"Samurai Jack" returns in 2016

I only just discovered this had premiered already. Thank goodness for On Demand.

It still feels like Samurai Jack -- or rather, like a natural continuation/sequel. It's free to go in a much darker and more adult direction now that it's on Adult Swim, but that feels like a natural consequence of the passage of time, with Jack himself going to a darker place, and with the villains escalating their attacks to match him. Although I get the impression that Aku knows nothing about the Daughters of Aku, that they're cultists acting on their own.

I was very disappointed with Greg Baldwin's Aku. He sounds even less like Mako here than he did as Iroh in Avatar/Korra. I think I would've preferred it if, instead of going for a (theoretical) soundalike, they'd just gone for an actor who could bring a similar performance style and personality to the role. It occurred to me a while back that George Takei at his most hammy could've done a great job as Aku.

 

Well, *THAT* episode would not have been made back in the day! Not sure what to make of it, I didn't expect Jack to do what he did, I guess we see how far he'll go when pushed but I expected more of a connection to be made between Jack and at least one of the sisters or to be more reluctant.

 

It did kind of seem like they were taking too much advantage of their new license -- like "Now we can show blood and death, so let's really pour on the gore!" I don't think they needed to take it as far as they did.

I do wish Jack had tried harder to find an alternative to killing, but I guess what he did is consistent with his background and training as a medieval samurai, not to mention 50 years of nonstop, hellish battles that have left him borderline insane.

As for connections...

Spoiler: educated guesswork

The last Daughter of Aku Jack defeated was Ashi, the one who was portrayed sympathetically in the premiere. She's recognizable by her upswept hair. I assume she and Jack will both survive the fall, and maybe end up having to fight side by side to survive whatever danger comes next, and thus they'll become allies.

 

This third episode was also as good as the second one.

The series still utilizes some of the stylized artistic ideas for special parts like the original did, which is nice to see again.

With only seven episodes reamining, the Scotsman still to come, a battle with Aku undoubtedly and Jack hopefully getting back to the past, I suspect things are going to start to get shock up big time in the next episode.


Once again the third-rate knock-off Venable music that lacks the emotions and drive James L. Venable brought to the original run of the series, is a distraction. It's just there, it does nothing more than barely service the scenes.

 

One thing I sort of miss in this new, serialized-miniseries format is the slow, atmospheric openings that the show used to have -- taking time to set the tone and explore the visual and aural environment of the week before getting into the story/action. There are still a lot of sequences without dialogue, but they're part of the plot, and there's more action up front. So it doesn't feel as measured and contemplative as it often did before.

 

That's not good. I always watch it on On Demand and I haven't checked for a new episode yet.

 

If you did then I was on the same "trip". At least your experience confirms I didn't get clumsy with the DVR and select the wrong program to record.

 

April Fools Day sucks.

I guess a lot of Rick and Morty fans were tickled pink but I haven't been watching the series. It would've been more fun if there were normally reruns aired in that slot. Instead I thought my DVR screwed up, and it was more annoying than funny after I realized what happened.

I did like the one year when they replaced their programming with things like Chuck Norris Karate Kommandos and the Mr. T cartoon. It was fun waiting to see what madness would come next and the fact that those shows aren't easy to find elsewhere.

 

To be fair CN knows from the data, the Samurai Jack crowd don't stick around for their other shows.

 

I finished the last season a week or so ago. My Thoughts:

SPOILERS
Do not read any further if you haven't seen it yet or are not done with it yet.


Over all story wise, I have to say this was near excellent. It had it's flaws, but it was welcomed.

The scoring, by Tyler Bates and four other people, is un-memorable and most of the time doesn't drive things. It's the complete opposite of Venable's work. When Jack

Spoiler

got home

, the ehru theme Venable used in a few episodes for the past, was sorely missed. What a waste.

It was nice to see the Scotsman was not only still around, but he

Spoiler

died

the way he

Spoiler

lived, insulting somebody

. And that he had that many kids, was amusing. No word on the wife though.

Seeing people Jack helped come back to help him in the end, was nice, even though I knew that was coming. I'm surprised more didn't show up. It's kind of bittersweet that

Spoiler

every single friend he made, was erased by going back in time, but hey -- at least they never experienced the tyranny of Aku (ones that even existed in the fixed timeline, that is)

.

Jack's friendship and romance, I enjoyed. I thought they played well off each other. Another bittersweet ending.

Unfortunately, the final episode was like an hour's worth of material shoved into just over twenty minutes. It was too fast. I enjoyed how once Jack realizes the power that was suddenly available, the epic battle ended fast and left Aku essentially pants down, mid wiz. That was nice. And where it picked back up, was good, too.

I didn't not like the new voice of Aku. Why couldn't they just put out a casting call instead of going back to somebody who's done Aku before? He went from Aku to a French guy (hell, Bates even had French-sounding music for a scene - terrible).

And there were un-answered questions, such as:

* What did happen to the Guardian?
* What about that future Jack we saw in the time portal image that the Guardian showed us?
* Why did Jack stop aging?
* Is he continuing to not age?
* Does the aging then catch up with him, like time did in the finale, and kill him dead?
* Didn't he say repeatedly Aku destroyed his village? Looks pretty intact to me!
* If Aku took the time to destroy every single time portal on the planet, why didn't he take the time to send versions of himself back in time as sleeper agents?
* What's to stop another Aku from coming? Based on the pilot, Aku was spawned from a larger piece that had a part left over that fell to Earth.
* So, his sword can hide itself and cloth him and shave him? WTF? Explain yourself, cartoon!
* Did nobody else use any of those time portals ever during Aku's reign, to go back in time? Wouldn't Jack no be Darien from the series "Time Trax"? Finding and sending these people away (only where to?).