Foolish Samurai (Jack)
Started watching the 2001-2004 Cartoon Network series Samurai Jack again while I ride the exercise bike in the basement. I’ll chart my fave episodes here as I go.
So far, from Season One:
The Beginning, Parts 1-3. Here we see Jack fight Aku, get sent into the far future, get his name, and help a group of dog archeologists(?) enslaved by Aku to their freedom. I like the setup in Part 1, which to me also seemed a bit inspired by the start of Yellow Submarine where the Blue Meanies attack Pepperland. Jack’s arrival in the far future is our first sight of how Aku has changed the world. It’s interesting, to be sure, and gets further revealed in each episode of the series from there on. What’s also interesting is that it’s implied Aku rules with an iron fist and enslaves a lot of the world – but there sure seems to be a lot of people running around in the jungle and big cities irrespective of his rule? Kinda weird.
Jack and the Three Blind Archers. Jack assaults a mysterious tower on a remote island that contains a secret well possibly able to grant his wish to go home to the past and rid the world of Aku. The tower is guarded by three unbeatable archers that have easily and completely defeated legions of soldiers’ previous attacks. This episode is one of the earliest to really show Jack’s commitment to his discipline – he carries out part of the assault blindfolded based on his observations – and the episode (like many others) contains a strong moral lesson. Certainly the latter is fairly stereotypical for martial arts subject matter, but even in a kids show the story doesn’t insult the viewer.
More to come!
candybowl
Tags: 00's, animation, comedy, fantasy, freaks, fun!, malevolence, monsters, mythology, robots, TV