[[ Jackie Chan Adventures has a 25th anniversary coming up in a few weeks on September 9th. I wanted to share a fun little challenge with the fandom if anyone is interested. The challenge starts the 9th and you do one topic for that day and each day after, which would basically lead up to 31 different show related topics. I did something similar many years ago, but I wanted to revamp it in honor of the upcoming special occasion. Feel free to share and tag so others can follow! ^^ ]]
Day 1 – Favorite protagonist
Day 2 – Least favorite protagonist
Day 3 – Favorite antagonist
Day 4 – Least favorite antagonist
Day 5 – Underrated character
Day 6 – How did you come across Jackie Chan Adventures?
Day 7 – Favorite episode
Day 8 – Least favorite episode
Day 9 – Favorite pairing
Day 10 – Name your favorite JCA references to the real Jackie Chan
Day 11 – Favorite season
Day 12 – Least favorite season
Day 13 – What you like about the show
Day 14 – Saddest moment
Day 15 – Funniest moment
Day 16 – Any criticisms, dislikes?
Day 17 – Favorite talisman
Day 18 – Least favorite talisman
Day 19 – What would you add and/or change?
Day 20 – Best fight scene
Day 21 – Favorite Shadowkhan tribe
Day 22 – Least favorite Shadowkhan tribe
Day 23 – Best magic scene
Day 24 – Favorite mythological character/creature from the show
Day 25 – Favorite demon chi
Day 26 – Least favorite demon chi
Day 27 – Favorite artifact
Day 28 – What is your Chinese Zodiac sign? What would you do if you had that sign's power?
Day 29 – Memorable quote
Day 30 – How would you spend a day with the characters?
Day 31 – If you were in the world of JCA, what would you want to be? Why?
If Shen Du has a million haters, I am one of them.
If he has one hater, it is I.
If he has zero haters, I have died.
If the world is against Shen Du, I am with the world.
And if the world is for Shen Du, I am against the world.
I understand Shen Du is a villain and us as the audience aren't meant to like him. But I don't care about all that, Shen Du's overrated. Get this demon off my screen! I don't trust him!
He's my least favorite Demon Sorcerer and least favorite demon in the show. Never really liked him or cared much for him. I was happy every time he didn't get a talisman in season 1 and in season 2 when he got bullied all the time by his siblings. I was also happy when he only got 2 seconds of freedom in J2 just to be put right back into stone. I was cheering on Drago when he was laying hands on his dad in the series finale! Too bad Tarakudo didn't get the chance to jump in too, since he stole part of the ability to summon Shadowkhan while Tarakudo and his kin were in masks.
All funny stuff aside, I really don't hate Shen Du. I just find his siblings and other magical characters to be more interesting. But somehow, someway this guy has to make his presence known in every season. And I get it, since the entirety of the show started with him, so I can give him credit with that. But I can't help but be an unashamed Shen Du hater. MAY HE NEVER KNOW PEACE
Just like I had a handful of my favorite episodes, I have the same for my least favorite episodes. Not every episode can tickle my fancy, for there must be balance!
Just like I had a handful of my favorite episodes, I have a few of my least favorites.
Shell Game - there wasn't much wrong with this episode per se, I just didn't feel too great at the idea of the fakeass Hannibal Lecter trying his hardest to buy and eat a live tortoise, like it's not an endangered animal. Just eugh.
The Jade Monkey - I'm not that much into animals, so this episode wasn't all that for me.
Agent Tag, Into the Mouth of Evil, Shrink Rap - I feel I don't have much to say about these fillers. These ones are kinda boring to me and some of the characters I could care less about.
Glove Story - screw Greenbeard's stealing gloves and those two villains who were dying to get them
Aztec Rat Race, Curse of El Chupacabra - The El Toro and Paco-featured episodes were disinteresting. Because they're my least favorite protagonists, a lot of time I kinda zone out of them. I do feel a little back for the former just because it's a seasonal arc episode, but still.
It's All in the Game - hmm, I don't really care for those kind of competitve game shows like American Ninja Warrior or Survivor type of shows. And the pacing for the third part after Drago shows up and takes the Water demon chi felt kinda rushed to me. Like I wanted to see him doing more with the demon chi he got and then mixing it in with his inherited fire demon chi.
J2: Revisited - this episode kinda fell flat for me because it was a bit disappointing seeing an older Jade catch so much flack in her paper-pushing position in Section 13. Like the change from her being the boss in one timeline to her being a bored of her job was a little sad. Also, I never understood Jimmy's motivations towards being Iso. You got bullied in school, Jade empathized with you and took you in. She introduced you as a friend to her family and put you on about being Tohru's apprentice. AND YOU REPAY HER BY PLOTTING TO KILL HER FAMILY AND TAKING OVER THE WORLD? Never really liked that trope. I dunno, the episode is so underwhelming, especially since this is the last aired ep of JCA after the Power That Be Parts I+II. This is how the show ends off?
here we go, another long list. A good portion of it can be rambling bc I have a lotta ideas, okay
Add:
Darker elements for the show. They don't have to be super dark, but darker than what was already established.
More morally grey Jackie moments. I want to see him when he's sometimes not in the right
More female characters in the show. Villains especially.
More Viper
More... development for Tarakudo and the Oni? If that's even a good way to describe this.
More development on Drago too.
Beef between Tarakudo and Shen Du. It's only right for Tarakudo to get his lick back.
Hmm... I actually want to see more of Chi Master Fong, or what Uncle's training was like back in the day? How was Uncle's journey in being a chi wizard? I actually liked listening to Uncle's backstory every once in a while when it came around.
More episodes for season 4, maybe some fillers related to the arc.
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but I'd actually like to see more of Jade's parents. Like since the J-Team visited them in Hong Kong, they decide to come to America to see her and all hell breaks loose!
I'm curious to see more ideas of Captain Black working to expand Section 13 to develop stronger methods on taking on magic.
I'd add in Mama Tohru more to season 4. It'd be good for her to at least be a prominent player one time, especially because she's Japanese AND she was the one who told Tohru about tales of the Oni. Given that she didn't have a complete mental breakdown at the sight of the Dark Chi Warriors, being invisible, her son helping out Santa, etc., this season could've been a key moment for her.
You're telling me Uncle was struggling with Japanese and Tohru wouldn't have secretly went behind Uncle's back to ask his mom for help, much to Uncle's chagrin? Despite them near hating each other, they actually work really well with each other when they're focusing on the same goals. So if the goal was to find an Oni mask, take down Ratso and the Razorkhan, or even just to get more knowledge of the Oni and Tarakudo legends, she's literally your guide.
Change:
All of the Monkey King episodes would be more formulated towards the Journey of the West tale and/or characters. I'd change his introduction episode to explain his origins and WHY he was reduced to a puppet. Like either MK became too much of a menace, MK became corrupted by dark chi and this was Buddha's last resort to restrain him. There's a lot of opportunity here.
EVEN BETTER: He isn't the real Sun Wukong, but the Six-Eared Macaque, who's by Chinese legend SW's evil twin, whose more of a demon who wants to take the real SW's place and wreak havoc everywhere. This would prompt the real SW, along with Tang Monk Tang, Zhu the Pig, Sha the Sand, and the Dragon Horse to show up, team up with the Chans, and everyone saves the day.
The ending of the first J2. A part of me feels like I'd maybe have Drago escape from being captured, another part of me would have Drago be seen somewhere inbetween J2's ending and Ninja Twilight.
Season 4's finale. I'd make it into a 2-parter, the first episode where the last mask is discovered, someone puts it on, the Shadowkhan come out, you know the drill. By this episode's end, the mask is reclaimed by the Chans and saved in S.13 with the rest of the masks. At that point, then the masks break, the souls of the Oni generals come out. Then the following episode is wrapping stuff up while Tarakudo gets stronger since he's already in his full body form.
(also, Shen Du and Drago are IN SECTION 13 while that takeover was happening. So throw them in the mix a bit)
The show got me more interested in Chinese mythology, so I'd throw in more episodes, filler or not, about Lo Pei and the Eight Immortals.
Hmm, is it crazy if I'd say I'd change the Agent Tag episode and remake it into a more Rush Hour-based episode? The first 2 movies had already been out before the show premiered and were already super popular at this time. Would've been a great episode and an addition to the J-Team (ofc you make it for a fam-friendly audience)
Capt. Black pairs Jackie up with another agent (like a female black agent named Carter) to take down a magical threat. They both don't really like each other like that at first, but they learn later on that they're actually more similar and start getting along. Maybe Jade tags along in the mission and somehow complicates things, so now Jackie and Carter really gotta get down to stop the bad guys, save the day and the world, and now they're cool. Bonus if Carter gets initiated into the J-Team for her bravery and knowledge of magic.
J2 Revisited? Don't have much ideas for them.
Change Drago's introduction to maybe season 3's finale
Maybe tweaking a bit of Attack of the J-Clones, where instead Chang and Wong team up to destroy the J-Team and their reputation by manufactoring the J-Clones to do crimes. @artbyoddity mentioned it just recently and it gave me an idea to expand on
El Toro and Paco remain as my least favorite protagonists. It's not that I hate them or even I generally dislike them. When they are present in the J-Team episodes, they definitely help get the job done of beating the criminal/magical threat of the week. I just like them the least because they sometimes annoy me.
Paco can be extremely petty at times, like arguing with Jade about why El Toro is the greatest. Like okay, we get it, El Toro is the greatest, he's very awesome. Now can we please focus on the task at hand now? There's a demon that needs to be put down. He's cute, don't get me wrong. But his focus can get divided at the most unnecessary times. Like in the Halloween episode where he was upset about possibly being defeated in a scary mask contest he took the Oni mask from Jackie's desk to wear in the contest. A part of me wants to give Paco a bit of grace considering that he's still a child and is bound to have many immature moments, just like Jade does. But I can't help but get irked when he starts being silly.
I've always felt the least amount for El Toro in the J-Team. I don't like that his running gag is somehow getting in Jackie's way to get hurt every time there's some group melee going down. This guy either lacks situational awareness, or he secretly has something in it against Jackie. I dunno. It may have been funny a few times, but how can it be every time Jackie is catching strays while trying to focus on his own plate of mooks? I'm always a mix of whether I should laugh or shake my head. Again, I don't hate or dislike El Toro. He has his funny moments and has had some development in the series like in his debut episodes and the Halloween special. Maybe the best word to describe how I feel for him is tolerance? I like El Toro enough that he is loyal to Jackie whenever the latter gets overwhelmed by fighting the forces of darkness. But I don't feel as much for him like I do other protagonists.
[[ Alrighty! You know what time it is! JCA birthday!! It's been 25 years, a quarter of a century, that the first episode debuted on Kids WB and continued on for a solid 5 years. I say very commendable for a show in its time then. Here I am to celebrate this special occasion by kicking off the 1st day of the 31 Days of JCA challenge. Wish me luck to go through each prompt! ]]
The Chan Clan
Uncle is such a wild card with so many elements and personality to him. His first scene on the show is him with wide open arms to Jackie like he's this loving elder, only to reprimand Jackie for not giving him coffee! Talk about a bait and switch. And to see he's a man of such creative arts, like being in the Chinese theatre when he was younger! I won't lie when I say at first, I didn't think I'd really warm up to him because of how he always seemed cranky and he'd be giving other characters a hard time. But in time, I could see how Uncle is so loyal to his family and to the greater cause of restoring balance to the world, especially in the magic-knowing areas.
Tohru is the best, man. From the start of the show when he was a mook for Valmont and Shen Du to graduating to a full chi wizard by the end, Tohru has been through so much and has come such a long way. The writers put a lot of thought and process into him because his development is something I didn't expect at all. The development didn't just stop at Tohru turning a new leaf to become a good guy, he had to earn Uncle's trust and be tested so many times whenever the next magical threat came knocking. Then, there were many times where he was presented with the idea to turn his back on the Chans and become a villain again, but Tohru rejected those ideas each and every time because he wanted better for himself. There's one post someone made on Twitter some time ago where it was sort of comparing Tohru's journey to Zuko's from ATLA. Everyone needs a Tohru in their life, immensly the biggest loyal friend to the end.
Between both Uncle and Tohru, I love their master-protege dynamic, which I've thought sometimes could almost be seen like father-son? Or maybe like uncle-nephew? Either way, their bond is truly a heartwarming one so I was a little sad at them fighting in the Demon Behind episode, or like when Uncle felt disappointed that Tohru's life was about to be thrown away to be a criminal again in Glove Story, or even when Tohru lost his memory in Tohru Who?. I love them so much
Jackie may have some flaws and annoying bits here and there, but I feel that's what makes him a pretty well-rounded character. Very much a "do no harm, take no shit" altogether, which I feel is a solid way to life life. He's thoughtful, naive, protective, responsible, and worrisome. A healthy mix of an individual. Quick to think first, quick to react later. There's not many people in life who can advocate against violence, yet have the power to take down so many people in one go. I'd like an uncle like Jackie in my life; even if he's not right all the time, at least he's trying his best.
Jade is what every 11/12 year old lowkey aspires to be. Well, maybe that's just me. Jade has so much courage and fight in her that it's not all too surprising that one of her future selves grew up to be the head of Section 13. Even though Jade has a lot of flaws like being impatient and rushing into things headfirst without asking questions and stopping to think, I'll never knock her for having heart to do the right thing when the right thing needs to be done. I think she'd be a cool friend to hang out with, especially knowing that she'd literally fight the world just to have your back.
I went over the four horsemen of JCA. Literally never a dull moment when they're on the screen.
Day 31 - If You Were in the JCA-Verse, What Would You Want to Be? Why?
This is it! The last day!
I want to explain a little bit about the question here, in case some people didn't understand what exactly the prompt meant. It's asking like would you want to be a chi wizard, a martial artist, a demon, a non-magic user, etc. Like it's supposed to be a certain type of non-magic or a magic person. But I wasnt quite sure how to word it. If someone has a better wording idea, please let me know.
I want to be a chi wizard, if not directly but something magic-related. The world of JCA is too deep for me to just be living as a regular human being with no magic knowledge whatsever. Being extremely gifted and talented in martial arts just isn't enough i against a 20 foot tall demon at your doorstep. :/ I want to have access to learn about all types of magic and magical beings so I know exactly what to do, or at least my surroundings with what's happening.
Imagine waking up in the morning preparing to start your day. You look outside, it's completely red, thunder-storminig and lightning, and you think you see something huge moving around in the sky. Imagine you go outside your house and you just see some giant shadows with red eyes and dark clothes dressed like ninjas standing outside your doorstep. You don't even know what to say or how to feel if you don't even believe in magic.
I don't even have to meet Jackie, the Chans, Uncle, etc,. BUT I would never turn that opportunity down. Especially with how Jackie moves around the world so easily, that man might fall through my roof. Literally! All I gotta do is offer some magic and/or valuable knowledge to the J-Team and Section 13 and I'm sold! I'm now apart of the team!
Also, I'd want to learn magic for more practical reasons in life, like I dunno, food or little money here and there. Nothing crazy, of course.
cracks knuckles Okay, let's get to it. If you've been following me for some time on this blog, I'm sure you will know some of what I'm going to say since I've discussed it on here before.
There aren't as many prominent women/female characters around. Jade and Viper seem to make up like a majority of the girls and women on the main protagonist's side. Both Jade's mother and Tohru's mother only go by those terms in the show, they don't actually have real first names to go by. Simone, Abila, Xu Lin are other girl characters from some of the fillers. Then Bai Tza, Po Kong, Vanessa Barone are some of the more prominent female antagonists I can recall off the top of my head. I wish there were more female characters, especially for the villains. More female wizards/witches, more female demons, more female villains.
The shots of the Eight Immortals when they defeated the Demon Sorcerers in The J-Team are mostly incorrect. The only one I believe that looks to be right is the Hung Guolao (the old guy w/ the scroll wearing red and yellow) with Po Kong. All the other Immortals don't have the correct pairing. It's so confusing and it's kind of a nitpick of mine, since I now am able to recognize who's who since they are based off real Chinese mythological figures. Some of them are even holding their official symbols too, like Lu Dongbin holding the sword for Xiao Fung, even though the Immortal __ who defeated him is literally holding a fan for someone else.
I remember having a conversation with a Chinese fan who was able to explain to me how some Chinese cultural aspects of the show weren't correct, like the Yin/Yang simplification or Monkey King's flanderization were off. Sometimes, even names like Xiao Fung, Tchang Zu, Shen Du's treasure from Qin Shu Huang was mispronounced. The last bit may be more of a nitpick tho, but still.
I didn't like how seasons 3 and 5 felt like almost exact repeats of seasons 1 and 2, where the focus went from finding the talismans to finding the talisman-powered animals and from finding the DS portals to finding the DS chi. I would've liked the seasons more if extra information was added to what we knew already, which could raise the stakes of the seasons and/or make it worth engaging with. That's what made season 4 special. Like yes, we have seen the Shadowkhan so many times before, but did we know they have their own origin outside of just being shadow henchmen? Give us something more than just the animals having the talisman abilities or that a piece of the Demon Sorcerers' chis are left behind with the Immortal who defeated them. What about the Immortals themselves, did they know about this?
Season 4 was too short for comfort. There should have been some "fillers" where they're not quite so, but they're still important to the seasonal arc, ie. Queen of the Shadowkhan or Warrior Incarnate. Call me an instigator, but I want to see the Oni jumping Shen Du while he was in Section 13. Maybe Drago too, idk.
All the season finales should've been a two-parter type of thing, but Ninja Twilight deserved that the most since I feel the pacing of the episode was a bit fast for my liking. In the beginning of the episode, the last mask gets discovered and by the episode's end (which is also the season finale), everything gets wrapped up. How? There's no way you guys wrapped up the last Oni mask, a near world takeover, and wrapped up Tarakudo within 24 hours. We didn't even get to go over the last mask or any other details of the Oni, Shadowkhan, or anything.
I feel the show should've given some background for Jackie and maybe some development for him too. He was somewhat stagnant through the show. I guess a part of me is sort of okay with this, since Jackie's not usurping time away from the other characters. It's easier to expand on others like Jade, Tohru, Uncle since they are fictionally based on people JC knows in real life. But I feel outside of the action department, Jackie didn't have as many personal growth moments as I would've liked. Like most, if not, all of the protagonists had villainous/villain-like moments. Captain Black had a mask, Viper was a thief, Paco had an Oni mask, Jade had several, Uncle was a chi vampire, Tohru was a criminal. The deepest Jackie has gone to the dark side was his Yin self and him being briefly possesed by Shen Du, which doesn't count because that's a half of his real self. Give me some villainous Jackie!
Season 5's intro was criminally short since they used the outro song for also the intro. Like why?
Drago was introduced to the show a bit late. It almost feels like he was thrown in as a last-minute idea, which I feel kinda missed the mark on really making himself known in the show. Considering he is Shen Du's son and is a nephew to the other Demon Sorcerers and he came from the future, there are too many plotholes surrounding him and his being. Why wasn't he considered to be the noble dragon in season 3's finale? Where's Drago's mother? How old is he? Like if the Future!Jade left Drago in the past, where is that current Drago?
Seasons 4 and 5 deserved more episodes, maybe 16 or 17. I feel like what made season 1 shine the most is that adding those 3 out-of-place "fillers", there was more room to focus on the main season's plot while still having it's own episodal thing. I wouldn't loved that for the last 2 seasons as well, the villains deserved more screentime.
