Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai earned a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating however hasn’t reached the identical degree of consideration as Arcane, and that lack of recognition has little to do with high quality. Arcane launched with a built-in League of Legends fandom, a large advertising and marketing push, and the benefit of adaptation; Blue Eye Samurai needed to create its world from nothing.
Its revenge story retains the plot sharp and its characters energetic, giving each episode a way of ahead movement that Arcane season 2 struggled with in its early episodes. Every scene serves the story’s momentum quite than pausing for exposition or a montage, and whereas Arcane is undeniably wealthy in fashion and emotion, Blue Eye Samurai is tighter, clearer, and extra direct in the way it strikes its characters ahead.
By the Blue Eye Samurai season 1 ending, the collection feels stressed in the easiest way doable, already reworking into one thing bigger. That sense of continuation into a serious setting change makes me really feel way more assured that Blue Eye season 2 will not meander as a lot as Arcane season 2 because of its fastened tether to the season 1 cliffhanger.
Why Blue Eye Samurai Is Higher Than Arcane
Each collection observe characters outlined by ache, however the tales use that ache in fully other ways. Arcane begins with sisters torn aside by class, violence, and perception: Vi fights to rebuild what she misplaced whereas Jinx sinks deeper into guilt and instability.
Blue Eye Samurai facilities on Mizu, a mixed-race onna-musha (swordswoman) in Edo-period Japan whose life has been marked by revenge since delivery. Her mission to kill the boys who made her an outcast shapes each alternative she makes, so the place Arcane treats tragedy as one thing to flee, Blue Eye Samurai wields it as motivation, and that distinction defines their tone.
Revenge tales are sometimes extra compelling as a result of they transfer ahead with objective, whereas redemption tales depend upon hesitation. Mizu’s anger propels her via each impediment—it is one of many best revenge plots in TV in a very long time—whereas Vi’s forgiveness arc drifts between reflection and remorse.
Arcane asks its characters to heal, which implies pausing to think about who they’ve develop into on the danger of disrupting pacing, but Blue Eye Samurai refuses to pause in any respect. It cuts forward, its violence carrying that means as a result of it’s earned quite than debated. The result’s a contained narrative inside one season that by no means loses stress or course.
The power of Blue Eye Samurai additionally comes from how its ensemble helps that drive. Each facet character, from Taigen, Akemi, and Ringo, has a transparent transformation that mirrors Mizu’s inside battle. Taigen learns humility after defeat, Akemi positive factors political and emotional company, and Ringo finds braveness that not is dependent upon others.
Arcane’s first season additionally balanced its ensemble simply as successfully, weaving Caitlyn, Jayce, Viktor, and Mel into Piltover’s politics, however then season 2 scattered that focus. Subplots multiplied till the present felt prefer it was setting the desk for a bigger universe as an alternative of ending the meal it served. And whereas it isn’t as egregious as different universe builders, we already know extra League of Legends spinoffs are on the best way.
Many episodes in Arcane season 2 lingered on Jayce’s ethical disaster or Viktor’s scientific obsession, however neither thread related cleanly to Vi and Jinx’s emotional battle, which was as soon as the present’s anchor. Jayce’s politics with the council and Viktor’s experiments in transmutation had been compelling in isolation, but they existed in a special tonal register.
The momentum that carried season 1—sister in opposition to sister, perception in opposition to betrayal—was changed with scenes of debate and reflection that not often collided with the core story. As a substitute of constructing towards a shared confrontation, the season dispersed its vitality throughout competing subplots, making a stunted rhythm that felt fragmented and fewer pressing.
We haven’t seen Blue Eye Samurai season 2 but, however season 1’s ending evokes extra confidence than Arcane’s season 1 cliffhanger ending ever did. Arcane left itself cornered by Jinx’s destruction of the Piltover council chamber, a finale so remaining that its sequel needed to soften her penalties simply to proceed the story. Against this, Blue Eye Samurai closed on evolution, not shock worth.
Each main character emerged modified, with a brand new course already seen: Mizu’s id is not hidden, Akemi’s riot is ascendant, and Taigen’s pleasure has fractured. That reset provides the writers freedom to rebuild with out contradiction, suggesting they already perceive the place these characters can go subsequent.
Visually, the comparability is nearer, although. Arcane stays a tremendous fantasy TV show with the best worldbuilding; its twin cities of Piltover and Zaun really feel detailed and politically layered in a manner not even the fantasy present settings can match. Blue Eye Samurai’s world is smaller by design, however its upcoming London arc might increase its scope in equally attention-grabbing methods.
Blue Eye Samurai Is Netflix’s Most Underrated Animated Unique
For a present with near-unanimous reward, Blue Eye Samurai nonetheless looks like Netflix’s most underrated original series. Its 97 p.c Rotten Tomatoes rating locations it amongst Netflix’s best-reviewed originals, but it hasn’t sparked the identical on-line dialog or fandom that surrounded Arcane.
In fact, Blue Eye Samurai arrived and not using a pop soundtrack, sport universe, or viral advertising and marketing hook. It requested to be judged on execution alone—on writing, efficiency, and animation craft—and that limitation has stored it from the noise whereas elevating its endurance.
Co-creator Michael Inexperienced wrote the screenplay for Logan (2017) and govt produced Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
Each supporting character—Taigen, Akemi, and Ringo particularly—evolves throughout the season with arcs that might anchor complete exhibits. Their development displays Mizu’s journey quite than orbiting it, giving the story an ensemble depth most animated dramas by no means try.
And the Blue Eye Samurai voice cast performances are so robust. Maya Erskine, Brenda Tune, George Takei, and Masi Oka convey emotional texture to scenes which may in any other case learn archetypal. The result’s an authentic collection that feels meticulously constructed and emotionally assured, the sort of narrative that tells a whole story inside one season and follows via on its guarantees established in episode 1.
Blue Eye Samurai Season 2 Might Be Higher Than Arcane Season 2
Arcane season 2’s three-episode launch cycle in the end damage its momentum from the beginning. Every batch felt like setup with out payoff, resetting emotional funding each few weeks. The pacing amplified the season’s scattered focus, slowing down the story simply when it wanted urgency.
Vi’s management arc felt repetitive, and Jinx, the collection’ most unpredictable presence, spent an excessive amount of of the primary act remoted and subdued. Her eventual return softened a personality who used to drive each scene she entered, however one factor I am unable to deny is how satifying her redemption through the Arcane season 2 ending felt.
Blue Eye Samurai ended its first season in a wholly totally different place. As a substitute of a cliffhanger that trapped its story, it closed with many character transformations. Mizu’s secret id is gone, Akemi has seized company, Taigen’s pleasure has cracked, and Ringo’s loyalty has matured into independence.
Each main character now carries a brand new objective. It’s the sort of finale that clears narrative area quite than closing it, establishing journeys that really feel inevitable but open. That construction provides me confidence that Blue Eye Samurai’s writers know the place these characters are heading, and received’t want filler sequences—just like the eye-rolling and dated Think about Dragons sequences—to get them there.
- Launch Date
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November 3, 2023
- Showrunner
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Michael Inexperienced, Amber Noizumi
- Administrators
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Jane Wu
- Writers
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Michael Inexperienced, Amber Noizumi
