Samurai Jack General

So I'll be honest, I never finished this show before. I mean, I used to watch it all the time when it was on and when I had access to cable, but I guess I never got completely invested in this. It was always on my list of things to do.

Nowadays, thanks to the wonders of internet file sharing, I've gotten access to every single episode. So, I've just been marathoning this series since last week and several things stood out to me:

• How funny Aku is (I mean Mako literally gets some of the BEST lines in this show. Aku's Fairy Tales is freaking hilarious)
• Jack's reserved complexion (it's almost a joke about how calm he is, he's like an asian batman)
• The sharp art deco and the lack of outlines on any of the animation.
• That literally every single episode is freaking cruel Every. Single. Goddamned. Episode. (Jack meets a race of underwater aliens who promise a time machine? SURPRISE- they're working for aku! A war robot finds peace by adopting a puppy? NOPE- the puppy gets kidnapped and the robot gets killed. This is only extended once you realize, since this show never had a real conclusion, that jack will never go home).

Anyway, anyone else have fond memories of this show?

edited 17th Sep '12 7:03:29 PM by Mattonymy

On the first two points - definitely, the best episodes of the show are the ones that play off of one of those two to a major extent, and the ones that have both aspects prominent (like the one where Jack and Aku "duel") are among the funniest ones.

As for the last point, yeah. This is one of the first shows I remember where it really hammered in to me Status Quo Is God and Failure Is the Only Option as tropes. Certain episodes that feature it also showed me how noble a Chronic Hero could be, if a bit foolish - the ones where he gives up the chance to save everyone by going to the past to save a few people in the present show how noble Jack is.

Actually, the episode where Jack is defeated by the guardian of a portal (the ONLY true beating he ever got, that I recall) hints that, although he was not allowed access right then (why? Because Destiny Says So, I guess) he WOULD sometime in the future. We even SEE an image of Jack with a looong beard, probably hinting he'll be very old by the time, but hey, he WILL get home some day! (I STILL want see him do it, mind you.)

Of course, if he ever kills Aku *in the past* so that this future world never happens, then NONE of the series would ever happen- it would be a Time Paradox. And if he kills Aku in the future and then returns... Earth will still suffer like a 1000 years of his tyranny.

edited 17th Sep '12 9:08:17 PM by Sijo

Yeah, I was never sure how that was supposed to work, either. I like to say that the samurai's goals were to kill Aku and return to the past, not necessarily in that order.

Need I mention that Genndy is also in talks with Sony Animation about finally producing that Samurai Jack movie??

Oh yeah. Need I also mention he wants it hand-drawn?

Oh OH yeah! Need I also ALSO mention that Sony is considering it?!?!!? :D

.......except that all hinders on whether Hotel Transylvania, Tartakovsky's directorial debut, will prove a success. Which, by the looks of it, seems like Jac will not be returning home soon.

Bad news, HT has a 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Good news, it's so far only by 8 critics, and more reviews will come.

Bad news again, there's a Dance Party, a teenager-appealing plot, and at least a few Toilet Jokes (a Butt Monster is seen in a recent TV spot). I am nervous.

That's not too encouraging.

edited 18th Sep '12 10:38:10 AM by Spirit

I for one will be seeing Hotel Transylvania, not because I think it will be a good film but because if its a success, the better the chances are a Samurai Jack movie happening.

I think I can handle an hour of Adam Sandler and Selena Gomez if it means more Samurai Jack.

That's my reason for going too.

Why wasn't the film released around Halloween? Would probably have sold better!

It'll come out 2 days before October, so kids wanting a monster fix can see it any point in the month.

And yeah, gonna say it again, the movie's not going to happen. Cartoon Network isn't going to let go of one of it's intellectual properties to the company one of their employees left to for a movie that only a cult fanbase of fans is going to be interested to see. It sucks, I know it sucks, but I just can't see how, after all this time and failed attempts, a movie will come together in this state.

edited 18th Sep '12 4:58:09 PM by Brokenshell44

And a week before Frankenweenie.

But.... the article link..... with....

edited 18th Sep '12 6:34:13 PM by Shota

Lol, can we start talking about Jack again?

I mean, even if I haven't seen half the episodes in years, I still remember enough to shower this show with praise. Gorgeous animation, simple yet complex storytelling, a push for more mature themes, a incredible hero and awesome villain...

OK, that makes it less likely... but not impossible. Things like Kingdom Hearts and Wreck It Ralph have shown me that in the world of entertainment, nothing is impossible. You just need the right connections (and motivations.)

I say Scotsman should've gotten at least one more episode.

Watching this show every night gives me a smile every time.

Y'know thinking about it, it might've been interesting (if that movie ever gets made, lol) to end the series with Jack having to / being forced to stay in the future after defeating Aku for good - if only because Jack would not only lose a lot of the friends and accomplishments that the viewers became attached to over the course of his adventure, but he would totally remove them from existence as well.

In some cases, this would be an altogether good thing. A lot of the kernels of goodness Jack encounters would undoubtedly have been much better without Aku to blight them, but in others it just seems tragic to lose those alliances and relationships.

It might be awesomely bittersweet to have Jack ultimately not return to the past, but to still bring all of the multitudes of allies he gained over the course of the series together to rebuild and create a better future anyway - and maybe rebuild in such a way that his enemies wouldn't need to be so antagonistic as well.

Agreed!

Then again, the people who made the show were so creative, who says they couldn't find some way to have their cake and eat it? Maybe Jack killing Aku in the past merely creates a second reality, one were Aku never ruled (eg. the real world) but the original still exists (to allow future!Jack's existence in the first place.) In the end, he returns to the future, where he either continues to fight against him or kills Aku again (for good this time). And yeah, a movie (with a few cameos, including the Scotsman!) would be a great sendoff to the series.

edited 25th May '13 7:53:53 AM by Sijo

I just saw the one where Jack saves the alien prince and princess and helps them return to save their homeworld - now I'm convinced the finale must involve an allied army from space coming at the last minute to turn the tides in the final battle with Aku.

So, whatever happened to the movie?

Tartakovsky left to work for Sony.

So he just completely gave up on it then?

I assume so, he's never gonna get the rights back now.

He is open to the idea of a Samurai Jack movie being made by SONY after he works on that Popeye movie.

Before Hotel Transylvania came out there was some kind of rumor (probably unfounded, I guess) that if that movie was successful he might focus on the Samurai Jack movie.

But... yeah. Now that I think about it, it was probably unfounded.

edited 25th May '13 5:56:12 PM by KnownUnknown