Review: Samurai Jack “XCII”

It’s finally here… a brand new episode of Samurai Jack. Undoubtedly one of my favorite Cartoon Network originals when I was growing up, I always wondered what had happened to our favorite time-displaced samurai. Finally, Toonami/Adult Swim has brought back Samurai Jack. I got settled in my favorite chair as the ominous, yet adrenaline pumped intro music for Toonami set the air just right for the evening.

Spoilers Below

An explosion in the distance… this is gonna be good.  Samurai Jack picks up the action immediately, feeling as if we are picking it up almost right where it left off, with its futuristic robotic enemies chasing two innocent lifeforms. These machines wreak havoc against the landscape as the two life forms are surrounded. It looks bleak for the two until a mysterious stranger on a motorcycle rides in from the horizon and blasts the cyborgs into oblivion. We get a glimpse and see that this is no ordinary rider as he is donned in futuristic samurai armor.  The bike itself is no mere machine either, being armed to the teeth and even having spikes in its tires. The Samurai-Rider does a wheelie and grinds on top of the robots, dismantling them in the process. Gears, circuitry, and motor oil go flying everywhere. The warrior ditches the bike and is just starting to go through his arsenal as he pulls out a gun and empties the clip into the crowd of cyborgs before pulling out a spear and disemboweling the robots. One robot manages to get a clean swipe and destroy the warriors mask and it is revealed that it is none other than Samurai Jack himself! HE’S BACK BABY! And he is going IN! In a flash of blades, he destroys the rest of the robots, saving the two people in distress and riding off into the sunset. No thanks necessary.

Worshippers of Aku are conducting a birthing ceremony as seven baby girls are born. These infants are sworn to be Aku’s new weapons against Jack. This scene is full of mystery and dark energy. We can sense from the first glimpse, these children are going to be a problem. But let’s get back to Jack.

We flashback to Jack as he traverses through the wasteland on his bike. This was an awesome scene as it reminded you that the beauty of nature still exists in the technology-driven future that is Aku. A friendly stream gurgles through the trees. A bird sings a song while perched on a branch. Jack stops and gets a drink of water. Everything seems calm and serene. What happens next is unexpected. Jack starts to have haunting visions of his parents and faces of the past. They are everywhere. In the leaves of the trees, in the water of the stream, you name it. They plague him, telling him he is forgetting his mission, and discouraging him. Jack is going crazy. He is literally losing his mind. The ghosts of his parents are telling him that he abandoned them and left them to die! He is snapped back to reality after another explosion is set off in the distance. Jack revs up his motorbike and rides to the site of the explosion.

We find out that the 7 girls from earlier are actually Aku’s daughters and MAN are they are going through some tough training. Weakness is death to these girls. They are going to grow up to be very formidable opponents, especially once if they learn to move as a single unit. One of the girls Ashi, sneaks off and finds sunlight and is immediately reprimanded with a fierce beating. I have a feeling she is going to be a VERY formidable foe. These girls are being trained to be some of the most cold-blooded assassins Jack has ever faced. The girls maneuver with great agility over pits filled with spikes and even have to dodge flaming arrows in the dark. Their single goal from the beginning of their training is to kill Jack. Literally, since birth, they are being trained to kill Samurai Jack.

Jack arrives at a devastated city and is greeted by smoldering ruins and bodies. He meets the villain who boasts to be Aku’s personal favorite assassin. I have dubbed this character “The Music Man”. The Music Man wears a trench-coat with a styled rice hat. His voice reminds me of a robotic version of that one guy at the disco who doesn’t know how not cool he is. The Music Man taunts Jack that he destroyed the village days ago and that Jack should’ve got there sooner. Jack just stares at him with this patented stare.

The Music Man calls Aku on his cell phone once he finds out that Jack lost his sword. But never worry. Jack is a man of many tools, and quickly throws a kunai at the robotic assassin, interrupting and permanently putting that call on hold. The Music Man’s reveals his weapon, a magic flute. He uses his flute to telekinetically turn the rubble from the buildings into a 40 foot tall stone Golem. I’m not going to lie either, I found myself jamming out to The Music Man’s tunes. He can get funky on that flute!

Our boy Jack hasn’t lost any of his agilty, though. Jack twists and flips his way around the ruins avoiding blows from the Golem, eventually defeating it. Suddenly, Jack starts hallucinating in the middle of the battle. This is going to be an interesting re-occurrence if Jack keeps tripping out and having these visions, especially since it seems they can be triggered at any time. Eventually, Jack gets ahold of himself and gets back to action and we see that Jack’s armor has a few tricks of its own, from retractable shields to hidden daggers. The Music Man breaks his flute but it is revealed that he can use hi voice to have the same telekinetic effect and that his true weapon is a dual bladed tuning fork. It’s plain to see that Jack is just as sharp in combat as ever, though! The final blow comes down to Jack slicing The Music Man’s robotic body in half, causing the robot explodes. The Music Man’s head is sent flying, landing outside of the decimated city. Jack then takes The Music Man’s tuning fork dual dagger weapon as his own. The episode ends with the seven daughters of Aku completing their training and being sent to kill Jack.

First of all, all I can say is, YO! Jack is back! Man. This was a sick episode. We got to play catch up with Jack, seeing that he has had a tormented life for the last 15 in the disparaged future that is Aku. Long-time fans of the series should find this episode full of nostalgia and exactly what they remember Samurai Jack the best for. New fans of the series? Welcome to the party. If the rest of the series is anything like this episode, we are in for a ton of action as we follow Jack through the future and hopefully, back to the past.

This episode served a good purpose as a great re-introduction. We get re-introduced to Jack, and we see that the years have taken their toll on the warrior. His once clean-shaven face and traditional topknot have been replaced by long shaggy hair and a beard. He now wears battle armor instead of his white kimono. Jack’s skill with weapons has not dulled in any sense and he fights with great intensity. But he’s losing his mind. Even in the midst of heated battle, and on more than one occasion, we saw that Jack would have visions of his parents, or even envision the bodies of the deceased as living beings.  Even the villain “The Music Man”, made a comment about Jack losing his mind. These 15 years have taken their toll on Jack. I mean WOW…. Jack has DEMONS. I think it will be interesting to see how they work these psychotic breakdowns in to plot. All I can say right now is what in the world! Jack is back and it feels like he never left. I am loving this!

The only reason this episode did not get a 10 out of 10 was because I really wanted to see Jack use his signature blade.  From the first seconds of the show, I was drawn in. The unique animation and style of Samurai Jack has not changed at all, which is great. If anything, it’s gotten better. This episode was action packed, yet full of mystery at the same time. The Music man was a classic Samurai Jack villain, a lethal being, futuristic with a quirky personality. I’m excited to see what the future holds for Jack.

One thing I thought was interesting is that this was episode XCII (92). The last episode of Samurai Jack to air on it original run was episode LII (52), I believe. What happened in that forty episode gap? Will Jack get his sword back? Tune in next week on Cartoon Networks Toonami programing block to find out!