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Samurai Jack
2001 · TV series · 24 min episodes · 5 seasons
Created by Genndy Tartakovsky
Science FictionFantasyActionAdventureAnimation
A great warrior is displaced to the distant future by the evil shape-shifting wizard Aku. The world has become a bleak place under the rule of Aku, segregated into fantastic tribes and ruled by Aku's evil robot warlords. Jack travels this foreign landscape in search of a time portal that can return him to his home time so he can "undo the future that is Aku!".
14 positive1 neutralfrom 15 commenters
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16 comments on Hacker News
>I know I'm going to get downvoted to oblivion but I don't care.
I wasn't going to downvote you till this part.
Anyways, I disagree. But it really comes down to what you value in a story. You're not going to get the rich lore of Mordor, or even Tamriel in a 2 hour runtime. Movies excel at creating character moments, and any kind of worldbuilding that isn't built on an entire series will feel shallow. Or maybe boring because it will take the entire runtime and you have nothing to attach to.
Samurai jack feels like a great example. It could have been a focus oneshot on how Jack got back to the past and beat Aku. A great one, even. But that's not what the show is about. It's showing the long term effects of aku' reign, how society adapted around it, how the next generation receives propaganda to keep serving their tyrant, and the small bits of rebellion and hope shed among it. Jack getting back to the past to undo all that wasn't why Jack is thought of as a great hero. It's the influences he had and seeds of hope he sowed among the dystopia
(And yes, now Netflix owns that).
I always enjoyed the near silent Samurai Jack Episodes. Especially the one with the Tower and three possessed soldiers.
As a teenager I loved Samurai Jack. Gendy Tartakovsky is a truly unique creator. I am very excited for his first R-rated feature Fixed.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8785038/
That was the first episode I ever saw of Samurai Jack. I had never seen anything like it. I had tuned in after the initial exposition so I experienced zero dialogue until the very end.
It was spellbinding. When he dons the blindfold and everything goes black and silent for what feels like eternity...
Samurai Jack is one of my all-time favorite animation series. The sheer amount of creativity packed into any one episode and the consistency of the visual styling throughout (with a few outliers, as any other artwork) makes it doubly unique, and I cannot praise it highly enough.
Samurai Jack always struck me as a 90s-modern, anime-and-Kurosawa-film-influenced update of another animated classic, Thundarr the Barbarian. The premise is quite different, but the vibe of "quasi-solitary warrior wandering through a ruined future, righting wrongs" is very much in force.
Some are for sure, but a lot of those shows hold up well for all ages. I don't put much faith in marketers to decide which shows are for what demographics. Better to see what lands for yourself. It helps when you're watching and discussing the shows with your kids too.
Some of them, Adventure time being a great example, can appeal to very young kids but they'll find new meaning in those episodes as they get older.
I think shows like Infinity Train, Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Steven Universe, and Samurai Jack will be better after a kid is old enough that Cocomelon wouldn't hold any appeal, but even at that age Sarah & Duck, Hilda, MLP, Craig of the Creek, etc could still be good. Just about anything that holds their attention and isn't Cocomelon is a huge win. If you'll enjoy it, all the better.
I'm not sure there's ever been more options for good shows that a parent can watch and genuinely enjoy with their kids. Try Avatar the Last Airbender/Legend of Korra, Hilda, Sarah & Duck, Adventure Time, Miraculous, The Dragon Prince, MLP Friendship is Magic, She-Ra and the Princess of Power, Samurai Jack, Gravity Falls, Ducktales (the new one, but the old one isn't bad either), Cleopatra in Space, Amphibia, Star vs. the Forces of Evil, Owl House, Craig of the Creek, Steven Universe, LEGO Elves, Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, Over the Garden Wall, Infinity Train, and the Disney Fairies movies.
I'd also recommend getting your hands on the cartoons you enjoyed as a kid. Odds are good your kids will like them for the same reasons you did, although you may find that they don't all hold up for you.
Is it longer than The Loud House: Revamped, currently at 2328 chapters and over 16 million words?
I mean I just glanced at it and I'm sure it's a troll, with passages like
> Flying over the western Pacific Ocean in the world of the 2022 movie The Mermaid Monster was Nico, The Ripping Friends, Ellie Singh, Evelyn Burmingham, Jen Tennyson, Eddy, Yugi, Tea, Jaden, Jesse Anderson, Allenby Beardsley Knudson, The Hernandez Sisters, Yost Magma, Rin Nohara, Woz, Bai Tza, Sabrina Lorelai the Despair from The Dark Gene-Slammer, Albedo, The 1983 D&D Gang, Donbrothers, Irina Krafla the Granity Gene-slammer, Kora Lexxington, Olivia Houou, Nataša Marečková, Nalanie Nanthavong The Vorash Gene-Slammer, Brynja, Sissi Delmas, Anna Anyanova the Destiny HERO Dark Angel Gene-slammer, Daring Do, Lizzie Strong the Great Blue Windrunner Gene-slammer, Emam Reynolds the Living Tsunami Gene-slammer, Wendy Sapphira, Reggie Hjorleifsstræti the Five Headed Dragon Gene-Slammer, Qin, Miku Yuuki, Princess Anita, Granity, Rei Miyamoto, Saya Tekagi, Saeko Busujima, Shizuka Marimoto, Kamen Rider (1971), Hibiki Riders, Agito Riders, Kabuto Riders, Den-O, Kiva, Decade, W, OOO, Fourze, Wizard Riders, Blade Riders, Faiz Riders, Gaim Riders, Drive Riders, Ghost Riders, Ex-Aid Riders, Build Riders, Zi-O Riders, Zero-One Riders, Saber Riders, Dragon Knight Riders, Granity, Samurai Jack, Ashi and her sisters, Changeman, Jetman, Dairangers, Zenkaigers, Chloe Bourgeois, Shanan, Rita Loud, The Goths of Darkness, Zarya Moonwolf, Applejack, Apple Bloom, Twilight Sparkle & Friends, Sunny Starscout, Izzy Moonbow, Hitch Trailblazer, Pipp Petals, Zipp Storm, Misty Brightdawn, Wallflower Blush, Alice Kingsleigh, Rachel Stavenport, Kate Lloyd, Carol Pusateri, Hailey Helios, Kia, Jenna, Lina, May, Maria, Danica Metrois, Kaalia of The Vast, Varie, Sakura Valencia, Xenia the Xerneas, Bhavna Radhakrishnan the Xerneas Gene-Slammer, Bridgette, Eli, me, Sakura Knudson, Arrietty, Aylene Carter, Gabrielle, Littlefoot and friends, Fu, Nicole Knudson, Spiderman and his counterparts, Kaina Tsutsumi, Nick Logan, Sh'Lainn Blaze, Camie, Kaoruku Awata, Himiko, Ibara, Toru, Sirius, Tsuyu, Ochaco, Luz, Amity, Gus, Willow, Hunter, Felicia Wittebane, Carly Atlas, Misty Tredwell, Zuria, Tony Jones, Edyn, Strag, Momo, Girl Jordan, Leeli, Sora Phaaze, Venus, Earth, Vinyl Scratch, Airazor, Rhinox, Cheetor, Rattrap, Tigatron, Janeen Aran, Lincoln, Leni, Laney, Lana, Lola, Lisa and Lily along with Misty Brightdawn's team with Roxas, Aeleus, Laurium, Elena and Dilan as well as Pintar, Yokubarido, Evil Earth Minions, Tristesse (Animaniacs), Francis X. Bushlad, and Castaways (Looney Tunes) and we were heading to a small Chinese Village for an amazing rescue.
and
> Suddenly, Kelly Strahand's trident and all the greatswords and swords that she'd gotten began to merge together, and they were surrounded by a kaleidoscope of ocean blue energy, stars, water, ocean waves, lightning, sea creatures, mermaids, phoenixes, and angels, and when it emerged, it was transformed into Kelly Strahand's True Cosmic Eternal Harmony Oceanic Water Maelstrom Mermaid Light Side Legend Protector and Dark Side Legend Slayer Phoenix God Angel Greatsword of True Cosmic Eternal Harmony Oceanic Water Maelstrom Mermaid Light Side Legend Protector and Dark Side Legend Slayer Phoenix God Angel Justice, it's a brand-new massive greatsword with embedded blue gems and a mermaid etched on the 8'0" massive, wide, double-edged gold blade, large gold phoenix heads with ocean blue gems for eyes for the crossguard, large white angel faces built into both sides of the hilt and large ocean blue gems embedded in their foreheads and surrounding the white angel faces are the Elements of Harmony and the Unity Stones on top of the Element of the Magic of Friendship, longer midnight black handle, four large gold raven heads with ocean blue gems for eyes and on the bottom of the large gold phoenix heads is a large gold phoenix head with ocean blue gems for eyes and ocean blue gem in its mouth for the pommel, Carly Almaden has on her brand-new large gold Bracers of The Champions of The Universe with large ocean blue gems on her arms and Dragon Ball Bracelet and wrist computer and Omnitrix on her left Bracer, her large gold Belt of Elemental Bravery with a gold mermaid's head with ocean blue gems for eyes and ocean blue gem in its mouth for the belt buckle on her waist, large rainbow-colored leather and gold metal bound Elemental Spellbook of Harmonious Justice, Eternal Harmony, and Equestrian Peace and Talisman Cards of The Universe and Talisman Cards of Eternal Elemental Harmony on her right hip and Eater of Sins revolver holstered on her left hip. There's an ocean blue kanji with water drops and lightning bolts in between the kanji below the mermaid that said, "Kelly Strahand, Defender of The Mermaids of The Light Side of The Legend, Powerful Force of Good, Thrasher of The Bad Guys, Master of Water and Lightning, Slayer of The Mermaids of The Dark Side of The Legend, True Immortal and Omnipotent Powerful Warrior of The Universe, Loving Guardian Angel and Future Wife of James Dean Knudson, Amazing Member of Team Loud Phoenix Storm, Brave Warrior of The Cosmos, Protector, Defender, and Savior of The Universe, Multiverse, and Beyond, Ambassador and Beacon of Hope to The Universe, Master of The Powers of Friendship and The Elements, Master of The Fury of Celestial Xelnaga, Master of The Black Gates, Ultimate Force of Ultimate Good, True Goddess of Truth, Justice, Love, Compassion, Hope, Forgiveness, Valor, Virtue, Determination, Loyalty, Honesty, Generosity, Kindness, Selflessness, Courage, and Trust, Destroyer and Slayer of Evil, Deranged, Murderous, Ruthless, and Sadistic Bastards, Amazing and Powerful Student of Amazing and Powerful Teachers, True Immortal Hero, and Master of Stars, Water, Water Magic, Lightning, Sea Creatures, Mermaids, Phoenixes, and Angels"
John K is such a jackass in general though about anything that didn’t come from him.
I was mentored by several people who worked under him for Ren and Stimpy, and I’ve never met anyone who’s said a nice thing about working with him.
His blog is also one of the more toxic fixtures of the animation industry, leading to tons of people who look up to his style of critique in much the same way many engineers looked up to Linus’s early aggressive rants (but worse). He’s the proginator of the derogatory “Calarts bean mouth” description that so many wannabe artists throw around without thought, and led to so many death threats and harassing of brilliant artists.
That’s not even mentioning his rampant sexual abuse allegations and dating underage girls.
John K made some great content but man is he a blight on the industry as a whole, since Ren and Stimpy finished.
Meanwhile since you mentioned Genndy, who I’ve had the pleasure to work with directly, he’s an artistic genius and just great to work with. Genndy and Craig McCracken pushed an art style that defined multiple generations of cartoons, and Genndy pushed forms more than most people I know of.
A lot of the more fun stylization in CGI is thanks to Genndy pushing Sony hard. The first hotel Transylvania is mind blowing if you analyze the animation, and a huge part of that is Genndy drawing over frames to show the extreme silhouettes that he wants. Technology was then developed to allow artists to fit those forms repeatedly and reliably. That’s had knock on effects to other CG films, even ones from Disney and Pixar who analyzed how much he pushed forms. Not to mention he created three of the best shows: Dexters Lab, Samurai Jack and Primal. primal is a master class in story telling and cinematography.
Anyway long rant to say, man I dislike John K but Genndy is awesome.
Black and white movies have a number of advantages over color. You immediately know you are in an artificial story, like introducing your film saying "Once upon a time…" :)
Similarly, why do animation? Why take away all the detail of reality? Again, animation highlights the artificiality of the story, which can be a huge advantage. Samurai Jack is incredibly beautiful, and unapologetically make strange choices to heighten the viewer's experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iBU_D36-AA
It's wonderful to have options!
First, I want to say I really like Kung Fu Panda... now.
In particular, I really like the 2D intro (I wish the whole movie was drawn in that style, which reminds me of the awesome Samurai Jack), and also Tai Lung's escape is a masterpiece of foreboding and action. This is a credible villain that everyone fears, and he quickly demonstrates why.
That said, back when it was released I was training in kung fu and some of the message of "the untrained newcomer is better than the devoted pupils" felt irritating to me. They've been training hard for years, they are pretty good, but the movie effectively tell them: you're not the chosen ones, let's pick someone who's never trained instead.
This is a frequent Hollywood trope that I always find annoying, The Newcomer (usually a child) Who Trumps All Experts. I understand why it exists: the novice newcomer serves as the point of view of the audience. But it's still annoying.
I'm sorry but I can't let this one slide. Yes, children have been subjected to a slew of execrable sitcoms but at least in the realm of cartoons children's there is much that is of high quality. Adventure Time, Gravity Falls and Steven Universe roundly refute "universally terrible". Even the 2000s had Avatar, Samurai Jack, early Spongebob and Fairly Odd Parents. Other than nostalgia and smugness, I can't find any justification for claiming that none of it was as "mentally stimulating" as the 90s given how equally rife with garbage the 90s were.
This show has a lot of the best aspects of Cow and Chicken, The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Lab. Some episodes have a very similar vibe to Samurai Jack. I don't know if it surpasses the entire roster, but it's certainly as good as some of the best.
Samurai Jack is perhaps one of the most perfect animated shows of all time. Hyperbole be damned there is something about that show that struck a nerve with me. Some episodes had almost no dialogue. It was just awesome.
There's also Genndy Tartakovsky with Samurai Jack and Dexters Laboratory, although I realize they're in early 2000 - they're both excellent. Sad that his first foray into feature films is Hotel Transylvania.