Samurai Jack

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Samurai Jack

Title card for Samurai Jack
Genre Animated, action, Science fiction
Created by Genndy Tartakovsky
Voices of Phil LaMarr
Mako
Theme music composer James L. Venable
Opening theme will.i.am - Samurai Jack
Country of origin United States
No. of seasons 4
No. of episodes 52 (List of episodes)
Production
Running time 22 minutes
Broadcast
Original channel Cartoon Network
Original run August 10, 2001 – September 25, 2004
External links
Official website
IMDb profile
TV.com summary

Samurai Jack is an Emmy-award winning American animated television series created by animator Genndy Tartakovsky that aired on Cartoon Network from 2001 until 2004. It is noted for its highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation, as well as for its cinematic style and pacing.

The plots of individual episodes range from dark and epic to light-hearted and comic, but typically follow Jack in his singular quest to find a method of traveling back in time. Many of the battle scenes in the series are reminiscent of samurai films, and since Jack's robotic enemies "bleed" oil or electricity and monsters/aliens bleed slime or goo, the series is able to exhibit the action of these films while avoiding censorship for violence.

Samurai Jack is available to be viewed by American residents via the Toonami Jetstream website,[1] It is aired at 11:00pm on Cartoon Network in the UK. Production on the show was halted in 2004, but it was never officially canceled. In return Tartakovsky has announced plans to direct a theatrical film, but whether or not this will be used to resolve the series has yet to be announced. The show returned to Cartoon Network on the March 29, 2008 broadcast of the Toonami programming block.

Contents

[edit] Background

[edit] Development

Samurai Jack was created by Genndy Tartakovsky for the Cartoon Network. As a follow-up to his very successful series Dexter's Laboratory, Tartakovsky intended to create a series "that is cinematic in scope and that incorporates action, humor and intricate artistry".[2] Samurai Jack began airing on August 10, 2001 and ran for four seasons.

[edit] Plot

See also: List of Samurai Jack episodes
“ Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting Master of Darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil! But a foolish Samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law! Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that is Aku! ”

This quotation begins each episode of Samurai Jack, which tells the story of a young prince (Jack) from medieval Japan whose father's empire is destroyed by the demon Aku. Jack escapes destruction and travels the world training his mind and his body for years, until he reaches adulthood. Then, taking his father's magic katana, he challenges Aku to a duel and defeats the demon. However, before Jack can deal the killing blow, Aku creates a time portal and sends his opponent into the distant future, anticipating that he would be able to amass sufficient power to deal with the samurai later. The protagonist arrives in a hostile, futuristic Earth ruled by Aku and filled with his robot minions. The first people he encounters in the future call him "Jack" as a form of slang, which he adopts as his name (his given name is never mentioned in the series).

Standard episodes follow Jack's search for a way to travel back to his own time, where he hopes to stop Aku before these events come to pass. The cartoon depicts Jack's never-ending quest to find a time portal, while constantly facing obstacles set by Aku in a classic battle of Good versus Evil. Typically each time Jack believes he has reached the end of his quest a deus ex machina causes him to dramatically miss his chance. In one attempt Jack locates a stable portal to the past, but the guardian of the portal defeats him easily and was about to crush him when the portal starts to flicker and glow, apparently giving the guardian a message, the guardian has a giant bird take the unconscious Jack away. After Jack leaves, the guardian states that it is not yet time for him to return to the past, and an image of what seems to be an older Jack is then seen in the portal; this seems to indicate that Jack is predestined to succeed, but it will take many years for him to reach his goal.[3]

[edit] Setting

Samurai Jack takes place in a world where science has developed far beyond what we have available to us today, and in some ways resembles magic on its own. However, despite scientific advances, the future is decidedly dystopian - in one episode the mafia profited greatly from the sale of simple water.[4] Aliens, bounty hunters, and robots are plentiful, and always ready for a fight. Above all this stands Aku, which is evident as the shape of most buildings in urban settings resemble the shape of his head.

Stories take place in a variety of locations. Ranging from beautiful wilderness and to futuristic or even dystopic cities, the stark contrast in these can be extremely rigid. Regardless of the setting, the simple, minimalistic art style employed resembles ukiyo-e paintings.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack (voiced by Phil LaMarr) is the son of the Japanese lord who ruled the area where Aku originally appeared on Earth, and is banished to the future by Aku during their first battle, where he is left in every episode to search for a way home. He was born on the day that his father defeated Aku and he seems to be the only mortal (aside from his father) to be a match to Aku.

As a boy, Jack traveled around the world to prepare both physically and mentally for his confrontation with Aku. He studied under various scholars, such as Greek thinkers, and attempted to master each art of combat from the cultures he met, training with African warriors, Viking sailors, Robin Hood, Mongolian warriors, shaolin monks, Greek Olympic contestants, Russian Cossacks, and several others (many of these cultures didn't exist at the same period of time).

Later, after being sent into the future, he is taught the ability to jump hundreds of feet into the air by a species of blue Gorilla and a jungle man, thus allowing him to reach vast areas he previously could not reach. Jack's magic sword was forged by the gods Odin, Ra, and Vishnu through 3 mortal avatars. The sword was forged from the righteous energy within Jack's father. Along with the sword he later gains the Eye of Chronos (a blue coloured gem) that once belonged to Chronos, the Titan of time, that can be presumed to allow time travel when combined with certain elements, this artifact is ironically but unintentionally provided by Aku when he attempted to revive Chronos to destroy Jack.

Jack strongly exhibits the characteristics of a stoic hero. He is unfailingly polite and humble despite the completely alien nature of the futuristic world and never scoffs at or disparages the customs of the people he encounters (as unpleasant as they seem to him at times), no doubt a legacy of his international travel and interaction with foreign cultures during his own era. Despite his almost hopeless situation, he does not bewail his destiny, instead exhibiting a strong amor fati. Jack consistently shows an uncommon moral strength of character by helping the poor and defenseless along the way. Occasionally, he faces great physical pain, or has to forget his own goals in order to help someone in need.

On the first episode, his name was never mentioned. On the second episode, he began using the name Jack when three teenage aliens, after witnessing Jack destroy several enemies, referred to him as Jack--in this case, more of a generic term, a la "dude" or "guy."

[edit] Aku

Aku
Aku

Aku, voiced by the late Mako Iwamatsu, is the Samurai Jack's main antagonist. His name means "evil" or "wickedness" in the Japanese language. He is similar to Akuma, the evil demon with burning eyes from Japanese mythology (which may also be another source for his name) like a tallest devil. He is an extremely powerful wizard whose primary ability is shape-shifting, though he possesses many other powers such as laser eye beams, fire breath, summoning storms, creating objects out of nothing, telekinesis, fire generation, sonic screams, time portals, and teleportation. He requires no food, water, or air and he is capable of interstellar travel. He also has the ability to spy on Jack from a large sphere he can summon at will in his tower. A significant aspect of the series is that Aku is immortal, and he can only be harmed and finally defeated by Jack's samurai sword. Aku is also vulnerable to varying degrees to other forms of magical or divine attacks, (such as the powers and artifacts of gods.)

Aku constantly antagonizes Jack, often attacking him while he is weak, and other times defending himself from Jack's own gambits. The two seem doomed never to defeat each other, for though Jack has bested Aku on numerous occasions, Aku merely transforms into a small creature and escapes, usually calling out a taunt over his shoulder as he flees, a fact that he himself is aware of and makes a reference to in one episode.

The Episode The Birth of Evil reveals Aku's origin. Long ago in the vastness of space, a great formless evil arose. Before the darkness could do harm to the universe, it was set upon by the kings of three religions: Odin, the one-eyed king of Asgard; Ra, the sun god of Egypt; and Vishnu, the supreme being in Hindu mythology. So fierce was their attack on the shadow, that it was completely destroyed, save for a small fragment that was flung aside in the heat of battle. The fragment drifted and eventually fell to Earth, and landed in feudal Japan, where it slowly grew and spread like poison over the course of centuries, creating an ever-spreading forest of black spikes that devoured any who entered. Eventually the forest grew so large that the Samurai Lord of the land (Jack's father), decided to kill the evil at its source. Armed with a magic oil given to him by Buddhist monks, the Lord and his cavalry rode into the heart of the forest, the Lord himself the only one to survive. Once at the black lake at the forest's center, the Samurai Lord doused an arrow into the oil he was given, lit it with a green flame, and shot it into the lake. Instead of destroying the evil however, the magic arrow gave it both a will and consciousness, thus the demon Aku was born. Aku proved to be unstoppable, so with the help of the three gods, Jack's father forged a sword capable of harming him. With it, he was able to imprison Aku within a dead tree.

While he is usually presented as a serious and threatening foe, Aku is also a source of comedy due to his outrageous design and sometimes wise-guy behavior, supported by Mako's over the top voice acting.

[edit] Secondary characters

When Jack arrives in the future, he finds that Aku has conquered the world and rules the populace with an iron fist. Jack finds that there are still warriors in this age, and occasionally meets both those fighting for and those siding against the side of good. Samurai Jack's universe is populated by a diverse cast of characters who often appear for single episodes with a few exceptions.

The Scotsman: Only known as the "Scotsman", he is the only one of two characters to appear in 3 episodes- "Jack and the Scotsman", "Jack and the Scotsman II" and "The Scotsman saves Jack"(This is a 2 part episode). When he first meets Jack (Jack and the Scotsman), he makes fun of Jack, calling him various names and insults. He even makes fun of Jack's sword, calling it a butter knife. But by the end of the episode Jack has impressed him. He even gets Jack to help him rescue his dainty, beautiful wife from a demon (this is an understatement by the Scotsman as she is, ironically, larger and more terrifying than the Scotsman himself, and stronger than Jack and the Scotsman combined). The Scotsman even saves Jack when Jack loses his memory due to the Sirens. His notable features are his legs. One is a normal (though disproportionately small) leg and the other leg is a machine gun, which he uses in combat along with several explosives contained in his kilt and he carries a shield on his back. He also uses a longsword inscribed with Celtic Runes making it unbreakable even against Jack's blade and his skills with it are even equal to Jack's prowess with a sword. He also has super human strength evidenced when he could pick up and throw an entire tank with relative ease. This is apparently a genetic trait, as the other members of his family are just as powerful and, by admittion of the Scotsman himself, even rowdier than he is (they even have the same disproportionately small legs).

Jack's father: Jack's father appears in 3 episodes "The Beginning", "Jack Remembers the Past", and "The Birth Of Evil". He is overall just an older version of Jack; He's brave, humble, and polite.

[edit] Influences

[edit] Cultural references

Samurai Jack frequently features appearances from gods of varying pantheons and creatures of legend. In the episode The Birth of Evil, Odin, Ra, and Vishnu are shown to join forces to battle the dark power that would one day become Aku.[5] Samurai Jack does not speak of an afterlife to any great extent and the presence of deities in the program are mostly pagan and practical.

Samurai Jack occasionally borrows from ancient sources as well as current ones. In episode Jack and the Spartans, Jack fights alongside an army of three-hundred warriors who bear a likeness to Spartans, defending their home from an army of robots that would reconstruct themselves after each day's fight. The plot of this episode is based on the Battle of Thermopylae, in which three-hundred Spartan warriors defended a narrow pass against the mighty Persian army.[6]

[edit] Style

Tartakovsky borrows from a great many artistic sources for this series. One episode could resemble a book by Dr. Seuss when the next could involve Jack fleeing from a zombie horde. Action in Samurai Jack borrows liberally from old martial arts and samurai films, and action films of the 1970s as well as 1963's Toei Animation studio release entitled The Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon (Originally Wanpaku Ouji no Orochi Taiji) also using multiple angle and split screen shots to display action from multiple angles. The plot is frequently stopped to allow for the building of tension before combat or for the sake of humor; it is also not uncommon for episodes to be almost entirely free of dialogue which results in cinematic or stylized episodes.

Tartakovsky included a cameo of a Samurai with a young child in a baby carriage in the episode Jack Remembers the Past. This character has a strong resemblance to Ogami Itto of Lone Wolf and Cub[7]

Tartakovsky has also acknowledged taking some of his thematic inspiration from Frank Miller's Graphic Novel Ronin, including the premise of a master-less samurai warrior thrown into a dystopic future ahead of our present in order to battle a shape-shifting demon. Similarly, the episode Jack and the Spartans (see above), while based on historical events, was specifically inspired by Miller's 300, a graphic novel retelling of said events.[8]

[edit] Popular culture in Samurai Jack

 Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.

In addition to borrowing thematic elements from various styles of film, Tartakovsky also inserts subtle nods to both new and old media for those paying close attention. The following are a few of these instances.

[edit] Response

[edit] Awards and recognition

Award Year Details Episode
Emmy Awards 2005 Won Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation
Bryan Andrews (storyboard artist)		 XLIX - The Four Seasons of Death
2005 Nominated Outstanding Animated Program
(For Programming Less Than One Hour)		 XLIX - The Four Seasons of Death[13]
2004 Won Outstanding Animated Program
(For Programming Less Than One Hour)		 XXXVI - The Birth of Evil
2003 Won Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation
Dan Krall (layout artist)		 XXXII - Jack and the Traveling Creatures
2003 Won Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation
Scott Wills (production designer)		 XXV - Jack and the Spartans
2002 Nominated Outstanding Animated Program
(For Programming One Hour Or More)		 I-III - The Beginning

In 2004, British broadcaster Channel 4 ran a poll of the one hundred greatest cartoons of all time, in which Samurai Jack achieved the 42nd position.

[edit] Succession

The distinctive style of Samurai Jack is what drew Lucasfilm to recruit Tartakovsky for the Star Wars: Clone Wars animated series. Much of the signature cinematic style of Samurai Jack lives on in Clone Wars, such as lightning-fast combat, extended sequences without dialogue, explosions, epic vistas, etc.".[14]

Samurai Jack also remains a popular subject with Cartoon Network animators and continues to show up in programs being broadcast today. The following are a few examples.

The Duck Dodgers episode "Samurai Quack" was dedicated to spoofing the various stylistic elements and plot devices of Samurai Jack, such as only ever killing robots and the progressive ripping of clothes leading up to the final battle of the episode. Tartakovsky himself also made a cameo in that episode.[15] Coincidentally the happy cat alarm clock sounds like Aku.
In one episode of Dexter's Laboratory, another cartoon created by Tartakovsky, boy-genius Dexter frequently says "Samurai Jaction" rather than "action," e.g., "That's enough Samurai Jaction for you!" Also in the post-2001 episodes, a Samurai Jack action figure is sometimes visible on the shelf in Dexter's bedroom.
In an episode of Justice League Unlimited, a group of villains known as the Royal Flush Gang uses playing cards as their gimmick. The Jack card is seen wearing Samurai gear. Hence, "Samurai Jack," a very subtle reference.[16]
In the animated series My Gym Partner's a Monkey, the episodes 'Pants in Space' and 'Pride and Pixiefrog' featured an incidental character, who bore some resemblance to Samurai Jack, right down to voicing by Phil LaMarr.[17]
In the credits of The Grim Adventures of the Kids Next Door (a crossover of two other Cartoon Network shows, Codename: Kids Next Door and The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy), a made-up crossover of Samurai Jack and Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends is shown called Samurai Mac where Mac is Jack and Bloo is Aku.
Jack bears some resemblance to Professor Utonium of The Powerpuff Girls, and Cartoon Network has acknowledged this likeness in a commercial for the series asking "...or is he Professor Utonium in disguise?"
Samurai Jack is referenced to in the popular Internet cartoon Bonus Stage (now no longer in production) where one of the main characters says "Samurai Jack'd!" and a white blur passes across the screen, killing another character. In another Bonus Stage episode, they refer to Clone Wars as "Samurai Jack style story telling".
In the movie Grandma's Boy, the character Jeff, played by comedian Nick Swardson, remarks to his mother, "Did you remember to TiVo Samurai Jack?" It is revealed in the unrated DVD commentary by Swardson himself that he did not know what this show was.
In The Order of the Stick Xykon refers to Miko as Samurai Jill, a feminization of Jack.

[edit] Media information

[edit] Broadcast history

Cartoon Network ordered fifty-two episodes of Samurai Jack, which were aired as four seasons as a prime time member of the Cartoon Cartoon block of programming. Despite its Emmy nominations and wins the show was taken off of the air before the fourth season could complete its initial run. The unaired episodes were later shown as a Toonami special, on toonami jetstream (on Cartoon Network.com), and in re-runs.

While airing, the series spawned a comic book and several video game tie-ins.

Samurai Jack made a reappearance on Cartoon Network's adult swim, based on results from a successful user poll, noted in bumps during programming on 2/22/08. The first episode of the series was broadcast during the network's Toonami block on March 29, 2008, and has been airing the episodes in order each week since.

[edit] Feature film

There had been plans for a Samurai Jack movie that were in development in 2002. This project was cancelled after the lackluster performance of The Powerpuff Girls Movie. In a September 28, 2006 interview with MTV.com, series creator Genndy Tartakovsky confirmed that "Jack will come back" and that "we will finish the story, and there will be an animated film."[18][19]

It is also stated on the inside jacket of the Season 4 DVD that Genndy still thinks the best way to finish off the story is to do a feature-length movie, and goes on to state that this will hopefully be in the "near future".

Newly formed production company Frederator Films has announced in Variety that one of their first projects will be a feature film adaptation of Samurai Jack, written and directed by Genndy Tartakovsky.[20]

[edit] Video games

Although cartoonnetwork.com had a handful of Samurai Jack web games of their own, there were some home video games of the series.

[edit] DVD releases

Like previous Cartoon Network shows, Samurai Jack DVDs are released by Warner Home Video.

The DVDs include episode numbers in Roman numerals as they appear at the end of episodes, but remain untitled.

As of 2007 the series has not been released on DVD in the United Kingdom despite its international popularity.

Season One was released in Australia (region 4) November 2007 by Madman Entertainment.

DVD Name Release Date Additional Information
Samurai Jack: The Premiere Movie July 22, 2003 DVD containing the Premiere movie in Dolby Digital 5.1 sound. Also includes a never before seen bonus episode. Also on VHS. ("The Premiere" is actually just the first three episodes of Season 1, and the bonus episode is actually episode 11 of Season 1, Jack and the Scotsman)
Samurai Jack: Season One May 4, 2004 2 Disc DVD set including all 13 episodes from the show's premiere season. Includes a Making-Of, Original Animation Test, Original Artwork and Commentary on One Episode.
Samurai Jack: Season Two May 24, 2005 2 Disc DVD set including all 13 episodes of the show's second season. Includes Commentary on Episode XXV, Creator Scrapbook, and an Original Episode Pitch.
Samurai Jack: Season Three May 23, 2006 2 Disc DVD set including all 13 episodes of the show's third season. Includes Commentary on Episodes XXXVII and XXXVIII (Two-Parter), Lost Artwork, and a featurette called "Martial Arts of the Samurai".
Samurai Jack: Season Four August 28, 2007 2 Disc DVD set including all 13 episodes of the show's fourth season. Includes Genndy's Roundtable, Genndy's New Project, Deleted Scenes, and Samurai Jack Promos.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Mahan, Colin (April 25, 2006). Cartoon Network brings anime to the Web. www.tv.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  2. ^ Animator Profile: Genndy Tartakovsky. www.cartoonnetwork.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  3. ^ "XXXII - Jack and the Traveling Creatures". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2003-04-26.
  4. ^ "XII - Jack and the Gangsters". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network.
  5. ^ "XXXVII - The Birth of Evil". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2003-08-16.
  6. ^ "XXV - Jack and the Spartans". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network.
  7. ^ "XIX - Jack Remembers the Past". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network.
  8. ^ "XXV - Jack and the Spartans (DVD commentary)". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 00:21 minutes in.
  9. ^ "XLV & XLVI - Scotsman Saves Jack". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2003-08-23. No. 406 & 407, season 4.
  10. ^ "XLVII - Jack and the Flying Prince and Princess". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2003-11-19. No. 408, season 4.
  11. ^ "XXIX - The Good, the Bad, and the Beautiful". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2002-11-08. No. 303, season 3.
  12. ^ "XXXIX - Jack and the Labyrinth". Samurai Jack. Cartoon Network. 2003-08-26. No. 313, season 3.
  13. ^ Nominees: Outstanding Animated Program. www.emmys.tv (2005). Retrieved on 2007-03-17.
  14. ^ Genndy Tartakovsky. sci-fi-online.50megs.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-16.
  15. ^ "Surf the Stars / Samurai Quack". Duck Dodgers. Cartoon Network. No. 211, season 2.
  16. ^ "Epilogue". (Director) Dan Riba. Justice League Unlimited. Cartoon Network. 2005-07-23. No. 26, season 2.
  17. ^ "Uniformity / Pants in Space". My Gym Partner's a Monkey. Cartoon Network. 2007-01-05. No. 226, season 2.
  18. ^ MTV
  19. ^ TV.com (cache of MTV story)
  20. ^ Movieweb.com - Samurai Jack is Back

[edit] External links

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