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Kappa Mikey and Invader Zim: Difference between pages From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (Difference between pages) Jump to navigationJump to search Revision as of 04:07, 18 August 2007 (edit) 72.227.153.203 (talk) (→‎Characters) Revision as of 01:55, 19 August 2007 (edit) Metroidpal45 (talk | contribs) (Corrected the title of a game.) Line 1:	Line 1:

Invader Zim is an American animated television series created by comic book writer/artist Jhonen Vasquez and aired on Nickelodeon. First broadcast on March 30, 2001 (the same day as The Fairly OddParents), Nickelodeon desired a show aimed at their older viewers. The show never found a time slot that the creators of the program thought suitable and suffered in the ratings. The show crew requested that Invader Zim be moved to MTV similarly to the way Ren and Stimpy had been, but this never happened. Before two seasons were completed, it was canceled by Nickelodeon. It can currently be seen in reruns on Nicktoons Network In Canada, and YTV began airing the series on its Bionix programming block on September 8, 2006. Invader Zim DVD compilations have been released by Media Blasters. The series has since been translated into several different languages for foreign broadcast. Kappa Mikey is an American animated television series created by Larry Schwarz, which premiered on the Nicktoons Network on February 25, 2006, and premiered on Nickelodeon on August 20, 2006. It is MTV's first global acquisition. In April of 2006, it was picked up for a second season, which is nearing completion, and which is already airing its run as of June 9th. In Canada, the show used to air on the Teletoon channel before being replaced by Cybersix, since they had already shown all of the first season episodes a few times. According to the Teletoon website, the show will return with new episodes in September. Kappa Mikey is marketed as "the first anime to be produced entirely in the United States" (without any overseas animation), according to press releases from MTV, Nicktoons Network, and various other sources, as the term anime in English is generally reserved for animation originally produced for the Japanese market. It uses Japanese animation and culture as inspiration for its concept, rather than being "true" anime. It is produced by Animation Collective in New York City with voiceovers recorded at NYAV Post (sometimes by 4Kids Entertainment in random episodes, mostly like Dan Green), and animated using Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya.

Plot
Zim is a member of the mighty Irken race, a species of alien life forms whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders are the Almighty Tallest (during the course of the show, leadership of the Irken Empire is shared by two Tallest, Purple and Red, who are exactly the same height). Zim was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for killing all the other Invaders during Operation Impending Doom I. The series centers around Mikey Simon, a teenage actor from Cleveland, Ohio, who embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu, and in doing this, rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" being banished and arrives at the Great Assigning where Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders, special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet and collect intelligence. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a "Mystery Planet" on the outskirts of their known universe, which turns out to be Earth. Each episode starts with the cast filming a LilyMu segment, but the take is ruined (with the exception of the Christmas special), sometimes revealing the conflict that they deal with through the rest of the episode, with a minor subplot running beneath the main plot. After the problem is resolved, the LilyMu segment will be shot again and successfully completed the second time, often changed to incorporate whatever lesson was learned during the main story. The show features Zim trying to conquer the Earth while his human arch-nemesis Dib tries to stop him. Technically, the show takes place in a world of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than ours. Because the alternate universe aspect was never emphasized, the result is that the series appears to be set at some point in the near future. The show has a large comedic overuse of face faults, such as a character's face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or super deformed). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which are one of the show's running gags, but cannot, due to being drawn in an American style. The show is fast-paced, irreverent, and contains a fair amount of gross-out humor, which are signature elements of Western children's entertainment.

Video Games
There were three video games created with Invader Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy, Nickelodeon Party Blast and Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. In Volcano Island, Zim's spaceship and house make appearances.

Main characters

 * Mikey Simon by Micheal Sintkerniklaas


 * Gonard by Sean Schemal


 * Lily by Anice Moriaty


 * Mitsuki by Evelyn Lanto


 * Guano by Gary Mack


 * Ozu by Stephan Moverly


 * Yes Man by Jesse Adams

Zim is a short, green, almost stereotypical looking alien from the planet Irk. He is also a narcissistic megalomaniac who several times per show engages in histrionic outbursts proclaiming either his normality (for a human that is, while in his human disguise) or his innate personal and Irken superiority. He is trying to conquer the Earth, and is generally unsuccessful. Zim wears a disguise when in public consisting of contact lenses and a wig, claiming that his green skin and noticeable lack of ears are part of a "skin condition". He is aided in his mission by a robot named GIR.

Theme Song
GIR or G.I.R. is a dysfunctional version of the Irken S.I.R. (Standard Information Retrieval) units given to Irken invaders, but the meaning of the "G" is unspecified, in fact not even GIR knows what the "G" stands for. GIR has a seemingly schizophrenic personality; he jumps in and out of useful operation and this is noticeable by the color of the lights on his eyes and torso that glow red when he is obeying Zim. The rest of the time they glow a light green color. He rarely helps, but sometimes assists Zim unintentionally by doing destructive things to Dib. GIR wears a green dog suit as his public disguise. This dog suit has a very prominent and oversized zipper in the front, adding to the implausibility of the disguise. The Kappa Mikey theme song is called "Hey (x2) Look (x2)" by Beat Crusaders. Dib is Zim's main rival, a member of Zim's class at the "Skool" they both attend. Dib is obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural and is often criticized by his classmates for being "crazy" or mentally unstable due to his outlandish theories. He apparently is the only human to recognize and care that Zim is an alien and makes it clear that he will live to stop Zim at every turn. Seemingly everyone he comes into contact with claims Dib has an unusually large head, even though all the children in the show are drawn with large heads and Dib's is no more abnormally large than any of theirs. He features an undershirt of the same design as Squee's shirt from Johnny the Homicidal Maniac.

List of episodes
Gaz is Dib's little sister who also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, but doesn't care because she thinks he's too stupid to take over the world, and would much rather color pig drawings or play video games. Although she has aided Dib occasionally, she has only done this to fulfill her own agenda. Gaz displays mostly indifference, annoyance with or contempt for her brother, and will threaten him with pain in order to make him comply with her wishes. She has an obsession with pizza and has stated that she's never missed the release of a new pizza at Bloaty's Pizza Hog.

Music
The music for Invader Zim was composed by Kevin Manthei and is in a digital techno style. The title music was composed by Mark Tortoroci, but Manthei arranged it. Manthei, however, did the music for the end credits and all the music for the actual episodes.

References to American Popular Culture
In September 2002, 7 months after the cancellation of the series, Anime Stuff-R, an internet radio website, broadcasted the Zim-phony, a 5 hour broadcast of all the music from the 26 episodes of Invader Zim composed by Kevin Manthei. This session, presented by DJ Richard Rae is the most popular that Anime Stuff-R has broadcast. Also included in this session was an interview with Kevin Manthei by Richard Rae in August 2002, where Kevin talked mostly about how the music of Invader Zim was composed and inserted in the show.
 * In Easy Come, Easy Gonard, the countdown clock shown is from the American television series 24.
 * In the episode Sumo of all Fears, the Lilymu episode is almost identical to the climax to the first Spider-Man film.
 * In the episode Lost in Transportation, when Mikey is in the coffee shop with the bikers, he tries to "dance his way out", so he jumps up on the counter and does a dance very similar to the Pee Wee Herman dance. The scene is a reference to "Pee Wee's Big Adventure".
 * Many of the "Kappa Mikey" episodes are parodies of famous movies, books, & more.
 * In the episode Ship of Fools The Videogame has graphics straight from Donkey Kong.
 * Lily's Punchbug's name comes from the children's game "slug-bug" or "punch-buggy", in which one child yells out "slug-bug!" and hits another in the shoulder or arm when they spot a VW Beetle. This is usually played as a car game (that is, played in a vehicle driven by an adult).
 * During the theme song, there is a scene where it shows Mikey dancing in a white, button-up shirt, his underwear, socks, and sunglasses accompanied by a pair of Dobermanns. This is likely a reference to Tom Cruise in Risky Business. The parody is in Mikey Impossible, the title of which is a parody of Mission Impossible, also starring Tom Cruise.
 * The instructor in The Lost Pilot greatly resembles Simon Cowell. Also in the episode, the audition LilyMu has for a new actor is reminiscent to the Idol series. (Pop Idol, American Idol, Australian Idol, etc.)
 * In the episode Big Brozu, Brozu says that he has to "Trump" his younger brother and fire him. This is reference to the reality show The Apprentice in which Donald Trump uses the catchphrase "You're fired" to eliminate contestants on the show.
 * Mikey's Orb in LilyMu appears to be based on the sentinel sphere from the Phantasm movies. It can fly around with no explainable means of propulsion other than having been thrown into the air (although it is possible that its saw blades act as lifting rotors of some sort). It also appears to have a limited intelligence, allowing it to do things like hover, navigate itself to cut multiple targets, and return to Mikey after it has served its purpose.
 * In the episode "Uh oh, Guano" Mikey's horse is named Sea Cookie which is a spoof off of "Seabiscuit" an American movie.
 * In A Christmas Mikey:
 * The title is a parody of the movie "A Christmas Story" (or A Christmas Carol). The story parodies both It's a Wonderful Life and A Christmas Carol.
 * Mitsuki's performance in the mansion scene is a parody of Gloria Swanson's role as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard. Also in A Christmas Mikey, Mitsuki has a monkey named Professor Bobo, likely a reference to the Mystery Science Theater 3000 character of that name.
 * Lily's career doing voice-over work (to Mikey's and a passerby's disgust) is a meta-reference on the show itself.
 * Guano as a chimney sweep with a British accent may be a reference to the chimney sweeps in Mary Poppins - he is in fact whistling "Chim Chim Cherrie" when he first appears in this role.
 * When Mikey is upset over Ozu not giving him a new contract, Gonard says, "Don't worry, we'll get you that monkey assistant," and he puts on a yellow hat, which is a reference to Curious George.
 * In The Good, The Bad, & The Mikey, at the beginning of the staged fight sequence between Kappa Mikey and Captin Impressive, the beginning to Beat It, a song by Michael Jackson can be heard.
 * In Mikey Likes It(Garbage), when Lily is looking around in the resturant, there are two familiar couples: One is the pirate from Ship of Fools and Vito's wife (with blonde hair), and the other is the balif from The Fugi-Kid with the old lady that sometimes makes a cameo appearance.

References to Japanese Popular culture
Because of the popularity of the broadcast, Anime Stuff-R made 100 MP3 CDs with the entire broadcast. They made only 100 because of copyright and financial reasons. Kevin Manthei also released a Promo CD containing some music from Invader Zim. This Promo CD is still available but one needs to get in touch with composer Kevin Manthei to acquire it.
 * The show features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired off of famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba's from the film Spirited Away.   Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it.
 * The LilyMu show seems to be based on the classic Japanese Rubber Suit shows such as Super Sentai(the original version of Power Rangers), Kamen Rider(Masked Rider in the US), and Ultraman.
 * The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land.    The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode Mikey, Kappa, on August 5th.
 * Some of the settings in the show are real locations in Japan, including Ginza, and Yoyogi Park.
 * Sean Schemmel (Gonard) is one of the many English voices of Goku and miscellaneous characters from Dragon Ball, which Gonard's [off-set] design is deliberately spoofing. His character's appearance on the "LilyMu" show is also a spoof of the typical demon-like characters Goku and his friends constantly fight against in Dragon Ball. Gonard's love of food may also be a spoof of Goku's large appetite.
 * The phrase "Oh, Mikey!", which is said several times in the show, seems to be a nod towards the Japanese television show Oh! Mikey, which also has the premise of Americans moving to Japan.
 * In the episode "Battle of the Bands" mostly all the guitars are blue rickenbacker Model 4003 basses, similar to Haruko's bass guitar in FLCL.
 * In the episode "Battle of the Bands" there is a band and cartoon show that obviously reference Japanese band and cartoon stars Ami and Yumi from the band Puffy AmiYumi.
 * In the episode Sumo of all Fears, Mikey wishes to become the greatest yokozuna to get respect from everyone. This is a reference to Naruto, where the main character Naruto Uzumaki wishes to become Hokage for the same purpose as Mikey did.
 * In the episode "Free Squiddy", there is a scene in which the cast, trapped in a giant sticky ball of objects, roll through Tokyo and stick many people into the ball along the way. This scene is based upon Katamari Damacy, and even features a cameo character resembling the Prince of All Cosmos, who is rolling a Katamari ball of his own.  Sadly, he also gets stuck to the original ball.
 * In the episode "Saving Face", Mikey goes to the doctor to get his pimple removed. The doctor that preforms the surgery is named Doctor Katashi, which is a reference to the Naruto character Kakashi. This is clear because of the name and the headband over the eye, just like Kakashi's headband.

Cultural errors

 * In the episode Ship of Fools, the video game boxes for the Lily-Mu video game have a rating of "E for Everyone" from North America's Entertainment Software Rating Board rating system rather than a rating from Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization rating system.

Episodes
Two seasons of Invader Zim aired. In Season 2, the animation style is slightly different from Season 1. Also, none of the episodes in Season 2 except "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever" were aired in the U.S. until after the DVDs were released. There were also over 10 partially finished second season episodes and a few which were still in the outline stage when the show was cancelled (some of which have been leaked to various fan sites). These unfinished episodes include a two-part finale in which Dib was to fight the Irken Armada by going to the aid of the planet Meekrob. There were also plans for a TV movie special, "Invader Dib", which would have possibly carried on from the finale.

DVD collection and merchandise
In May 2004, Nickelodeon and Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection. Within weeks of its initial availability it became one of the top 100 currently selling items on popular online retailer Amazon.com, giving fans hope that Volume 2 would be released with minimal delay. By late 2004, the other 2 volumes had been released. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released which includes an extras disc with interviews and a sample soundtrack. Originally this set included a "GIR" toy but Media Blasters silently stopped including it, without notifying distributors that the package had been altered. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced box set. Two series of Invader Zim figures have been produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced such as the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" with a removable dog disguise. Also, many non-licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains. As of November 25, 2006 both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on XBOX Live marketplace. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.

Plot
On February 16, 2008, during their "Music Week", Nicktoons Network aired their first original television movie: an hour-long Kappa Mikey musical entitled "Kappa Karaoke". Officially, the episode's title is "The Karaoke Episode".

Premise
Invader Zim revolves around the life of its title character, Zim, and the humans who are aware of him. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, are named Purple and Red, and serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim escapes from Foodcourtia (or "quits", as he seems to have thought of it more as a mission than an exile) and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders; special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin.

Title
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode Mikey, Kappa, on August 5th, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice.

Format
Invader Zim follows a mostly self-contained episode format, the only continuity being the main storyline for each episode: Zim tries a new method to conquer the Earth while his human arch-nemesis Dib tries to stop him, with much lack of interest from the rest of the characters at large. The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu. In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth (though most of its inhabitants seem to be even less intelligent). The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race: a school (spelled "Skool" in the show). Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, non-sequential cut-aways, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor. Many of the extraterrestrial planets in Invader Zim seem to operate on a similar level to earth, sharing the concepts of fast food, vending machines, gift shops, and convention centers.

Signature show elements
Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced in the past few years in that the property is owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation is not out-sourced, and the episodes are written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, this is Animation Collective's first ever television series, and is produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005. Production officially wrapped in September 2007, in order to start production on Speed Racer: The Next Generation and Three Delivery at the same time. Many of the character designs in Invader Zim are highly geometric and thin compared to normal animation, which is typical of Jhonen Vasquez' drawing style. The writing often conveys misanthropic and pessimistic themes, though these darker elements are often used for the purposes of parody and satire, often showing disturbing subject matter by children's animated program standards. Similar satirical styles and comical mannerisms can be found in many of the characters in the show as well as running gags and common themes in each episode. These include repeated references to bees, squirrels, the word "doom," moose, meat, Dib's head, chihuahuas, monkeys, tacos, "piggies", cheese, cupcakes, morbid obesity, and various euphemisms for human excrement (more commonly known in the show as "dookie"). An early test pilot was made for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Perfect Hair Forever. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. When the deal didn't go through, Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project, and the show was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. Jhonen Vasquez also frequently includes cameos from his first published comic series, Johnny The Homicidal Maniac, into Invader Zim as well as cameos of the cast, crew, and various celebrities. Voice talents are usually local, and for the most part, the show is recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversees all phases of production, but only has writing credits on the pilot episode, "Mikey Impossible", and "A Christmas Mikey". All the episodes are directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score is composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to "The Recycling Song", Ori and Yori's hits, "Living With Mikey", and the songs in the Karaoke episodes.

Episode broadcast
It is animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators is assigned to the anime characters, and another group is in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc..., are created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds are modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds are added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds are inspired by actual locations in Tokyo. Final effects and sound editing and added in AfterEffects and Final Cut Pro. The studio produces several episodes at once- it takes about 4 to 6 months for an episode to develop from script to delivery.

The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon canceled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production, and lack of interest in continuation of the series. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one. The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually aired on Nicktoons Network in the summer of 2006. The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allows animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they don't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or super deformed). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which are one of the show's running gags, but cannot, due to being drawn in an American style. There were at least seven partially finished season two episodes with designs, voice overs, and storyboarding completed before cancellation. Additional episodes had completed scripts or were still in the outline stage when the show was canceled. These unfinished episodes included a two-part series finale in which Dib was to fight the Irken Armada by going to the aid of the planet Meekrob, which could have become a TV movie special, "Invader DIB". As of November 25, 2006 both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.

Main characters
Zim is an alien from the planet Irk. He is a narcissistic megalomaniac who engages in histrionic outbursts proclaiming either his normality (for a human, while in disguise) or his innate personal and Irken superiority. He is constantly trying to conquer the Earth or destroy the human race, and is generally unsuccessful. Zim wears at least three disguises when in public, the most used one consisting of contact lenses and a wig, claiming that his green skin and noticeable lack of ears are part of a "skin condition". Another disguise he wears consists of contact lenses, a pinkish hat, a "hobo-like" beard, and a tattered shirt. The last is a simple human suit with a hole where his normal face pokes out. GIR or G.I.R. is a dysfunctional version of the Irken S.I.R. (Standard-issue Information Retrieval) units, multipurpose robots given to Irken invaders to help them conquer planets. The meaning of the "G" is unspecified; in fact, not even GIR knows what the "G" stands for. GIR has a seemingly manic personality; he jumps in and out of useful operation frequently, a change noticeable by the color of his eyes, which glow red when he is obeying Zim competently. He rarely helps advance Zim's plans, but sometimes assists Zim unintentionally by antagonizing various opponents. As a disguise, GIR wears a green dog suit that has a very prominent and oversized zipper on the front, adding to its comical implausibility. GIR likes food, annoying other people, and watching tv, especially the Scary Monkey show. Dib is Zim's arch-nemesis, a member of Zim's class at the "Skool" they both attend. Dib, whose dream is to become a paranormal investigator, is obsessed with the supernatural and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but has apparently "cried wolf" so many times that everyone derides him as crazy. He subsequently dedicates his time to exposing Zim and stopping his evil plans. A recurring joke is that his head is supposedly overly-sized (prompting him to scream "My head's not big!"), despite his head being about the same in proportion to most other characters'. Dib wears an undershirt of the same design as the character Squee's shirt from Jhonen Vasquez's earlier comic book series Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Gaz is Dib's sister and also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, but does not care, in part because she believes that he is too stupid to actually take over the world. The only things she seems to show interest in are playing video games, shown most prominently in the episode "Game Slave 2," and Bloaty's Pizza Hog. Although she has aided Dib occasionally, she has only done this to fulfill her own agenda. Gaz displays mostly indifference, annoyance with, or contempt for her brother, and will threaten him with pain in order to make him comply with her wishes. She is usually dressed in dark colors similar to Pepito the Antichrist in Jhonen Vasquez's earlier comic book Squee! and has a generally violent and stubborn personality, causing many fans to speculate that her style is a reference to the Goth culture by Jhonen Vasquez. She can be tolerant to what is probably excruciating pain, as is seen in the episode "Dark Harvest".

Supporting characters
Throughout the course of the show, numerous and varied characters appeared in each episode. The most recurring supporting characters were, in order of featured recurrence: The Almighty Tallest are the leaders of the Irken Empire. Two Tallest, never named on the show but called "Red" and "Purple" in the scripts, seem to be of the same height and rule concurrently. Both share common traits of ignorance, hedonism, and laziness, though Red is suggested to be more intelligent than his counterpart, having some sort of knowledge about the Massive's inner workings and mechanisms as seen in "Backseat Drivers from Beyond the Stars." Though Zim is unquestioningly devoted to his leaders and seek their approval, they generally find him and his periodic status reports a cause of annoyance or humor. They have also tried to have him exiled or killed for his unintentional crimes against the Irken Empire. These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba(or her twin, Zeneba) from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the anime Naruto. On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Puffy AmiYumi. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it. Ms. Bitters is the teacher for Dib and Zim's class. She is a tall, slender aged woman of unknown origin; she is clearly not human, often moving like a snake or even turning into a shadow and passing through walls. In the episode "Voting of the Doomed", she is also heard to say, "I can only survive so long in the sun." She also has an extremely dark disposition, which she propagates in her "lessons", such as "The universe, and how it will eventually implode in on itself" and "Our whole society is nothing more than a perilous house of cards, destined to collapse under its own weight!" She generally dislikes everything and has few or no compassionate or happy feelings. The character is directly pulled from Vasquez's earlier comic book series Squee! where she was the title character's teacher.

Critical reaction
Invader Zim was not initially well accepted by Nickelodeon's aimed demographic, failing to acquire a steady audience. However, it was critically accepted, winning multiple awards and nominations for the first episode alone. Since its cancellation, it has acquired renewed acclaim, with an aggregate 9.1/10 rating on TV.com and a 9.2/10 on IMDb. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales.

Awards and nominations
In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.

DVD Release
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under Starz Home Entertainment. It includes the episodes Lost in Transportation, Easy Come, Easy Gonard, and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a music video of 'I'm Alright' from Battle of the Bands, wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-To-Draw-Mikey tutorial. The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Jhonen Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz). According to the Animation Collective site, a 2nd DVD will be released sometime later in 2008. It will include Season One in its entirety, with DVD extras, and will be considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production.

Cultural Errors

 * In the episode Ship of Fools, the video game boxes for the Lily-Mu video game have a rating of "E for Everyone" from North America's Entertainment Software Rating Board rating system rather than an "A for All Ages" rating from Japan's Computer Entertainment Rating Organization rating system.
 * Raccoons, which appear in the show now and then, specifically in The Phantom of the Soundstage and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, are not found in Japan. They instead have raccoon dogs.
 * Although Halloween is not observed as part of Japanese culture, many Japanese (Especially in the younger generation) celebrate Halloween. This could be the reason for a Halloween special, including a part where children trick-or-treat.

Home video
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters silently stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines, without notifying distributors that the package had been altered. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case.

Figurines and accessories
Sometime in 2008, a spin-off mini-series of Kappa Mikey will premiere on Nicktoons Network, called Dancing Sushi, and will focus on the antics of the three main sushi beings that originally appear in the bumpers of the show. . They are given names, and a fourth female sushi will be added to balance out the cast. Twenty-six 1-minute episodes are made, with 3 web-exclusive episodes currently out now. Dancing Sushi Wiki Page Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many non-licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic.

Video games
These are the songs that were sang by the characters from Nicktoons Network's first original TV movie, The Karaoke Episode.
 * An interactive flash game has been posted on Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim site since the series' original broadcast, based on the episode NanoZim, in addition to other shockwave games. There were two video games created with Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy and Nickelodeon Party Blast. Zim's Voot Cruiser and house were seen briefly in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. Gir was a playable character in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots while Zim was only playable in the DS version.
 * On the popular flash video and game sharing website Newgrounds, several artists have made flash games and movies about Invader Zim. There are also flash videos on other works by Jhonen Vasquez such as Filler Bunny and Johnny the Homicidal Maniac. Newgrounds even gave Invader Zim its own "collection". The page contains all the dress-up games, soundboards, short movies, flashes inspired by Invader Zim, and the only two JTHM flash videos on the site.   *

Plot
On February 16, 2008, during their "Music Week", Nicktoons Network aired their first original television movie: an hour-long Kappa Mikey musical entitled "Kappa Karaoke". Officially, the episode's title is The Karaoke Episode.

Characters
Zim: a member of the Irken military who infuriated the Almighty Tallest by over-zealously destroying his own planet during Operation Impending Doom 1, and was banished forever to "Foodcourtia" ( the fast food planet) Zim is despised by pretty much everyone on his home planet, which is why he is sent on a "secret mission" to Earth (in actuality, they sent him there to get rid of him for good, presumably to kill him, but a call by Zim to the Tallest half a year after he was sent there foils this scheme). Zim is often prone to passionate outbursts proclaiming his Irken superiority, and he is extremely determined to vanquish the earth and reclaim his honor (even though he does not seem to be aware that he ever lost it, having thought of his exile to the planet Foodcourtia as more of a mission than an exile). GIR: a dysfunctional "SIR unit" (Standard-Issue Information Retrieval) robot that usually causes more trouble than good. He has a short attention span, is extremely hyper, and often behaves in a bizarre and uncontrollable manner. His obsessions range from tacos to giant pigs. He is of little help to Zim, although occasionally aids him unintentionally, or has a brief moment of serious lucidity. The last three episodes have aired after the show was stuck on a hiatus. These episodes were aired in September 2008, and declared the season (series) finale after the 20th of September. Dib: Zim's main opponent on Earth. He is obsessed with the paranormal and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but has apparently "cried wolf" so many times that everyone derides him as crazy, including his sister and father.

Title
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode Mikey, Kappa, on August 5th, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice. Gaz: Dib's younger sister. She also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, bent on the destruction of Earth, but doesn't care because "he's so bad at it", and she believes he is too stupid to be successful. Almighty Tallest: The two Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, rule together by virtue of being the tallest known Irkens. They are united in their love of destruction, tormenting of others, and in their hatred of Zim.

Overview
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu. In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star.

Supporting characters
Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, incongruity, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor. The main cast is supported by recurring characters such as Dib's teacher, Ms. Bitters, and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. Later in the series, characters such as Sizz-Lor and Tak were introduced as extra antagonists for Zim. Lard Nar and his resistance group, The Resisty, were later added.

Premise
Invader Zim revolves around the life of its lead character, Zim, his malfunctioning SIR Unit, GIR, and the humans and aliens who become involved in his schemes. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" his exile in Foodcourtia and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here, elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders: special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin. Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced at the turn of the century, in that the property was owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation was not out-sourced, and the episodes were written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, this was Animation Collective's first ever television series, and was produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005.

Production
An early test pilot was made for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Perfect Hair Forever and the humor was also more adult. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. When the deal didn't go through, Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project, and the show was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed, other than restricting language and certain visuals that may not be suitable for children. The biggest difference that he cites is the change from working alone to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, calling it an "absolute misery". Apart from a few double length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self contained storyline. Sometimes the occurrences in previous episodes are mentioned but there is no continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth. The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race at a school (spelled "Skool" in the show), or in his home planning his next "big" takeover. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were beginning to build continuity: Dib's capture and repair of a downed spaceship and use of it to learn more about Zim's race; a resistance to the Irken Empire (The Resisty); an Irken seeking revenge against Zim (Tak, the hideous new girl); and various other devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology. Voice talents were usually local, and for the most part, the show was recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversaw all phases of production, but only had writing credits on the pilot episode, Mikey Impossible, and A Christmas Mikey. All the episodes were directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score was composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to The Recycling Song, Ori and Yori's hits, Living With Mikey, How Did We Get Here?, and the songs in The Karaoke Episode.

Episode broadcast
It was animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators was assigned to the anime characters, and another group was in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc..., were created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds were modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds were added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds were inspired by actual locations in Tokyo.

The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon canceled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production, and lack of interest in continuation of the series. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one. The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually aired on Nicktoons Network in mid 2006. There were at least seven partially finished season two episodes with designs, voice overs, and storyboarding completed before cancellation. Additional episodes had completed scripts or were still in the outline stage when the show was canceled. The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allowed animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they didn't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or super deformed). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which was one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style. As of November 25, 2006 both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace and on Zune Marketplace. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.

Cancellation
These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba (or her twin, Zeneba) from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the anime Naruto (the person standing next to him could be a character that's supposed to resemble Sakura Haruno, also from Naruto, note the clothing). On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (which was running on Cartoon Network at the time). Also in the final scene of the episode entitled 'Reality Bites' there is a person in the crowd that looks like a persocom from the anime Chobits. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it. The series was cancelled after little more than a year of its first air; only 27 half-hour episodes were made, most split into two 11-minute episodes. Episodes in the second season aired first internationally and later aired on Nicktoons Network in 2006. The show was cancelled despite its good ratings, ostensibly due to its dark tone and violence (including shots of "bloody gir" being slipped into the episodes), although in the DVD commentary Vasquez said he would never go back to Viacom. They had signed a contract agreeing that they would make a season finale (which was intentionally the unfinished movie, "Invader Dib").

Critical reaction
Invader Zim was critically accepted, winning multiple awards and nominations for the first episode alone. Since its cancellation, it has acquired renewed acclaim, with a 9.1/10 rating on TV.com and a 9.2/10 on IMDb. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales. Invader Zim did not escape criticism however. When Invader Zim was launched along with The Fairly OddParents, Christian Parenting Today criticised both programs. The publication said that both were unsuitable for children but Invader Zim was the far more offensive of the two. More criticism came when Invader Zim was cited in the murder trial of Scott Dyleski. The prosecution asserted that the defendant had a fascination with images of body parts. They drew attention to comments he had made after watching the Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest", where Zim collects human organs in an attempt to appear more human. Witnesses for the defense said that the comments were made in jest.

Awards and nominations
In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.

DVD Release
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under Starz Home Entertainment. It includes the episodes Lost in Transportation, Easy Come, Easy Gonard, and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a music video of 'I'm Alright' from Battle of the Bands, wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-To-Draw-Mikey tutorial. The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz). In 2008, the Animation Collective site advertised a 2nd DVD that was scheduled be released sometime later that year. However, that announcement has been erased, leaving the exact release date to be unknown. It would've included Season One in its entirety, with DVD extras, and would've been considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. No further announcement has been made as the status of this DVD. In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production.

Cultural Errors

 * Being made in, and for, the United States, every character speaks English, and most do not have Japanese accents except for Ozu and Yes Man.
 * Americanized creative liberties with Japan abound in generally every minor detail, even though Japanese characters are used in signage, and the Tokyo cityscape looks accurate.
 * The top, or near-top, of Mt. Fuji is not covered in snow or ice, and no characters are clothed in winter outerwear while climbing it in the episode The Bracemaster.
 * Raccoons, which appear in the show now and then, specifically in The Phantom of the Soundstage and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, are not found in Japan. However, Japanese raccoon dogs, or tanukis, do exist in Japan and may instead be the creatures depicted, which would be consistent with the mischievous nature of these creatures in Japanese folklore.  In The Masked Tanuki, Guano's costume resembles a raccoon, even though it is named after the former.

Home video
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released, which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case.

Figurines and accessories
A spin-off mini-series of Kappa Mikey was made for Nicktoons Network, called Dancing Sushi, and focused on the antics of the three main sushi beings that originally appeared in the bumpers of the show. . They are given names, and a fourth female sushi named Meep was added to balance out the cast. Twenty-six 1-minute episodes were made, with 3 web-exclusive episodes currently out now. The series is currently running on networks outside the United States, with no announcement for when this series will run in the United States. Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many other licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic.

The Karaoke Episode songs
These are the songs that were sang by the characters from Nicktoons Network's first original TV movie, The Karaoke Episode. They were all written by John Angier. An interactive Flash game has been posted on Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim site since the series' original broadcast, based on the episode "NanoZim", in addition to other shockwave games. There were two video games created with Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy and Nickelodeon Party Blast. Zim's Voot Cruiser and house were seen briefly in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. GIR was a playable character in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots while Zim was only playable in the DS version. Both Zim and Dib are playable in Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, with GIR as a boss battle. The game Nicktoons: Android Invasion, on the educational Didj platform, is set entirely inside Zim's base. Zim is the main boss in the game, with several other characters making appearances.

Characters
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode Mikey, Kappa, on August 5th, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice.

Zim: A member of the Irken military who infuriated the Almighty Tallest by over-zealously destroying his own planet during Operation Impending Doom 1, and was banished forever to "Foodcourtia". (The food court planet.) Zim is despised by pretty much everyone on his home planet, which is why he is sent on a "secret mission" to Earth. (In actuality, they sent him there to get rid of him for good, presumably to kill him, but a call by Zim to the Tallest half a year after he was sent there foils this scheme.) Zim is often prone to passionate outbursts proclaiming his Irken superiority, and he is extremely determined to vanquish the earth and reclaim his honor (even though he does not seem to be aware that he ever lost it, having thought of his exile to the planet Foodcourtia as more of a mission than an exile). GIR: A dysfunctional "SIR unit" (Standard-issue Information Retrieval unit— the significance of the letter G is never explained) that usually causes more trouble than good. The Tallests put him together in 15 seconds from broken SIR parts, parts of a frozen yogurt machine (according to Vasquez in a Nickelodeon Magazine interview), and some garbage in their pockets. He has a short attention span, is extremely hyper, and often behaves in a bizarre and uncontrollable manner. His obsessions range from tacos to giant pigs. He is of little help to Zim, although occasionally aids him unintentionally or has a brief moment of serious lucidity.

Overview
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu. In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star. Dib: Zim's main opponent on Earth. He has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural ever since he was little; and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but has apparently "cried wolf" so many times that everyone derides him as "crazy" or "insane", including his sister and father. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, incongruity, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor. Gaz: Dib's younger sister. She also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, bent on the destruction of Earth, but doesn't care because "he's so bad at it", and she believes he is too stupid to be successful. Almighty Tallest: The two Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, rule together by virtue of being the tallest known Irkens. They are united in their love of destruction, tormenting of others, and in their hatred of Zim. Because there are two Almighty Tallests (Red and Purple), people usually call them "The Tallests".

Supporting characters
Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced at the turn of the century, in that the property was owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation was not out-sourced, and the episodes were written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, this was Animation Collective's first ever television series, and was produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005. The main cast is supported by recurring characters such as Zim and Dib's teacher, Ms. Bitters, and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. Later in the series, characters such as Sizz-Lorr and Tak were introduced as extra antagonists for Zim. Lard Nar and his resistance group, The Resisty, were later added as enemies of the Irken Empire.

Premise
An early test pilot was made for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Perfect Hair Forever and the humor was also more adult. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. When the deal didn't go through, Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project, and the show was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. Invader Zim revolves around the life of its lead character, Zim, his malfunctioning SIR Unit, GIR, and the humans and aliens who become involved in his schemes. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" his exile in Foodcourtia and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here, elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders: special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin. Voice talents were usually local, and for the most part, the show was recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversaw all phases of production, but only had writing credits on the pilot episode, Mikey Impossible, and A Christmas Mikey. All the episodes were directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score was composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to The Recycling Song, Ori and Yori's hits, Living With Mikey, How Did We Get Here?, and the songs in The Karaoke Episode.

Production
It was animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators was assigned to the anime characters, and another group was in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc..., were created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds were modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds were added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds were inspired by actual locations in Tokyo. Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed, other than restricting language and certain visuals that may not be suitable for children. The biggest difference that he cites is the change from working alone to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, calling it an "absolute misery". The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allowed animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they didn't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or super deformed). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which was one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style. Apart from a few double length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self contained storyline. Sometimes the occurrences in previous episodes are mentioned but there is no continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth. The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race at a school (spelled "Skool" in the show), or in his home planning his next "big" takeover. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were beginning to build continuity: Dib's capture and repair of a downed spaceship and use of it to learn more about Zim's race; a resistance to the Irken Empire (The Resisty); an Irken seeking revenge against Zim (Tak, the hideous new girl); and various other devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology.

Episode broadcast
There were at least seven partially finished season two episodes with designs, voice overs, and storyboarding completed before cancellation. Additional episodes had completed scripts or were still in the outline stage when the show was canceled. These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba (or her twin, Zeneba) from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the anime Naruto (the person standing next to him could be a character that's supposed to resemble Sakura Haruno, also from Naruto, note the clothing). On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (which was running on Cartoon Network at the time). Also in the final scene of the episode entitled 'Reality Bites' there is a person in the crowd that looks like a persocom from the anime Chobits. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it. As of November 25, 2006 both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, on Zune Marketplace, and on Playstation Store. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.

Cancellation
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under Starz Home Entertainment. It includes the episodes Lost in Transportation, Easy Come, Easy Gonard, and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a music video of 'I'm Alright' from Battle of the Bands, wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-To-Draw-Mikey tutorial. Invader Zim was critically accepted, winning two awards and nominations for the first episode. Since its cancellation, it has acquired renewed acclaim, with a 9.1/10 rating on TV.com and a 9.2/10 on IMDb. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales. Invader Zim did not escape criticism however. When Invader Zim was launched along with The Fairly OddParents, Christian Parenting Today criticised both programs negatively, calling them "non-Christian", "immoral" and "insulting towards Christian values and beliefs". Positive criticism came after the show was cancelled, when fans called Invader Zim "The Best Show in Nickelodeon". More negative criticism came when Invader Zim was cited in the murder trial of Scott Dyleski. The prosecution asserted that the defendant had a fascination with images of body parts. They drew attention to comments he had made after watching the Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest", where Zim collects human organs in an attempt to appear more human. Witnesses for the defense said that the comments were made in jest.

Awards and nominations
In 2008, the Animation Collective site advertised a 2nd DVD that was scheduled be released sometime later that year. However, that announcement has been erased, leaving the exact release date to be unknown. It would've included Season One in its entirety, with DVD extras, and would've been considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. No further announcement has been made as the status of this DVD. It is presumingly cancelled as of 2009. During its initial broadcast, Invader Zim was the recipient of three awards and seven nominations. In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.

Cultural Errors
The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz).
 * Being made in, and for, the United States, every character speaks English, and most do not have Japanese accents except for Ozu and Yes Man.
 * Americanized creative liberties with Japan abound in generally every minor detail, even though Japanese characters are used in signage, and the Tokyo cityscape looks accurate.
 * The top, or near-top, of Mt. Fuji is not covered in snow or ice, and no characters are clothed in winter outerwear while climbing it in the episode The Bracemaster.
 * Raccoons, which appear in the show now and then, specifically in The Phantom of the Soundstage and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, are not found in Japan. However, Japanese raccoon dogs, or tanukis, do exist in Japan and may instead be the creatures depicted, which would be consistent with the mischievous nature of these creatures in Japanese folklore.  In The Masked Tanuki, Guano's costume resembles a raccoon, even though it is named after the former.

Merchandise
A spin-off mini-series of Kappa Mikey was made for Nicktoons Network, called Dancing Sushi, and focused on the antics of the three main sushi beings that originally appeared in the bumpers of the show. . They are given names, and a fourth female sushi named Meep was added to balance out the cast. Twenty-six 1-minute episodes were made, with 3 web-exclusive episodes currently out now. The series is currently running on networks outside the United States, with no announcement for when this series will run in the United States.

Home video
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released, which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case.

The Karaoke Episode songs
These are the songs that were sang by the characters from Nicktoons Network's first original TV movie, The Karaoke Episode. They were all written by John Angier. Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many other licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic and Newbury Comics.

Plot
The last three episodes have aired after the show was stuck on a hiatus. These episodes were aired in September 2008, and declared the season (series) finale after September 20.

Characters
Zim: A member of the Irken military who infuriated the Almighty Tallest by over-zealously destroying his own planet during Operation Impending Doom 1, and was banished forever to "Foodcourtia". (The food court planet.) Zim is despised by pretty much everyone on his home planet, which is why he is sent on a "secret mission" to Earth. (In actuality, they sent him there to get rid of him for good, presumably to kill him, but a call by Zim to the Tallest half a year after he was sent there foils this scheme.) Zim is often prone to passionate outbursts proclaiming his Irken superiority, and he is extremely determined to vanquish the earth and reclaim his honor (even though he does not seem to be aware that he ever lost it, having thought of his exile to the planet Foodcourtia as more of a mission than an exile). Zim constantly makes plans to wipe out the humans, but none of them ever work. GIR: A dysfunctional "SIR unit" (Standard-issue Information Retrieval unit— the significance of the letter G is never explained) that usually causes more trouble than good. The Tallests put him together in 15 seconds from broken SIR parts, parts of a frozen yogurt machine (according to Vasquez in a Nickelodeon Magazine interview), and some garbage in their pockets. He has a short attention span, is extremely hyper, and often behaves in a bizarre and uncontrollable manner. His obsessions range from tacos to giant pigs. He is of little help to Zim, although occasionally aids him unintentionally or has a brief moment of serious lucidity. He sometimes fulfills the role of Zim's dog; for example, he whimpers and bows his antenna when scared or upset, much like a dog's ears.

Title
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode Mikey, Kappa, on August 5th, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice. Dib: Zim's main opponent on Earth. He has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural ever since he was little; and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but has apparently "cried wolf" so many times that everyone derides him as "crazy" or "insane", including his sister and father.

Overview
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular anime series, LilyMu. In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest anime star. Gaz: Dib's younger sister. She also plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in stopping Zim's schemes. She knows and admits that Zim is an alien, bent on the destruction of Earth, but doesn't care because "he's so bad at it", and she believes he is too stupid to be successful. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered (similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson). The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, incongruity, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor. Almighty Tallest: The two Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, rule together by virtue of being the tallest known Irkens. They are united in their love of destruction, tormenting of others, and in their hatred of Zim.

Production
Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced at the turn of the century, in that the property was owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation was not out-sourced, and the episodes were written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, this was Animation Collective's first ever television series, and was produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005. Production for the two seasons wrapped in September of 2007.

Supporting characters
Schwarz conceived the premise in 2000, when he was running Rumpus toys, a toy design company, in New York City, but they folded before any storyboarding could commence. They resurfaced years later as Animation Collective, and produced an early test pilot for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Perfect Hair Forever and the humor was also more adult. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. When the deal didn't go through, Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project, and the show was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. The main cast is supported by recurring characters such as Zim and Dib's teacher, Ms. Bitters, and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. Later in the series, characters such as Sizz-Lorr and Tak were introduced as extra antagonists for Zim. Lard Nar and his resistance group, The Resisty, were later added as enemies of the Irken Empire.

Premise
Voice talents were usually local, and for the most part, the show was recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversaw all phases of production, but only had writing credits on the pilot episode, Mikey Impossible, and A Christmas Mikey. All the episodes were directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score was composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to The Recycling Song, Ori and Yori's hits, Living With Mikey, How Did We Get Here?, and the songs in The Karaoke Episode. Invader Zim revolves around the life of its lead character, Zim, his malfunctioning SIR Unit, GIR, and the humans and aliens who become involved in his schemes. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" his exile in Foodcourtia and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here, elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders: special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin. It was animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators was assigned to the anime characters, and another group was in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc..., were created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds were modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds were added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds were inspired by actual locations in Tokyo.

Production
Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed, other than restricting language and certain visuals that may not be suitable for children. The biggest difference that he cites is the change from working alone to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, calling it an "absolute misery". Apart from a few double-length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self contained storyline. Sometimes the occurrences in previous episodes are mentioned but there is no continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth. The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race at a school (spelled "Skool" in the show), or in his home planning his next "big" takeover. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were beginning to build continuity: Dib's capture and repair of a downed spaceship and use of it to learn more about Zim's race; a resistance to the Irken Empire (The Resisty); an Irken seeking revenge against Zim (Tak, the hideous new girl); and various other devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology. The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allowed animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they didn't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller (or super deformed). Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which was one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style.

Characters
The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon canceled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production, and lack of interest in continuation of the series. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one. The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually aired on Nicktoons Network in mid 2006. Since November 25, 2006, both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, on Zune Marketplace, and on Playstation Store. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes.

Theme music
These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba (or her twin, Zeneba) from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the anime Naruto (the person standing next to him could be a character that's supposed to resemble Sakura Haruno, also from Naruto, note the clothing). On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi (which was running on Cartoon Network at the time). Also in the final scene of the episode entitled 'Reality Bites' there is a person in the crowd that looks like a persocom from the anime Chobits. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it. Vasquez asked his friend, Mark Tortorici, to produce ideas for the theme music for Invader Zim. The two settled on a direction for the music and Tortorici and produced a final version of the theme. Vasquez's team selected Michael Tavera to compose music for the pilot episode. Vasquez said that he asked for several of the tracks that Tavera produced to be discarded and that ultimately the team had less than half of the amount of tracks that they planned to submit. According to Vasquez, he and Tavera were not creatively "a great fit" for one another. Vasquez described the pilot music as having a "more 'children's television' sound," with a "much more traditional and not as surprising" theme as he wanted, but added that the music " worked for the pilot." Tortorici's theme song and Tavera's cover version did not appear in the pilot as there was no credit sequence. Vasquez said that members of the Invader Zim crew laughed at Tavera's version of the theme because it was "cheesy.", adding that the reaction was not mean-spirited and that Tavera had received little information about the series before submitting the music. Tavera did not become a part of the regular Invader Zim crew, while Kevin Manthei created the series' music.

Cancellation
Invader Zim was critically accepted, winning two awards and nominations for the first episode. Since its cancellation, it has acquired renewed acclaim, with a 9.1/10 rating on TV.com and a 9.2/10 on IMDb. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales. Invader Zim did not escape criticism. When Invader Zim was launched along with The Fairly OddParents, Christian Parenting Today criticised both programs negatively, calling them "non-Christian", "immoral" and "insulting towards Christian values and beliefs". More negative criticism came when Invader Zim was cited in the murder trial of Scott Dyleski. The prosecution asserted that the defendant had a fascination with images of body parts. They drew attention to comments he had made after watching the Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest", where Zim collects human organs in an attempt to appear more human. Witnesses for the defense said that the comments were made in jest.

Awards and nominations
In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.

Home media
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under Starz Home Entertainment. It includes the episodes Lost in Transportation, Easy Come, Easy Gonard, and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a music video of 'I'm Alright' from Battle of the Bands, wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-To-Draw-Mikey tutorial. The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz). In 2008, the Animation Collective site advertised a 2nd DVD that was scheduled be released sometime later that year. However, that announcement has been erased, leaving the exact release date to be unknown. It would've included Season One in its entirety, with DVD extras, and would've been considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. No further announcement has been made as the status of this DVD. It is presumingly cancelled as of 2009. In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production.

Cultural errors

 * Being made in, and for, the United States, every character speaks English, and most do not have Japanese accents except for Ozu and Yes Man.
 * Americanized creative liberties with Japan abound in generally every minor detail, even though Japanese characters are used in signage, and the Tokyo cityscape looks accurate.
 * The top, or near-top, of Mt. Fuji is not covered in snow or ice, and no characters are clothed in winter outerwear while climbing it in the episode The Bracemaster.
 * Raccoons, which appear in the show now and then, specifically in The Phantom of the Soundstage and The Man Who Would Be Mikey, are not found in Japan. However, Japanese raccoon dogs, or tanukis, do exist in Japan and may instead be the creatures depicted, which would be consistent with the mischievous nature of these creatures in Japanese folklore.  In The Masked Tanuki, Guano's costume resembles a raccoon, even though it is named after the former.
 * The show can't seem to decide whether Mikey can read Japanese or not. In The Switch, Mikey sews a few pages of Mitsuki's diary into a quilt. This means that either they write in English, or Mikey learned to read kanji, which is highly unlikely, since the episode The Lost Pilot states that he can't read kanji when he looks at the menu.

Dancing Sushi
A spin-off mini-series of Kappa Mikey was made for Nicktoons Network, called Dancing Sushi, and focused on the antics of the three main sushi beings that originally appeared in the bumpers of the show. . They are given names, and a fourth female sushi named Meep was added to balance out the cast. Twenty-six 1-minute episodes were made, with 3 web-exclusive episodes currently out now. The series is currently running on networks outside the United States, with no announcement for when this series will run in the United States.

Home video
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released, which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case.

The Karaoke Episode songs
These are the songs that were sang by the characters from Nicktoons Network's first original TV movie, The Karaoke Episode. They were all written by John Angier. Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many other licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic and Newbury Comics.

Premise
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular live-action series, LilyMu, which is presented as an "anime". In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest star in anime history. Invader Zim revolves around the life of its lead character, Zim, his malfunctioning SIR Unit, GIR, and the humans and aliens who become involved in his schemes. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for over zealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" his exile in Foodcourtia and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here, elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders: special soldiers whose mission it is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence, and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet, and in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "Mystery Planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin when he lands on earth for the first time. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered, similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson. The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, incongruity, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor.

Characters
Zim: Overzealous, impulsive, and convinced of his own greatness, Zim is incompetent as an invader. He dreams of pleasing his species' leaders, The Almighty Tallest, by taking part in Operation Impending Doom II, which is an Irken military initiative to conquer the universe. The Tallest send him to Earth (a planet of no interest to the Empire on the outskirts of the known universe) on a mission of conquest with a small ship and a robot servant cobbled together out of a screw, 2 pennies, a paper clip, and a rubber ball. They were expecting him to die or become lost en route. Against the odds, Zim lands on Earth and establishes a base and, much to the chagrin of the Tallest, is in routine communication with his homeworld. Because of his stature, Zim disguises himself as a human child. Despite his tendency to vociferously malign humans as a species, his undisguised green skin, a severe allergy to water, a disinclination to eat human food, multiple failures in his disguise, and an occasionally blatant disregard for his own cover, no one realizes that Zim is an alien -- with the exception of Dib. In spite of his slight build, Zim occasionally displays superhuman strength and agility, although due to the show's lack of continuity, these traits are not always present. He is never without his PAK, a backpack-like piece of equipment with long, retractable arms that enable him to move about quickly and climb almost any obstacle. Zim constantly schemes to enslave or destroy mankind, and despite his access to potent Irken technology, his plans, frequently based on misconceptions, are never successful. GIR: Zim's only companion, GIR is a SIR (Standard Information Retrieval) unit, an Irken standard-issue robot. The name "GIR" is a self-applied moniker that is never explained, GIR himself states that he doesn't know why he refers to himself as GIR. GIR differs physically from other SIR units in that his head contains odds-and-ends rather than artificial intelligence hardware. Because of this GIR displays a wildly erratic personality. He is almost completely irreverent, and rarely obeys Zim's commands, variously due to distraction, disinterest and disobedience. GIR disguises himself by wearing a dog suit which fools most humans, despite looking almost nothing like an Earth dog. Dib: Zim's main opponent on Earth. He has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural ever since he was little; and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but has apparently "cried wolf" so many times that everyone derides him as "crazy" or "insane", including his sister and father. Gaz: Gaz is Dib's cynical and humorlessly sarcastic younger sister. She plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in attempting to hinder Zim's schemes. Though she knows and admits Zim is an alien she believes Zim is too dumb to actually be a threat. She enjoys a very limited number of things, a few of them being Pizza and Video Games (particularly Game Slave and Game Slave II). The Almighty Tallest: The two Irken leaders, known as the Almighty Tallest, rule together by virtue of being the tallest known Irkens. They are united in their love of destruction, tormenting of others, snacks, and their hatred of Zim.

Supporting characters
The main cast is supported by recurring characters such as Zim and Dib's teacher, Ms. Bitters, and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. Later in the series, characters such as Sizz-Lorr and Tak were introduced as extra antagonists for Zim. Lard Nar and his resistance group, The Resisty, were later added as enemies of the Irken Empire.

Production
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode "Mikey, Kappa", on August 5th, 2007, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice. Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed, other than restricting language and certain visuals that may not be suitable for children. The biggest difference that he cites is the change from working alone to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, calling it an "absolute misery". Apart from a few double-length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self-contained storyline. Sometimes the occurrences in previous episodes are mentioned but there is no continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth. The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race at a school (spelled "Skool" in the show), or in his home planning his next "big" takeover. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were beginning to build continuity: Dib's capture and repair of a downed spaceship and use of it to learn more about Zim's race; a resistance to the Irken Empire (The Resisty); an Irken seeking revenge against Zim (Tak, the hideous new girl); and various other devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology.

Episode broadcast
The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon canceled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production, and lack of interest in continuation of the series. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one. The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually aired on Nicktoons Network in mid 2006. Since November 25, 2006, both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on Xbox LIVE Marketplace, on Zune Marketplace, and on Playstation Store. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes. In 2010, episodes of Invader Zim were aired on Nicktoons Network for the month of March. Later in the summer, they began airing them again until August.

Theme music
Vasquez asked his friend, Mark Tortorici, to produce ideas for the theme music for Invader Zim. The two settled on a direction for the music and Tortorici and produced a final version of the theme. Vasquez's team selected Michael Tavera to compose music for the pilot episode. Vasquez said that he asked for several of the tracks that Tavera produced to be discarded and that ultimately the team had less than half of the amount of tracks that they planned to submit. According to Vasquez, he and Tavera were not creatively "a great fit" for one another. Vasquez described the pilot music as having a "more 'children's television' sound", with a "much more traditional and not as surprising" theme as he wanted, but added that the music "worked for the pilot". Tortorici's theme song and Tavera's cover version did not appear in the pilot as there was no credit sequence. Vasquez said that members of the Invader Zim crew laughed at Tavera's version of the theme because it was "cheesy", adding that the reaction was not mean-spirited and that Tavera had received little information about the series before submitting the music. Tavera did not become a part of the regular Invader Zim crew, while Kevin Manthei created the series' music.

Response
Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced at the turn of the century, in that the property was owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation was not out-sourced, and the episodes were written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, the series became Animation Collective's first television series. The series was produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005. Production for the two seasons wrapped in September 2007. Invader Zim was critically accepted, winning two awards and nominations for the first episode. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales.

Awards and nominations
Schwarz conceived the series in 2000, when he was running Rumpus toys, a toy design company in New York City, but they folded before any storyboarding could commence. They resurfaced years later as Animation Collective, and produced an early test pilot for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Adult Swim series Perfect Hair Forever, and the humor was also more adult-oriented. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. MTV declined the deal, and Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project. The series was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. Voice talents were usually local, and its audio was recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversaw all phases of production, but only had writing credits on the pilot episode, "Mikey Impossible", and "A Christmas Mikey". All the episodes were directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score was composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to "The Recycling Song", "Ori and Yori's Hits", "Living With Mikey", "How Did We Get Here?", and the songs in "The Karaoke Episode". During its initial broadcast, Invader Zim was the recipient of three awards and seven nominations. In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence. The series was animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators was assigned to the anime characters, and another group was in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc., were created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds were modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds were added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds were inspired by actual locations in Tokyo. The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allowed animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they didn't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller. Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which was one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style. The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz).

Characters
In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production. These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba, or her twin, Zeneba, from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the magna/anime franchise Naruto. The person standing next to him could be a character that s supposed to resemble Sakura Haruno, also from Naruto, note the clothing. On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, which was running on Cartoon Network at the time. Also in the final scene of the episode "Reality Bites", there is a person in the crowd that was designed like a persocom from the anime Chobits. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it.

Episodes
Invader Zim did not escape criticism. When Invader Zim was launched along with The Fairly OddParents, Christian Parenting Today criticised both programs, calling them "non-Christian", "immoral", and "insulting towards Christian values and beliefs" (due to Invader Zim's dark nature, and Fairly OddParents use of magic, similar to the Religious debates over the Harry Potter series). More negative criticism came when Invader Zim was cited in the murder trial of Scott Dyleski. The prosecution asserted that the defendant had a fascination with images of body parts. They drew attention to comments he had made after watching the Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest," in which Zim collects human organs in an attempt to appear more human. Witnesses for the defense said that the comments were made in jest.

Merchandise
{| class="wikitable"



Home video
! Seasons In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released, which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters silently stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case. On April 2 of 2010, Invader Zim was re-released on DVD as two sets. ! First Airdate ! Last Airdate
 * Season 1
 * style="text-align: center; top" | 26
 * February 25, 2006
 * April 28, 2007
 * Season 2
 * style="text-align: center; top" | 26
 * June 9, 2007
 * September 20, 2008
 * }

Home media
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under the Starz Home Entertainment brand, and includes the episodes "Lost in Transportation", "Easy Come, Easy Gonard", and "The Man Who Would Be Mikey", all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a fictional music video of "I'm Alright" taken from "Battle of the Bands", wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-to-Draw-Mikey tutorial. Two series of Invader Zim figures were produced, including Zim, GIR, Dib, Ms. Bitters, and Almighty Tallest Purple in the first series and Human Disguise Zim, Doggie Disguise GIR, Gaz, Almighty Tallest Red, and the Robo-Parents in the second. A third series was planned with Santa Zim, Elf GIR, Professor Membrane, Tak, and Nightmare Bitters, but the manufacturer, Palisades Toys, ceased operations in early 2006. A multitude of other toys were produced before the termination of Palisade, such as a miniature replica of the Voot Cruiser and a 12 inch "Mega GIR" figurine with a removable dog disguise. Many other licensed products exist such as iron on transfers, stickers, and keychains, which are commonly sold at retailers like Hot Topic and Newbury Comics.

Video games
In 2008, the Animation Collective site advertised a second DVD that was scheduled be released sometime later that year. However, the announcement was removed from the website, leaving the exact release date to be unknown. The DVD was intended to include the first season in its entirety, with DVD extras, and would have been considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. No further announcement has been made as the status of this DVD. As of 2009, this release is shelved.

An interactive Flash game has been posted on Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim site since the series' original broadcast, based on the episode "NanoZim", in addition to other shockwave games. There were two video games created with Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy and Nickelodeon Party Blast. Zim's Voot Cruiser and house were seen briefly in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. GIR was a playable character in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots while Zim was only playable in the DS version. Both Zim and Dib are playable in Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, with GIR as a boss battle. The game Nicktoons: Android Invasion, on the educational Didj platform, is set entirely inside Zim's base. Zim is the main boss in the game, with several other characters making appearances. The series has never had any stand-alone video games.

Premise
The series centers around Mikey Simon, a 19-year-old actor who just graduated from high school and is from Cleveland, Ohio. He embarks to Japan after winning a scratch-off card contest to star in the country's formerly popular live-action series, LilyMu, which is presented as an "anime". In doing this, he rockets the show back to the top of the ratings, and becomes Japan's biggest star in anime history. Invader Zim revolves around the life of its lead character, Zim, his malfunctioning SIR Unit GIR and the humans and aliens who become involved in his schemes. Zim is a member of the imperialistic Irken race, an extraterrestrial species whose social hierarchy is based on height. The Irken leaders, known as The Almighty Tallest, serve together because they are exactly the same height. As recounted during the series premiere, "The Nightmare Begins", Zim, who is both very short and very naïve, was banished to the planet Foodcourtia for overzealously attacking his own planet and allies during Operation Impending Doom I. Upon hearing of Operation Impending Doom II, Zim "quits" his exile in Foodcourtia and arrives at the Great Assigning. Here, elite Irken soldiers are chosen to become Invaders: special soldiers whose mission is to blend in with the indigenous life forms of their assigned planet, collect intelligence and prepare the planet for conquest by the Irken Armada. Zim pleads with the Tallest to assign him a planet and, in a desperate act to get Zim as far away as possible, they assign him to a presumed planet on the outskirts of their known universe that has never been explored. This "mystery planet" is Earth, and Zim's erratic attempts at world domination and/or the eradication of the human race begin when he lands on Earth for the first time. Segments of LilyMu are seen at the beginning and end of each episode, but the show focuses primarily on the actors' and producers' lives off-set and Mikey's adjustments to the new world he has entered, similar in concept to The Famous Jett Jackson. The humor comes from the fact that because Mikey is an American, he actually stands out visually from the other cast members, similar to the mix of styles in Who Framed Roger Rabbit. While most characters on the show are drawn in an anime-inspired style (thin outlines, big, detailed eyes, small mouths, and all ten fingers), Mikey (and all other American characters) is drawn in a retro-inspired American cartoon manner (thicker outlines, single black dot pupil eyes, a larger mouth, and only eight fingers). The humor is delivered in a rapid pace, and also consists of light satire, incongruity, slapstick, character quirks, and a fair amount of gross-out humor.

Characters

 * Zim (Richard Steven Horvitz): Overzealous, impulsive and convinced of his own greatness, Zim is incompetent as an invader. He constantly schemes to enslave or destroy mankind and, despite his access to potent Irken technology, his plans, frequently based on misconceptions, are never successful.
 * GIR (Rosearik Rikki Simons): Zim's only companion, GIR is a SIR (Standard Information Retrieval) unit, an Irken standard-issue robot. He was made out of some scraps in a trash bin by The Almighty Tallest. The name "GIR" is a self-applied moniker that is never explained; GIR himself states that he doesn't know why he refers to himself as GIR. GIR differs physically from other SIR units in that his head contains odds-and-ends rather than artificial intelligence hardware. Because of this, GIR displays a wildly erratic personality. He is almost completely irreverent and rarely obeys Zim's commands, variously due to distraction, disinterest and disobedience. GIR disguises himself by wearing a green dog suit which fools most humans, despite looking almost nothing like an Earth dog.
 * Dib (Andy Berman): Zim's main opponent on Earth. He has been obsessed with the paranormal and supernatural ever since he was a baby and instantly recognizes Zim as an alien, but everyone derides him as "crazy" or "insane", including his sister and father.
 * Gaz (Melissa Fahn): Gaz is Dib's cynical and humorlessly sarcastic younger sister. She plays a prominent role in the show, but rarely takes an active part in attempting to hinder Zim's schemes. Though she knows and admits Zim is an alien, she believes Zim is too dumb to actually be a threat. She enjoys a very limited number of things, a few of them being pizza and video games.
 * Almighty Tallest (Wally Wingert; Kevin McDonald): Red and Purple, collectively known as the Almighty Tallest, are the supreme emperors of the Irken race. They are united in their love of destruction, tormenting of others, snacks, puppet shows and their hatred of Zim.

Supporting characters
The main cast is supported by recurring characters such as Dib's teacher, Ms. Bitters, and Dib's father, Professor Membrane. Later in the series, characters such as Sizz-Lorr and Tak were introduced as extra antagonists for Zim. Lard Nar and his resistance group, The Resisty, were later added as enemies of the Irken Empire.

Production
The show's title is a variation on the word kappamaki, a type of sushi. It is suggested that it was the inspiration for naming the title character Mikey, and uses the prefix kappa. Like Mikey, who is a 'fish out of water' in Japan, the kappa creature itself is a water demon who can live on land. The kappas first appeared on this show in the episode "Mikey, Kappa", on August 5th, 2007, where the origin of the title was explained. Mikey also shares his name with the actor who supplies his voice. Invader Zim was created by comic book writer Jhonen Vasquez. Vasquez indicated that very little of his writing style was changed, other than restricting language and certain visuals that may not be suitable for children. The biggest difference that he cites is the change from working alone to working with thousands of people at Nickelodeon, calling it an "absolute misery". Apart from a few double-length episodes (including the debut), each episode is a self-contained storyline. Sometimes the occurrences in previous episodes are mentioned but there is no continuing storyline other than the main invasion plot. According to the DVD commentaries, Invader Zim takes place in an alternate universe of its own, with a present-day Earth more technologically advanced than the real Earth. The most common setting of the show is where Zim spends most of his time "infiltrating" the human race at a school (spelled "Skool" in the show), or in his home planning his next "big" takeover. However, towards the end of the show, a larger universe of characters and organizations were beginning to build continuity: Dib's capture and repair of a downed spaceship and use of it to learn more about Zim's race; a resistance to the Irken Empire (The Resisty); an Irken seeking revenge against Zim (Tak); and various other devices which were becoming more and more a part of the show's central mythology. Kappa Mikey is different from other cartoons produced at the turn of the century, in that the property was owned by the studio instead of an agency, the animation was not out-sourced, and the episodes were written by a full-time staff. After producing Internet-based projects and television spots, the series became Animation Collective's first television series. The series was produced in New York City starting from the summer of 2005. Production for the two seasons wrapped in September 2007.

Episode broadcast
Schwarz conceived the series in 2000, when he was running Rumpus toys, a toy design company in New York City, but they folded before any storyboarding could commence. They resurfaced years later as Animation Collective, and produced an early test pilot for a pitch to MTV Networks, where the character designs and backgrounds resembled more like those found in Adult Swim series Perfect Hair Forever, and the humor was also more adult-oriented. Much of the current cast was voicing their characters even this early in production. MTV declined the deal, and Nickelodeon eventually picked up the project. The series was tweaked heavily in order to be aimed at a younger audience. Voice talents were usually local, and its audio was recorded at Manhattan-based NYAV Post, which Michael Sinterniklaas owns. Larry Schwarz, along with the other executive producers, oversaw all phases of production, but only had writing credits on the pilot episode, "Mikey Impossible", and "A Christmas Mikey". All the episodes were directed by Sergei Aniskov. The instrumental score was composed by John Angier, who also wrote the lyrics to "The Recycling Song", "Ori and Yori's Hits", "Living With Mikey", "How Did We Get Here?", and the songs in "The Karaoke Episode".

The two seasons of Invader Zim were produced before Nickelodeon cancelled the show citing low ratings, over-budget production and lack of interest in continuation of the series. In season two, the animation style became slightly more stylized and pronounced in motion than season one. The majority of the completed season two episodes were never aired on Nickelodeon in the North American territories, although they were all eventually aired on Nicktoons Network in mid-2006. Since November 25, 2006, both seasons of Invader Zim are available for download on the Xbox Live Marketplace, Zune Marketplace, and PlayStation Store. In addition, the majority of the show's episodes are available for download on iTunes. The series was animated in Adobe Flash, with some moments of CGI rendered in Maya. To further emphasize the contrast in animation styles, one group of animators was assigned to the anime characters, and another group was in charge of Mikey and the other American characters. The vehicles on LilyMu and around Tokyo, as well as the weapons, the Gonard balloon, Pirate King's ship, the Karaoke Genie Machine, etc., were created in Maya and exported into Flash using the Toon Filter. The backgrounds were modeled in Maya, and texture, details, and clouds were added in Photoshop. Some of the backgrounds were inspired by actual locations in Tokyo. The show's anime-style characters perform with large comedic overuses of face faults, such as a face and/or body turning into an exaggerated general appearance, or becoming much smaller. This allowed animators to have more control over how a character looks and acts than on many other Flash shows, and they didn't always have to be on-model. The show uses clichés common to anime, including the sweat drop, lines over the eyes or no eyes at all, big heads, flaming eyes, bodies becoming smaller. Sometimes Mikey will try to do these things, which was one of the show's running gags, but cannot due to being drawn in an American style. In 2010, episodes of Invader Zim were aired on the Nicktoons Network. The reruns were the second highest-rated show on the network, and according to Vasquez, were part of a plan by the network to see if a revival of Invader Zim was feasible.

Theme music
These characters are modeled on cartoon stereotypes, to varying extents. The show also features secondary characters and extras, mostly in crowd scenes, whose designs are directly inspired by famous anime characters, but who are different enough to avoid copyright infringements. Sometimes this is done to spoof the films and television programs intentionally, such as the character Masaka Masako, whose appearance spoofs Yubaba, or her twin, Zeneba, from the film Spirited Away, or Takashi Katashi, who shares a similar appearance and name with Kakashi Hatake from the magna/anime franchise Naruto. The person standing next to him could be a character that s supposed to resemble Sakura Haruno, also from Naruto, note the clothing. On another episode there is an anime version of Ami and Yumi from the TV series, Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi, which was running on Cartoon Network at the time. Also in the final scene of the episode "Reality Bites", there is a person in the crowd that was designed like a persocom from the anime Chobits. Other times, it is done to continue the show's original concept, without any intention behind it. Vasquez asked his friend, Mark Tortorici, to produce ideas for the theme music for Invader Zim. The two settled on a direction for the music and Tortorici and produced a final version of the theme. Vasquez's team selected Michael Tavera to compose music for the pilot episode. Vasquez said that he asked for several of the tracks that Tavera produced to be discarded and that ultimately the team had less than half of the number of tracks that they planned to submit. According to Vasquez, he and Tavera were not creatively "a great fit" for one another. Vasquez described the pilot music as having a "more 'children's television' sound", with a "much more traditional and not as surprising" theme as he wanted, but added that the music "worked for the pilot". Tortorici's theme song and Tavera's cover version did not appear in the pilot as there was no credit sequence. Vasquez said that members of the Invader Zim crew laughed at Tavera's version of the theme because it was "cheesy", adding that the reaction was not mean-spirited and that Tavera had received little information about the series before submitting the music. Tavera did not become a part of the regular Invader Zim crew, while Kevin Manthei created the series' music.

Critical reception
Invader Zim was critically accepted, winning two awards and nominations for the first episode. The DVD release has also renewed interest and re-evaluation of the show, receiving high scores and sales.

Awards and nominations
In 2001, Kyle Menke won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation for "The Nightmare Begins" for his storyboarding, as did Steve Ressel, who won an Annie for Outstanding Individual Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television Production for "The Nightmare Begins". That same year, Steve Ressel, Jhonen Vasquez, and Mary Harrington won the World Animation Celebration award for Best Title Sequence.

Home media
A Kappa Mikey DVD was released on September 18, 2007 under the Starz Home Entertainment brand, and includes the episodes "Lost in Transportation", "Easy Come, Easy Gonard", and "The Man Who Would Be Mikey", all from the first season, as well as bonus material, including a fictional music video of "I'm Alright" taken from "Battle of the Bands", wallpaper, an interactive game parodying Hollywood Squares, and a How-to-Draw-Mikey tutorial. The show was nominated for five other Annie Awards in 2001: Outstanding Achievement in a Primetime or Late Night Animated Television Production, Outstanding Individual Achievement for Directing in an Animated Television Production (Steve Ressel for episode "Dark Harvest"), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Music Score in an Animated Television Production (Kevin Manthei), Outstanding Individual Achievement for Production Design in an Animated Television Production (Vasquez), and Outstanding Individual Achievement for Voice Acting by a Male Performer in an Animated Television Production (Richard Steven Horvitz). In 2008, the Animation Collective site advertised a second DVD that was scheduled be released sometime later that year. However, the announcement was removed from the website, leaving the exact release date to be unknown. The DVD was intended to include the first season in its entirety, with DVD extras, and would have been considered more of an "official" volume than the last one. No further announcement has been made as the status of this DVD. As of 2009, this release is shelved. In 2002, the sound crew was nominated for the Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in Television - Animation for "The Nightmare Begins". In 2003, the show was nominated post-cancellation for an Annie for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Television Production. Season 1 (Episodes 1 - 13) was released on DVD on September 12th, 2007, and Season 1 (Episodes 14-26) was released on DVD on March 12th, 2008 by Anchor Bay Entertainment in Australia.

Criticism and controversy
The soundtrack for "Kappa Karaoke" is available as a downloadable album on iTunes. Invader Zim did not escape criticism for its mature tone. When Invader Zim was launched along with The Fairly OddParents, Christian Parenting Today criticised both programs, calling them "non-Christian", "immoral", and "insulting towards Christian values and beliefs" (due to Invader Zim's dark nature, and Fairly OddParents use of magic, similar to the religious debates over the Harry Potter series). More negative criticism came when Invader Zim was cited in the murder trial of Scott Dyleski. The prosecution asserted that the defendant had a fascination with images of body parts. They drew attention to comments he had made after watching the Invader Zim episode "Dark Harvest", in which Zim collects human organs in an attempt to appear more human. Witnesses for the defense said that the comments were made in jest.

Merchandise

 * The voice of Gonard (Sean Schemmel) is also the same actor who voiced Goku from the Dragon Ball Z series. If one listens closely they can hear that Gonard sounds very similar to Goku in terms of voice.

Home video
In May 2004, Media Blasters released the first volume of an official Invader Zim DVD collection in cooperation with Nickelodeon. By late 2004, two subsequent volumes completed the series release. A boxed set in the shape of Zim's house has also been released, which includes an extras disc with an alternate cut of "The Most Horrible X-mas Ever", complete voice overs for seven of the unfinished episodes, interviews with Kevin Manthei on the sound design and music of Invader Zim, and a soundtrack of Kevin Manthei's main compositions for the show. Originally this set included a duty-mode "GIR" figurine in a roof compartment in the box set, but Media Blasters silently stopped including it with the termination of Palisade, the toy company that had been producing Invader Zim figurines. The three DVD volumes were re-released in late 2006 as a low-priced series box set without Zim's house as a case. On April 2 of 2010, Invader Zim was re-released on DVD as two sets. A new DVD was released on February 22, 2011 called "Operation Doom". This set contains the highest rated episodes to air on Nicktoons Network throughout 2010.

Video games
Other anime about Kappas unrelated to Mikey: An interactive Flash game has been posted on Nickelodeon's official Invader Zim site since the series' original broadcast, based on the episode "NanoZim", in addition to other shockwave games. There were two video games created with Zim as an included character: Nicktoons: Freeze Frame Frenzy and Nickelodeon Party Blast. Zim's Voot Cruiser and house were seen briefly in Nicktoons: Battle for Volcano Island. GIR was a playable character in Nicktoons: Attack of the Toybots while Zim was only playable in the DS version. Both Zim and Dib are playable in Nicktoons: Globs of Doom, with GIR as a boss battle and rescuie after the battle. Zim and Gaz will be in an upcoming game called Nicktoons MLB. The game Nicktoons: Android Invasion, on the educational Didj platform, is set entirely inside Zim's base. Zim is the main boss in the game, with several other characters making appearances. The series has yet to have a stand-alone video game set.
 * Kappa no Coo to Natsuyasumi
 * Kappa no Kaikata