Blue Eye Samurai - A Pedantic, Cultural Review of Love
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- Опубліковано 21 жов 2024
- Blue Eye Samurai has been on my list of shows to culturally break down for MONTHS! But truth be told, I was too afraid to speak my mind because despite how AMAZING this show is, there were some things that culturally made me cock an eyebrow... And I didn't want to piss off anyone. But that isn't my goal. So let me give my overly pedantic cultural review on a show that I still VERY much love!
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Music Credits:
Tenchu Z - Moon Conjunction
三味線和太鼓琴のアップテンポな明るいBGMichi 市 by SHW
Diorism (Prod. Khaim)
EDMKIMONO SHOW by ニコニコモンズ
purple-planet.com - On Tiptoe
Skulls of the Shogun - Fall
志は死なない - 秋山裕和
#blueeyesamurai, #anime, #gaijingoombah,
Fun fact I learned from CinemaWins, but the knife that Mizu cuts the dude's fingers off with is actually one she made when she was younger. You can see her mark on it.
Loved that video.
That was a great video.
Watch the whole thing back again. Its pretty cool how often that pops up.
Ah, a user if culture
yes, I noticed that the second time I watched it. Which I thought was so incredibly ironic especially when she said "you don't even deserve this one" At first I took it as "blades are a special thing and you don't even deserve to be killed by one" but I like the fact that she's basically saying "you don't deserve the ultimate sword I put my blood sweat and tears into, and you also don't deserve these knives that led me to make this great sword"
Oh, how I love the sires.
My sis worked on this show so I know a few BTS info and I can tell you that the Kill Bill ost choice baffled the animators too, they thought it was only a reference song for production and were not pleased it actually was what was playing.
A few other noteworthy details for those curious that I know/learned from her
1. The animation studio behind this show is actually more used to making shows for very young kids (Gigantosaurus might be their more well known offering) and this was a huge change of pace for the studio in a positive way.
2. The show was originally intended to be fully produced in the Montreal studio however it eventually was split with the company’s main studio in France.
3. Some shots that last for just a few seconds had so much details packed into them that they had work in the upwards of 100 hours.
4. SPOILER ALERT FOR THE FINAL EPISODE. My sis was responsible for animating the sequence of the princess talking with her dying servant. At the time of her working on such an emotional scene, our grandfather was often in and out of the hospital and we were worried he would pass soon. My grandfather died a week after she finished the sequence and she straight up told us that she was happy she was done with it before his passing because she would not have been able to animate it after (and my sis is well known at their studio for emotional acting like that being her strength)
Now as I post this sadly, the fate of the Montreal studio is unclear. The studio will by March lay off about 80% of its studio as it struggles to survive currently (my sis is a part of that 80%) and they’ll try to “weather the storm” with the remaining 20% being lended to various studios to let them rebuild.
While a Season 2 has been announced, animation on it has not began yet as far as my sis knows and thus she says not to expect season 2 this year.
As part of the 80% as well (I’m from the preproduction team) your fact #3 hits me so hard knowing how long that Shindo dojo door took me to make only for 15 secs of screen time 😂
Damn, do you have any fun facts about episode 6 and the Mettalica song? Also, I am sorry for your loss
@@cyn5683 Thank you for pouring your effort into such small details---they made the show so much better than it would have been otherwise. And for what it's worth, the Shindo dojo door is absolutely stunning and perfect for every last one of those fifteen seconds. I wish you luck with the future of your career; it's awful that the studio is disintegrating and you are losing your job after producing such an amazing work of art. Just tragic.
Do you know how the creators will handle the problem of a London setting on the horizon? To state the obvious, how is it gonna work while replacing Edo Japan with Victorian England?
any updates 5 months later?
When you mentioned that Japanese is a language with a lot of indirect communication, I suddenly realized why there are so many instances in Japanese media (JRPGs especially) where the main conflict only lasts as long as it does because the characters involved don't just talk to each other.
Aka writers can't make a conflict so they have to use that as the reason for the conflict
@@arran4285 A.K.A. languages and cultures like japanese often avoid conflicts/confrontation, which makes them fertile breeding grounds for those very things.
Like Kingdom Hearts: BBS?
@@shizuwolf Among so many others (Bravely Default is the first one that springs to mind).
Or in the case of a writer, Toshiki Inoue and more than half of his works.
A good video overall Gaijin, I appreciate your honesty on the show and it was very educational. However I do have one perspective on Daichi near the end. Call it my own pedantic point. Daichi states in the show that he came up from a pig farmer. So he himself likely didn't receive the kind of discipline that a proper lord would have I'd think. So maybe it's a case of him letting his son have things he never had as a child.
That is 100% fair.
Even the behaviors he thought were odd by the prostitutes can be easily explained as "hey, they are prostitutes, which likely didnt even come from Kyoto, what do they know about cultural significants of those statues, at best why would they even care if they did". I think that showing that society is not 100% perfect in following social rules and norms is exactly whats needed and more realistic.
@@Bionickpunk but they clearly lived in the city long enough to know where the dojo was at all
@@concordiaharmony2302 And again, why would they be polite just cause thats something people think its expected? So many people behave out of the common norm for multiple different reasons, the same could be said for Japanese people. They are not perfectly flawless society where everyone respects everything, they are human like the rest of us with each individual having flaws and their own personality quirks.
@@Bionickpunk hey are you Japanese?
It's been years since I've done blacksmithing but to try to answer why with the paper wrapping to the blacksmith billet it's to hold grass and a wood ash slurry to it to kinda insulate it so it heats evenly and protect it for a bit while in the forge to keep out impurities from the coal or wood and only allow a certain amount of carbonization or decarbonization to happen more or less
THANK YOU!
To be fair to the show, the "Sword is the heart of the samurai" bit is brought up again in a later episode and call shenanigans out on themselves. And the show makes it clear it's in an alternate universe. The Emperor's personal guard not having rifles? Yeah, no that didn't happen.
It's definitely an alternate universe, the Shogun's clan name isn't even Tokugawa
@@TorvusVaeAnd it’s an Irish man, not an American or Dutch navy man that is forcing his way in, which should kind of give away it’s not our world’s timeline.
@@thejestor9378 so it's alternate history fiction? That's pretty cool that it got so big, then!
Its not the Emperor, but a Shogun, no japanese army ever would againgst raise arms against the emperor. And because Fowler is irish doesn't mean he cant be in english service, althoug i think he has a deep grudge against them...
It's also a perfectly edo thing to say.
Speaking as someone with a disability, you'd be surprised how pretenses of subtlety and formality drop when someone believes that you are lesser than them, and speaking as someone who also spent time & has friends from there, it's not surprising that the dojo students dropped pretenses to directly insult Mizu.
As for the prostitutes not recognizing the statues, its important to remember that in addition to rural ethnic Japanese, many trafficked women that became prostitutes (as is the case with most TRAFFICKED prostitutes) during this period were from ethno-racial minorities, or regions not directly under the geopolitical control of the modern Japanese state.
Examples I can think of off the top of my head: Obeikei, Ryukyuan, Ainu, Matagi/Emishi peoples , mixed race persons from places like Nagasaki, enslaved Koreans, unfavored daughters of Min Chinese merchants, peoples of religious minorities such as Tenrikyo (and crypto-Christians), Sakhalin natives such as Tunguska, Altai, Oroks, Nenets, and again Ainu (due to Sakhalin, Hokkaido & the Kurils originally being culturally & politically contiguous before Japan & Russia split them through conquest), peoples such as the Chukchi and Tlingit who had regular trade with Japanese merchants (and were prolific slavers themselves), descendants of Koxinga's extremally ethnoracially mixed fleet, captives from Wokou raids, and people either emigrated or enslaved from traditional Japanese spheres of trade (Taiwan, modern Kamchatka, Manchuria, Thailand & Myanmar under the Sukothai dynasty, parts of modern Indonesia, the Philippines, and Polynesia/Melanesia/Micronesia). Oh, and of course, burakumin of every stripe. So many 'untouchable' women.
All of them represent demographics of women forced into prostitution in Nagasaki, which was a major focal point for Japan's skin trade both domestically and abroad during the Edo period. One of my friends even explained to me how after the ban on foreigners entering the country began, brothel owners would bribe officials to ignore prostitutes of foreign origin, and their great-something grandmother was one of those prostitutes (a Taiwanese aboriginal woman).
It makes sense, because even with all of the daughters being sold off to the industry, Japan didn't have a stable enough population to meet the manpower demands of an industry with as ahigh of a turnover rate as prostitution, even when you factor in the unusually high rate of open male & transgender prostitutes. Most prostitutes were not Courtesans with personal security forces, and the modern concept of low-level Escorts with retinues of bodyguards or pimp-affiliated gangsters personally protecting them is precisely that, MODERN.
Lethal violence against prostitutes has only really seen a significant drop within the the last 50 years of history. And with how widespread prostitution was recorded in Japan (and violence against prostitutes), when compared with the population records & projections, I can tell you that said industry would not have been able to persist without a constant influx of foreign & otherwise marginalized women. In addition, its part of the reason why the eventual Brazilian trade of enslaved Japanese women (and later men for labor) became so prolific, because the infrastructure for flesh trade with the Portuguese merchants (and Dutch ones, because as often as they feuded with Portuguese colonially, they also regularly kept trade open because both were scared of Spain regaining influence over them) was already there.
Speaking as a former bouncer & history major it's depressingly rare for historians to care about the history of prostitution despite its prevalence since humanity first came into being, even when it can tell us things about demographics that a census or similar compilation of data could not.
Also, I don't think I need to tell you this but anyone that tells you that pre-WW2 Japan was entirely culturally homogenous either is lying or bought into Meiji ethnofascist propaganda. The unified 'Yamato' ethnonational identity is as manufactured a concept as Italian and German ethnonationality are (not so coincidentally, also nations that were taken over by ethnofascist regimes at one point). Yes, there was often political unity through feudal conquest, but places like Kyushu had 'dialects' so divergent that there have been campaigns to recognize the former 'dialects' as separate languages (although they will likely face the same issues that Ryukyuan peoples have faced on that front). Or how there used to be stereotypes based in colorism about Kyushu people being darker skinned (in the same way such stereotypes are applied to modern Ryukyuan and Obeikei peoples). Or how half of Honshu was controlled by the Emishi (ancestors of the modern Matagi) and their descendants.
So props onto the show for getting that portrayal right, which sadly a lot of native Japanese media doesn't.
Tl;dr - Flagrancy of disability prejudice is cross-cultural, prostitutes not recognizing significance of religious statues is not that strange due to the demographics of people involved in the industry during said period, and disperse notions of Japan being culturally homogenous because it is built upon carefully tailored Meiji & WW2 Japanese propaganda irrespective of reality.
Thanks for the explanation ❤ very informative.
Also, sucks that you have personal experience with this kind of discrimination, but good that you share your experience so others can understand.
Thank you
This was a really eye opening and super informative read thank you for sharing overlooked parts of history that should be taken as seriously as the rest
That was a very fascinating read. I admittedly tend to forget that prostitution is often called "the world's oldest profession" for a reason, and before reading this, I remembered that people of ancient times would consider people with a condition similar to my own a "changeling."
@@theother5594 I'm glad that you found the information informative. And thank you, for being receptive to hearing a disabilities perspective.
Terry Pratchett has a sword made of meteoric iron. When he was knighted for his work in literature, he learned smithing and metallurgy just so he could forge himself a "Thunderbolt Iron" sword for the occasion.
*had
@@custos3249 For all we know, they buried him with it. Legends never die.
@@thetribunaloftheimaginatio5247 Imagine if spirits/souls are real after all and Pratchetts soul in in the sword now. His pen was mighty in life, now his sword is in death.
@@aureliodeprimus8018 Like the blade of Carrot Ironfoundersson, it isn't ostentatiously decorated nor does it glow blue in the presence of evil. It's a sword, so it does sword things. Like cut through stone like a blowtorch through butter.
You know, Mizu being called an onryo makes an odd amount of sense, as she IS basically "dead" in some part inside, and also IS on a path of vengeance
It feels a lot like foreshadowing too concerning what happens & what will be shown in future episodes
That too@@ToscaTee
@@ToscaTeeYeah, especially the theater and horse part of story - you know what I mean
@@jesenjin8467 yes i was mostly referencing that episode actually
Also onryo are known for causing natural disasters.
Also, about Japanese people saying "you are no more Japanese because you live outside of Japan"... Well, just imagine being told that I'm not Brazilian even living here all my life and never even traveled abroad. Yeah. This happens ALL THE TIME. "I don't look Brazilian" they say...
Should say they do not look brazilian either.
@@ColdNorth0628 it's the kinda of thing that simply tires you by the time. I protested and reacted the first times (even when I was a child), but when it happens along years, I simply stopped. It's not worthy. I just get sad. To be an Asian South American is kinda never have your own country. You are too Asian to be from your country, and even that I go to Japan, I'll be a stranger too.
What does it even mean? All countries in the new world are multiracial and have people who look very different. Especially Brazil. Those people who said it were crazy.
@@katesenatskaya8833 Well, Japanese in Brazil have a complicated history. Firstly, when the first generation came to work, their plan was to stay for some time, but in a country with a so different culture, the idea was to return to Japan after some time. It happens, though, that the work conditions in Brazil at the time were akin to slavery (by debt, in the case. Btw, the main reason farm owners chose to import workers was because of the slavery's end, not so far ago). But, somehow, the children's of this first generation escaped this harm, thrived in the urban centers (creating some kind of "model minority myth", just like in the US).
Some stayed in their own fields and farms they bought (my grandfather, for instance, borrowed a huge money from Japan, bought some land and worked very hard to pay the debt). These communities kept themselves closed. Some of them have people that don't speak Portuguese (I met some), just Japanese. They isolate themselves and prefer this way. Brazilians see this as "xenophobia" in their own country, and they don't like it.
So, WW2 came, and the Japs are the enemy. We had confiscation and burning of anything that was Japanese written. It was ordinary to beat and even kill Japanese people on the streets, because of course they could be spies, so the risk was worthy. They even made concentration camps and stuff. I know. Similar things happened in the US also, but the thing is: all the things that Brazilians need to be assholes to Asians is an opportunity. They can even be plain racists about it, and then everything goes as "just a prank, bro" with Brazilian friendly vibes. COVID also didn't help.
So, yes, South America and Brazil specially are multi cultured and ethnic. But not equally.
@@thiagohayashi9936 thanks. That is interesting if sad history. Reminds me of many things which happened where I live in Russia. Before and during WW2 many minorities seen as foreign (German, Polish, Finnish, Korean) despite having lived here for centuries were exiled or executed in large numbers, suspected to be spies for little to no reason.
The complaint you made in regards to the kyoto prostitute calling the local temple statues creepy- makes sense in the context you raised earlier- many of those sex workers would be outsiders sold into the position, and they may not have been in kyoto for very long at all, and being resentful about that situation would perhaps diminish their propensity for respect?
I think these points of cultural whiplash happen because the show is aimed to an American/western audience, that doesn't has all this context and needs some ground to work upon.
Also, weirdly, this "narutofication" process is approached by a very prolific Brazilian author and "theologist" (Rubem Alves), in his book "What is Religion". Basically, one generation built altars, pilled stones, wrote texts and such, then said these things were sacred. People that come after assume those things always were there and it amplifies the holiness of these things. The following generations can't see these things, at some point of history were created. By human hands, no more holier than any Big Mac.
Mythology is also something that evolves and changes over time and with its people. Mythology and religion often reflects the people who tell their stories and revere them. Even though we may not like it, this modern "naurutofication" is just another example of that. Newer generations taking old stories and using them to tell new stories and reflect the time in which they live while sitll paying homage to the old. Do all storyteller do this well? No, not at all, and a lot of mythologies and religions lose their original sacred nature when being turned into pop culture. But the sad fact is a lot of these stories likely would die in obscurity if this process didn't happen, and displaying them in popular media is a good way of exposing them to a broader audience, encouraging them to investigate it further and discover the older tales. There's so many parts of history and mythology I never would have known about had popular media not borrowed from it, nor would I have been interested in it otherwise in some cases
@@tabithaalphess2115 In the end of the day, stories change because people and societies change. Then we (in the least) see old stories with new eyes. I think this is a human thing, unfortunately or not, unavoidable.
I've got one question that might be weird, but what's up with the quotes around theologist? I get that it's becoming archaic next to "theologian", but he does check the requirements for the discipline, so the quotes are confusing me.
(English's my self-taught second language so I don't know if that's just bad use of quotes or you're saying "theology is just Christian mythology" or "I'm using theology because I can't find a more fitting word and this is close" or something else, and it bugs me when I can't intuit the meaning. Hence, asking so I can figure out why there's quotes there and if I was just overthinking it?)
P.S.: the rest of your comment is a good point, also thank you for dropping that book's name, I'm on a writer's research spree on theology because of a Devilman fanfic project so that's going to be useful to me!
@@neoqwerty I put quotes because Rubem Alves was a theologian, but also a lot more than that, to the point it has became kinda an euphemism to call him a theologian. In smaller proportions, it was kinda like to say that Kant was an economist. Yes, he has works on the field, but not his main specialty. It was just because of that. Also, thanks a lot for appreciating Mr. Alves. He is a very good writer, and doesn't have the praise he deserves. Even in his country. And his books are mostly short works too, but very cool, at least for what I read.
Such a empty materialist way to look at religion.
Man I really enjoyed this.
As a person of mixed heritage in Asia (But not East Asia), whose parents grew up and studied abroad before coming home, being told I was not "one of us" was a constant reminder of who I was, and who I didn't want to be, growing up. And since my parents had adopted aspects from western culture, I was unaware of the indirectness that I was supposed to show growing up, garnering more disdain from people around me in school and such. It took me a long time to learn how people wanted me to act, and watching this made me remember just how difficult it was for me back then, and how difficult it can still be. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I had been born with the same behavior, but as a girl
13:33
Simple explanation: Swordfather sells swords. This is just his marketing strategy.
I think you are missing context from later on in the show. I believe the script referring to Mizu as an Onryō is not meant to be taken literally, as in “The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride,” Mizu is likened to a bride killed by her husband. In the story, the bride becomes an Onryō, and this story is compared to Mizu’s emotional death. Her path of revenge makes her an Onryō.
If you ask me, in the way the onryo story is framed by the show, Mizu is both the Ronin *and* the bride. She is both a warrior haunted by the spectre of her revenge and a bride, killed/betrayed by her loved ones for the sin of revealing her true self. It's what makes the episode so incredibly powerful, in my opinion, and is a further demonstration of how societal roles and gendered expectations don't cleanly line up with her. She is both the ronin and the bride. Haunted by her blue eyed heritage both as a warrior and a wife.
@@TheWarriorpony YES this!! The mythology depicted in the show is directly tied to Mizu's internal struggle. The struggle common to all warrior women of history
@@TheWarriorpony yes
thats the point
Mizu its a caracther beyond duality, what make them dont have a place in society
they're neither japonese or white, neither man or woman, they're the demon
a curisioty about that episode, Naginata its a weapon more associated with woman(even in modern sports), in the episode you can see the Naginata as a visual metaphor of mizu interect with feminity
It might be a bit of a "No Prize" answer, but Akemi's father being an ignorant boor of a noble does work with the overall story of the series. Spoilers for later in the series...
Akemi is eventually arranged to marry one of the Shogun's sons, and we eventually learn the son she's betrohed to has a stutter, which the show has established is a "deformity". Marrying him to a desperate family on a collision course with ruin not only earns the Shogun a loyal political puppet, but allows him the opportunity to cover up his family's shame.
With regards to burning the talisman, the only thing I can think of is maybe he isn't allowed at the temple? Or it could be the smithy is HIS temple?
And with regards to wrapping metal for the fire welding, the way he does it is definitely odd, but that's not uncommon for reforging a sword. When you have all these loose pieces and you're trying to bring them up to temperature, which can get close to melting, you want to protect the steel from getting overly oxidized and potentially burned, so you would wrap the steel in cloth or paper and clay. This protective cover won't contaminate the steel, and will actually prevent it from being contaminated during the initial fire weld. It's a similar concept to a crucible steel vs a bloomery steel. When the materials are combined in a crucible, often a sealed clay pot, the materials can reach higher temperatures without becoming oxidized and contaminated, unlike a bloomery which aimply melts steel down through various layers of coal to settle at the bottom in a large clump of loose and impure steel. To clarify, I'm saying steel as a catch all because in my understanding, many fire welded swords Japanese would use iron for the spine as the softer metal, as iron is a lot more flexible and malleable before its combined with carbon or other elements to form steel. But on that note, an impurity is an impurity, I get that they're saying impure in perhaps a different context? But still.
On that note, many meteorites that have iron in then also typically have other rare elements in them, though a blacksmith from several hundred years ago probably wouldn't understand that in the way we do now. So this impurity they refer to could be something like nickel or something that actually turns the steel into a stainless steel, which is much tougher and more resilient. I also think that the meteor is a nice touch for where the metal came from, as it came from outside Japan, its a foreign object, but it likely got combined with iron that was sourced in Japan, creating a fun parallel to the protagonist.
The whole blacksmithing scene could potentially have been done a bit better, but I like it overall, theres a lot to read into.
Yes, and at 17:40 I think it's the other way around. The harder, high carbon steel used in the edges has more "impurities", whereas the core is made of purer iron, with less carbon (i.e. impurities) which makes it softer but more ductile. Shadiversity has a series on the metallurgy of the katana that's worth a watch.
The blacksmithing scene is complete nonsense. You don't beat out impurities from steel with a hammer you get rid of them with smelting. Meteoric Iron is going to be purer than any Edo period steel. Its defects that you need to watch out.
The metaphor for the heroine's heritage was fine but should have been a voice over for the training montage instead of the terrible Kill Bill Reference rather than a seperate static talking scene. Its like the whole script was a second draft and all they added in the second draft was the blind detail for lazy disability representation since none of his actions make any sense for a supposedly blind person.
Like how does a blind person know a metorite is missing from a shelf? Why does a blind person insist on listening to his customers swing a sword? How does a blind person navigate to a meteorite crater or even know its about to land? If the meteorite is wedged in the crater why do they just forcibly lift it out when they could show the heroine as smart by having her prize it out with something to provide leverage? How does an apprentice work out how to shape a meteor her master can't that's not how learning a traditional craft works? If being able to work an unworkable metal is important why don't we get to see how she discovered the process? Why does a smith's apprentice use weights for muscle training when smiths need stronger muscles than swordfighters do, she should have a strength advantage from that alone.
Such a terrible set of nonsensical scenes.
Speaking of East meets West, I couldn't believe my ears in a later episode when they had a fight choreographed to a Japanese cover of Metallica's "For whom the Bell tolls."
I have to agree it was way too jarring. Sounds cool, but out of place for me
@@badrequest5596 I initially agreed but I can't stop listening now. I've come around on it.
@@pepp418 dont get me wrong, i like it too, but doesn't match the 16th feudal japan theme is all. take this song and slap it on ghost of tsushima gameplay. it won't feel right
@@badrequest5596 it literally happens during a drug induced hallucination after she fights off zombie cannibals and then a hulking demon.
What parts of feudal japan are those from?
Really causes suspension of disbelief. Hell the song that doesn’t even match the time period.
My daughter is half Japanese and lived out there from birth. I worry about her a lot, especially since the recent earthquake. I wonder a lot how she's fairing out there dealing with her mixed heritage. Plus she is 15 now and I've been to Japan and I know how creepy some guys are out there can be.
Yea Mixed race people in Japan are less likely to get help , so hopefully your daughter has people around her who care for her
I'm glad Blue Eye Samurai and you are talking about, as you put it, "the darks of Edo." It shows just how much the Edo period wasn't a paradise as a lot of media claim. There's always a dark reality, even in our own modern world, that people don't like to talk about or think about, but it's there. Makibi is still going strong even if it exists under different label.
Edo was better than Japanese Imperialism.
@@Ravi9A probably yes. But its like saying. Dark ages where better than World War era.
@@shadowclaw7210 Yes, Unironically.
Once again, thank you so much for watching the show. When I read the script on my first day I had a feeling you would go on an immense deep dive on the cultural mannerisms which I'm really grateful for. I definitely learned a whole lot of other cultural aspects that I wasn't aware of while on the show so I'm super happy to watch this xD
So to answer a couple of your concerns [mind you its been a while since I was on the show so I'm going to do my best in trying to remember] when it came to the dilapidated shrine, I recall the amount of back and fourth on the statue and whether it would be Shinto/ Buddhist. I think due to time constraints [mind you this show was made during the pandemic years] they decided to leave it as ambiguous as they could.
As for Sword Father's line about the sword being the soul of the samurai, I wouldn't take it too seriously since its suppose to just be a metaphor for Mizu in general, because in episode 2 [SPOILERS FOR THOSE THAT HAVENT SEEN IT YET] its as you said that the sword is the soul of the sword maker. Since Mizu was the one that made the sword for Chiaki and the sword breaks, she immediately confesses because she wasn't pure the sword ended up breaking. Its also implied that Sword Father knew how to wield a sword/ was a samurai in the past as seen in Mizu's training montage [though thats my theory that I came up with while working on the show haha] and yes I agree the music choice for her montage also threw me off. I remember watching that animatic and thought that song choice was just temp music; didn't think they would actually keep it.
I know there were other concerns you had but I guess I'll rewatch your video and see what other stuff I can remember..I really do hope you would cover the other episodes cause oh man they do go ham/ balls to the walls crazy..again I'm really happy you enjoyed the show...the entire team worked their butts off and I'm so happy it paid off.
Awesome to see someone's work nonetheless paid off for an incredibly artistic & entertaining show! Hope more of you & the rest of the team behind Blue Eye Samurai know that fans of the show enjoyed it immensely, and despite the pedantic nitpicks? It was still a wild ride!
I'm excited to hear more about where the show will go from here!
@@newrecru1t yeah!! Haha I’m still in contact with the character team and we are just gushing. We’ve been watching/sharing UA-cam reviews and even lurk the BES subreddit. Overall despite how nitpicky some people are, we are just as enthusiastic to see the fans reactions/ discussions online :D
Thank you to you and rest of the team for bringing this project to life. It's been one if not the single best piece of media I've seen this year
You know if more people would just keep an open mind when watching these shows and stop getting into shouting matches with the creative teams, we’d probably get more shows of BES’s caliber.
The needle drop wouldn't have been so jarring if that episode was a stand alone short film. Netflix does have that full episode uploaded to their channel so maybe it was a marketing decision? Maybe?
Mizu's soul and her sword end up linked either way because she's both the smith and the wielder (Side note, how common was that? It feels like it'd be fairly rare?)
I interpreted the burning of the prayer in the fire as him blessing his forge.
Would definitely enjoy a whole series overview from ya! There's a lot to love about Blue Eye Samurai, despite being pedantic nerds, there's a ton of heart & soul put into this show that's worth examination.
Honestly its one of the best shows I have ever seen.
"It's for the audience" is the only answer to every bit, but still fun to watch you ramble.
I would imagine the part where he’s raising a spoiled son is because Daichi is a recently made lord. He was pretty much a commoner not too long ago and still has some of the intimate traits of one
I grew up mixed race on an Indian reservation.
I’m enrolled if you know that that means.
But I’m white passing because my mom’s pretty much German Irish.
Life on the Rez was hard and I was never accepted, bullied daily and ostracized by my my same age relatives growing up.
But I never grew up hating them or that side of my people or culture.
I’ve now been to many different countries and see the worst and best of people.
But Americans and especially westerners believe that other cultures and peoples are kind and accepting.
To outsiders some of the time(westerners), but physically deformities or be from the wrong tribe or religion.
It could mean death.
The world is pretty harsh outside the western world.
So then next time you think America is racist.
We are pretty far and above most of the world for kindness, understanding and acceptance.
"Sword is the heart of the samurai" as I'm sure other commenters probably said get addressed later like mizu being called an onryo makes sense later but like you said this is episode 1 review
I actually heard this earlier today, American media focuses on the "melodrama". This centering of individuals unique circumstances and triumph's through struggle obscures the underlying systems that created these conflicts.
It's so cool hearing your critiques of this show, and how there are problems, but they get "resolved" a bit or at least are more consistent as you watch more of it. For example Gaijin brings up the delapated shrine showing a increase of neglect for a culturally religious site. That observation coincides with how the prostitutes talks about the 1000 creepy statues; an example backing up that observation of increasing neglect. I would love to hear more on your thoughts on the rest of the show, because it's one of my favorites now. I need to hear all your thoughts pedantic or gigantic! I love love you realization that you had towards the end too saying how it's written for a western audience, with a great deal of knowledge of Japanese culture weaved into it! When you hear and watch some of the behind the scenes they categorize this show a "western eastern" style of show, or a western meets eastern, and that to me basically aligns with your realization. There's so much to love about this show, and I know that when people critique things, it's out of care!
Your "This doesn't feel Japanese but more American" feeling for this show reminds me of how I felt when reading the Ultraman comics Marvel put out a while back. So much of it was focused on the personal drama of Shin Hayata rather than Ultraman's usual collectivist "together we can do it" defense team thing that it felt more like Spider-Man than Ultraman. Not bad comics, but it was still noticeable.
The host's personal drama's a huge part of a lot of Ultraman series though?
@@Peasham I guess . . . It's hard to describe what I'm talking about. It just had a much more American vibe. Maybe because it felt less like it was focusing on Hayata as part of the SSSP, and more like Hayata in contrast to (or against) the SSSP.
Individualist vs Collectivist mindset right there
Although they modernized some aspects, especially deciding to go with English as the main language, I saw that they put a lot of time and effort into the sword smithing scene. A lot of people dedicated to historical Japanese sword smithing have come forward loving the attention to detail of them getting the process pretty correct. I do think that there is a stark difference between episodes where it's written by both the Japanese American woman and her white husband vs say episode 5 which is written just by her.
There is no version of this where English isn't the main language.
Mizu's whole story was inspired by the mixed race kid of the 2 showrunners, who are English speakers.
Wonder how the hell they're gonna handle languages besides Japanese in future though.
@@pepp418 I wasn't talking about the language. Simply how the essence of the story was written due to the writers' cultural background and understanding of some aspects that can't be simply understood through research. If you have an outline for a script to be written about a straight white boy who grew up in a white neighborhood, and you ask three different people to write it, a straight white man who grew up in a white neighborhood, a gay Hispanic man who grew up in a latin country, or a straight black woman who grew up in a mixed race town, whose script will most likely ring most authentic? Theyvall have the capabilities to write a great script with lots of nuance but when you compare, you might catch small moments that speak of authenticity in the first script. That's all I'm saying. Ep. 5 was written by her only and it feels more culturally Japanese than the ones written by them both together. But all are fantastic. I'm not saying it suffers due to whatever. I just love the introduction of classical Japanese theater to help guide the story for that moment and the sounds engrained in your head if you grew up Japanese Shinto.
@@tkim2320 Problem is, why not write a story about being mixed race in America if it feels like America? Visually the smithing scene is probably good but talking over it someone remembering a wikipedia article just ruins the scene and makes it hard to focus and the general inacuracies make me want to assume everything is wrong even when it isn't.
I'm sure there's some reason for the fetishy undertones with the sadistic violence and the submissive guy getting tied up but it seems super inappropriate in what is basically Mulan for teenagers. I've seen equally fetishy Japanese media exploring western settings but it just feels super dubious and icky here with the sex scenes and sex-worker portrayal and the involvement of Asian-Americans behind the scenes doesn't help.
Loved the video! If I can be pedantic myself, the only person that mention the sword as the “heart of the samurai” is the swordmaker, who is the one that passes that philosophy down to Mizu. As you’ve mentioned in the video, it makes sense that the swordmaker values the blade so highly. Others, mainly Taigen, point out that the blade is only a weapon.
Additionally, the comment about onryou in the first episode is later expanded upon, providing the full rationale for the analogy. Perhaps it’s still strange to have it used in here, but the context would better inform the reasons for this writing choice.
Also, Ringo’s birth deformity is clarified in a later episode.
I’m assuming you only watched the first episode for this analysis, but I think it’s still really solid! Hopeful to see another video covering more of the show!
When writing the main character of my story, a yokai who got named Kuishinbo, I tend to write her commonly clashing with Japanese culture. Even as she becomes less monstrous in behavior and begins participating in society more, she still gets treated like an outsider that muscled their way in. Fast forward from the Edo period to the Showa era, and she's still treated as an outsider. She considers herself Japanese, but never, at any point, gets treated that way, because she never behaved Japanese, and so never fitted in Japanese society. The most accepted she's ever felt was finding a shrine dedicated to her, on the complete opposite side of Japan from where she roamed, despite having been outside the country for over a century. But even then, the shrine maiden, who looked up to Kuishinbo as an actress, still treated her like a dangerous creature that might kill her at any moment and, knowing Kuishinbo prefers directness, said as much to her face, "You are dangerous to be around." Now, the US, on the other hand, she fits in like garlic butter on Texas toast. Sure, there's the occasional culture shock, but, overall, she meshes well with others who are so loud, brash, and direct as she is. She calls Japan home, but it's in the US where she feels at home.
If possible could we make this a series cause it would be amazing to see your thoughts on this show with each episode. Cause at one point I remember singing "Real Ninja wear Blue"
The show itself is much like the metaphor used in it; it contains some (western) impurities in the right places.
The only thing I can think about with the smith burning the ofuda is like you said, it was to bless the metalwork he was doing, and might have been homemade, could have even been a year old. As to the practice of burning ofuda at temples, it could possible be that he considers his forge similar to that as a temple to the metalwork, but that is probably more of a Western concept and not an accurate interpretation on my part. In any case, the smith trying to burn a blessing into the metal might just be a ritual practice as a concept that makes sense to him, even if it's not historically accurate or even a good idea for the metal, like you said.
And regarding the girl calling the temple statues "creepy," it could be her dropping her politeness and being dismissive of something that isn't really important or useful to her, especially if she was sold into her profession at an age where she wouldn't have had a strong connection to anything spiritual or religious. Again, just my interpretation of what I saw in this video, and I be completely wrong.
I don't see anyone mentioning on the ofada so here's my take: Its the blacksmith's prayer or their version of it in this show. Black smiths would 'bless' the weapon they make some way some form and each culture is different. case in point Brok from the God of War : Ragnarok game
“Considering how the internet is”, “I swear I love this show, don’t be mad” It’s at times like these I loathe the internet. I wish it didn’t have to be like this.
That's why I deleted Twitter from my phone. Too much stupidity
Daaaamn! You had a lot of the same critiques I did. This is exactly why I’ve been waiting for you to do a video on this. Also it’s refreshing to hear a legit criticism against the show for a change.
I've been hearing nothing but hate for it on my end
So it was nice for me to see people like it
I've heard mostly praise for it, but there is a very loud minority online with the usual trash arguments of wokeness.
@@TheHeadNinjainComics Which is weird since it seems to be exactly the sort of fetishy crap that the anti-woke brigade claim to be protecting. But I assume the writing gets better past episode 1 which I found unbearable to the point I wondered why I wasn't watching Glitter Force Doki Doki instead if I was going to be watching something Americanised on Netflix for the supposedly good fight animation. At least there's no creepy pornography in that.
On the plus side of Netflix I finally got to watch Bullet Train straight afterwards to revitalise my faith in Americans getting Japanese culture right.
I didn't watch past episode 1 of Seirei no Moribito back in 2007. Don't see the point in watching more Blue Eyed Samurai when I could give that another try.
This is the kind of content that I keep coming back for. Solid proof that just because we like something, doesn't mean we gloss over it's flaws. Or that it can't bother us in other ways. A lot of the stuff I love the most, I'm the most pedantic and granular over my analysis and explanations of to other people... because I care enough about the topic to *be* that invested. And it's always fun to learn new things!
I really enjoyed this one, and I appreciate the restraint you had not making this into a which samurai before talking about his deep understanding of guns or how being masterless he would be a ronin rather than a samurai. I would love to see/hear your thoughts on the rest of thr show.
Edit: I said his several times there, it was not intended as such but rather because I am in the habit of using him as the gender neutral.
@@aaronscott7467 i see you are masking the spoilers.
@@ColdNorth0628yes, but it's shown in the first episode when he scoffs at the flesh merchant's gun and then proceeds to list off facts about it that it's owner didn't even know.
GG, ya don't gotta flex the credentials, we know your GOATed. Also I love describing this as Japanese, R-rated Mulan. And I believe "Fate-ization" would be more accurate than "Naruto-ization". Naruto messed with one culture's historic figures/text. Fate does it to everyone. But I guess Fate-ization doesn't roll off the tongue very well?
"the white devil"
ah yes Mizu's dad is the RX-78-2 Gundam.
Ok... That got a chuckle out of me.
Lmao
I think your content is way better when it's "oh, actually...!" than when it's "but aktchyually....."
still love the cultural-easter-egg breakdowns
[spoiler alert] I know this is just a review of Episode 1, but it seems weird to talk about it being weird for Mizu to be referred to as an Onryou without at least mentioning that there's additional context in episode 5. Like I understand it still being a strange thing to randomly call her, even with an in universe reason later, since he probably wouldn't know it, but I feel like it's a caveat worth mentioning.
That's just no how foreshadowing is supposed to work though. Its supposed to built up mystery and intrigue not allow you to spot missed opportunities on rewatch.
If they'd built up something to make the term meaningful in episode 1 it would make sense when it pays off but throwing out random foreign word is just confusing. Especially when there's no tone to make the listener know its just just a made up insult.
i do know there were various rituals around sword smithing. lots of purification of the smith and tools, but i do remember something in the back of my mind about the fire. but there were many different rituals that changed essentially by the smith, and were often kept a kind of trade secret. but TBH it's been years since i've done any research on historical japanese swrodsmithing.
Amazing video, man! Also sidenote - I had no idea you knew about Xiran Jay Zhao! You two should definitely collab!
Even if you don't do the whole series, I think it would be very cool if you did the bunraku episode.
You make a very good point here. I had a feeling that something is strange with the show, when I watched it, but could not put my finger on what it was. You did that very well. This is an American show, and no worse for it, but I was expecting a Japanese anime.
Oh man Gaijin, I really needed this video after I finished Blue Eye Samurai! You listed all of the little problems I had throughout the show but couldn't put my finger on. I would even be great if you posted your personal thoughts of the show as a whole on Patreon, or at least talking about Episodes 5 and 8 which are the two most stand out for me (both for good and for ill). Great work as always!
Comin' at ya with a pedantic critique!
Using the one-off Takeshi Kitano portrayal of Zatoichi instead of the decades long, character defining portrayal by Shintaro Katsu?! As a weird internet person once said, "Son, I am disappoint."
Most people watching this wouldn’t recognise Katsu as Zatoichi. But I too, was disappoint.
I love Beat Takeshi, but Shintaro will always be the real Zatoichi.
As someone with a bachelor's degree in japanese language and culture and a love for japanese history and traditions, especially martial traditions, I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed this man.
Instantly subscribed
Loved this show. I was sold from epsiode one but when I got to "The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride" I knew this was something truly special. That episode by itself is a cinematic masterpiece.
Was waiting for this video to come about. I've only gotten to episode 3 or 4 -- been stymied due to the holidays -- but I LOVE this series! Beautiful art design. Stellar animation. The story does have its hiccups, but they don't detract too much from my enjoyment!
Thanks for sharing, Goombah!
Blue Eye Samurai is easily one of my favorite shows of 2023, and Mizu has become one of my favorite anti-heroes since Spawn, Ghost Rider, and Swamp Thing. Luckily, the series got renewed for a 2nd season, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next. Also, Mizu would be a great guest fighter in Mortal Kombat.
I know you continuously apologize for your deep dives because you want people to understand your passion for a project, but for me at least, it isn't necessary. That is why I watch your culture videos. I don't really care if there were undisciplined lords and spoiled children who were undocumented, I'm sure there were. What I want to know, and you gladly provided, is how likely such a thing would exist within historical context.
Now, I haven't seen the show that you just analyzed so I'm certain I've missed quite a bit, but guess what, your video has interested me into watching it. I'm not worried about spoilers because I feel a good story can't really be spoiled as any information passed along should serve to strengthen it. So yeah, grown up "Mulan", I'm in. thanks for the videos.
I fully agree with your opinion on how blunt this show is with it's commentary being depicted in world I loved this series just felt like I was being punched in the gut and hit over the head when ever the princess scene happened cause subtlety is just too hard when dealing with different cultures to the intended audience cause I'm sure people who have Netflix that don't watch anime or Japanese/Japan set film will pick this up
In fairness to Daichi, the lord you talked about, I believe he does mention how he earned his lord title and wasn't born into it. So, not being typical about being a lord is pretty on point.
Correct! And that makes me think more and more like Hideyoshi. ...He still sucks as a lord though. XD And yeah, this is all only from episode 1 perspective because something something spoilers.
It's also a little silly to say this would never happen. Like saying the Victorian's never ever had sex outside of marriage because it was just so socially unacceptable. Of course they did 😂 they're still people
@@freazeezy
Actually that's more of a modern projection onto Victorian England based off of its propaganda and expectations of noblewomen than anything else. There's lots of reports of how much an open secret it wss for upper class men to go slumming into London's East End and go party it up with sex workers of all kinds.
It's more accurate to say that this discrepancy is like and openly gay man in Victorian society, which was indeed rare but then again... Oscar Wilde.
Having watched the whole season, I'd say it's definitely more Kill Bill than Mulan. In fact there are specific references to that movie and other revenge stories like it later in the series. Being someone who also lives in Japan as a foreigner, I completely relate to most of the cultural whiplash you experienced throughout the show. You're not the only one. I have the same problems with the dialogue. It's being very clearly written for a western audience or by a western writer. I even switched to Japanese dubs and they sounded more weird because it seemed more out of place (if that makes any sense). But I'm gonna have to differ from you in the sword-making scene. As a student of material science and having watched way too many videos of swordsmiths making katana, I can definitely say that I've seen them writing inscriptions on the paper wrapping before. Though I can't point to a specific one right now. I also don't know if this is "historically" accurate (this show is depicting an alternate history anyway) but the practice exists. Also, purely from a sword-making perspective, writing characters with charcoal ink on a piece of binding paper dipped in a mix of clay slurry and straw literally does nothing to add more impurities. The scientific explanation would be too long but, you literally need those things to protect the metal from oxidizing too much in the fire.
Later episodes explain the onryo thing further, but I am not enough of an expert to say how much that explanation holds up.
I was hoping to see examinations of Blue Eyed Samurai here. Thank you.
Once i finished this show, i immediately checked your chennel to see if you made an episode, and sad to see you didnt. A month later and here we go!
3:25 due to how competent he was, I didn’t even notice he lacked hands until episode 5.
BES is such a perfection in animation, story and characters. It's just that damn good show.
Finally finished the series so I could watch this video and be informed about the cultural references.
First off Gaijin, I'm sorry if people give you grief for your viewpoints. You were so apologetic at the beginning of the video about your feelings. I want and enjoy your honest and direct opinions.
Second, while I understand some of your grievances with character actions in this first episode, I feel like they are somewhat explained by the character's motives much later in the show. I won't say much more due to not wanting to spoil it for others.
Finally, I completely agree with your last points that this show is made for a western culture. In the first episode, I looked to find the Japanese dub with English subs for the show, but realized the animation was made for the English language. That made me realize right away this was more for Western audiences.
Why do so many people treat Mizu like she's non binary? Why the they/them pronouns? Mizu is NEVER depicted as non binary, gender neutral, or in any way queer. She is perfectly happy being a cis straight woman until she is betrayed, and the only reason she gender bends is because of the law and the culture against a woman being a traveler or fighter. It's a matter of disguise and convenience, not her inner identity being that of a man, or of a non-woman.
Nothing against non-binary people, but that doesn’t sit with me either. She’s most certainly aware she’s a woman and uses her disguise to get around as well as avoid anyone looking for that bounty. The show makes this very clear.
Idk why you're so ticked off by a drawing, bro 😭. Like, idk. Let people do what they want. Maybe its because they see themselves in the character, that's fine. You're not losing anything and in fact its the opposite, it just means more interaction with the show which just makes it more popular and more visible to other people aka more success aka more stuff coming from it. That's 1. Nothing against yo, but it's just, the wording. The way phrase it like its not a question as to why people do smth its more like: "this is outrageous how could you!!" Yk? Nothing against you but its kinda not nice, lmao
@@viviismanic I'm not ticked off by a drawing. At all. I'm ticked off by people claiming the character as qveer even though she isn't.
Of course they see themselves in the character. And they're wrong. See, I don't care if they think that, I care if someone can accurately assess a piece of media and get their facts straight.
It is outrageous that people won't just get the facts of the narrative correct because they have a selfish emotional need to make everything about them, and have an inability to connect to any character who isn't their same identity.
I really couldn't care less if I'm mean or nice. I only care if I'm correct. If the truth is mean, I want to be as mean as possible.
@SnakeWasRight again, even if you didn't feel that way, the way you wrote the message just felt that way. Like rather than an honest question and wanting to understand and discuss, it's still: "How dare you do this" yk? And i still stand by my point lmao. Let people see themselves in media, dude. It doesn't affect you or anyone else. And if you really really wanna discuss it, no. It's not clear whether she wants to go by she or not, as in the show, it's never explicitly said. There are arguments you can make for the character being transmasc/nb/whatever. Example: the chest binding.
And no one really claims the character is queer, not that I know of at least. Headcanons, sure, but like, eh.
Never is a strong word, yk? It's not quite clear what her relationship with her gender is as it's overshadowed by her deep self hatred stemming from the fact that she's mixed.
Im not saying you're wrong. Hell, i could be wrong myself, lmao.
Im just saying it's not completely out of the question and could honestly be pretty dope if it were the case.
I think Osamu Tezuka's Dororo was the first real pop culture that treated someone missing limbs, but as a revenge fantasy. I lived in Japan 22 years myself and taught Japanese Society & Culture at a university there. I also had an initial visceral push back from the show, but overall fell in love with it.
I was hooked from the first episode, and I've recommended it several times.
When making the recommendation, I say it's like a mixture of Rouroni Kenshin (historical vehicle that helps mold the plot & characters) and Kill Bill (a revenge tale where the morality of the protagonist is in question...and hyper violent fight scenes lol)
So far I haven't had anyone get bored or dislike Blue Eye Samurai
i am SO confused why he keeps saying stuff like "Which i assume ringo lost at birth" or Its up in the air why Mizu disguises herself since the show explicitly answers both
I watched Blue Eye Samurai and I really like the story with Mizu getting revenge and being a skilled swordswoman.
Starting off with the disabilities thing, funnily enough, first thing to come to my mind is Samurai Champloo with the blind bard woman. The background behind the video player in the video even has the same weapon as she used
Another show that remixes aspects of Western and Eastern, down to its name.
The points about the Japanese language being used in a completely different manner to something like American English reminds me of the whole debate of anime localizers. Specifically about the people who argue “Just give us direct translations.” Imo it just shows how ignorant they are of different languages and culture.
Sadly it's also adding to the problem that Localization often takes out the subtleties or cultural nuances. Sometimes losing the original meaning
@@Jaquan018
Thats true as well. Stuff like this really needs someone well educated in not only the language but the culture as well to be able to convey the feeling of the script accurately.
However, I would argue that Americans aren’t exactly the best at understanding subtlety overall. There are Bioshock fans who think the game is pro neoliberalism and unrestrained capitalism.
@@J-manli That's unfortunately true. Especially in modern days when a lot of modern cultures in the west (it is a common thing in Europe as well) can only look at very skin deep things. We're really suffering from the lack of nuance and ability to see beyond just surface level because it leads to a very one dimensional writing and a firm black and white outlook and premise. Which personally tires me a lot
I’m really hoping to see more from you on this show! Some statements tell me you haven’t finished it yet, and I get the hoops you’d have to jump through, but I would love to hear more!
I really enjoyed this show and I'm very happy you talked about it. Will we be so lucky to have you talk about the whole of season 1?
Just finished the show and combing through youtube for reviews to fill the void. I thought this was a fantastic criticism! Its clearly a well-told, compelling story with a lot of attentiom to detail and love for the time period. Knowing where they took creative license is so cool because i do think that these types of shows can get conflated with real history easily Thanks for making this!
Thank you for daring to share your perspective, mr. Goombah! I always find your videos informative (the Japanese background more so than the Orcs, but that's personal preference and I enjoy either content!) and I wish people wouldn't give you such a hard time over it. I hope this new year brings you more opportunity to freely talk about the things you want to talk about (with a bit of nudging from your Patreons)! ^^
I really did almost close out this video a couple minutes in as you were giving your warning about picking it apart. I LOVED this show so much, that I didn't want to spoil the illusion for future rewatches. I'm so glad I leaned into learning and listening to what you had to say. If anything it makes me appreciate the show more. You rock man thank you
As someone studying archivism, that last section about culture being buried really spoke to me. It's why public facing skills are so important, so we can plan big events to raise awareness about history.
I freaking knew it. The Mulan parts and the Kill Bill. The Kill Bill part clicked in my mind fast.
i just love that our mulan is actually in the show too 🥰
11:50 fun fact: the Portuguese were called "sakana" (fish) due to their wide eyes so this would actually be accurate
Half-blood lady samurai Mizu, the short-fused new money family, the handicapped smith and apprentice, etc... the whole show's American framing around Japanese culture goes absolutely hand-in-hand with the themes of the show as a whole. Your eyes aren't the only ones worth seeing through.
This "Naruto-ification" you speak of is exactly how history and mythology work. Events occur, people record it, time passes, records are lost, destroyed, translated, re-written, exaggerated, and reworked. This repeats until history becomes religion, and again until religion is mythology, and eventually to mystery. The same thing that happens to all information. It's a feature of reality, not a bug. The information that lasts the longest is whatever best captures the heart of the people being recorded, as in whatever is the most entertaining.
21:12
I can give this a pass due to the woman's role as a prostitute. I don't know what the common experience of an Edo-period courtesan was like, or how pervasive the perception of cultural iconography was in common folk, however I'm sure that cynicism can sprout up in anyone, especially if they're mistreated as a prostitute. So maybe this background character is slightly bitter towards everything.
I'd give it a pass if I could believe literally anything about the characterisation of those women or the narrative placing of the sex scene they seemed shoe-horned in to include.
So glad you choose this review man hell yes
I really suggest you consider completing the series and reviewing it man you won’t regret it
YOU USED THE TENCHU Z THEME IN THE BEGINNING. THIS IS WHY I LOVE YOUR CHANNEL. YOU ALWAYS USE THINGS THAT IVE LOVED IN YOUR VIDEOS
Wether your takes hold up in the context of the rest of the show or not, I appreciate your perspective on it ❤
I have seen the whole season and know some of the points you bring up become moot as the show goes on, but i still learned stuff about Japans hostory i didn't know ❤ so no complaints from me
I think, at least for Mizu, their sword is absolutely their soul. Because they are both smith AND samurai. And you see their acceptance into these roles and more throughout the show.
And when the blind smith wrapped the metal before putting it in the fire I think I have seen that done before as a means of turning the metal slag into an ingot to be smithed. The writing I think was the teachings of Buddha, he mentions that they are important to calming the soul and becoming pure for the smithing process.
And the paper used to start the fire may have been an offering to the gods/spirits to bless the work to come. Im no expert or anything tho so if I'm off base ignore me.
But as a half-japanese, non-gender-conforming, sword studying, blade smith I cant help but love the show so much!
I even plan to make a video dedicated to Blue Eye Samurai someday soon!
13:21 I'd definitely agree with your guess with it being a homemade to bless the forge. I would assume not everyone would do so as it might be... unusual, or perhaps very esoteric in perhaps extremely remote/rare groups would do so due to their rather unique spiritual beliefs. Essentially, you'd be looking for a needle in a haystack. But I'd say this is a good start.
21:27 I assume that the prostitutes probably had absolutely no care for life or anything at that point. The statement and facial expressions give a sort of.. anger that says "There are no gods." A person whose will is broken and spark of life snuffed out.
17:40 I think you got it the other way around. The harder, high carbon steel used in the edges has more "impurities", whereas the core is made of purer iron, with less carbon (i.e. impurities) which makes it softer but more ductile. Steel is basically iron with impurities, in a sense. Well, it's more complicated, Shadiversity has a series about the metallurgy of the katana that's worth a watch. One important aspect of making katana is the folding which essentially turns the pig iron Japan had at the time into usable steel blades by homogenizing the carbon throughout the blade so there are no particularly hard/brittle bits.
I give you props for being able to sit thought the inaccuracies. While I do appreciate media thats inclusive, I personally dont like the bending of history/culture to fit convinient plot points. Theres ways to show a culture properly without trying to change it to fit your story. I understand alot of people like this show, but me personally cant stomach the blatant changing of history and culture that makes no sense at all. To see that happening in real time to my native culture is pretty sad and to see that same "changing of a culture for plot convenience" is a major turn off to me. But I applaud you for making it through the series, I might just pick up the show again to try to appreciate the animation instead of the historical accuracy.
I just finished watching this series, is now time to see your video! Sorry it took me this long
I agree, like the Katana forging, this show (for better or worse depending on the viewer) is a Mixture of purity and impurity, and will either make or break the show for you...
And while some elements feel misguided or jarring, there is unmistakably alot of effort and heart being put into it, and that atleast for me pushes it above a great many recent offerings in American Media that so often drags many characters and stories through the mud by uncaring, arrogant, if not hateful hands.
You can hear the tone in his voice at 10:00 ish mark... you can hear the pain.
This is why I subbed so long ago. Gaijin, Never give up on your passion! ♥
I’ve been waiting this vid for a while.
GG, really appreciate your take on this show. I also felt the same about the weird choices and cultural misteps. It is very Japanese of you to be so modest about your opinions but you don't have to be so apologetic since you are doing a great job pointing things out. Keep up the good work!
Whoa.... peaches.
And you gave that "final spoiler warning" after slipping up multiple times in the video lol
I already had this show on my watch list on Netflix but now I know that I DEFINITELY want to see it! Thank you for the great video!
Ningo was born without hands he says as much a couple times in the show most notably to the blind swordsmith
I'd love to see a breakdown like this of some Samurai Champloon, anachronisms and all.