Cubix: Robots for Everyone

Cubix: Robots For Everyone (2001) was a short-lived Korean All CGI Cartoon, set in a future not so far away where robots capable of emotions and independent thought are commonplace. The plot revolves around a boy named Connor and his robot Cubix, a Super Prototype made of modular blocks who can transform into any number of useful forms. Along with his friends from the local robot repair shop (the "Botties"), Connor and Cubix battle the evil Dr. K as he tries to collect a mysterious substance called Solex that's causing robots to go berserk.

The series was licensed and dubbed by 4Kids Entertainment, and aired every Saturday morning on The CW's Toonzai block.

The official YouTube channel is here.

Tropes used in Cubix: Robots for Everyone include:

• A Boy and His X: A boy and his multi-colored shapeshifting super-powered Robot Buddy.
• Awesome By Analysis: Cerebrix has no offensive capabilities, but, as his name suggests, he is essentially a brain on legs. He can hack and/or analyze just about anything and can replicate any frequency he comes across, allowing him to jam the enemies' weapons while the others do the hitting.
• Bare Your Midriff: Abby.
• British Accents: Kan-it speaks with... some form of British accent.
• Chest Blaster: Cubix combines this with a Battle Aura to push enemies off of him. Kolossal has a solar cannon he only uses once. Kulminator has two: a Gatling-like beam and a Solex-powered Disintegrator Ray.
• Combining Mecha: Katastrophe has two main parts that can operate separately or join together.
• Crush! Kill! Destroy!: Solex-infected robots mostly do this.
• Disney Death: Cubix twice near the end of season 1.
  • And Maximix at the end of season 2, who is killed by Kilobot, and is brought back using the data that Kilobot had absorbed from Maximix in an earlier episode. Possibly subverted somewhat as Maximix lost some of his memory as a result.
• Disappeared Dad/Missing Mom: Both Conner's mom and Hela's dad are dead. It turns out that Hela's dad, Dr. Nemo, had just been kidnapped.
• Do-Anything Robot: Cubix can parts-shift to form vehicles for Connor, including a hover scooter and helicopter. The toy even featured a tank mode. On top of that, Cubix even has smaller gadgets built into his cube parts that can be used in other situations.
• Enemy Mine: In the series finale, The Botties and Dr. K team up to stop Kilobot from taking over the world.
• Exactly What It Says on the Tin: Cubix not only is made of cubes, but also features the colors on a standard Rubix cube (red, green, yellow, blue, white, and orange). May qualify as Fridge Brilliance.
• Expy: Kilobot resembles the Astranagant from Super Robot Wars Alpha (who was created by combining the data of many robots), and similar to its pilot Ingram Prisken, he betrays his master.
• Falling Into the Cockpit: Near the end of the first series, the Botties take control of Dr. K's other robots when fighting Kolossal. Of course, they have no idea what they're doing.
• Face Heel Turn: Konfusion.
• First-Episode Resurrection: No one had been able to repair Cubix until Connor came along in the first episode.
• Five-Man Band:
  • The Hero: Connor
  • The Lancer/The Chick: Abby
  • The Big Guy: Mong
  • The Smart Guy: Chip
  • The Mentor: Hela
• Giant Enemy Krab
• Girlish Pigtails: Abby
• Hey, It's That Voice!: Veronica Taylor as Abby, the late Maddie Blaustein as Dr. K.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: Kilobot was defeated when the heroes used his own giant Zombot monster to drain him of his EPU energy.
  • Considering Kilobot's method of gaining his powers, it's ironic and poetic.
• Hulk Speak: "KOLOSSAL CRUSH!"
• Humongous Mecha: Dr. K uses his evil autonomous versions to battle the kids. They later turn out to have internal cockpits. Also, Kulminator and Kontraption.
• Incredibly Lame Pun: The show is chock full of them.
• Kill It with Fire: At least two Solex-infected robots had spouted flamethrowers and torched everything around them.
• MacGuffin: Solex isn't even explained in the first few episodes. Dr. K wants it, and he goes out and gets it while the kids try to stop him. It's later revealed to be a powerful source of fuel, and is used later to move a giant robot.
• Mad Scientist: Dr. K definitely counts
• Mecha Expansion Pack: Cubix gets one near the end of season 2.
• Mega Manning: This is Kilobot's special ability. He can copy the information of any robot he absorbs, gaining their powers and the ability to shapeshift into them.
• Mouth Flaps: Expected from a Korean CG series dubbed into English. Largely averted for the robots, none of whom have movable mouths in the first place (and whose lines are noticeably less awkward as a result).
• Multiple Personalities: The aptly-named Konfusion.
• Names to Run Away From Really Fast: Dr. K's combat robots, even if they aren't up to par with Cubix.
• Narrator: Connor, for at least seven episodes in the first season anyway.
• Only One Name: All the human characters, save for Hela Nemo.
• Open Says Me: Kilobot (disgused as Maximix)

Kilobot:"Standing by, NOT"

• Robot Buddy: "Robots for Everyone" is the show's tagline, and also the in-world tagline of RobixCorp, which offers hundreds of models from pet-like companions to kitchen assistants to construction bots.
• Robot Master: Nearly every human in the show except Connor's dad.
• Rocket Punch: Yes, Cubix can do this.
• The Starscream: Kilobot.
• Suddenly Voiced: Throughout the first season, Cubix spoke like a parrot, repeating whatever words he heard his friends say. In the season finale, after being brought back to life after his Heroic Sacrifice to save Bubble Town from the Kulminator, he gains the ability to speak his own words.
• Super-Powered Robot Meter Maids: Solex makes the infected robots gain powers that seem rather implausible.
• The Ahnold: Maximix.
• The Alien Behind The Man: In the first season, Dr. K was working along with an alien creature to gather the Solex for their plan.
  • In season two, it was inverted into The Robot In Front Of The Man when Kilobot, who looked like at first he was obeying Dr. K's orders, turned out to have his own plans and in the end, double crossed Dr. K and nearly lead an army of robots in the conquest of the world.
• The Power of Friendship: Cubix runs off of this, and it brings him back to life. Especially on more than one occasion.
• The Reveal: It turned out that Raska, the attractive model who was the spokesperson for RobixCorp was actually the alien creature who was working with Dr. K in disguise.
• The Virus: This was how Kilobot's Zombot army worked. They would touch a robot and drain them of their EPU energy, turning them into Zombots as well, then the new Zombots would repeat the process.
• Theme Naming: RobixCorp robots usually have "ix" somewhere in their names.
• This Is a Drill: Krab hoists an energy-equivalent weapon, and Cubix sports a Drill Tank mode.
• Tim Taylor Technology: In a pinch? Need to save your friends? Overclock your super-powered reactor and save the day!
• Transformation Sequence: Stock footage used several times per episode, on account of Cubix's many forms.
• Transforming Mecha: Cubix, although he parts-shifts instead of an actual transformation between pre-defined modes. This gives him a surprising amount of versatility.
  • Maximix can also turn into a trike.
• Turned Against Their Masters: This happened to many of the robots that were infected with Solex. Kilobot also did this in the season two finale. In an interesting twist, Kilobot's Keystone Army of Zombots did the same thing to him when the heroes reprogrammed them to attack him.
• Twenty Minutes Into the Future: "In the future, not so far away..."
• Villainous Breakdown: After Cubix and the gang foil Kilobot's plans, he becomes enraged and attempts to wipe Cubix out by crushing his EPU with his bare hands.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Many robots in the show are capable of this, including Cubix.
• X-Ray Sparks: The manner in which Dr. K creates Kilobot, much like a certain other monster.
• Xtreme Kool Letterz: Dr. K's robots follow a theme of starting with "K", e.g. Kolossal, Katastrophe, Krab, Klawber, Kannon, Kuliminator, Kontraption, Kilobot and even Kan-it, Konfusion, and Klank. Most of the manufactured robots from RobixCorp end with "ix," i.e. Diagnostix, Hop-2-ix, Lectrix, etc.
• You Meddling Kids: Said by Dr. K on at least one occasion.