Blue Eye Samurai

Many a live-action series can envy Blue Eye Samurai its... Well, everything. The characters, the story, the aesthetic, the entertainment value, the inventiveness, the obvious love that went into making it all, which Amber Noizumi and Michael Green rightfully get back. (02.03.2024)

I really enjoyed this. I was a bit concerned about how the Americans would handle the theme of Japanese samurai, fearing there might be some "butchering" of the concept. Fortunately, that negative scenario didn't come to pass. Blue Eye Samurai relies on simple animation, intriguingly developed characters, and, most importantly, absolutely brilliant action sequences that are sometimes breathtaking. As I mentioned, the audiovisual presentation is quite standard but has its charm, especially with the beautiful depictions of Japanese nature. The main character doesn’t come across as one-dimensional, which is a big plus. Her background story is intense at times. The English dubbing didn’t bother me significantly; in fact, it was well done (I wouldn’t have recognized Kenneth Branagh as the main antagonist!). We’ll see how the second season turns out. For now, it’s off to a solid start. I’m giving it a well-deserved 7.5/10. P.S. Everyone understands this is an adult animation, but why include so much nudity and sex? I genuinely don’t see the purpose of this decision by the creators. (12.11.2023)