My Season Review on Samurai Jack (Seasons 1-4)

Yo, what’s up peoples?

I’m back with another review in the house! But this time, I won't just be on a TV show. It'll be on some individual seasons as one.

Today, for my very first "Season Review", which also acts as part one of my 6th TV show analysis, I’ll be reviewing the first to fourth seasons of “Samurai Jack”.

I wanted to start my review of this wonderful series by starting with these seasons, which ran from 2001-2004. Partly because they were made way before Season 5 was produced, which was in 2017; the other reason being that Season 5 acts as more of a sequel to these original seasons.

Here's what these four seasons are about:

In these four seasons, an unnamed Japanese samurai (who adopts the name of Jack thanks to the people) nearly defeats the ultimate evil being known as Aku. However, before he can accomplish his mission, he is sent forward in time by Aku to a dystopian future ruled by the tyrannical shape-shifting demon himself. Jack, brought to the future with only a sword, a robe, and sandals, quests to travel back in time and defeat Aku so that the Aku-ruled future would never come to fruition. It’s not going to be easy considering how many bounty hunters are tracking him, how many consequential choices and sacrifices he must constantly make, and Aku even going so far as to deal with him personally.

Let me just say, first of all, that the animation used in these seasons was total awesomeness! The style and look originated by Genndy Tartakovsky truly brought the feel of a Samurai adventure, and the visualization of it all was really over the top.

Something I also can’t help but admire is the use of sounds and backgrounds, which brought excellent feeling to where you’d feel like you’re in those surroundings.

The music, which was composed by James L. Venable, was groundbreaking as a plus. Venable’s composing didn’t just make the music an element to get engaged by, no sir. He composed the music to help tell the stories of each episode and the series overall, and send the feelings straight into your body. And that, is what I’d like to call a talented storyteller that tells his stories through music.

The stories for each episode were additionally groundbreaking, considering each of them have so many thrills, as well as moments that are dark, dramatic, and sad. Each are, of course, also not without comedic moments and parts that help you feel happy.

The characters, cast, and voice acting were extremely fun and memorable. Even characters played by the likes of minor cast members, such as Kevin Michael Richardson, Tom Kenny, Tara Strong, and Jeff Bennet, were enjoyable to a tee.

Despite Jack not being the title character's real name, LaMarr’s portrayal of the wandering samurai throughout was magnificent! He carries with him a sense of calm, while also incorporating some comedic-timing with just one line. To boot, he gives his character such an excellent three-dimensional feel with great emotion, as you can sense that someday...his constantly concealed struggles with his anger will lead to something big.

Iwamatsu additionally portrayed his character of Aku with awesomeness, by the way (rest in peace, Sir). He gave the character an amazing classic-villain feel, incorporating excellent malicious feeling, while also giving Aku a great humorous side. And the way he can raise his voice volume for certain moments, such as laughing...man, how can I not overlook that?

John DiMaggio, despite his character only appearing in three episodes these past four seasons, was also brilliant with his performance of the Scotsman. He really nailed it with the Scottish accent, and he gave his character such wonderful comedic-timing and personality. DiMaggio is what I’d like to call the best guest star of the show, and the Scotsman the best guest character.

In the end, Seasons 1-4 of the show are an absolute pleasure to see, and I recommend it highly for teens and adults in particular (mostly because I don’t think little ones are going to be gripped by it very much due to the amount of dialogue-less moments).

So, I rate Seasons 1-4 of “Samurai Jack” a complete 5 out of 5 stars. My review of the fifth season of the show will be coming as soon as possible.