Editing Samurai Jack (section)

== Premise ==
{{Quote_box
| width = 45%
| align = Centre|"Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shapeshifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time and flung him into the future where my evil is law. Now the fool seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Aku!"|Aku's opening narration.
}}
''Samurai Jack'' tells the story of an unnamed young prince from a kingdom set in [[feudal Japan]], whose father, the emperor of Japan, was given a magical katana from the three gods—[[Ra]], [[Rama]], and [[Odin]]—that he could and had used to defeat and imprison the supernatural shapeshifting [[demon]] Aku. Eight years later<ref>{{Cite episode |title=C |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |time=7 minutes}}</ref> Aku is freed, took over the land, and held the Emperor hostage, but not before the prince was sent away by his mother to travel so that he could train around the world and return with the magic sword to defeat Aku. On his return, the prince-turned-samurai faced and almost defeated Aku, but before he could land a finishing blow, Aku placed a time travel curse and sent him into the distant future, anticipating that he would be able to deal with the samurai by that time.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=I – [[The Beginning (Samurai Jack episode)|The Beginning]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]]}}</ref>

The samurai prince arrives on Earth surrounded in [[dystopia]]n [[retrofuturism]] ruled by Aku. The first people he encounters call him "Jack" as a form of slang, which he adopts as his name.<ref name="TheSamuraiCalledJack">{{Cite episode |title=The Samurai Called Jack |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=August 10, 2001 |season=1 |number=2}}</ref> His [[given name]] is never revealed. Jack only has his [[kimono]], [[Geta (footwear)|geta]], and sword to his avail in his adventures.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=III – The First Fight |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XCII |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XCIII |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]]}}</ref> 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,<ref name="traveling">{{Cite episode |title=XXXII – [[Jack and the Traveling Creatures]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2003-09-26}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XXXIX – [[Jack and the Labyrinth]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XCVIII |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2017-04-29}}</ref> or conversely, Aku nearly succeeds in defeating Jack,<ref name="zombies">{{Cite episode |title=XXII – Jack vs. the Five Hunters |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2002-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XXX – [[Jack and the Zombies]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2002-10-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=CI |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2017-05-20}}</ref> only to be undermined by the unexpected.

=== Cast and characters ===

====Main====
* [[Samurai Jack (character)|Samurai Jack]] (voiced by [[Phil LaMarr]]) - A feudal Japanese prince trained to be an elite samurai warrior. He is armed with a magical katana that can cut through virtually anything and is the only weapon that can destroy Aku.
* Aku (voiced by [[Mako Iwamatsu]] in Seasons 1–4, [[Greg Baldwin]] in Season 5) - An evil shapeshifting demon born from an ancient, cosmic black mass who sends Jack into the future, where he rules with an iron fist and seeks to destroy the samurai. He is invulnerable to every type of weapon except for Jack's magic sword.
* Ashi (voiced by [[Tara Strong]], Season 5) - One of the seven septuplet daughters of the High Priestess of the Daughters of Aku, an all-female Aku-worshipping cult, who were trained since birth to kill Jack. She allies with Jack after learning of his and Aku's true natures and becomes his love interest.

====Recurring====
* The Scotsman (voiced by [[John DiMaggio]]) - A robust, aggressive, stereotypically Scottish man who fights using an enchanted [[claymore]] and a [[submachine gun]] for a prosthetic leg, and becomes a close ally of Jack's.
* The Emperor (voiced by [[Sab Shimono]], [[Keone Young]] (1 episode)) - Jack's father, who originally created Aku by accident but vanquished him with help from the gods [[Odin]], [[Ra]] and [[Rama]], who forged the magic sword.

=== Setting ===
The retro-futuristic world is inhabited by a variety of denizens besides humans such as robots, extraterrestrials, anthropomorphic animals, monsters, magical beings, and deities. Some areas may have advanced technologies like flying cars, while others resemble ancient times or industrial conditions. Moreover, Aku has brought aliens from other planets to inhabit Earth, after destroying the habitability of their home worlds. Criminals and fugitives of all kinds are very common on his Earth, including bounty hunters who voluntary hunt for Jack in exchange for a cash reward. Mythological and supernatural creatures make regular appearances and coexist among the technologically advanced inhabitants.

Despite exponential levels of technological advancement, there are still uninhabited areas of the world. Those include forests, jungles, and mountains, which have remained largely untouched even as Aku began his conquest and reign over every sentient being.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=[[Jack and the Three Blind Archers|VII – Jack and the Three Blind Archers]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2001-08-20}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XX – [[Jack and the Monks]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2002-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{Cite episode |title=XXXIII – Jack and the Annoying Creature |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2003-05-03}}</ref> A few communities of intelligent creatures, like [[Shaolin Monastery|Shaolin]] monks, have also remained largely untouched in spite of Aku's reign.<ref>{{Cite episode |title=[[Jack, the Monks, and the Ancient Master's Son|XXXVI – Jack, the Monks, and the Ancient Master's Son]] |series=Samurai Jack |network=[[Cartoon Network]] |date=2003-05-31}}</ref>