The reveal that the guardian was dead actually broke me, not because it was sad, but because it really felt like the writers had no idea what they were doing.
I agree with OP. When I saw the glasses and the broken portal, all I could think of was how it broke the continuity and ignored the original guardian episode.
@@felixaderHe seemed to at least understand tone though (in the past, at least). People are not acknowledging the EXTREME tone shift in the show. It starts out dark and depressing- those first episodes are gripping, and clearly Genndy knows how to do work like that. But it's like he decided halfway through 'Nah lets do something else', and decided to make the last few episodes silly and goofy. Then an abrupt tonal shift with Ashi dying? If you watch the season all the way through, you'll feel like you have whiplash. I personally think it's because Genndy really liked Ashi, and wanted to write more of a story about her. I think he was bored with Jack. Almost all his female main characters look similar (just compare Ashi, Mavis, Melinda), so I think he has a character 'type' that he's gotten really obsessed with.
She was raised to hate him without question. They finally send her out to kill him. She, along with her pathetically weak sisters die one by one perhaps being distracted by the fact that two beings showing affection for one another is "a thing" that they weren't made aware of. (foreshadowing completely ignored by everyone) They have them go through the whole ordeal of escaping a life threatening situation together. He finally leaves himself open and vulnerable, and she sees a trigger from her past that makes her question why he hasn't murdered the shit out of her not to mention saving her life over and over and over. Her life has been one of unfettered hatred up until the turning point of someone actually giving a shit whether she lives or dies. That is ENOUGH to cut to the next phase where they are at least now sort of working together as she has questions that need answered. They go through a bunch of random shit working together. Her complete and total absence of any sort of affection or companionship driving her to be more curious about what in the fuck kind of messed up shit had she been learning all these years since she was born. She finally starts working with him to get his sword back, which for some reason matters since we see him slicing Aku to death with it at the end. During her B-plot, she finally makes the choice to do away with her past by killing her mother. Now she is even more alone. This would obviously cause her to seek out a deeper connection with someone. More than enough to justify them finally getting the hook-up phase. Jack doesn't know shit about love, she doesn't know shit about love... they've both been preoccupied with other things their entire life in obsessive excess. Why would it not be awkward? They get their little sex scene and kiss. They grow to prefer one another in the time they have left. Prompting Jack to not want to see her die when he inevitably has to kill Aku, which inevitably would lead to him using her as a hostage. He gets there, sees that in his absence even the fabled "portal guy" has been killed, due to his inaction over the years, and the portal is destroyed. Low and behold, she follows him, and then becomes a hinderance as she is taken hostage. Aku obviously wants to put on a display to the world about how he defeated their big hero, and instead all the allies he had made come rushing in to save him. Ultimately getting wiped out because they're all pussies. Then they do the typical try to reach the human part of the love interest, and it works. And, here's the fun part. No one blinks a god damn eyelash when Aku just suddenly has the power to send Jack through time at the beginning of the series. But now Aku unwittingly spread his seed too far, and has an offspring with similar powers. Now, everyone has a problem with "just some bitch" who can magically do the same thing Aku does. And basically launch a surprise attack on Aku when he least expects it, the first fucking episode. The obsession with the portal guy being like the ultimate ending to this is kinda pathetic to say the least. Anyway, we get to the ending. And she feels Aku's presence leave her. And now it's bad writing to not have a being that just had ultimate god like power over time and space be able to stave off the inevitable for a while. She finally dies during their wedding, and we have the boohoo ending. To me, it kind of sounds like they did their best to pack everything they clearly planned into the one and only season they knew they were going to get, and left the ending like it was to give people some semblance of closure with the game. On the other hand, I can see where you're coming from as Dexter's Lab season 3 was the worst piece of shit imaginable. An entire episode dedicated to Mandark's laugh being the only dialogue? I can't much say anything beyond that to describe what a shit show season that turned out to be. But at the very least, it seemed like he put some sort of effort to bring Samurai Jack to a satisfying close, comparatively. Either way, who cares really? TV sucks. Having expectations will always lead to disappointment. Take it with a grain of salt that Jack finally gets his dick wet and a chance at a normal life as does the chick he's banging that was supposed to be a parallel to his life of being trapped in a narrative that left no time for anything but constant struggle.
I have a friend who told me it probably be better if Jack stayed in the future since it would make all the people he met in his journey still be meaningful. Defeat Aku for good in the future still have many friends and people who care for the warrior.
@@observerofdot3603 In truth i wish this would have happened instead, in Jack's final duel against Aku Jack taps into the swords true power and Summon the gods Odin, Rama, Ra by his side. To Aku's shock the 3 gods declare that Aku's reign of terror ends now and the future does not belong to him. The 3 gods beam down a ray of pure white light on Jack. Jack receiving the same Samurai Armor that his father wore back in *"The birth of evil"* . In which Jack strikes down Aku and ending his evil ones and for all. After the battle the 3 gods seeing that Ashi is a child of Aku beams light down on her, removing all of Aku's essence in her turning her 100% human and free of Aku's corruption. Aku finally gone the 3 gods open a portal to time, and ask Jack if he wishes to return home to the past. Which Jack replies i am already home, it will be difficult and long but he wishes to rebuild this world and make a better future for all in which the gods grant Jack blessing to stay. Then we cut to 1000 years into the future we see one of Jacks descendants telling his son of the exploits of his legendary ancestor and behind them a Large statue of Samurai Jack and at its feet the sword itself. The final scene we see is Jacks descendants walking to the balcony of their Palace and we see a beautiful city a blend of futuristic-traditional Japanese architectures, and other cultures. Large spires of building of modern skyscraper various building and spires as the sun rises on a new day.
@@felixader This is just me, but think if the series had gotten another season and the plot lines weren't condensed i think it could work maybe? Personally, i wish season 5 was Jack trying to get back his sword, while battling the Cult and Ashi struggling whether she betrays the cult and everything she had been brought up too. An the last ep Jack reclaim his sword and alongside Ashi fight off the remnants of the daughters of Aku, and the Cult led by Ashi mom. An season 5 ends with the cult destroyed an Jack must gather his allies for the final battle against Aku. An season 6 will be a build-up to the final confrontation. Season 5 started of strong, but fell face first hard. Season 5 is like a former champion marathon runner coming out of retirement and head a good lead in the race, but less then 100 meters away from the finish line, out of nowhere someone ran up in front of him dropkick both his knees breaking them and now said runner gotta crawl the rest of the way to the finish. Thats my take on season 5.
they had very ambitious and high stakes and really couldn't fill their own expectations is kind of the impression I was getting. With the main plotline and all the sub-plots
It feels like when you think you have space on a line to write a word, but you realise halfway through you don't, so you have to make the letters tiny. It's like Gennedy got halfway through the series when he realised he didn't have enough screen time to tell the story he wanted, so he had to abridge it.
ngl I felt it shouldnt have existed. Took away from Jacks actual journey and redemption. Not everyone gets out of their funks or demons cause they fall in love.
@@RobGradyVO Ditto, it's not like love bringing out the best in somebody isn't great potential- but it feels somewhat strange in Ashi's case due to where she started and how long we've spent with them both
The relationship between Jack and Ashi would have been far more powerful had they taken a father/daughter route. This would have created a parallel with Aku being her true father and added far more impact to her sacrifice at the end. Jack didn't need a love interest, he needed an emotional anchor to the future.
Yea. I was trying to vibe with the relationship but i was like hmmm, jack is 70-80 years old and she's (probably) at least a newly adult. Their relationship had funny moments that made me laugh but idk it felt messy for so many reasons
YES. I’d considered the idea of like, a teacher/student dynamic with Jack trying to pass on all the knowledge he’s gained over his extended lifetime, but a parental one is excellent, too. Jack wanted to see a future without the influence of Aku and having someone who would be there for it (possibly?) is a great angle.
The best thing about early seasons of Samurai Jack, when he fought human enemies, he would fight to disarm. In season 5 when he killed a human enemy, he was actually upset. That was a cool bit of attention to detail.
Which doesn't make sense because he did in fact kill humans before. And if Gennedy retconned that, then it's absolutely absurd Jack hasn't killed a living conscious being for over 50 years..
@@latviandragon2718 Yes he has killed living beings that weren't robots before. But even the robots all had ambitions and dreams and hopes. I'll never forget the episode with the robot bounty hunter who only hunted Jack because his cat was abducted.
No one can blame the original voice of Aku for passing away... However, his Japanese heritage made his voice a silver bell for the character. It. Was. Peeeeeeeeerfect❤️🔥
The Season started strong with it's dark tone and insane themes, and very nuanced and awesome story telling, and then it devolved itself into a generic Cartoon Network show like the ending geniunely felt rushed for something we have waited for years
@@aeriumsoft no no now I want to see that. Just hearing Aku in Alec baldwin’s voice saying “Jessica, arrange an appointment with the dentist at 3, Alex get my coffee right now”
@@sarthakarora3212the main character’s love interest disintegrating during their wedding because killing the inky-black shapeshifting god-like dictator from space ended up having ripple effects that killed her too? Wow, didn’t know that trope’s been around since the 12th century.
Yeah. Admittedly, I was really disappointed with the ending. I was left confused because I was wondering why they even foreshadowed the portal guardian if they didn't loop back to it properly? Very disappointed with that ending. Felt extremely rushed as well....
I think the biggest thing that broke my heart was when Genndy showed no signs of wanting to continue Jack for a number of years and having poor Mako wait patiently! Luckily, Mako lent his voice as Iroh, Master Splinter in the 4th TMNT movie and that hilarious Evil Alarm clock Achoo in Duck Dodgers...but you can tell Genndy felt bad once you see his later interviews when Mako is brought up. I'll miss you Mako, You were awesome in Conan and one HELL of an Evil Wizard!❤😢
To me, there was just this massive shift about halfway through that undermined all the interesting stuff the season had been doing up until that point. Jack as a grizzled, tired man whose just run-down from all his fighting? Great idea. But then they just ditch that premise once he gets his sword back, and the season was all the poorer for it 😟
I do kind of wish more of the sisters survived. So when they get reunited the now good sister needs to try and explain things to them. That would be a deep narrative drama.
Right? It could have been a crisis of faith for Ashi. But no, better spend the runtime on important things, like awkwardly plucking porcupine spines for over a minute straight.
I would also like if some of them still resisted to show just how deep the brainwashing was. And it could be Ashi who ultimately kills her. There are like a thousands of ways this could have been better handled
While so many things in season 5 could've been better. At least it had it's share of badass moments. Though it's no secret that the ending of the season was the biggest middle finger of all.
I really liked the ending of the season. Samurai Jack was always going to have to make a huge sacrifice to achieve victory. It was the way of the samurai to give all for fulfilling their duty. I expected him to give his life for that. In the end, he gave up the love of his life. It was crushingly bittersweet and better than I expected. It stuck to the theme of duty at all costs, and I love them for it.
@@mirceazaharia2094 " Samurai Jack was always going to have to make a huge sacrifice to achieve victory." he literally didnt. 80 years he spent in the future, thats over a lifetime, he had more common with the people of the future than the past, especially with the people he helped. I swear they were setting up that Jack staying in the future was what someone was planning since it was obvious ashy would dissapear
The wedding was a slap to the face for me, because it's a straight up reference to another anime ending that devastated me, but was done better, even though I am still mixed about it. My idea for rewrite: 1) After getting back the sword, the episode go straight to the Guardian scene. The portal is destroyed, but a vision appear in the mind of Jack and Ashi, showing the Guardian going to give Jack one last test. A fight that started action packed, then ends in a realistic samurai duel, akin to the last Obi-won vs Maul fight and the master vs the giant fight in Rurouni Kenshin. Jack won, and the Guardian tells him that there's always another possibility. 2. After that, Jack now decide to go after the current Aku, but Scottsman spotted Jack and reunited with him. They both agree to take on Aku, but first, they need to group up with the rest of the resistance. This is the time for Jack to heal his soul and trauma, and even get therapy, talking with everyone he has helped in the past and inspired. IF the romance is required (imo, no), this is the start of it. 3. One day Aku breaks in, and attack everyone. While Jack try to stop Aku, Aku begin possessing people around. This make Jack hesitate for a bit as he try to avoid hitting the innocents, creating an opening for Aku to KO Jack and take him away. 4. The rescue happen, but instead, the astronauts from earlier episodes returned out of guilt for abandoning Jack, and set up the device for Jack to time travel. Jack and Ashi went back in time, and fought past Aku. While this was happening, future Aku got desperate and tried to travel back as well, but got held back by the resistance. During the finishing blow, we see how both present Aku and future Aku get destroyed at the same time. 5. Jack and Ashi escaped, but realized that she was disappearing. Ashi comforted Jack by assuring this was fine. Everyone expected this result, but pushed on for his sake and all the sacrifices he had made. After that, a projection from the future in the sky showing everyone were happy and cheering Jack, saying their goodbyes and thanks to him before the projection disappeared. After that, Ashi faded away, leaving Jack alone. 6. Jack reunited with his parents and wanted to introduce them to Ashi, only to remember that she's no longer with him. He could barely hold his tear, and his parents hug Jack to comfort him. 7. The last scene plays out like in the original show.
@akhilboby2442 Gurren Laggan. The relationship with Simon and Nia was way more fleshed out, though and given basically a whole 2/3s of the series to properly flesh out and develop.
I think what bothered the most is that Jack never even got the chance to say goodbye to the Scotsman and his other friends. And the fact they no longer exist due to time travel 😢 doesn’t help.
The whole ending is a Grandfather Paradox. If Ashi can't exist because past Aku is dead, then she couldn't have been around to transport Jack back to the past to kill past Aku, which means past Aku couldn't be killed, which means he's still around, which means Ashi CAN exist...and there you have the loop. But the show just completely ignores this, pretending that the Grandfather Paradox doesn't exist.
@@JonesNate what grandfather paradox? Ashi is still Aku, so technically Aku sent him to the future and past, completing the "paradox". At the cost of destroying the timeline (of destruction).
Yeahhhhh... Anytime a man and woman occupy the same screen, you can bet your butternut squash that creators are going to find a way to ship them.... 😩😩😩
I understand that the ending was not as good as it could have been but I personally am just happy that it got one, especially how it tried to change demographics to a more mature and darker story even if it did not carry that tone the whole way through, I can’t think of many show that had the balls or opportunity to do that.
As a kid, I saw the Lilo and stitch Halloween episode with the Shapeshifting experiment. When I told people at school about it they didn’t believe me; they thought I was a Louie
Guys listen, Warner Bros. is going to delist all Adult Swim games by May, this does include Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time which contains the true ending that even Gendy approved, spread the word
@@dragonhead99 the game is basically a different timeline from the show's ending. But Gendy considers the game's timeline to be the canon way the story ends.
@@EUGE_T_T I love Genndy's work, but he can't write a good story. Primal season 2 finale was trashed. Unicorn Eternal Warriors was a disappointment. He's one of the best animators, but a mediocre story writer.
ultimately the big problem with the season is that it set the bar extremely high by exploring what his mission actually meant to him... Then derailed it for a unessesary romance plot, when just keeping the building father daughter angle and then have her fade away after Aku is killed would have done the exact same thing, just with less of that limited playtime, and would have given the show the chance to have the scene where jack returns home to his parents and actually fullfills his longterm goal end on a great mixture of bittersweet and yet glorious.
Jack & Ashi wedding is way too similar to to Gurren Lagann. The only difference is that Simon knew Nia was gonna die & has an emotional goodbye with her
The original demographic grew from season 1-4 to 5, then all the sudden at the season's end the cartoon wanted to have the same demographic of season 1-4 again. It switched demographics and SWITCHED BACK AGAIN. It's insane when you think about it.
@@FrenchabooA good question is (hypothetically speaking), would those two shows switch demographics in an edgier way if they lasted longer than they did? (I got no hunch on that myself.)
at roughly 30:00, you talk about how she SUDDENLY see's him do something kind, and SUDDENLY has change of heart. No. That's wrong. From the time they met when she became unmasked, he was trying to prove to not only her, but himself, that there was good in her. So he saved her, and kept her captive to try and undo the brainwashing by setting an example, a first-hand experience of what Jack is really like, not what Aku SAYS he's like. So she is seeing Jack do all of these things that are the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Aku claims. When the butterfly scene occurs, she then realizes that she had felt happiness once, as a child, because of the butterfly, and she watched happiness get crushed/killed before her eyes by her mother. She began, at that moment, to finally realize that Jack wasn't the bad guy. She still didn't fully trust him, but she also didn't want to kill him anymore. When she goes on her own little journey through the villages of the people Jack liberated after they are separated, she learns all about the truth and how Jack saved them all from the evils of Aku, all unaware of who she is. She begins to see the truth and finally comes around to Jack's side after they are forced to work together.
Ladybug but yes. He dismisses the very valid complaint that Jack has spent the entire episode being kind to her. Idk if Hitler spent an entire month being kind to me and people round him I’d have second thoughts about just assassinating him.
@@EssexExThat Hitler bit was cringe AF! The biggest diffrence brainwashing wise is seeing the horrific actions and rhetoric surround and spouted BY THE ACTUAL ANTAGONIST instead of solely hearing about them like Aku’s has with Jack. Then seeing the actual person the propaganda is about and working with them. Once he made that Hitler comparison he really lost me. Then again it was doomed from the beginning when he said he was a “fan” of this series. “Fans” make the WORST critics. Lol
It wouldn't surprise me if we learned that Genndy may have intended to have the series end on a longer time table than just 10 episodes. The extreme whiplash of pacing from episode to episode really suggests this was an Adult Swim decision that forced his hand. Sometimes that's just what happens, but I think its still better we got a conclusion at all vs leaving the entire story open-ended forever like with some other beloved series out there.
@@noobmasterruben5167 I've said to many friends many times, "If I ever get ultra wealthy... First thing I'm doing is writing Netflix a blank check with the memo: finish the Dark Crystal damnit!"
Maybe a marketing executive was originally planning a surprise 6th season, realized viewership wasn't high enough to justify the costs, and rapidly scaled everything back That's my head canon, at least, for the pacing/tonal shift between the two halves of the season
Yeah I had the same thought midway through the video. I began noticing Some of the middle episodes felt a bit too quick paced and that if given a couple more episodes would have solved this. Additionally looking back seasons for cartoon shows in the early 2000s were usually 20-22 episodes to a season and now the standard length for seasons is usually around 10-13 so episodes, so I can totally see genndy wanting to have 20 episodes for this season but network basically going that’s not how it’s done anymore and cutting it off at 10
44:48 Yeah, but that's an issue with any "immortal" character. Unless you write an eternally young counterpart, it's always gonna be weird. Just about any relationship Wolverine's had would be awkward seeing as he was born in the late 19th century. This is something you just gotta deal with, or there's simply no story.
Here is my rewrite of the fifth season that's live rent free in my head: 1, Jack and Ashi have a student master relationship, rather than a romantic one. 2, The scottsman only dies in the final battle, and we see him fight like a ghost like nothing happened. 3, After Jack defeats Akku, Ashi immediately fell sick, then vanish. 4, We see Jack reunite with their family, and see the world celebrate. We learn Jack's true name. 5, After some time, Jack feels out of place in the past and have dreams of the future. 6, The Gods visit Jack and tell him that the future rapidly changes, and it will vanish unless Jack finds a way back. 7, After Jack says goodbye to his parents, he begins to wander the earth. 8, Cut to years later, we see the Portal Guardian standing in front of the portal, and we Jack looking like the end of the Portal Guardians episode approaching.
This is EXACTLY what I wanted when Ashi started tagging along. Specifically the student relationship with Ashi and Jack. I really thought it was leading up to that and was absolutely thrown off when we started getting romance and the naked shots. Like it was weird as hell, girl has no concept of the outside world, affection, sex, or even romance but we were supposed to just accept her being sexualized and suddenly catching feelings?? We're supposed to accept that Jack is totally okay with this too? Mans was THAT lonely?? Stop it lmao. But yeah, I really like your idea! I wish it had gone in this direction it makes the most sense tbh.
This will sound mean, but I don’t think Gendy knows how to “end” a show. 3 series in a row (samurai jack, primal and unicorn eternal) ALL had terrible and rushed endings. He spends so much time building up tension and intrigue that he’s then like “oh shit, I forgot I only have 10 episodes” Then rushes the hell out of it.
Well.... We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's just that this guy, as legendary and talented as he is, does not know how to properly end stuff.
@@MASTEROFEVIL valid. I would’ve said something, but I didn’t wanna make my prior comment into an essay. You’re right, there are times he doesn’t GET the chance to end a show, like Primal and Symbionic Titan (Popeye to an extent). But counterpoint, you’d think that after all these cancelled projects, he’d know by now how to consolidate his resources when no one (in the industry rn) knows if their show will see tomorrow.
Also just as a note: those “background characters” you brought up around 42:40 were actually featured in the original series. The African Chief was a friend of Jack’s father, who took Jack in and helped to physically train him alongside his own son. They were purposely designed that way based on real African paintings/artistic depictions of African people, so while most people may see the depiction as racist, it was actually based on genuine cultural art.
@@raptorjesus5870 I mean, WE as the audience who grew up with Samurai Jack understand the character designs and intent, but I don’t have much faith in the newer generation. A lot (not all, but a lot) of younger people today are media illiterate and lack critical thinking skills.
People thought the depiction was racist?? I remember being so excited seeing the chief and thought it was cool af as a kid. He was definitely positive representation to me back then. I also had a lot of African type art in my childhood home so when I saw his stylization it never gave me any notions of racism even now as an adult. I'm genuinely surprised to hear this, wow.
@@magicalmomo9987Just a few people here and there, but thankfully there's a lot more people who actually knew the context of the designs. The Chief was an awesome character, he accepted Jack like his own son without any prejudice, and the whole tribe welcomed him as a new member of their family. I'm actually kind of sad we didn't get to see the Chief's son now grown up at Jack and Ashi's wedding. It would have been a nice nod to how close they were as children.
@@TheChildofAuraReborn Yes, same! That would've been amazing. I'm thankful we got to see at least some of the other characters from the original though.
I'm glad you addressed the fate of everyone left behind, as so many others seem to ignore the morality of changing the timeline. Even your idea doesn't resolve it. What about all the people not at the battle? Do they get no say in their fate? They don't just die, but get completely erased. If there is an afterlife in this universe, they don't even get to go there.
Is Genndy even good at writing more mature shows though? Either the adjustment period from kids' demographic scripts to older audiences is rough on him, or he's never had the scope, I don't know. But Primal and Unicorn Warriors Eternal always seemed like one-trick ponies, with always a major crutch on violence and action as the main propellent of story; it gets old. Those things tend to be the only thing justifying their ratings, unless some cringy innuendo jokes are thrown in as well. It has put my judgements of the guy into question anyway. :(
@@zemox2534 I agree, but giving boop004 the benefit of the doubt, genndy doesn't always make masterpieces. Unicron warriors eternal first season came out not too long ago, and almost everyone was like: meh
In the new ending you suggested, Ashi could live and Aku be dead. What I imagine is that Ashi going back in time would make her not affected by flow of time (like Jack) or any changes to the timeline (but it is only my guess).
Also I preferred if they went with the original ending were Jack defeats Akaku but is still stuck in the future and is forced to rule over the Empire that Akaku built for himself.🐱
I think many of us would've preferred that ending. On top of that, Jack could help re-build the world alongside his friends and allies so everything would finally be at peace. Not perfect, there would always be the occasional badie or old Aku supporters to deal with, but nowhere near as bad or corrupt as it was under Aku's reign. Then one day, many years later, Jack is informed that one of the time portals has been reformed/re-built (or have the Guardian portal not be destroyed and finally decide that Jack is ready to go home), and while Jack is ecstatic at first, he quickly realizes this isn't an easy choice. By choosing to go back to the past and ridding the world of a future that is Aku, he would also be losing all of the friends he made in this timeline, and all of that hard work would be for nothing. Everyone tells Jack that its ultimately his choice to make, they'll support him no matter what, and his final decision would be ambiguous, cause honestly the fan-base would go into rage mode no matter what path he chooses. That's just how I would've ended the series, though.
Exactly, he ends the Age of Aku, but in the future. He uses the gatekeeper's portal not to go back home, but to tell his family he loves them and that things will eventually be alright, finally accepting that you cannot change your past and must embrace your current self
yeah. Undoing everything that happend left me a sour taste. From a story telling prespective, Jack learning to stop fixating into going back into the past to fix everything and instead just defeat aku and rebuild from that would have been really cool. Almost a life lesson, Don't get swallowed by regret and what could have been, instead build for the future from what you have now.
I'm conflicted between: "Well at least we have some ending to Jack's journey" and "This ending should never have been made at all." I lean towards the former because the beginning episodes were really cool and I like the way it was initially starting.
My main issue with it was the pacing. Also, it might be a nitpick and personal thing, but I wish we could've saw the King Jack storyline or Jack run The Guardian's fade again.
Samurai Jack was one of my ultimate favorite series of the Cartoon Network block since the Powerpuff Girls. Genndy Tartakovsky is one of the most distinguishable animators of all time. He makes storytelling grander in animation throughout the 1990's. The fifth season was one of the best final seasons around until... Many fans out there backlashing because the ending was too extreme for the fans everywhere. I understand about what happened to Ashi but sometimes in life there's been tragedies even losing legendary icon animators. Walt Disney, the Fleischer bros, Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, William Hanna, Joe Barbera, the old 9 Mice Men of Disney, Looney Tunes creators and now we lost a Dragonball Creator: Akira Toriyama. But animation lives on to those greats been established and this final season was legendary of GT. Great upload, Steve.
I personally wish the last scene / ending conflict had these plot beats: * A Daughter of Aku dies every episode or two after their introduction (except for Ashi). 2 or 3 are because of Jack, but the rest are from either accidents, being cut down by their sister(s), or being hunted down as they start to side more with Jack & his cause than Aku. Ashi ends up being the only one who survives (or at least, the only one who remains with Jack as his student), leading to a confrontation between her, her mother & the rest of the cult. * It is revealed that, because Aku sent Jack into the future, Jack's aging is tied to Aku (in other words, put on hold / eternally at his current age, since Aku doesn't age). This goes beyond simply longevity however - because of the various instances where the two have 'shared their essence' (the time portal conundrum, Jack absorbing Aku's Anti-Jack, Jack actually inhaling a bit of Aku when Aku was sick), Jack is technically part-Aku (represented by the negative projection he talks to throughout season 5). ** With the above being said, this means that if Jack dies by his magic sword via seppuku (a willing, selfless sacrifice with the necessary weapon), it is the equivalent of Aku doing so (and would thus kill Aku alongside Jack). * Jack & Aku would not know about this until the final episode. However, Ashi (who would still have been born with the essence of Aku, but be unaware of this until the last episode as well) would learn about this after she's come around to Jack's side (seeing him as a mentor figure once she's warmed up to him) and would be trying to find an alternative due to Jack's suicidal inclinations at this point (and she'd likely tell other allies of Jack of her discovery, in order to get their help finding a solution before Jack finds out he can off himself to off Aku for good). * Cut the Scaramoosh survival & the romance segments, let the plot happen for a few segments to round out getting back the sword and gathering allies to fight Aku as he's starting to get back into evil gear, and then start the final episode: Aku has captured Jack & the sword, the allied forces are preparing a counter-attack led by Ashi while Aku broadcasts the original intro and prepares to execute Jack. ** The attack, initially is to free Jack and try to use all their other resources as an alternative to kill Aku. However, at about the first third of the fight, it is revealed to Aku & Jack about how Jack can kill himself with the sword to kill Aku by proxy (perhaps this is when Aku actually realizes that Ashi shares his essence & gets a look into her memories in the process; he blurts out "Wait, if I kill the samurai I die too!?" only to then realize he said this within earshot of Jack, who suddenly goes ape with purpose & adrenaline, breaking free of his containment and making a dash for his sword). ** The fight then goes into a desperate keep-away skit (everyone trying to keep the sword from Jack while also surviving Aku's panicked fury), with Aku eventually using his powers to crash the present time into the past directly (perhaps thinking that undoing the time-skip will break the link between him & Jack, and allow him to absorb his old self to gain even more power). ** Massive mayhem ensues, the sword is lost in the madness, Aku ends up more powerful than ever, and it's a desperate bloodbath. Believing himself now free of the Curse of Jack, Aku attempts to finish off the Samurai, only to be stopped as light pierces him. The fighting stops as Aku melts away, and everyone looks in confusion until Ashi is spotted, sword in her stomach as she finishes committing seppuku on herself (having realized that if she was made with Aku's essence, then her death by the sword should likewise kill him). * Perhaps, with the powers of the sword & her self-sacrifice, the gods intervene to save Ashi, giving her a chance at a proper life in the now saved (if chaotic & devastated) world, all finally rid of Aku & his evil. Jack reunites with his family, all the friends he made in the future aren't wiped from existence, we get a climactic fight, and even Ashi gets to survive with a happy ending.
What I've learned over the years is that... it's always difficult to end a series... and a large majority of people always have an issue with whatever happens.
One of the problems is that we spent four seasons with future Aku, and that's the one fans wanted defeated. I for one never wanted Jack to make it to the past, it makes a strong message of how you can't change the past, only the future
But his family would all have been brutally tortured and murdered, and millions of years of oppression and suffering would be afflicted by Aku if he never made it back.
That line of "The decisions you make and the actions that follow are a reflection of who you are. You can't hide from yourself." Its such a heavy passage
29:24 oh bro. If shes been brain washed verbally right. And when she was a kid, saw something she disagreed with, but was supposed to be "Right" (Killing the lady bird). Now she is with the "Evil man", and suddenly she see's him do something she believed in, and yet is supposed to be evil. I dunno i find that pretty believable . This is literally actions speak louder than words im sad you don't see that.
Season 5 made me realize that Tartakovsky (as he admitted it himself in an interwiew) always have been a visionary director and not really a writer. In the previous seasons of Samurai Jack he had a pretty large team of storyboarders who were also the writers of the show. The storyboard artists may have added a lot of small but neat ideas to make the show much better. Also there were many co-directors who must have helped Genndy in each episode. In season 5 Tartakovsky did all the directing and did like 75% of the storyboarding. Maybe he didn't had the studio system he used to have in the earlier days and couldn't afford other storyboard artists? Maybe he was a bit full of himself and wanted to do all the heavy lifting which resulted him to get tired at the end of the project? Maybe both. I also felt the same "sympthoms" in Primal season 2, which also had a really great start and a terribly rushed ending. And in Unicorn... I just gave up after episode 03... I'm sorry. I still love Genndy Tartakovsky as a director, his works was so influental for me. It's a wonderful thing that he still manages to create his own animated shows and still has his brilliant moments to shine. There's just something missing in his newer works for me unfortunately (in the writing at least, his animation and visual style is still very strong).
I GUESS I can see wanting a little more time given to Primal's ending... but it's not remotely comparable to the emotionally unsatisfying, awkwardly drawn & animated (the final battle did not look climactic at all), "mindless Gurren Lagann ending copypaste" disaster that was Jack S5's finale. Spear's actions came to bite him in the ass & his deadly final encounter came just as swiftly & unceremoniously as you'd expect it to in such a wild, "primal" setting. The Viking Chieftain's arrival was also overtly foreshadowed, over and over again, & it makes perfect sense for Spear (the last of his kind, the symbol of a purer & more animalistic form of humanity) to be felled by the living representation of a more civilized, morality & fairness-driven, ritualistic (yet also, as a result, more corrupted) "evolution" of man. Both died, yet one got to spread his seed while the other went to hell. Spear lost his wife & kids, went a journey where he made new friends & loved ones, and in the end continued his lineage. the Chieftain couldn't put the past behind him & went on a righteous crusade for revenge at all costs, to make things "fair" based on his civilized morality. For these reasons I think the fact that it all happened so fast was mostly justified; the thematic weight of it, along with the kickass visuals, should be more than enough to make up for the feeling that "maybe it should've been longer". Jack S5's ending was garbage for the aforementioned reasons, but also... I as the viewer, do not care about Jack's stereotypical Japanese home and his generically nice loved ones. I'm invested in the beautifully flawed post-apocalypse & the messy-yet-lovable characters Jack befriended in it. That's where the real meat of the show lies: his episodic adventures. So to just throw it all away, having them all give away their for their past savior felt... pretty lame and honestly a little uncomfortable to me. And yeah, the Gurren Lagann elephant-in-the-room comparison - the finale with Ashi dying was so conceptually similar (right down to the reason behind it) there's absolutely NO WAY Genndy or whichever storyboarder came up with it hadn't seen the show. The visuals were similar, even the COLOR SCHEME, and the whole concept of the main character's lover drying during their wedding because she was being kept alive by the now-dead villain's power is far, FAR too specific. Except... in Gurren Lagann it was made sense: it was nailing home the importance of death & the protagonist's personal responsibility to not go mad with power & override death, the entire basis of human evolution (and in the process guide humanity down a slippery slope that would destroy it, both literally and metaphorically). It also makes it clear, within the fictional world's own logic, why the love interest was able to hold on; that it was her willpower keeping her alive in a show where willpower is essentially magic. Meanwhile In Jack it just felt "bittersweet for the sake of it" and didn't really enforce an all-encompassing theme at all. I'm honestly amazed how much better Genndy got at telling long-form stories in just 2 years (or maybe he had it in him from the get-go but Jack was just horribly rushed). Primal S2 does not deserve to be compared to Jack S5.
The ending is what kinda made it feel all pointless to me. Like it makes zero sense to do what they did for the ending. Jack really should of just stayed in the future after all it was part of his life for so long
well i understand him wanting to tell his story. And finally getting the opportunity to do so. Just because his story needed 2 seasons doesn't mean he was going to get them. So he compromised and delivered a mediocre ending instead of a great ending. TLDR i don't blame him for cramming shit in and taking shortcuts.
Not everything has to have a romance in it. If it doesn't play to a show/writer's strengths then it's better to skip it. Adding a romance to a show like Samurai Jack doesn't make sense. If they really, truly wanted to do a romance then they should have given it equal time and care as everything else in the story. I can't stand when writers act like romance can be just tossed into anything, as if there's no difference between well-written romances and poorly-written ones.
29:50 Fun fact: that bit about a sniper sparing Hitler instead of killing him actually happened. A sniper in WW1 had a clear headshot on Hitler (who was a low ranked runner at the time) felt bad because being in The Great War sucked for everyone and decided not to shoot him. And apparently Hitler commissioned a painting of that sniper to hang in his home office...
So Hitlers war records showed he was in Germany on leave during the dates Tandey, the sniper claimed to have seen him. So it was likely just some other German nerd running around, but years later after Hitler rose to power, prior to WW2 when people thought the Nazis were aight, and the rumors spread, Hitler was moved enough to put the portrait in his office, before a year later blitzkrieging Poland. I think Tandey was full of shit since the discrepancy was noted that Hitler couldn't of been where Tandey was, but hey, that's history. People lied and went with it because it sounded cool. It's like how, the Soviet Union claimed they killed the head of Germany's sniper school during the events of Enemy at the Gate, but Germany confirmed it was some other guy.
@@Savagem8 It was most likely a case of mistaken identity. Guy saw Hitler with his mustache and remembered the time he almost killed a guy with a similar mustache. But nobody seems to have told him that Hitler wasn´t the only one who shortened his mustache like that, wich was done as not to interfere with gasmask iirc.
This season of Samurai Jack is indeed very strange to talk about. How did it went from being dark to being dumb and goofy. It was fast paced, and the weird relationship between Jack and Ashi were very forced. I mean those two never had a chemistry together, and the age gap is questioning.
With the same logic, you could argue that Avatar Aang shouldn't have gotten together with Katara because he's actually 112 years old (although biologically he's 12)
Somehow, the series got LESS mature even as it tried to deal with more mature topics. The original seasons are magic, this one just felt like "welp, we gotta finish this somehow, so just wrap it up. Also romance!"
Trying this much to justify the shiny mature rating only assured that Genndy would fall into tropes and cliché HARD. Sad thing to see, but I'm a little less sorry about it now that he's replicated the problem in more than one show since then.
Ahh good ol' Genndy, master of incredible stunning visuals, dialogue-free narrative moments, and... endings that miss the mark so badly you wish you'd stopped watching an episode or two early. Primal did the exact same thing, and I'm still not completely over it. Some of those episodes were a masterpiece, but now it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth knowing how it all ends. I kind of wish he'd stick to purely episodic things that didn't need a definitive ending.
Frankly, maybe the show would've been better off without an "overarching goal." The show was was basically 90% episodic anyway. The serialisation aspect felt more like a bait & switch than anything actually substantial. "Hey, kids! Keep watching! Maybe this week he'll finally get to the past! Fingers crossed!" Bleh. It could've been a purely episodic show about the misadventures of a lone samurai in a sci-fi future who was born in that sci-fi future. The same way Lucky Luke was about a lone cowboy. Aku could've simply been Jack's arch-nemesis like Julius Caesar in Asterix or something.
@@gigaj2368I did hear something like that about Primal. I could be wrong, but I think Gendy said that if he did do another season, it would be a different storyline instead, making it an anthology of sorts.
I am still traumatized by how rushed this ending was. I remember TRYING to love it and just being unable to. No matter how many times I rewatched it or how much I love the final shot, I just couldn't get past how rushed those final 3 episodes were. I'm just not fully on board with anything that happened. Everything boils back down to "This needed more time". I thought for a while that Jack would simply stay in the future and make the best of a bad situation with Ashi, or that they would bring back a former cast member with a time machine and Ashi would die, fully realizing Jack's need to go back in time as Aku would have taken away Jack's final attachment to the world. But no they sorta tried to have it both ways and it just didn't work.
Honestly would have felt more impactful if he was a teacher to Ashi and what pulled him out of losing hope was the fact his hope was right there. That Ashi was the future generation to continue on the fight against Aku. That if he could teach someone who was once an ally of Aku then there was STILL hope. THAT is what should have happened. Jack finding HOPE in Ashi as a student. It should have been like Lightning McQueen finding his new hope in Cruz Ramirez. Like that is how Jack and Ashi's relationship felt. NOT what we got. Says a lot when Cars 3 did a better job with this. Even more so seeing as Cruz was HIS trainer, but she learned MORE from him.
Honestly as a Samurai Jack fan, hearing about there being a 5th season gave me so much hype because it meant wrapping up the series and answering questions. And while the animation was still great and the blood was surprising and a big adjustment to the robot killings from the first 4 seasons, it got disappointing as you watch the 5th season. 10 episodes isn't enough to cover everything and it felt rushed. Like you want Jack to get back to his past and defeat Aku, you want him to have a happy ending but how it got resloved wasn't what we asked for. For instance (not numbered by importances): 1) How Jack got to the past was solved so fast it was anticlimactic. 2) We didn't get enough nor visited enough of Jack's friends and allies, some were just pop-ins and never seen again. There was no goodbye or any send off, it felt unceremonious. I especially loved the Scotsman and his dynamics with Jack as a friend, I'd at least expect a proper goodbye since he did have ties to them. 3) Unpopular opinion, but I actually ship Jack with Ashi and never thought about their ages. Jack's age was just stuck as (somewhere in his 20s) in the past and I didn't dare to question it. So when Ashi got close to his appearance age, I just simply saw them as the same age. It would be like Philip J. Fry can't be with Leela because cryogenically he's over 1000 years old in Futurama despite being in his twenties when frozen. But how Ashi disappears just upset me because Jack needed a happy ending of sorts so I'll stick to my AU that the series ends with Ashi walking down the aisle on their wedding day and leave it as an open ending. No hate pls.
Hey guys I’m SaberSpark! I review furry content, even though I’m not a furry. No seriously, I’m not a furry. I’m not a furry guys, ignore those pictures. Yes there’s a fursona of me but I’m not a furry. Yes I like this furry character but I’m not a furry. I’m not a furry. I’m NOT a furry. I’m seriously NOT a furry. I’m not a furry guys! Please stop talking about it! I’m not a furry! I’m not a furry! I’m not a furry! IM NOT A FURRY! IM NOT A FURRY! AHHHHHHHHH!!
I don’t have an ending idea but I like the idea if Ashi had another one of her sister with her. - Ashi sister gets wounded from the fight between her and Jack, falls from the same place Jack and Ashie fell, not only she has broken bones she has deep cuts. - Ashi is the more sympathetic sister and the other one is more on edge but the two at the moment are still thinking of killing him. -When they get out of the monster stomach when Ashi gets loose she walks up to Jack treating her sister wounds while she is unconscious from blood loss, Ashi asks what he is doing. -That’s when he helps carry her sister and then they go off to travel. -Skip time they discover their surroundings even more and grow to act more human, even strengthening the bond between the two sister. -The other sister is still skeptical about Jack but now is skeptical of Aku while Ashi changes, wearing her little lead fit. -When the army shows up Ashi feels like she can’t trust her sister to be alone with Jack but she has no choice but to go down there and fight off, she tells her sister to watch after Jack and that she trusts her even though she doesn’t. -Ashi seeing her mom halfway to the top she gets the bird, as their mother gets to the top she tries manipulate the other sister as Ashi begs her to see how twisted their mom is. -Ashi and the mother began to fight, to make the fight more impactful instead of Ashi killing her mom in like 2 seconds she’s stronger and Ashi can’t take on her mom alone, finallly the other sister joins in and the two fight to kill their mom. This is all I can think of tbh it just sucks I think it would’ve been a lot more wholesome and fulfilling to have Ashi look at Jack as she dad or even family she never had.
I think the biggest issue I had with Samurai Jack Season 5 was I felt like the team clearly wasn't given enough time/episodes to tell the story they wanted. You can tell Adult Swim only wanted to give them so much money so the project wouldn't become a money pit. Thankfully, it was successful enough for Genndy's other two shows to become a reality, but man, Samurai Jack Season 5 needed 25 episodes, and not only 10. It would have only made the show better in the long run, and Jack and Ashi's romance could have developed over the season properly. As a whole, Samurai Jack tends to have excellent pacing, but Season 5 felt like it was going as such a breakneck pace that we never really got to slow down and soak it in.
Season 5 started out REALLY strong but at some point we got anime romance into the mix (which is not bad for anime but it felt weird seeing it in a cartoon we all grew up with), there were a few call backs to certain characters in the show (kinda like a nostalgia trip but it just felt a little weak to me), there was that one portal that prophesized that Jack could only return to the past once he returned as some battle torn king (which that apparently was a lie or maybe that went over the writers heads), then the ending got rushed (not even exaggerating when I say that), and to top it all off we see that our man Jack *finally* made it back to the past and even got the girl in the end but we all know how that worked out (seriously why did they have to pull the rug from under us like that? I mean the writers went out of their way to shoehorn a last minute romance between Jack and Ashi, the least they could've done is keep them together in a cheesy happy ending now it just really makes all the time they've spent together kinda pointless) Personally I think it'd be better if Jack stayed in the future, stopped Aku once and for all, let old ghosts rest because technically now his people are free one way or the other, I am one of those suckers who likes Jack and Ashi being a couple but I really hate how they did it WAY too fast (there was hardly any chemistry or emotions they shared with each other), Jack can have a new life with his friends, rebuild his kingdom in his original homeland, and finally rest in peace.
A Loui can be annoying, but a Loui sent me on track to beging my animation career. He told me that he saw a music video for a gorillaz track that actually doesnt has one, and being in my room daydreaming about how that video could be is what made me discover my love for story boarding.
You managed to voice pretty much every issue I had with season 5. It's rushed and forces a romance between Ashi and Jack that didn't need to happen and was only there for shock value in the final scene where she dies.
I think Genndy just has an issue with endings. Even Ego Trip just ends in a time-loop. I didn't like Primal's ending, as it was a bit problematic to me. Then Unicorn: Warriors Eternal didn't really impress me over half the time. Fantastic art design, but bad story, lackluster characters, and even poor action scenes turned me off of it, though I watched it all hoping it would have gotten better. Sym-Bionic Titan, which I didn't see, sadly got canceled. Clone Wars was part of a larger universe, but I think it ended on a high note.
he has an issue with romance too...Primal ofc with the batshit ending...Symbionic Titan with the redhead twerking on the robot Character and then this rubbish
"I didn't like Primal's ending, as it was a bit problematic to me" Oh come on, is this the "Mira didn't ask for Spear's consent" criticism again? I'm one one the loudest critics of the idea that "women can't assault men" & I never even considered that while watching the ending cuz I was so invested in the show & the the actual emotional & thematic importance of the scene. I guess Genndy could've added a little extra detail to make it 100% clear that Spear consented to avoid these criticisms, but there was so much importance to everything that went on in that ending it's really weird that so many people will readily dismiss it for moral reasons. Is it that hard to tell yourself "it's a cartoon, you're not meant to base real-world morality on it, and in the context of a pulpy fantasy story it was clear their love was so strong that they were both clearly on the same page"? It's like saying Snow White has a bad ending cuz "you don't kiss sleeping women in real life". And no I don't think everything else surrounding the ending was poorly executed either and I'm willing to elaborate.
@RaymondoPerson I think it would have been more acceptable if it was given more time. It's an overall issue with the length of seasons now. Sticking with 6-10 episodes has caused a bunch of pacing issues with shows lately.
the show is literally called Primal. in a wild untamed world, death can come swiftly & unpredictably. the Viking Chieftain's arrival was also built up to, consistently, & it makes perfect sense for Spear (the last of his kind, the symbol of a purer & more animalistic form of humanity) to be felled by the living representation of a more civilized, morality & fairness-driven, ritualistic (yet also, as a result, more corrupted) "evolution" of man. both died yet one got to spread his seed while the other went to hell. Spear lost his wife & kids, went a journey where he made new friends & loved ones, and in the end continued his lineage. the Chieftain couldn't put the past behind him & went on a righteous crusade for revenge at all costs, to make things "fair" based on his civilized morality. I guess I can understand why people felt "it was too fast" but it's kinda weird to compare it to Jack S5's ending which was a total trash fire. Primal's ending had thematic and emotional weight to it, Jack's did not. Ashi's development & relationship with Jack were poorly executed, the final encounter sucks, the payoff sucks, there's no narrative significance to the attempted "bittersweetness". the more you think about it, the more it sucks. the more you think about Primal's ending the better it gets @@BingFox
I feel like Unicorn: Warriors Eternal would have been better had it not spent 70% of itself with the Emma/Melinda plot. Like there was a real cool story going on but it needed nearly all of the episodes for the character going back and forth on who/what they are. And don't get me wrong the Emma/Melinda story is a good one, but I feel like it was handled poorly. Like it could have been Melinda in control for the main plot to move along and then have moments of Emma coming back and trying to go home and the other warriors realising they're basically parasites to these people. Sadly just mishandled.
Season 5 was never going to meet fan expectation because the fans of season 1-4 did not age as did Jack but not only aged but in the time between season 4 and 5 had not just re-watched every episode multiple times but had also critiqued it with the eyes of an adult but when we were younger we just watched for entertainment. Despite the creator telling us it would be a bitter sweet ending, people complained how it ended, which shows they had forgotten or were willing to forget Jack's goal of getting back to the past in the face of him falling in love, something fans during season 1-4 hoped he would make it back to the past. I am glad we did get a season 5 and despite all the people from Jack's time travel would never be the journey and not the destination is what made it, because we having accompanied Jack for the 5 seasons understand him in ways no other character in the show can.
still feel bitter about season 5 after all this time. if i had to choose between getting this version of samurai jack or getting nothing at all, i would choose nothing. like what the fuck happened? i really hope it was something out of genndys control that forced him to rush the show, and not something of his own volition.
either way it reflects badly on him. Honestly, with what he's been creating for more mature audiences keep continuing to fall short in their writing and pacing really just tells me he's truly just an art guy. He needs a better skill of writer helping him instead.
I get that the portal plotline should have been payed off, but aku having his own powers turned against him, meaning he was the seed of his own destruction, is very on brand…
Yes!!!! Yes!!! My boy uploaded again! And finally another analysis on the samurai jack season five! I loved it and all but it definitely had issues! Must be my birthday today
Apparently the whole goal of the season was that Gennedy didn't want a fully happy ending, Jack had to get hurt, so he was given a love interest solely so he could be kicked in the gut when she died. Yeah.
Ouch. There’s like an infinite amount of ways he could’ve done it better, like maybe Jack would die after killing Aku and would have to pass the torch to Ashi or maybe he would just stay in the future and leave the dead to rest
Hi Steve, I recommend you take a look at "The King of Pigs" a South Korean animated movie. Its pretty dark and Mature in subject matters. It was made by the team that made 'Seoul Station' and 'Train to Busan'
I would've thought Ashi could've held it against him at least a little bit for killing all of her sisters. It could've opened up some pretty complicated emotions and drama
Changing the absolute minimum to make it all work for me. Ashi dying could've easily been given gravitas by implying she was growing ill and weary (like Jack was in his endless battles) holding herself together all this time after Aku was defeated. Inflicting herself on a timeline she didn't exist in through sheer force of will and residual magic, hoping to live long enough to grow old and die with Jack, but she wasn't strong enough. Then if you want a happy ending, some sort of parallel journey to Jacks, but through a time/reality/spiritual afterlife and, I dunno reincarnating as someone who had always belonged in Jacks time? My first choice is tragedy.
Honestly I really loved the series but season 5's ending was so jarring and rushed to me that I never picked up the series again since the premiere of the finale. This video has been a good reminder of why the series was so good and why 3 bad episodes out of 5 seasons shouldn't taint something legitimately so good. Thanks for doing this video, it's made an old fan of the show revisit it after swearing off it for so long.
Ashi dying was whats best for the story. Jacks story has always been one of sacrifice and lost. He always sacrificed his own happiness for that of others. Which is fine.
The thing that really got me about Ashi being forced to fight Jack at the end is that Jack's sword can only hurt evil creatures, as shown when Aku tried to kill Jack with it, as such wouldn't Jack simply be able to hack away at Ashi until all the Aku Goo is gone?
I actually prefer the original animated ending as it makes logical sense. The father that help birth her was Ended in the past so the demon shape shifter would had never impregnated her mother. Plus a lot of the middle of season was rushed and concluded too quickly as I believe he had to wrap everything up in a single season and if that is the case he did what he could with in the conditions he was given.
So in other words they "put a chick in it", but rather than being lame and gay, she was the focus of a love plot that derails the epic plot and then ends lame and anticlimactically.
Ashi should have seen Jack as a father figure, considering her real father is the closest thing to satan. The love story made me cringe the hardest. Instead of jack returning to the past it he should have realised he would leave everyone in the future behind. He would have been able to create an alliance against aku and possibly after killing him, aku's followers would have been still out there plotting to get revenge so Jack will train ashi and many other warriors on everything he know to be able to fight and thrive in this waste land.
My alternate ending is that Jack doesn’t get back to the past. He’s accepted that he’s never going back. And when he’s about to give Aku the final blow, Aku begs for his life. Tells him, “If you kill me, Samurai, you will never see your home again! Do you hear me?! I am your only-“ and before Aku could finish, Jack kills him. Ashi would ask him if he regretted this, but he tells it would’ve altered the timeline. That even if Aku did deliver on his promise, it would’ve come with strings attached, but most importantly, he tells her that it was time to let go. To look forward. And I guess they’d figure out something to make him age again. Forgot that detail.
Part of me thinks they should've brought Josephine Clench back in more episodes and had her evolve into a romantic foil for Jack, the Catwoman to his Batman. Samurai and southern belle is a pretty unique couple.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme Honestly, if they were committed to making ashi a love interest I could see it working. The problem seems like genny’s vision was to have her as a mentor/sidekick, but someone else thought a romantic relationship would be more impactful. At least that’s what I got with the flip flop that was given to us. Like why make her, a completely new character, so young knowing she would end up as a love interest? She could’ve been any age. Especially since she got Thanos’d there at the end.
In defence of the romance, who is Jack supposed to date actually ? A 60-70 year old woman ? No one bats an eye if it's an immortal vampire though eh ? The real reason why people do not date very older people is because of the ageing. I don't see a problem here if he doesn't age.
31:10 yeah, i hated all that. While it looked cool, it made absolutely no sense. The scotsman would have never been stupid enough to bring him and his daughters on a suicide mission that would never work knowing how durable aku is and jacks magic sword bit.
I actually liked that they just immediately used the time warp. It’s like when a character has the power to win but doesn’t use it immediately to raise stakes or tension, but in this case they realize it and immediately jump to it.
The reveal that the guardian was dead actually broke me, not because it was sad, but because it really felt like the writers had no idea what they were doing.
The Guardian is dead??? OH GOD WHAT COSMIC HORROR CREATURE COULD HAVE DONE THAT??
They at least addressed it, but the implications seemed to have been lost on the writers.
@@cxireen2193most likely aku since he said he destroyed all time portals.
@@Jonathanhernandez-lr6ft Aku couldn't beat a guardian for a squirting jewel.
I agree with OP. When I saw the glasses and the broken portal, all I could think of was how it broke the continuity and ignored the original guardian episode.
So many romance plots you see that they're in love but never see why they're in love beyond you're the main character and the plot demands it
It's almost like Genndy Tartakovsky just being lazy when writing Season 5.
@@felixaderHe seemed to at least understand tone though (in the past, at least). People are not acknowledging the EXTREME tone shift in the show. It starts out dark and depressing- those first episodes are gripping, and clearly Genndy knows how to do work like that. But it's like he decided halfway through 'Nah lets do something else', and decided to make the last few episodes silly and goofy. Then an abrupt tonal shift with Ashi dying?
If you watch the season all the way through, you'll feel like you have whiplash.
I personally think it's because Genndy really liked Ashi, and wanted to write more of a story about her. I think he was bored with Jack. Almost all his female main characters look similar (just compare Ashi, Mavis, Melinda), so I think he has a character 'type' that he's gotten really obsessed with.
because romance is the side plot not the main one.
@@willclark4449Romance can be a main plot, and it’s usually where it’s the main focus is when the trope shines.
She was raised to hate him without question. They finally send her out to kill him. She, along with her pathetically weak sisters die one by one perhaps being distracted by the fact that two beings showing affection for one another is "a thing" that they weren't made aware of. (foreshadowing completely ignored by everyone) They have them go through the whole ordeal of escaping a life threatening situation together. He finally leaves himself open and vulnerable, and she sees a trigger from her past that makes her question why he hasn't murdered the shit out of her not to mention saving her life over and over and over. Her life has been one of unfettered hatred up until the turning point of someone actually giving a shit whether she lives or dies. That is ENOUGH to cut to the next phase where they are at least now sort of working together as she has questions that need answered.
They go through a bunch of random shit working together. Her complete and total absence of any sort of affection or companionship driving her to be more curious about what in the fuck kind of messed up shit had she been learning all these years since she was born. She finally starts working with him to get his sword back, which for some reason matters since we see him slicing Aku to death with it at the end. During her B-plot, she finally makes the choice to do away with her past by killing her mother. Now she is even more alone. This would obviously cause her to seek out a deeper connection with someone. More than enough to justify them finally getting the hook-up phase.
Jack doesn't know shit about love, she doesn't know shit about love... they've both been preoccupied with other things their entire life in obsessive excess. Why would it not be awkward? They get their little sex scene and kiss. They grow to prefer one another in the time they have left. Prompting Jack to not want to see her die when he inevitably has to kill Aku, which inevitably would lead to him using her as a hostage.
He gets there, sees that in his absence even the fabled "portal guy" has been killed, due to his inaction over the years, and the portal is destroyed. Low and behold, she follows him, and then becomes a hinderance as she is taken hostage. Aku obviously wants to put on a display to the world about how he defeated their big hero, and instead all the allies he had made come rushing in to save him. Ultimately getting wiped out because they're all pussies. Then they do the typical try to reach the human part of the love interest, and it works. And, here's the fun part. No one blinks a god damn eyelash when Aku just suddenly has the power to send Jack through time at the beginning of the series. But now Aku unwittingly spread his seed too far, and has an offspring with similar powers. Now, everyone has a problem with "just some bitch" who can magically do the same thing Aku does. And basically launch a surprise attack on Aku when he least expects it, the first fucking episode. The obsession with the portal guy being like the ultimate ending to this is kinda pathetic to say the least.
Anyway, we get to the ending. And she feels Aku's presence leave her. And now it's bad writing to not have a being that just had ultimate god like power over time and space be able to stave off the inevitable for a while. She finally dies during their wedding, and we have the boohoo ending. To me, it kind of sounds like they did their best to pack everything they clearly planned into the one and only season they knew they were going to get, and left the ending like it was to give people some semblance of closure with the game.
On the other hand, I can see where you're coming from as Dexter's Lab season 3 was the worst piece of shit imaginable. An entire episode dedicated to Mandark's laugh being the only dialogue? I can't much say anything beyond that to describe what a shit show season that turned out to be. But at the very least, it seemed like he put some sort of effort to bring Samurai Jack to a satisfying close, comparatively. Either way, who cares really? TV sucks. Having expectations will always lead to disappointment. Take it with a grain of salt that Jack finally gets his dick wet and a chance at a normal life as does the chick he's banging that was supposed to be a parallel to his life of being trapped in a narrative that left no time for anything but constant struggle.
Actually Jack is not his real name, but a nickname by those from the Future. His real name is actually never revealed as far as I'm aware
Isn't this a well known point? Jack was not his ORIGINAL name.
Well yeah, we all know that.
@@WobblesandBeanWE?! I DIDNT KNOW THAT
I never watched the first episode when I was young
Is his original name not Lotus? I'm fairly certain that's what his parents call him.
It's actually Doctor Jack's Monster
"Ashi, you have Aku's powers!"
"Oh yeah!" /instantly goes back in time
What a slap in the face.
I have a friend who told me it probably be better if Jack stayed in the future since it would make all the people he met in his journey still be meaningful. Defeat Aku for good in the future still have many friends and people who care for the warrior.
@@observerofdot3603 In truth i wish this would have happened instead, in Jack's final duel against Aku Jack taps into the swords true power and Summon the gods Odin, Rama, Ra by his side. To Aku's shock the 3 gods declare that Aku's reign of terror ends now and the future does not belong to him. The 3 gods beam down a ray of pure white light on Jack. Jack receiving the same Samurai Armor that his father wore back in *"The birth of evil"* . In which Jack strikes down Aku and ending his evil ones and for all. After the battle the 3 gods seeing that Ashi is a child of Aku beams light down on her, removing all of Aku's essence in her turning her 100% human and free of Aku's corruption.
Aku finally gone the 3 gods open a portal to time, and ask Jack if he wishes to return home to the past. Which Jack replies i am already home, it will be difficult and long but he wishes to rebuild this world and make a better future for all in which the gods grant Jack blessing to stay. Then we cut to 1000 years into the future we see one of Jacks descendants telling his son of the exploits of his legendary ancestor and behind them a Large statue of Samurai Jack and at its feet the sword itself. The final scene we see is Jacks descendants walking to the balcony of their Palace and we see a beautiful city a blend of futuristic-traditional Japanese architectures, and other cultures. Large spires of building of modern skyscraper various building and spires as the sun rises on a new day.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Works for me!!!
That was a very dumb plot convenience ever made in that episode.
@@felixader This is just me, but think if the series had gotten another season and the plot lines weren't condensed i think it could work maybe? Personally, i wish season 5 was Jack trying to get back his sword, while battling the Cult and Ashi struggling whether she betrays the cult and everything she had been brought up too. An the last ep Jack reclaim his sword and alongside Ashi fight off the remnants of the daughters of Aku, and the Cult led by Ashi mom. An season 5 ends with the cult destroyed an Jack must gather his allies for the final battle against Aku. An season 6 will be a build-up to the final confrontation.
Season 5 started of strong, but fell face first hard. Season 5 is like a former champion marathon runner coming out of retirement and head a good lead in the race, but less then 100 meters away from the finish line, out of nowhere someone ran up in front of him dropkick both his knees breaking them and now said runner gotta crawl the rest of the way to the finish. Thats my take on season 5.
i feel like the romance subplot and everything else needed another 10 episodes honestly
they had very ambitious and high stakes and really couldn't fill their own expectations is kind of the impression I was getting. With the main plotline and all the sub-plots
It feels like when you think you have space on a line to write a word, but you realise halfway through you don't, so you have to make the letters tiny.
It's like Gennedy got halfway through the series when he realised he didn't have enough screen time to tell the story he wanted, so he had to abridge it.
ngl I felt it shouldnt have existed. Took away from Jacks actual journey and redemption. Not everyone gets out of their funks or demons cause they fall in love.
@RobGradyVO I agree. The romance really held the story back a bit.
@@RobGradyVO Ditto, it's not like love bringing out the best in somebody isn't great potential- but it feels somewhat strange in Ashi's case due to where she started and how long we've spent with them both
The relationship between Jack and Ashi would have been far more powerful had they taken a father/daughter route. This would have created a parallel with Aku being her true father and added far more impact to her sacrifice at the end. Jack didn't need a love interest, he needed an emotional anchor to the future.
Yea. I was trying to vibe with the relationship but i was like hmmm, jack is 70-80 years old and she's (probably) at least a newly adult. Their relationship had funny moments that made me laugh but idk it felt messy for so many reasons
YES. I’d considered the idea of like, a teacher/student dynamic with Jack trying to pass on all the knowledge he’s gained over his extended lifetime, but a parental one is excellent, too. Jack wanted to see a future without the influence of Aku and having someone who would be there for it (possibly?) is a great angle.
The best thing about early seasons of Samurai Jack, when he fought human enemies, he would fight to disarm. In season 5 when he killed a human enemy, he was actually upset. That was a cool bit of attention to detail.
Which doesn't make sense because he did in fact kill humans before. And if Gennedy retconned that, then it's absolutely absurd Jack hasn't killed a living conscious being for over 50 years..
jack definitely killed a couple of human bounty hunters
I think the bounty hunters in that episode where they planned out to kill Jack, i think he killed them
@@latviandragon2718 Yes he has killed living beings that weren't robots before. But even the robots all had ambitions and dreams and hopes. I'll never forget the episode with the robot bounty hunter who only hunted Jack because his cat was abducted.
@@JoeTAC Dog not cat.
No one can blame the original voice of Aku for passing away...
However, his Japanese heritage made his voice a silver bell for the character.
It. Was. Peeeeeeeeerfect❤️🔥
The Season started strong with it's dark tone and insane themes, and very nuanced and awesome story telling, and then it devolved itself into a generic Cartoon Network show like the ending geniunely felt rushed for something we have waited for years
what ever happened to that portal ending where the blue guy he defeats says that you are not ready yet
That’s the main thing I got from it. RUSHED.
@@numbersbubble It's shown that he was killed offscreen
It went back to being season 1 to 4.
@@user-jl7cz2pe6dI didnt remember he was killed off-screen. I'll have to check again.
there are Chinese verb for this 'dragon's head, snake's tail' it means 'great beginning, pathetic ending'
we have the animated horse
There is perhaps no other saying that perfectly encapsulates S5.
That's funny because it reminds me of a crude saying from the American South: "don't let your alligator mouth overload your hummingbird *ss"
Start with a bang, go out with a whimper. Like GOT.
Greg Baldwin, the new voice of Aku, also voiced Uncle Iroh for the 3rd season of Avatar
They couldn't have found a better replacement.
Both most iconic roles from Mako….
my stupid ass thought you were talking about alec baldwin, thank God its not him
@@aeriumsoft no no now I want to see that. Just hearing Aku in Alec baldwin’s voice saying “Jessica, arrange an appointment with the dentist at 3, Alex get my coffee right now”
you have a point, lets just hope he doesnt end up accidentally capping someone again
The ending with Ashi dying belatedly was such a direct reference to the end of Gurran Lagan, there's no way it wasn't lifted from it.
That kind of ending is older then manga industry.
@@sarthakarora3212the main character’s love interest disintegrating during their wedding because killing the inky-black shapeshifting god-like dictator from space ended up having ripple effects that killed her too? Wow, didn’t know that trope’s been around since the 12th century.
Yeah. Admittedly, I was really disappointed with the ending. I was left confused because I was wondering why they even foreshadowed the portal guardian if they didn't loop back to it properly? Very disappointed with that ending. Felt extremely rushed as well....
I think the biggest thing that broke my heart was when Genndy showed no signs of wanting to continue Jack for a number of years and having poor Mako wait patiently! Luckily, Mako lent his voice as Iroh, Master Splinter in the 4th TMNT movie and that hilarious Evil Alarm clock Achoo in Duck Dodgers...but you can tell Genndy felt bad once you see his later interviews when Mako is brought up. I'll miss you Mako, You were awesome in Conan and one HELL of an Evil Wizard!❤😢
Duck Dodgers mentioned!! That show is sooooo under appreciated! It's my favorite Loony Tunes show ❤
Aku was undoubtedly the best part of Samurai Jack he was so hilarious and Mako did a good job of voicing him
And after he died, Greg Baldwin really did a fantastic job of carrying the torch...
@@TECH097 Baldwin slurs his lines, he sounds like a drunk Aku
I have a tattoo of aku i love his look and style.
@boop004sure pal
To me, there was just this massive shift about halfway through that undermined all the interesting stuff the season had been doing up until that point. Jack as a grizzled, tired man whose just run-down from all his fighting? Great idea. But then they just ditch that premise once he gets his sword back, and the season was all the poorer for it 😟
I do kind of wish more of the sisters survived. So when they get reunited the now good sister needs to try and explain things to them. That would be a deep narrative drama.
Yeah i was thinking it'd be a good reminder of Ashi's roots than just her mother, boy was that scene disappointing.
Right? It could have been a crisis of faith for Ashi. But no, better spend the runtime on important things, like awkwardly plucking porcupine spines for over a minute straight.
I would also like if some of them still resisted to show just how deep the brainwashing was. And it could be Ashi who ultimately kills her. There are like a thousands of ways this could have been better handled
Pen0R
Or even had a few survive, but instead of the orc army and then Ashis Mother come along, it could’ve been her sisters and her mother.
The White Wolf explaining Furries to Jack was hilarious 😂
No. No it wasn't.
Being among the group I was both joyful and horrified
While so many things in season 5 could've been better. At least it had it's share of badass moments. Though it's no secret that the ending of the season was the biggest middle finger of all.
Yeah it took the gurren lagann ending xD
I really liked the ending of the season. Samurai Jack was always going to have to make a huge sacrifice to achieve victory. It was the way of the samurai to give all for fulfilling their duty.
I expected him to give his life for that. In the end, he gave up the love of his life.
It was crushingly bittersweet and better than I expected. It stuck to the theme of duty at all costs, and I love them for it.
@@mirceazaharia2094 " Samurai Jack was always going to have to make a huge sacrifice to achieve victory." he literally didnt. 80 years he spent in the future, thats over a lifetime, he had more common with the people of the future than the past, especially with the people he helped. I swear they were setting up that Jack staying in the future was what someone was planning since it was obvious ashy would dissapear
@@firmak2yeah exactly. 8 have no idea what that other guy is talking about.
@mirceazaharia2094, it's not the canon ending anymore. The Samurai Jack videogame that came after it does have the canon ending.
The wedding was a slap to the face for me, because it's a straight up reference to another anime ending that devastated me, but was done better, even though I am still mixed about it.
My idea for rewrite:
1) After getting back the sword, the episode go straight to the Guardian scene. The portal is destroyed, but a vision appear in the mind of Jack and Ashi, showing the Guardian going to give Jack one last test. A fight that started action packed, then ends in a realistic samurai duel, akin to the last Obi-won vs Maul fight and the master vs the giant fight in Rurouni Kenshin. Jack won, and the Guardian tells him that there's always another possibility.
2. After that, Jack now decide to go after the current Aku, but Scottsman spotted Jack and reunited with him. They both agree to take on Aku, but first, they need to group up with the rest of the resistance. This is the time for Jack to heal his soul and trauma, and even get therapy, talking with everyone he has helped in the past and inspired. IF the romance is required (imo, no), this is the start of it.
3. One day Aku breaks in, and attack everyone. While Jack try to stop Aku, Aku begin possessing people around. This make Jack hesitate for a bit as he try to avoid hitting the innocents, creating an opening for Aku to KO Jack and take him away.
4. The rescue happen, but instead, the astronauts from earlier episodes returned out of guilt for abandoning Jack, and set up the device for Jack to time travel. Jack and Ashi went back in time, and fought past Aku. While this was happening, future Aku got desperate and tried to travel back as well, but got held back by the resistance. During the finishing blow, we see how both present Aku and future Aku get destroyed at the same time.
5. Jack and Ashi escaped, but realized that she was disappearing. Ashi comforted Jack by assuring this was fine. Everyone expected this result, but pushed on for his sake and all the sacrifices he had made. After that, a projection from the future in the sky showing everyone were happy and cheering Jack, saying their goodbyes and thanks to him before the projection disappeared. After that, Ashi faded away, leaving Jack alone.
6. Jack reunited with his parents and wanted to introduce them to Ashi, only to remember that she's no longer with him. He could barely hold his tear, and his parents hug Jack to comfort him.
7. The last scene plays out like in the original show.
What was that anime?
@akhilboby2442 Gurren Laggan. The relationship with Simon and Nia was way more fleshed out, though and given basically a whole 2/3s of the series to properly flesh out and develop.
I think what bothered the most is that Jack never even got the chance to say goodbye to the Scotsman and his other friends. And the fact they no longer exist due to time travel 😢 doesn’t help.
That's why he shouldn't have gone back
The whole ending is a Grandfather Paradox. If Ashi can't exist because past Aku is dead, then she couldn't have been around to transport Jack back to the past to kill past Aku, which means past Aku couldn't be killed, which means he's still around, which means Ashi CAN exist...and there you have the loop.
But the show just completely ignores this, pretending that the Grandfather Paradox doesn't exist.
They exist, but, 3000 years into the future.
@@JonesNate what grandfather paradox? Ashi is still Aku, so technically Aku sent him to the future and past, completing the "paradox". At the cost of destroying the timeline (of destruction).
Yeahhhhh... Anytime a man and woman occupy the same screen, you can bet your butternut squash that creators are going to find a way to ship them.... 😩😩😩
The ending of Samurai Jack is so controversial is that the video game is like “Sike”
What?
The Game retconned it@@justinambru8529
@@justinambru8529there was an samurai jack video game that was supposedly the true ending samurai jack
Yeah, the game added a 100% completion ending where Aishi survived, and Gendy Tartakovski,the creator of Samurai Jack, said, that ending is canon.
I’d like to see Steve review the video game and see why that one worked….
I understand that the ending was not as good as it could have been but I personally am just happy that it got one, especially how it tried to change demographics to a more mature and darker story even if it did not carry that tone the whole way through, I can’t think of many show that had the balls or opportunity to do that.
As a kid, I saw the Lilo and stitch Halloween episode with the Shapeshifting experiment.
When I told people at school about it they didn’t believe me; they thought I was a Louie
That surprises me, because wasn't that one of the more popular episodes?
Fr, even I watched in Mexico
Louie?
@@yoshidinono80955:28 7:11
If the part where jack n ashi are fighting together is a sex metaphor, does jack missing his sword for a while symbolize erectile dysfunction
Guys listen, Warner Bros. is going to delist all Adult Swim games by May, this does include Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time which contains the true ending that even Gendy approved, spread the word
And then what? Season 5 is still Canon. Unless, either Genndy Tartakovsky or someone else rewrite the finale.
@@dragonhead99 the game is basically a different timeline from the show's ending. But Gendy considers the game's timeline to be the canon way the story ends.
@@EUGE_T_Tthe Ashi plot is trash, bro, who cares
@@EUGE_T_T I love Genndy's work, but he can't write a good story. Primal season 2 finale was trashed. Unicorn Eternal Warriors was a disappointment. He's one of the best animators, but a mediocre story writer.
ultimately the big problem with the season is that it set the bar extremely high by exploring what his mission actually meant to him... Then derailed it for a unessesary romance plot, when just keeping the building father daughter angle and then have her fade away after Aku is killed would have done the exact same thing, just with less of that limited playtime, and would have given the show the chance to have the scene where jack returns home to his parents and actually fullfills his longterm goal end on a great mixture of bittersweet and yet glorious.
From the side view, Ashi's head looks like the guy from "An American Werewolf In London" halfway through his transformation.
this girl is growing a snout throughout the season 😂
Now I can't unsee it.
Naah, that's just "Asian Simian Face"
Jack & Ashi wedding is way too similar to to Gurren Lagann. The only difference is that Simon knew Nia was gonna die & has an emotional goodbye with her
I think Samurai Jack was one of the only cartoons that switched demographics throughout its lifespan.
Steven Universe and Adventure Time definitely did too, they just weren't quite this edgy.
The original demographic grew from season 1-4 to 5, then all the sudden at the season's end the cartoon wanted to have the same demographic of season 1-4 again. It switched demographics and SWITCHED BACK AGAIN. It's insane when you think about it.
@@vitorafmonteiro They couldn't make up their minds.
@@FrenchabooA good question is (hypothetically speaking), would those two shows switch demographics in an edgier way if they lasted longer than they did? (I got no hunch on that myself.)
Young Justice did when it got renewed .
at roughly 30:00, you talk about how she SUDDENLY see's him do something kind, and SUDDENLY has change of heart. No. That's wrong. From the time they met when she became unmasked, he was trying to prove to not only her, but himself, that there was good in her. So he saved her, and kept her captive to try and undo the brainwashing by setting an example, a first-hand experience of what Jack is really like, not what Aku SAYS he's like. So she is seeing Jack do all of these things that are the EXACT OPPOSITE of what Aku claims. When the butterfly scene occurs, she then realizes that she had felt happiness once, as a child, because of the butterfly, and she watched happiness get crushed/killed before her eyes by her mother. She began, at that moment, to finally realize that Jack wasn't the bad guy. She still didn't fully trust him, but she also didn't want to kill him anymore. When she goes on her own little journey through the villages of the people Jack liberated after they are separated, she learns all about the truth and how Jack saved them all from the evils of Aku, all unaware of who she is. She begins to see the truth and finally comes around to Jack's side after they are forced to work together.
Ladybug but yes. He dismisses the very valid complaint that Jack has spent the entire episode being kind to her.
Idk if Hitler spent an entire month being kind to me and people round him I’d have second thoughts about just assassinating him.
@@EssexExThat Hitler bit was cringe AF! The biggest diffrence brainwashing wise is seeing the horrific actions and rhetoric surround and spouted BY THE ACTUAL ANTAGONIST instead of solely hearing about them like Aku’s has with Jack. Then seeing the actual person the propaganda is about and working with them. Once he made that Hitler comparison he really lost me. Then again it was doomed from the beginning when he said he was a “fan” of this series. “Fans” make the WORST critics. Lol
It wouldn't surprise me if we learned that Genndy may have intended to have the series end on a longer time table than just 10 episodes. The extreme whiplash of pacing from episode to episode really suggests this was an Adult Swim decision that forced his hand. Sometimes that's just what happens, but I think its still better we got a conclusion at all vs leaving the entire story open-ended forever like with some other beloved series out there.
I still pray that a brave network wud continue Infinity Train or Inside Job
@@noobmasterruben5167 I've said to many friends many times, "If I ever get ultra wealthy... First thing I'm doing is writing Netflix a blank check with the memo: finish the Dark Crystal damnit!"
Maybe a marketing executive was originally planning a surprise 6th season, realized viewership wasn't high enough to justify the costs, and rapidly scaled everything back
That's my head canon, at least, for the pacing/tonal shift between the two halves of the season
Yeah I had the same thought midway through the video. I began noticing Some of the middle episodes felt a bit too quick paced and that if given a couple more episodes would have solved this. Additionally looking back seasons for cartoon shows in the early 2000s were usually 20-22 episodes to a season and now the standard length for seasons is usually around 10-13 so episodes, so I can totally see genndy wanting to have 20 episodes for this season but network basically going that’s not how it’s done anymore and cutting it off at 10
@@AoshiStark YES! I'm still mad at Netflix for cancelling Dark Crystal and Bone.
44:48 Yeah, but that's an issue with any "immortal" character. Unless you write an eternally young counterpart, it's always gonna be weird. Just about any relationship Wolverine's had would be awkward seeing as he was born in the late 19th century. This is something you just gotta deal with, or there's simply no story.
Here is my rewrite of the fifth season that's live rent free in my head:
1, Jack and Ashi have a student master relationship, rather than a romantic one.
2, The scottsman only dies in the final battle, and we see him fight like a ghost like nothing happened.
3, After Jack defeats Akku, Ashi immediately fell sick, then vanish.
4, We see Jack reunite with their family, and see the world celebrate. We learn Jack's true name.
5, After some time, Jack feels out of place in the past and have dreams of the future.
6, The Gods visit Jack and tell him that the future rapidly changes, and it will vanish unless Jack finds a way back.
7, After Jack says goodbye to his parents, he begins to wander the earth.
8, Cut to years later, we see the Portal Guardian standing in front of the portal, and we Jack looking like the end of the Portal Guardians episode approaching.
This is EXACTLY what I wanted when Ashi started tagging along. Specifically the student relationship with Ashi and Jack. I really thought it was leading up to that and was absolutely thrown off when we started getting romance and the naked shots. Like it was weird as hell, girl has no concept of the outside world, affection, sex, or even romance but we were supposed to just accept her being sexualized and suddenly catching feelings?? We're supposed to accept that Jack is totally okay with this too? Mans was THAT lonely?? Stop it lmao.
But yeah, I really like your idea! I wish it had gone in this direction it makes the most sense tbh.
All that for 16 likes. Lol
@@travdoza6179 it's going up
Can you rephrase all of that but in human, instead of cuckchan?
@@HYDEinallcaps You are a great reminder as to why it's important to take a break from the computer or screen and take a walk.
This will sound mean, but I don’t think Gendy knows how to “end” a show. 3 series in a row (samurai jack, primal and unicorn eternal) ALL had terrible and rushed endings. He spends so much time building up tension and intrigue that he’s then like “oh shit, I forgot I only have 10 episodes”
Then rushes the hell out of it.
Well.... We all have our strengths and weaknesses. It's just that this guy, as legendary and talented as he is, does not know how to properly end stuff.
To be fair Primal was going to be cancelled because of the Discovery merger
@@MASTEROFEVIL valid. I would’ve said something, but I didn’t wanna make my prior comment into an essay. You’re right, there are times he doesn’t GET the chance to end a show, like Primal and Symbionic Titan (Popeye to an extent).
But counterpoint, you’d think that after all these cancelled projects, he’d know by now how to consolidate his resources when no one (in the industry rn) knows if their show will see tomorrow.
Honestly, he should just stick to episodic shows or at least leave the endings to someone else or, I don’t know, PLAN AHEAD.
The Man, The Myth, The Legend Has *Returned.*
and it's just steve
Unrelated but that anecdote about you noting down every roman numeral to figure out which episode was playing is kinda adorable
Also just as a note: those “background characters” you brought up around 42:40 were actually featured in the original series. The African Chief was a friend of Jack’s father, who took Jack in and helped to physically train him alongside his own son. They were purposely designed that way based on real African paintings/artistic depictions of African people, so while most people may see the depiction as racist, it was actually based on genuine cultural art.
Oh absolutely. This show would be the last one to be racist lol
@@raptorjesus5870 I mean, WE as the audience who grew up with Samurai Jack understand the character designs and intent, but I don’t have much faith in the newer generation. A lot (not all, but a lot) of younger people today are media illiterate and lack critical thinking skills.
People thought the depiction was racist?? I remember being so excited seeing the chief and thought it was cool af as a kid. He was definitely positive representation to me back then. I also had a lot of African type art in my childhood home so when I saw his stylization it never gave me any notions of racism even now as an adult. I'm genuinely surprised to hear this, wow.
@@magicalmomo9987Just a few people here and there, but thankfully there's a lot more people who actually knew the context of the designs.
The Chief was an awesome character, he accepted Jack like his own son without any prejudice, and the whole tribe welcomed him as a new member of their family. I'm actually kind of sad we didn't get to see the Chief's son now grown up at Jack and Ashi's wedding. It would have been a nice nod to how close they were as children.
@@TheChildofAuraReborn Yes, same! That would've been amazing. I'm thankful we got to see at least some of the other characters from the original though.
1:01:39 They could have written Jack to love her like a daughter, after he took her on as an apprentice, but they ruined that so hard.
I think in episode 7 when he gets his redesign, he should get a new robe, and maybe make his hair and beard look a bit more well kept
He could of become the "king" version of himself we saw on the other side of the Guardian's time portal
@@thomasjones6216 True, but I think maybe sticking more to his samurai roots would be cool too
I'm glad you addressed the fate of everyone left behind, as so many others seem to ignore the morality of changing the timeline. Even your idea doesn't resolve it. What about all the people not at the battle? Do they get no say in their fate? They don't just die, but get completely erased. If there is an afterlife in this universe, they don't even get to go there.
Yep. So disappointing that the story never addressed this.
There is nothing you could do, no amount of proof to make me believe there weren't completely different writers working on the final three episodes.
Is Genndy even good at writing more mature shows though? Either the adjustment period from kids' demographic scripts to older audiences is rough on him, or he's never had the scope, I don't know. But Primal and Unicorn Warriors Eternal always seemed like one-trick ponies, with always a major crutch on violence and action as the main propellent of story; it gets old. Those things tend to be the only thing justifying their ratings, unless some cringy innuendo jokes are thrown in as well.
It has put my judgements of the guy into question anyway. :(
They went full SBI.
@@themonsterunderyourbed9408 haahhahaha
@@boop004They were more than just one trick ponies!!! Seriously did you even watch Primal or did you ignore just to justify your shit criticism!!!
@@zemox2534 I agree, but giving boop004 the benefit of the doubt, genndy doesn't always make masterpieces. Unicron warriors eternal first season came out not too long ago, and almost everyone was like: meh
In the new ending you suggested, Ashi could live and Aku be dead. What I imagine is that Ashi going back in time would make her not affected by flow of time (like Jack) or any changes to the timeline (but it is only my guess).
Also I preferred if they went with the original ending were Jack defeats Akaku but is still stuck in the future and is forced to rule over the Empire that Akaku built for himself.🐱
I think many of us would've preferred that ending.
On top of that, Jack could help re-build the world alongside his friends and allies so everything would finally be at peace. Not perfect, there would always be the occasional badie or old Aku supporters to deal with, but nowhere near as bad or corrupt as it was under Aku's reign.
Then one day, many years later, Jack is informed that one of the time portals has been reformed/re-built (or have the Guardian portal not be destroyed and finally decide that Jack is ready to go home), and while Jack is ecstatic at first, he quickly realizes this isn't an easy choice. By choosing to go back to the past and ridding the world of a future that is Aku, he would also be losing all of the friends he made in this timeline, and all of that hard work would be for nothing. Everyone tells Jack that its ultimately his choice to make, they'll support him no matter what, and his final decision would be ambiguous, cause honestly the fan-base would go into rage mode no matter what path he chooses.
That's just how I would've ended the series, though.
Exactly, he ends the Age of Aku, but in the future.
He uses the gatekeeper's portal not to go back home, but to tell his family he loves them and that things will eventually be alright, finally accepting that you cannot change your past and must embrace your current self
Akaku
@@theunpopularopinion9833a MUCH BETTER ENDING!
yeah. Undoing everything that happend left me a sour taste. From a story telling prespective, Jack learning to stop fixating into going back into the past to fix everything and instead just defeat aku and rebuild from that would have been really cool. Almost a life lesson, Don't get swallowed by regret and what could have been, instead build for the future from what you have now.
I'm conflicted between: "Well at least we have some ending to Jack's journey" and "This ending should never have been made at all." I lean towards the former because the beginning episodes were really cool and I like the way it was initially starting.
My main issue with it was the pacing.
Also, it might be a nitpick and personal thing, but I wish we could've saw the King Jack storyline or Jack run The Guardian's fade again.
They kind of do it in the comic book continuation they did before season 5
@@theashtubereviews I know about the King Jack storyline, but I still need that Guardian run back though.
@@theashtubereviewsI think that was one of the main problems: if you didn’t read the comics,you’re likely lost.
Same
Samurai Jack was one of my ultimate favorite series of the Cartoon Network block since the Powerpuff Girls.
Genndy Tartakovsky is one of the most distinguishable animators of all time.
He makes storytelling grander in animation throughout the 1990's.
The fifth season was one of the best final seasons around until...
Many fans out there backlashing because the ending was too extreme for the fans everywhere.
I understand about what happened to Ashi but sometimes in life there's been tragedies even losing
legendary icon animators. Walt Disney, the Fleischer bros, Joe Ruby, Ken Spears, William Hanna, Joe Barbera,
the old 9 Mice Men of Disney, Looney Tunes creators and now we lost a Dragonball Creator: Akira Toriyama.
But animation lives on to those greats been established and this final season was legendary of GT.
Great upload, Steve.
I personally wish the last scene / ending conflict had these plot beats:
* A Daughter of Aku dies every episode or two after their introduction (except for Ashi). 2 or 3 are because of Jack, but the rest are from either accidents, being cut down by their sister(s), or being hunted down as they start to side more with Jack & his cause than Aku. Ashi ends up being the only one who survives (or at least, the only one who remains with Jack as his student), leading to a confrontation between her, her mother & the rest of the cult.
* It is revealed that, because Aku sent Jack into the future, Jack's aging is tied to Aku (in other words, put on hold / eternally at his current age, since Aku doesn't age). This goes beyond simply longevity however - because of the various instances where the two have 'shared their essence' (the time portal conundrum, Jack absorbing Aku's Anti-Jack, Jack actually inhaling a bit of Aku when Aku was sick), Jack is technically part-Aku (represented by the negative projection he talks to throughout season 5).
** With the above being said, this means that if Jack dies by his magic sword via seppuku (a willing, selfless sacrifice with the necessary weapon), it is the equivalent of Aku doing so (and would thus kill Aku alongside Jack).
* Jack & Aku would not know about this until the final episode. However, Ashi (who would still have been born with the essence of Aku, but be unaware of this until the last episode as well) would learn about this after she's come around to Jack's side (seeing him as a mentor figure once she's warmed up to him) and would be trying to find an alternative due to Jack's suicidal inclinations at this point (and she'd likely tell other allies of Jack of her discovery, in order to get their help finding a solution before Jack finds out he can off himself to off Aku for good).
* Cut the Scaramoosh survival & the romance segments, let the plot happen for a few segments to round out getting back the sword and gathering allies to fight Aku as he's starting to get back into evil gear, and then start the final episode: Aku has captured Jack & the sword, the allied forces are preparing a counter-attack led by Ashi while Aku broadcasts the original intro and prepares to execute Jack.
** The attack, initially is to free Jack and try to use all their other resources as an alternative to kill Aku. However, at about the first third of the fight, it is revealed to Aku & Jack about how Jack can kill himself with the sword to kill Aku by proxy (perhaps this is when Aku actually realizes that Ashi shares his essence & gets a look into her memories in the process; he blurts out "Wait, if I kill the samurai I die too!?" only to then realize he said this within earshot of Jack, who suddenly goes ape with purpose & adrenaline, breaking free of his containment and making a dash for his sword).
** The fight then goes into a desperate keep-away skit (everyone trying to keep the sword from Jack while also surviving Aku's panicked fury), with Aku eventually using his powers to crash the present time into the past directly (perhaps thinking that undoing the time-skip will break the link between him & Jack, and allow him to absorb his old self to gain even more power).
** Massive mayhem ensues, the sword is lost in the madness, Aku ends up more powerful than ever, and it's a desperate bloodbath. Believing himself now free of the Curse of Jack, Aku attempts to finish off the Samurai, only to be stopped as light pierces him. The fighting stops as Aku melts away, and everyone looks in confusion until Ashi is spotted, sword in her stomach as she finishes committing seppuku on herself (having realized that if she was made with Aku's essence, then her death by the sword should likewise kill him).
* Perhaps, with the powers of the sword & her self-sacrifice, the gods intervene to save Ashi, giving her a chance at a proper life in the now saved (if chaotic & devastated) world, all finally rid of Aku & his evil. Jack reunites with his family, all the friends he made in the future aren't wiped from existence, we get a climactic fight, and even Ashi gets to survive with a happy ending.
looks like someone needs to make a response video o:
What I've learned over the years is that... it's always difficult to end a series... and a large majority of people always have an issue with whatever happens.
One of the problems is that we spent four seasons with future Aku, and that's the one fans wanted defeated. I for one never wanted Jack to make it to the past, it makes a strong message of how you can't change the past, only the future
Truuuee!!! I thought that would have been great messaging
But his family would all have been brutally tortured and murdered, and millions of years of oppression and suffering would be afflicted by Aku if he never made it back.
Oh, that would have been a *much* better ending!
That line of "The decisions you make and the actions that follow are a reflection of who you are. You can't hide from yourself." Its such a heavy passage
The first few episodes were pretty solid, I thought.
29:24 oh bro. If shes been brain washed verbally right.
And when she was a kid, saw something she disagreed with, but was supposed to be "Right" (Killing the lady bird).
Now she is with the "Evil man", and suddenly she see's him do something she believed in, and yet is supposed to be evil.
I dunno i find that pretty believable .
This is literally actions speak louder than words im sad you don't see that.
Season 5 made me realize that Tartakovsky (as he admitted it himself in an interwiew) always have been a visionary director and not really a writer. In the previous seasons of Samurai Jack he had a pretty large team of storyboarders who were also the writers of the show. The storyboard artists may have added a lot of small but neat ideas to make the show much better. Also there were many co-directors who must have helped Genndy in each episode.
In season 5 Tartakovsky did all the directing and did like 75% of the storyboarding. Maybe he didn't had the studio system he used to have in the earlier days and couldn't afford other storyboard artists? Maybe he was a bit full of himself and wanted to do all the heavy lifting which resulted him to get tired at the end of the project? Maybe both.
I also felt the same "sympthoms" in Primal season 2, which also had a really great start and a terribly rushed ending. And in Unicorn... I just gave up after episode 03... I'm sorry.
I still love Genndy Tartakovsky as a director, his works was so influental for me. It's a wonderful thing that he still manages to create his own animated shows and still has his brilliant moments to shine. There's just something missing in his newer works for me unfortunately (in the writing at least, his animation and visual style is still very strong).
I GUESS I can see wanting a little more time given to Primal's ending... but it's not remotely comparable to the emotionally unsatisfying, awkwardly drawn & animated (the final battle did not look climactic at all), "mindless Gurren Lagann ending copypaste" disaster that was Jack S5's finale. Spear's actions came to bite him in the ass & his deadly final encounter came just as swiftly & unceremoniously as you'd expect it to in such a wild, "primal" setting. The Viking Chieftain's arrival was also overtly foreshadowed, over and over again, & it makes perfect sense for Spear (the last of his kind, the symbol of a purer & more animalistic form of humanity) to be felled by the living representation of a more civilized, morality & fairness-driven, ritualistic (yet also, as a result, more corrupted) "evolution" of man. Both died, yet one got to spread his seed while the other went to hell. Spear lost his wife & kids, went a journey where he made new friends & loved ones, and in the end continued his lineage. the Chieftain couldn't put the past behind him & went on a righteous crusade for revenge at all costs, to make things "fair" based on his civilized morality. For these reasons I think the fact that it all happened so fast was mostly justified; the thematic weight of it, along with the kickass visuals, should be more than enough to make up for the feeling that "maybe it should've been longer".
Jack S5's ending was garbage for the aforementioned reasons, but also... I as the viewer, do not care about Jack's stereotypical Japanese home and his generically nice loved ones. I'm invested in the beautifully flawed post-apocalypse & the messy-yet-lovable characters Jack befriended in it. That's where the real meat of the show lies: his episodic adventures. So to just throw it all away, having them all give away their for their past savior felt... pretty lame and honestly a little uncomfortable to me. And yeah, the Gurren Lagann elephant-in-the-room comparison - the finale with Ashi dying was so conceptually similar (right down to the reason behind it) there's absolutely NO WAY Genndy or whichever storyboarder came up with it hadn't seen the show. The visuals were similar, even the COLOR SCHEME, and the whole concept of the main character's lover drying during their wedding because she was being kept alive by the now-dead villain's power is far, FAR too specific. Except... in Gurren Lagann it was made sense: it was nailing home the importance of death & the protagonist's personal responsibility to not go mad with power & override death, the entire basis of human evolution (and in the process guide humanity down a slippery slope that would destroy it, both literally and metaphorically). It also makes it clear, within the fictional world's own logic, why the love interest was able to hold on; that it was her willpower keeping her alive in a show where willpower is essentially magic. Meanwhile In Jack it just felt "bittersweet for the sake of it" and didn't really enforce an all-encompassing theme at all.
I'm honestly amazed how much better Genndy got at telling long-form stories in just 2 years (or maybe he had it in him from the get-go but Jack was just horribly rushed). Primal S2 does not deserve to be compared to Jack S5.
The ending is what kinda made it feel all pointless to me. Like it makes zero sense to do what they did for the ending. Jack really should of just stayed in the future after all it was part of his life for so long
Genndy : I didn't want to rush the ending
Also genndy: makes it so he had to rush the ending 😐
well i understand him wanting to tell his story. And finally getting the opportunity to do so. Just because his story needed 2 seasons doesn't mean he was going to get them. So he compromised and delivered a mediocre ending instead of a great ending. TLDR i don't blame him for cramming shit in and taking shortcuts.
@@boomburst8031could’ve just trimmed out the unnecessary bits
Makes a videogame to canonically fix the ending....
@@26th_Primarchwhich is arguably more confusing than the original ending
First this and now Primal..
Not everything has to have a romance in it. If it doesn't play to a show/writer's strengths then it's better to skip it. Adding a romance to a show like Samurai Jack doesn't make sense. If they really, truly wanted to do a romance then they should have given it equal time and care as everything else in the story. I can't stand when writers act like romance can be just tossed into anything, as if there's no difference between well-written romances and poorly-written ones.
29:50 Fun fact: that bit about a sniper sparing Hitler instead of killing him actually happened. A sniper in WW1 had a clear headshot on Hitler (who was a low ranked runner at the time) felt bad because being in The Great War sucked for everyone and decided not to shoot him. And apparently Hitler commissioned a painting of that sniper to hang in his home office...
So Hitlers war records showed he was in Germany on leave during the dates Tandey, the sniper claimed to have seen him. So it was likely just some other German nerd running around, but years later after Hitler rose to power, prior to WW2 when people thought the Nazis were aight, and the rumors spread, Hitler was moved enough to put the portrait in his office, before a year later blitzkrieging Poland. I think Tandey was full of shit since the discrepancy was noted that Hitler couldn't of been where Tandey was, but hey, that's history. People lied and went with it because it sounded cool. It's like how, the Soviet Union claimed they killed the head of Germany's sniper school during the events of Enemy at the Gate, but Germany confirmed it was some other guy.
@@Savagem8 It was most likely a case of mistaken identity. Guy saw Hitler with his mustache and remembered the time he almost killed a guy with a similar mustache. But nobody seems to have told him that Hitler wasn´t the only one who shortened his mustache like that, wich was done as not to interfere with gasmask iirc.
Lol bet he regrets that for the rest of his life 😂😂😂😂
This season of Samurai Jack is indeed very strange to talk about. How did it went from being dark to being dumb and goofy. It was fast paced, and the weird relationship between Jack and Ashi were very forced. I mean those two never had a chemistry together, and the age gap is questioning.
With the same logic, you could argue that Avatar Aang shouldn't have gotten together with Katara because he's actually 112 years old (although biologically he's 12)
Somehow, the series got LESS mature even as it tried to deal with more mature topics. The original seasons are magic, this one just felt like "welp, we gotta finish this somehow, so just wrap it up. Also romance!"
Trying this much to justify the shiny mature rating only assured that Genndy would fall into tropes and cliché HARD. Sad thing to see, but I'm a little less sorry about it now that he's replicated the problem in more than one show since then.
Ahh good ol' Genndy, master of incredible stunning visuals, dialogue-free narrative moments, and... endings that miss the mark so badly you wish you'd stopped watching an episode or two early. Primal did the exact same thing, and I'm still not completely over it. Some of those episodes were a masterpiece, but now it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth knowing how it all ends. I kind of wish he'd stick to purely episodic things that didn't need a definitive ending.
Frankly, maybe the show would've been better off without an "overarching goal." The show was was basically 90% episodic anyway. The serialisation aspect felt more like a bait & switch than anything actually substantial. "Hey, kids! Keep watching! Maybe this week he'll finally get to the past! Fingers crossed!" Bleh.
It could've been a purely episodic show about the misadventures of a lone samurai in a sci-fi future who was born in that sci-fi future. The same way Lucky Luke was about a lone cowboy. Aku could've simply been Jack's arch-nemesis like Julius Caesar in Asterix or something.
If Unicorn Warriors Eternal is left hanging then gets a disappointment of a conclusion, good grief
Agreed 😢
Apparently, there is gonna be another season of UWE and Primal coming in the future
@@gigaj2368I did hear something like that about Primal. I could be wrong, but I think Gendy said that if he did do another season, it would be a different storyline instead, making it an anthology of sorts.
I am still traumatized by how rushed this ending was.
I remember TRYING to love it and just being unable to. No matter how many times I rewatched it or how much I love the final shot, I just couldn't get past how rushed those final 3 episodes were. I'm just not fully on board with anything that happened. Everything boils back down to "This needed more time". I thought for a while that Jack would simply stay in the future and make the best of a bad situation with Ashi, or that they would bring back a former cast member with a time machine and Ashi would die, fully realizing Jack's need to go back in time as Aku would have taken away Jack's final attachment to the world. But no they sorta tried to have it both ways and it just didn't work.
Honestly would have felt more impactful if he was a teacher to Ashi and what pulled him out of losing hope was the fact his hope was right there. That Ashi was the future generation to continue on the fight against Aku. That if he could teach someone who was once an ally of Aku then there was STILL hope. THAT is what should have happened. Jack finding HOPE in Ashi as a student. It should have been like Lightning McQueen finding his new hope in Cruz Ramirez. Like that is how Jack and Ashi's relationship felt. NOT what we got.
Says a lot when Cars 3 did a better job with this. Even more so seeing as Cruz was HIS trainer, but she learned MORE from him.
Honestly as a Samurai Jack fan, hearing about there being a 5th season gave me so much hype because it meant wrapping up the series and answering questions. And while the animation was still great and the blood was surprising and a big adjustment to the robot killings from the first 4 seasons, it got disappointing as you watch the 5th season. 10 episodes isn't enough to cover everything and it felt rushed. Like you want Jack to get back to his past and defeat Aku, you want him to have a happy ending but how it got resloved wasn't what we asked for. For instance (not numbered by importances):
1) How Jack got to the past was solved so fast it was anticlimactic.
2) We didn't get enough nor visited enough of Jack's friends and allies, some were just pop-ins and never seen again. There was no goodbye or any send off, it felt unceremonious. I especially loved the Scotsman and his dynamics with Jack as a friend, I'd at least expect a proper goodbye since he did have ties to them.
3) Unpopular opinion, but I actually ship Jack with Ashi and never thought about their ages. Jack's age was just stuck as (somewhere in his 20s) in the past and I didn't dare to question it. So when Ashi got close to his appearance age, I just simply saw them as the same age. It would be like Philip J. Fry can't be with Leela because cryogenically he's over 1000 years old in Futurama despite being in his twenties when frozen. But how Ashi disappears just upset me because Jack needed a happy ending of sorts so I'll stick to my AU that the series ends with Ashi walking down the aisle on their wedding day and leave it as an open ending. No hate pls.
22:31
Wolf: So uhh you ever have furrys back in your time jack?
Jack: Actually there is someone named Saberspark
Well that was out of nowhere lol
Maybe this guy is just REALLY bothered about that.@@MRVAST-op7sg
Hey guys I’m SaberSpark! I review furry content, even though I’m not a furry. No seriously, I’m not a furry. I’m not a furry guys, ignore those pictures. Yes there’s a fursona of me but I’m not a furry. Yes I like this furry character but I’m not a furry. I’m not a furry. I’m NOT a furry. I’m seriously NOT a furry. I’m not a furry guys! Please stop talking about it! I’m not a furry! I’m not a furry! I’m not a furry! IM NOT A FURRY! IM NOT A FURRY! AHHHHHHHHH!!
@Mister_Domm Pathetically obsessed despite how it little it matters.
@@Mister_Don888Oh my God *WHO THE HELL CARES!*
I don’t have an ending idea but I like the idea if Ashi had another one of her sister with her.
- Ashi sister gets wounded from the fight between her and Jack, falls from the same place Jack and Ashie fell, not only she has broken bones she has deep cuts.
- Ashi is the more sympathetic sister and the other one is more on edge but the two at the moment are still thinking of killing him.
-When they get out of the monster stomach when Ashi gets loose she walks up to Jack treating her sister wounds while she is unconscious from blood loss, Ashi asks what he is doing.
-That’s when he helps carry her sister and then they go off to travel.
-Skip time they discover their surroundings even more and grow to act more human, even strengthening the bond between the two sister.
-The other sister is still skeptical about Jack but now is skeptical of Aku while Ashi changes, wearing her little lead fit.
-When the army shows up Ashi feels like she can’t trust her sister to be alone with Jack but she has no choice but to go down there and fight off, she tells her sister to watch after Jack and that she trusts her even though she doesn’t.
-Ashi seeing her mom halfway to the top she gets the bird, as their mother gets to the top she tries manipulate the other sister as Ashi begs her to see how twisted their mom is.
-Ashi and the mother began to fight, to make the fight more impactful instead of Ashi killing her mom in like 2 seconds she’s stronger and Ashi can’t take on her mom alone, finallly the other sister joins in and the two fight to kill their mom.
This is all I can think of tbh it just sucks I think it would’ve been a lot more wholesome and fulfilling to have Ashi look at Jack as she dad or even family she never had.
My god, Samurai Jack and Johnny Bravo had more chemistry on that one cartoon short than Jack and Ashi did on a whole season 😭😭
the love story that should've been 😥
Samurai Bravo would be a greater clash of personalities than Mugen and Jin on Samurai Champloo!
I think the biggest issue I had with Samurai Jack Season 5 was I felt like the team clearly wasn't given enough time/episodes to tell the story they wanted.
You can tell Adult Swim only wanted to give them so much money so the project wouldn't become a money pit.
Thankfully, it was successful enough for Genndy's other two shows to become a reality, but man, Samurai Jack Season 5 needed 25 episodes, and not only 10.
It would have only made the show better in the long run, and Jack and Ashi's romance could have developed over the season properly.
As a whole, Samurai Jack tends to have excellent pacing, but Season 5 felt like it was going as such a breakneck pace that we never really got to slow down and soak it in.
Fun fact: Greg Baldwin also voiced Iroh in season 3 of Avatar the last airbenders.
We know. It's obvious.
@@WobblesandBean not everyone knows that, jackass.
I wonder if he’ll review that show, considering the fact that that had a lot of dark episodes
Remember the ending of samurai jacks final season is LITERALLY the ending of gurren Lagann
Season 5 started out REALLY strong but at some point we got anime romance into the mix (which is not bad for anime but it felt weird seeing it in a cartoon we all grew up with), there were a few call backs to certain characters in the show (kinda like a nostalgia trip but it just felt a little weak to me), there was that one portal that prophesized that Jack could only return to the past once he returned as some battle torn king (which that apparently was a lie or maybe that went over the writers heads), then the ending got rushed (not even exaggerating when I say that), and to top it all off we see that our man Jack *finally* made it back to the past and even got the girl in the end but we all know how that worked out (seriously why did they have to pull the rug from under us like that? I mean the writers went out of their way to shoehorn a last minute romance between Jack and Ashi, the least they could've done is keep them together in a cheesy happy ending now it just really makes all the time they've spent together kinda pointless)
Personally I think it'd be better if Jack stayed in the future, stopped Aku once and for all, let old ghosts rest because technically now his people are free one way or the other, I am one of those suckers who likes Jack and Ashi being a couple but I really hate how they did it WAY too fast (there was hardly any chemistry or emotions they shared with each other), Jack can have a new life with his friends, rebuild his kingdom in his original homeland, and finally rest in peace.
A Loui can be annoying, but a Loui sent me on track to beging my animation career. He told me that he saw a music video for a gorillaz track that actually doesnt has one, and being in my room daydreaming about how that video could be is what made me discover my love for story boarding.
Another "what went wrong" video from Steve Reviews that's over an hour? We've been blessed.
You managed to voice pretty much every issue I had with season 5. It's rushed and forces a romance between Ashi and Jack that didn't need to happen and was only there for shock value in the final scene where she dies.
It also begs for more episodes and the finale being way way too short.
I think Genndy just has an issue with endings. Even Ego Trip just ends in a time-loop.
I didn't like Primal's ending, as it was a bit problematic to me.
Then Unicorn: Warriors Eternal didn't really impress me over half the time. Fantastic art design, but bad story, lackluster characters, and even poor action scenes turned me off of it, though I watched it all hoping it would have gotten better.
Sym-Bionic Titan, which I didn't see, sadly got canceled.
Clone Wars was part of a larger universe, but I think it ended on a high note.
he has an issue with romance too...Primal ofc with the batshit ending...Symbionic Titan with the redhead twerking on the robot Character and then this rubbish
"I didn't like Primal's ending, as it was a bit problematic to me" Oh come on, is this the "Mira didn't ask for Spear's consent" criticism again? I'm one one the loudest critics of the idea that "women can't assault men" & I never even considered that while watching the ending cuz I was so invested in the show & the the actual emotional & thematic importance of the scene. I guess Genndy could've added a little extra detail to make it 100% clear that Spear consented to avoid these criticisms, but there was so much importance to everything that went on in that ending it's really weird that so many people will readily dismiss it for moral reasons. Is it that hard to tell yourself "it's a cartoon, you're not meant to base real-world morality on it, and in the context of a pulpy fantasy story it was clear their love was so strong that they were both clearly on the same page"? It's like saying Snow White has a bad ending cuz "you don't kiss sleeping women in real life".
And no I don't think everything else surrounding the ending was poorly executed either and I'm willing to elaborate.
@RaymondoPerson I think it would have been more acceptable if it was given more time. It's an overall issue with the length of seasons now. Sticking with 6-10 episodes has caused a bunch of pacing issues with shows lately.
the show is literally called Primal. in a wild untamed world, death can come swiftly & unpredictably. the Viking Chieftain's arrival was also built up to, consistently, & it makes perfect sense for Spear (the last of his kind, the symbol of a purer & more animalistic form of humanity) to be felled by the living representation of a more civilized, morality & fairness-driven, ritualistic (yet also, as a result, more corrupted) "evolution" of man. both died yet one got to spread his seed while the other went to hell. Spear lost his wife & kids, went a journey where he made new friends & loved ones, and in the end continued his lineage. the Chieftain couldn't put the past behind him & went on a righteous crusade for revenge at all costs, to make things "fair" based on his civilized morality.
I guess I can understand why people felt "it was too fast" but it's kinda weird to compare it to Jack S5's ending which was a total trash fire. Primal's ending had thematic and emotional weight to it, Jack's did not. Ashi's development & relationship with Jack were poorly executed, the final encounter sucks, the payoff sucks, there's no narrative significance to the attempted "bittersweetness". the more you think about it, the more it sucks. the more you think about Primal's ending the better it gets @@BingFox
I feel like Unicorn: Warriors Eternal would have been better had it not spent 70% of itself with the Emma/Melinda plot. Like there was a real cool story going on but it needed nearly all of the episodes for the character going back and forth on who/what they are. And don't get me wrong the Emma/Melinda story is a good one, but I feel like it was handled poorly. Like it could have been Melinda in control for the main plot to move along and then have moments of Emma coming back and trying to go home and the other warriors realising they're basically parasites to these people. Sadly just mishandled.
Season 5 was never going to meet fan expectation because the fans of season 1-4 did not age as did Jack but not only aged but in the time between season 4 and 5 had not just re-watched every episode multiple times but had also critiqued it with the eyes of an adult but when we were younger we just watched for entertainment. Despite the creator telling us it would be a bitter sweet ending, people complained how it ended, which shows they had forgotten or were willing to forget Jack's goal of getting back to the past in the face of him falling in love, something fans during season 1-4 hoped he would make it back to the past. I am glad we did get a season 5 and despite all the people from Jack's time travel would never be the journey and not the destination is what made it, because we having accompanied Jack for the 5 seasons understand him in ways no other character in the show can.
still feel bitter about season 5 after all this time. if i had to choose between getting this version of samurai jack or getting nothing at all, i would choose nothing. like what the fuck happened? i really hope it was something out of genndys control that forced him to rush the show, and not something of his own volition.
either way it reflects badly on him. Honestly, with what he's been creating for more mature audiences keep continuing to fall short in their writing and pacing really just tells me he's truly just an art guy. He needs a better skill of writer helping him instead.
I'm also disappointed, season 5 felt like the series was taken over by non original show creators.
I get that the portal plotline should have been payed off, but aku having his own powers turned against him, meaning he was the seed of his own destruction, is very on brand…
Yes!!!! Yes!!! My boy uploaded again! And finally another analysis on the samurai jack season five! I loved it and all but it definitely had issues! Must be my birthday today
Apparently the whole goal of the season was that Gennedy didn't want a fully happy ending, Jack had to get hurt, so he was given a love interest solely so he could be kicked in the gut when she died. Yeah.
Ouch. There’s like an infinite amount of ways he could’ve done it better, like maybe Jack would die after killing Aku and would have to pass the torch to Ashi or maybe he would just stay in the future and leave the dead to rest
Hi Steve, I recommend you take a look at "The King of Pigs" a South Korean animated movie. Its pretty dark and Mature in subject matters. It was made by the team that made 'Seoul Station' and 'Train to Busan'
Jack having a conversation about furries with the wolf is something I didnt know I needed in my life. Thank you Steve.
I learned the Roman numerals thanks to Final Fantasy.
Reminds me of that Simpsons gag where Bart learned Roman numerals from the Rocky movies
Ayyy me too!
I would've thought Ashi could've held it against him at least a little bit for killing all of her sisters. It could've opened up some pretty complicated emotions and drama
"Do not let yourself be guided by the feeling of lust or love."
Miyamoto Musashi
Changing the absolute minimum to make it all work for me.
Ashi dying could've easily been given gravitas by implying she was growing ill and weary (like Jack was in his endless battles) holding herself together all this time after Aku was defeated.
Inflicting herself on a timeline she didn't exist in through sheer force of will and residual magic, hoping to live long enough to grow old and die with Jack, but she wasn't strong enough.
Then if you want a happy ending, some sort of parallel journey to Jacks, but through a time/reality/spiritual afterlife and, I dunno reincarnating as someone who had always belonged in Jacks time?
My first choice is tragedy.
Honestly I really loved the series but season 5's ending was so jarring and rushed to me that I never picked up the series again since the premiere of the finale. This video has been a good reminder of why the series was so good and why 3 bad episodes out of 5 seasons shouldn't taint something legitimately so good. Thanks for doing this video, it's made an old fan of the show revisit it after swearing off it for so long.
Ashi dying was whats best for the story. Jacks story has always been one of sacrifice and lost. He always sacrificed his own happiness for that of others. Which is fine.
The thing that really got me about Ashi being forced to fight Jack at the end is that Jack's sword can only hurt evil creatures, as shown when Aku tried to kill Jack with it, as such wouldn't Jack simply be able to hack away at Ashi until all the Aku Goo is gone?
I actually prefer the original animated ending as it makes logical sense. The father that help birth her was Ended in the past so the demon shape shifter would had never impregnated her mother. Plus a lot of the middle of season was rushed and concluded too quickly as I believe he had to wrap everything up in a single season and if that is the case he did what he could with in the conditions he was given.
the time guardian ending is in the comics steve, if you haven't read it, you should check it out, is pretty much what everybody was hopping for
So in other words they "put a chick in it", but rather than being lame and gay, she was the focus of a love plot that derails the epic plot and then ends lame and anticlimactically.
Ashi should have seen Jack as a father figure, considering her real father is the closest thing to satan.
The love story made me cringe the hardest. Instead of jack returning to the past it he should have realised he would leave everyone in the future behind. He would have been able to create an alliance against aku and possibly after killing him, aku's followers would have been still out there plotting to get revenge so Jack will train ashi and many other warriors on everything he know to be able to fight and thrive in this waste land.
Not just leave everyone in the future behind but they would not exist at all.
even as a dumb kid I knew the romance was weird and cringe af
Exactly! That what I thought it could've been better while watching this video just... now?
Yes!!!
@@selalewow in reality it would not work like that this is a cartoon.
My alternate ending is that Jack doesn’t get back to the past. He’s accepted that he’s never going back. And when he’s about to give Aku the final blow, Aku begs for his life. Tells him, “If you kill me, Samurai, you will never see your home again! Do you hear me?! I am your only-“ and before Aku could finish, Jack kills him.
Ashi would ask him if he regretted this, but he tells it would’ve altered the timeline. That even if Aku did deliver on his promise, it would’ve come with strings attached, but most importantly, he tells her that it was time to let go. To look forward. And I guess they’d figure out something to make him age again. Forgot that detail.
Part of me thinks they should've brought Josephine Clench back in more episodes and had her evolve into a romantic foil for Jack, the Catwoman to his Batman.
Samurai and southern belle is a pretty unique couple.
Ugh why does romance need to be forced down our throats in every show? Why do all women need to be used as romantic sidekicks?
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommeeasy rule 34
@@itsgonnabeanaurfromme Honestly, if they were committed to making ashi a love interest I could see it working. The problem seems like genny’s vision was to have her as a mentor/sidekick, but someone else thought a romantic relationship would be more impactful.
At least that’s what I got with the flip flop that was given to us. Like why make her, a completely new character, so young knowing she would end up as a love interest? She could’ve been any age. Especially since she got Thanos’d there at the end.
@@thematiasmadness7010 that happens regardless of canon, so your point makes no sense
@@MsMvsc I just like rule 34
In defence of the romance, who is Jack supposed to date actually ? A 60-70 year old woman ? No one bats an eye if it's an immortal vampire though eh ? The real reason why people do not date very older people is because of the ageing. I don't see a problem here if he doesn't age.
31:10 yeah, i hated all that. While it looked cool, it made absolutely no sense. The scotsman would have never been stupid enough to bring him and his daughters on a suicide mission that would never work knowing how durable aku is and jacks magic sword bit.
I actually liked that they just immediately used the time warp. It’s like when a character has the power to win but doesn’t use it immediately to raise stakes or tension, but in this case they realize it and immediately jump to it.