#netflix are cowards for not announcing season 2 immediately

[prickly-paprikash]

Something cool about Blue Eye Samurai is how sex is juxtaposed with the end-goals.

I really love how our three protagonists are all obsessed. And that obsession defines them, torments them, and are subsequently reborn through their obsessions.

Mizu, of course, is obsessed with the concept of revenge. It's not even about getting even or getting justice as some might use to justify the bloody road taken—it is simply about seeking satisfaction for Mizu. She cuts a bloody swathe across Japan because of what the Four White Devils did to her mother and herself. She does not concern herself with the ramifications of her wrath but merely charges forward, leaving behind a trail of viscera and gore behind her.

Like I said before, her vengeance and obsession with satisfaction is not painted by the show as wrong. It is how she allows it to affect others along the path. It's why the episode with Madame Kaji is so enlightening; Mizu should not tackle this quest as a vengeful revenant; an onryō. She has let the world define her as a monstrosity and so she embraced it, when Swordfather and Madame Kaji knew what the correct path was to satiate her need for vengeance. Treat her sword as the Artisan's tool it truly is. Treat her body the way an Artist would treat their canvas.

Madame Kaji and Swordfather are both outcasts, for being a woman and a blind man. Yet they found strength in their exclusion, becoming single-minded in their fields of art. Because sex is art and swordsmithing is art. It's what makes Mizu's body writing scene so fucking good.

Artistic vision becomes stagnant when one pulls from only one source. They become rigid and unbending when Mizu, like her namesake, must be fluid. She has shown fluidity in her use of her gender and her morals, but cannot apply that same flexibility towards her goal. Throughout season one, she was becoming an uninspired artist, merely painting the world in hues of scarlet. In a world that forces Women to be either Wives or Whores, Mizu chose to be a Warrior—but a warrior fights for a cause, whether it be just or otherwise. A soldier fights in an army. Mizu is neither of these things. She is an Artist first and foremost, and her medium is Death. Sex, something Mizu was at first hesitant before her failed marriage, and something she actively avoided afterwards, is what gives her a new perspective. Like an Illustrator studying life to better draw their intended worlds, taking inspiration from wherever one can find it.

Taigen and Akemi are also equally affected by the artistry of sex, as befitting of Mizu's fellow protagonists.

Akemi is quite obviously Mizu's narrative foil. Mizu chases after revenge like a bloodhound whereas Akemi longs for freedom like a bird in a cage. Both are fierce women who are unsatisfied with their lot in life, with their sex and gender being used against them in their lives. Literally, the episode "The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride" is a fucking triple entendre:

Mizu is the Ronin as well as the Bride.

The play showcases the tale of the Ronin and the Bride.

It is also Mizu as the Ronin and Akemi as the Bride.

And when Mizu finds her center as she melts down her blade and engages in body writing, this scene of enlightenment is juxtaposed with Akemi laying with her new husband Takayoshi. Both, in this moment, are taking control of their lives through sex. They are both taking control of their futures through the ways Madame Kaji taught them. Mizu and Akemi are both rebels against this oppressive society, and are both talented artists with their body. Whether that be sex, politicking, or ass-kicking.

Taigen, like the two women before, finds freedom through it but in a more subtle manner.

Where Mizu and Akemi are narrative foils, both using sex as a form of art and escape, Taigen finds liberation through his awakening.

Like the closeted bisexual man he is, he begins his journey of self-realization when he first encounters Mizu at the Dojo.

Every single battle these two have is purposefully rife with sexual tension. All his life, Taigen has been taught that a man must live with honor. That he must take control of his life and his identity, or he will have failed and that he is better off dead than to live with such shame.

Taigen is just as much a victim of the Patriarchal society around him. Mizu rails against it violently. Akemi seeks to run away from it all. And Taigen, with the privilege given to him by his manhood, chooses to become a perpetrator, enabling the vicious wheel of society to keep moving forward.

His obsession with honor leads him to hunting down and even protecting Mizu. Mizu is no doubt the better warrior, but even she knows she owes so much to Taigen. The blockhead not only did everything to protect her in the valley, but also sealed his lips shut even under the duress of torture. His obsession with honor becomes an obsession with Mizu.

His regrets over tormenting her over her looks and ethnicity as a child. His shame in having lost so decisively in his own dojo. Taigen was a man born with nothing and climbed up to the top with every advantage he could muster, and suddenly it's all ripped away by this one vengeful spirit passing by.

Taigen learns to surrender control around Mizu. He begins to discover his own sexuality and purpose around Mizu, redefining what honor really means to him now that he, as a man, has a budding attraction towards the man who beat him.

Mizu's Vengeance. Akemi's Freedom. Taigen's Honor. In all three, Sex becomes a catalyst in redefining what each of these concepts truly mean to them all. It's not just sex of course, but it is undeniable how the writers keep juxtaposing sexual acts and thoughts with massive character moments.

It changes how Mizu chases after her Vengeance. It recontextualizes how Akemi can be Free. It showcases the absurdity of the Honor forced upon Taigen.

It's so fucking refreshing seeing Sex not used as fanservice or shoe-horned in just to further a stale, poorly written cis-heterosexual romance; but used as a plot point that cannot be ignored. An impetus that fuels the narrative.

Moving forward, I'm curious as to how sex will be used.

The next few ideas aren't as sound or organized because I'm neither Asexual nor Genderfluid, so please if anyone reads this who understands it better, feel free to point it out.

I think it'd be cool if Mizu met the inverse of Madame Kaji. A person who is apathetic to sex. Sure, Swordfather has shades of this, but I'm tired of the person with disabilities also being on the Asexual spectrum. And I'm not saying that Ace or Graysexual people with disabilities don't exist! But they always tend to be written as having some form of disability (Varys from ASOIAF) or a Robot.

Just as artists need a variety of sources to pull inspiration from, I hope in the next seasons we get to see different perspectives on sex and gender. In London, it feels like Mizu finding the other half of herself, and with that having a better way of tackling her own identity. Whether it be gender, sex, combat, etc.

Basically what this inane rambling amounts to is that Blue Eye Samurai tackles sex and violence and revenge and obsession in ways that most media has yet to truly do. So that was pretty cool.

#blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai spoilers #blue eye samurai season 2 #mizu #mizu blue eye samurai #akemi #taigen #metal #media analysis #character analysis #blue eye samurai meta #netflix are cowards for not announcing season 2 immediately #come on dickheads #the fans and the creators have been fighting for the green light #hand it over #you cocks #paprikash ramblings

[acecademia]

Any question divisible by five and your favorite numbers, please. (Tumblr sent this early.) Do you like your new city?

Hi, nonny!

I'm loving my new city! We're in a really great location, and there's a lot around us that we can just walk to. My roommate and I have been to DC a few times as well. That's been a blast. There's so much to do and see! And also some really great food!

Question time! #s 3, 5, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 (under the cut!)

3. have you ever quit a show before it finished? why?

A few times. Teen Wolf was definitely one (that'll be a recurring theme in these answers). And there are definitely a multitude of reasons for that. Being lied to, my favorite characters leaving the show, the constant addition of new characters I don't care about, completely deleting Danny with 0 explanation, etc. White Collar and Burn Notice were also abandoned midway through. I just didn't like the direction the shows were going, and I lost interest in the plot.

5. what’s your comfort show?

Hmmm this one depends on my mood and the type of comfort I need. My top two go-tos, though, are Leverage and Psych. Leverage is just wildly entertaining, and Psych never fails to make me laugh.

6. which shows do you think are underrated and need more love?

Humans! It was such a great show. I watched it mainly for Colin Morgan, but Gemma Chan is amazing in it. As is Will Tudor. I might not have liked a lot of the plotlines in the last season, but the first season was fantastic.

10. what’s one show you thought you’d love but turned out to really hate?

I can't really think of any right now? Maybe Arrow? I was so excited for a Green Arrow series, but I was immediately turned off by the pilot when I realized it was like a bad take Bruce Wayne in Green Arrow wrapping.

15. do you feel like there are any overrated TV show formats?

I'm not a fan of prequels. It's very rare that I enjoy them because people can't really figure out how to do them right? Like, you can't create dramatic tension in a prequel by making us think they're going to die or have to make a big decision when we already know the outcome of it. It ends up being really boring, and sometimes includes an obnoxious number of references/nods to the original series

20. Netflix, Hulu, or Prime originals?

Netflix. There are a few good ones on Hulu and Prime, but Netflix has more of my favorites (ANNOUNCE SEASON 2 OF JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS, YOU COWARDS)

25. do you prefer proper opening credits, or a simple title card?

This depends on the show and the opening credits. The Parks & Rec opening credits were too long for me to watch every time, and they also get a little annoying when you're binge-watching Brooklyn 99. The Good Place, on the other hand, did the simple title card, and it's so much more binge-able. But then there are shows that have kickass theme songs, and I love them. Psych has an amazing theme song, and when I'm binging it with my mom, we sing along every single time

I think this one is also complicated by the prevalence of streaming and binging shows. If you're watching twelve episodes in one go (especially when they're 30min episodes), you don't really need the opening credits playing over and over and over again. It also eats into the runtime of the show, which is annoying.

30. what’s one show you could probably write a 2,000 word essay on, and what would be your topic?

Teen Wolf. I'm legit going to write a full book on that fandom one day (like not kidding, that's on my list of future research projects) because it was so batshit insane. I just want to chronicle all the weird shit that happened in that fandom.

35. who are your top 5 TV characters right now?

I'm bad at doing "top #" lists because I don't really conceptualize my favorites like that, and it also really depends on my ADHD's fixation at the time I'm trying to make the list. Here are a few that are coming to mind right now: Alec Hardison (Leverage), Inej Ghafa and Jesper Fahey (Shadow and Bone), Shawn Spencer and Burton 'Gus' Guster (Psych), literally all the characters from Julie and the Phantoms

40. is there a show coming out soon that you’re really excited about?

Ms. Marvel!! My roommate and I are super excited about that one, and we're going to binge it as soon as it comes out.

45. do you own any TV shows on DVD?

I have a few--a couple anime and a couple live-action. Sailor Moon (original animation, new English dub), Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, Gundam Wing, Psych, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and.... I think that's it? Probably.

50. what’s one TV cliche you love?

Okay, you know those episodes where everyone has to tell their own version of the same story? That is my shit. The Rashomon Job episode from Leverage is 1000% my favorite example of this. In a similar vein, I love flashbacks when they're done well. The "Office Space" episode of Psych does this phenomenally well, and it's one of the funniest episodes of TV ever made.

#replies #anon #nicole rambles #nicole speaks