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Tangled Web
Over the years, there have been a lot of strong
female characters in animated shows and movies.
The oldest animated works I can think of mostly featured female
characters as simple love interests, mother figures, or people who frequently
needed rescuing. Now,
we’re in an age where animated females are very interesting with strong comedy,
emotional depth, natural physical strength, and gradual development. Because of this, episodes where the conflict
stems from girls being looked down upon for attempting to be active are not the
strongest material. Sadly, this episode
falls into this trap.
It features the main
girl protagonist, Kimiko, being ridiculed by the boys for supposedly not being
able to fight and retrieve Shen Gong Wu because she’s a girl. Mindsets like this reflect such a
dense state that feels so stupid to hold onto. They also make
the boys look like sexist jerks. True,
there is a legit cause for their mockery. Kimiko did lose a Shen Gong Wu to Jack
and Omi, who’s never seen a girl before, only has an 11th century
guide to females to get an idea of what they’re like. Still, they’re behavior is too
overbearing and degrading.
Fortunately, there’s more to the conflict than this when Kimiko
retrieves another Shen Gong Wu called the Tangle Web Comb. It's a comb that shoots
vines to ensnare one’s opponent. The
catch to its ability is that it requires absolute focus to ensnare opponents, or
else the shooter gets ensnared. That’s
what happens with Kimiko who has many things on her mind that keep her from
focusing well.
The lack of focus is a problem I picture most people having. Life is
filled with many things to make them forget what’s
important.
It’s too bad that the cause
of her lack of focus is something so unfairly judgmental. I know the point to Kimiko getting absolute
focus is to ignore all this, but it’s very concerning that the boys’ behavior
don’t get even the slightest consequence.
It gets especially bad during another Shen Gong Wu quest in the
basement of a palace that requires them to dress formally. The boys mock Kimiko for
having to wear a stylish traditional kimono even though it’s the norm for
girls. It’s like Kimiko can’t get a
break regardless of whether she acts the way girls are “supposed” to act or
not. Her spurts of anger to the boys’
behavior is mildly funny though.
Her goal of becoming focused is compelling enough, building into the
episode’s Xiaolin Showdown. She has to race Jack, who’s become monkey-like
through a Shen Gong Wu called the Monkey Staff, over crumbling bridges. After some struggle, Kimiko finally achieves
absolute focus which is uniquely interpreted as clouds breaking apart. It’s also cute to see her get a handle of the
Tangle Web Comb, freely using it to complete the race. Even nicer is that the guys cease mocking her
being a girl more throughout the series.
In addition, the ending builds up the events of
the next one. Jack is called out
for his losses and there’s a tease at a new villain playing off of an earlier
scene of a girl named Ashley taking an interest in Jack’s style of evil. On the whole, this episode isn’t all that
welcome for acting like females being pro-active is weird most of the
time. However, if you can get past that,
you can see it as a relatable story on how to get yourself focused.
C+
The Ranking
- The Journey of a Thousand Miles
- Like a Rock
- Tangled Web
The next Xiaolin Showdown review officially introduces that new villain, Katnappe.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is a review of the OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, "Legends of Mr. Gar."
If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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