This show had potential to integrate old Chinese/Eastern mythology with the super popular Monkey King and the universe he comes from, with the day to day life of a Chinese American teen trying to navigate his world. Sometimes, the show hints at reaching this potential, but fails to synchronize much of anything. The non English dialogue is lazily and inaccurately written, and the myth of the Monkey King, a centuries old story (featuring characters with thousands of years of cultural significance) that is one of the most iconic stories ever told in many Eastern cultures, is almost entirely misrepresented, to the point where the characters are little more than the actors wearing poorly crafted Halloween costumes. The patented monkey mannerisms are completely absent in both the Monkey King and his son, and the characters are barely recognizable to anyone who has seen any respected media renditions of the story. With the main villain plot being that the Bull Demon King is plotting an uprising against Heaven, it is laughable that there is NO consistent, if any, reference to the Monkey King's own war with Heaven that eventually set him on the path his Journey to the West arc, and all of the stories that came with it.
In the show, there is almost no passion or appreciation shown for the characters, the storyline of Journey to the West or the universe it takes place in, based off of stories from old Eastern religions of Buddhism, Taoism, and Heavenly Kingdom Spirits. It felt almost as if the writers just wanted to throw in a bunch of names, along with silly plot points, to get back to the main character and his high school life. The star power of Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, and Ronny Chieng is simply not enough to cover up the half hearted writing and lines given to them to work with.
There are some redeeming qualities, with a few relatable snippets involving the main character and his parents, and the show makes some effort to recognize the negative imagery that has surrounded Asian characters on screen in western media. However, it is a weak protest that seems to imply that racism inevitably corrects itself with the passage of time. Quan's character does not even muster up the energy to directly condemn the portrayal of his show within a show character and its Long Duk Dong/Fez style imagery.
Overall, this is a colossal disappointment, even with modified expectations that the writers and producers would be fully accurate towards the myth material. This is not to say that there cannot be new directions for the old characters of legends and tales, but one cannot simply slap together a bunch of names and expect anyone with any appreciation or connection to them to flock to the product.
In the show, there is almost no passion or appreciation shown for the characters, the storyline of Journey to the West or the universe it takes place in, based off of stories from old Eastern religions of Buddhism, Taoism, and Heavenly Kingdom Spirits. It felt almost as if the writers just wanted to throw in a bunch of names, along with silly plot points, to get back to the main character and his high school life. The star power of Michelle Yeoh, Daniel Wu, Ke Huy Quan, and Ronny Chieng is simply not enough to cover up the half hearted writing and lines given to them to work with.
There are some redeeming qualities, with a few relatable snippets involving the main character and his parents, and the show makes some effort to recognize the negative imagery that has surrounded Asian characters on screen in western media. However, it is a weak protest that seems to imply that racism inevitably corrects itself with the passage of time. Quan's character does not even muster up the energy to directly condemn the portrayal of his show within a show character and its Long Duk Dong/Fez style imagery.
Overall, this is a colossal disappointment, even with modified expectations that the writers and producers would be fully accurate towards the myth material. This is not to say that there cannot be new directions for the old characters of legends and tales, but one cannot simply slap together a bunch of names and expect anyone with any appreciation or connection to them to flock to the product.