Anemia & lodine

***Anemia and Iodine*** (stylized as ***Anemia & Iodine***) is an an American animated television series created by Krystine Kryttre for Pinwheel. The show now airs on its sister channel, Pinstalgia, in the form of reruns.

The show centers on the life of a redheaded anthropomorphic cat named Anemia and her companions: her energetic and courageous brother Dropsy, her neurotic and stress-ridden wallaby girlfriend Iodine, the mad German doctor Reinhard and Dropsy's demonic cat Bodach. It is set in the fictional town of La Mort. Throughout its run, the show was controversial for its adult humor, including double entendre, innuendo (often sexual), and satirical social commentary, similar to *The Ren & Stimpy Show*. There was also polarization over the show's surrounding themes of occultism, as well as the portrayal of a GLBTQ relationship, with Kryttre herself being accused of indoctrination of children, and being a Satanist. The series has gained a cult following, being one of Pinwheel's highest rated series.

Kryttre originally created the show as an animation segment as part of the the *Surprising Shorts* feature on the Pinwheel animated sketch comedy series *KaBlam!*. Later on, Pinwheel contacted Kryttre for a potential pitch to the series, Pinwheel was looking for edgier cartoonists for its then-new Pintoons. The network gave the staff a large amount of creative freedom, with the writers generally targeting towards older children, teenagers and adults. The show premiered on July 13, 1997, and ended on November 13, 2004, totaling 7 seasons and 93 episodes.

The show launched the careers of voice actors Chris Phillips and Robin Atkin Downes.

## Plot

### Characters

*Anemia and Iodine* follows the adventurous life of a redheaded anthropomorphic cat named **Anemia**, who has a big interest in exploration and horror, as well as specializing in occult arts, including exorcism, clairvoyance and communicating with spirits. Her companions are **Dropsy**, her energetic, hyperactive and courageous brother, **Iodine**, her neurotic, stress-ridden and agoraphobic wallaby girlfriend who often feels anxious and disturbed, and Dropsy's demonic cat **Bodach**, who sometimes comes to Anemia's rescue when in danger, or when she is in need of help in regards to her occult arts. Another one of Anemia's assistants are **Reinhard**, a mouse who is a maniacal German doctor with a rather tenuous adherence to medical ethics and Reinhard's hunchback assistant **Victor**, a skunk who has very rare moments of clarity,

Living next town over to Anemia and her friends is **Monsignor**, a cantankerous and short-tempered clergyman dog who despises Anemia and her girlfriend, attempting to sabotage their work. Living together with Monsignor is his rebellious son **Cain**, who often argues with his father and tries to tag along with Anemia on her adventures, and warning her of Monsignor's traps.

All of the characters in *Anemia and Iodine* are anthropomorphic animals of varying species. Kryttre said that he matched personalities of his characters to the various animals in the series to form a social caricature, notably Monsignor, who is meant to be a portrayal of Christian missionaries.

### Setting

The show is set in a fictional town called La Mort (literally "Death" in French), located in the Pacific Northwest. Places in the town include: The Graveyard, a favorite place/hang-out for Anemia, Iodine, Dropsy and Bodach; Obituary Cafe, a parody of Hard Rock Cafe and another one of the group's hang-outs; Malaria Manor, Reinhard and Victor's place of residence, formerly belonging to a certain Mrs. Malaria, who was the former owner of Bodach; Underworld, a place of eternal torment prophesized by Monsignor who says that this is where people like Anemia go when they die; and Anemia's own house, where she, her girlfriend and Dropsy plan their next adventures, as well as occasionally welcoming Reinhard as a guest.