Samurai Jack is an North American animated television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network.
The series is known for its cinematic atmosphere, masking based animation style, and battle scenes which pay homage to samurai films. The series aired on August 10, 2001 to September 25, 2004. However twelve years later, the fifth and final season that concludes the series, premiered on March 11, 2017 to May 20, 2017. The show tells about a Japanese samurai embarks on a mission to defeat the evil wizard Aku. But before he can complete his task though, he is catapulted into a portal to a modern future. He finds himself in a world where Aku now has complete power over every living thing. Naming himself "Jack", he sets out on a new quest to right the wrongs that have been done by his enemy. Including to find a way back to his own time so he can destroy the evil Aku for good.
Plot
The series begins with a solar eclipse. The eclipse has a strange effect on what appears to be a warped dead tree in the middle of a wasteland. The tree springs out of the ground and grows into a tall dark figure with flaming eyebrows. The figure states, "Once again I am free to smite the world as I did in days long passed".
Not far from there, the Emperor tells his son about a war he fought against an evil monster named Aku. On his own he was helpless against the wizard, but he remembered a tale he had heard from his great-grandfather about three monks gifted with mystical powers. The monks agreed to forge a magical sword for the Emperor, with which he was able to pin Aku into the very wasteland he created. The people then rebuilt the land in hope that Aku will never return. The Emperor finishes his story with a warning to his son to always be alert, for evil might be lurking right behind him.
Impressed by the tale, the young Prince begins to play with a wooden sword, when all of a sudden a great shadow falls over the land. The alarm sounds as Aku forces his way through the palace wall. The army tries to fight him off using arrows, javelins and catapults, but to no avail, as Aku absorbs their weapons and fires them back at the men. The emperor tries to fetch his sword, but Aku captures him. While he is being carried away, the Emperor shouts to Jack's mother, "Mother, Aku has returned! Do as we have planned, our future depends on it!" The Queen grabs the young Prince and the sword and carries them away from the burning palace by boat while Aku laughs victoriously over the destruction of his former slayer's empire. The queen hands the prince over to the captain of a ship which bears the emblem of his father, while the sword stays with her.
The prince spends his childhood and teenage years in various cultures. The ship's captain teaches him about astrology. He trains in equestrianism in the camp of an Arab Sheikh. In Egypt he studies hieroglyphics. He learns stick fighting from the Chief of an African tribe. In Greece he learns the art of wrestling. He learns marksmanship from a European bandit, in which its Robin Hood. The knowledge of seamanship is instilled during his time on a Viking ship. A Russian Boyar teaches him axe throwing. Mongol warriors teach him spear throwing. He then reaches to the temple of Shaolin to study Kung fu.
Having finished his tour of the old world, the Prince, now grown up, heads to a designated rendezvous point where he reunites with his mother. The mother and child embrace after their long separation, and she returns to him his birthright: the sword of his father.
Returning to his land, the Prince finds his people enslaved. The countryside is riddled with likenesses of Aku, and the Emperor, like all his subjects, has been put to work in the mines, though he is being tormented by Aku's evil minions far more than anyone else. The Prince easily defeats the minions and frees his father from his shackles. The Emperor tells his son that Aku means to use the riches found in the mines to take over the entire world. The Prince promises that he will vanquish Aku by the power of his sword, but his father berates him, saying that the sword is but a tool, and that the true power lies in the hands that wield it. The Prince sets off on horseback, promising his father not to fail him. But the Emperor is worried, for he knows evil always "finds a way".
The Prince arrives at Aku's tower and calls him out. Aku boasts that no mortal weapon can harm him, but the Prince cuts him with the sword. Aku then recognizes the sword, but says neither the sword nor the Emperor had the power to slay him forever, and neither will the Prince. With those words Aku attacks by shape-shift into a gorilla.
Aku manages to scratch the Prince's back but soon enough the Prince manages to cut off many pieces of Aku's shifting forms (next going from a scorpion, a tentacled creature, a billy goat, and finally a bat). With every amputated piece, Aku's powers diminish. Eventually, Aku is reduced into a shadow that lies defeated before the Prince. "You might have beaten me now, but I will destroy you in the future", Aku says to the Prince. The Prince exclaims that there is no future for Aku, "I disagree", says Aku and opens a portal in time through which the Prince is flung into the distant future, where Aku is the supreme ruler of the planet for millennia and his evil is law. Aku promises they will meet again but next time he will destroy the Prince once and for all. While in the portal the prince screams.
The Prince has finally gotten out of the portal Aku has thrown him into, only to find himself falling into the depths of a high tech city and nearly getting ran into by flying cars. After managing to land on one of the flying cars, The Prince is shot at by an APB car. The Prince quickly cuts the car apart and lands safely on the ground below by jumping from car to car.
The Prince soon finds himself facing a massive red trash compacting vehicle heading straight for him. The Prince manages to avoid being crushed by using his acrobatic skills and climbing on the vehicle's underside and gets onto the walkway, where three young aliens had been watching him, and were amazed by his skills and continually referred to him as 'Jack'. The Prince asks them where he is and who is in charge and they tell him he is in the Central Hub of Sector D of the city and that Aku is their leader. The Prince looks around and becomes overwhelmed by the fact that Aku is everywhere. The teens then take him to a bar to get him a drink and to calm his nerves.
At the bar, The Prince is astonished to see that everyone inside is an alien. One of the aliens becomes offended by his staring and starts a fight with him. The Prince tries to apologize, but it doesn't work and he is forced to literally disarm the alien, only for the injured alien's friends to join in the fight. While The Prince is defending himself, three canine archaeologists are speaking with an alien warrior, hoping he will help them fight against Aku. The alien calls them idiots and walks off. Not deterred, the archaeologists then turn their attention to The Prince, who has 'disarmed' all the other aliens. Rothchild, the leader of the archaeologists, invites The Prince to sit with them so they can explain to him where he is and to ask for his help. They introduce themselves as Sir Drifus Alexander (Bulldog), Sir Angus McDuffy (Scottish Terrier), and Sir Colin Bartholomew Montgomery Rothchild III (Dachsund). They explain to The Prince that Aku has ruled the Earth for thousands of years and that he has extended his reach to other the galaxies to increase his wealth and power over resources and the masses, causing a mirade of lifeforms to inhabit Earth and change it into what it is now. They also discover that The Prince is in fact from the past after he points out the fact that where he came from dogs only barked.
After scanning him, they discover that he originates from the time before Aku took over Earth completely. The Prince himself understands and realizes that the question is not where he is, but when, and that Aku must have thrown him into the future. They then ask The Prince for his help to free them and their colleagues from Aku who has enslaved them to work in crystal mines without rest, making them unable to continue their studies about their past. The Prince decides to help them and introduces himself as 'Jack,' the name the teens called him earlier. As they leave, unbeknownst to them, a spy of Aku's had heard their conversation and went to give the Shogun of Sorrows himself the information. As soon as he heard this, Aku became infuriated and wished to see who would dare to oppose him and saw that it was Jack. Aku knew this day would come and proclaims that Jack will now suffer the pain he felt in the past and sends an army of Beetle Drones to attack them.
At the excavation site, Jack and the archaeologists learn that Aku has sent an army of machines to destroy them and begin to prepare for their coming arrival.
Jack and the archaeologists begin to plan for the invasion coming the next day. Jack comes up with a plan to use the digging and transportation equipment to set up a layer or traps to thin out the army of Beetle Drones. While the archaeologists set up the traps, Jack looks for items that can be used as weapons. He finds out that the very jewels Aku has been forcing the archaeologists to dig can be used as weapons and makes them into spears and arrows for a bow he made. With the traps set, the archaeologists create an armor for Jack as he tames one of the animals to use as a steed. Soon, everything is set up and Jack waits for the morning.
As the sun rose, the beetle drones had entered the valley and Jack headed out to face them. When Jack caught sight of the coming hordes, he activated the first trap, catapults made from digging machines. He fired his arrows at each of the start buttons of the machines, causing them to fire the stones into the middle of the army, destroying several Beetle Drones. Jack then activated the second trap, exploding barrels by firing arrows at flint on top of the barrels, creating several explosions and destroying more Drones.
Jack and his steed then rush towards the Drones to engage in combat. Jack fires the last few arrows as his steed rams through the Drones. Jack begins using the spears he made and manages to destroy a few more drones before being knocked off his steed. Left alone on the battlefield, Jack draws his sword and begins fighting, but is overwhelmed and stripped of his armor. Jack managed to get away from the Drones and lead them to the third trap, loose rock pillars. Jack quickly knocked them over, causing a rock slide that destroyed more drones as well as creating a walkway to the fourth trap, spaceships made into flamethrowers. Jack ignited them and destroyed several more drones before they ran out of fuel. Jack began to lead the Drones to their last trap, a spike pit made using the jewels. Jack jumped over the pit, leading the Drones into falling into the pit, drastically cutting their numbers. Unfortunately, it didn't get enough of them as Jack was still immensely outnumbered and all out of traps.
Left without any other strategy at his disposal, Jack could fight with only his sword. The drones kept coming, injuring Jack while he destroyed as many as he could. Eventually, Jack became enraged and got covered in the oil of the drones he destroyed (while in slow motion). Covered from head to toe in the black oil, Jack stared at the remaining drones, who had become terrified at the sight of the samurai covered in the oil of their fallen brethren and slowly started to step away. Jack said "No. There is no escape" and began to destroy the last few drones until there were no more. With the drones destroyed, the archaeologists are freed and could continue their studies of their past. They offer Jack a chance to travel with them, but he declines and continues his journey to right Aku's wrongs and eventually finding a time portal.
Aku, who had been watching the battle the whole time, promises Jack (and refer him by name for the first time) that he will destroy him and that the time and place will be his choosing.
In a forest Jack is making a trap out of vines and putting a carrot in the middle to lure prey into for food. Moments after he's done, a warthog comes along and sees the carrot in the trap. Jack waits as the warthog slowly walks to the carrot. Suddenly, the ground begins to vibrate and a roar is heard in the distance, scaring the warthog away.
A large, furry, four-legged animal bursts through the bushes with three other ones following. The other three appear to have small, blue, civilized creatures wearing white suits riding on their backs. The first large animal steps on Jack's trap, which is somehow tied around one of Jack's ankles, dragging Jack along. As Jack is dragged along with the animal, he grabs and climbs the vine, until he reaches the animal tied to it. Jack climbs onto the animal and ties the vine around the animal's front legs, tripping it over and stopping it at the edge of a cliff. After Jack gets off the captured animal, the small, civilized creatures get off the other three large animals and punish the captured one by electrocuting it with trident-like weapons that act like tasers. Afterwards, the small creatures thank Jack for helping them capture the furry beast, and invite him to their village to celebrate its capture. Jack agrees, since he hasn't eaten in days.
As Jack and the small creatures ride the beasts back to their village, the small creatures talk to Jack about the beasts, calling them "Woolies", claiming that long ago, the Woolies would attack their ancestors. But now, using their modern technology, the small creatures managed to tame the Woolies and get them to help them with their daily duties. When they arrive at their village, Jack notices the buildings there look old. The small creatures then lock the captured Woolie in a giant cage and start the party to celebrate its capture. That night at the party, Jack watches how the small creatures treat the Woolies. Using their electric tridents on the Woolies, they force them to do stunts and performances, similar to at a circus. When the Woolies fail at their performances, the small creatures punish them again by electrocuting them with their electric tridents. Jack tells one of the small creatures that the way they treat the Woolies is somewhat harsh. But the creature says that it's no different from the way humans treat horses.
Later that night, Jack takes another look at the structures and back at the small creatures, thinking the structures are huge for such small creatures. Jack then walks to the cage that the captured Woolie is locked in to feed it. As Jack starts to walk away, the Woolie says to Jack in human English, "Help me." Before Jack can communicate with the Woolie, the small creatures suddenly appear, run into the cage, and electrocute the captured Woolie with their electric tridents. The leader of the creatures tells Jack to be careful, claiming that the Woolies have mind-control and can fry people's brains.
Even later that night, Jack dreams that he walks through a gate and fights imp-like creatures. Suddenly, the same captured Woolie appears behind Jack and again says "Help me." Jack turns around and sees that the poor Woolie is trapped by a magic orb. After the Woolie again begs Jack to help him, Jack uses his sword to destroy the orb, freeing the Woolie and giving it the ability to stand on its two hind legs. Jack suddenly awakens from his dream and sneaks to the cage that the Woolie is locked in. Jack asks the Woolie if he understands him. The Woolie answers, "Yes. Please help us." Jack asks the Woolie what he wants him to do. The Woolie tells Jack to free him and all can be explained. So, Jack frees the Woolie from his cage and lets the Woolie guide Jack to a gate into a farm where all the other Woolies are kept at night. In the center of the farm is a large stairway. The Woolie tells Jack to walk up the stairway.
After Jack does so, he sees that at the top of the stairway is what appears to be an old Woolie sitting still. The old Woolie slowly opens its eyes and explains to Jack that it's the eldest of Woolies and its name is "Lazzor." Using his laser eye beams, Lazzor gives Jack a vision of the Woolies' past, as he explains to Jack that long ago, the Woolies walked on their hind legs and were a civilized race in their own homeland. But one day, a bunch of small rockets from outer space landed in their homeland. A bunch of small, blue creatures called "Chritchellites," wearing white suits walked out of the rockets. The Woolies tried to defend themselves, but were no match for the Chritchellites' technology. The Chritchellites used a giant orb on top of one of the rockets to enslave the Woolies to their service, by making them too front heavy to travel on their hind legs, forcing them to stand on all fours. The Chritchellites enslaved the Woolies and abused their land. Lazzor fears that if the Chritchellites are not stopped, his people will soon fade from history. He begs Jack to help them.
Jack agrees and sneaks to where the orb is, with the other Woolie again by his side. Jack attempts to climb up the rocket where the orb sits on top. The Woolie waiting on the ground accidentally awakens the Chritchellites. To distract the Chritchellites, Jack pretends to help the Chritchellites capture the Woolie. Jack then draws his sword and throws it at the Woolie. When the sword hits the Woolie, it actually frees the Woolie from its imprisonment from the orb, giving it the ability the stand on its hind legs, again. The Chritchellites realize they've been tricked and attempt to attack Jack and the Woolie. But Jack and the Woolie fight back. Back at the Woolie farm, Lazzor hears the clanging sounds of Jack's sword in the distance and quotes "It is time." Lazzor orders the other Woolies to head for Jack and the one Woolie to help out. When they get there, Jack leaps onto the one Woolie, telling it that they must destroy the orb. So, with Jack on its back, the Woolie climbs up the rocket to get to the orb. The Chritchellites attempt to stop Jack and the Woolie from reaching the orb.
So, Jack pokes the Woolie on the butt with his sword, sending the Woolie sprinting up the structure, flying in the air, and falling onto the orb, destroying it and freeing the rest of the Woolies from their four-legged imprisonment. The leader of the Chritchellites tells the Woolies to stay back. But when he points his electric trident at the Woolies, one of them breaks the trident. Another Woolie says to the Chritchellites, "Your weapons are worthless, now! This is our home!" Then, the rest of the Woolies start punching the Chritchellites. So, the Chritchellites run back into their rockets and zoom back to outer space. Afterwards, Lazzor comes to the scene and honorably thanks Jack for helping them and asks Jack to honor them by letting them help him find anything he seeks. When Jack tells him that there's one thing he quests for, Lazzor suddenly understands what it is and tells Jack to travel north, where there is a magical land that can help him fulfil his destiny.
Jack arrives at a waterfall and starts drinking from it when he is pursued by Mantoids. When he jumps over a rock to stumble onto a facility operated by scientists which the robots following Jack also discovered. The Robots upon anaylsing the facility declare that the scientists are guilty of breaking Aku law 101, unauthorised facility and 203, unauthorised escape vehicle and declared the punishment is extermination. The Mantoids then attack the facility and the scientist causing Jack to intercept and destroy one of them causing the other to shoot at Jack who makes the second one destroy the third then slices the head of the second one causing it to launch into the air.
One of the scientists calculates an extremely low chance of escaping causing one of them called Frederick to cry in his suit, while a more youthful scientist tries to calm him down. The scientists discuss the matter as a female technician explains that Aku's space forces are surrounding the escape route. Jack apologises for unwittingly exposing the facility and offers help when the same scientist suggests much improved odds of escaping with him on board. Jack explains that he can't fly which the scientists offer to help.
Jack goes through a rigourous exercise program and is placed in a space suit with a jetpack attached to his back. Jack's first experience with the jetpack was met with issues but after cutting down some trees he manages to get the hang of it. The youthful scientist tells the technician to send in the drones to Jack which he cuts down effortlessly.
While the scientists are ecstatic about the prospect of a new home, Jack is more sorrowful about home. The scientists suggest to him lightspeed that offers the prospect of time travel that could send him back to his own time period. They explain that Jack must be in the escape pod just as they hit lightspeed and the rest will take care of itself. Jack agrees and the youthful scientist proposes launch tomorrow morning, but Jack suggests sooner as Aku's robots were closing in on the facility. By the time they arrive at dusk, the rocket launches. As the rocket reaches the upper atmosphere, some of the scientists are fine, while Jack finds it uncomfortable. They soon reach space showing a cup of tea and its contents floating in front of Jack.
The scientists approach Aku's blockade and bring Jack to the airlock. The scientists remind Jack that he must be in the pod as they make the warp jump. Jack jumps out into space and flys escort, as the first wave of Space Drones which are Tick Drones attach to the hull and start to drill into the Hull as Jack destroys multiple drones. Jack first slices of the bodies of the drones to find that thier heads are still drilling through. Remembering a bug can be stopped from digging into the flesh with a hot stick, Jack heats up his sword and stabs the heads of the ticks to finish them of. Jack then fights of Mosquito drones that were stealing fuel from the ship, even kicking one attempting to stab into him back into space.
The final wave consisted of Hornet Drones that launched guided missiles at Jack who dodged them easily, only to be told by Frederick what they are and allowed them to chase him as another wave is launched, Jack then makes them hit each other. Jack destroys some of the Hornet Drones but others managed to launch more missiles which Jack uses against them, after significant losses the rest withdraw. Jack returns to his pod but as they prepare the jump the remaining Hornet drones combine to create a giant gun. Jack sees this and leaves his pod to intercept, against the scientists wishes. Leaving no choice the scientists prepare the jump as Jack draws out his sword and as the sword intercepts the laser projectile, the ship jumps into light speed. The laser is bounced back to the gun destroying it. The blast radious sends Jack back to Earth.
The episode opens in an Arabian style marketplace with crowds of alien creatures buying and selling various goods and services. A cloaked and hooded Jack slowly makes his way through the market until he sees a sign above a door whose markings match the ones on the scroll given to him by the Woolies. Upon entering the strange shop, Jack is greeted by a small, elderly creature who says that he has been expecting Jack. The little shopkeeper, after trying to sell Jack a rug, notices the Woolies scroll and reveals that he is an old friend of theirs. The shopkeeper leads Jack to a back room and shows Jack the "Light of Eternity". Visions from the light show Jack the way to a magical jewel which, if used by one who is pure of heart, has the power to send him home. However, the shopkeeper also senses an unknown "evil". Suddenly, several sword-wielding robots burst in and attack. Unable to reach his sword, it looks bad for Jack until the arrival of a green-skinned warrior woman wielding a black sword. The two fight their way out of the shop and escape the market on Ooklas, which are "like camels but different."
The two warriors make camp. During dinner, a small shrew creature approaches them. It happily eats from Jack's hand but flees from the woman in terror. She introduces herself as Ikra. She also came to the marketplace to find that same shopkeeper and learn the location of the jewel so that she could use its power to free her father who, as punishment for defying Aku, has been imprisoned in a ring of fire. Jack offers that the two join forces and quest for the jewel using the directions he obtained from the shopkeeper.
They journey together across the desert for many days and encounter many dangers, with each warrior saving the life of the other several times. Finally, they reach a small oasis and find the jewel hovering over a pool of water. The jewel emits a beam of light and Jack surmises that it is testing the purity of their hearts. However, the jewel senses something wrong and a huge six-armed giant appears with the jewel resting in its forehead. Jack refuses to fight to prove his pure heart but Ikra leaps to battle. Jack is stunned to see her sprout wings and fly around the giant before growing to huge size and overpowering the guardian. Ikra seizes the jewel and, just as Jack is announcing the end of his long quest, she throws the jewel to the ground and smashes it to pieces. Jack is horrified by what his supposed friend has done but, before his eyes, Ikra reveals herself to be Aku in disguise. Aku had a vision of this jewel that could undo his spell and send Jack home and he knew he had to destroy it. Knowing that Jack would do whatever he could to find it, he let Jack lead him right to the jewel. Enraged at being deceived, Jack lunges at Aku with his blade but the evil wizard transforms into a bird and flies away, promising to fight once he as found a way to defeat Jack and his sword. Jack falls to his knees cursing Aku and vowing to destroy him.
The episode begins with a Viking chief and his large army of robot Vikings marching through a forest in order to reach the fabled Well of Ozric. Just when they begin to attack, however, a rain of arrows shower the sky from the tower, hitting the Vikings from above and destroying every last robot with accurate and deadly precision.
The chief relays his story to a patron about the Well of Ozric, explaining that the Well can grant the person one wish of their most deepest desire. Once he finishes, the chief is ordered to get of the chair and tasked with swabbing the deck. Jack approaches him, having overheard the tale, and inquires its authenticity. The chief confirms it by pointing to the island, but warns him of the three archers that were able to destroy his army. Jack proceeds anyway.
When Jack finally arrives, he sees the remains of the army in the snow. As he approaches the tower, an arrow hits his geta. With another step, three more arrows hit his other geta. After one more step, he jumps back as more arrows hit where his foot was. As Jack observes the tower he sees the three archers. They ready their bows as Jack's Kimono flaps. The archers then fire arrows which rip Jack's Kimono and soon pin him to a tree. Jack then flips out his sword to cut the arrow in two and he pulls free and covers behind the tree, sheathing his sword as four arrows pierce the tree next to him.
Jack tries to blind them with his sword, but is unsuccessful and driven back to the same tree. Jack then drops his straw hat to witness it being shredded by the arrows, discovering that the archers are all blind. Meditating under a waterfall, Jack remembers a training session where he had to fight blindfolded to heighten his senses and comes to the conclusion that he must fight on their level. So he blindfolds himself and after practicing his senses by listening to the environment around him, he declares ready.
Jack returns and runs towards the tower as the archers ready their arrows to fire. He picks up their pull and release and dodges their arrows until he manages to arrive under the tower. The archers listen carefully for his next move. Sure enough, Jack jumps at the edge of the tower and jumps again as the arrows hit the walls. He lands in between all three as they each fire an arrow at him, to which Jack ducks just in time for the arrows to directly hit each other, redirect, and hit the archers. The Archers appear to short-circuit and their outer coating melts off back to the well, revealing that the archers are humanoid. They allow Jack to use the Well but soon warn him of what the Well's spirit did. The warriors had originally fought their way to the Well and wished to be the greatest of warriors. The well granted their wish, but robbed them of their sight and minds to serve as its guardians. They were trapped in this state until Jack defeated them.
Jack, furious of the Well's true nature, draws his sword, proclaiming his wish that the Well's spirit be destroyed to never claim another innocent and plunges his sword into the well. The "wish" is granted to the shock of the three warriors, who watch Jack leave the area, commenting on his skill, nobility and sacrifice, declaring him the greatest of warriors.
The episode begins in a bar filled with several alien bounty hunters, when Jack walks in and orders a pot of tea. One of the bounty hunters recognizes Jack, and they all approach him. Jack is in no mood to fight, but the bounty hunters aren't about to leave him alone. With no other choice, Jack fights and defeats the bounty hunters before exiting the bar.
However, Jack quickly learns that his problems aren't over, as even more bounty hunters are waiting outside the bar, and in a nearby forest. Jack continues to fight, steadily growing more and more angry at his inability to get any peace.
Meanwhile, Aku is watching Jack fight the bounty hunters, and wonders if there is any form of fighting style that can defeat Jack's. This gives the master of darkness an idea...
Back in the forest, a furious Jack defeats the last of the bounty hunters, screaming "Who else wants some!?" in his rage. With no challengers remaining, Jack is finally able to rest. However, as Jack is about to leave, the strap on one of his sandals breaks. This proves to be the final straw, as Jack hollers in rage before throwing the broken sandal at one of his electronic wanted posters hanging on a nearby tree. Suddenly, energy starts surging from the wanted poster and onto the sandal, repairing it. The energy then takes shape, and a new entity is formed: Mad Jack, a physical representation of Jack's dark side, born from Aku's dark powers.
A confused Jack exchanges words with Mad Jack, who explains that Aku created him to destroy Jack. With this in mind, Jack and Mad Jack begin to fight. However, the combatants are clearly evenly matched, with neither able to defeat the other. As the battle draws on, both of the Jacks become more disheveled, and their crossing blades cause sparks, which set the forest ablaze. Eventually, their blades cross, and Jack sees his eyes reflected: they look just like Mad Jack's.
Jack realizes that Mad Jack was born from Jack's inner rage, and stops fighting, causing the forest fires to die out. Jack calmly tells Mad Jack that he has lost, and that the rage that created him is gone, therefore Mad Jack no longer exists. Refusing to accept this, Mad Jack rushes at Jack, but finds himself unable to strike. Jack is once more in control of his emotions, and Mad Jack can only scream in rage and defeat as Jack meditates, destroying Mad Jack once and for all.
Jack gets up to leave, and looks off into the distance, knowing Aku is watching him. "I know you're watching," he says as he walks off. "These tricks are starting to annoy me".
Episodes
- 62 (total)
Theme Songs
- Opening
- Samurai Jack (Season 1 – 4)
- Closing
- Samurai Jack (all seasons except for Ep. 60)
Voice Cast
- Japanese
- Takashi Ukaji as Samurai Jack, Jack's Inner Emotions & Mad Jack
- ??? as Host
- ??? as Mantoid
- the late Bunta Sugawara as Aku
- ??? as Aku (Season 5)
- ??? as Hermit
- ??? as the Scottsman (Young & Old)
- ??? as the Emperor (Old)
- ??? as the Young Emperor
- ??? as Rothchild
- ??? as Ra
- ??? as Rama
- ??? as Spartok
- ??? as X-49
- ??? as African Chief
- ??? as Demongo
- ??? as Evil Chief
- ??? as Guardian
- ??? as the African Prince
- ??? as Technician
- ??? as Analyst
- ??? as Idealist
- ??? as Scaramouch
- ??? as Frederick
- ??? as Sergei
- ??? as Samurai Jack's Mom (Young & Older)
- Megumi Kubota as Young Samurai Jack
- ??? as the Scottsman's Wife
- ??? as Odin
- ??? as Brotok
- ??? as Kurtok
- ??? as Ashi
- ??? as Avi
- ??? as The High Priestess
- ??? as Ami
- ??? as Aki
- English
- Phil LaMarr as Samurai Jack, Jack's Inner Emotions, Mad Jack, Host, a Frog & Mantoid
- the late Mako Iwamatsu as Aku & Hermit
- Greg Baldwin as Aku (Season 5)
- John DiMaggio as the Scottsman (Young & Old)
- Sab Shimono as the Emperor
- Keone Young as the Young Emperor
- Rob Paulsen as Rothchild
- Daran Norris as Ra, Rama, Spartok & X-49
- Kevin Michael Richardson as African Chief, Demongo, Evil Chief & Guardian
- Adrian Diamond as the African Prince
- Jennifer Hale as Technician
- Tom Kenny as Analyst, Idealist & Scaramouch
- Jeff Bennett as Frederick & Sergei
- Lauren Tom as Samurai Jack's Mom (Young & Older)
- Jonathan Osser as Young Samurai Jack
- Ruth Williamson as the Scottsman's Wife
- Richard McGonagle as Odin
- Brian George as Brotok
- Danny Mann as Kurtok
- Tara Strong as Ashi & Avi
- Grey Delisle as The High Priestess
- Karl Wahlgren as Ami & Aki
Trivia
- Samurai Jack and Aku appear in many Cartoon Network Bumpers by Jack getting a broom stick. While Jack also interacts with Johnny from Johnny Bravo, or Aku going to a movie theater by scaring little kids. The show also had aired on Toonami with a lot of promo commercials. It aired on Toonami on December 28, 2002 to September 20, 2008. The fifth season aired on March 11, 2017 to May 20, 2017.
- Tartakovsky drew from a number of influences when creating the series, including the 1970s series Kung Fu, classic anime, and the works of directors Akira Kurosawa and David Lean.
- It won 4 Primetime Emmy Awards, 6 Annie Awards, and 1 OIAF Award, along with earning eight nominations awards.
- The series aired with a TV movie called The Premiere Movie, to show what happen before the first episode. The movie Aires on August 10, 2001.
- The Samurai Jack theme song was performed by Will.i.am of the black eye peas. The song is heard after Aku's monologue. However during Season 5, after Jack's monologue the theme song is not played. Instead the theme song is heard again during the end credits.
- Season 5 marks the very first time that blood is shown in the series. It also shows that Jack is described like a lone wolf.
- The word "Aku" in Japanese means "Evil".
- In Brazil, the name Aku was changed to Abu due to the original name's unfortunate similarity to a Portuguese swear word meaning anus.
- The mines the dogs are excavating in the pilot movie used to be the city of Townsville from the The Powerpuff Girls (1998). This is evident from a billboard which has a picture of the Talking Dog which appeared in The Powerpuff Girls: Uh Oh Dynamo (1999).
- In Samurai Jack: Jack Versus Mad Jack (2001), one of the bounty hunters in the woods that is riding a robotic elephant is a character from "Dial M for Monkey" from "Dexter's Laboratory (1996)". "Dexter's Laboratory (1996)" is also created by Genndy Tartakovsky.
- Tartakovsky has acknowledged taking some of his inspiration from the Frank Miller graphic novel Ronin, including the premise of a master-less samurai warrior thrown into a dystopic future ahead of our present.
- In the pilot movie, one of the dogs working in the mines is Big Dog from the shortly lived cartoon 2 Stupid Dogs (1993), another show worked on by Genndy Tartakovsky.
- The cartoon is influenced by "The New Adventures of He Man (1990)": Like He-Man, Samurai Jack is a warrior who travels to the future.
- This show is most famous for being able to tell the story of each episode visually and with little to no dialogue.
- In season 5 Jack is significantly different this season from prior appearances, in terms of both his physical appearance and personality. He now has a beard and a suit of armor, but he hasn't aged in 50 years. He drives a motorcycle, and uses firearms and other weapons instead of the magic sword that he carried throughout the first four seasons. But he loses his outfit and motorcycle in episode 3. Tartakovsky has described Jack as having become lost and trying to find his way, while also adopting some of Aku's traits.
- Due to the death of Mako Iwamatsu in 2006, Tartakovsky at first considered using a completely different voice for Aku. However, considering how Mako's voice was an important element of the character. Voice actor Greg Baldwin was brought in to mimic the original voice as he had done with Iroh, another character voiced by Mako from Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra.
- Greg Baldwin admits he never met Mako, and was really nervous while getting ready to do Samurai Jack. He then went on saying that he finally felt at ease when he met Mako's family, and was shock when Mako's family gave him their blessing while they watched him record his lines in the studio.
- Creator Genndy Tartakovsky has acknowledged taking some of his inspiration from the Frank Miller graphic novel "Ronin", including the premise of a masterless samurai warrior thrown into a dystopic future ahead of our present.
- When this show came back for its fifth season, it received a lot of support from fans as the show shifted from airing on the usual Cartoon Network to Adult Swim. This interesting shift meant that the writers had a more creative way to advance the plot without the restrictions placed by Cartoon Network, whose target audience is children and young adults.
- In seasons one through four, Aku was voiced by Mako, who died on July 21, 2006. For season five, he was replaced by Greg Baldwin. Greg Baldwin also replaced Mako as the voice of Uncle Iroh on Avatar: The Last Airbender (2005), as Mako died during season two of that show.
- This show is most famous for being able to tell the story of each episode visually and with little to no dialogue.
- Phil LaMarr loved making this show so much, he would've reprised his role as Jack for free. However, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim offered him a salary before he got to admit this.
- Season five has more mature content, this is due to the show being aired on Adult Swim, so all of the restrictions the show previously had are off.
- Many characters Samurai Jack encounters in the dark future referenced cartoon characters, mainly from Hanna-Barbara cartoons whose characters are owned by Cartoon Network, and also from various Japanese anime.
- Jack's name was never revealed.
- In an interview with movie director Quentin Tarantino, while promoting Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), he said he was a fan of this show, and even planned to put a segment of the show, when Beatrix Kiddo (Uma Thurman) and B.B. (Perla Haney-Jardine) are watching television before going to bed. Phil LaMarr, voice of Samurai Jack, worked with Tarantino in Pulp Fiction where he portrayed Marvin.
- As the last episode of this series, there were many cameos throughout the episode. Including the Giant Samurai, the frogs, rave party people, and caveman who taught Jack how to jump well, arrow warriors, and of course, the Scotsman children and himself.
- Season five, instead of being animated traditionally, was done using more digital programs, but keeping the same style of the series.
- Creator Genndy Tartakovsky directed every episode.
- Ashi has a resemblance on Ilana from Sym-Bionic Titan (2010), another show done by Genndy Tartakovsky. Both characters were voiced by Tara Strong.
- Genndy Tartakovsky has stated that if season five is a success he may revive Sym-Bionic Titan (2010), another show done by him, on a Guillermo del Toro's Pacific Rim (2013) style.
- Throughout the series, certain subtle features can be seen in Genndy Tartakovsky's other famous animation, Dexter's Laboratory (1996). In both, the animation style of the protagonists were kept simple, yet obviously more sharp-angled than other characters to make him stand out. Also, certain sounds were heard in both, such as the clinking sound when the sun hits an object (for example, Jack's katana and Dexter's robot).
- This show was the second Cartoon Network original series that moved to Adult Swim, with the first one being Space Ghost Coast to Coast (1993).
- As of 2017, Jack's real name hasn't been revealed yet.
- Tyler Bates composed a new opening theme for season five, but the orginal theme was used on the end credits as usual.
- The cartoon was revived in 2017 with its fifth and final season.
- James L. Venable didn't return for season five. He was replaced by Tyler Bates. However, some of the themes Venable composed were reincorporated.
- Aku's face is similar to that of a komainu, a gargoyle-like lion dog used as a stone guardian in front of a temple or household, or an Okinawan shisa.
- The first to feature the Hanna-Barbera, Japanese anime, and Looney Tunes sound effects that are produced and re-recorded by Cartoon Network Studios that are used from the previous Cartoon Network shows such as Dexter's Laboratory (1996) (from seasons 1 and 2 and the movie Ego Trip) and The Powerpuff Girls (1998)(from the first four seasons) after H-B animation studios closed down and was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation in 2001.
- The real names of Jack and his parents were never revealed. When asked about the name of Jack's father in an interview, Genndy Tartakovsky said "The Emperor", and confessed that he never thought about the names for Jack's parents, because he's bad with names.
- There were differences between the original four seasons and the fifth season the original four seasons were directed and produced by Genndy Tartakovsky and Bud Luckey while the fifth season was directed by Michael Lazzo and produced by Lou Romano.
- Cartoon Network's first action-oriented series since The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996).
- Despite being produced by Cartoon Network Studios, it features the Williams Street logo from the fifth and final season, replacing the Cartoon Network Studios logo from the first four seasons, and it was aired on Adult Swim in 2017 and has a TV-14 rating.
- The New Adventures of He-Man (1990) was pre Samurai Jack. Both cartoons have a similar premise. In Samurai Jack, the title protagonist travels across time to a dystopian future to battle the evil wizard Aku. In New Adventures of He-Man, He-Man travels across time to the future to a futuristic planet to battle the evil Skeletor and his allies Flogg and his mutants.
- The first non-Cartoon Cartoon original series that was produced by Cartoon Network Studios since The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest (1996) and Cave Kids (1997).
- A theatrical film based off the series was scrapped after The Powerpuff Girls Movie (2002) did poorly in the box office.
- In Season 2 Episode 6 XIX Jack Remembers the Past the "masterless" samurai is none other than Ogami Itto and Ogami Diagaro, The Lone Wolf and Cub created by Kozuo Koike and Goseki Kojima.
- This is the first Cartoon Network original series to be co-produced with Williams Street.
- The series, along with Space Ghost Coast to Coast, are the only Cartoon Network shows to move to Adult Swim.
- all information on the Samurai Jack (TV Series) came from https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samurai_Jack