Samurai Jack (TV Series) Episode XV - Jack Tales (2002) User Reviews

"Knock knock!" "Who's there?" "Banana!!!"

[Foreverisacastironmess123 · 10/10 · 17 August 2016]

This is one of my utmost favourites of this show, I love good anthologies and this one ain't too bad at all considering they only had a half hour in which to present it. The tales are quick but they're all very well done and varied, going from awesome to atmospheric, colourful and funny, pretty much all the strong points that made Samurai Jack so brilliant. The first story is atmospheric at first but soon turns into comical word nonsense as Jack tries to enlist magical aid from a devious dual-headed worm(that has a colour scheme that's very similar to that of comic book anti-hero Deadpool) that plays word games with him until he outsmarts it/them and is swallowed where he dejectedly realises that he's been tricked and that the worm is just another monster to be slain as he finds himself surrounded by previous elderly victims of the 'magic.' Fun! And although I can't really recognise his voice that much, it's still fantastic that they got the great Tim Curry to do a bit on an episode! He's one of the very best voice actors ever. "The Metal Eaters" is my favourite story, the atmosphere is creepy and phenomenal as Jack sharpens his sword all alone by a campfire in a dark wood at night until he encounters a gypsy 'family' that actually surprise him as they appear out of nowhere, and who are clearly hiding something about themselves that is soon revealed as they attack the Samurai and try to seize and bite his sword, and as Jack injures one of them and sees the robotic visage beneath the skin the scene turns bizarre and darkly hilarious as they all turn on and devour and destroy each other as they see what they really are, leaving nothing but flying bolts and scrap metal behind as well as a very confused Jack who doesn't quite know what to make of the situation! It's really rather macabre in a zany kind of way. The third story is a little more lighthearted and is mostly about the tension as Jack has to stealthily rescue a fairy trapped in an energy orb from a cranky gargoyle with a cockney accent as it slumbers. It's so nail-biting as Jack slowly removes a second orb from around the stony brute's neck, and it's so scary and funny when it opens its eyes while he's doing so for a second, but it's only in that half-asleep way! Jack shows a rather rare thoughtless side to his personality as he noisily clashes the two orbs together and wakes up the gargoyle, and then destroys it before even thinking to ask it about how to free its tiny prisoner. It then seems that Jack and the fairy will be trapped together forever until things end on a poignant magical note as he struggles and then happens to speak the correct words that undo the spell... Excellent wonderful episode, as so many of this stellar series were and remain to this very day. Thanks for all the magical work guys, you made a show that will last forever!