Sunday, September 16, 2018

'Toon Reviews 21: Xiaolin Showdown Season 1 Episode 11: Royal Rumble


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Royal Rumble
With a focus on the creative aesthetics of the Shen Gong Wu and the vast assortment of villains, this episode has a lot going for it.  However, the way to its greatness is a little rough. 
We start with the Xiaolin Warriors doing an exercise to enhance their teamwork.  This can get hard to watch when Raimundo, Kimiko, and Clay pick fights with each other over menial things about themselves they find annoying.  The worst part is that when the exercise backfires, they have the gall to blame Omi, the only one trying to do the right thing, for it.  I get the warriors are kids and it’s normal for kids to pick fights over little things.  The problem is they practically demonize each other for their harmless quirks when they all have to protect the world from evil.  It’s immature, unentertaining, and them blaming their problems on the only person keeping the peace goes too far. 
Despite all this mean-spiritedness, the episode turns out great afterwards.  Not one, but four Shen Gong Wu reveal themselves at the same time.  This makes the episode broaden the usual formula with lots of creative experiences and interesting encounters.  All four of the newly revealed Shen Gong Wu have some of the most interesting abilities.  There’s a flower called the Lotus Twister that makes one’s limbs stretchable. The Longi Kite is a flight-based Shen Gong Wu. The Tongue of Saiping allows the user to talk to animals.  Finally, the Sun Chi Lantern merges the user’s energy with anyone caught in the glow.  Finding them gives different scenes for the action like the bayou, a deserted island, the artic, and a barren plain. 
With different Shen Gong Wu come different Xiaolin Showdowns.  Supporting villains like the sleazy cat-obsessed Katnappe, the chubby ninja Tubbimura, and a new Chameleon-bot return to ensure the side of evil gets the whole haul.  It’s great to see these distinctive villains back in action alongside Jack Spicer, enhancing the experience as they each face a different warrior.  As for the showdowns, they vary a lot which keeps things fresh and exciting.  Kimiko and Katnappe gator-hop for the Lotus Twister. Raimundo faces the Chameleon-bot posing as a beach babe in an underwater hide and seek game for the Longi Kite. Clay races Tubbimura over ice for the Tongue of Saiping. Omi races monkey Jack for the Sun Chi Lantern while carrying a glass of water.  You get excited while watching one showdown and anticipate the outcome of the others.  Also, the showdowns get aggressive when the villains not only win most of the Shen Gong Wu, but also capture their opponents.
Because he had no attitude issues earlier, it’s appropriate that Omi is the only one to win his showdown and not get captured. When he arrives at Jack’s layer, Omi initiates a major highlight for the episode.  With the Sun Chi Lantern, he merges his energy with his friends’, and that helps him take out his foes.  With beautiful music and design of the glow, it’s a well-constructed and thought-provoking battle strategy.  Since the Sun Chi Lantern is literally not used in any other episode, that makes its use here something very special. 
As for the episode, this great moment followed by the others thanking Omi and pulling off the earlier exercise make for the most appropriate conclusion it could go with.  In the end, if you can get past the overly harsh scenes in the beginning, everything that follows will illuminate you in a light of action-packed, creative, and insightful entertainment.
A

The Ranking
  1. Night of the Sapphire Dragon
  2. Shen Yi Bu
  3. Royal Rumble
  4. Chameleon
  5. Katnappe
  6. The Journey of a Thousand Miles
  7. My Homey Omi
  8. Like a Rock
  9. Big as Texas
  10. Ring of the Nine Dragons
  11. Tangled Web
The next Xiaolin Showdown review follows up on an earlier mention of a being named Mala Mala Jong to epic effect.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is the great OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes episode, "No More Pow Cards."
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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