger fanbase. Some of the most popular—mainstream—things barely have a plot, it's all about style, baby. 8D

[MY85 offline]

Age target... maybe it was an accident that I and many others way above the 7+ age target got hooked to the show. Still, I've seen rated PG movies that have done a better job at entertaining audiences.

Last two season sucked. Too much shoving Odd through my face (he should have been murdered), more Lyoko action scenes, William was bland and awkward at being an antagonist to the Ulrich-Yumi pairing, Sissi was getting shoved aside in her antagonist role while they continued to push bland William, not much time invested in character development as I wanted, XANA sucked as a main villain for most of the show (some of the attacks were good), less romance, more action, etc.

Put the above with japanese characters... better yet, have characters that look like the characters from the Final Fantasy games, script them exactly like Code Lyoko was and you'll get probably 2 good seasons (1&2) and two bad seasons (3&4). The fanbase might be higher, but how long can people continue to be amused with Odd or waiting for Yumi and Ulrich to kiss without switching the channel?

[Carth]

Well this is a lovely thing to wake up to, finding out you used way strong a word/were very nearsighted. I'm sorry >.> I suppose I was looking at substantial fanbases for animes and came up with that idea. But I do have to argue that because CL was an import, it was shunted aside sort of. If it was CN's own show, it would've gotten better advertising, etc. Which has no bearing on the quality of the show at all, but, who knows.

Coming to think of it, I disagree about style and agree about substance. Or it could be a combination of the three, but substance more than style. I think the maddening thing about CL was that it had so much potential. Maybe it was that potential that attracted the over-sevens. It showed itself in Season 2, definitely...we were all prepared for something amazing, I remember. And then we got Seasons 3 and 4, whose plots- which didn't build much on S2 at all, and in some cases kinda ignored it- seemed to be an excuse to keep the show going on its status quo.

And I agree about Odd. There were at least six episodes in Season 4 where he was the center of the entire plot. In comparison, Aelita had four, five at a stretch, and maybe two of those were Lyoko-related. Add to that Jim and Kiwi- I really grew to hate Jim that season, that "IRNTAI" joke was nowhere near as funny as they wanted it to be- and I have a feeling that they thought the show could ride on its lightest characters and running gimmicks. So much potential, squashed on filler.

Of course, maybe we're all too whiny. Maybe this was the best way to turn a profit for the show for its audience. But if you're going to build up something, at the very least attempt to follow through with it...

I think, now that I think of it, I'm more a fan of the potential than I ever was of the show.

[Lyokosui offline]

Though the fact that if Code Lyoko were from America or Japan, it would be better is something I agree with. I actually thought the show had substance and a unique style. The style put me off at first, but I kinda got used to it over time.

The reason I say it has substance was because it actually felt like high school rather than all those high school shows. I enjoy the fact that the only gimmicky thing was Lyoko. The reason I enjoy this is because I'm tired of watching shows with tons of spirituality, huge mechs, magic powers, and superpowers struggling to determine the fate of the world.

Code Lyoko's only weird thing is Lyoko, which you have to be virtualized onto and you have to have an enemy for a series to stay fresh, which as we all know is XANA.

The fact I love this series is the premise of five people fighting a secret war against a being that wishes world domination and no one knows about this. Also the pairings are perfect: Jeremy x Aelita ( The established couple ), Ulrich x Yumi ( The unsure couple ) and Odd ( The single guy ). This leaves a lot to write about for both the story's writers and fanfiction.

Besides my whole rant about this, I'm happy they ended the series before it got too stale. Would I like a season 5? Yeah! I even was going to be a scriptwriter on CL:RE, but I'm not too sure what's going on with that. Anyway, for whatever reason CL wasn't successful, there are still fans in the world who like it and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

[Aerodynamite79 offline]

Though the fact that if Code Lyoko were from America or Japan, it would be better is something I agree with. I actually thought the show had substance and a unique style. The style put me off at first, but I kinda got used to it over time.

The reason I say it has substance was because it actually felt like high school rather than all those high school shows. I enjoy the fact that the only gimmicky thing was Lyoko. The reason I enjoy this is because I'm tired of watching shows with tons of spirituality, huge mechs, magic powers, and superpowers struggling to determine the fate of the world.

Code Lyoko's only weird thing is Lyoko, which you have to be virtualized onto and you have to have an enemy for a series to stay fresh, which as we all know is XANA.

The fact I love this series is the premise of five people fighting a secret war against a being that wishes world domination and no one knows about this. Also the pairings are perfect: Jeremy x Aelita ( The established couple ), Ulrich x Yumi ( The unsure couple ) and Odd ( The single guy ). This leaves a lot to write about for both the story's writers and fanfiction.

Besides my whole rant about this, I'm happy they ended the series before it got too stale. Would I like a season 5? Yeah! I even was going to be a scriptwriter on CL:RE, but I'm not too sure what's going on with that. Anyway, for whatever reason CL wasn't successful, there are still fans in the world who like it and at the end of the day, that's all that matters.

wait a sec...you were gonna be a scriptwriter on code lyoko reloaded?



anyways, I think also what hurt the show may be the character's personality changes as well. Odd had several big changes for example. I think those hurt the show a bit.

Also, perhaps showing the prequel before season 3 hurt the show a bit? I know when I saw that it confused me.

just my .02 cents.

[oddlauren offline]

Racism? not to me. the reasons I like it are:

1. the fact that five teens were able to fight an unknown war
2. Odd- lol.
3. that it was set in France- aren't most animes set in Japan?
4. the mixture of characters

but I did want:
1. the last season to air here, in the United States
2. Ulrich and Yumi to date
3. Aelita and Jeremie to date
4. Sam to come back in the picture and hook up with Odd

As for the age group, I don't think that's what it was. The plot is confusing if you haven't seen it before. I didn't bother explaining it to my parents, or many people. It took me a while to understand, and I was happy when I saw the episode that told us how it all started.

[Rho offline]

Uhh, CL isn't anime.

I used to think CL was American as well, until I stumbled upon the Wiki page and was like "...It's French?"

I became a fan like.. a year or two later.


A lot of people have bias and stereotypes against the French, which gets really annoying. Some seem to think all they do is be cowards and eat snails and cheese all the time.

Yeah, the French are real cowards, that's why they captured quite a few Somalian pirates.

[Taelia offline]

For me it's too much shoving Jim through my face (he should have been made into a Lyoko Warrior and been made into a much kinder person), less JimxSuzanne, and Jim acting like an arrogant meathead than ever before.

Also, their fans grew up, but the show's characters didn't.

Animated cartoon characters don't age unless the creators of a cartoon say they age. They just slap a new outfit on them every season. The Kadic students will, to my friend Elizabeth and I, always be children.

[Lyokosui offline]

wait a sec...you were gonna be a scriptwriter on code lyoko reloaded?

Not Code Lyoko Reloaded. It was Code Lyoko: Rebirth, the fan-made continuation of the series. I've heard no news, which makes anyone worry.