The Drinker Recommends... Blue Eye Samurai
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- Опубликовано: 19 дек 2023
- Tired of the usual garbage coming out of Hollywood? Tired of lame writing and unlikeable characters? Tired of THE MESSAGE? Then give Blue Eye Samurai a try on Netflix. You won't regret it.
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Critical drinker's recommendations are ten times better than those provided by the mainstream critics. Edit: Guys this was a general statement, not directly just tied to one show!
That would be the globalist media.
He is superior to any of those other critics
Yep, literally never been let down this far.
I see that mediocre show recommended by many mainstream critics, same critics who barely discuss and appreciate anime and history media
@@yonatankuper1953They're of course backed by major corporations, this guy on the other hand is truly independent.
Fowler guessing her identity because her "bones break like a woman's" is some seriously dark and brilliant character development.
Yeah I didn’t catch it at first but that has some really dark implications
The look he gave when he realized, just wild to me
isn't Fowler a rainbow 🌈 brother??
@@aravindmuthu5748 nah he is just depraved
He has had a LOT of practice.
The most surprising but rewarding part of Mizu's backstop was finding out that she wasn't just "too strong" to be a housewife but that she was a housewife for a time and she was happy. She could probably have lived out her life in that setting but it was her husband or possibly her "mother" who made that life impossible. I loved that the story left it up to the audience to interpret whether her husband betrayed her because he felt immasculated by being beaten by her in a sparring match or her "mother" who wanted her reward to buy more opium.
Also, I think it shows basically "the straw that broke the camels back". Mizu thought she finally achieved happiness, finding her mother again and a husband who liked her for who she was. Once she felt she was betrayed, there was no going back after the years of torment and isolation she experienced. Mizu both in the past and in the present (as she is killing the thousand claws clan) lost their humanity at that moment and became the monster that they get called (in the past she allows her mother to get killed then kills her husband and present she kills the young scared clan member and lets Akemi go). This episode was so good to show both how skilled mizu but showing her in a bad light...almost evil.
In the finale they imply heavily it was the "mother" who did it for the money.
Yeah, that scene was good
Felt she was ready to commit to housewifely, but husband was disgusted by her true identity, a trained killer, hungry for battle. He was wanting a simple life, and she was an exotic killer.
She felt betrayed by both mom and husband, and it was time to go back to her previous path of revenge. As the folk story had implied. It was a good mechanism for developing the story
actually I even wondered if that whole sequence was even real to begin with, because of how convoluted her stumbling upon her disappeared mother while injured seemed. Like how near death she questioned her choices, wondered how chosing a peaceful life instead of revenge would have been, only to realize (misguided or not) that it was doomed to fail anyway. Still tragic.
But yes, in that kind of story, the question "what if the hero would just say "f* it" and chill alone in some nice place" is almost always ignored.
The "nice" thing was it was not even open .. it was open on who exactly it was but that doesn´t matter... EITHER it was betrayal of the love of the mother or the love of the man.. so either way it´s fucked up..
The animation is well done because they used a ton of live action reference. They acted out the fight scenes and animated off the reference footage. One of the producers wore period piece clothing for the animators and showed them how Japanese people walk, run and generally move within their cultured norms, and how that is influenced by the clothing they wear. There's a great behind the scenes vid here on yt.
I wish Berserk 2016 did the same😢
Did they basically use rotoscoping like in the animated Lord of the Rings from 70s?
@@100push-upsguy6 It is referencing not rotoscoping. Most animators use live-action references for their works to be able to create life-like and believable movements and it has been the standard way of character animations for many decades now.
@@PhrenSo768 Yeah but rotoscoping is a form of using live-action references
@@100push-upsguy6 no, referencing and rotoscoping are separate things. when you rotoscope you don't use anything as reference but straight-up trace over footage without modifying anything (apart from characteristics). When you reference, you only use it as a crutch for your work.
I love how her outfit doesn't change. She just sews up the damaged parts. In a way it shows the journey and struggle she endured to get the skills she has.
I noticed that too. Just like the scars on her body.
Probably the most realistic part of the show 😏
It’s also pretty much the Japanese philosophy of wavi sabi, which is accepting broken and imperfect things as beautiful. Which is lit.
I thought about that too, that might literally be why her character is so good, she is a quilt of her broken pieces...wow thats good@@strangeke7750
Like how she was a master with the naginata without any training?
I can’t wait for season 2 but at the same time, I don’t want them to rush it. I want the same level of care that went into season one. It’s phenomenal. Truly peak artistic expression and storytelling.
you say that after u saw the last 2 episodes...wake up, it is horrible ending
@@sanji1259gotta agree, the last two episodes soured the experience for me.
Same goes to Arcane, I rather wait longer than see them destroy what's built.
dont want to sound naiv, but arcane will thrive even more...i saw the documentary, which was better than most shows! it is perfection@@kewins1234
@@kewins1234 This! 100% rather wait 4 years for good product. Because well they deserved that time.
The note about how Mizu can be "outsmarted and makes mistakes at critical moments" is so well put. I was so worried early on she'd be another OP power trip protagonist, but right away they show that her past traumas manifest into her weaknesses that really help drive her character home. I honestly haven't seen character development (not just Mizu) this well done in a while!
What makes Mizu so much of a badass is exactly her persistency. She isn't some kind of flawless tactician or warrior of legend. She fucks up, makes errors in judgement but can power through it through determination alone. But it also shows how emotionally stunted someone would become by taking on this role. She is like a fierce lioness, a terrifying apex predator but one still at risk of more cunning hunters. The three other main characters also act as brilliant foils to her; all of them learn from eachother and bounce amazingly well from eachothers short comings, and by the end, you are genuinely in awe of the amazing arc they've crafted for this quartet of unlikely protagonists.
Lot of writers and producers play it safe or think their audience is dumber than they actually are. By writing to a broad audience you speak to no one. A unique and flawed but talented character is always interesting ever since Gilgamesh the Iliad and the Odyssey.
@@colers2366 Exactly this, and one of her flaws is that she will persist beyond reason and when it is no longer in her best interest, ie squaring off with Taigen when she was already badly hurt from her fight with the Four Fangs rather than just laying down her sword and asking if his honor would allow him to kill an unarmed injured opponent, and again by charging headlong straight into Hejii Shindo's incredibly obvious trap, then ensuring he dropped the ribbon, potentially sealing their fate had Ringo not pulled a fast one. Though I am curious if the sake barrel was an actual play by Hejii Shindo as we know he was attempting to doublecross Fowler, or if, as Taigen said, it was an obvious way to stuff her in a barrel and pile her into the castle to be tortured and die immediately without even the hint of a fight.
I had the same experience of wanting to pause the show sometimes just to admire how gorgeous the visual design was.
Yesss. I LOVED the shot of Akemi and Taigen on the bridge after she said she wanted to stay….and not run to a safe / quiet life with Taigen.
Burning / scary one side and peaceful/quaint on the other😍
It’s really crazy how recommends from “professional movie critics” never bring me the same excitement to watch something unlike The Critical Drinker.
Pro critics work for someone else. I watch guitar stuff, and when a big reseller reviews a big company's guitar, they'll gush because they rely on the ad money from that company. The self-employed YTer is free of that (but can also be a whore if desired, so still caviat emptor). Have a nice day.
Probably because the "professional movie critics" never dare point out flaws, that could end up getting them "cancelled" or #me2'd.
Luckily TCD has enough of a spine to say what he thinks, without catering to the sensitive bunch.
His last two videos baffle me. Blue Eyed Samurai and The Fall of the House of Usher are blatantly woke. Is he ignoring all the wokeness because he doesn't have content anymore?
@@n4ughty_knight probably cause, like he's said, he doesn't care about the skin tone or gender or sexuality of any character, he just wants a good story being told without preachy modern messaging
that doesnt say anything about professional movie critics, they like what they like and recommend other people go see it
it just says stuff about your own tastes
Fun fact: Mizu means water in Japanese, hence the color or her eyes and the color of her sword's blade.
I was thinking mizukage
A blue sword?
Cool...
Hence the name, not the eyes. You got it backwards. Her eyes are blue because she's mixed race, a plot point of the series.
And hana mizu means snot. They dont have snot, my friend from Tokyo loves this word.
And her Hokusai hamon
Ringo was legit my favorite character. I love how he’s so sincere and humble, just looking for an opportunity to help others and be of service. Really exemplifies that whole “the meek shall inherit heaven” vibe
He was one of mine too! At first I found him kind of grating. I thought he’d be the telltale quippy comic relief character but he was dialed back enough to where he never seemed out of place and I eventually really grew to like him. I even laughed at some of his funny moments which I didn’t expect to
Everyone shines in their own way. Even the princess, who learns from the brothel madam on how to use her powers of feminity to seduce men.
Hes 1-note imo hes just a goofy
Sidekick that acts as a plot
Device.
@@elongatedmanforever1252 yeah, if you just read a plot summary of the show maybe
@@Windwalker88
Nah i just dont like it.
Another Scottish person here, completely agree with you, this show was amazing and I haven’t watched anything in years that has been good enough to distract me from replying to messages on my phone… was so shocked as I only wanted something in the background, binged it in one sitting and ended up awake till 5am watching it ❤️
Bro same here- minus the Scottish person. Got Scottish heritage though!
@@Wastelander1972 awesome, where you from?
The whole series is incredible, but episode 5 'The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride', where Mizu's backstory is remembered as a Japanese puppet play, as an inter-cut flashback whilst she fights off a horde of assassins, is, in my humble opinion, a masterpiece.
oh that episode is probablt the best ...that and the scene in which she kills that deaf mute girl right after telling her she ll protect her.. it was a really gut wrenching scene
@@SuicidalSummerSnowWoman … how far she would go on her quest for revenge
Totally. This episode is a standout. Simply incredible.
The last episode was terrible. I don't know what happened to the creators of the 7 other masterpiece episodes.
Episode 5 was a legit masterpiece. You’re absolutely correct.
It won't shut up the people who say that Drinker hates things with female leads, even if it should. It's just proof that all we care about is a good story and good characters.
Even tho the idea of a woman beating even a single Samurai is just plain LUDICROUS.
@@toh6261I thought there were a few female samurai though?
The woke pretend older movies didn't have strong female characters. They did. Stars like Ripley in Alien, T2, La Femme Nikata,, etc, and even Leia and Marian in Indy drank that huge guy under the table. Even going back to the black and whites, plenty of strong women kept up the banter with their male counterparts. Females in film have long been strong. Not every one sure, but plenty of males are weak or evil too. The woke lie about the past to make it seem far worse than it was.
Looking forward to watching this. I definitely would have written it off assuming it was woke given the year and lead.
@@toh6261 Why exactly? Its nature vs nurture in this case, and I implore you to research a bit about the biology then just spouting off something that sounds true. Besides, its not like every samurai is some amazing warrior blessed by whatever japanese gods there are to the point where they are un-killable.
@@toh6261rubbish. There were female samurai. Rare, but it happened. Also many women, especially nobility, were trained with weapons. .
The first episode was great, and holy hell the pot was screaming by the Onryō episode! The show kept building and by the time S1 wrapped I was left wanting so much more (in the best kind of way). Such great art, sound, and voice acting.
No idea if you read my comment in particular (probably not) but I was definitely one of those that clamored for a review haha.
Glad to see my view of the show vindicated though. I've seen some people here and there calling it "woke", something with which I vehemently disagree. What it is is what "woke", "identity politics" and "the message" COULD have been if people hadn't taken it into an entirely unreasonable direction. It touches on most of the current-year issues that have been debated for years now, but it does so entirely within the context of the story and setting, and most importantly, it doesn't preach. It shows different facets of these issues and lets the audience think for themselves instead of coming up with ready-made conclusions of what to think.
A good example is Akemi: On the surface her character is typically modern-feminist (but in a setting where there UNDENIABLY are severe inequalities), but in the end, she got a taste of power and now choses to use her femininity as a path to influence. She's not depicted as some sort of flawless self-insert, she definitely has flaws, her ultimate selfishness being one of them. She's nuanced and layered, and not just there to stand in for an ideology.
Or Ringo: Yes, he has a physical disability. But you don't pity him - why would you, the guy is extremely resourceful and never lets his limitations get in the way of shit he wants to do. That's not only a role-model-worthy positive representation of disabled people, it also makes him very compelling. His disability is absolutely central to his character, but at the same time it doesn't singularly define him. He's more than "Mr. No-Hands".
Honestly, when I saw this mini-series my biggest revelation was *"damn, I didn't think entertainment media had it in them anymore."*
I think I had that same thought when I first watched "Arcane"
Can't grade everything you see from by marvels new heap...Stan Lee is probably rolling in his grave
FYi, it's a continuing series, not a mini series. Season 2 has been greenlit.
I was even more impressed when I found out it was a western production
This is Japanese not stupid American media…they have cultural standards
I'm so happy you found the time to watch this and I'm even happier you enjoyed it.
It's so good! I loved it.
I told multiple people to check out this series. Terrific show.
@@DominicDaigle-ts7hz This is a link to some cheap-ass fuzzy-focus animal antics video. I broke my own rule about clicking on links and that's where it led me.
Drinker, just gotta thank you for putting this one out there, hands down one of the best watches in a very long time. The characters, the story, the artwork, just pure gold.
The woke theme is gold too?
Over hyped, i don't understand how this is good, how dune is good.
Yeah. You clearly haven't watched it. Go be mad at everything somewhere else. Calling everything woke is just as pathetic as those "woke liberals" calling everything racist. It shows a gross inability to be objective.@@adamropp4757
What? What the hell does Dune have to do with this? @@unnaturaldodo
@@cosmic_kid2868My brother recommend it, I didn't like it and and drinker said it was good, that all.
I really love that you do these recommendations. Pretty much every single thing you recommend I go and watch, and it’s always a treat. Thanks, Drinker!
You need to make more of these. Forget the garbage coming out of Hollywood and find the good stuff. You generally have good taste in film and so I’m interested to see your recommendations.
Beating a dead horse, this guy has legitimately interesting perspective, don't waste it on MCU / Starwars trash. It's dead. It isn't interesting. Move on.
Criticism and outrage naturally gets more attention, not expecting this trend to change anytime soon.
@@NIL0S resigning yourself to that is the only thing which perpetuates it. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.
And yet, even "Blue Eye Samurai" reeks of woke Hollywood shit. Even, thank god, it's not so much what is REPRESENTED on screen. But everywhere it gets praise it usually highlights the great work the (voice ) actress did and what an incredible talent the female director/writer is. While no one ever mentions, that a) the main work has been done by men! First, the real creator/writer a.k.a. mastermind behind it is Michael Green. HE knows how to bring great stories and characters to life and has a shit ton of credits to prove it. Jane Wu who gets lauded by the woke press has absolutely no credits to her name but is being treated like SHE is the great mind behind "Blue Eye Samurai".
Second, the main part of the principal graphic work has been done by a french artist studio (and that's the main reason it looks SO FUCKING GOOD!).
I hate to seem pety but it just really pisses me of how Netflix gets a little masterpiece done by (foreign) men and uses that to showboat that pink haired activist... sorry, just pisses me off.
@@richtifilmpalast5373 don't be sorry it is infuriating to know that. Just reading your expose made my blood boiled. It's really disappointing that all the praise goes to the person that least contributed to make this show what it is, not saying that she didn't do anything, but She didn't create the art that makes it visually appealing nor to the writing. Hollywood is rotten to the core and their agenda makes them rewrite history to their liking. It's really sad.
With recommendations for both Godzilla Minus One and Blue Eyed Samurai, it warms my dead heart to see the Drinker end an otherwise abysmal year on such a positive note. 🍻
Both are bangers too imo. Perfect way to start winter break
Now all he needs to do is to watch Pluto, Scott Pilgrim Takes off and Wonka and he can finally end the year on a good note
@@Grudgebearer47 Scott pilgrim is bad. Pluto is not as good as blue eye samurai. It's boring at times. He'll enjoy more niche shows like heavenly delusion over that crap.
Who would have thought a Godzilla movie would be the best written movie this year?
@@samuraijosh1595 doesn’t heavenly delusion have an issue with cringy anime fanservice?
I mean if he doesn’t mind anime like ghost in the shell then he’d like Pluto, it doesn’t have to be as good as blue eye samurai to be considered watchable.
Scott pilgrim, I’ve heard it’s bad from people who dropped it after episode one, but the ones who’ve finished it tend to say it’s good. Idk I’ve never watched it but lots of my mutuals have.
The story telling, character development, animation were great, but many times I just couldn t get past her being so OP, like carying another man on the crevices of a building for multiple floors?? Even more so, havin the strength to resist a fall as well?? She heals really really fast, she can perform 100% with multiple serious injuries....And what is it with everyone thinking she is a man? Really? I feel like its a kind of a Clark Kent situation...come on....idk...a bit too much for me not to talk about this...but again, I still think it s good, especially the episode about the ronin, damn
I agree, for example she managed to perform a 3 meter jump with a destroyed ankle and casually killed 10 guards afterwards. Seems believable. I'd say that she's no different from the likes of Rey Skywalker other than showing a bit of her training.
And she was able to run and fight just fine with a hole in her foot/ankle, also swim in icy cold water while carrying a grown male while encumbered by both people's clothes..
Humanity's historically best athletes aren't capable of doing that regardless of whether they're male or female.
I think to a certain extent you have to go with the fantasy of it, as is the same with pretty much all action/fighting shows and movies. A certain level of inhuman agility is just part of the genre lets be honest. With the being seen as a man part I think part of what makes it more believable is that its set during a time where gender roles would have been so extremely strict that seeing someone dressed completely as a man would have probably led a lot of people to not really question it or think beyond anything. She largely hides her face due to being mixed raced, and she's probably taller/broader/larger than the average japanese woman anyway due to her European blood -- something the Japanese people would have no familiarity with at all. Eg. I think its somewhat telling that the first person to realise she's a woman (without seeing her naked) is Fowler, a European who spots its quite easily once he's actually close up.
It's funny, I agree with all your points. Plus, a woman beating 30+ men in one setting, who are experienced in fighting dirty? It is all pretty silly. However, I think it's funny how I still enjoyed the series. It's sort of like hearing a myth or a legemd of a demigod or sth. You know there's a grain of truth, but also just accept the bullshit for the fun of it.
I don't know, it just seems like a bit of a fem power fantasy that mostly men will watch. It also goes overboard with the white man bad narrative as well - I found a lot of that dialogue distracting and rolled my eyes multiple times when they were pushing a lot of it. And yes Mizu is way OP - she's far too strong and durable in my opinion. She gets wailed on by men sometimes four times her size and is still able to carry on at what looks like full strength for the next enemy even though she staggers about as if she's half dead, whereas a male protagonist takes a fraction of that punishment and he's completely incapacitated.
She's just kind of indestructable and can seem to survive anything short of outright decapitation which takes away the suspense and danger for me - I know a big meatball of a guy can ambush her, beat her to near death, practically strangle the life out of her and she will have a few flashbacks of something, then muster the strength to toss him around, finish him off, then immediately take on the next army.
I thought they could have been a lot smarter with the choreography to showcase how a woman with a sleighter frame and without the brute strength can overcome these enemies and situations. They should have made her more like a Kunoichi - a focus on speed, agility and the use of shadows a lot more than they did instead of just walking guys down through the front door. I don't know, this is so obvious to me that I'm almost suspicious about the review - there's no way Drinker didn't see it - sometimes "the message" is really on the nose in this one.
I didn't think I could get through computer animation but this is minblowingly good. It's so tasteful! Story and characters are absolutely amazing. The bar is so high for S2.
Try Shigurui.
This show went so much harder than I ever expected it would when randomly throwing on the first episode, loved it
Right? It's so good.
Why support Neflix though which is another website for anti-whiteness?
Same, I don't normally watch anime, I was bored one night and threw it on as something to play in the background whilst doing other things and before I knew it, it was 4am.
I was turned off becuase of the 3D animations, but man, never been so happy to be wrong. This animations art-style is gorgeous. Glad the Drinker covered this. Easily one of the brightest silver-linings that came out this year.
CGI in animation does seem to be improving overall at least. I've was impressed with studio Orange's works: Land of the Lustrious and Trigun: Stampede.
The 3D models still look terrible to me
@@nautdead3197agree. It looks completely shit.
The story and execution must be good from what I heard, but the animation choice i can't deal with.
It’s actually referred to as 2D animation, dude. Toy Story is 3D.
I'll be honest, as soon as I realized it was a chick, I stopped watching. Roll your eyes if you wish, there have been ZERO women samurai ever in history. There's a reason for that.
Wow. Never thought I would see a RUclips talk about this show, normally the animation quality doesn’t grab people’s attention but I’m happy you give it recognition because the story is amazing. 10/10 for me 👍🏽
Made my holiday season, thank you. I needed some inspiration as well; I have my film project to finish this year and this was a wonderful reminder of what animation can be.
Same, watching this show in my cozy warm house was really good
By the 3rd episode I was like, "finally, an original character!" This is exactly what Hollywood needs, original characters with their own story
The tale has been told before and therefore not original at all.
Dont jinx it.. they'll make a live action and mess it up
I don't care! Make it gay and put a chic in it!
It's just Mulan in Japan, surely?
@@AFMR0420 oversimplification, with that logic no modern idea is original
I believe it was episode 5 where you learn more of her back story and how she essentially became Oni like the story was being told. Definitely my favorite episode of the season and one of the best examples of how someone becomes obsessed with vengeance.
That one was heartbreaking,
That episode was masterful
Ep. 5 Needs an Emmy or the awards are pointless.
@@AlexHodgesYT Considering how much the Academy has let me down during Best Animated Film nominations and how the winner is picked, I tend to feel let down.
That episode genuinely broke my heart. I felt so bad for her, especially when Akemi said Mizu is incapable of feeling anything.
Been watching it and GOD DAMN, the show is hardcore. Bad ass main character, bad ass dark backstory, awesome animation, awesome fight scenes, music, characters...all of it.
Thank you for the recommendation, I immediately looked this up and started to watch it. Many of your points were spot-on, but I'd add some appreciation for many (maybe not all) of the historically accurate points of Feudal Japan during the Edo period.
I cannot fathom how happy I am that you of all youtubers are talking about how amazing this show is. It deserves all the praise it's getting and more
Kinda of disappointed that it is not getting the criticism it deserves.
I was contemplating writing an email to Drinker myself, to ask him to give this show a go. So I am happy to see that somebody else already did that. This show was a pleasant find for me, so I hope more people give it a try, despite some questionable moments in the second half. It's a great fun
@@PatrickOMulligan Same, I can't see how people can't see it.
Episode 5 is a masterpiece in parallel storytelling. I was floored.
it was peak storytelling, the following episodes almost suffer in comparison, despite being amazing in their own right.
Episode 5 is amazing.
@@blackpaw29Episode 6 is kinda trash though
Wrong.
@@studentdebil1720 was 6 the one that literally only had action? Where she fought her way through that castle? I quit on that episode, but ill probably return with confirmation that the last 2 eps are good
Nowadays such films as The Blue Dahlia, The Big Sleep, Casablance, The Maltese Falcon, North by Northwest, The Shootist, The Searchers, Shane, The Son's of Katie Elder, Rio Bravo, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, A Few Dollers, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Calamity Jane, Singing in The Rain and many more are more worth watching today for their sheer brilliance and beauty than anything that Hollywood can come up with.
Thanks again for a good recommendation Mr Drinker.
The ronin story alongside the backstory of her failed marriage was such a great episode. It made me check the time, at 3am, and commit to another episode. Haven’t been hooked like that in a while.
The fight scenes are incredible, they’re fast, fluid, and almost feel superhuman, but still manage to pull it together into something that someone skilled enough could pull off.
Yeah, it's almost like watching old Jackie Chan fight scenes but animated
There were a couple times where I audibly said “that’s bullshit” like when she lands on the rock with one hand and then jumps up and cuts that dude in half but it honestly was so good that I did not care
I haven't watched this, but seeing two men get launched through a wall, then the female protagonist walk through, told me that this will still have those moments. I believe your assessment in general, though, and am glad to read that about this work. I also think my suspension of disbelief is more resilient regarding physical feats like that in animation over live action, so I wondered a bit about how well this would do if it was live action instead. All in all, though, good writing trumps all that, so it's nice to hear and read how well this series was done. Maybe I'll actually even watch it.
I’m so happy you talked about how awesome Fowler is because he deserves way more attention. As you said, he feels like he could do whatever the hell he wants, whenever, which is such a terrifying concept. But coupled with great voice acting, terrific character design, a shockingly interesting motive and some great dialogue, DAMN. Or Hollywood might have just starved me for good villains I don’t know
Yea I don’t wanna sympathize to a Character which kills baby and put their bones in the Dungeon
Did they ever explain why the isolationist, technophobic, and genocidally prejudiced military dictatorship is the good guys and the technologically advanced democratic societies are a "corruptive influence?"
Genuinely curious. From what I've seen it's more of the same; western man bad. It's a tired refrain that doesn't make me want to give Netflix money; especially considering the blatant prejudice they display with their movies.
@@ireallycant4416objectively he is a deep, brilliant villain. I despise him for that exact reason but from a critical point of view, he is a horrific villain like the OP perfectly encapsulates- it feels like he can do anything An omnipotent calculating and ruthless villain. Wow
Makes sense that a sadist would enjoy it up the clacker. Totally unexpected yet..
@@ireallycant4416 You can like a character without agreeing with their actions. Why can't zoomers grasp this shocking concept?
Its frustrating how Drinker pokes out the tiniest holes in other stuff, but here, he mentioned none of the ridiculous plot armor, nonsensical action, leaps in logic or straight up bullshit that occurred... It personally lost a lot of the good faith i initially cherished for this show
My biggest gripe with Mizu's progression is that we didn't see her sparring or training against actual human opponents. It's one thing to practice sword techniques against bamboo, but entirely different to train with a person. I thought Mizu's husband in episode 5 would have been the one to give her the final lessons she needed to put her sword skills into practice, but they took it a completely different direction.
I think the point is that she never stops learning, always eager to improve her technique by analyzing it for weak points and learning from her opponents during and after the battle.
This is all she has in life, and therefor she spends time doing nothing else.
And tbf, she must have been a good fighter even before Mikio ( if the whole husband thing wasn't a dream sequence anyway), for her to track down and kill Violet and their men.
Yes we do, as kid that guy who got the broken sword beats her up.
See that would have been good. Every time the story feels like it’s gonna be compelling, they force in a plot point that makes it less interesting.
The husband was evil the whole time! WOW, never seen that one before.
He wasnt evil? He was a man scared of the demon he saw in her eyes, and he couldve been to one to rat her out, but the show's intentionally vague about it.@@uriahl2331
@@uriahl2331but the husband wasn’t evil the whole time, we actually never know and that is part of the point. He slipped when he felt bested, but we never actually know if he sold her, and I’m of the belief that it was actually her “mother”. The husband was, mostly, a great dude, but he too was a victim of his time
Apparently the lead director of this show is a martial artist herself and in her own words she has a real pet peeve about martial arts being portrayed in accurately in fiction. So she has an active interest in making the fight scenes as brutal grounded, messy and realistic as they possibly could be.
and she did a damn fine job ; all the kudos/congrats is well deserved
I can believe that, almost none of the fight scenes are 'pretty' or simple. It really feels like the characters are fighting for their lives.
Well, someone passed on the silly mythological notions of the extreme prowess of the Samurai sword. That is indeed my only real criticism of this whole series. I cringe watching characters felling 8 inch diameter trees with a sword stroke. Or cutting through steel or iron rods as if they were twigs. Or cutting through a pistol. And then, when the plot calls for it, that same amazing blade is shattered by a lead ball from an arquebus. The same blade which held the weight of two adults wedged into a stone wall at a 90 degree angle without bending or breaking.
I guess I'm too much of a sword enthusiast.
That's pretty cool.
So basically, yet another female writer and director who need to write and see themselves in the lead character. At least it sounds like they did a good job and didn't make the female lead perfect and all men dumb. Kudos for that at least.
Finally, a reviewer with a good audience gave this one a spotlight it deserves. Another good and extremely underrated animation I would recommend is "Pantheon"
There is an ever growing list under the surface of good western adult animation and that is absolutely in it .
You should check out Scavenger's Reign as well
@@rvantong What streaming service is it on?
@@UncreativeHandle48 It's on Amazon Prime
Thank you for the heads up on blue eye samurai great show!! Happy New Years!!
I just watched this, because of you. Thank you! Such an amazing show
It’s hard to talk about without spoiling a really good episode, but they show actually gives her a window in which she can set aside her revenge and rather than have her throw it away and carry bullheadedly on, Mizu actually embraces it, giving her a complicating dynamic of finding a scrap of joy that, for a moment, convinces her she doesn’t have to be on her quest for revenge and that her life can be more than a bloody warpath. The result of that makes her return to that quest even more heartbreaking and makes her so much more than a warrior; it makes her human because she reaches for joy rather than revenge and life makes it clear it won’t let her do that.
Well ya that episode makes a point of how if there's anything more painful than a lack of happiness, it's being given a taste of happiness only to have it abruptly taken away. It's great fucking stuff.
Lol this is such BS. The series is NOT that deep. But hey you guys keep on consuming this gender swapped crap.
Yeah I can't remember the last time I have seen that in other stories with similar dynamics. Because usually they consider it for a good minute but go back to the old path. (Not that it's bad or anything) but she really tried for it for a long time.
That was genius, giving her the chance to be happy and 'normal' then to have it snatched away.
I saw some comments on how he betrayed her because she wasn't the good little wife and he couldn't take it which in my opinion wasn't what scared him. He suggested they spar, he knew she was a warrior, what scared him was while he kept his blade covered she pulled live steel on him twice. And its completely in character for both of them
It’s SO SO GOODDD. I fell in love with the world, the characters, the story, the look, everything. It’s both comforting and challenging. Lovely and disturbing (in a good way). Brilliant creators and actors.
I take it is dubbed?
Of course it's dubbed, all animation are except silent movies.
@@davethomas1641 Don't worry about that, just watch.
@@davethomas1641 It's a western animation. Wasn't made in Asia.
@@jovanfilipovic5115 much appreciated, didn't know that........
Storytelling and animation of Episode 5... nothing can describe the awe I was so gingerly placed in from the story. The brilliance of Peace and Tranquillity locked in a battle with Duty and Honour told through a story of developed love spoke to my proverbial soul. Trust a rando misogynist from the internet who is a romantic on this one, justice will never be realized if you don't watch it for yourself!
I hate watch critical drinker because I am a chick in the film industry who agrees with his take on the shitty propaganda films these days. It burns me to like this vid. I'm only supposed to hate watch.
@@riddimgyal thats ok, we are all a small fringe minority of people who understand the larger implications of this degeneracy. good luck I can only imagine how difficult it must be. I hope you can get to your full goals and make the impact we are all looking for.
@@democratslie8113 it's an accurate representation of the time.
I went in with very high expectations since everyone keep calling it good, i was left disappointed, it not deep as it tries to be, the ending wasn't satisfying and every man in it was a jerk at some point, except the guy with no hands but yeah, it not as good as they say.
@@unnaturaldodo cool did you watch the entire episode's presiding that is the literal buildup to that moment or were you a petulant child and chose to get your dopamine hit right from the start?
name 1 episode of any other show in the last 5 years that has done better, just one.
For me on Ep5 it went to shit.
I know a lot of people liked it, but cutting up 3 different parts like this felt like stuffing with filler, especially after a lot of flashback in previous ep. But more importantly fights jumped the shark from heroic but grounded into very, very, very dumb. Bad guys became idiotic goblins. First, of all they didn't just torch the building (which they absolutely would, after she killed some of them in the courtyard). Then they didn't stream in all of them (which is exactly what happens if 100 thugs got orders to raze a brothel and somehow they are undeterred after 3 of them were killed in front of their eyes), just came inside in groups of 5 with very long delay between them. Then... half of specific engagements were idiotic, including bad guys being teleported around between cuts to give Mizu a chance. Meanwhile she had her pocket naginata all the time, and by all reason her best bet was to immediately assemble it and cut them all up - with their super short claws - in the open, her decision to go inside was also idiotic. I'd have no problems whatsoever if she cut up 100 claw wielders with a naginata - that makes perfect sense, especially with her heroic skills. That ep was very much like "Battle of Bastards" extremely stupid spectacle instead of a battle scene. It did mostly work for me with GoT somehow I got hooked, here I was getting closer and closer to "x1,25 speed" to get it over with. I've tried part of the next ep, after she insta-healed lethal 4 prong hook wound to the gut, then with the traps, one of which clearly shattered bones in her foot crippling her for life, but when there was cut away from her running unarmed into a wall of swords and somehow guys were being thrown into spikes I was out. I know a lot of people have tolerance for this, but IMO fight scenes can and should be semi-plausible. Just like in the first 4 eps.
I binge watched the whole season in one go. It was a really pleasant surprise. Everything The Drinker says I could repeat. Can't wait for next season.
Wow, the entire season! A full six hours! Sorry, i can't stand this ridiculous trend that will soon make movies and "series" indistinguishable
you obviously don't have a job to keep yourself busy
@@shermansheepherda8488 I have a good job, I don’t need to work much to make bank, besides my job aren’t about just putting hours into it.
and could it happen that it was a day off I used to watch a tv show?
@@muskyoxes nothing wrong with your way of doing things, and I no problems keeping engaged for six hours. Must admit, I took myself a break mid through, to cook myself a fabulous meal.
@@neanderthal- Was it noodle soup?
Typically I am an anti cg-animation snob but i let my hair down for this one and was not disappointed. I actually enjoyed the art style very much. We might finally be entering an era where we finally surpass cell shading. Here’s to hoping. Hopefully they finally touch up Berserk so I can finally watch the rest of those. Or just get this studio to remake it!
CGI can work for a show if it's done well and it is consistant. Land of the Lustrious aka Houseki no Kuni is a good example for CGI that isn't actually that great if you measure it on bein realistic but fits very well.
Lol I’m the same. I can’t help but think how much better it would have looked if it was 2D.
CGI is art, it can be done masterfully and beautifully.
I would recommend you watch the Trigun Stampede anime by studio Orange which came out earlier this year. It's a full cgi animated anime but it's one of the best. The studio is probably the best at cg anime and I would recommend u watch their other shows as well.
Why, though? Arcane had a mix of both, and it was gorgeous. Spider-verse literally changed the landscape of animation with this hybrid of styles gelled together to create unique story-telling elements.
I cannot tell you how glad I am, that I came across this show, due to watching this vid! I love martial arts stuff/samurai/manga/anime, so this looked epic! And my god was it! I LOVED every second of it, the animation is beautiful, cannot recommend enough :-) many thanks to the drinker!
Blue Eye Samurai looks gorgeous and its animation is simply superb. Its story, is, overall, pretty good, but the show has some issues that, in my opinion, that prevent it from being truly great.
One those issues is the EXTREME amount of plot armor the main protagonist has. She tanks being stabbed, trespassed by a blade and even gunshot wounds as if they were nothing (episode 6 is especially bad in this regard). The show doesn't use an objective criteira to define whether a wound is fatal or not, so whether the protagonist is affected by the wounds she suffers is determined by how convenient that would be for plot, and this sucks.
Yes, the animation is great. Except it is unnecesarry bloody and cruel. The plot, ah well, a girl lives all her life discuised as a boy in a medieval japanese village, with common bathes and shitting in public. Well, ok. She is taken by a blind swordmaker. Well, blind swordmaker makes a perfect sense. Almost like a blind painter, but, ok, in modern movie a disabled is just as good as anyone else in everything. He keep saying all kind of cheap pseudofilisophical speaches, at some moment i even thaught it's a parody. Ok, so be it. From looking at the clients, the girl learns to use a sword, and she is so good, that at he first real fight, actually the first time she spars with a partner, she easily wins, even against the best swordsman in the fencing school.
Yes, and her sidekick, who seems to be a grown man, wants to be a fencer. With no hands. And this is only the first episode. Is there any reason at all i should waist my time on this show?
Yeah, absolutely amazing show but episode 6 was a bit over the top. It went too far into superhero mode for a while there.
Yeah, and that sadly makes the action kinda lame, cause it's just a gross bloody mess with no stakes
@@boriskapchits7727 I don't know, you tell me.
Why would you want to watch a show with a female protagonist in the first place?
GTD_Galatea Women simply don't work as protagonists in a story. They just can't.
Especially in an action adventure story.
My girlfriend put me onto this show and boy I was shocked at how well it is. Character development, the writing, the animations. Definitely worth a binge watch
You have a based GF.
I’m trying to get my bf to watch this but he’s relenting
I have to say that the levels of care that went into the details like how metals were worked on by the Sword Father in the foundry verged on obsessive-compulsive. This show was clearly made by people with enormous dedication. I was just blown away.
Watched thanks to you Drinker, bloody brilliant.
One of my favorite scifi authors, Monalisa Foster, recommended this for the same reasons the Drinker recommended. An "I'll check out the first episode" turned into "why is it daylight". Highly recommended. If you know your history of cities burning you know where the next season is heading.
That would actually be interesting, after burning the largest city in the world down, Mizu causes the London Fire 🤣😂
So it's historically accurate also?
@@TheRayfield77 if you think an unstoppable female warrior in 19th century Japan is “historically accurate” then you are sorely misinformed haha
Lol
@joebeast15 it's amazing watching all these guys in here who regularly complain about gender swapped roles PRAISE a gender swapped role.
I absolutely love it when the Critical Drinker loves a show, it shows that there's hope
Blue eye samurai was definitely solid and I enjoyed it for the most part. But if you want a recent anime that is killer across the board I highly, highly recommend Vindland Saga. This is a revenge story with a redemtion arc done right set in viking times. This is truly top-notch!
Vinland Saga is on a league of its own.
Saga is good.. but it ain't Blue Eye Samurai good.
@@user-tn9qr1vi8pso now we’re telling lies
Oh an actually good-ish show (English troops still portrayed as weak yet evil).
im so glad you reviewed Blue Eye Samuri. i remember just scrolling trying to find something to watch and deciding to give this show a shot and boy was i not dissapointed.
Glad you noticed this one, the advertisements for adult animation that isn’t comedy is sadly not doing enough to promote shows like this one.
With the crap we’ve been getting, I approached this with mid-expectations…. Needless to say, the fact I binged the first 6 episodes then forced myself to watch the last two later tells ya, I had similar enthralled emotions towards this amazing story.
From the characters, to the world, the animation and the music (a note I’m surprised you didn’t touch on), it was such a fun and emotional ride. I am looking forward to season 2
It just tells me that you were so desperate to watch anything because it was a woke shit show
@@n4ughty_knight Whatever dude, you're clearly desperate to find wokeness everywhere so you can play the victim
Yeah, music. They even had their own ‘musical episode’, like in all modern shows (I mean the one with classic theatre tale) and that was… perfect😮
@@n4ughty_knight strong female characters isn't woke ary sues that are perfect and have no flaws are ...misu is a very flawed character
@@n4ughty_knight Its not really woke, there's every reason mizu are force to become a boy.
The bits I've seen from this series on here make me want to watch more, dare I say it. Hearing you endorse it as wholeheartedly as you are makes me want to do so even more now. What I saw (except for the one physics-defying scene) convinced me that Mizu is not a Mary Sue in the least, and hey, they even pulled off a Japanese language version of "For Whom The Bell Tolls" in the soundtrack, which is OK by me. Between this and a few other things, I might just take the plunge and do the Netflix thing just to watch this and "Ultraman".
I really miss film critics like Roger Ebert, he really had perfected his craft and when he recommended a film or gave it high praise, you knew you were sitting down to watch something special. Nowadays the professional class are more worried about access given by the studios that they compromise their reviews, thankfully RUclips creators like Drinker have filled the void. Thanks Drinker, keep doing what you do.
I miss Ebert too. He's unparalleled.
@boiledelephant Yeah with takes like "video games aren't art" he was truly unparalleled. I used to think the same thing but I no longer see how anyone can believe Roger Ebert was anything special. His takes were bog standard at best, and unbelievably stupid and narrow at worst. He was normal movie critic who mostly loved everything, nothing less, nothing more.
@jacksondavis9442 you missed the qualities people sought in his pieces, it wasn't the opinions, it was the writing quality and style. He was a superb writer.
A good friend of mine just finished watching this himself recently. His response was "This is glorious, YOU NEED TO WATCH IT" when I asked how it was. And so it will be, I shall watch it myself soon!
if I had a nickle every time Dante Basco voiced a character that went after the MC in a quest for honor, only to end up befriending and teaming up with said MC, id have 2 nickles, which isn't much but its weird it happened twice
But Dante Basco didn't voice Taigen, if that's what you mean. Darren Barnet did.
caught that!!!
Good to see Phineas and Ferb references are still alive
You talking about Taigen? he’s not voiced by Dante Basco.
A stunning piece of work. The animation, character story telling and pacing of parallel story telling is masterful. I sat enthralled through all the episode's and am watching ut asecond time as I'm sure I missed alot first time around. It's a very powerful story with the characters each having their own journey to take. Congrats to all who helped in producing this series without doubt the best streaming work I've ever seen
The one thing I didn't like about the show was that she really didn't have a proper training arc. It was basically like Shang Chi's sister, she didn't have an instructor or a sparing partner, she just watched the demonstrations of the sword master's clients and then figured it out from there. It would have made more sense if the sword master was like a retired samurai who trained her.
There is a French show called "Last Man" and in the second season there is a girl, Siri, who goes through insanely gruesome training and ultimately becomes the strongest warrior. That's a training arc I can get behind.
I was one of the people that asked you on twitter to watch it. So glad you finally did. It's an absolute masterpiece IMO. I KNEW you would like it :)
The series was just gorgeous. Dialogue, sword work, voice actors. . .all captured for animation. An awesome story. I've been recommending it to everyone.
Thanks for the recommendation, man. This show was awesome. A few scenes that really stood out to me were when Akemi and Seki argued about her place in the world, her wants vs the practical reality of Japanese culture at the time. Both of them had valid points to make, and I feel like the show took a really balanced approach to a complex and contentious issue. I can only imagine how Disney would have handled the same conflict. Akemi would have put Seki down easily and then gone off to girl boss her way to victory, completely changing her culture’s entire treatment of women in the process. Instead, by the end of the season Akemi has chosen to pursue her goals within the constraints of her culture, as we all must do, male or female. And that is so much more relatable and rewarding to watch. I really love her arc. And given where she started as a character, I am both surprised and thrilled to be able to say that.
I was pretty conflicted on this one since the animation's stunning and it's thematically interesting, but although it is an animated show I felt the groundedness of the story felt at odds with how overpowered she was in fights, both in dishing out the damage and in taking it. Uniquely skilled and resourceful swordswoman who can consistently win one-on-one or even two-on-one is one thing, but winning a dozen-to-one multiple times broke my suspension of disbelief.
So glad Drinker talked about this show. It's a massively underrated masterpiece. It's without a doubt, one of the best shows of the year.
Underrated? How can something be underrated when every critic has the same consensus?
@@LordFindecano true, underrated in terms of general audience awareness. It barely spent anytime on the Netflix top 10.
@@SOLIDSNAKES35 it got renewed anyway
Oh yeah!
I stumbled across BES a few weeks ago and was already a drink or two in on a bored Friday.
The most surprising part for me was that the cross-dressing/woman-in-a-man’s world aspect was handled with care. I was intrigued by the character, who wasn’t some cardboard cutout woke-puppet, but had a difficult story to tell. Hell, I was even happy to overlook some of the annoying elements of the series just to find out where it was going next. To me, a compelling series is a good series by definition.
I’m watching this thanks to you Drinker, well done and thank you!
Story is rather weak.
Too many unbelieveable or highly unlikely situations that tend to overwhelm once the last episode is reached.
Most of the comments are correct, but,
How does a foreigner at that time become the best swordsman in japan?
How many times did he have the advantage on Mizu, yet left the fight?
who comes up with this idiotic material?
Mizu's revenge arc become weaker and dumber as the story progresses, rendering the main character pointless.
Reminds me of Rey, no matter the situation, no matter how many gapping wounds, she finds a way.
Yeah Mizu is very reckless and gets saved often, but it makes sense she needs Fowler to find the other white men. The story is a little back and forth if she wants revenge or not. But everything else about the show is done very well. I'd still rate it highly.
I loved this series as well. Every episode is unique and builds upon the characters and the story. Episode 5 was absolutely stunning -- it told the story in two ways at the same time: via an allegorical puppet show that describes in real time what we are seeing on the screen. And the artwork is just mesmerizing.
It really was... part of me thought it was a dream and I realized it was going to be a sad goddamn story about her life and why she hardened her heart. 😢
Holy crap! I just can't find anyone saying anything bad against this show, guess that's my que to watch it
Was stunned at episode 5 too. Felt like the best parts of 3 episodes in one. Was a little worried after watching it though that the rest of the show wouldn’t hold up to that standard tbh
Japan irl wasn’t wholly shut off from the outside world during this era. Nagasaki bay had a man made island that the Dutch used to trade with the Japanese. The tokugawa shogunate kept foreigners mostly out because the government maintained power by keeping the various domains across Japan divided and easier to maintain control. Allowing western influences in would’ve likely led to back room deals between domains and western countries to overthrow the government. When the Perry Expedition forcibly opened Japan, this actually kinda happened. A couple clans who had historically rebelled against the shogunate allied with the British to supply guns and munitions leading to the Meiji restoration.
It’s funny how the name of the guy who forced Japan open was named Mathew Perry. Guess Japan had a lot of ketamine
Loved the show but hatet the ending. How did Mizu and Fowler get out of buildin that was starting point of fire that killed whole damn army of riflemen. Fact that one sword kept whole army behin that door was also ridiculous, and none of men behid that door could find other way out is stupid too. Those are my biggest gripes about last episode, but not only ones.
8:54 - 8:59 You brang that so often, but it was placed good that it got me off guard, and made me laugh for a second. Good job, That's ma Boiii.
You can tell what kind of mood a piece of media put drinker in, by how pleasant or venomous his “go away now” is, and this one was pleasant indeed.
Also, you sold me, my man. I have to catch up with the second season of reacher, but I’ll definitely check this out.
I love how even more minor characters still have strong personalities, flaws, virtues and motivations. Akemi's manservant, Seki, genuinely tries to do his best to encourage the princess to rebel against social boundaries, encouraging her to read improper literature, escorting her when she runs away - but because of the vast array of privileges he enjoys as a man against even a royal woman (no one ever forces him to blacken his teeth), he doesn't comprehend the terrible and suffocating life Akemi is being forced into. It's a really good illustration of the gender based differences in society, _without_ grinding your nose into it.
Ringo is very badly written, most of the time he just feels like the prop they are using for the sake of representation
@@LuisSierra42 wrong, Ringo is the character they put on screen to lighten up the mood, he is the hopeful, goofy comedic relief character, that also has his own struggles, I would say he reminds me of the role Po holds in Kung Fu Panda but he isn't the protagonist xd.
@@LuisSierra42 Do you think? People point out his disability, sure, but he doesn't let it define him. He is definitely the comedic relief, which is an absolute necessity alongside a protagonist like Mizu, but he still shows himself to be kind, tenacious, loyal, and quick-thinking; he develops throughout the series, in an equal but different direction to the samurai.
So Seki is basically a feminist enabler. Ugh, this show gets worse every time someone tries to justify it. Wokism isn't about grinding stuff in your nose. It's about the content of the messages being portrayed. Before and during the Heian period, women had power too but it slowly changed because of Confucianism and the rise of the Samurai class. The show, however, down plays that into showing women as victims of the patriarchy without taking into consideration the context of the period.
@@Gaming_Legend2 I get that he's a comic relief but I have several grievances with how he's written:
1) He abandons his family to follow MIzu around. It's true that his family didn't treat him well, but they were the ones who raised him and gave him work given his disability. I would understand if he really doesn't love them but the show never mentions his family again and he never thinks about them either
2) Mizu was always very clear with him that she was not a samurai but after the incident with Akemi, he abandons her because she's not a samurai
3) Despite having abandoned her, Ringo conveniently appears right next to the lake where Mizu and the other guy fall into after their first confrontation with the big bad guy. Even if Ringo had been following Mizu around as she entered the bad guy's palace, he could never have predicted that Mizu would end up falling into that lake
I loved the storyline of the husband and mom... first of all i loved that she wasnt an alphabet member lol... the story of her marriage showed her soft loving side. Then the betrayal was soo heartbreaking.. brilliant show
i watched this show maybe about a week after it came out, was scrolling thru netflix bored and looking for something to watch while smoking, saw this and thought it looked cool. I sat and watched the whole debut season in that same sitting i was so so pleasantly surprised. To see it’s getting its flowers now is amazing and i’m happy a second season is confirmed
I am geniunely surprised by how little buzz there is around this fantastic show. The story is great and is the voice acting and the animation is top notch from start to finish. This show is also a massive middle finger to modern hollywood's potrayal of "strong female character'. I binged this show in one day and I heartily recommend it.
I've seen quite a bit of buzz about it
As a woman, it just feels so good to see a well written and executed strong female lead :'). I wouldn't be saying this if Hollywood didn't churn out a hundred let-downs every year, it's kind of like finding a unicorn.
I mean... Wasn't that the same as before?
There are always way fewer good movies than bad ones? So nothing really changed aside from outrage culture would want us to believe?
Frieren is an excellent show with a far more interesting female lead; reminds me of lord of the rings.
Hollywood is just dying and I say let it
You should check out Arcane. It's another Drinker recommended gem with some strong female leads
If you want to see a well written powerful female protagonist then please check out the recent anime "Sousou no Frieren". It's incredible.
I’m so happy to see this video. I watched this a few weeks ago and thought it was fantastic. Good to know I’m not crazy.
I'm going to close out the season tonight. Looking forward to it
I feel like a wizard when I watch a show and I’m like « yeah the drinkers is definitely going to recommend this one » didn’t miss with invincible, arcane and this one 😂
Glad you liked it, I think adult and mature animation deserves more spotlight
I’m so happy this show wasn’t buried and is actually getting all the recognition it deserves
I didn't even realize the show was trying to hide her gender. To me the reveal was that the swordsmith still thought she was a man after all those years, which worked much better emotionally for me. But then came the "peaches" scene and i was very confused.
I wanted to preface that I found out about this show the day of it's release and started to watch it with zero expectations. Artistically is very impressive, from a writing stand point I really didn't like how the story seems to fast forward some parts, it's like if at some moment instead of the scripts the writers just left a post it with a 4 words on it. Mizu is just like every other "strong female character tm", she is stronger then any other sword man because she is. She trained by her self by watching others, not even extra amount of time, she is not more tactical, or more agile or fights smarter, she is just strong. When she fights 15 to 50 opponents in one time they dance around her like Assassin's creed 2 enemies, and it's shot in a way that you notice (unlike in other media where they don't make you notice). She make constantly poor decision but in the script says that she wins and so she does. She is stabbed countless times but then her COD 4 like regeneration kicks in and no wound has consequences. ****** SPOILERS****** She goes on a super stealth mission (extremely important she is not seen! innocent human lives are at stake! no witnesses!) with her goddamn face uncovered! and she waste time to get the equipment she forgot to leave at the brothel and she is seen by a child! NO WITNESSES MIZU! HUMAN LIVES! No she let the kid go and of course the mafia attacks the brothel ( consequences for her actions?) Nope, she beats em up, 100 vs 1. Not even taking advantage of the goddamn secret passages that where established in that episode ( guys it was already there! it was clever! why not write it this way!??) Nope she wins because strong female character. She is trapped underneath a heavy wooden door with 15 guys on top trying to kill her and she looney toons her way out of the scuffle. At a certain point in the show Teigen needs to infiltrate in the IMPERIAL JADE GODDAMN PALACE and says to Ringo: your master would have charged right to the front door! And he says it like it's a stupid idea ( and it is) but then they do it and it works because Teigen understood that this is just Mulan with blood, tits and racism as a paint of maturity. And don't even get me started on how many times Fawler could have killed her in the finale but chose not to cause we have more seasons to make. To conclude: many are drawing a comparison between Blue Eye Samurai and arcane, there are entire channels dedicated to pick apart and analyze the meaning behind every shot of Arcane, but there is not even close the same amount of attention to detail in Samurai. In a week time people would have forgotten about it.
"just Mulan with blood, tits and racism as a paint of maturity" - EXCELLENTLY put! Thank you!! This show is so over-hyped it drives me fucking crazy (see my comment above).
You can make maaaaany similar criticisms to other absolutley amazing shows or films...westerns, kurosawa films, lotr, spaghetti westerns, tarantino films... it's an art form, it's not necesarilly supposed to be believable. The best example I can think of that you can level the same criticisms is is Kill Bill. Would they be fair? Sure. Does it make it anything less then amazing? Of course not...sometimes believability is not the point. If a slight snort of: "oookey, she healed waaay too fast" is the price I have to pay for really good writing, unpredictable plot lines and amazing cinematography I'm happy to pay it. Believable fights and realistic healing processes do not make or break a show...as for looney toony oneself out of super adverse situations..yep...like Kill Bill, like Frodo, like clint eastwood in a fistfull of dollars. Arcane was amazing, this is also amazing..in a different way...in arcane there are other things to analyze cause of the lore...here you can analyze all the techniques they used to make this look like a live action...the way the "camara" moves or the breathaking scenery, how every shot is framed...or you can appreciate the historical accuracy...not to mention cultural accuracy...in tiny details, how the characters move for example. In any case..it boils down to opinion, it's subjective. I thought it was the best thing I saw since Arcane. You hate it. It's fine...just don't be so suprised many other people liked it
Edit: I just remembered a scene in Arcane where Vi parkours herself down making an insane, inhuman jump that noone could just walk away from (shw would have at the very least shattered her ankles)...but the slo mo, the backdrop...the colours..it made it look really good..do I believe any human can make that jump? no. And yet...still amazing..still a good show.
@@ilyaguerenstein7847 You misunderstood my point. If you go for serious historical themes like racism and sexism in feudal Japan and reference the Irish famine I'm going to hold you up to a higher standard then regular fantasy. My main problem is with how in Samurai there are moments in which the plot "jumps" . There are no consequences to any of the many bad decisions Mizu makes. What was the point of the stealth mission if she could have killed the 100 mobsters by her self. What was the purpose of the traps in Fowler's castle if every time she gets hurt, it doesn't have consequences. And when you start to notice the cracks more and more start to appear. We agree that the visuals are stunning, and I'm not saying that is a bad series, but I see a lot of squandered potential if the writing would be just a bit tighter.
@@WckD135 I am. I'm saying it's a bad series.
@@ilyaguerenstein7847 What you say is all well and good, except that with Blue Eye Samurai (and others) it is not just a case of stretching credibility with what the human body is physically capable of - it's the fact that Mizu's plot armour and unearned excellence at fighting is given to her by the writers for purely ideological reasons. If it was just surviving injuries that should have taken her out, that would be one thing. But when we have her instantly besting her samurai husband despite the massive gap in their respective training and experience - just because she's a woman and therefore HAS to triumph over a man! - that's when it gets unpalatable.
As the episodes progress, more and more woke elements of the show make themselves apparent, and that then makes it clear WHY the writers are making Mizu capable of doing what she does and surviving anything. It isn't just fitting into the genre tropes you mention - it's in service to woke ideology. The Drinker has been harsh on a lot of productions that have had the same problems, and the same kind of under/overtones: Enola Holmes, Atomic Blonde, Charlie’s Angels, Disney Star Wars, and many more besides. How he doesn't see this show as belonging in the same category is unfathomable. Andif it is all purely subjective as you say, that would undermine the majority of the Drinker's RUclips content.
So glad you reviewed this. Just stumbled across it this weekend and finished it last night. Same reaction here. I was blown away. It looks like it would take a decade to animate eight episodes with this level of story telling, art direction and craft. I hope I'm wrong because I can't stand the thought of waiting that long for season 2. I'm surprised no one I've mentioned it to has even heard of it. Please keep getting the word out. This level of excellence needs to be rewarded if we want to see more of it.
I finished this in a day and can honestly say this is one of the best things ive seen in a long while. We need more stuff like this!
I agree. It is the best to have come in a long while. But besides the strong visual language, it is just "good enough".
It is good, hopefully a sign of much better yet to come.
Respectfully. 👍
Its addictive viewing
Just binged this. Loved it! Can't wait for season 2.
Like your work Drinker and I have learned a lot about cinema from you but she looks like another boss babe who is stronger, faster and smarter than all of the men she goes up against doing preternatural acrobatics. Not falling for it.
No, she gets her ass kicked a lot. Most of the time she only gets through fights because she takes advantage of a distraction, uses speed, or just sheer brutality.
Yes cope and seethe that a action action protagonist is badass lmao
Well if you gave this a shot you have to give Sword of the Stranger a shot as well, since it's in my humble Opinion even better and quite similar in tone and story progression.
Thank you for this! Just saved it to my bookmarks on crunchy roll.
I was blown away by just how good this was and I'm really really hoping they can continue the level of quality for the rest of them.
Just finished this. Holy crap. That was awesome. Can’t wait for season 2
Just watched the first episode! Wow! Stunning! What a well done piece of work.
I'm so glad this show has been renewed for a second season and people are starting to talk about it, I truly believe it's the best animated series of the year, and whilst the animation might not quite be on the level of spiderverse, I think the story might just beat it out