Wasn't going to write about this trailer, but considering I've watched it somewhere near forty times today...yeah.
Greetings Ladies and Gents! It is I, The Shaman of Animation back once again and as you can see from the title, I'm giving my quick thoughts on the trailer to Samurai Jack Season 5. So, let's not waste any time and get into it.
The trailer for the season starts and we catch Jack staring off into the difference of different landscapes (Probably just me but the locations look like areas he's been to in past seasons) and those first few seconds really set the tone that this season is gonna be pretty dour, at least in the beginning. It's been 50 years since we last saw Jack and because of Aku's sending him back in time, Jack can't age (but he can still grow a sweet beard so there's a silver lining); and all throughout the trailer, you can see he's given up on trying to get back home to his timeline.
A major thing of note is Jack's sword. Aside from those first couple of seconds in the trailer, Jack's sword is nowhere to be seen as in the time between seasons he's swapped it out for guns. A key thing to remember about Jack's sword from the very first episode when his dad was lecturing him was that the sword is only as powerful as its wielder, and that only a righteous heart can use it to its full potential. Everything in this trailer is pointing to the fact that Jack is lost and him finding his way again and proving himself worthy of wielding the sword again is most definitely going to be a big part of the season.
I have to applaud the artwork I saw in this trailer. There was a little cause for concern considering that the new season was drawn digitally vs a decade ago when it was hand drawn. But honestly, you can hardly tell the difference. The art of the new season perfectly matches the series' initial run. The designs of all the new robots, and aliens Jack's fighting look fantastic, especially that Aku cult of ninjas that were chasing down Jack.
And speaking of Aku, I know the only thing we got from him was hearing him laugh for three seconds but...man. I wish the guy that's replacing Mako Iwamatsu (The original VA for Aku who sadly passed away a little over a decade ago) nothing but the best of luck. You really can't Mako, especially as the voice of Aku, and I fully understand that, but that laugh fell really flat for me. Hopefully when the season premieres and I hear him speak, my opinion of him will be a complete 180 but for now, I am very weary.
But while I am on the topic of voice performances, let's talk about the voice of Jack himself! Phil LaMarr is back at the helm of voicing Jack and the guy sounds better than ever. The man pulls off a very somber and upset Jack but he can also flip things around and pull off an angry and frustrated Jack the very next second. I shouldn't be surprised with this considering it's Phil LaMarr who is a great voice actor, but with this new season going for more emotionally heavy material, I can expect nothing less of a stellar performance from Mr. laMarr.
And I guess the last thing I can talk about, is the tone of the trailer. Yes, we all know the show is going to be a bit darker and more violent than the previous four, and the shots with the Aku ninjas and Jack getting stabbed is proof enough, but no one seems to be talking about the two shots of the group of scared little slave children or the very next shot where there's a group of dead bodies laying around the remains of a destroyed building. It might be just me, but those shots stick out just as much as the person getting stabbed in the eye. Another thing is the fact that, the head of those Aku ninjas screaming outright 'Kill the samurai!' which is also kind of a big deal for me because I've rarely if ever heard the word 'Kill' be thrown around in Samurai Jack. The closest to that I remember was Jack saying that he'll vanquish Aku or the occasional 'destroy him!' but to hear those words "Kill the Samurai!" kind of adds a new layer to this for me, it's like the show's way of saying that it's not playing around. That these new enemies aren't going to stop until Jack's dead.
But even with all this seriousness, the one hope I have is that even with the darker, more series vibes the season has, that the show doesn't lose its sense of humor because a strength of Samurai Jack as a show was that it could do a serious thrilling episode like Jack fighting for his life against three killer robots and then two or three episodes down the line, have an episode where he's turned into a chicken and is now a prisoner forced to be in cock fights. It's a very tough thing to do balancing out comedy with the material that I saw in the trailer, but if there was anyone that I think could pull it off, it's Genndy Tartakovsky and his team.
Samurai Jack Season 5 is set to come out next month and will be the season to bring proper closure to the story of the wandering Samurai called Jack; and if the trailer is any indication, it definitely plans on going out with a bang. Hopefully, it lives up to all the hype it's generated.
But that's all for now Ladies and Gents. Til next time, I'm The Shaman of Animation holding out hope for a Sym-bionic Titan revival.
Come on Adult Swim, you brought back one Tartakovsky show, one more won't kill you.
Take Care...
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