Blue Eye Samurai: Season 1

 

Created & Written by: Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, with Yana Bille-Chung 

Directed by: Jane Wu

Starring: Maya Erskine (Mizu), Masi Oka (Ringo), Darren Barnet (Taigen), Brenda Song (Princess Akemi), George Takei (Seki), Randall Park (Heiji Shindo), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Master Eiji), Kenneth Branagh as Abijah Fowler

Blue Eye Samurai season 1 trailer:

I'm not often interested in samurai movies/series because weaponry and fighting techniques don't really interest me. However, the trailer for this seemed to delve into Japanese culture and lifestyle as much as swordsmanship. The trailer's artistry also caught my attention: vivid colors, detailed backgrounds, and smooth animation were all prominent. 

I could see this series cared just as much about artistry, colors, and culture as it did about the story, and that's why I decided to watch. 

Mizu overlooking a city

Mizu and Ringo

The series is about Mizu, a female half-white samurai in Japan's Edo period (17th century) when the government had closed its borders to the outside world and considered foreigners savages. Over the course of the season, Mizu strives to hide her gender and mixed race from those around her, and seeks vengeance against the four white men she knows to be in Japan--one of whom presumably raped her mother. Along the way, she also meets Ringo, a naive and optimistic cook who takes the mantle of Mizu's apprentice (despite her disapproval) and seeks to be like her. 

The only thing I didn't like about the series was the nudity. It's rated TV-MA, which means it can get away with just about anything, and sure, it doesn't oversexualize anything, but... it doesn't try to hide anything, either. I found that to be unpleasant and tasteless. In one instance, there was a sex scene intercut with a separate, plot-important scene and the two flipped back and forth, so I couldn't fast-forward the sex without missing the other stuff. That was very annoying. I kinda just learned to ignore it, but that's not something I want to train my mind to do. 

Otherwise I was very happy with the show. One thing I really appreciated was the nuance in Mizu's motivation. One of the very first scenes of the series depicts both her skill and honor: she defends a disabled character (Ringo) from being beaten and humiliated. It also goes on to depict her as brutal as she kills the perpetrators, which may or may not have been warranted. But even as she conducts herself with high honor that attracts the attention of others around her, she also makes clear her mission is one of strict revenge. She could easily turn away from this path, but anytime a character asks her what she plans to do next, it's always something that will get her closer to finding and killing these white men. It's her sole mission, even at the potential expense of the needs of those around her. In one painful and divisive moment near the end, she ignores a close friend being captured because rescuing that friend is not in line with her goals. 

Princess Akemi, who fights for freedom against the imprisonment of palace life and arranged marriage

A young Mizu trains under her blind swordsmaster--one of a few disabilities tastefully represented 

The other thing I appreciated was its depiction of disability. As noted above, Mizu is disabled: he has no hands; both of his arms end at the wrist. On one hand, I thought the fact that he seems to navigate life without an issue despite having no hands was a bit unrealistic. Both of his wrists are wrapped with tight fabric, and he simply inserts any tool or implement he needs into this fabric to hold on, or grasps objects between his stumps. While I can see that being generally effective, I can't see how fabric would hold anything securely and certainly not over a long period. Such a method would also be imprecise and loose. He's not a warrior type so he usually stands aside during any battle, but there's one scene where necessity compels him to wield a dagger and stab someone in self-defense-- and I just don't think the fabric would have kept that dagger secure. However, when questioned about the disability in the show, he states that he was born that way; it was not an accident. So it's possible that a full lifetime of living without hands and figuring his way through various situations would grant him superior skill and ability in this area. 

One of the other disabilities represented was stuttering. This was only shown in a minor character and just briefly, but I really appreciated how it was handled, especially as a stutterer myself. The subject was Princess Akemi's suitor, Ito Takayoshi (Harry Shum Jr.), who's prone to silence due to his stutter and therefore regarded by most as cold and indifferent. This first impression infuriates Akemi and she berates him in private, questioning his honor. He finally responds, acknowledging her hurt and apologizing-- and his stammer becomes apparent. Akemi is shocked but immediately repentant. She doesn't belittle him but accepts his apology and begins espousing the merits of a quieter husband, and how such a trait could make a most pleasing husband. Akemi isn't suggesting that he should remain silent, but poetically indicating that she doesn't mind the stutter and that he shouldn't regard himself as of lesser value. 

Mizu and Ringo have a "discussion" 

The last things I'll praise are the visuals and action scenes. As mentioned above in my first impressions, the striking use of color remains a very appreciable trait throughout show. Beautiful detail and and vivid color schemes, especially the use of environmental imagery that's prominent throughout Mizu's travels, are all used to stunning effect. To echo a RollingStone article, one of the show's first episodes contains a shoreside fight scene at dusk. One shot features Mizu finishing a strike as glowing rays fill a bursting tidal swell with orange, mimicking a wall of fire. 

Just a pretty scene :) 

As for action, it can be a little over-the-top at times, but always satisfyingly. Some of Mizu's feats seem... improbable, to say the least. I wonder why she never seems to get tired, even after taking on a literal dozen warriors. Other feats are those of athletic improbability: scaling a very tall vertical brick wall with a wounded comrade on her back, and then surviving a massive plunge into an ice-covered lake. (You can guess the sequence of those events!) However, I don't mean these things as bad: they're vastly entertaining and technically possible. You have to view it with something like a Batman-like level of suspension of disbelief. "I'm sure it's possible," you tell yourself. "And Mizu is just mad skill." And then shut your mouth and continue enjoying the show. 

The ending has me feeling a bit salty, based on Mizu's revenge-based choices. But at least that's consistent to character. There's quite a bit of a cliffhanger, so I very much hope that it's renewed for more!