Samurai Jack

2001

Seasons & Episodes

  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
8.5| TV-14| en| More Info
Released: 10 August 2001 Ended
Producted By: Hanna-Barbera Productions
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.adultswim.com/videos/samurai-jack/
Info

A great warrior is displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. The world has become a bleak place under the rule of Aku, segregated into fantastic tribes and ruled by Aku's evil robot warlords. Jack travels this foreign landscape in search of a time portal that can return him to his home time so he can "undo the future that is Aku!".

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Director

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Hanna-Barbera Productions

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Samurai Jack Audience Reviews

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AniInterview Sorry, this movie sucks
Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated
ShangLuda Admirable film.
Maleeha Vincent It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
smetin I know I am going to get a lot of hate for this review, but here goes...I never watched Samurai Jack as a kid, but I often saw it was on Cartoon Network. I just preferred watching things like Ed, Edd and Eddy, Courage the Cowardly Dog, Cow and Chicken and a whole host of mindnumbing cartoons. Samurai Jack always came across as too serious for my childish mind. However, at the ripe old age of 25 I decided to embark on the quest to watch this, since it was notably commissioned for an extra season in 2017.I am going to divide this review in two parts: seasons 1-4, then season 5 on its own (as will be made clear). The story follows a samurai trapped in the future by an evil 'Aku', and the series follows his quests the defeat said evil. Seasons 1-4 attempt to show this, with each episode focusing on a minion sent by Aku, an entirely different villain, or Aku himself. Whilst I appreciated the journey Jack was going through, it felt somewhat lacklustre. As the series progressed, it felt less and less like Jack would ever truly face Aku and complete his objective. I won't spoil things for you, but I must say I felt deflated as each episode went by without ever feeling Jack would get back to the past.The positives of seasons 1-4 are numerous. The animation style is excellent and original. Like in Dexter's Lab, the creator of Samurai Jack gives the protagonist and villain simple and sharp features which distinguishes them from everyone else. The backdrops are well thought out and you can see the effort that has been put into it. The voice acting is great, when it is there. One of the things people love about this cartoon is that it is the lack of a need for speech that makes this cartoon so excellent. I (controversially) disagree. A lack of speech makes it quite boring because not a lot actually happens in each episode. Having a few episodes being like this would have been great. But every episode? I remain to be convinced.The other gripe I have about seasons 1-4 is that it doesn't really have a target audience. It is too dark and 'adulty' for children, yet it is too slow-paced and soft for adults. If it had a bit more action or adult themes I think it would have been more entertaining for people of my age.Now onto season 5, an entirely different beast. Unlike seasons 1-4 where each episode is standalone and doesn't feel like it is going anywhere, season 5 is the complete opposite. You get a core plot to the series and it is a good one. The animation remains crisp and even improved from seasons 1-4. You even get more dialogue between the characters, including Jack. What I loved most is that it finally decided to become an adult cartoon. The plot is dark, yet interesting and the action is finally what I was hoping for. Overall, season 5 is what I had wanted from seasons 1-4 and then some. All in all, Samurai Jack is not a bad cartoon, but it just isn't truly standout. Seasons 1-4 have a storyline that doesn't really satisfy the audience's need for a core plot or a sense of finality. However, season 5 makes up for this, making it the best season of the series. I would recommend you watch this film if you enjoy watching manga or other cartoons aimed at adults.
tankace If I had to choose my favorite series of Cartoon Network then Samurai Jack would take the first place easily. This series mixed the samurai, with the post apocalypse and Tartakovsky and his team put their lives and souls to make perhaps the first animated series apart from anime with a truly cinematic feel. When I heard that the series would continue and end this year I hoped that the last 10 episodes would do justice to Jack and not only they did it but the series was stronger than ever and the ending though a bit rushed was fitting for a series like that. It has both a satisfying conclusion but also a feel of closing for you realize that this is it! As for the travels Jack had not a single one of the places he visited felt like a functional environment with culture, history ,even their own ecosystems and all that in just 25 minutes. The same applies to the characters Jack and we encounter ,they are quit memorable and some have backstories that will put your heart strings.To the fighting itself ,amazing it has been more than a decade that Jack was missing but his style and the struggles he has to pull through are the stuff of legends ,like the impact he has to each place he visits as we see in the final season. And as for the villain Aku ,the main villain has one of them most sadistic and at the time funny personality and this two aspect plain-ed excellently.In the end this series was part of my childhood and I remember it funnily and now that has a conclusive end I also fill like a part of my younger self had a conclusion about something that he loved to watch ,unlike with Prehistoric Park, Primeval, Justice League Unlimited, Wolverine and the X-men, Spiderman (1994) and Kyle XY.
kazimyesevi It was really awesome. This is deserves 8.5 rating. New season was also great. Except it's ending. It was too sad and have logical errors (Ashi was need to disappear when Aku died but he disappeared in the wedding). Just because of this two reason, mostly for first reason, i am rating it as 7.
David Roggenkamp Samurai Jack is a series that pleasantly surprised me beyond my initial perception of it. That perception was one of a lackluster artstyle, plot of a lost cause, and otherwise not having much worth to watch. Normally I can tune into a series straight through the middle, skim a bit and get an idea of what the series will be like. That is not the case with Samurai Jack - that is simply because just about every episode is different. Rarely does the series have any plot developments - in fact just about every episode beyond the second episode is a retelling of the same plot - Jack's quest to defeat Aku. The very first episode introduces us to the backstory of why all current episodes are the way they are. The master of darkness, "Aku" is banished to another realm where he bides his time; all while Jack's parents and countrymen live prosperous lives. Aku suddenly rises to power again and defeats the country that opposes him with great ease. Jack is sent on a training expedition to return and defeat Aku. They spar and just as the final blow is struck - Aku rips open a portal in time and sends Jack to the future. Of course, this isn't really much of a spoiler - Aku himself narrates the premise of these events in the beginning of each episode from episode two onward.A few things to understand about this series is that it relies heavily on the art style. Typical cartoon colors and outlines are present, but the series often focuses more on abstract art shapes along with texturing for color. Mind you these textured colors and abstract art angles do move. I'm not sure if they used computers or not to do this, but it reminds me of "My Little Pony Friendship is Magic". Where as the latter looks like something out of "Adobe Flash", Samurai Jack is closer to that of a canvas and paint. The series has a very interesting stance it uses for character designs which is hard to explain - many of them are 'childish' with a very adult theme to them. In fact, Samurai Jack isn't exactly what I would call a cartoon aimed at children, but moreso at teenagers and adults. The series focuses heavily on archtypes such as apocalypse, evil, zombies, a tyrant ruling the world, cyberpunk, and then some more traditional Asian themes with a large portion of the viewing devoted to violence. While violence might normally be a bad thing - Samurai Jack portrays it as the norm; Jack will use violence in a heartbeat to solve most of his problems. It isn't that he wants to, it's simply due to the fact Aku has a bounty on his head. Thankfully Jack has a magic sword that can cut through robots and the like. Speaking of which - the series never draws any blood (that I can remember), but relies more on the trope of robots getting cut in half and dismembered. It's not as bad when it is a robot instead of a human that takes a hit right? The series moves in the direction of demons and the occult. Many of the sequences look like something out of a horror movie, but due to the cartoonish nature and the art style it looks quite the opposite. Keeping in mind the art style will also make this series a more enjoyable event.Episodes, character designs, character personalities, as well as elements used therin; are all over the place. Jack is pretty serious, but he is often taken aback at the strange situations he often finds himself in. Strange creatures abound, many of them with human features and personalities, but a culture all their own. That which seems a friend is usually not; and those that appear as evil as they come, are merely trying to save themselves or their people from Aku. Aku himself has a memorable laugh and is quite the comedic act when he isn't being evil. In fact, it is often hard to remember that it is Aku's evil ruling the land that has brought the world into the state of affairs that it is. The series uses a few formats for episodes - Jack taking down Aku's minions, Jack and Aku facing off, Jack in a strange situation that must be mitigated, or Jack in over his head and must find a way to deal with such things as bounty hunters that intend to take him down. For each of these strengths, there are only two bad things to this series that I can think of - they both occur in the last season. The first one is the episode drive in season five - there are a few episodes that break from the usual format and they don't feel right with the series; the second is the fact the series never gets a proper conclusion. As far as the series is concerned, Aku wins initially and Jack is slowly freeing the land. Every time Jack can even find a way to get to the past, it is usually destroyed by Aku or one of his henchmen.The series is definitely worth a watch though. It doesn't rely on blood, never uses sexual innuendo and has a strong consistency of episode format from one episode to the next. I can't say that about many cartoons, but Samurai Jack indeed wins in this department.

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