G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 - Anime

Anime

The toyline was accompanied by a 26-episode animated series produced by the Japanese animation studio Gonzo, which aired on Fox, G4, and YTV, and a 6-issue comic series published by Devil's Due Productions.

The series did not particularly succeed in this regard: the series did not finish airing its twenty-six episodes in the United States (although it did complete its run on YTV in Canada as late as June 2007), and the next re-invention of the G.I. Joe property returned to the 3 ¾-inch size, concentrating solely on a 25th anniversary revisitation of the Real American Hero line that was targeted almost entirely at adult collectors.

Essentially, G.I. Joe: Sigma 6 is a continuation of the two direct-to-video G.I. Joe CGI movies, G.I. Joe: Spy Troops and G.I. Joe: Valor vs. Venom, both films produced by Reel FX Studios. Several references are made to events from Valor vs. Venom, such as Cobra Commander being captured and in prison, and General Hawk suffering a change in his DNA. Snake-Eyes continues to have Kamakura and Jinx as his apprentices. Despite these connections, there are changes that bring to question how much of a continuation Sigma 6 is from A Real American Hero. The series presents a more "anime-stylized" spin on G.I. Joe, creating some controversy among G.I. Joe fans. When the episodes were re-aired, 4Kids made some last minute edits, removing any of all to the name, G.I. Joe, including the intro and just calling it, Sigma 6, trying to separate it from the entire G.I. Joe continuity in general.

Just as he was in the first season of the Sunbow G.I. Joe series, Duke is clearly designated as the G.I. Joe commander. He is also recast as a much younger man, someone who appears to have just come to his 30s than a man going to his 40s. Scarlett, who has always been a major character, had her position in the team upgraded to second in command after Duke. Like Duke, she has been aged younger for the series though their youth may be attributed to the fact that the artwork is done in an anime style. She is however still the team's counterintelligence specialist. Tunnel Rat's appearance and personality varied greatly from his appearance in A Real American Hero series. Here, he is a bug-eating, unorthodox infiltration and demolitions expert. Heavy Duty seems to have retained his personality from Spy Troops and Valor vs. Venom, serving as the team's weapons expert. Added to the team is a tracker, Spirit Iron-Knife, and his falcon Billy, who retains his strong and shamanist personality, as well as the team sniper and transportation specialist Long Range. Hi-Tech serves as the team's technician, mechanic, etc. Jinx, Kamakura and Snake-Eyes function as the team's ninja unit. Snake-Eyes has remained the silent deadly ninja commando with Jinx and Kamakura as his students. Hawk was last seen in a healthy state at the end of Valor vs. Venom but his appearance in Sigma 6 indicates otherwise. He is seen in a hospital where Duke visited him.

At the start of Season 2, Lt. Stone (an apparent old friend of Duke's) arrives and joins the team under orders of Hawk and provides them with a new seafaring base, the Sea Titan, as well as his personal attack copter, the Dragonhawk, which will also be used as a drop ship for the team's vehicles that can be carried by the Dragonhawk, like the Ninja Hovercycle, the Night Ranger Quad and the V.A.M.P.. Along with Stone is the soldier Firefly (who betrays the team and captures all but Duke and Hi-Tech in season 2 episode 7 "Revelations").

The changes are not limited to the Joe Team. Cobra Commander had his appearance greatly overhauled and, likewise, his personality. No longer comical, he is now a more deadly adversary, closer to his standard portrayal in the comics, however he has retained his cartoon counterpart's love of grandiose schemes. Destro is now more clearly aligned with Cobra and together with the Commander and the Baroness, they truly form the Cobra Triumvirate. Meanwhile, Overkill is upgraded from a lowly lab assistant to a scheming cybernetic chief scientist who is stuck inside a giant glass tube. Zartan remains Cobra's master of disguise, however his shape shifting and stealth abilities are due to his suit rather than skill and genetic enhancements as in A Real American Hero. The Dreadnoks are now Torch, Buzzer and a new character called Machete (who is loosely based off of Ripper). Storm Shadow serves as Cobra's ninja, however seems more inclined to work with Cobra B.A.T.s, leading the Ninja B.A.T.s into battle. This differs from his original portrayal in A Real American Hero as he has always had more faith in a well trained human as opposed to machines. Though the series is supposed to continue from Valor vs. Venom, in episode 2 "Escape", Cobra Commander says to Overkill that all his troops should be welcoming him, implying that Overkill was the only absent Cobra member. That claim ignores the presence of characters such as Doctor Mindbender or Slice in Valor vs. Venom.

Sigma 6 also has a recurring man vs. machine theme. Cobra's forces are often seen to be primarily composed of the Battle Android Troopers or B.A.T.s, while the members of the Cobra Triumvirate all possess some form of cybernetic enhancement or enhanced armored suits, with normal troopers wearing full armored uniforms.