Streaming on: Netflix
Episodes viewed: 8 of 8
Blue Eye Samurai is special in more ways than one. That's also true of its hero, Mizu (Maya Erskine). She’s different from everyone else, her blue eyes revealing a white parent — yet in Edo-era Japan, children born to "outsiders" are considered monstrous. So Mizu hides what makes her different by concealing her eyes behind tinted glasses, and if she's to make any headway in her quest for revenge, Mizu must also navigate this world disguised as a man.
Told alongside the parallel story of Princess Akemi (Brenda Song), whose father sells her off in marriage, Blue Eye Samurai is a rallying cry against patriarchal constraints in search of freedom. And as it turns out, said freedom involves a lot of sliced body parts. Limbs and even teeth fly through the air like cherry blossoms on the wind as Mizu slices her way through entire armies in the most inventive fight scenes you'll see all year. Epic battles and training montages alike are depicted with an effortless fluidity that recalls Genndy Tartakovsky’s Samurai Jack mixed with Netflix's own Arcane and Castlevania.
A star-studded cast further grounds the show's emotional intent with impressive talent who act against type.
The spectacle of these gory bloodbaths is offset by serene backdrops that ground Mizu's cold fury in delicate, painterly details. Whether we're traversing snow-dappled forests or alleys bathed in warm pink lantern light, the hybrid 2D-3D animation immerses you in this world entirely. One episode in particular uses traditional bunraku puppets to dynamically flit through space and time with breathtaking effect.
A star-studded cast further grounds the show's emotional intent with impressive talent who act against type, including a slimy Randall Park, a brutal Ming-Na Wen, and of course Erskine, who couldn't be further removed from her PEN15 role if she tried. Husband-and-wife team Michael Green (Blade Runner 2049) and Amber Noizumi imbue themes of gender, isolationism and colonialism with personal stakes and thrilling fights in a truly special debut season.