Samurai Jack

Samurai Jack is an American animated science fantasy action-adventure television series created by Genndy Tartakovsky for Cartoon Network and later its nighttime programming block Adult Swim. It was produced by Cartoon Network Studios. Tartakovsky conceived Samurai Jack after finishing his work on his first Cartoon Network original series, Dexter's Laboratory, which premiered in 1996. Samurai Jack took inspiration from the 1972 televised drama Kung Fu, starring David Carradine, as well as Tartakovsky's fascination with the historic samurai culture of Japan and the Frank Miller comic series Ronin.

The titular character is an unnamed Japanese samurai prince who wields a mystic katana capable of cutting through virtually anything. He sets out to free his kingdom after it is taken over by an evil, shapeshifting demon lord known as Aku. The two engage in a fierce battle, but just as the prince is about to deliver the final strike, Aku sends him forward in time to a dystopian future ruled by the tyrannical demon. Adopting the name "Jack" after being addressed as such by beings in this time period, he quests to travel back to his own time and defeat Aku before he can take over the world. Jack's search for a way back to his own time period transcends Aku's control, but Jack's efforts are largely in vain due to the way back to his home ending up just out of his reach.