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Samurai Jack Season 5 |OT| But Yeah, I’m Thinking I’m Back.

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A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Xe4 said:
I don't see how it could've been done. They would've had to cut the Ashi/daughters of Aku subplot nearly entirely
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it can be done in a movie, but yes they would have obviously cut out new characters and focused on regaining the sword and fighting Aku asap.

Which then means he was given the option to turn it into a season, wrote in more stuff, and then had to cut back and rush shit out. This isn't Genndy at his strongest. Maybe doing movies the last couple of years threw him off his game for properly gauging pacing based on episode count. Hopefully if Adult Swim is serious about giving him shows, give him a bigger budget.

If not, then please don't and let Netflix or Amazon give him more money.
 
G

Grexeno

Member
Admiral Woofington said:
it can be done in a movie, but yes they would have obviously cut out new characters and focused on regaining the sword and fighting Aku asap.

Which then means he was given the option to turn it into a season, wrote in more stuff, and then had to cut back and rush shit out. This isn't Genndy at his strongest. Maybe doing movies the last couple of years threw him off his game for properly gauging pacing based on episode count. Hopefully if Adult Swim is serious about giving him shows, give him a bigger budget.

If not, then please don't and let Netflix or Amazon give him more money.
Click to expand...
There was never a time where this was more than 10 episodes.
 
U

Unit24

Member
Wow, I am shocked at how harsh the reception is to this episode. I personally loved it. The pacing got a bit wonky at the end, but it wasn't enough to take me out of it.
 
A

Admiral Woofington

Member
Unit24 said:
Wow, I am shocked at how harsh the reception is to this episode. I personally loved it. The pacing got a bit wonky at the end, but it wasn't enough to take me out of it.
Click to expand...

I mean it's mainly people who were able to catch the episode today. Tomorrow we'll have more digital people watching it. If Reddit is anything to go by, I'm in the minority with how much the pacing is bothering me these last two episodes.
 
X

Xe4

Banned
Admiral Woofington said:
it can be done in a movie, but yes they would have obviously cut out new characters and focused on regaining the sword and fighting Aku asap.

Which then means he was given the option to turn it into a season, wrote in more stuff, and then had to cut back and rush shit out. This isn't Genndy at his strongest. Maybe doing movies the last couple of years threw him off his game for properly gauging pacing based on episode count. Hopefully if Adult Swim is serious about giving him shows, give him a bigger budget.

If not, then please don't and let Netflix or Amazon give him more money.
Click to expand...

This is his first time doing a serialized show. He never had to gauge pacing before this. I do think these most recent episodes have been a bit rushed, but not to any extreme degree.

I think this is absolutely Genndy at his best. I like S1-S4, Clone Wars, and SBT. But man, pretty much every episode except for last weeks was at least a 9/10 for me. Again, opinions, but I think season 5 is solid as fuck.
 
T

Tsunamo

Member
What a episode. I think the leader of the daughters of Aku will comeback again, like last week I felt like Jack resolved his personality issues a bit quickly, but this episode bought back Mad Jack and resolved that so it wouldn't suprise me if something similar happens with her.

I do agree on the pacing a bit, I feel like they had a steady pace going for the first three episodes but then it started to lose it a bit, 10 episodes might have not been enough, but i'm still happy we're getting it.

I loved the correlation between Ashi beating down a army as Jack is sitting there making tea.

I guess the guardians gonna come into play a bit later considering Gendy said they'd address it and we've had nothing so far (other than Aku saying that was the final time portal)
Greenzxy said:
Yea, it's crazy how much of a difference that makes. I mean there's other "anatomically correct" changes like the less square jaw, but I think the eye around the outline is the biggest one.
I did an edit to compare.

LkSd5vR.png

enJcG5v.png
Click to expand...
That makes so much of a difference. I noticed it in the first shot of past Jack, but it's gonna be much more notable now that they're keeping the classic Jack look again. I'd doubt they'd do it, but it would be nice if they corrected it a bit in the blu-rays, some slight touches and it wouldn't look off at all.
A-V-B said:
Good ep -- but I'm gonna miss the beard lol
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Fingers crossed for Warrior King Jack at the end so the beard returns triumphantly.
 
S

Stoze

Member
Unit24 said:
Wow, I am shocked at how harsh the reception is to this episode. I personally loved it. The pacing got a bit wonky at the end, but it wasn't enough to take me out of it.
Click to expand...

Considering how important the stuff was at the end, it definitely took me out of it. Within like a minute and a half Jack -

-defeated his past self/warped conscience/alter ego, etc.
-is confronted by the gods (for the first time?)
-gets his sword back
-gets his old look back

With no time to really dwell on that because the episode is over a minute later.

As far as the complaint about Ashi decimating the army goes, that one I can kind of put aside. For me that's the show retaining it's cartoony nature where characters have obtuse and inconsistent power levels. It is a bit of a stretch though.

I definitely feel like the pacing has been off starting with maybe episode 5, where as 1-4 were near perfect. More episodes maybe would've helped, but perhaps just prioritizing and making some hard cuts. Either way I'm still really enjoying it, I eagerly await every episode and typically watch them a couple times or more.
 
T

Tsunamo

Member
Greenzxy said:
It's probably a stylistic change, so I wouldn't count on the bolded look to return.
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Yeah I don't expect it to change, it's just a shame as it feels a bit off to me personally and is hard to get used to.

With that said though i've gotten used to Gregs Aku after a few episodes so i'm sure i'll get used to this in a bit.
 
T

TheOGB

Banned
Ashi is a main character up against an army of one-time mooks

She and her sisters were basically human Ultrabots bred and born for battle, raised specifically to kill one of the baddest motherfuckers on the planet, who could also take on an army

I didn't really have an issue with that part
 
C

Crayolan

Member
Just saw the episode, I can see how people thought it was rushed. The whole Ashi decimating an army thing didn't bother me much (except for the part where she literally pushed them down the mountain with her bare hands lol) since soloing armies is nothing new for Jack and it was clearly supposed to be over the top for comedic effect considering the jumpcuts between teatime and murder. But dealing with Ashi's mother and Jack's subconscious anger felt too simple. Jack's spiritual journey could've benefitted from having an entire episode dedicated to it.
 
C

combine42

Neo Member
I liked it. The pacing at the end was definitely off. Way to easy for Jack to beat his anger thats been brewing for 50 years, but didn't ruin it for me.
 
C

Candescence

Member
Maybe the episode was a tad rushed, but we've been building up to Jack getting rid of his inner anger ever since episode 2, and Ashi defeating her mother was a fairly appropriate climax to her arc and was still one hell of a fight.

Also, honestly, Jack losing the beard and long hair looks a tad jarring when he's now next to Ashi, but Jack really is back, baby.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Only the very end felt rushed to me honestly and I'm not sure why people didn't like how Ashi took out her mom. Its felt similar how she used an arrow to kill another face member of her cult during training. Maybe that's just me reading too much into it.
 
A

AlimNassor

Banned
I'm shocked to see how everyone hates this episode. Jack has had 6 episodes to evolve. This was the finale of his journey to being whole again.
 
C

CrazedProfessional

Member
Well, I mean I appreciate the reboot. But with each passing episode I appreciate it less. There is a lot of minor fanfare to older characters but each ending to the recent episodes wraps up too much at once which makes the script seem less refined.

I still like the show but they clearly needed atleast 15 episodes.
 
T

Tarydax

Banned
This episode and the last were horribly rushed.

I hope Jack returns the fight the
Guardian
, although that probably won't happen if Aku really did destroy every other time portal. Jack doesn't even have his
beard
anymore, so regardless, that image of Jack the
Guardian
saw won't be accurate.
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
I'm disappointed we've lost Hobo Jack. I think it would have made the final encounter between Jack and Aku more meaningful had he shown up looking like a Hobo.

What I mean by that is Aku is depressed, Jack has let himself go, both are tired of living of their current lives and just want to get things over with.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Miles Quaritch said:
I'm disappointed we've lost Hobo Jack. I think it would have made the final encounter between Jack and Aku more meaningful had he shown up looking like a Hobo.

What I mean by that is Aku is depressed, Jack has let himself go, both are tired of living of their current lives and just want to get things over with.
Click to expand...

Who knows, maybe once Aku think Jack lost the sword he'll return to form as well in an attempt to destroy him one final time.
 
M

Miles Quaritch

Member
HStallion said:
Who knows, maybe once Aku think Jack lost the sword he'll return to form as well in an attempt to destroy him one final time.
Click to expand...

It'd be nice to see him return to form, but at the same time I really liked the more bleak/depressing tone the show had at the beginning. It made sense for what Jack has been through between seasons 4 and 5.
 
D

Dusk Golem

A 21st Century Rockefeller
The last two episodes could've definitely been expanded more, but I think they work for what they are.

Notably they're giving three episodes to the 'final showdown' arc, which I think overall is important. They're working with the episodes they have and doing a good job with it.

Also, the Grand Priestess is 100% not dead. I don't doubt for a second an arrow to the gut and a fall off a cliff wouldn't kill her, and it's notable it'd be an off-screen death is so. Bet she'll pop up in the final showdown and finally her and Aku will meet face to face, though for where that leads is to be seen. She's very much infatuated of Aku and Aku apparently doesn't even know she exists.
 
D

DrkSage

Member
Great episode. Didn't surprise me in the slightest ashi could take out all of that army. I mean they were trained to kill jack!

I really wish jack kept the beard and hair, at least a little more tidy-up or something.

Also... now I know why aku chose ashis mother.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Jack will only meet and defeat Aku in the last 30 seconds of the final episode. Smashcut to credits. Fin.
 
O

Opto

Banned
Could have had an episode each of what Ashi and Jack were doing. But then we might be talking about why they couldn't combine those episodes
 
U

Unit24

Member
Also, I think this is Greg Baldwin's best performance as Aku yet. It's the first time I've heard Aku speak this season without feeling thrown off. He does the laugh really well.
 
H

HStallion

Now what's the next step in your master plan?
Unit24 said:
Also, I think this is Greg Baldwin's best performance as Aku yet. It's the first time I've heard Aku speak this season without feeling thrown off. He does the laugh really well.
Click to expand...

My thoughts as well. I was wondering if this was related to it being the Aku of the "past" where he was much more jovial, snarky and over the top with every word. He really nailed it this last episode and I was not put off by it at all. Not that he was terrible in the other episodes but he still seemed a bit off at times.
 
S

Stoze

Member
Unit24 said:
Also, I think this is Greg Baldwin's best performance as Aku yet. It's the first time I've heard Aku speak this season without feeling thrown off. He does the laugh really well.
Click to expand...

The only "issue" I have with his VA is occasionally on certain words he sounds like Ren from Ren and Stimpy. He's great overall though.
 
L

LotusHD

Banned
Unit24 said:
Also, I think this is Greg Baldwin's best performance as Aku yet. It's the first time I've heard Aku speak this season without feeling thrown off. He does the laugh really well.
Click to expand...

Agree completely, I told my friend the same thing about the laugh, felt right
 
E

Exodust

Banned
Admiral Woofington said:
I mean it's mainly people who were able to catch the episode today. Tomorrow we'll have more digital people watching it. If Reddit is anything to go by, I'm in the minority with how much the pacing is bothering me these last two episodes.
Click to expand...

I can't say I have an issue with it since while a lot of the slower episodes got praise in the original run, quick episodes were the norm too. So it doesn't really bother me since I came to expect both.

I was the same with the last episode. Some say it's too focused on nostalgia but really the cameos did serve a quick purpose that made sense. I guess the long wait might have gotten people to forgot that while now being on Adult Swim raises the stakes in a couple of ways, it's still the same old Jack and I'm happy that it is.
 
I

InaSnowBoundLand

Member
I agree that the last two episodes, especially this last one, have been strange. It's not just the pacing for me, though that is also a big part of it.

Mainly, I think the idea of getting the sword back magically is sort of deflating. It seems too convenient. I think it would have been more compelling to actually have to physically search for it somehow. I think they leaned too hard into the tea scene; for me, it felt a little forced. It would have been more natural, I think, to weave the idea of getting over his anger in an actual, real-life situation. I think that would have been more fulfilling instead of detached-from-reality meditation.
 
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