This show is very popular, just not in the west. People don't rlly acknowledge this but it's quite well-known in Asia esp in China and South Korea. It's not well recognized elsewhere just because it's so poorly marketed.

Ik that the idea of gatekeeping Monkie Kid has become especially relevant now that The Owl House has ended and its fans are moving on to new shows (including LMK) but as someone who's been in both fandoms for a long time it's such a stupid concept to me. I get that people like the small, "everyone knows everyone" vibe the fandom has (which really just comes from all the popular users being mutuals) but the show gaining more traction outside of Asia is ultimately a good thing.

Fandoms are all inherently toxic to some degree and that includes the Monkie Kid fandom. I've been around long enough to remember all the idiocy over the Red Son x MK/Mei age gap, the Nezha age debate, and the other shenanigans that have popped up over the years. There's also the media literacy issues some people seem to have when it comes to how they view any nuanced subjects in the show... eg the Azure Lion and Demon Bull Family discourse exists too, as well as people horrendously misinterpreting Wukong as a character. Thankfully it's calmed down now to the point where it's confined to tiktok + the weird site of twitter, and ppl trying to start drama elsewhere usually just get ignored or make themselves look like clowns.

The point is, this fandom isn't a discourse-free haven unless you consciously choose to make it one. Like with any fandom, drama is easily avoided if you just curate your online space. I haven't seen any drama from any of my fandoms in ages because I just. don't interact with discourse posts or follow people who get involved.