Question(s) for Samurai Jack fans

[JTurner954]

I noticed a commercial that says Samurai Jack will be airing 5 times a week. Since I have never seen the show (and I prefer to watch a series from the beginning), will CN show the episodes in order?? If not, when will the first episode be shown?

[Greek_Honeybee]

As far as we can tell, the Mon - Thurs episodes will be in order. Starting tonight, at 10 PM Eastern.

[Watermelon]

Accuatly, they don't play the episodes in order all the time. They air episdoe V and the next day they air episode II. So don't give your hopes up.

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[Mynd Hed]

I wouldn't worry about it too much in any case, Samurai Jack isn't really one of those shows where you HAVE to watch everything in order to enjoy it.

[Numbuh 4]

Yep, they're in order... At least the Mon-Thrus
Here is some proof (http://schedule.cartoonnetwork.com/servlet/ScheduleServlet?action=viewAll&showID=318983&show=Samurai+Jack)
Aw, It's little Red hood...http://i.cartoonnetwork.com/orbit/cToonMedia/SJ/SJ_little_red_hood/little_red_hood_fm1.gif

[JTurner954]

Thanks for posting the schedule.

I'll probably ask more questions similar to what I did when I first started watching Dragonball Z.

[Greek_Honeybee]

:D I doubt that. DBZ is about as complicated as they come, while SJ has turned simplicity into quite the art form. Either quality could be considered good or bad, depending on what you look for in a series. But I happen to like both.

[JTurner954]

Ok, I watched the episode and sure enough I have questions.

1. Is this villain named Aku suppose to be from hell, or is he just a villain with powers?

2. Was the woman who gave Samurai Jack the sword his mother, or just another person whom he trained with?

That's all the questions I have for now.

[Mynd Hed]

1. Is this villain named Aku suppose to be from hell, or is he just a villain with powers?

Well, Aku's origin is left almost completely unrevealed from what I've seen. He was imprisoned in what is euphemistically termed "The Pit of Hate," which we can assume is the Samurai Jack equivalent of hell. Beyond that... who knows?

2. Was the woman who gave Samurai Jack the sword his mother, or just another person whom he trained with?

Yes, you've got it, she's his mother.

[Greek_Honeybee]

Originally posted by JTurner954
1. Is this villain named Aku suppose to be from hell, or is he just a villain with powers? I once heard a friend mention that she found a website that listed all the gods of Japanese mythology. Their relationships to each other and what they presided over. And she said that a god named Aku was among them. He was a god of evil and hatred, which suits SJ's Aku perfectly.

She couldn't remember where this site was to find it again, and I've been searching, so I'm not sure of how much truth there is to it. But she went into enough detail about it that I don't think she was making it up.

Of course, "aku" does mean "evil" in Japanese. That alone could've inspired the writers and the possibility that a mythological character exists with the same name and purpose could just be a coincidence. Then again, even if that was what they had in mind I doubt that Cartoon Network would want to mention the whole gods and demons thing if they can help it out of fear of religious fanatics and all. (Who can blame them? I wouldn't want to mess with them if I could help it either!)

[JTurner954]

Does this series have other mythological beings? Would the show be considered mythology?

BTW, I missed the scene where the dog appeared while Samurai Jack was surrounded by those swordsmen. How did Jack (or the dog) get rid of those men?

[Sharklady]

> Does this series have other mythological beings? <

They do show up from time to time.

In 'Jack vs. the Rock Monster', some Valkyries and Norse gods put in an appearence. In a more recent ep, the evil Egyptian deity Set, and his virtuous brother Horus, were players.

And in the 'Jackie the Blade' episode, the depiction of powerful entities controlling the forces of Water, Wind, Fire and Rock, is consistant with several mythological traditions.

[Donna lady]

Originally posted by JTurner954
Does this series have other mythological beings? Would the show be considered mythology?
There are several characters with mythological or fantasy influences.
In ep XVII (17), the Scotsman's Wife is kidnapped by the demonic Celtic Master of the Hunt.
In ep XX (20), Jack meets some decidedly mystical monks.
There's also the SJ promo "What Is Evil?" You can find it on the Web at Auntie Momo's SJ site under "News"
http://www.auntiemomo.com/samuraijack/news.html
or here:
http://www.boardsmag.com/screeningroom/animation/454

Originally posted by JTurner954
BTW, I missed the scene where the dog appeared while Samurai Jack was surrounded by those swordsmen. How did Jack (or the dog) get rid of those men?
Oh, Jack sliced them all to bits, no problem.

[JTurner954]

Originally posted by Donna lady



Oh, Jack sliced them all to bits, no problem.

So the dog went there to congratulate him and ask for his help?

What kind of show do most people describe "Samurai Jack" as? Is it action, drama, comedy (though it seems low key), science fiction? A combination?

[Donna lady]

Originally posted by JTurner954
So the dog went there to congratulate him and ask for his help?
Well, the dogs were there to find a warrior who could help free them from their enslavement to Aku. So, when they saw Jack handily defeat those baddies, they said, "That's our boy!"

Originally posted by JTurner954
What kind of show do most people describe "Samurai Jack" as? Is it action, drama, comedy (though it seems low key), science fiction? A combination?
Genndy Tartakovsky has said in interviews that he came up with SJ as an antidote to cartoons that don't have enough action. Hence all the fighting, and the de-emphasis on plot (for example, the lack of plot continuity).
Certainly there are elements of drama, fantasy, science fiction, mythology, epic poetry, and of course comedy.
Primarily it's intended as an action-adventure show.

[Sharklady]

> What kind of show do most people describe "Samurai Jack" as? Is it action, drama, comedy (though it seems low key), science fiction? <

Most of the time it's action-adventure, though it's had a few episodes that were out-and-out comedies ('Aku's Fractured Fairy Tales', 'Jack In Wonderland.') In this regard, the series is a lot like the original Star Trek.

On the other hand, I would say it belongs to the Fantasy genre, rather than Science Fiction. SciFi is supposed to stay within the realm of the theoretically possible, wherence Fantasy is under no such limitation.

[JTurner954]

I was watching Raw and 6 minutes into the episode I remembered to press RECORD on the VCR. Can someone tell me what happened in the first 6-7 minutes of the episode?