Samurai Jack Episode XXIII Review

Season: 2

Storyboarded and Written by: Mark Andrews

Plot: Aku sends Demongo, a creature with a collection of souls, to take Jack's, and kill him.

Score: 4

Review: Although at first it seemed like an interesting premise, this episode is marred by two things: Demongo's shrill, irritating, almost painful voice, and the complete lack of depth. It is basically a plot that has been seen before in Jack, with him having to fight from the inside. Unfortunately, the story is secondary to Demongo throwing skulls around and shrieking, which gets quite irritating.

Samurai Jack Episode XXII Review

Season: 2
Storyboarded and Written by: Genndy Tartakovsky
Plot: Aku sends the best hunters in the galaxy after Jack.
Score: 8
Review: This is one of the first episodes of season 2 that felt like a true Jack episode, and it was refreshing to have a second season episode be so serious and engaging. However, as a serious episode, it runs into the pacing problems that plagued the first episode, especially the long exposition. However, once the chase is on, the episode is solid and entertaining.

Samurai Jack Reviews Return With My Review of Episode XXI

Season: 2
Storyboarded and Written by: I think Paul Rudish and Charlie Bean
Plot: Jack must track down a flatulent dragon.
Score: 7.5
Review: Continuing season 2's focus on humor, episode XXI begins in a silly way with British accented villagers telling jokes, and a crazy bird with his money-crazed shop owning master. However, this is one of the few Samurai Jack episodes where the humorous writing is actually successful. It would have scored higher if not for the ending, which involves Jack traveling through the innards of a dragon. Now I'm all for gross-out humor, but this seems a bit gratuitous and self-indulgent. Plus it takes up the half of the episode which would normally involve an action scene. It's imaginative, but not especially entertaining, and overall, unnecessary.

Samurai Jack Episode XX Review

Season:2
Storyboarded and Written by: Charlie Bean, Paul Rudish, and someone else, I think Erik Weise
Plot: Jack climbs a mountain.
Score:7.7
Review: This is a solid episode, and the mountain monks are funny. It is well done, if not extrordinary. However, there is one thing, visually, that annoys me at the end of this episode. When Jack is at the top of the mountain, and he collapses into the snow with his hair down, he looks extremely white and Disney, like one of those "Indians" from Brother Bear. And believe me Samurai, being mentioned in the same sentence as Brother Bear is not a good thing.

Samurai Jack Episode XIX Review

Season: 2
Plot: Jack finds the ruins of his home in the past
Score: 8
Review: Another enjoyable "art gallery episode" which features mini stories from Jack's past. There is almost no dialouge, and is quite effective. This is one of the shortest reviews yet, for I have no more to say.

Samurai Jack Episode XVIII Review

Season: 2
Plot: Jack tracks and fights some super assassin robots.
Score: 7.8
Review: XVIII is an entertaining if not especially deep episode. It has plenty of action, and a little story, and a scientist sidekick/comedy relief.

Samurai Jack Episode XVII Review

Season: 2
Storyboarded and written by: Mark Andrews
Plot: Another Scotsman episode, this time focusing squarely on fat and haggis.
Score: 7
Review: I'm all for Scottish and fat jokes...if they're funny, which these are not. Watching this episode is like watching someone who has drunk 50 cups of espresso walk back and forth ranting in a Scottish accent: Its funny for a bit, than it gets annoying. The caffein analogy is really all I need for this review.

Jack is back with my review of episode XVI

I've missed almost a week of posts, and I've been sick. But now, I return with a new review.

Season: 2
Storyboarded and Written by: Chris Reccardi
Plot: Jack is sent to a place like a collesium called the Dome of Doom
Score: 8.5
Review: In one of the best episodes of season 2, episode XVI balances action and humor well. As Jack takes down a string of opponents with increasingly ridiculous powers. The first opponent is especially hillarious as he strings together pre-battle yelling with a monosylibic vocabualry as well as one of the best uses of a monotone yet. Even if this episode is nothing more than a lot of fighting, it is extremely entertaining.

Samurai Jack Episode XV Review

Season: 2
Storyboarded and Written by Chris Savino and Erik Weise
Plot: 3 hit/miss mini stories
Score: Since there are 3 stories, this will be scored by story. Story 1: 6.7 Story 2: 7 Story 3: 6
Review: These three short Samurai Jack stories are all extremely wierd. The best is story 2. Why? Because it features cannibalism. Yep, there are a bunch of robots, who look just like people, eating each other. The first story is a short but amusing riddle story. The third is an odd story with Jack rescuing a captured fairy. And speaking of cannibalism: coming soon: Zombie Review Fest!

Samurai Jack Episode XIV Review

Season: 2
Plot: Jack runs into a tribe of monkeys, and teaches them to defend themseselves, in order for them to teach him how to "jump good"
Score: 7.7
Review: This episode sets the tone for Season 2. It is a much more humor focused episode, and it is paced much faster. It is entertaining and fairly funny. However, it seems that the crew wanted to start the season on a happier note, and actually shows Jack scoring a victory against Aku. This gives the episode a more optomistic feel, however, it leaves it up to the viewer to figure out why Jack is still in the future. It is a good episode, but it fits poorly into the Samurai Jack timeline.s

Samurai Jack: Season 1 Wrapup

Season
I've been quite harsh when reviewing the first season episodes, mabey a bit too harsh. However, the point I was trying to illustrate was that the first season peaked in its second half, and was entertaining but suffered from poor pacing, and that the show itself peaked in the beginning of its fourth season. While these origonal episodes don't compare to the later excellent episodes, they are still very entertaining, if not as awesome as the peak episodes, which is as it should be. The best shows I've seen peak in their third and fourth seasons, and Jack is no exception. The trick is to watch these episodes first and watch as the show gets steadily better.

Score: 7

DVD
For the season 1 disks, you get a very good commentary on episode VII by Genndy Tartakovsky and Bryan Andrews. Get used to their voices, as they are on the next 4 commentary tracks as well. There is also a fairly good making of, although it doesn't feature as many people as it does on the premier movie disk. Also included are the usual, decent, still galleries.

Score: 7
Overall: 7

Samurai Jack Episode XIII Review

Season: 1
Plot: Aku makes up nasty stories about Jack.
Score: 7.5
Review: This is an important pioneer episode in many ways. It is the first episode entirely focused on humor, with very little action, and is the first episode to feature a villain in the leading role, with Jack as a secondary charachter. As it is a pioneer episode, it comes off as a little awkward, leaving the viewer wondering where Jack is, and I was dumbstruck by the series' newfound humor that was so prominently featured in the second season. However, this type of humor is very silly, and, while it can be good when used effectively, can also become repetitive and annoying. It works on a hit or miss basis, and this episode is a mild hit.

Samurai Jack Episode XII Review

Season:1
Storyboarded and Written by: Chriss Reccardi
Plot: Jack joins the villains, a group of Chicago gangsters, in order to get close to Aku.
Score: 8
Trivia: This episode features robots similar to the robot X-49 in season 4.
Review: This episode is funny, mostly for the gangsters who say "kay" or "see" after every sentence, and is also one of the best paced season 1 episodes, with an action scene at the beginning, middle and end. Overall, a solid episode.

Samurai Jack Episode XI Review

Season: 1
Storyboarded and Written by: Mark Andrews and Bryan Andrews.
Plot: Jack meets the recurring Scotsman charachter in his first and best episode.
Score: 8.1
Review: This episode introduces two important recurring elements, and is a lot of fun as well. It is the first episode to feature Jack's samurai hat, and also features the Scotsman, a huge, well... Scotsman, with a machine gun for a leg. The episode is definately humor geared, and is the only Scotsman episode that actually succeeds at being funny. In addition to the Scottish banter is the hillarious pig bounty hunter who yells gibberish before going to battle.

Samurai Jack Episode X Review

Season: 1
Plot: Jack fights through a level of a video game to get to a pretty neat 15 minute story.
Score: 8.1
Review: This is one of the first Jack episodes that carries a real emotional weight, and this puts it up there with the best of Season 1. The beginning of the episode, however, is basically like watching a video game. Although Jack is an action show, very few of it's episodes fall into this trap. The main reason I like this episode, however, is that there is someone who wants to die fighting, and Samurai Jack has to kill him. The episode doesn't have to apologise for, or cover up the death that is it's theme, which puts it above most TV.

Samurai Jack Episode IX Review

Season: 1
Storyboarded and Written by: Chris Reccardi and I think someone else...mabey Chris Savino again.
Plot: Jack searches for an ancient underwater time macine and falls into a trap.
Score: 6.7
Review: As usuall, this episode pattern of being slow paced yet still enjoyable. This episode is good enough, but it is also nothing special. Its best feature is a fish which is controlled by pulling on its brain.

Well... that was kind of a lame review, I guess that's what happens when you review something you haven't watched for months. Oh well, next episode.

Samurai Jack: Episode VIII Review

Season: 1
Plot: Jack is split into two halves, good, normal Jack, and Mad Jack.
Score: 5.6
Review: The plot idea of this episode is incredibly generic. The whole episode is basically Jack and Mad Jack running at each other and screaming and then fighting. This episode's main significance is it introduces Jack without his hair tied, and it corrects some pacing by being one of the first episodes to be entirely action with almost no plot. Otherwise, it is another mediocre Season 1 episode.

Incidentally, this is the Daily Cynic's 50th post. Happy 50th post all my nonexistant readers! God, its like I'm just, talking to myself on the internet. I need to get a life. Oh, by the way, this post has a crapload of labels...I'M TALKING TO MYSELF AGAIN!

Samurai Jack Episode VII Review

Season: 1
Storyboarded and Written by: Mark and Brian Andrews
Plot: Jack attempts to conquer a tower guarded by three blind archers in order to use the magic well at the top to go back in time.
Score: 8.5
Review: This is a hint of things to come. This episode features great action, as well as the Samurai Jack staple of emotional connection to the dynamic battles without much dialouge. It begins with an action scene not featuring Jack, however, once Jack is brought into the plot, it falls victim to the number one season 1 fault: The pacing suddenly lags, with a rather long lead up to Jack's battle. However, once started, the action is exhillarating and the end will leave the viewer in awe. This is unquestionably the best episode of the first season.

Samurai Jack Episode VI Review

Season: 1
Storyboarded and Written by Genndy Tartakovsky...I think
Plot: The basic "Jack teams up with" plot-with a twist.
Score: 7.7
Review: Although the pacing still isn't right, it's better. It begins and ends with an action scene, however, the montage in the middle is very long and seems to be mostly filler. Although it is a step in the right direction, it still doesn't compare to episodes in later seasons.

Samurai Jack Episode V Review

Season: 1
Score: 5.4
Plot: Jack teams up with some scientists to... yeah, it's the Jack teams up with blank to free the blank, and get him information and/or a way back in time.
Review: There are a bunch of episodes like this in the first season, and a few in the second, which follow this same basic plot. They are often slow paced, like this one. The pacing in this one is extremely slow and it is a fairly dull episode.