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.
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.