Xiaolin Showdown

At first glance, Xiaolin Showdown might appear to be formulaic, with four monks embodying the four elements and a largely comedic villain (Jack Spicer). Many episodes follow a standard "showdown" plot. However, as mentioned, the good guys don't always win, and as time goes on, we discover that this series, unlike so many American cartoons, dares to explore its characters and (gasp) allow them to grow. The good characters are allowed flaws, and the bad ones allowed (sometimes to their own consternation) to have good aspects. The introduction of Chase Young in the second season as would-be evil influence on Omi improved the series by providing the monks with a more formidable--and less straightforward--opponent. But who is influencing whom? The occasional depth of the series continues to surprise. Bonus: The magical aspect of the series allows for imaginative psychedelic sequences that can be a hoot.

The name of this cartoon would tend to put people off but if you give it a chance you'll see it's a superbly animated show that has suspense, drama, humour.... lots of humour and a great storyline. You can tell a lot of effort has gone into the character design and choosing voices and the animation is fluid and precise. Follow the adventures of 4 kaolin monks as they quest to find the mystical "Shen Gong Wu", magical items that each have a unique power, I cannot fault this cartoon at all, funny as hell, I want them to bring it out on DVD so i can keep them forever.

Xiaolin Showdown is a great show. It has funny visual humour, okay-ish jokes, action scenes that are fun to watch and it's (for the most part) well animated.

Most of the characters on the show are good, not all of them, but most of them. Out of the main 5 (Omi, Rai, Clay, Kimiko, Dojo) I only don't like Clay and Omi. Omi is too full of himself and Clay is just plain annoying with his stereotyped 'texas' personality. Apart from that, the characters are good.

Music is also good, with lots of different themes for the characters (Jack's being my favourite).

The first season was fantastic, and the second (while not up to the standards of the first) is also a lot of fun. Overall, a great show.

I remember this show growing up. It had enough going for it that I have a positive view of it years later. Some may say there weren't many shows that stood out in the early 2000s, but I think this is a show with style that sets it apart. Other shows like Jackie Chan Adventures had a similar style of Asian culture mixed with American animation, and this one definitely shares some similarities (heck, both shows came out from the same network). However, I really enjoyed this type of style, and while the characters and story aren't the selling point, the imagination put into some of the concepts got me hooked. It works well in the show, and there's even significant character and plot development moving along (such as the writers bringing back a certain plot point in the past), which is definitely something I really appreciated.

I remember how good this show was years and years ago and even now as I recently rewatched it I can still see how truly wonderful and Unique it is. I also get a lot more of the jokes I wouldn't of got when I first watched it and would recommend this show.