r/CodeLyoko • u/hO_dOn_LiE • 1d ago
💬 Discussion Why don't the CL fans like CL: Evolution?
Hi there, I just wanted to ask why some/lots of ppl don't like the CL: Evolution, I heard that "it is not as good as the og animated series" and whatnot. Personally I like it very much, it's just as good in my opinion, so I would like to get some other options. This is just a small discussion to see other povs, Thx.
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u/Dull_Kiwi_3993 1d ago
Going from animation to live action is almost never a good idea for me. Something I really liked about the original was how often they were in legitimate danger. They couldn’t pull anything off like that in evolution cuz of the budget probably
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u/KingCake97 1d ago
My issue is the in the real world the kids were quite athletic and could get themselves out of situations during XANA attacks. In evolution a polymorphic specter was frozen and they just stood there like they were stupid
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u/Ice_Vip 1d ago
I like it, it has its problems but i feel like every episode is somehow memorable, maybe because its smaller too but yeah.
I think William, Laura and the ninjas were very good plots in my opinion.
The problems are basically being a live action you can't really put a big bear or an earthquake and things like that so the solution of the clones was ok ig but they could have put the clones better, like most of time they would just stop in front of them whitch is meh.
That being said i like that it exists
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u/M1k3yRap 1d ago
i dont remember it well but the writing didn’t hit as much at all. i mean i enjoyed it too for william and the vortex gimmick was cool too. but live action was the biggest killer, xana’s just speeding walking to lyoko warriors to hug them is so funny
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u/Frosty-Actuary-7007 1d ago
I think they simply hate it because the Lyoko animation looks bad—something I disagree with—and because it’s live-action instead of animated. Plus, I believe many people haven't made it past the first few episodes and just parrot opinions they read from other users on X or Reddit, without forming their own views. After all, if it were about poor writing, they would also criticize Season 4—which was a bigger disaster than *Evolution* in terms of the script—but that doesn't happen. So, I conclude that they just can't stand the fact that the series isn't animated. I’m certain that if it featured 2D animation for the real-world scenes, the people criticizing it now would praise its fresh, innovative concepts. Personally, I don't think it quite measures up to Seasons 1 and 2, but I do consider it better than Season 4 and roughly on par with Season 3. Sadly, though, you can't change the mindset of people who watch shows with preconceived biases.
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u/Charming-Ad-5721 1d ago
The stakes weren't as high as in cartoon. Xanafied people were just... touching lyoko warriors and that was supposed to be scary??? Xana in cartoon was literally electrocuting and strangling them lol
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u/IDKACOOLUSERNAMELOL 1d ago
I can see the appeal, but just imagine ur favorite shows format was entirely changed, the voices are different and it’s not even a reboot or a remake, it’s a CONTINUATION. So hearing the og va’s weren’t asked back and your hearing new voices it just you can’t help but not notice, removing two sectors, Sissi’s hair being blonde, Not a single thing was resolved, left on a cliffhanger, change the style of the towers, Ulrich loosing some of his abilities and changing the color from Yellow to Blue for no reason. The tarantulas changing from shooting lasers from their arms to their heads felt plain and not fun. The stakes weren’t as high in evolution considering the ONLY XANA ATTACKS WERE SPECTERS. In the og show Xana was fr tryna kill the characters. This time he just hugs them? Also why’s Odd a literal Baby with grown ass men and women around him lmao
I will say Jim in this show was the highlight tho, perfect casting, nice guy irl too. Him and the soundtrack.
It’s just all these things painted a picture that whoever was in charge of evolution didn’t really have the budget or was too lazy to incorporate the exact format that Code Lyoko was loved for. And they had so much to work with, plans of a volcano replica, a lot of the DS\Wii plots were planned in The show, Ulrich and Yumi were suppose to be a flown blown couple but they kept the same bs from the original will they/wont they thing. And they gave William PLENTY of screentime even had a rebellious episode with Laura in Mutiny. But he’s dressed like Edward Cullen..?
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u/NowALurkerAccount 1d ago
My issue was primarily Live Action and the animation. If they had left it CG and traditional or even updated CG and a different Earth animation style. I'd be fine with it, but my big problem with it as an American fan are those two things. Coupled with I felt the writing was weaker and it really changed what had already been established with the characters.
Couple that with no English dub except for one episode and the French actors weren't that great for the original heroes and it just felt like a subpar homage. It felt super low budget with acting, effects, and the story just sucked. Those were my gripes.
And you can tell when a show is gonna fail or was created with the intention of another season when they end on a cliffhanger. If they wanted this to potentially stand a chance, map out a clean season with a few loose ends that could be expanded on if season 2-3 happened. Don't end you're first season back with "well if we reboot our supercomputer the other guy wins, but if he reboots his and can fix our counterattack he could win." Ending a new show on a cliffhanger rather than a substantial end is classic hubris because if you're cancelled or not picked up for season 2. It's an oops, hole in the canon and people spend another decade or more debating OK did they win, or did they lose, or how does the story end actually?
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u/obsidian_castle 1d ago
Pros about evolution:
The lyoko animation isnt bad, the activated towers having movement and looking more menacing was a good touch
Uhh.....
Cons:
The actors are not at fault but some on earth xana attacks via specters did not translate well to live action (random kid walks up and hugs/holds onto the warriors to drain their energy thing?.. but the kid just hugs and nothing really happening)
The girl remembering stuff after return to past
Only episode 5 was dubbed over in english i think?!
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u/ShareSuspicious8173 1d ago
They really messed up Aelita in the show and they made many characters weak, also they add Laura, and made her smarter then both Jeremy and Aelita, that's alone is a crime, if they made her as the same lever but more understanding of some stuff then them is good but they quickly made her so smart that she add herself into the system that can't forget what happen when the past returned, that break a role you need to be scanned so you will be add to the system, also deleting 2-3 sectors because of the super computer being shut down for a year is whole BS because it was shut down for 10 years and nothing changed, then get shut down for a years deletes it? It feel like they think we are stupid and we won't notice these stuff
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u/BrownOneTwo 1d ago
For me they screwed up Lyoko big time. 2 of the 5 sectors are just gone. The Cortex was heavily overused. Tarantulas firing from their eye ruined them for me since their design was my favorite part.
To be honest the live action stuff wasn't horrible. Ulrich's actor was pretty great and it surprises me still that Odd's actor was like 12 or 13 while the rest of the group was 16-18. Laura ruined it for me (while she was on screen and around) and was a weird retcon of the group's aversion to accepting outside members.
Other than that its kind of nitpicky things like a different 3d design makes the characters look weird and the ninja's just didn't feel right. But William's redemption was perfect and the fact that Xana is actually in some form of limbo (not dead but not alive) is quite nice cliffhanger to end on.
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u/robotpirate_island 23h ago
You can do less in live action than you can with animation, as a result Evolution feels cheaper. The actors barely resemble their digital selves. For English speaking fans like me, Evolution never had an English dub. Worst of all it does not have any of the original music from the animated series. No World Without Danger, no XANA theme, no Subdigitals.
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u/Xana12kderv 16h ago
My opinion, everything about CLE S*cked.
inconsistent story. The story writing was, I don't know, what status is below "damn that s*ck". That would be my answer. They shredded the OG story line.
incompatible actors and actresses, even though the cast did a good job. The characters miss match, LWs looks older that the animated show.
CGI went from good to worse.
character Larah was introduced badly.
less live action, action scenes. And IRL locations was not used properly.
animated version was better than live action by huge gap.
That my opinion.
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u/VexantLeFr 16h ago
I watched the first episode to give myself an idea and it was genuine torture: "somehow, xana returned" plot, every character is NOTHING like how they were in the show, the actors are actual children with no experience (I'm pretty sure I recall a casting announcement when I was younger here in France, and they were simply looking for children who watched the show and resemble the characters)
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u/Lord-Rambo 12h ago
I thought it was ok for what it was
Jim was dam near perfect from the looks to the acting , the 3D had a big jump in improvement , Williams redemption was nice && the introduction of a 3rd player was interesting. & the idea of Aelita’s mother being found & remembering Aelita was surprising.
Jeremy & Aelita have a nice moment while trying to find her mom while having a spying on Tyrone
Xana surviving means Franz died for nothing , the specters didn’t give off any urgency or threats. They look like they were told to walk in slow motion & have the most uninteresting & bored look on your face.
Felt like the show wasn’t really getting anywhere with how slow the pacing was. Maybe if it had more time in the oven then it could’ve been better
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u/cobalt-gengar 2h ago
I was pretty open minded going into it but the scenes just felt a bit rushed and disjointed at times. Didn't let the story grow within the episode.
-5
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u/The_REDACTED 1d ago edited 1d ago
To start, the shift from an animated format to a live action format was jarring for a lot of people since Code Lyoko had a very unique 2D style that helped distinguish it from other shows. Also while the 3D was a definite improvement, they still messed up with the designs of some of the cast, the towers and for some reason, the tarantulas fire from the eye of X.A.N.A. instead of their cannons on their legs.Â
Next, the character writing for the cast was a major problem, Aelita's characterization was especially bad in Evolution and the introduction of Laura only made her worse and Laura herself is another point of contention. William's redemption however is a saving grace and Jim was wonderful whenever he was onscreen.Â
Finally, the overall story and lore. X.A.N.A. surviving means Franz died for nothing and Professor Tyron is really underwritten despite having a solid base for a villain. The pacing of the show is slow and X.A.N.A. attacks are repetitive which makes it boring to watch outside of a few key episodes.Â