Samurai Jack

Back in my childhood I would wake up early on Saturday and Sunday morning to watch cartoons. I didn't have a phone or an alarm clock back then so sometimes I would wake up late. When this would happen I would rush to check the time and see if I missed some of my shows. I would have to wait a whole week to watch the show that I missed. One of these shows was Samurai Jack. Years later I've noticed things that would've never caught my eye as a child.

Samurai Jack is about a warrior who fights an evil wizard named Aku. This appears to be a short form of the word for Demon/Devil in Japanese, which is Akuma. Right before he defeats him in their first fight, Aku uses his magic to send Jack far into the future. The first episode starts with Jack being a young boy being taken care of by his dad. Jack's home looks like a Japanese temple surrounded by many other temples. It appears that he lives in somewhere in Asia (probably Japan) in times before technology. The people there are one shade tanner than pale.Everyone there has the same oval shaped black eyes and black hair. The men have slight differences in hair style, but all have a short ponytail sticking up. There is a resemblance between every male including young Jack. Jack is sent across the world to train to become a samurai and defeat Aku. Every time he travels to a new place there is a symbol of his true location in the real world.

Before Jack arrives at his one of the places to train, we see a giraffes indicating that he is in Africa. The first person who trains him is black. He is completely black except for his white beard and the whites for his eyes. He wears only shorts. Then we see the Egyptian temples and meet Jack's new teacher, an Egyptian scholar. In all the places Jack goes to, everyone looks the same besides him. There is no diversity. This resembles the past before different people lived together.

Throughout all the episodes the theme is Jack fighting righteously against the evil. Jack learned from the best warriors from the world and has a talent for fighting. He always helped the weaker people even if he didn't benefit from it. In one fight, Jack gave up the chance of travelling back into his normal time back to his home in order to let a group of people escape Aku's forces freely. He frees a a species from slavery. Without him they would suffer until they became no more. Jack always uses his abilities to help those without the power to save himself. Although this show is a little bit violent, it builds the value of helping other into kids minds. It reinforces the idea of using your talents to help others who aren't as fortunate. This message will constantly pop up as you watch Samurai Jack defeat evil.