Samurai Jack

[Peanutbutter]

Will Adult Swim upload Genndy's Q and A on their site?

[Avaitor]

Fantastic premiere! Although I do miss Jack's sword, but I would not be surprised if he finds it again by the finale.

I'm particularly interested in the fact that Jack hasn't really aged in the 50 years since we last saw him. That's a pretty unique twist to traditional time travel stories. I wonder if this is how Genndy sets his rules, or if Aku had any control in this.

[Daikun]

Will Adult Swim upload Genndy's Q and A on their site?

It's on their YouTube channel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XMCgp4OjUQ

[Dr. Insomniac]

Out of the people who retweeted my Samurai Jack tweets, at least two had swastika avatars. I'm surprised that even Nazis like Samurai Jack too, considering it's about a Japanese guy played by a black voice actor. I guess it should be heartwarming that this show can bring together people of all political stances.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Oh yeah, this episode's blogged.

[Dreamer2]

I thought this first episode was solid. I like Samurai Jack well enough. I grew fond of it as I rewatched the episodes a few years ago. To be honest I didn't like it much as a kid. Too quiet for me.

As for this episode, I started enjoying it more as we saw more of the daughters and then once the assassin showed up. I like Jack the show the most when there's some fun and humor. I was worried this was gonna be all angst, but once the assassin showed up it felt more like the show I want. I'm curious to see more of the daughters. That one that was named is gonna be more important than the others, isn't she?

[LumRanmaYasha]

Nice impressions doc! Glad to see you'll be blogging the season. I though the premiere really did it's job well, giving plenty of awesome action while moving the story forward in a darker direction that feels like a natural extension of the story. Like you said, it updated itself to adapt to the modern television climate but still retained the essential qualities of what made the show what it was. The show balances humor and drama as flawlessly as it ever did.

I kinda wish we didn't hear Aku's voice at all during this episode. I would've preferred if they kept him absent until the climax. I think that would have made his absence in this episode all the more disturbing. It's amazing how much more menacing a presence he is when he's not onscreen. I mean, let's face it, Aku was the butt of a lot of comedic relief even from the beginning. It was sometimes hard to take him seriously. In the premiere though...something about how crazy Aku's followers are and how haunting their destruction and murders are does a wallop in establishing how evil and sinister his influence on the world really is.

My biggest question from the episode is who the samurai/shogun looking silhouette Jack keep PTSD-ing about is. Is it representation of himself, or Aku? One thing I can definitely guess though is that the one daughter that was named and fascinated by the outside is probably going to have a redemption arc and be on Jack's side before the season is done.

But like you, I also wonder, that once Jack is able to go back to the past, could he really stay there? After spending 50+ years, most of his life and probably twice of what he had lived in his own time, would he really fit in there? Or is Jack doomed to be a man out of any place in time? I'm hoping the series touches upon this idea before it's over and doesn't just end with Jack defeating Aku and everything being settled with a happily ever after.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Next blog is up for those thirsty as Aku's daughters.

[Peanutbutter]

Aku's "therapy" was hilarious. Good thing they started the episode with that, because it would feel sloppy on the pacing if it was just after Jack's fight against the lady ninjas. If I'm not mistaken, this was the first time we've ever seen Jack forced to kill a human woman. He's fought and killed at least a couple men I know, like two of the bounty hunters from that episode with that colorful squad of them and that princess. Jack honestly thought he was facing robots once again. I'm guessing Aku went with robots for most of the fifty years that passed because they'd be more easily durable and be sent back out after being repaired. But we know from the last episode he's sending out humans as well. It feels like the Daughters of Aku will be neutralized after next week, I wonder who will come after Jack next?


What I love most was the parallels between Jack and Aku. Funny as those scenes were, on a deeper level it shows how much maturity the show has in showing both the hero and villain in deep states of depression from not truly defeating the other. Any run-of-the-mill cartoon would show Jack being sad while having Aku party 24/7. But Genndy understands the importance of emotional depth with the themes he's using.

[Avaitor]

It's funny to think that back in the day, the show couldn't even say die, but here we are showing honest-to-god blood, and Jack nearly committing seppuku.

[Daikun]

The Dot and Line had an interview with Greg Baldwin on voicing Aku and Mako's other roles.

Interestingly, the two never even met.

[LumRanmaYasha]

I wasn't expecting to see Aku again so early into the season, but it's great to see he's as much of a goof as ever. The contrast between his silly depression and Jack's psychological ptsd trauma is great. I think it's also pretty clear he has no idea about the "daughters of Aku" or at least the very least doesn't care considering how much he's lamenting the fact nothing he's done has ever been able to get rid of Jack. I agree with Marquis that Greg Baldwin just doesn't sound like Mako and that does take me out of it a bit, which is why I was hoping Aku would be seen and used sparingly this season, but at the same time I can still headcanon it as Aku's voice changing because of all the stress he's had to endure dealing with Jack these past 50 years which is a fun way to think about.

The episode itself was a great action scene and it was interesting to finally see Jack take a human life and get red blood on his hands. I don't have the same problem as Marquis that Jack taking human life isn't interesting because he's killed sentient life before because Jack himself has never seen robots the same way and even though there were sympathetic ones like X-9 it's not like Jack ever learned their stories or understood their had humanity before he destroyed them. For Jack, this is clearly the first time he's taken a recognizably human life - a young life at that - and that means something to him. I agree though that it would be interesting for them to explore the idea that the daughters parallel Jack in them being raised from childhood to defeat their foe and I'm hoping they do address that. I don't think the daughters will all be taken out next week since the leader of the sisters was clearly being set up for more of a role, but next week looks to be like another exciting fight scene and after that episode most of the trailer footage will have been used up so there's no telling what direction the season will go in after that.

[gunswordfist]

I am still geeking out over Spongebob doing a Sammy Davis Jr. impersonation. Probably my favorite Aku henchman ever already.

[Dr. Insomniac]

Episode 3 bloggoos.

[Peanutbutter]

The flashback with the Emperor is the best part. Would be nice to see Jack's dad in a massive fight during a flashback at least one more time before the end. I almost thought Ashi was the girl killed last episode because it went by so fast. But sure enough she was the last one Jack neutralized. I don't know if the two sisters she had that were knocked off are still alive, but I sure hope she is because a lot of buildup from before will feel incredibly anticlimactic.


I don't follow the theory Wednesday mentioned in the review. I'd sooner believe Ashi becoming Jack's lover than replacing him in finishing off Aku. She wasn't in the preview at all, so we'll see how it goes next time.