I Watched Samurai Jack, So I Wrote About It. [Review]

Wah - Jack!

I remember when I was in primary school and Samurai Jack played at 5 pm as my parents were coming home from work - with an intro I would soon know by heart.

 For those of you who don't know, it's a show about a Samurai warrior who was thrust forward in time by a shape shifting demon named Aku.

 Aku did this because Jack was the ONLY one who could defeat him with a special, magical sword forged of goodness.

 He figured that in the future he would be better prepared to defeat the Samurai.

Aku over time becomes a God of sorts, ruling and running the world while waiting anxiously for the samurai to return. 

In the meantime, Jack is attempting to find a portal to go back and meets people influenced by Aku's rule over the years. 

He saves them until he is eventually able to defeat Aku and undo his evil. 

At least, in theory.

 

 I remember being unamused with the first episode and over time found myself glued to the TV when it came on. 

Then one day it just stopped playing. I grew up in an era when cartoons didn't have official endings so I didn't think much of it.

Years later I wanted to figure out which episode was the last, only to find out that its was actually cancelled!

I truly couldn't understand OF all the cartoons. It had the most intense plot of all the shows I was watching at the time! I mean he had things to do, a mission to complete, THE FATE OF THE WORLD ON HIS SHOULDERS and now we'd just never know.

Then in 2016 I heard rumors of Adult Swim purchasing the rights to Samurai Jack with intentions to finish the show.

I waited, rumors simmered, no dates were being announced but I WAITED just like when we waited for Beyonce's album without a date that was suddenly dropped in the middle of the night when we started losing hope.

 I MAINTAINED my faith & in early 2017 my brother informed me of the date of release and for the next 10 Sundays, I downloaded it religiously.

I was really excited that ADULT SWIM chose to continue the show. The themes could not be explored on Cartoon Network in my opinion because the generation that watched this show are adults now. We NEED serious themes in the show to be explored. They even made sure that we knew that this isn't Cartoon Network anymore with the official season 5 poster.

What must it feel like to have that kind of pressure on your shoulders? 

Doesn't he resent the world, his parents for this mission he did not ask for?

 Doesn't Jack get lonely? 

WILL he eventually defeat Aku?

I'm expecting them to cover all of this in TEN episodes.

Episode 1 fast forwards 50 years into the future. With a new intro because obviously we all know what's up by now.

It's season 5 ffs.

 It starts with Jack showing up on a bike and I sighed a breathe of relief as I realized that he quit his childish tendencies of not adapting to the times. 

 He also grew his hair out and a beard, Jack was sexy, HEY!

In the first few episodes we discover that Jack lost his sword, is depressed and experiencing deep pangs of guilt which manifest as hallucinations of all the people he has let down over the years by not defeating Aku.

His anger has also manifested himself into another version of him, a Gemini - twin theme I quite enjoyed.

 

In the meantime, Aku doesn't know that Jack has lost is sword. In fact he has isolated himself in his castle in crippling fear of Jack finding him. Which has led to him also being depressed.

 He has even resorted to being his own therapist, tries being a new version of himself and doesn't say Jack's name anymore. I found it HILARIOUS. 

Aku has always been a funny, strange guy (demon) and I loved how they maintained and even elevated this.

He sends his fave (meh) to defeat Jack 

Who then discovers that Jack has lost his sword

 After he is defeated by Samurai Jack he is now trying to get back to Aku to inform him of this discovery for the episodes leading up to the finale.

In the meantime, we are learning that Aku has daughters who have been born and bred for one thing - killing the samurai. 

There's that one who is odd from the others, questioning her mission but going with it because Mommy said so.

I didn't think she'd be that important to the story but Jack ends up falling in love with her but more on that a little later.

We have one episode when she is looking for Jack to save him. After she realizes that he is the good guy, Aku is indeed evil and OH - all her sisters have been killed by Jack! 

It's quite strange that they become partners but fascinating.

Makes you question nature vs nurture.

The dope thing about this episode, Episode 6 is that she comes across many of those Jack has saved in the past. I loved this because they maintained what we've always known about the show - they weren't trying to pretend those 4 other seasons didn't happen.

  

They even brought back my fave villains/victims of all time! 

Adult Swim is doing the damn thing!

 At some point in this episode someone refers to Jack as "The toughest SOB alive" and I laughed because Adult Swim was also owning the show in their own way.

I enjoyed how they used a more abstract story that also told Jack's story in episode 3 with the white wolf.

How he actually took care of the wolf in case you missed that theme. 

Each season of Samurai Jack has an episode like this and I loved that they continued with that.

They did this again in Episode 7 when his journey to find the sword was internal rather than external.

It was a shame that ridding himself of his dark twin 

 

and finding the sword involved him shaving his beard.

I found it hilarious when Aku was finally informed of the fact that Jack lost his sword - just after he found it!

As for Ashi, I loved how she developed so much as a character over 10 episodes!

Killing her mama was intense! She was undergoing her own spiritual journey while Jack was looking for his sword.

 

The outfit change >>>

I also enjoyed the fact that Jack found love.

I found it silly that in episode 9 he hesitated killing her - like going back to the past wouldn't cancel that out 

(*sigh* the ways love makes us weak)

 BUT that turned out for the best.

I ABSOLUTELY loved that when she discovered that she has the same powers as Aku, she IMMEDIATELY went back to the past, without any hesitation!

Like YAS, you writers are finally getting to the point!

We get the satisfaction we have BEEN yearning for, for all these years!

We go back to the episode where he was taken to the future and Aku is like "See you in the future"

& he comes back in seconds with Ashi like "Back so soon?"

Like he hasn't BEEN trying to get back! 

Quite symbolic in my opinion.

I found it tragic that after he went back, defeated Aku and then tried to marry Ashi - she disappeared. Like dammit, hasn't he lost enough already? 

I mean yes, it had to happen since Aku was destroyed before she was born, she had to disappear because now it technically didn't happen.

But he finds peace with it so whatever.

He probably has PTSD due to all he's been through but I'd like to think he works through that and finds love again.

I absolutely loved season 5 of Samurai Jack! I loved how Adult Swim kept in intact while still making it it's own. 

I could not have asked for more. 

I am eternally grateful that they could close this chapter of my life.