Samurai Jack: Jack (ISFP)

Fi:

“Thanks are not necessary. It is my duty to oppose the minions of Aku, and my mission to vanquish the very demon himself.”

“Ashi. You are not your father. You are not your mother. You are your own person. You are good. You can defeat him from inside.”

“I have hoped that just once I would not have to battle for my goal, because it is noble and just.”

“You have insulted my footwear. My sandals don’t like to be laughed at.”

Samurai Jack is driven by his internal sense of justice and values. Initially, this manifests as duty. His father gives him a mission, which he dedicates himself to without hesitation. Once trapped in the future, he spends decades refusing to give up, determined to go back and save his village. However, Samurai Jack’s kind and empathetic nature often overrule his sense of duty and responsibility to his village and the past.

While his mission is extremely important to him, Samurai Jack can’t abandon anyone in need right in front of him. Throughout his search for a time portal, Jack constantly crosses paths with people who need his help, which he grants to them without hesitation. Unfortunately, on multiple occasions, this causes him to give up opportunities to go back to the past. In the final season, during the period in which he’d given up hope, Jack explains his reasoning to a group of aliens that he saved, saying, “I could not let your story end like mine.” In other words, he finds himself relating to this group, and empathy drives him to save them.

Jack’s strong sense of self carries him forward throughout the series. He doesn’t often speak, but frequently when he does, it’s to share a deeply felt value. This is ultimately how Ashi ends up switching sides. He exposes her to the truth. Similarly, in a display of Fi identity, he encourages Ashi to be her own person, separate from her family and her past. Lastly, in a more comedic moment, Jack expresses offense over his footwear being insulted, viewing it as a personal slight. This is fairly common for Fi users, who often incorporate such things into their identity, as extensions of themselves.

Se:

“A true warrior fights not with words…”

“I always find a way. They are just nuts and bolts.”

Samurai Jack is a man of action. While he’s often typed as an ISXJ, Jack lacks the subtlety or sense of caution that one would expect from an Si dominant. For instance, at the beginning of the series, he rushes to face Aku, while literally yelling his name. In another example, while being set up with a space suit, Jack doesn’t bother to wait for instructions or an explanation. Instead, he presses a button which launches the suit on accident. He then, like a high Se user, figures out how to use the suit via experimentation while in action. There are many more such examples of Jack failing to listen and just launching into action.

However, Jack’s Se specifically appears to be in the auxiliary position rather than dominant, because he’ll oftentimes refuse a fight if he doesn’t see the point. His initial meeting with the Scotsman is a good example of this. The Scotsman kept egging him on, but Jack completely refuses to fight him, in spite of the antagonizing. Essentially, Jack needs a Fi reason to engage his Se. Otherwise, he fully intends to continue on his mission, without distractions.

Ni:

“There must be a way to defeat Demongo. A way to stop Demongo from using essence. Essence of trapped warriors. Trapped essence. Free the essence, Demongo has no power.”

Samurai Jack’s Ni surfaces in a couple of different ways, one being the way he communicates. Jack is brief and to the point. He speaks very little throughout the entire series, relative to its length. However, while he often speaks in a straightforward manner, Jack occasionally slips into a more cryptic way of speaking, and begins to recite old proverbs that he feels are relevant to the moment.

In addition, his way of reasoning appears linear, focusing on condensing and narrowing. His fight with Demongo shows a good example of this. He states out loud that there must be a way to defeat Demongo, and then, little by little, narrows in upon a solution. He doesn’t ping pong around with possibilities, but rather fixates on one trail of thought and carries it out to a solution.

Te:

Samurai Jack’s inferior Te can largely be seen in the way he’s unable to complete his mission when other lives are at stake. Going back to the past to defeat Aku would negate any current problem that he’s facing in the future. However, Jack is unable to look past his principles and his emotions, and gives up on his larger mission time and time again.

In the final season, he spends a large amount of time dealing with somewhat of a mental breakdown. His other half berates him for his failures, declaring everything that he does to be pointless. He declares that he can’t win so he might as well give up. This line of reasoning appears to be his inferior Te, due to the focus on his failure and inability to achieve anything in the real world.