Just when I thought Toon Disney was going down the drain with Dragon Booster marathons, new (and terrible) seasons of Power Rangers, and, as I like to call it, "Rerun Central"--where they play a selection of already-seen episodes from original Disney Channel cartoons (and some that once were there since, like, the 90's but then canceled and revived) and seen-way-too-much movies, a new show came along: Yin Yang Yo! It came off to a rather bad start--it premiered with a marathon that repeated the first two-to-four episodes for what was literally the whole day (twenty-four hours!)--but once it found its rightful spot on Mondays at 7:30 Eastern time (and occasionally repeating from time to time), all peace had returned to the hours-long cartoon block that was Jetix.
But after watching the trailers, some might ask, "What is this show about? Bunnies doing Kung-Fu and magic?" Really, it pretty much is what it's about, once you strip it down to the basics. But believe me, it's actually much more than that. Much, MUCH more. The story starts with two eleven-year-old rabbits, respectively named Yin and Yang for their opposite sexes and personalities, who are not only twins, but are two of the last "Woo-Foo" warriors--the third being an old and grouchy panda named Yo. Carrying on: the twins are still learning, though their skills gradually grow faster by the day, and in the meantime, they (though mostly Yang, the aggressive, sword-wielding brother) learn moral lessons to carry on in life. Yo, their mentor, despite appearances, was actually a very adroit and powerful Woo-Foo warrior in his days. But Yo's days were long gone since Yo's last climatic battle years ago, and now the trio's style of martial arts are taunted and laughed at. And as if all this wasn't enough of an impact on Yin and Yang, they also have to fight various--and hilariously eccentric--bad guys, from the threatening alter-ego Yuck to their arch-nemesis, Carl the evil cockroach. But no matter what the situation, their adventures (and misadventures?) are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud or raise an eyebrow and say, "Huh?"! As for flaws, there are barely any, except for maybe Carl's and the Night Master's (?) jokes--most of them just aren't that funny. In addition, a number of the remaining in general might come off as crude or offensive (can you say, "Hot-looking Feminist", anyone?). And some of the audience might have mixed feelings about Kyle Massey singing the theme song.
But despite all (minor?) flaws, Yin Yang Yo! is actually a show WORTH watching.
My Rating: 9.5/10 (rounded to the nearest whole number)
But after watching the trailers, some might ask, "What is this show about? Bunnies doing Kung-Fu and magic?" Really, it pretty much is what it's about, once you strip it down to the basics. But believe me, it's actually much more than that. Much, MUCH more. The story starts with two eleven-year-old rabbits, respectively named Yin and Yang for their opposite sexes and personalities, who are not only twins, but are two of the last "Woo-Foo" warriors--the third being an old and grouchy panda named Yo. Carrying on: the twins are still learning, though their skills gradually grow faster by the day, and in the meantime, they (though mostly Yang, the aggressive, sword-wielding brother) learn moral lessons to carry on in life. Yo, their mentor, despite appearances, was actually a very adroit and powerful Woo-Foo warrior in his days. But Yo's days were long gone since Yo's last climatic battle years ago, and now the trio's style of martial arts are taunted and laughed at. And as if all this wasn't enough of an impact on Yin and Yang, they also have to fight various--and hilariously eccentric--bad guys, from the threatening alter-ego Yuck to their arch-nemesis, Carl the evil cockroach. But no matter what the situation, their adventures (and misadventures?) are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud or raise an eyebrow and say, "Huh?"! As for flaws, there are barely any, except for maybe Carl's and the Night Master's (?) jokes--most of them just aren't that funny. In addition, a number of the remaining in general might come off as crude or offensive (can you say, "Hot-looking Feminist", anyone?). And some of the audience might have mixed feelings about Kyle Massey singing the theme song.
But despite all (minor?) flaws, Yin Yang Yo! is actually a show WORTH watching.
My Rating: 9.5/10 (rounded to the nearest whole number)