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Sunday Morning Cartoon Cavalcade Vol. 9 & 10

I didn’t get a chance to post my regular Sunday morning cartoon round-up last week, so I’m combining two Sundays in one. The big news is of course that Samurai Jack‘s new episode run is now over, and what an ending that was. I’m so thankful to Genndy Tartakovsky for producing this amazing extra season of the show, and giving the series a proper ending. I loved seeing Jack and Ashi’s relationship truly blossom in the final two episodes (despite the dark turn it takes) and I really wasn’t expecting to see something so final. I’m of course sad that I will no longer be getting new episodes of Samurai Jack on a weekly basis, but at least I got this lovely 10-week resurgence.

I’m still watching the second season of Mickey Mouse shorts, with last week’s shorts taking the form of “Eau de Minnie” and “O Futebol Classico” (which was by far the stronger of the two), and this week watching “Down the Hatch” (I loved the bit where they play hard rock with Donald’s vocal chords) and “Goofy’s Grandma.” For last week’s Looney Tunes/Merry Melodies short, I watched the still incredible “Duck Dodgers in the 24th and a Half Century” — still one of my favorite Looney Tunes settings. Today I watched “Speedy Gonzales,” which acts as the intro to the character.

For the last thing, both last week and today, I decided to start a re-watch of the old The Scooby-Doo Show — I’ve watched tons of Scooby-Doo series in my life, but that’s the one that I remember the most (the episodes originally aired in 1976-78, but I probably watched it in the 80s as reruns). I’ve watched the first 2 episodes, and it’s pretty fun, although the stories are incredibly dumb — they barely try to make the mystery interesting. And I’d completely forgotten that this series had a laugh track, which comes off as weird. But it’s been fun, especially since it’s been so long since I’ve watched anything from Hanna-Barbera.

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Sunday Morning Cartoon Cavalcade Vol. 2

Well, it didn’t take long for my plans to watch cartoons on Saturday mornings to switch over to Sunday mornings, and that’s because the new season of Samurai Jack airs on Saturday nights, and so it’s what I want to watch first thing on Sunday. This past Sunday I again kicked things off with Samurai Jack, which was episode 3 of the new season, and another fantastic one at that — the fight in the snow was mesmerizing. I followed that up with Star Wars Rebels, although with that series I’m running a few episodes behind — I think the 3rd season just ended, but I’m at episode 16. I then watched a couple of Mickey Mouse shorts, one of them the “Tokyo Go” one, which is just so much fun to watch. After that, I still had Samurai Jack on my mind, and so decided to go back and watch one of the older episodes. I had started watching them a while back, and so went back to that, which was season 2’s 5th episode. There were interesting parallels with what we’re seeing in the new season, as he confronts 8 deadly robots, with a scene that surely inspired the one where the sisters each get their masks. I liked going back to watching something old, so decided to follow that up with Ren & Stimpy, which I haven’t watched since back in the day. I watched the pilot episode, and I think I’ll keep watching some each week. I then capped my cartoon watching with Steven Universe. I’d heard it was good, but for some reason had never bothered checking it out. I watched the first 2 episodes, and absolutely loved them. I’m in.

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Samurai Jack (Season 5)

I love Samurai Jack — and its creator, Genndy Tartakovsky — to death, and so the prospect of a new season had me beyond excited. The first episode of season 5 aired last night, and it made for a perfect cap to my animation-heavy day (Mobile Police Patlabor Reboot, Gantz: 0, Your Name, Onihei). What did I think? I’ve already watched last night’s episode twice, and it went beyond my expectations. It promises a darker storyline, and the visual flair is intact. I often complain about the lack of animation for adults in the West outside of comedy, and Samurai Jack is proof that it can be fantastic. I’m so happy to get more Samurai Jack, even if it’s just for 10 episodes.

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Samurai Jack

I’m so incredibly happy at the news that Samurai Jack is coming back next year for a new season, and with

Genndy Tartakovsky still involved. The series is absolutely one of my favorites, and I’m celebrating by watching some of it again (I’m currently progressing through season 2). I love everything about the show, from the designs, the music, the atmosphere, and the style of animation. Can’t wait to see what the new season will be like!