In the Real World: Odd is a popular character, and with good reason. He is very charismatic in both the real world and in Lyoko. Let’s first focus on him in the real world though. Odd has a very good sense of humor. Even in dire circumstances, he’ll crack a joke or quip out a silly one-liner (some of his jokes/one-liners are actually funny, and the rest are just stupid enough to make you smile, and definitely fit his personality). He always tries to lighten the mood, no matter what’s going on. Whether Xana is attacking or Yumi and Ulrich or having another disagreement, Odd is there to try and cheer everyone up. This is perhaps where his biggest strength lies. I don’t think that Odd acts this way to try to cover up some hidden pain, as is the case with a lot of “funny” characters. I believe that Odd is a genuinely happy, cheerful person who simply wants others to feel this way too. Of all the characters, it seems that he is the only one that doesn’t have an obvious, perpetual problem. Ulrich has his difficulty in confessing his feelings to Yumi. Yumi has trouble continuing to lie to her parents and lead a sort of “double life”. Jeremy has his feelings of insecurity because of his inability to find an anti-virus for Aelita. And of course, Aelita has her problems adapting to normal human life and fitting in. Even the more minor characters like Jim, Sissi, and William have ongoing problems. Odd seems like the odd one out here, doesn’t he?

Personally, I think it would be more interesting if he DID have some sort of problem or issue. They have dropped a hint or two at a possible future problem for Odd, and that comes in the form of his love life. It has been revealed that Odd has dated “every girl in the eighth grade” (I’m assuming this excludes Aelita and Sissy). It’s also assumed that he has “two-timed” at least a few of them. From this behavior, we can come to the conclusion that he isn’t serious about his relationships with any of these girls. When Ulrich talked to him about this, Odd said he was “searching for true love” (I’m paraphrasing here). The way the scene was set up, Odd could have been joking, but I have a feeling that he wasn’t. Odd is a good person, that much has already been made clear. He would do anything for his friends, even risk his life. He already has the capacity for long-term devotion and commitment. He also seems to be perceptive of the feelings of the people around him. He’s obviously aware of the situation between Yumi and Ulrich. He knows how Ulrich feels and it’s fairly clear that he’s aware of how Yumi feels. He also knows how Jeremie and Aelita feel about each other, without either of them coming out and saying it. Therefore, Odd is sensitive to the feelings of others. He’s not the type of person to date girls just to build up a reputation or something like that. It’s far more logical that he IS searching for true love, and is dating all these girls in an attempt to find his special someone. Perhaps he is a bit envious of his friends, who all have romantic partners (or at least, someone he views as their true love). He no doubt realizes that Ulrich and Yumi, and Jeremie and Aelita, are great couples, and will probably last in the long run. He wants the same thing. Right now, this issue has just been mentioned in passing, but perhaps in the future, it will be developed further.

Aside from these issues, Odd has some amusing quirks to his personality. For one thing, he seems to be somewhat fashion-conscious. He dresses in a unique way (think about it, doesn’t he stand out among the other students, mainly because of his clothes?). Even when he and Yumi are trapped in each other’s bodies for a short time, he dresses her up in a very strange, unique outfit (personally, I thought it was very cute, though no one else seemed to like it). Odd is also somewhat known for his bad grades. He doesn’t seem to spend any time at all studying and doesn’t seem to be all that concerned about it anyway. He just likes to have fun and enjoy himself, and I can’t blame him for that.

In Lyoko: Unique in the real world, unique in Lyoko. Odd appears in Lyoko as a cat-boy (anime fans will be familiar with the cat-girl, and more die hard fans will be familiar with the cat-boy type of character as well), complete with a long, swishing tail and cute little paws. Interestingly, the image of his dog Kiwi is emblazoned on the front of his outfit.

Odd’s abilities in Lyoko are centered around his agility, speed, and acrobatic skills. He can maneuver around better than anyone else, and his gymnastic talents are perhaps better than Yumi’s. He also makes great use of his weapons, which are “laser arrows”. Basically, they are projectiles that fire from his hands and do great damage to enemies. There seems to be some conflict in whether or not he has a limited supply. In the first season, I remember hearing him say once or twice that he had only one arrow left (or something to that effect). But in the second season, it seems to me that his ammo is unlimited. He also explained to Yumi (while they were in each other’s bodies) that to use them, all he has to do is imagine firing an arrow, and they simply appear. This would imply that there is no limit on them. I really wish this would be clarified.

Odd’s personality doesn’t change all that much in Lyoko, except that he is perhaps a tiny bit more serious. Even so, it takes an extremely rough situation to provoke even the slightest change. One case that sticks in my mind is where Odd must fire his arrows at Aelita to lessen her life points to the point that Xana would make the Scythazoa (ugh, I’m certain I screwed up that spelling) leave her alone (Xana needed Aelita alive, so he wouldn’t risk letting her die). It seemed to really bother Odd that he had to do that, even if she probably didn’t feel anything. He was hurting his friend, forcing her to the brink of death. Even if it was for the ultimate purpose of saving her, it had to be a hard thing to do, and it shows in his unusually serious, troubled expression. Also, his relief when she is released is very sweet. This just further demonstrates his devotion to his friends.