Beautifully written revenge saga that came out of nowhere. It's arguably the best show Netflix has to present this year.
The animation is based on 3D rendering but unlike many other anime of the same technique that results in an uncanny valley, Blue Eye Samurai has spot on artistic direction so everything looks natural and beautiful. Action scenes are in masterpiece territory, over the top but still in believable and natural. And protagonist Mizu and all the support characters have beautifully written natural characters arcs. The overall story development is also well paced and feels very natural. It does not feel forced in any way and every emotional scene is earned.
The only minor complaint I have is that it sacrifices historical accuracy for the sake of artistic expression. The story is set in mid to 17th century judging by dialogue on Sakoku and flint lock gun that was used, but at this point Japanese have already using matchlock (Tanegashima) guns for ~200 years to the point that it's a standard equipment in the army. Even before that, Japan adopted mini cannons called Teppo as early form of firearms in 13th century before Europeans. Yet, it's no where to be seen in Shogunate's army.
The Last Samurai did something similar - ignoring widely used firearms in Japan during the era to cements the stereotypical beauty of swords wielding Samurai. Still, I think show-runner could've kept historical accuracy while still displaying superiority of flint lock gun European used at the time, emphasizing in the superiority in reloading speed. It's not a big issue but this does stand out for an otherwise fairly historically/culturally accurate show.
The animation is based on 3D rendering but unlike many other anime of the same technique that results in an uncanny valley, Blue Eye Samurai has spot on artistic direction so everything looks natural and beautiful. Action scenes are in masterpiece territory, over the top but still in believable and natural. And protagonist Mizu and all the support characters have beautifully written natural characters arcs. The overall story development is also well paced and feels very natural. It does not feel forced in any way and every emotional scene is earned.
The only minor complaint I have is that it sacrifices historical accuracy for the sake of artistic expression. The story is set in mid to 17th century judging by dialogue on Sakoku and flint lock gun that was used, but at this point Japanese have already using matchlock (Tanegashima) guns for ~200 years to the point that it's a standard equipment in the army. Even before that, Japan adopted mini cannons called Teppo as early form of firearms in 13th century before Europeans. Yet, it's no where to be seen in Shogunate's army.
The Last Samurai did something similar - ignoring widely used firearms in Japan during the era to cements the stereotypical beauty of swords wielding Samurai. Still, I think show-runner could've kept historical accuracy while still displaying superiority of flint lock gun European used at the time, emphasizing in the superiority in reloading speed. It's not a big issue but this does stand out for an otherwise fairly historically/culturally accurate show.