The Drinker Recommends... Blue Eye Samurai

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.
Check out the Critical Drinker merch store: drinkershop.com/

[@foryou7673]

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!

[@CheckmateSurvivor]

That would be the globalist media.

[@Thandar324]

He is superior to any of those other critics

[@ImmanuelWoodworking]

Yep, literally never been let down this far.

[@yonatankuper1953]

I see that mediocre show recommended by many mainstream critics, same critics who barely discuss and appreciate anime and history media

[@foryou7673]

​​@@yonatankuper1953They're of course backed by major corporations, this guy on the other hand is truly independent.

[@OG_Cool_Cat]

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.

[@sanji1259]

you say that after u saw the last 2 episodes...wake up, it is horrible ending

[@jonnywaldis8275]

​@@sanji1259gotta agree, the last two episodes soured the experience for me.

[@kewins1234]

Same goes to Arcane, I rather wait longer than see them destroy what's built.

[@sanji1259]

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

[@alesksander]

@@kewins1234 This! 100% rather wait 4 years for good product. Because well they deserved that time.

[@gyleortiz9653]

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.

[@pac1fic055]

I noticed that too. Just like the scars on her body.

[@toh6261]

Probably the most realistic part of the show 😏

[@strangeke7750]

It’s also pretty much the Japanese philosophy of wavi sabi, which is accepting broken and imperfect things as beautiful. Which is lit.

[@thebeebyboys1751]

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

[@PatrickOMulligan]

Like how she was a master with the naginata without any training?

[@themanyouwanttobe]

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.

[@carontorliak2760]

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.

[@Gilescowdemdem]

In the finale they imply heavily it was the "mother" who did it for the money.

[@Rearmostbean]

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

[@benjaminthibieroz4155]

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.

[@spysong1324]

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..

[@matsug5704]

Fun fact: Mizu means water in Japanese, hence the color or her eyes and the color of her sword's blade.

[@AdmiralRamirez7]

I was thinking mizukage

[@Ramsey276one]

A blue sword? Cool...

[@OilFreeFeathers]

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.

[@donk3ypunchzero]

And hana mizu means snot. They dont have snot, my friend from Tokyo loves this word.

[@donk3ypunchzero]

And her Hokusai hamon

[@Easy-Eight]

Honestly, when I saw this mini-series my biggest revelation was *"damn, I didn't think entertainment media had it in them anymore."*

[@TiGGowich]

I think I had that same thought when I first watched "Arcane"

[@mattwhaley4903]

Can't grade everything you see from by marvels new heap...Stan Lee is probably rolling in his grave

[@KiamatDusk]

FYi, it's a continuing series, not a mini series. Season 2 has been greenlit.

[@TheTrellis77]

I was even more impressed when I found out it was a western production

[@PALITINEB00RS]

This is Japanese not stupid American media…they have cultural standards

[@lancebaxter6612]

Fowler guessing her identity because her "bones break like a woman's" is some seriously dark and brilliant character development.

[@cbdy1358]

Yeah I didn’t catch it at first but that has some really dark implications

[@OReily08080]

The look he gave when he realized, just wild to me

[@aravindmuthu5748]

isn't Fowler a rainbow 🌈 brother??

[@illusiveman8561]

@@aravindmuthu5748 nah he is just depraved

[@ricardokowalski1579]

He has had a LOT of practice.

[@Dstinct]

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.

[@melusirams8551]

I wish Berserk 2016 did the same😢

[@100push-upsguy6]

Did they basically use rotoscoping like in the animated Lord of the Rings from 70s?

[@PhrenSo768]

@@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.

[@100push-upsguy6]

​@@PhrenSo768 Yeah but rotoscoping is a form of using live-action references

[@PhrenSo768]

@@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.

[@memyself1448]

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.

[@PeterPaoliello]

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.

[@NIL0S]

Criticism and outrage naturally gets more attention, not expecting this trend to change anytime soon.

[@PeterPaoliello]

@@NIL0S resigning yourself to that is the only thing which perpetuates it. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[@richtifilmpalast5373]

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.

[@young0cidy]

​@@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.

[@curiously3755]

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.

[@LastBrainCell01]

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

[@curiously3755]

@@LastBrainCell01 … how far she would go on her quest for revenge

[@smakarov24]

Totally. This episode is a standout. Simply incredible.

[@k.heidari5260]

The last episode was terrible. I don't know what happened to the creators of the 7 other masterpiece episodes.

[@xtop23]

Episode 5 was a legit masterpiece. You’re absolutely correct.

[@dcifer146]

It’s really crazy how recommends from “professional movie critics” never bring me the same excitement to watch something unlike The Critical Drinker.

[@davidrees1840]

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.

[@Fiirow1]

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.

[@n4ughty_knight]

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?

[@enayy619]

​@@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

[@enayy619]

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

[@grantfreeman8224]

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!

[@colers2366]

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.

[@mrrodriguezHLP]

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.

[@shannonbutler-williams7261]

@@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.

[@tomtedh5158]

I'm so happy you found the time to watch this and I'm even happier you enjoyed it.

[@veritorossi]

It's so good! I loved it.

[@majorhavik395]

I told multiple people to check out this series. Terrific show.

[@davidanderson_surrey_bc]

@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.

[@ilikeheavymuzic135]

This show went so much harder than I ever expected it would when randomly throwing on the first episode, loved it

[@Vix2066]

Right? It's so good.

[@LawfulBased]

Why support Neflix though which is another website for anti-whiteness?

[@desertmammoth3159]

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.

[@kevinoneil5120]

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. 🍻

[@hassassinator8858]

Both are bangers too imo. Perfect way to start winter break

[@Grudgebearer47]

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

[@samuraijosh1595]

​@@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.

[@External2737]

Who would have thought a Godzilla movie would be the best written movie this year?

[@Grudgebearer47]

@@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.

[@boiledelephant]

I had the same experience of wanting to pause the show sometimes just to admire how gorgeous the visual design was.

[@nemoninomario2901]

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😍

[@harunkarali720]

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.

[@Lavi____]

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.

[@nautdead3197]

The 3D models still look terrible to me

[@MILLWALL-GEEZER]

@@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.

[@zeropaloobatheuber1572]

It’s actually referred to as 2D animation, dude. Toy Story is 3D.

[@toh6261]

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.

[@LucianDevine]

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.

[@toh6261]

Even tho the idea of a woman beating even a single Samurai is just plain LUDICROUS.

[@glitchlord9720]

@@toh6261I thought there were a few female samurai though?

[@alphacat9302]

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.

[@SupaSillyThyme]

@@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.

[@agentbrown5542]

​@@toh6261rubbish. There were female samurai. Rare, but it happened. Also many women, especially nobility, were trained with weapons. .

[@petercottontail9686]

By the 3rd episode I was like, "finally, an original character!" This is exactly what Hollywood needs, original characters with their own story

[@AFMR0420]

The tale has been told before and therefore not original at all.

[@muhammadjawadzahid9675]

Dont jinx it.. they'll make a live action and mess it up

[@Wurstchue2000]

I don't care! Make it gay and put a chic in it!

[@PunishedlLongshanks]

It's just Mulan in Japan, surely?

[@archduke0000]

@@AFMR0420 oversimplification, with that logic no modern idea is original

[@maninblak1941]

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

[@rd0676]

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

[@brainrich1358]

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.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

Hes 1-note imo hes just a goofy Sidekick that acts as a plot Device.

[@Windwalker88]

​@@elongatedmanforever1252 yeah, if you just read a plot summary of the show maybe

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

@@Windwalker88 Nah i just dont like it.

[@mattnguyen6504]

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.

[@ptonpc]

That one was heartbreaking,

[@gracecalis5421]

That episode was masterful

[@Alexketchem]

Ep. 5 Needs an Emmy or the awards are pointless.

[@reikun86]

@@Alexketchem 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.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

That episode genuinely broke my heart. I felt so bad for her, especially when Akemi said Mizu is incapable of feeling anything.

[@Okandand]

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

[@PatrickOMulligan]

Kinda of disappointed that it is not getting the criticism it deserves.

[@raven75257]

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

[@ty194]

@@PatrickOMulligan Same, I can't see how people can't see it.

[@josephvandeven4228]

Episode 5 is a masterpiece in parallel storytelling. I was floored.

[@blackpaw29]

it was peak storytelling, the following episodes almost suffer in comparison, despite being amazing in their own right.

[@barbarianlife]

Episode 5 is amazing.

[@studentdebil1720]

​@@blackpaw29Episode 6 is kinda trash though

[@straightgrizzly1719]

Wrong.

[@ViktorLoR_Mainu]

​@@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

[@Alisha0413]

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 ❤️

[@Wastelander1972]

Bro same here- minus the Scottish person. Got Scottish heritage though!

[@Alisha0413]

@@Wastelander1972 awesome, where you from?

[@tommyfishhouse8050]

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.

[@CYI3ERPUNK]

and she did a damn fine job ; all the kudos/congrats is well deserved

[@ptonpc]

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.

[@FraterMerovius]

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.

[@Tyler_W]

That's pretty cool.

[@thegrumpygeek859]

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.

[@RiderofDeath91]

Biggest gripe with the series was, how easily Mizu overcomes deadly wounds. Suspension of disbelief only goes so far and that felt just a little bit too off. It's good to show her her get wrecked, to not be OP, but it shouldn't be basically killing blows.

[@foobazabar]

In the first episode, the flashback-introduced childhood bully monologues while he has her beat, and then inexplicitly walks away while exclaiming how she's gonna die (your sword was right up at her throat!). She then unshackles her training weights (and goes over 9000 in power level!!) and bests her kid-bully foe who, oh yeah, hates half-bloods and therefore can be expected to act like a Marvel movie villain. This show fucking sucks and I don't understand why its getting dry-humped so hard.

[@OptimusPrime-vg2ti]

@@foobazabar This show has a lot of weak points, one of which you mentioned above. I think it has a lot of strong points too, particularly in episodes 5-6. I struggled through some of the parts that were either boring or too woke (i.e. nonsensical) for me, and ultimately found it a rewarding series. I do think the current circle-jerk is a bit one-sided with people exaggerating the positives. Once you give it some time and people watch it multiple times, there might be more critical takes. Overall, I'd rate it a solid 9/10. Strong points for me: story, character development, great facial expressions, and excellent sound effects. Visual quality is also up there. Weak points: 1) Some fight scenes are plain ridiculous. 2) Any fighters who are not explicitly main characters tend to be weaker than NPCs in a video game. 3) Some of the characters are not properly developed e.g. Ringo oscillates between a goof-ball and an outright genius, Taigan can't make up his mind about what he wants, Akemi the princess is a brat and arguably a "woke" character who is both selfish and narcissistic yet somehow keeps getting her way. (Although in the end, Akemi learns to stop being a victim and take control of her life, so this can be yet another example of good character development).

[@JohnDoe-zh8tj]

@@OptimusPrime-vg2ti🤓

[@hafaball]

same, the part where she gets an iron spike through her heel and the next day she barely has a limp. You could chalk it up to adrenaline, but after awhile it gets a little silly, but I guess because it's animated most turn a blind eye?

[@richardmcgowan1651]

The issue is they are trying to set it in the "real world" but at the end of the day its an anime/manga. Go watch Ninja Scrolls.

[@BasedAnglican1453]

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

[@ireallycant4416]

Yea I don’t wanna sympathize to a Character which kills baby and put their bones in the Dungeon

[@grimjoker5572]

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.

[@DiaperGranny11]

⁠@@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

[@cognitivedissident9825]

Makes sense that a sadist would enjoy it up the clacker. Totally unexpected yet..

[@portalmanHUN]

@@ireallycant4416 You can like a character without agreeing with their actions. Why can't zoomers grasp this shocking concept?

[@SoniContinuum]

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.

[@ClintStone-t9m]

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.

[@genmaicha.lapsang]

Yes we do, as kid that guy who got the broken sword beats her up.

[@uriahl2331]

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.

[@gorgit]

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

[@tomasbedoya2901]

@@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

[@cliff_guygames4027]

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.

[@Grumpek]

Yeah, it's almost like watching old Jackie Chan fight scenes but animated

[@swimmingdrop9557]

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

[@CornyBum]

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.

[@samueljay8519]

Honestly it's like Kill Bill. The fight scenes are so over the top, so ludicrous, and so unbelievable that they break the suspension of disbelief. However I didn't care when The Bride cut down the Crazy 88 because I was 100% invested in her journey and it was a blast to watch her get her revenge, and the same goes for Mizu. It also helps that this show is animated, and that the show states right away that this is the story about a literal Legend. Plus Mizu is just a fantastic character with a ton of development, especially in episode 5 which explained so much about why she's such an awful person sometimes.

[@connordillivan452]

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.

[@Sir-Raph]

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.

[@LordRykard9376]

Lol this is such BS. The series is NOT that deep. But hey you guys keep on consuming this gender swapped crap.

[@Ashbrash1998]

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.

[@ptonpc]

That was genius, giving her the chance to be happy and 'normal' then to have it snatched away.

[@JeanineRader]

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

[@TePPoP776]

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"

[@superab10]

There is an ever growing list under the surface of good western adult animation and that is absolutely in it .

[@rvantong]

You should check out Scavenger's Reign as well

[@UncreativeHandle48]

⁠@@rvantong What streaming service is it on?

[@rvantong]

@@UncreativeHandle48 It's on Amazon Prime

[@aisac21]

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

[@dominiorrr6510]

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.

[@zuriyel5368]

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.

[@capo3645]

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.

[@bva0]

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.

[@ty194]

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.

[@wizzteck07]

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.

[@davethomas1641]

I take it is dubbed?

[@jovanfilipovic5115]

Of course it's dubbed, all animation are except silent movies.

[@ptonpc]

@@davethomas1641 Don't worry about that, just watch.

[@keepyourselfsafe1386]

​@@davethomas1641 It's a western animation. Wasn't made in Asia.

[@davethomas1641]

@@jovanfilipovic5115 much appreciated, didn't know that........

[@robertdean9254]

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.

[@SamscrewuGaming]

That would actually be interesting, after burning the largest city in the world down, Mizu causes the London Fire 🤣😂

[@TheRayfield77]

So it's historically accurate also?

[@joebeast15]

@@TheRayfield77 if you think an unstoppable female warrior in 19th century Japan is “historically accurate” then you are sorely misinformed haha

[@johnassal5838]

Lol

[@LordRykard9376]

​@joebeast15 it's amazing watching all these guys in here who regularly complain about gender swapped roles PRAISE a gender swapped role.

[@Euph0rical]

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

[@carljohan9265]

You have a based GF.

[@heatherlory99]

I’m trying to get my bf to watch this but he’s relenting

[@rjg02005]

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.

[@rammisalami]

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!

[@kaltaron1284]

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.

[@dodgyyoutuber9560]

Lol I’m the same. I can’t help but think how much better it would have looked if it was 2D.

[@shadowofthenamelessking]

CGI is art, it can be done masterfully and beautifully.

[@anonisnoone6125]

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.

[@simonbright2975]

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.

[@SenseiEpu]

The series was just gorgeous. Dialogue, sword work, voice actors. . .all captured for animation. An awesome story. I've been recommending it to everyone.

[@dungeonsanddioramas8068]

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

[@n4ughty_knight]

It just tells me that you were so desperate to watch anything because it was a woke shit show

[@irishScott2]

@@n4ughty_knight Whatever dude, you're clearly desperate to find wokeness everywhere so you can play the victim

[@akaraulov]

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😮

[@bigtoken90]

​@@n4ughty_knight strong female characters isn't woke ary sues that are perfect and have no flaws are ...misu is a very flawed character

[@ravenghost-mf5hr]

​@@n4ughty_knight Its not really woke, there's every reason mizu are force to become a boy.

[@rogthepirate4593]

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".

[@BirbalBonifaceMusoba]

I absolutely love it when the Critical Drinker loves a show, it shows that there's hope

[@SOLIDSNAKES35]

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.

[@LordFindecano]

Underrated? How can something be underrated when every critic has the same consensus?

[@SOLIDSNAKES35]

@@LordFindecano true, underrated in terms of general audience awareness. It barely spent anytime on the Netflix top 10.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@SOLIDSNAKES35 it got renewed anyway

[@pac1fic055]

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.

[@goose5462]

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.

[@FenShen-us9tv]

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.

[@aquasauce362]

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.

[@goldenfiberwheat238]

It’s funny how the name of the guy who forced Japan open was named Mathew Perry. Guess Japan had a lot of ketamine

[@RSG_TheMonster]

Between this, Blade Runner 2049 and Logan, Michael Green is easily one of the best writers working today!

[@Jabberstax]

2049 was dull, boring and pretentious.

[@AngryGoats555]

@@JabberstaxGalactic sized cope

[@venga3]

​@@AngryGoats555... you don't understand what the word cope means.

[@Terrathrax]

@@AngryGoats555 The other guy meant to say "you don't understand what the word cope means, toddler."

[@kingkiller5325]

@BabaHugu No plenty of people think of 2049 when they hear Bladerunner. 2049 is a Cult classic in it's own right. It's not some obscured forgotten movie like you want to make it out to be.

[@randombsgo4367]

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

[@bboyhoyack]

But Dante Basco didn't voice Taigen, if that's what you mean. Darren Barnet did.

[@Alexketchem]

caught that!!!

[@everburn]

Good to see Phineas and Ferb references are still alive

[@joshuasgameplays9850]

You talking about Taigen? he’s not voiced by Dante Basco.

[@6tyNine123]

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!

[@riddimgyal]

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.

[@6tyNine123]

@@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.

[@6tyNine123]

@democratslie8113 it's an accurate representation of the time.

[@unnaturaldodo]

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.

[@6tyNine123]

@@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.

[@daryltor7608]

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.

[@Carstuff111]

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!

[@hunterc8943]

I’m so happy this show wasn’t buried and is actually getting all the recognition it deserves

[@Moretosh]

A lot of people in the comments seem to miss the point that there is some element of fantasy about this show.😆

[@Zombiewithabowtie]

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.

[@LuisSierra42]

Ringo is very badly written, most of the time he just feels like the prop they are using for the sake of representation

[@Gaming_Legend2]

@@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.

[@Zombiewithabowtie]

@@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.

[@n4ughty_knight]

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.

[@LuisSierra42]

@@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

[@thetruth4116]

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.

[@rvantong]

I've seen quite a bit of buzz about it

[@lordfolgers5285]

Perfect example of “strong female character.” This could have been a perfect vehicle for “the message,” but instead they’re just telling their story, no preaching. Just perfect show in my opinion. So glad you watched and enjoyed it. Take their time for second season.

[@yprandoe2702]

It did but it was overshadowed by a good story, sadly this might make Hollyweird think they have a win like they did with wonder woman and make pt2 going full woke and then destroying the series

[@Nisikaa_]

It's got strong feminist messaging and that's part of what I like about the show.

[@yprandoe2702]

@Nisikaa_ me too but it's always at the cost of the men being idiots and tyrants always and also the white men being evil narrative is getting exhausting

[@Nisikaa_]

@@yprandoe2702Fowler was incredibly clever. His japanese right hand man was as well, but to a lesser degree. The show regularly depicts the racism and xenophobia of the Japanese people. It does not just depict the white people alone as being evil. Next season will be in London. I'm betting there won't only be evil white men characters. In fact, as a whole, I'm predicting that it might possibly be the case that, in regards to the last 2 targets that Mizu has, the show will depict at least one of them in a sympathetic light. And Mizu might have a character arc in which she spares one of them. Akemi's father is depicted as being very evil as well. Like at the very least 90% as evil as Fowler. And same power ambitions. And it also depicts honourable non-tyrant men as well. If you're a doing a show on Japan and themes of western colonisation and expansion, then it'd be whitewashing history by not having any evil white men. The arrival of US Commodore Matthew Perry's squadron of four war ships from the US Navy into Tokyo Bay on July 8, 1853, forced Japan to open it's borders. And the 17th century is certainly not a lacking century in it's capacity for having evil white men. But the show takes a nuanced view on this. Fowler even says that the only difference between him (and the British) and the Japanese is that his people designed better tools to kill people.

[@Durzo1259]

But what can it teach me about racial and gender equity?

[@Peteruspl]

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.

[@coffeemachtspass]

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.

[@aneeshmenon5885]

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 :)

[@stephenfriedenthal8312]

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.

[@OccamAsylum]

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. 😢

[@gibbsduhem1066]

Holy crap! I just can't find anyone saying anything bad against this show, guess that's my que to watch it

[@fergalitogaming839]

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

[@vicentealencar]

This might have been my biggest "Drinker Recommends" disappointment. When the drinker said that he found himself torn between binging this show and savoring it slowly, my expectations jumped through the roof. Overall, Mizu was WAY too overpowered from the very beginning. The fact that she saw that many sword masters come and show the blacksmith their secret skills doesn't seem nearly enough for her to have gotten so good so early in the story (given that she hardly had someone to spar with). She ended up with no room for improvement in terms of fighting skills. Her having a hard time to defeat Fowler was extremely inconsistent (especially after seeing her defeat whole armies and assassins whose main jobs were supposed to be killing people). The subplot where her husband sees her as a monster and betrays her just because he found out she was a good fighter and especially after they had begun creating such a strong bond was also an extremely weak plot device. Taigen and Akemi, OTOH, had interesting character arcs. It was nice to see how they evolved throughout the show and the point they reached at the final episode was pretty satisfying. My overall feeling is that it seems like the Drinker has been watching so many crappy shows that he's really lowered his bar in the process, haha.

[@ClintStone-t9m]

We didn't see her whole arc, the show can't just cosist of flashbacks, you know?I mean we didn't even see the whole arc of finding out how many white people were in Japan, finding out about, hunting for, and killing Violet. We entirely don't what happend between the time her body reached full height and when show starts. However, we are still given enough info, to know how/why she has become such a good fighter. Why is she so goot at fighting? : 1)This is the only thing she got in life. She trained since she was a small child, and even before that she was basically "taught" how to blend in/escape/ go against larger groups of people. She never learned about traditions, didn't spend any time with friends and only ever learned about fighting, weapons and how they were built. 2)Despite being mostly very calculated, she's pretty hot headed. In her serach for answer and Violet she must have gotten herself into lots of fights, which would also explain how she's so nonchalent about being injured and having to sew herself back together; she has just seen it/ experienced it many many times. 3) We know that she not only practices fighting on a highly regular basis, but she also develops her own techniques in her mind and simultaneously tries to find ways to counter them. Unlike must other fighter, she doesn't only train, but she also very activly *studies* martial arts and fighting in general. She is also very strategic in the way she takes on diffrent ( groups of) enemies. For example, she knew the four fangs were too much to take on all at once, so she tries to lure them out of formation, taking them on one at a time. She also thinks outside the box, uses the enviroment to her advantage, and doesn't care about honor or tradition. She just fights to kill, if that means stabbing someone in the eye, kicking their balls or doing god knows what, she'll do it without a second thought. This last thing might seem trivial, but medivial Japan soldiers, especially Samurais, were taught to fight and behave in a certain way; embracing dirty fighting just gives her an extra edge. 4) The final reason is just that from a meta-POV watching someone who is an extremly good fighter is more entertaining, than watching someone who is just a really good fighter. It's the same reason Batman doesn't have to sneak up on every single group of enemies to win a fight or John Wick not having to use poisen darts to not get shredded by hords of enemies and instead can just blast through them, without ever explaining how a single human being can have actual Matrix levels of movement and precision. Batman is not Batman because it's actually possible to achieve Black profiency in more than a dozen martial arts in decade ( or a lifetime for that matter), but because the writers decided that Batman should be Batman. Yes, the writers of BES could have unnecessarily put way more time and effort into the show, wasted screen time, potentially bored viewers, just so that Mizu being so good at fighting was 100% explained on-screen, but that would have been unnecessary. I would even argue that leaving this transition of knowing/developing very good techniques to becoming a very good fighter a little bit ambiguous adds to the show, because it makes Mizu more mysterious. Waifu arc: from my estimation, about 1/5 of the fanbase believes that the whole happy wife flashback wasn't actually real, but Mizu imagining or remembering to imagine it; just to arrive at the believe that if she ever did find happiness, she is just too far gone to keep it. Make of that what you will. I'm not the biggest fan of the whole Ronin subplot either, but it totally fit her arc, even though I agree Mikio being such a lil bitch, seemed a bit unrealistic. (But she totally would kill him tbh) Fat irish person: I absolutly agree that there is no reason for Fowler to beat Mizu AND (injured)Taigen in a sword fight. Tbf, he is smart about leveraging his physical strength as much as possible, bc that is smt. Mizu just can't match and pulling as much tricks out of his sleeve as he can, but that last fight really was unrealistic. The other time though, Fowler had the complete advantage ( and guns). I'm not trying to attack you, but someone people just to seem to almost intentionally dislike certain shows/movies, trying to scrape together a few minor issues and playing them into something huge. BES definitly isn't arcane, but it's close, and it's definitly not just mediocre.

[@Luke101]

My overall feeling is that you just have awful taste/hate female protagonists

[@vicentealencar]

@@Luke101I actually LOVED Arcane (which happens to have a female protagonist, and antagonist too, for that matter) and I explained my reasoning as to why I was disappointed with Blue Eye Samurai. Don't get me wrong, it is a good-ish show, it was just way below my expectations. It definitely was NOT something that felt to me like i would be "torn between binging or savoring it slowly"

[@vicentealencar]

@@ClintStone-t9mthank you for your thorough response, my friend. About Mizu being OP, it is not only for the sake of it being "unrealistic" that it makes the show less appealing to me, but also about not seeing her improve as a samurai and become stronger in the process as part of the show.

[@ClintStone-t9m]

@@vicentealencar👍

[@sandwichdelta]

This show almost went under my radar. I'm glad other people are discovering it too, it's such a gem and it deserves recognition. Episode 5 had some of the densest quality writing I've seen in any TV show.

[@SamscrewuGaming]

The episode with the puppet show and Mizu's previous life literally broke me

[@Meerkat73]

Episode 5 is a true masterpiece. Both beautiful and heartbreaking.

[@catherinestarling8715]

And just as you think you've seen the best part of the show, they give you the sixth episode, so mad and violent and epic it makes John Wick look like a Hallmark movie.

[@LordRykard9376]

It's really not that deep guys. There's been about 1000 samurai flicks that cover revenge.

[@killingjoker797]

@@LordRykard9376 YEs but i guess the point was that she could have had a life, she was someone who set out for revenge but almost broke out of its destructive cycle. Until... well you know.

[@logicalchaos7974]

I'm always glad when the Drinker does a more positive episode. Partly because it means that good shows are still being made.

[@portalmanHUN]

You can still find little gems like this but you have to wade through an ocean of dog shit.

[@myztick1631]

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!

[@ricardokowalski1579]

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. 👍

[@whoknew2273]

Its addictive viewing

[@ckshreve]

Episode 5 - The Tale of Ronin and the Bride - is perhaps the single greatest piece of episodic entertainment ever produced. The interplay of symbolism between the puppeteer show, the past, and the present desperate and impossible battle that Mizu's finds herself in demonstrates a command of artful storytelling rarely seen in today's attention economy. The fantastic twist at the end which reveals which puppeteer character Mizu actually is - punctuated by the one of the most stunning and brutal fight scenes in modern cinema - is an echelon of storytelling we are not likely to see again for some time. Bravo.

[@thesouthernwake]

Intertwining facets from her past experiences and how she became experts at certain weapons into the 'in the moment' fight scene - which called back to episode one and set the stage for the next episode. Must agree, Tale of the Ronin is pure genius. Beautiful and violent, tragic and disarmingly sweet (So is KB as Fowler; I couldn't believe it was him - truly terrifying). Just wow.

[@DarkVentus358]

The biggest issue I had was some of the injuries she sustains during the show are borderline superhuman.

[@marcinkwiatkowski9926]

Meh, I grew up on 80s action movies so I never care about realism in this regard.

[@ireallycant4416]

Well apparently all of those injuries are only 2 which is stab wounds she manage it because she was helped by ringo and her mother

[@Rip_Ripple]

Pretty much 😂​@@marcinkwiatkowski9926

[@DarkVentus358]

@marcinkwiatkowski9926 I mean, I liked Commando as much as the next guy, but this woman has a LOT of blood lose, and passes out at least 3 times in a fight.

[@armoredp]

It's a common technique in anime to artistically put extra emphasis on the protagonists hardship which can then be translated into growth later on. And it is generally well accepted by the audience as in animation it is easier to suspend your disbelief. Similar to how strong opponents are sometimes drawn to be several times their regular size in one scene just to convey their imposing presence in that moment.

[@B1RDSEYE]

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.

[@bruceandkim2305]

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.

[@wither5673]

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.

[@Dantrag123]

Anyway, 50 kg woman, who trained without teacher and without competitons (only with waving a stick), fighting 90-100 kg warriors in full armor, who trained with teachers, other students and tons of competitions, is not very plausible.

[@foobazabar]

Don't forget her superpower: a magical metal rock that fell from the sky that "no man could tame" which she made into a sword as an apprentice who could apparently only make decent kitchen knives. She then wields said sword, as you say, like a master of all schools of sword fighting because, plot. Totally not a Mary Sue we swear! There's tits in this animation which means its has adult themes (le omg a prostitute had a kid with who wants vengeance I never seen that before).

[@banegas0411]

it would only be a complaint if the show was going for realistic fighting john wick was shouldn't have made it past the first movie and plot armor kept him alive and going until he actually needed to take a fatal wound guts from berserk was raised as fodder for a mercenary as a child with no true high level professional training someone like a knight would receive yet he cuts people through plate armor and keeps going and cuts armored horses as well while being one of the few humans capable of fighting apostles

[@thesouthernwake]

But it doesn't break your suspension of disbelief when you understand some of the martial arts genre that have been around for decades. And how often she DOES nearly die. Is it an exaggeration, yes - but the focus on how it took thousands of hours of training to be PRECISE with her technique that leads to her ability. It's the right technique that cuts through the tree, not the mere strength and force. When every strike is like hitting the sweet spot....you cheer for her because until you're halfway through the season, you don't really know what her ceiling is. I think the themes around balance and allegories into sword making and impurities and strength....and wrapped around her determination for revenge allow it to be enjoyed instead of rolling eyes at it. Jedi's using the force to deflect literal laser bullets traveling at the speed of light we've accepted - I think we can accept Mizu is special and it's not because 'every female has it in her'.

[@greenbronze6318]

Fowler is probably my favorite character of this show do to how terrifying the show lets him be and he also some of the coolest villain quotes that brings chills down my spine.

[@fmsyntheses]

I also loved da bad white man

[@xtop23]

“Your bones break like a woman’s….” If that didn’t make your jaw drop…. man ….. nothing will. That said it all.

[@fmsyntheses]

@@xtop23 da bad white man was so bad I gasped

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

​​@@fmsyntheses Yeah the shows trailer started Off with that it annoyed me If they didnt shove that In the trailer id propably Give it a chance.

[@elongatedmanforever1252]

​@@fmsyntheses Hes better then mizu imo Her quest for revenge Was convuluted & her Antagonism & racism Towards her "white side" Is really never adressed as wrong missed oppurtunity To develope her character.

[@AndyOdin22]

A female hero goes on a quest to defeat 4 'evil' white men... I don't think I have it in me for this trope anymore despite what the Drinker recommends.

[@Harzach-Hardcastle7685]

100%. After seeing the trailer, I gave it a hard pass. It might be well-written, but it's about as woke as a blue-haired college freshman. No thanks.

[@alicjakempisty2729]

were these comments AI generated?

[@joebeast15]

That’s what I’ve been saying too. I watched the first episode and couldn’t continue. Action was good yeah but I can’t trust or commit to a series produced by Netflix about a strong female character beating up legions of male opponents all in the interest of taking revenge on the only white guys in the country who all happen to be evil. This is 100% propaganda that he normally rails against. It’s funny how people just go “oh the drinker said it’s good so it must be!” To be fair, most of the time the Drinker is on point but he does miss things and in my opinion this is a miss. This is ABSOLUTELY “the message”. It’s done in an anime, slick stylized manner buts it’s all the same bullshit pushed by woke companies.

[@Harzach-Hardcastle7685]

@@alicjakempisty2729 nope, we're normal people who actually pay to watch good movies and shows.

[@alicjakempisty2729]

@@Harzach-Hardcastle7685 sure Jan

[@tiduswhiteblade8535]

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!

[@TheActualRed]

I tried watching this and couldn't make it past the first episode. I normally like your recommendations, not this time.

[@driakos]

I made it to the third episode. Not for me. I did love Arcane, and tons of other anime. This felt inauthentic somehow. The pandering was strong, and the action didn't make up for it.

[@luap4981]

Thank you.

[@luap4981]

@@driakos Same here

[@qib428]

@@driakos how lol vi literally defeats gaints when shes skinny af in ep 3

[@pierretoure84]

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

[@Darthjoemo]

It was so sad when her husband didn’t back her up, and I. That one moment she looses two important people to her, so sad but having the puppets alongside that story was amazing, I binged this show in one go

[@GTD_Galatea]

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.

[@boriskapchits7727]

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?

[@Thomas.deNorth]

Yeah, absolutely amazing show but episode 6 was a bit over the top. It went too far into superhero mode for a while there.

[@JackOLanternBob]

Yeah, and that sadly makes the action kinda lame, cause it's just a gross bloody mess with no stakes

[@facundomontivero2299]

@@boriskapchits7727 I don't know, you tell me. Why would you want to watch a show with a female protagonist in the first place?

[@facundomontivero2299]

GTD_Galatea Women simply don't work as protagonists in a story. They just can't. Especially in an action adventure story.

[@waterwaveybaby]

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

[@andreipop9587]

I binged the entire thing in one night. Liked it and I do look forward to season 2, but I do agree with many other people in the thread that the main character has too much plot armor. A stab at the Achilles's tendon should have rendered her unable to walk on that foot. The amount of blood loss she experiences at some points should have killed her. The 20 or so men piling up on the door under which she was stuck should have squashed her. Fowler and the giant dude would have broken her neck with a short snap if she didn't have plot armor. Her frame does not convey her having the physical strength to push someone through a wall with a single kick. Her training with the sword is unrealistic. You can't achieve mastery without sparring partners because you can't gain the experience required to achieve that level. I think season 2 would benefit from making the fight sequences a bit more grounded because the rest of the setting is pretty grounded as well. I think in terms of balancing character traits, they should take notes from Vinland Saga's Thorfin vs Thorkell fights. Thorfin is short so he has to rely on agility and speed while the giant Thorkell makes good use of his superior strength and reach. Mizu is much like Thorfin so she should rely more on agility, speed and precision rather than brute force paries. Not to mention that you can't really block a giant club with a sword because the sword would likely bend thus rendering it ineffective for the rest of the fight.

[@Randall_Kildare]

It really diverged from any attmpt at groundedness in ep 6, a video-game PoV scar on an otherwise gorgeous series.

[@nottopcat5956]

Agree with these points. Climbing a wall with an unconscious man on her back stretched my suspension of disbelief beyond a comfortable point. Just a niggle though, it was really good.

[@oldleatherhandsfriends4053]

Real life sword fighting skills. Watch, learn, practice, practice practice, spar, spar some more get in first real sword fight hopefully win and then start from beginning again until you are the one people are watching to learn.

[@aisac21]

I agree completely. I feel like her being so OP kind of took away from the whole show honestly because instead of being immersed I felt the need to roll my eyes at the sheer outrageousness

[@augustotorasso1813]

@@nottopcat5956 thanks man, I was Looking for this comment so bad. The climbing scene was toooooo much

[@Jerec]

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.

[@ramonek9109]

I only watched the first episode so far. It is entertaining and gorgeous looking. It has some of the same obsessions most media has nowadays. Some white-people-bad and a healthy dose of the girl power. Despite just training a bit for herself in the evening hours at the blacksmith's, she can overpower every trained samurai from the best schools. The style seems more interesting than the actual substance.

[@perpetual_suffering1458]

You have to watch on. She wasn't just training herself, more flashbacks show that she's been trained by a multitude of highly skilled samurai during her youth. Because of the high profile nature of the blacksmith she lives with, highly skilled samurai and assasins from all over japan travel to have a sword made by him. While they're bored and waiting for the sword to finish they'd often train and spar with her to pass the time, as a result she's learned a mixture of techniques from all manner of swordmasters rather than just having one master for one technique. That's her big advantage

[@naveerakhan9622]

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.

[@陳潔明-w6y]

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?

[@thalanoth]

Frieren is an excellent show with a far more interesting female lead; reminds me of lord of the rings.

[@leargamma4912]

Hollywood is just dying and I say let it

[@amyc8349]

You should check out Arcane. It's another Drinker recommended gem with some strong female leads

[@gnarlin4964]

If you want to see a well written powerful female protagonist then please check out the recent anime "Sousou no Frieren". It's incredible.

[@archival3154]

So I've just finished the series and I must say I am impressed with plot, music, animation etc... BUT in some fighting scenes Mizu gets ridiculously overpowered moves. In my perception, the story emphasises that she is in truth only a woman - a skinny one for that. Her tossing fully armed samurais like ragdolls had me rolling my eyes several times. It could have been done better and focus on her proficiency with a blade, accuracy and agility instead of forcing some brute strength inside. Same goes with being able to fight for a given time with severe wounds like a fucking John Wick in John Wick 4 movie. I mean really SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!!! she gets wounded so many times during the first approach for Fowler but manages to not let Taigen fall.... Despite that. I still devoured this show in 2 days and cant wait for season 2

[@BlanexBlz]

Yeah it was definitely unrealistic but it was so cool I didn't care. Rule of cool and all that.

[@beantea5592]

If you watch closely, whenever she throws a man like that she does something like fling her whole body weight with her legs or grab on to their head to make them unbalanced. Yes men are stronger than women but a trained, taller than average woman jump tackling you at neck height is going to knock you over.

[@qib428]

Yea but male characters like in john wick and RRR doing op shit is fine

[@Super_Broly]

​@@qib428Males are OP

[@gckari9862]

You can be a tiny woman and still be able to flip a guy like that with the right technique, that's what aikido or judo teach you. Basically, you use the guy's mass and let gravity do the rest.

[@Bittertokken]

An actual strong female character! This was so refreshing. I enjoyed every minute of it!

[@Skywalker96214]

At the end of episode 1, I thought she was just another strong independent woman who just happens to have ambiguous morals. At the end of episode 5, I felt heartbroken for her and understood that she didn't CHOOSE be a strong woman but she HAD to in order to survive in the cruel world she's living in. IMO, Blue Eye Samurai and Arcane are the best thing that happened to Netflix.

[@sanji1259]

even the last episode? wow

[@alexanderruchkov7629]

@@Skywalker96214 I strongly disagree on Arcane. Antagonist of the story comes as a psycho which is praised and ( sometimes ) loved by audience and I find this repulsive. I've seen joker and it's a fine watch, just out of curiosity, but to have such characters on screen for more than a couple of times - it's a way to a ward. The word - "healthy" didn't come to mind when I was watching arcane. Who was wholesome? What story does arcane tell? Total moral bankcrupcy, lack of "strong and right male protagonist", healthy father figure, maybe wholesome and truly friends and friendship? I found none of that, only graphonium there.

[@jooseppi4728]

Tried it and the wokeness of it was just too much. Basic shit. All weak men who are evil or gay ect while the main character did not develop at all. I wonder how the f Cdrinker did not see this. Its all about feminism this one. Tho I watches only 1 episode so maybe only the start is trash

[@reikun86]

@@jooseppi4728I thought episode 1 was the weakest episode. It picks up afterwards.

[@10Cnote]

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.

[@noaheke2666]

Stumbled across this show by accident and was surprised with how good the character work was. Glad you've found it and reviewed it too

[@luurchify]

Me too. Mizu has been one of the best protagonists I have seen in any form of media in what seems an eternity.

[@VengD]

This is one of those shows that gets "the message" across 10 times better than those shows and movies who's whole purpose is to tell "the message".

[@Fr00stee]

show, don't tell

[@millsfinancialgroup]

No this show delivers the message just a bluntly as Disney. I don't get what yall saw in this show. Feminism force Awakens garbage

[@tomigun5180]

@@millsfinancialgroup Yes, it's obvious even from this review. I don't even know why he recommends this commie crap to us, instead of Twilight Samurai, or House of the Five Leaves, or Ergo Proxy.

[@millsfinancialgroup]

@tomigun5180 a girl I am dating recommended this show to me also, and now I'm questioning whether I should see her again, and if find a second opinion on movie reviews on KZbin 🤣

[@tomigun5180]

@@millsfinancialgroup Just search for a good video about the origins of this ideology, the Frankfurt School, and show her. Explain her that it's pure Communism in disguise. Hopefully she'll understand how evil it is.

[@sophieamandaleitontoomey9343]

Blue Eye Samurai is probably my favorite thing I’ve watched this year. It’s just too damn good.

[@jansen4282]

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.

[@jasond3255]

One of my favorite shows of the last couple years. I used to enjoy anime, but the 20 minute episodes restricted the directions that the shows could go in. This show was incredible

[@sanji1259]

you did not see how it ended? lol

[@polesetter_01]

How is this "anime" though? It doesn't have the overused, obnoxious Japanese art style at all. And it's not even made by Japanese people.

[@YoMismoConMiMecanismo139]

@@polesetter_01 Well, the definition of anime is not exactly the most agreed upon thing on the internet. In Japan, a Pixar production would be called anime, as the word in japanese is short for animation. In the west the term usually serves to designate animated shows and films produced in Japan, even though there's been japanese productions that could be classified as non-anime anime, and western animated shows that could be classified as anime-ish non-anime (Avatar the last Airbender), it tends to be more of a "you know it when you see it". From what I saw with this one, I probably wouldn't give it anime status, though a good case could be made for it.

[@MrGalagoth]

@@polesetter_01 their not a japanese art style my dude it all depends upon the artist

[@jasond3255]

@@sanji1259 what was wrong with the ending

[@Ivy-jb4ux]

YES. I'm so happy this show is getting the recognition it deserves

[@The_Catalyzt]

Y'all are so afraid of "THE MESSAGE" that y'all bend over backwards NOT to see it. This show is all the way woke, precisely because it presents it's feminist messaging, cultural messaging, and controversial subjects very plainly and matter of factly. It doesn't go out of its way to tell you about the "wokeness" that you're so afraid of. It's just part of the world. Because of that, you all get to stick your heads in the sand and ignore all the "woke" stuff like you always do anyway. Because if no one's there to tell you about it, it doesn't exist, right? And that's what you really want...You don't want to acknowledge that your favorite comics and tv shows ALL have political messaging... It's only the dreaded "wokeness" if its messaging you'd rather ignore.

[@waterfallhunter9642]

My biggest qualm was how quickly and unnecessarily they would raise the stakes. "She has to fight through an impenetrable fortress! oh no but in the first 3 0seconds her ankle is impaled and she cant walk. Now she'll definitely make it" so random and unnecessary

[@MrTudenom]

They never really tackled the persistent and strong anti white message in the series though. They start out good and use Mizu’s mixed heritage to build sympathy for her, but somewhere in the first few episodes that drops away until at the end “whiteness” is considered full on poison without any questioning. Even the white villain disparages white people and equates being white with everything bad in the world. It left me with a seriously bad taste in my mouth and marred an otherwise excellent series.

[@toh6261]

Also girls could never beat a real Samurai 👍

[@dercooney]

it's japan pre meiji - dutch east india company is still in full swing and japan is even more racist than it is today

[@tomasrubioelia6912]

Agree, It is weird

[@spartanswhatisyourprofessi2825]

I see what you're saying and I get it cause I'm white. BUT.. it is part of history, Japan, along with pretty nuch everyone else in the world, was extremely racist back then. Hell, it took 2 atomic bombs dropped on their asses to finally nellow down and start making anime

[@yahiiia9269]

Fowler saw first hand what the British did to Ireland and it got so bad that he had to feed his own blood to his sister. Fowler experienced the industrialized violence first hand and instead of being better, he became worse. Same thing with Mizu. She's literally never saw anyone white except Fowler and Fowler has first hand experience with the cruelty he was shown by his own "race". Fowler fed his own blood to his sister, then when she died was forced to eat her liver. Literally all of it is in character and completely logical. You are probably so traumatized by countless ulterior motives that your brain can't even think logically anymore. This show is actual art.

[@BustyIndian5000]

As soon as you mentioned the demographic of the bad guys, I was like "yep, Netflix".

[@NeroBurningRome]

You guys are becoming the Anita Sarkeesians of the other side, where instead of seeing characters all you see are races, genders, social status... Dont be like that.

[@theblazingace3537]

​@@NeroBurningRomeValid point but there's a point where only a certain race are vilified in most modern media and it's hard to ignore sometimes, ya get me or nah?

[@thekingofchange1428]

​@@theblazingace3537 True, but having listened to the rest of the review it seems to actually be used as a vehicle for the story and setting, rather than THE MESSAGE

[@toh6261]

@@NeroBurningRome The difference is, Anita was paid to be full of shit, and he's right. Also women could never beat real Samurai. Like EVER.

[@kingdomofvinland8827]

@@thekingofchange1428plus it is historically accurate

[@dimo9463]

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.

[@LucasLeCompteMusic]

Thank you for this! Just saved it to my bookmarks on crunchy roll.

[@jayawesome5377]

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.

[@WhuDhat]

omg the drinker is starting to be brainwashed by.... *_THE MESSAGE_*

[@jorgetrevino8040]

Womp womp

[@BrotherBeezy]

​@nanakakitano9724 "Oh no, a female lead; the message!" Womp womp dude

[@TobyKBTY]

Yessss happy to see this as a reco. It was the biggest Netflix surprise for me this year. It was really good. Probably my favorite Netflix animated effort since Arcane

[@jajos1001]

To me this show is just mediocre at max. Main character has an opportunity to get interesting story but we can't see even a single 'grwoing up' moment or the actual development. Every fight is extremely easy, no matter how badly wounded she is, she is always on top. Enamies who are presented to us as some n-level threat have been killed in 5 minutes and they don't use the chance to kill her (like in the final fight guy run away twice rather than killing her...)And in the end she decided to abandon everyone who cared for her because she needs to for her quest... to england. Also her amazing abilities have been never explained. The story of the princess is like: 'ok, I'll do this and I'll never face the consequences, everything'll be fine'. The fat guy has much more interesting story - learning that his disability dosn't make him less valuable. Or the samurai - learnig more about himself and that he is not invincible (sth which main protagonist is lacking a lot...). it looks amazing, that is for sure, the music is nice (except the metallica moment... just why??? Why not to implement riff and bells into the more traditional japanese genre?). But the stupidity of handling the main character is just way, way to big...

[@origami83]

I agree and somehow this isn't criticized for being w0ke. I guess the drinker is losing his edge.

[@anthonycruz1239]

Wow. Never thought I would see a KZbin 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 👍🏽