- Network: Disney+
- Series Premiere Date: May 24, 2023
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Critic Reviews
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“American Born Chinese” proves to be one of the year’s best surprises. A coming-of-age story that at times brings to mind TV greats “My So-Called Life” (though this one is from a boy’s perspective) and “Freaks and Geeks.”
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Adapted from Gene Luen Yang's beloved graphic novel, American Born Chinese presents an inviting blend of heartfelt coming-of-age humor and exhilarating martial-arts action.
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The snappy screenplay, acute observations on what it is like to be an Asian American teen in a mostly white school and martial arts action — Berkeley’s Daniel Wu has a great time as the Monkey King — contribute in making this a fast-paced, addictive show.
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Despite these many words about self-exploration, “American Born Chinese” remembers to bring the fun. Action sequences — except, and unfortunately, a key one that doesn’t use all of the provided space before cueing the VFX — are permeated with a sense of playfulness.
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There are hints now and then — the clean language, the high school party where Jin fills up on… hot dogs — but the show doesn’t suffer for broadening its appeal. After eight episodes, the “normal” moments will stay with viewers long after the final battle.
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American Born Chinese is a fun, bold reimagining of the American coming-of-age tale, combined with Chinese mythology and a deservedly award-winning graphic novel. There are lots of moving parts in a short amount of time, but it works in a seriously charming way when all brought together with excellent fight choreography to tie a bow on it.
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It’s charming without being treacly, funny and also sensitive—and, like many wuxia films, its action comes with an equal measure of thoughtfulness.
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American Born Chinese is an entertaining ride, with a refreshing take on cultural identity that never feels like a lesson.
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Based on Gene Luen Yang’s award-winning graphic novel, “ABC” expands his concept and uses its panels as storyboards for something much greater. It works.
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American Born Chinese doesn't always find the right balance between its regular and extraordinary elements, but it sure is a blast to watch it try. [May 2023, p.76]
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That push-pull between insecurity and confidence will remain at the heart of American Born Chinese, through all manner of drama, action and fantasy, with wildly entertaining and occasionally touching results.
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It's ideal family viewing: Thought-provoking and fun, without one element compromising the other.
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"Chinese" has a lot of substance to back up its fancy style, in particular, with Jin's internal battle over assimilating into his largely white American high school or embracing his immigrant parents and Chinese community.
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American Born Chinese rises above its faults to become a wholesome TV show that goes beyond stereotypes. It doesn’t necessarily comment on them head-on but it does find a way to address them subtly as Jin strives to find his place in his world.
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Is this show a perfectly timed victory lap? Yes. Does it get unwieldy when you’re compressing a centuries-old epic and a high school #StopAsianHate campaign into eight episodes of Disneyfied polish? Of course. But American Born Chinese’s commitment to the juxtaposition makes the show worthy, as uneven as it can be.
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While it took a bit of time to get our bearings with regards to what’s going on in the Heavenly Realm, we still enjoyed the first episode of American Born Chinese because of the earthly part of the story, as well as the well-done action sequences.
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Even with its flaws, “American Born Chinese” is a very entertaining contemporary update of groundbreaking source material for the family. Fans of the original might miss its edge, but it compensates in solid storytelling, great wuxia action, and star-making turns for Ben Wang and Jimmy Liu.
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The show, while enjoyable, falls into the same trap that former Asian-led projects have in the past: It capitalizes off of race as a selling point for Western audiences, perhaps unknowingly relying on the same familiar tropes instead of pushing the boundaries for what these narratives have the potential to be.
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Despite its martial arts flair, American Born Chinese’s most powerful moments come from its small cultural specificities.
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In its final act, the different threads of the narrative are braided together effectively, but culminate in the sort of unimaginative superheroes-blasting-stuff-at-each-other that ends most Marvel films and is less thrilling than the riveting quest for Jin to join and be accepted by his high school soccer team.
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This dichotomy of extraordinary and all-too-ordinary is responsible for both the highs and lows of “American Born Chinese.” The season strains to squeeze a lot into just eight episodes.
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Sometimes, the wholesome teen angle can hold the series back – its representations of racism and emotional upheaval feel too Disney-fied, sterilised, brushed under the carpet rather than fully explored. .... If the serious parts of the series had received a more adult spin, this would be a brilliant show; instead, it's merely a good one.
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American Born Chinese feels like about three series crammed into one, which might explain why it takes so long to get into its story. Despite good moments and the benefit of fortuitous timing – featuring Michelle Yeoh and (briefly) Ke Huy Quan after their Oscar-winning work in “Everything Everywhere All at Once” – the intriguing mix of action, coming-of-age teen dramedy and fantasy never entirely gels.
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It’s like the show wanted to showcase all its potential but may only be able to thread it together in a possible second season. If this is what it takes for this story to really come to life, then fine — but at this moment, it’s hard not to view it as a massive waste of time.
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American Born Chinese is quite incisive at moments, but could be more convincing.
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It does a lot of things right in the first season, and lays considerable groundwork for deeper character dives and plot expansion in the future. But it’d be daft to think Disney would be able to capture the Asian American experience in a way that pleases everyone, everywhere, all at once.
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Easy to watch but just as easy not to watch, “American Born Chinese” strives to charm you in ways that may work or may make you wince from their familiarity.
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By the end, whatever feels distinct about American Born Chinese, which primarily resides in the quotidian details of Jin and his family’s life, washes away in a blur of scrolls, rebellions, and tacked-on endgame stakes. It feels like a vibrant coming-of-age story, spun out of edgier source material, that’s been made to conform to the needs of the Disney machine — a dynamic that sounds suspiciously like its own form of assimilation.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 7 out of 15
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Mixed: 2 out of 15
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Negative: 6 out of 15
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May 24, 2023
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May 27, 2023
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Jun 4, 2023Spectacular star lineup, also made the adaptation of Journey to the West very interesting