Cybersix

Have you ever made a pleasant discovery? One that you never expected? This past summer I had one of these pleasant discoveries in Cybersix. Only lasting 13 episodes, this kid's tv show exhibits excellent animation and an endearing cast. Today I would like to help you get acquainted with the little wonder known as Cybersix.

Many years ago in the jungles of Brazil, a scientist by the name of Von Reichter created a number of genetically engineered humans, whom he called the Cyber series. Originally created to obey Von Reichter's every whim, they instead displayed rambunctious and disobedient behavior, much like any child would at that age. Von Reichter labeled the experiment a failure and all of the cybers were terminated. Or so he thought. One of the Cybers, named Cyber-6, escaped. Years later, Cyber-6 has assumed the alias of Adrian Seidelman, a male literature teacher in the fictional town of Meridiana. In the city, she meets Lucas Amato (a friend to Adrian Seidelman but head-over-heels for Cyber-6), Julian (an orphan boy), and data-7 (her brother whose brain was transplanted into a jaguar's body). Together, they fight Von Reicther, his incompetent son José, and his countless creations.
It's hard to talk about this show without having a little history lesson. Originally, Cybersix started out as an Argentinian comic series by the same name. Plot-wise, the comic and the show are nearly identical. Tone-wise, they are incredibly different. The comic is dark and edgy with many mature themes (Von Reichter is actually a nazi who escaped to Brazil after the war). Of all the comics in the world it still baffles me that this one was made into a tv show. Obviously there were many changes to make things more kid-friendly.

What makes this show stand apart from other kid's shows is the characters and how they interact. It is especially entertaining watching the relationship Cyber-6 shares with Lucas as both Adrian and her true self. When disguised as Adrian, you feel a genuine friendship between the two. As Cyber-6 you feel the struggle she feels within herself as she wants to take that friendship further, but can't, for she fears what may happen to Lucas if he gets too involved. Up until this point in her life, Cyber-6 has never felt human, and this sudden experience of human emotion has started to make her to question her humanity.
Unfortunately, nothing is without fault. The entire show has a monster-of-the-week formula, and that doesn't work very well when you are trying to tackle a story with as much detail as the comic had. Another major flaw is the sound mixing. The music is often a little too loud and you have to strain to hear the dialogue at points. And aside from being loud, the music has a cheap, synthesized sound to it, and plays at times I feel to be inappropriate (it has a darn catchy theme song though).
Flaws aside, Cybersix is a cool, engaging, action cartoon that is certain to entertain.
Farewell for now.