Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack
Premiere	August 10, 2001
Finale	May 20, 2017
Creator	Genndy Tartakovsky
Network/Provider	Cartoon Network (seasons 1-4), Adult Swim (seasons 5)
Style	30-minute animated sci-fi action
Company	Cartoon Network Studios
Seasons	5
Episodes	62
Origin	USA

Samurai Jack is Genndy Tartakovsky's epic science fiction animated series about a Samurai who is sent far into the future where he must help the world against Aku, his arch enemy who hurled him from his normal place in time into a dystopian world where Aku's law rules.

The series is best known for its highly stylized, yet detailed, animation style, particularly the stark contrast of the simple characters against the complex backgrounds. It was also well known for using actions to tell the story, occasionally removing dialogue entirely from episodes in order to better convey the story through music and animation.

Despite its critical and fan acclaim, the series was abruptly cancelled on September 25, 2004 apparently due to Cartoon Network's 52 episode clause.

On December 2, 2015, Adult Swim announced that Tartakovsky would continue the epic story of the titular character in a new season, which premiered in March 2017. In this new series, it had been fifty years hence but Jack has not aged--an effect from Aku sending him back. Jack continued to fight Aku's minions but has all but consigned himself to never returning to destroy him. Aku became morose as a despotic ruler, realizing that he will never destroy Jack, just keep him from returning. What Aku doesn't know is that Jack does not have his sword (from the original series). Jack obtained a traveling companion. Ashi is a girl who was sent to kill Jack, brainwashed by her mother (who is under Aku's influence) to believe Jack is evil, until Jack shows her the truth. As they battle, Jack and Ashi fall in love. They finally reach Aku's lair, but Aku uses his powers to make Ashi attack Jack until she uses her own will power to resist. Jack is overcome and imprisoned by Aku as those Jack helped in the past come to his aid. Jack manages to free himself and destroy Aku once and for all. In his homeland, Jack prepares for his wedding to Ashi, but all is not well. Ashi was born from Aku, and now without Aku, Ashi cannot exist herself. The series concludes with Jack in a field looking with melancholy at a ladybug, with whom he managed to convince Ashi that he was not evil.

Cast

Actor	Character	Duration
Main Cast		1	2	3	4	5
Phil LaMarr	Samurai Jack	*	*	*	*	*
Mako	Aku	*	*	*	*
Greg Baldwin						*
Supporting/Recurring Cast		1	2	3	4	5
John Di Maggio	The Scotsman	*	*	*	*	*
Tara Strong	Ashi					*

Seasons

Season	Premiere	Finale				#
Cartoon Network
Season One	August 10, 2001	December 3, 2001				13
Season Two	March 1, 2002	October 11, 2002				13
Season Three	October 18, 2002	June 7, 2003				13
Season Four	June 14, 2003	September 25, 2004				13
Adult Swim
Season Five	March 11, 2017	May 20, 2017				10

In-Depth

• At a Glance: Additional information about the series
• Characters: A listing of characters in the series

DVD Releases

Title	Release Date	#
Season Sets
Season 1	May 4, 2004	2	purchase
Season 2	May 24, 2005	2	purchase
Season 3	May 23, 2006	2	purchase
Season 4	August 28, 2007	2	purchase
Individual Episodes
The Premiere Movie	March 19, 2002	1	purchase

External Sites

• Samurai Jack at the Internet Movie Database