[9.0/10] It’s funny, I’ve enjoyed a lot of episodes that play into Jack’s frustrations with the premise-mandated fact that he has to continue to fail in his quest or the show wouldn’t be able to continue. We’ve seen him struggle when he gets so close to a portal or to defeating Aku, only for victory to slip through his hands, and it’s a nice way to wring some pathos over the plot necessities of the premise.
But I like the way this flips things a bit. There’s not a lot of pathos to Aku, but there’s definitely frustration in a similar vein, since he has tried, time and time again, to defeat Jack to no avail. I enjoy the opening segment where he sends a rapid-fire array of bounty hunters and other baddies that Jack dispenses with in short order, causing Aku to poverbally tear his hair out.
But what’s really fun about this episode is how it pokes fun at that conceit a little. This is probably the most sel-faware and meta episode of Samurai Jack. There’s something inherently amusing to me about Aku showing up to confront Jack, but not to fight him, only to point out that their fights always go a certain way (even reenacting it), and that he wants to settle this once and for all. I’m a sucker for shows subtly poking fun at themselves, and Mako is so good that I can’t help but love this one too.
What’s extra funny here is that the show contrasts its grand, mythic quest and uber-evil villain with the sort of mundanity of everyday life. Sure, the duel between Jack and Aku is a clash between virtue and villainy, but it’s preceded by Aku ordering a bounty hunter like he’d order a pizza, the pair stretching and limbering up, and an arcane back and forth about the rules for the context.
The ensuing bit of hand-to-hand combat has some outstanding sequences. There’s something telling about how Jack easily bests Aku in a fair fight, to where Aku has to resort to more and more cheating to stay in the game. The two of them leaping from pillars, clashing with staffs, and just generally displaying the show’s cool take on kung fu against one another is entertaining as hell.
At the same time, though, there’s a sort of Looney Tunes quality to this one, which plays into notions of how Wile E. Coyote will be chasing the road RUnner forever, or how Tom and Jerry will be going at it for ages. There’s a goofiness that counterbalances the epicness here, and it got a lot of laughs out of ‘em.
I especially enjoy the sort of awkward pleasantries and admonishments between Jack and AKu. Everything from them hammering out the rules to Jack chastising Aku for cheating has a sort of backyard playground vibe to it. I particularly enjoyed the Princess Bride-esque double bluff with the fake swords to throw off Aku. Between the ploys upon ploys, and Aku’s various methods to try to bend the rules, this showdown may not have the momentousness of some others (see: the zombie episode), but it has some sheer joy and comedy in the effort.
Overall, this one is delightful, taking a very meta look at the continuing skirmishes between Jack and Au and having lots of fun with them. I’ll be back, Samurai!
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2020-04-09T20:45:48Z
[9.0/10] It’s funny, I’ve enjoyed a lot of episodes that play into Jack’s frustrations with the premise-mandated fact that he has to continue to fail in his quest or the show wouldn’t be able to continue. We’ve seen him struggle when he gets so close to a portal or to defeating Aku, only for victory to slip through his hands, and it’s a nice way to wring some pathos over the plot necessities of the premise.
But I like the way this flips things a bit. There’s not a lot of pathos to Aku, but there’s definitely frustration in a similar vein, since he has tried, time and time again, to defeat Jack to no avail. I enjoy the opening segment where he sends a rapid-fire array of bounty hunters and other baddies that Jack dispenses with in short order, causing Aku to poverbally tear his hair out.
But what’s really fun about this episode is how it pokes fun at that conceit a little. This is probably the most sel-faware and meta episode of Samurai Jack. There’s something inherently amusing to me about Aku showing up to confront Jack, but not to fight him, only to point out that their fights always go a certain way (even reenacting it), and that he wants to settle this once and for all. I’m a sucker for shows subtly poking fun at themselves, and Mako is so good that I can’t help but love this one too.
What’s extra funny here is that the show contrasts its grand, mythic quest and uber-evil villain with the sort of mundanity of everyday life. Sure, the duel between Jack and Aku is a clash between virtue and villainy, but it’s preceded by Aku ordering a bounty hunter like he’d order a pizza, the pair stretching and limbering up, and an arcane back and forth about the rules for the context.
The ensuing bit of hand-to-hand combat has some outstanding sequences. There’s something telling about how Jack easily bests Aku in a fair fight, to where Aku has to resort to more and more cheating to stay in the game. The two of them leaping from pillars, clashing with staffs, and just generally displaying the show’s cool take on kung fu against one another is entertaining as hell.
At the same time, though, there’s a sort of Looney Tunes quality to this one, which plays into notions of how Wile E. Coyote will be chasing the road RUnner forever, or how Tom and Jerry will be going at it for ages. There’s a goofiness that counterbalances the epicness here, and it got a lot of laughs out of ‘em.
I especially enjoy the sort of awkward pleasantries and admonishments between Jack and AKu. Everything from them hammering out the rules to Jack chastising Aku for cheating has a sort of backyard playground vibe to it. I particularly enjoyed the Princess Bride-esque double bluff with the fake swords to throw off Aku. Between the ploys upon ploys, and Aku’s various methods to try to bend the rules, this showdown may not have the momentousness of some others (see: the zombie episode), but it has some sheer joy and comedy in the effort.
Overall, this one is delightful, taking a very meta look at the continuing skirmishes between Jack and Au and having lots of fun with them. I’ll be back, Samurai!