Samurai Jack

Created by: Genndy Tartakovsky

Written by: Genndy Tartakovsky, Bryan Andrews, Brian Larsen, and several others

Directed by: Genndy Tartakovsky, Randy Myers, Robert Alvarez, Rob Renzetti, Chris Savino

Starring: Phil LaMarr (Samurai Jack), Mako Iwomatsu (Aku, seasons 1-4), Greg Baldwin (Aku, season 5), John DiMaggio ("The Scotsman") 

This is probably one of the most unique, one-of-a-kind American animated series created. (Thank you, Genndy Tartakovsky, for this and several others. You're a gift to the industry.) How many others are so introspective? How many others use only one primary protagonist? How many use the animation so heavily to tell the story? How many others have so little dialogue? How many others are so artistic, so styled, so poetic? For being almost entirely episodic, this series has one of the most compelling and satisfying series-arcs in animation (in my opinion, of course). 

The character of Jack is incredible to me. A child raised in a historic, isolated Chinese town, instilled with the highly honorable values of the samurai. Sent around the world at a young age to train with the finest warriors from different cultures. Given a sword forged by the gods and imbued with human righteousness. Then, sent thousands of years into the future by a powerful demon where nothing he does can make a difference, and set on a futile quest to return to the past. Jack is the epitome of patient, calm confidence and skill. He's probably the fiercest warrior of their land, but he appears so simple and behaves so modestly that you'd never realize it. He speaks with honor and wisdom and truth, and he always puts the lives of others before his mission.

I think the thing I'm most impressed by in this series, potentially even more than Jack himself, is the use of background art. The show can get extremely violent but every single episode is balanced by (if not characterized by) peaceful background animation or stills. I think every episode begins with breathtakingly serene moments from nature: forest wildlife, waterfalls rumbling, breezes rustling leaves, birds singing, deer munching grass, koi nibbling on food bits, a fire burning gently, or snowflakes drifting through the air. The scenes can take surprisingly long parts of each episode, but there's almost always something happening that catches your attention, or possibly we're following a character or animal around. That way, the peaceful moments stretch on and truly balance any extended fighting sequence, but they're never boring.

And then there's the mythology. It's subtle in most episodes; we simply know that strong magical forces are at work in the background while we watch Jack meander his way through the environments. But when it plays a part, its' fascinating: Aku, the lord of darkness, basically the essence of evil that thrives on death and destruction. He's played brilliantly by Mako, who manages to make the character absolutely hilarious with his sarcasm and boredom while he thwarts Jack's every attempt at victory. There's Jack's sword, which behaves in sometimes mysterious ways thanks to its magical traits and is the key to defeating Aku: while Jack wields this sword, Aku truly fears him. And then there's the general magic present in the world like artifacts, spirits, and gods, which present themselves as enemies, aids, deceptions, and plot devices to make each story more fascinating.

And then in 2018, Cartoon Network did it. They took the show, which had been on unofficial hiatus since its fourth season, and produced a fifth. They aired on on Adult Swim to allow for more mature and realistic violence, and finally gave Jack and end to his wandering. I was concerned at first because I'm generally not a fan of the crude and sexual content that Adult Swim produces, but in this case, I ended up very happy. Tartakovsky and his team remained true to the values of the original, not taking this mature theme to unnecessary levels, but simply allowing display of real blood and death that Cartoon Network's younger rating would not previously. The season introduced wonderful new antagonists (voiced by Grey Griffin, who also does Avatar's Azula!) who were indoctrinated from a young age against Jack. The season takes one of these antagonists and Jack on a beautiful, deep journey to explore deep hurts that both of them have sustained over the years, and helps them heal. And then, a genius twist allows Jack to jump back in time where he can finally achieve his life's goal of vanquishing Aku permanently.

Sadly, the show throws a final tragic twist at us, but Jack has grown as a person and spiritually and he rolls with the blow. The final scene has him standing peacefully within his reclaimed home, proud of the man he has become and of his life, ready to move on.

This show has more than stood the test of time for me. I loved it in high school, and now that I'm in my late 20s, I love it even more. Like with Avatar, the animation, storytelling, and characters are all so beautiful, complex, and deep that it only increases in value and entertainment as it ages.