#blue eye samurai review

[the-world-ive-forgotten]

Review #1.1: Blue Eye Samurai Season 1

A continuation of my initial review. I just cannot stop thinking about this show and the symbolism within it. The parallel between Akemi and Taigen - the show beginning with Akemi searching for happiness and Taigen searching for greatness, and the show ending with Akemi searching for greatness and Taigen searching for happiness. I really enjoy Akemi's relationship with her husband. I think they are a good match. I do hope that Akemi and Taigen do not get together, I am not sure it would be beneficial for either of them, and in fact, I think it would hold them both back.

Another point I have been pondering is Mizu and her refusal to let go of anything. Her clothes are the same she's been wearing since childhood. She collects and keeps items from her past lives, from people left behind. She has never cut her hair - and this is a detail I really like, signifying how much she is holding on to.

#blue eye samurai #review #blue eye samurai review #tv show review #recommendation #tv show recommendations #mizu blue eye samurai #taigen blue eye samurai #akemi blue eye samurai #analysis #character analysis #blue eye samurai analysis

[agentnico]

Blue Eye Samurai - Season 1 (2023) Review

Don't think I've ever seen so much human genitalia in animated form all in one go. Makes me wonder if the production team had a designated animator of genitals who literally just spent his time drawing penises for the show. If so, I hope it was Jonah Hill as he already proved in Superbad that he is the perfect artist for this subject.

Plot: Driven by a dream of revenge against those who made her an outcast in Edo-period Japan, a young warrior cuts a bloody path toward her destiny.

Netflix consistently hashes out so much content every week, that it is hard to keep up with any of it, as such many great projects get missed and are forever lost in the streamer's endless library void. Luckily Blue Eye Samurai didn't pass my scrolling and evidently has its fan base, as this is one of the quickest examples of the streaming giant announcing a season renewal after release. Yep, Blue Eye Samurai will be getting a second season which is amazing as this is a superb new series that if you haven't yet discovered then you are doing yourself a disservice and should amend that behaviour immediately and go watch it! Still need persuading? Alright, sit yourself down and allow me to gush about Blue Eye Samurai!...

It’s hard to overstate just how stunning Blue Eye Samurai is to look at. The series uses a mix of 2D and 3D animation styles to create landscapes and characters who seem only a few degrees removed from live-action, even as the form allows for combat on a scale that would cost several large fortunes to craft with flesh-and-blood actors. In fact, looking at the behind-the-scenes the team hired an actual martial arts choreographer to support in creating the combat sequences in real life with real people, and then the movements of those fights were transferred to animation and used in the final product. In one episode (seemingly inspired by the 1978 martial arts film Enter the Game of Death where Bruce Lee had to fight his way up to the tower to get to the last floor) the main samurai Mizu must defeat multiple bosses on each level of the season's big bad Fowler’s impregnable fortress home, and each separate battle is a work of art in itself. Honestly, the show just looks like a moving painting, with every frame absolutely jaw-dropping gorgeous. Even without dialogue or characterization, it would be completely engrossing.

Luckily, writers Michael Green and Amber Noizumi are as interested in the people at the center of these crazy fights as they are in the many improbable techniques Mizu uses against her opponents. Mizu is presented throughout as both supernatural and deeply human. She can handle any odds, and come back from every injury that would cripple or kill a normal person. But the series never loses sight of what a life wholly devoted to revenge has cost her, and the ways in which she has turned herself into every bit the monster that her countrymen believe her to be.

It is then also the exploration of how Mizu interacts with the other characters in this world. There's the disabled would-be apprentice Ringo (played warmly by Masi Oka), who has learned to navigate life despite his lumbering size and lack of hands. Mizu has no interest in a sidekick, but Ringo gradually wears her down, as if he’s a peaceful stream flowing against a rock over hundreds of years. There's also Taigen (Darren Barnett), a warrior chasing after Mizu to collect a debt of honour, yet due to this honour he ends up helping her as in his eyes only he has the right to kill her, no one else, so ends up attacking those that attempt to harm her. Brenda Song voices the princess Akemi, who is just as eager to escape the bonds of Edo society as Mizu is, but who uses very different methods to achieve that. We follow her journey through an intimate tour of the area brothels, which is where the aforementioned heaviness of nudity comes in. There is, in fact, a lot of naked flesh on display throughout the season. The series can be just as graphic in depicting sex as it is in violence, yet both avoid feeling gratuitous. And finally, there's Kenneth Branagh as this season's big bad Fowler, a despicable arms dealer who has no sense of morality or empathy and is willing to destroy anything standing in his path. He's a massive presence and seemingly the only one able to hold himself in a fight against Mizu, hence why Branagh's British snark yet heavy tone fits perfectly here.

The whole thing is an incredible, utterly badass example of how animation can be used to create worlds, characters, and adventure every bit as vivid as live-action if not more at times. Even though I would say there are a few areas of pacing issues, which withheld me from binging this season all in one go and instead had me taking regular break intervals throughout, this is still a stellar show and one that you can tell was created by a team of passionate filmmakers and artists. Blue Eye Samurai would never have had the impact it did had it been live-action - using animation as its storytelling medium elevated it to a masterpiece in my opinion. Kudos to everyone involved in such an amazing project and I can’t WAIT to see more!

Overall score: 8/10

#blue eye samurai #mizu #adventure #thriller #action #animation #digital animation #2d animation #netflix #michael green #amber noizumi #maya erskine #masi oka #brenda song #george takei #randall park #kenneth branagh #darren barnet #2023 #blue eye samurai review #tv series #streaming #samurai #adult animation #history #drama #sword #blue eye samurai season 1 #martial arts

[curiosityreviews]

Watched blue eye samurai and oh my god! It is such a good show! Everything was so cool and awesome every time I had to stop watching I couldn’t wait to get back to it!

🛸The main character is so fucking cool! They learn the ways of the sword and in the show you see their skills. It is so awesome to see each event play out and all the stories involved! The main character I highly enjoyed they were very awesome and great at the fights that you see I highly enjoyed it! It is bloody and does show some nudity given the rating so if you do not like those do not watch but just know it’s a was show! The shows art work resembled heavily on old Japanese art so it was very cool to see everything animated this way. Everything was basically some art. The soundtrack of this movie is really amazing to listen to during the scenes that play out also. It often uses traditional instruments of Japan for the songs that play out as well has having some western music sprinkled in certain areas showing the difference to the audience and the influence of the western character. It was awesome seeing all the aspects for every character, event, and story telling of this show! I really hope this show gets picked up for more seasons because it was so good.

⭐️Rate: 5/5

Giving this show a 5/5 because I highly enjoyed it. From the characters you watch and from the characters you grow to respect too, and everything from art style and more. It was all very interesting, fun, and awesome. I could go on and on about this show. Amazing show I’m glad I picked it up! Also main character Mizu heyyyy 😩

#review #netflix #netflix shows #Netflix show #Mizu #blue eye samurai #samurai show #blue eye samurai show #show #show review #samurai #blue eye samurai review

[afabstract]

Blue Eye Samurai Review - Red-Hued Revenge Symphony

'Blue Eye Samurai' takes viewers to feudal Japan, where a determined outcast, Mizu, pursues her quest for revenge in a riveting blend of historical authenticity, fictional creativity and animated artistry.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Rating: 4 out of 5. Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram) When you’ve nothing to live for, revenge becomes a great motivator, all you need to do is focus your hatred on something and then work towards annihilating it. And that’s what Mizu does in the animated series “Blue Eye Samurai”. She is an orphan girl forced to live like a boy, who becomes a blind swordmaster’s protege, learning both…

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#2023 best animated series #action anime #Animation #Anime #Blue Eye Samurai #Blue Eye Samurai 2023 series review #Blue Eye Samurai Review #Blue Eye Samurai season one review #Entertainment #Reviews

[stromblessed]

Mizu was wrong to let Akemi be taken because they both deserve better

First, a confession. When I saw this for the first time:

I was relieved. I knew that was what Mizu was going to say and I felt like it's what I would have said in that situation too.

When Akemi does this:

I cringed, because if we know anything about Mizu, it's that she (1) isn't quick to make friends (though to be fair, even though Akemi did try to kill Mizu, so did Taigen - multiple times! - and look how that turned out lol), and (2) doesn't take orders.

So when Akemi and Ringo and later Taigen get angry at Mizu, are they being unfair?

Sure, Mizu isn't obligated to treat Akemi - or Taigen or Ringo or anybody else - nicely, or to serve them, or to be honorable, or be a hero to them, or whatever. No human being is obligated to any other human being. We all have the choice to do whatever we want to anybody else. But the point of flawed characters in storytelling is the tension between those characters and their potential. Their growth into someone who can choose the higher, harder path, who chooses to be obligated to others, who chooses kindness and compassion.

Because Mizu's problem isn't revenge. Nobody is preaching at Mizu that revenge isn't the answer. Her circumstances do suck, her life has been incredibly unfair, she is marginalized, and as far as we and Mizu know for most of the season, she is a child born of violence and no one is saying that that violence doesn't deserve to be repaid in kind.

Mizu's problem is isolation. And the fact that she thinks she has no responsibility toward her fellow human beings, because her hatred of her own circumstances and her having no life outside of her quest devours everything else. This is a problem because it turns Mizu into the worst version of herself. A version that hurts the people who like Mizu, the people who care about her.

Practically, Mizu has just taken on an entire army almost by herself. She's hurt. She's exhausted. If she were to defend Akemi now, it'd be yet ANOTHER fight, this time against horsed and armored samurai.

But that's not the reason Mizu gives Ringo. Mizu's ability or willingness to fight isn't even on her mind. All she says is, "She's better off."

"She's better off" is Mizu deciding what's best for Akemi. Akemi's entire story is about her being a caged bird longing to fly free.

One after the other, every man and woman in Akemi's life makes her decisions for her. She has to grovel and smile prettily and lie through her teeth just for the chance to be heard. Mizu judges Akemi for being a rich princess who isn't being more grateful for what she has, all without understanding Akemi's situation, and without any curiosity for why Akemi feels the way she does. From Akemi's perspective, Mizu is just one more person (one more man!) in a long lineup who ignores Akemi's wishes and (casually!) makes a decision for her that impacts Akemi's life greatly.

In the end, even Seki concludes that Akemi should get to decide what's best for Akemi. What others think that Akemi SHOULD want does not matter compared to what Akemi wants for her own life. As Madame Kaji said - Madame Kaji, who despite calling out the weirdness of Akemi's situation as well as the childishness of her decision to run away - is the only person Akemi meets who doesn't try to make decisions for Akemi, but instead only challenges Akemi to work for and be worthy of what she wants - she needs to decide what she wants for her own fucking self, and then take it.

Mizu being born female does not make her automatically wiser for letting Akemi be taken, and it does not preclude her from having a hand in giving Akemi back to her jailers. A patriarchy that Mizu knows full well would stop Mizu from achieving her own goals if she didn't present as male.

Mizu is still understandable here. She just had to kill Kinuyo, a disabled girl sold by her father into prostitution, a girl in a situation so far beyond Akemi's worst imaginings that I can practically feel Mizu's world being rocked just by comparing them in her mind the way she most likely is. That still doesn't make it right for Mizu to let Akemi be carried off to be sold into marriage by her father against her wishes. Those "good options" Mizu thinks Akemi has don't exist, no more than they ever existed for Mizu. Akemi and Mizu both have to get creative, make the best of their circumstances, take dangerous risks, and break rules in order to have any control over their own lives.

Even on my first watch, when at first I thought that Mizu had made the right decision and that Akemi was being unreasonable, Akemi screaming Mizu's name while being dragged, LITERALLY DRAGGED, back to her father was haunting as hell.

Mizu had the power to help Akemi, and simply chose not to.

Mizu lets Akemi be taken, Akemi who has just begun to trust Mizu. Mizu calls Ringo weak and quickly - seemingly easily - turns her back on him. Mizu values her quest over Taigen's life, after Taigen has endured days of torture to protect her, and she not only risks his life in the process, but doesn't tell him that Akemi is engaged to someone else, or that she came looking for Taigen, or that she is in danger.

Mizu's sword breaks because it is too brittle. Too pure. Too singleminded. Mizu only melts down the meteorite metal when she mixes the metal with objects from parts of her life that have nothing to do with her quest. Objects from the people she cares about, and who care about her.

All I'm saying is - Mizu doesn't have to be a hero. But she is the better version of herself when she reaches out to help and connect with others. When she's just a decent, kinder human being. And I think that's what this story is telling us that we should want for Mizu.

#blue eye samurai #mizu #akemi #bes #I have so many more thoughts about Mizus tangential relationship to honor and heroism but that is for another post #also reviewing these scenes made me realize that when Mizu calls Ringo weak she LOOKS POINTEDLY AT HIS (LACK OF) HANDS #she legit calls him weak for his disability after EVERYTHING THEY'VE BEEN THROUGH #like Ringo was def disappointed that his master chose not to behave like the (nonexistent) samurai ideal #but what made him ANGRY was the weakness comment and I did not clock that before #also to be explored more in another post #a third thing to explore in another post is how both mizu and taigen have wronged akemi on the basis of Edo period society being A Society #though Mizu starts to correct her own mistake by going back for Akemi - its Taigen whos on thin ice lolol

[bestreviewguy]

Blue Eye Samurai is a masterpiece! Not only does the Netflix show excel in storytelling, but the animation, characters and ESPECIALLY the action scenes are truly mind blowing. The story revolves around a samurai who wishes to stop the reign of an Irish tyrant whom is using guns to overthrow the country. (Keeping it light on spoilers) However, this is not only the conflict in the show. There is also a very interesting dynamic between the main character and an antagonist who wants to get revenge for dishonoring him as our protagonist is the one to blame in his eyes. This adds depth to the show as their relationship isn’t a typical revenge plot and more of an enemy turned friends dynamic. The best thing about this show is the action scenes. Blended with a stylish animation, the VERY violent and mature tone compliments the sword fighting perfectly. My personal favorite is episode 6 but to be quite honest, each episode just one-ups the last. Another thing that’s done excellent is the characters. Each one is different and not a single one is wasted. This show is truly a treat that you have to check out if you have Netflix, love samurai’s, or just need something good to watch. I’m gonna give Blue Eye Samurai a 10 out of 10.

10/10

+ Great cast of characters.

+ Engaging mature story.

+ Fantastic action scenes.

+ Not a single bad episode.

+ Unique animation style and beautiful graphics.

#film #film review #netflix #blue eye samurai #samurai #sword #katana #ninja #season one #show review #netflix series #tv #tv shows

[jet-apologistmybadhomies]

THERES NO WAY

that the ONE time someone genuinly thinks her eyes are pretty and its this fucker

this is gonna drive me INSANE :( its the first time someone ever meant it and its this bullshit

#blue eye samurai #epsiode 8 #show review #not really #mizu

[capncarrot]

Blue Eye Samurai

#blue eye samurai #television #television review #tv review #review

[rex101111]

Blue Eye Samurai is really really really good go watch it

#Blue Eye Samurai #i wanted to make this whole long review post about it but #that final episode man. got me fucked up #so im just gonna take your hand sit you down on a comfy couch with some tv snacks of your choice and you're gonna binge it okay? #okay

[theworkprint]

Blue Eye Samurai is the Best New Animated Show of the Year

One of the features of Netflix is that thing often just appear, without warning, and can be easily overlooked if you don’t happen to check your home page the day they’re released. This almost happened to me with Blue Eye Samurai, an animated martial arts revenge thriller. I had heard nothing about this show before its release. If I hadn’t heard something about it on social media, I might have…

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#animated #blue eye samurai #Netflix #TV #TV review #TV reviews

[the-world-ive-forgotten]

Review #1: Blue Eye Samurai Season 1

I really enjoyed this season and hope to see more of this show in the future. The premise, along with the art style, are not only beautiful in theory but have been executed beautifully as well. I was enchanted from the first episode. It is not often that a show can do that. The characters are all great – their backstories, developmental arcs, the way in which they interact with one another. Several scenes I rewatched multiple times solely to further appreciate their beauty, and others rewatched because of being too encapsulated by their beauty that I forgot to pay attention to the plot (though it is beautiful in its own right as well). 

Possibly my favorite thing about this season was the mirroring provided throughout, between the scenes, the characters, and especially my favorite was the mirroring between life and death. Mizu killing a bird without thinking twice, then placing the dead mother amongst her not-yet-born children; this scene ending, and the next beginning with a mother bird flying to her own unhatched children. Or Mizu killing a child unwaveringly, and then flinching at the sight of a child’s skeleton. 

Other parallels I appreciated include the crucifying of Taigen, with the next scene displaying a crucified Jesus, one in a dungeon and the other in a chapel. Or Akemi, with her hatred of being compared to a farm animal, then yearning for a farm life with Seki by the end. And returning back to the point of Mizu killing the bird, a creature so gentle, and then killing of the gentle Kinuyo as well. Beautiful foreshadowing.

About episode 5, I loved the way in which Mizu was set up to be both ronin, wife, and baby. I love that it wasn’t entirely clear at first, until it was. The reinforcing of Mizu’s duality in all her aspects – White and Asian, feminine and masculine, swordsmith and swordsman, living and dying. She is the phoenix. 

Regarding episode 6 – I am aware that this episode has received some mixed reviews. In my opinion, I loved it. It definitely felt like a filler episode, and I do not believe that it added much, nor that it was at all necessary, but I enjoyed it. The camera angles and movements were very dynamic, I felt truly immersed and included as the viewer. It felt almost as a videogame, which simply immersed me further, and allowed me to connect with Mizu further.

#blue eye samurai #review #blue eye samurai review #tv show review #recommendation #tv show recommendations #mizu blue eye samurai

[skiplo-wave]

Hot damn blue eye samurai is so good!

So happy it'll get a season 2

Mizu gonna have a fucking stroke seeing all white people. And oof another dose of racism gonna hit her because she's mixed race. That does open door for her meet other mixed raced people. One that had loving parents or good life, maybe. Ohh Mizu with a gun looking like a dapper badass >:D ( or maybe she gets more in touch with her femine side more while badass) I'm amazed only Ringo and Fowler know of Mizu's real gender. Major props to writing team for that.

I hope we get new charcaters, in London setting. I'm okay not seeing what Ringo, Akemei, and taigen are up too. And Fowler, bro so evil like kill him and don't try redeem or humanize him.

Laslty the art and animation, don't rush it. The fact these episodes are 40 minutes long each, I'm okay waiting however long!

Def give this show a watch! 10/10

#skip reviews #blue eye samurai

[remedialreviews]

Painterly backgrounds and thoughtful cinematography and choreography elevate the medium, but it is the exquisite character- and story-work that makes this exceptional. This storytelling stumbles only in a final episode full of limp convenience and "we're-here-what-now" resolutions, but the programme's momentum had far and away enough surplus by then to handle it and still leave me breathless. Remarkable.

#blue eye samurai #tv review #screen review

[ladyaj-13]

Blue Eye Samurai is beautiful. That’s what drew me in, and then the story is so engrossing. Recommend.

#me saying ‘shut’ out loud several times #(not a normal me thing) #also I watched an anime! can never normally get into them #blue eye samurai #that’s clearly meant to be ‘shit’ not shut. damn autocorrect #aj's media reviews

[oneofusnet]

Screener Squad: Blue Eye Samurai BLUE EYE SAMURAI SERIES REVIEW Welcome to Edo-era Japan where isolationism is key to survival. Anyone who is an outsider is ostracized maybe sometimes murdered. The Japanese don’t want to fuck with white folk (for good reasons). But you know what white colonizers are like… A pillage here, a bunch of rapes over there… The rape turns into an unexpected pregnancy, and a baby born to a country that sees them as a half-breed. Meet Mizu, a Samurai on the revenge track to murdering four white men (or potential fathers) so her soul can be at peace. But the road… Read More »Screener Squad: Blue Eye Samurai read more on One of Us

#Animation #Blue Eye Samurai #Netflix #podcast #review #Screener Squad #series #TV #animation #TV show review

[jjkirbs]

SHOW REVIEW - BLUE EYE SAMURAI

Even if animated series aren't typically your cup of, say, matcha tea, the impressive ensemble cast of BLUE EYE SAMURAI and even ensemble creative choices might just change your mind.

Featuring notable names like Kenneth Branagh, George Takei, Randall Park, and Masi Oka, the star-studded lineup is led by Maya Erskine. Erskine plays Mizu, the blue-eyed samurai on a quest for vengeance in 17th century Japan after the tragic death of her mother.

Set against the backdrop of Edo Japan, where borders seal an isolationist culture where outsiders and those born to outsiders, are deemed less than human, both idiotically and paradoxically as monsters, Mizu faces discrimination due to her distinctive blue eyes that single her out as a child of a "white devil".

Quested to eliminate the only four white men in Japan, Mizu's journey unfolds in an almost videogame-y format ie finding notable characters for information, completing fetch quests and missions, to finding new areas to progress further in the story.

Flashbacks are also used to show the audience her past; where she was rescued by a blind sword maker who took her in as an apprentice, to her inexperienced definitely-not-a-samurai days.

BLUE EYE SAMURAI delivers a riveting experience with its intense fight scenes nothing short of a Taratino film which gleefully showcase Mizu's terrifying katana skills and nigh-on supernatural skillset and overall main character plot armour that never approaches comedy or parody; rather as an ode to samurai cinema, videogame design and modern entertainment media.

It's warranted, it feels earned and deserved for Mizu who I found to be a fast favourite of a main character; her talent, resourcefulness, resolution and sheer determination utterly captivate.

The depiction of Edo Japan is both bloody and gorgeous; with legs used as clubs, limbs severed frequently, and blood spraying by the gallon in an exciting and unmatched animation style combining 3D and traditional methods. The camerawork matches and even surpasses real world techniques, fight scenes are choreographed and filmed to perfection. 

Whether facing whole armies or dueling adversaries, her battles are both highly anticipated and fantastically entertaining. The series doesn't shy away from gore and violence.

I have to bring attention to the way stealth is filmed, from sneaking into an enemy base to parkour-ing along rooftops, stealth has never been filmed better (if at all?) - invoking the pedigree of games such as Assassin's Creed, Ghost of Tsushima and Splinter Cell - I am yearning for this series to reignite a fire, that for me has never quite extinguished. 

Yet, amidst the gore there are visually stunning landscapes, snow-covered peaks, gorgeous flower-filled farms and pink-lit brothel-filled roads, nothing short of Ray Traced reflections and Path Traced shadows.

Mizu's unwavering focus on revenge contrasts with a rich cast of characters, such as her own apprentice Ringo and the preening frenemy Taigen, providing warmth and humour. Keneth Branagh breathes gravitas and life into the villainous Boss-level character Abijah Fowler, an enterprising Irishman involved in the weapons and opium trade, portrayed as an utter filthy capitalist monster.

Creators Amber Noizumi and Michael Green have crafted an enthralling world that doesn't shy away and justifiably explores its themes. Parallel to Mizu's story is Princess Akemi's, highlighting both women as they struggle against patriarchal constraints, each woman taking different paths towards freedom.

Akemi is a bird finding what freedom she can inside her cage of forced marriage whereas Mizu finds her uncaged freedom as a woman caged by having to live as a man.

BLUE EYE SAMURAI takes its themes seriously, yet avoids becoming overly earnest. It offers a compelling mix of smart, cinematic entertainment with an epic, violent tale of station, honour and revenge.

Mizu's prescient status as an outsider, defined by her gender and her race make her a compelling protagonist in a series filled with moral questions and the confidence to challenge societal norms from both today and the 15th century.

In essence, BLUE EYE SAMURAI is not just another animated series; it's a special and unique piece of art that is only just beginning.

#blue eye samurai #reviews #show review #television #netflix