#In Aku's case his name literally means Evil.

[akunoakuma]

@undertheroses

Oh god, I’ve been tryin’ to think of all these titles for Aku that were similar to Maleficent’s “Mistress of all Evil,” and you just nailed it right there : “Emperor of Evil.”

I love it.

[skeletonologist]

BE SAFE AKU 2017

I do plan to draw a poster for our beloved evil overlord, but just in case something horrible happens tonight (hopefully not), I figured I’d go ahead and make a text post just in case I’m too late to draw anything.

Why do I love Aku?

His design is what caught my eye first. I love how angular and symmetrical he is. There is a good balance between smooth curves and sharp angles, and as a student in game art, this appeals to me as a character designer. Personally, his design appeals to me because apparently I like tol men with sharp teeth :T

Secondly, I have always gravitated toward villains. If I listed out all of my fave characters right now, the majority of them would be bad guys—General Grievous, Soundwave, The Joker, and Bill Cipher, for a few examples. Idk what it is about them, but I love villains and I love designing villains.

He’s very expressive. He has an impressive array of facial expressions for a character who looks like a squished frog. Furthermore, his personality shines through his expressions and body language, which brings me to my next topic.

Yes, Aku is evil. His name literally means evil, but he does have a personality, and I love that. He is definitely prideful, impatient, sarcastic, and selfish, but he’s also an enormous goofball. I’m going to cite “Jack versus Aku” for this one. The entire episode is pretty much just Aku being a doofus, from his ridiculous human form to the exchange between him and jack:

Aku: Know where that is?

Jack: Yes, yes, I will find it. Do not worry.

Aku: …you sure?

Jack: No, no, I remember now.

Aku: I can give you a ride if you–

Jack: I will find it!

Aku: THEN I’LL SEE YOU THERE!

Do I even have to mention Extra Thicc? Additionally, the guy frikin goes to therapy with himself.

Why do I want him to live?

Obviously, I don’t want Aku to die because I do really like him a lot, but there’s more to it than that.

When I was little, I’m talking six years old or something (I’m nineteen now so it’s been a long time), I’m pretty sure Aku was my OG fave character before I even knew what a fave character was. All of the characters I design look very similar to him, and I didn’t even realize until years later that all of my inspiration has come from him.

I’m not gonna go through the whole “the emperor was in the wrong” argument because I don’t want to argue, but I do believe there’s a chance for Aku to change. There are other cartoon characters that have been successfully reformed from villainy or could pretty much qualify as reformed like Discord from MLP, Starscream in Transformers: Armada, Gideon from Gravity Falls, and Lord Hater from Wander over Yonder. I realize it’s unrealistic for the embodiment of pure evil to be reformed, but it’s a hope I plan to cling to.

Needless to say, he was a huge part of my childhood when Cartoon Network had real substance and great shows. I’m sure a lot of us can remember what CN was like in the early 2000s and miss it quite a lot in comparison to what it is now. Aku was the best bad guy on CN. He was scarier and stronger than any other villain on TV at the time, and I think we all loved that he was (and is) such a great antagonist.

I never got the chance to appreciate Samurai Jack for what it is because I was too young before, but now that I’ve been reintroduced to its characters, art, and story, I’m not ready to say goodbye.

Stay safe, Aku. I hope we don’t ever have to part with you. :)