So I've gotten a lot of comments along the lines of, "This is a double standard, if those characters were male then they would be considered fine." And to that I say....... You're right. And how males are written annoys me as well. One thing I should have said in the video is that it is important to look at the context and tone of the story surrounding the character, because sometimes you do just want a stupidly overpowered protagonist that get their way. But that depends on the tone of your story. A lot of the times the disconnect happens because the story's tone wants you to take this character seriously, but gives us nothing to latch onto or any reason to take them seriously. Characters such as, Vi, Sarah Conner, Yu Shu Lien, Rebecca and Lucy, Trinity (for the first movie at least), Ripley. All of these characters fit the stereotypical action hero role, and in many ways fit it better than their male counter parts. Yet none of them come across as eye-rolling or pandering, because they are well written. Some are in serious stories, and are written appropriately for their context. Others are written in goofy, tropey action films and fit their roles there as well. And yes male protagonists get off the hook more often than not which annoys the ever living shit out of me because there are good examples of well written masculinity, but they are becoming fewer and farther between it feels like. Examples of well written males (in my opinion) would be, Vander, Joel, The entire roster from The Lord of the Rings, David, Puss and Boots from the Last Wish. Now I'm limiting myself to "action heroes" but the problem gets even more exastrabated if we were to look further than just action movies. And one last note, I know a lot of people are going to bring up characters like John Wick, Rambo, and Jason Bourne. I'm all for dumb action heroes that do impossible feats, however these are the good ones, and there are so, so many terrible male action heroes that failed to make any mark because they were terrible characters. I enjoy it even more when those characters are up against impossible odds and use their wits and skill sets to level the playing field rather than just, Oops I guess I was gifted powerful blood so I just win now sucks to be you. Good female example? Prey. A young female warrior is faced with the impossible task of killing an unknown monster that has been slaughtering her people. All of the cocky headstrong warriors fall to the monster, but she uses her skill set as a hunter to out wit, out maneuver, and over power the monster. It's a great action film and one that you can swap the gender of the protagonist back and forth and it would still work. If fact, it's more impactful that she's a woman because when she returns to her tribe we see the respect they have for her. Is it a well written character? No. Is it a dumb fun action flick with a female in the main role? Absolutely. I know this a long comment, and I know people who this comment is addressing may not read or see this. But I felt like as the original creator of this video I should at least address it and acknowledge it. I know that I will never know what it's like being underrepresented in films, nor can I give a full opinion on that matter. I can only give the opinion of someone who casual enjoys writing and likes to share thoughts with the world. Cheers.
I'm on your side, but... yeah, you really shouldn't have invoked the girl from PREY. Aside from it being banal, mediocre hackwork, that film was poorly written and actually just a contributor to the problem you claim Blue Eye Samurai fixes. With all due respect: you have the right intentions, you just need more education and experience.
Thanks for addressing this, since that was the first thing that came to mind but I would say it's mostly male "action" heros that are very one dimensional. I guess we are just so used to it that we just accept it.
Pretentious. Male action stars annoy you? Rough and simple Masculine fun offends you, clearly, don't cap. Maybe seek some wisdom, before presuming to analyse male fun, or think that this netflix propaganda for feminism is valid, simply because the woman has flaws. So many simps, goddamn tragedy😕 BES isn't a deep production, it's just more leftist slop for over eager globalist femboys.
Well said. Like you mentioned before. It's not like people hate women (in fact it can be anyone of sex or color) people hate bad writing. And I dislike people who try to use it as means of why diversity doesn't work and we shouldn't have it. or as an excuse to just bash on it. Context always matters. 11/10 video
I was honestly taken aback by how shocked and horrified everyone acted about letting the men take Akemi. She barely knew her, Akemi tried to kill her mere hours ago, the men were sent by Akemi's father, and not bandits. Mizu had just beaten an army on her own, after a heartbreaking and long night, and now she was expected to take arms against innocent men in a situation she had nothing to do with? Mizu is not evil. The fingers she cuts are from a slaver. She leaves her prize token from beating Taigen with the mother and daughter she couldn't help earlier. She ties an annoying stalker to a tree but not well enough to let him freeze to death. The men she kills are warriors who are trained to fight or die.
Yes I thought it was a little corny to be honest. She had done far worse things to people already but Ringo decided to leave her because she didn’t help a woman who literally attempted to kill her? Seems like a forced low point
Mizu also left a woman and her child to die in the snow, she never did any of those things to be good or to bring justice. She did it because it brought her closer to her revenge. When the slave trader was actively talking abt taking women and abusing ringo, she does nothing. It isn’t until she realizes the man can give her information that she does anything. Even then she does nothing to help the slaves because she ISNT a good person. She is blinded by vengeance. There isn’t one kind act she does in the entire first few episodes. That same woman that tried to (not kill) knock out mizu to interrogate her for information, also just risked her own life to save her. Mizu also killed multiple innocents and even those that didn’t even want to fight her.
@@Viewer962 the fact that you didn’t notice that the woman and child were still breathing when she dropped the gold comb for them tells me all i need to know about your observation skills. mizu has a goal and people die for it, yes; it doesn’t mean she is without mercy or pity. she cannot show it in an obvious way that draws attention to her but in the roundabout ways she can, she does. there’s a small moment in episode 4 that shows exactly what i’m talking about; when her and ringo are entering a town and she stops someone playing music to give them money. she didn’t have to do that, she could’ve brushed right past. she has a heart, she just refuses to let it get in the way of her revenge… until it does. read some of these comments and then rewatch the show because you clearly didn’t take it in wholly the first time.
“A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” That quote describes Mizu’s backstory PERFECTLY. She had the chance for a happy life, but because she was her true self, she faced rejection again. And it broke her and turned her into the onryō that we see in the first few episodes.
Love this. Where does that quote come from? In episode 7 when Taigen learns about the plot against the Shogun, he's just flabbergasted that Mizu doesn't care. He can't even fathom that the Shogun means nothing to her. But why should it? Though he grew up abused, there's still a massive gap between his experience and hers as an outcast. The Shogun is the symbol of civilization, and civilization still offers benefits to Taigen. He has (or had) the option to rise to a high position, to "succeed." Mizu never had that option. Civilization isn't meant to benefit her, and everyone around her makes that plain again and again throughout the story. Taigen thinks Mizu honorless for having no reverence for the Shogun, and by extension, the society he rules. He keeps getting little insights into her life experience, and the hand he had in making it a living hell, but he stubbornly refuses to see the world from her perspective. He knows that no one but has ever behaved honorably toward her, except Master Eiji. Yet he still thinks the she owes loyalty to a society that has shown her none. I think this is what them woke folks mean when they say "check your privilege."
It seemed from just watching the trailer, that it was another case of Netflix' 'white man bad' crap, like every other show they put out.. But if not, I'll def check it out
I think this video missed perhaps my favorite part of Mizu's marriage. When we see Mizu get married, she doesn't magically become more feminine. She doesn't stop being who she is. You can see it when she first approaches the ranch- she still stands like a warrior, as if she still has a sword on her hip. She gets excited cooking because she enjoys swordplay and knives and finds joy in the practice of cutting vegetables because shes so long been trying to deny that part of herself to make both her mother and her husband happy and be "A good wife". When she finally tells her Husband how she used to practice all the time, and how she still loves swordplay, finally softening herself enough to trust someone else, she's excited- she's smiling and laughing and free to be fully herself, a woman who loves fighting and swords and is *good* at it. She is so thrilled to share that part with someone she cares about that she *Kisses* her husband after defeating him, even as hes *horrified* to learn what an absolute badass she is and in the end can't handle it. That, to me is what really makes her a strong female protagonist. It's possible for her to be a complete character. She's a warrior; and that's a complete sentence. She's not "A female warrior, despite her gender" or however you want to phrase what so many other depictions of "Powerful women" would show. I would also argue that while Akemi is her obvious foil, I think that Madam Kaji is a better example. Madam Kaji is a powerful woman, who has enough power to control not only her life but the life of all the women in her brothel. She's taken command of her life, while also being overtly a woman in a world that would have her be powerless for that fact. It shows that Mizu's way of hiding her femininity isn't the only way to be powerful and in command. She's also not overtly sexualized- as many other characters in such a roll would be. "Powerful and taking control of her sexuality" as is the common way of phrasing sexy, strong, female characters to make it sound as if they're not just needlessly sexualized for being a "female Warrior". Giving both Kaji and Akemi as powerful women to stand along side, it shows lots of different ways to be feminine, and powerful, without overtly being sexual or in defiance/spite of their gender- which would normally be the statement a character such as Mizu would make.
The marriage and it's tragic end is Mizu's finest moment in the entire series. That completes the character, I think. It's just a letdown later on when she goes and does the video game tower castle and the mistakes later at the Shogun palace. Some have said they changed writers after the Puppet episode. I guess it shows.
@@MrEmpireBuilder0000 I can see the change, especially with the over-the-top battle sequence in episode 6. Gone is the (relative) realism of the action in the first few episodes, replaced by a Mizu who seems basically indestructible, as well as possessing superhuman strength, able to carry the full weight of an adult man while climbing a sheer wall. It did seem like a videogame, with the actual story of it tacked on just at the end. And Fowler felt more like a final boss than a proper character. He was superhumanly powerful, but with little explanation why he could so easily defeat a character who'd just beaten so many underlings. That said, I think episode 7 is one of my favorites, as it shows the culmination of Akemi's journey. She's a warrior too, just like Mizu, but her skillset is the machinations of personal and social power rather than a sword. And unlike Mizu, she's still a novice, having never before really needed to fight for her needs. But over the course of the series, she picks up the necessary skills quickly, finally learning to take control of the situation she's been forced into rather than escaping it. Madam Kaji gave her the key insight, that she'd been seeking a man to save her, instead of acquiring power of her own. I'm actually more excited about her upcoming battle of wills with her mother-in-law than what happens with Mizu. My guess is that the Shogun's widow was the power behind the throne all this time, maybe even the reason the Shogun was trading with outsiders in the first place.
The best part is Misu is so utterly betrayed by both husband and mother that IT DOESN’T MATTER which one sold her out. Can’t stop thinking about how perfectly it was balanced.
Yeah. It doesn't matter to her which one sold her out, because neither of them could accept her true nature, and thought of it as monstrous. She's such a good character.
Honestly to me the show hinted that both had sold her out. The mother(or maybe maid assuming he was telling the truth) was long established to have an opium addiction, and I know all to well that people who are in it deep will do ANYTHING to continue their addiction. Even if someone they care about gets in their way, they will take out anyone who tries to stop them. I don't want to get into the details but something similar happened to someone I know, and the horrible thing was that they genuinely did love the person. Mizu had stopped giving money to her because she was worried about the negative effects on her health, so the mom was facing relapse. Addictions enslave your mind. The mom was probably willing to do anything to get her opium back, and for that she needed money. Remember Mizu stopped giving her money for drugs, so as long as she was around, the mom/maid wouldn't get her fix, so she had to go. And if she really was just a maid, how would she, the opium addict, care that she died if it was for her drugs? By selling off Mizu and getting money for it, she knocked out two birds with one stone. And I dont think Mikio was lying when he said she got new money for drugs. I also think Mikio sold her out because after the sparring, he made it clear he no longer showed any attachment to her. He ignored her, sold her horse and once again started trying to get into his lord's good graces. So how does it make sense... that after he left Mizu to die by the hands of the soldiers, after seeing that they were no match for her, he comes back and all of a sudden starts spewing nonsense about how he loves her very much? Where did these feelings of love suddenly spring up from? And if he really didn't sell her out, then why didn't he help? Both she and him were excellent with blades, he knew that together they would be able to kill all of the soldiers. And when he saw the soldiers, why didn't he look surprised, or afraid? He just wanted to get money and get in his lord's good graces again by selling her out. When he saw that the soldiers weren't going to be able to kill her, he probably panicked. He knew that she would know that one of two people could have possibly sold her out, and him running away made him look very bad. He was probably afraid of her hunting him down, or at least not being able to return to his house which would suck. So he changes tactics and shows up after the battle is over, hoping she can trust him again and maybe possibly slit her throat in her sleep later. Of course Mizu didn't fall for it. She probably killed him realizing that an innocent man wouldn't have done any of the things he just did, and it didn't matter if her mother sold her out as well because he just killed her. Or perhaps Mizu knew of the new opium as well and that was all the answer she needed. This is what I believe to be what most likely happened, but it's even more heartbreaking
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233I think it was Mikio that sold her out. After the spar, he likely felt inept after losing to a woman. He sold the horses to the lord but in an attempt to regain his honor likely gave up Mizu as well. The disappointment may be with so few soldiers sent to dispatch her. He argued with her mother (ik) and killed her to silence her. He had too many motives to give her up.
Mizu didnt betray Akemi, she made the reasonable judgement that life under the thumb of a husband but rich and safe, was better than the "freedom" of a courtesan being abused by degenerates and under the thumb of a mistress. The same point Seki tried to make - "life isnt fair for women but at least let it be a safe life"
The big thing is she is not Akemi's friend or sworn swordsman, or really in any way connected to her to the point she should listen to orders. She's not there to do what Akemi wants. She was indeed trying to prevent her getting killed by a brutal gang that was hell bent on massacring them all, and might even be thankful that Akemi saved her. That doesn't give Akemi any room to suddenly treat Mizu as her personal swordsman. So if Akemi had asked for help instead of demanding it, I feel there might have been some cooperation from Mizu. But that plus the fact it was indeed her own family's men come to find her means it's not worth getting into one more fight.
The scene where Akemi tells Taigen she wants to stay back to help her people. But behind her is nothing but fire and destruction and Taigon wants to leave everything and start over and behind him is green and a perfect sky. Loved the symbolism behind that and its a great way to foreshadow the characters future for season 2.
More male archetype humiliation "men have no justification for fighting and go fight for nothing, but lo and behold the strong woman chooses the noble humble path but has such a terrible past" It's propaganda, you just like it.
@ireallycant4416 this show is a work of art. And most people probably didn't think of it that way first showing. It was implied they are trying to leave immediately and she decided to become a hero and stay with her people. But the deeper meaning is. She's becoming like her father and probably will be the next big antagonist. My guess for Taigen future. His relationship with Mizu will grow, and probably will have a repeat of this moment he had with Akemi but this time Mizu. And it's up to Mizu to learn to let go of her need for revenge and be happy with him or to go forward with her path until she dies. Mizu was already given a chance at happiness and chose revenge once. It'd make sense to give her that same choice again but with Taigen. That's my guess
Would that mean that Taigen’s future (maybe as a ronin) will be bright, prosperous and hopeful with his new beginnings while Akemi’s will be just as dreadful and destructive as the shogun’s downfall leading to her becoming just as mad and cruel as them later down the line?
She gave the princess's golden hair comb to the freezing mother and child she left outside the gates. It wasn't her choice to do that, by the way. What was she supposed to do; cut down the guards, then waltz into the city? Bribe their way in, then have them following her or bringing more attention to her? A lot of what Mizu does is to approach from the quietest angle in order to achieve her goals. Becoming human will cost her her goals and that is an awesome new character flaw.
I loved that scene so much because it subverted my view twice. She didn't help at first, but in the end she gave them what they needed to get through. It boggles my mind but also inspired me how well-written that scene was. I've never seen that in media before, most of them write their characters outwardly being nice or doing the right thing, maybe I haven't watched a lot of media but that was perfection.
@@Orchidlettux If it was your regular mainstream tripe(*cough* marvel), she would have caused a ruckus, beat up the guards and have the scene will end with the people clapping for her.
Also, she allowed akemi to be taken back because: A) she physically couldn't fight anymore, but akemi and ringo selfishly expected her to defend them mere moments after defeating a hoard B) she truly thought that Akemi is much safer in the castle and that she's needlessly making her life harder than it should be C) this is 16th century Japan and she is "Bill Clinton" of the story. This is story of the survival and she needs to survive whichever way possible, that means often leaving other people behind or you both go down
@@g.v4848I think it’s kinda mix of B and C, I think if Akemi was going to be killed or something she would of saved her but let’s say she was being brought back to a town were she would live but it kinda sucks I don’t think Mizu would of helped
Another thing I found so incredibly surprising and refreshing about 1x05, was that she broke the trope. The strong protagonist who must be the way they are no matter what is happening, to be so one dimensional. She didn't reject her new position as a wife. She felt dejected over her poor cooking. She worked diligently to support the ranch. And then, she smiles, and she laughs, and she laughs harder, softening more and more, become fragile and finally having this opportunity where she is feminine and soft, and when she is gifted Kai, accepted completely, "too good for any lord". Only to have all of this, all of that she rejects in herself, affirmed as monstrous when she reveals her skills. To let her be soft, to be feminine, to be happy, is why Mizu works, and why we understand her.
I also like that while Mizu is a spectacular swordswoman, she's not invincible. She gets the absolute shit kicked out of her constantly and takes hits and wounds nearly every episode.
ABSOLUTELY, she's not a god, she's not infallible, she's incredibly skilled and so is everyone else. And she needs the people in her life who have intervened when she's been injured to survive.@@patrickwaldeck6681
@@elivenya-theautisticbookwy9638 we may not, but society does. And those traist are considered inferior pricisely because society genders them as female.
It's funny how Mizu turning her back on Akemi and taking that young girl's life are what seem to make people truly see her as a monster and question whether they like her or not - when it was the opposite for me. Too many times in shows do you see a character say they will do absolutely anything to achieve their goal, but in fact, always end up stopping at moments like these. To save a life or to put someone else over their goal. It was these scenes that made me love Mizu's character even more because she stuck to her word. Doing these things may make her look like a monster, but what I see is someone who will allow nothing to stand in their way. Too many times, especially in female leads, their "compassion" and "heart" sway them away from their goal to the point that their whole motive ends up changing. But not with Mizu and that's why I love her character. Finally, a female lead who truly does ANYTHING and lets NOTHING stand in her way.
And I think it was empathy in both situations. The young girl had an STD that could not be cured in that time, and she was suffering daily at the hands of an evil man. She had no options but for de@th to release her, and was at peace when she did. As for Akemi, Akemi tried killing Mizu and was inexperienced in life. Why would Mizu k*ll innocent guards trying to bring a princess back to her royal privileged life simply because Akemi didn’t want to follow protocol. Everything she did was to do the right thing and stay on her mission. I think Mizu k*lling the girl was honestly showing her good character, and it was clearly difficult for her.
I think it’s pretty telling that more people mentioned that compared to when she murdered the innocent boy Edit: everyone trying to justify shows everything you need to know about the mentally ill fans
@@ExpertContrarian Which innocent boy? You mean the gang member?! From the gang that literally tried to murder her a second ago? Just because he kept his head low, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have jumped her once she turned her back on him.
As a girl absolutely tired of poorly written female characters, that show was a bliss. I loved the fact that they portrayed opposite women as both strong, showing that you don't have to be a "tomboy" to be a strong woman. But I think that, what I liked the most was when Akemi took the knife to defend her and the other women in the brothel and said something like "I'm not brave but I was a prisoner all my life ; if I die today, I die free.". She's not someone who waits for other people to solve her problems but she's not going to go from princess to war godess in one second, which would make no sense. Mizu and Akemi are good female characters because they are good characters who are female.
gender in this show is examined spectacularly imo. you have two sets of rules-- one for men and one for women. it's like you are given a script and told to perform. mizu and akemi both perform to the highest degree, only mizu performs masculinity and akemi femininity. i don't think either finds it "natural" in any way, but they use the performance of gender as a tool for their own goals. taigen is a key component to this mix, because we can see that as a low class man he also didn't have many options. he could stay a fisherman, or give the ultimate performance of masculinity and become a samurai. as we see, it hardly matters in the end. akemi and taigen both reject the script at the end, which means they must separate. i have so many thought about this that simply won't fit into a comment but aah. aaaaaah.
What you have already commented here are beautifully put together "The performance of gender" is just the perfect description and please consider this quote stolen. I'm gonna use it a lot going forward.
Very good analysis of gender in the show ! There’s a lot of literature on this topic in sociology & gender studies. Gender is performative. It’s not something natural or biological. It’s a social construct. If you’re interested, I’d definitely recommend the work of Judith Butler. Their big work is Gender Trouble on the performative aspect of gender. There’s also a lot of literature on identity and society in sociology and anthropology in general.
@@eonstarto the point that it seems to be no longer a script to us, like actors delving deep into playing their roles and forgetting that it's all just something others told them to play out
I like that she's really only chosen to present as a masculine figure due to being betrayed during the only time she was comfortable with her true self. It's sad as hell that the trauma of betrayal can change your identity so dramatically. Also I think her being a female Samurai was a good choice, this makes the ULTIMATE outsider. A biracial female SAMURAI.
My thoughts exactly. These places of intersection of social identities are full of character and story potential. Blue Eye Samurai saw that and executed it excellently.
The majority of my family members are women. What I've noticed is that they are very strong, some of them are very strong physically as well but what makes them feel very comfortable is that they feel safe to be vulnerable around us (the men) and that run both sides and we feel relief from that balance. Edit: I want to clarify that this has not been always this way, men in my family used to be disconnected or not present.
Thinking that because she is presenting in a femenine manner, Mizu is presenting as herself is a pretty interesting thought given that she was in an arranged marriage and the whole society pressured women to dress femenine. Also, if she presented how she actually wanted (hypothetically in a masculine way) she could risk mikio leaving her and having no other options. So I greatly disagree that her time with mikio was her "true self", just another side of the coin, the pressure to be the perfect wife changing her behaviours, vs the pressure to escape womanhood because of how horrible it was (trying to pass as a man) at the end of the day both coping mechanisms come from the same horrible societal rules that they had for women.
She presents herself as a man not because of "betrayal", but because of independence & to be treated better. During that time period on that setting women didn't have many rights. Also she was raised as a boy, because someone wanted to get rid of a female child with blue eyes.
I fully disagree it's a COMPLETELY different time for women then. Disguising herself as man was a smart choice, especially for her mission. Going through life as a man is tremendously easier than doing so as a woman.
What's perfect about the show is how everyone contrasts and mirrors Mizu in different ways. Taigen: Mizu's unyielding pride as a warrior (The perfect sword) but then his pride gets the better of him, and he gets tortured because of it. Through his pain, he grows and stoically looks down on his torturer and kills him with the same words that were spoken to him, but his victory is short-lived because Akemi chooses politics over the life she originally wanted. "Revenge has no place for love" - Mizu Ringo: Mizu's heart and her impurity. (The brittle sword) Despite also being treated horribly because appearance, Ringo is nice to everyone and initially forgives Mizu for trying so hard to leave him behind. He's loyal and courageous like a Golden Retriever but noisy like a Shizu but after learning the truth behind his master, he leaves her but still decides to pull her out of the freezing water. Mizu tries to ignore him at first but then comes back to him so she can be reborn. Again, with the dog analogy, he stays behind like Hachiko and only leaves once he's certain she has died. Madam Kaji: Mizu's cynicism (The double-edged sword) A Madam of Prostitutes has her reasons to be world-weary and slow to trust people. Everyone around her betrayed her in some way, shape, or form and being a Madam (And probably before becoming one has only exposed her to the worst of men but yet, through meeting Mizu, she found someone more man than any who have walked into her building and ironically that someone wasn't a man at all. Her pessimism fades once Akemi repays her kindness and buys her freedom. Fowler: Mizu's shadow (The Onryo) Both were orphaned because of a traumatizing event (The burning of her house/The Seven Years War) and said event gave them freedom to move in the shadows. Both are viewed as demons by society and have to hide themselves from the world, both have a sidekick who represents a psychological aspect of their respective master (Ringo being Mizu's heart/Shindo being Fowler's greed), both are cold and calculating, and both have a religious or divine connection to their characters. The difference is that Mizu takes her religious beliefs seriously, while Fowler is aware of the existence of God but doesn't care for him, Mizu can be compassionate when the chips fall down but Fowler is dead inside, Mizu is ashamed of her impurity while Fowler is proud of it and uses his conquest of Japan. Fowler is Mizu had she never met the sword father, never met Ringo, and never met Akemi. He's cold, calculating, sadistic, and clearly narcissistic.
impaired people being mistreated by everyone in the past is a myth (or a projection of our own failures) people were much more caring for each other because they knew that alone they will certainly die very very easely.
@@thefrenchspacer That is a myth. Japan has a word for marginalized groups that basically translates to "Over the window." That word is madogiwa, people with disabilities were hidden away from society, it's only recently that our societies have made an effort to treat disabled people with respect. Modern Japan has a great deal of technologies that can help people traverse through the city with ease.
I like how Mizu genuinely asks for her God's strength and wisdom and is greatful when the tides are in her favor, while Fowler talks to God like he's making a deal with a Mafia Boss. Mizu is genuinely willing to humble herself while in prayer hoping to get what she wants, while Fowler casually talks to God like it's just a business deal. Small differences like that between characters serve to show that even though Mizu isn't a good person, she still is more human than Fowler.
Mizu is written like a human being. She struggles, makes mistakes, but finds reconciliation with herself and carries on in improving. Edit: She resembles me lot of Guts from Berserk
She certainly does, but I found Guts to be way more believable in his own universe. I mean, my dude was a genetic freak able to lift a 200 kilogram sword and swing it all night. On the other hand, Mizu didn't really have anything that was special about her and that could potentially make her able to do all the crazy things she did. Since she's not physically special, there should be more focus on how her skills got as high as they did. For example her backstory should be more focused on training, since they really only ever showed her lifting weights and swinging her sword by herself, sometimes watching others fight or train too, but what I think was really needed here to not make her feel like Rey Skywalker was some kind of training master to spar with her. Also she really does resemble Wolverine at times with how her injuries affect her. Episode 6 was peak, when her foot got completely destroyed, but she forgot about it a few seconds later and even managed to run/make super long jumps/beat 10 guards at once like nothing happened. I wish the writers had more control over creating mindless action just for the sake of it.
@@dominiorrr6510Well at least I don't think it had anything to do with her being a woman. They just wanted to give really good and interesting action. I mean, in real life, literally no one on earth would be able to do what we've seen her do. It's amped up for the enjoyment of being able to witness something cool, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I mean, that's what the entire fantasy genre is literally made for. I think taking some creative license is okay. And to be fair, she at least possesses some good genes. She's tall, especially as a woman, which objectively offers benefits for fighting. She also has wide shoulders for her gender, at least as wide as the average man's, which helps with arm strength, and of course she has trained to be physically fit. Learning the ways of the sword is also basically the only way she can survive, so she definitely has the drive to become amazing. So her being one of the best in the world I don't think is that unbelievable. I mean one time I saw a woman who was literally like 6'7, with wide shoulders, meaty hands, looked strong as FUCK. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Neanderthal blood lol. She would definitely have been able to beat at least like 90% of the men I've ever seen. It's uncommon, but it is possible for women to have amazing genes for fighting
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233 I don't really care whether she's a man or a woman, it just doesn't make any difference to me. My point is that her feats in the show are simply hard to believe considering how the world has been built up till episode 5 or so. I'd rather have less action and a more coherent story. To be more precise, I don't care if a show introduces things that are impossible in our world and that's why I like fantasy, but when a main character does something that shouldn't be possible in her own world, then it's just bad writing. I expected way more realism and maybe that's why the show left me disappointed. Let's compare Mizu to Guts from Berserk: Guts winning a 1v50 fight was just more believable, not only because he's physically far stronger than any character we've seen in his own universe, but also because he barely sustained any injuries during that fight. How it happened is left to speculation instead of throwing some cheeky and unbelievable fight scenes, but it's not hard to imagine what actually happened since we've seen him crush countless enemies with his 2 meter long sword. There are many problems I had watching Blue Eyed Samurai and Mizu having terribly written action scenes is just one of them.
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233 Well, so far the broken foot mambo jambo was the main thing I can think of that should not be possible. Why even show the scene where she gets her ankle pierced if it has no real effect on her? She also got stabbed multiple times and got just fine within the matter of screentime minutes. I get it, she's really determined and blah blah blah, but there's only so much you can stretch a character's capability. By the end of episode 6 they basically got rid of any stakes the show had left and the only reason for that was to get some cheap action. Cheap not in the visual way, I think the action scenes looked good.
Mizu certainly stands out from other attempts to create strong female protagonists. She gets hurt, she suffers emotionally and physically, she has a cold exterior that sometimes goes away when the right people get close to her and she doesn't reject her femininity out of spite, but because she has no other choice to pursue her goal.
The show makes a point to show you that her quest is unnecessary and destructive to herself and others. She could have stayed with the blacksmith. She could have become a relatively popular whore at a brothel. She could have found someone decent to marry and live a quiet life somewhere. With her intelligence and courage she could have done any number of things. But instead she chose the path of blood out of some misplaced anger at being born. It's understandable but a bit silly.
The Head of the Brothel House was my second favourite character. She spells out exactly the problem with how women are treated and why women are strong to survive in that era. With Mizu, I kept wondering why she didn't at least actually try to settle down or be happy. Then the last few episodes hit. SHE DID try to be happy. She let herself be vulnerable and feminine and hardworking with her husband. They developed a relationship. The minute she revealed her strengths and every part of her, he was suddenly scared and disgusted by her. So she can't be strong and a woman. I never hated a man so much as I did in that moment. I thought he would be different, since he accepted her appearance, but nope. A woman stronger than me is horrible, I dont want a wife who can fight. It made my blood boil, but that was what it was at the time. you had two options: marriage or prostitution. Mizu was a third: be a monstrous outcast from a homogenous society.
She had one guy turn on her and now she could never find any man that would accept her huh? Three men already accepted her. The blacksmith, the cripple, and the bully. Not for marriage but still. There's bound to be others she could potentially form close bonds with romantically.
they did not portray the husband's disgust as unjustified as you seem to think they did. if you can recall the scene, she had her sword at his throat and kissed him. you can analyze that any number of ways. but it was not okay to me, even if it was her genuine self.
@@treacherousjslither6920Sure, if Mizu’s mission was to settle down and be happy then maybe EVENTUALLY she’d find someone. But the damage was done at that point.
@@treacherousjslither6920 You are approaching this through the eyes of a man in the modern era and not a WOMAN in EDO JAPAN PERIOD. Also not approaching this with any full understanding why someone would withhold themselves in an environment that treats them like sh*t. Anyone can rat you out and take away your freedom and or worse ABUSE or KILL you while doing so. She tried that happiness route as a wife but got betrayed by someone she grew to love. THAT shakes the core in someone who has never loved before or trusted before. I don't mean slightly vulnerable but COMPLETELY vulnerable. This was BEFORE meeting the other men in her life. And even so only one out of the three mentioned know her identity by accident. So after suffering profund betrayal and seeing how easily someone can try to ruin your life, you think she would be easily willing to trust and love again? It would be incredibly unsafe for her and can be a threat to her survival in the world and time period she lives in.
@@treacherousjslither6920 Not in 1600's Japan. Everyone sees her as a monster. And do remember how her relationship started with the other three. And it's not romantic. That's not the point of her existence. The damage has been done. Her husband and mother betrayed her. You should not be using a modern perspective here. NO SHE WONT FIND SOMEONE ELSE, nor will she let herself be that vulnerable again
Dude, were we watching the same thing? Mizu isn't at all cold and callous at the beginning. She doesn't leave the basket-weaver mother and daughter to freeze in the snow - when she leaves the town they are still shivering in the snow and she drops Taigen's golden comb in the snow next to them. The gold comb is easily worth a years wages or more to them. Probably more. Much more. She doesn't simply kill Ringo in the bamboo forest and walk away. She easily could have. She goes to all the trouble of tying him up so as not to have to kill him. She knows he will escape eventually. She just wants to escape him without permanently harming him. Later she says she will kill him if she sees him again. But no. After proving himself useful she has to grit her teeth and allow him to accompany her. (And earlier, in Ringo's father's inn, her loud, table-scraping-across-the-floor stunt in the inn defused and deflected a situation when Hatchi the Flesh Trader was holding a gun on Ringo and was thinking of putting him down like a dog.) Three times she cuts this guy slack in the first episode! She allows Akemi to be taken by her father's men and brought home to go to a marriage she doesn't want because she knows that is best for her. Taigen is insisting on a duel. She knows what is going to happen if he duels her again. This time he won't get off with just a hair cut. And she left Taigen alive, knowing who he was and all the misery he caused her when they were kids, when she had it in her power to kill him the first time they fought. She does do her job and assassinate the girl stolen by the gambling boss. But this act tears her up. So much so that when she is seen by a witness, a small boy, she lets him go when she knows that she "ought" to kill him to cover her tracks. She allows the "Thousand Claw" thug, who has lost his nerve in the brothel fight, to live. She walks away. However, when the fight is all over and she knows just what murderous, honorless scum the thousand claws are, she kills another one in the same circumstance because she has had it up to here with them. These things are not the actions of a soulless onryo. Mizu is conflicted. If she wasn't conflicted she would not be nearly as interesting. Now here's a question for you - where did Mizu get her money? What happened to the first Western Barbarian she tracked down and killed? And when she tells Madam Kadji that she "performs services" just what services is she talking about? I think she sells her sword and has been living as a blade for hire. If she was a bounty hunter it would about nail down the Clint Eastwood bit eh? Excellent review otherwise. Edit: As of 12/11/23 the second season has been approved by Netflix. (Huzzah!)
I agree! I think in the beginning she isn’t “soulless”, it’s just that’s how other people see her due to her extreme determination and ruthlessness when it comes to getting what she wants, but those little bits are added to show us that she’s not what people assume she is.
yes i remember my second rewatch i was like omg she left his golden comb for them to trade in and i thought it showed a lot about her that she doesn't make obvious to everyone
I loved how Mizu completely surprised me with some of her actions. She didn't fall into all the stereotypical stuff. Part of the story Mizu was just an outright jerk xD and that was good. Nobody is a picture of perfection. I truly hope we get more well written characters like we did in BES
@@ExpertContrarianI get where your coming from and I agree the roots are of a character archetype that’s commonly used but I think one of the things that sets her most apart is how biased she is and how much of a horrible person she can be, she wants to kill all the white men in Japan for no other reason than the fact she was told white peoples were evil, she killed an innocent girl and burned down a palace just to get her revenge that might even be misplaced, he’s fowler says they were evil, but I think one of them is going to turn out nice and mizu is going to realise how she wasn’t in the right
I am so glad that people are talking about this show. This show makes me feel more comfortable with my own experience with femininity, as someone who has struggled with being born female for a very long time. It brought tears to my eyes not only for its masterful use of storytelling, but for the fantastic character writing, the art, the music, etc. I am utterly in love with this show on an incredibly deep level.
Yeah, being a born female comes with so many set of...issues and feelings and self hate sometimes. It spoke to me in many magically ways. Especially cuz I have been dying for something like the Manga Berserk or Vinland Saga with a female lead and WHAM, this show gave me both Akemi and Mizu.
At this point i dont really label myself as anything but this show is awesome at portraying female characters with pretty different ways of expresing and living with their femininity. Mizu dresses as a man because is easier for men to get the sort of things she needs, but its not that she hates being a woman, or that she wishes she could be a man. Akemi on the other hand takes advantage of her beauty and femininity and men's... Not fragility but susceptibility to seduction and sex, and she learns to push the right buttons to get the things she wants And neither of this different ways of exeriencing womanhood are presented as better than the other.
@akodaah13-e32 would love more shows like this. Women can powerful in SO many different ways and this show captured that. Like it really captured that "Sex is why females are oppressed and gender is how they are oppressed" thing but neither of the lead females let that keep them down. I frankly love how Mizu still desired to be more like a traditional women in some ways in the Onryo episode and how Akemi has this thrist for power but is not going about it in the "needs to get buff and beat up men" approach. This show just MASTERS its female characters. All the characters really.
@@froggylegs1499love vinland saga -btw , but when you both say born female... you mean you're a girl who dealt with some identity issues growing up? Being into sports or something, or like tomboy esque feelings? Or.do you guys mean you're no longer female...?
I find it interesting that Mizu is referred to as "samurai" by other characters, despite the fact that she doesn't actually have that status. It's one of those nice anachronisms that goes back to Kurosawa's films: that this character can represent ideals, even romantic ones, that aren't a reality of the time period, and that can be inspiring. The idiotic comments I've seen faulting the show for lacking realism and historical accuracy miss this point entirely.
Imo quite a bit of the show's writing was done for marketability to an audience outside japan, with preconceived notion of the culture. Elements that if we change to be more historically accurate, wouldnt hurt the show. Like referring to mizu as samurai instead of ronin or just a vagabond. And acting like the japanese army didnt have matchlock (which is still far less advanced than what Fowler brought). Because the moniker samurai is more marketable than others, as well as the idea of a non gun japan perpetrated by hollywood.
@@mdd4296 - I doubt that any of the elements you mentioned were done for marketability. That was my point. It's one of the reasons Kurosawa's films work so well: they aren't concerned with historical accuracy, something virtually impossible to have everyone agree with. Sure, it might be more plausible to have the show set during the Muromachi, when the social mobility of the time might allow for a gender-indeterminate individual to walk around freely with a sword in their obi. I salute the show's creators for not burdening their story with such banality.
@@jachyra9 The problem with that train of thoughts is some anachronism brought the show quality very very slightly down when we examine other elements of the show: Mizu, in the very first episode implied there were Japanese made guns already. The shogun disobeyed his own laws for greed. We are meant to believe he didnt equip his capital troops with the best technology he could mass produce on his own soil? Ringo insist on referring to Mizu as a samurai while everybody else say otherwise would be a nice touch for his characterization. Romanticising from historical inspiration is very fine. But it's another thing when you go against what you established early on. There was great effort from the showrunners to put the "banality" of the time at the front. They are more than aware how thing was back then. And the directing proved they can handle those elements with great finesses while taking artistic license. So why still resort to certain preconceived notions produced only for western audience... decade ago? To bring the quality slightly down? While it has established itself not just wanting to be romantic but very gritty and cynical as well? The only reason I could think of is marketing. For example, the 2014 admiral Yi movie. It's about the korean perspective, so why was a samurai front and center in western promotionals? Because that is better for marketability over here. Mizu would work in any time period: be it more or less egalitarian than edo. She has always been an outcast, always been pretending to be other gender, social norms just don't apply to her.
@@mdd4296 - “The problem with that train of thoughts is some anachronism brought the show quality very very slightly down when we examine other elements of the show” Very, very slightly? Hold on while I fetch my magnifying glass. :) “Mizu, in the very first episode implied there were Japanese made guns already.” That’s because there were. “The shogun disobeyed his own laws for greed. We are meant to believe he didnt equip his capital troops with the best technology he could mass produce on his own soil?” Because the show makes it clear that they lacked the “best” technology for said mass production? You are thinking for the characters, who may not be as intelligent as you, who didn’t have your access to the information provided by the show’s writers, who may have been led astray or misinformed when making certain decisions, etc. Sorry, but this is Monday morning quarterbacking on your part. It’s okay, we’re all guilty of it from time to time. “Why didn’t Obi-Wan just flat out tell Luke that Vader was his father from the get go?” “Why didn’t the Eagles fly the Hobbits and the One Ring to Mordor?” Sorry, but I prefer not to indulge in this sort of behavior. It find it joyless and pointless. “Ringo insist on referring to Mizu as a samurai while everybody else say otherwise would be a nice touch for his characterization.” I agree. “Romanticising from historical inspiration is very fine. But it's another thing when you go against what you established early on.” Inconsistency is a human trait. I can live with that. “There was great effort of the show to put the "banality" of the time at the front. They are more than aware how thing was back then.” Are they? Historians and scholars don’t agree on even when the various periods of Japanese history begin and end. What we claim to know, to agree upon, about pre-modern Japan has a lot of speculation and fantasy flavoring it. “And the directing proved they can handle those elements with great finesses while taking artistic license. So why still resort to certain preconceived notions produced only for western audience... decade ago?” I think a better question would be: why not? Fiction is not under any obligation to placate our ideas about reality. “To bring the quality slightly down? While it has established itself not just wanting to be romantic but very gritty and cynical as well?” It only brings the quality slightly down in your estimation. Blue Eye Samurai isn’t 100% historically accurate, and no fiction is. But it’s still light years away from the comedy that is The Last Samurai, for example, a film seemingly designed as a chew toy for historians. “The only reason I could think of is marketing.” Forgive me for coming across as just another garden-variety Millennial hipster who enthusiastically devoured every David Foster Wallace treatise he could get his grimy little hands on, but… everything is marketing. “For example, the 2014 admiral Yi movie. It's about the korean perspective, so why was a samurai front and center in western promotionals? Because that is better for marketability over here.” Undoubtedly. “Mizu would work in any time period: be it more or less egalitarian than edo. She has always been an outcast, always been pretending to be other gender, social norms just don't apply to her.” She wouldn’t “work” now. And she did experience life as a female and a wife.
@@jachyra9 You can open carry guns around s lot of states nowadays. Openly carrying a melee weapons are legal in even more jurisdiction. And telling people to use your preferred pronouns is also much more accepted. Mizu would have no need of that in modern time though. The show also established early on that drifters with weapons are common enough sights. The very first scene set the story in 1633, at this period, Japanese matchlock has already went a long way from when they first mass deployed them during sengoku. The show never made it clear that they cant manufacture that btw. There is a lot of disadvantage matchlock has over flintlock, and the bow was still an important military weapons due to those issues. There is no mistaken of the time period here. I am not making it about historical accuracy as is. But the resorting to certain anachronistic elements specifically made for western audience because that's easier for marketing. And you realise "Everything is marketing". So yeah, my point is... proven? "Why not?" because why do artists have to bow down to business pressure to create arts? Don't answer, we all know why. I could stop here since I never tried to persuade you any further than that. But undermining the showrunner's effort in the research they done for the show wouldnt sit right wit me, there was indeed great efforts to put banality like how they cook, walk in different clothing, pattern of speech, transports, architecture, medicine practice... alongside the bonker artistic license. Last Samurai was outside the point. It was intended to be a far more romatic view of Japanese tradition than Blue Eye ever was. If anything, Blue Eye wanted to criticise those traditions.
I didn’t think I would but by the time the season wrapped I had so much love & respect for Princess Akemi. Her character development & story arc was awesome!
Definitely, the show makes this clear - he cuts Mizu off when she has something she must confess. "You came to me as a boy and you will leave as a man", or words to that effect.
Broke my heart a little. Ringo has no hands and only seems to want to be helpful to those around him. He feeds Taigen and politely declines, while Taigen arrogantly imagines a world with Ringo as a house servant. Having worked with amputees, I love this character for his ingenuity and perseverance. He's always underestimated and always useful. He represents fortitude, plucking our hero from death when all seems lost.
You put to words why I loved this show. The writing made me happy to realize that there are talented artists still out there making beautiful art that is not mainstream. This is such a unique subject matter that took courage to tell and I am so elated they took the risks they did. I just hope Netflix doesn’t cancel it.
"The perfect blad eis both pure and impure" is a phrase I will keep in my mind always. I also liked how they *layered* the storytelling on Mizu. How she herself is layered. It helps to better understand and digest why she is the way she is now, how she changed then to change now.
Mizu is just the antithesis to a Mary Sue character. She earned her strength through sheer force of will, she came from no legendary lineage but a half-breed, considered to be filth by society, her magical weapon broke halfway through the story, people actually call her out on her flaws, she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of femininity and a family life, and her small stature actually comes in as a disadvantage when she had to fight men twice her size like Fowler. I actually feel like Mizu could die at any of her fight the first time watching; there was never that lack of stake at play knowing she can't be harmed because throughout the series, Mizu's injuries starts to build up and it chipped away at her strength until she had to be physically removed from the plot to recover. Her journey also wasn't just an excuse to reaffirm her beliefs, but one that shattered her skewered worldview brought by her tragedy. She learned to open up, to be better than just a grieving demon, even though vengeance is still on her mind. They were very explicit in condemning her morally wrong actions and never justified it.
"She earned her strength through sheer force of will" you understand that this means nothing? Its just a nice placeholder when you dont bother to make a good story.
@@thefrenchspacer Correct. The real game changer was depicting a life of hard work and struggle. Working as a swordsmith's apprentice, learning from all his customers, the dedication that came from the vow on her presumed mother's grave... Thing is, to avoid the Mary-Sue-trap, all of this can be handled in a much shorter form. A few lines of dialogue is all it needs to establish some sort of warrior background, when a complex story doesn't matter, at least during the introduction of a character. Which is why it is so upsetting that this problem exists at all. Even an idiot like me can dream up solutions for it, so we have to assume that the writers who created characters like Rey from Star Wars or the new She-Hulk WANT viewers to get mad at their hero.
@@Volkbrecht it needs a LOT of talent to do it properly AND the will to do it. When your goal is just to have a "strong female caracter" you dont bother with this kind of "details" in their mind female are great per see, period.
What are you talking about? She's totally a Mary Sue character! How is she able to climb with another person on her back while severely injured, bare handed, a smooth wall? How she able to defeat multiple armed men wearing armor EMPTY HANDED with a severe injury that should limit her movement abilities? How is she able to come off unharmed and alive from being pressed and crushed under a door with several men on top of it? She has several feats of completely unrealistic feats, that are there because she has made stupid decisions and writers couldn't find any smarter way of keeping her alive in those situations. It is never explained, how she can be so unrealistically physically strong and how she can endure her injuries so unrealistically well. None of her training should have made her capable of climbing a smooth wall with another person on her back. I don't think there's a single human being on this planet, that would be capable of pulling that feat of. She's absolutely a Mary Sue character.
I personally don't think there's a "strong female protagonist" problem, per se. I think there's bad/lazy writing and people really need to focus on that rather than over scrutinizing every female protagonist that breaths. Because there are plenty of male characters who do exactly nothing but kick ass and are adored for it. It's ok if some female protagonist are like that too. Nor should it mean that they're "acting like a man" just because they're not shown being feminine. Not every woman is feminine after all. Also, what was wrong with Captain Marvel, The Marvels, and Ocean 11? I'm genuinely confused what the problem was with those movies. The main cast was all women, yes, but I didn't really get the "strong female protagonist" problem people mention anywhere in those movies? Ok moving on... God, I fucking love this show. I love the different ways power is utilized by women in the unjust world. Akemi realizing her power and ending the bullying of the shogun's wife was borderline cathartic lol. I see many female protagonists just taking the abuse or punching their way through the problem. And depending on the circumstances, either one is a justifiable reaction. But I've noticed people tend to demonize this form of power that women have had to use and often still have to use. In a world geared towards catering to men and buying and selling women both explicitly and implicitly, you use the power you can, and sometimes that power is manipulation. Mizu kicking ass is always a pleasure, yes, but I didn't adore her character until we got to episode 5 and I finally SAW her. Having loved her mother and her husband, only to have them rip her heart out was so painful to watch. Love poisoned by betrayal, like they said in the episode. It was fascinating to see that Mizu was BOTH of the characters in that play. She was the revenge driven warrior who seemed to find peace, but also the loving wife who turns into an onryo after being scorned. It shows how fluid and realistic a character she is, to be both these things and eventually becoming something both the same, yet different than either. Mizu ends the season still wanting revenge, but she's also learned to care for people again and let their safety take priority. I feel like she finally lets herself stop being the onryo and allows herself to be human after finding those people that treat her that way. She wants to be human for them. Also, I'm semi-convinced that Taigen stowed away on that ship lol. We don't get a final shot of him and his story with Mizu is far from over. Finally, an enemy to lovers I can get behind lmao. Taigen will be taken aback when he learns Mizu's a woman, but he has such respect for her, he'll get over it eventually.
I honestly have no idea how the show is going to balance the continuation of Akemi's story in Japan, and Mizu's story in London. But they kinda have to. Akemi is absolutely the number 2 character in the show. I have no idea where Mizu's story is going, but I can tell Akemi is about to face a massive power struggle with her mother-in-law, who I strongly suspect has been the real power behind the Shogun, the reason he was in bed with Fowler, etc. Regardless, I think like the whole "social justice warrior" complaint, the "strong female character" problem tends to be a disingenuous way of saying and idea can't work if it's ever done poorly. Or worse, if the motive behind it is too obvious. I was stunned to learn from a dozen half-baked RUclips hot-takes of Blue Eye Samurai that, despite being a deeply feminist examination of the cruelty of patriarchal society, it is, none-the-less, not "woke," and not feminist. Apparently, it's only woke if these viewers don't like it, or have the wokeness spelled out for them so clearly they can't ignore it. Lucky for them, BES keeps all that annoying thematic stuff down in the subtext. They're impressed with what a bad-ass Mizu is, so long as they can ignore how they're the villain in her story, the reason her life is such hell. They're Taigen.
Exactly. Several male characters are shallow one dimensional muscle heads but there is a double standard for femal protagonists. They shouldn't have to be better to be enjoyed. And no shifting on this show. I absolutely loved it but I think Arcane also did really well with tackling female characters in their environments. I do not like Taigen 😅 I'm sorry. I feel like the story was trying roo hard to redeem him from his wrong doing.(making him seem remorseful in his flashback of bullying Mizu). It's an amazing show. I'm glad it's been renewed for season 2 and I hope it continues to deliver wonderfully. Watching this the constraints women had in Edo Japan were so tight, yet it was amazing to see how the 2 female leads worked their way through them.
@rottensquid oh you are so right about the 'woke' thing. Taigen literally got hard for someone he is under the impression is a guy. I saw a comment saying his body knew 😂😂😂. Delusion is the path foward I guess 😂
U READ MY MINDDDDDD, these "strong female protag analysis" videos annoy the hell out of me, like Why don't I see this desperate energy of dissecting the strong independent cold female protag irritating everyone becuz they're strong and independent and have feminism in them (and also apparently with them being written "badly") but the strong independent cold male characters is sometging that everyone stays silent about, like Where's this burning passion when it comes to the boring ass male protags. I still don't get the hate for brie, cuz I enjoyed her being cold asf with less to no weaknesses, idrc, I in general enjoy flawed characters like there are all kinds of peole in society not everyone is righteous, yall get to enjoy the toxic male characters yet you draw the line when you aren't even interested in it??
for me mizu being overpowered works bc it adds to the belief that she's a demon. It's like we are watching a legend from that universe being told and even then she still struggles a lot in the fights, my girl cannot end 1 fucking episode without being stabbed 😭 this show is a masterpiece alongside with arcane
But why is she so extremely unnaturally strong? It doesn't make any sense. The only reason she is that strong is, because show writers have written her into situations where no person would be able to survive, so they had to resort to supernatural deus ex machina feats of strength and endurance to make her survive. I don't understand, how people are oblivious that the story is written horribly and that her character is the very definition of a Mary Sue character.
@@julianrosas9134 In fact EVERYONE, not only me, criticizes fight scenes in movies, where one person defends against a large group of opponents, but opponents approach the defender only one at a time. Indeed I disliked in the newest Batman movie the fact, that Batman survived a high-speed crash into a bridge when he was escaping from police by gliding from the roof of a police station. I have not seen many of the movies that you mention, but I do criticize these things in other movies as well. But where many other movies have only a very small amount of such moments in their story line, there are those movies and TV shows, that are solely based upon such special rules applying to their main characters and Blue samurai is one of such stories. And it wasn't even necessary to add those elements to the story in case of Blue Samurai. For example there was no reason for the scene of climbing a smooth wall and carrying another human being while doing it, it just makes the whole thing unrealistic for no good reason. I don't mind, that the character is able to defeat multiple opponents (although it would certainly help if the number of opponents wasn't unreasonably high as is the case a few times in the series), she can be depicted as extremely skilled, that's fine. I haven't seen Rambo actually, but my criticsm wouldn't be that Rambo can defeat many opponents on his own either.
I think what makes a character admirable has nothing to do with gender, but with strength. Mizu transcends the role of a man or a woman and becomes strong. We admire her for her strength, likes her as she becomes a better person and learn that impurity at the right place is a quality. I envy her for her strength.
No. If it were about strength than shitty characters like Rey and Captain Marvel would be considered good characters according to your definition. It’s not about strength it’s about growth through adversity and having a multifaceted character
I can only imagine what kind of story we could have had with Rey (Star Wars) being some version of Mizu. A torn woman, vengeful, full of anger, but very powerful - meeting Luke who tries to save her path from darkness. Or Korra (Avatar) as a different option. Good, but hot tempered, talented, arrogant, identifies with her power - and then her bending/ force gets taken away.
PHENOMENAL show that does nearly everything right. It made me feel things I haven't felt from entertainment in a long time. And its a masterclass in so many aspects of storytelling, strong female protagonists included. Thank you for covering this incredible production, can't wait for parts 2 and 3 from you
Mizu's backstory was so well written , it really would have any one rooting for her, and the other movies and tv shows of this domain , really never cared about that , to build that strong emotion , and build characters with such connections .
The lesson of the story is don't write a strong female protagonist or a strong male protagonist. Write a human being who has flaws and who struggles because of those flaws and learns to overcome them.
@@Itomon my point wasn't that the characters' gender didn't serve a role in this story. My point was that to make any character, male or female, compelling, they must have flaws that they must deal with. Too many writers and movies make their female protagonists too perfect/Mary Sueish.
It is so refreshing to see such a well writing strong female protagonist. A strong character without struggle, isn't truly strong. Many writers don't seem to grasp that in recent days, and just make their female protagonists have 2 traits: strong. female. That isn't enough, nor is it interesting. But this show understands perfectly what makes a good strong characters. Mizu isn't strong because she doesn't struggle or because she doesn't have any flaws, she is strong because she does. She is strong because of who she is: her trauma, her experiences, her desire for revenge, her shame, her hatred, her love. Everything makes her who she is, and as viewer you can feel where her strength is coming from. it isn't empty strength, it is HER strength.
this is such a great analysis - you did such a great job of putting everything i felt towards this show into words! i really adore the writing for Blue Eye Samurai, i feel like it does so many things right and i like to compare it to my favorite show of all-time, Arcane, in that the story feels very character-driven. the development of the characters over time, how their decisions influence the story and each other, how they reflect the world around them, Blue Eye Samurai does such a great job of all of it. i feel like it's not often that i find a show where i find myself liking almost the entire cast, but everyone feels so realistic and compelling, which makes it that much easier to connect to the story and become immersed in it. this is my favorite revenge story i've come across and i adore mizu so much - i can't wait to follow along the rest of her journey!
@@mrgreenpickuptruck i totally agree with you! the characters are made in such a way that you don't have to love/agree with everything they do/are, but there's still something about them that you can admire
@calif0rme it's kinda fixing the idea that you can't like a character if they are evil or bad Mizu isn't a good person Akemi is incredibly selfish But they are so interesting to watch because you wanna see where they end up BECAUSE they aren't perfect and pristine characters that can do no wrong
Just finished the season one and I can't help but feel that the protagonist in Blue Eye Samurai gave me what I needed to see in the Barbie movie, and then some. Nobody blew up in a monologue and yet the message was clearly stated.
'the only thing that holds me back are the limits of society'.... Ironically this is sooooo worthy of being done well because it is never not a part of my day. Everyday i have to overcome my limits that are personal to me AND the limits of the over culture
What’s also great about Mizu is that there were some episodes where I was genuinely frustrated with her. Because of her one dimensional view on revenge. Leaving Ringo behind all in the sake of revenge only to keep doubling down. But she does show growth in the end by sparing Fowler. Also Mizu is the prettiest female protagonist we have gotten in a long time, How beautiful she actually is was displayed perfectly in episode five when she was able to be vulnerable and feminine. She’s wonderfully written.
I found this really interesting. She’s on the path of revenge without constraint, and at first doesn’t care who else gets hurt along the way, but by the end she starts to realize she can’t do everything alone, and she has other people that matter to her
There was one part of this show that bothered me a lot though I absolutely loved it as a whole. When the brothel mother told her to kill that girl, it shook me as that girl was never shown kindness in that way in that she thought she was being saved and I guess she would have died at the hands of much worse at those times in edo Japan, but there was no sense of liberation for her. The deep betrayal and humanity in the story really found me at a time that I needed it. I can’t wait for season 2!
I kid you not, as soon as I watched this show, I was very much hoping that you would cover it (btw, happy to see a video from you any time - I stay subscribed because your content is great, not because of how fast you put it out). It's rare for me to really love a revenge story (Vinland Saga and Code Geass being among my favorites in animation, even if the latter has its problems, and the likes of John Wick, The Prestige, Inglorious Basterds, and Gone Girl taking it for live action, though some of those stretch the concept), much less the kind of straightforward Kill Bill-esque targeted kill quest that is this series. Really helps that it has such a strong lead in Mizu, who I think is much more interesting than The Bride ever was, particularly for her grey morality that you've covered here. Episode 5 is such a gut punch, emphasizing not just how others see her, but how she's twisted her own reflection. Akemi is an exceptional character in her own right, showcasing a distinct kind of strength, particularly in her decision at the end of the series. The character development across this season is very strong and feels realistic as well despite the sometimes unreal nature of the story. I can hardly wait for a second season, which should be a foregone conclusion after how great this season was.
> I don't think audiences hate women; I think audiences hate poor writing, and can smell pandering a mile away. You're not wholly wrong, but let's be 100% honest here: there absolutely IS a portion of audience that DOES hate women. After GamerGate, the Trump presidency, and everything else over the past decade, it's pretty impossible to deny that there is a certain segment of the American public that resents women with any kind of power or agency and actively seeks to take it away from them. They are a minority, to be sure, but they are a _very_ vocal minority with an outside influence on how public discourse is shaped.
It's not only in America. Even weak mentally man hates when women is smarter and better (not all men, but certain amount). If we speak with not weak man it's even worse. So yes, I agree. It's stupid pride
Which came first, the chicken or the egg? Did people today hate women from the start just for being women, or do they resent them after they saw women placed in power destroy everything in entertainment they ever loved and destroyed people's lives in real life to boot? Also it's hilarious to frame your opposition as "a minority" when they're financially obliterating everything progressive in entertainment and business right now, and at such numbers that it's clear the people who have a problem with you outnumber you ten times over. If misogyny exists in the modern western world it runs on the logic of "look at what they do when they're in power, just look", and they've got all the facts and logic backing them while all the progressives have is the same old brute authoritarian force, forcing people into a single line of thought which they will of course chafe under and racialize against as anyone that knows any anything about history can tell you. If you actually want to see the 19th Amendment dissolved in your lifetime, by public consensus or by a civil war you can't win, then by all means keep on spinning the same old lies and narratives. Empathy withers by the day, and your rights exist because men decided they should.
My problem is that sometimes people won't recognize that it's still a minority and assume they speak for many, if not most, of the critical opinions towards a piece of media. This was evident with The Last Jedi, where some people would assume that if you hated Rose Tico you were probably sexist and/or racist. No, I hate her because I think she's a crap character. I feel like we should ask ourselves, how much of the influence that this vocal minority holds is because of the amount of attention we pay to them?
I loved the steel alloy allegory the swordsmith uses to describe Mizu. The show had some dialogue issues but it was altogether a solid experience. Akemi really grew on me. The prostitutes grew on me. The female characters in this show had diversity and nuance. They all grew on me.
When they showed Mizu's past I was in shock. Idk why I conected so much with her, the whole being betrayed when you feel safe probably hits too close to home
Other favorite ones :) 1. Violet Evergarden 2. Wolf Children (Hana) 3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the wind 4. Princess Mononoke (Lady Eboshi & San) 5. Spy x family (Anya, Sylvia & Yor) 6. Coraline 7. The night comes for us (Operator) 8. Raging phoenix (Deu) 9. Aot (has many) 10. Fma (has many)
I was so surprised how much I loved Princess Mononoke. It felt like a message that could be done very cringey, very pessimistically or both at the same time, but it is one of my favourite movies.
The Ronin and The Bride episode had me reeling for like a whole ass day. I literally stopped myself from watching the rest of the show for a little bit because I had to process how goddamn brilliant it was.
This show was incredible. My only gripe with it is that Ringo is almost completely unaffected by his disability, sure he cant hold a sword, so he cant become a samurai like he wants. But other than that he is entirely capable, he even stitches Mizu up after a fight! In one of the earlier episodes he tells Mizu that he likes them because they are also deformed but is still strong. I was so eager to see how Ringo overcomes his disability, but it never comes up again. Everything just kinda carries on as if he has hands, but cant hold a sword.... that seems to be the only consequence of his disability.
You accepted a fictional pre-modern Japan that doesn't murder a newborn baby without hands. You can't have a problem with how that now adult without hands engages with said fictional world. Pick a lane.
Being treated as half witted or subhuman because you’re handless or work slower, by his own father and other characters like Taigen at first? Imagine going through that your whole life, no woman would want to marry him probably, in that time period. Even Akemi doubted him when she heard that Ringo is the guide outside the castle. His disability was brought up many times, even when Taigen offered him a job. Taigen still affirmed that he can only work in the kitchen because of his disability or looks. Swordfather also asked Ringo if he made the tools and why.
The message about impurities being neccessary is fully reflected by the Swordfather, who tells Mizu that her sword broke because it wasn't good enough. Mizu insists that the sword was perfect, and Eiji literally says "it was too perfect." The sword was too pure, which made it weak, a lesson he taught Mizu a million times while training her at the forge, but she still chose to ignore because it didn't fit her worldview that she needed to hide her impurities. It wasn't until she accepted her own "impurities" that she finally added other metals into the meteorite, making both the metal and herself stronger.
I am feminist, and recently overwhelmed past few years I find myself sighing and rolling my eyes at the main female protagonist in movies. But blue eye samurai had me captivated by Mizu's character from the first episode to the last. Not once did they try and make her seem like she's untouchable just cause she's a woman. They give her pain and suffering and weakness. This. This is what we always wanted. Not the "marvelised" "feminist" bullshit they've been pumping out recently
2:49 i loved this so much, i myself struggle to write good female leads, being a girl myself, which is ironic. That single line explained a whole world of writing a character to me much easier than anything i saw before.
Tbh i think something a lot of 'strong female protaganist' type media suffers a lot from is the desire to set up a 'good role model' r a sort of symbol of power through female characters in 'traditionally' masculine roles. The desire to make them flawless or completely devoid of any wrongdoing always seems to be out of fear of accidentally undercutting their strength and be taken in the wrong way. But it basically strips away what makes male characters in these roles so compelling, which is their humanity. And i think it sets an unhealthy precedent for women as well, because it sets up this expectation that the only way to be respected by others is to be perfect in every way possible and transcend societal expectations. And in some ways its a power fantasy to see that, which i think a lot of these things tend to be, but i think good power fantasies need to establish a legitimate and compelling struggle to overcome.
I love her so much. Shes a strong female character, but not made out to be invincible or even completely mentally in the right place. But she is sure of her own strength. She also isnt a virgin, so many shows have female leads only ever fall for the main male lead, but she had a respectable relationship with her husband.
I seriously need a new season , I adore Mizu so much and I would love to see how she takes over things in London, who she meets and who she might become allies with , and enemies . So exciting thinking about .
That was at night, there is no way they thawed in the morning and went on about the day all good and dandy! Try freezing over night outside and see how alive you are in the morning 😅
I have yet to start the video, but I just want to say FINALLY. It's been YEARS since I saw a bada** woman that I wasn't completely annoyed with. What a relief she was, as a woman myself who idols were Chyna and Lara Croft growing up, I was soo happy watching her dominate this show!
i do think people hate seeing woman sometimes, because they start hating on movies and shows before they even come out, and then just justify it with the writing flaws. People with genuine complains offered fairly just get drown out in this very loud group.
I really enjoyed your analysis, you just earned yourself new subscriber. As a woman myself, i find the "Mary Sue " trope really anti-female, so it's really refreshing to see strong women written really well. I think the woman and child Mizu left to freeze were the same ones that refused to help her when she was hurt, before she found her "mother". Letting them freeze was her little revenge. It also shows that there is some mercy in her, when she threw the hair thingy from Taigen to them, as she was leaving knowing guards are bribable. My theory is, that the Swordmaker knows Mizu is a woman. When Mizu left for the first time, she was about to tell him, but he stopped her and told her " You came to me as a stupid lost boy. If you insist on leaving now, it would be as a stupid lost men. " He is too perceptive to not know. I really do hope Netflix will buy the new season, but with their record of canceling good shows...I'm worried.
Good news, they've renewed the show for season 2. I totally agree that Master Eiji must know. He sees a lot in people, as he demonstrated with "Blood-Soaked" Chiaki. And he only had a few days to figure that guy out. Anyway, I don't see them getting much story out of him never having known. If it turned out he didn't know, what difference would it make? Would he reject Mizu? I doubt it. But if he did know all along, that pokes a hole in Mizu's notion that no one could ever truly accept who and what she is. After all, so far, the only person who knows her secret, apart from Fowler, is Ringo. And as a fellow outcast, she doesn't worry about his acceptance. I totally never made connection between the woman who rejected her and the woman stranded in the cold with her daughter. I don't know if I'd call it "revenge," because I don't think it was personal for Mizu. She just gives back what she gets from everyone. And in a way, she's more merciful and benevolent than almost anyone she encounters, simply by dropping that comb at their feet. When I first watched the show, I didn't notice the comb, or the steam coming from them. And they were so still, just figures painted on the screen, not 3D models. So it occurs to me that they director might have intended that they had frozen to death, and reconsidered after watching the completed show, and realizing Mizu might lose too much sympathy. That comb is the show's "save the cat" moment. Regarding Mary-Sue characters, I agree that pedestals are for objects, not people. But find that people throw that particular critique around way too freely. No one complains when Tom Cruise plays a super-spy, or jet pilot, or whatever else, who's effortlessly good at everything.
I love how she isn't the typical Disney Mary Sue, she is strong and badass but she struggles and fails, and she is far from perfect. She actually isn't a good person from the start, but she grows and learns slowly, how to be human. Seeing her go through the struggle to achieve her goals builds a more meaningful story. Most movies and shows today just want Mary Sue girls who place these unrealistic expectations being the strong and invincible girl all the time but she shows that there is strength in impurity. And that is what makes the Blue Eye Samurai stand out.
I think placing all emphasis on women being unable to be invincible like this is a huge double standard Men aren't either. Critically, people should be looking into both ends equally, instead of emphasizing and focusing on female leads. I think John Wick is extremely comparable to Mizu here as an example, and is a very good one to look at for the standards male leads should be on as well.
This show has not focused on the idea that she is a female.It simply focuses on an individual who is trapped in a time and place that forces her to be who she is. A bad ass on a mission. I love this show! .
One mistake I notice sometimes with the idea of what some people believe makes a strong woman. Is sometimes where a woman expresses a masculine trait they think the masculinity equals strength. A woman who wears a mans suit isn’t strong because she is now looking masculine she is strong because she is defying a expectation or a taboo. The strength is in the defiance.
Strength also come from acceptance from what should be defied. Being a woman and being mixed race was to be shunned, accepting that part of her is true strength through defiance
The people who created the character think that Masculinity means strength because it does mean physical strength in real life. A woman shouldn't wear a "man's suit" in the first place. Men and women are different. "Defying a taboo" in a society where such a thing would never occur is not the "win" you think it is. It's just American political propaganda and cultural appropriation of Japanese history and culture. This is an American animated show, not an anime.
The review I didn't know I needed. Potrayal of strong resilient flawed female protagonists. Story telling is a masterclass on its own. Animation is like a midas touch. Golden, vibrant, breadth taking.
I think my favorite thing is that she manages to go through all this growth and adversisty without it ever seeming like torture porn. Legend of Korra, take notes.
I really don't see why people viewed the later portions of LOK as "torture porn". A typical hero's journey has a falling and rising action. It didn't feel pointless, because Korra really needed to work through some of her issues and personality flaws.
@@hearteu5260Can you name some movies or shows where this happens? Also, I know movies and shows aren't real life but when bad stuff goes down it's usually men who are risking their lives, fixing things, and rescuing people. We're either brainwashed by society or instinctively incentivized into being the disposable sex.
@@skarlet0735 It's bad writing yet only one really gets put under a microscope in the context of gender. I feel a majority of these characters people find "woke", wouldn't really have an issue if it was a man doing the beating down. No one would care if Mizu was just some badass guy wiping out small groups.
I love Blue Eye Samurai. At first I thought Mizu was a young man I didn't know until I kept on watching the show. Not a lot of people knew Mizu was a young woman. She had so much hatred in her heart. I can't wait for season 2 of Blue Eye Samurai. 💙
I feel like one of the best ways to show that a character is strong is to show that they’ve been through tough times, but they continued and got back up. That’s what makes us believe someone’s strong, not showing us they’re undefeated and that they’re super strong. This is one of the best ways to make the audience believe a character is strong, and it’s not used enough.
Knuckles once said "Anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender norms, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an acception and not the status quo."
I really love that they don’t show Mizu as a one dimensional “strong man”. In media we’re always shown that feminine women are not strong, so she has to be masculine if she wants respect and power. Mizu is forced to be a man, but one of her biggest wishes is to be accepted as a strong feminine woman. This is what makes Akemi such a great parallel to her character. She has made herself powerful while still being a feminine woman.
This take is so forced. She's clearly beyond concepts like man/woman, I wish people would stop forcing femininity onto characters like this. She doesn't have to be feminine to count as a strong female protagonist!
This shows is a perfect example how little audience needs these days. Characters are bland, unlikable and without consistency, story makes no sense, very historically inaccurate, yet everyone loves it... Trully mindboggling.
"This shows is a perfect example how little audience needs these days." I agree. "Characters are bland, unlikable and without consistency" Sounds as though they're just like real people, huh? But I disagree. None of the characters are bland, unlikeable or lacking consistency. "story makes no sense" The story makes perfect sense. But it is for grown ups. Maybe that's your problem. "very historically inaccurate" Very little of what we see in the show is "historically inaccurate." There are many anachronisms, sure. But that isn't the same thing. Or should I defer to you and your education and experience with Japanese history? "everyone loves it... Truly mindboggling." I know. People love stuff that's really, really good for them. Crazy, huh?
@@jachyra9 bro, story is for grown-ups? It isn't. It's a story appealing to teenagers with a lot of gore. Im nearing my 40s and if i want a good story 'for grown-ups', i go to Terry Pratchett or Nahoko Uehashi. Characters are bland because there are moments in the story that should make them pause and reconsider, yet they don't. Instead they suddenly change just because story needs it. Mizu is not strong, she just has an impeccable plot armour. In one scene she fights a school of kenjutsu students, and beats dozens of them. In next she fights the best mercenaries and beats them (notably also not getting hurt by smashing her spine against a rock when falling like 20 meters) and then she just gets stabbed by a complete rando. And then again. Basically, elite fighters have nothing on her but bullshite footsoldiers are her bane. Taigen, unlike in video, was not a spoiled brat. He comes from a poor fisherman's family, it's stated there! He had to work his arse off for getting where he got. His storyline was actually logical. But Mizu's wasn't. She starts as a demon, suddenly transforms into a human because of love, even though she had love and acceptance for years from the swordfather, but somehow that didn't count. Because of course only romantic love counts. As for inaccuracies, this is early Edo period. Female samurai (onnamusha) were a lot less common than in sengoku jidai, but still around, even though their roles in the society were changing at this time. The whole main premise that she is hated just because she has blue eyes is stupid. The reason for Sakoku was to stop the spread of Christianity, mainly by Spanish and Portuguese, because the main core of Christian belief was that we are all equal in the eyes of god. However, Japanese aristocracy inforced their dominance over the populace also through the belief that emperor is a god and Christianity threatened the basic fabric of Japanese social hierarchies. That's why the isolation took root. There are historical sources about black samurai. So no, there wasn't horrible racism just because of the colours of your eyea or skin or whatever. This is a very USamerican show. I assume that's why it resonates so much with Anglo-Saxon audiences. But it is not a good show. If you want to see a good revange story, watch V for Vendetta. If you want to see an actually compelling story about a strong female fighter, watch (or read) Seirei no Moribito. And if you want to see a good story about a blue samurai, watch Samurai Champloo. All of these have much better... everything actually. Except for animation. That was absolutely superb in Blue eye samurai, i give you that.
@@jachyra9 yeah, i do know considerably more about both than most people blindly loving the show, so not in need of luck but thanks. Good luck to you too with whatever you need it for.
I never knew that there was a lack of strong female leads until I got on the internet. The thousands of movies with strong female leads I guess do not exist on a year-by-year basis according to marketing
There were many lines in the show that had an impact on me, but I think this one stood out the most, because it made me realise exactly why Mizu became what she is. (From Ep 5: The tale of the ronin and the bride) "How did this terrible creature come to be? Hate alone was not enough. It took one more ingredient. Love, poisoned by betrayal. To bring so much bloodshed and woe. To create, the Onryō."
Mizu said it perfectly when she was speaking with Mikio, when she stated she did not want to be a man, but she had to act as one to survive. She would have no options in life and was at risk of death if she was publicly outed as female. She is a female, not trying to be like a man, but trying to succeed in her mission and survive in the world she was born in. I love the glimpses into her feminine side, where she also still enjoyed the art. Her femininity was practically stolen from her her entire life, but even throughout her mission she has a feminine aura about her. However She’s not an overly-sexualized, or as the video describes, a stereotypical “strong woman” character. Rather, she is a woman who is also a skilled warrior. I don’t know how better to describe it, but they found that perfect balance when making an incredible female protagonist. The series has Kill Bill vibes, and I’m living for it.
At first I thought that Mizu has two sides, a feminine and masculine energy and I loved how the show doesn't portray one as better than the other. Mizu loves to fight, she also loved being open to express her feminity freely for a time. But then I realized that the mental separation between her aspects is precisely the problem. She is both, she is simply a person who doesn't fit into one category, and there is no need to weigh her aspects.
I love the parralels between Misu and her sword, how both were incredibly strong yet, in the end, fatally flawed. They both broke, and no matter how much she tried to melt the pieces down to reform it, they wouldn't melt. It took Misu developing herself, making better choices, and ultimately accepting all of who she is for the pieces to melt. And even then, the metal is given back to the sword father unformed, the way she is now unformed. When you begin coming to terms with your past and what is has made you, what you're left with isn't a finished, polished person but a mangled piece of scrap. Misu will only get that sword once she's fully become the person she is becoming.
on the contraire, in this show the gender is used heavily and to a great plot device! There is a lot of focus about gender there, but its also well done and expertly crafted into the rest of the story and its setting (feudal japan)
I think something a lot of people overlook when claiming she's OP is that she's half white and in ancient Japan. She's taller than even a lot of the men. Shes also trained obsessively since her early childhood.
That won't make her able to climb a smooth wall empty handed while carrying another person on her back. No matter how hard she'd train. Or be able to defeat several well armed men while injured!!! empty-handed!!! It just didn't make any sense whatsoever.
Why don't I see this desperate energy of breaking down the strong independent cold female protag irritating everyone becuz they're strong and independent and have feminism in them (and also apparently with them being written "badly") but the strong independent cold male characters is sometging that everyone stays silent about, like Where's this burning passion when it comes to the boring ass male protags. I still don't get the hate for brie, cuz I enjoyed her being cold asf with less to no weaknesses, idrc, yall get to enjoy the toxic male characters yet you draw the line when you aren't even interested in it??
I guess because for us (men I mean), being stoic and strong is expected. It's the norm. I really only see people bitching about this when it's a female character beating down on male characters. A male character wiping out every guy in the room is coolio, but you just can't have a woman do it lol.
Except for when she scaled the side of the castle with Taigan on her back 😂......That was ridiculous. Overall though, INCREDIBLE show. A definite must watch.
I am happy that you are taking about this show and especially Mizu she is an amazing female protagonist and she reminded me of a certain female character from Demon Slayer anime and that female character is Shinobu Kocho and in my opinion their female rage trope has been done right.
There's a channel called Cards and Reels who made a really, really similar video to this one recently. It came out 5 days ago. He might be recycling your script and changing words here and there. There was one sentence he said nearly word for word that I had to find out where I heard it the first time
I always thought that Mizu let Akemi be taken by the guards is because she thought this was the best for her. She even told Akemi "most women don't get a good choice, except you". This may also aligned with how Mizu was finally happily married but was ultimately betrayed in the end by her husband. Also, if she were to cut down those guards, there would be no end to her running away. And with Akemi, she wouldn't be able to get far. She possibly knew that Akemi wasn't made for the same path as she. A path leading to only seeking revenge. And although she betrayed Akemi, it ended up being the best path for Akemi. She was resistant and fearful at first, but from talking to Madam Kaji she learned that men can be persuaded to fit HER choices. She was able to use her femininity to take control of the things around her. I do hope in the future seasons Akemi and Mizu get along and become good friends.
If i could say one sentence on why this is worth people's time? MEANINGFUL CHARACTER GROWTH And im not just talking about Mizu. Haizen, Akemi, Haiji and even Abijah... that scene in the chapel lends so much to his character. Most people might look at this and think white man bad but it is so much more than what it appears. As someone who is sick and tired of the Disney schtick I cannot wait for more Blue Eye Samurai. This has me as excited as Arcane season 2
The take on gender was interesting. The play between Mizu & Akemi was awesome . She's not a mary sue morally, but her strength is still magic. That she learned by watching dudes practice is silly.
To be fair, there is much of her backstory we still don’t know. She is shown to be weak even after all her training when she first encounters the guys who had ties to opium, and sometime after she had to gain experience to kill “violet”, one of the white men. We still don’t know how that happened.
I like that Mizus development to accepting herself comes as well when she wants to reforge her sword and the blacksmith tells her it needs a mix of iron in the meteorite, it being too pure was what had made it fragile and shatter. Its cool symbolism.
It's a beautifully animated show. For me, Akemi's and Taigen's arcs are more complete and consistent. My complaint is Mizu's superb skills in Ep 1 through 6 with the video game tower... all that fantastic ability, it somehow nerfed on the final chapters. And it really affected my viewership because I hate that trope whether applied to the heroes or the villains. (far too many villains also fall into this where they are presented as this insurmountable enemy with all these powers, but then, somehow they forget these abilities later on so that they can be defeated). Mizu's abilities were downgraded severely and that was my one letdown. Another writer friend of mine also pointed out that the tone of the series changed on ep6 at the video game tower. It has. And as I said... I don't mind being shown power as long as the character remains consistent.
Really felt that way too. Mizu didn't bother me that much. But seeing a European beating the two best sword fighters simultaneously was just ridiculous.
I missed a little consistency as well, but it should be noted that Mizu was damaged and tired through the whole show, actually, which makes the inconsistency (a tiny bit) more credible
@@Sandkasten36 Well, if you remember the scene with him painting, then you might also remember that he has had A LOT of time to master just about every art possible because he's bored to tears. He also has the size advantage. In the end, reach matters. Also, wasn't Mizu pretty battered already? She may be fast and skilled, but she is small, tired and injured, while her opponent was rested, hale, fit and large. You can be the best race driver in the world but you can still run over a pedestrian if you drive tired.
@@Killjoy_Mel As I remember, it was shown that she was kind of "reborn" with all the writings on her body. Neither she or Taigen had severe wounds or anything. He just wrecked both of them. They could've shown him growing up in a sword family in Europe (weak idea) but better than just him being a god sword fighter by sitting locked up in a room.
@@Itomon I thought the same. However, also from a storytelling POV, it's poor form to also keep the viewer unsatisfied after 8 long episodes. In Kill Bill, the Bride managed to kill two opponents in the first movie. It just feels like after all that slogging, she failed to kill Oren Ishii at the end, it will feel incomplete. At least give their viewers a bit of closure since there's 2 more deadly opponents ahead anyway? As it is, they saved all 3 white men for a second season which does not feel right. It feels very click baity so we keep watching. And I have a feeling they will even set the Irishman free in the second season just to "GRR Martin" us.
I was taught empathy from very early on.. to listen actively and understand others by just watching. I immediately knew she was not the villain.. the behaviour she showed was exactly what hardship and pain could have lead me to become. I‘ve also been through hardship and intense hate as well as loss and neglect.. while also having good loving people around me.(which saved me) I learned to accept myself through literally facing death. This all sounds very extreme but it’s just one path of a life that can happen to anyone. This show made me relive emotions and moments I had long buried or rather overcome. It made me reflect and I went through reassuring myself I did right and well.. this all sounds probably very cringe but I find works of art and entertainment like these.. the ones you do not simply just enjoy but works which do inspire and cause reflection on oneself to be some of the greatest works we can provide to each other..
So I've gotten a lot of comments along the lines of, "This is a double standard, if those characters were male then they would be considered fine." And to that I say....... You're right. And how males are written annoys me as well.
One thing I should have said in the video is that it is important to look at the context and tone of the story surrounding the character, because sometimes you do just want a stupidly overpowered protagonist that get their way. But that depends on the tone of your story. A lot of the times the disconnect happens because the story's tone wants you to take this character seriously, but gives us nothing to latch onto or any reason to take them seriously.
Characters such as, Vi, Sarah Conner, Yu Shu Lien, Rebecca and Lucy, Trinity (for the first movie at least), Ripley. All of these characters fit the stereotypical action hero role, and in many ways fit it better than their male counter parts. Yet none of them come across as eye-rolling or pandering, because they are well written. Some are in serious stories, and are written appropriately for their context. Others are written in goofy, tropey action films and fit their roles there as well.
And yes male protagonists get off the hook more often than not which annoys the ever living shit out of me because there are good examples of well written masculinity, but they are becoming fewer and farther between it feels like. Examples of well written males (in my opinion) would be, Vander, Joel, The entire roster from The Lord of the Rings, David, Puss and Boots from the Last Wish. Now I'm limiting myself to "action heroes" but the problem gets even more exastrabated if we were to look further than just action movies.
And one last note, I know a lot of people are going to bring up characters like John Wick, Rambo, and Jason Bourne. I'm all for dumb action heroes that do impossible feats, however these are the good ones, and there are so, so many terrible male action heroes that failed to make any mark because they were terrible characters.
I enjoy it even more when those characters are up against impossible odds and use their wits and skill sets to level the playing field rather than just, Oops I guess I was gifted powerful blood so I just win now sucks to be you.
Good female example? Prey. A young female warrior is faced with the impossible task of killing an unknown monster that has been slaughtering her people. All of the cocky headstrong warriors fall to the monster, but she uses her skill set as a hunter to out wit, out maneuver, and over power the monster. It's a great action film and one that you can swap the gender of the protagonist back and forth and it would still work. If fact, it's more impactful that she's a woman because when she returns to her tribe we see the respect they have for her. Is it a well written character? No. Is it a dumb fun action flick with a female in the main role? Absolutely.
I know this a long comment, and I know people who this comment is addressing may not read or see this. But I felt like as the original creator of this video I should at least address it and acknowledge it. I know that I will never know what it's like being underrepresented in films, nor can I give a full opinion on that matter. I can only give the opinion of someone who casual enjoys writing and likes to share thoughts with the world.
Cheers.
I'm on your side, but... yeah, you really shouldn't have invoked the girl from PREY. Aside from it being banal, mediocre hackwork, that film was poorly written and actually just a contributor to the problem you claim Blue Eye Samurai fixes. With all due respect: you have the right intentions, you just need more education and experience.
Thanks for addressing this, since that was the first thing that came to mind but I would say it's mostly male "action" heros that are very one dimensional. I guess we are just so used to it that we just accept it.
Pretentious. Male action stars annoy you? Rough and simple Masculine fun offends you, clearly, don't cap. Maybe seek some wisdom, before presuming to analyse male fun, or think that this netflix propaganda for feminism is valid, simply because the woman has flaws.
So many simps, goddamn tragedy😕
BES isn't a deep production, it's just more leftist slop for over eager globalist femboys.
Well said. Like you mentioned before. It's not like people hate women (in fact it can be anyone of sex or color) people hate bad writing. And I dislike people who try to use it as means of why diversity doesn't work and we shouldn't have it. or as an excuse to just bash on it. Context always matters. 11/10 video
You haven’t watched Rambo.
I was honestly taken aback by how shocked and horrified everyone acted about letting the men take Akemi. She barely knew her, Akemi tried to kill her mere hours ago, the men were sent by Akemi's father, and not bandits. Mizu had just beaten an army on her own, after a heartbreaking and long night, and now she was expected to take arms against innocent men in a situation she had nothing to do with?
Mizu is not evil. The fingers she cuts are from a slaver. She leaves her prize token from beating Taigen with the mother and daughter she couldn't help earlier. She ties an annoying stalker to a tree but not well enough to let him freeze to death. The men she kills are warriors who are trained to fight or die.
Yes I thought it was a little corny to be honest. She had done far worse things to people already but Ringo decided to leave her because she didn’t help a woman who literally attempted to kill her? Seems like a forced low point
yes!! love this comment. his read on her at the beginning threw me off and you summed up why perfectly.
Mizu also left a woman and her child to die in the snow, she never did any of those things to be good or to bring justice. She did it because it brought her closer to her revenge. When the slave trader was actively talking abt taking women and abusing ringo, she does nothing. It isn’t until she realizes the man can give her information that she does anything. Even then she does nothing to help the slaves because she ISNT a good person. She is blinded by vengeance. There isn’t one kind act she does in the entire first few episodes. That same woman that tried to (not kill) knock out mizu to interrogate her for information, also just risked her own life to save her. Mizu also killed multiple innocents and even those that didn’t even want to fight her.
@@Viewer962 the fact that you didn’t notice that the woman and child were still breathing when she dropped the gold comb for them tells me all i need to know about your observation skills. mizu has a goal and people die for it, yes; it doesn’t mean she is without mercy or pity. she cannot show it in an obvious way that draws attention to her but in the roundabout ways she can, she does. there’s a small moment in episode 4 that shows exactly what i’m talking about; when her and ringo are entering a town and she stops someone playing music to give them money. she didn’t have to do that, she could’ve brushed right past. she has a heart, she just refuses to let it get in the way of her revenge… until it does. read some of these comments and then rewatch the show because you clearly didn’t take it in wholly the first time.
EXACTLY....Well said
“A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.”
That quote describes Mizu’s backstory PERFECTLY. She had the chance for a happy life, but because she was her true self, she faced rejection again. And it broke her and turned her into the onryō that we see in the first few episodes.
Also. She burned down the whole city in her revenge.
Love this. Where does that quote come from?
In episode 7 when Taigen learns about the plot against the Shogun, he's just flabbergasted that Mizu doesn't care. He can't even fathom that the Shogun means nothing to her. But why should it? Though he grew up abused, there's still a massive gap between his experience and hers as an outcast. The Shogun is the symbol of civilization, and civilization still offers benefits to Taigen. He has (or had) the option to rise to a high position, to "succeed." Mizu never had that option. Civilization isn't meant to benefit her, and everyone around her makes that plain again and again throughout the story.
Taigen thinks Mizu honorless for having no reverence for the Shogun, and by extension, the society he rules. He keeps getting little insights into her life experience, and the hand he had in making it a living hell, but he stubbornly refuses to see the world from her perspective. He knows that no one but has ever behaved honorably toward her, except Master Eiji. Yet he still thinks the she owes loyalty to a society that has shown her none.
I think this is what them woke folks mean when they say "check your privilege."
@@rottensquid the Quote “A child that is not embraced by the village will burn it down to feel its warmth.” is an African Proverb
@@SilverCrow0101 I think it's swahili
It seemed from just watching the trailer, that it was another case of Netflix' 'white man bad' crap, like every other show they put out.. But if not, I'll def check it out
I think this video missed perhaps my favorite part of Mizu's marriage.
When we see Mizu get married, she doesn't magically become more feminine. She doesn't stop being who she is. You can see it when she first approaches the ranch- she still stands like a warrior, as if she still has a sword on her hip. She gets excited cooking because she enjoys swordplay and knives and finds joy in the practice of cutting vegetables because shes so long been trying to deny that part of herself to make both her mother and her husband happy and be "A good wife". When she finally tells her Husband how she used to practice all the time, and how she still loves swordplay, finally softening herself enough to trust someone else, she's excited- she's smiling and laughing and free to be fully herself, a woman who loves fighting and swords and is *good* at it. She is so thrilled to share that part with someone she cares about that she *Kisses* her husband after defeating him, even as hes *horrified* to learn what an absolute badass she is and in the end can't handle it.
That, to me is what really makes her a strong female protagonist. It's possible for her to be a complete character. She's a warrior; and that's a complete sentence. She's not "A female warrior, despite her gender" or however you want to phrase what so many other depictions of "Powerful women" would show.
I would also argue that while Akemi is her obvious foil, I think that Madam Kaji is a better example.
Madam Kaji is a powerful woman, who has enough power to control not only her life but the life of all the women in her brothel. She's taken command of her life, while also being overtly a woman in a world that would have her be powerless for that fact. It shows that Mizu's way of hiding her femininity isn't the only way to be powerful and in command. She's also not overtly sexualized- as many other characters in such a roll would be. "Powerful and taking control of her sexuality" as is the common way of phrasing sexy, strong, female characters to make it sound as if they're not just needlessly sexualized for being a "female Warrior".
Giving both Kaji and Akemi as powerful women to stand along side, it shows lots of different ways to be feminine, and powerful, without overtly being sexual or in defiance/spite of their gender- which would normally be the statement a character such as Mizu would make.
The marriage and it's tragic end is Mizu's finest moment in the entire series. That completes the character, I think.
It's just a letdown later on when she goes and does the video game tower castle and the mistakes later at the Shogun palace.
Some have said they changed writers after the Puppet episode. I guess it shows.
@@MrEmpireBuilder0000 I can see the change, especially with the over-the-top battle sequence in episode 6. Gone is the (relative) realism of the action in the first few episodes, replaced by a Mizu who seems basically indestructible, as well as possessing superhuman strength, able to carry the full weight of an adult man while climbing a sheer wall. It did seem like a videogame, with the actual story of it tacked on just at the end. And Fowler felt more like a final boss than a proper character. He was superhumanly powerful, but with little explanation why he could so easily defeat a character who'd just beaten so many underlings.
That said, I think episode 7 is one of my favorites, as it shows the culmination of Akemi's journey. She's a warrior too, just like Mizu, but her skillset is the machinations of personal and social power rather than a sword. And unlike Mizu, she's still a novice, having never before really needed to fight for her needs. But over the course of the series, she picks up the necessary skills quickly, finally learning to take control of the situation she's been forced into rather than escaping it. Madam Kaji gave her the key insight, that she'd been seeking a man to save her, instead of acquiring power of her own. I'm actually more excited about her upcoming battle of wills with her mother-in-law than what happens with Mizu. My guess is that the Shogun's widow was the power behind the throne all this time, maybe even the reason the Shogun was trading with outsiders in the first place.
Madam Kaji is one of my favorite characters in the show. The way she takes control of her life, even in her situation, is deeply admirable.
Almost murdering your husband isn’t badass. Jesus, women are doomed at this rate.
@@MrEmpireBuilder0000 Yes, the ending felt incredibly rushed and forced.
The best part is Misu is so utterly betrayed by both husband and mother that IT DOESN’T MATTER which one sold her out. Can’t stop thinking about how perfectly it was balanced.
*Mizu
Yeah. It doesn't matter to her which one sold her out, because neither of them could accept her true nature, and thought of it as monstrous. She's such a good character.
Honestly to me the show hinted that both had sold her out. The mother(or maybe maid assuming he was telling the truth) was long established to have an opium addiction, and I know all to well that people who are in it deep will do ANYTHING to continue their addiction. Even if someone they care about gets in their way, they will take out anyone who tries to stop them. I don't want to get into the details but something similar happened to someone I know, and the horrible thing was that they genuinely did love the person. Mizu had stopped giving money to her because she was worried about the negative effects on her health, so the mom was facing relapse. Addictions enslave your mind. The mom was probably willing to do anything to get her opium back, and for that she needed money. Remember Mizu stopped giving her money for drugs, so as long as she was around, the mom/maid wouldn't get her fix, so she had to go. And if she really was just a maid, how would she, the opium addict, care that she died if it was for her drugs? By selling off Mizu and getting money for it, she knocked out two birds with one stone. And I dont think Mikio was lying when he said she got new money for drugs.
I also think Mikio sold her out because after the sparring, he made it clear he no longer showed any attachment to her. He ignored her, sold her horse and once again started trying to get into his lord's good graces. So how does it make sense... that after he left Mizu to die by the hands of the soldiers, after seeing that they were no match for her, he comes back and all of a sudden starts spewing nonsense about how he loves her very much? Where did these feelings of love suddenly spring up from? And if he really didn't sell her out, then why didn't he help? Both she and him were excellent with blades, he knew that together they would be able to kill all of the soldiers. And when he saw the soldiers, why didn't he look surprised, or afraid? He just wanted to get money and get in his lord's good graces again by selling her out. When he saw that the soldiers weren't going to be able to kill her, he probably panicked. He knew that she would know that one of two people could have possibly sold her out, and him running away made him look very bad. He was probably afraid of her hunting him down, or at least not being able to return to his house which would suck. So he changes tactics and shows up after the battle is over, hoping she can trust him again and maybe possibly slit her throat in her sleep later. Of course Mizu didn't fall for it. She probably killed him realizing that an innocent man wouldn't have done any of the things he just did, and it didn't matter if her mother sold her out as well because he just killed her. Or perhaps Mizu knew of the new opium as well and that was all the answer she needed.
This is what I believe to be what most likely happened, but it's even more heartbreaking
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233I think it was Mikio that sold her out. After the spar, he likely felt inept after losing to a woman. He sold the horses to the lord but in an attempt to regain his honor likely gave up Mizu as well. The disappointment may be with so few soldiers sent to dispatch her. He argued with her mother (ik) and killed her to silence her. He had too many motives to give her up.
That wasn’t her mother 😂 the show explains this in episode 8.
Mizu didnt betray Akemi, she made the reasonable judgement that life under the thumb of a husband but rich and safe, was better than the "freedom" of a courtesan being abused by degenerates and under the thumb of a mistress. The same point Seki tried to make - "life isnt fair for women but at least let it be a safe life"
There's also the oftentimes overlooked fact that Mizu had just slaughtered an entire army by herself and is probably a little tired right now
@@finbororshe need a nap 😴
@@gorb688 the samurai is very tired. she is eepy. the samurai has had a very long day of splashing thousand claws and wants to take just a small sleeb
@@finboror...and dripping much needed blood everywhere
The big thing is she is not Akemi's friend or sworn swordsman, or really in any way connected to her to the point she should listen to orders. She's not there to do what Akemi wants. She was indeed trying to prevent her getting killed by a brutal gang that was hell bent on massacring them all, and might even be thankful that Akemi saved her. That doesn't give Akemi any room to suddenly treat Mizu as her personal swordsman. So if Akemi had asked for help instead of demanding it, I feel there might have been some cooperation from Mizu. But that plus the fact it was indeed her own family's men come to find her means it's not worth getting into one more fight.
The scene where Akemi tells Taigen she wants to stay back to help her people. But behind her is nothing but fire and destruction and Taigon wants to leave everything and start over and behind him is green and a perfect sky. Loved the symbolism behind that and its a great way to foreshadow the characters future for season 2.
More male archetype humiliation "men have no justification for fighting and go fight for nothing, but lo and behold the strong woman chooses the noble humble path but has such a terrible past" It's propaganda, you just like it.
I Jesus Christ it was just that crafted well
@@ireallycant4416it was very hard to miss
@ireallycant4416 this show is a work of art. And most people probably didn't think of it that way first showing. It was implied they are trying to leave immediately and she decided to become a hero and stay with her people. But the deeper meaning is. She's becoming like her father and probably will be the next big antagonist.
My guess for Taigen future. His relationship with Mizu will grow, and probably will have a repeat of this moment he had with Akemi but this time Mizu. And it's up to Mizu to learn to let go of her need for revenge and be happy with him or to go forward with her path until she dies. Mizu was already given a chance at happiness and chose revenge once. It'd make sense to give her that same choice again but with Taigen.
That's my guess
Would that mean that Taigen’s future (maybe as a ronin) will be bright, prosperous and hopeful with his new beginnings while Akemi’s will be just as dreadful and destructive as the shogun’s downfall leading to her becoming just as mad and cruel as them later down the line?
She gave the princess's golden hair comb to the freezing mother and child she left outside the gates. It wasn't her choice to do that, by the way. What was she supposed to do; cut down the guards, then waltz into the city? Bribe their way in, then have them following her or bringing more attention to her?
A lot of what Mizu does is to approach from the quietest angle in order to achieve her goals.
Becoming human will cost her her goals and that is an awesome new character flaw.
I loved that scene so much because it subverted my view twice. She didn't help at first, but in the end she gave them what they needed to get through. It boggles my mind but also inspired me how well-written that scene was. I've never seen that in media before, most of them write their characters outwardly being nice or doing the right thing, maybe I haven't watched a lot of media but that was perfection.
@@Orchidlettux If it was your regular mainstream tripe(*cough* marvel), she would have caused a ruckus, beat up the guards and have the scene will end with the people clapping for her.
Also, she allowed akemi to be taken back because:
A) she physically couldn't fight anymore, but akemi and ringo selfishly expected her to defend them mere moments after defeating a hoard
B) she truly thought that Akemi is much safer in the castle and that she's needlessly making her life harder than it should be
C) this is 16th century Japan and she is "Bill Clinton" of the story. This is story of the survival and she needs to survive whichever way possible, that means often leaving other people behind or you both go down
@@MELLMAO It's B. Akemi had a absolute top-level position in society most women would switch for in a heartbeat.
@@g.v4848I think it’s kinda mix of B and C, I think if Akemi was going to be killed or something she would of saved her but let’s say she was being brought back to a town were she would live but it kinda sucks I don’t think Mizu would of helped
Another thing I found so incredibly surprising and refreshing about 1x05, was that she broke the trope. The strong protagonist who must be the way they are no matter what is happening, to be so one dimensional. She didn't reject her new position as a wife. She felt dejected over her poor cooking. She worked diligently to support the ranch. And then, she smiles, and she laughs, and she laughs harder, softening more and more, become fragile and finally having this opportunity where she is feminine and soft, and when she is gifted Kai, accepted completely, "too good for any lord". Only to have all of this, all of that she rejects in herself, affirmed as monstrous when she reveals her skills. To let her be soft, to be feminine, to be happy, is why Mizu works, and why we understand her.
please don't give traits a gender....there is nothing feminine about being soft or about cooking...it's just a trait ;)
the woman is allowed to be successful and competent as long as it’s less than the man
I also like that while Mizu is a spectacular swordswoman, she's not invincible. She gets the absolute shit kicked out of her constantly and takes hits and wounds nearly every episode.
ABSOLUTELY, she's not a god, she's not infallible, she's incredibly skilled and so is everyone else. And she needs the people in her life who have intervened when she's been injured to survive.@@patrickwaldeck6681
@@elivenya-theautisticbookwy9638 we may not, but society does. And those traist are considered inferior pricisely because society genders them as female.
It's funny how Mizu turning her back on Akemi and taking that young girl's life are what seem to make people truly see her as a monster and question whether they like her or not - when it was the opposite for me. Too many times in shows do you see a character say they will do absolutely anything to achieve their goal, but in fact, always end up stopping at moments like these. To save a life or to put someone else over their goal. It was these scenes that made me love Mizu's character even more because she stuck to her word. Doing these things may make her look like a monster, but what I see is someone who will allow nothing to stand in their way. Too many times, especially in female leads, their "compassion" and "heart" sway them away from their goal to the point that their whole motive ends up changing. But not with Mizu and that's why I love her character. Finally, a female lead who truly does ANYTHING and lets NOTHING stand in her way.
And I think it was empathy in both situations. The young girl had an STD that could not be cured in that time, and she was suffering daily at the hands of an evil man. She had no options but for de@th to release her, and was at peace when she did. As for Akemi, Akemi tried killing Mizu and was inexperienced in life. Why would Mizu k*ll innocent guards trying to bring a princess back to her royal privileged life simply because Akemi didn’t want to follow protocol. Everything she did was to do the right thing and stay on her mission. I think Mizu k*lling the girl was honestly showing her good character, and it was clearly difficult for her.
I think it’s pretty telling that more people mentioned that compared to when she murdered the innocent boy
Edit: everyone trying to justify shows everything you need to know about the mentally ill fans
@@ExpertContrarian Which innocent boy? You mean the gang member?! From the gang that literally tried to murder her a second ago? Just because he kept his head low, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have jumped her once she turned her back on him.
@@megalodon4586 Imagine actually going out of your way to defend killing kids. You are insane
@@ExpertContrarian A fictional kid. If you can't even stomach a story told in an anime, you shouldn't watch it my guy.
As a girl absolutely tired of poorly written female characters, that show was a bliss. I loved the fact that they portrayed opposite women as both strong, showing that you don't have to be a "tomboy" to be a strong woman. But I think that, what I liked the most was when Akemi took the knife to defend her and the other women in the brothel and said something like "I'm not brave but I was a prisoner all my life ; if I die today, I die free.". She's not someone who waits for other people to solve her problems but she's not going to go from princess to war godess in one second, which would make no sense. Mizu and Akemi are good female characters because they are good characters who are female.
gender in this show is examined spectacularly imo. you have two sets of rules-- one for men and one for women. it's like you are given a script and told to perform. mizu and akemi both perform to the highest degree, only mizu performs masculinity and akemi femininity. i don't think either finds it "natural" in any way, but they use the performance of gender as a tool for their own goals. taigen is a key component to this mix, because we can see that as a low class man he also didn't have many options. he could stay a fisherman, or give the ultimate performance of masculinity and become a samurai. as we see, it hardly matters in the end. akemi and taigen both reject the script at the end, which means they must separate. i have so many thought about this that simply won't fit into a comment but aah. aaaaaah.
What you have already commented here are beautifully put together
"The performance of gender" is just the perfect description and please consider this quote stolen. I'm gonna use it a lot going forward.
Very good analysis of gender in the show ! There’s a lot of literature on this topic in sociology & gender studies. Gender is performative. It’s not something natural or biological. It’s a social construct. If you’re interested, I’d definitely recommend the work of Judith Butler. Their big work is Gender Trouble on the performative aspect of gender. There’s also a lot of literature on identity and society in sociology and anthropology in general.
Not just gender. Specifically edo japan gender roles a lot of stuff doesnt apply to modern day. But ic ur point
@@landofthehazymisteven today, gender is a performance but it can be hard to see when you so entrenched in it.
@@eonstarto the point that it seems to be no longer a script to us, like actors delving deep into playing their roles and forgetting that it's all just something others told them to play out
I like that she's really only chosen to present as a masculine figure due to being betrayed during the only time she was comfortable with her true self. It's sad as hell that the trauma of betrayal can change your identity so dramatically.
Also I think her being a female Samurai was a good choice, this makes the ULTIMATE outsider. A biracial female SAMURAI.
My thoughts exactly. These places of intersection of social identities are full of character and story potential. Blue Eye Samurai saw that and executed it excellently.
The majority of my family members are women. What I've noticed is that they are very strong, some of them are very strong physically as well but what makes them feel very comfortable is that they feel safe to be vulnerable around us (the men) and that run both sides and we feel relief from that balance.
Edit: I want to clarify that this has not been always this way, men in my family used to be disconnected or not present.
Thinking that because she is presenting in a femenine manner, Mizu is presenting as herself is a pretty interesting thought given that she was in an arranged marriage and the whole society pressured women to dress femenine. Also, if she presented how she actually wanted (hypothetically in a masculine way) she could risk mikio leaving her and having no other options. So I greatly disagree that her time with mikio was her "true self", just another side of the coin, the pressure to be the perfect wife changing her behaviours, vs the pressure to escape womanhood because of how horrible it was (trying to pass as a man) at the end of the day both coping mechanisms come from the same horrible societal rules that they had for women.
She presents herself as a man not because of "betrayal", but because of independence & to be treated better. During that time period on that setting women didn't have many rights. Also she was raised as a boy, because someone wanted to get rid of a female child with blue eyes.
I fully disagree it's a COMPLETELY different time for women then. Disguising herself as man was a smart choice, especially for her mission. Going through life as a man is tremendously easier than doing so as a woman.
What's perfect about the show is how everyone contrasts and mirrors Mizu in different ways.
Taigen: Mizu's unyielding pride as a warrior (The perfect sword) but then his pride gets the better of him, and he gets tortured because of it. Through his pain, he grows and stoically looks down on his torturer and kills him with the same words that were spoken to him, but his victory is short-lived because Akemi chooses politics over the life she originally wanted. "Revenge has no place for love" - Mizu
Ringo: Mizu's heart and her impurity. (The brittle sword) Despite also being treated horribly because appearance, Ringo is nice to everyone and initially forgives Mizu for trying so hard to leave him behind. He's loyal and courageous like a Golden Retriever but noisy like a Shizu but after learning the truth behind his master, he leaves her but still decides to pull her out of the freezing water. Mizu tries to ignore him at first but then comes back to him so she can be reborn. Again, with the dog analogy, he stays behind like Hachiko and only leaves once he's certain she has died.
Madam Kaji: Mizu's cynicism (The double-edged sword) A Madam of Prostitutes has her reasons to be world-weary and slow to trust people. Everyone around her betrayed her in some way, shape, or form and being a Madam (And probably before becoming one has only exposed her to the worst of men but yet, through meeting Mizu, she found someone more man than any who have walked into her building and ironically that someone wasn't a man at all. Her pessimism fades once Akemi repays her kindness and buys her freedom.
Fowler: Mizu's shadow (The Onryo) Both were orphaned because of a traumatizing event (The burning of her house/The Seven Years War) and said event gave them freedom to move in the shadows. Both are viewed as demons by society and have to hide themselves from the world, both have a sidekick who represents a psychological aspect of their respective master (Ringo being Mizu's heart/Shindo being Fowler's greed), both are cold and calculating, and both have a religious or divine connection to their characters. The difference is that Mizu takes her religious beliefs seriously, while Fowler is aware of the existence of God but doesn't care for him, Mizu can be compassionate when the chips fall down but Fowler is dead inside, Mizu is ashamed of her impurity while Fowler is proud of it and uses his conquest of Japan. Fowler is Mizu had she never met the sword father, never met Ringo, and never met Akemi. He's cold, calculating, sadistic, and clearly narcissistic.
Wow!! Beautifully said!
Actually it wasn't the Seven Years' War but the Nine Years' War in Ireland.
Great analysis tho.
impaired people being mistreated by everyone in the past is a myth (or a projection of our own failures) people were much more caring for each other because they knew that alone they will certainly die very very easely.
@@thefrenchspacer That is a myth. Japan has a word for marginalized groups that basically translates to "Over the window." That word is madogiwa, people with disabilities were hidden away from society, it's only recently that our societies have made an effort to treat disabled people with respect. Modern Japan has a great deal of technologies that can help people traverse through the city with ease.
I like how Mizu genuinely asks for her God's strength and wisdom and is greatful when the tides are in her favor, while Fowler talks to God like he's making a deal with a Mafia Boss. Mizu is genuinely willing to humble herself while in prayer hoping to get what she wants, while Fowler casually talks to God like it's just a business deal. Small differences like that between characters serve to show that even though Mizu isn't a good person, she still is more human than Fowler.
Mizu is written like a human being. She struggles, makes mistakes, but finds reconciliation with herself and carries on in improving.
Edit: She resembles me lot of Guts from Berserk
She certainly does, but I found Guts to be way more believable in his own universe. I mean, my dude was a genetic freak able to lift a 200 kilogram sword and swing it all night. On the other hand, Mizu didn't really have anything that was special about her and that could potentially make her able to do all the crazy things she did. Since she's not physically special, there should be more focus on how her skills got as high as they did. For example her backstory should be more focused on training, since they really only ever showed her lifting weights and swinging her sword by herself, sometimes watching others fight or train too, but what I think was really needed here to not make her feel like Rey Skywalker was some kind of training master to spar with her.
Also she really does resemble Wolverine at times with how her injuries affect her. Episode 6 was peak, when her foot got completely destroyed, but she forgot about it a few seconds later and even managed to run/make super long jumps/beat 10 guards at once like nothing happened. I wish the writers had more control over creating mindless action just for the sake of it.
@@dominiorrr6510Well at least I don't think it had anything to do with her being a woman. They just wanted to give really good and interesting action. I mean, in real life, literally no one on earth would be able to do what we've seen her do. It's amped up for the enjoyment of being able to witness something cool, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing. I mean, that's what the entire fantasy genre is literally made for. I think taking some creative license is okay. And to be fair, she at least possesses some good genes. She's tall, especially as a woman, which objectively offers benefits for fighting. She also has wide shoulders for her gender, at least as wide as the average man's, which helps with arm strength, and of course she has trained to be physically fit. Learning the ways of the sword is also basically the only way she can survive, so she definitely has the drive to become amazing. So her being one of the best in the world I don't think is that unbelievable. I mean one time I saw a woman who was literally like 6'7, with wide shoulders, meaty hands, looked strong as FUCK. I wouldn't be surprised if she had Neanderthal blood lol. She would definitely have been able to beat at least like 90% of the men I've ever seen. It's uncommon, but it is possible for women to have amazing genes for fighting
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233 I don't really care whether she's a man or a woman, it just doesn't make any difference to me. My point is that her feats in the show are simply hard to believe considering how the world has been built up till episode 5 or so. I'd rather have less action and a more coherent story.
To be more precise, I don't care if a show introduces things that are impossible in our world and that's why I like fantasy, but when a main character does something that shouldn't be possible in her own world, then it's just bad writing.
I expected way more realism and maybe that's why the show left me disappointed.
Let's compare Mizu to Guts from Berserk: Guts winning a 1v50 fight was just more believable, not only because he's physically far stronger than any character we've seen in his own universe, but also because he barely sustained any injuries during that fight. How it happened is left to speculation instead of throwing some cheeky and unbelievable fight scenes, but it's not hard to imagine what actually happened since we've seen him crush countless enemies with his 2 meter long sword.
There are many problems I had watching Blue Eyed Samurai and Mizu having terribly written action scenes is just one of them.
@@dominiorrr6510 So what, in Mizu's world, did you deem as impossible?
@@mittenvonscrufflears7233 Well, so far the broken foot mambo jambo was the main thing I can think of that should not be possible. Why even show the scene where she gets her ankle pierced if it has no real effect on her? She also got stabbed multiple times and got just fine within the matter of screentime minutes. I get it, she's really determined and blah blah blah, but there's only so much you can stretch a character's capability.
By the end of episode 6 they basically got rid of any stakes the show had left and the only reason for that was to get some cheap action. Cheap not in the visual way, I think the action scenes looked good.
Mizu certainly stands out from other attempts to create strong female protagonists. She gets hurt, she suffers emotionally and physically, she has a cold exterior that sometimes goes away when the right people get close to her and she doesn't reject her femininity out of spite, but because she has no other choice to pursue her goal.
Yeah, being a woman wont help her to get where she wants or get the things she needs.
@@akodaah13-e32 So she hides it whenever possible. Like Mulan from the classic story. I would imagine she'll need to do the same in Season 2.
The show makes a point to show you that her quest is unnecessary and destructive to herself and others. She could have stayed with the blacksmith. She could have become a relatively popular whore at a brothel. She could have found someone decent to marry and live a quiet life somewhere. With her intelligence and courage she could have done any number of things. But instead she chose the path of blood out of some misplaced anger at being born. It's understandable but a bit silly.
Ok?
No, she doesn't. It's an American character in an American story, it has nothing to do with the Japanese society, their history or mentality.
The Head of the Brothel House was my second favourite character. She spells out exactly the problem with how women are treated and why women are strong to survive in that era. With Mizu, I kept wondering why she didn't at least actually try to settle down or be happy. Then the last few episodes hit. SHE DID try to be happy. She let herself be vulnerable and feminine and hardworking with her husband. They developed a relationship. The minute she revealed her strengths and every part of her, he was suddenly scared and disgusted by her. So she can't be strong and a woman. I never hated a man so much as I did in that moment. I thought he would be different, since he accepted her appearance, but nope. A woman stronger than me is horrible, I dont want a wife who can fight. It made my blood boil, but that was what it was at the time. you had two options: marriage or prostitution. Mizu was a third: be a monstrous outcast from a homogenous society.
She had one guy turn on her and now she could never find any man that would accept her huh? Three men already accepted her. The blacksmith, the cripple, and the bully. Not for marriage but still. There's bound to be others she could potentially form close bonds with romantically.
they did not portray the husband's disgust as unjustified as you seem to think they did. if you can recall the scene, she had her sword at his throat and kissed him. you can analyze that any number of ways. but it was not okay to me, even if it was her genuine self.
@@treacherousjslither6920Sure, if Mizu’s mission was to settle down and be happy then maybe EVENTUALLY she’d find someone. But the damage was done at that point.
@@treacherousjslither6920 You are approaching this through the eyes of a man in the modern era and not a WOMAN in EDO JAPAN PERIOD. Also not approaching this with any full understanding why someone would withhold themselves in an environment that treats them like sh*t. Anyone can rat you out and take away your freedom and or worse ABUSE or KILL you while doing so.
She tried that happiness route as a wife but got betrayed by someone she grew to love. THAT shakes the core in someone who has never loved before or trusted before. I don't mean slightly vulnerable but COMPLETELY vulnerable.
This was BEFORE meeting the other men in her life. And even so only one out of the three mentioned know her identity by accident.
So after suffering profund betrayal and seeing how easily someone can try to ruin your life, you think she would be easily willing to trust and love again? It would be incredibly unsafe for her and can be a threat to her survival in the world and time period she lives in.
@@treacherousjslither6920 Not in 1600's Japan. Everyone sees her as a monster. And do remember how her relationship started with the other three. And it's not romantic. That's not the point of her existence. The damage has been done. Her husband and mother betrayed her. You should not be using a modern perspective here. NO SHE WONT FIND SOMEONE ELSE, nor will she let herself be that vulnerable again
Dude, were we watching the same thing? Mizu isn't at all cold and callous at the beginning. She doesn't leave the basket-weaver mother and daughter to freeze in the snow - when she leaves the town they are still shivering in the snow and she drops Taigen's golden comb in the snow next to them. The gold comb is easily worth a years wages or more to them. Probably more. Much more.
She doesn't simply kill Ringo in the bamboo forest and walk away. She easily could have. She goes to all the trouble of tying him up so as not to have to kill him. She knows he will escape eventually. She just wants to escape him without permanently harming him. Later she says she will kill him if she sees him again. But no. After proving himself useful she has to grit her teeth and allow him to accompany her. (And earlier, in Ringo's father's inn, her loud, table-scraping-across-the-floor stunt in the inn defused and deflected a situation when Hatchi the Flesh Trader was holding a gun on Ringo and was thinking of putting him down like a dog.) Three times she cuts this guy slack in the first episode!
She allows Akemi to be taken by her father's men and brought home to go to a marriage she doesn't want because she knows that is best for her. Taigen is insisting on a duel. She knows what is going to happen if he duels her again. This time he won't get off with just a hair cut. And she left Taigen alive, knowing who he was and all the misery he caused her when they were kids, when she had it in her power to kill him the first time they fought.
She does do her job and assassinate the girl stolen by the gambling boss. But this act tears her up. So much so that when she is seen by a witness, a small boy, she lets him go when she knows that she "ought" to kill him to cover her tracks.
She allows the "Thousand Claw" thug, who has lost his nerve in the brothel fight, to live. She walks away. However, when the fight is all over and she knows just what murderous, honorless scum the thousand claws are, she kills another one in the same circumstance because she has had it up to here with them.
These things are not the actions of a soulless onryo. Mizu is conflicted. If she wasn't conflicted she would not be nearly as interesting. Now here's a question for you - where did Mizu get her money? What happened to the first Western Barbarian she tracked down and killed? And when she tells Madam Kadji that she "performs services" just what services is she talking about? I think she sells her sword and has been living as a blade for hire. If she was a bounty hunter it would about nail down the Clint Eastwood bit eh? Excellent review otherwise.
Edit: As of 12/11/23 the second season has been approved by Netflix. (Huzzah!)
Absolutely agree, fantastic take 👏
i throughly enjoyed reading your comment! i completely agree. she’s really kind but she never loses sight of her purpose
I agree! I think in the beginning she isn’t “soulless”, it’s just that’s how other people see her due to her extreme determination and ruthlessness when it comes to getting what she wants, but those little bits are added to show us that she’s not what people assume she is.
yes i remember my second rewatch i was like omg she left his golden comb for them to trade in and i thought it showed a lot about her that she doesn't make obvious to everyone
Well said 👏🏾
I loved how Mizu completely surprised me with some of her actions. She didn't fall into all the stereotypical stuff. Part of the story Mizu was just an outright jerk xD and that was good. Nobody is a picture of perfection. I truly hope we get more well written characters like we did in BES
Arcane did this really well, too and I think She-ra did it well too.
All the characters have a back story, are authentic and show their "human" side.
@@BoochanShe Ra was Garbage. Comparing to Arcane and Blue Samurai is Comparing Nursery rhyme to Tolkien.
Her character archetype is stereotypical, but alright
@@ExpertContrarianI get where your coming from and I agree the roots are of a character archetype that’s commonly used but I think one of the things that sets her most apart is how biased she is and how much of a horrible person she can be, she wants to kill all the white men in Japan for no other reason than the fact she was told white peoples were evil, she killed an innocent girl and burned down a palace just to get her revenge that might even be misplaced, he’s fowler says they were evil, but I think one of them is going to turn out nice and mizu is going to realise how she wasn’t in the right
I am so glad that people are talking about this show. This show makes me feel more comfortable with my own experience with femininity, as someone who has struggled with being born female for a very long time. It brought tears to my eyes not only for its masterful use of storytelling, but for the fantastic character writing, the art, the music, etc. I am utterly in love with this show on an incredibly deep level.
Yeah, being a born female comes with so many set of...issues and feelings and self hate sometimes. It spoke to me in many magically ways. Especially cuz I have been dying for something like the Manga Berserk or Vinland Saga with a female lead and WHAM, this show gave me both Akemi and Mizu.
At this point i dont really label myself as anything but this show is awesome at portraying female characters with pretty different ways of expresing and living with their femininity. Mizu dresses as a man because is easier for men to get the sort of things she needs, but its not that she hates being a woman, or that she wishes she could be a man.
Akemi on the other hand takes advantage of her beauty and femininity and men's... Not fragility but susceptibility to seduction and sex, and she learns to push the right buttons to get the things she wants
And neither of this different ways of exeriencing womanhood are presented as better than the other.
@akodaah13-e32 would love more shows like this. Women can powerful in SO many different ways and this show captured that. Like it really captured that "Sex is why females are oppressed and gender is how they are oppressed" thing but neither of the lead females let that keep them down. I frankly love how Mizu still desired to be more like a traditional women in some ways in the Onryo episode and how Akemi has this thrist for power but is not going about it in the "needs to get buff and beat up men" approach.
This show just MASTERS its female characters. All the characters really.
What are your struggles with being born female?
@@froggylegs1499love vinland saga -btw , but when you both say born female... you mean you're a girl who dealt with some identity issues growing up? Being into sports or something, or like tomboy esque feelings?
Or.do you guys mean you're no longer female...?
I find it interesting that Mizu is referred to as "samurai" by other characters, despite the fact that she doesn't actually have that status. It's one of those nice anachronisms that goes back to Kurosawa's films: that this character can represent ideals, even romantic ones, that aren't a reality of the time period, and that can be inspiring. The idiotic comments I've seen faulting the show for lacking realism and historical accuracy miss this point entirely.
Imo quite a bit of the show's writing was done for marketability to an audience outside japan, with preconceived notion of the culture. Elements that if we change to be more historically accurate, wouldnt hurt the show. Like referring to mizu as samurai instead of ronin or just a vagabond. And acting like the japanese army didnt have matchlock (which is still far less advanced than what Fowler brought). Because the moniker samurai is more marketable than others, as well as the idea of a non gun japan perpetrated by hollywood.
@@mdd4296 - I doubt that any of the elements you mentioned were done for marketability. That was my point. It's one of the reasons Kurosawa's films work so well: they aren't concerned with historical accuracy, something virtually impossible to have everyone agree with. Sure, it might be more plausible to have the show set during the Muromachi, when the social mobility of the time might allow for a gender-indeterminate individual to walk around freely with a sword in their obi. I salute the show's creators for not burdening their story with such banality.
@@jachyra9 The problem with that train of thoughts is some anachronism brought the show quality very very slightly down when we examine other elements of the show:
Mizu, in the very first episode implied there were Japanese made guns already.
The shogun disobeyed his own laws for greed. We are meant to believe he didnt equip his capital troops with the best technology he could mass produce on his own soil? Ringo insist on referring to Mizu as a samurai while everybody else say otherwise would be a nice touch for his characterization.
Romanticising from historical inspiration is very fine. But it's another thing when you go against what you established early on.
There was great effort from the showrunners to put the "banality" of the time at the front. They are more than aware how thing was back then. And the directing proved they can handle those elements with great finesses while taking artistic license. So why still resort to certain preconceived notions produced only for western audience... decade ago? To bring the quality slightly down? While it has established itself not just wanting to be romantic but very gritty and cynical as well? The only reason I could think of is marketing.
For example, the 2014 admiral Yi movie. It's about the korean perspective, so why was a samurai front and center in western promotionals? Because that is better for marketability over here.
Mizu would work in any time period: be it more or less egalitarian than edo. She has always been an outcast, always been pretending to be other gender, social norms just don't apply to her.
@@mdd4296 - “The problem with that train of thoughts is some anachronism brought the show quality very very slightly down when we examine other elements of the show”
Very, very slightly? Hold on while I fetch my magnifying glass. :)
“Mizu, in the very first episode implied there were Japanese made guns already.”
That’s because there were.
“The shogun disobeyed his own laws for greed. We are meant to believe he didnt equip his capital troops with the best technology he could mass produce on his own soil?”
Because the show makes it clear that they lacked the “best” technology for said mass production? You are thinking for the characters, who may not be as intelligent as you, who didn’t have your access to the information provided by the show’s writers, who may have been led astray or misinformed when making certain decisions, etc. Sorry, but this is Monday morning quarterbacking on your part. It’s okay, we’re all guilty of it from time to time. “Why didn’t Obi-Wan just flat out tell Luke that Vader was his father from the get go?” “Why didn’t the Eagles fly the Hobbits and the One Ring to Mordor?” Sorry, but I prefer not to indulge in this sort of behavior. It find it joyless and pointless.
“Ringo insist on referring to Mizu as a samurai while everybody else say otherwise would be a nice touch for his characterization.”
I agree.
“Romanticising from historical inspiration is very fine. But it's another thing when you go against what you established early on.”
Inconsistency is a human trait. I can live with that.
“There was great effort of the show to put the "banality" of the time at the front. They are more than aware how thing was back then.”
Are they? Historians and scholars don’t agree on even when the various periods of Japanese history begin and end. What we claim to know, to agree upon, about pre-modern Japan has a lot of speculation and fantasy flavoring it.
“And the directing proved they can handle those elements with great finesses while taking artistic license. So why still resort to certain preconceived notions produced only for western audience... decade ago?”
I think a better question would be: why not? Fiction is not under any obligation to placate our ideas about reality.
“To bring the quality slightly down? While it has established itself not just wanting to be romantic but very gritty and cynical as well?”
It only brings the quality slightly down in your estimation. Blue Eye Samurai isn’t 100% historically accurate, and no fiction is. But it’s still light years away from the comedy that is The Last Samurai, for example, a film seemingly designed as a chew toy for historians.
“The only reason I could think of is marketing.”
Forgive me for coming across as just another garden-variety Millennial hipster who enthusiastically devoured every David Foster Wallace treatise he could get his grimy little hands on, but… everything is marketing.
“For example, the 2014 admiral Yi movie. It's about the korean perspective, so why was a samurai front and center in western promotionals? Because that is better for marketability over here.”
Undoubtedly.
“Mizu would work in any time period: be it more or less egalitarian than edo. She has always been an outcast, always been pretending to be other gender, social norms just don't apply to her.”
She wouldn’t “work” now. And she did experience life as a female and a wife.
@@jachyra9 You can open carry guns around s lot of states nowadays. Openly carrying a melee weapons are legal in even more jurisdiction. And telling people to use your preferred pronouns is also much more accepted. Mizu would have no need of that in modern time though. The show also established early on that drifters with weapons are common enough sights.
The very first scene set the story in 1633, at this period, Japanese matchlock has already went a long way from when they first mass deployed them during sengoku. The show never made it clear that they cant manufacture that btw. There is a lot of disadvantage matchlock has over flintlock, and the bow was still an important military weapons due to those issues. There is no mistaken of the time period here. I am not making it about historical accuracy as is. But the resorting to certain anachronistic elements specifically made for western audience because that's easier for marketing. And you realise "Everything is marketing". So yeah, my point is... proven?
"Why not?" because why do artists have to bow down to business pressure to create arts? Don't answer, we all know why.
I could stop here since I never tried to persuade you any further than that. But undermining the showrunner's effort in the research they done for the show wouldnt sit right wit me, there was indeed great efforts to put banality like how they cook, walk in different clothing, pattern of speech, transports, architecture, medicine practice... alongside the bonker artistic license.
Last Samurai was outside the point. It was intended to be a far more romatic view of Japanese tradition than Blue Eye ever was. If anything, Blue Eye wanted to criticise those traditions.
I didn’t think I would but by the time the season wrapped I had so much love & respect for Princess Akemi. Her character development & story arc was awesome!
C'mon, let's keep it real. Sword Father knows Mizu is born female. He's just cool like that. 🤔
He is a true master indeed
Definitely, the show makes this clear - he cuts Mizu off when she has something she must confess. "You came to me as a boy and you will leave as a man", or words to that effect.
it's not even worth mentioning
why would he? it does not change anything that know what sex she was
When she turns to ringo and says 'useful' 😢 such a great series. I really hope they start on season 2!
it is cute
Broke my heart a little. Ringo has no hands and only seems to want to be helpful to those around him. He feeds Taigen and politely declines, while Taigen arrogantly imagines a world with Ringo as a house servant. Having worked with amputees, I love this character for his ingenuity and perseverance. He's always underestimated and always useful. He represents fortitude, plucking our hero from death when all seems lost.
You put to words why I loved this show. The writing made me happy to realize that there are talented artists still out there making beautiful art that is not mainstream. This is such a unique subject matter that took courage to tell and I am so elated they took the risks they did. I just hope Netflix doesn’t cancel it.
They have announced season 2 so hopefully the story is getting the recognition it deserves
"The perfect blad eis both pure and impure" is a phrase I will keep in my mind always. I also liked how they *layered* the storytelling on Mizu. How she herself is layered. It helps to better understand and digest why she is the way she is now, how she changed then to change now.
Mizu is just the antithesis to a Mary Sue character. She earned her strength through sheer force of will, she came from no legendary lineage but a half-breed, considered to be filth by society, her magical weapon broke halfway through the story, people actually call her out on her flaws, she was perfectly comfortable with the idea of femininity and a family life, and her small stature actually comes in as a disadvantage when she had to fight men twice her size like Fowler. I actually feel like Mizu could die at any of her fight the first time watching; there was never that lack of stake at play knowing she can't be harmed because throughout the series, Mizu's injuries starts to build up and it chipped away at her strength until she had to be physically removed from the plot to recover. Her journey also wasn't just an excuse to reaffirm her beliefs, but one that shattered her skewered worldview brought by her tragedy. She learned to open up, to be better than just a grieving demon, even though vengeance is still on her mind. They were very explicit in condemning her morally wrong actions and never justified it.
"She earned her strength through sheer force of will" you understand that this means nothing? Its just a nice placeholder when you dont bother to make a good story.
@@thefrenchspacer Correct. The real game changer was depicting a life of hard work and struggle. Working as a swordsmith's apprentice, learning from all his customers, the dedication that came from the vow on her presumed mother's grave... Thing is, to avoid the Mary-Sue-trap, all of this can be handled in a much shorter form. A few lines of dialogue is all it needs to establish some sort of warrior background, when a complex story doesn't matter, at least during the introduction of a character. Which is why it is so upsetting that this problem exists at all. Even an idiot like me can dream up solutions for it, so we have to assume that the writers who created characters like Rey from Star Wars or the new She-Hulk WANT viewers to get mad at their hero.
@@Volkbrecht it needs a LOT of talent to do it properly AND the will to do it. When your goal is just to have a "strong female caracter" you dont bother with this kind of "details" in their mind female are great per see, period.
What are you talking about? She's totally a Mary Sue character! How is she able to climb with another person on her back while severely injured, bare handed, a smooth wall? How she able to defeat multiple armed men wearing armor EMPTY HANDED with a severe injury that should limit her movement abilities? How is she able to come off unharmed and alive from being pressed and crushed under a door with several men on top of it? She has several feats of completely unrealistic feats, that are there because she has made stupid decisions and writers couldn't find any smarter way of keeping her alive in those situations. It is never explained, how she can be so unrealistically physically strong and how she can endure her injuries so unrealistically well. None of her training should have made her capable of climbing a smooth wall with another person on her back. I don't think there's a single human being on this planet, that would be capable of pulling that feat of. She's absolutely a Mary Sue character.
@@vyli1 episode 5 is so full of marysue moments it even surpasses the Rey bullshit
I personally don't think there's a "strong female protagonist" problem, per se. I think there's bad/lazy writing and people really need to focus on that rather than over scrutinizing every female protagonist that breaths. Because there are plenty of male characters who do exactly nothing but kick ass and are adored for it. It's ok if some female protagonist are like that too. Nor should it mean that they're "acting like a man" just because they're not shown being feminine. Not every woman is feminine after all. Also, what was wrong with Captain Marvel, The Marvels, and Ocean 11? I'm genuinely confused what the problem was with those movies. The main cast was all women, yes, but I didn't really get the "strong female protagonist" problem people mention anywhere in those movies? Ok moving on...
God, I fucking love this show. I love the different ways power is utilized by women in the unjust world. Akemi realizing her power and ending the bullying of the shogun's wife was borderline cathartic lol. I see many female protagonists just taking the abuse or punching their way through the problem. And depending on the circumstances, either one is a justifiable reaction. But I've noticed people tend to demonize this form of power that women have had to use and often still have to use. In a world geared towards catering to men and buying and selling women both explicitly and implicitly, you use the power you can, and sometimes that power is manipulation.
Mizu kicking ass is always a pleasure, yes, but I didn't adore her character until we got to episode 5 and I finally SAW her. Having loved her mother and her husband, only to have them rip her heart out was so painful to watch. Love poisoned by betrayal, like they said in the episode. It was fascinating to see that Mizu was BOTH of the characters in that play. She was the revenge driven warrior who seemed to find peace, but also the loving wife who turns into an onryo after being scorned. It shows how fluid and realistic a character she is, to be both these things and eventually becoming something both the same, yet different than either. Mizu ends the season still wanting revenge, but she's also learned to care for people again and let their safety take priority. I feel like she finally lets herself stop being the onryo and allows herself to be human after finding those people that treat her that way. She wants to be human for them.
Also, I'm semi-convinced that Taigen stowed away on that ship lol. We don't get a final shot of him and his story with Mizu is far from over. Finally, an enemy to lovers I can get behind lmao. Taigen will be taken aback when he learns Mizu's a woman, but he has such respect for her, he'll get over it eventually.
I honestly have no idea how the show is going to balance the continuation of Akemi's story in Japan, and Mizu's story in London. But they kinda have to. Akemi is absolutely the number 2 character in the show. I have no idea where Mizu's story is going, but I can tell Akemi is about to face a massive power struggle with her mother-in-law, who I strongly suspect has been the real power behind the Shogun, the reason he was in bed with Fowler, etc.
Regardless, I think like the whole "social justice warrior" complaint, the "strong female character" problem tends to be a disingenuous way of saying and idea can't work if it's ever done poorly. Or worse, if the motive behind it is too obvious. I was stunned to learn from a dozen half-baked RUclips hot-takes of Blue Eye Samurai that, despite being a deeply feminist examination of the cruelty of patriarchal society, it is, none-the-less, not "woke," and not feminist. Apparently, it's only woke if these viewers don't like it, or have the wokeness spelled out for them so clearly they can't ignore it. Lucky for them, BES keeps all that annoying thematic stuff down in the subtext. They're impressed with what a bad-ass Mizu is, so long as they can ignore how they're the villain in her story, the reason her life is such hell. They're Taigen.
Exactly. Several male characters are shallow one dimensional muscle heads but there is a double standard for femal protagonists. They shouldn't have to be better to be enjoyed. And no shifting on this show. I absolutely loved it but I think Arcane also did really well with tackling female characters in their environments.
I do not like Taigen 😅 I'm sorry. I feel like the story was trying roo hard to redeem him from his wrong doing.(making him seem remorseful in his flashback of bullying Mizu).
It's an amazing show. I'm glad it's been renewed for season 2 and I hope it continues to deliver wonderfully. Watching this the constraints women had in Edo Japan were so tight, yet it was amazing to see how the 2 female leads worked their way through them.
@rottensquid oh you are so right about the 'woke' thing. Taigen literally got hard for someone he is under the impression is a guy. I saw a comment saying his body knew 😂😂😂. Delusion is the path foward I guess 😂
U READ MY MINDDDDDD, these "strong female protag analysis" videos annoy the hell out of me, like Why don't I see this desperate energy of dissecting the strong independent cold female protag irritating everyone becuz they're strong and independent and have feminism in them (and also apparently with them being written "badly") but the strong independent cold male characters is sometging that everyone stays silent about, like Where's this burning passion when it comes to the boring ass male protags.
I still don't get the hate for brie, cuz I enjoyed her being cold asf with less to no weaknesses, idrc, I in general enjoy flawed characters like there are all kinds of peole in society not everyone is righteous, yall get to enjoy the toxic male characters yet you draw the line when you aren't even interested in it??
@@Rotuwam_1Your comment mad me laugh so hard. 😂
for me mizu being overpowered works bc it adds to the belief that she's a demon. It's like we are watching a legend from that universe being told and even then she still struggles a lot in the fights, my girl cannot end 1 fucking episode without being stabbed 😭 this show is a masterpiece alongside with arcane
But why is she so extremely unnaturally strong? It doesn't make any sense. The only reason she is that strong is, because show writers have written her into situations where no person would be able to survive, so they had to resort to supernatural deus ex machina feats of strength and endurance to make her survive. I don't understand, how people are oblivious that the story is written horribly and that her character is the very definition of a Mary Sue character.
@@vyli1 Worst Troll Bait Ever.
@@vyli1 I assume you have the exact same complaints about John Wick, Rambo, James Bond, Batman, Call of Duty, and like every martial arts film ever.
@@julianrosas9134 In fact EVERYONE, not only me, criticizes fight scenes in movies, where one person defends against a large group of opponents, but opponents approach the defender only one at a time. Indeed I disliked in the newest Batman movie the fact, that Batman survived a high-speed crash into a bridge when he was escaping from police by gliding from the roof of a police station. I have not seen many of the movies that you mention, but I do criticize these things in other movies as well. But where many other movies have only a very small amount of such moments in their story line, there are those movies and TV shows, that are solely based upon such special rules applying to their main characters and Blue samurai is one of such stories.
And it wasn't even necessary to add those elements to the story in case of Blue Samurai. For example there was no reason for the scene of climbing a smooth wall and carrying another human being while doing it, it just makes the whole thing unrealistic for no good reason.
I don't mind, that the character is able to defeat multiple opponents (although it would certainly help if the number of opponents wasn't unreasonably high as is the case a few times in the series), she can be depicted as extremely skilled, that's fine. I haven't seen Rambo actually, but my criticsm wouldn't be that Rambo can defeat many opponents on his own either.
@vyli1 I’m not reading that buddy. Have a great day
I think what makes a character admirable has nothing to do with gender, but with strength. Mizu transcends the role of a man or a woman and becomes strong. We admire her for her strength, likes her as she becomes a better person and learn that impurity at the right place is a quality. I envy her for her strength.
No. If it were about strength than shitty characters like Rey and Captain Marvel would be considered good characters according to your definition. It’s not about strength it’s about growth through adversity and having a multifaceted character
I can only imagine what kind of story we could have had with Rey (Star Wars) being some version of Mizu. A torn woman, vengeful, full of anger, but very powerful - meeting Luke who tries to save her path from darkness.
Or Korra (Avatar) as a different option. Good, but hot tempered, talented, arrogant, identifies with her power - and then her bending/ force gets taken away.
PHENOMENAL show that does nearly everything right. It made me feel things I haven't felt from entertainment in a long time. And its a masterclass in so many aspects of storytelling, strong female protagonists included. Thank you for covering this incredible production, can't wait for parts 2 and 3 from you
Mizu's backstory was so well written , it really would have any one rooting for her, and the other movies and tv shows of this domain , really never cared about that , to build that strong emotion , and build characters with such connections .
literally paused this video 10 seconds in, binge watched the whole series just to come back and finish this video
The lesson of the story is don't write a strong female protagonist or a strong male protagonist. Write a human being who has flaws and who struggles because of those flaws and learns to overcome them.
I don't think that is true here. Gender has a great role in this story!
@@Itomon my point wasn't that the characters' gender didn't serve a role in this story. My point was that to make any character, male or female, compelling, they must have flaws that they must deal with. Too many writers and movies make their female protagonists too perfect/Mary Sueish.
@@Neekazan I feel like female protagonists are criticized more for being perfect than male protagonists.
It is so refreshing to see such a well writing strong female protagonist. A strong character without struggle, isn't truly strong. Many writers don't seem to grasp that in recent days, and just make their female protagonists have 2 traits: strong. female. That isn't enough, nor is it interesting. But this show understands perfectly what makes a good strong characters. Mizu isn't strong because she doesn't struggle or because she doesn't have any flaws, she is strong because she does. She is strong because of who she is: her trauma, her experiences, her desire for revenge, her shame, her hatred, her love. Everything makes her who she is, and as viewer you can feel where her strength is coming from. it isn't empty strength, it is HER strength.
this is such a great analysis - you did such a great job of putting everything i felt towards this show into words! i really adore the writing for Blue Eye Samurai, i feel like it does so many things right and i like to compare it to my favorite show of all-time, Arcane, in that the story feels very character-driven. the development of the characters over time, how their decisions influence the story and each other, how they reflect the world around them, Blue Eye Samurai does such a great job of all of it. i feel like it's not often that i find a show where i find myself liking almost the entire cast, but everyone feels so realistic and compelling, which makes it that much easier to connect to the story and become immersed in it. this is my favorite revenge story i've come across and i adore mizu so much - i can't wait to follow along the rest of her journey!
THIS IS THE BEST COMMENT I HAVE EVER READ IN MY LIFE YOU DESERVE AN AWARD I bet the person who wrote this is the most coolest person of all time innit
I adore how every character feels like its own complete and flawed person
And i love every single one of them
@@mrgreenpickuptruck i totally agree with you! the characters are made in such a way that you don't have to love/agree with everything they do/are, but there's still something about them that you can admire
@@kazu9445 thank you pookie
@calif0rme it's kinda fixing the idea that you can't like a character if they are evil or bad
Mizu isn't a good person
Akemi is incredibly selfish
But they are so interesting to watch because you wanna see where they end up BECAUSE they aren't perfect and pristine characters that can do no wrong
Just finished the season one and I can't help but feel that the protagonist in Blue Eye Samurai gave me what I needed to see in the Barbie movie, and then some. Nobody blew up in a monologue and yet the message was clearly stated.
'the only thing that holds me back are the limits of society'.... Ironically this is sooooo worthy of being done well because it is never not a part of my day. Everyday i have to overcome my limits that are personal to me AND the limits of the over culture
This is true of everyone
What’s also great about Mizu is that there were some episodes where I was genuinely frustrated with her. Because of her one dimensional view on revenge.
Leaving Ringo behind all in the sake of revenge only to keep doubling down. But she does show growth in the end by sparing Fowler.
Also Mizu is the prettiest female protagonist we have gotten in a long time, How beautiful she actually is was displayed perfectly in episode five when she was able to be vulnerable and feminine. She’s wonderfully written.
I found this really interesting. She’s on the path of revenge without constraint, and at first doesn’t care who else gets hurt along the way, but by the end she starts to realize she can’t do everything alone, and she has other people that matter to her
There was one part of this show that bothered me a lot though I absolutely loved it as a whole. When the brothel mother told her to kill that girl, it shook me as that girl was never shown kindness in that way in that she thought she was being saved and I guess she would have died at the hands of much worse at those times in edo Japan, but there was no sense of liberation for her. The deep betrayal and humanity in the story really found me at a time that I needed it. I can’t wait for season 2!
I kid you not, as soon as I watched this show, I was very much hoping that you would cover it (btw, happy to see a video from you any time - I stay subscribed because your content is great, not because of how fast you put it out). It's rare for me to really love a revenge story (Vinland Saga and Code Geass being among my favorites in animation, even if the latter has its problems, and the likes of John Wick, The Prestige, Inglorious Basterds, and Gone Girl taking it for live action, though some of those stretch the concept), much less the kind of straightforward Kill Bill-esque targeted kill quest that is this series. Really helps that it has such a strong lead in Mizu, who I think is much more interesting than The Bride ever was, particularly for her grey morality that you've covered here. Episode 5 is such a gut punch, emphasizing not just how others see her, but how she's twisted her own reflection. Akemi is an exceptional character in her own right, showcasing a distinct kind of strength, particularly in her decision at the end of the series. The character development across this season is very strong and feels realistic as well despite the sometimes unreal nature of the story.
I can hardly wait for a second season, which should be a foregone conclusion after how great this season was.
Looks like it's renewed for a second season! Hyped to see how they continue to develop this story, particularly as we travel to new settings.
> I don't think audiences hate women; I think audiences hate poor writing, and can smell pandering a mile away.
You're not wholly wrong, but let's be 100% honest here: there absolutely IS a portion of audience that DOES hate women. After GamerGate, the Trump presidency, and everything else over the past decade, it's pretty impossible to deny that there is a certain segment of the American public that resents women with any kind of power or agency and actively seeks to take it away from them. They are a minority, to be sure, but they are a _very_ vocal minority with an outside influence on how public discourse is shaped.
fr, there's lots of comments here proving u right
@@giu941 Correct, on THIS comment section as well (glad to see this specific thread is calling out the misogyny though)
It's not only in America. Even weak mentally man hates when women is smarter and better (not all men, but certain amount). If we speak with not weak man it's even worse. So yes, I agree. It's stupid pride
Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Did people today hate women from the start just for being women, or do they resent them after they saw women placed in power destroy everything in entertainment they ever loved and destroyed people's lives in real life to boot?
Also it's hilarious to frame your opposition as "a minority" when they're financially obliterating everything progressive in entertainment and business right now, and at such numbers that it's clear the people who have a problem with you outnumber you ten times over.
If misogyny exists in the modern western world it runs on the logic of "look at what they do when they're in power, just look", and they've got all the facts and logic backing them while all the progressives have is the same old brute authoritarian force, forcing people into a single line of thought which they will of course chafe under and racialize against as anyone that knows any anything about history can tell you.
If you actually want to see the 19th Amendment dissolved in your lifetime, by public consensus or by a civil war you can't win, then by all means keep on spinning the same old lies and narratives. Empathy withers by the day, and your rights exist because men decided they should.
My problem is that sometimes people won't recognize that it's still a minority and assume they speak for many, if not most, of the critical opinions towards a piece of media.
This was evident with The Last Jedi, where some people would assume that if you hated Rose Tico you were probably sexist and/or racist. No, I hate her because I think she's a crap character.
I feel like we should ask ourselves, how much of the influence that this vocal minority holds is because of the amount of attention we pay to them?
I loved the steel alloy allegory the swordsmith uses to describe Mizu. The show had some dialogue issues but it was altogether a solid experience. Akemi really grew on me. The prostitutes grew on me. The female characters in this show had diversity and nuance. They all grew on me.
When they showed Mizu's past I was in shock. Idk why I conected so much with her, the whole being betrayed when you feel safe probably hits too close to home
Other favorite ones :)
1. Violet Evergarden
2. Wolf Children (Hana)
3. Nausicaä of the Valley of the wind
4. Princess Mononoke (Lady Eboshi & San)
5. Spy x family (Anya, Sylvia & Yor)
6. Coraline
7. The night comes for us (Operator)
8. Raging phoenix (Deu)
9. Aot (has many)
10. Fma (has many)
violet evergarden 💀
you're forgetting the women of atla, they are soo good
I was so surprised how much I loved Princess Mononoke. It felt like a message that could be done very cringey, very pessimistically or both at the same time, but it is one of my favourite movies.
@@theaizerewhy?
Idk about AOT
Netflix has renewed it already for season 2. I was so damn excited about that.
The Ronin and The Bride episode had me reeling for like a whole ass day. I literally stopped myself from watching the rest of the show for a little bit because I had to process how goddamn brilliant it was.
The entire time i was watching this i was putting it with berserk and vagabond. This series is so good, and she's an incredibly written character.
Mizu is such a classic good female protag
This show was incredible. My only gripe with it is that Ringo is almost completely unaffected by his disability, sure he cant hold a sword, so he cant become a samurai like he wants. But other than that he is entirely capable, he even stitches Mizu up after a fight! In one of the earlier episodes he tells Mizu that he likes them because they are also deformed but is still strong. I was so eager to see how Ringo overcomes his disability, but it never comes up again. Everything just kinda carries on as if he has hands, but cant hold a sword.... that seems to be the only consequence of his disability.
You accepted a fictional pre-modern Japan that doesn't murder a newborn baby without hands. You can't have a problem with how that now adult without hands engages with said fictional world. Pick a lane.
Being treated as half witted or subhuman because you’re handless or work slower, by his own father and other characters like Taigen at first? Imagine going through that your whole life, no woman would want to marry him probably, in that time period. Even Akemi doubted him when she heard that Ringo is the guide outside the castle. His disability was brought up many times, even when Taigen offered him a job. Taigen still affirmed that he can only work in the kitchen because of his disability or looks. Swordfather also asked Ringo if he made the tools and why.
The message about impurities being neccessary is fully reflected by the Swordfather, who tells Mizu that her sword broke because it wasn't good enough. Mizu insists that the sword was perfect, and Eiji literally says "it was too perfect." The sword was too pure, which made it weak, a lesson he taught Mizu a million times while training her at the forge, but she still chose to ignore because it didn't fit her worldview that she needed to hide her impurities. It wasn't until she accepted her own "impurities" that she finally added other metals into the meteorite, making both the metal and herself stronger.
I am feminist, and recently overwhelmed past few years I find myself sighing and rolling my eyes at the main female protagonist in movies. But blue eye samurai had me captivated by Mizu's character from the first episode to the last. Not once did they try and make her seem like she's untouchable just cause she's a woman. They give her pain and suffering and weakness. This. This is what we always wanted. Not the "marvelised" "feminist" bullshit they've been pumping out recently
2:49 i loved this so much, i myself struggle to write good female leads, being a girl myself, which is ironic. That single line explained a whole world of writing a character to me much easier than anything i saw before.
Tbh i think something a lot of 'strong female protaganist' type media suffers a lot from is the desire to set up a 'good role model' r a sort of symbol of power through female characters in 'traditionally' masculine roles. The desire to make them flawless or completely devoid of any wrongdoing always seems to be out of fear of accidentally undercutting their strength and be taken in the wrong way. But it basically strips away what makes male characters in these roles so compelling, which is their humanity. And i think it sets an unhealthy precedent for women as well, because it sets up this expectation that the only way to be respected by others is to be perfect in every way possible and transcend societal expectations. And in some ways its a power fantasy to see that, which i think a lot of these things tend to be, but i think good power fantasies need to establish a legitimate and compelling struggle to overcome.
I love her so much. Shes a strong female character, but not made out to be invincible or even completely mentally in the right place. But she is sure of her own strength.
She also isnt a virgin, so many shows have female leads only ever fall for the main male lead, but she had a respectable relationship with her husband.
I seriously need a new season , I adore Mizu so much and I would love to see how she takes over things in London, who she meets and who she might become allies with , and enemies . So exciting thinking about .
The mother and child did not freeze. Seems that you didn't see their breath and the gold comb she left them.
The child survives, but the mother…. We don’t see her breaths. Only the childs
@@AFlyingWalrus You don't know that
That was at night, there is no way they thawed in the morning and went on about the day all good and dandy! Try freezing over night outside and see how alive you are in the morning 😅
@@BaDazai They were still breathing.
@@pauldhoff in the middle of the freezing night, in the cold, no fire, no warmth, no shelter. You think anyone can survive that by just breathing? 😅
it only took me 30 seconds to stop your video to go watch blue eye samurai, the visuals look amazing. brb to finish ur vid tomorrow
I have yet to start the video, but I just want to say FINALLY. It's been YEARS since I saw a bada** woman that I wasn't completely annoyed with. What a relief she was, as a woman myself who idols were Chyna and Lara Croft growing up, I was soo happy watching her dominate this show!
i do think people hate seeing woman sometimes, because they start hating on movies and shows before they even come out, and then just justify it with the writing flaws. People with genuine complains offered fairly just get drown out in this very loud group.
I really enjoyed your analysis, you just earned yourself new subscriber.
As a woman myself, i find the "Mary Sue " trope really anti-female, so it's really refreshing to see strong women written really well.
I think the woman and child Mizu left to freeze were the same ones that refused to help her when she was hurt, before she found her "mother". Letting them freeze was her little revenge. It also shows that there is some mercy in her, when she threw the hair thingy from Taigen to them, as she was leaving knowing guards are bribable.
My theory is, that the Swordmaker knows Mizu is a woman. When Mizu left for the first time, she was about to tell him, but he stopped her and told her " You came to me as a stupid lost boy. If you insist on leaving now, it would be as a stupid lost men. " He is too perceptive to not know.
I really do hope Netflix will buy the new season, but with their record of canceling good shows...I'm worried.
Yeah
I too think swordfather knew
It has been officially renewed for new season.
Two shows with plenty of non-trope strong women of all kinds include The Expanse and Star Wars: Andor.
@@kirkdarling4120The Expanse is the truth ❤
Good news, they've renewed the show for season 2.
I totally agree that Master Eiji must know. He sees a lot in people, as he demonstrated with "Blood-Soaked" Chiaki. And he only had a few days to figure that guy out. Anyway, I don't see them getting much story out of him never having known. If it turned out he didn't know, what difference would it make? Would he reject Mizu? I doubt it. But if he did know all along, that pokes a hole in Mizu's notion that no one could ever truly accept who and what she is. After all, so far, the only person who knows her secret, apart from Fowler, is Ringo. And as a fellow outcast, she doesn't worry about his acceptance.
I totally never made connection between the woman who rejected her and the woman stranded in the cold with her daughter. I don't know if I'd call it "revenge," because I don't think it was personal for Mizu. She just gives back what she gets from everyone. And in a way, she's more merciful and benevolent than almost anyone she encounters, simply by dropping that comb at their feet. When I first watched the show, I didn't notice the comb, or the steam coming from them. And they were so still, just figures painted on the screen, not 3D models. So it occurs to me that they director might have intended that they had frozen to death, and reconsidered after watching the completed show, and realizing Mizu might lose too much sympathy. That comb is the show's "save the cat" moment.
Regarding Mary-Sue characters, I agree that pedestals are for objects, not people. But find that people throw that particular critique around way too freely. No one complains when Tom Cruise plays a super-spy, or jet pilot, or whatever else, who's effortlessly good at everything.
I love how she isn't the typical Disney Mary Sue, she is strong and badass but she struggles and fails, and she is far from perfect. She actually isn't a good person from the start, but she grows and learns slowly, how to be human. Seeing her go through the struggle to achieve her goals builds a more meaningful story.
Most movies and shows today just want Mary Sue girls who place these unrealistic expectations being the strong and invincible girl all the time but she shows that there is strength in impurity. And that is what makes the Blue Eye Samurai stand out.
I think placing all emphasis on women being unable to be invincible like this is a huge double standard
Men aren't either.
Critically, people should be looking into both ends equally, instead of emphasizing and focusing on female leads.
I think John Wick is extremely comparable to Mizu here as an example, and is a very good one to look at for the standards male leads should be on as well.
This show has not focused on the idea that she is a female.It simply focuses on an individual who is trapped in a time and place that forces her to be who she is. A bad ass on a mission. I love this show! .
You are correct in that she is cold. This is what makes her the perfect character! Who cares what her gender is.
@@Insanearies1972 You forgot to switch accounts
@@basic6735talking to them self
@@venomking3602 Not so sure about that
One mistake I notice sometimes with the idea of what some people believe makes a strong woman. Is sometimes where a woman expresses a masculine trait they think the masculinity equals strength. A woman who wears a mans suit isn’t strong because she is now looking masculine she is strong because she is defying a expectation or a taboo. The strength is in the defiance.
Strength also come from acceptance from what should be defied. Being a woman and being mixed race was to be shunned, accepting that part of her is true strength through defiance
The people who created the character think that Masculinity means strength because it does mean physical strength in real life. A woman shouldn't wear a "man's suit" in the first place. Men and women are different. "Defying a taboo" in a society where such a thing would never occur is not the "win" you think it is. It's just American political propaganda and cultural appropriation of Japanese history and culture. This is an American animated show, not an anime.
Episode 5 broke me. I haven’t been so moved be a piece of media in years.
The review I didn't know I needed. Potrayal of strong resilient flawed female protagonists. Story telling is a masterclass on its own. Animation is like a midas touch. Golden, vibrant, breadth taking.
I think my favorite thing is that she manages to go through all this growth and adversisty without it ever seeming like torture porn. Legend of Korra, take notes.
I really don't see why people viewed the later portions of LOK as "torture porn". A typical hero's journey has a falling and rising action. It didn't feel pointless, because Korra really needed to work through some of her issues and personality flaws.
Don't forget to make woman seem better by making the men seem less powerful or intelligent. That is what I don't like in movies.
It's the same in a male dominated cast too, women are portrayed dumb or helpless, where were you then.
@@hearteu5260Can you name some movies or shows where this happens?
Also, I know movies and shows aren't real life but when bad stuff goes down it's usually men who are risking their lives, fixing things, and rescuing people. We're either brainwashed by society or instinctively incentivized into being the disposable sex.
@@hearteu5260it’s bad writing either way, so it doesn’t matter
@@skarlet0735 It's bad writing yet only one really gets put under a microscope in the context of gender. I feel a majority of these characters people find "woke", wouldn't really have an issue if it was a man doing the beating down. No one would care if Mizu was just some badass guy wiping out small groups.
Honestly, I kinda don't blame her for leaving Akemi cuz man, she fought like 100 men and was injured.
I love Blue Eye Samurai. At first I thought Mizu was a young man I didn't know until I kept on watching the show. Not a lot of people knew Mizu was a young woman. She had so much hatred in her heart. I can't wait for season 2 of Blue Eye Samurai. 💙
I feel like one of the best ways to show that a character is strong is to show that they’ve been through tough times, but they continued and got back up. That’s what makes us believe someone’s strong, not showing us they’re undefeated and that they’re super strong. This is one of the best ways to make the audience believe a character is strong, and it’s not used enough.
Knuckles once said
"Anytime someone calls attention to the breaking of gender norms, it ultimately undermines the concept of gender equality by implying that this is an acception and not the status quo."
I really love that they don’t show Mizu as a one dimensional “strong man”. In media we’re always shown that feminine women are not strong, so she has to be masculine if she wants respect and power. Mizu is forced to be a man, but one of her biggest wishes is to be accepted as a strong feminine woman. This is what makes Akemi such a great parallel to her character. She has made herself powerful while still being a feminine woman.
This take is so forced. She's clearly beyond concepts like man/woman, I wish people would stop forcing femininity onto characters like this. She doesn't have to be feminine to count as a strong female protagonist!
This shows is a perfect example how little audience needs these days. Characters are bland, unlikable and without consistency, story makes no sense, very historically inaccurate, yet everyone loves it... Trully mindboggling.
"This shows is a perfect example how little audience needs these days."
I agree.
"Characters are bland, unlikable and without consistency"
Sounds as though they're just like real people, huh? But I disagree. None of the characters are bland, unlikeable or lacking consistency.
"story makes no sense"
The story makes perfect sense. But it is for grown ups. Maybe that's your problem.
"very historically inaccurate"
Very little of what we see in the show is "historically inaccurate." There are many anachronisms, sure. But that isn't the same thing. Or should I defer to you and your education and experience with Japanese history?
"everyone loves it... Truly mindboggling."
I know. People love stuff that's really, really good for them. Crazy, huh?
@@jachyra9 bro, story is for grown-ups? It isn't. It's a story appealing to teenagers with a lot of gore. Im nearing my 40s and if i want a good story 'for grown-ups', i go to Terry Pratchett or Nahoko Uehashi. Characters are bland because there are moments in the story that should make them pause and reconsider, yet they don't. Instead they suddenly change just because story needs it. Mizu is not strong, she just has an impeccable plot armour. In one scene she fights a school of kenjutsu students, and beats dozens of them. In next she fights the best mercenaries and beats them (notably also not getting hurt by smashing her spine against a rock when falling like 20 meters) and then she just gets stabbed by a complete rando. And then again. Basically, elite fighters have nothing on her but bullshite footsoldiers are her bane. Taigen, unlike in video, was not a spoiled brat. He comes from a poor fisherman's family, it's stated there! He had to work his arse off for getting where he got. His storyline was actually logical. But Mizu's wasn't. She starts as a demon, suddenly transforms into a human because of love, even though she had love and acceptance for years from the swordfather, but somehow that didn't count. Because of course only romantic love counts.
As for inaccuracies, this is early Edo period. Female samurai (onnamusha) were a lot less common than in sengoku jidai, but still around, even though their roles in the society were changing at this time. The whole main premise that she is hated just because she has blue eyes is stupid. The reason for Sakoku was to stop the spread of Christianity, mainly by Spanish and Portuguese, because the main core of Christian belief was that we are all equal in the eyes of god. However, Japanese aristocracy inforced their dominance over the populace also through the belief that emperor is a god and Christianity threatened the basic fabric of Japanese social hierarchies. That's why the isolation took root. There are historical sources about black samurai. So no, there wasn't horrible racism just because of the colours of your eyea or skin or whatever. This is a very USamerican show. I assume that's why it resonates so much with Anglo-Saxon audiences. But it is not a good show. If you want to see a good revange story, watch V for Vendetta. If you want to see an actually compelling story about a strong female fighter, watch (or read) Seirei no Moribito. And if you want to see a good story about a blue samurai, watch Samurai Champloo. All of these have much better... everything actually. Except for animation. That was absolutely superb in Blue eye samurai, i give you that.
@@Ryuushuu - Apparently, you know as much about good storytelling as you do about Japanese history. Good luck with all that.
@@jachyra9 yeah, i do know considerably more about both than most people blindly loving the show, so not in need of luck but thanks. Good luck to you too with whatever you need it for.
@@Ryuushuu - Sure you do, kid.
I never knew that there was a lack of strong female leads until I got on the internet.
The thousands of movies with strong female leads I guess do not exist on a year-by-year basis according to marketing
Thousands?
I’m happy that they are making a season 2 for this.
There were many lines in the show that had an impact on me, but I think this one stood out the most, because it made me realise exactly why Mizu became what she is. (From Ep 5: The tale of the ronin and the bride)
"How did this terrible creature come to be? Hate alone was not enough. It took one more ingredient. Love, poisoned by betrayal. To bring so much bloodshed and woe. To create, the Onryō."
Misu looks like her character design was very much inspired by Jin from Samurai Champloo...
Mizu said it perfectly when she was speaking with Mikio, when she stated she did not want to be a man, but she had to act as one to survive. She would have no options in life and was at risk of death if she was publicly outed as female. She is a female, not trying to be like a man, but trying to succeed in her mission and survive in the world she was born in. I love the glimpses into her feminine side, where she also still enjoyed the art. Her femininity was practically stolen from her her entire life, but even throughout her mission she has a feminine aura about her. However She’s not an overly-sexualized, or as the video describes, a stereotypical “strong woman” character. Rather, she is a woman who is also a skilled warrior. I don’t know how better to describe it, but they found that perfect balance when making an incredible female protagonist. The series has Kill Bill vibes, and I’m living for it.
Really tired take imo she doesn't have to be feminine to count as a strong female character.
At first I thought that Mizu has two sides, a feminine and masculine energy and I loved how the show doesn't portray one as better than the other. Mizu loves to fight, she also loved being open to express her feminity freely for a time. But then I realized that the mental separation between her aspects is precisely the problem. She is both, she is simply a person who doesn't fit into one category, and there is no need to weigh her aspects.
I love the parralels between Misu and her sword, how both were incredibly strong yet, in the end, fatally flawed. They both broke, and no matter how much she tried to melt the pieces down to reform it, they wouldn't melt. It took Misu developing herself, making better choices, and ultimately accepting all of who she is for the pieces to melt. And even then, the metal is given back to the sword father unformed, the way she is now unformed. When you begin coming to terms with your past and what is has made you, what you're left with isn't a finished, polished person but a mangled piece of scrap. Misu will only get that sword once she's fully become the person she is becoming.
It’s almost as if a character’s gender/identity shouldn’t be the focus of their writing. That’s how you make interesting female leads
on the contraire, in this show the gender is used heavily and to a great plot device! There is a lot of focus about gender there, but its also well done and expertly crafted into the rest of the story and its setting (feudal japan)
@@Itomon I see your point as I’ve gotten further in the series
Everyone writing a character - male or female, something else - could gain something from this show and this video.
I think something a lot of people overlook when claiming she's OP is that she's half white and in ancient Japan. She's taller than even a lot of the men. Shes also trained obsessively since her early childhood.
That won't make her able to climb a smooth wall empty handed while carrying another person on her back. No matter how hard she'd train. Or be able to defeat several well armed men while injured!!! empty-handed!!! It just didn't make any sense whatsoever.
Mizu is the Japanese word for water.
Why don't I see this desperate energy of breaking down the strong independent cold female protag irritating everyone becuz they're strong and independent and have feminism in them (and also apparently with them being written "badly") but the strong independent cold male characters is sometging that everyone stays silent about, like Where's this burning passion when it comes to the boring ass male protags.
I still don't get the hate for brie, cuz I enjoyed her being cold asf with less to no weaknesses, idrc, yall get to enjoy the toxic male characters yet you draw the line when you aren't even interested in it??
I guess because for us (men I mean), being stoic and strong is expected. It's the norm. I really only see people bitching about this when it's a female character beating down on male characters. A male character wiping out every guy in the room is coolio, but you just can't have a woman do it lol.
Except for when she scaled the side of the castle with Taigan on her back 😂......That was ridiculous. Overall though, INCREDIBLE show. A definite must watch.
@@jachyra9 Correct
I am happy that you are taking about this show and especially Mizu she is an amazing female protagonist and she reminded me of a certain female character from Demon Slayer anime and that female character is Shinobu Kocho and in my opinion their female rage trope has been done right.
There's a channel called Cards and Reels who made a really, really similar video to this one recently. It came out 5 days ago. He might be recycling your script and changing words here and there. There was one sentence he said nearly word for word that I had to find out where I heard it the first time
I always thought that Mizu let Akemi be taken by the guards is because she thought this was the best for her. She even told Akemi "most women don't get a good choice, except you". This may also aligned with how Mizu was finally happily married but was ultimately betrayed in the end by her husband. Also, if she were to cut down those guards, there would be no end to her running away. And with Akemi, she wouldn't be able to get far. She possibly knew that Akemi wasn't made for the same path as she. A path leading to only seeking revenge. And although she betrayed Akemi, it ended up being the best path for Akemi. She was resistant and fearful at first, but from talking to Madam Kaji she learned that men can be persuaded to fit HER choices. She was able to use her femininity to take control of the things around her. I do hope in the future seasons Akemi and Mizu get along and become good friends.
If i could say one sentence on why this is worth people's time?
MEANINGFUL CHARACTER GROWTH
And im not just talking about Mizu.
Haizen, Akemi, Haiji and even Abijah...
that scene in the chapel lends so much to his character.
Most people might look at this and think white man bad but it is so much more than what it appears. As someone who is sick and tired of the Disney schtick I cannot wait for more Blue Eye Samurai. This has me as excited as Arcane season 2
The take on gender was interesting. The play between Mizu & Akemi was awesome . She's not a mary sue morally, but her strength is still magic. That she learned by watching dudes practice is silly.
To be fair, there is much of her backstory we still don’t know.
She is shown to be weak even after all her training when she first encounters the guys who had ties to opium, and sometime after she had to gain experience to kill “violet”, one of the white men. We still don’t know how that happened.
The difference is that ppl weren't told to be mad about this one.
I like that Mizus development to accepting herself comes as well when she wants to reforge her sword and the blacksmith tells her it needs a mix of iron in the meteorite, it being too pure was what had made it fragile and shatter. Its cool symbolism.
It's a beautifully animated show.
For me, Akemi's and Taigen's arcs are more complete and consistent.
My complaint is Mizu's superb skills in Ep 1 through 6 with the video game tower... all that fantastic ability, it somehow nerfed on the final chapters. And it really affected my viewership because I hate that trope whether applied to the heroes or the villains. (far too many villains also fall into this where they are presented as this insurmountable enemy with all these powers, but then, somehow they forget these abilities later on so that they can be defeated). Mizu's abilities were downgraded severely and that was my one letdown.
Another writer friend of mine also pointed out that the tone of the series changed on ep6 at the video game tower.
It has. And as I said... I don't mind being shown power as long as the character remains consistent.
Really felt that way too. Mizu didn't bother me that much. But seeing a European beating the two best sword fighters simultaneously was just ridiculous.
I missed a little consistency as well, but it should be noted that Mizu was damaged and tired through the whole show, actually, which makes the inconsistency (a tiny bit) more credible
@@Sandkasten36 Well, if you remember the scene with him painting, then you might also remember that he has had A LOT of time to master just about every art possible because he's bored to tears. He also has the size advantage. In the end, reach matters. Also, wasn't Mizu pretty battered already? She may be fast and skilled, but she is small, tired and injured, while her opponent was rested, hale, fit and large. You can be the best race driver in the world but you can still run over a pedestrian if you drive tired.
@@Killjoy_Mel As I remember, it was shown that she was kind of "reborn" with all the writings on her body. Neither she or Taigen had severe wounds or anything. He just wrecked both of them.
They could've shown him growing up in a sword family in Europe (weak idea) but better than just him being a god sword fighter by sitting locked up in a room.
@@Itomon I thought the same. However, also from a storytelling POV, it's poor form to also keep the viewer unsatisfied after 8 long episodes. In Kill Bill, the Bride managed to kill two opponents in the first movie. It just feels like after all that slogging, she failed to kill Oren Ishii at the end, it will feel incomplete. At least give their viewers a bit of closure since there's 2 more deadly opponents ahead anyway? As it is, they saved all 3 white men for a second season which does not feel right. It feels very click baity so we keep watching. And I have a feeling they will even set the Irishman free in the second season just to "GRR Martin" us.
Just saying having Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in the show was gold if he ever says Your Sword is Mine my jaw would drop.
I was taught empathy from very early on.. to listen actively and understand others by just watching. I immediately knew she was not the villain.. the behaviour she showed was exactly what hardship and pain could have lead me to become. I‘ve also been through hardship and intense hate as well as loss and neglect.. while also having good loving people around me.(which saved me) I learned to accept myself through literally facing death. This all sounds very extreme but it’s just one path of a life that can happen to anyone. This show made me relive emotions and moments I had long buried or rather overcome. It made me reflect and I went through reassuring myself I did right and well.. this all sounds probably very cringe but I find works of art and entertainment like these.. the ones you do not simply just enjoy but works which do inspire and cause reflection on oneself to be some of the greatest works we can provide to each other..
The audience doesn't hate strong women, the writers do.
Might not have noticed but the poncho mizo wears is the one her arranged husband wore