#Boris Antonio Rolf Jean-Pierre Gaulle LeGrand IV | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

harley-angel · 2 years

Text

Xiaolin Chronicles: A Disappointing Sequel

Well, I have a lot of feelings about XC, most of them not great. And so I’m just gonna talk about it here cause, I mean, it’s my blog. Also this is probably not structured well because I’m bad at doing that.

So, “Xiaolin Chronicles” was a sequel to “Xiaolin Showdown,” following the same characters and adding some new ones, having only one season with twenty six episodes. I think it started out promising, but then made multiple decisions that shot itself in the foot. Twice. It got so bad I didn’t even finish watching the show. More about it will be under cut so lets go.

Changes: So one of the biggest things to talk about in XC is the changes it made from XS, specifically in character design and names of the Shen Gon Wu. Now these changes were made due to the fact that Warner Bros. holds the rights to XS, at least in some character design and almost all of the names of the Wu. If the show had aired on a WB network, then this most likely wouldn’t have been a problem, but it aired on Disney XD.

Disney XD did not treat this show well, as it does with many of their shows. Episodes were aired out of order, and the only reason I knew this show was on or happening was because of my friends Chase and Dolly who learned about it. The show aired on Saturdays at 9am, and again, I think it started off strong but, still. The first three episodes were aired on the same day, serving as a premise for what and who we would be dealing with through the story.

Now some of the big changes were, as follows

Dojo was no longer green and red, now having a yellow and green color scheme instead

Many new characters, which I’ll get to later

Wuya’s human form was now much LIGHTER than before (possible white washing but I wouldn’t be sure)

Kimiko no longer changed outfits in each episode, sticking to the same old, kind of plain outfit

Jack and Wuya were now kind of implied to be in a relationship which is, bad. In XS, Wuya sometimes acted as an evil mentor toward Jack, so it’s the weird teacher-student thing.

Tubbimura’s dog, Muffin Face, could talk now?

Rather than having a balance of the heroes could lose at anytime, the Xiaolin constantly won showdowns, and the showdowns were usually fought by Omi, Kimiko, or the new monk. The only time they really lost was in the first three episodes

Raimundo was no longer the leader of the monks.

The Showdowns were now done in CGI

Chase Young was no longer the intimidating Villain he was in XS, rather he was much more, cartoon ham villain.

Chase Young was no longer turned into the Heylin he was in XS by being manipulated by Hannibal Roy Bean, but rather turned to the Heylin side because he was a Nice GuyTM, because a girl he liked liked his never established before Brother.

CHASE YOUNG FUCKING LAID AN EGG.

Some of these decisions would end up rather poorly, especially with Chase Young. They kind of wanted to build up a new villain, which I understand, but you could have done the thing in XS where we had many intimidating villains. Wuya, Chase, Hannibal, etc. all had the capacity to be terrifying and intimidating. XC just proved to be disappointment after disappointment.

New Characters:

Something that wasn’t disappointing, however, were some of the new characters they introduced. Though, their potentials were wasted. I’m only going over the “main” ones here.

Shadow: Shadow was a new Heylin villain introduced. She is technically the daughter of Chase Young, as he pulled an Adam and made Shadow from one of his ribs. No, I’m not kidding. We’re initially introduced to Shadow as “Willow”, being a candidate for a new monk, where she of course betrays the monks. Kind of like Jack did in an episode of XS. I think she has potential to be a great Villain but, yeah.

Boris Antonio Rolf Jean-Pierre Gaulle LeGrand IV (AKA Ping Pong): The official new Monk to the Xiaolin, because his name is so long, rather than just call him Boris, the characters decide to nickname him “Ping Pong”, because of how fast he moves. Boris is the Dragon of Wood, and he’s basically a mini Omi, just French, wears glasses, and nicer. He’s kind of here to be Omi’s fanboy, and I think he could have had more character than that. Also I am a bit disappointed they didn’t just bring back Jermaine.

Salvador Cumo: A human-reptile hybrid, able to remove and regrow any of his limbs. Similar to Chase, he could switch between his reptile form and human form as well. He was a con man, able to charm any one with his smooth voice and flattery, and was introduced as a Heylin the Xiaolin had to escort to prison. With Salvador, I think it was interesting what they did do with him, as he seemed to be a foil to Raimundo, showing that, like in XS, Raimundo is the most susceptible to falling to the Heylin Side, especially if he has someone who shares similar experiences. It’s also shown Wuya and Salvador knew each other, but this is never expanded on as again the show only had one season.

Tigeress Woo (Tomoko Tohomiko): Kimiko’s Inter-Dimensional Traveling Spy Sister. No, I’m not kidding. She’s able to travel through dimensions by using the gauntlet mounted on her right arm. Or by whirling the Sword of Phantom in her left hand while calling out its name. Another Ally to the Xiaolin Monks basically. Also she rides a pterodactyl. Again, I’m not kidding.

Patrick “Patty” Bailey: Clay’s brother, which I can see happening. Clay seems like the type to have a few siblings, and we meet his sister Jessie in XS. Patty also felt overshadowed by Clay, so he made a superhero persona named... “Super Cow Patty.” Definitely has middle child syndrome.

Story/Plot: So what is the overall plot of XC? Well for the first few episodes, it’s finding a new home, after the old temple was destroyed in the third episode. Then it’s business as usual, trying to save the world with an over arching plot- Sorry, an attempt at an over arching plot. Basically, there’s this new level of Xiaolin Monk called “Xiaolin Dragon Rider”, basically a Xiaolin Monk who can summon a dragon to help them defeat Chase Young. Kimiko is chosen for this, which of course makes Omi Jealous.

Now, this would all be fine and dandy, if they didn’t do the thing of making the boys dumber/incompetent to have a “girl power” message. That’s basically what XC amounts to, a girl power story where the boys are all incompetent to make Kimiko look better. This was not in XS, as all the monks were on equal grounds, though sometimes they had to work harder than the others. The show didn’t sacrifice the story to make a message work, but had a message that worked with the story. It’s why it’s so important that Raimundo became the leader in the end of XS, because he had proved himself. He was the one who struggled the most while his heart was in the right place. And Omi accepting it as, he knows he made a mistake trying to earn the leader title, and it humbles him.

Because of XC, all that humility and humbleness Omi had is gone now, replaced with his egotistical self ten times over. Raimundo and Clay barely do anything unless the story focuses on them. Kimiko becomes the most competent of the monks only because the others look dumber. Dojo becomes obsessed with Master Fung to the point it’s stalker material. Jack becomes a cult leader at one point, many of the new characters potentials are wasted.

I wanted XC to be good, which is why I stuck with it for a long time, the first twenty episodes in fact. The last six episodes didn’t air on tv, because Disney XD mishandled the show once again so that’s great. But even if the last six did air, I’d still feel disappointed. XS will always hold a special place in my heart, it was the first cartoon I remember waking up early to see. It was a show that had great characters, could make you laugh or cry, and had a satisfying ending. XC took all of that and unfortunately couldn’t or wouldn’t do what made the show so great in the first place.

#long post #harley rants about cartoons again #xiaolin showdown

20 notes · View notes