Avatar and Xiaolin Showdown

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d-shiznit

New member
As the title suggests, this is a thread describing the differences and similarities between these two shows. Here are a few pictures i put together to help you get the idea.

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Water-146763531

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Earth-146764428

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Fire-146764804

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Air-Wind-146765253

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Element-Symbols-146765537

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Allies-146766150

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Wisecrackers-146767054

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Small-characters-146767332

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Transport-146767606

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Warriors-Masters-146768094

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Warriors-Figures-146768543

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Loving-Fathers-146768851

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Great-Power-146769099

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Strange-Realms-146769393

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Strange-Beasts-146769688

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Villains-146770119

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Femme-Fatales-146770351

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/A-TLA-and-XS-Lesser-Villains-146770582

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/Avatar-and-Xiaolin-Showdown-146770761

http://srebak.deviantart.com/art/Two-worlds-but-Four-Elements-146770985
 
All (alleged) similarities aside, isn't the point of Deviantart to showcase your own art rather than cut-and-paste clip art? Sorry, but I don't see what sort of discussion you hope to generate with this.
 
The early 2000s were when everyone was starting to notice how big anime was. Lots of shows tried to capitalize on it by creating their own 'anime', either by basing it on as much Asian culture as they could or doing something like aping the stereotypical art style and try to use a bunch of stereotypes. You had Teen Titans, Xiaolin Showdown, Juniper Lee, Jake Long, Three Delivery, Kappa Mikey, Avatar, and tons other. What I always found odd is they always chose to base it on Chinese culture, when anime is Japanese, not Chinese (Xiaolin Showdown not withstanding as Christy Hui is Chinese so that's understandable) I'd say the similarities between the two shows just stems from that; not to mention elemental powers are one of the most basic and overused plot devices in fiction. Avatar and Xiaolin are pretty much just products of the same fad, so similarities are not unexpected.
 
My guess: they figured kids found Chinese culture easier to understand than Japanese culture. Of course, if that was true there would have been no anime boom to begin with, but that's our bosses for you.
 
I don't really see a lot of similarities between these two series. I think that Xiaolin Showdown focused more on humor than action, while Avatar had more of a balance between providing action and humor in its storyline. The main similarity I see in these series is that there are some inspired design/animation from anime stereotypes, such as the sweat drops and exaggerated facial expressions. I almost forgot about how both series had the four elements of water, earth, fire, although it technically isn't an element, and air/wind. Though, considering the differences between how those elements were used in both series, I'm not sure if it is that much of a similarity.
 
It's the American storyboard artists who put these types of drawings in their cartoons. Again I must express my confusion as to why this is considered such a heinous practice.
 
Eh, this "comparison" just isn't working for me. It's just too vague. One can find similarities between many different shows, if one looks hard enough and chooses to view them as such. Also, I think it would have been better if the OP had used his/her own words to describe how Avatar is like Xiaolin Showdown, since just cutting and pasting a bunch of pictures alone doesn't prove much of anything. The 2 shows really don't have that much in common, at least not enough to convince me that any similarities between the 2 were deliberate on anyone's part. I mean, Captain Planet and WITCH both used the elements as powers also, does that mean that those shows are like Avatar too?
 
Kung Fu movies like Enter the Dragon are probably what the people behind these shows watched growing up. They probably think if a show is based ancient Japanese culture everyone would have to be ninjas or running around with katanas.
 
If only to keep this thread from being locked, let me just say a few things:

First of all - The pictures i posted were also there for me to show them off, but they were supposed to point out the things the 2 shows had in common. Particularly the elements.

Second of all - Since you want me to point out real comparisons, here they are;

For one thing, the characters -

1. Omi is calm and collected, but will become ferocious if neccesary. Like Waterbenders (like Katara for example) and the Water Tribes. Also, like waterbenders, Omi is usually surrounded by water or near some when he uses it. both are able to create and destroy with it and use all forms of H2O (liquid, Ice and Steam)

2. Clay is patient and strong and very hard to take down in a full frontal assault. Like Earthbenders (like Toph) and the Earth Kingdom. When Clay attacks, he causes massive fluxuations in the ground and in metal too. Which is similar to how Earthbenders fight.

3. Kimiko is very perserverant and technologically skilled, like the Fire Nation. But also has a wicked and sometimes dangerous temper, like the Firebenders (Zuko). When Kimiko wants something, she does what she can to get it, even if it causes her to cut corners. Not unlike Sozin and the Fire Nation army. Like Firebenders, Kimiko can manifest and control flames with her own two hands and launch them as projectiles. Plus (and i know this doesn't count for much) Kimiko is voiced by the same person who voices an Avatar character, guess who?

4. Raimundo is comedic, easygoing and always makes time for fun. Like the Air Nomads and the airbenders (Aang). But like the airbenders, when things get serious, so does he. Raimundo can create massive gusts of wind and uses them to make himself move faster, jump higher and even fly on one occassion. Also, like Aang, Raimundo can take charge when he has to.

5. Dojo can be as massive as Appa and fly just as well, then be as tiny and compact as Momo. But has Sokka's wit and personality.

6. Wuya, Chase and Hannibal are all as cunning and duplicitous as Azula. Though Wuya and Jack as as much glory-hounds as Zhao. While Chase is also as honorable as Zuko or Iroh. Hannibal is as much a threat as Fire Lord Ozai, yet as mysterious and enigmatic as Combustion Man. Pandabubba has the cunning and resourcefulness that can match Long Feng's

7. Katnappe is as skilled and quirky as Ty Lee, but as reliable as Mai.

8. Grandmaster Dashi's role is similar to Avatar Roku's

Then there's the plot, true they're quite different, but they are also a bit similar.

1. They both revolve around a group of heroes trying to save the world from a looming evil that would surely destroy it.

2. As the series moves forward, each of the characters learns a new trick.

3. Jack's habit of turning from bad to good then back again is similar to Zuko's transformations. Except Zuko stays good when changes.

4. Both series' started the traditional way of first introduces the characters and how it all began. Rather than started the series right in the middle of things and then show how it all happened later on.

5. The second season both shows are almost instant continuations of the First. Plus they both end on rather sad and depressing note, which leaves the viewers anxious to see how Season 3 will follow up on it.

6. The 3rd and final Season of both shows start to heat the story up a bit and end with a happy and decisive close to the story.


Well that's all i got. Well except that the concept of the "Heylin Comet" is reminiscent of Sozin's Comet.
 
Oh yeah. I forgot about that show. Though, they did add Heart for some reason and I agree that it wasn't anime-inspired in any shape or forum.



That feels like a bit of a stretch to me. Sure, Omi can be calm and collected, but his massive ego, if I recall correctly, did give him and his friends a lot of trouble during the series. Plus, Omi needs a Water Shen Gong Wu in order to use water as a weapon, while Katara and other waterbenders just need to be around water itself. I also think that there is more training necessary to becoming a bender of any element in Avatar than to become a Dragon element in Xiaolin Showdown.



Outside of having earth as their main element, Clay doesn't have any similarities to Toph. Toph never struck me as a patient kind of girl and I honestly think she's much stronger than Clay since she can bend earth and mental, even though she is blind.



Kimiko never seemed technologically skilled. She just had access to the basic kind of technology that most kids/teenagers have access too. The Fire Nation actually made advancements in their society's technology by creating different kind of weapons during the war, which comes off to me as more impressive and valuable than what Kimiko did. I don't think that Kimiko's temper issues were quite like Zuko's. For the most part, Kimiko's anger was shown as a flaw in her character, as well as for comedy relief. On the other hand, Zuko's anger was the result of psychological abuse and being exiled from his home country by his own father.

Kimiko trying to get what she wants by cutting corners is completely different from the Fire Nation and especially Sozin. If I recall correctly, Kimiko didn't make a decision that killed off a whole nation, launched the world into a hundred year war and attempted to destroy the world as well. I'm still not sure that launching fire in a similar manner is that much of a connection. First of all, most human characters that can control fire usually launch it from their hands. Second of all, I'm still under the impression that in order to use their element attacks, each of the main characters in Xiaolin Showdown had to use Shen Gong Wu that matched their element. Though, I could be wrong about that since I haven't seen the series for awhile. I don't think that Grey DeLisie voicing Kimiko and Azula is much of a connection. To me, that's similar to saying that Vicky from FOP and Frankie from Foster's Home are similar because they have the same voice actress when on the surface, they really don't have much in common.



I thought that Raimundo got less easygoing as the series went on. Outside of some of the kids we saw in Aang's flashback and Monk Gyatso, most of the Air Nomads didn't seem comedic to me. Even though Raimundo feels like the most developed character in the series, he only gets in charge near the end of the series, while Aang had to take charge earlier in his series and take on more responsibilities than Raimundo did.



Dojo didn't come off to me as loyal as Appa was, or even Momo, to the main cast. While he was the comic relief character, along with the main means of transportation, that doesn't really feel like a strong enough connection between these characters. Besides that, Dojo came off as more annoying to me than funny and didn't really change during the series, unlike Sokka.



While I agree that Wuya, at least during the first season, and Chase were cunning villains, I'm not sure if they were equal to Azula in that department. That and Azula feels like a much more intimidating villain to me than both of them. Jack and Wuya's desire for attention/glory made them more like comic relief villains, especially in Jack's case, so I don't think that there really similar to Zhao. Chase can be an honorable villain, but I'm not sure if it should be compared to Zuko or Iroh considering that unlike Chase, they grew as characters and were able to actually help Aang save the world. Hannibal never felt like a threat, especially compared to Fire Lord Ozai who was planning on destroying the Earth Kingdom and then the entire world with his increased Firebending. He also had more dialogue and personality than the Combustion Man. I'm not sure if Pandabubba is that cunning or resourceful, considering he was pretty much minor villain.



Grandmaster Dashi only helped Omi once he traveled back in time. Avatar Roku is actually a part of Aang due to being him reincarnated and gave him advice/information that were key in Aang learning all of the elements and saving the world throughout the series.



That can describe nearly all kind of fantasy/action cartoon series.



Again, that's fairly typical in most fantasy/action series, so I'm not sure if that's really a strong enough connection to make it seem that the plots are that similar.



Jack usually only went to the good side when he wanted to make sure he wasn't destroyed, like in the beginning of season two, or he wanted protection. Zuko changing sides was a key moment in his character development since he realized his mistakes and wanted to help Aang stop his father. With Jack, it was usually for selfish reasons and/or comedy relief.



I was under the impression that the majority of series start out with introducing the characters and how key events began early in its run, instead of starting in the middle.



There are quite a few shows that continue straight where the previous seasons leave off, along with ending on sad and depressing notes.



I'm not sure about that. With Xiaolin Showdown, Raimundo did get the strongest ranking, but they didn't get all of the Shen Gong Wu and the ending just had all of the characters fighting off all of the villains. With Avatar, Aang was finally able to learn all of the different elements to bend, defeated the Fire Lord, Zuko and Katara took down Azula and it ended happily with the main cast and their friends happily being together. To me, it felt like Avatar had a happier ending that had more closure than Xiaolin Showdown's ending did.

No offense, but most of, if not all of these similarities, don't feels strong enough to be solid connections between the two series. Most of them come off as stretches and could be used to connect other shows together. I still don't think that Avatar and Xiaolin Showdown are that similar at all.
 
There are plenty of shows with the same basic character archetypes, but the creators take it in different directions. I can easily compare most characters to each other, but no one would think they are much alike. Much of the reasoning provided also groups entire people under one personality or is typically found in many shows, be it fantasy or otherwise. Not all Airbenders were youthful and fun, while not all Earthbenders were patient and wise. A chunk of them might have been, but it's quite a stretch to say they all were.
 
I just had a run-in with a hornet in my room in the middle of the night. So i'm not in a particularly cooperative mood. But i'm willing to try to be.

1. Since you admit to not remember much of Xiaolin Showdown. I feel i should point out that when they became Apprentices and Wudai Warriors, Kimiko and Omi learned how to harness their elements and create them with their own abilities. The elemental Shen Gong Wu they use only enhance these powers, much like the moon and Sozin's comet do for Water and Fire bending. Also, like Katara, Omi was usually the one who kept the group together when they were bickering and had a relationship of some significance with the air/wind wielder.

2. Clay's abilities also spread to metal, as he can stomp it and make it fold like he could earth. Also both Toph and Clay do things that come off as odd to the rest of the group.

3. It was Kimiko's knowledge of Technology that helped saved the day on many occassions. Like how the Fire Nation's machines was key to many of their victories. As to Kimiko's temper and ambitions, her temper has (or at least almost) cost her a victory or two and it was important that she works passed that if she's ever to gain self-dicipline. This is similar to how Zuko's rage and fury were his main flaws, flaws Zhao and Azula have frequently exploited in their attempts to kill him. It was a main part in his character development for Zuko to learn to control his temper and finally sort out where it truly stemmed. Also, Kimiko's ambition to be the team leader caused her to be the patsy in Hannibal's plot to destroy Chase, which lead to a three-way "Turf war" between them and Wuya. It was Sozin and his descendents' ambition for global supremecy that nearly destroyed the world.

4. Aang got more serious as his story went on too and despite the serious demeanor of the Air Nomad elders, they had to have been as carefree as Aang when they when they were his age. Also, if were watching "Saving Omi", "Finding Omi", "Treasure of the Blind Swordsman", "Wu Got the Power", "Hannibal's Revenge" and both parts of "Time after Time". You'd see that Raimundo took charge of the group and was the one who made the plans and decisive attack strategies.

5. What do you mean Dojo's not that loyal? He risked his life to save the monks from the Sapphire Dragon.

6. How is Azula more intimidating than Wuya and Chase? Wuya is a powerful demon sorceress and Chase is a shapeshifting immortal warrior with the ability to turn people into animals that will do his bidding. How is Hannibal not a threat? He turned an honorable warrior bad and unleashed him on an unsuspecting world, he manipulates and practically heralds doom in every direction. When i said he and Combustion Man were enigmatic, i meant their backstories were never made clear to the viewers.

7. I meant that Dashi and Roku are ancient warriors and masters that were both frequently mention by the main cast and did something that played a key role in the plot.


The reason i'm trying to compare these two shows is because i find them very similar. Possibly stemming from my feelings of the two being perfect shows to crossover. The same reason is why i tried my hand at the Ben 10/Teen Titans (Which has twice been blocked). If you just give me a chance and not lock this thread, i'm sure i'll find some unique similarities for them. If only some of you would help instead of insisting that Avatar and Xiaolin Showdown have nothing in common.
 
Baseball and Basketball are the same thing. Clearly.

Seriously dude, you're stretching things. Both shows have ultimately different end-games and backgrounds with the only thing connecting them is generic asian mythology.
 
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