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Oldtaku no Radio # 006 – Samurai Jack

In 2001, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack stunned audiences with ambitious and beautiful visual storytelling, a mostly stoic hero, and perhaps the world’s best (if not most lovable) villain. Samurai Jack ran for four seasons (52 episodes) but was cut down in its prime. This Emmy-winning cartoon, which had a largely episodic structure (save Jack’s building frustration), sadly never got to finish the tale of the samurai. Films were teased and planned, but sadly nothing panned out … until recently. Samurai Jack returns today (March 11, 2017), and we at Oldtaku no Radio could not be more ecstatic. In celebration, we’re taking a break from analyzing Japanese cartoons to analyze an American one … that just so happens to draw inspiration from/references, among other things, Japanese film directors, animation, and culture.

For this episode, which will be published in two parts, special guest Kate (Narutaki) of the Reverse Thieves blog/podcast joins us in squeeing over and wringing the most we possibly can out of a fantastic cartoon from the early aughts. The first installment covers general impressions as well as our favorites and flubs for Seasons 1 & 2, while the second half covers our favorites and flubs of Seasons 3 & 4 as well as thoughts on what Season 5 might bring.

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Runtime: 1 hr, 27 min

Show Notes

  • Opening Song: “Through the Glass” by Kaz Mirblouk
  • 1:07 – Introductions and summary.
  • 3:21 – Personal reactions to the rewatch itself and favorite aspects of the show.
  • 25:33 – Jared is wrong.
  • 50:43 – We start talking Season 1 episode favorites and flubs.
  • 1:03:10 – We start talking Season 2 episode favorites and flubs.
  • Ending Song: “Money 1973” by NO FUTURE
  • Twitter: Ani-Gamers, Oldtaku no RadioInk, Jared
  • Kate is one half of the formidable blogging and podcasting duo known as the Reverse Thieves.
  • Ink also writes for Otaku USA Magazine and The Fandom Post.
  • Jared also writes for The Electrum Edition and Wave Motion Cannon.
    • Ink's profile

      Ink contributes his own pieces and edits those of others pertaining to anime, manga, and games. His reviews and analyses have also appeared in the pages of Otaku USA as well as online over at The Fandom Post and Taiiku Podcast.

    • Jared Nelson's profile

      Jared discovered anime in the early 1990s through stacks of third-hand fandubs and Streamline Pictures tapes. By the tender age of 16, he was humming Macross 7 songs in art class, dreaming of Asuka Langley and hanging Rurouni Kenshin posters on his wall. A few years later he moved to Japan where he worked as an ALT (assistant language teacher) in Ibaraki and Fukuoka Prefectures. While he returned home with a deep appreciation for Japan, its culture, and its public transit system, Jared fell out of anime fandom and only returned in 2010. A self-proclaimed 3rd-level bard, Jared enjoys tabletop gaming and game design, video gaming, giant robots, history, comics, and most recently manga. He is also eternally late to the party.

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