Geeky? No I don't thing that is quite the term...and I don't know what the correct term is. Maybe nitpick? :D

It depends. If he fought the evil shape shifter at the command of his lord, and continues the battle even now under the same terms, then Samurai Jack he remains.

A ronin is a category of samurai, one without a master. So by my understanding, one could call him a samurai or a ronin. The latter is more specific, but the former is not inaccurate.

get a goddam life.

gah...Cartoon Network hasn't produced anything worth watching since Johnny Bravo (although some of the Dexter's Lab episodes are alright). Save for that and the 'classic' toons, the rest invariably strikes me as bad art mated with worse storylines hence producing the expected offspring. Namely, trash.

Confucious say: He who cannot correct spelling of "question" may not question appropriateness of terminology...

Friends, Ronins, Countrymen, lend me your ears...

Now is the time to confess how many times you have read Shogun.

And I kind of like "quesiton."

Never having watched the show in question, I'll just comment on the terms.

Samurai were Japanese feudal warriors, at the top of their military class. They followed the ethic code of Bushido (the way of the warrior). If the samurais’ master died without an heir, many samurais committed honorable suicide (seppuku). Some samurais also committed seppuku if they were defeated in battle. Those who lost their master (or their honor) and did not want to commit suicide became ronin and lived as mercenaries and/or bandits.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Bushido is actually a modern day invention. The samurai had no real code until after the Tokugawa Shogunate. Prior to that there was a the concept of Budo, but it was not a code per se.

As for the issue of committing ritual suicide it was actually not all that common.

A good read on this is Karl Friday's Hired Swords: The Rise of Private Warrior Power in Early Japan.

A quesiton is a subatomic particle that causes inquisitiveness. I thought everyone knew that.

And, as Dean notes, some quesitons are incredibly geeky.

Yes he is ronin (which basically means a rogue samurai). Yes, its geeky as hell but I noticed it too!

Does anyone else think that Samurai/Ronin Jack bears a striking resemblance to Professor Utonium, or is that just me?

Yes, he does. But then, the show was created and is produced by Genndy Tartakovsky, who also created and produced the Powerpuff Girls. In fact, I suspect that Samurai Jack was a project he was long something he had in mind to do, and the success of the Powerpuffs was probably what made him able to sell Samurai Jack. It is, after all, a weird cartoon. Although I absolutely love it. (I also love Dexter's Lab and the Powerpuffs.)

Steve,
Thanks for the reference, I have not read that one. Since you brought up the point, allow me to elaborate. The code has existed for a long time and was was first formulated in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). It was not written down until the 16th century. The term Bushido is more recent, but has been around for a while (coined in the 17th century). But I thought it simpler to merely use the present day term for an ancient code.

Now I do agree with you about the suicide factor. I have never seen stats on this (and am not sure any reliable ones exist), but I suspect more warrors chose a dishonorable life (or made sure they died in battle and took out more of the enemy) vs. suicide. But that is speculation on my part based on some reading I did long ago.

Does this mean Professor Utonium is composed of quesitons?

Just aksing.

Heck, I don't care. Call him anything you want, as long as they keep showing back episodes so I can catch the ones I've missed.

Anything but "Bright Jack", that is.