Revenge is an art form. And Blue Eye Samurai, winner of the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program, takes it personally.

Set in 17th-century Edo-period Japan, Blue Eye Samurai follows Mizu (voiced by Maya Erskine), a mixed-race master of the sword who lives a life in disguise seeking to deliver revenge. “It’s an Edo-period tale of revenge — Kill Bill meets Yentl,” said co-creator Amber Noizumi.

Wife and husband team Noizumi and Michael Green (Logan, Blade Runner 2049) co-created Blue Eye Samurai. Sharpen your swords to prepare for this stunningly realized animated series streaming now on Netflix. 

“We want people to sink into it and be taken by the story and the level of artistry and forget they’re watching animation,” said Green. “We would love this to cross over into every interest — that if you like The Witcher, if you like animation, if you like Game of Thrones, if you like The Crown, if you like historical drama, if you like Shakespeare in Love, if you like Tarantino movies, there’s something in Blue Eye Samurai for you.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Blue Eye Samurai to prepare for your quest.

What’s the plot of Blue Eye Samurai?

In 17th-century Japan, when borders are closed to the outside world, citizens would never see a face that was not Japanese, except in rare cases of illegal trade. Our hero, Mizu (Erskine), knows there were only four white men in Japan at the time of her birth and sets off to kill these men, one of whom might be her father, who made her a “creature of shame.” But revenge is not an option for women, so Mizu must forge her revenge quest while hiding her gender as well as her blue eyes. 

Mizu is joined on her journey by Ringo (Masi Oka), an overeager soba maker who dreams of greatness; Taigen (Darren Barnet), a pompous samurai whose rivalry leads to an uneasy truce; and Princess Akemi (Brenda Song), Taigen’s betrothed, whose gilded life seems a foil to Mizu’s. Her revenge quest leads us across Edo-era Japan in a provocative series that immerses the viewer in vivid adult animation with a live-action edge.

Who’s in the Blue Eye Samurai cast?

Alongside Erskine, Oka, Barnet, and Song, the Blue Eye Samurai cast includes George Takei (Seki), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (The Swordmaker), Randall Park (Heiji Shindo), Kenneth Branagh (Abijah Fowler), Stephanie Hsu (Ise), Ming-Na Wen (Madame Kaji), Harry Shum Jr. (Takayoshi), and Mark Dacascos (Chiaki).

Representation was Noizumi and Green’s top priority when selecting their stacked voice cast for this project, from the key players to the group actors who were murmuring in the background of scenes. “We wanted representation so that even our group actors who were just murmurs in the background [were] also Asian,” Noizumi said. “That was our top priority.”

Can I see any first-look art from Blue Eye Samurai?

Oh yeah. See how much our Blue Eye Samurai means business in the teaser art below. And covet her yellow-tinted glasses right along with us.

Is Mizu a real person?

No, but a lot of thought and research went into making her story feel real. She’s the brainchild of Noizumi and Green, who came up with the idea for the series and the character after the birth of their child — who has blue eyes. Noizumi is half-Japanese, and she found herself thinking, “Why am I so excited that my daughter has blue eyes? What’s the big deal about that? And why am I so excited that I have a baby who looks more white?” 

In their early creative conversations that would eventually span 15 years, they started spinning a tale about how “back in the Edo period starting in 17th-century Japan, it would’ve been illegal to be white. Nobody would’ve wanted to look white like that,” she said. And at some point in those initial talks, “We said something like, ‘She’s like a little blue-eyed samurai,’ ” said Green. “I wrote that down, knowing it was a good title.”

Alongside Noizumi and Green, Jane Wu (Mulan, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Game of Thrones) served as supervising director and producer, Erwin Stoff as executive producer, and Blue Spirit as the animation studio. 

Like Noizumi, Wu shared a personal connection to Mizu — Wu understood Mizu’s decision to disguise herself as a man, since in the early Edo period she didn’t have much choice as a woman. “Describing Mizu is almost like describing myself in the way that her journey of self-acceptance was a journey I had to go on,” Wu said. 

“Starting in this industry, I was in a very male-dominant industry, and I noticed that if I put in my portfolio with my name on it, I generally wouldn’t get the job because I was female. Often enough, my portfolio wasn’t looked at because I was female, so then I just started using my initials so you couldn’t tell whether I was male or female, and you would have to judge me by the work. That’s kind of what Mizu went through to complete her revenge, and I guess that’s what I’m doing — completing my revenge.”

How much research went into re-creating Edo-period Japan for Blue Eye Samurai?

Short answer: a whole lot went into creating an authentic world. For details on the history, art, culture, fashion, food and locations explored by the creative team — including recommendations for further reading and viewing — step into this guide to Edo-period Japan as interpreted by Blue Eye Samurai.

Is Blue Eye Samurai anime?

No, it’s decidedly not anime. See above for an in-depth featurette on bringing the sophisticated animation style to life.

As much as Green and Noizumi are fans of anime, this series is a very different aesthetic. “It’s a 2D/3D hybrid, utilizing technologies of both,” clarified Green. “But even when we use 3D, we wanted it to have a 2D handcrafted feel.” Green noted that they did use a lot of filmmaking techniques that don’t always show up in animated television though, including a pre-visualization department, a stuntvis department, and a wardrobe department.

The duo came to animation totally green, and they praised Wu for educating them every step of the way on how to build out their vision for the Blue Eye Samurai world. “Jane is a once-in-a-generation talent who can see a story visually, put it down on paper, and then teach everyone around her how to make that vision a reality,” said Green. “She not only assembled the team that made this show, she then patiently taught everyone how to make a show like this.”

Wu appreciated Noizumi and Green’s trust in their collaboration — they told her, “You do anything you want,” because they weren’t from the animation world. But when Wu started thinking about the visuals, she knew she couldn’t do anime. “Not because I’m not a fan, but because there’s been such great samurai animation out there that I was just going to get lost in that voice and I couldn’t do better,” she said. “I didn’t want this to look like a game. I knew that I didn’t want this to look like a Pixar- or a Disney-animated story.”

The visual language of the show is really drawn from Japanese art. “I designed the characters after Bunraku puppets, which is a traditional Japanese puppet performance that dates back over 300 years, and these puppets are about 3-feet tall. They aren’t for children,” said Wu.

Where can I listen to the music of Blue Eye Samurai?

You can find the official playlist and more background on how the sweeping score composed by Amie Doherty blends Eastern and Western sounds in this guide to the music of Blue Eye Samurai.

Has Blue Eye Samurai won any awards or received nominations?

Has it ever! At the 51st Annie Awards, the series took home six awards, winning in every category it was nominated. Those wins included, Best Mature TV/Media for the pilot episode, Best Writing and Best Editing for Episode 5, “The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride,” Best Animated Effects for Episode 6, “All Evil Dreams and Angry Words,” Best Character Animation for Episodes 1, 4 and 6 and Best Production Design for Episode 8, “The Great Fire of 1657.” At the 74th Annual ACE Eddie Awards, Blue Eye Samurai won Best Edited Animated Series.

Blue Eye Samurai has won the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program. It also won three juried awards. Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Character Design) went to Brian Kesinger; Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Production Design) to Toby Wilson; and Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation (Storyboard) for Ryan O’Loughlin.

Where can I watch a trailer for Blue Eye Samurai?

Here’s the official trailer below! And if you can handle it, check out the Red Band trailer as well.

‘Blue Eye Samurai’ Trailer

What’s the Blue Eye Samurai release date?

Blue Eye Samurai premiered Nov. 3 and is streaming now on Netflix.