Written by: Kevin Berge
I'll never understand how Jack can so clearly outmatch a shape-shifting world-controlling demon like Aku. (Image Courtesy of: hulu.com)
As a kid, I watched a lot of television, but I was hardly consistent. Without TiVo or a streaming site to use, I ended watching multiple animated shows in pieces. Some series thrive in this format almost too well to the point that I enjoyed every sitting but never really gave a thought to what I was missing.
Samurai Jack was at the top of the list of shows in that style. I considered it one of my favorite shows despite never truly watching it sequence. Only years later did I regret that enough to realize it was time to sit down and experience this show from start to finish.
There is something truly special about Samurai Jack that flew under the radar for a long time. It is slow and fairly subtle in a way that works more for a mature audience than a young one which is a dangerous way to sell a show on Cartoon Network even coming from the Network's genius Genndy Tartakovsky.
Samurai Jack was at the top of the list of shows in that style. I considered it one of my favorite shows despite never truly watching it sequence. Only years later did I regret that enough to realize it was time to sit down and experience this show from start to finish.
There is something truly special about Samurai Jack that flew under the radar for a long time. It is slow and fairly subtle in a way that works more for a mature audience than a young one which is a dangerous way to sell a show on Cartoon Network even coming from the Network's genius Genndy Tartakovsky.
Tartakovsky worked on far more kid-friendly shows including Dexter's Laboratory and Powerpuff Girls, but Samurai Jack proves his strength as a creator and animation director is his ability to blend animation and music without dialogue, a skill he later put to perfect use in Clone Wars.
This series quickly establishes itself in its one-hour movie introduction with a nearly wordless opening act. Aku is a powerful demon who uses his shape-shifting ability to take over the land of a young prince Jack who is forced into exile, trains, and returns to save his land from Aku only to be flung into the future.
This future is under the rule of Aku who is far out of Jack's reach. The rest of the movie is focused on what is the purpose of basically every episode in the first season of Samurai Jack, saving those under the rule of Aku and trying to find a way to get back home.
This series quickly establishes itself in its one-hour movie introduction with a nearly wordless opening act. Aku is a powerful demon who uses his shape-shifting ability to take over the land of a young prince Jack who is forced into exile, trains, and returns to save his land from Aku only to be flung into the future.
This future is under the rule of Aku who is far out of Jack's reach. The rest of the movie is focused on what is the purpose of basically every episode in the first season of Samurai Jack, saving those under the rule of Aku and trying to find a way to get back home.
Who thought it was okay to start this show off by having Jack cut to shreds scary robot bugs? Traumatizing to young kids. (Image Courtesy of: popgeekly.com)
The show starts out a fairly simple structure with it fairly clear no matter where you start with Jack what the focus of the series is. This could have made for a mundane experience with the civilization of the week, but this futuristic world is so remarkably imaginative.
Each new episode opens up new possibilities with characters ranging from talking dog people and intellectual astronauts to mysterious archer guardians and woolly mammoths. Even if the early episodes can feel like they're playing in the same space, the unique characters and landscapes are too fun to miss.
This is perhaps why the show works so well with its limited dialogue. The stories are not always the focus. It's the world, the emotions, and the action. This show does everything beautifully, but the action is incomparably immaculate, using split screen to convey Jack's impressive ability to handle overwhelming odds.
This first season does not fully explore all that the show can do, but it does work well to establish the diverse landscape. The series is made to be accessible at any point for a viewer, so it does not have the strongest running narrative. This show does open up its storytelling with time, proven in the last episode of the first season.
As a complete experience, there is nothing quite like Samurai Jack. Its score by James L. Venable and art direction by Scott Wills make most other animated show look small time in comparison though it can be daunting in its scope and style.
There was a reason as a kid I just sort of let the show wash over me. It can be intense and emotional, but it is not easy to process just how much is going into the series. Now as an adult, I find myself absolutely riveted going back through the series, watching Jack slowly grow and become absorbed in his new landscape.
This show may not be for everyone. It requires patience and focus, but it may just be the best animated series ever made in complete construction. I just hope that anyone who has the time will give it a chance because it is proof that Western animation can match up to Japanese animation.
Each new episode opens up new possibilities with characters ranging from talking dog people and intellectual astronauts to mysterious archer guardians and woolly mammoths. Even if the early episodes can feel like they're playing in the same space, the unique characters and landscapes are too fun to miss.
This is perhaps why the show works so well with its limited dialogue. The stories are not always the focus. It's the world, the emotions, and the action. This show does everything beautifully, but the action is incomparably immaculate, using split screen to convey Jack's impressive ability to handle overwhelming odds.
This first season does not fully explore all that the show can do, but it does work well to establish the diverse landscape. The series is made to be accessible at any point for a viewer, so it does not have the strongest running narrative. This show does open up its storytelling with time, proven in the last episode of the first season.
As a complete experience, there is nothing quite like Samurai Jack. Its score by James L. Venable and art direction by Scott Wills make most other animated show look small time in comparison though it can be daunting in its scope and style.
There was a reason as a kid I just sort of let the show wash over me. It can be intense and emotional, but it is not easy to process just how much is going into the series. Now as an adult, I find myself absolutely riveted going back through the series, watching Jack slowly grow and become absorbed in his new landscape.
This show may not be for everyone. It requires patience and focus, but it may just be the best animated series ever made in complete construction. I just hope that anyone who has the time will give it a chance because it is proof that Western animation can match up to Japanese animation.
