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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 narrating the opening sequence of Samurai Jack (Seasons 1 to 4 and Episode CI and his most famous quote).
Aku is the main antagonist of the 2001 Cartoon Network/Adult Swim animated series Samurai Jack.
He is a ruthless, diabolical, and manipulative demon sorcerer, serving as the arch-nemesis of the titular character, as well as the biological father of Ashi and her sisters.
In the first four seasons, he was voiced by the late Mako, who also played Happy Cat in Duck Dodgers and Han Yu Kim in True Crime: Streets of L.A.. In the fifth and final season, due to Mako's death, he was voiced by Greg Baldwin, who also played Frank Fontaine in BioShock and Bartholomew in The Ghost and Molly McGee. As Ikra, he was voiced by Jennifer Martin.
Aku is evil personified, the Darkest Soul from the Pit of Hate. To him, all that is good and innocent must be decimated. That is his will, his desire. Here is your truth.
„
~ Jack describing Aku's true nature to Ashi.
Aku was evil incarnate; he embodied the very essence of an evil overlord. Cruel, despicable, uncaring, heartless, omnipotent, domineering and authoritative to all he met, it was obey or be obliterated with Aku.
As the main villain of the series, he is serving as Jack’s primary enemy from the first to the very last by default for obvious reasons. Furthermore, both of their moral values are polar opposite from each other, Jack is a Pure Good warrior who always places the welfare of others above himself, while Aku is a Pure Evil tyrant who wiped out millions of innocent lives throughout the universe and doesn't display any value other than himself above all else.
He was truly arrogant, oppressive, temperamental, destructive and merciless by default, so he had ruled the planet for thousands of years and did not take kindly to disobedience. An example of his cruelty was shown when an alien prince and princess crash landed on the Earth and begged for his help because they needed to get back to their planet to stop an invasion. Aku had their ship confiscated and ordered them thrown into a forced labor mine where they would live "miserably ever after" while laughing about it.
When their robot companion objected to this treatment, Aku smashed him into the ground without hesitation. The same episode also showed a dog in his castle being tormented by electrocution and whipping for unknown reasons. Although he was extremely treacherous, bloodthirsty, unpleasant, murderous, sadistic, and inhumane, he had enough of an understanding of humanity to manipulate their feelings to his advantage.
When faced with opposition, Aku took great joy in slaughtering armies in masses and then burning their homes to the ground as punishment for opposing him. An example was when the Emperor tried to attack Aku but failed due to his weapon being unable to harm him; Afterwards, Aku tied the Emperor to a tree and forced him to watch as he destroyed his kingdom and slaughtered his people. Another notable example was when Aku attacked the Lava Monster's land. Much like the Emperor, the man tried to fight back to no avail since nothing he had could harm Aku. As punishment, Aku encased the man in a crystal prison and forced him to watch as he destroyed his home and slaughtered everyone he loved.
Aku then placed the man within a mountain, denying him a warrior's death. He also shows great sadism when tormenting Jack; often losing because he won't kill him instead of toying with him. Aku took pleasure in enslaving others, having done so to countless races across the universe. These slaves were often forced to build monuments in Aku's likeness and mine precious resources. When they failed to do so, the slaves were punished terribly and sometimes executed, such in the case of the talking canines.
The slaves of Aku's empire often died due to exhaustion and lack of food only to be replaced with more slaves along the way. Aku particularly enjoyed doing this to great and powerful people such as The Emperor, seeing it as the ultimate insult to have them live the lives of revered and respectable figures, only to spend the rest of their lives as helpless slaves later.
Aku was as intelligent as he was powerful, and his cunning knew little end; from taking the form of a woman to trick Jack or manipulating various races into serving him. He was also extremely dishonest, traitorous, and manipulative, so he had no shame or remorse, and he routinely went back on his word either to serve himself or simply for amusement. Despite this, he possessed a dry, yet sadistic sense of humor and often joked around when in a good mood, mocking Jack whenever and however he could. For instance, Aku once held a time portal just out of Jack's reach as Jack jumped for it. He was also rather "genre savvy", and occasionally leaned on the fourth wall or lamp shaded either his own villainous tendencies or various cliché situations.
He was also a frequent, pervasive, and ubiquitous source of comic relief in the show, due (in prime) to his reactions to the things around him, his outrageous design, and sometimes wise-guy behavior. He also showed some standards as he wouldn't go out of his way to directly kill children.
Speaking of children, while Aku appears to have a soft spot for children at times, this seems to be mostly indicative of his views of seeing immense value in not simply eradicating them, but rather convincing them via various means to view him as the "hero" of the planet and not Samurai Jack, making them useful servants in the future to shape successive generations. This can be seen in Aku's Fairy Tales where he attempted to make children admire him by telling them tales that depict himself as a hero and Jack as a villain. Unfortunately for him, the children weren't impressed hearing his increasingly ludicrous tales, causing him to vanish in rage after roaring "the end". In Jack and the Rave, his follower composed an evil techno music that hypnotizes children, again showcasing his lust to indoctrinate young kids into his evil ways, making them dance for him and commit crimes.
Despite this, Aku has committed genocide on countless nations, children included, and he previously sent his minions to kill a young Samurai Jack shortly after the subjugation of his homeland, knowing the threat the son of his former nemesis, the Emperor, would pose to him if left unchecked.
After 50 years during his fight with Samurai Jack, Aku became upset and depressed. Due to the side-effects of time travel, Samurai Jack hasn't aged and cannot die even by effects of old age. He has no interest in fighting Jack and wishes someone else to just kill him. After finding out Ashi was his daughter, Aku fondly called Ashi "sweetheart" and himself as "daddy", but this choice of words could have been chosen to further upset Ashi and Jack.
However, he had no qualms about manipulating his newly revealed daughter into fighting Jack while lamenting that his child fell for his sworn enemy. Aku is fully aware of the difference between doing good and doing evil, but enjoys every second of doing evil, and he especially enjoys making sure others know it.
His evil joy returned when he heard that Jack lost his sword from one of his subordinates but this is short-lived when he sees Jack has regained it. In that same encounter, Aku realized he had a daughter and rather than being elated at being a father, he callously manipulated his own daughter into attacking Jack, knowing the latter couldn't hurt her. His sadistic nature was again shown as he smiled smugly while watching the two unwilling warriors fight each other and laughs maniacally when he takes full control of Ashi.
Overall, despite his comedic traits, Aku generally proved to be a completely malevolent being with absolutely no care for anyone but himself regardless of his actions, being the most despicable being to have ever existed besides the High Priestess and the Dominator, and doesn't have so much as a shred of redeeming quality at all. He never truly showed any care or love for his daughters, lovers and minions as he only view to them as mere pawns to his empire. Even with his comedic quirks, he is still taken seriously in-universe as he destroyed and corrupted several innocent lives and destroyed all of Jack's loved ones and home primarily out of his sadism and callous nature, which makes him one of the most evil Cartoon Network villains up to date.
Powers and Abilities[]
“
Fool! Nothing of this world can harm me! For I am Aku! The Shogun of Sorrow! The Deliverer of Darkness! Your new master and you will bow to me!
„
~ Aku explaining his invulnerability to The Emperor, The Birth of Evil, Part 1.
Eldritch physiology: Aku was originally a fraction of The Black Mass, a non-sentient eldritch abomination existing since the birth of the universe. After being nearly destroyed by the combined efforts of three primordial Gods known as Odin, Ra and Rama, The Black Mass sent a fragment of itself into Milky Way galaxy, where it landed on Earth and triggered a sudden mass extinction of three-quarters of animal and plant life, an event commonly known as KT extinction that took place 66 million years ago. The creature awoke eons later in Feudal Japan, where it was given sentience by a magic arrow fired by the Emperor in a feeble attempt to kill Aku.
Nigh-absolute immortality: Aku is composed out of acidic and highly elastic tar-like substance, rendering him entirely immune and invulnerable to anything but holy magic. He cannot age and requires no food, water, sleep or air to survive, having repeatedly shown ability to thrive in space and underwater time and time again. He was shown to be unharmed by arrows, lasers, large explosions, slashes and kinetic force. Anything but Jack's magic sword is simply useless against him and is instantly healed, provided they can damage him to begin with.
Shapeshifting: Aku can adjust his shape and size at will, sometimes making wood-like cracks as he does so. He typically mimics the shape of various beasts, such as monkey, the scorpion, a seven-armed octopus, a goat, the spider, a praying mantis, a frog, a manta ray, the serpent, the dragon, and even a beautiful woman meant to lure Jack into false sense of security. All of Aku's unholy forms bear his black-green-and-red color scheme, and with exception of a woman, his hideous face with wicked smile and a pair ghastly eyes with flaming eyebrows. Aku can even morph into multiple creatures at once, as shown when he crawled inside armors of numerous fallen Japanese troops to fight the Emperor, or when he changed into a gang of piranha. Other than that, Aku can stretch his entire body to cover massive distances over short periods of time, liquefy himself, or project a rain of sharp spikes from both the ground and sky.
Possession/Assimilation: In addition to dissolving physical weaponry used against him, a bizarre black substance composing Aku's body is highly infectious and becomes an independent living organism if separated from him. After Aku accidentally sneezed a small drop of himself on Jack, the samurai slowly began to transform into smaller version of the demon over the course of a single day, giving him various hallucinations and requiring him to seek out Lizard Monks, performing a complex ritual during which he had to defeat several nightmare spawns of Aku and a special arrow that creates a tower of light upon being fired.
Body puppetry: Aside from corrupting, Aku can use his essence to reproduce with human beings, impregnating them when they drink it. This gave High Priestess ability to give birth to seven hybrid daughters, whom Aku could forcibly turn into demons with his powers and control them. However, this proved to be his downfall, as his daughter Ashi broke out of his mind control and used his time travel to send Jack back to the past. If the demon is slain, his daughters perish as well within few years.
Space-time travelling: Aku can travel through space at interstellar distances, at the speeds vastly exceeding light itself. He can also create one-way time portals using his vocal cords, which he used to send Jack into the distant future where his evil is law. He is commonly shown teleporting himself and others to any desired location.
Supernatural strength: Aku can easily smash through buildings and stones at his regular, gigantic size. Even in his human-sized form, his strength surpassed that of human beings.
Supernatural smelling: Aku can track living beings by their smell and recognize their bloodline if he had encountered them before.
Remote perception: Aku can spy on anyone of his liking without them knowing by opening a portal anywhere across the existence.
Optical energy beams: Aku's signature ability; these powerful blasts of energy fired from demon's eyes can cause fires and explosions, incinerating human beings to ashes instantly. While their main purpose is burning objects of his displeasure, Aku can also restore destroyed objects or teleport other beings.
Fire breath: Aku has shown to breathe fire in both his default and dragon forms.
Lightning beams: Aku can alternatively fire concentrated bolts of electricity, which he could create by combining his fire breath with optic beams.
Weather manipulation: Aku was capable of altering weather to his liking, such as causing thunderstorms.
Transmutation: Aku once used this ability to conjure gold, jewels, and treasure for the Imakandi, or creating a new body for Scaramouche.
Telekinesis: Aku showed the ability to move objects with his mind and project explosions with just his mind, causing Scaramouche's head to explode in an instant.
Sonic scream: Aku was shown capable of producing a powerful scream that caused massive damage to the landscape.
Necromancy: Aku was been shown in one episode to be capable of animating countless dead bodies and bending them to his will as they had neither mind nor soul.
Precognitive dreams: Aku showed a strong feeling that something was about to happen, especially something unpleasant. In "Jack and the Warrior Woman", Aku had a dream that Jack found a way to return to the past, and realized it was no dream but a premonition, which spurred him into successfully preventing it from happening.
Immortality bestowal: Aku was able to put various curses on people or objects, such as when he cursed Lava Monster with immortality.
Doppelgänger creation: Aku could create evil clones of others, such as when he created Mad Jack.
Weaknesses[]
Divine magic: Aku could be harmed and subdued by any object or form of magic wielded by the gods Odin, Ra, and Vishnu. This also included weapons forged using divine energy or essence such as the Emperor's (and later Jack's) Samurai Sword.
Spirit and righteousness: According to one of the three gods, Rama, the strength of the Human Spirit and Virtue of Human Righteousness would allow Aku to be vanquished. Jack's father's magic sword could harm Aku as it burns him and negated his regeneration. The Scotsman music imbued powers in his spirit form was able to affect Aku and also the giant robot samurai of the robots of Andromeda was able to hurt him and also tear off his horns.
Shortsightedness: Aku gave Ashi the ability to open time portals, not considering that she could turn on him which was ultimately his undoing.
Color scheme: Regardless of the form he takes, Aku appeared to be limited to the specific color scheme of red, green, and black. This can allow certain people to deduce him if they have enough experience with him.
Reflections: If Aku was reflected by a mirror or water, it would always reveal his normal form regardless of the guise that he takes. This is most noticeable when Aku took the disguise of a hermit, and accompanied Jack to look for the artifacts of the gods. When Jack and Aku were in the swamp, Aku's normal form was apparent in the water's reflection even while in his hermit disguise, so he splashed the water and used the ripples to hide his reflection.
Disease vulnerability: In one episode (XLIII), Aku appeared to have contracted a form of illness not unlike the human flu or common cold.
Quotes[]
“
You! Thank you.
„
~ Aku's first words after being given life by Jack's father.
“
Fool! Nothing of this world can harm me. For I am Aku, the Shogun of Sorrow, the Deliverer of Darkness, your new master. And you will bow to me."
„
~ Aku gloating Jack's father after he tried to attack him.
“
Have you learned nothing? Your mortal blade cannot harm me. AAAAAAAAH!! How could this be?!
„
~ Aku to Jack's father before and after his sword hurts him.
“
I WILL RETURN!!
„
~ Aku after being sealed by Jack's father.
“
Once again, I am free to smite the world as I did in days long past.
„
~ Aku after being released from his imprisonment.
“
Not this time.
„
~ Aku before capturing Jack's father, The Emperor.
“
Who dares to summon the Master of Masters, the Deliverer of Darkness, the Shogun of Sorrow, Aku!?
„
~ Aku officially meets Jack for the first time.
“
That sword. I remember that blade. I recognize your blood. You are the son of the fool who imprisoned me those many years ago. No matter, neither he nor the sword had the power to slay me forever, and neither do you!
„
~ Aku recognizes Jack's sword.
“
You might have beaten me now, but I will destroy you in the future.
„
~ Aku to Jack.
“
I disagree.
„
~ Aku before flinging Jack to the future.
“
Do not worry, samurai, you will see me again. But next time, you will not be so fortunate.
„
~ Aku after he flung Jack to the future.
“
You will be allowed. The oceans of Aku will be your new home. But you will pay homage to me by constructing statues in my likeness. Once a month, a monolithic tribute will rise from the depths of the ocean to remind all who is the master of this world. Now begone!
„
~ Aku showing his tyranny.
“
HA! HA! HA! HA! So fate has arrived. Many years have gone since that day. And now my formidable foe, you will pay for my pain in the past with your pain in the future. HA! HA! HA! HA!
„
~ Aku realizes that Jack has finally arrived to the future.
“
He is stronger than I remember. But no matter. For you see, little Samurai, the world is mine! My eyes and ears are everywhere, nothing you do will go unseen! Quest as you may, but we will meet again when I see fit, in a time and place of my choosing! And it is I who shall put an end to the war started in that age long past, Samurai Jack! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!
„
~ Aku vows to defeat Jack.
“
For eons I have terrorized this land. Every miserable creature trembled at the mere mention of my name. The pitiful people fright before my awesome power. But now, I am openly mocked by these measly urchins. Tales of the Samurai's heroics have spread through the world like a virus, but I will cure the world of this plague of hope. I will unleash such evil that even the most innocent soul will be consumed by terror!
„
~ Aku attempts to convince the children that Jack is evil.
“
As far as the eye can see, the land is desolate and full of despair. Shadows crawl across the Earth and block out the light. Darkness oozes from every crevice. Hope has been eradicated. Only terror reigns. Yet, there is one that mocks my omnipresent evil with his existence. He possesses a sword which could destroy me. They call him... Samurai Jack! Despite my efforts, he has not yet been destroyed. But now I, Aku, dark lord of all darkness will make the final move and annihilate Samurai Jack forever! From deep within The Pit of Hate, I summon Demongo!
You are one of my most powerful Minions. You possess the ability to steal the essence of the mightiest of warriors or the deadliest of beasts. You have never failed me.
„
~ Aku ordering Demongo to kill Jack.
“
Haha! Yes, I can hold... Yes... I would like to place an order for delivery... Aku... I think I'm in the computer... Yes, that's it! I'd like a large-- What? Huh?... Extra thick!... 30 minutes or it's free? EXCELLENT! HAHA!
„
~ Aku ordering a henchman to kill Jack exactly like how someone would order a pizza.
“
Aw, put that thing away, samurai. We all know what's going to happen. You'll swing your sword, I'll fly away, and probably say something like "I'll be back, samurai!", and then I'll flutter off over the horizon and we won't see each other for about a week, and then we'll start the whole thing all over again.
„
~ Aku in Jack vs. Aku.
“
Who dares to summon? Oh, it is you. (Don: Ah yes uh, you see uh-) Do you forget that you are forbidden to come here? (Don: Uh yeah, boss, I know. But uh...this time we uh, we really got something. Something big, see?) What can you possibly have that the almighty Aku cannot attain? (Don: The Jewel of Neptune. *opens box revealing the Jewel of Neptune*) What? It cannot be! The power to control all the water of the world! (Don: Only for you, my lord.) Yes, it truly is the magical jewel...But how did such an elusive treasure come into your possession? (Don: Well, it wasn't easy, master. But we got a little help from our newest member. Come on out, Jackie.) Jackie? (*Jack then steps in* Jack: Actually, it's Jack.) You!
„
~ Aku after gaining the Jewel of Neptune and discovering the Gangsters new member is in fact Samurai Jack.
“
Stop! Look at what you're doing. You're getting yourselves all over the floor. I just had it vacuumed. Out! Out! Get Out!
„
~ Aku to the Mud Aliens.
“
And I care because?
„
~ Aku doesn't care about Jack anymore.
“
Oh! That was the old Aku. This is a new Aku. And he really doesn't care about that pathetic Samurai who wander around like a mad fool. Haha! It's hilarious. Really. Look, I'll tell you what? You want to destroy him? Go ahead! Who cares? I certainly don't. Not one bit at all.
„
~ Aku tells the scientists that he doesn't care about Jack anymore.
“
The "psychiatrist": So, tell me what's been bothering you. Aku: Well, you see, doc, it's been over fifty years already. The "psychiatrist": It's been that long? Aku: Yes, you see, that's the actual problem. Once I eradicated all the Time Portals, I thought I would just wait it out and then, the Samurai... The "psychiatrist": We don't say his name here, it is a safe place. Aku: Yes, sorry, doctor. Well, I just assumed that eventually over time, he will just... Both: DIE! Aku: But he hasn't even aged. I mean like at all! He just grew that stupid beard, and looks like he'll be here forever! I...I just don't know if I can handle that. The "psychiatrist": Yes, it seems that the initial time travel has affected the aging process. It's quite the conundrum. Aku: Yes, what is that again? The "psychiatrist": Just a confusing or difficult problem. Aku: Yes, problem. I wished there is someone who can dispose of my problem. Both: Yes, one can hope.
„
~ Aku's discussion with the "psychiatrist" (who is actually a fragment of himself) about Jack's non-aging status.
“
Would somebody please... STOP ALL THAT NOISE?!
„
~ Aku hearing some attacks outside his tower.
“
Perhaps annihilating this scum will break me out of my... malaise.
„
~ Aku assumes that go out and fighting would make him no longer bored.
“
Ah, why did he bring up the Samurai? Ughhh!
„
~ Aku annoyed at Jack being brought up by Scotsman
“
Oh, fun fact: That was the last remaining time portal in existence.
„
~ Aku after destroying the last time portal.
“
Oh-ho! Not so fast, samurai! I know better than to mess with that sword! But before I go, I leave you someone to play with.
„
~ Aku before leaving Jack for 50 years to come.
“
But you're probably saying to yourself: (Imitating Jack's voice) Why? Why now for a sudden reunion?
„
~ Aku meets Jack again.
“
I smell ME!
„
~ Aku realizing Ashi.
“
To all those fools who dare oppose me, your hero is dead! YOUR HOPE IS DEAD! I am the one true master! Let this be a lesson to all! Time to die, Samurai Jack!
„
~ Aku about to kill Jack.
“
Ha, ha, ha, ha! You're nothing but insignificant insects to Aku! And insects get SQUASHED and exterminated!
„
~ Aku laughing at the rebellion army.
“
How dare you talk back to your father!
„
~ Aku when Ashi turns on him.
“
Oh no.
„
~ Aku realizes his end as Jack escapes to the past.
“
What!?
„
~ Aku's reaction upon seeing another portal open.
“
You're back already?! No, wait!
„
~ Aku's last words as Jack returns to the past and kills him at last.
Trivia[]
Aku's name translates to "evil" in English. The kanji is written as "悪", which can also be pronounced as "Waru". Aku may also be named after Akuma, an evil spirit with burning eyes in Japanese folklore who is said to bring misfortune upon those who see it.
Genndy Tartakovsky originally planned to finish Jack's and Aku's story with a theatrical feature-length film based on the series. However, the idea was abandoned after several delays and eventually changed to become a fifth season, not that it wasn't popular anyway.
In the Brazilian Portuguese dubbed version, his name was changed to "Abu" after the studios realized that "Aku" is related to offensive nicknames such as "buttocks" or even worse.
Aku's eyebeams were originally yellow in Season 1 and 2, but are white in later seasons and then red in Season 5.
Aku has been subject to an Internet meme based on a scene (particularly in Episode XLVIII), where he is apparently ordering a large pizza, but actually a bounty hunter, in which he says the line before hanging up. The meme typically revolves around Aku calling things "extra thick", which is purposely misspelled in the title of the videos as E X T R A T H I C C.
Although it took Jack well over 50 years in order to go back to the past in order to finally kill Aku, from Aku's perspective, it seemed like he accidentally sent Jack a mere 14 seconds into the future and returned with a woman he didn't know was one of his future daughters. Additionally, despite being surprised of Ashi having the exact same powers as he does, it was a mistake for Aku to give his essence to the Cult of Aku and passed down all his powers to his own daughter by using corruption magic.
Surtr, the overarching antagonist of Genndy Tartakovsky's another award-winning show, Primal, is loosely inspired by Aku.
Aku has made an appearance at the end of Team Red Pro’s short film Afro Samurai Champloo, where he finds out that there’s more samurai than Jack and maniacally laughs.
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Villains
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