Something that always bothered me with the later season of JCA is the way Valmont feels like wasted potential.
It’s not even about liking him or his Enforcers (Finn, Ratso, Chow and Hak Foo), but it was because he was the complete opposite to Jackie.
Just like Jackie, he’s a human dealing with otherworldly magic. Yet, he tries constantly to use it for evil (primarily to assist in his criminal empire).
I also felt like he brought an evil only a human could bring : Being willing (and in turn, his enforcers) to hurt Jackie and his family/friends to get what he wants, making human mistakes, things that the magical enemies didn’t bring to the show.
On the topic of enjoying his character: He’s an egotistical jerk who’s rich and wants more money. He doesn’t even really need it; he wants it. Him and the Dark Hand’s failures were admittedly always amusing, and their interactions with Jackie, the good guys, and even eachother were enjoyable.
I feel like Valmont, especially with his history of using magic artifacts and working with magic beings, could have at least still been a secondary antagonist in the later seasons instead of going broke and falling off into the background. I also hate that the loss of Valmont as an antagonist was also a loss of the enforcers, which were characters that brought humor.
Not to mention, there were so many unresolved or untouched issues mentioned when he was a major villain that they completely brush over.
I still love the show and the later seasons, but I’ll always adore the early seasons because of the wide variety of antagonists— both human and magical.
This also isn’t me saying the later seasons aren’t good— I do understand and remember that people also felt like the later seasons just weren’t the same in terms of drawing the viewer in, losing iconic characters, and having weak villains and confusing/nonsensical storylines, but I do keep in mind it’s a kids show.
Before I started rewatching it recently, most of my memories are of the later seasons : Jackie, Jade, Uncle and Tohru, The J-Team, and Drago.
I also know (at least from memory) there were some voice changes; Most notably Valmont not being voiced by Julian Sands (r.i.p) in the later seasons due to contracts, which did cause discussions online (especially since this was airing from 2000 to 2005). I think another notable one was Hak Foo being voiced by John DiMaggio (Giving him that iconic rasp everytime he announces an attack imo).
Just overall, the early seasons will always hold a special place in my heart.