Chucky Choo - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 9) - 'Toon Reviews 45

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Chucky Choo

As likable as the characters of this show generally are, they’re far from the most interesting cast for an animated series.  This seems to make them prone to stories that aren’t very compelling and are weak in premise.  For that, this episode is one entry for that category.  

While the Xiaolin Warriors are out searching for Shen Gong Wu, all while Dojo is constantly freaking out over missing Master Fung, there’s suspicious activity going on elsewhere.  One other dragon is seemingly selling Shen Gong Wu to villains, including some who shouldn’t even exist, as if they’re mere trinkets.  His name is Chucky Choo, and his impression is pretty mixed.  From the looks of his setup, it’s easy to tell that what he has is a total scam.  The Shen Gong Wu he sells are counterfeits which already showcases a major drawback if you think about it.  They’re bound to figure out that what they have isn’t real which will surely result in major backlash, so how can Chucky possibly think his plan can work?  The only way his plan does seem to work is because he just happens to pull off the stunt on the one villain dumb enough to believe his lies, evil boy genius Jack Spicer.  As for Chucky’s general character, his smooth-talking shady ways can be mildly enjoyable, but it isn’t too far off from a typical con artist.  At that, it’s kind of hard to fully enjoy a lead with the most basic of motivations which aren’t even sympathetic.  

As is the case with most con artists, Chucky quickly leaves his post to find a place to hide, and by chance, he chooses the temple where the Xiaolin Warriors currently reside.  He easily wins the team over with his mannerisms and seemingly pleasing attitude, though it’s hard to fully enjoy with what the audience knows of what Chucky is really like.  On the surface, Chucky’s ways are still somewhat enjoyable, but it would make total sense if they would get old fast for people.  Then more conflict arises when Dojo discovers Chucky and is immediately apprehensive about the new dragon’s arrival.  Apparently, Chucky wronged him many years ago by losing his prized family yo-yo.  This was referenced before, but it didn’t seem worth taking seriously.  It’s basically a conflict that’s hard for most audiences to get invested in.  It seems like it’s on its way to an easy resolution when Chucky admits his wrongdoing and that he wants to make up with Dojo, right down to giving him the yo-yo.  It’s still hard to believe if Chucky is even genuine, especially with apparent phoniness to his self-wallowing prior to his apology, but Dojo doesn’t have much sympathy either.  It seems that something as inconsequential as a yo-yo is enough to make him trust Chucky, and that just feels weak.  

Then, to very little surprise, Chucky’s counterfeits get him confronted by his customers, particularly Wuya, who captures him and Dojo, and plans to sell them for real Shen Gong Wu.  The results lead back to the temple for an admittedly fun Xiaolin Showdown modeled after the favorite game, pinball with Wuya and Dojo as the balls.  It reaches a somewhat somber end with Dojo losing and Wuya seeming to vaporize all the other Shen Gong Wu with the new Kuzusu Atom, but then turn to Chucky.  His con artist ways are used for good where he only had Wuya vaporize the counterfeits and hid the real Shen Gong Wu in Dojo’s nose.  While there were no hints to the plan and his reasons for doing this to get Wuya to leave the Warriors alone go nowhere, it’s decent redemption there.  

Nevertheless, the take of this episode is that it’s simply a weak story with a mostly unengaging conflict highlighting the less pleasing sides of the characters.  Add on nothing more being done with Chucky, and it’s ultimately not one to really do this show justice.

D+

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      Oil in the Family

3.      The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

4.      The Dream Stalker

5.      Finding Omi

6.      Omi Town

7.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

8.      Chucky Choo

9.      The Return of Master Monk Guan

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode highlighting an epic battle between Omi and Hannibal Bean. 

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

The Dream Stalker - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 8) - 'Toon Reviews 45

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

The Dream Stalker

Facing fears seem to be a topic for very personal and thought-provoking stories from my perspective.  It’s a great way to really get to know a character and potentially depict a side of them in ways that go all out with imagination.  These qualities make this episode fairly interesting in terms of world-building and character development.  

Continuing the Xiaolin Warriors’ stay with Master Monk Guan, things start with a ‘great evil’ being sensed, putting everyone on high alert.  As has been the case with most of this season, the culprit behind it is Hannibal Bean and his Moby Morpher.  His scheme here targets the more interpersonal side of his enemies, and even brings some of the more dangerous Shen Gong Wu into the forefront after being absent for a while.  He sets things up so that whenever Raimundo falls asleep, a big jellyfish monster with the ability to turn beings to sapphire appears to fight, and disappears when he awakes.  

For those who have a strong memory of Shen Gong Wu, you may know the jellyfish monster is a result of the Shadow of Fear, and the ability of sapphire petrification is from the Sapphire Dragon.  With the aid of the Moby Morpher, the beings come together to create this new force of evil.  When it comes to impressions of the return of these Shen Gong Wu after such a long time, it’s mostly good, but at times don’t live up to the potential of their initial appearances.  The Sapphire Dragon was one of the most foreboding Shen Gong Wu back when it was revealed mainly from how it was its own mindless force, petrifying anyone in its path.  Being a part of Hannibal’s scheme ends up holding back its dark potential and somewhat goes against its intended nature.  As for the Shadow of Fear, the fears it brought up in its first appearance were largely laughable, with them all being overreactions to minor creepy things.  Thankfully, this new use of it brings deeper meaning to these fears.  

After a lengthy sequence of humorous attempts to keep Raimundo awake, the others are easily duped by Hannibal when a new Shen Gong Wu reveals itself.  When Raimundo is left to succumb to sleep, the episode is at its most interesting.  He finds himself in his own mind, filled with visions and memories of his interests and friends, a very fitting idea for what such a place would be like.  

However, with Hannibal Bean present, his mind is less pleasing and more disturbing, and unearths the deeper meaning behind his fears.  Having picked things up from the inner Raimundo, who turns out to be a younger version of himself, Hannibal knows the real struggles of this Xiaolin Warrior.  His fear truly is something much broader and deeper than something like a jellyfish.  It’s a personal belief that he isn’t good enough to be a true asset to the team, and it makes sense since he was last to be promoted at one point, and even intentionally went bad.  The eerie line deliveries from Hannibal and constant scene changes reflect the hard truth of this reveal on Raimundo.  However, visions of his friends struggling in a Xiaolin Showdown against the Sapphire Dragon convince Raimundo to keep trying to be a worthy Warrior.  I question how what goes on in his mind reaches the Showdown, but in any case, it brings a solid resolution.  Also, in confronting the fear, the following scene of him feeling refreshed and positive after spending the episode in so much fatigue, it really feels like a weight’s been lifted.  

Some plot points here may not have the best execution, but they ultimately do right in setting scenes and exploring characters.

A-

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      Oil in the Family

3.      The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

4.      The Dream Stalker

5.      Finding Omi

6.      Omi Town

7.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

8.      The Return of Master Monk Guan

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where everyone is screwed over by a shady con artist dragon.

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

The Return of Master Monk Guan - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 7) - 'Toon Reviews 45

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

The Return of Master Monk Guan

I’m always up for a change of scenery when it comes to principle locations, if only for a time, so that’s a point of intrigue for this episode.  However, premises can’t save a lackluster story with off character moments, and that’s what’s on display.  

It’s worth noting how much our heroes have been getting beaten about by the villains lately.  They’ve let loose the most powerful being of evil and lost a lot of their Shen Gong Wu as well as the powerful Treasure of the Blind Swordsman.  Speaking of the latter, in Hannibal Bean’s possession, it gives the Xiaolin Warriors more humiliating defeats than average.  With the forces of evil growing stronger, it’s decided that the Warriors must go to a different temple for more advanced training.  The chosen temple is run by fellow ally, Master Monk Guan.  Being a character who’s only been shown once, there isn’t much to expect from him, but this episode leaves impressions that are very hard to make out.  

At first, Guan acts as a generic wise monk offering the Warriors great pampering when they first arrive.  Then the next day, he’s instantly acting as a drill sergeant grilling the Warriors like they’re in military school.  Shouting orders, grueling exercises, and belittling anyone who dares to ask questions is as unjust and frustrating as one may imagine, and a lot of appeal is instantly drained.  It hardly even feels like a natural shift in behavior given how convincingly warm and inviting Guan was introduced as.  It’s a total mood whiplash, and not a welcome one.  

He gets especially hard to watch when it comes to Raimundo who always seems to get the worst of Guan’s grilling.  Through an open mind, one can argue that all this is in the name of preparing for ultimate evil, but Raimundo’s humiliation still feels unwarranted.  Not only does he get the worst exercises, but he’s even open to humiliation, and unfairly leads to his friends suffering whenever he has to suffer.  In regards to his friends needing to suffer with him, it’s honestly honorable that this is what drives Raimundo to quit as opposed to intense exercises and even an embarrassing name change.  However, any honor of this decision seems compromised when Raimundo runs into Hannibal Bean who appears to convince him to join him and betray the Warriors.  This is when the most sympathetic character can’t even remain likable, especially since this isn’t the first time Raimundo turned on his friends.  

He goes on to steal his friends’ Shen Gong Wu, and Omi has to face him in a Xiaolin Showdown that’s largely uneven in fairness.  There’s a brawl where Raimundo has the bigger advantage, and Omi gets beaten badly.  It’s only when a sudden loophole that ups the wager for the Warriors to get back more Shen Gong Wu and the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman if Omi wins when things fall into place.  In fact, sudden is a good word to describe the resolution when it turns out Raimudo was faking going bad again the whole time, and it was a ploy to beat Hannibal.  The same is true for Guan’s psychotic drill sergeant ways that was set up by him and Raimundo the whole time.  All of this is partially believable, but it’s also too convenient to fully buy, especially with how genuine everything felt.  If that’s not enough, even Guan’s first appearance is made worse in the end when he turns out to have several Spears of Guan instead of just the one he gave Omi.  So we see that he almost traded Dojo’s life for nothing.  

There may be meaning behind what happens in this episode, but story directions make it one of the most baffling of the series.

D+

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      Oil in the Family

3.      The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

4.      Finding Omi

5.      Omi Town

6.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

7.      The Return of Master Monk Guan

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where things get deeply fascinating in a look into Raimundo's dreams and insecurities.

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

Oil in the Family - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 6) - 'Toon Reviews 45

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Oil in the Family

I’ve always felt that the villains of this show are far more interesting than the heroes.  They all have a lot more variety to their personalities for starters as well as approaches to schemes.  That’s a long way from the Xiaolin Warriors who tend to think alike more often than not.  With that in mind, you can only imagine what greatness can come from their dynamics, even when they consist of them backstabbing each other.  This concept stands out a lot more with a creative concept to drive this episode.  

Wuya feels underappreciated and overpowered by Chase Young given that she doesn’t have all her powers despite being fully human now.  She then gets a chance to regain some reverence with the reveal of a new Shen Gong Wu, the Rio Reverso.  That’s got to be one of the most imaginative Shen Gong Wu, being able to turn anything back into its original source.  When going after it, Wuya keeps the Xiaolin Warriors from retrieving it by hitting them with other fellow villain, Jack, whom she manipulates with the Ruby of Ramses.  Jack ultimately gets the Rio Reverso, and Wuya is confident she can easily steal it from him later.  

In the meantime, Jack uncovers a creative thing to do with the Rio Reverso.  By testing out its powers, he discovers that he can use it to create an army of dinosaurs, and the potential for greatness speaks for itself.  When the Xiaolin Warriors come to get it back, with Raimundo in particular shaken that they’ve been beaten by evil a lot lately, fighting dinosaurs is certainly a good change of pace.  Because these dinosaurs are just babies, they’re easily beaten, but that doesn’t stop Wuya from getting hold of it, beating the Warriors and Jack, and using it for her own means.  

Stealing Jack’s initial dinosaur army idea, Wuya takes the Rio Reverso to a huge oil rig to bring to life a huge T-Rex.  This is where the episode reaches its high point as Jack teams up with Chase Young so they can both get back at Wuya for going behind their backs.  Add in the Xiaolin Warriors coming to right all the wrongs, and the climax is all set to leave an impact.  One creative addition more with Chase making the T-Rex talk all high class with the aid of the Eagle Scope is welcome as well.  The villains then proceed to backstab each other as beings of evil tend to do, but get their just due from a dinosaur with actual intelligence.  

This leaves the Xiaolin Warriors to take care of things, which is a good start to their redemption over past losses, especially for Raimundo.  He quickly adopts the concept of patience as he faces the T-Rex in a Xiaolin Showdown, which turns out to be an extreme version of the ultimate mind game, chess.  It’s kind of convenient he knows what to do given that there has been next to no past material saying he’s good at the game.  Still, the fact that he’s able to make the right moves to beat the T-Rex shows that something was learned from the experience.  For the heroes’ efforts, they get an entire zoo of miniature dinosaurs, including the big one shrunken down, and things going into motion for things to really turn around for them.  

As for the villains, their backstabbing and brooding gets them nowhere for now, but they certainly proved their worth as catalysts for the events.  Bring them together with a concept big on creativity, and I can consider this episode a standout effort for Season 3.

A

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      Oil in the Family

3.      The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

4.      Finding Omi

5.      Omi Town

6.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode that brings back Master Monk Guan with disappointing results.

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

Treasure of the Blind Swordsman - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 5) - 'Toon Reviews 45

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

Wild West adventures are typically not what you’d expect from a show like this, but they’ve seemed to go together well in a few past instances.  Such is the case with this episode that also stands out for being one of the most important weapon quests for the Xiaolin Warriors.  

As part of their new rank as Wudai Warriors, they’re assigned to track down their own Wudai Weapons as well as the powerful Treasure of the Blind Swordsman.  Now, out of all the episodes that have utilized the Wild West setup, this does so the best.  There’s a distinctive atmosphere to the adventure that immerses itself in the setting, seen mainly through the challenges the Warriors face to get their weapons.  Speaking of which, the Wudai Weapons themselves help make the series as a whole stand out.  Combined with the aesthetics of the adventure, finding each one makes for creative scenarios.  Raimundo’s weapon is a blue sword called the Blade of the Nebula obtained from rattlesnakes.  Kimiko’s weapon is a fire based weapon called Arrow Sparrow which she gets by beating a ghost in a saloon with a spittoon full of ancient spit.  Clay’s weapon is a multi-faceted boomerang known as the Big Bang Meteorang which comes to him during a fight with sentient cacti.  As for Omi, he spends the whole adventure bragging about how great his Wudai Weapon will be and getting disappointed with all the others going to his friends. His weapon is ultimately a seemingly feeble stick called the Shimo Staff.  

At first, one might wonder how these Wudai Weapons aren’t in the same class as typical Shen Gong Wu.  One big difference is that instead of the Warriors just finding the weapons, they instead go to them and only work for them, so that’s something.  I do have to question how they even know the names of the weapons when nothing gives them away, yet they’re shouting them like they were obvious during combat.  Speaking of combat, it shows that getting them to work is not very easy. They’re ambushed by Jack and Wuya, their weapons do nothing, and they lose a lot of Shen Gong Wu.  

This steers us to the actual Treasure of the Blind Swordsman.  It’s in a cave, and is guarded by a wisecracking old blind man.  The Warriors beat him to get to the treasure, but it seems to be empty.  After they lose their Shen Gong Wu and the old man is captured though, they figure that they could see something through looking with their minds instead of their eyes.  This is wise, but it comes very quickly with one line and doesn’t leave much impact.  The same is true for the encounter of the actual blind swordsman.  It should be grand, but all it takes is one conversation with him, and the Warriors somehow get their Wudai Weapons to work including the Shimo Staff.  

Lacking convincing build up to these reveals aside, the Blind Swordsman’s power helps the Warriors reach their enemies in time for an exciting climax.  It comes with a thrilling Xiaolin Showdown where the old man fights Jack and Wuya on top of a train in space, and he amazingly wins the stolen Shen Gong Wu back.  After seeing their experiences as a lesson in looking beyond what they see, the Warriors realize their terrible mistake of leaving the Treasure of the Blind Swordsman behind. The episode ends with them losing it, and the audience sees it in the custody of Hannibal Bean in all his standard one-dimensional villainy.  

All I can say is that they lose points for boneheaded decisions that didn’t need to be made.  This and big decisions coming from single conversations hold the episode back, but the aesthetics and creativity to the overall quest make the episode a good time in the Wild West.

A-

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      The Treasure of the Blind Swordsman

3.      Finding Omi

4.      Omi Town

5.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where a new Shen Gong Wu brings dinosaurs back to life.

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.

Omi Town - (Xiaolin Showdown Season 3 Episode 4) - 'Toon Reviews 45

If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:

Omi Town

When you’re on the last season of a show, one of the best things to ask from that is answers to lingering questions.  An example of this case for this series is the truth about Omi’s parents.  He’s an orphan who’s lived at the Xiaolin Temple all his life, but you can’t help but wonder the truth about his origins.  This episode sets out to try and answer that, but it’s debatable if the results are satisfying.  

It’s Chinese New Year, and the gang is excited to receive great gifts from their families.  Omi is sad, not for materialistic reasons, but because it’s a reminder that he doesn’t have anyone to belong to, i.e. he has no last name.  Since this is clearly a deep personal issue, Omi is advised go on a quest to find where he belongs for himself.  By chance, he and his friends come across a town where everyone has very similar round yellow attributes to Omi.  It would make sense that Omi came from here, and while that appears to be the case, his parents are far beyond any hopeful expectation.  

Apparently, they’re old poor farmers who completely lack the interests and background Omi has built for himself for all his life.  If that’s not enough, Omi’s questions about his last name is very humiliating, merely standing as Crud.  The parents themselves aren’t very pleasing character-wise either.  They claim to have missed him for all these years, but are nonchalant when they say they think they sold him off as a grapefruit.  However, when he comes home, rather than being overjoyed for his return, they have him do all kinds of grueling chores for them and subject him to poor conditions.  There’s also immense lack of consideration towards him with the father constantly coughing on him and them guilt tripping him into staying instead of going back to the Temple.  Omi, however, chooses to stay merely because they’re his parents and family sticks together, though you can tell he’s not happy with what they’re like.  

That said, given the convenience of the town, something clearly seems off.  A lot of that connects to Hannibal Bean already influencing the series’ rogues’ gallery.  Now he’s convincing Wuya that Chase Young is holding her back from regaining her powers and along with Jack, they work together to steal Shen Gong Wu to make that happen.  When Omi decides to stay with his parents, they feel the path is clear for them to take it all.  However, a surprise appearance from Chase saying what’s happening to his friends convinces Omi to return to the Xiaolin Temple after all to help.  

Just as the villains are about to get away with Shen Gong Wu, they’re laid out and lead to a Xiaolin Showdown between Omi, and shockingly, his mother.  Omi is understandably shaken by his mother being evil and brutal with her attacks, but his friends convince him to not see her as a parent.  That’s very telling that even if someone is a parent, they don’t always act like it and you have the right to stand up to them when they go too far.  It turns out that Omi’s mother is merely a robot, and she and the rest of that town were just part of a trick with Jack’s robots and the Moby Morpher.  In other words, Omi is left without a clear answer as to where he came from, having followed a lie.  To add insult to injury, along with a huge Shen Gong Wu loss, this question is never answered or explored again.  There is good heart though with Omi coming to accept that the life of care and acceptance he has now is the family he needs, which is a meaningful message.  

For that, the episode is certainly a good one, but bringing up a topic that gets no real development afterwards feels like a waste.

B+

The Ranking

1.      Bird of Paradise

2.      Finding Omi

3.      Omi Town

4.      The Life and Times of Hannibal Roy Bean

Be sure to stay tuned for the review of the next episode where our heroes set off for the Wild West to find their Wudai Weapons.

If you would like to check out other Xiaolin Showdown reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.