Blue Eye Samurai is coming to Netflix on Friday – and the show already has a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The new series, set in Edo-period Japan, follows Mizu (voiced by Maya Erskine) a mixed-race master of the sword who "lives a life in disguise seeking the deliverance of revenge." Amber Noizumi and Michael Green (Death on the Nile, A Haunting in Venice) serve as showrunners, with Jane Wu (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) set to direct. The anime is rated TV-MA.
The first hour-long episode of the show has been uploaded to Netflix's official Youtube channel, and sees Mizu get stuck with an unexpected travel companion, while Princess Akemi (Brenda Song) grasps for a way to control her future.
The voice cast includes George Takei (Seki), Masi Oka (Ringo), Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (The Swordmaker), Darren Barnet (Taigen), Randall Park (Heiji Shindo), Kenneth Branagh (Abijah Fowler), Stephanie Hsu (Ise), Ming-Na Wen (Madame Kaji), Harry Shum Jr. (Takayoshi), and Mark Dacascos (Chiaki).
"Mizu does not have the capacity for kindness at first," Green told Vanity Fair. "It is a very hard lesson for her to learn. We were careful balancing stories in the first half of the season and the second half of the season, that all of her moments of mercy, kindness, or just acceptance of other people end up having a negative consequence for her. And then, towards the end of the season, the lesson comes in that maybe being vulnerable is okay and pays its own dividends."
Blue Eye Samurai hits Netflix on November 3, with all eight episodes in tow. For more, check out our list of the best Netflix shows to stream right now.
