Samurai Jack: The Complete Series (Blu-ray)

I got this while it was on sale for $60. Without a doubt, especially for that price, this particular box set is worth it. It contains all 5 seasons. The box it comes in is sturdy and each season comes in its own blu ray case with nice artwork. Perhaps the most stand out thing about this is that it also comes with a digital copy of all 5 seasons - essentially doubling its value. I can now have the complete series in a collectible box set, safe in storage, while watching it digitally on Vudu. It’s worked flawlessly and I couldn’t be happier. My only disclaimer to this is that most digital codes at some point expire, so if you’ve been on the fence about purchasing this and the option of also owning this digitally is appealing to you, it might be worth doing so before it’s too late. As for the show itself: Samurai Jack is one of the most creative, subdued yet bombastic when it needs to be, under-the-radar shows I’ve ever seen. Whether you’re a fan of anime or animation in general, this show is a love letter to the genre and to anyone with an appreciation for art, samurai, action, and sci-fi. While keeping an overarching, simple-yet-understandable narrative, most episodes play as independent stories that mostly all come to a respective conclusion by the time the credits roll - each taking you to near limitless locations, locales, styles, etc. The show also does something I’ve rarely ever seen done in any other animation, let alone tv show in general, and that is that it allows for minutes to pass by at times with little going on at all - moments where you watch scenery and listen to the superb audio whether it be the nuanced score or the painstakingly real sound effects (i.e., water dripping, steel on steel, machines whirring, drums beating in the distance, wind and leaves rustling). There’s something to be said about this. It’s not done enough in my opinion and strikes a right balance in the show - it feels right and elevates Samurai Jack far above where it would be if it fell into the trappings all too many other shows do in terms of thinking they constantly need to be swiftly moving along with action and/or dialogue to keep the viewers attention. There’s humor, action, suspense, drama and, at the center of it all, a narrative that anyone with a heart can connect with - a man trying to find his way, attempting to fight evil, to return home, to right the wrongs that have befallen him and his people. I’m half-way through season 4 and I’m so excited to someday watch this again with my son as he gets older - the show is very clean, save for action sequences. Though one more disclaimer is that I’ve heard/read that Season 5 introduces some profane language and blood that the previous seasons did not contain. Keep that in mind! I can’t say enough good things about the show or this box set. I’m so glad I pulled the trigger on it when I did. It looks like the price has went up significantly since, but I’m sure with some patience you could find a new copy elsewhere? Or perhaps Amazon will eventually restock and maybe there will be another sale. Regardless, it’s worth it. Absolutely worth it.

One of the best animated shows of all time - and this collection has all of it

It is a great show with a awesome title song. This is one off the best cartoon shows off alltime a must buy!

I am the lost son of the land that you have pillaged! I am here to reclaim it, for my people, for my father, for my birthright! If you are a fan, you already know what this is. If you are new to this series, I highly recommend this remastered bluray edition of an incredible animated samurai saga. Experience The Samurai's tale in HD as he searches for the evil Aku in an attempt to undo past destruction, gain allies, and avenge his father. Each episode touches on different themes with new friends and foes. Some episodes are lighthearted and comedic, others are darker tales, epic in the unfolding of battles and deeds of sacrifice. Victory or defeat... does "Jack" have what it takes to find Aku and defeat him? UPDATE: I have the product in-hand, and have the following updates: *The set includes a digital copy. This was a huge surprise. *My set also included a digital copy of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a nice (albeit slightly random) addition. *The iridescent box is eye catching *The metal art plate was a nice touch. *The remastered video and audio quality are good. The video is certainly better than the OTA original, but some scenes are slightly blurry, while others are razor sharp. This wasn't a distraction, just and observation that I think should be mentioned. We have an end product that is far better than what we started with. UPDATE2: *It's the live action version of The Grinch... oh well. *The UV code for the collection does not work. I opened a ticket with UV, who sent me to WB, who sent me to Flixster, who sent me to VUDU. I'm still waiting to hear back from VUDU, but it sounds like everyone else is having this issue as well. FINAL UPDATE: The UV code is now working. I redeemed successfully at VUDU to unlock the digital copy for every season. (Nov 6th, 2017)

At long last, one of the best animated series of this century is in HD. I've been meaning to get the hard-to-find DVDs for some time now, but when I heard the complete series was on Blu-ray, I bought it immediately, even if it was costly. Once upon a time, the demonic elder god Aku escaped from his otherworldly prison to wreak havoc on the land. but all was not lost. A young samurai prince, trained by the greatest warriors in the ancient world and armed with a magic katana forged by the elder gods themselves (the one and only thing that can actually harm Aku) emerged and soundly defeated the monster. Before he could deliver the coup de grace, Aku cheated and hurled him into a distant future where Aku rules the Earth and most of the galaxy. Adopting the nom de guerre "Jack", our hero must somehow find a way back through time to prevent this timeline from ever happening while facing off against aline bounty hunters, robot commandoes, assorted monsters, and the shapeshifting Aku himself, all while bringing hope and liberation to the people who Aku has oppressed and enslaved. I can't say enough good things about this show. It won scads of awards (including several Emmys) during it's original run and deserved each one. The cinematography, animation and storytelling are without equal. The best episodes often have little or no dialogue at all, but they don't need it. The visuals speak for themselves. Just buy this thing!

getting to rewatch a great cartoon from my childhood.

This is a good news, bad news, good news review. The summary, its not what was advertised, but the discrepancies aren't terrible. For the price I paid, I can work around the issues. Here is a TLDR for those that don't want all the details: Cons: It was BlueRay, not HD DVD as advertised. Pros: I paid an excellent price of $84 plus shipping. Total combined cost was quite the bargain. The item was almost like new It arrived very quickly (although that may vary by seller) Now to get into the specific details. Obviously, this being BlueRay instead of HD DVD was a pretty big problem. It was advertised incorrectly, and I suppose that is my fault for not reading the other review that mentioned this. Let the buyer beware. However, this was basically the only issue. I have been debating getting a BlueRay player anyway, so this has made the decision for me. I understand it could make or break this for other people, so be aware of what you're getting. For me, its just a minor delay before I can enjoy the show. Much to my delight, the box arrived over a week ahead of schedule. While I don't remember if it was advertised as "New" or "Like new" the distinction is relatively minor, and ultimately doesn't matter much to me. The condition was as follows: No factory wrap, and almost no wear to the box itself. The wear was very minor crushing of one of the box's corners, and vague traces of adhesive from a what was probably a price label that got removed. It will be easy enough to clean off if I care enough to do so. The packaging itself was really dirty, so I suspect it wasn't handled by the shipping service as gently as it should have been. But it was sealed tightly so the box was not at all dirtied. Inside the box were 5 individual BlueRay cases with their own stylized covers, and the disks, one box/disk per season. Each case was about as close to brand new as you could get. The disks themselves were in perfect condition. Not a scratch on them, although one had what looked like a partial finger mark on it. Easy enough to clean. My seller clearly treated the disks with exceptional care. I have yet to actually play them since I don't have a BlueRay player, but oh well. If there are any problems, I will update my review. I highly doubt there will be considering the condition the disks are in. Overall, while I'm annoyed at the mislabeling of the product, I'm happy with what I received, and can make it work.

Samurai Jack is an American animated series. It was first broadcast in 2001 and initially ran for four, thirteen episode series finishing in 2004. A fifth series was added in 2017. This is the story of an un-named Samurai whose family is devasted by fighting the ultimate evil a demon named Aku. The samurai is cast into the during a battle against Aku. In the future he must continue his fight against Aku but now the world has changed. Aku's new world is a retro-futuristic world filled with evil robots, aliens and monsters. The un-named samurai gains the name "Samurai Jack" in the second episode. Jack must now fight Aku's minions and try to find a way to travel back in time so that he can finish killing Aku before Aku's dystopia can come to pass. Samurai Jack is an action heavy series. The action is glorious, fast paced, stylised and relentless. What really sets Samurai Jack apart is the artwork. The use of intense colors and strange forms makes this a visual feast. It's a real shock to the eyes but it has a surreal beauty that has never really been duplicated. This deserves to be a future classic.