ing of Bandit Jing opens on a tellingly silly note, as a skeletal monster driving a cart pulled by another skeletal monster explains to the viewer that he has nothing to do with the story, and is then shunted aside by a gigantic traveling battleship—which, as it turns out, has nothing to do with the story either. The actual story revolves around a trench-coated, spiky-haired boy named Jing and his bug-eyed, birdlike companion, Kir, both of whom are on their way to the Capital of Thieves, where Jing fits right in—he's the (possibly self-proclaimed) King of Bandits. The Capital is run by a giggling recluse named Cognac (one of many, many people named after alcohol in this series), an exceedingly rich man holed up in a trap-filled tower, which protects his greatest treasure, the "Double Mermaids." Cognac has a sweet deal going—thieves come from all over to try and steal the Mermaids, and he traps them, steals their wealth and kicks them out, all while collecting taxes from everyone who lives in the town below his tower, plotting and awaiting their chance. But then Jing arrives to disrupt his neat racket.
In episode two of this 13-episode series, Jing moves on to a place called Blue Hawaii, where a ghost ship is troubling the lumpy, poorly drawn populace. His motivations are unclear, but his effect is unquestionable—he quickly wins over the local law enforcement (a suspicious, pretty young girl named Rose), gains access to the ship and proceeds to wreak havoc.
Episodes three and four form a single story arc, as Jing and Kir visit Adonis, a city supposedly under the sway of the Demon of Time. In Adonis, tardiness is a capital offense, as the duo learn when they save a prim girl named Mirabelle from the executioner's bladed pendulum. The town's ruler, a shaggy-haired man named Master Gear, promptly takes offense and attacks, and Kir and Jing are on the run. But Jing remains determined to steal the Grapes of Time, even if he has to bring Gear down to do it.
Irresistible force meets movable objects
Jing is the kind of smug, impenetrable hero who always seems to have a selfish surface motive, but still helps people while rarely profiting in the process. Kir is considerably easier to read: He's a cocky, loudmouthed lech, plain and simple. Still, it's hard to tell whether this is a series about a bad guy who does good or a good guy who's pretending he wants to do bad.
Not that it matters too much, given the choppy, rushed action, which mostly focuses on Jing casually proving how unbearably cool he is. When faced with danger, Kir converts into a weapon, locking onto Jing's arm and spitting green energy, as Jing shouts "Gimme a Kir Royale!"—a line that pops up so often that it starts to grate. Jing has two basic responses to problems: blow them up with a Kir Royale, or effortlessly prove he's smarter, stronger, faster, better armed and, above all, smoother than his opponents. He doesn't even break a sweat until episode three, by which time his story's already looking somewhat dull. He's almost always smugly in control of the situation, which makes for very little drama.
King of Bandit Jing's animation is variable—Jing and the series of "Jing Girls," as well as featured baddies like Gear and his pet/weapon, Sherry, are all well designed and beautifully drawn, but anyone and anything that isn't going to be on the screen long looks dashed-off, two-dimensional and inconsistent. Jing and Kir live in a haphazard, cluttered fantasy world where giant clockwork chicken-men, zombies, ogres and flying lizards are all packed in together like sardines, mostly to serve as featureless combatants and muddy background color. Virtually no one has any sort of history or personality—Kir and Jing included, at least in the former case. King of Bandit Jing boasts flashy moves and pretty pictures, but it's lacking in heart, drive or even a sense of pacing. Watching Jing smirk and kick ass is a little too much like watching an expert player pound through the opening of his favorite video game—there's no challenge. Maybe things will pick up once Jing hits the higher levels?
Kir is voiced in the English dub by Ron Berry, who seems to be trying his utmost to channel Gilbert Gottfried as the voice of Iago in Aladdin. It's an appropriate characterization, given Kir's parrotlike physique and his Iago-esque selfish, abrasive attitude, but it made me miss Aladdin's infinitely more dramatic and heartfelt conflicts.
— Tasha
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