Saturday, August 11, 2018

'Toon Reviews 21: Xiaolin Showdown Season 1 Episode 1: The Journey of a Thousand Miles


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Today’s show is new to this blog and is one you don’t hear a lot of people talk about these days, but as someone with a lot of fond memories of it, I’m excited to bring it to mind, especially since I find it to be one of the most creative action cartoon series:

Xiaolin Showdown (Season 1)
Basic Premise
When it comes to shows from Kids WB, I have to admit that they’re not programs I particularly grew up with, mostly because I was too attached to shows on other networks to find out what channel the block was on.  Even older shows from the block, one of which I looked into not too long ago, were ones I didn’t watch when they initially aired.  It wasn’t until long after that time when I got the urge to look into some of them, and Xiaolin Showdown was one of those Kids WB shows.  My exposure to it was through reruns on Cartoon Network running from 2006 to 2007.  At the time, I was just opening up to action-oriented shows with lots of travelling to exotic locations, creative setups to the series universe, and strong continuity between episodes to bring all events together and ensure the audience keeps watching.  This show turned out to be a great fit to my interests.
It follows a young Xiaolin monk named Omi who’s young and ambitious as he trains to become a fully-realized warrior along with new companions, Raimundo, a street-smart jock from Brazil, Kimiko, a stylish tech wizard from Japan, and Clay, a kind-hearted cowboy.  Their mission is to travel around the world looking for mystical artifacts called Shen Gong Wu sensed by a cowardly shapeshifting dragon named Dojo.  Each Shen Gong Wu has its own unique power which makes their reveals a huge point of interest.  Their quest to find them however is made challenging with a vast collection of villains who are also after the Shen Gong Wu for more evil purposes, mostly a self-proclaimed boy genius, Jack Spicer, with the guidance of a ghostly head named Wuya who has experienced their power thousands of years ago.  As for the showdown portion of the series, they come up when two opponents fight over one or more Shen Gong Wu too much.  This brings about creatively conceived challenges varying in every episode and is a clear demonstration of the imaginations of this show’s crew.
This certainly makes Xiaolin Showdown sound like a fun and exciting series, and I enjoyed and held it in high regard for a couple of years now, but as I’ve been reviewing a lot, I’ll be able to analyze it enough to determine if it truly holds up well today and if it should be better remembered than it is now.  I am most pleased to start finding that out as I look into this series, starting with this review set on Season 1.  Without further ado, Gong Yi Tanpai!


Now on with the reviews:

The Journey of a Thousand Miles

This premiere episode sets the show into motion, but while it’s designed to introduce the series elements and major characters, it’s still pretty great.  It wastes no time explaining what the show is all about with the first scene being on the origins of Shen Gong Wu, powerful artifacts used by a brave Xiaolin Warrior named Dashi against the evil witch Wuya in a battle for the fate of the world which were later spread all over the world to not fall into the hands of evil. 
It’s after this opening information where we get to know the characters.  Omi is established as passionate about being a Xiaolin Warrior in training giving great attention to perfecting his fighting moves while under the guidance of his mentor, Master Fung.  However, making Omi better-rounded is a relatable character flaw of having a big ego when he meets the new students, Raimundo, Kimiko, and Clay, and acts like he knows better than them through training them at his skills when they’re perfectly capable of their own.  It does bring out some comedy and fun banter between the characters though. 
On the villains’ side, we meet the first of many well-crafted baddies, Jack Spicer, who may be your typical evil genius bent on world domination and robotics, but is made incredibly entertaining through his childish behaviors with similar ego problems and freaking out easily.  He gains much more relevance when he opens the puzzle box holding Wuya, now interestingly reduced to a floating ghost head who’s more sinister, and begrudgingly has to put up with Jack’s insanity to find the Shen Gong Wu and put the world into darkness. 
With Wuya out, the Shen Gong Wu start going active one-by-one, prompting Omi and his new companions to travel all over the world to find them as they reveal, with Dojo as their guide.  This episode leads them to three specific Shen Gong Wu, setting up their interesting quest for peace on Earth.  Each Shen Gong Wu has its own unique power like the Mantis Flip Coin allowing the holder to jump great heights, the heavy armor called the Two Ton Tunic, and the Eye of Dashi that shoots lightning.  They also allow for changes of scenery being hidden in different locations to keep finding them feeling fresh and interesting be it the bustling city of San Francisco, the canals of Italy, or just a calm field. 
When finding the Eye of Dashi, things get really interesting when Omi and Jack, who have their own Shen Gong Wu, both get to it leading to the titular Xiaolin Showdown.  This is where the crew’s imagination goes all out when the showdown brings them to a mystical location in which they use their Shen Gong Wu in a given physical challenge to win the featured Shen Gong Wu and their opponents’, in this case a race over stone columns, presenting them as the show’s biggest highlight.  This one stands out for featuring character growth from Omi as he utilizes all the different skills his new friends taught him to win, from Raimundo’s pranking, to Kimiko’s knowledge on off switches, and Clay’s more humble fighting techniques. 
Ultimately, the episode stands as a strong introduction to what to expect from the series while also selling it as a fun and exciting setup with identifiable characters, individual creativity in what they’re set to find, and everything building up to an exciting showdown.  It’s a basic introduction, but still an effective one.
A
The next Xiaolin Showdown review features Clay putting up a strong fight without throwing any punches while the other warriors get trapped in an invisible box by a mime.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, "Just Be a Pebble."
If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

1 comment:

  1. This was a great way to introduce this show. I am massively impressed with how well you used links to your other reviews.

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