Xiaolin Showdown

The thing with Teen Titans Go! is that its drastically different in comparison to Teen Titans. This show is like a sequel, spiritual successor, and reboot at the same time which clashes a lot and doesn't allow you to separate the shows as easily as you would with the Teen Titans shows.

In this case the reboot and silliness were highly unneeded and not the focus of the show.

I just don't know why but I loved the original a lot but I don't seem to care to much for this new one and seemingly I am not alone judging by the inactivity...

I like willow as a character and pin pong is ok but it doesn't feel like the original for some reason.

edited 9th Jun '14 1:58:37 AM by fallenlegend

I haven't bothered giving Chronicles a shot, to be frank.

I gave up on this show a long time ago... That's a good thing for me, personally.

It's sequels/reboots/remakes like these that the world can do without... I know for a fact anime is riddled with this kind of crap worse than Western fare, from my experience... Almost.

edited 9th Jun '14 3:43:15 AM by TheShopSoldier

Wow... this place hasn't been touched in years. Does anyone still want to talk about this series?

If anyone's still interested, here's what happened with Xiaolin Chronicles;

The series remained on Netflix from July 2015 to December 2016. In the meantime, a kickstarter for a graphic novel called Xiaolin Dragons was launched in October 2015, as shown here [1] and [2] on You-Tube.

Unfortunately, the kickstarter was cancelled on November 19th, apparently in wake of the terrorist attacks in Paris. It was supposed to be relaunched the next year, but so far it looks as though the project has been postponed indefinitely.

After period of inactivity on official social media accounts, in May 2017, Christy Hui posted a video on Vimeo and then later You-Tube [3], informing viewers on the upcoming launch of the Temple Theater, the first step in the "new" Xiaolin Adventure.

Following that and in June 2017, a "special edition" of Xiaolin Chronicles was available to stream on Vimeo [4], along with the series in general sometime later. The special edition featured the pilot and series finale re-edited into two continuous movies, titled New Dawn and Enter the Dragon Rider respectively. The other episodes were paired together as "doublesodes" that center on a character (example Kimiko + Tokyo Madness/Tigress Wu) and some "bonus" material.

Finally, in November 2017, the New Dawn and Enter the Dragon Rider movies became physically available to purchase on Amazon [5].

And that's pretty much what's been happening regarding that incarnation of Xiaolin. But yeah, aside from that, anyone else still here?

A little late to the party, but I gotta be really honest...I hated Xiaolin Chronicles. And I actually feel pretty sad about it.

I'm sorry, but there were just so many infuriating things about it. The characters and the villains were shells of their former selves. Dojo was unbelievably gross and annoying. The Shen Gong Wu were renamed, though I know that was due to copyright and it would be fine if everything else weren't as bad. Ping Pong was just a more likeable but far less interesting Omi. The Xiaolin Showdown's felt far less creative. And last but not least, Raimundo, my absolute favorite character in the original show and one of my favorite characters in all of animated television, doesn't get a shred of depth or a role as the leader.

So yeah, not a fan. But if they're doing new stuff or releasing some of the old show's material; I'll happily check it out.

I have to say that Ping Pong was a huge waste in character: design and background wise. Wasn't it too hard to make a Asian character from Europe that didn't look like a carbon copy of Omi? He could have been a Chinese-French student, who wore glasses and spoke Chinese and French. Also they didn't show him using his Wood Element all that much. Also rewrite Ping Pong's name and give him a French first name and an Asian last name.

I think people would've possibly accepted Ping Pong and Omi looking the same if the former was revealed to be Omi's cousin or something like that as opposed to Chase claiming that he's Omi's family. I know "characters looking the same" is a thing but in Chronicle's case it was very "How are you not related to Omi?"

Even then, Ping Pong is just a poorly planned and executed character. They tried to make him the newcomer but have him already super knowledgeable about Shen Gong Wu and the whole Xiaolin / Heylin conflict. Then they tried to emphasis how different he and Omi are by making Omi horribly jealous of him while giving Ping Pong zero flaws or development outside of "he's nice, humble, and worships the ground Omi walks on".

I also distinctly remember him bemoaning how he doesn't fit in or isn't good enough to be a Xiaolin Dragon, and yet Ping Pong's shown to be incredibly talented and the monks sing nothing but praise for him. Even Chase hand wrings about him being so "pure" and tries to corrupt him.

Just imagine how much time could've been spent developing Raimundo, Kimiko, and Clay since they're more less background characters in Chronicles. At least Kimiko got time to shine towards the very end.

You are right. He really comes across as a Creator's Pet, and the writers really didn't know what to truly do with his character. We also never really knew what his background was like, except he was from Europe and had Multi Ethnic Name that doesn't make sense at all. I say they should have changed Ping Pong's design, and made him actually act as a newcomer. He should have shown as being not talented off from the pat, but he still looks up to Omi, who wouldn't be jealous of him but actually happy to have a newcomer who sees him as a senior.

I walked into Chronicles expecting Ping Pong to be an annoying character that they would overuse, and instead ended up with a character I kind of liked that was just sort of there not being used effectively.

edited 1st Jan '18 7:50:14 PM by KnownUnknown

I agreewith a lot of the other comments. Ping-Pong is an incredibly lazy character...right down to his name. Xiaolin Showdown was never the best with stereotypes, but Ping Pong is borderline offensive in how lazily crafted and bland he is. The only thing he has over Omi is that he's not nearly as arrogant or boastful.

edited 1st Jan '18 7:40:56 PM by deuteragonist

The biggest point against his character is how unimaginative his design is.

edited 1st Jan '18 7:41:06 PM by firewriter

The writers do favor him, especially towards the beginning of Chronicles, but I think Omi eclipsed him with becoming the Creator's Pet. Some episodes the plot didn't just move until Omi was calling the shots, if that makes sense. He should've been able to use his element too - WHY on Earth was he shown to use Wood at all? Is that element too hard to animate for them or something?

Meanwhile Shadow... I have mixed feelings about her. One side, the idea of Chase Young having an apprentice that comes to challenge and leave him is interesting, along with having another villainess. But at the same time, the series has enough women on the cast that are evil or antagonistic in some fashion. Kimiko really is the only heroine present.

Yeah, it does seem that the show tends to favor having female characters be evil. It would have been good if there were more heroic female side characters. Maybe they could have divided Willow and Shadow into two different characters from one another.

That's interesting considering that Omi being a {{Creator's Pet}} was a problem in the original show, too. He would get episodes upon episodes of development and still learn nothing. It's part of the reason I loved Raimundo so much. His episodes actually contributed to his arc, while Omi would remain the same arrogant know-it-all. And he did it with less episodes.

Seriously, he really was the best character in the show. Other than Chase and Jack Spicer.

At least the other Chinese and Asian characters in the series weren't given yellow skin like him, Omi, and Dashi. I'm surprised they didn't consider changing their skin color for Chronicles, since people wouldn't give it as much as a slide back then with Showdown.

Clay and Raimundo ended up being that for me. They were really just Those Two Guys with Clay quipping about Texas or goats and Raimundo always correcting Omi's bad slang / metaphors.

I notice that W Bs cartoons around the time of Xiaolin Showdown (well, not Justice League, but that was the DCAU) liked the "big brother" kind of character, who was mostly characterized as being cool and helpful when other characters had problems while not really getting the same focus they did, and who thus didn't get a whole lot of personality of their own.

Clay was a big example of that. He didn't have a personal arc - I think he was the only character not to have one, since Kimiko had anger and patience problems that were sort of mini-arc in the first couple seasons. He barely ever had focus episodes, and when he did they usually weren't personal reveals or backstory or anything like that. On the rare occasions that they were (I can think of maybe one: the one with his father), he could usually deal with them quick. So he ended up the character with the least to them, even after several seasons.

He's always basically just been the guy who stands around giving folksy advice and support when his friends need it, earthquaking things that need earthquaking, and yakking about Texas. I was hoping Chronicles would give him more to do, but nope.

Another character from the same time that I remember being the same kind was Cyborg in the 2003 Teen Titans show. He actually did get an arc, but he's the only one who didn't have much in the way of personal growth or change as a result of it.

edited 1st Jan '18 9:50:17 PM by KnownUnknown

Clay was horribly underused and I wouldn't be surprised if people called him a Flat Character, when compared to the other monks. What gets me they had the opportunity to flesh him out to a degree like everyone else, but that was never put on the table. I wonder if him being this calm and composed (for the most part) translated into "we can't push him out of his comfort zone".

The spotlight episodes (I think he only has two in each series) just highlight how dysfunctional his family is, and yet that is never utilized to explain Clay's personality or character. "Big as Teaxs" showed the only reason Clay's at the temple is because his father let him and immediately took him home. There's a chance to explain why Clay lets his father walk all over him but like you said, it gets wrapped up immediately.

I think "The Black Vipers" is a bigger offense because Jessie outright goes into this whole tirade about how much of a wonder boy Clay was and how their parents left her out in the cold like Helga Pataki. Unlike his dad, in this episode Clay's actually confrontational, although he ends up disregarding Jessie's tirade as "not this ol' sod again..." without trying to defend or explain himself.

I too hoped Chronicles would give him something decent, but Clay pretty much got the same script, the only difference is that his grandfather seems to be nice and dark-skinned (does this make Clay mixed-race?). Also, he always frowning or scowling in Chronicles.

Come to think of it, he's rather emotionless in general.

Clay was at least...nice and genuinely pleasant in the original. But yeah, he was very underused and very bland most of the time. The villains were inarguably more interesting than most of the heroes, though. Jack Spicer is a very underrated, hilarious villain. Chase Young, even though he kind of induced the show's Cerebus Syndrome, was pretty compelling. Wuya was pretty great until her Badass Decay.

Well, he's also the source of lust for the fan girls of the show. The other half love the wannabe evil genius that is Jack Spicer.

Can confirm, Jack Spicer was the best character in the show.

#Team Raimundo, but Jack Spicer is a very close second.

It's something that we learn more about Jack Spicer than most of the monks as the first series progressed. I wonder if there's a trope or term refer to when "the audience sympathizes with the villains but the show is clearly written so that the audience is supposed to sympathizes with the heroes in the end".

Then again I might have terms mixed up, and I'm basing this off experience with fandom on tumblr, where everyone there loves Jack / Heylin while having little to say about the monks.

I liked Jack until the middle of season 2, when Chase Young appeared. After that... I felt like most of his "evil turned joke" was mostly to make Chase look good, and to a lesser extent, the monks. Never mind being a genius Jack could've easily made robots that could keep up with the monks' attacks but that's just me.

Chase was compelling to a point - then he became this untouchable villain that progressively grew stronger, got powers without warning or explanation, and more or less took over the plot (in both series). I don't think he actually lost without the show acting like "but you see, he intended to take the fall so that Omi could learn this / to show off how great he is, so he didn't actually lose!"

After the first season Wuya pretty much just got tossed to the sidelines. It's funny because she's the reason the whole Xiaolin / Heylin conflict is there to begin with, and is canonically the most powerful character on the whole. I'd guess Chase and Jack bring in more viewership than her.

That's my only problem with Jack: he doesn't really have much depth or development. I mean, that's not what this show is for and very few characters do; but the show always teased Jack pulling a Heel–Face Turn and it never followed through with it. It was such a missed opportunity, especially considering Chase Young became a much more effective villain for the show. Then the show brought in Hannibal Bean and there was really no use for Jack after that.

Also, I think the trope you might be looking for is Rooting for the Empire?