After countless broadcasts of poorly-conceived shows, I had doubts on this one. But after one reluctant viewing of one episode, I began to favor the show... Yin Yang Yo! excels each one of my expectations - Plot, Presentation and Audio.
Plot - The plot line follows a pair of twin rabbits, Yin and Yang, who display the main aesthetics of the typical brother/sister pair: often competing and disagreeing with each other, yet caring for one another and helping each other when the need arises. However, unlike normal rabbits, they are trained in the ancient "Woo Foo" martial arts by the sole-surviving master practitioner, a grumpy panda named Yo. The story's combination of the action/adventure and comedy genre is remarkable; humor is attainable by all-ages, fighting scenes grab the interest of the audience and show lessons of morality, plus they aren't very preachy, are quite subtle and often relate to the everyday lives of viewers.
Presentation - Bob Boyle's use of Flash technology for the animation seemed kind of unconventional at first, but really pushed the limitations of Western animations and is presented beautifully with great results in return.
Audio - The music (the theme song to be more specific) was the only weak-point (a minor one at that) that I could detect for the show. Yin Yang Yo!'s theme song is yet another commercially-inspired hip-hop song that shows how the very idea of this kind of music is really losing its appeal. Kyle Massey's performance was the disappointment in this one. On the other hand, Michael Tavera's (known for his compositional work for music from "The Land Before Time"; not the original one, but the following sequels) overall score composition perfectly fits with the mood that the scenes exhibit.
Overall, I enjoy the show for two reasons. The first reason - Yin Yang Yo!'s inspiration is drawn from a plethora of ideas such as the mystic and close-quarters-combat-based fighting popularized from Street Fighter and its writing style is similar to Metal Gear Solid - it is the combination of its disarming humor (not taking itself too seriously) and an epic and intriguing storyline that viewers draw interest on. The second reason is the fact that I can completely relate to this show. I have a sister, and almost every episode of this show makes me realize how fortunate I am to have a sibling and how much I want to have a closer relationship with her...
Yin Yang Yo! gets a 10/10 from me. Impressive, Disney Channel... I mean, Jetix!
