Blue Eye Samurai is Netflix’s remarkable addition to the world of anime which debuted on November 3, 2023. Written by the talented Michael Green, previously responsible for the screenplays of Logan and Murder on the Orient Express, the story is set in the Edo period during which Mizu takes the mission of eliminating the white people that remain illegally in Japan.
Consisting of eight episodes, Blue Eye Samurai is rated as an adult series because of its depiction of blood and gore arising from chaotic martial arts combat. Other key features of the anime are nudity and sexually implicit scenes. Instead of being overly explicit in their view, the animators have used adult scenes to show the different layers of human connection or to bring out a deeper meaning behind the portrayals.
Nudity As An Artistic Expression In Blue Eye Samurai
Compared to fellow Netflix series Game of Thrones, nudity and sex in Blue Eye Samurai have hidden emotional or survival meanings. GOT is synonymous with Rated-R scenes which eventually gave it a bad reputation because the showrunners overdid the depictions to bring out themes as compared to the book by George R.R. Martin. Not to mention the amount of incest loaded in the series from the beginning to the end.
Nudity has a symbolic use in Blue Eye Samurai. One of the most revered scenes in the series is when Mizu writes the Heart Sutra all over her body, a text of protection and a mantra for recitation. The symbolic purpose of the explicit scene was that the character was cleansing her mind and soul and was also accepting her masculine build, given the gender issues touched by the anime.
The Heart Sutra is a holy text in Buddhism. It ends with the lines ‘gate gate pāragate pārasaṃgate bodhi svāhā‘, which is an incantation for awakening. Mizu used it to master her katana as a samurai by controlling her feelings of vengeance and anger and channeling it more positively.
In Episode 1, Mizu is also seen disrobing to relax in an onsen in the middle of the night. When startled by a disturbance near her, she confronts the intruder while naked, who turns out to be Ringo. The ‘Peaches’ scene was meant to add a comic effect while also highlighting how Mizu had grown so accustomed to being labeled as a man that she forgot her actual identity.
Mizu & Akemi Are Polar Opposites In A Patriarchal Japan
Mizu’s quest for vengeance begins when she learns that her actual father was a white Englishman who forcefully used her mother. Her mother disguised the infant Mizu as a young boy to hide the mixed-race girl from assassins. Following her death, Mizu honed her sword skills before embarking on a ‘search and destroy’ mission to find the culprits.
While Mizu used steel and her disguise as a boy to solve her problems, Akemi used her womanhood to wield control over men. She seduced Taigen in Episode 2 and made him think that he would defeat Mizu in their next battle. The daughter of the samurai lord Tokunobu Daichi later feigns to be a noble courtesan to impress Goro.
Akemi was a highly skilled manipulator and a diplomat, qualities that Mizu wished she possessed in order to get closer to her targets. The two women have different methods to solve their problems and wield power in a world run by men. However, Akemi’s use of her body has visible psychological effects on the noblewoman, which is why the intimate scenes are showcased from her point of view rather than the people she is dealing with.
