Rick and Morty return in a bloody Samurai adventure. The anime-inspired short aired on Toonami and features a Samurai Rick and Shogun Morty. Rick and Morty is a popular adult animated series that is halfway through its fourth season on Adult Swim. The show follows the wacky inter-dimensional adventures of the crazy-yet-brilliant scientist, Rick Sanchez and his naive-yet-tough-if-he-needs-to-be grandson, Morty Smith.
Each episode typically features Rick and Morty traveling to an alternate universe, dimension, or new world and meeting unique characters like Birdperson, Scary Terry, and even Evil Morty. (The pair often meet parallel universe versions of themselves that are completely different and typically bent on domination of the entire universe.) Rick and Morty also features Rick's daughter Beth, her milquetoast husband Jerry, and Morty's older sister, Summer. When they get thrown in the sci-fi mess that Rick usually creates, things often get even crazier and for Rick and Morty, that's saying a lot.
A new anime-inspired Rick and Morty short aired on Toonami last night. Titled Samurai & Shogun, the short features a Japanese voice cast with English subtitles and was written and directed by Kaichi Sato. Samurai Rick - or Rick WTM72 as his enemies call him - is clearly an alternate universe Rick, and his swords skills are unparalleled. Check out the very bloody short in its entirety, below.
In true Rick and Morty fashion, the short also features the pair getting sent on a trip of a different sort by one of the evil ninjas. Samurai Rick slices up the hearts and flowers in the trippy dream and also kills the ninja that caused it. The video is bloody and brilliant, and a fantastic way to give fans of the show another way to get their Rick and Morty fix while they wait for the second half of season 4. (The fifth episode aired last December and there's been no word on when episode 6 will air.) Perhaps the video was also a teaser for a potential Rick and Morty anime. Regardless of whether the short means anything for the future of the show, it's a fun anime-inspired tribute and it was entirely fitting that it aired on Toonami, a program block known for airing popular anime shows.
While fans may be frustrated by yet another Rick and Morty episode delay, more than likely, the new episodes will be worth the wait. After all, the first half of the fourth season was certified 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, and that was after a lengthy hiatus between seasons 3 and 4. The anime-inspired short is yet another indicator that the show is willing to take risks and have fun, using the characters in different and diverse genres. Ultimately, Rick and Morty is so good because it doesn't take itself too seriously and it ventures into the weird, the wacky, and the insane. That's what makes the show so entertaining, and worth the wait for new episodes.
Source: Adult Swim/YouTube