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In the Flesh
Our look at Season 1 ends with the series stepping
out of its formulaic roots becoming grander than ever, and the way to the
change leaves a lot to discuss.
Among the first scenes are Omi, Kimiko, and Clay adjusting to their new
titles of Xiaolin Apprentice and it upgrades them from
their old titles. I should note however that their sash colors are the same as their old ones
despite Apprentice sashes being dark blue instead of black in all episodes
after this. Anyway, they can now fight with the
elements they represent, and bring out special element moves from certain Shen
Gong Wu. It’s a nice way to introduce
the game changer and ease into its full display in seasons to come.
Then there’s Raimundo, the only Xiaolin
Warrior who didn’t upgrade. On one hand,
his brood is unreasonable since he brought his lack of progress on himself for
being cocky in the last episode, and that put his friends in danger. Still, his frustrations are deeper than they
seem. He feels like he’s not appreciated
for his efforts to do what’s right and ponders over the point of what he was
taught. This is meaningful for the proof
of Raimundo coming a long way from barely paying attention to the important
side of being a Xiaolin Warrior. He’s
been way more competent and taken a stronger initiative to protect the
world.
While Raimundo goes through his
complicated feelings, he’s approached by Wuya who’s now been dubbed obsolete
after losing Mala Mala Jong. When she
approaches Raimundo, he hesitates falling for her sways at first. Then Wuya
brings up his lack of appreciation, and he falls for her bribe of a luxurious life
that praises him. It’s not right for
Raimundo to turn to this being of evil, but for his true desire being something
legit that everyone should have, his actions are acceptable enough.
When Wuya senses a Shen Gong Wu called the
Reversing Mirror which reverses a Shen Gong Wu's effects, her excitement
foreshadows something more unsettling than usual. Via an exciting flashlight tag Xiaolin
Showdown in big fragments of a lighthouse, Raimundo wins and proudly declares he’s on the dark side now. This gets his
friends depressed that someone they’ve been close to for so long went bad,
bringing a rarely seen emotional aspect to the group dynamic. Omi does lighten the situation with hope
that Raimundo’s actions are part of a “secret elaborate plan.” Sadly yet unsurprisingly, the hope is shot
down when Raimundo betrays them more through stealing one of their own Shen
Gong Wu, the Serpent’s Tail.
If that’s
not enough, the shakeup to the formula is put into motion. The Serpent’s Tail
and Reversing Mirror together can turn Wuya from a ghost back into a powerful
human witch. Given how the act is
carried out, it doesn’t really make sense as to how this works. Raimundo uses the Serpent’s Tail and Wuya
uses the Reversing Mirror meaning that Raimundo should be made solid when transparent while
nothing happens to Wuya. Wouldn’t it
make more sense if it went the other way around? Either way, there’s a huge cliffhanger ending
when Wuya succeeds in turning back to human with a dark and fiery change in
scenery to depict the darkness unfolding.
There’s clear magnitude with nothing resolved in the end and the only
thing to do is hope for things to get better next season.
This season finale is a well-told
story where all events come together impactfully and shake up team
dynamics and the well-being of this show’s world, leaving you wanting more.
A
The Ranking
- Mala Mala Jong
- Night of the Sapphire Dragon
- Shen Yi Bu
- In the Flesh
- Royal Rumble
- Chameleon
- Katnappe
- The Journey of a Thousand Miles
- My Homey Omi
- Like a Rock
- Big as Texas
- Ring of the Nine Dragons
- Tangled Web
Final Thoughts
It’s
been a while since I’ve given Xiaolin
Showdown significant attention, but going through the first season has been
a most entertaining experience. It shows that a lot of thought and care has gone into its creation, bringing the audience along for an unforgettable ride
that keeps them on their toes with every new
adventure. For that, this show is an
unsung animated highlight of the 2000s.
The
biggest point of appeal to this show is its creative
premise. Creative gets a huge emphasis
with nearly all aspects bringing something new to see
with every episode. There’s always
a point of intrigue with every new Shen Gong Wu for the characters to go
after. It would be too easy to just make
them all shooting-based weapons. While a vast number of Shen Gong Wu are
designed to shoot things , they overall embrace
animation’s versatility splendidly. It’s
always exciting to see what a new one does, sometimes with a truly
extraordinary ability. They could have
you twirl through the air with the flip of a coin, turn you into a monkey, turn
you invisible, go through solid objects, turn your limbs into rubber, and allow
you to travel anywhere you want with just a scratch at the air.
The lore of Shen Gong Wu becomes even vaster
when you consider how dangerous some of them can be. They include a ring that makes
clones of you that divide your maturity and a mirror that reverses the effects
of all other magical artifacts and can turn a ghost into a
mortal. I think we can all agree though
that the Shen Gong Wu are seen at their most dangerous with a dragon bent on
turning literally anyone into lifeless sapphire statues. As
a result, it’s fitting that as more Shen Gong Wu are collected, the tone of the
show slowly shifts from light-hearted to fairly serious. The season finale especially shows this with one of the protagonists going bad and the world being thrown
into darkness. However, how serious the
show gets with this season is nothing compared to the events of seasons to
come. The Shen Gong Wu in a sense are
the heart of the show investing in how animation can make anything happen and
keep you guessing with what can and will be done with them.
Along
with the general nature of Shen Gong Wu are how the process of finding them
brings a surprising variety to the episodes. Whether it’s through watching a piece of
media or going about real life, I’m always up for a change in scenery. Each
Shen Gong Wu hunt makes for a different place for the action to unfold. The adventure could take you to a city, a
forest, a beach, one of the characters’ homes, a castle, or even inside a
volcano. It keeps up with the
adventurous feel of the premise with a different place to go to and different
things to see.
Whenever a hero and villain find a Shen Gong Wu, initiating a Xiaolin
Showdown, the locations reach a high point in visual appeal. The
surrounding area turns into huge arenas for the action as if
it’s a big sporting event. Along with
the abilities of the Shen Gong Wu, the showdowns are other big exercises of
creativity. Different Shen Gong Wu are on full display and
keep you guessing what the challenges will be like. Though many are simple challenges like races,
power battles, games of tag, finding something in a haystack, and even a
basketball, there is variation to every Showdown. The size of the arenas feel big and immersive
that give the impression of how each showdown helps determine the fate of the
world.
You end up not caring that these challenges are standard because in execution,
they appear to be so much more which helps keeping the show feeling fresh. The fact that episodes show anyone, even the
bad guys, winning the showdowns requires the viewers to pay attention to who
has what Shen Gong Wu. This alone broadens the viewing experience with the audience
being challenged as well as entertained.
The sense of variety is perfectly clear with the
powers of the main objects, their locations and the fights to claim them which
makes the show a valued asset to animation.
Although
I hold this show in high regard, analyzing this season has made me feel that as great
as it is in many aspects, it falls a bit short of the top-10 of all time
leagues. A big reason for that is that a
lot of it feels a little too basic to appeal to a universal audience, coming
off as something more for just kids than people of all ages. An example of this comes from the
characterization of the show, especially from the protagonists. The bulk of their personalities lies within
their interests and where they come from easily being described with single
statements. Omi is a sheltered monk with
an ego problem who wants to learn the customs of his friends. Raimundo is a street-smart Brazilian who
enjoys slacking off and pulling pranks.
Kimiko is into electronics and fashions while also prone to fits of
anger. Clay is a Texas cowboy who’s easy
to get along with. Dojo is a
smart-talking dragon who serves as the warriors’ animal guide and senses the
Shen Gong Wu. Master Fung is as cut and
dry wise, proverb-stating kung-fu master as you can get. These simple descriptions are basically all
there is to the characters and they hardly change past that as the show goes
on. Even the group’s banter in certain
episodes doesn’t feel very engaging with petty reasons. Examples include the boys thinking Kimiko isn’t capable of being a warrior because she’s a girl and their menial annoyance with each other’s interests interfering with larger matters. There’s also
a few minor yet noticeable qualms with the lore of their battle strategies. During fight scenes, there’s a cut to them saying the name of their element
against a stylized background, yet they hardly ever actually use their element.
Sometimes there aren't very strong explanations of how certain Shen Gong Wu stunts work especially in
the season finale.
These
setbacks are noticeable, but that doesn’t mean the characters are bad. In fact, most of their quirks come off as
quite entertaining, basic as they are.
They even make for some great running gags, particularly Omi’s constant
misuses of slang terms. There are even
occasional breaks in the basic personas like Dojo growing a backbone and Master Fung becoming much stricter and authoritative. Of
the main heroes, Raimundo is easily the most interesting. He starts out with the most flaws of the
team, joking around and rarely paying attention. Some of this season’s
strongest moments are when he owns up to his mistakes and strives to grow from
them and be the best warrior he can be.
Even his brash actions have weight for them through wanting to make
something of his teachings. This gives his decision to go bad in the finale after not
getting promoted to Xiaolin Apprentice weight of feeling
underappreciated. Raimundo’s appeal as a
character only grows from here as looks at other seasons will show.
Plus, for every basic hero moment, there’s a
more exciting villain moment fitting to the show’s versatility. They’re technically basic too, wanting to take
over the world for power’s sake, but their solid entertainment nullifies what
could’ve potentially weakened their appeal.
Jack Spicer is one of the funniest villains created. He's a whiny boy clamoring for attention but never gets annoying,
especially since he has legit talent with robot-building and his schemes actually succeed at times. In addition,
this comedic villain has an exact opposite type of villain to work off of. Wuya is a seriously cunning villain whose
threatening where Jack is not. Because of this, there's a great balance of feeling annoyed over
Jack’s quirks and expressing true evil right down to aiming to
actually crush her opponents at one point.
The villains also keeps things
fresh through some of them fighting with class and style through their
obsessions and professions like Katnappe and ninja Tubbimura. Others are just being
impressive creations like the shapeshifting Chameleon-bot or the multi-Shen
Gong Wu hybrid Mala Mala Jong. While the
characterization is clearly not what the show will be best-remembered for, it’s
not a factor that ruins any potential fun. Like
many other things, they're kept fresh through occasional big things
done with them.
The
first season of Xiaolin Showdown is a
strong introduction with a very creative premises used to a grand extent with variety among its many elements. It may feel basic or under-explained in
parts, but the show is greatly entertaining and well-suited for the realm of
animation regardless. Find this season
on DVD and digital, and see what you can get out of it, and I’ll await the day
I return to this show to discuss what wonders the other two seasons hold.
Highly Recommended
That's all for now with Xiaolin Showdown. After this set of reviews, the MC Toon Reviews schedule is going to change for the coming week only:
- OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes Season 1: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday
- Star vs the Forces of Evil Season 2 (only 2 episodes left): Saturday and Sunday
- Animaniacs Vol 2 DVD (a new set for my favorite animated series): Wednesday and Friday
I'll see you tomorrow with the next OK K.O.! review. Until then:
Stay Animated Folks!
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