Cartoon series about a young woman with 1-3 mutant/android companions in a post-apocalyptic world

Question

I am looking for the name of a cartoon that was anime-ish in both drawing and story-telling styles, though I am pretty sure it wasn't an anime. It aired:

• Somewhere between 2000 and 2010 (I believe it MAY have aired concomitantly to Ōban Star-Racers, so around 2006?).
• On Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network or Fox Kids (which became know as Jetix around 2004, at least where I lived).
• In Latin America (although I am pretty sure it was originally in English or French, possibly a Canadian production as these were common in this timeframe and location).

I happened to watch maybe 3 or 4 episodes of this cartoon. I remember hating it, but maybe it was mostly only these episodes? Here is what I remember of the plot, although I am not certain of any of these details:

• A few years after an apocalyptic disaster that seemed to kill or mutate almost everyone and destroy pretty much everything (scenarios in the cartoon often showed destroyed buildings and cities), we follow a young woman with somewhere between 1 and 3 companions.

• The woman was a non-mutated human, while her companions were mutants / androids, and the main (only?) one was lionesque in appearance: by that, I mean he maybe had a lion face in place of his own face, more or less like the Khajiiti, or maybe a lion face in his chest like the Manticore Megazord, or maybe just a mane-like hair with colors associated with lions, such as yellow and orange, like Lion-O; if there were indeed more than one companion, the lionesque one clearly played the role of a leader among them.

• They seemed to have met her before the apocalypse, when she was the daughter of an important politician or maybe a scientist, but I don't think she remembered that (maybe she had been kept alive and well through the apocalypse in some kind of stasis?), and their (the companions') knowledge was only revealed through flashbacks: perhaps they were the woman's bodyguards, love interests, family or friends before the end of days? For some reason, they seemed convinced the main character would be safer not knowing of their ties with her.

• The point I am most certain about was a battle against a snake-like humanoid: by that, I mean he was primarily green, maybe in one of his forms he had a snake head instead of a more anthropomorphic one, maybe in another form he had snake heads in lieu of hands, a little like King Hiss. That fight lasted for 2 or 3 episodes and was filled with flashbacks points where the enemy changed form and evolved (very anime-esque); despite the companions almost dying several times, they triumphed in the end (specifically, I think it was the lionesque companion who defeated the snake-like villain). This enemy seemed to also have some background with the woman, from before the apocalypse.

I know there are a lot of uncertainties in my description, but I tried my best to remember the plot. Hope it is enough!

P.S.: Despite a few similarities (such as the young woman, in a strange world, accompanied by three individuals, one lionesque, one perhaps an android) I do not think the show was based on The Wizard of Oz. The tone was far more serious and I can't remember parallels to the Scarecrow and Toto...

P.P.S.: Although I still can't remember an analogue to Toto, I have started to believe that the cartoon may have been an homage to The Wizard of Oz, but quite a veiled (and dark) one... Yet I have searched TV Tropes extensively as suggested by @jo1storm and couldn't find what I was looking for.

Answer 1

This is Shinzo (2000), originally titled Mushrambo in Japan.

In the world of Mushrambo, human life has all but come to an end. After a deadly virus threatened the extinction of mankind, a new race called the Enterrans was created to preserve life on Earth. However, relations between the Enterrans and their creators did not remain peaceful. Soon a war broke out with the Enterrans fighting against the humans and their robots. Ultimately the Enterrans were the victors of this conflict, renaming Earth as Enterra in honor of their victory.

Before the last vestiges of humanity fell, one of the few remaining scientists put his daughter, Yakumo Shindou, into a sleep chamber. His hope was that his daughter would one day reawaken and find the human sanctuary known as Shinzo, reviving humanity and restoring peace between humans and Enterrans. Centuries have passed since the war; Yakumo now awakens and meets an Enterran named Mashura who pledges to assist in her quest. Also joined by the Enterrans Sago and Kutal, the group must now work to locate Yakumo's missing memories and locate Shinzo. But not every Enterran is as kind as Yakumo's new friends and some are prepared to commit any atrocity to prevent the return of humanity.

In the 22nd century, a virus broke out on Earth and a scientist named Daigo Tatsuro developed a cure by combining human and animal DNA. In the process though, he created a race of animal/human hybrids known as Enterrans, who rebelled against humanity and drove them to near-extinction.

As a last-ditch effort to save humanity, Daigo placed his daughter, Yakumo, in suspended animation and left a recorded message instructing her to head west to a sanctuary called Shinzo, where the last human survivors would be awaiting her arrival. 500 years later, she wakes up in a post-apocalyptic landscape ruled by Enterrans, who generally look like anthropomorphic animals and regard humans as having been evil monsters. Despite this, she manages to befriend three Enterrans -- Mushra, Sago and Kutal -- who accompany her on her journey and protect her from other Enterrans.

Mushra, Sago and Kutal are Hyper-Enterrans who can transform into more powerful Hyper Forms. Mushra normally looks like a human boy, but can transform into an adult in red armour. Sago looks like a young man in both forms, and has the power of hydrokinesis. Kutal normally looks like an anthropomorphic, domestic cat, but can transform into an anthropomorphic lion.

Yakumo also has a robotic vehicle that she travels in, named Hakuba.

And in episodes 8-11, Mushra, Sago and Kutal battle the "serpent prince," Gyasa, who transforms into his Hyper Form in episode 10.

According to TV Tropes, the show aired on Fox Kids in 2002 and on Jetix in 2005.

Mushrambo, also known as Shinzo, is a 32-episode Shōnen series produced by Toei Animation and was broadcast on TV Asahi in 2000.

Saban Entertainment licensed the series and aired it on Fox Kids in 2002 and in 2005 later aired in reruns on Jetix where the series finished its run internationally.