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First Impression: Xiaolin Chronicles |
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Real life is getting in the way of my reviews again. Stupid college and whatnot getting in the way. Because of that, we go back into our special room where we take a look at the first episode of a new series. It’s “First Impression” time here in the dungeon again. We’re looking at the first two episodes of this series, since they go hand in hand. That’s not all though. This is a sequel to a cartoon from the days of the KidsWB. Welcome to the first look at Xiaolin Chronicles. When I first heard that Xiaolin Showdown was getting a sequel, I nearly wet myself in excitement. I mean, Legend of Korra was fantastic and The Last Airbender was one of my favorite shows growing up. I was only expecting the best out of this new series. I was quickly disappointed. The first two episodes of the series completely contradict the ending of the original, which, though a little rushed, was a decent ending. The group found a leader, that wasn’t Omi, they had found all the Shen Gong Wu, and they had all learned from their experiences and grown up. Chronicles begins by forgetting that, forcing them to find more Wu, and making them all immature and dropping all the lessons they have learned. It’s a poor way to start a sequel. The art style has also changed, quite noticeably, and not for the better. They were rounded out in the original, such was the American cartoon style and the time, but in Chronicles, they are more triangular and square but trying to keep some semblance of the original style. It was obvious they wanted to look like an anime, but couldn’t change too much because it would anger the original fanbase. It’s just very off-putting. I also need to bring up that only one of the voice actors is back. That is Tara Strong, who plays Omi. Every other single character that was from the previous series has a new voice and it is jarring to hear the change. Basically, Chronicles changes a lot and none of it is for the better. Now for the part of this series that bothers me the most. It doesn’t acknowledge everything the previous one worked so hard to establish. Omi learned humility in the face of Raimundo being the best choice for team leader when he was willing to turn evil to save everyone and won the final showdown. All the Shen Gong Wu had been found and the series finished with the warriors fighting off the forces of evil as they attacked the temple. It was a good ending to a good kids’ show. Chronicles takes all of that and strangles the series with the third arm sash. All the characters are back to being their pre-lesson learning jerk selves. Plus, there are more Shen Gong Wu. All of which seem to be the exact same as the original, just with different names. I get that you need to have more showdowns because it was the original title of the show, but it’s a complete contradiction of the original ending. Oh, best part. The showdowns are CGI and they wear weird glowing jumpsuits. There’s no reason for it, they just do. I literally don’t think I could hate this series anymore than I already do, but I will watch the next few episodes, hoping it gets better. I really did love Xiaolin Showdown growing up. So much so that I even owned the game. It’s probably one of my best memories, considering my friends and I always talked about it and played around with the idea of being Wudai Warriors. I wanted to like Xiaolin Chronicles, but I can’t. It’s just a betrayal to everything the original was. Do you kow why Legend of Korra worked? Because it remembered that The Last Airbender was for children, but also knew the original audience was more grown up and wanted something new. They used that to their advantage. Xiaolin Chronicles is still very much for children, but children that would never have seen the original Showdown. They don’t really focus on getting the original audience either. It’s a bad call on the creative team’s part. I’m sorry. I wish I could give this show a proper review, but I hate it too much. I’ll hopefully be back with a real review soon, but until then, stay safe and watch good anime my little dearies.
June_Lani · Tue Sep 03, 2013 @ 06:05am · 0 Comments |
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