As the premiere of the season five draws near, the journey through the full series of Samurai Jack continues into the second season. Was it a strong follow up to the first or does it pale in comparison?
Story
The interesting aspect of the second season of Samurai Jack is how uneven it is. Despite having episodes with great action and deep storytelling a quarter of the season were episodes more comedic in tone. In comparison this season only gave us two perfect episodes compared to the first season which was had at least four. There is a definite dip in quality this season.
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The season isn’t bad though. It’s just the majority of the season comes off as good more than excellent. The season gave us Jack and the Spartans, one of the best episodes of the entire series. Debuting before the 300 movie, it presents a tone and atmosphere which at times puts the live action to shame. It feels like the movie’s creators may have taken inspiration from the episode when they were making the film. Can anyone confirm whether or not Zack Snyder saw this episode or not.
Unfortunately, the lighter episodes do start to drag the series down a bit. An episodes entitled, Jack and his Sandals was dedicated to Jack trying to find a new set of footwear after his sandals are destroyed. It does have some a uplifting moment at the end but it still feels like you watched an entire episode for just one good moment.
As for the three best of the season, Jack and the Spartans is lock as one. One is Jack remembers the past, where Jack reflects on growing up before Aku took his family away and features a cameo by Lone Wolf and Cub. The other is Jack and the Ultrabots, as Jack finds he must upgrade if he wants to be able to take down a threat specifically designed to defeat him.
Art
A lot of less than stellar character designs and backgrounds compared to the first season. More fantastic alien characters like the hunters or Demongo are very striking, but the episodes which didn’t feature such moments seemed to have less detail brought to it. The design of the Scotman’s wife for example seems done entirely for the joke of her being loud and overweight. Again, Jack and the Spartans though almost makes up any negative criticisms on the detail work. Almost is the keyword there.
Music
Much like the art, when the episodes were intended to be more action oriented, more effort was apparent. Not to beat a dead horse but the Jack and the Spartans episode featured music which seemed like it could have been sampled for the live action movie. The more humorous episode like Jack is Naked, used sound effects more heavily and had a less than impactful feel to it.
Conclusion
The journey of Jack continues to be one of great action and beautiful landscapes. Unfortunately, episodes like Jack and The Farting dragon throws off the idea of the series being without a bad episode. There is nothing wrong with episode which are more comical in tone but they still have to be enjoyable. The show became vulnerable and showed it’s flaws this season but didn’t disappoint in entertaining and leaving some lasting impressions.
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What are some of your favorite memories from Samurai Jack season one? Leave a comment below and let us know.
