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The Graphic Bible of Code Lyoko
|  | The creation of a series starts by establishing a bible. This defines the base details and base rules to be used by the scriptwriters. It informs them of the general theme of the series, the locations, the characters, their motivation and their behaviour. This bible should contain all the information that the producer wants to be conveyed to the scriptwriters in order to guarantee that the style of the series is uniform.
This bible contains the first rough draft of graphic research for the characters, accessories and places. This graphic research serves as an artistic point of reference that defines the style and the graphical spirit of the production.
First there is the preliminary work: this is defining the series' graphic universe. This information often serves as base material for the scriptwriters. At this level, the work focuses on the fundamental aspects of the locations and permanent models (that are recurrent throughout the series.)
The work continues to the start of the scriptwriting: the goal is the same as above. The difference resides in the fact that it is no longer a matter of creating, but of extending and completing.
Here is an exclusive for you: the Code Lyoko Graphic Bible.
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 | Date of the document & information | |
| | This document is dated September 2003. So, let's define it correctly. It has nothing to do with Code Lyoko Evolution. It is only the graphic bible for Code Lyoko. To be more precise, for Code Lyoko season 1 (while the general design of the series and of Lyoko notably evolved over the course of the seasons).
At this time, the world of Lyoko and the general story were only rough drafts (hence the repetitive aspect of season 1). The backstory and the story of Franz Hopper were not yet completely written. This document refers exclusively to season 1.
Also, if you read the frame above, you know that this document was conceived even before the plot of the episodes for this season. Therefore, it is the oldest conceptual document known at this time within the LyokoSphere. For the most part, the information contained in it is outdated. However, the document still presents significant information on the stages of the creation of the series. Here is a small abstract below of the differences between Code Lyoko then and now.
- The backstory was heavily changed:
FRANZ HOPPER was a computer science teacher at Kadic Academy. It's said that he discovered the Supercomputer and that he named it X.A.N.A. He then created Lyoko as well as Aelita and the virtualisation process. During one of his visits to Lyoko, he mysteriously disappeared, which is probably the reason for XANA's bug.
- On Lyoko, there were some changes.
XANA isn't a program, but the Supercomputer itself. The number of towers is undefined. Deactivating a tower also caused it to be sanitised, meaning it would then no longer be able to send a virus to Earth. Our heroes could try to deactivate all the towers to prevent XANA from threatening Earth.
- On Earth, there were also some changes.
XANA's field of action was more limited, because it could only affect the factory and the school.
As for the Return to the Past, Aelita herself gave the heroes the power to retain their memories so that they would never forget that Earth is in danger.
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| | The scans of this Bible and the following English translation are the property of CodeLyoko.fr. Do not redistribute without permission from an administrator.
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| | Note: where applicable, this translation uses localised place names and name spellings as presented in the English dub of the show.
Antefilms presents
Code Lyoko
26x26 minutes
Graphic bible: Tania Palumbo, Thomas Romain
Literary bible: Carlo de Boutiny, Tania Palumbo, Thomas Romain
Directed by: Jérôme Mouscadet
Pitch
Or concept summary
There is a virtual world parallel to our own: Lyoko.
The computer named X.A.N.A. that rules over the digital existence of this world has "bugged up." Lyoko is under great threat. This super computer now intends to take control of our Earth. Its strategy: destruction.
On Lyoko, Aelita, the only humanoid virtual creature, resists X.A.N.A.
But Aelita receives help from another world.
On Earth, a group of four junior high school students know about Lyoko and X.A.N.A.'s nefarious intentions. They are YUMI, ULRICH, ODD and JEREMIE.
They live incredibly secret double lives: they are students like any other during class time...and they save the world the rest of the time. If they warn the authorities about the danger threatening Earth, Lyoko would undoubtedly be destroyed right away and Aelita would disappear. But for our heroes, that's out of the question: they have a strong friendship with Aelita.
To fight X.A.N.A., there's only one solution: go through the virtual door and go to fight on his terrain: Lyoko.
YUMI, ULRICH, ODD and JEREMIE are determined to save the Earth and Aelita's world.
Save the world – but which one?
This isn't a game, two worlds are in danger
Backstory
Who created Lyoko, the virtual world, and why?
FRANZ HOPPER was a brilliant scientist who was reclusive and solitary, and a science teacher at Kadic Academy.
Within an old, abandoned factory near the school, Hopper discovered a super computer. Thanks to this super computer, which he named X.A.N.A., Hopper created a virtual world, his paradise: Lyoko.
This virtual world is composed of four sectors: the ice sector, the forest sector, the desert sector and the mountain sector. Scattered across each sector are towers, immense databanks that tirelessly comb the world's networks in search of information and energy.
Franz Hopper created the little Aelita, a virtual creature who looks like a young humanoid girl. She controls the smooth running of this virtual world. By drawing information from the world's networks into Lyoko, the databanks also risk drawing in computer viruses, so Aelita has the power to deactivate and disconnect the tower from Earth's networks.
In parallel, Franz Hopper installed a way to transfer himself to Lyoko, by virtualising himself. Thus he can access his world.
Where the danger comes from...
During a visit to Lyoko, Franz Hopper mysteriously disappeared. His disappearance is probably the origin of the "bug" that affects X.A.N.A., who is now targeting all of Earth.
Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie are students at Kadic Academy. They discovered the secret tunnels from the school to the factory and Jeremie managed to start up the mechanism for transferring people from one world to the other.
Now Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie are on a mission at Aelita's side... Their mission is a secret because if they warn the authorities about the danger threatening Earth, Lyoko would undoubtedly be destroyed right away and Aelita would disappear. But for our heroes, that's out of the question: they have a strong friendship with Aelita. | | |
| | Our heroes' mission
Or the detailed concept
What weapon does the super computer X.A.N.A. use to attack Earth?
X.A.N.A.'s objective is to destroy the Earth.
The super computer would have one obvious weapon: generating computer viruses and sending them onto the Internet to turn the world's economy upside-down. But the computer would risk being detected by computer scientists, and being disconnected forever. The computer's artificial intelligence anticipated this.
So X.A.N.A. created another method with which to attack Earth.
X.A.N.A. creates very sophisticated viruses. These viruses take possession of objects, animals and matter on Earth which X.A.N.A. has decided to use as a weapon against our planet.
Thus X.A.N.A. can attack Earth without rousing suspicion.
E.g.: the virus affects a student's teddy bear, the bear comes to life and threatens destruction. – the plants at the school are affected, everything seems fine on the surface but their roots undermine the school's foundations, then the city's – There's a robot competition at the school, one of the robots is affected by the virus and goes out of control...
How does X.A.N.A. send its viruses to Earth?
The databanks in the form of towers on the 4 sectors of Lyoko are linked to Earth's wired network, be it the computer network or the power grid.
All these towers are linked to X.A.N.A., the super computer, by digital cables. All these towers are numbered, but we don't know the total number. As these towers are linked to the world's wired network, they are also doors through which X.A.N.A. can send its viruses to Earth.
Images: X.A.N.A., the supercomputer
Once on Earth, can the virus spread across the world's wired network?
Once inside Earth's wired network, the virus sent by X.A.N.A. can only take effect within a perimeter close to the super-computer. The computer doesn't have enough energy to spread it very far. But the super-computer X.A.N.A. is located in the basement of an abandoned car factory. This factory is located on an island, in the middle of a river. On the bank of the river is Kadic Academy. It's in this area that the virus can take effect. Once the virus has contaminated its target, the target becomes a potential threat to the entire world.
Can X.A.N.A. send multiple viruses to Earth at a time?
No.
How does the virus sent by X.A.N.A. take possession of an object, an animal, or matter in the perimeter of Kadic Academy to use it as a weapon of large-scale destruction?
The virus spread from Lyoko's digital cables to the school's wired network in the form of a digital impulse. When it comes out of the electrical or computer cable at the school, this impulse manifests in the form of a "spectre," which penetrates the object, animal or matter X.A.N.A. will use as a destructive weapon.
Image: Cross-section of the factory-lab.
Does Aelita have a particular way of noticing a X.A.N.A. attack directed at Earth?
Aelita can't detect a X.A.N.A. attack, she can possibly presuppose it if she sees monsters assemble around a tower: she can conclude that if this tower is particularly protected, it must be because it's being used to send a virus.
What is the antivirus?
The only solution to stop the effect of the virus is to deactivate the tower X.A.N.A. used to send the virus to Earth. The only person capable of doing this is Aelita. She was created for this, to be a possible antivirus for all of Lyoko's databanks.
How can Aelita "be the antivirus?"
Aelita is a virtual humanoid creature, therefore her structure is digital, so she can penetrate the equally digital matter of the towers. By entering the tower, Aelita then has access to the keyboard, on which she can type "LYOKO," the codename that acts as an antivirus. This deactivation sequence is recurrent, in every episode.
Does X.A.N.A. know that it has opponents?
X.A.N.A. knows that Aelita opposes its wish to destroy Earth. It knows that in the end, she is the only antivirus against the viruses it sends to Earth.
X.A.N.A. knows that Yumi, Odd, Ulrich and Jeremie are Aelita's allies.
Images: Tower, Lyoko databank
How does X.A.N.A. fight against Aelita?
X.A.N.A. constantly pursues Aelita using digital monsters – however there are times of respite (cf.monster descriptions-5 species). These monsters can devirtualise Aelita – in short, destroy her – if they hit her more than 3 times with their digital lasers.
Obviously these monsters especially come after her when she comes near a tower that is being used in X.A.N.A.'s attack against Earth.
How does Aelita fight against X.A.N.A.?
She has no weapon with which to fight against X.A.N.A.'s monsters.
As such, Aelita is always on alert; she hides from the monsters or flees from them. Her only refuge is the towers.
Aelita has two methods for fighting against X.A.N.A.: warning her allies of a X.A.N.A. attack so that they come to her aid, as well as working alongside Jeremie to find a scientific solution that will allow her to be materialised on Earth, so that she can live on Earth. With Aelita saved, X.A.N.A. can be destroyed. Her work with Jeremie consists of finding a way to transform her digital DNA into human DNA, and for that she constantly uses the databanks to comb the networks in search of information.
| Monster 4 | Monster 5 | | Name | KRAB | Name | MEGATANK | | Level | 4 | Level | 5 | | Movement | Individual | Movement | Alone and individual | | Speed | 9 | Speed | 2 | | On a scale of 1 to 10, from slowest to fastest | On a scale of 1 to 10, from slowest to fastest | | Life points | 50 | Life points | 50 | | Combat weapon | Combat weapon | | Description | > Simple laser beam
> Underbelly laser beam | Description | Elliptical laser (circular saw type) | | Damage inflicted | > Simple laser
-40 life points per impact on hero
> Underbelly laser
-100 life points per impact on hero | Damage inflicted | -50 life points per impact on hero | | Weak point | Weak point | | Description | Eye of Xana on shell | Description | Eye of Xana situated in the open part of the ball | | Consequence | Immediate total destruction | Consequence | Immediate total destruction | | Monster 3 | Monster 2 | | Name | BLOK | Name | HORNET | | Level | 3 | Level | 5 | | Movement | 2 individuals crab-walking | Movement | 3 individuals in a swarm led by a leader | | Speed | 5 | Speed | 7 | | On a scale of 1 to 10, from slowest to fastest | On a scale of 1 to 10, from slowest to fastest | | Life points | 50 | Life points | Leader 50
Minion 20 | | Combat weapon | Combat weapon | | Description | Four eyes, one on each face of the turret
> The first shoots a simple laser
> The second shoots a laser that freezes
> The third shoots a ring of fire laser
> The fourth eye is the Blok's control organ | Description | > Proboscis that shoots a venom, and creates an acid barrier
> Stinger that stings | | Damage inflicted | -30 life points per impact on hero including contact with ring of fire | Damage inflicted | -20 life points per impact on hero including contact with acid | | Weak point | Weak point | | Description | Eye of Xana on the fourth "control organ" target | Description | Eye of Xana on carapace | | Consequence | Immediate total destruction | Consequence | Immediate total destruction and the minions flee when the leader is destroyed | | Monster 1 | | | Name | KANKRELAT | | | Level | 1 | | | Movement | 5 individuals in a group | | | Speed | 3 | | | On a scale of 1 to 10, from slowest to fastest | | | Life points | 50 | | | Combat weapon | | | Description | Simple laser beam | | | Damage inflicted | -10 life points per impact on hero | | | Weak point | | | Description | Eye of Xana on carapace | | | Consequence | Immediate total destruction | |
How do Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich and Yumi fight against X.A.N.A.?
On Earth, our heroes fight against X.A.N.A. by always trying to keep an eye out for the potential arrival of a virus. If they notice the arrival of a virus, they try to funnel its effects. But above all, their fight against X.A.N.A. is then to discreetly escape their lives as students in order to go fight at Aelita's side and allow her to deactivate the attacked tower.
On Lyoko, they have weapons and powers (cf.character files)
Finally they have another way of fighting, and it's their greatest hope: finding a way to bring Aelita to Earth and then destroying X.A.N.A., while posing no further risk to Aelita.
How can our heroes transfer themselves to Lyoko?
Only Odd, Yumi and Ulrich can go to Lyoko.
Jeremie is indeed the only one who can use the transfer machine they discovered in the abandoned factory located on the island near the school.
To access the factory, there are two secret underground passages leading directly from the school to the island.
One of the entrances is in the park, the other is inside the school behind the locker rooms, in the boiler room.
How do Aelita and our heroes communicate with each other?
Using the computer in Jeremie's room, his laptop or while they're at the factory, using Jeremie's control screen.
How do our heroes communicate with each other from a distance?
Using their mobile phones, devices they each own.
What are the consequences of a tower being deactivated by Aelita?
Once Aelita has typed in the codename "Lyoko," the virus's effect is stopped on Earth. We then make use of a sequence on Earth where we see the disastrous effect of the virus come to an end.
Then secondly, she "fuses" with the tower and provokes a return in time.
Time goes back to before the virus attack. This return in time, of course, erases all the memories of the events that took place – everyone's memories except the heroes'. It was Aelita who gave them this memory power, so that they never forget that the Earth is in danger. This return in time also erases any traces of the damage that ended up taking place, excluding any potential deaths (our heroes will intervene before something like this happens).
What is the hope for our heroes and Aelita in their fight against X.A.N.A.?
Ideally, our heroes hope that Jeremie will find a way to bring Aelita to Earth and that they'll then be able to destroy X.A.N.A. But don't forget that the deactivation of a tower also sanitises it. As such, it is no longer linked to X.A.N.A.; it is no longer under his control and it can no longer be used to send a virus to Earth. So our heroes try to have Aelita deactivate the towers when one is used to send a virus to Earth, but they can also try to deactivate them in a more offensive manner because they hope that someday, X.A.N.A. will no longer have access to the towers and will therefore no longer pose a threat to Earth.
Images: Secret passage interior; Secret passage access
Treatment
"CODE LYOKO" is a series of 26 episodes of 26 minutes that mixes traditional hand-drawn animation for scenes that take place on Earth, and 3D animation when the action takes place on Lyoko.
The choice of using 2D and 3D is justified by the fact that our heroes will move between two distinct universes.
- The universe of their real daily lives, where the characters appear in full 2D.
- The virtual universe done in full 3D, where, once transferred, our heroes' appearances change to adopt the outfits of virtual "fighters."
"CODE LYOKO" is a science fiction series – action/adventure, within which we also place great importance on more realistic scenes, leaning on the relationships between the children in a school setting (sitcom model). A simple, but not simplistic, intrigue in a sitcom style must be in place at the school setting and cross over with the story linked to the virus attack.
There will be real interaction between the daily concerns of our heroes, those of the children their age, and their secret lives as superheroes.
We must in no case have one 2D block and one 3D block; the action in 2D and 3D must intersect.
The series will include two spectacular recurring sequences: the transfer sequence from one world to the other and the "virtualisation" of our heroes; and the sequence in which Aelita, our heroes' virtual friend, successfully deactivates a tower on Lyoko.
Each episode will begin with a teaser and will be followed by the opening credits. The teaser will present a quick, fast-paced explanation of our heroes' engagement in the fight against X.A.N.A.
Introduction to the characters
"CODE LYOKO" has four main characters: Yumi, Ulrich, Odd and Jeremie. They are between twelve and fourteen years old.
Together, and even though each of them are distinct, they've learnt to accept their differences and show tolerance. They're a tight-knit group and none of them try to make everything about themselves. As such, it's rare for any of them to judge another's character. The crucial thing is dealing with their current problems together.
Yumi, Ulrich and Odd are the only ones who can go to the virtual world.
Once projected on Lyoko, each of them changes in appearance and transforms into a "virtual fighter," with a special look interpreted in 3D. Then they each have their own powers.
Jeremie, at the controls in the laboratory, is their point of contact in the real world.
Aelita is our heroes' virtual friend. She lives on Lyoko, she can't transfer herself to Earth, but can communicate with our heroes using Jeremie's computer.
Finally, a number of secondary characters show up during the episodes:
- Sissi's gang: Sissi, Herb and Nicolas
- Jim, the dormitory RA and PE teacher
- Miss Hertz, science teacher
- Yumi's parents
- Two young students: Milly and Tamiya | | |
| | The main characters
Yumi
Age: 14. (She is in year 9)
Family:
Her parents, who are originally from Japan and immigrated to Europe when Yumi was young, gave her a strict education based on traditional Japanese values. Intelligent and respectful of her parents, she's far from having a conflict with them; rather, she looks to learn from them in order to improve her knowledge of her country of origin. She also wishes to return to her Asian roots later in the future.
Character:
First, Yumi's appearance matches her character. Always dressed in black, at first glance she seems like someone to keep your distance from. Furthermore, she gives boys a hard time and any attempt at approaching her is doomed to mockery (Yumi is beautiful but doesn't know it yet). Brittle, sometimes rough and dry in her daily life, Yumi is however completely loyal to her friends. This duality actually hides a sensitive and generous character who prefers to really know someone before placing her trust in them. With a subtle and slightly sarcastic humour, she "pins" people with a single sentence. An excellent observer and psychologist, she figures everyone out very easily.
Main flaw:
Uncompromising. She won't stand for injustice, which sometimes makes her very rough and difficult to deal with.
Schooling:
Yumi is the only student in the group who isn't a boarder. She's an applied student who has the trust of her teachers. She does particularly well in literary domains, disciplines that require nothing more than solitude and concentration. Treated with scorn by some students, she pays them no mind because Yumi always puts her friends first and knows how to set aside childish behaviour out in the schoolyard.
Relationships in the group:
The most mature of the group, Yumi is naturally respected and the others listen to her opinions. She makes the most important field decisions and she's the one the younger members go to for advice.
Yumi most particularly develops a strong and ambiguous relationship with Ulrich – she appreciates his tempered character. These two have a mix of tense respect, reciprocated observation from a distance, and repressed admiration for one another.
In the action, Yumi's alter ego is Jeremie in his laboratory. On the other hand, Yumi sometimes has trouble calming Odd's enthusiasm, as he doesn't think very much in the face of danger.
Jeremie
Age: 12. (He is in year 8)
Family:
An only child who has been passionate about the world of technology and computers since his early childhood, it was only natural for his parents, of modest origin, to enrol him at the boarding school so that he could immerse himself in his studies. Proud of their offspring's success, his family is certain that Jeremie will "succeed in life." Jeremie has only a vague notion of this ambition but agrees with playing the role of the perfect son, top of his class.
Character:
Outside the group, Jeremie is very introverted and spends his time on his machines, equations and do-it-yourself projects. Any interaction with girls his age ends in embarrassment. He often becomes flustered by the banality of everyday life, but finds relief in the adversity of the virtual world. In short, Jeremie is the prototype of the guy who's stuck in his own world and who's quite happy being there.
Main flaw:
He is impatient. Always understanding things more quickly than everyone else, he has the tendency to not give others the time to understand.
Schooling:
Jeremie would normally be doing a curriculum for gifted students (he already skipped a grade as he's the youngest), but he avoids overdoing it and most of the adults, though they find him brilliant, are far from realising Jeremie's true potential. Often seen as "boring" by most of the students, but ferociously envied by Herb, his eternal rival from Sissi's gang, Jeremie amuses himself by taking revenge by building small animatronic robots. He's also the first one to help Odd with his school problems.
Relationships in the group:
Jeremie is the master of the laboratory, a paradise of machines and computers where he's always tinkering with the connections. He supervises the different phases of the voyage into the virtual world (he's scared stiff of going there and feels much more at ease in front of the screen than inside it; this works out well because he's the only one who can work the transfer scanner) and follows his friends' adventures step by step.
His role: he localises his friends in Lyoko and gives them strategic advice.
Jeremie is secretly in love with Aelita. It's also a platonic love, separated by screens because they're not "the same," and above all, they never meet in person. For Jeremie, who is always afraid of getting involved in the action, in many respects Aelita represents the perfect woman.
Gifts:
Jeremie's hobby is designing and building gadgets that are essential in our heroes' adventures, as well as small animatronic robots that serve as jokes that only he laughs at.
Ulrich
Age: 13. (He is in year 8)
Family:
Boarder, only child, he doesn't often see his upper middle class parents. He comes from a privileged background, but he took refuge in a rebellious attitude. He takes his lack of affection out on the group.
Character:
He's one of the most mysterious characters in the group. Ulrich isn't very talkative and he prefers to dodge questions when someone tries to find out more about him. He seems to bury his feelings...so he can let them all out in the action.
A man of action, he's a very reckless person who isn't afraid of anything. Martial arts are his biggest passion, especially Pencak-Silat. He practises this rare and noble discipline daily, and his training motions, feats of grace and self-control, earn him everyone's respect.
Girls swoon; boys are jealous. He doesn't care, he does it all for himself, but no matter what he says, he's not completely insensitive to all the attention.
He's primarily an anchored character who shows a certain lack of humour.
Main flaw:
Sensitivity.
Schooling:
Ulrich is an average student who manages to stay afloat. However, he has constant disciplinary problems linked to one or another of his more physical activities. Besides this, he's the one who takes the lead in the dormitory, where his tricks for deceiving the RA are reminiscent of the agility of a high style burglar.
Relationships in the group:
A central character in the "commando" operations along with Odd, the two form a duo of fighter-style acrobatic duellists like Jet Li or Jackie Chan. He always leads his buddy into plans that are a little too reckless.
He and Yumi have a strong and ambiguous relationship tinged with respect, distant observation and repressed admiration.
Odd
Age: 13. (He is in year 8)
Family:
Odd was born into a family of artists who from an early age, instilled him with an instinct of curiosity and empowerment in the setting of a very free education. With his family's assent he enrolled as a boarder, essentially to compensate for his parents' flexible timetables. Of the four members of the group, Odd has the best relationship with his parents. He'll likely never have a teenage crisis because he'll always remain a teenager.
Character:
A hyperactive child, Odd is an entertainer on springs. Always in search of a new trick or joke, he's an eccentric who thinks life is just a game. His lithe physique means he could try his hand at acrobatics and juggling. But what's most surprising about him is his limitless curiosity, which sometimes makes him seem like an uncontrollable nutcase. The same goes for his tastes in music and fashion, which can oscillate from operetta to minimalist techno, from an English school student outfit to a 70s revival, from conceptual art to kitsch. The only thing constant about Odd is his humour with touches of tender irony. Odd is actually extremely sensitive and he hates seeing his friends in distress.
Main flaw:
Liking to make fun of people, he sometimes doesn't know when to stop and can say harmful things.
Schooling:
Odd has trouble concentrating on his studies. He daydreams during science classes and he clowns around in PE, but he blooms in art classes. By some miracle, Odd always manages to just barely achieve the necessary grade to keep up. To do this, he can count on increasingly inventive tips from his friends (Jeremie in particular), who help him "finish" his homework and answer the teachers' pressing questions. To the teachers, Odd is a total dunce. He's also a scapegoat for Jim, the PE teacher and school pawn. Odd is popular with the girls, who see him as the perfect accomplice and confidant. The boys, on the other hand, don't understand his differences so well.
Relationships in the group:
In the virtual reality, Odd will discover a phantasmagorical world in his own image, but everything goes too fast, or everything seems to require too much thought for his instinctive character. Odd is often the first to fall into the traps laid by the virtual monsters. Sometimes, he even pre-empts Ulrich's warrior character and rushes in head-first, while Yumi watches on in distress, as she has trouble containing him. Blind in the face of danger, he's capable of bringing a touch of panache to a delicate situation, just for the gesture. His friends have so little confidence in his choices that they sometimes do exactly the opposite of Odd's suggestion. However, when Jeremie is short of ideas, Odd can prove to be a determining factor in the fight against really "crazy" viruses (inside-out type, type that reacts physically to the character of [the] intruders etc...). In these situations, he can bring solutions that are so illogical they're far beyond the virus's imagination!
KIWI, Odd's dog
Stubborn as a mule, whimsical and completely unpredictable, this dog seems literally devoid of a brain. His main activity consists of tracking his master...for better and more often, for worse.
He isn't allowed at the school but that doesn't stop Odd from taking him with him sometimes, concealed. Otherwise, the rest of the time, he stays in Odd and Ulrich's bedroom.
Aelita
Young virtual humanoid creature, sole inhabitant of Lyoko. She is charged with controlling the smooth running of her virtual world, she is the controller, and especially the prospective antivirus.
She is present in every episode.
Character:
An assertive character, she – like Jeremie – is the most knowledgeable about her world and the one who has everything to learn about human relationships.
Aelita knows Lyoko like the back of her hand and developed an almost animalistic and symbiotic relationship with the island environment.
Her temperament, as zen as she is naïve, allows her to put into perspective the occasional small quarrels that can stir up the group.
Relationship with our heroes:
They're both her only friends and her saviours. Though she has complete trust in them, she is always afraid of losing them and ending up alone. By communicating with the laboratory, Aelita is often the one who allows Jeremie to localise the virus. Just like Jeremie is in love with her, Aelita has feelings for him (she considers him her saviour, and the fact that he also "speaks" computer language makes him the ideal companion), but she doesn't know how to express them. On Lyoko, she also develops a close friendship with Odd – she really takes notice of his fancies and humour, and they make her laugh. This easy-going relationship somewhat irritates Jeremie, who is jealous of Odd, especially when he takes Aelita's hand on Lyoko.
Characteristics:
All of Aelita's physical senses are heightened in an almost animalistic way. She can locate the inner workings of a wristwatch in the middle of a crowd or find a needle in a haystack. Aelita represents the ideal intention of the creator, she can bring her harmony to the contaminated tower and open it up. Their encounter allows for the immediate disappearance of the "viruses" and for everything to return to normal.
Aelita's fusion with the sick tower is a sort of communion where we see Aelita melt into the tower, restore its purity and come back out again.
Aelita can "model" ephemeral objects to help her terrestrial friends.
| Name | Yumi | Name | Ulrich | | Movement | Gymnast/Dancer/Grace | Movement | Gymnast/Karateka/Martial | | Speed | Normal | Speed | Extreme | | Life points | 100 | Life points | 100 | | Description | from 50 life points, each hit taken = gradual and visible devirtualisation | Description | from 50 life points, each hit taken = gradual and visible devirtualisation | | Devirtualisation | 0 life points = return to factory | Devirtualisation | 0 life points = return to factory | | Combat weapon | Combat weapon | | Description | Metal fan that serves as a shield and formidable throwing weapon | Description | Digital sabre | | Damage inflicted | -10 life points per impact on monster | Damage inflicted | -10 life points per impact on monster | | Power | Telekynesis | Power | Multiplication | | Description | Power that allows her to move small objects
Power usable once per episode | Description | Power that allows him to clone himself infinitely, all while maintaining a difference between the Master (himself vulnerable) and his fakes (no life points)
Power usable once per episode | | Visualisation | Eyes slowly close + aura emanates from her | Visualisation | Multiplication while moving (run) | | Name | Odd | Name | Aelita | | Movement | Gymnast/Agility/Feline | | | Speed | Good (very big jumps) | Speed | Normal | | Life points | 100 | Life points | 100 | | Description | from 50 life points, each hit taken = gradual and visible devirtualisation | Description | Regeneration in a tower | | Combat weapon | Combat weapon | Doesn't fight | | Description | Glove that shoots 10 arrowheads at maximum | | | Damage inflicted | -5 life points per impact on monster | | | Power | Anticipation | Power | Synthesisation | | Description | Power that allows him to see flashes of future situations
Power usable once per episode | Description | Power that allows her to create ephemeral natural objects (rock, tree, etc.)
Precious help in overcoming obstacles
But using power of creation = -50 life points | | Visualisation | Worried eyes close then monochrome "future" sequence | Visualisation | On knees, eyes closed, sound of creation comes out of her mouth |
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| | The secondary characters
Sissi's gang
Secondary characters who are sometimes present in the episodes, Sissi's gang is a group whose common ground is their shared prepubescent jealousy of our heroes.
When they're not occasionally ratting the heroes out to the teachers or some other such schoolyard behaviour, Sissi's gang is constantly trying to get them in trouble...to no avail: they always end up kicking themselves for overdoing their schemes. The gang doesn't know about the factory.
It's composed of three characters, who are always together.
Sissi
Always dressed in revealing clothing, she seems to have been invented by the Mattel company to personify a new doll with brushable hair. Despite this superficial appearance, Sissi is frighteningly cunning, even venomous. Though she loves hurting our heroes, whom she hates, her main goal is to discover their secret. Sissi sometimes tries to convince her father, the school principal, that they're up to something. And because he never takes her very seriously, Sissi's feelings about the group only worsen.
She's also furious to see that boys are always looking at Yumi, whose natural beauty makes her much more mysterious.
Sissi is the boss of Herb and Nicolas and always expects new ideas from them.
Her father is the Principal of Kadic Academy.
Herb
Stuck being second best in his class, he's jealous of Jeremie, who can so easily steal the show from him. The brains behind a number of twisted plans, he's always rubbing his hands together as he imagines the "great" success of his evil undertakings, but in the end, he always ends up facing Sissi's wrath. However, he accepts her excessive behaviour because he idolises her.
Nicolas
Always wearing shorts be it summer or winter, he's the calm funny guy of the group, the one who's always ready to follow orders without understanding a single word of them, the one who plays the role of Herb's scapegoat, the one who our group is sympathetic towards and who they help to save face.
Besides the teaching staff that we see in the background of the school hallways or quad, three central characters are very often present in the kids' school life: Jim the RA, Miss Hertz and the Principal.
The science teacher, Miss Hertz
A teacher at the end of her career, Miss Hertz still cavorts like a little girl. During her classes, she tries to capture her students' attention with fun games that illustrate otherwise off-putting scientific topics.
Her legs run as fast as her mouth and the students don't always understand the subtleties of the subject matter. Easily distracted, a few "glitches" can also arise during scientific experiments: a chemical reaction foaming up, releasing insects, laughing gas...
But she's our heroes' favourite teacher and Jeremie sees Miss Hertz as a potential way of expanding his knowledge of computers. But there's no point in telling her about Lyoko because Miss Hertz, lost in her reveries, thinks she's playing around with her students, as if they're roleplaying. She hasn't the slightest clue that some of her students are actually living the impossible scenarios they sometimes think up together.
Jim, dormitory resident assistant
With an imposing build and his chin held high, Jim, who's in his thirties, has the physique to match his intelligence: that of a drill sergeant convinced he's supervising a troop of GIs when he's actually just an underpaid pawn living in a tiny caretaker dorm.
Outside his activities as physical education teacher, Jim's mission is to prove that the Kids are sneaking out of the dormitory. To do this, he's constantly devising hazy traps or increasing the number of night-time monitoring stations. The result of this waste of energy is invariably nothing.
Outdone by the Kids' intelligence, Jim always arrives too late. The higher-ups at the school see his claims as just rambling, and sometimes he even doubts the usefulness of his mission.
He's a resolutely ridiculous character...and is therefore comedic.
The principal, Sissi's father
A calm and kind man who enforces order in his establishment. He's the incorruptible type. The students generally like him a lot. He sometimes despairs a little over his daughter's attitude.
Milly and Tamiya
These two year 6 students are inseparable, and share a disproportionate passion for our heroes. They find them fascinating because of their attitude and their look, but they don't know a thing about their secret adventures. Milly & Tamiya are clingy and they tend to follow them just about everywhere. Their meddling helps the heroes just as often as it hinders them; they put spokes in their wheels without really knowing it or wanting to.
Milly is the leader of this duo. She's a girl with a rabid curiosity and boundless nerve, even though her interests are frankly "silly," like her dyed pink hair. This kind-hearted nuisance always drags Tamiya into her inept plans. Tamiya is more reserved, even if she does also have boundless adoration for our group.
They both run the school newspaper (photos, video camera...).
Yumi's parents
Originally from Japan, they live in a modest house in the suburbs. Yumi has a close relationship with her father, a researcher at a large electronics company, and with her mother, a housewife. There's a real trust between them, built on mutual respect and a certain freedom of spirit. Their life as parents is punctuated by activities borrowing from ancestral rituals, such as sitting on the floor to eat dinner or practising techniques for relaxation.
Yumi being at her home is the occasional time to re-centre the series on the character who's the leader of the action: moments where Yumi can reflect on Lyoko and gather resources before leaving for new adventures... | | |
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