Xiaolin Chronicles

When I was younger, I LOVED watching Xiaolin Showdown. Everything about Showdown is great... I wish I could say the same about Chronicles however. I saw the sequel announced years ago and it caught my attention but never got around to it until recently. I decided to re-watch Showdown first and grew to appreciate it even more as an adult. It's funny, clever, original, entertaining, and has good character development. Chronicles possesses everything BUT those characteristics. I don't even know where to begin with this huge letdown of a series.

First and foremost, this is NOT a sequel despite what it's labeled as. It's basically some form of spinoff series I guess? Reason I say this is because some of the backstories don't match up with the original at all. Shen Gong Wu have different names (I get it's because of copyright but I don't care) and some of them don't even have the same powers as the ones from Showdown such as the Golden Tiger Claws for instance. Instead of transporting you anywhere in the world, it travels through time. Most of voice actors are different (not necessarily why I hate it, but it's still a letdown). They introduce a new character Ping Pong (basically a mini-Omi who's less egotistical) who is just downright boring, obnoxious, and uninspiring. Ping Pong basically adds nothing to the series. Dojo is the worst of them all. Aside from the fact that he's yellow now for whatever reason, he also has a huge obsession/hard-on for Master Fung. Like REALLY obsessed, to the point where he's just down right unbearable. Always calling him lovey dovey nicknames and day dreaming about him. It doesn't help that when he senses a new Wu now he gets some kind of rash boil attack that's really not pleasing to look at.

Even the showdowns itself aren't even exciting to watch anymore. They decided to make them CGI which is odd since Showdown didn't do this. Even the transition from reality to the showdowns are rather weak. It used to be exciting watching two characters challenge each other, explain the game details, yell "XIAOLIN SHOWDOWN!", then everything just transitions around them to transform into the showdown arena. You just knew before they even touched the Wu that things were about to go down. Now it just doesn't have the same feel. Feels like they just quickly rush into the showdown, Dojo does this spinning thing in front of the screen, then everything becomes CGI.

I wanted to enjoy this, I really did, but completing this was very difficult for me to do and I constantly wanted to drop it. I even found myself not paying attention at times because I would distract myself with other things due to how much boring it ultimately is.

If you are a fan of Showdown and plan on watching Chronicles, I recommend watching it with very low expectations.

I loved Xiaolin Showdown. I also like Xiaolin Chronicles. This show is a different Xiaolin series, made with a different approach. For starters, Xiaolin Chronicles is not a "reboot" of the original series despite what many fans thought (or hoped). It's episodic, while the original series was serialized. This factor alone makes the two series different in storytelling. It was probably due to a network demand since the producers know better. Having said that, the magical adventures are entertaining to watch, and it's great fun to see the Xiaolin gang kicking butt. Sure, I'd love to see a real reboot, with the original cast grown up, facing new personal challenges and perhaps a new set of villains. But Xiaolin Chronicles was not made for the old fans. It was made for 6-11 years old kids! This is why it aired on Disney XD in US. Why do you think it ranked #7 on Nickandmore.com among 30 new shows that came out in 2015? It's because this new series is a very good show for kids.

This is a non-spoiler review. Xiaoling Chronicles (XC) is a reboot/semi- continuation of a 2003 show called Xiaolin Showdown (XS). Within the first episode an alternate continuity is established, clearly saying not to take into account the previous show too much. However, some parts of XC are difficult to understand without previously knowing the underlying lore. This can cause confusion as to what the show is intended to be for XS fans and comprehension problems for new audiences. The show lacks in continuity and consistency. There is no apparent overarching plot line. There is awkward pacing and locations of characters and items frequently do not match up even within the scope of single episodes, not to mention between episodes. In the fights within the show engagement rules change without warning or explanation. Most of the show is animated in 2D and looks decent. The rest is rendered in 3D, and in it the character models are well designed. However, there are numerous problems ranging from poor choreography and failed lip syncing to bland and predictable sets. The voice acting is quite well done, but is unfortunately overshadowed by poor writing. The dialogue feels forced at times and sometimes suggestive enough for too young an audience to pick up the double entendres. Gross toilet humor is present in almost every episode. Most of the characters are both flanderized and stereotyped, with little or no character development. Some relationships are inappropriately suggestive, and others seem contrived. I would not recommend watching this show for entertainment, but perhaps for a study of what problems can be present in Western Animation to ensure future shows do not employ these tactics. I do understand it is likely a lot of work went in to the production of this show, and I do appreciate the dedication, but certain negative elements cause XC to be perceived as poorly made. 4/10.

Since I'm a big fan of the original series, Xiaolin Showdown (I grew up watching it every Saturday), Xiaolin Chronicles isn't really a continuation of Xiaolin Showdown regardless of what many people might think. I conducted an interview with the show's producer a while back on a school project, and I found out that one of the major differences was that the network/studio required this new series be episodic. This surprising requirement presented big creative challenges in storytelling for the writers, since they wanted to tell evolving stories in the tradition of Xiaolin Showdown. Evolving stories require longer arcs, spanning over multiple episodes, which resulted in many 2-parters and 3-parters in Xiaolin Showdown. The old series was serialized through and through. As each season of Xiaolin Showdown progressed, the seasonal arcs also evolved. That's one of the reasons why Xiaolin Showdown was a great kids show. Without the ability to write shows in a serialized manner, this takes a way a lot of opportunity for character growth, story build up, and evolving conflicts, just to name a few. We all know that plots need time to develop, evolve, and thicken… I understand this even though I am not a professional writer. Therefore, Xiaolin Chronicles is not meant to be a reboot or continuation of Xiaolin Showdown, and it is unfair to compare them under the same light. Additionally, Xiaolin Chronicles is made under very different circumstances, with many creative constraints. For starters, it was not even made in the US, and the crew spoke French. So there, it should tell you how different the production settings were between the two shows. The old show — a product of a major US studio. The new one - a product made in France by a small independent. So all things considered, I'd say Xiaolin Chronicles turned out great. It's a fun action adventure show. Having said that, I still like the fact that the Xiaolin monks are back! It served the purpose of re-introducing the Xiaolin monks to a new set of audience. And I love that there is a new monk joining the adventure. Sure there are always things to pick on… in any given show. But to me, it's always fun to watch Xiaolin. However, I'd love it even more if the new Xiaolin shows can be done in a serialized fashion, so that the stories can evolve and grow in order to bring out the best that Xiaolin has to offer. Stay true and stay faithful to Xiaolin Showdown. That'd be a good thing.

First of, I am glad to see the Xiaolin gang is kicking back. Omi makes me chuckle, and my favorite characters is the dragon, Dojo. I'd love to see more shows on other characters like Raimundo and Clay in the future though. More importantly, I'd love to see bigger, deeper story lines; but having worked in the industry myself, it is sometimes a struggle, especially if the networks want the show a certain way, like serialized vs. episodic. In this case, I found out (from someone who worked on the show) that they were required to deliver the show episodically. That's too bad. Because to tell bigger stories, there needs to be more time, spanning over multiple episodes. I think this series could be even stronger if the stories were serialized. And Xiaolin lends itself well as a serialized show. Take a look at the original Xiaolin Showdown, it was great and it was serialized. I'd say that Xiaolin Chronicles is not a continuation of the original storyline. The whole format is different. So while Xiaolin Chronicles is still fun to watch, it has the potential to be even better. This is why I'm giving this new series a 4-star, where Xiaolin Showdown would be a 5. What can I say? Sorry about that. But that's just did, it's show biz. Business decisions often put a lot of limitations on the creative front and sometimes things don't pan out. So all things considered, I love the fact that the new show brings back the classic characters and introduced a few new ones. I do hope they can figure out a good way to make more. And this time, please make the new shows serialized. Personally, I'd love to see Dashi and Wuya from the ancient days, to see what that world was like. Perhaps even an origin story. There's a lot of potential with Xiaolin, because there are already multiple universes in existence, with many unique and interesting characters. So please don't stop here. Bring back more Xiaolin… And this time, go back to the roots! Do a proper, kickass reboot of Xiaolin Showdown!