Talkback: Samurai Jack 9/20/02

[Red]

Friday, September 20th, 2002

It's Once Again Time For a CCF Talkback!

Samurai Jack on CCF Tonight! (All Times are EST)

7:00 PM NEW! Samurai Jack (Episode XXIII)-

http://www.toonzone.net/shows/images/cartoon-network/t-samuraijack1.gif

Let's Begin!

[Zorak Owns All]

I wish I lived in the USA...damnit...pity me, I live in Canada...no new Samurai Jacks here.

[Sharklady]

This episode has established beyond question that Jack can still jump good.

And that there's at least one villain in Jack's time who bears some resemblence to PPG's Him (I wonder if maybe they're related?)

[Donna lady]

I do pity you, Zorak, I do.
And I noticed that too, Sharklady. From the bottom to the top of the canyon, good grief!

WARNING: SPOILERS!

Anyhow, I enjoyed this ep quite a bit. I give it three stars out of four (on my own personal scale). It was good to see more of Aku this time around. Demongo was also a fun villain with some good lines. Some fans disliked his/her/its screechy voice, but I thought it was interesting and different. Whoever the voice actor was certainly put a lot of zest into the part!
I also enjoyed the little bits of comedy tossed into what was potentially a grim episode. The giant whimpering when Jack stuck his sword in its thumb (Demongo: "Oh stop whining, it's only a scratch!"); the tiger-man laughing when it rips Jack's top off("Ha ha ha meow!") only to have Jack throw the top into its face; and various of Demongo's little antics. Even Aku's line at the end gave me a good laugh.
The artwork on the backgrounds was not as detailed this time around. They must have put their effort into the moving shots, though, because some of them were spectacular. Most praiseworthy was the circling shot around Jack as he stands atop the cliff. Some of the other shots, for example the sun gleaming on Jack as he raises his sword, or even the shot of Jack striding off into the sunset, were exceptionally well done and lovely.
The character animators worked very hard on this one, it seems, and did a fine job. There were a lot of new species and beings in this one. Each had a unique fighting style.

The only demerits I would give this episode, perhaps, stem from the plot. While it's understandable that Jack didn't have much time to think, I wish he could have figured out sooner that fighting the warriors' essences wasn't getting him anywhere. The show concentrated on the fighting for so long that the climax, where Jack frees the essences, seemed a bit rushed. (Note: Genndy has said that he wants to keep the plots simple and concentrate on the action instead.)
Another fan noted that every time they said "essence" on the show she wanted to throw something and yell, "Soul!" I felt the same way, and even my pre-teen daughter commented on that. I suppose the show's writers didn't want to offend any religious (or non-religious) groups. But still.

Those viewers who complain that each episode of SJ is the same, and that Jack never gets anywhere, won't have their minds changed by this ep. Those viewers who enjoy SJ for the impressive artwork and animation, however, certainly get their money's worth! I definitely recommend it.

[Allen's Nickname.]

The only demerits I would give this episode, perhaps, stem from the plot. While it's understandable that Jack didn't have much time to think, I wish he could have figured out sooner that fighting the warriors' essences wasn't getting him anywhere. It was keeping him alive....

Oh, and somebody should sticky the talkback threads. I would, but, I, uh, can't.

[KoKo]

Hmm, just for some reason I didn't like this one as much as the last, but I'm thankful it wasn't bad. Demongo was a little annoying at times, and the sunset ending was beautiful! :D

[Killtacular]

Sigh..



Enemies appear.

Slash slash slash.

More enemies appear.

Slash slash slash.






Yawn.

[livingfruitvirus]

So what is this.....the 14th time his robe has been torn?

[Greek_Honeybee]

You mean as in "destroyed completely while he's wearing it, leaving him bare-chested or near-naked"? Actually, this is only the fifth time throughout the whole series that this has happened.

Yes, I've counted. Why do you ask? *innocent look*

It was a good episode, but I'm not crazy about it. I'm not sure why though. Can't quite pinpoint where it fell short. Demongo was interesting enough. Almost makes me wish they'd bring him back, but Aku seemed to destroy him at the end. Certainly a lot of lovely character designs for the extras. The action wasn't bad, but it did seem to get easier for Jack the more enemies there were, which would go against conventional logic.

[All-Star 1.5]

Jack did get some where in this episode he destroyed one of Aku's most powerful minions which is a big step in getting ready to face Aku in my opinion.

[Anarky]

another gold star for Jack.
Demongo was awesome. And I for one liked the voice. Reminded me of Carnage from the Spidey game on PS1.

I might be nuts but two of Demongo's warriors beared close resemblances to TMNT Donatello & the Main Man LOBO!!!

The beginning of theis ep was sweet too, with Aku's sililoque over a barren wasteland.

However, I don't think I'll be looking forward to the White Rabbit episode. Just 2 more eps after that before Season One concludes.

[Sharklady]

> Another fan noted that every time they said "essence" on the show she wanted to throw something and yell, "Soul!"... I suppose the show's writers didn't want to offend any religious (or non-religious) groups. <

Or maybe it's Cartoon Network policy. Remember how Craig McCracken had to name his devil character Him, due to the CN rule against any religious references?

> I might be nuts but two of Demongo's warriors beared close resemblances to TMNT Donatello & the Main Man LOBO!!! <

I noticed that too, and I'm certain it was deliberate! That white tiger warrior may have been a similar reference to the Justice Friends' White Tiger.

[Tash]

The reason they changed "soul" to "essence":
Could you imagine him saying a line like "The more souls I collect the more powerful I become!" or "I will add your soul to my collection"? I REALLY don't think that would pass.

[Donna lady]

Originally posted by Sharklady
> Another fan noted that every time they said "essence" on the show she wanted to throw something and yell, "Soul!"... I suppose the show's writers didn't want to offend any religious (or non-religious) groups. <
Or maybe it's Cartoon Network policy. Remember how Craig McCrakewn had to name his devil character Him, due to the CN rule against any religious references?
That makes sense.

[Greek_Honeybee]

Originally posted by J-GL
Jack did get some where in this episode he destroyed one of Aku's most powerful minions which is a big step in getting ready to face Aku in my opinion. Aku does seem to be getting gradually more desperate to find someone - anyone - who can take him down (without betraying him in the end).

[LightAngel]

Oh my goodness this episode was awesome! Demongo is currently my favorite villian, although he most likely will not appear again! His freaky voice kept making me cringe throughout the episode. However, next week's episodes looks to be the epitomy of freakiness!

[Anarky]

Let's put an end to this "soul" vs. "essence" debate, shall we?

For one thing, I don't think CN has a block on the usage of "soul". In Justice League, the term has been used on a number of occassions:

1. Tarturus, the Pit of Lost Souls
2. by Etrigan, "I won't rest until her (La Fey) soul burns in the eternal pit.

Besides, Aku himself as used the word "soul" in one of his evil sililioques: "I will unleash such evil, that even the most innocent soul will be consumed by terror!!!"

I view this as more of a culture thing. Don't forget that Jack, Aku, and such are from Japan, the East. Therefore much of the language, dialogue, and thinking will lean heavily towards Eastern philosophies.

[Donna lady]

Originally posted by Anarky
Let's put an end to this "soul" vs. "essence" debate, shall we?
Sorry, didn't mean to make a debate out of it.
When I watched the ep again last night, Aku mentioned that Demongo could control the essences of warriors and beasts. And I also realized that some of the fighters were obviously robots.
If nothing else, it's easier to imagine robots having "essences" than souls.

I view this as more of a culture thing. Don't forget that Jack, Aku, and such are from Japan, the East. Therefore much of the language, dialogue, and thinking will lean heavily towards Eastern philosophies.
That would make sense.
I admit I'm not familiar with their position on the afterlife, or what survives of humans after death. Of course it depends greatly on whether we're talking about Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, or Shinto.

After watching the episode again, one other thing struck me. When Jack released the warriors, they all circled around Demongo, presumably to attack him/her/it. They looked mighty solid to me. Were they still essences?
Not that it matters. I just wondered.

One more annoying question, and I'll stop, I promise. When Demongo first unleashes the bunch of fighters, why does Jack say, "I know these warriors!"?
Another fan commented it was probably just because they were all such famous warriors that everyone knew about them, even a wandering anachronistic samurai.

[Greek_Honeybee]

Originally posted by Donna lady
When I watched the ep again last night, Aku mentioned that Demongo could control the essences of warriors and beasts. And I also realized that some of the fighters were obviously robots.
If nothing else, it's easier to imagine robots having "essences" than souls. And I remember Demongo telling Jack that he would steal his "warrior's essence" in particular. I assume that would be included in his soul, but maybe he meant something more specific? :confused: Am I making any sense?

[Anarky]

actually, he says that he's knows OF these warriors, meaning in his travels he's heard stories of others who have opposed Aku...yet met their demise.

[Yuss]

Demongo was great. That's all I have to say, not being a big Jack fan. :\

~B+:

[Mackenzie Rainelle]

Demongo was awesome. The huge jumps in voice pitch just made him better. "And I've come for you, Samuraaaiiiiii Jaaaack!"

[D.Shaffer]

Originally posted by livingfruitvirus
So what is this.....the 14th time his robe has been torn? ...Where DOES he get replacements? Heh. His tailor must hate him.