Samurai Jack in a Nutshell

Because I haven't praised Genndy Tartakovsky recently enough on this newsletter.

This was originally written in response to a question I received on my good ol’ hellsite blog, and realizing a lot of people here probably have no idea who Genndy Tartakovsky is and what absolute triumph he created in the early 2000’s, so I’m bringing this back for your general situational awareness and animation savvy.

Samurai Jack is a show about... Well, I’ll just let Mako lay it out for you:

Created by Genndy Tartakovsky of Dexter’s Lab/PPG fame from Cartoon Network’s hayday, it originally aired in 2001, and ran for 4 seasons before going on an indefinite hiatus.

Samurai Jack is what I like to refer to as “Baby’s First Kurosawa” or in general, an introduction to cinematic techniques, tropes, and pacing for the kids of the generation it premiered to. It is a deceptively brilliant show, and probably one of the best blends of excellent visuals, sound design, music, and pacing you’ll find. One of my favorite bits of insight into Genndy’s take on the show is from an interview with Mike Lazzo:

Cartoon Network executive Mike Lazzo recalled Tartakovsky pitching him the series: "He said, 'Hey, remember David Carradine in Kung Fu? Wasn't that cool?' and I was like, 'Yeah, that's really cool.' That was literally the pitch.”

Genndy is a massive cinephile and shows his homage prowess early and often with this series. Whether you’re a fan of Rashomon, High Noon, A Fistful of Dollars, Blade Runner, Conan the Barbarian, Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, and the finer meta of classical storytelling in film, or you just love everything from subdued, over the top, well timed, up to and including hilariously insightful gags, this is the show for you.

Now while I love gushing over Tartakovsky, the show’s success can also be attributed to the amazing talent lent by the likes of Bryan Andrews, Brian Larsen, Paul Rudish, Erik Wiese, Randy Myers, MARK ANDREWS, ROBERT FREAKIN ALVAREZ!! I could go on and on, but needless to say, this show has a dream team of animators, storyboard artists, writers, and directors helping Genndy out.

Seasons 1-4 do not necessarily need to be watched in order after the 3-part opening movie, I’d still recommend it nonetheless. You get a lot more from this series by keeping to the chronological air dates, and while it is episodic for the most part, there are wonderful gems of continuation strewn about the writing and character interactions.

Also keep in mind, this show was heavily yolked by Cartoon Network censors. Ironclad rules included no blood, no killing or injuring of organic creatures or humans, and a strange aversion to anything remotely bordering on the occult or horror themed, which seemed enforced sporadically at best.

While this is a bit frustrating, the rules themselves became a wonderful meta joke running through the entire show. Things that obviously did not need to be robots are revealed to be robots whenever possible. Action sequences are sometimes overly sensitive to the “IT’S A ROBOT” message that needed to be portrayed. And the first three episodes feature hilariously over the top sequences that you can hear channeling a physical middle-finger towards the censors of the day.

For those of you who are familiar with the series enough to be aware of the infamous season 5, you may have seen sentiments of shock or surprise at how “dark” and “brutal” it is. But in all honesty, the show has always had that potential underlying the toned down messages and silliness.

Hell, there’s an entire sequence in "The Birth of Evil” that has an army of horsemen being picked off one by one, impaled on black spears as they ride into battle, slowly whittling the force down until the final warrior remains. The scene is devoid of any and all hints of blood, or visual confirmation of what’s taking place, but the audio tells a very clear story. I can just see Genndy sitting in the sound editing booth with his producer playing dumb as he gets side eye from every angle of the CN censors board.

In any case, when watching this show, definitely give it the attention it deserves. A lot of the story is in small changes of expression, sweeping cuts across scenery, subtle motions of a character’s line of sight, distinct sound effects of the ambient environment, or the swelling of the soundtrack at just the right moment. If you’ve just got it on in the background while doing other work, chatting with friends, or working on a project, you’re missing most of what defines the genius of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack.