Fuck this shitty ending

Let’s assume that she disappeared due to a time paradox. Therefore, the rest of the characters from the future also necessarily disappeared since their existence is dependent on the survival of Aku. Meaning, without Aku, there’s no possibility they would have been born. Why you ask? Why couldn’t they have been born and simply have ended up in different places in their lives? Because that’s probabilistically impossible. What is the probability of a single person born the same without a huge influence on the world like Aku? Even a fraction of a second difference in timing can result in a different sperm meeting the egg. This doesn’t even account for the improbability of each ancestor meeting the same people to reproduce with (given that there were numerous generations between Jack’s original time and the future, probably a thousand plus years). Objectively, even a single person being the same would be nigh impossible.
Let’s assume that Ashi disappears not because of the time paradox. This implies that killing Aku in the past does not affect the future timeline, meaning future Aku still lives. And guess what’s the only thing that can kill Aku and just so happens to not be present? Jack and his sword. Looks like we just doomed the future timeline. This would be an even worse ending than the clusterfuck we already got.
Therefore, all the characters from the future no longer exist. Moral or not, this is a big slap to the face to the audience who have invested emotionally in these characters. “Yeah, the Spartans or the Woolies that you loved? Erased from existence and never existed lol,” says Genndy.

>>92649904
2. Jack got shafted by the ending; he basically made no personal gain, he’s just a tool for the gods
Jack suffered for more than half a century in the future, all for what? Almost purely the benefit of others. He went through hell and back, and every sacrifice being made for the sake of others, asking nothing in return. Sure, it fits his character as a noble and just warrior, but is it really necessary? So much is asked for one man and the story basically kicked him in the face as he crosses the finish line and collapses, while carrying the world on his back. He did gain the benefit of saving his parents and his kingdom, but one can easily argue that he has made an equally strong, if not stronger connection with the future world where he spent most of his life. He really just maintained the status quo of life pre-Aku, which is why this feels like such an empty victory.
Suppose a country invaded us, forcing us to sacrifice countless soldiers to defend our land. Should we celebrate when we have won and pushed back the invaders? Perhaps only briefly before we begin mourning all the lives that were lost so unnecessarily. Why do we celebrate Independence Day but not civil war day? Didn’t we win back our country at the end of the Civil War?
Is this even a bittersweet ending for Jack? He seemed to have gained nothing from this entire story. As the viewer, it feels more like a tragedy. It seems like the gods simply used Jack as a tool to carry out their bidding, a tool that once having served its purpose is rewarded by casually being tossed aside with no reward.
We as the audience wishes for his happiness because it is just. He has been a paragon of selfless virtue this entire series. We don’t feel bad when an arrogant character meets misfortune due to his/her pride because it is only fitting. Obviously nobody “deserves” anything, but given as this is a story, it doesn’t sit well that the hero gets shafted in the end despite being perfectly virtuous.

DC's LEgends of Tomorrow solves this time travel nonsense

all timelines are real but the main one that youre watching takes time to "cement" meaning ashi took a while to dissapear from that specific timeline but she does exist still just in loops

>>92649937
The entire ending is equivalent to if Jack had killed Aku in their very first encounter in episode 1
Ending the story like this would be logically identical to Jack killing Aku in the very first episode. By all rights, Jack should not even get to keep his memories of his future travels since it likewise creates a time paradox since the subject of those memories (his adventures in the future) no longer exists. So without memories of his travels in the future, without Ashi, without any of the people or events of Samurai Jack S1E2 through the first half of S5E10 ever having taken place, we might as well have had Jack just kill Aku in their very first encounter. If we allow the plothole of Jack keeping his memories, then the story would be even more laughable: Aku basically put Jack to sleep for 5 seconds during which he dreamt up an entire storyline of being sent to the future, before waking up and killing Aku. This would be an “it was all a dream lol” ending. This cheapens the entire experience of Samurai Jack and invalidates all the obstacles Jack overcame and all the bonds he formed with the future characters during his time in the future. This is a big “lol fuck you” to all his fans.

Ending was extremely and obviously contrived to get the “bittersweet” ending instead of letting it play out organically
Ashi was reduced to a cheap tool of narrative convenience
This is perhaps my strongest point. It is so goddamn obvious that Genndy wanted to do a “bittersweet” ending before he even decided how he wanted the story to actually end. First and foremost, he wanted that emotional impact of a bittersweet ending, but the result was a very cheap suckerpunch to the audience’s collective faces; logical consistency, good writing, and pacing be damned. There are two very strong pieces of evidence for this:
1. Ashi suddenly knowing how to use a time portal
2. Ashi conveniently disappearing at a time that should make the greatest emotional impact

>>92649962
First, having Ashi instantly know how to use a time portal is a deus ex machina. It’s almost as bad as Rei knowing how to use the Jedi mind-trick without ever even knowing it existed. There is absolutely NO REASON for Ashi to know how to do this except for plot convenience so that Genndy can send Jack back to the past. We know that every single portal was destroyed, even the Guardian’s, so only using Aku’s power would Jack be able to return to the past. Given that there was NO OTHER WAY to go back to the past without Aku willingly sending Jack back, Ashi was used as a convenient tool to achieve this end.
Second, Ashi should have immediately disappeared after Jack killed Aku or at the very least shortly thereafter. There was NO REASON for her to conveniently disappear just as the wedding was occurring almost a year in the future. Since this was the medieval era and leniently assuming that all the mentors knew instantly when Aku died, it would take the Vikings almost a year to reach Japan given that they would need to sail around the Cape of Good Hope. Why the hell would Genndy do this? It is obvious so that he can make his cheap “bittersweet” ending the most poignant, though in reality, it just felt empty to the audience since it was so contrived.
In the end, Ashi was hardly a character. She was used as a tool for Genndy to achieve his desired ending by first being used as a way to send Jack back in time and then being used as a cheap tool to elicit an emotional reaction from the audience. Perhaps you can argue that Ashi knew that she would disappear once Jack killed Aku and had accepted her own end, but it makes it a tiny bit better but does not invalidate the point that she was obviously just a mechanism for advancing the plot.

>>92649986
6. Horrific pacing issues
Do I even need to make this point? It should be blatantly obvious to anyone who watches the show. Samurai Jack has always been a patient show, just look at episode versus the bounty hunters. I completely understand that Genndy had only 10 episodes, but compare the pacing of this clusterfuck of a finale to episode 2, which felt like a thriller from start to finish. Genndy should have cut more filler from prior episodes to give it a two-part finale, as if you even need me to say this.
1. Jack’s allies mobilized and coordinated literally within seconds of watching Jack on TV
2. After 50 years without seeing each other, Jack and the Scotsman’s dialogue is comic relief, and it lasts longer than the final fight between Aku and Jack
3. Jack literally says like 5 lines to Ashi before she breaks out of her Aku form
4. Jack kills Aku in less than a minute
5. Timeskip to wedding – no words with parents? Aren’t Jack’s parents one of the main motivating factors for Jack wanting to return to the past????
6. No rebuilding after Aku’s demise?

>>92649899
>1. All the characters we know and love from the future are wiped from existence

Yeah, that was Jack's goal from the start. The world was dying, and just about everywhere was a wasteland.

>2. Jack got shafted by the ending; he basically made no personal gain, he’s just a tool for the gods

He saved his family and his home and the world.

>3. The entire ending is equivalent to if Jack had killed Aku in their very first encounter in episode 1

And? There's a reason why Aku ALWAYS ran.

>4. Ending was extremely and obviously contrived to get the “bittersweet” ending instead of letting it play out organically

Jack undoes future that is Aku. Pretty simple.

>5. Ashi was reduced to a cheap tool of narrative convenience

>6. Horrific pacing issues
Oh no, Aku curbstomping everyone who isn't Jack wasn't drawn out long enough. Please.

>7. Various plot holes/stupid bullshit

No one cares about your headcanon

She gave her life to make Jack happy. She was selfless.

Welcome to the club. Every point you raised is valid. We really don't have anything better to do at this point except be fucking pissed off until Genndy answers a few questions.

I hope to fuck the rumored alt ending on the DVD is true.

bittersweet is best, happy endings are for children

fuck off ashifag, your waifu is deader than your chances at losing your virginity. futurefags btfo

>Still crying about the ending
I was disappointed when I first heard it, but I got over it the next day. Get a fucking grip

>Ashi sacrifices herself to bring Jack peace.

>Neckbeard calls her a cheap tool of narrative convenience

>>92649957
DBZ taught us that the main timeline is all that matters and everything else is just splinters

>>92650304
She would have seemed like less of one if she kissed Jack instead of stating she shouldn't exist.

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>>92649899
>>92649904
>>92649937
>>92649962
>>92649986
>>92650014