Kimikyo is kind, skilled and intelligent but very emotional and undecisive due to her always changing her styles Clay is the same but not quick to take action, patience is good but too much will leave openings in combat Omi is 20% team player, 80% ego Rai has seen both sides, works hard when needed and realizes too much work just makes you too rigid He was the likely choice to be leader
Each represents their elements well. Raimundo can fan the flames, stir the water to create storms, or tests the earths very resolve. They're a balance.
Raimundo deserved to be leader. We saw in both the future and alternate timeline that he was the one to inspire the team not to give up, come up with the plans, and take on the whole other team at once to give Omi an opening.
This is from a previous comment of mine. The finale also showed the Raymondo was the only one to show leadership skills in all different realities. Since when Kimico was leader in the future time line, they where all imprisoned. In Clay's leadership in the Good Chase reality, they were driven out of the temple and living in a farm doing nothing. Omi, caused the whole mess so yeah not leader. Raymond was the one to step up and make most of the planning in the finale so he deserved the role.
No he really didn't. Y'all talk about omi but he's never PURPOSELY betrayed his friends like raimundo. Raimundo betrayed both his friends and at the end wuya despite her keeping her promise to him and being nice to him. Raimundo can easily be swayed to the darkside. Raimundo was the reason the world got screwed by wuya. He was the one that helped wuya get her body back the first time and nearly got everyone killed. It was only due to wuya not bothering to connect with him because ruling the world was an important job that he betrayed her. He had to fix the mess he made but even then it was through betrayal. I'm surprised they let him back at the temple. Omi never fully trusted him after that for awhile and with good reason.
@@giganticomega6821 fixing things is a lot harder than messing everything up, which also shows how Raymundo was confident and hardworking. The reason why Raymundo has never left from temple is because he had talents and nobody could replace him. Look how the team struggled while Omi was in Haylin, they weren't able to do a group combination of 4 elements. He just couldn't leave temple at that point. Ray got punished after fixing his mistake by not getting a promotion to Wudai warriors in the first place, but he worked hard for that and finally promoted later on. On last episode Ray also proved that he is able to sacrifice himself to help his friends leaving out of prison. The things I don't like in this show were that Clay and Kimiko were shown as very mediocre characters. They won many not necesarily important Wu duels, but lorewise they were just the background. Omi on the other hand was shown as a main competitor to win promotion to Shoku warrior, but his willingness weren't realistically doable. He wanted Chase Young to be good, ignoring the fact Hannibal Roy Bean would try same thing on much stronger monk, Gwan, which later on weaken Xiaolin side even more. Omi is the cause of Haylin getting stronger till the last episode, not Raymundo. Lastly, dont forget that Omi also betrayed Xiaolin via Yin Yang world. And he wasn't able to fix everything by himself then. Omi also is too naive to be a leader. Ray is way "balanced" in that understanding.
Same but at the same time, Raimundo on the Heylin side intrigued me so much I had to do fan fiction for an alternative timeline where he stayed with Wuya. Lol
Yet Watchmojo says this finale was disappointing and I quote " For SOME reason Raimundo is made the next Shoku warrior" ........ did she even watch the series ?
Raimundo really had the best character arc out of the whole show. Omi may have been the "main" main character, but Rai was the one who kept growing and maturing through the series.
I think Raimundo stole that "main" main character position, specially after the whole "Evil Omi" thing. From that point onwards, Omi is basically running after Raimundo's steps.
@@ZefDavenport. The biggest difference is how they became evil, raimundo chose it on his own accord, while omi was literally robbed of his goodness by magic.
@@michaelkowal3230. Did the others besides him and omi even grow? Raimundo's ark seemed to be accepting his actions have consequences, while omi needed to let go of his ego!
In a deeper meaning to this whole thing. Raimundo was destined to become leader bc his element is wind. The wind is one of the guiding forces of nature. It fans the flames, weather's the earth and moves the tides. It's also a reflection of Raimondo's unstable nature. The wind is one of the elements in nature that is totally unstable and can't be controlled. Always shifting between benevolent and malevolent of its own accord.
That moment near the end where Omi accepted that he wasn't the one chosen to be the leader when Raimundo did had to be the greatest moment of character growth Omi Got in the series. Both he and Raimundo grew the most out of the four.
@@erikbihari3625 The two part series finale each count as one failure for Omi. Omi freezing himself and Dojo resulted in Jack taking over the world and the possible death of his friends. Second was after preventing Chase from becoming evil, the present became worse than before.
Raimundo betrayed the Xiaolin after the Heylin promised him everything he ever wanted, but realized that it just didn't matter if you had no one to share it with, and thus Turned back to the Xiaolin, defeating Wuya in the Process. When Master Fung was out of commission and Omi joined Chase Young due to the Yin Yoyo effects without the Yang Yoyo, Rai took up the leadership role until They beat Chase Young and Saved Omi. In the Finale, every time we saw the monks, Raimundo took charge and lead the monks to victory, even when Kimiko/Clay were already chosen to be leader in those alternate timelines.
Raimundo wasn't a born leader. At the start of the show he was a bluster of hot air* and a short temper. But what made him a leader was his ability to learn from his mistakes. He fell over and over again. He even fell as far as you can by betraying your comrades and dooming the world. But once he had everything he thought he wanted he realized how empty it all was. How empty he had been. That started his long road to redemption. We went from the guy to pick a fight to win the game to the guy to pick an unwinnable fight so the other guy can win the game. He went from the guy to trick his friends for fun and self gain to the guy who tricked his friends to save them. He went from the guy who only used his wits to find short cuts and the easy way out, to the guy to used his wits to pull everyone butts out of the fire. To Raymundo the small breeze that grew into a master of the air.
When you think about it Guan picked Raimondo and Chase picked Omi. The ending showed Omi respecting Raimondo being the leader after a series of Omi mocking Raimondo's skills as a warrior. + Omi could have ended up like Chase but instead admire and stick by his friend unlike Chase who sold his soul to evil to outmatch Guan who was his best friend. My way of looking at it.
I love this analogy! Especially since both characters have been on the Heylin side at least once. Omi and Raimundo really were the modern day versions of Chase and Monk Guan. History repeating itself can be a bit tedious at times, but here it made sense. No team is ever truly perfect, they improve overtime. Just like Rai and Omi's relationship :)
It’s also heartwarming and heartbreaking that Chase and Guan chose the contemporary versions of each other. Deep down despite being on opposite sides, they are still best friends
@@28kingofkings that's true considering after Chase lost to a showdown with Guan, he stuck to his word & left it with no grudge as originally before. This is the same with Omi putting his ego to the side and accepting where he stands as a Shaolin warrior.
Humility is one of the building blocks of becoming a leader. And Omi showcased it here for Raimundo. It shows that one day, Omi will grow to become a good leader..
Raimundo was best choice for leader He really shined during the last two episodes He lead the team during the future timeline and the alternate timeline
gotta admit that as surprised as I was by Raimundo voluntarily one-upping the entire evil team during the very last xiaolin showdown of the entire series, I also thought that it was pretty sweet of him to take all the villains on in Kimiko's place. too bad it bought him what might as well have been the thrashing of a lifetime.
9:44 this is what called "visual storytelling", in which the moment is told by animation alone. Omi bowing in respect to Raimundo is probably one of the most powerful scenes in the entire show, and no words were exchanged.
8:23-9:14 don't lie to yourselves. This was definitely Raimundo's biggest moment. Not only did he went to defend his girl, but he took down all these bad guys all by himself. How insanely cool was that?! 😆👊 No wonder he became a leader at the end of the series.
@@mariusconstantin6057 we don't speak of that abomination. Chronicles is a mistake and doesn't live up to the original in any given way. I mean Orb of Tornami got changed to Orb of Torpedo, Canada has a weird stupid law when it comes to Television where only Canadian citizens are allowed to voice act (it's why Tara Strong and one other was able to come back while everyone else got a new voice actor). Warner Brothers should have been the ones to oversee in making a sequel seeing how they hold the names to all the Shen Gong Wu that were shown meaning all others (besides the one I already mentioned) are getting a complete name change. Changing Chopsticks could become Changing Sticks, Golden Tiger Claws could become Dimensional Tiger Claws, Heart of Jong one of the most powerful relics could become Heart of *insert new villain name here*. Chronicles really is by far something that only appeals to the younger generation that never watched the original version. It's like saying "Man I love Teen Titans GO!" and then as you get older you find out about the older version and go "This is so much better, what was I even thinking about GO being any good?"
@@YokomichiSilver The ONLY change that made sense was the Medusa Comb. Everything else was garbage. I think they also retconned Raymundo as the leader and switched it to Omi.
I think that the cool part about Xiaolin Showdown is how it took a very anime/Japanese inspired trope of the secondary rider/rival and subverted it. From the start, we knew that Omi was the main protagonist. But as the series went one, Raimundo slowly became more of Omi's secondary. They're the only ones to switch to the dark side, but the difference was that Omi's was the result of magic while Raimundo chose to leave. We start to see the foil between the two with how Omi never changed that much while Raimundo continued to change. So when everyone expected that Omi would eventually be team leader, it was a welcomed surprise to see that it would be Raimundo.
It was kinda similar to the early Power Rangers series. Jason was the Red Ranger (The Leader) and Tommy was the Green Ranger (The Fan Favorite). People enjoyed watching Tommy become part of the team despite the fact that he used to be an enemy. Even after Jason beats him later, he proved to be just as capable if not moreso of being the leader of the Rangers. And later, he DOES become the leader (The White Ranger) in later arcs.
Fyi this is chinese, not japanese. Xaolin is in the name, come on. To nitpick a little more, theres nothing japanese sounding about most the names. Jong Wuya Shen gong wu In japanese linguistics these sounds dont mix. Jong wouldnt have a proper sound because it would phonetically sound like jo-ng-gu where there wasnt a -u at the end. This is because all japanese words are combined vowels with consonants. Shen for another example wouldnt make sense as there isnt a she sound, the closest you can get is shi. Shen for example in japanese is pronounced with a modified sh sound, sh-eh-nn Phonetic japanese sounds funny when you translate directly, and why japanese sounds funny speaking english words. Computer in japanese: co-nn-pyu-ta-a Coffee in japanese: ko-hii Party in japanese: pa-ti I could go on.
I'll always love how they turned Hannibal Bean into a Raimundo villain. Just like how Chase was an Omi centric villain. Hannibal has a knack for choosing warriors and lure them into the dark side. He was able to turn Chase Young, after all. And it's almost certain that if Hannibal got to Raimundo earlier, he'd probably end up completely evil. Hannibal constantly preys on Raimundo's weaknesses, fear and insecurities. But this version of Raimundo already learned to overcome all that. He already learned to overcome greed and selfishness. He's a much better person and by having the support of his friends he can reject Hannibal's approaches.
Ironic Omi wanted to be the leader so desperately and yet he's the only one that didn't become one at any point in time. (Kimiko and Clay in an alternative time line and Raimudo in the ending
I wonder what would have happened in a timeline where Omi was chosen. It literally can't have been as bad as what happened when Kimiko was in charge and nearly everyone died.
@@abduljah9355 maybe that's what Chronicles is (just because I refuse to see it as a proper continuation) since Omi has more of a role as the leader there.
Omi is always obsessively training to feed his ego. Raimundo studied the Shen Gong Wu to learn from his mistakes. Omi makes a point to show off his skills, Raimundo was more than a match for him, which means he was working just as hard to polish his skills for self improvement. Omi made mistakes as a leader due to overwhelming hubris, Raimundo naturally gravitated towards bringing people together and making a plan, no matter how dire the situation. Sure, he did fall once to the dark side, but he has accomplished 100 times more good through his own merit and hard work. Not to say Omi does have a lot of great character traits, but Raimundo is much better suited for leadership.
I would go so far as to say Omi may be the strongest of them hand to hand but that isn't the only criteria for leader. Rai as you said learns from his mistakes and understands the value of leadership. Not to mention Omi has yet to overcome his own ego.
@Regulus they were really clever drawing parallels between Chase and Omi throughout the series imo as I think in its own way, this foreshadows why Omi couldn't be the leader. Chase was arguably the most talented of the masters but he craved power and became drunk on his own ego. The whole series really hammers home the value of humility.
@Regulus if the series had one fault I'd say it was not developing Clay and Kimiko, two of the more stable warriors, as protagonists and favouring Raimundo and Omi. It's kinda funny given how those two are the only ones never to join the Heylin.
All good points, and as far as Raimundo’s fall to evil, consider that Master Monk Guan also was beholden to Chase Young and very nearly sent Dojo to his death. Even the greatest of us are susceptible to temptation. It is in acknowledging our shortcomings, and working to be better that true character is revealed.
In Showdown we see this amazing character development of Raimundo, from a lazy slacker to the leader. And we get Chronicles and all it is erased. Raimundo doesn’t even have a single showdown
Despite the show getting can when it did, the last scene was a strong high note to end the show that felt like a appropriate end. One that leaving you wanting more, but satisfying enough for the conclusion. Not a lot of show can reach the end of its run time or it drags out too long, or it ends too soon.
@@damariusgriffin Omi has great potential there's no doubt about it. Problem is his ego. Raimundo has learned to put his pride aside and sacrifice for the good of others. That's what will make him a great leader for the team.
@@slanetroyard92 Facts. They're prime example that battle strength and skill doesn't equate to good leadership. Raimudo gets his strength through overcoming his hardships. Omi does too but his talent and ego in his talents holds him back.
@@damariusgriffin Omi is a good kid. But I think it's due to the fact that he was raised in the temple, learning the ways of the xiaolin dragon and the Wu made him think he was better than the rest of the crew in some ways. Despite his size Omi is to fat with pride and won't admit he's been wrong at times until it's too late and something bad happens. The 💍 of nine dragons for example. Master Fong knew the kids weren't ready to use it. In the hands of fully realized warrior who's strong in mind body and spirit can use it to full potential. But in Omi's hands, a kid who's still training and has a huge ego. It will only cause problems.
Of all of the xiaolin dragon, the character who most resemble grandmaster dashi was raimundo. I believe they would've hit it off pretty well if they ever met.
@@Wardragonkong it would be interesting if Wuya was originally a xiaolin that fell to the dark side. her character is shallow, she's just evil and that's it.
@@cyberwolfy37 I like to think that Roy Bean would try to get all of them to fall to evil just for the fun of it, but Dashi would see through his crap and Guan at the time was too rigid and deadset in his ways to consider it. That’s why he went for Wuya and Chase. Chase is Ike Omi but with awesome hair so his arrogance would lead him to fall. As for Wuya, given how sexist Omi is it makes since that the monks back then were worse about it and demean her accomplishments no matter how great, causing Wuya to resent the Xiaolin lifestyle and everything that goes with it, which she used to get Raimundo on her side. Bean offers them a way to become more than what they are and they run with it.
@@Wardragonkong Guan isn’t as rigid as you think. The finale reveals that if Chase didn’t drink the soup, Hannibal would’ve went for Guan and corrupted him instead.
Yea seeing raimundo become leader was one of the best moments in my childhood. No one expected him to be the leader when it was centered around omi/aang lol.
@@DrippleDragon It just....like it was the first time there wasn't just obvious plot progression. Little yellow dome dude was clearly fighting for the position, and he was basically the star, though they did a great job spreading the spotlight out. I just expected it to be him. Hell I was stunned Raimundo came BACK to the good side. I thought him and Chase would have been fire.
I remember being really socked that Raimundo got to be leader as a kid. Not because he was a bad choice or anything like that, but because tv shows that had multiple protagonists always gave the best things to the lead character and in this case it was omi. Even though there was a strong case for ry you just know the writer was going to give it to omi but they didn't and that was a great way to end the story.
Rather that than for the show to be predictable giving the main character everything. Just like ash from pokemon where he never ends up beating the elite 4. More of a realistic vibe to things.
What’s crazy is that raimundo is the only character to face chase young on even terms and win without chase just giving the win away and he did it facing the other heylins
Raimundo betrayed his friends and caused Wuya to conquer the world, all for his own selfish reasons. But he did the impossible. Turned everything around and was chosen to be the group leader. All while keeping the jokester side of him. If that isn't a fantastic redemption arc, I don't know what is.
Raimundo had the best character development. He’s been through the worst, and has grown the most. He also proved himself to be the strongest Xiaolin Warrior multiple times. He beat a full power Wuya, Chase Young, Hannibal Roy Bean, and an evil Master Monk Guan by himself. Do y’all understand how crazy of a feat that is? He also bodied the other Xiaolin warriors in season one, when he betrayed them. He sealed Wuya the first time she was awakened, beat Omi in a one on one fight. Do I need to say more? Lol
0:05, He’s such a loyal friend! 😭 0:43, Omi my guy you just don’t know when to quit 😒 2:05, S I K E 3:17, Hey! Stuffed animals have been our friends since we were young! They carried all our bad days with them! 3:27, Brain freeze 3:55, I F**KING CALLED ITTTTTT- 4:46, MORE BIG BRO RAI YESSSS 5:41, GET HIS ASS SON! 6:41, We love us some good old-fashioned fourth wall breaks 😂 8:02, He was prepared to sacrifice himself for his team…😢 8:10, The moment when Omi realized Rai was meant to be leader 8:23, Rai soloed the three most powerful villains by himself, what a legend 9:22, I’M SO PROUD OF YOU SON!! 9:33, HE EVEN GOT THE GIRL, GOOD ON HIM!
The patience he has during the whole "Bean taking over his dreams" was one equal to a saint. He went through it all without getting angry, just comically sad. Except Dojo, but in his defense, Dojo was getting a little too close and personal.
I wonder if Raimundo kept Omi out of the physical part of the final battle to protect him from harm while he himself took all that brutal punishment. Perhaps he thought it'd be too much for the little guy?
Raimundo earned to be the leader. Sure, he turned towards the dark side twice and made many mistakes, but despite of it he picks himself up and redeemed himself by fixing them. Plus the guy comes up with good plans and Ideas such as getting himself caught by Panda Bubba’s goons just to free his friends as well sneaking Wu. Also the guy’s heart is in the right place even though it can get him in major trouble. Though to be honest, I wished Omi to be the leader, but the problem is for the kid is that he’s too full of himself. The same arrogance that not cost him a Xiaolin Showdown, but also makes him a terrible friend at specific times like make fun of Clay for his strange pose, taunting Raimundo for not making apprentice level, and Kimiko for accidentally freeing Sabini. It was also led Hannibal Bean to capture the young monk after having too much energy from mastering his friend’s elemental Shen Gon Wu. Omi certainly have skills and train all he wants, but without modesty and unable to see his own mistakes, then he’ll never going improve himself. Plus the other problem: Chase Young who managed to turned him to the Heylin side thanks to the negative effects of one of the Yin-Yang Yo-Yos and also kept a watchful eye of when the time to strike, and taught him some of his moves such as Repulse the Monkey.
I want to add somethin', despite Raimundo bein' the rebel team player, he always looked on all sides and analized the situation even futher than Master Fung himself and his strong will and determination to never quit are something to admire. Omi on the other hand WAS easy to manipulate and to feed his ego, also the "I swear and give you my word" although noble, it can be a double-edge sword in any aspect specially with the likes of Chase Young who exploited that further and tricked Omi to turn to the Heylin side. All of this proves further that he was unworthy to be a leader, the boy has many talents, but talent alone without training and humillity means nothing, Raimundo on the other hand improve himself and always though to be betterm to be someone worthy for everyone, went to hell and rise from the ashes, and alas, that makes him the superior dragon, both in skills and mentality. Honestly I started to rewatch the series, I find Omi pretty much a pain in my ass and Raimundo shenanigans are glorious.
I watched Kids WB in 5th grade (class of '02) watching static shock, xiaolin showdown pokemon master quest then finishing up with yugioh. They are were great shows in there own way but xiaolin showdown was my favorite and stood out to me with the story, getting to know the characters and there backgrounds. Rai was my favorite on the good side while chase young was on the heilyn side. The monks making mistakes and learning from them, going to the side of evil then being rescued. Rai really did deserve to be leader. When you look at where he started and proved himself thru his actions with the monks. He just needed time to grow and learn. This is how you end a tv show.
I'm kind of glad Raimundo ended up getting the leadership role in the end. Omi is great and despite Raimundo's popularity there's a reason why the little squirt ended up being the most popular thing from the show in a massive landslide. But he just didn't deserve it because time and time again he was overly naive and egotistical. Which is fine. It was a refreshing part of his character that this monk from a long line of warriors and trained at birth had the stereotypically impish traits children have rather than be obnoxiously wise like most of his archetype tend to be. I think if the show had continued, it would have had all the monks settle into roles where the surpassed the warriors of old. Raimundo clearly has shades of Chase Young at his peak, and Omi being the little hotshot he is just *screams* "Dashi as a kid". Either way, I remember this show fondly, even if it wasn't as good now as when I was a kid.
I saw Raimundo as the underdog who would eventually be where he was always meant to be even if the road to get there was gonna be a rough and long one. Even though he made mistakes, joined the bad guys for the wrong reasons, and had a unique view of how things should be, he was able to come back to the light and be the deserving leader of the team. Omi had potential but his constant hypocrisy and the need to feed his inflated pride and foolish ego was always his weakness. Some of his actions were done out of selfish motivations which created some of the situations for himself and his friends. He even manipulated the present by changing the past, just to get ahead of the curve which not only backfired on him but put the world in danger. While Omi was skilled, strong and a good person, his character and pride are always going to be a thorn in every one's side.
Another question? Drop and give me fifty! He went full metal jacket on them. Unlike private pile Raimundo stood up for what's right. People have to give Raimundo credit. At the beginning of the show Raimundo was a cocky arrogant kid,who thought only about himself. Yet as the show progress he learned from his mistakes. Grew in wisdom, strength, spirit and willing to sacrifice his life for the good of others. All qualities that makes a great leader. 6:45 that would make a great screensaver.
During Rai's big fight with Hannibal Bean to overcome his fear, I swear they took a mix of inspiration from Metroid and Resident Evil with the Bean's giant monster form.
I always wanted to see Rai use the Crest of the Condor while dual weilding his Blade of the Nebula and Sword of the Storm to pull off some hurricane sized martial arts
Omi grew too when raimundo was chosen as leader he was disappointed but still bowed to show his respect and even smiled to let him know he was happy for him
Honestly as a kid I was so surprised it was such a big plot twist. But the older I got and rewatching it as an adult it made so much sense why Ray was chosen. Omi was great,strong and lighthearted but had a lot of growing up & maturing too do. Ray had the best character development hands down. This video show every reason why he deserved to be leader. He grew as a man,warrior and as a friend. He truly was a a champion and not just a hero.
Not to mention, Omi has a massive ego. He's the most skilled, and he knows it. Because of this, he has very little humility and frankly comes off as a narcissist sometimes. Like you said, he's still young and will probably grow out of it as he matures, but for now, he's nowhere near ready to lead.
The moment you realize raimundo's voice actor is the same guy who voiced a underwater fry cook who lives in a pineapple under the sea. Swear you cant unhear it 😂
okay look everyone Ramundo did deserve to be leader due to his character development and effort but I still feel bad for omi because Clay Raimundo and Kimiko all had different lives and different dreams before they came to the dojo but omi's whole life was the dojo his only dream was to be the chosen one and now that dream will never happen for him and it's not like Clay or Kimiko who can be like "ok I'll find another passion" it's gonna take months or even years for omi to get over this and try to presue another dream because Clay Raimundo and kimiko changed their dreams and goal when they arrived omi lost the only dream he ever had, his #1 goal in his life is gone 😢
Hmmm...Omi's dream was to become the strongest Xiaolin dragon. That can still happen. In certain ways he is definately stronger than Raimundo, but he is not fit to be a leader. Being a strong fighter and leading others are two very different things.
Once Raimundo studied the scrolls and learned the "shem ye bu dare????" (Wager am extra shenga wu) I KNEWWWWW he would've been either the leader of the monks or co-captain. It felt foreshadowed further when he opened that box to reseal Wuya and his growth, Hanibal Roy Bean also focused on him instead of Omi too I love and miss this show
Man, I remember watching this as a kid, then one day they reprised the first episode and I went "Wait, he is Brazilian?! 🤯" He already was my favorite character, but it was cool knowing he was from the same country as me.
I'm convinced Hannibal's revenge wasn't to use his fears and the Saphire Dragon to attack the monks, but he just wanted to see Raymundo lose his mind from sleep deprivation.
OK. I know why Rai had to fight the villains alone. They writers wanted it to be dramatic but it just makes the other monks look like jerks! They just stood by and watched their friend get his ass kicked.
I'd nearly forgotten how awesome this show was. I only saw a few episodes, though. If Oni is the child prodigy, Kimiko is the annoying but helpful know-it-all, and Clay is the quiet but friendly supporter, then Raimundo is the troublemaking everyman.
And Omi was the leader.. saw a theory on it tho that Chronicles is an alternate timeline that is very similar to Showdown just changed in few aspects (ie who is leader and knowledge of Chase used to be good)
