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EPISODE XXXVII | EPISODE XXXVIII |
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Airdate
August 16, 2003
Storyboarded and
Written by
Don Shank and Genndy Tartakovsky
Directed by
Robert Alvarez and
Genndy Tartakovsky |
Aku
Caveman #2 / Holy Monk / General
Young Samurai Jack's Mom
Young Emperor / Caveman / Dog Owner
Odin
Ra / Rama
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Mako
Phil LaMarr
Lauren Tom
Keone Young
Richard McGonagle
Daran Norris |
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The Powers That Be set out to destroy
the ultimate evil in the universe. During the fray, one of its
tendrils falls to planet Earth, wipes out the dinosaurs and expands
into a vast pit of death. When the blight devastates his kingdom, an
Emperor attempts to destroy it once and for all with magic and a
poisonous arrow. Ironically, the Emperor's efforts revive the evil,
giving birth to Aku. The Powers That Be rescue the Emperor and forge
a magic sword from the Emperor's human spirit. After a grueling
battle, the Emperor imprisons Aku with the power of the sword.
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Initially aired on one night as a
special movie event entitled "The Birth of Evil", the program was split into two separate
episodes on subsequent television airings
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Norse God Odin,
Egyptian Sun God Ra and and Indian Deity Rama represent the
benevolent Powers That Be
Previously, Odin appeared briefly in
Episode X and Ra appeared in Episode
XXXI |
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Plant life
grows out of the footsteps of Odin's stead Sleipnir, a
design choice paying homage to the Forest God from Hayao
Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke |
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After receiving
the magic sword, the Emperor rides to challenge Aku on a cloud,
inspired by the Monkey King Sun Wukong's mode of travel
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During the
Emperor's final battle with Aku, the dark sorcerer changes
into several forms:
- Wyvern
- Giant Spider
- Samurai Army |
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Jeremy's Review |
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Winner of the 2004
Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, this hour-long two-parter
features everything that makes Samurai Jack such a great show:
spectacular animation, excellent direction and plenty of references
to the mythology of various world cultures. The only thing I find
somewhat jarring is how the creators decided to completely change
the Emperor's character design from what was established in previous
episodes but this is a minor gripe as this is one of the most
mind-blowing shows of the series. A+
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