"Samurai Jack - XII" Talkback (Spoilers)

[PeppeRaskell1]

Okay, after suffering a crushing (and jewel breaking) defeat on last week's show, I thought it was time for Jack to loosen (and lighten) up a little bit. I loved every minute of this ep, even the climactic battle with Aku (too bad those Ant Hill Mob-type guys had to intervene and knock him out before he had a chance to destroy Aku, or vice-versa). And it was great seeing Jack in gangster pinstripes, trying to act like a bad guy
(if only for a crack at whupping Aku's you-know-what).

A couple of "Did you notices":

1) The mob Jack tried to join slightly resembles the Ant Hill Mob (of Wacky Races and Perils of Penelope Pitstop fame.

2) No preview of next week's eppy! I'm soooo disappointed!

3) "Samurai Jack" has finally gotten his own
Cartoon Network station ID (it's about time!)

I'm also psyched about the SJ pilot movie coming out on DVD next March (You think it's too early to go to Media Play or Suncoast to pre-order it?).



"Dick Grayson, I could just kiss you!"

[Singin' Stray Cat]

I agree, last night's episode was great. And hmm, boy, does SJ ever look good in a suit! And when his hair came loose while fighting to get the gem, I just about died in a big ol' puddle of fangirl drool. :D Oh no, is it possible...am I becoming..

a Samurai Jack blitherer?! (cue echo and scary minor chord music)

However, having said that, I am a teeny bit disappointed that two episodes have aired back to back that focused on obtaining a gem. Even though the mood and styles were different, in a way it almost seemed like watching identical episodes. I liked seeing SJ try more than one way of obtaining his goal of getting home - a time machine, a magic well, being in a space pod at a certain speed, etc.

But that's just a very minor nitpick. I have yet to be majorly disappointed with an SJ episode. :D

[Vin]

I loved last night's episode as well. "Samurai Jack" and "Justice League" are now my two favorite animated shows. I can't wait to see the "Samurai Jack" movies, since Genndy is involved.

[LightAngel]

Man that episode ruled, but those mob guys bugged me. That wrecked everything! Wait, that's probably good, since we wouldn't want to see Aku defeated quite yet. I can't wait for an animated movie, but I'm kinda bothered by a live action one. I just don't see it working out.

[Ed Fan]

yeah when he became a gangster its was awesome! its my fave episode!!

[The Mad Hatter]

It seems like the creators can take ANY style, such as old-style film noir, and spin gold out of it. Especially in the music.

The Samauri Jack/Justice League hour is rapidly becoming my favorite block of TV...

[Ed Fan]

i really think sam jack is one of the best shows cn has!! i love the animation because it has no black lines!

[Stinky Cat]

i agree when he became a mobster it was cool but he didnt get the gem... :(

[Jimmy Kustes]

I thought I was the only one who thought they were the Ant Hill Gang! ;)

Samurai Jack= Niles-Daphene love triangle

[Samhaine]

Why is it that last week's episode was episode (I think) VI, but this week's was 12 or 13? Why couldn't CN just air them in order? Then we wouldn't have 2 gem episodes in a row.

But the show still is great. I now love that I have something to watch on Monday nights.

[Stinky Cat]

they just like doign that cuz people like me hate roman numerals and dont know them very well...

[DanniB]

Singin' stay cat you are not alone. I too drooled over the pinstiped Jacko. and when his hair came undone, Grrrowl! Hot stuff.

[Samhaine]

Originally posted by DanniB
Singin' stay cat you are not alone. I too drooled over the pinstiped Jacko. and when his hair came undone, Grrrowl! Hot stuff.
Was I the only one reminded of the John Travolta character from Pulp Fiction once his hair was let down?

[Stinky Cat]

i guees you were

[DR. BELCH]

--was the short gangster who sounded like Edward G. Robinson. That was, if I'm not mistaken, Maurice LaMarche, who also voices the Henry Hill-esque mobster at the door in the opening (think Squit of Animaniacs).
Aku seemed a bit off in this one, letting Jack get so close to him. I thought he was supposed to have some sort of precognitive ability. Then again, he sounded sleepy--maybe the goon squad woke him up from his nap. "Oh, it's you. What do you want? Aren't you banned from coming here?"
Last week, however, was very chilling. I knew that dame--who reminded me weirdly of Evil Lynne on He-Man--was poison...but I'd have never guessed it was Aku himself. A good thing Jack didn't...well, you know...with her. :shudder: He loses his chance to get home and suffers a broken heart. Aku really knows how to destroy and manipulate his victims...why crush an enemy's body when you can crush his spirit so much simpler? :D

[Singin' Stray Cat]

Originally posted by DR. BELCH
...Last week, however, was very chilling. I knew that dame--who reminded me weirdly of Evil Lynne on He-Man--was poison...but I'd have never guessed it was Aku himself. A good thing Jack didn't...well, you know...with her. :shudder: He loses his chance to get home and suffers a broken heart. Aku really knows how to destroy and manipulate his victims...why crush an enemy's body when you can crush his spirit so much simpler? :D

Heh, looks like I wasn't the only one who thought about that. I shuddered just watching them make eyes at each other (the second time I saw the episode). I get the feeling we may not see too many more female interests in the rest of the SJ saga...

I also agree with the last sentence of yours, he got hurt in so many ways by the end of that episode. Ikra/Aku never touched him physically, but did smash his trust and shatter (literally) a hope of getting back home, which was much worse.

[Joe Tully]

Originally posted by PeppeRaskell1


2) No preview of next week's eppy! I'm soooo disappointed!





I just watched it and there was a preview. Aku is realizing that children are starting to emulate Jack and hate Aku and so Aku gathers some of the children and tells a fairy tale, in which Jack is the villain. It looks hilarious! Keep your eyes open for the commercial, but if you don't see it then you can just catch it tomorrow!

I think that this is my favorite show right now. Although I like JL, the new Popeye show and Toonheads a lot too. CN has so many great cartoons on now!

[PeppeRaskell1]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Joe Tully
[B]

I just watched it and there was a preview. Aku is realizing that children are starting to emulate Jack and hate Aku and so Aku gathers some of the children and tells a fairy tale, in which Jack is the villain. It looks hilarious! Keep your eyes open for the commercial, but if you don't see it then you can just catch it tomorrow!

Sounds like it might be fun. This may sound like a coincidence, but isn't there a "Jack and the Beanstalk" movie on tonight where Jack is depicted as a villain by the giant? Sounds almost like the same plot.

Some SJ eppys I'm looking forward to seeing are one where he battles some robotic assasins, and the first part of the story is told backwards (in flashbacks), and the "Dome of Doom" story the creators were talking about in the "Making of SJ" short that followed the movie the first time.
I wonder when they'll be on?

[Stinky Cat]

you have to put the [/quote ] tag...

[PeppeRaskell1]

Originally posted by DanniB
[B]Singin' stay cat you are not alone. I too drooled over the pinstiped Jacko. and when his hair came undone, Grrrowl! Hot stuff.

I think I'm becoming a drooling fangirl myself. I watched a tape of "Episode VII" where he was meditating in the waterfall. I rewound that scene at least six or seven times the last time I watched it. And how many of us fangirls have envisioned a gratuitous chest-baring scene where some creature knocks Jack out cold during a fight, curiously opens the top of his kimono, and tries to give him a little tickle with its big, furry finger (with Jack waking up during the tickling process)?

[QUOTE]"I hope you're enjoying the view, Creature!"

[PeppeRaskell1]

Originally posted by Stinky Cat
you have to put the [/quote ] tag...

Oops! Sorry...

[Sharklady]

> "Oh, it's you. What do you want?" <

I got a real laugh from the expression on Aku's face as he said that.

It seems that even Evil Shape-Shifting Masters Of Darkness have their occasional petty exasperations.

[Lyra Silverblade]

Originally posted by PeppeRaskell1


Ah, good ol' Ep 7... aka. "For God's SAKE put some clothes on!" *snicker* :D

And here I was thinking I was the only girl on earth who was foaming over our beloved anachronistic samurai...
Frankly, when I first got into the show, I thought it was a little odd that I liked his character so much. Being an anime fangirl, I was used to your basic pretty boys (Bishonen). Even then, I tended to stray towards the ones who were a little more hard edged and rougher, like Nicholas Wolfwood in Trigun, and Roger Smith from Big O. In short, anime guys whose gender was never in doubt. *laughs* But still, they were rendered in that classic anime style.
Then, as I followed the hype trail that led up to Aug. 10th, I realized... "Darn, I'm getting really into this... This is a tad unusual, he's not anything I'm used to..." Sufficed to say, the end of ep 3 crescent-kicked me right in my fangirl chops. It was your case of "*RIP* *BOGGLE* Ooooh...." I was hooked. And felt a little ridiculous about it too.

But as the series kept going, I realized that there was a lot to love about Jack, and they were completely legitimate reasons...
For one, he's completely (and often a little stupidly) noble, and has that unerring superhero-type devotion to public justice. But the source of that sense of duty seems to be the fact that he's genuinely concerned about these people he meets. If someone's being slapped around, he'll darn well see to it that it stops.
Secondly, he has an extremely vulnerable side to him. In the earlier episodes, this vulnerability was basically manifested in his complete confusion with the future he'd been thrown into. To put as he said... "I am VERY confused." There's something completely irresistable about that confusion. As he adjusts to the situation, his weakness is revealed to be more of an unwitting naivete, his sort of blind faith that everyone who shakes his hand or saves his skin will always be a friend to him. Sure, he's made plenty of allies already, but he doesn't seem to realize that the good guys and the bad guys are no longer in the terms of black and white that he used to know (which is a BRILLIANT contrast to the fact that he and Aku themselves represent that sheer "black and white" idea completely. Pure taoism.) The fact that things are no longer so clearly defined can be a hard lesson to learn, which makes us feel all the more sympathetic towards him. The fact is, he's still very young and has a lot of learning to do, and it's a tragedy that he has to experience that struggle so far from his home.

When you get down to it, Jack is actually a whole lot more human than any of the other (albeit more extensively drawn) anime guys that I'm used to. He's a hero with heart, and he represents both our most treasured ideas of justice and goodness, and our own human weaknesses. So I figure falling for a guy like him is no major crime. Maybe a little silly, but hey... we all have our drug of choice. :p

It's really fun to hear that others are starting to foam over him like that. *Giggle* I guess you just can't deny that he has a REALLY nice chest. And yes he DID look like the Travolta in Pulp Fiction when he had his hair down. They've been fooling with his hairstyle for a while and I think they've finally NAILED IT. I sure hope they do more of that in the future...

So I'll leave you with my own little reflection of my devotion to a man with no outline.
http://homepage.mac.com/albright/samsite/art/lyra/tweak-jack.jpg
(And yes I know it looks like he's gotten NO sleep in the past three weeks, but it's a Tweak homage to Jhonen Vasquez (Invader Zim, Johnny The Homicidal Maniac). You get the basic idea. :p )