Art and entertainment

I loved how Aku took his time in deciding how to best kill Jack. Finally, he decides to use Ashi to kill him. That would've been a cruel fate as Jack loved Ashi. 

Before Aku can have Jack killed, Jack's friends come to save him. That was a very emotional moment. They most likely knew they were going to die but they tried rescuing him anyways. It was hard to watch Aku kill some of them. This episode did an astonishing job of building up tension and various emotions. If Jack doesn't travel back to the past, Aku will kill everyone. Jack tries his best to get Ashi back on his side. When he said "I love you!" out of desperation, that was powerful. The power of love was what finally helped Ashi regain control of herself. The soundtrack during this part of the episode made the scene more intense. 

Ashi realizes she has Aku's powers which means she can create a time portal to send him back to the past. The rematch between Jack and Aku was epic. Jack finally destroys Aku and rids the world of him forever.

The scene of his return to the past was amazing. I loved how beautiful the animation was especially during the wedding. The use of slow-motion in this scene was perfect. It made a dramatic transition from the awe and joy of marriage to shock and despair as Ashi slowly collapses. When she disappears and Jack cries, that was heartbreaking. 

Jack grieves presumably for a long time over her disappearance. Although Jack destroyed Aku and saved the world, Aku got the last laugh by taking away the woman he loved from him. He left a deep wound in Jack. When he sees a ladybug, he's reminded of the ladybug Ashi saw earlier in Samurai Jack season 5. This scene was a powerful ending. Jack realizes although Ashi is gone along with Aku, he can create a future of his own. What made it more powerful was the brand new soundtrack. The animation in the last scene was so amazing, especially the last shot of the mist dispersing as sunlight shined through. The shot of the cherry blossom tree was breathtaking. It resembled Ashi's head to me which meant she is still with him in his memories.      

Originally, I loved the ending but as I pondered more and more - I realized this was not a good ending. I disliked Ashi and Jack's relationship because it felt more like fan service than essential to the story. I understand what the writer was trying to do but it didn't work well. Ashi's purpose was to motivate Jack to return to the past which worked well. However, when he returned to the past - it felt like fan service and a forced ending. Jack spent so many years trying to get back to the past. He made so many friends in Aku's world and developed as a character. He learned valuable lessons in his journies like freeing himself from his rage and the meaning of friendship. 

For him to return to the past is to undo all of that. Its character development but backward. Losing Ashi after returning to the past was powerful but if Aku destroyed both Ashi AND his chance to return to the past - that would've been completely devastating. I feel like having Aku destroy Ashi and his chance to return to the past before Jack destroyed Aku would've been the best ending. It would've given a powerful theme that you can't change the past but you can change the future. Sadly, that's not the ending we got.

There are other flaws in Samurai Jack such as adult references and screentime devoted to Ashi's relationship with Jack. The humor was good but I felt it was mostly filler material. I really wished that screentime would've been devoted to things like the story rather than humor. Samurai Jack season 5 felt rushed compared to past seasons. 

In summary, Samurai Jack season 5 was an amazing season regardless. The show was near perfect. Samurai Jack is one of the best legendary animated TV shows in my view. I highly recommend buying season 5 on DVD!                 

This is one of the most intense Samurai Jack episodes I've ever seen. I loved the beginning of the episode because we got to explore another alien culture. It was special and creative. The scenery was beautiful. This review contains spoilers so beware!

The scene with the green tigers was a very intense fight. I loved how the show built up the tension quite well with little to no dialogue. What made this fight scary was seeing Jack and Ashi completely surrounded by them. It was also the fact the tigers expressed themselves with letters. 

I watched the latest episode of Samurai Jack season 5 episode 7 and i was absolutely amazed. The whole show became completely dark, violent, and grim on a level never before seen. With that in mind, i will give my thoughts and analysis on this episode including spoilers.

The beginning of the episode is set in the days of his younger self when he is searching for a time portal. He is greeted by several small creatures and they guide the way. He seems to have almost given up hope of ever returning to his time..that is until he abruptly finds a time portal. Jack quickly makes a run for it. He jumps in but just as he is traveling back in time, Aku grabs him and pulls him back. It would seem that Jack and Aku would once again engage in battle but Jack impatiently runs for the portal. This time Aku destroys it and tells Jack it was the last time portal in existence. At that moment, Jack loses his self control and is consumed by anger. In a fit of anger, he rushes towards Aku and attacks him. Aku evades him, wisely knowing that he cannot defeat Jack as long as he wields the sword. Aku transforms the small ram creatures into monsters to fight him. Jack takes out all of his anger on them until they all die. In a guilt-stricken and nervous state, he drops his sword. Jack is stunned by the realization of what he had done but the sword lands near a hole and it falls in. The scene flash-forwards to Jack recounting his tale to Ashi.

As they approach the site where Jack lost his sword, they find that it's gone. Ashi quickly suspects that someone has stolen it but Jack realizes that the sword has left him. Jack then goes on a spiritual mission to restore his sword as he sits in meditation as Ashi guards him. Jack appears in the center of the universe as if he reached a state of nirvana only to embark on a raft in the sea.

Ashi notices an entire army marching towards Jack and is surprised. Nevertheless, she confronts them and tells them that she will stop them all. They then engage in a fierce and brutal battle. It is in this very moment that Ashi's loyalty, character, and faith in Jack is tested.

Jack slowly reaches a house with a man resembling Buddha stands on the dock. The man asks him to join him for a cup of tea. This is very important as tea in Japanese culture has a strong spiritual connection with Zen Buddhism. The tea ceremony symbolized honor, clarity, transcendence, and a spiritual awakening to the Samurai. It's clear that Jack must be spiritually refined in this test before he can recover his sword.

Meanwhile, Ashi has killed almost all of the soldiers. She quickly realizes too late that there is all but one left alive and has already rushed to Jack. Ashi quickly runs on foot then calls the bird to her. Ashi barely stops the arrow flying towards Jack. It's revealed that the warrior attempting to kill Jack is none other than her mother. This is probably the biggest test that Ashi has ever faced and whether or not she really has changed for the greater good. Her mother explains to her that she was always the weak one and gives her one last chance to redeem herself by killing Jack. Ashi refuses and explains that her mother lied to her about everything. Ashi's mother realizing that Ashi clearly has taken Jack's side, fights against her. The high priestess then tells Ashi that Jack killed her sisters to which Ashi replies with "you killed them! We were made for one purpose - to kill! Our fate was sealed the day we were born!" The battle culminates to a point where Ashi kills her own mother.

In Jack's spiritual quest, the monk says that all the ingredients in the tea are good but it lacks the most important quality - balance. Jack is frustrated and angered by his response. Jack desperately pleads for the monk to show him the way to his sword but the monk refuses. The monk explains that it's not for him to show Jack his own path. Immediately we see Jack's manifestation of his inner anger rant about the monk hiding the way. As the monk explains the path to the sword is something Jack must earn, Jack's inner anger tells him that he deserves it after everything that has happened.

Eventually Jack realizes that the ultimate obstacle in his quest to the past was himself. Since the time he was transported to the future in the first episode to the present, Jack has built up alot of anger and frustrations. It's his inner uncontrollable anger that has blinded him. Interesting to note that one of Jack's greatest flaws is anger. If you recall in the episode "Jack vs. Mad Jack" episode, Jack has conquered his angry side before but it seems to have reappeared later in the show. Jack vanquishes his suppressed rage once and for all. The monk finally sees that Jack is completely in harmony with himself and we see the gods from the "birth of evil" episode appear to him. At long last, Jack is worthy of wielding his sword and undergoes a transformation to his younger self. While i enjoyed this scene, i disliked Jack going back his younger self because it's not consistent with the story. The episode concludes with Jack returning to the present world and tells Ashi that the next step in their journey is to fight Aku.

These are my concluding thoughts regarding this episode. I predict in the next episode that Jack and Ashi will face Aku but will not be able to defeat him. Let me know your thoughts and predictions in the comments below as i eagerly await the release of the next episode.  

The previous episode concluded with Jack falling from a broken tree along with Ashi and the other daughters of Aku. This week's episode wasn't quite what i expected but the light humorous tone and exploration of Ashi's character as i'll discuss. Spoilers included.

The episode begins by Jack surviving the fall and looking at the bloodied body of Ashi, presumed to be dead. Jack once again hallucinates that the crows accuse him of being a murderer. Jack is deeply troubled and says they chose their own fate in defense. Little does Jack know that Ashi is still alive and she attacks him. He manages to capture her and is surprised by her warped mentality. At that point, he sees a very troubled and misguided soul rather than a real enemy. He chooses to spare her and take her with him as they are attacked by several creatures. Suddenly, they find themselves swallowed by an enormous creature and have to find a way out. From that point on, Jack is constantly having to deal with both the creatures and Ashi.

While in the creature, Jack faces more hallucinations. His former self tells him that she should suffer the consequences of her actions. This internal dialogue is very interesting because we get a glimpse into Jack's younger self. We've never seen Jack encounter a situation like the one he currently is facing but if he did, he'd probably show no compassion towards someone like Ashi. It's in this episode that we realize that now that Jack is older, he blames himself for her hateful character. He feels guilt over not vanquishing Aku and is now paying the price of seeing a human brainwashed to Aku's will. Meanwhile, Ashi seems to be stuck in an internal struggle of her own. From what it seems, she feels abandoned. It's like she wants to give up her quest to destroy Jack but is reminded by her "mother" in a dream of her original purpose.    

Ashi is captured and Jack saves her from deadly creatures. She's clearly ungrateful and keeps raving about how majestic Aku is. Jack has an outburst and tells her the truth about him. He explains to Ashi that Aku has destroyed mother nature and that is what makes him evil. Ashi refuses to believe it and continues to make Jack suffer even as he struggles to find a way out of the enormous creature. Both come across a group of creatures amazed as Jack says "even in the bowels of the darkest of creatures, there is beautiful light." They struggle to make their way out of a blowhole and eventually land on a piece of land.

Ashi manages to free herself with a blade and sneaks up on an unsuspecting Jack. She then has a flashback of when she was a girl, she saw a ladybug and ceased from training. The high priestess took the ladybug and called it a distraction then crushed it in her fingers. Flashforward back to the present, Ashi sees a ladybug land on Jack's finger and he does nothing to it. She slowly drops her weapon and falls down as she succumbs to the truth. Ashi finally realizes that everything that she's learned has been wrong. She was told in episode 1 that Jack was the one who threatened to destroy mother nature but the high priestess killed the ladybug. Ashi slowly learned to value life in a way that she never has before. She realizes that if her whole purpose was to kill then Aku isn't as benevolent as he is made out to be. She has no other choice but to journey with Jack for the time being until they figure out what to do next.

In conclusion, these are my thoughts and interpretations of the episode. I'd like to hear more about what you thought in the comments below as far as whether or not Ashi is redeemable and what will happen in the future.

 

Just finished watching Samurai Jack season 5 episode 3 which took place after Jack fell into the river and drifted away from the daughters of Aku. This episode was far more darker than the last one as i explain in my review. Once again, spoilers included.