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Samurai Jack (1 Viewer)

Phil Florian

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 10, 2001
Messages
1,188
Howdy,
I just saw the one and a half hour premiere of this new show on Cartoon Network. Anyone else catch it? I love the guy's previous works (Dexter's Lab and Powerpuff Girls) and had some idea of what to expect. It was much darker and "serious" but still had a comic edge to it. The art direction, in particular the backgrounds and character designs, was outstanding. The music was well done, too. I like the story line and voice acting. The action scenes were very much in line with similar, but more tongue in cheek, action scenes in their other two shows. Derivative yet still an homage to anime stylings. I think this is a great new look, though. My only complaints is that it was at times almost TOO stylistic. One scene in particular, namely the final battle, though great was far too long. On the other hand, a lengthy scene at the beginning, where Jack is getting his wordly training, really worked. I have high hopes for the show. Also hip were the brief looks at the new Justice League show due out in November.
Just curious if any fans of Jack are out there.
Ciao,
Phil
 

John Chow

Second Unit
Joined
Sep 18, 1998
Messages
312
My opinion was kinda mixed on this one. I liked the style of it, thought it was unique and well done. Some of the battle scenes were definitely way too repetitive. To be honest, i fell asleep partly through it (although part of that was just 'cuz i was pretty tired). I definitely agree with you on Jack's initial training, that was totally cool and a riot. I'll probably try to keep an eye on this, but won't go to the trouble of making sure i watch it (i.e. record) unless it really hooks me. I did like how there were long periods of silence in it, something rare in today's cartoons.
 

Duane Robinson

Second Unit
Joined
Mar 26, 2001
Messages
347
I didn't really dig it. It seemed even more derivative than Dexter and The Powerpuff Girls, especially since it was trying to be a kinda serious action show instead of a comedy spoof like those other 2 shows. After a while the action scenes just got boring and seemed to go on forever and just felt directly lifted from better anime series. I'll give the show a few more episodes to see how things go before I stop watching it.
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"I'd rather have 2 girls at 21 than 1 girl at 42." - W.C. Fields
"One man's simple is another man's huh." - David Stone
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Ken_McAlinden

Reviewer
Senior HTF Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2001
Messages
6,241
Location
Livonia, MI USA
Real Name
Kenneth McAlinden
Overall I liked it, but it did feel like they had about 45 minutes of material stretched to an hour (plus commercials and making of stuff adding up to 90 minutes). Plotwise, it reminded me a little of the set-up for Frank Miller's Ronin, i.e. Ancient Samurai versus Demon feud is transported to futuristic sci-fi world. I think it has a lot of potential, and I really dug the way they played with split-screen and mattes. It gave it more of a feel like comic books with dynamic panel designs & shapes. Based on potential, I will keep watching.
Regards,
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Ken McAlinden
Livonia, MI USA
 

Andy Sheets

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Aug 6, 2000
Messages
2,377
I really loved it. In fact, I haven't been so impressed with a television cartoon since Batman originally began back in 1992 or so. I was watching the premiere and thinking that it had a lot of little touches that reminded me of the early Ren & Stimpy show, so it wasn't surprising to see Lynne Naylor and Chris Riccardi appear in the "making of" segment afterward. The shows definitely seem to share the same kind of approach to the medium, even though one is a gross-out comedy and this one is an action show. Gorgeous art and animation and carefully timed, musically driven action. And I just love the fact that it's an action cartoon that isn't afraid of being a CARTOON~! I mean, it's got impossible physics and talking dogs, not the stiff attempts at "realism" that most shows attempt :) So, yeah, I've had a lot of fun watching it and I'll be eagerly awaiting a dvd release :)
 

Chris Nauert

Auditioning
Joined
Jun 26, 2001
Messages
13
I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this show....it's definitely got great syndication appeal....a new adventure each week.....possibly in some of the places he trained as a child (really loved the training sequences). I think the backgrounds are gorgeous, as well as the soundtrack. The rave club scene was cool. It seems like a smart toon to me...I mean archaeologist dogs? Of course! They're great diggers! I loved the irish dog...his accent rocked. Oh well, we'll see how the season progresses.....
What was that robot teaser commercial that played through the whole show? It looked cool.
Chris
 

LarryDavenport

Senior HTF Member
Joined
Nov 15, 1999
Messages
2,972
Did anyone else notice that the town that the Archeologist dogs were excivating was Townsville from the Powerpuff Girls (it has the "Talking Dogs Says" billboard).
A good show with potential for greatness.
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These chicks know how to party! - MoJo JoJo
 

Phil Florian

Screenwriter
Joined
Mar 10, 2001
Messages
1,188
Larry, I didn't catch it but the 9 year old neighbor who stopped over to watch it did. Grrr...
And for the other poster, it was a Scottish brogue, not Irish (on a little scotty dog, of course!) :)
Good point about the Batman in '92...that was the same time when I got back into animation after a long hiatus. This was up there. Hopefully they will get their timing down (I did like the longer pauses, just not the repetative fight scenes).
Ciao,
Phil
 

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