Customer Reviews

Samurai Jack: The Complete Seasons 1-4

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

On a bizarre, futuristic alternate Earth, a lone samurai armed only with the magic sword of his ancestors, treks through a savage world on his quest to return to his own time.

Samurai Jack fights his way through hordes of wierd alien warriors and criminal thugs, robotic armies, and dangerous monsters. He was the prince of a mythical Japanese kingdom in a previous time, liberating his nation from the enslavement of Aku (voiced by Mako), a powerful but buffoonish demonic being who is the embodiment of all things evil. Jack triumphs over Aku, but Aku cast a spell on Jack, sending him many centuries into the future. Jack finds himself in a nightmarish dystopian world subjugated by Aku's all-powerful totalitarian police-state.

Precisely WHY is this an excellent show for young people?

In this profoundly imaginitive series, Samurai Jack is a noble warrior fighting for the cause of justice, right, and good. He generously helps many oppressed people along the way, teaching them how to fight Aku's evil armies and gangs of henchmen. In the course of his quest, Jack frequently endures harsh ordeals of battle, deprivation, climate, and basic survival. He bravely stands alone against powerful adversaries who sometimes inflict grievous and brutal abuse upon him, forcing him to retreat and re-assess his strategy.

... But then Jack counter-attacks with new tactics and even greater resolve, and prevails against his opponents. He NEVER gives up! Not only is Samurai Jack a mighty warrior, he is pure of heart, merciful, and kind.

Being a father, I have largely searched in vain for contemporary cartoons that have anything of substance, suitable for my child.

Children are exposed to quite a bit of nondescript meaningless trash, in animated form. Samurai Jack is a most welcome exception!

I find this to be a triumphant, intelligent, and truly worthy presentation of the heroic ideal for young viewers.

Samurai Jack!!! The Best Of The Best!!!

I have always loved cartoons, but in the past few years television animation has degenerated for the most part into inane nonsense with no real message or clever writing. There are exceptions however, and chief among them is the masterpiece of animation that is Samurai Jack.

This Emmy Award winning series, in my humble opinion, is nothing short of the greatest animated series ever! Why Cartoon Network ceased its production of the show will always remain a mystery to me. I still think of it as a travesty of monumental proportions.

Each episode in this brilliant series is well written, and amazingly executed. This is not your basic slapped together Saturday morning cartoon. Samurai Jack is high art. There was never anything like it before on television, and there has not been anything to match it since.

Each episode has a theme and a message that can be translated into values and ethics that really matter in life; courage, honor, loyalty, generosity, tenacity, integrity, intelligence, humor, respect, beauty, magnanimity, and education are writ large upon the sandaled path of Samurai Jack's quest.

All of this is rendered in vividly astonishing and utterly unique animation that is cinematic and epic in nature, not to mention every frame could be made into a fine art print. Samurai Jack with his magical, ancestral katana gripped firmly in hand, though alone in a world strange and unknown to him, he stands resolute and triumphant against impossible odds, striving ever forward to defeat evil, uphold justice and mercy, and return to defend his homeland from misery and destruction, thus saving the world from a future of bondage and terror.

If you want a magnificent piece of art and literature purchase this series.

'Nough said.

I want this set !! 5 Stars.

But I was doing the math. If I buy Season 1 (2 Discs) = ~$18; Season 2 (2 discs)=~$18; Season 3(2 disks)=~$23; Season 4 (2 disks)=~$23. (As of Oct 07). Total cost for seasons 1-4 (8 disks) is ~$84.

BUT if I buy This new Seasons 1-4 Set (Same 8 Disks), it costs ~$100. hmmmmmm.....

Will keep this in my wishlist until someone at Amazon doublechecks their math, and adjust to ~$80 (or less?)
BACK TO THE PAST SAMURAI JACK....

3.11.2008
It's an amazing series without a doubt, but as of 3.11.2008, the price is over $100 for the 4 season set. One poster noted that if you buy all seasons separately, you'll only pay $85.

I want to point out further that if you buy the Set that includes Seasons 1-3 for $53.99 and then buy season 4 separately for $14.99, you spend a little over $65, which is $35 cheeper than the combined set that includes the same episodes.

This may change soon and this review will become irrelevant, but remember to always comparison shop.

Samurai Jack is Mr.Tartakovsky's masterpiece, although I think Dexter and the PPGirls are quite brilliant as well, and he might produce even greater stuff.. According to 'Making Toons', Mr. Tartakovsky was given free reign by Cartoon Network after Dexter's success, and Samurai Jack was the result. It is extremely original both in the story department and in the art direction. Its unconventional in its snappy animation and its cinematography. It's really action-packed and full of weird fantasy stuff and funny surreal characters. In short, It's one of the pinnacles of 2D animation. One can hardly live without it ;)

My husband and I both love this series. Incredible animation and graphics. Fun stories. Fabulous creativity in the whole series. The colors and landscapes are so stimulating and soothing at the same time. Wish the series had never ended. This is definitely a 10 our of 10 star animated creation. Kudos to the originator and all involved. It gives us great pleasure. Such a relief from all the reality on TV. Our minds and souls need the break. We all need to keep some of the child in us alive to survive!!

Let me start off by saying that this is a fresh take on cartoons. The reason I fist started watching this was for the art. Then the story line just lept out at you and pulled you in. The art is outstanding for many reasons. They take a no black line approach. This makes the art flow in the scenes, and stand out as something unique. The fight scenes are also put together with great thought. Tartakovsky also pulls aspects that used to be sewn into cartoons (justice, honor, and friendship) and makes them a common theme.
The story starts off in a past time and jumps into the future after he tries to go and fight the evil Aku. The series takes a very artful approach from there as we follow Jack while he tries to catch up to Aku. The ultimate goal is to destroy Aku with his magic sword that was his fathers. We follow Jack as he fights Aku's minions and makes some friends along the way. Always eager to defend the weak, and to right the injustices that he sees. Aku is constantly trying to trick and crush Jacks moral. This is one of those rare jems you can not pass up if interested in anime.

My 6 year old daughter, my husband and I all love Samurai Jack. I was overjoyed to see this set offered. Wonderful!!

This really is a must have collection, for children and adults, working on all levels. From tragedy to comedy, and everything in between, all genres are covered in impeccable style. Right from the start the tales are inspired, but by season 3 it really hits its stride and never lets up. Just buy it!!!

I don't own the videos, but have seen every CartoonNetwork episode more than once. I'm 45 years old and I agree with everything both previous reviews stated. This cartoon is perfect for ANYONE above 7 or 8. I absolutely LOVE the way the seemingly-simple animation portrays so much meaning! The animation, along with the brilliant sound effects, create tremendous depth in every scene. The cartoon is also loaded with great stereotypical (though NOT politically-incorrect) references that would be acceptable (and educational) to any reasonable parent. GO JACK!!