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Fifty years have passed, but, I do not age. Time has lost its effect on me, yet the suffering continues. Aku's grasp chokes the past, present and future. Hope is lost.

Got to get back. Back to the past. Samurai Jack.

—Samurai Jack, Opening Sequence for Season 5

Season 5 is the fifth and final season which premiered March 11, 2017.

On December 2, 2015, Adult Swim announced that it would be airing a new season of Samurai Jack on its Toonami programming block. The fifth season of Samurai Jack will be the final season and will officially conclude the story with a proper ending. It also consists of the least amount of episodes; a total of ten as opposed to the usual thirteen.

Genndy Tartakovsky, the series' creator, returned as executive producer for this season.

Development[]

Background[]

Created by Genndy Tartakovsky, Samurai Jack originally aired on Cartoon Network from 2001 to 2004, comprising four seasons. The series was left open-ended since 2004. Tartakovsky previously expressed interest in a film adaptation of the series to provide a genuine conclusion, but the project never materialized.

Production[]

"Technology is different, we're using computers now,

instead of hamsters like the old days."

—Craig Kellman (character designer), Behind the Scenes featurette

Starting in 2014, reruns of Samurai Jack were aired on Toonami, an action-oriented programming block on Adult Swim. The network released a short teaser in December 2015 after it green-lit the return of the series with Genndy Tartakovsky as executive producer and Cartoon Network Studios as the season's production company. Artwork used in the teaser derived from the cover of an issue from IDW Publishing's comic book adaptation of the series. The new season received further mention ahead of the network's 2016 upfront press release. The fifth season was announced for the 2016–17 television season. Work-in-progress excerpts were shared at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.

Voice Cast[]

Additional Voices[]

Episodes[]

See also: Episode Guide

Season Episodes Season premiere Season finale
5 10 March 11, 2017 May 20, 2017
No. # Title Airdate Prod. Code
53 1 "Episode XCII" March 11, 2017 501
Samurai Jack has been trapped in the future world for 50 years, and has been driven to despair by his endless (and hopeless) quest to return home and defeat Aku. Then, Jack fights the robot assassin Scaramouche. Meanwhile, seven young girls are raised and trained from birth by an Aku-worshiping cult to become an elite team of assassins, with the sole purpose of killing Jack.
54 2 "Episode XCIII" March 18, 2017 502
Aku has lost his interest in killing Jack as he expected him to die, but can't. Jack is ambushed by the Daughters of Aku, who disarm him of all his weapons, and force him into an intense fight and wild chase for his life. Meanwhile, a wolf must survive a similar confrontation with its own enemies.
55 3 "Episode XCIV" March 25, 2017 503
Jack barely escapes with his life, but is gravely injured. He must recover both his physical wounds and mental traumas while hiding in a cave with the wolf. Soon, he must continue where he left off from his battle with the Daughters of Aku.
56 4 "Episode XCV" April 8, 2017 504
After Jack defeats the last Daughter of Aku (Ashi), the two are both swallowed whole by a gargantuan beast. Now Jack (and an unwilling Ashi) must find a way to escape the enormous creature's body.
57 5 "Episode XCVI" April 15, 2017 505
An older Scotsman leads a rebel army to attack Aku's home base. Later, Jack takes Ashi with him on a tour of Aku's dystopian world to prove how evil he is. Along the way, they must also try to rescue a group of enslaved alien children from being harvested by a monstrous man in a mechanical suit.
58 6 "Episode XCVII" April 22, 2017 506
After Jack wanders away and goes missing, Ashi searches the corners of the world to find him; along the way, she encounters numerous people whom he has helped out (or fought) in the past, giving her hope that Jack really can change the world for the better.
59 7 "Episode XCVIII" April 29, 2017 507
Jack and Ashi overcome a series of dangerous physical and spiritual tests in order to recover Jack's sword.
60 8 "Episode XCIX" May 6, 2017 508
The burgeoning relationship between Jack and Ashi takes a turn after they are hunted by one of the galaxy's deadliest creatures.
61 9 "Episode C" May 13, 2017 509
Samurai Jack's worst fear is realized when he faces off against Aku; the demon makes a shocking discovery about Ashi that puts her in grave danger.
62 10 "Episode CI" May 20, 2017 510
The fate of the entire universe hangs in the balance as Samurai Jack faces Aku.[1]

Home Media[]

The season in its entirety released on DVD and Blu-Ray on October 17, 2017, making it the only season in the series to get a standalone Blu-Ray release.

The same day, a full-series box set, containing all 5 seasons was released on Blu-Ray.

Trivia[]

  • A five-second teaser was released on YouTube the same day of the announcement.
  • Artwork used in the teaser derived from the cover of an issue from IDW Publishing's comic book adaptation of the series.
  • Work-in-progress excerpts were shared at the 2016 Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
  • The new season features more mature themes and writing, featuring actual gore and blood (as opposed to merely robots and oil from previous seasons) and slight sexual themes.
  • Season 5's episodes form an ongoing story rather than a single plot per episode. The story picks up fifty years after the end of the original series and follows Jack on a journey that ultimately concludes the story.
  • The promo image for season 5 shows a silhouette of Jack wearing his new armor while holding his sword. In the actual episodes however, Jack never uses the sword while wearing the armor, having adapted it long after losing the weapon and losing the armor prior to retrieving the sword.
  • This is the shortest season of the series, having only 10 episodes instead of the usual 13. The episodes also lack actual titles, going only by their order number.
  • In an interview, Genndy Tartakovsky revealed that his main regret was having to create the season without the involvement of Mako, Aku's original voice, who died of esophageal cancer in 2006. He stated that, for the new season, he initially considered using a completely new voice for Aku so as not to ape off of Mako's take on the character. However, he later realized that Mako’s voice was an important part of the character, so he ultimately hired Greg Baldwin, who frequently filled in for and impersonated the late actor in his voice roles.
  • The season was expected to air in 2016, but on October 11, 2016, Chris Reccardi announced on his official Facebook page that the new season will premiere on March 2017. However, there were conflicting reports of that date, as Toonami's showrunner Jason DeMarco has said there was no definite premiere date set. Reccardi later deleted his post.
    • Later on, Adult Swim re-confirmed the rumor, in response to a question. The premiere date was set to be March 11, this time being true.
  • "JackIsBack" was used on various platforms to promote Season 5 of the series.
  • Tyler Bates provided the music score for this season.
  • This season was co-produced by Williams Street.
    • This is the first season that is co-produced by Williams Street despite Seasons 1 till 4 were co-produced by Cartoon Network Studios.
  • The episodes of Season 5 start with the Roman numeral "XCII", or 92. This is a considerable gap from the previous episode, LII, which is 52 in Hindu-Arabic numerals. The reason for this was to emphasize the considerable time gap between Season 4 and 5. This would also seem to suggest that the time in between LII and XCII would comprise roughly 40 episodes.
  • This is the only season in the entire series where Jack and Aku never come into combat with each other.
  • Viewers should be aware that this season contains real blood unlike in the previous seasons.

References[]

Gallery[]

Video[]

Posters[]

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