This review will not contain any spoilers or story elements. Why is that? Because in my opinion, it was never the overall story that made Samurai Jack really great. It was good and provided the show a nice tone, but still, what made this series become one of the most well known animated shows was its unique execution.
The art is still glorious, with clever ideas here and there. It's not the most well drawn animated series and it never was (although it is quality work). What makes the art really enjoyable is its style. And this goes for almost everything else too. The sounds and music are good and very stylish, making Samurai Jack stand out among other series. They tell you many things about the world without using any words. They all fit perfectly in every scene. But what do I mean by "perfectly"? I mean that after so many years, I felt like I was watching Samurai Jack. Not a reboot, not a remake, but the continuation of the last episode (of course not necessarily story wise). Although there is a difference in tone (this seems to be darker than the old episodes), it wasn't too different from the overall tone of the series, and certainly didn't feel forced, or like it was changed simply because they could finally add some bloody scenes. Every time you try to continue (or finish) one of your older works, there is a chance that it will feel outdated, or just too different from the original unfinished work, simply because you and the world have changed. This is why it's really hard to continue something you left in your drawer for years, and this is why I gave this episode a 10. I honestly never saw a "reboot" executed this well.
Genndy Tartakovsky and the crew seem to know what they are doing so far. I expect the tone to slowly get even darker, but that shouldn't be a problem, if the transition is handled as well as this episode. All in all if you expect a totally different take on Jack's story, or if you expect it to be exactly like the older episodes, you probably won't like it - although it will certainly become more different with time. But if you expect to see the newest episode of Samurai Jack, you won't be disappointed.
The art is still glorious, with clever ideas here and there. It's not the most well drawn animated series and it never was (although it is quality work). What makes the art really enjoyable is its style. And this goes for almost everything else too. The sounds and music are good and very stylish, making Samurai Jack stand out among other series. They tell you many things about the world without using any words. They all fit perfectly in every scene. But what do I mean by "perfectly"? I mean that after so many years, I felt like I was watching Samurai Jack. Not a reboot, not a remake, but the continuation of the last episode (of course not necessarily story wise). Although there is a difference in tone (this seems to be darker than the old episodes), it wasn't too different from the overall tone of the series, and certainly didn't feel forced, or like it was changed simply because they could finally add some bloody scenes. Every time you try to continue (or finish) one of your older works, there is a chance that it will feel outdated, or just too different from the original unfinished work, simply because you and the world have changed. This is why it's really hard to continue something you left in your drawer for years, and this is why I gave this episode a 10. I honestly never saw a "reboot" executed this well.
Genndy Tartakovsky and the crew seem to know what they are doing so far. I expect the tone to slowly get even darker, but that shouldn't be a problem, if the transition is handled as well as this episode. All in all if you expect a totally different take on Jack's story, or if you expect it to be exactly like the older episodes, you probably won't like it - although it will certainly become more different with time. But if you expect to see the newest episode of Samurai Jack, you won't be disappointed.