Customer Reviews

Samurai Jack - Seasons 1-3

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

It is an amazing animated series created by Genndy Trakovsky and the team responsble for STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS, both premiered in August of 2001 on the Cartoon Network. Samurai Jack's highly detailed, outline-free, masking-based animation style and its cinematic pacing, is unusual for today's cartoons. For example, the story is often stopped to allow for the building of tension before combat or for humor's sake, and it is not unusual for episodes to be almost free of dialogue. While the battle scenes in the series are reminiscent of samurai films they populate Jack's future setting with a variety of robot enemies providing censorship loophole, since the fallen "bleed" only oil. Also the music is so integral and powerful it could carry the story without any of the beautiful graphics.Featuring the voice work and the incredible depth of feeling from Phil LaMarr as Jack, and brilliance of Mako as Aku.

If you don't know JACK...SAMURAI JACK, that is, is the story of a young samurai warrior seeks to defeat the evil shape-shifting master of darkness, Aku who has destroyed his father's kingdom and imprisoned its people. During a climatic battle between Aku and the samurai, Aku sends the young samurai through a time portal into the far future where Aku rules the Earth. Called "Samurai Jack" by the inhabitants of this future world, he seeks a way to return to the past and undo Aku's horrible deeds while battling Aku and his evil minions. This story is revealed in the first 3 episodes which form a superb trilogy, previously released as "SAMURAI JACKS: THE PREMIERE MOVIE."

The series won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program in 2004 (it was also nominated in 2002 and 2005) - and artists Scott Willis, Dan Krall and Bryan Andrews received Emmys for Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation for their work on the series.

This set includes the previously released first 26 episodes, with the addition of episodes 27 through 39 as released in the season 3 set fromMay '06. Notable for 2 part "The Birth of Evil" revealing AKU's origin in the only story without Jack.

FANS of the "Anglo-Anime" hybrid style created by the Samurai Jack team, WILL LOVE THIS SERIES! This is great set if you don't already own the season individually, until season 4 comes out in 2007. HIGH FIVE.

How could you NOT like Samurai Jack? Few shows can evoke such powerful feelings in its viewer. Despite the cartoon format of the show, its intelligent, interesting, full of everything good you would want - and would want your kids - to learn and do in life. How to defend, when to defend, When to fight, what is worth fighting for, how to persevere, how inner strength is the key to a peaceful life. All things great from the traditions of Japanese culture, which I find interesting anyway.

But it's not all seriousness and solemn. The Scotsman, anyone? Jack as a Chicken? Learning to "Jump Good?" Great entertainment is great entertainment.

this is one of the best cartoons ever produced, and the best "action" cartoon ever produced, and session 1-3 hav got to be some of the best episodes, i highly recommend this for any fan of the show or any cartoon fan.

I remember watching the series on Cartoon Network and finding myself intrigued with how the elements worked together as a whole. Using the influence of literati painting and early martial arts movies, it was able to create a world where the real and the unreal coexist harmoniously. I especially like how it simulates the use of special camera angles and sequences. It was a work that I just had to have in my collection.

Thie thing about Samurai jack is that they are only 1/2 hour episodes but each one feels like you are watching a movie. Brilliant art direction. It makes it feel that you got an amazing bang for your buck.

these dvd's of the samarai jack series of cartoons are very user friendly to be able to set it up and watch the entire dvd or just to watch individual episodes.

The creativity and imagination in this show is incredible, the animation style as well is very unique. I would recommend it to just about anyone. I have already seen it but I had to get the Dvd's seeing as the show is no longer on TV.

Samurai Jack is one of my family's favorite cartoons. We missed it during it's original run on cable (had no cable at the time). We watched them a few years ago on Netflix and have been after them to own ever since. I love this series because it is quite novel. The setting of a Samurai far in the future makes for some really strange scenarios, but they work. Jack always comes out as a moral, just hero who is seeking to right the horrible wrongs of his nemesis Aku.
My children and I have loved Samurai Jack so much that we have been hoping for a series finale, which the creators have hinted at. But with the death of Mako, who masterfully provides the evil voice of Aku, it is hard to imagine a finale that will be acceptable.
Some of our favorites are found on Season 3. "The birth of evil" tells where Aku came from and how the conflict began. Another story has Jack doing battle with a demon in a sort of limbo state. The animation of this episode is one of the best pieces of animation I have ever seen. Seasons 1-2 are both great, but Season 3 is my favorite.
Overall, Samurai Jack ROCKS! If you love Jack, then you will like this video collection. Price wise, it was a better deal to buy the Season 1-3 combo with the individual Season 4 than it was to buy them individually or to buy the Season 1-4 combo.

If you like Jack then you will want to get this DVD set. Now I can watch anytime I want and not have to search it out on the TV.

I had watched Samurai Jack on the TV a few times, and started watching it with my little brother, who is 15. I ended up not catching it for a while, but it turned out tht he had become addicted so I bought him the box set.

To be frank, I think it's a fantastic show. The art-work is beautiful, I find the style very diffeent from other shows in that it looks very painterly, and unusual.

The story is great, very simple but very iconic. The action sequences are all fantastic too, and because all the enemies Jack fights are robots the lack of blood makes it suitable for younger children. Jack is a great hero - he is driven, thoughtful and is a good example to follow.

But I think that it works as more than just a children's show. My brother, who would have been in his early teens when he first started watching, loves it, I (aged 19 currently) love it, my older brother (22) loves it, my collegues at uni (some of whom are about 25) love it, and we even watched it with our mum and grandmother (50 and 87 respectively) who also enjoyed it.

It's funny, it's smart, it's action-pacted, and it's all round awesome. highly recommended.