Samurai Jack is an American animated action-adventure dystopian television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and Adult Swim.

Tartakovsky conceived Samurai Jack after finishing his work on his first Cartoon Network original series, Dexter's Laboratory, which premiered in 1996.

The titular character is an unnamed Japanese samurai prince who wields a mystic katana capable of cutting through virtually anything.

The two engage in a fierce battle, but just as the prince is about to deal the final strike, Aku sends him forward in time to a dystopian future ruled by the tyrannical demon.

Samurai Jack, originally airing for four seasons comprising thirteen episodes each, was broadcast from August 10, 2001, to September 25, 2004, without concluding the overarching story.

The show was revived thirteen years later for a darker, more mature fifth season that provides a conclusion to Jack's story, with Williams Street assisting in production; it premiered on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim as part of its Toonami programming block on March 11, 2017, and concluded with its final episode on May 20, 2017.

[8][9][10] "Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil.

Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future where my evil is law.

[14][15][16] Most episodes depict Jack overcoming various obstacles in his quest to travel back to his own time and defeat Aku, and his quest is prolonged occasionally by moments where either he nearly succeeds in returning to his own time,[17][18][19] or conversely, Aku nearly succeeds in defeating Jack,[20][21][22] only to be undermined by the unexpected.

The retro-futuristic world is inhabited by a variety of denizens such as robots, extraterrestrials, talking animals, monsters, magical beings, and deities.

Those include forests, jungles, and mountains, which have remained largely untouched even as Aku began his conquest and reign over every sentient being.

Cartoon Network executive Mike Lazzo recalled Tartakovsky pitching him the series: "He said, 'Hey, remember David Carradine in Kung Fu?

[28] Cartoon Network billed it as a series "that is cinematic in scope and that incorporates action, humor, and intricate artistry.

[32] Thematic and visual inspirations come from Frank Miller's comic book series Rōnin, including the premise of a master-less, nameless samurai warrior thrown into a dystopic future in order to battle a shapeshifting demon.

Similarly, the episode "Jack and the Spartans" was specifically inspired by Miller's graphic novel 300 that retold the Battle of Thermopylae.

[34][35] Weeks leading up to the series were accompanied by a sweepstakes giveaway sponsored by AOL in which the grand prize was a trip for four to Japan.

[47]: 2:50  As early as 2002, Cartoon Network was producing a Samurai Jack live-action feature film,[3] in association with New Line Cinema.

"[50] Fred Seibert announced in 2007 that the newly formed Frederator Films was developing a Samurai Jack movie,[51] which was planned to be in stereoscopic 2D[52] with a budget of 20 million dollars.

So it's not dead for sure by any means, and it's still on the top of my list, and I'm trying as hard as I can.Tartakovsky said the loss of Mako Iwamatsu (Aku's voice actor) would also need to be addressed.

Steven Linan of the Los Angeles Times said of the 90-minute premiere movie, "One can quibble with some of the dialogue, which sounds like something you'd hear in Karate Kid 2 ('Let the sword guide you to your fate, but let your mind set free the path to your destiny').

IGN also ranked the show 43rd in its Top 100 Animated Series list in 2009, saying that its "simple and colorful art style lends itself well to the cinematic scope and frenetic action sequences that fill each episode.

[75] A year after the series was concluded, a board game adaptation covering all five seasons was released, titled Samurai Jack: Back to the Past.

[83] In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to produce comics based on its properties.

[89][90] Like other previous Cartoon Network shows, Samurai Jack DVDs were released by Warner Home Video between 2002 and 2007.

[111][112] A third game, Samurai Jack: Battle Through Time, was released on August 21, 2020, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch,[113] and Apple Arcade.