Saturday, September 14, 2019

Days Past (Xiaolin Showdown Season 2 Episode 1) - 'Toon Reviews 35

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Coming again to the review spotlight is another animated series I’ve put on the back burner for several months now.  We’re looking into another season of one of the most creative action-oriented animated series which also stands out for how it raises its stakes:

Xiaolin Showdown (Season 2)

Basic Premise
Out of many animated shows I’ve seen, Xiaolin Showdown is certainly one of the more interesting and often overlooked ones.  Sure it may not have the same universal appeal as other shows with simple characterizations and morals, but there’s still plenty to take in from it.  The premise of four characters from different nationalities going around the world to find magical objects which allow a plethora of occurrences is practically brimming with creativity.  It’s the kind of genius idea that was made to headline something animated, and how you always have to keep track of who has what brings a nice sense of unity.  You’d think many would see this as a winning formula and it would constantly be remembered to this very day.  However, while there was a time when this show was frequently being rerun and it’s mentioned from time to time, it’s not exactly a huge topic of discussion.  Being someone who was around for much of its reruns, I have enough memories of it to make the show one of the mainstays of this blog, until I get to the end of it of course.
The show’s second season does what many second seasons ought to do by expanding upon the strengths of the first one and show the world its true capabilities.  It already seems easy to expand upon what came before in which each episode was mostly about a major Shen Gong Wu hunt with comedy action and wholesome morals.  Still, there’s something exciting to look forward to with the season ending with one of the heroes turning bad and the main antagonist, Wuya, regaining her lost powers.  There was build-up to how a serious mission starts out as so routine and leads to such major world-shattering moments thus being open to exploring what more could be done.  Well, I’d say that Season 2 delivers in that regard with not just more great Shen Gong Wu and solid stories, but also its own share of surprises.  I’m especially glad to talk about it given how hard it’s been to get this season as well as the one after this.  For the longest time, only Season 1 had a DVD release, but it apparently didn’t sell well, hence no releases of episodes beyond that.  The season is fortunately out now via the internet-exclusive Warner Archive Collection brand, and I was able to get digital copies of the season a year prior.  So now, with all of Season 2 readily available, let’s dive into it. Gong Yi Tanpai!

Now on with the reviews:

Days Past

This show has already left a good impression with its main formula, but to start this season, we get a fresh break from the norm.  It continues off of the dark ending to Season 1, and does so to great effect with a genuinely hopeless tone, and stakes risen to new heights. 
As some may remember, the show left off with Wuya going from a ghostly spirit head back to her original fleshy human witch form.  As a result, she easily takes control over the entire world, can create innumerable servants out of the ground below her, and not even the most powerful Shen Gong Wu can stop her.  The remaining good Xiaolin Warriors, Omi, Kimiko, and Clay, are not only easily outmatched but are faced with the harsh truth that they don’t have a good plan to stop this reign.  Their main source for plans and wisdom, Master Fung, being captured certainly doesn’t help.  I could point out that there are at least a few times before when they came up with a plan without their master, but I can let it go for how this instance shows how powerful Wuya is. 
In addition, other characters get a fair share of standout moments too.  We have Jack Spicer in an interesting role where he agrees to help the Xiaolin Warriors beat Wuya, but still admits he’s as evil as ever.  After all, he can’t rule the world if Wuya is already doing that.  There’s also Raimundo, the warrior who went bad and helped Wuya regain her fleshy form, who’s rewarded with innumerable materialistic goods and appreciation for his efforts.  Given how hasty he was to get appreciation to the point of turning on his team, it would be easy to make him closed-minded of all of Wuya’s terror for selfish reasons.  However, there are signs of him slowly regretting his decision such as being taken aback by the lengths Wuya is going with her powers and offering his old friends mercy if they join him.  On a smaller note, he mostly recognizes flaws in his decisions through how it’s hard to enjoy all the free stuff he has without anyone to share it.  This should be the least of his concerns, but it’s pretty in line with his character the way I see it. 
Going back to the warriors, they decide the only way to stop Wuya is to go back in time to get advice from the only person who ever accomplished that feat, Grand Master Dashi.  With a time machine Jack conveniently has and the power of a Shen Gong Wu, Omi is sent back 1500 years making for an interesting meeting with this revered Grand Master.  Rather than wise and spiritual like most would expect, Dashi is actually very laid back and street-smart.  His wisecracks contrasting so much with Omi’s philosophical talk is a nice way of showing that great accomplishments, knowledge, and skill can come from anyone of any persona.  Dashi also has fascinating ways of teaching Omi valuable lessons.  He has him go through a big challenge to get a pebble out of his hand, and after much bravado with chases and fighting, Dashi gives up the pebble when Omi asks for it.  It’s a way of showing that in fighting, it’s best to go the unexpected route which makes sense considering how powerful Wuya is. 
There are still major stakes as we end with the puzzle box Dashi gives Omi meant to trap Wuya unable to open and no one knowing how to get Omi back to the present.  Both will be dealt with in the next episode, but for now, it’s great to know that we start with nonstop excitement from how the world’s been shaken up.
A+
Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode that resolves all conflicts from Wuya's reign.
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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