Blue Eye Samurai creator wanted to tell a new type of mixed-race story 

Blue Eye Samurai’s Mizu, the mixed-race swordmaster at the center of the show, wants to kill the four white men who were in Japan at the time of her birth.

It takes place during Edo Japan’s isolationism in the 17th Century, meaning that there are no outsiders. Because of that, Mizu’s white features — particularly her striking blue eyes — alienate her. She covers her eyes with yellow-tinted lenses and tries her best to look Japanese in order not be called half-breed. It’s a compelling character motivation, and also a neat subversion of how we typically see biracial characters portrayed: namely, Mizu is a biracial character grappling with her identity in a setting that’s You can also check out our other blog posts.Primarily white or European.

Even though there are more multiracial characters on screen than ever before, they’re still overwhelmingly portrayed through a white lens. In many cases, characters are half-whites who struggle to relate to white families in settings that have a majority of white residents. It is particularly true for biracial actors in historical films and television shows, or even those with fantasy settings based on history. Both 2013’s Belle and 2023’s Chevalier focused on the true stories of half-Black, half-white individuals proving themselves to their white peers — admirable and inspiring stories, but we rarely see how the opposite situation might play out. If biracial characters are depicted at all, it is usually in a majority-white-populated setting, be it Europe, North America, or some Euro-inspired fantasy world.

[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for Blue Eye Samurai.]

Image: Netflix

That’s where Blue Eye Samurai subverts expectations. Mizu, unlike what is usually seen by the public, hides white facial features. It’s her Japanese peers she must prove her skills to. Oh, and the main reason why she would want to murder four men of white is because one might be her dad.

Amber Noizumi says that when she created the show, with Michael Green as her co-creator, she took inspiration from her personal experience. She chose not to use a Western-style setting.

“I think so many mixed-race people feel caught between two worlds,” she explains. “Just to imagine living in the world that I’m not in and what it would be like to have people look at my The white –Be shocked by the features. It’s just an exploration of that, an exploration of identity.”

I, like many other multiracial individuals, am all too aware of the questions that others ask about my physical appearance. Strangers, friends, and family alike all point out which features “belong” to which part of our identities, like our faces and bodies are a collage instead of one cohesive picture.

For multiracial people who are part white, it is unfortunately a common “compliment” for our white features to be praised at the expense of our other ones. Noizumi cites her excitement at her daughter’s blue eyes — and her subsequent reflection of just What is the best way to get in touch with you? she was pleased to see white features on her daughter — as one of the driving forces of inspiration for the show. The creators and she decided to create the show together. Blue Eye Samurai Then, I unpacked it to try and find the best version of Mizu for my story.

“There were many, many, many, many conversations about [how Mizu would look],” explains Noizumi. “Various members of our team were also mixed-race and everybody was on board with trying to find this perfect version of her that read Asian, that read white, that read feminine, but also a little masculine.”

Image: Netflix

Mizu’s final design ends up ambiguous on many levels: She’s Japanese-passing, till she isn’t; she looks like a man, till she doesn’t. No matter where she tries to fit in — as Japanese, as white, as a man, as a woman — she cannot ever quite belong. Mizu’s thirst for revenge and her desire to kill the white men who might be her father represents her own self-hatred, the loathing she feels toward the part of herself that makes her stick out. She’s not outwardly self-deprecating or despairing, but it’s evident that years and years of being called a monster and half-breed, of living in a society where no one looks like her at all, have taken a toll. She isolates herself from meaningful human connections and makes her internalized resentment the only thing she cares about.

Even though Mizu denies that the themes in the series are a warning against revenge and self loathing, the overall message seems to point Mizu towards a different path. She meets characters who are willing to reach out to her, even if she closes their hands. The metaphorical elements of the plot only help Mizu accept herself: She learns from the blind sword-maker who takes her into his home that the best swords are made by blending metals. Mizu’s fighting style is eclectic, a hodgepodge of different techniques that she’s learned by observing. Supervising director and producer Jane Wu says that it’s a style that’s deliberately untrained — yet there’s a flexibility and strength in that, one that enables Mizu to surprise her opponents. In that, Mizu’s own gradual journey of accepting who she is — even if she’d rather throw herself into revenge — feels clearly laid out.

Mizu’s biraciality also helped inform the look of the series, beyond just her character design. Visual elements are incorporated throughout the entire series. The show is animated in a hybrid 2D-3D format, and the designers have incorporated live action sensibilities into many creative aspects, including the costumes and the fight choreography.

“It’s what I call animation with a live-action attitude,” says Wu. “So anything looked through the lens had to be considered in a live-action point of view, but the execution is 100% in animation. That’s where you’re kind of getting the blended mix.

“I wanted this production — and when you’re looking at it — to feel like it’s a great blend of both animation and live action. I wanted to show that there is strength in that diversity.”

Blue Eye Samurai Netflix is now streaming.