Samurai Jack
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"Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape-shifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil! But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future, where my evil is law! Now the fool seeks to return to the past, and undo the future that. Is. Aku!" - Aku, in the best damn intro to any show ever
If this sounds familiar to you, that's because it was the inspiration for everyone's favorite Grey Knight.
One of the golden age of American cartoons from Cartoon Network, and officially on the Approved Television list for /tg/. A super badass samurai warrior wielding a holy sword (created by Odin, Ra, and Vishnu) attempts to destroy a shapeshifting wizard abomination called Aku, but the monster sends him into a distant future where Aku has taken control of the galaxy. Samurai Jack now explores the world (he never leaves Earth, it just changed dramatically), helping those oppressed by Aku's evil minions and seeking a portal to return him to his own time, that he may slay Aku and undo his evil future.
Samurai Jack, is a melting pot of everything awesome and so many things /tg/ loves. It's art, first off, takes influence from old 1960s and 70s Japanese anime (most notably classic Toei Animation) and Bruce Lee-era Kung Fu movies. It is also inspired by Lawrence of Arabia, Blade Runner, and even Frank Milller's 300 (having a surge of popularity after the movie too). While cyberpunk is a major theme of the show, it draws influence from many other sources, such as Ancient Greece, the Volsunga Saga, feudal Japan, and even fucking 1920s Chicago. Yup. Cyborg gangsters.
Samurai Jack is one of those rare shows where there is not much skub about it, even among fans. Literally every episode is good enough for you to call it your favorite and no one would disagree with you. Most are the same though; either mercenaries or bounty hunters come after Jack, Jack learns some sort of valuable lesson, or he has a run-in with Aku. Still, each episode is a work of art figuratively and literally and are really enjoyable.
Characters
Jack: One badass motherfucker. However, as a character he doesn't have too much personality, being the basic stoic hero that we usually see. Still has enough to stay interesting though. However, in the final season, he has become a depressed, nihilistic shell of a man, constantly beset by bouts of schizophrenia and extreme thoughts of suicide (in true samurai fashion, he even attempts seppuku in his most deperate moments). The realization has finally set in that everyone he knows and loves is not only dead, but they died believing Jack failed or abandoned them when Aku threw him in time, made worse by the fact that his enchanted sword, the only thing that can kill Aku, is missing.
Aku:THA SHAPESHIFTING MASTA OV MASTAS, THE DELIVERAH OV DAHKNESS, DA SHOGUN OV SORROW, equal parts hilarious and fucking evil. Speaks in ultra engrish (but this is intentional on his voice actors part, the glorious and the late Mako Iwamatsu.) and is even more stupid evil than the love child of Skeletor, Megatron and the Marines Malevolent. Well, maybe not entirely stupid-evil. He once disguised himself as a woman that got close to Jack, and now the poor bastard has had trust issues ever since. Still, Aku is about as hammy as Skeletor, but won't bat an eye at wiping out innocent civilians without a second thought.
Ashi: One of the 'Seven Daughters of Aku', which is an assassin cult dedicated to hunting down Jack. Initially did extremely well during their first fight with Jack. Even having the honor of being the few beings in the show that were very, very close to killing Jack, as he barely escaped and was bleeding out from a gut-shot. Though after Jack gets his second wind, he kills them off one by one, with Ashi being the only confirmed survivor. At first, she utterly hates Jack and believes him to be the one responsible for ravaging the Earth, but soon comes to learn that this isn't the case at all. Oh, and that's not a black bodysuit she's wearing. She's actually ass-naked the first few episodes - because that's actually her burnt skin. Or tar, or... something. It's not clear. Whatever it is, it's hot and nasty. Potential love interest, if you believe the Rule 34 people. Being set up to become one of the main protagonists of the final season.
Minor Characters
DA SA-MOO-RAH: Imagine Black Dynamite if he dressed like MC Hammer, was an arrogant and ineffectual blowhard, challenges Jack to a fight, gets his ass handed to him, saves Jack's life, learns some motherfucking humility, everyone leaves happy. Oh and he listens to Parliament apparently. Became a shit eating old bartender in the final season, resigned to listening to has-been bounty hunters whine about how Jack kicked their pathetic, robot asses.
The Scotsman: The name says it all. Jack's best friend (whom tried to kill him when they first met), and is one of the more frequent characters in the series. Has a fucking machine gun for a leg. Can also pull a 20-second long insult. He died in battle, but not before having about a hundred daughters that served as his army and roasting Aku. He comes back as a ghost later a la Obi-Wan Kenobi thanks to the CHELTHICC MAGICK on his sword.
Jack's Father: The EMPRAH of Japan at the beginning of the story. He defeated Aku around the time Jack was born, and when he get's himself captured and enslaved by the demonic wizard when Aku returns from being banished to the Warp, he makes sure his son is safe and away, and arranges for Jack to be put through Space Marine levels of training in order to return and kick Aku's sorry ass back to Hell, though it's taking Jack a WEE bit longer than any of them intended.
The Guardian: A Morpheus-looking brotherfucker stuck to guard a working time portal Jack wanted to use - and failed. In fact he's just about the only guy in the future capable of taking on Jack in a fight and completely and utterly handing him his ass. That's supposed to change in the future, though, as Jack was simply not destined to defeat him just yet. Aku may have defeated him off-screen to set up the final season, though we don't know for sure if Aku really did destroy all the time portals.
Status
Sadly Samurai jack has been effectively cancelled (including the planned movie) for quite some time although old episodes have started airing again. Aku's voice actor dying of throat cancer may have had something to do with it. no more Jack. Just as Aku planned WACHAAA JACK IS BACK BABY 2016 MARCH 11th 2017. 11PM EST. ON ADULT SWIM.
WHAT FOOLISH SAMURAI HAS NOT YET ADDED THE NEW TRAILER TO THIS PAGE???