Since its initial inception, the Adult Swim brand has brought much madness and mature themes to audiences, from the the narcissism of Master Shake to the claymation ribaldry of Robot Chicken. But where there is naughtiness, there is also a line beyond which animated series cannot go, and according to Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky, that forbidden zone holds at least one specific thing that Adult Swim's standards and practices team doesn't allow: dog anuses. When talking about the graphic Season 5 revival of Samurai Jack, Tartakovsky revealed that one smelliest of network notes.
We drew a dog's butt. Just like a circle, little asterisks, very innocent, we didn't think anything of it. We got it back, they're like, 'No dog anuses on Adult Swim.'
I would love to get a realistic tally of how many people had that specific answer in mind. And then I would probably have to judge all the winners just a little bit for having dog butt on the tip of their tongue. (Nailed that.) Seriously, though, I don't know if I would have given a second thought about adding a cartoon canine booty into anything I was animating for Adult Swim, either. At this point, I'm not sure I'd have believed anything beyond super-realistic human sex/genitals would get excised by those execs.
I suppose that attempted animation works as an indication of how adult things are going to get in the new blood-splattered season of Samurai Jack. This update will take us many years after the events of the previous season finale, as our now-hairier hero heads into a twisty and mysterious adventure that could possibly set him free. Although maybe not. One episode is said to even focus on how Jack reacts to killing an actual human being after decades of only destroying robots. So that's pretty dark. But if you want to lighten the mood again, just find a nearby circle and draw some innocent asterisks in it. You can turn any circle into a dog's bum, even the end of a giant gun! Grab your white out...
I, for one, am pumped that Samurai Jack is coming back to TV after being gone for so long, and a lot of the other stuff Genndy Tartakovsky told IGN is enough to get one's excitement building. Yes, even the stuff that isn't about animal crevices. To go back to that for a second, I still cannot quite comprehend that Samurai Jack can't get away with something so simplistic, even with its stylized animation, but Mr. Pickles can have an episode featuring people whose asses are their faces, with their mouths right where the offending orifice is. Weird world we're living in that I'm even thinking about it.
"No dog anuses on Adult Swim" is like the "No sex in the champagne room" of today's generation, the same generation that will definitely want to tune into the premiere of Samurai Jack Season 5 on Adult Swim on Friday, March 11. Check out the trailer on the next page and head to our midseason premiere schedule to see everything else coming to the small screen soon.
