Spicy City Brings The Heat

Not many have heard of the short-lived HBO series Spicy City, which sounds more like the name of an Indonesian restaurant than a cyberpunk cartoon for grownups. Directed by animation genius Ralph Bakshi, Spicy City wasn't as bizarre and visceral as its popular predecessor Aeon Flux, but it was similarly molded around the themes of sex and technology.

Like all the best cyberpunk, the 1997 series was an anthological blend of sci-fi and film noir, hosted by femme fatale Raven. Despite dealing with such topics as clones, strippers, and mutant duck-men, the show was anything but derivative. The animation wasn't quite as advanced as Bakshi's rotoscoped film work, but its "cartoony" quality is still quite pretty to look at, and may appeal to fans of "MTV-style" animation such as Daria and Spy Groove.

The show has yet to be released on DVD, but never fear. Youtube to the rescue. Be wary of animated nipples (i.e. mildly NSFW).