Samurai Jack Chronological Viewing Order

[Dallas Kinard]

Here I will be sharing my findings for the series "Samurai Jack". This is the recommended order I've come with for a chronological watch-through for the series.

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The Past​

- XXXX -

3.11: "Episode XXXVII: The Birth Of Evil" (XXXX - XXXX)
3.12: "Episode XXXVIII: The Birth Of Evil, Part II"

- XXXX -

4.12: "Episode LI: Young Jack In Africa"

- XXXX -

1.01: "Episode I: The Beginning" (XXXX - XXXX)

The Future​

- XXXX -

1.02: "Episode II: The Samurai Called Jack"

1.03: "Episode III: The First Fight"

4.11: "Episode L: Tale Of X-49"

1.04: "Episode IV: Jack, The Woolies And The Chritchellites"

1.05: "Episode V: Jack In Space"

1.06: "Episode VI: Jack And The Warrior Woman"

1.07: "Episode VII: Jack And The Three Blind Archers"

- XXXX -

1.08: "Episode VIII: Jack VS. Mad Jack"

1.09: "Episode IX: Jack Under The Sea"

1.10: "Episode X: Jack And The Lava Monster"

1.11: "Episode XI: Jack And The Scotsman"

1.12: "Episode XII: Jack And The Gangsters"

1.13: "Episode XIII: Aku's Fairy Tales"

2.01: "Episode XIV: Jack Learns To Jump Good"

2.02: "Episode XV: Jack Tales"

2.03: "Episode XVI: Jack And The Smackback"

2.04: "Episode XVII: Jack And The Scotsman II"

- XXXX -

2.05: "Episode XVIII: Jack And The Ultra-Robots"

2.06: "Episode XIX: Jack Remembers The Past"

2.07: "Episode XX: Jack And The Monks"

2.08: "Episode XXI: Jack And The Dragon"

2.09: "Episode XXII: Jack VS. The Five Hunters"

2.10: "Episode XXIII: Jack VS. Demongo, The Soul Collector"

2.11: "Episode XXIV: Jack Is Naked"

2.13: "Episode XXVI: Jack's Shoes"

3.01: "Episode XXVII: Chicken Jack"

3.02: "Episode XXVIII: Jack And The Rave"

3.03: "Episode XXIX: Couple On A Train"

3.04: "Episode XXX: Jack And The Zombies"

- XXXX -

3.05: "Episode XXXI: Jack And The Scarab" (XXXX - XXXX)

3.06: "Episode XXXII: Jack And The Travelling Creatures"

3.07: "Episode XXXIII: Jack And The Annoying Creature"

3.08: "Episode XXXIV: Jack And The Swamp Wizard"

- XXXX -

3.10: "Episode XXXVI: Jack, The Monks And The Ancient Master's Son"

3.13: "Episode XXXIX: Jack And The Labyrinth"

4.01: "Episode XL: Jack VS. The Ninja"

4.02: "Episode XLI: Robo-Samurai VS. Mondo-Bot"

4.03: "Episode XLII: Samurai VS. Samurai"

4.04: "Episode XLIII: The Aku Infection"

4.05: "Episode XLIV: The Princess And The Bounty Hunters"

- XXXX -

4.06: "Episode XLV: The Scotsman Saves Jack"
4.07: "Episode XLVI: The Scotsman Saves Jack, Part II"

4.08: "Episode XLVII: Jack And The Flying Prince And Princess"

4.09: "Episode XLVIII: Jack VS. Aku"

- XXXX -

4.10: "Episode XLIX: The Four Seasons Of Death" (XXXX – XXXX)

4.13: "Episode LII: Jack And The Baby"

- XXXX -

2.12: "Episode XXV: Jack And The Spartans"

- XXXX -

5.01: "Episode XCII"

5.02: "Episode XCIII"

5.03: "Episode XCIV"

5.04: "Episode XCV"

5.05: "Episode XCVI"

- XXXX -

5.06: "Episode XCVII" (XXXX - XXXX)

5.07: "Episode XCVIII" (XXXX - XXXX)

5.08: "Episode XCIX"

5.09: "Episode C"

The Past (New Timeline)​

- XXXX -

5.10: "Episode CI" (XXXX (The Future) - XXXX (The Past) (New Timeline))

3.09: "Episode XXXV: Jack And The Haunted House"

 

[Dallas Kinard]

If anyone has an idea of the years the show takes place during (both past and future), please let me know your source because so far the series hasn't really given any hard dates.

 

[Megatron]

If anyone has an idea of the years the show takes place during (both past and future), please let me know your source because so far the series hasn't really given any hard dates.

Is It complete? Cos on your tubler i saw season 5 moments.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Is It complete? Cos on your tubler i saw season 5 moments.

No this isn't complete. I have not watched through the entire series yet. Only the episodes listed I have watched. I'm working my way through Season four currently.

 

[ScottishRyzo]

There is no official dating. I hunted and hunted it for my own list and just had to go for a generic date from when those civilisations roughly co-existed

-2 Bil BC: TV SamJ 311-4m37

-65 Mil: SamJ 311 4m38-9m3

1603 AD for Jack's home time

The release dates for the 'future' but then 2055 for S5

Been so long I don't really remember the reasoning I used tbh

 

[Jozaca]

Are you going to add this?

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Are you going to add this?

If anyone can provide the timeline breakdown, I will. I don't have the game.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

I found this thread that may help us figure out at least some of the timeline.

 

[ScottishRyzo]

Still seems to just kind of leave it as a bit of a time loop beginning and ending in generic feudal Japan

I only went with the release dates for the early seasons because I couldn't find any consistent reference to how much time Jack missed but S5 has a hard reference to how long had passed between seasons

 

[ScottishRyzo]

I prefer any kind of estimated date but you might just want to call it ancient times, feudal Japan, the future and then whatever years later for S5

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Ok how should we handle Huntor from Dexter's Lab showing up in Season One? I strongly doubt those two shows were intended to be connected, and I'm not sure if it CAN work.



Then we have this. I'm willing to think these are just variants as part of the Cartoon Network multiverse or something. Similar to Space Ghost being both a legit series as well as the Coast To Coast parody.

 

[ScottishRyzo]

Then we have this. I'm willing to think these are just variants as part of the Cartoon Network multiverse or something. Similar to Space Ghost being both a legit series as well as the Coast To Coast parody.

Agreed

 

[Dallas Kinard]

OK so regarding my placement of Episode 3.09: "Episode XXXV: Jack And The Haunted House". Allow me to explain my reasoning.

There are at least three possibilities on the placement for this episode.

This episode could take place during the events of "Episode I: The Beginning", likely soon after he gets his sword and begins his journey to face Aku. The name "Jack", which he receives after he gets sent to the future, is never stated. The setting seems to be in feudal Japan. There is no future technology seen. Kuni and her family live in an old Japanese home that fits with the past setting. Kuni is quite young, so it would seem her family was only recently captured the Entity.



Their clothing and traditions are also that of ancient Japan.



Nothing in the episode indicates it's the distant future. Even the demonic flashbacks all show "the past" (horses being used as transportation, Ancient Japanese culture, etc.).

Second option is the episode could simply take place in "the future" in it's intended production order. The family could have been captured by the entity for many hundreds of years, and the daughter could be somehow being kept alive/made ageless to draw in more victims for the entity. This would explain why the house looks as old as it does and why the family would still be using the old traditions and dressed the way they are (This is likely what the writers and producers intended).

It could, however, just as well occur after "Episode CI" in the new timeline created after Aku's final defeat. The Demon having no ties or association to Aku is strong evidence of this. Jack is even wearing his original white and grey Kamishimo by the end of "Episode CI" (however his sword isn't present). Interestingly enough, this episode begins in a similar setting to where "Episode CI" left off, suggesting Jack is still in his home region.





I have personally chosen to go with the third placement option as it provides a smoother watch through and the epicenes of the episode makes for a satisfying final adventure for the series - it's unique and quite different from any other episodes. Feel free to adjust your order according to your own preferences. There really is no right or wrong answer here.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Ok next up we have my placement of 2.08: "Episode XXI: Jack And The Dragon". I think there is strong evidence to support the idea that this episode takes place in "The Past", which in this universe seems to be when each civilization hit their peak before the modern era.



This episode likely takes place in "the past" for a few reasons. There is no mention of Aku, no future tech of any kind and the only beings Jack interacts with are medieval looking humans and mythological creatures.

Considering it's somewhere in the UK region, it's unlikely it occurs during the events of "Episode I: The Beginning" since Jack seems to be in Asian countries only after receiving his sword. This would place it sometime in the new timeline after Aku's defeat.

Why Jack is travelling this far west at this time is unknown, but he'll return to Japan by "Jack And The Haunted House".

Update: After watching "Episode XCV", the following dialogue is a clear reference to this episode and I believe places the episode in "the future" as well.

Ashi: "We've been swallowed by a monolithic creature. You're dead."

Jack: "I've been inside giant creatures before. I'll find a way out."

This dialogue is a reference to two previous episodes.

Jack was eaten by a worm in "Episode XV: Jack Tales" and obviously found a way out.



And then in this episode, "Jack And The Dragon", Jack walks into the mouth of a Dragon and then is magically shrunk down to size the deeper he goes.



So, with that information, we know that this episode does indeed occur in "the future" despite all the previous evidence to the contrary. I guess it's safe to assume Aku's reign has prevented many civilizations from progressing. I moved the episode back to it's intended order.

 

[Dallas Kinard]

Ok let's go over my placement for 4.11: "Episode L: Tale Of X-49".

I believe this episode occurs not long after Jack arrives in the future and does battle for the first time with Aku's forces, specifically the Beetle drones in 1.03: "Episode III: The First Fight".

Let's break down the dialogue from X-49, which gives us the evidence we need.

"You're probably wondering what an old robot like myself is doing having all these feelings. Well, I'll tell you. But we got to go back. Way back, to the beginning, Aku's beginning. Ages ago, Aku slowly rose to power, and enslaved the world. But it wasn't fast enough. He needed an army...A robot army. Aku's evil scientists began to build. The first models were crude. But as time progressed, the scientists got better...Much better. We were the X-models...Lean, mean, and all machine-Except me."

So with this info we can conclude that it took a few hundred years or so for Aku to start building his robotic army after sending Jack to the future.



"See, one of the scientists installed an experimental
emotion chip inside of me. Why? He was funny that way. Emotions are bad news for somebody in my profession. I began to have feelings. I started to understand right from wrong...And what I did was very wrong. I became the best. The emotions helped. In a bad scrape, the other X-models couldn't care. I cared. I got angry. It wasn't pretty. But then, I met Lulu, sweet thing. I retired. The last X-model left. I was lucky, too, because those scientists made a new breed of robots...Bugbots, or something like that."

This dialogue shows that shortly after X-49 retired, the Bugbots were created. In "The First Battle", Jack battles these bots for the first time. In fact they are the first thing Aku sends to destroy Jack, signifying they are at least somewhat new.



"I didn't care, though. Me and Lulu had a good thing. Music...We love music. Lulu, sweet thing. Time passed, but it made no difference to us, until Lulu disappeared."

I believe after X-49 retired, at least a decade passes before Jack arrives from the past and gets Aku's attention. The images below show the city growing and growing as time passes. Now, we must take into consideration Lulu's age as a Pug. The average Pug lifespan is 13 – 15 years. Now, we have no idea how old Lulu is when X-49 meets her, but she can't be more than a few years.



A few years later...



A few years later...



"Seems like Aku got himself a little problem, a problem that won't go away, a Samurai problem."

This tells me that Jack has been here for at least a few days or weeks and has battled Aku's forces multiple times by now.

"I wanted nothing to do with it, but that funny scientist informed Aku of my emotions. They got Lulu. Sweet thing. I had no choice. I came out of retirement. Tracking the Samurai wasn't difficult. The new Bug-Beetlebots or whatever were no match. The Samurai's good. Real good. I've never seen such talent. I'm not sure if I even have a chance...But I got to try...For Lulu, sweet thing."

The fact that X-49 is still calling these Bug-Beetlebots "new" is evidence that it's still early in the series and Jack hasn't been in the future that long by this point.

"Well, that brings us back to the beginning."

Once again we are reminded that the "present day" scenes occur not long after Jack has battled Aku's NEW Beetlebots, which would have occurred first in 1.03: "Episode III: The First Fight". We also know that it's Spring in Japan because of the Cherry Blossom scene. Cherry Blossom trees can be found throughout Japan and bloom from March through May.



And there you have it - my reasoning for placing this episode very early during the first season.