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Matt Ferguson's avatar

Samurai Jack was one of those rare animated shows that felt like a game changer after seeing just one episode (like Batman the Animated Series or more recently Arcane). So great to see the art showcased here

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Adhithya K R's avatar

Samurai Jack is my favorite show of all time! It's so wacky and original and colorful that it stands outside time, like an alien artifact. I was hooked from the first episode as a kid and blown away when I rewatched it in college.

It has the best sound design of any show I've watched. In "The three blind archers" episode, Jack blindfolds himself and then the black screen is slowly populated with sounds and pictures of birds (that gif on your article), deer, falling snow, a river... You get to to SEE the world through sound.

The "Samurai vs Ninja" episode uses just black and white to create a bizarre sequence of shifting shadows that is just unmatched. It's amazing how they set constraints for themselves that they push to the limits.

Tartakovsky's visual storytelling just kept getting more spartan and refined till he took it to a completely different level in Primal. I love Primal too, but Samurai Jack is just special. I love it so much, thank you so much for all the research - excited to check out all the influences here.

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