Xin

"STRONG RUSHMORE!"

—Ralph Varlok Jr.

"This is a good series you got going. Now we need to see some titty-mmm-bop-bop-tittays."

—A user review of the 11th episode on Newgrounds.

Xin (pronounced "shin") is an Animesque flash series on Newgrounds that had two nine-episode seasons.

In the future, discipline at public schools has become such a problem that teachers have basically been allowed to beat the crap out of their students. Even with these new rules in place, mob rule reigns supreme. Public school #1368 is no different - there's an all-out war between two men, Andre and Ghai, to rule the school.

Enter Xin, a New Transfer Student from another public school. He enrolls in 1368 looking to enforce his own brand of justice. But it won't be easy, especially with Andre and Ghai both unwilling to give up their posts. Also, Legend, the school captain, may have something to say about all this...this action and more basically comprises Season 1.

In Season 2, after mysterious circumstances cause #1368 to close, all of the students find themselves welcomed with open arms into Varron Academy, which claims it will rehabilitate the students into functioning members of society. But the mysterious academy is not what it seems...

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Tropes present in this work:

• Animesque
• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: The antagonists of Season 2.
• Art Evolution: The quality of the artwork and animation significantly improves between the first and second seasons. That's still not saying much.
• Asskicking Equals Authority: The basis of the Pillar System.
• Authority Equals Asskicking: Dimir, the headmaster of Varron Academy, is able to hold his own against the three main characters all at once.
• Awesomeness By Analysis: Several characters, but Legend and Mr. Dom most notably. Legend sees a move once and understands it, mostly by virtue of fighting so much in his past that he's probably seen it all anyway. Dom never really gets much use out of this ability combat-wise, but his analysis is what let Oton fight evenly with, and even almost beat, Xin. The only real flaw was that he underestimated Xin's psuedo-Healing Factor.
• Badass Boast: Xin goes through different schools saying he wants to make sure that anybody who knows to throw a punch "knows how to take few in return."
  • Mr. Dom has some good ones, even if he loses or draws every fight he's in.

Dom: *after just getting up from Xin's opening punch* "If that was an attempt to bring me down... I grade it an F". *Xin kicks him in the face in response, only making his head turn slightly* "Looks like you were internally injured by Legend. I hope that's your excuse for being so weak!"

• Berserk Button: Wanna stay out of the hospital? Don't smoke in front of Andre.
• Big Bad: Dimir
• Calling Your Attacks: Played with - the only character who calls his attacks (Ralph Varlok Jr) is the weakest fighter there.
• Combat Pragmatist: Ghai. He uses tactics such as aiming at noncombatants, knocking an opponent into the path of dozens of Mooks and dislodging part of a rafter to hit an opponent.
• Delinquent: Legend was one before he became the school captain. Ghai is one in the present.
• The Dragon: Dom
• Five-Bad Band: Dimir and his Four Pillars form one in season 2:
  • Big Bad: Dimir
  • The Dragon: Kiz
  • The Evil Genius: Finrak
  • The Brute: Hanto
  • The Dark Chick: Silvia
• Gray and Grey Morality: The first season was like this. None of the protagonists or villains were particularly pure of motive. The second season was better about this.
• Hannibal Lecture:Dimir delivers on to Guy and Xin, saying they are fighting him when he's policies kept them from having to live the streets and they should thanking him. Guy is stunned, while Xin replies with a Shut UP, Hannibal saying that Dimir is taking credit for using concept that should exist in the first place.
• Healing Factor: Xin can use his Qi to reset his bones after they've been broken.
• I Know Madden Kombat: Finrak, one of the four leaders of Varron Academy, utilizes his baseball skills in his fighting style.
• I Was Just Passing Through: Andre saves Xin and Ghai from the Big Bad, Dimir, then immediately tells Ghai to shut up.
• Let's You and Him Fight: Twice with Legend and Xin. They hate each other.
• Low Fantasy: As far as martial arts stories go. There's very little in the way of supernatural powers. Ralph Varlok's Strong Rushmore seems to be a Kamehame Hadoken type attack, and Xin can use his Qi to reset his bones, but that's about it.
• Made of Iron: The character known as "Goth". Terrible fighter, but holy crap, can he take a beating.
• MST/Retsufrash: An ongoing one (12 episodes so far) done by Something Awful members Chip Cheezum and General Ironicus starting here. WOOSH!
• New Transfer Student: Xin in Season 1. Most of the enrollment of Varron Academy in Season 2.
• Off-Model: The animation is... inconsistent.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Ghai is Red to both Andre and Xin's Blue. However, Xin is Red to Legend's Blue.
• She Fu: Present in three of the four main girls in Xin. Zumi and Ceer aren't good for much besides acrobatics, and even the more competent Silvia relies on speed rather than brute strength. Min, however, subverts this--effortlessly throwing Hanto and Silvia, judo style. She's outright stated to have been the former leader of the most notorious gang in the city, and may or may not be one of the strongest characters. She prefers to keep a low profile compared to the likes of Xin and Ghai, so we don't see what she's really capable of.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Dimir delivers one to Xin calling him weak and saying only the strong will have voice in the world. Xin replies with one of his own, saying Dimir is someone that has to maintain his confidence by test his odds to always make sure they're is his favor, and is simply trying to hold dominance by surprising others. After which he tells him after exposing all the dirt he has on him and other schools saying it will ruin his image. Dimir then suffers a Villainous Breakdown.
• Villain with Good Publicity: Dimir is referred to as "the face of public education", and his policies are generally supported by the public.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Dimir seems like a tough customer until Xin notices that he restricts his movements to conserve his low stamina. A righteous asskicking follows in short order.
• The Worf Effect: Generally how tough someone is established by having them beat up a half-dozen other people, or beating up someone else that did so. Notable case with Dimir in that he's built up with flashbacks that presented him as effortlessly thrashing people off-screen.
• World of Badass: Xin, Andre, Ghai and Legend are all pure badass. The bad guys have a few badasses on their side as well.
• Wrestler in All of Us: Dom's fighting style.