502 - Blue Eye Samurai

What is there for a young, mixed-race woman to do in feudal Japan? Reject all traces of her femininity, assume the masculine identity of a ronin, and seek revenge on any of the four white men in the whole country who could potentially be her father. Is Mizu a demonic half-breed, an enlightened warrior, or something else altogether? Created by Michael Green and Amber Noizumi, Blue Eye Samurai charts Mizu’s journey of self-discovery and bloodlust, and Paul and Arlo are along for the ride. The boys discuss the show’s brilliant fight choreography, each character’s attempt to break free of their constraints, the tremendous voice performances of Maya Erskine and Brenda Song, and that Metallica cover. Plus, Arlo pays homage to big bald daddy Godzilla.

NEXT: ho ho no! It’s a Bob Clark double feature on the finale of our truncated season 14, as Twisted Christmas rears its festive face once more. Black Christmas and A Christmas Story are basically the same movie, right?

BREAKDOWN

00:00:55  -  Intro / Guest

00:30:10  -  Blue Eye Samurai

02:00:12  -  Outro / Next

LINKS

• Blue Eye Samurai is one of the smartest Netflix shows in years by Aja Romano, Vox

• Blue Eye Samurai creator wanted to tell a different type of mixed-race story by Petrana Radulovic, Polygon

• Blue Eye Samurai is the best thing Netflix has done in years by Petrana Radulovic, Polygon

• ‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Is a Gory and Gorgeous Animated Series From Netflix by Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone

• How ‘Blue Eye Samurai’s’ Exploration of Mixed Race Identity Helps It “Break All of the Boxes” in Animated Storytelling by Abbey White, The Hollywood Reporter

MUSIC

• “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Emi Meyer, Blue Eye Samurai (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series) (2023)

• “Pale Blue Eyes” by The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground (1969)

GOBBLEDYCARES

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/ 

• Abortion Funds in Every State: https://bit.ly/AbortionFundsTwitter

• Support AAPI communities and those affected by anti-Asian violence: https://www.gofundme.com/c/act/stop-aapi-hate

• Support the AAPI Civic Engagement Fund: https://aapifund.org/

• Support Black Lives Matter and find anti-racism resources: https://blacklivesmatters.carrd.co/

• The Trevor Project provides information and support to LGBTQ youth: thetrevorproject.org

• Trans Lifeline: https://translifeline.org/ 

• National Center for Transgender Equality: transequality.org

• Advocate for writers who might be owed money due to discontinuance of royalties: https://www.writersmustbepaid.org/ 

• Help teachers and classrooms in need: https://www.donorschoose.org/

• Do your part to remove the burden of medical debt for individuals, families, and veterans: https://ripmedicaldebt.org/

• Register to vote: https://vote.gov/