Why is he called a Samurai anyway? He hasn't had a master ever since he was flung into the future...

Why is he called a Samurai anyway? He hasn't had a master ever since he was flung into the future. He should be called Ronin Jack.

Would you have watched a show called "Ronin Jack" as a kid who hadn't been introduced to anime yet?

He is technically not a samurai since he is the son of an emperor.

Samurai is more pleasurably sounding. It's also a more familiar word to younger audiences. Young people that like ninjas and stuff would tune into Samurai Jack. If you didn't study Japanese history you wouldn't know what a Ronin is. Keep in mind this show came out when AOL was still new so it's not like people googled everything they were unfamiliar with. Anime was still only familiar with a niche crowd.

I mean i watched Ronin Warriors growing up, so maybe?

>as a kid who hadn't been introduced to anime yet

Technically this makes him a god according to Japanese mythology.

Because Samurai are much more marketable.

Why isn't he called or Ranger Jack, or Keshik Jack, or Shaolin Jack? After all, he learned skills and fighting styles from pretty much everywhere.

>this show came out when AOL was still new
Based on this comment, I'm guessing the show actually came out when YOU were still "new".

...

>he literally started a thread just to show people he knew what the word 'ronin' meant

Technically that would depend on the time period and what region of Japan you live in.

Jack is the firstborn son of the Emperor/Shogun. By birthright, he's first in line to become everyone's master.

Samurai Jack 2001
AOL 1997

Because he doesn't have an actual name. Aku called him (foolish) Samurai, some other guys called him Jack (if I remember correctly, I watched the show last time many years ago).
So basically it's his name or nickname

A ronin is still a samurai, in the same manner that a knight errant is still a knight.

He was named Jack by some street punks in the second episode.

America Online was released in 1991.

This

We DO know that Samurai Jack aired after Toonami did, right? We could even say that Toonami is the reason Samurai Jack even survived as a cartoon series.

Yep, and Aku kept calling him "Samurai" in it.

Squidward reasoning. It sounds better despite not being true.

>Why is he called a Samurai anyway?
For the same reason he's called Jack.

Since his father is dead, isn't he potentially Emperor?

I mean, besides the fact that Japan doesn't exist anymore in Aku's future.

Is the Imperial family considered Samurai caste or something completely different?

Because the series shares some pretty heavy similarities with Frank Miller's Ronin

Ronin Jack actually sounds like a pretty cool title

He's serving his father. He has a master who exists back in time.

even as a little kid, though I didn't know the direct meaning, I understood ronin as meaning 'badass Asian swordfights', so yes

Honestly Genndy probably didn't know the difference. Times were different and people didn't think twice about other cultures.

Considering all the anime references in Dexter, I wouldn't count on it. It wasn't easy to watch that stuff back then. Besides it's not like it's a complicated explanation, just pop in some Kurosawa film like Yojimbo and, BAM you know.