Although Western adult animation has never vanished from our collective screens, one can argue that television shows with more narrative sophistication and artistic experimentation than, say, conventional network staples such as Family Guy have slowly but steadily gained a wider mainstream footprint in recent years. By and large, we have major streaming platforms to thank for this trend. Netflix, Prime Video, and HBO Max, in particular, have helped redefine the medium's boundaries by turning expensive and ambitious risks (Arcane, BoJack Horseman, The Legend of Vox Machina, Creature Commandos) into one of their quieter, but most consistent, programming cornerstones.
In November 2023, another wholly original animated IP joined Netflix's catalog. Created by writing and life partners Amber Noizumi and Michael Green, the adult-oriented Blue Eye Samurai swiftly became another resounding success story. The duo's monumental achievement — a kinetic, visceral, and volatile epic filled with bruising soul and breathtaking gravitas — accumulated near-perfect critical accolades, became a four-time Emmy Award winner, and secured a Season 2 renewal. Netflix announced the second season's premiere date earlier this week, and the welcome return is right around the corner, making it perfect for fans of shows like Arcane looking for a new series to binge.
Blue Eye Samurai Season 2 debuts not long after the new year — January 19, to be precise. Compared to the three-year wait between seasons, it's only been an unspecified stretch of months since Mizu (Maya Erskine), the elemental force-of-nature samurai, began sailing away from the only home she has ever known. Season 2's six episodes continue the titular antiheroine’s relentless, blood-soaked search for revenge and answers regarding her heritage as the mixed-race daughter of an as-yet unrevealed Japanese woman and European man.
Almost all follow-up seasons aim to surpass their previous efforts, and Dylan Thomas, Netflix's director of Adult Animation, guarantees dynamite success on that front. Yet Blue Eye Samurai upsets the status quo in its precisely unique way. As Season 1's cliffhanger finale teased, the second installment plunges Mizu into somewhat disorienting culture shock. Elements of Edo-period Japan and 17th century London both overlap and clash; Noizumi and Green describe the latter as a "dark [...] puritanical society" where Mizu will "find out what it means to be a woman during one of the most oppressive times in English history. Essentially, Mizu can cross the ocean's treacherous waves, but social prejudices still try to force every single facet of her identity into the box of stark outcast — albeit for equilibrium-flipping reasons than the birthplace that shuns her as a demonic monstrosity.
As Mizu stalks her remaining prey down unfamiliar streets, the survivors she left behind — Ringo (Masi Oka), Princess Akemi (Brenda Song), Taigen (Darren Barnet), and Master Eiji (Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa) — contend with the personal and political aftermath of Edo burning down to scattered ashes. Meanwhile, Jonathan Pryce, Joel Kim Booster, and Sherry Cola join the ensemble voice cast as newly added characters.
Prepare to be captivated by a tale that reimagines Greek gods and heroes in a way you've never seen before.
By taking a three-year-and-some-change hiatus, Blue Eye Samurai does run the risk of lower viewership. Earlier this year, multiple Netflix original series reported a steep audience decrease between their first and second seasons. In this case, however, one can hardly claim those three years were wasted. The effort poured into Season 1 speaks for itself, between the crew's in-depth historical research and painstakingly accurate reproductions, the meticulous live-action stunt choreography, and the staggering scope of the Blue Spirit company's painterly, 2D-3D hybrid animation.
What's more, Blue Eye Samurai's deeply personal story of self-reckoning and patriarchy was inspired by the birth of Noizumi and Green’s child, and further informed by the production team's contributions and the lived experiences of the performers of Asian-American descent. This series, told through the eyes of a woman haunted by internal demons that were forged in a maelstrom of violence, betrayal, oppression, shame, and resolute defiance, is a first-rate example of the masterpieces that emerge when no-holds-barred creative expression is fully funded, handcrafted, and heartfelt.
During a 2024 interview with Collider, Noizumi and Green mentioned their hopes for a three-season arc. According to IGN's reporting, Netflix commissioned Season 3 in August of this year. The company seems to have confirmed this in their latest press release, with Noizumi and Green remarking how "lucky" they are to see their ambitious vision through as planned. Revenge is a dish best served cold, and the duo will serve their dream ending in 2028.
