“Code Lyoko” is a French animated TV series that originally ran from 2003 to 2007. This show is about four boarding school students who discover a supercomputer containing a virtual world named Lyoko and a multi-agent virus named Xana that threatens Lyoko as well as their own world.

One of the most noteworthy aspects of “Code Lyoko” is its animation style, primarily that there is two of them. All scenes that take place in the real world are animated in a traditional 2D style. However, when the action switches to Lyoko, the animation switches as well into CGI to keep with the theme of a digital world. The 3D animation in earlier episodes is more rudimentary, but as the series continues, it gets more sophisticated and defined.

This cartoon does a great job at not wearing itself out. It has a total of 95 episodes, and no two are alike. Xana keeps finding new and creative ways to terrorize the protagonists, and the protagonists keep finding new and creative ways to stop it. It’s a bit darker than most children’s shows. Men in Black are a central topic in later seasons, and the characters’ lives are put in danger multiple times.

The first season is more episodic in format, where the episodes can be watched in pretty much any order without the viewer getting confused. The only exception is the last two episodes, which must be watched last. Afterwards, it becomes more serialized, where plots can arch over multiple episodes, requiring the viewer to watch them in order. Really, it is best to watch the whole series in order.

Sadly, “Code Lyoko” no longer airs in the U.S., not even in reruns. However, the full series can still be found on YouTube. The highest quality version can be found on the official channel “Code Lyoko English Official.” It requires no purchase but includes ads.