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Samurai Jack - General Discussion

Meredith Quill

By Meredith Quill
in Samurai Jack

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Arcadiasw

Arcadiasw

12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

Am I naive to believe that Jack has never felt that way for anybody? I mean, he probably gets the core concept, but I'm thinking his adolescence was fully spent training to defeat Aku. Then he went to the future, and he probably didn't have time for romance. Then he lost his sword and fell into a half-century depression. No dates, no guidance. He probably can barely process his feelings towards Ashi, let alone remember he's old enough to be her grandfather.

Not naive. Of the flashbacks, I can only remember seeing Jack's parents. I don't think there was ever a companion in his past Jack thought of. So his reactions to Ashi were very normal for someone who has lived a somewhat monk like existence.  

It's a good change for him and the series. 

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HeySandyStrange

HeySandyStrange

My problem with the romance is that, like some other aspects of this season, it feels rushed. I'd prefer it to have been developed over a longer period of time, like 13+ episodes instead of ten. It also makes Ashi seem like she was introduced just to be a love interest. I would've liked her to get a little more development outside of cult follower turned Jack follower, but oh well. I'm curious how this is going to end. Genndy claimed it will be bittersweet and emotional, but now I'm wondering if he is going for more of straight feel good ending.

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Ronin Jackson

Ronin Jackson

(edited)
On 5/7/2017 at 0:26 PM, HeySandyStrange said:

My problem with the romance is that, like some other aspects of this season, it feels rushed. I'd prefer it to have been developed over a longer period of time, like 13+ episodes instead of ten. It also makes Ashi seem like she was introduced just to be a love interest. I would've liked her to get a little more development outside of cult follower turned Jack follower, but oh well. I'm curious how this is going to end. Genndy claimed it will be bittersweet and emotional, but now I'm wondering if he is going for more of straight feel good ending.

I can understand that, but I think it'd be hard to justify spending  a lot more time developing a romance in a show like this. I think Genndy knows his audience expects action in every episode, and I can't blame him for mixing in the romantic development with full doses of action and humor. I thought they pulled off that mix reasonably well, and I'm not sure they would have been able to pull off a longer more developed storyline focusing on romance as much.

Edited by Ronin Jackson
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HeySandyStrange

HeySandyStrange

3 hours ago, Ronin Jackson said:

I can understand that, but I think it'd be hard to justify spending  a lot more time developing a romance in a show like this. I think Genndy knows his audience expects action in every episode, and I can't blame him for mixing in the romantic development with full doses of action and humor. I thought they pulled off that mix reasonably well, and I'm not sure they would have been able to pull off a longer more developed storyline focusing on romance as much.

I get that their time was limited as to developing a romance, but imo most of the interactions up until this episode between Jack and Ashi haven't been particularly romantic or flirteous in nature. I'm surprised, since I'm sure they planned from the romance from the beginning, they didn't through in some more interactions that skewed that way. It wouldn't be hard, hell both Jack and Ashi were basically naked for the first few episodes, its not like it would've been surprising if the checked each other out and showed through their reactions that they recognized one another as attractive people. Granted, I get they both had other fish to fry, but still. It all seemed very vague to me. I feel like I would've been more invested if I saw a tiny bit more of buildup.

But then again, I feel like many aspects of these season have been rushed or not followed through on well. It makes me wish they had more then 10 episodes to play with. I'm just holding out that the Scotsman and Jack share some kind of significant time together, since I've given up on last full buddy team up episode for them.

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Lantern7

Lantern7

Damn. I could use a few more episodes. Will this be it for the series? Right now, the only endings I see are happy or depressing as hell.

Poor Ashi. First, I don't think her mother taught the children Sex Ed while training them to murder Jack, so she's probably in as much turmoil below her belt as Jack. And then . . . she's not just a Daughter of Aku; she's a daughter of Aku. Not much resemblance, at least until her dad transforms her. Gotta love the eyebrows flaming on.

RIP Scaramouche. He died as he lived . . . annoying, yet funny.

ETA: I like Aku trying to figure out how he had kids. All that was missing was him turning to the viewers and wondering, "How much can I get away with on Adult Swim?"

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Sandman87

Sandman87

Aww, Jack and Ashi are still all awkward. At least Ashi found something to wear. Also; naked Jack. And he's apparently accepted that he won't be going back to the past, which has the virtue of avoiding all those annoying time-travel tropes if true.

Aku gets the news about Jack losing the sword, just after Jack regains the sword. Called it. Watch the internet for about a million animated GIFs of Aku and Scaramouche doing the Numfar Dance of Joy.

And now Scaramouche is ScaraDead. Bye-bye, Babe.

Hey Jack, maybe you should just keep fighting when the bad guy tries to call time-out. Just a suggestion.

Aku smells strongly enough to smell himself on other people. Maybe he needs Axe Body Spray ("It's how dirty boys get clean"). He probably smells like gym shorts and durian.

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Jamoche

Jamoche

(edited)
32 minutes ago, Spartan Girl said:

Ugh, seriously? This is why we can't have nice things.

College newspaper editorial. Most of them grow out of it :)

ETA - come to think of it, the robot head character they're complaining about seems far more of a Yalie stereotype than anything - think the rich guy on Gilligan's Island.

Edited by Jamoche
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Jamoche

Jamoche

(edited)
6 hours ago, HeySandyStrange said:

I wonder if Aku had any idea pregnancy resulted from drinking his magical run off? Makes you wonder how many times it's happened...

Also it's really lucky none of the Mothers of Aku knew Aku could trigger that power-up.

Edited by Jamoche
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HeySandyStrange

HeySandyStrange

(edited)
7 hours ago, Jamoche said:

Also it's really lucky none of the Mothers of Aku knew Aku could trigger that power-up.

Heh. Now I hope that when the Scotsman shows up with his army there is a section of suspiciously flaming eyebrowed folks.

Edited by HeySandyStrange
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beadgirl

beadgirl

(edited)
Quote

And he's apparently accepted that he won't be going back to the past, which has the virtue of avoiding all those annoying time-travel tropes if true.

I wonder if that's the bittersweet ending Tartakovsky was talking about.  All along he has been trying to go back to the past, but the portal he was supposed to use once he had matured more (from that episode early on) apparently was destroyed.  So he won't see his family again, or his homeland, and has to live in an Aku-ravaged world.  But he'll have Ashi (he'd better ...) so that will give him something to live for once his quest is done.

Didn't the Scotsman die?  Am I remembering wrong? Or is it his ghost?  One of the nice touches this season is that despite Jack being in such a funk, we see what a difference he's made in the lives of others -- they remember what he did, and they help him.  It'd be kind of cool if hordes of all the random creatures and people Jack helped show up to defeat Aku at the end.  Especially the Scotsman's daughters.

Edited by beadgirl
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Sandman87

Sandman87

It's appropriate to the original character though. He's the loudmouthed henchman, which describes this version of Scaramouche pretty well.

(If you don't know what commedia del'arte is; they're a type of semi-improvised theatrical comedies that use a bunch of stock characters, and they started in the 1500's. Sort of a renaissance version of Looney Tunes cartoons.)

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Sandman87

Sandman87

I expect that's where we're heading. Just when Jack hits rock-bottom, a rampaging horde of his friends shows up to restore his motivation. I can't imagine that Tartakovsky brought in the Scotsman and his clan for just that one scene.

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InDueTime

InDueTime

(edited)
On 5/15/2017 at 1:39 PM, beadgirl said:

It'd be kind of cool if hordes of all the random creatures and people Jack show up to defeat Aku at the end.  Especially the Scotsman's daughters.

You called it.

I had a feeling that would be how they would handle the Ashi situation if/when Jack returned to the past to kill Aku. Though, I didn't expect her creating a time portal, nor an actual Gurren Lagann shoutout.  I wonder what the ending would've been like where Jack stayed in the future to defeat Aku, with Ashi still being there. It's a shame that the season couldn't have been 15 episodes. At least an hour finale would've been nice.

Edit:

I just remembered something. It wasn't ever explained why Jack never aged, was it? Is he going to age now that he's back in his old time?

Edited by InDueTime
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Lantern7

Lantern7

Ashi: Hey, I have Aku's powers! Hey!!! I can create time portals!!!!! (vanishes with Jack)

Aku: I have to give that whackjob my essence. I thought she'd just put it on the throne and worship it. The fuck was I supposed to know that she'd chug it?!?

Okay ending, even with Jack winding up alone in his own time. Convenient that Ashi blinked out of existence at the wedding. Since the bride was more or less an orphan, Jack's parents were on the hook for the wedding. I mean, they could afford it, but they brought in everybody from the unnamed society. What if another demon sprung up?

I would've ended it with Jack catapulted to the 21th Century, just when Aku was starting to come into power. But I'm okay with the ending. Gennedy did awesome with the far future setting.

Given the amount of daughters he had, I'm amazed that the Scotsman lived that long. It should have turned to dust ages ago.

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Sandman87

Sandman87

Yeah, that ended the way I was afraid it would. Unfortunately, having Ashi fade out like that means that the rest of the ending doesn't make temporal sense. Because if Ashi doesn't exist, then she never saved Jack, and Jack never came back to defeat Aku. Part of why I hate time travel plot devices. They're so rarely done properly.

It was nice that they threw in some of Jack's old friends that we hadn't seen yet in this season. The scientist and the giant stone samurai were particularly fun.

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Arcadiasw

Arcadiasw

Shouldn't Ashi have faded away before the wedding? I actually thought she would when she collapsed after Aku died which now seems like a fake out until the wedding.  I think an hour finale would've worked better but at least the series got an ending. 

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

I loved the callback to the original intro and all the people Jack befriended storming Aku's lair. Talk about a Calvary!

I too was puzzled that Ashi didn't fade out of existence run til right before the wedding. Those writers love to be sadistic, don't they?

All in all, we got closure. Thanks for coming back, Jack.

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Glade

Glade

That final battle was so LOTR "the eagles are coming!"  It was great seeing the Scotsman and his daughters again, and his celtic magic was so powerful!  I thought that Ashi would sacrifice herself, but I didn't think they'd go back in time together...  The 'daughters of Aku' storyline really paid off in the end, and it was a good way to finally break the stalemate.  The ending was poetic and completely fucking beautiful; I loved it. 

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beadgirl

beadgirl

(edited)
Quote

The ending was poetic and completely fucking beautiful; I loved it.

It was, though my ten-year-old did not approve. "Why do they always kill off main characters just for the drama?!?"  He's a sensitive soul, a true romantic in the original sense.

An hour would have been better.  I loved the context they gave for Aku's original narration.  Also: "You're back already?!"  Aku was the best.  You know, for an evil lord of darkness.

Sigh. I'll miss this show (again), but I'm glad the story got an ending.

Edited by beadgirl
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HeySandyStrange

HeySandyStrange

18 hours ago, InDueTime said:

It wasn't ever explained why Jack never aged, was it? Is he going to age now that he's back in his old time?

They left that one dangling unanswered. I guess we will see if Genndy ever gets asked that one and gives a straight answer.

I thought the ending was a pretty good balance between the bitter (Jack loses Ashi, his future friends cease to exist) and the sweet (Jack defeats Aku once and for all and gets to return to his family). There are a lot of complaints in the fandom that Genndy&Co can't let Jack be happy but I think the very last scene, other then being ridiculously beautiful, was a good indication that Jack has a strong chance of moving on and finding happiness now that his quest is done and the world is at peace.

I was very touched by Ashi's self-sacrificial move to bring Jack back to the past. Probably more then the almost wedding and Jack's grief over it. She was really his rock this season and without her he may have never been able to complete his mission and save the world.

Whatever problems I have had with this season, it has been an awesome experience and I'm glad I finally got to see the conclusion.

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Lantern7

Lantern7

Watching bits of the marathon. Is this a future affected by climate change? Look at the final battle between Jack and the Daughters. They're surrounded by snow. Jack is at least 90 percent naked, and he's not shivering. If the Daughters are like Ashi, they're running around naked with a black substance on their bodies, and that can only insulate them from the cold so much. If it is cold, I mean. I can understand everybody's bodies running hot on both sides, but I wouldn't plop down in the snow clad just in briefs, even if it was warm after the storm. Or am I overthinking this cartoon?

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AConspiracy

AConspiracy

I finally got to watch all the new ones on demand. That was very enjoyable closure to the series.

I never did understand where all the weird races / alien-looking / created lifeforms came from in the future. Were they all aliens like the prison ship, that Aku transported to Earth? Or just from Aku's evil influence distorting the entire planet biology?

So I guess none of them will happen in the new Aku-free future.

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Sandman87

Sandman87

I always assumed they were a mix of aliens, supernatural critters, and mutants. And robots. Can't forget the robots. There was definite traffic with other planets during the show, Aku wasn't exactly environmentally friendly, and no doubt he didn't care about any side effects from his wizardry.

Now that I think about it, I'm a little disappointed that we didn't get to see more of the evil guy who checked in with Aku's bureaucrats and got assigned a village to terrorize.

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Spartan Girl

Spartan Girl

On May 21, 2017 at 6:35 PM, HeySandyStrange said:

They left that one dangling unanswered. I guess we will see if Genndy ever gets asked that one and gives a straight answer.

I thought the ending was a pretty good balance between the bitter (Jack loses Ashi, his future friends cease to exist) and the sweet (Jack defeats Aku once and for all and gets to return to his family). There are a lot of complaints in the fandom that Genndy&Co can't let Jack be happy but I think the very last scene, other then being ridiculously beautiful, was a good indication that Jack has a strong chance of moving on and finding happiness now that his quest is done and the world is at peace.

This. I loved Ashi and I wish she and Jack got a happy ending, but not all love is meant to last. I think the last scene demonstrated that beautifully. Jack might have lost Ashi but he was able to find some comfort watching the ladybug; it was a nice callback to the thing that made her start to realize he wasn't the "evil" she had been raised to kill. Even if she faded out of existence, perhaps her spirit was somehow reincarnated into that ladybug. Hey, weirder things have happened on this show...

So if that theory is correct, then she and Jack found their own kind of peace at the end, if not a happily-ever-after.

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HeySandyStrange

HeySandyStrange

So apparently Jack is coming back to comics this fall in a brand new title with a story line that will diverge from the show and will be titled  Quantum Jack. I am cautiously excited about the prospect. I would've preferred a comic that explored the 50 year gap between seasons 4&5 that would be able to avoid some of the rushed aspects of season 5, but I definitely am curious how this Quantum Leap-esque plot will play out in the Samurai Jack universe. I'm not thrilled that it seems like this comic will be episodic like the earlier seasons but I am hoping it will be darker and more mature like season 5 was.

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