Samurai vs. Samurai
Episode numeral: XLII
Original air date: 6/28/03
It is a dark and stormy night as Jack approaches an inn in the forest. He lets himself inside and asks the bartender for some tea, thanking the man before moving towards the fire to warm himself up. No sooner has Jack settled down that a newcomer barges in with a boombox heralding his arrival- this is Da Samurai, a loudmouth strongman who boasts that his skill is unmatched by anyone in the land. He starts off his night by harassing some of the patrons, hitting on a high-class female traveler (and destroying the security robots she sets on him when he becomes too annoying), and then going to bully the bartender into giving him free drinks. However, there is more trouble afoot: a trio of robotic bounty hunters enter the inn, heading straight for where Jack is sitting. Via prerecorded message, Aku declares that these robots are the latest and greatest of his assassins before ordering the robots to attack.
Jack effortlessly and gracefully destroys the robots, drawing a Spit Take from Da Samurai as he looks on. With the threat destroyed, Jack goes back to the bartender to ask for more tea. As he waits, Da Samurai approaches and identifies him as Samurai Jack, complementing him on his skill though he downplays it compared to his own skill. He challenges Jack to a duel to see who is the best samurai, but Jack dismisses him and takes his tea back to his seat. Angered by this, Da Samurai steals Jack's drink and spits into it, hoping that this is enough to get Jack to fight him. Annoyed by the braggard's antics, Jack agrees to a duel but asks that they take it outside, Da Samurai thinking Jack is doing so to save face for his inevitable defeat.
Outside, Da Samurai draws his sword and demands Jack do the same. Rather than do this, Jack cuts a pair of bamboo shoots from a nearby thicket and tosses one to Da Samurai. Da Samurai demands an explanation, and Jack says they will fight with the bamboo sticks. Da Samurai initially refuses, but Jack says that Da Samurai has not yet earned the right to face his blade. Frustrated, Da Samurai throws his sword away and grabs the bamboo before demanding Jack attack him and not waste his time, but Jack does nothing but give Da Samurai a nugget of philosophy, that one who runs with aggression walks without dignity. Annoyed, Da Samurai charges Jack, but two strikes from Jack are enough to send Da Samurai flying into the mud.
Da Samurai tries to get up, but Jack casually pins him before dispensing more philosophy: he can never hope to defeat another if he cannot defeat himself. Da Samurai gets up and attacks, but Jack casually blocks or dodges every one of Da Samurai's strikes before hitting him in the legs and knocking his sunglasses off, breaking them. As Da Samurai complains about his glasses, Jack tells him that one who wears a mask cannot see what lies within himself. Further annoyed by Jack's wisdom, Da Samurai recovers his bamboo and attacks, but once again Jack blocks every attack before striking Da Samurai across the head twice and tearing his clothes off with a third strike, revealing Da Samurai's Goofy Print Underwear. Jack dispenses one final nugget of wisdom ("The shell of an oyster only hides the pearl inside) before Da Samurai tries a flying leap to attack Jack from above. He seemingly succeeds... until Jack steps aside and shows that once again he blocked the strike before sweeping Da Samurai's legs out from under him. Da Samurai gets up one last time before Jack strikes him across the body, shattering Da Samurai's Fake Muscles and revealing him to be a scrawny guy with a pot belly.
Fed up, Da Samurai throws the bamboo away and demands Jack fight him with a sword. However, Jack goes on alert and tells Da Samurai to shut up and be quiet. At first there's nothing, just the sound of the rain, but soon an army of Aku's assassin robots step out of the shadows ready for battle. Da Samurai panics and tries to run for shelter, but the robots capture him before advancing on Jack. Jack, though, tears through the robots with the bamboo stick, destroying them all and freeing Da Samurai. Finally seeing what Jack was telling him, Da Samurai hangs his head in shame and admits that Jack is better than him in every way. However, he sees that the assassin robots have pulled themselves together into a larger robot, the robot firing a laser at Jack while he's distracted. Da Samurai pushes Jack aside and takes the blast, giving Jack a chance to hurl his sword into the machine and destroy it for good. Jack helps Da Samurai recover and thanks him for the save, saying that he has taken the first step on the path to be a true samurai. Jack departs as dawn breaks on the forest, with Da Samurai running after him begging Jack to take him in as an apprentice.
Passes the Deggan Rule: the two main speaking roles in the episode are a Japanese man and a black man (both voiced by black actors) who only ever discuss their combat with one another.
Tropes:
- Break the Haughty: Jack breaks Da Samurai of his arrogance and self-obsession by showing the true meaning of being a samurai.
- The Comically Serious: Jack is in true form.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: A Played for Laughs one with Jack & Da Samurai, which ends up with the former beating the latter. And of course, Jack slaughters Aku's assassin robots with ease, not even drawing his sword for most of the fight.
- Enemy Eats Your Lunch: Da Samurai finally gets Jack to agree to a fight when he steals Jack's tea, swishes it around in his mouth, then spits it back into the cup.
- Fake Muscles: Da Samurai was actually wearing a body armor that makes him look he has muscles, when in reality he is very skinny and has a pot belly. This was exposed by Jack during their fight.
- Heel–Face Turn: Da Samurai reforms at the end of the episode and decides to be a more humble hero, although he was more of a pompous Jerkass than an actual villain.
- Heroic Sacrifice: A non-lethal example, but when the assassin droids combine into a giant death machine, Da Samurai pushes Jack out of the way of a surprise attack with no thought of dodging himself and takes an energy blast meant for Jack. After Jack dispatches the mechanical monster, he praises Da Samurai for his heroic act.Jack: You have taken your first step toward the true path to the way of the samurai.
- Humble Pie: Da Sam-Moo-Rai, a guy with a definite sense of flare but little to no actual samurai skills, is put in his place by Jack, an actual samurai, and is clearly impressed."Man, I guess I... I guess I ain't so bad after all. Man, that was pretty amazing."
- I Call It "Vera": Da Samurai calls his sword "Mama," and warns anyone in his path not to get in his way, lest "Mama" give them a whoopin'.
- Large Ham: Da Samurai. Justified in that he's a total poser.
- Miles Gloriosus: Da Samurai claims himself to be a highly skilled samurai, but he is really a Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond who doesn't know a single thing about being a samurai. He even chickened out and tried to run back to the tavern when he and Jack were cornered by an army of robot bounty hunters, further showing his dissonance.
- Nonchalant Dodge: Jack effortlessly dodges Da Samurai's moves.
- Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: Da Sam-Moo-Rai is the toughest guy...around a small backwoods town where the standard for toughness is somewhat low.
- Small Name, Big Ego: Da Sam-Moo-Rai does have some skills and it's clear that's he's better than your average mook, however he's nowhere near as strong or as skilled as he thinks he is.
- Waxing Lyrical: Da Samurai taunts the bar patrons with "Mama" (his sword) by warning them that "Mama would 'knock you out'!"
- Wooden Katanas Are Even Better: Jack and Da Samurai's duel consisted of Jack cutting off two Bamboo shoots and tossing one to Da Samurai as the only way that he will dignify fighting Da Samurai with. Jack later uses the same Bamboo shoot in-lieu of his sword when a legion of Akus' latest model assassin droids shows up: demonstrating to Da Samurai that it isn't the sword that makes a Samurai.Samurai Jack: You have not yet earned the right to face my blade.
