Nearly five years since season three of the kids show ended, we’re tackling one of the most popular cartoons this century so far (and we only started watching it last week! SHAME ON US!). The work of Christy Hui, the creator’s first huge project, the show won a daytime Emmy for its sound and was produced by Warner Bros. Animation (you may have heard to them!) The basic premise of the show is a quest taken on by four Xiaolin warriors to seek out and retrieve mystical artefacts before they fall into the hands of evil, the series ran for three seasons spanning a total of 52 episodes from 2003 to 2006.
Omi, Kimiko, Clay and Raimundo are the four warriors charged with this task and under the guidance of Master Fong and the aid of dragon Dojo; they must travel the world in order to uncover the mystical Shen Gong Wu before they can be captured by the likes of Jack Splicer and his mentor in evil, Wu Ya. Each episode is centred on the appearance of a new Shen Gong Woo and a race to obtain it and will usually end with one of the Xiaolin warriors challenging a villain to a Xiaolin Showdown where the winner will win the right to all Shen Gong Woo used in the battle.
The four warriors do not have an easy task while having to master their powers and learn to work as a one they must also contend with Splicer and Wuya and their army of robots, Catnappe; a selfish cat burglar, Mala Mala Jong a powerful demon and Chase Young one of the most powerful warriors and terrifying evils in the world.
At the heart of it, this is still a kid’s show and never really manages to reach a level for more… mature viewers to fully appreciate but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s nice to just kickback sometimes and not have to worry about complex plots or character development (even those are some of our favourite elements of a narrative!).
Xiaolin Showdown does not take itself so seriously even with darker episodes including the betrayal by one of the warriors, the revelation of Chase Young’s true nature as well as the countless villains that intend on abusing the mystical power of the Wu there are always jokes to be found even when staring impending doom in the face!
Omi starts out as the most annoying character in the series but soon ends up growing on you probably disliking him his know-it-all attitude you can’t help but fall for his naivety. Jack Splicer, the evil boy genius is guaranteed to shore up some laughs too but the real gem in the list of characters in the series has to be Dojo. The sarcastic, scratchy, gluttonous dragon that flies the warriors wherever they need to be! Voiced by Wayne Knight, (that would be the fat guy with glasses who gets eaten in Jurassic Park!) Dojo quickly becomes the favourite character in the series always willing to offer a sarcastic jab or cower in the face of any form of danger. His own episode where he turns on the warriors in an attempt to eat the Wu is probably one of the best in the entire show!
The simple pattern in the episodes is only just about made tolerable by the round up of every season where despite all their advancements and progress the warriors somehow still manage to mess up and let evil get the upper hand even if it is just for one single episode. If you are looking for kids show with some depth and are in need of something with a little heart then we suggest you stick to Avatar: The Last Airbender because you won’t find it in Xiaolin Showdown. The show was aimed at the 6-10yr old market and they do a damn fine job at hitting their mark with each episode. It’s funny, light hearted and worth at least one look if you are trying for something different just don’t expect to come away with a moral compass and some life lessons… (Yes television thought us how to be good people… sometimes!).
Good Points
Funny
Nice animation
Bad Points
Potential to be great but misses the mark
A kids show actually for kids!
Interesting Fact: The Fountain of Hui, one of the Shen Gong Wu is named after creator, Christy Hui
Rating: 69/100
