Post by Tea Rex on Dec 22, 2013 23:07:43 GMT -5
Let’s begin with the format that I’m using. I’ll write a quick summary of the episode at the top, and then analyze the episode below. I’ll mark the summary’s end so that if you want to skip it, you can.
A quick rundown of events: The evil demon Aku is awakened by a solar eclipse. The Emperor tells his son of Aku’s defeat, only to be attacked by the same monster within moments of finishing the story. The son is whisked away by his mother and sent off on a journey around the world to learn every skill he’ll need to destroy Aku and reclaim his birthright. Many years later he retreaves a magic sword from his now-monastic mother and returns to his homeland to find that his people, including his father, enslaved by Aku. Fights Aku, only to be flung far into the future at the moment of Aku’s defeat.
Once in the future, and after a bit of bumbling around, the Samurai finds out that now runs the world. He is approached by a group of talking archaeologist dogs looking for a mercenary. The dogs had been working on excavating evidence of their ancient ancestors when they came upon some crystals that Aku covets and were forced into slavery. The Samurai, who calls himself “Jack” after a threesome of guys’ use of “Jack” toward him (in the sense of “Hey, Jack, lookit you!”), agrees to help the dogs. /Rundown complete
So what makes this show different from any of a number of kids' media about heroes? Well, first the main character is not a child. Though we meet him as a little boy, by the time the main premise is set in action our hero is fully grown. He isn't even youthful - based on that training montage, the age of his mother when he sees her again and the creases under his eyes (the illustrated shorthand for age), I'd put Jack somewhere in his thirties. Not only that, Jack isn't The Chosen One – his parents placed upon his shoulders the duty to defeat Aku; in other words, he was made, not born, to be a hero. The man spent decades honing his skills and only returns to his homeland when he thinks he has the strength to go up against the world's most powerful evil.
And then he fails. Far different is this from most kid hero fare, wherein the protagonist is a child, teen or young adult with crazy odds thrust upon them that they ultimately overcome. This is what gives credibility to Jack's skill. This is no greenhorn who suddenly knows how to fight baddies. This is a guy whose whole life is dedicated to ending an invasion of evil, and every swing of his sword is an indication of his constant training. And when he fails, as soon as he finds his bearings he goes back to his task.
Second, the artwork is astounding, and gets better as the series continues. The style is hard and jagged one moment, soft and flowing another, but always abstract and colorful. And what about those beautiful woodcut-style screens portraying Jack’s father’s encounter with Aku? How about the fun, funky designs for the future vehicles? And I love their depiction of action, particularly when it goes split screen to show all angles of a scene. This is an animation team that knows what it’s doing and is having a blast throwing things together.
Third, the show takes some serious risks with presentation. Silence is used throughout the show to portray mood. Three great scenes: the cold open of the first episode, which spends a number of minutes simply showing us a black, pointy growth before the eclipse awakens Aku; the opening of the second episode where Jack’s encounter with the future has no thematic music or dialog for about five minutes – we get sounds of the city as Jack fights his way to solid ground; when Jack is finally surrounded by the beetle drones and the only sound is their metallic clanking as they circle around him.
That scene also leads into another great use of presentation – the show allows moments to breathe. All action pauses for a good click of time as the camera closes in on the reflection of Jack in the eyes of the bots. We cut to Jack as he swings his sword behind him, which reflects the beetles. We proceed to multiple cuts of the dogs watching from a safe distance, suddenly unsure if they trusted the right guy to be their hero. The moment stretches, the tension grows, and then the final battle begins.
And what a battle! The action is slowed down so that every slice of Jack’s sword through the mechanical viscera of the bots can be lingered on lovingly. Violence in this show is never over the top, but it is visceral - they may have used robots instead of fleshy beings, but even the youngest child must know that all that flying oil is just a stand-in for blood. And as Jack fights (leading to one of my favorite Samurai Jack cues for A Big Deal Battle, the ripping-off-of-the-top-of-the-gi), he is coated with that oil from head to foot. I’ve never seen a hero in a child’s show be so blatantly bloodthirsty. The action pauses for a moment on a drop of oil slipping from his sword, for christssakes! And as if to announce to viewers that Jack ain’t no merciful goodie-goodie, as a bot steps back in fear he says, “No, there is no escape.”
The battle is won, bots piled everywhere, the dogs are grateful, and Jack declares himself ready to search for a way back to the past to undo the evil of Aku. And Aku, watching from afar, declares war on the Samurai. Our show has begun.
Stray Observations:
There are a number of scenes and moments I love throughout these three episodes:
A quick rundown of events: The evil demon Aku is awakened by a solar eclipse. The Emperor tells his son of Aku’s defeat, only to be attacked by the same monster within moments of finishing the story. The son is whisked away by his mother and sent off on a journey around the world to learn every skill he’ll need to destroy Aku and reclaim his birthright. Many years later he retreaves a magic sword from his now-monastic mother and returns to his homeland to find that his people, including his father, enslaved by Aku. Fights Aku, only to be flung far into the future at the moment of Aku’s defeat.
Once in the future, and after a bit of bumbling around, the Samurai finds out that now runs the world. He is approached by a group of talking archaeologist dogs looking for a mercenary. The dogs had been working on excavating evidence of their ancient ancestors when they came upon some crystals that Aku covets and were forced into slavery. The Samurai, who calls himself “Jack” after a threesome of guys’ use of “Jack” toward him (in the sense of “Hey, Jack, lookit you!”), agrees to help the dogs. /Rundown complete
So what makes this show different from any of a number of kids' media about heroes? Well, first the main character is not a child. Though we meet him as a little boy, by the time the main premise is set in action our hero is fully grown. He isn't even youthful - based on that training montage, the age of his mother when he sees her again and the creases under his eyes (the illustrated shorthand for age), I'd put Jack somewhere in his thirties. Not only that, Jack isn't The Chosen One – his parents placed upon his shoulders the duty to defeat Aku; in other words, he was made, not born, to be a hero. The man spent decades honing his skills and only returns to his homeland when he thinks he has the strength to go up against the world's most powerful evil.
And then he fails. Far different is this from most kid hero fare, wherein the protagonist is a child, teen or young adult with crazy odds thrust upon them that they ultimately overcome. This is what gives credibility to Jack's skill. This is no greenhorn who suddenly knows how to fight baddies. This is a guy whose whole life is dedicated to ending an invasion of evil, and every swing of his sword is an indication of his constant training. And when he fails, as soon as he finds his bearings he goes back to his task.
Second, the artwork is astounding, and gets better as the series continues. The style is hard and jagged one moment, soft and flowing another, but always abstract and colorful. And what about those beautiful woodcut-style screens portraying Jack’s father’s encounter with Aku? How about the fun, funky designs for the future vehicles? And I love their depiction of action, particularly when it goes split screen to show all angles of a scene. This is an animation team that knows what it’s doing and is having a blast throwing things together.
Third, the show takes some serious risks with presentation. Silence is used throughout the show to portray mood. Three great scenes: the cold open of the first episode, which spends a number of minutes simply showing us a black, pointy growth before the eclipse awakens Aku; the opening of the second episode where Jack’s encounter with the future has no thematic music or dialog for about five minutes – we get sounds of the city as Jack fights his way to solid ground; when Jack is finally surrounded by the beetle drones and the only sound is their metallic clanking as they circle around him.
That scene also leads into another great use of presentation – the show allows moments to breathe. All action pauses for a good click of time as the camera closes in on the reflection of Jack in the eyes of the bots. We cut to Jack as he swings his sword behind him, which reflects the beetles. We proceed to multiple cuts of the dogs watching from a safe distance, suddenly unsure if they trusted the right guy to be their hero. The moment stretches, the tension grows, and then the final battle begins.
And what a battle! The action is slowed down so that every slice of Jack’s sword through the mechanical viscera of the bots can be lingered on lovingly. Violence in this show is never over the top, but it is visceral - they may have used robots instead of fleshy beings, but even the youngest child must know that all that flying oil is just a stand-in for blood. And as Jack fights (leading to one of my favorite Samurai Jack cues for A Big Deal Battle, the ripping-off-of-the-top-of-the-gi), he is coated with that oil from head to foot. I’ve never seen a hero in a child’s show be so blatantly bloodthirsty. The action pauses for a moment on a drop of oil slipping from his sword, for christssakes! And as if to announce to viewers that Jack ain’t no merciful goodie-goodie, as a bot steps back in fear he says, “No, there is no escape.”
The battle is won, bots piled everywhere, the dogs are grateful, and Jack declares himself ready to search for a way back to the past to undo the evil of Aku. And Aku, watching from afar, declares war on the Samurai. Our show has begun.
Stray Observations:
There are a number of scenes and moments I love throughout these three episodes:
- The reunion between Jack and his father. I love how Jack immediately kneels after his father knocks the sword from his hand. And it kills me to think of what he and his people thought of Jack’s disappearance and Aku’s continued existence.
- I used a battle scene above as an example of the show’s willingness to let moments breathe, but another great scene is Jack’s drink with the dogs. You can feel his awkwardness and confusion throughout the meeting – the way the jowly dog slowly smiles, and Jack hesitantly returns the smile, the bemusement at the drinks, the barely hidden disgust at the dogs’ lapping up their refreshments with gusto. It’s a great little scene.
- Just the smallest of moments, but when one of the dogs gives Jack a pen, and shows him how to use it. After he’s finished drawing out his plan, we get a close up of Jack’s thumb clicking the pen closed. I see this as the moment when Jack finally finds his feet in this new world.
