by Vivian Hawkins
The hit Netflix TV animated show Blue Eye Samurai has been a huge topic in the media lately. Debuting in 2023 and written by Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, this revolutionary story has been especially hard-hitting in the drought of good-quality narratives and characters coming out of theaters and streaming platforms.
The main character, Mizu, is born in 17th Century Japan in what is known as the Edo Period. Not only was this a time filled with uncertainty, violence, the samurai class, foreign technology, and military strength, but it was also a time classified by Japan’s closed country policy, which meant no foreigners were allowed in Japan during the period running from 1639 – 1853.
This is what sets the basis for the entirety of the plot, which stems from Mizu being half-white and the daughter of one of only four white men known to exist in Japan. This facet of her identity lends her to discrimination and bullying as she is seen as half-human, a devil, or a monster. This leads her to have an intense hatred toward her own existence, which in turn drives her to enact revenge on all the white men to kill the man who created her destiny as a hated outcast.
Mizu has an intensely painful backstory, and when she is initially introduced, her hatred and distrust are evident as she is ruthless to those around her, showing no sympathy and set on using whatever means necessary to accomplish her goal. Her position as someone deeply wounded by the scars of her past, yet unyielding to those around her, causes the audience to have tension with her character, unsure whether they fully support or understand her, and maybe even revolting at her cruelty.
However, it is clear that Mizu has a quality of endurance, passion, and unyielding stubbornness that we can all aspire to when attempting to accomplish our goals. So, while we can’t all solve our problems with murder, there is still a relatable aspect.
This becomes even more relevant by the middle of the show, where we see another piece of Mizu’s backstory. She had once been in love. We understand that the cold-hearted assailant she seemed at the beginning might not necessarily be the entire story.
This complexity and character depth starkly contrast with the “strong female character” beloved by Hollywood. In modern franchise blockbusters, there has been a strong push for more female representation. However, it has unfortunately come at the cost of well-written female main characters.
Too often, they are shown as ultra-powerful girl bosses who would never need to rely on a man for help. They are two-dimensional, with no real depth or explanation for their abilities or intense desires to save the world; they just do it because they are superheroes and… women?
This can be recognized in characters like Captain Marvel, Wonder Woman 1984, Rey Skywalker, and the new Mulan. They arrive at the story with incredible powers, and the story does not slow down to flesh out the characters fully. It seems to me that Hollywood took all the stereotypical weaknesses in showing men as indestructible ultra-macho badasses and switched them out for its female characters, essentially putting a bandaid on the problem. Blue Eye Samurai shows how a well-thought-out female character who actually has weaknesses can seem so much stronger in the end.
Leave a Reply